Fedora Core 5/6 Live-Spins Released

The Fedora Unity Project is proud to announce the release of a new Live-Spin CD and DVD ISO image of Fedora Core 5. These Live-Spin ISOs are based on Fedora Core 5 and all updates released as of August 21st, 2006. Also available at this time are "pristine" FC6T2 Live ISO images from the initial FC6T2 release. The new Fedora live CD and DVD images are only available for the i386 architecture.

Gentoo Linux 2006.1 Unleashed.

The Gentoo Release Engineering team proudly announces the release of Gentoo Linux 2006.1, the second release of the year. Building on the strengths of previous releases and featuring all of Gentoo's well-documented flexibility, performance and portability, this release is now available on all supported architectures. Download locations and info here. Enjoy...

Linspire's "Click 'N Run" is free

Popular One-Click Digital Software Management System Now Free for Desktop Linux Users

Linspire, Inc., developer of the commercial desktop Linux operating system of the same name and Freespire, the free community desktop Linux operating system, announced the immediate change in pricing for its popular CNR ("Click 'N Run") Service from an annual subscription fee based offering to a completely free service. [Link]

openSUSE 10.2 Features and Roadmap Released

Andreas Jaeger has posted a list a description of the goals for the openSUSE 10.2 release and what features you can likely expect. Also the complete roadmap leading to a release in early December.

Firefox 2 Beta 2 RC2 Released

It's not official, but Firefox 2 Beta 2 RC2 (Release Candidate 2) is now available. You can download it here. Enjoy...

CM1 - The Children's Machine 1 - OLPC Laptop new Name

Its official, the One Laptop Per Child's initial computer will be called the CM1 - The Children's Machine 1. It's latest cpu specs is 400Mhz AMD Geode processor with 128MB of DRAM, built-in wireless support, and 512MB of flash memory for internal storage. It is manufactured by Chinese hardware company Quanta in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China.

Update: It is now called 2B1 not CM1!

Slackware 11.0 RC3 Released

Release Candidate 3 of Slackware 11.0.0 is is now available. Changelog here.

Linux is 15 years old!

On August 25, 1991, Linux Torvalds, a computer science student at the University of Helsinki, Finland, announces his new project that would become Linux.

Hello everybody out there using minix -

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).

Happy Birthday Linux...

Pluto loses status as a planet

Astronomers have voted to strip Pluto of its status as a planet, will be referred to as a "dwarf planet".

About 2,500 scientists meeting in Prague have adopted historic new guidelines that see the small, distant world demoted to a secondary category. [Link]

GNOME 2.16 RC1 Released

GNOME 2.16.0 Release Candidate 1 (2.15.92) has been released. Full details at the announcement. Enjoy...

SpreadGNOME.org Launched

From SpreadGNOME.org website:

In an effort to promote the adoption of GNU/Linux desktops, SpreadGNOME.org has launched with the goal of being a resource to help spread the word of GNOME to GNU/Linux desktop users and potential converts. It is meant as a place to share ideas to help promote GNOME in the community, and helping those who wish to get involved with GNOME. Feel free to submit other GNOME-related content as well to this site. SpreadGNOME.org is an independent web-site and is not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by, or otherwise approved by GNOME Foundation.

Kickoff - New KDE Start Menu

The KDE SUSE team is developing a new KDE start menu codename 'Kickoff'. A sneak preview can be seen here. OpenSUSE 10.2 will have this redesigned KDE start menu.

NetBSD 3.1-RC1 Released

The NetBSD Release Engineering Team, has released NetBSD 3.1 Release Candidate 1. Binaries and ISO's are available here.

NetBSD 3.1 is a feature update for NetBSD 3.0, and features domU support
for Xen3, massive LFS stability improvements, and lots of other, smaller
improvements, additions, and bug fixes.

Slackware 11 RC2 Released

Slackware lovers, Patrick Volkerding, also known to many as "The Man" and as Slackware's BDFL has 'released' Slackware Linux 11.0 Release Candidate 2. Read the changelog for details..

Snapshot of KDE4 Released

KDE releases a first developer snapshot of the upcoming KDE4 release codename "Krash". This snapshot is meant as a reference for developers who want to play with parts of the new technology KDE4 will provide, those who want to start porting their applications to the new KDE4 platform and for those that want to start to develop applications based on KDE4.

