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The OpenSUSE Project announced the final 11.3 release of OpenSUSE, featuring Linux 2.6.34, the Btrfs file-system, improved netbook support, and desktops including KDE 4.4.4, GNOME 2.30.1, XFCE, and LXDE. Meanwhile, eWEEK Labs reviews Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, praising its virtualization features, despite some "snags."

Microsoft might be "all in" on tablets (here and here), but it's Linux that will dominate this new category of device, according to latest research. ABI Research reckons Linux-powered non-smartphone mobile devices will comprise 62 per cent of operating systems by 2015.

Yesterday we found it interesting that Intel is not even able to ship their own Linux driver for their own hardware with their MeeGo operating system. The driver in question is their new EMGD driver for the Menlow and Tunnel Creek platforms that have a graphics core that's designed by Imagination Technologies rather than their own in-house intellectual property. The EMGD driver from Intel currently requires signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement with them to gain access to this driver, but it's not the only driver available that targets the Intel GMA 500 / GMA 600 graphics core that's derived from the Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX 535.

At a recent local LUG I regularly attend, Braddock Gaskill gave a wonderful presentation on an open source 8-bit computer he had created. This was his first public debut of the device and every person in attendance was enthralled. Later, we met over coffee since I wanted to let him know (and ask if it was ok) that I thought his device would make for a great piece for Linux Journal. Braddock agreed and we started to chat about both the Humane Reader & Humane PC.

A beta version of Firefox 4.0 has been released with a new look and new features It's been a while in the coming but a beta version of Firefox 4.0 is now out. The most noticeable changes to the browser are the interface ones. Although the interface changes are not available in all beta versions yet they are included in the Windows-specific release.

Let's retire that silly bushwah how the OS doesn't matter. Try that on any conscript into the World Wide Botnet, or anyone who has enjoyed a visit from the Business Software Alliance, or anyone who enjoys a big surprise when they renew their site licensing and learn that first taste was just to get them hooked, and now they get to enjoy paying the full freight. "Linux Inside" is a great selling point.

Left with few options, the OpenSolaris Governing Board sends a final message to Oracle. You may have seen some of the news reporting of the OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) meeting that was held last Monday (I am an elected member of the Board). At a meeting with an unusually large number of community observers, we discussed how to respond to the 100% radio silence the OGB has experienced from the new owners of the OpenSolaris copyright and infrastructure. I believe we reached a balanced and well-considered conclusion and remain hopeful of a good outcome.

Now that I'm back from vacation, it's time to actually start using my new $329 Lenovo G555 laptop. Yep, that's cheap for new hardware, and that's what prompted me to spend the money in the first place. My goal: Install and run the 64-bit version of Fedora 13 with Xfce.

VPN connections let you remotely access file or connect remote offices together via secure tunnels over the Internet. They can even come in handy to secure connections on public Internet ports or Wi-Fi hotspots, hiding Internet traffic from local eavesdroppers. If you aren't going to have more than two-dozen VPN users, you might consider setting up your own VPN server using the DD-WRT router firmware. If you have a compatible wireless router, you can load the firmware on it. This gives you an OpenVPN server and client, and many more cool features. You can then set it up for remote access connections or site-to-site connections to connect offices together.

This tutorial shows how you can run your own name server for domains that you register with fasthosts.com. Of course, this works with every other registrar as well, although the procedure might differ a little bit. We will use the ISPConfig 3 server as the primary name server and also acting as the secondary. This may be suited best to a single server setup. To do this, you need one server with ISPConfig 3 installed and a Fast hosts account.

Mozilla Lab's Firefox Home app has cleared Apple's approval process and is now available for free in the App Store. The app uses Firefox Sync to import browser history, tabs, and the Awesome Bar, bringing a truncated version of the Firefox experience to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The Linux kernel development process stands out in a number of ways; one of those is the fact that there is exactly one person who can commit code to the "official" repository. There are many maintainers looking after various subsystems, but every patch they merge must eventually be accepted by Linus Torvalds if it is to get into the mainline. Linus's unique role affects the process in a number of ways; for example, as this article is being written, Linus has just returned from a vacation which resulted in nothing going into the mainline for a couple of weeks. There are more serious concerns associated with the single-committer model, though, with scalability being near the top of the list.

The Wine team is proud to announce that the stable release Wine 1.2 is now available. This release represents two years of development effort and over 23,000 changes. The main highlights are the support for 64-bit applications, and the new graphics based on the Tango standard.

Say you've got yourself a nice computer, be it tower, notebook, or whatever, and it has a dual core 64 bit chip. It's a pretty cool system and it came with Windows 7. After much hounding and friendly ribbing from your Linux-pushing friend, you decide you're going to load up Ubuntu. So you wander over to the Ubuntu desktop site to download your desktop Linux ISO where it tells you that the 64 bit edition isn't recommended for desktop use. You're confused. After all, your computer came with a 64 bit version of Windows. Isn't 64 bits better than 32? Why can't Linux run a 64 bit desktop?

How many times have you mistyped sl instead of ls? plenty huh? Here is a small program that will add a little fun to your oft misspelled ls.

The Bordeaux Technology Group is proud to announce a one month sale on Bordeaux for Linux, Mac, FreeBSD, PCBSD and OpenSolaris. With the release of Wine 1.2 it marks the first stable Wine release in nearly two years.

Many of your Android applications will need to interact with Internet data, which comes in a variety of formats. In this article, build an Android application that works with two popular data formats—XML and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)—as well as the more exotic protocol buffers format from Google. You'll learn about the performance and coding trade-offs associated with each format.

PHP is coming to Google's Android phones for those averse to programming in Java or going native. The PHP for Android (PFA) site says here that its goal is to make PHP development in Android "not only possible but also feasible providing tools and documentation."

GUI debuggers are the norm these days, however, I still feel the urge to do a little printf-debugging now and then. It might be wrong, it might be silly but it works. I like to develop the odd graphical application and I like use Qt. For Qt, the nice Norwegian Trolls have provided the qDebug function.

Currently, Linux systems take the very high end machines (any machine more powerful than a fully tricked out MacPro {read supercomputers and mainframes}), and the very low end machines (phones, routers, palm-tops, PVRs). In both cases, someone is missing. Microsoft. I do not hate Microsoft. Many people would think that I did (being a Linux fan, and to a lesser extent an Apple fan), but I really don't. I just think that they have failed to adapt to a changing market place, and I feel that they are stifling the progress of IT. Apple, on the other hand, has been aiding. Apple didn't reinvent the phone. Apple showed the a Blackberry/Palm styled phone could be made for the average person. They made it, and they sold it rather well. The iPad has shown that tablets actually are in demand, and for once someone has proven that Windows is not a requirement for consumer computers. The reality is that most people think of a computer operating system as inseparable from the computer itself. So, where are we headed?