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Using Linux may not make you smart but if you're already using it, you may be smarter than average. Linux may never gain widespread success, that we, the Linux fans want it to, because it's just too complex for the average computer user. Sure, we now have KDE, GNOME, XFCE, and other fancy graphical user interfaces that attempt to mimic Windows and the Mac OS but underneath the shimmering polish, it's Unix and that scares people. I'm not so sure that this is a bad thing.

[I could not disagree with his sentiments more. - Scott]

The new version 5.0 of the Google Earth exploratory 3D software provides excursions into ocean depths, to Mars and into the past. The official release will also include a Linux variant.

In late 2008 we witnessed the release of Compiz++, a rewrite of the Compiz core in C++ plus other invasive work in order to improve this compositing window manager. With Compiz++ being a branch of Compiz and various other developers working on their own branches, the future of Compiz was unclear, however, today it has been cleared up some.

Dr. Heather Leslie is listed as the "Director of Clinical Modeling " at Ocean Informatics in Australia. But I like to call her the "archetype guru" She has posted an announcement on the openehr-clinical mailing list regarding the launch of the Clinical Knowledge Manager (CKM). It is a pathway to get all members of healthcare involved in developing and vetting archetypes for use in openEHR based applications. Though the email was part of a thread; I will post it in it's entirety and then give a reference to the thread itself so the readers can view the entire context if they wish.

Asus is taking pre-orders for a new netbook that runs on the combined Atom N280/GN40 chipset.

Just over a month ago we shared that patches had emerged to support Intel's VA-API in MPlayer and FFmpeg. VA-API supports popular video formats such as MPEG-4 and VC-1 and is able to accelerate IDCT, Motion Compensation, LVC, bit-stream processing, and other functions, but this video API has not picked up much speed yet. The only display driver to have implemented support for VA-API in the hardware is Intel's closed-source driver (the one that's a bloody mess) for the Poulsbo chipset, which is found in a few select netbooks/nettops. However, it is now possible to use Intel's VA-API with NVIDIA hardware (the GeForce 8 series and later) and soon will be possible to use this video API on ATI/AMD hardware too.

There are 3 valuable tools that you can use from your desktop to review DNS settings; host, nslookup and dig. By using these tools effectively, you will be able to analyze your DNS settings to find problems. This tutorial will show you how to use each of these valuable tools.

Two veterans from Microsoft's Business Division have joined the management of Openbravo, the Spanish ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and PoS (Point of Sale) specialist. Jesper Balser, co-founder and CEO of Navision, which Microsoft acquired in 2002, has joined the Openbravo Board of Directors.

Telephony continues to remain the dominant form of customer interaction for most businesses today, and is certainly a fundamental component of effective service. However, given the current downturn economy, many businesses are looking for ways to cut costs, and open source systems have been proven to do just that – resulting in most companies gearing themselves for a boost in open source adoption this year.

Breadbin Interactive, a local open source software company, is looking to use its Freedom Toaster platform to promote and expand open source software into the rest of Africa. The company plans to expand into Africa to make information feely available, particularly in the enterprise and education space. The aim, says the company, is to make up-to-date relevant information free to the public to download from computer platforms entitled Freedom Toasters. Brett Simpson, co-founder of the Freedom Toaster, says: “The name Freedom Toaster is derived from the fact that open source software and open content is free and that Linux users refer to burning CDs as 'toasting'; hence The Freedom Toaster.

How much of a problem is security updating for open source software going to be in 2009? On Jan. 1, Dana Blankenhorn published the sensationally titled The biggest threat to open source in 2009. His thesis is simple: that, because open source software usually lacks any mechanisms for easily updating to the latest security patched version, the growing popularity of open source software will render it more vulnerable to problems than its closed source counterparts.

Despite the recession, Cisco Systems and Digium are holding strategic events within days of each other in Miami, Florida. Cisco’s agenda is all business. Digium’s agenda is mostly technology. The VAR Guy’s agenda: Stirring up some controversy. Here's the scoop.

This tutorial describes how you can install Apache2 with mod_fcgid and PHP5 on Debian Etch. mod_fcgid is a compatible alternative to the older mod_fastcgi. It lets you execute PHP scripts with the permissions of their owners instead of the Apache user.

Issue #21 of Full Circle, the Ubuntu community magazine is now out with the usual lineup of tips, tricks and games. Highlights in this issue include more tips on using the command line to format output, part five of programming in C, and a case study on using the Creative Zen V music player in Ubuntu.

In December, General Patent Corp. announced it was working on behalf of Worlds.com to enforce its patents on "Scalable Virtual World Chat Client-Server System" and "System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space," which date back to 1995. "Therefore, it would seem that General Patent Corporation and Worlds.com are taking the position that the above-referenced patents cover the idea of the computer architecture for a three-dimensional graphical multi-user interactive virtual world system. If so, this announcement is arguably a very thinly veiled notice to the virtual world industry that infringement suits are forthcoming for those companies who do not enter into a licensing deal with General Patent Corporation and Worlds.com."

Six projects, two days and one cause: creating open-source software to improve the lives of members of the disabled community. Over the weekend, 40 students participated in “SS12: Coding for a Cause” and created software to enhance the lives of disabled persons. Teams of UCLA students competed for prizes donated by the program’s sponsors: Mozilla, Google, Cisco – a networking equipment supplier – and Lockheed Martin, a global security company.

Debian's long-delayed 5.0 release (aka, "Lenny") will likely launch over the Valentine's-slash-President's day weekend, five months late, but with a lusty wink. A look at Lenny's new installer hints that Debian's long-cherished "when it's ready" release schedule may be headed for divorce court, though.

Much of the attention of the healthcare industry over the past several weeks has been focused on Washington and the various proposals before Congress to boost the faltering economy, including spending billions of dollars subsidizing health information technology. Meanwhile, another healthcare IT issue carries a lower profile but will have direct impact on the largest, integrated healthcare delivery organization in the country—the 153-hospital, 731-clinic Veterans Affairs Department healthcare system.

A developer of open source VoIP recording software is readying an embedded VoIP recording appliance. The OrecX VoIP Recording Appliance combines OrecX's Oreka TR Total Recorder application with a 1U, Linux-based, rack-mounted server aimed at the small-to-medium business (SMB) call-handling market, says the company.

SugarCRM, the open source customer relationship management software vendor, is giving its user base a sneak preview into its next generation of products. At its third annual SugarCon gathering Monday, the company previewed new CRM features, including an improved Web services framework, additional Cloud Connectors, and mobile customization features.