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Slackel KDE-4.10.4 Live has been released. A collection of two KDE live ISO images that can be burned to a DVD or used with a USB drive are immediately available. The Slackel live DVD images include the Linux kernel. Slackel KDE-4.10.4 Live includes the 'Current' tree of Slackware and KDE 4.10.4 accompanied by a very rich collection of KDE-centric software. Firefox 21.0, KMail, KTorrent, Akregator, Kopete... In the multimedia section VLC 2.0.6, Clementine 1.1.1, K3b 2.0.2 are included. The Salix codecs installer application can be used to quickly and easily install patent-encumbered codecs to your system. Calligra Words, Calligra Stage, Calligra Tables are the main office applications present.

Every network administrator managing a pool of many routers knows how important configuration repeatability is. For this reason I have presented how to install a high performance router under Debian Linux OS with configuration done in an easily editable text file in few simple and pleasant steps. The whole installation should not take more than 5 minutes!

Freeloaders: helpful or hurtful? Concerns are raised every once in a while in the broader free and open source software community about freeloaders. The attitude expressed is that if you're getting the benefit of FOSS, you should contribute. Building a business on a FOSS project you don't own, whether you're providing a service or product around a FOSS project should in return garner some sort of quid pro quo. In reality, freeloaders are desirable.

During the week, Unixmen exclusively interviewed Illumos Founder, Garrett D’Amore. Garrett has worked for the likes of Sun Microsystems and Nexenta. Upon the announcement of Oracle closing development of OpenSolaris, he founded the Illumos project which would become a continuation of the OpenSolaris kernel. We asked him to shed some light on what he thinks of the current situation with OpenIndiana, the open-source desktop project which would continue on from where OpenSolaris stopped so suddenly.

If you want an easy-to-use, private open-source cloud for your needs, the new ownCloud may just be what the CIO ordered.

Bill Kendrick created Tux Paint in only a couple of days. A friend asked why there wasn't a free and open source drawing program for kids, something like GIMP. Bill chuckled, knowing that many adults have a hard time learning how to use GIMP, much less kids. He replied, "I can probably put something together." 

I suspect the issue will be returning to the table, now that they realize what they really needed to see wasn’t source code but security vulnerabilities and Microsoft’s policy for dealing with them. Many government clients are obviously going to see this as a betrayal of trust. Here they’ve been trusting Microsoft with their most sensitive data only to discover that their trusted friend Steve Ballmer has been handing over the keys to their computers to the U.S. spook community.

New kernel, new GNOME and a new Linux Mint KDE release

Logic Supply will soon ship an enclosure for BeagleBoard.org’s BeagleBone Black open source development board. Selling for $15 in July, the LGX BB100 comprises a plated steel chassis with a multipoint mounting lid that fits BeagleBone Capes, and offers access to USB, microSD, microHDMI, Ethernet, and other ports.

There are kernel hackers who are famous. And there are the hundreds who are not so well-known but nevertheless render yeoman service to the FOSS community by their diligent work. Mel Gorman belongs to the latter class.

Last year, the Supreme Court ordered the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reconsider the validity of a patent that broadly covers the concept of Internet users watching advertisements in exchange for accessing copyrighted content.

In a decision Friday (PDF), the appeals court recognized that the Ultramercial patent doesn't specify a mechanism for implementing the ad system—but still refused to invalidate the patent on the grounds that it is too abstract.

In the wake of National Security Agency leaks indicating the agency snoops on data by large tech companies, especially search engines like Google, some search competitors have seen an unprecedented spike in traffic. And — so far — have sustained it.

DuckDuckGo, the oddly-named but “private” search engine, has seen its traffic numbers jump from about 1.7 million queries per day at the start of June (before NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s leaks) to more than 3 million over the past week. In this case “private” means it does not collect or share personal information, according to the company.

Running With Rifles is an open world, top-down, tactical shooter for single player and multiplayer online, that puts you right in the middle of chaos in towns, trenches and forests turned into ruthless battlefields, controlling just one soldier in an army of several hundreds.

Open Badges is a big idea that’s come a long way in a very short time. It was less than a year and a half ago that Mozilla and MacArthur Foundation launched the first version of an open source system for issuing and sharing badges as a way to recognize, standardize and reward both traditional and informal learning.

With all of the controversy surrounding the Mir Display Server for Ubuntu Linux on non-Unity desktops, a Canonical engineer sought to find out what Linux desktops would work atop Mir if using the XMir X.Org Server compatibility layer. Thomas was able to get the GNOME 3 Shell, Xfce, and LXDE running on XMir.

The OpenMW team is proud to announce the release of version 0.24.0! Mosey on over to our newfangled Downloads Page to find releases for all operating systems. This release brings the much-anticipated animation layering feature, Athletics, Security, Night-Eye and Blind, along with a plethora of other fixes and changes. Oh, and open-able doors! GO OPEN SOME DOORS!!

Since revelations about the NSA PRISM program surfaced, there has been a debate about the safety and viability of the public cloud, but if the government has you in its sights, where you store your data isn't going to matter.

Some people are bigger than big data Obituary About a year before DayJet was scheduled to launch, Ed Iacobucci, who died last week, called me up to make sure I was thoroughly briefed on what he was doing and how it worked. We spent over an hour on the phone, no PowerPoints, no marketing pitch, just Ed explaining, making sure I got it.…

Building on our earlier 11-Way Linux/BSD Platform Comparison, starting a new week we're up to a 16-Way Linux operating system comparison. Added in now are results from PCLinuxOS, ROSA, the lightweight antiX distribution, and then the Gentoo-based Sabayon and Calculate Linux Desktop distributions.

The alternate Linux Mint spins are now available as release candidates, with the official XFCE and KDE editions of Linux Mint 15 available for those that prefer them.