F-35 Could Fly Pilotless

Lockheed Martin Corp. Says F-35 Could Fly Pilotless

Lockheed Martin Corp. has proposed an unmanned version of its Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35, which would make it the first full-scale fighter to operate without a pilot and signal the Bethesda weapons maker's push into the growing market for drone aircraft. [Link]

Mandriva Linux 2007 Beta 2 "Odin" Available

The second beta version of Mandriva Linux 2007 "Odin" has been released ! Main changes includes GNOME 2.16 beta 2, Kernel 2.6.17 (based on 2.6.17.8, with ALSA 1.0.12 rc2, i965, support, and new kernel factorization: normal, enterprise and legacy), KDE 3.5.4, more applications migrated to XDG menus, new 'Ia Ora' Mandriva Theme (only included in GNOME at the moment)and new VPN configuration tool (drakvpn).

Moon landing tapes missing

Nasa officials are searching for the original videotapes from the first moon landing in 1969 in the hopes that they can use modern technology to produce sharper images of the event. The data tapes consist the famous declaration "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." and information like the astronauts' heartbeat, voice and biomedical tracking data.

Sun to Open-Source Java ME

Sun Microsystems plans to open-source its implementation of the Java ME specification and is shooting to have that done by the end of this year, Sun executives said Aug. 14. This is the first time Sun has said publicly that Java ME (Java Platform, Micro Edition) is part of its plan for open-sourcing Java. [Link]

Rice made to breathe underwater

Flood-resistant crops could aid developing nations. It's good news for the Philippines...

Biologists have found a gene that enables rice to live longer underwater. The new breed can survive underwater for up to two weeks, researchers say — most rice plants die within days of being submerged.

The discovery could pave the way for flood-resistant rice, helping millions of the world's poorest farmers who lose their crops each year to flooding. [Link]

Update: Researchers in the Philippines and the United States have isolated a gene that will enable rice to survive flooding, it was announced Thursday[Link].

GNOME 2.16.0 Beta 2 (2.15.91) Released!

GNOME 2.16.0 Beta 2 (2.15.91) has been released. This is one of the last releases in the 2.15 development series and represents a release that is now API/ABI, feature, string and UI frozen. Announcement has the details. Enjoy...

Freespire 1.0 Released

Freespire, the no-cost community version of Linspire, has released Freespire 1.0. Please read the Release Notes and FAQ before downloading or installing. Screenshots can be seen here. Enjoy...

Fedora Core 6 Test 2 Released

The Fedora Project announces the second release of the Fedora Core 6 development cycle, available for the i386, x86_64, and ppc/ppc64 architectures, including Intel based Macintosh computers.

SeaMonkey 1.0.3 Released

Version 1.0.3 of SeaMonkey, the community-driven replacement for the Mozilla Application Suite, is now available for download. Check the release notes for more info.

Update: SeaMonkey 1.0.4 Released
Due to a bug involving playing of media in the browser that slipped into SeaMonkey 1.0.3, it was necessary to release an updated SeaMonkey version. All users should upgrade to SeaMonkey 1.0.4. Check the release notes for more info.

GNOME 2.14.3 Released!

The latest stable release of GNOME is here, GNOME 2.14.3 is now available for download. Read the announcement for the details...

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 Released

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 is now available for download. This update fixes a Windows Media Player plugin regression introduced in version 1.5.0.5. Read the Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 Release Notes for more information. To get Firefox 1.5.0.6, you can download it here or wait for the upgrade through the Firefox software update system. Enjoy...

KDE 3.5.4 Released

The KDE Project today announced the immediate availability of KDE 3.5.4, a maintenance release for the latest generation of the most advanced and powerful free desktop for GNU/Linux and other UNIXes. Over 10 new features were added and more than 100 bugs were fixed. Refer to the KDE 3.5.4 Changelog for more detailed list of improvements.

4 million order for Linux-powered OLPC laptops

A spokesperson for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program revealed July 31 that the countries of Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand have each tendered commitments to purchase 1 million Linux laptops through the U.S.-based program. [Link]

Firefox 200 Million Downloads

Today, there have been 200 million downloads of the Firefox web browser.

We know that this number doesn't represent actual users because this number includes both Firefox 1.0 and Firefox 1.5 (soon Firefox 2,) because not every one completes every download, and because not every download results in a new Firefox user.

That being said, 200 million people seeking Firefox is a huge accomplishment and we're right to celebrate our role in driving that number. [Link]

Mandriva Linux 2007 Beta 1 Released

Mandriva Linux 2007 Beta 1 "Thor" has been released. Available in four differents flavours live/install CDs (KDE or GNOME, i586 or x86_64) or in a whole new dual architecture Installation DVD, get a glimpse of the next Mandriva Linux 2007 edition !