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In this screenshot gallery we take you through the install process and basic desktop functionality of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, which was released to customers in late January.

Besides being a great video player, MPlayer also comes with a great utility for converting video files to different formats. You can use mencoder via the command line or in conjunction with one of the many user interfaces available for it, but CLI has obvious advantages over a predefined GUI because of the options it gives the user. I can't think of a single video filetype that mencoder couldn't convert for me when I needed it.

You've been reading Akkana Pecks's excellent articles on the nifty tricks you can do in the shell, and you're feeling the power. But one thing has you puzzled-- there are no file icons to click on, so how do you find your files? The Linux filesystem has an orderly structure; come on inside to learn how to navigate it effortlessly from the command line.

If you thought it was just because the Kindle is way cool and Microsoft SPOT was way crap, think again according to a new piece of research which reckons it is all down to something called the Convenience Quotient.

On January 20, 2009, Apple was awarded patent #7,479,949, titled "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics." This patent potentially has the power to make life difficult for anybody developing hardware or software involving touch screens. It could also bring about an unwelcome repeat of some twenty-year-old history. But any attempt to enforce this patent risks repeating a twenty-year-old conclusion.

Developers soon will have a network to go to for developing principally open source projects and testing their software on multiple platforms. The planned Snakebite network is intended to "provide developers of open source projects complete and unrestricted access to as many different platforms, operating systems, architectures, compilers, devices, databases, tools, and applications that they may need in order to optimally develop their software," according to the Snakebite Web site, which also welcomes visitors to "the future of open source development."

Moonshine is a project based on Moonlight that leverages the built-in Windows Media capabilities of Silverlight to bring Windows Media playback to Linux in a fully legitimate way, without forcing the end user worry about what a codec is. This is possible because Microsoft provides the codecs directly to all Moonlight users, regardless of their choice of Linux distribution.

Red Hat has launched a new open-source project the company said is aimed at making it easier for enterprises to move from proprietary Java-based middleware like Oracle WebLogic and IBM WebSphere to its JBoss Enterprise Middleware. The JBoss MASS (Migration Assistance) project -- launched as a community effort with Red Hat partners -- will provide software to help enterprises migrate to JBoss, as well as an online community to connect new JBoss customers with other customers and partners that have more experience working with the platform.

"Lately there has been a huge push by Certified Microsoft Professionals and their companies to call (potential) clients and warn them of the dangers of open source. This week I received calls from four different customers saying that they were warned that they are dangerously insecure because they run open source operating systems or software, because 'anyone can read the code and hack you with ease.' Other colleagues in the area also have noticed that three local Microsoft Partners have been trying to strike fear in the minds of companies that respond, 'Yes, we use open source or Linux' when the sales call comes in. I know this is simply a sales tactic by these companies, but how do I fix the damage these tactics cause? I have several customers who now want more than my word about the security of systems that have worked for them flawlessly for 5-6 years, with minimal expense outside of upgrades and patching for security. Does anyone have a good plan or sources of reliable information that can be used to inform the customer?"

Bash's possible network security risk no longer comes standard. Before we get started today, I just wanted to reflect on our posts' introductions. Usually it's "Hey there," or something to that effect. Being one of those people who are bothered by redundancy (at least, after the 50th time ;) this is the one part of blog posting I find the most grating.

I spent some time talking with an Accenture veteran this morning, and came away with an intriguing idea: enable open-source projects to provide corporate benefits like health insurance to their developers so that they can ditch their day jobs to focus on their open-source passion. If you've ever started a small business, you know that getting "enterprise-grade" benefits like health insurance is very difficult. At Alfresco, for example, we ultimately joined a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) called Trinet [PDF], which aggregates many smaller companies to negotiate insurance plans with companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield that would normally not consider providing small companies insurance.

No religious wars here--just the cold, hard, dollars and cents facts. No, this isn't another rant about how you should convert to Linux because it's free, although it is free. Free is a four-letter word among those who scoff at the mere mention of Linux. Yes, Linux is free, but that doesn't give it an unfair advantage on the desktop because most computers arrive preloaded with Windows — so to the buyer it appears Windows is also free.

Hoping to bolster its position in the Web-based content management system market, Plain Black has rolled out a spruced-up version of its flagship product that makes it easier to maintain Web content and features a new point-of-sale cash register. The point-of-sale capability added to the 7.6 version of WebGUI now lets authorized users work with a virtual cash register. The new feature was added to make it easier for companies at remote events such as trade shows, for instance, to sell tickets and products directly to customers.

There was a time when it was enough for middleware to be just a Java J2EE application server stack. Times do change, though: J2EE is now called JavaEE, and middleware needs are more than just Java. To help meet the evolving requirements of the modern enterprise, Sun this week released its Glassfish Portfolio, which provides a JavaEE application server as well as an AMP (Apache, MySQL and PHP) stack, along with portal software and management tools.

The GUI released by HP for its Mini Mi netbook has been winning accolades for its high design standards. The interface offers pleasing shiny black eye candy that some sites are comparing to Apple design. The GUI provides an integrated starting point for many day-to-day tasks. You can search the web, visit your favorite bookmarks, and navigate through your applications (sorted by categories like Media, Work, and Play), all in a friendly task-oriented GUI. DownloadSquad writes that HP MediaStyle application looks a lot like Apple's FrontRow.

The GroundWork Open Source company out of San Francisco CA has released its Nagios-based monitoring software in a new version 5.3, including a free Community Edition.

A recent article from the popular weblog Techdirt condems Mozilla for siding with EU, because the success of Firefox proves that there is no monopoly. But is this really the case or did Firefox succeed despite the anti-competitive business practices of Microsoft? Does MS deserve to go unpunished even though they played unfair?

The world's biggest software maker has warned companies to expect an increase in "insider" security attacks by disgruntled, laid-off workers. Microsoft said so-called "malicious insider" breaches are on the rise and will worsen in the present downturn. "With 1.5 million predicted job losses in the US alone, there's an increased risk and exposure to these attacks," said Microsoft's Doug Leland.

Create and manage multiple shells on your console with GNU Screen. The command line is a powerful tool, but it has a fatal weakness: If the shell perishes, so does your work. To keep your shell and your work alive—even across multiple sessions and dropped connections—use GNU Screen, a windowing system for your console.

OSI Board member Alolita Sharma gives a status update of the adoption of open source in India.