LXer Weekly Roundup for 13-Nov-2011

LXer Feature: 13-Nov-2011 This past we saw the usurping of Ubuntu off the top of the DistroWatch.com rankings which Ubuntu has held for several years, Kes Hess continues his search for the ultimate desktop, Sam Varghese thinks its time for Ubuntu to drop 'it', in a guest editorial by Cathy Malmrose she describes "The Computer I Need" and Larry Cafiero is gearing up for SCALE 10x..as well am I. Enjoy!

4 strange places to find open source: Open source is about more than code: it's about unlocking all possibilities. Here are four unusual projects made possible by open source.

Linux Mint Reveals The Top Secret Project, To Overtake Ubuntu Soon: Linux Mint is doing something which was expected from a project like this, yet we never thought of. A way to embrace never technologies without having the user to relearn everything or to lose some features or functionality.

Linux Mint Pulls Ahead of Ubuntu: After years of holding the top spot on the Linux desktop leaderboard it looks as if Ubuntu is starting to slip. Distrowatch.com displays a popularity list of all Linux distributions by measuring the number of hits per page on their site. This ranking system is considered to be one of the most reliable around. Even if it is only a measurement of one website’s traffic. Lately Linux Mint has been making a run at first place.

I hate Unity. I hate GNOME. I hate Windows 8. The ultimate desktop search continues.: What’s your next desktop OS or desktop manager going to look like? Have you been sucked into the dumbed-down, new-fangled garbage floating your way or are you going retro?

Trinity Project keeping 3.5 alive: For people who prefer the KDE 3.5-style desktop, a new version of the Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) has been released. Trinity is a continuation of the KDE 3.5 Desktop Environment with ongoing updates and new features. Trinity Desktop Environment 3.5.13 source code and packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora are available. The upcoming openSUSE 12.1 release will even feature the Trinity Desktop Environment 3.5.13 as part of their release. Read on for an overview of what is new in Trinity 3.5.13! read more

The Computer I Need: I never knew I needed a tablet the same way I did not know I needed a cell phone. Once that first cell phone landed in my pocket, I never looked back. The transition was purely natural. It increased my productivity by allowing me access to hundreds of previously physically-based things. My phone now scans my receipts (no paper, no saving and stashing), tracks my tasks (no To Do lists floating around), takes photos (no extra camera), and a hundred other backpack-lightening life upgrades.

Scaling up for SCALE 10X: As we head into the holidays, thoughts of 2012's Linux shows might take a back seat to more festive activities. But according to Larry the Free Software Guy, the SCALE 10X team is busy working on what's expected to be a landmark show on the expo's 10th anniversary.

Ken Starks: The Unsung Hero: Ken Starks is, by all standards, a normal guy. He lives in the Austin, Texas area, worked hard his entire life, raised a family, and has lived a mostly good life. Around 2005, Ken was pressure washing a building 38 feet in the air, when the lift failed. He came crashing to the ground, fracturing his spine at the neck. Thus ended one career, and began a new one.

Ubuntu: time to get rid of the sense of entitlement: One of the big problems that any company faces when it decides to get into the GNU/Linux business is how to deal with users, a group who have an extraordinary sense of entitlement.