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The first of two articles about one US student's experiences with Linux and Nicaragua this summer.

Did you know that you can connect the OpenOffice.org office suite to a PostgreSQL database? Maybe your database contains valuable customer or inventory information that your staff could use to generate a personalized sales letter. With OpenOffice.org Writer, and a connection to your PostgreSQL database, you can do just that for each customer. I'm sure you can think of many other uses for such a connection.

In the new world into which the open-source community is moving, open and free software does not guarantee freedom, especially when applications depend on the network effects and data lock-in more than on software secrecy, said Tim O'Reilly, CEO and founder of O'Reilly Media, at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention here Wednesday.

A solid alternative for SMBs, the new Xandros Desktop OS Business Edition 2.5 works and feels like Windows, but it's a lot more secure. Want an honest-to-God great Linux desktop for your SMB but you don't want to give up Windows? Boy, do I have a deal for you!

Give and you shall receive. That credo has become part of the business model for some software vendors, large and small, that are giving the open source community notable chunks of what was once proprietary source code. These donations are being hailed on many fronts as gestures of good faith to the community, while some skeptics wonder if the vendors are just dangling the code as bait in an attempt to get some enterprises hooked on supported versions of other products.

LinuxQuestions.org has added another officially recognized Linux Distribution forum. A forum has been added for Feather Linux. LinuxQuestions.org now has participation from fifteen distributions.

Improvements to the desktop will require a greater Internet focus that enhances communication and collaboration; the ability for users to access their data anywhere; and the option of software as a service, Havoc Pennington, the technical lead for desktop engineering at Red Hat Inc., said here Wednesday.

Trying to figure our why people still use Windows.

The second annual Portland kernel hackers' BOF took place last night, bringing in five men and two women programmers to speak to a dozen serious, hard-core Linux enthusiasts. Portland is a major, if scantly appreciated, computing site, home to a large number of Linux kernel developers (mostly working on Linux drivers and driver-related subsystems) who meet socially once a month and are employed by OSDL, IBM, Intel, and a variety of other local companies.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- The Blackhat Briefings got underway this morning at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nev. Conference organizer Jeff Moss kicked off the session and took the time to describe what he had in mind for the benefit of first-time attendees. A crowd of nearly 2,000 was still getting settled in their seats as Moss began by explaining that he did not want an academic conference, with presenters delivering presentations and attendees sitting quietly and taking notes. He encouraged everyone to make the sessions interactive, asking questions, challenging speakers, and sharing knowledge with others. He also pointed out that folks here will not get pigeon-holed by vendors and forced to listen to sales spiels. The vendors have been encouraged to staff their booths with engineers instead of marketing drones.

As open source programmers and entrepreneurs think about what it means to be open source on 100,000 computers, and move deeper into the business world and infrastructure, OSCON organizer Tim O'Reilly warns that data and networking, not hardware or standards, are the lock-in liabilities.

As an operating system, Linux has many things to recommend it over Windows. Gaming, alas, is not one of them. Compared to Windows, Linux just doesn't have anywhere near the same level of good games. Yes, there are a few here and there, but overall, Windows continues to dominate as the PC gaming platform of choice, with the widest array of content and the most up-to-date graphics and audio drivers.

The reaction one gets when attempting to get a manager in a corporate environment to consider an alternate operating system can sometimes be likened to a typical dilbert comic strip. Joseph Mallett contributed the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which suggests that if you present the case properly, your pointy haired boss will make the right decision when choosing a Unix operating system to run the business.

OSDN (the Open Source Development Network) has changed their name to OSTG (the Open Source Technology Group). This is the group that publishes all of VA's websites, including Slashdot, Freshmeat, NewsForge, and Linux.com. This editor believes it was a good move. The old name carried the idea of a development organization, and sounded too similar to OSDL. The new name sets it apart as its own entity, and carried the feeling of a publishing company.

Who is Dan O'Dowd and why is his opinion so important that it makes the news on Slashdot? Is he an expert on free software development and embedded operating systems who suddenly admits free software helps terrorists? No, Dan O'Dowd is the CEO of a proprietary software company, using the media as a FUD machine to bash a competing product -- but if you didn't do your research, you wouldn't know that.