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Having multiple choices of desktop environments is one of the Linux OS's strong points -- as well as its potential nemesis. This lack of a uniform desktop strategy means confusion for Linux newcomers and frustration for seasoned users. For example, the two most used desktop environments are GNOME an...

Red Hat has by all measures hit the big time, providing validation of the open source business model that even the harshest critics will have a hard time brushing aside. In its fourth quarter, Red Hat's revenue reached $245 million, up 25 percent from last year. The Linux distribution vendor's fou...

Google staged an in-depth look at its Android 3.0 operating system, aka "Honeycomb," at a press conference Wednesday. It marks the official arrival of the first version of the Android operating system to be optimized specifically with the tablet form factor in mind. Features mentioned in the present...

Somehow, some way, the year 2010 may have finally been the year of the Linux desktop -- but no one noticed. Maybe no one needed to. In 2010, smartphones got hot, and Android OS smartphones collectively overtook the iPhone in units sold. At the same time, Android tablets gained traction as popular al...

As the economy continues to improve, allowing us to feel a sense of hope that the worst is behind us, it's still critical for business owners to make sure they're making smart decisions about technology. After all, if the recession taught us anything, it's that we must be cognizant of cash flow, and...

One key area of frustration for newcomers to the Linux OS is using document scanners. Most hardware makers do not provide Linux drivers on discs that accompany their scanner models. So Linux users have to struggle to find solutions on distro-specific help forums. Linux does not support the TWAIN-com...

So, does your company do open source? Really? I'm not talking about using open source. I'm asking if your company takes open source philosophy to heart by walking the walk. I doubt there's any decent- sized company that doesn't use open source. But how many do open ...

The very same corporations that are making small fortunes with Linux servers give short shrift to Linux Desktop, I argued in a recent article, setting off a spirited discussion. Many of you responded with counterarguments, siding -- surprisingly -- with businesses. Perhaps not surprisingly, I contin...

Do you ever marvel at those step-by-step how-to product demos of software apps that end-users post on places like YouTube? It is often easy to spot these demo videos shot with cellphone cams or PC eye cams placed over the user's shoulder. But two cool Linux apps give you a the ability to record dire...

A huge gingerbread man has been put up on the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., suggesting that Gingerbread, the next release of Android, may be released soon. Past dessert-themed displays have heralded the release of previous versions of Android such as Froyo. There's still a bit of confusion...

Belgian open source application vendor OpenERP has set up its first overseas business office in San Jose, Calif. Traditionally, the company has worked with reseller partners in the United States and 54 other countries worldwide. After four years, though, OpenERP has begun an aggressive expansion. It...

When the Internet and World Wide Web finally went mainstream in the mid-1990s, new Unix-like operating systems running on PCs went mainstream too. Developers working on these systems had access to a wide range of development tools, but these platforms didn't initially offer anything like the mature,...

Audacity, an open source multitrack audio editor, has versions for Linux/Unix, MacOS and Windows. If all you do with audio files is play them, then Audacity could be much more than you need. This is not an application for organizing your music collection. It has no fancy search and play functions. S...

For over a decade, Linux watchers have predicted that one day the open source operating system will become the dominant player -- and yet that day never seems to arrive. Already, of course, Linux has a very healthy share of the server market and a growing place on the desktop, but it's the rise of I...

In my dumber days when I ran Microsoft Windows, I was more concerned with backup programs. After I moved into the Linux desktop, I became much less paranoid about system failures. The Linux environment just never crashed. That does not mean that I never make backup copies of my critical data files.

Corporate America is playing a cruel joke on Linux desktop. Businesses benefit from free Linux, improving their bottom line on the shoulders of Linux -- all the while ignoring (and damaging I think) the Linux desktop. Linux servers toil in back rooms bringing big bucks to companies smart enough to u...

Just a day after Oracle filed suit against Google for its use of Java in Android, the FOSS community received another blow at the hands of the tech giant in the form of news that it plans to kill the OpenSolaris project. "This is a terrible sendoff for countless hours of work -- for quality software...

This is your brain. This is your brain on Linux Desktop. It is a good thing. To borrow and twist the old "brain on drugs" PSA, your brain on Linux Desktop could be one of the best things that could happen to you for your computer fix. Linux Desktop continues its ascent into users' collective conscio...

A new group announced Tuesday aims to create a community-built and -maintained version of Oracle's OpenSolaris operating system in which all portions of the code are open and fully available for use by developers. Called "Illumos," the new project will replace the closed portions of Oracle's OpenSol...

I have a problem with Linux! It has too many cool ways to navigate the desktop and launch programs. I fell in love with the really awesome GNOME Do recently and started a feud with my other computing personas. One relishes the panel, and another is enamored with the desktop draped in icons of my alw...