Acer is planning to sell Linux-based PCs to the UK market, the company told ZDNet.co.uk. On Thursday Acer contacted ZDNet.co.uk with the following statement: "At this moment in time Acer UK does not have a PC available with Linux pre-loaded, but we are looking at introducing one in the future." This appears to represent a reversal of Acer's previous statements on the matter, which suggested that the manufacturer had no plans to sell PCs here with a pre-installed open-source operating system.

"Since the last post, a lot of people have asked me 'why are you doing this? What advantage does it actually give?' In this post, I'll try to explain."

Five weeks later than planned, the KDE project has released KDE 4.0 Beta 1. "The KDE Community is happy to announce the immediate availability of the first Beta release for KDE 4.0. This release marks the beginning of the integration process which will bring the powerful new technologies included in the now frozen KDE 4 libraries to the applications." Update: Screenshots.

GNOME 2.19.6 has been released yesterday. "This is our sixth development release on our road towards GNOME 2.20.0, which will be released in September 2007. New features are still arriving, so your mission is simple : Go download it. Go compile it. Go test it. And go hack on it, document it, translate it, fix it."

Let's back up for a moment. It's 2007. Most geeks like you and me already use dual monitor setups with their multi-purpose desktop machines. However, have you ever asked yourself if that second monitor should be that old XGA LCD monitor from your previous PC, or a big, impressive flat panel television? Geeks.com sent us in an iLO 32" HDTV and we review it exactly as such: a computer monitor!

Sun has unveiled a new open mobile platform called JavaFX, which it hopes will bring open rapid open development to the mobile space, an environment long dominated by telcos and cellular carriers.

"Is it game over for OpenDocument? Probably. We've been expecting Massachusetts ITD to publicly revise its open formats mandate to include Office Open XML ever since Louis Gutierrez resigned as CIO in early October 2006. That was as clear a signal that ODF had failed in Massachusetts as needed by anyone in the know."

If you're a Vista-wary Windows user who would rather switch than fight, should you move to a Linux distro or Apple's OS X? InformwationWeek asked a Mac fan and a Linux advocate to lead a guided tour of each OS.

Some interesting tidbits from the Haiku world. Firstly, the WebKit port bounty has reached its target, meaning Ryan Leavengood can get to work. Secondly, Vasper has made huge strides in getting CUPS ported to Haiku. And on a funny note, BeOS icons were used in the "24" TV show.

When it first arrived, the Amiga was a dream machine, and some have said it was ten years ahead of its time. The first installment of this multipart history of the Amiga looks at the events that led up to the birth of the company and the PC that bore its name.

I was there, the first day, buying the iPhone, after months of reading all the speculation and argument about it. I was actually on the fence on it. When I walked into the Apple store on June 29th, I wasn't even certain that I'd be buying the iPhone. I had some serious concerns. But I made the plunge. I bought it, and I've been using it heavily ever since. With one month clocked with the iPhone, here's my road test report.

The Acer Aspire 5710Z has gone on sale in Singapore pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows. Ubuntu is currently one of the world's most popular and easiest-to-use Linux distributions. But a spokesperson for Acer told ZDNet.co.uk on Tuesday that the company - one of the world's top laptop manufacturers - had 'no plans' to sell any Linux-based systems in the UK. " with Ubuntu pre-loaded are available at the factory level. However, there is no demand for it in the UK. Therefore, those configurations are not an option at the moment," said the spokesperson.

"After many months of waiting, Microsoft finally released the Beta 3 version of Windows Server 2008 (previously codenamed 'Longhorn'), a major milestone pre-release version of the next version of Windows Server (more recently, a CTP, or Community Technical Preview, version was distributed to beta testers in June 2008). Windows Server 2008 has evolved quite a bit over time, and though the project hasn't suffered from the many feature drops and problems that dogged Windows Vista, there are certainly a few surprises in Beta 3 and the June CTP. Here's what you need to know about Windows Server 2008."

"Microsoft's next version of its small-business/home productivity suite, due imminently, will be free and ad-funded. Microsoft Works 9.0 - which will be the new product's name, if Microsoft opts to stick with its current nomenclature - might also debut at some point as Microsoft-hosted low-end productivity service, as many have been speculating. A hosted version of Works would give Microsoft a head-to-head competitor with Google Docs & Spreadsheets and other consumer- and small-business focused services, analysts have said."