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As much as I've railed against quickie distro reviews, I find myself trying a new version of Ubuntu in live CD form and writing just such a piece. I apologize in advance for not running Ubuntu 9.04 longer, but in this evaluation that has everything to do with the hardware I'm using, I'll explain why this is a wham-bam distro evaluation

This is quietly growing the base we need to insure the future isn't presented to our kids as a shrink wrapped set of chains. I have argued and presented the case for an organized advertising effort for the concept of Linux and Free Software for almost 5 years. That didn't do so well...too many politics and egos blocked the way. But this... This is working, and it's working better than I had ever imagined.

It's easier than ever for Linux users to avoid closed, proprietary applications and drivers. But life is complex, and there are still times when a Linux user's choices are not as simple as FOSS/non-FOSS; for example, multimedia is a minefield of patented codecs, binary blobs, and DRM. So what's a freedom-loving Penguinista to do?

Conficker is one nasty Virus! It is able to spread on the LAN, infect other machines, and even auto-update itself! Learn how scan your network using the open-source nmap tool, and identify machines which are possible infected with Conficker

The Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) developers have announced the release of version 6.2 of their PowerPC distribution that runs on the Sony PlayStation 3 and other computers with Cell processors, including IBM's Cell blades. The new release upgrades the 64-bit Linux to 2.6.29 and includes components like IBM's Cell SDK version 3.1.0.1, as well as OpenOffice 3.0 and Firefox 3.06.

Red Hat has launched a cloud partner program and Amazon is the first to join. But what exactly does the move mean to Red Hat partners and Amazon Web Service users? Here's the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Fedora is a giant among giants, in the shadow of a giant from which it was born. But every giant is born of humble beginnings. So to understand the giant, you first have to understand from where they came. So let me take you through a short history of Fedora, and show you where it all began, and some of the interesting, if not curious steps that it took to become what it is today. To start with the very deepest roots, we need to look to the kernel that makes Fedora what it is: The Linux Kernel. That was first introduced in 1991 by a then college student named Linus Torvalds.

According to wordnetweb.princeton.edu, Computer Science is "the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures". It's the study of computer architectures, languages, and mathematical structures as applied to the process of computing. So what have Campbell, et al produced in this book...a Computer Science textbook that teaches Python? Kind of. Imagine you wanted to learn how the computer is used in the various scientific disciples. Further, you wanted to learn how computer programs and programming is used in this context to construct tools, perform investigations, and to solve problems. You also want to use a single programming language as your example. Welcome to "Practical Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science Using Python". Not a book about learning Python as such, but an introduction to the discipline of Computer Science with Python as your guide.

Sugar Labs has issued a LiveUSB version of its "Sugar" Linux distribution and educational software, used by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)'s XO-1. "Sugar on a Stick v1 Strawberry Learning Platform" can be plugged into any netbook or PC, offering 40 activities designed for K-12 students.

Google's Linux-based mobile operating system — Android — has become a popular choice for phonemakers worldwide. Now, if Firefox developers are getting what they think they are, we may finally see the combination of Google's power OS with Mozilla's groundbreaking browser

KDE e.V. President, Aaron Seiger, is calling for help to rescue freedesktop.org. Seigo warns of the danger of the free open source software platform sliding into insignificance and he's appealing to community members for help.

Keith Packard has been the release manager for the X Server 1.6 series and back in early May he issued an X Server 1.6.2 release cadndidate to close a few more X.Org bugs in this critical piece of software. After pulling in another heaping of bug fixes, Keith has now announced X Server 1.6.2 Release Candidate 2, which will go on to become the official 1.6.2 release assuming no bugs or regressions appear.

In X Server 1.6.2 are over 36 bug fixes that address a variety of different problems from DRI2 to EDID to fixing up other problems...

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine, which comprises volunteers from the PCLinuxOS community is proud to announce the release of it's July 2009 edition. This edition brought forth several decisions from the new crew to bring it forth to a monthly release and the selection of a new Chief Editor, Paul Arnote aka parnote.

The thing I like best about Firefox is that just when you think you know everything there is to know about the browser, something new comes along and surprises you.

Earlier this month we reported on Linux support for a new, unreleased Intel IGP after several commits hit the Intel driver's X.Org DDX driver (xf86-video-intel).

This code added a new mobile and desktop component but of course not many details regarding this next-generation Intel graphics processor have been revealed. Within the code this new chip is currently referred to as IGDNG, which we take to mean Intel Graphics Device Next Generation.

Recently more work for IGDNG has landed within Intel's mainline DDX driver tree...

Do you have files on your computer that you wouldn't want your spouse to read, or perhaps your main competitor. Chances are if you use your computer for work or general usage the answer is yes. Also what happens if you want to send a file to someone, or let them download it from you, but you only have access to the coded file.

After more than a year in development, Mozilla has finally released version 3.5 of its open source Firefox web browser. Previously intended as an incremental update, Firefox 3.5 now includes a number of welcome new features and performance improvements.

FISL--the international free software conference in Porto Alegre, Brazil--was a huge success this year. Thousands and thousands of free software enthusiasts crowded in to hear over 400 speakers and interact with people from various organizations that has setup shop in the pavilion including the President of Brazil himself.

After thorough testing of the leading Open Source index engines, Mailspect Inc. has selected Sphinx as the search and retrieval engine for MPP, the Message Processing Platform. Sphinx is an Open Source project founded and maintained by Andrew Aksyonoff of Voronezh, Russia. It was designed from the ground up to integrate seamlessly with SQL databases and scripting languages.

Eschalon is a turn-based RPG (role-playing game), which tries to reproduce the feeling of classic RPG games. It's closed-source, available for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, and it comes with a demo too. The full version is available as a download for $19.95.