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I love software — really I do. I love to create stuff. Some of my favorite words to hear are: "Would it be possible to…?" The answer to this oft-spoken query is usually something between: "Why would you want to do that?" and "Of course, let’s see it in action." I love the "Get it done" aspect to writing software. Creating proto-types to test out an idea is arguably my favorite thing to do professionally. Production code is OK — if you can make a living writing it. It tends to get boring very quickly. If the code can be written well, that is great too. And if the code is easily maintained over time, that is even better. And usually, my code is. Except for the spurious comment that just says: // punt

The Asus's T91MT is a fantastic device for many reasons, but one thing I dislike about the device is that it ships by default with only Windows 7. I firmly believe a computer is a terrible thing to waste, so as such the first thing I did was to install Linux on it.

Mozilla's John Lilly has announced that, after nearly 5 years at Mozilla, he will be stepping down as CEO and leaving the company later this year. Lilly says that he is "incredibly proud of the work we’ve done over the last several years, and very optimistic about what the future holds," adding that he still intends to stay involved with the non-profit organisation and on the Board of Directors. After leaving Mozilla he says that he will be joining Greylock Partners as a venture partner.

Okay so if you have been reading my blog regularly you will have noticed that I love free, open source software, which in many cases is an alternative to popular, expensive and worst of all closed-source software. Here is my list of 5 Lightweight Alternatives to Popular Applications (with a brief introduction and explanation of the contents, of course)

LinuxCertified, Inc. announces "Linux Fundamentals" Bootcamp for busy IT professionals - http://www.linuxcertified.com/class_schedule.html">May20th - 21st, 2010. All attendees get a free Linux laptop.

I don't think much about copying machines. I just make my copies, print what I need to print, fax what I need to fax, and scan what I need to scan. What I didn't realize is that since about 2002, commercial copying machines have been built with hard drives that store as images everything you have ever copied on your machine.

Learn how to install, upgrade, and manage packages on your Linux® system. This article focuses on the Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, which is the package management system used by Debian and distributions derived from Debian, such as Ubuntu. You can use the material in this article to study for the LPI 101 exam for Linux system administrator certification, or just to explore the best ways to add new software and keep your system current.

Intel has a new 48-core experimental processor. I want to discuss the technology, but first I need to rant a bit. The PR contrived headline calls it a “Single-chip Cloud Computer.” Arrgh, they are even using an acronym calling it the SCC chip. Where to begin? First, when this project was started, I doubt the hardware engineers at Intel said, “Hey let’s build a processor for the cloud. You know that nebulous concept that is years away.” Second, I am sure they have good technical reasons for designing this chip, but sorry Intel PR geniuses I doubt it was for “The Cloud.” Yes, “The Cloud,” that vague but ever so trendy name for timeshare/grid/Internet-computing that gets tacked on to every technology news story I read.

Just about everyone loves a good looking abstract desktop background, but not everyone agrees on exactly what defines “good looking”. There are dozens of websites that specialize in these types of images, but you have to sift through hundreds, sometimes thousands, to find one you really like. Sometimes, after all the searching, the one you like is not in the right size or has a huge watermark or other such problems. Wouldn’t it be great if you could quickly and easily create your own image, with your own color scheme, at whatever size you choose, all in about 5 minutes? You can, and as usual, it’s Gimp to the rescue.

The CVOB-E72 is not only Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) capable but also runs on Linux 2.6.10 The projector comes with a wireless keyboard,a mini tripod and a remote control. This is a portable mini Linux computer with a projector instead of a screen!

You may be crying out to the heavens, Good grief! How many HTML and CSS books do we need? If the question were What is the meaning of life? the answer may well be "42", but I'm pretty sure we have more web design books than that already.

I think Crossover is fantastic software, but with Cedega pretty much being dead where is the choice in commercial Wine software? Lesser known than the two previously mentioned is Bordeaux.

The NPD Group says U.S. sales of Android smartphones have surpassed Apple's iPhone to take the second spot behind Research in Motion (RIM), with 28 percent of the market. Meanwhile, Sprint has joined Verizon in turning its back on Google's Nexus One, says eWEEK.

Mozilla Drumbeat and the Shuttleworth Foundation have announced a joint fellowship focused on ‘education for the open web’. According to a post on the Commonspace blog by Mark Surman, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation and former open philanthropy fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation, the aim of the fellowship "is to find someone with solid, scalable and fresh ideas on how open learning and the open web intertwine."

Last week we reported that the open-source ATI Linux driver had picked up improved power management in the form of dynamic power management and power management profiles that can be defined by the end-user. With the ATI Linux power management finally coming to fruition within the Linux kernel for its kernel mode-setting / DRM driver, we have decided to take a close look at how this power management support is working in the real world.

Developers who want to accelerate game development benefit enormously from tools known as game engines. This type of software application helps games to be coded efficiently and easily without compromising on its quality. Game engines employ state-of-the-art technology to ensure that developers can concentrate on generating new scenery, models, and sounds, or to put an alternative spin on existing game material.

Kernel mode setting hasn't been "fixed" for older Intel video, but at least the kernel knows not to turn it on when you're running an i915-type chipset (of which i810 is seemingly a subset). This is how things should have been handled from the beginning. Better late than never. This remains huge for Linux — and for Ubuntu. Why? Because the potential new user with affected Intel chipsets can now grab a live CD, start up Ubuntu and actually have it work. They won't be stopped and immediately turned off by a totally black screen.

What are you to do when you don't want a giant glitzy desktop environment for your Linux system like KDE or GNOME, but just want something lightweight with essential functionality? Try on some of the many excellent lightweight Linux window managers. In this final segment of her excellent Lightweight Linux series, Juliet Kemp reviews Awesome, fvwm, and Ratpoison.

As of 5/11/10, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, and Penumbra Overture pledge to go open source. We are preparing the sources right now and will be releasing them ASAP. We spent last night preparing Lugaru and it is available now. The code is still a little rough (no Visual Studio project yet, for instance) but hopefully with the help of the community we can rapidly make it more accessible to everyone.

When the first Linux clusters were constructed, Ethernet was one of the few choices for an interconnect. Of course there were more expensive and custom ways to connect computers, but Ethernet was the first network technology supported by Linux. How will 10GigE fair in the Linux HPC sector?