GNU/Linux

• Invasion of the Netbooks: New systems from Asus, Acer, and Sylvania
  
  

  Sylvania g netbook: It's superlight and weighs less than 2 pounds. It's a lot like the original Eee PC, in that it's $399, and it has a 7-inch screen, plus a custom Linux operating system. It has a 30GB standard hard drive (good) and, like the HP 2133 Mini-Note, a 1.2GHz VIA C7 CPU, instead of Intel's Atom or even Celeron M (not so good).

  
  
  
• Move Over Netbooks, It's Time for a Nettop
  
  

  Mandriva — the Parisian Linux outfit behind, of all things, Mandriva Linux — has decided that the days of netbook exclusivity must come to an end, and to that end have partnered up with Precedent Technologies — as far as we can tell an unknown, but up-and-coming, hardware manufacturer — to produce what we hereby dub the nettop.

  
  
  
• Broken Fractal Ventures brings iTunes music to Linux
• An Advocacy Story: Cloning Bootable USB Sticks for the Audience
  
  

  I strongly believe that spreading GNU/Linux on usb sticks is a highly effective advocacy strategy. For example, it renders the debate about which OS to pre-install pointless if hardware vendors can be persuaded to sell diskless computers.

  
  
  
• Ultamatix: The New Automatix
  
  

  Today we are pleased to announce the Automatix replacement: Ultamatix! It is actually based on Automatix, therefore it looks and acts exactly the same. The good news is that Ultamatix is designed to work with Ubuntu Ultimate Editon 1.8, Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) and the unstable branch of Debian Linux.

  
  
  
• Christmas Comes In July For An Open ATI
  
  

  Many Linux users will be celebrating the Christmas holiday in five months, but it seems there's a holiday worth celebrating today for open-source ATI Linux users.

  
  
  
• AMD Releases New AtomBIOS Parser
• NimbleX 2008 Mini-Review

Ubuntu

• Compromising to Ubuntu
  
  

  It’s been nearly a year now since I have worked with my students. I will begin a open source project with a couple of my bright students. Without a doubt, we will use Ubuntu for our servers (though I may opt to switch them to Debian for more stability). It is a compromise I am making on my part. I will install Ubuntu 8.04.1 on my Thinkpad T60. I will keep Arch Linux on my desktop, possibly evening replacing it wil Debian Lenny Beta.
  
  Ubuntu is what they want. I will give it to them.

  
  
  
• Are Gnome and Ubuntu ruining the Linux Desktop?
  
  

  Why am I asking if Gnome and Ubuntu are ruining the Linux Desktop? Because they are. There are two trends that we are seeing in both Ubuntu and Gnome development, that we also see in other areas (like The Gimp).

  
  
  
• Customize Compiz Fusion effects In Ubuntu
• Ubuntu works great, easy to install
• Full Circle Magazine: Issue 15

Kernel

• Tux3 Versioning Filesystem
  
  

  In his announcement email, Daniel noted that implementation work is underway, "much of the work consists of cutting and pasting bits of code I have developed over the years, for example, bits of HTree and ddsnap.

  
  
  
• OLS: Kernel documentation, and submitting kernel patches

Desktops/Applications

• Testdriving Zimbra Desktop Mail for Linux
• Give KDE and Gnome a unified look
  
  

  Yes, I have a lot of applications open and it’s a bit hard to see where one application stops and where another begins, but that’s the point. From left to right you can see Amarok (KDE), Transmission (Gnome), K3b (KDE) and Abiword (Gnome). As you can see, there’s no difference in the appearance of the menu bars. At the bottom, there are two file dialogs. They’re not exactly the same, but the buttons are. That’s all QTcurve.
  
  As for the icons, they look the same too, apart from some minor differences and the lack of a “Desktop” icon in the KDE file dialog. I think it looks okay.

  
  
  
• KDE 4.1: What to Expect
  
  

  KDE 4.1 is going to be a very exciting release. I personally opted not to use KDE 4 when it was first released, since it was way too buggy and was missing far too many features. This could change in a few days.

  
  
  
• Linux Secret Lovers
  
  

  Some Windows users secretly love Linux. They want to use Linux but are too chicken to install it on their hard drive. So, they use a program like Windows Blinds to radically alter the graphical user interface of their Windows desktop and make it look like that of Linux. To prove it, here are some screenshots of Linux secret lovers' desktop.

  
  
  

F/OSS

• Google Code blacklists Mozilla Public License
  
  

  The Mozilla Public License (MPL) is the latest casualty of Google's decision to remove open-source licenses from its popular code hosting service.

  
  
  
• Symbian open-source strategy explained at OSCON
• Open Sourcing BricaBox

Leftover

• Under Pressure, ISP Admits Secret Web Snooping in Kansas
• Internet Collaboration Drives Electric Car Conversion Crusade
• Whither the Knol? Google Takes a New Experiment Live