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Built with Linux-Live scripts 6.2.9, the Debian-based PureOS 2.0 Linux distro has been released recently. This distro and live CD feature the KDE 4.3.4 desktop environment, Linux kernel 2.6.33 w/ Squashfs 3.4 and LZMA. Popular applications you'll find on PureOS include GIMP, Iceweasel, FileZilla, K3B, Songbird, VLC, and many more. Check out the screenshots.

Earlier today (March 24th, 2010), I submitted this response to the IPEC call for public comment on future Intellectual Property enforcement policy. Given the short notice (only six days!), I was not able to come up with a more detailed response, but I did want to express my dismay at the way these policies are being framed. Read the full submission at http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/open_letter_vict...">Freesoftware Magazine.

Not only have I been able to crash FreeBSD 7.3-release with GNOME by trying to automount FAT partitions on USB-connected drives, but those crashes rendered both the FAT partitions and the ext3 partitions that otherwise could be mounted automatically on those drives, for lack of a better word, unmountable.

British organization Public-i has made its ePetitions software publicly available under European Public License (EUPL) on the Forge page of the Open Source Observatory and Repository Europe (OSOR) information service.

Document Freedom Day is a "global day for document liberation". A job offer posted by Microsoft just a couple of months ago explains very well why Document Liberation is important... and, by corollary, why any campaign from Free Software advocates focused on promoting "Gnu/Linux vs Windows", instead of "open file formats vs proprietary ones" is doomed to fail...

A security researcher has managed to create a proof-of-concept PDF file that executes an embedded executable without exploiting any security vulnerabilities.

Ever wondered how Ubuntu fits the ecosphere? UK community manager, Dave Walker, offers his view of how the world's most popular Linux distribution is made…

Elizabeth walks readers through the FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) ecosystem describing how and why contributing can help your organization.

Packing more power than the average nettop, the Zotac MAG is a mini marvel… Ultra-small, so-called ‘nettop’ computers are fast becoming a favourite for home and office users. Thanks to their diminutive dimensions they’re easily stowed out of sight, preserving precious desk space and (despite their size) they pack enough punch for everyday operation like email and word processing.

Google and Adobe have announced that they are to collaborate on development of the Adobe's Flash plug-in. As a first step, Google's Chrome web browser is to have Adobe's Flash built in. Google have updated the Chrome developer channel with a new version which includes the integrated Flash Player and a basic plug-in manager. Google will also work with Adobe to enhance Chrome's sandbox technology to include plug-ins like Flash Player.

I've had a little time to think about it, and I realized that it's not yet time to give up on FreeBSD 7.3. I'm not in any way saying I'll be sticking with it long-term. But I think I should spend some more time running it before I end the test.

Open source software champions have been influential in excluding software from the scope of patents in the new Patents Bill. Clause 15 of the draft Bill, as reported back from the Commerce Select Committee, lists a number of classes of invention which should not be patentable and includes the sub-clause "a computer program is not a patentable invention." ...Christie and other supporters acknowledge the battle is not won yet. The Bill now goes back to the full Parliament for its second reading.

Late last week I came into possession of an old AT&T Tilt 8925. Just as when I receive any computer with a Windows based operating system on, my first inclination is to format said device to some variation of Linux on it.

Buck-Security is a security scanner for Debian and Ubuntu Linux. It helps you to harden your system by running some important security checks. For example, it finds world-writable files and directories, setuid and setgid programs, superuser accounts, and installed attack tool packages. It also checks your umask and checks if the sticky bit is set for /tmp, among other checks.It was designed for Debian and Ubuntu servers, but can be useful for any Linux system.

GNOME Split is a simple tool that allows you to split files and merge them back. It is written in Java and uses a GTK+ user interface. GNOME Split 0.6 codenamed Bengal Tiger has been released recently.

Linux was a resounding failure on netbooks, so what makes this French start-up firm think it can succeed with an Ubuntu Linux derivative?

Two italian students think that it's very bad when public schools only teach students to use proprietary software(even if the Italian government sees no problem with that). Therefore, for their final High School state exam, they are preparing a project that is as unusual (at least for Italy) as interesting: an alternative to Microsoft Windows!

When the Onion decided to hack Drupal 4.7 to make it work for a larger audience than Drupal could handle at the time, it diverted so far from the core build, it was difficult to upgrade after that. Companies considering open source solutions may want to learn from this cautionary tale.

Adobe's Flash is still the dominant rich media platform on the Internet, but HTML5 is coming. Love it or hate it Adobe's Flash technology is a key part of the Internet as it currently exists. It hasn't always been so and it may not remain so for much longer if the likes of Google, Apple and Microsoft have anything to do with it.

Does motivation matter? Open source contributors are increasingly people who are paid to work on open source. GNOME contributor Lucas Rocha asks how this impacts communities over the long term. This is not a new question by any stretch. People worried about the influence of commercial interests in open source in the early days before Red Hat was a public company and when Slackware was still considered a major Linux distribution. I suspect people will still be asking this question for years to come.