Linux Mint Freshens Ubuntu’s Palate

Linux 70 Comments
"Ubuntu is a strong desktop distro, but it falls short for some users in a few areas. Where are the multimedia codecs and DVD support, and what's with all the brown, for heaven's sake? If you'd like multimedia support with a minty fresh theme, try Linux Mint 2.2, an Ubuntu-based distro that throws in support for Flash 9, Windows Media Format, DVDs, MP3s, and troublesome wireless cards."
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Windows XP Starter Edition Overview

Windows 56 Comments
"This article is an overview that discusses the differences and similarities between Windows XP Starter Edition and Windows XP Home Edition. These differences are discussed for entertainment, networking and sharing, printers, system requirements, languages, and security and safety features. This article is part of a series written to provide support to independent software vendors interested in designing programs for Windows Starter."
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The State of Skinning in 2006

  Submitted by Island Dog Graphics 13 Comments
"It's been awhile since I've done one of these but this is certainly a pivotal year in skinning. The term 'skinning' has really expanded in what it means. Today, skinning is loosely used to describe customizing in general. From phones, to PDAs, to computer cases, skinning has become an all purpose term. But for our purposes, we're going to stick with customizing the user experience of personal computers (primarily PC and Macintosh). This article will give a head's up on where I think, in my highly biased way, things stand and where I think they're going."
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HP Sees Huge Linux Desktop Deals

  Submitted by anonymous Linux 84 Comments
Hewlett-Packard is closing custom deals for thousands of desktop PCs running Linux, which has the company assessing the possibility of offering factory-loaded Linux systems, an HP executive said. "We are involved in a number of massive deals for Linux desktops, and those are the kinds of things that are indicators of critical mass. So we are really looking at it very hard," said Doug Small, worldwide director of open source and Linux marketing at HP. "We are in a massive deal right now for multi-thousands of units of a desktop opportunity for Linux. That's an indicator." He declined to give details about the deals.
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Desktop Java, Desktop Linux: Match Made in Heaven?

Java 149 Comments
"Although the .NET vs. Java war is basically over for control of the Windows desktop, where .NET is sure to become the managed language of choice for new Windows desktop applications, there is a new battle brewing. That battle is for the Linux desktop. Now that Java has been open sourced under the GPL, even the most strict of the 'free software only' distributions can start bundling it and integrating it into their Linux distributions out of the box."
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Has A.R. Finally Become a Reality?

Geek stuff 33 Comments
Augmented Reality is the overlapping of digital information and physical environment. Sci-Fi has often portrayed A.R. as interactive floating transparent computer screens projected into the air, or perhaps the most absolute example: standing inside an entirely computer generated world.
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Thirty Days with Linux

  Submitted by Luis Linux 124 Comments
Complaining about Windows Vista is a national past time on Internet forums these days. Windows Vista 'costs too much', 'has onerous product activation', 'requires too much hardware', etc. These complaints are often followed up by a very simple boast: 'I'm just going to switch to Linux'. But in today's landscape, how viable is that statment? Is the threat to switch to Linux an empty one, or is it entirely possible?"
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Fedora vs. Ubuntu: a Performance Look

  Submitted by Michael Larabel Benchmarks 34 Comments
"We have compared the 32-bit and 64-bit performance of Ubuntu and started a performance comparison of Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu, but how does the performance of the upcoming Feisty Fawn release compare to that of Fedora 7? In this article we have enclosed benchmarks from Fedora Core 6, Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft, Fedora 7 Test 2, and Ubuntu Feisty Fawn Herd 5. In gaming and desktop benchmarks, which of these Linux distributions is faster?"
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FreeBSD Gets Intel Approval for Redistribution of Wireless Firmware

  Submitted by Joel Dahl FreeBSD 25 Comments
"The FreeBSD project has received approval from Intel to redistribute firmware for several Intel-based PRO/Wireless devices in the base FreeBSD operating system. The inclusion of firmware for popular Intel wireless devices means that users of FreeBSD will have native wireless support for many Centrino-branded Intel PRO/Wireless devices without downloading additional software. This approval includes firmware for the Intel 2100, 2200BG, 2225BG, 2915ABG, and the 3945ABG devices."
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Google Helps Terabyte Data Swaps

  Submitted by SReilly Google 11 Comments
Google is developing a program to help academics around the world exchange huge amounts of data. The firm's open source team is working on ways to physically transfer huge data sets up to 120 terabytes in size. "We have started collecting these data sets and shipping them out to other scientists who want them," said Google's Chris DiBona. Google sends scientists a hard drive system and then copies it before passing it on to other researchers.
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