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Here it is, KDE Software Compilation 4.10.1. A few weeks ago, KDE 4.10.0 was added to Slackware-current, along with all its updated dependencies. Essentially that was the same set of packages which I had made available on my ‘ktown‘ repository earlier, Pat Volkerding simply recompiled them using the provided KDE.SlackBuild framework.

GNOME 3 is making major progress with each and every release. Six months ago, when 3.6 was close to release, I wrote about how excited I was about the improvements that were on their way. That release was a big step up from the previous version in terms of user experience. Now we’re on the cusp of GNOME 3.8, and I find myself in exactly the same position. Testing GNOME 3.8, it is a huge improvement on 3.6. It’s more effective, satisfying and polished. Basic operations like selecting a window or launching an application have seen major improvements and the overall experience feels like yet another upgrade.

LibreOffice 4.0 is now available to install for all Ubuntu 12.10 users. This process is not very difficult, unless you are lacking copy and paste abilities. Thankfully LibreOffice 4.0 will work on Ubuntu 12.10, 12.04 and any Ubuntu derivatives using the commands found here.

gThumb is one of Gnome’s great choices when it comes to image viewers and browsers, but I admit that we have overlooked it for far too long. With version 3.1.4 getting released a few hours ago, I had the chance to test the application new features and general abilities for a typical daily use.

It would seem that Oracle is getting serious about addressing security issues in Java. Late Monday the company pushed Java 7 Update 17 that fixes two security holes that were already being exploited in the wild. The vulnerabilities addressed in Monday’s patch had been known since at least February 1 and were originally scheduled to be fixed in a scheduled security update in April, according to a security blog on the Oracle website:

... I have dozens of scripts on our support system here that had the old dyn.com domains in them for connection to the client sites when providing service each month. ...

Torment: Tides of Numenera can be seen as the follow-up of the legendary Planescape: Torment (which I started a week ago in Wine again), it's developed by inXile who are also working on their Wasteland 2 kickstarter.

The Linux Professional Institute announced an innovative partnership initiative to deliver an entry-level technology certification program to address the workforce development needs of both employers and aspiring IT professionals. The program will offer a combined training program in both LPI's Linux Essentials "Certificate of Achievement" and either the CIW's Internet Business Associate (IBA) or Network Technology Associate (NTA) certifications. This combined training and accreditation program will be delivered through CIW's Certification Testing Centers.

Many people know that Chrome OS is based on Linux. But where did Google's operating system actually come from -- and what is it made of today? Here's its story.

Server provisioning and configuration management and automation are the latest examples of where the tech industry is being driven, largely by open source software. The leading open source server and IT infrastructure automation frameworks, Opscode Chef and Puppet Labs' Puppet, sit on the leading edge of significant trends under way in enterprise IT.

Supporters of copyright reform are hoping that 2013 is the year they get some real momentum going. In the wake of Monday's news that the White House and FCC now support consumers' rights to unlock their cell phones, a new coalition called has launched an effort to repeal the section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that forbids breaking "digital locks."

When it comes to two factor authentication Yubikeys are very in vogue. They are small, they have a very small footprint on your keychain and are easy to handle as they need no driver and authentication is as easy as touching a button. This howto shows how you can use the open source LinOTP to enroll many Yubikeys to the LinOTP server.

Launchpad asked me if I wanted to continue to be an Ubuntu member. I thought about it, and have decided that I don’t. The one thing I’ll miss is being able to post to Planet Ubuntu. But I have to be honest, there isn’t an Ubuntu community any more. There’s a Canonical community, an ubuntu-users gaggle and maybe an enthusiasts posse. But no community that makes decisions, builds a consensus, advocates or educates. It’s dead now, it’s been that way for a while.

The PCLinuxOS Magazine staff is pleased to announce the release of the March 2013 issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine.

Few jargonistic terms have annoyed me as much as, "The Cloud." When the term was first coined, its meaning was ambiguous at best. For some companies, it meant shared web hosting (but with a cooler sounding name). For others it was simply, "let us host your servers in our datacenter, which we now refer to as a cloud."

This week Jono Bacon announced that Ubuntu Developer Summits will become a series of online events. Having thought about it a few days, I’m now ready to input my own opinion to the discussion. In the announcement Jono lists openness, transparency and accessibility as the major goals of the Ubuntu Developer Summits (UDS). The decision to move to an online event is supposed to improve these. In this article I will explain why I don’t think it will, and why the new format looks just another Canonical team sprint. I’ll also cover some of my concerns over the accessibility and equality of the new format and important things I think the online events will lack, but shouldn’t. I will also discuss some of my opinions on how this changes the nature of UDS and the meaningfulness to flavors as well as how this change affects the Canonical-community relations.

Today in his personal blog, Miguel de Icaza, founder of Gnome, and one of the most polarizing personalities in the free software world, announced that he is finished with the Linux platform –at least for personal use.

I’ve been asked by a few people now to outline my plans for improving software installation in GNOME. I’ve started to prototype a new app called ‘GNOME Software’. It exists in gnome git and currently uses PackageKit to manage packages. It’s alpha quality, but basically matches the mockups done by the awesome guys in #gnome-design. It’s designed to be an application management application. GNOME PackageKit lives on for people that know what a package is and want a pointy-clicky GUI, so I’m not interested in showing low level details for power users.

Android and iOS have existed in tension for a few years now, and each is continually borrowing ideas, designs, and features from the other. Nothing wrong with a little friendly theft when trying to stay competitive. The operating systems are far from exact mirrors of each other, and they have even grown more distinct with new generations. But there are a few features we’d still love to see cross sides, in the interest of keeping the operating systems functional and easy for customers to use. During the weekend, we looked at features Apple would be smart to borrow from Google. Today we turn the tables.

As we wait patiently for the Supreme Court to decide the Kirtsaeng case, concerning whether or not you can resell goods that were made outside the US but that can be covered by copyright inside the US, the folks at Demand Progress have put together a nice two and a half minute video highlighting the possible consequences of a ruling that goes against first sale rights and limits your ability to freely sell items you legally purchased.