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The Linux system call interface permits user-space applications to invoke functionality in the kernel, but what about invoking user-space applications from the kernel? Explore the usermode-helper API, and learn how to invoke user-space applications and manipulate their output.

From time to time, Dell does a poor job articulating its Ubuntu Linux strategy. But sources close to Dell and Canonical continue to insist the relationship remains healthy and “stronger than ever.” Here’s an update on Dell’s Ubuntu strategy — which includes a dramatic Dell-Ubuntu PC push in China.

Just who is driving a wedge between IBM and the FOSS community then? Here's a clue: it's a big wedge and it's blue.

A few years ago I wrote on OSNews several articles (1,2) about workstations. After three years I had to stop, because there were no workstations left on the market, they became legacy and were not sold any more. Now with the rise of mobile devices with touchscreen and wireless network connectivity virtually everywhere, the question becomes valid, what will happen with the desktop computers, are they still needed, or will they follow the workstations on their way to computer museums?

Google's open source Android mobile operating system (OS) has continued to grow and gain US market share over other popular mobile operating systems in recent months. According to a February 2010 Mobile Subscriber Market Share report from US market research firm comScore, Google's smarpthone OS has grown more than 5 percentage points since November of 2009 alone – far more than any of its competitors. The positive trend means that Android now holds an overall US market share of 9%. The comScore report surveyed current mobile subscribers age 13 and older to find out what device manufacturer and platform they were using.

Ex-Linux User & Developer editor, Simon Brew, tries to get interested in the iPad, and wonders if it’s about time freedom took a hold on the mainstream eReader market…

Back when Ubuntu Karmic was released, I translated a script which helps new user set up a few things most people do when they first install Ubuntu. Today I updated the script for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and also added a few more tweaks so it makes the transition to Ubuntu 10.04 easier and less time consuming.

Although Ubuntu Lucid Lynx has not yet been released, Canonical chief Mark Shuttleworth has already named its successor: Maverick Meerkat

PostgreSQL is a great database server, but when your dataset is rather large, migrating a server by using pg_dump can be a rather long process. In this tutorial we will discuss a way to migrate a entire server with as little downtime as possible. To achieve this, we will be using the PostgreSQL built in features for PITR (Point in time recovery).

GNOME 2.30 was originally intended to coincide with GNOME 3.0 -- a massive cleanup and rethinking of the popular desktop. However, GNOME 3.0 is delayed for at least another release, which leaves GNOME 2.30 as most likely the last version in a series stretching back almost a decade. You will find signs of what is coming, including 3.0 previews, but, for the most part, like its predecessors, GNOME 2.30 is a collection of generally unrelated improvements. Unlike recent KDE releases, a specific direction is hard to see, unless it is an emphasis on improved usability and, to a lesser extent, application inter-connectivity as part of the cleanup for the big release.

In the United States, Monster.com reveals 4,981 job listings for Linux (at the time I am writing this article), with 1,722 new postings placed this week. Removing more vague "Linux" jobs postings and explicitly finding "Linux server" roles, I find that currently there are 2,068 job listings with 722 posted this week. Although software development remains one of the main roles for Linux experienced technical staff, there is an increase in the number of Engineering specific roles. These numbers have been nearly consistent over the past year.

A Swedish firm called People of Lava has announced what appears to be the world's first Android-powered TV. The Scandinavia Window to the World TV runs Android 1.5 on a Cortex-A8 processor, and offers HD with 1920 x 1080 resolution, available in 42-, 47-, and 55-inch models, says the company.

IBM says that they are within their rights to protect their investment in mainframe technology and have not broken their 2005 pledge. IBM had sent a letter to TurboHercules SAS listing patents that believed the open source mainframe emulator could possibly infringe. IBM say they were not claiming the patents were infringed but that the letter was an illustration of the company's patent portfolio related to mainframe technology.

I've tried several versions of the SimplyMEPIS but never really got hooked on the visual appearance leaving me wondering what beginners find so appealing in SimplyMEPIS. With the release of SimplyMEPIS 8.5.01 and addition of KDE 4.3.4 I decided this was the perfect time to give it a try and see what all the fuss is about.

irtualisation is a bit of a buzz word at the moment. Virtualisation can be used for all sorts of different computing tasks from server consolidation to cross-platform software development, to running that one "must-have" app in that "I - wish - I - didn't - have - to - use - this - damned - OS" OS.

I've been running FreeBSD for more than a week now - first 8.0-release, now 7.3-release (with packages for some reason coming from 7-stable), and as the title of this post says, it's going very well. I started with the idea that I'd run the full GNOME desktop with all the apps I used in Debian, and I pretty much have that setup.

Some manufacturers are using Linux for their television sets, Sony for instance has a impressive list of tv's which are running Linux. There are also some televisions which can actually be hacked into to unlock extra features.

Just when it seemed like Microsoft's European anti-trust tangle on browser choice in Windows was over, trouble is stirring again. Opera Software has told The Reg that it has informed the European Union of a possible problem with a fix that was designed to make Internet Explorer in Windows comply with EU antitrust law. Opera has also informed Microsoft.

Most images on the web such as JPG, PNG, and GIF are raster images – grids of pixels that each hold a color value. Raster images are great for photos of real people and events, but they have drawbacks. When you scale a raster image up or down in size, you’re losing data and/or clarity in the image. Color intensity can also be lost in conversions and compression, leaving you with a mangled version of what you once wanted. A great alternative for many situations is to use vector graphics. Inkscape is a powerful free vector drawing program for Windows, Linux, and Mac, and this guide will get you started with using it to create your own smooth, colorful, scalable graphics.

Microsoft has come under heavy criticism for its role in the standardisation process for its Office Open XML (OOXML) standard at the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). In a blog entry on the second anniversary of the specification's adoption as an ISO standard, Alex Brown, convenor of the Office Open XML (OOXML) Ballot Resolution Meeting at the ISO, has stated that Microsoft is failing to implement commitments on transforming OOXML into an open ISO standard. He summarises the situation thus, "It seems to me that without a change of direction the entire OOXML project is now surely heading for failure."