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Software-as-a-service provider Etelos announced a new addition to its offerings over the weekend: hosted installations of some major open source projects. This is yet another twist on the perennial problem of making money from open source: supporting software that other people write. Is there really a market here?

I have been a Microsoft user for a majority of my life. I started out with a 66 megahertz computer running MS-DOS on a very fancy black and green monitor. However, I recently became a self-proclaimed Linux lover. For those of you who might not know, Linux is an open source operating system that competes with Microsoft Windows and Apple’s OS X. My first experience with Linux left me with a bad taste in my mouth, but the distribution of Linux known as Ubuntu 7.10 (aka “Gutsy Gibbon”), the version prior to the current version of Ubuntu, has impressed me enough to convince me to completely switch my personal computer to Linux. It has been a fascinating adventure, and I’ve learned a lot about the inner workings of my computer.

[A great review written from the perspective of someone new to Linux, but not new to computers. - Scott]

A gradual shift that has been under way for years may now be on the verge of moving the embedded-tool industry from proprietary to open-source architectures. Recent product announcements and new project initiatives indicate that the Eclipse Framework is spilling over from its IT origins to become a dominant factor in the embedded space. It may still take a few years to solidify its position, but Eclipse appears to be on the way to overshadowing proprietary embedded tool chains.

While you probably won't run Vista as a virtual machine on your cell phone, there are many viable use cases of virtualization for embedded applications. The most simplest, cheapest, feature rich is using Linux and KVM. Servers and desktops are not alone, virtualization is also a perfect fit for embedded devices too.

My granddaughter has been sitting on my lap at the computer since before she could even hold herself up. She was only a few months old when she became interested in the mouse and began learning to place the cursor on the screen. A friend of mine laughed at us and stated that I'd "have her compiling kernels by the time she was three." Well, she's three years old now, and though she's not compiling kernels yet, she is having hours of fun on her own thanks to Tuxpaint.

The Canonical OEM team has been approached by a number of OEM’s who want to sell netbooks (small, low-cost laptops with an emphasis on the web) based on Ubuntu. Almost universally, they’ve asked for standard Ubuntu packages and updates, with an app launcher that’s more suited to new users and has the feeling of a “device” more than a PC.

As geeks become chic in all levels of society, an unlikely subset is starting to roar. Meet the Nerd Girls: they're smart, they're techie and they're hot.

[It appears to becoming a more common thing: geeky girls. It is also interesting to note that Cathy Malmrose of ZaReason is mentioned in the article itself. - thenixedreport]

Most free software projects encourage contributors—it is the rare project that has an overabundance—but contributions vary greatly in quality. Encouraging good submissions, or those likely to lead to useful contributions down the road, is an important part of any project. But it is a delicate balance. It can be difficult to determine the kinds of tasks suitable for new contributors that will lead to more important contributions later.

Roadrunner running on Linux, breaks a modest threshold of 1,000 trillion calculations per second on Monday.

Although the last release of Norton Commander, the famous file manager for DOS, was a decade ago, its legacy lives on in dozens of clones on every operating system imaginable. On GNU/Linux, one of the most popular clones is Beesoft Commander (BSC). Although designed for the desktop and built with a recent version of the Qt libraries, BSC, like Norton Commander, remains a file manager built mainly for the keyboard. As a centralized tool for file operations, it offers a degree of convenience that makes it worth learning, especially if most of your work involves source code, HTML, or other plain text files.

I used this player for about three years and I love it more and more, with each new release. Statistics show around 60% of the Linux users prefer Amarok over any other audio player. 60%! That's huge. This article lists 7 reasons for which I think this is the most loved audio player. I preferred to leave out the more technical ones, and just focus on the highlights.

Need a multilingual dictionary tool that allows you to quickly translate words and expressions without leaving the convenience of OpenOffice.org? Drop in the EuroOffice.org Dictionary (EOD) extension. Using EOD is dead easy. Since it's just a regular OpenOffice.org extension, you can install it by using the Extension Manager (Tools -> Extension manager). Once installed, the EOD adds a dictionary toolbar that gives you access to all dictionary features. Select the source and target languages from the drop-down list to the left, type the word you want to look up in the Word to Translate field, and the translation immediately appears in the Translation field. Both fields also act as drop-down lists.

The intent behind Delphi for PHP from CodeGear, last month acquired by Embarcadero Technologies, is clear: to provide an integrated development environment for PHP that matches the speed of development regular Delphi offers for Windows applications. First released in February 2007, the initial version fell far short of the goal, being buggy and under-documented. I've had a chance to get to grips with Version 2.0, and while CodeGear has added some refinements there remains a ways to go.

I know the frustration... Being so, so close to success...only the smallest of obstacles in front of you. It would seem just a simple maneuver would complete the mission. One simple thing to be accomplished and the whole thing falls together. And then it stalls...and stalls. Until the opportunity passes. Days, months and in this case, years of effort and sweat pass, only to go straight into the crapper. No, I'm not talking about anything we've done. This isn't going to be about anything I or HeliOS Solutions has done. This isn't about us. And as given to hyperbole as I can be...I am serving you notice now, It stands in the best interest of the entire Linux Effort to pay attention here.

The Radeon HD3870 Ultimate edition features a passively-cooled heatsink, making for an excellent video card in silent environments such as home theater PCs and desktop gaming rigs.

Our tests point to Linux as the winner of the green flag by margins that topped out at 12%. But we must note that our results are full of stipulations imposed by our test bed, and, therefore, as many classified ads might say: your wattage may vary.

How to make the distinction between open file descriptors and open files, and report on them, using the proc filesystem on Linux or Unix.

In the past I’ve spoken highly of VistA, the Veteran’s Administration computerized health records system—and with good reason. VistA has a lot going for it. In 2006, it won an “Innovations in American Government Award” from Harvard. Studies show that use of VistA has improved VA productivity by 6 percent a year since national implementation was achieved in 1999. In a time of sky rocketing health care costs, VA care has become 32 percent less expensive than it was in 1996 in part thanks to VistA. The computerized system also has helped the VA reach an amazing prescription accuracy rate of over 99.997 percent. And last—but certainly not least—VistA is a flexible program that allows for much independent tinkering in the name of improvement, both by techies outside of the VA and those within the administration.

Welcome to this year's 23rd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Ever since the launch of ASUS Linux Eee PC late last year, the ultra-portable computer market has turned into a major battleground of operating systems. Who will win? Microsoft with its thick wallet and pressure tactics or Linux with its low cost and open development model? Last week's Computex in Taipei revealed surprising differences between the ways hardware manufacturers embrace this exciting market. In the news section, Debian announces upcoming freeze of "Lenny", Mandriva celebrates its 10-year birthday, Canonical releases Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and FreeBSD updates the End-of-Life dates for its current and past releases. Also in this week's issue, a good collection of search resources for CentOS and RHEL users, and a list of valuable third-party repositories for openSUSE 11.0. Finally, with the annual package database update on DistroWatch, do let us know which new packages you want us to include in the tracking process. Happy reading!

IBM has launched a commercially supported version of its Lotus Symphony productivity suite, ready to take on Microsoft Office. The software is free, with unlimited technical support for around US$25 (£13) per user, and it supports the ODF document format--which could cast an unflattering light on the confusion around Microsoft Office