LXer Weekly Roundup for 22-Apr-2007

LXer Feature: 15-Apr-2007 A weekly recap of the big stories concerning Linux and Open Source.

Lot's of things going on in Open Source like Tux500 promotion to a bunch of stuff about some company named Microsoft.

KDE vs. GNOME: Is One Better?: Bruce Byfield asks, "One of the hardest things for users of other platform to understand is that GNU/Linux does not have a single graphical display. Instead, there are dozens,..".

Penguin At The Window: Linux As An Alternative To Vista: This article makes a case for why Linux is not lacking to Vista in being a viable choice to Windows. "..Microsoft Vista is a modern operating system that offers a variety of genuine improvements over Windows XP. On top of that, Vista also looks much spiffier than its predecessor. Even so, there are a variety of reasons not to blindly reach for Vista..".

Linux Gurus and the ability of a student to burn them out: In this article written by an LXer Brett L. Antoine, he states "Sometimes a "student" and/or friend can become so dependent on the knowledge base of their teacher/friend that they become not only an annoyance but can drive you away from enjoying your computer time altogether.".

An open letter to Corporate Linux: Helios's call to the corporate members of the Open Source Community to support the Tux500 project.

Configuring Debian/etch on a Dell Latitude D520: A regular in the forums, Sander Marechal wrote this article about configuring Debian/etch on a Dell Computer.

Focus to Folly in 3.6 pages - A Microcosm of the Linux Community?: LXer Roger Danielson submitted this, "It started out well, someone agreed with it, someone didn't, the first someone defended his position, the second someone did the same. And on it went. However I noticed a phenomenon that is not uncommon in Linux forums. By the end of the discussion and at that point in time, it ran just short of 4 pages. The conversation had went from the topic at hand to the subject of zebras and virgins. Now you tell me how that happened.".

Ubuntu community magazine hits the 'streets': The Ubuntu community magazine has just released its first issue. The first of what will be a regular monthly feature, the April issue covers the history of Ubuntu, details changes to upcoming Fiesty Fawn and includes an installation guide.

Microsoft's Silverlight Promises to Disrupt Linux Web Users: Just as it seemed that Linux users (especially 64-bit users) would finally be able to enjoy streaming content with a minimum of hassle, Microsoft's new Silverlight software promises to throw a wrench in the works.

A Linux for the rest of us?: Zero config distro tailored for newbies. Serial entrepreneur Peter Dawe, who helped bring the internet to the UK, is launching a "safe" Linux distro tailored for the technophobe.

Beginners Linux: "Forget Laymans terms, DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?": Another article LXer by Brett L. Antoine, "Ever wonder what the heck someone means when they tell you you need to open a Konsole and "su to root"? Or "All you need to do is JED that file."? Here are some explanations to and locations of some useful items.".

Microsoft's 'Men in Black' kill Florida open standards legislation: It was just a bit of text advocating open data formats that was slipped into a Florida State Senate bill at the last minute with no fanfare, but within 24 hours three Microsoft-paid lobbyists, all wearing black suits, were pressuring members of the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations (COGO) to remove the words they didn't like from Senate bill 1974.

IRC Linux Support, through burnout and beyond.: A longtime LXer and forum contributor jimf writes, "I've been doing support on IRC for more than three years now. Overall, it's been a rewarding experience, and, an important learning experience for me as well.".

Tux500: Where Are We Now?: Helios writes on the xtatus of the Tux500 campaign, "Most people understand that an event watched by this many people for a month's time WILL generate interest and curiosity. The location of the event is secondary...no it's not even that it's...third-ary..? Well, you get what I mean. Now...if we could just put our politics aside for long enough to get this done, I am sure we can proceed beating the crap out of each other once we have secured ourselves a firm place in the market."

How Microsoft and Apple are screwing users on multimedia,..: Steven Rosenberg gets a little angry about what's being done to multimedia formats.

I Vote For Ubuntu On Dell: Aaron Newcomb of the Open News Show states the 7 reasons why he thinks that it should be Ubuntu that Dell should pre-install.

Microsoft aims to double user base with $3 Windows and Office: Microsoft has launched an effort to double its user base to 2 billion by 2015, offering students in developing countries entry level versions of Windows and Office for next to nothing. It's also an effort to keep users in poorer nations hooked on Windows and away from Linux.

Microsoft and Samsung Announce Broad Patent Agreement: The press release announcing the Samsung - Microsoft cross licensing agreement.

Getting Ready for GPL 3.0: Call the Lawyers: In what I can't believe is our runner-up for FUD of the week Ron Enderle again swan dives into the deep end.

tux500 is a pump-and-dump scam: Penguin Pete decides that the Tux500 campaign is a scam and well read it for yourself because all I want to do is curse at it.