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Synfig Studio is a 2-D animation program that uses vector graphics. Although it has only just released version 0.61.06-1, it is already approaching early maturity, with enough tools and innovations that professionals might seriously consider using it. The only real question about its future is the minor one of whether the developers can learn the difference between practical and merely arbitrary changes in standard interfaces and tools.

Linux and Eclipse leaders and programmers are trying to make Eclipse the IDE of choice for Linux software development.

aKademy 2007 goes on. Monday was filled mostly with the KDE e.V. meeting, and finished with a social event at the city chambers.

The Software Freedom Law Center, provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software, today released a white paper that considers new U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules, which go into effect today, governing Software-Defined Radio devices.

Try as it might, Microsoft could find it very hard to wiggle out of its GPLv3 connection.

Open Tuesday is back with renewed vigour after a brief hiatus. Once again the Joburg open source community will have a chance to come out the computer screen and meet each other while learning a little bit more about local developments.

Now that the SourceForge.net community has selected the nominees, you can vote for the projects you think represent"the cream of the crop on SourceForge.net. Don't procrastinate; voting ends at 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 20.

Bonding is the same as port trunking. In the following I will use the word bonding because practically we will bond interfaces as one. Bonding allows you to aggregate multiple ports into a single group, effectively combining the bandwidth into a single connection. Bonding also allows you to create multi-gigabit pipes to transport traffic through the highest traffic areas of your network. For example, you can aggregate three megabits ports into a three-megabits trunk port. That is equivalent with having one interface with three megabytes speed.

Unless you're an old Linux user, you've only probably used the KDE, GNOME or Xfce desktop environments. But since the time when these desktops were in their infancy, the Enlightenment desktop environment has been impressing users. Bringing this mature, visually appealing environment to new Linux users is what the Elive distribution is all about. Its developer Samuel "Thanatermesis" F. Baggen, explains his reasons for spinning Elive and how the distro has evolved over the years.

Keyto in his article Understanding the Common User points that "everything should be as simple as it is.. or even simpler" and warns that converting a common user to Linux without giving him enough protection leads to a imminent failure. Karol Trojanowski, in a rebuttal Get Real or How NOT To Convert Your Grandma to Linux stresses that dumbing down is not the key to success, understanding is. Both articles are a must-read for Linux nerds trying to convert anyone on their way.

Psst. Want to buy a zero-day? A Swiss startup called WabiSabiLabi Ltd. has some for sale, but to qualified buyers only. On Tuesday, the company launched a security vulnerability marketplace, where details on unpatched software flaws can be bought and sold. By Thursday, the site was offering details on four bugs in products such as the Linux kernel and Yahoo Messenger. No bids had yet been registered, and asking prices for the research ranged between $681 and $2724. An 0day vulnerability is a previously undisclosed bug that has not been fixed by the vendor.

The obvious question that any open source "business" needs to address is how to get people to pay for offerings. Being that the code is out there and customers can theoretically support themselves and/or never pay there needs to be a compelling reason for them to give you their money. Every open source company struggles to figure out what these "value triggers" are.

When Evans Data released its survey on Tuesday showing a sharp shift toward Linux (and away from Windows) among developers in North America, the Linux world went wild. Wistful penguin heads heralded the coming Open Source Age. There are several signs that the coming year could bring a sea-change among end users, making 2008 the year of the Linux desktop.

One of the unsung features of GPLv3 is its grant of compatibility to the Apache and Eclipse open source licenses. Apache or Eclipse licensed code can now be combined with GPL code without creating a violation of the GPL. That wasn't possible in the past, or at least, not sanctioned by the Free Software Foundation. GLPv3, wrote Brian Behlendorf, "is good news, from my perspective."

I just watched Mark Shuttleworth’s Keynote on aKademy. The discussion afterwards was mainly dominated by his suggestion to switch KDE’s development cycle to a 6 month release cycle. Here is a closer look at what Mark said - and what KDE did in the past.

Aewin has announced a highly integrated 3.5-inch form-factor single-board computer (SBC) that accepts either Pentium M or Celeron M processors. The EM-7302 runs Linux, offers modular PC/104 and optional mini PCI expansion, and targets embedded applications such as interactive kiosks, parking gate control, and medical equipment.

The board members of the Florida Linux Show 2008 have elected Jacksonville, Florida as the city to hold the 2008 Conference and Exhibition. This year's show will focus on moving from IPv4 to IPv6, Greener PCs, Linux and your desktop, Linux Certification, and much more.

Thanks to generous sponsorship you can promote your Open Source project, group or campaign FREE in the .ORG village (sponsored by uklinux.net) at LinuxWorld Expo 2007 (London Olympia 2, 23rd & 24th October 2007). Closing date for applying for space in the .ORG village is 31st July 2007.

Do you find yourself constantly being bogged down in programs that leak memory, violate memory bounds, use uninitialized data, and devote an excessive amount of run time to memory management? Use this article to help you conquer these pesky memory defects.

One of the many uses of having a Red Hat Consultant on site is to provide “best practices” in regard to using or deploying Red Hat Linux or any of Red Hat’s applications. These best practices come from the way a product was written as well as how the product was originally intended to be used. Although we lean towards sticking to these best practices and procedures, sometimes they need to be modified and adjusted to meet the special needs of a client. Knowing how to make a product work within a customer’s specialized environment is also a great use of a Red Hat Consultant.