Linux

Linux has very little market penetration despite its zealous following. I think that theres a few reasons why Linux will never make it into the mainstream, at least in its current form. The operating system market is very daunting to new users and people become uneasy when they don't see there familiar start button in the corner or there smiling finder in the dock.

One Laptop Per Child's XO Laptop is an extremely rugged, energy efficient, low cost laptop designed to be used by children in developing countries. The only way most people in the US or Canada can get one is through the Give One Get One program, which ends on December 31. I got mine yesterday.

While the world waits for Leopard's release next Friday, another major OS update was released today. Ubuntu 7.10 (codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon") improves the most popular Linux distribution, making it easier to use than ever.

A startup in Alameda, Calif. plans to release a kind of holy software grail the third or fourth week of June. Lina said its dual-licensed Lina virtual Linux machine will run more or less normal Linux applications under Windows, Mac, or Linux, with a look and feel native to each platform.

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project is asking software coders to develop free, open-source educational computer games for the XO laptop, continuing its push toward a September launch date.

Ubuntu Linux developers plan to extend its open source software development to handheld Internet-enabled devices.

Developers meeting at the Ubuntu Developer Summit, which runs through the end of this week in Seville, Spain, will discuss details of the new Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project, announced on Saturday.

Ubuntu Linux 7.04 ("Feisty Fawn") has been released today. The most user-friendly Linux distribution just got even better. This release will boot natively on an Intel-based Mac. The installer CD can also be used as a Live CD to try Ubuntu without modifying your system.

The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0, codenamed "etch", after 21 months of constant development. Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system which supports a total of eleven processor architectures and includes the KDE, GNOME and Xfce desktop environments.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – April 9, 2007 — The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced an update of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) and the release of a new testing toolkit. The update to LSB 3.1 introduces new automated testing toolkits for distributions and application vendors, linking development more closely to certification.

Beginning with Ubuntu 7.04 ("Feisty Fawn", to be released in April 2007), the PowerPC edition of Ubuntu will no longer be officially supported. The PowerPC software itself and supporting infrastructure will continue to be available, and supported by a community team. However, support for Intel Macs has been added in this release.