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XBMC 10 “Dharma” is released, this new release comes with many new features and support to many new media formats, now XBMC play all of the current media formats available, including the new WebM/VP8 codec that is the latest buzz. Hardware acceleration has been added in windows (Vista or 7) via DXVA2, CrystalHD has been added for all platforms (best supported in OSX and Linux),

Many FOSS projects are on-par with their closed source counter parts when it comes to the number of features and functionality. Why is it then that FOS softwares are less commonly used by the general public? Simple: User Familiarity

So you want to compile and maybe even apply a patch to the kernel but you've always thought that's too difficult? Well, it isn't, thanks to KernelCheck, a program that automatically compiles and installs the latest Kernel for Debian based Linux distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, etc.).

Linux is vastly underrated as a gaming platform. This may be due to the fact that there is no significant marketing of Linux games. With a lack of big-name games featuring in the computing press, coupled with a low market share for Linux on desktop PCs, things might seem bleak, with major barriers to the growth of Linux games.

Perhaps you saw a couple weeks ago Netflix's post touting their advocacy of open source software. It's a shame there aren't any video streaming programs on that list...

The 'save as WWF' campaign launched by WWF Germany this month has caused a rift within the environmental organisation. An email, allegedly sent by WWF International director of corporate relations Maria Boulos to WWF Germany executive marketing officer Dirk Reinsberg on 10 December, warned that the campaign was "misleading".

We're big fans of Amarok music player at OStatic. It's a powerful open source application that lets you play music you have and find music you don't, thanks to it's integration with notable music services like Last.fm, Magnatune, and Librivox.

This is one of my favorite KDE applications. BasKet is called by some a kill application for Linux, due to its completeness regarding features and a different approach compared to other notes applications.

Since I started using computers and since I abandoned the choppy waters of Windows for the safe harbour of FOSS, the internet has experienced huge change and rapid growth. Better web browsers, file sharing, iPhones, iPads and other touch screen tablets too. The one thing that has not changed much though is that GNU/Linux always seems to breast the tape second. It seems fated to forever be behind the curve. I can live with that as long as I’m using my software my way. Free and open. However, that has implications for freedom and privacy that I don’t like living with—and neither does Tim Berners-Lee. Specifically, he has been venting about those very things in respect of social networks and how they threaten that freedom and privacy. Read the article at Freesoftware Magazine.

These days, a lot of Linux users have one distro on their main machines and do everything they can to boot into a usable desktop as fast as possible. Those of us who dual-boot multiple distros — or even OSes — though, still have to stare at the bootloader screen for a few seconds every time we power-cycle. So why not put a new coat a paint on that tired, old text-based menu? Pull up a terminal, and we'll make booting something to look forward to.

Yes, "my bestest distros!" is a overworked topic, but it's fun and Ubuntu is not on this list. So perhaps this will introduce you to something new and interesting.

There has been a lot of talking, lately, about Google’s Chrome OS. People didn’t take it too seriously initially; then, last week, Google started sending out demo netbooks which ran — hear hear — Google Chrome OS. Google Chrome OS is based on Google’s browser, Chrome — hence the name. The idea is that all you run on your laptop is your browser — that’s it. But this raises a lot of questions. In this article I propose a possibly interesting solution to Google’s issues, and how a possible (and not-so-painful) merge with Android should be possible. Read the article at Freesoftware Magazine.

The folks over at Dropbox released version 1.0 yesterday. This release has been a long time coming and is a major upgrade for Windows, Mac and Linux. For Ubuntu users, the biggest changes include the introduction of selective sync, Indicator Applet support, and a much more efficient client-side engine.

While the best cards have not yet been dealt, for those hoping to see Valve's "Alien Swarm" game supported on Linux upon the Steam / Source Engine Linux release, you may be in luck. Windowing code within the Alien Swarm SDK is signalling that there may be support for this game coming to Linux.

More people than ever are using wireless networks as their primary networking medium. Great programs are available under X11 that give users a graphical interface to their wireless cards. Both GNOME and KDE include network management utilities, and a desktop-environment-agnostic utility called wicd also offers great functionality. But, what if you aren't running X11 and want to manage your wireless card?

Firefox 4 is knocking at the door and the latest beta release looks just awesome. The seventh beta release introduces several important changes, including a revamped user interface (with the tab location above the address bar and navigation buttons), tab grouping, improved bookmarking system, re-open recently closed windows, built-in synchronizing system, rendering engine improvements, and more. This article contains a screenshot gallery with all the main features and changes brought until now by Firefox 4.

Current U.S. court ruling could jeopardise the future of software innovation – Linux User & Developer magazine’s news reporter Rory MacDonald explains all…

New versions of Ubuntu Linux are released every six months and most of these are incremental steps forward as Ubuntu tries to evolve into a mainstream desktop operating system. Some have been more exciting than others but on the whole these six-monthly releases are more evolutionary than revolutionary.

While the big box stores and shopping malls run black Friday sales, and in recent years many of the online retailers have began to have black Monday sales. Leave it up to the wacky folks at Codeweavers to have a 30% off Winter Solstice Sales on CrossOver Mac and Linux.

Many of us are hoping for an eBook reader under the tree. A Kindle, a Nook, or perhaps just an Android device that runs eBook software. But if you don't get the gadget of your choice, or if you want to create content to fill one, you'll find plenty of eBook software for Linux as well as open source software to publish your own. The best of the lot? Calibre, a one stop solution for all your e-book needs.