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The team behind the Puppy Linux project has released the first maintenance release of Puppy Linux 4.2, version 4.2.1. Puppy Linux provides a very small, yet complete Linux desktop, with a lot of useful applications, many supported hardware devices and a pleasant user interface.

This one is strictly for the hardcore fan - for the very first time, it says here, you have the chance to purchase a giant poster showing the history and development of Unix. That's right - this 40 foot poster includes over 1,000 versions of 150 different types of Unix. Backed with fractal art by Alan Tenant, the poster is based on Eric Levenez's diagram of the heavy duty operating system.

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to install VMware Server 2 on an Ubuntu 9.04 desktop system. With VMware Server you can create and run guest operating systems ("virtual machines") such as Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, etc. under a host operating system. This has the benefit that you can run multiple operating systems on the same hardware which saves a lot of money, and you can move virtual machines from one VMware Server to the next one (or to a system that has the VMware Player which is also free).

In his recent blog post, Maddog gives some insight in his very personal computer history of the last forty years: "when I was moving toward graduation, I had a professor seriously tell me "Jon, you will never be able to make a living writing software." I am still trying to find out if he was correct."

Welcome to this year's 21st issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Three weeks ago Mandriva Linux 2009.1 was released. This distribution has a well-earned reputation for being both user-friendly and flexible and this week we take what turns out to be a somewhat surprising first look at the latest Mandriva release. In the news section, Slackware Linux finally opens a 64-bit branch of its development tree, Moblin 2.0 impresses the reviewers with a refreshing user interface design, Ubuntu reveals a change in video architecture for the upcoming version 9.10, Debian changes its archive signing key, and Fedora considers mailing list moderation in response to some unruly behaviour of its users. Also in this issue, a round-up of news from vendors preparing Linux-based solutions for mobile devices and an interesting new way of installing Arch Linux - via an unofficial live CD. Finally, if you have a package that you think DistroWatch should track, don't miss your chance to suggest it - this week only! All this and more in this week's issue, enjoy the read!

Finally, a Holiday ASCII art post that isn't a day late!

There is no doubt the web is a powerful tool. And when this emerging social element is added it only creates more connectivity, virality and overall engagement with those who use it. This modern web is all about people, this is why we call it a "social web." Without people connecting, collaborating and engaging with one another the modern web wouldn't exist.

Mid-April, the four founders of The Pirate Bay were found guilty of being accessories to breaching copyright law; they aided in breaching copyright of 33 files. As a result, they were sentenced to one year in jail and a 2.75 million EUR fine. However, it was quickly revealed that the judge in the case was heavily biased, and ever since then there's been a search for a judge who is actually not involved with any pro-copyright groups or with the lawyers working for the entertainment industry in this case. Turns out that's actually kind of hard.

Kpackagekit is the default package manager on Kubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty)..These are some first impressions and troubleshoots..

A well tagged MP3 collection makes everything from organization to playback easier. Keep reading for a closer look at your fellow readers' favorite tools for cleaning up their MP3 tags in this week's Hive Five. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite tools for tagging your MP3 files. We've rounded up the top six rather than five—thanks to a particularly close call among the top candidates—and we're back to share and help you pick a program to get your MP3s in order.

[The third player listed there is a Linux version of. - Scott]

The Offline Update script collection, published by The H's sister publication in Germany, c't, and Torsten Wittrock, has been updated to version 6.0. Offline Update helps manage delivering the latest security updates to Windows PCs without lengthy downloads. The latest version, 6.0, contains updates for Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003 and 2008, and their 64 bit versions where available. The scripts can also be used to freshen up Microsoft Office 2000, 2003, XP and 2007.

The US Army has opted to form a strategic alliance with Vista by migrating all of its Windows-based computers.. The systems change, which will include upgrading from MS Office 2003 to MS Office 2007, has been ordered so as to “bolster Internet security” and standardise information systems.

The Linux client for Unreal Tournament 3 should have been out over 550 days ago, but it appears to be dead with not even Epic Games being sure about its status. However, the independent developer that is responsible for porting this game's server and client over to Linux, Ryan Gordon, claims that the game is still on.

In this tutorial I will describe how to install and configure MyDNS and MyDNSConfig 3 on Fedora 10. MyDNS is a DNS server that uses a MySQL database as backend instead of configuration files like, for example, Bind or djbdns. MyDNSConfig is an easy to use web-based interface to MyDNS. MyDNSConfig can create all types of DNS records that are available in MyDNS and adds features like user management and access privileges.

In late April, two weeks before Microsoft announced the biggest batch of layoffs in its history, the company experienced a lesser-noticed milestone that may have signaled even more about the state of its business. For the first time in Microsoft’s history, revenue in its Server & Tools division — which makes behind-the-scenes corporate systems and programming software — surpassed revenue in its Windows Client division, which makes the PC operating system responsible for much of the company’s past success.

Vancouver city council has endorsed the principles of making its data open and accessible to everyone where possible, adopting open standards for that data and considering open source software when replacing existing applications. "So it's great," said Andrea Reimer, the city councillor who proposed the motion that passed Thursday afternoon. "The local online community was all very, very happy, and now we just have to look forward on implementation and figuring sort of the order with which we do that."

BERLIN — Microsoft and the European Commission have canceled the only hearing planned in an antitrust investigation into the company’s Internet browser because of a dispute over the attendance of European regulators serving as advisers. As a result, the commission, which began its inquiry after a complaint by Opera, a small browser maker in Norway, will reach its decision and levy a fine based on written statements from Microsoft and its adversaries. Microsoft decided not to give oral evidence in the case after it was unable to persuade the commission to move the meeting, scheduled for June 3 through 5, so that it did not conflict with a global antitrust conference in Zurich that draws European antitrust regulators.

LWN recently posted a brief article on the GNOME Foundation's plea for support to help it get through a difficult year. Some of the comments on that news questioned the role of the foundation and its executive director. In response, the Foundation offered to make a board member - Luis Villa - available for an interview. Luis quickly answered our questions, despite being in the middle of final exams at the time; some people, it seems, will do anything to get out of studying. The result is an interesting view into the state of the GNOME project and where it is heading.

Another important bounty quota has been reached in the Power2People website, and this time the result comes from a common effort of the whole Amiga/Morphos/AROS Community. The result of this bounty being reached is that the Poseidon USB stack will be ported to AROS, and released as open source under the AROS Public License.

Installing any OS can still sometimes be a tedious task and one that scares the wits out of the average computer user. And, it’s just more fun to buy a computer with Linux already on it and not have to pay the Microsoft tax. You can find Linux servers sold all sort of places, but where can you find Linux desktops for sale? Here is a list.