There are a flock of new Linux and open source releases out this fall, here are some of the most notable.
Just a few weeks ago the Novell-sponsored openSUSE.org project released openSUSE 10.3. This release features a much faster Linux startup time...under 20 seconds. It also includes Virtual Box, KVM and Xen for your virtualization pleasure. Graphics enthusiasts will be happy to see that Compiz and Beryl have re-united their efforts in Compiz Fusion, which is nicely on display in openSUSE 10.3. I don't know if I could take that level of "eye candy" on a daily basis, and it is cool to see a Linux distro do things graphically that don't exist in Windows Vista.
And just like clock-work, the Canonical-sponsored Ubuntu Linux project has released Ubuntu 7.10. The Ubuntu release schedule is aggressive with releases usually taking place in the spring and fall of the year. I've been running Ubuntu since the 6.06 release and have found it to be one of the easiest distros to install and maintain. No wonder it is so popular. And no wonder Dell chose Ubuntu to pre-install on certain Dell desktop and laptop models for the consumer market.
As an added bonus, users running Ubuntu 7.04 or higher can take advantage of Linspire's "Click and Run" library. The library contains over 35,000 programs...free and proprietary, including multi-media codecs. Linspire 6.0, which is self-described as the "world's easiest desktop Linux", and its community-supported Freespire 2.06 edition are both based on Ubuntu. Linspire allows Freespire and Ubuntu users to access the "Click and Run" library. I've never seen an easier way to install Linux applications. When critics complain about how "non-standard" installing Linux applications can be, they should take a look at "Click and Run" and get with the program.
The OpenOffice.org project just released OpenOffice.org 2.3. I haven't taken it for a test drive yet...just downloaded it the other night, but there are new features to delight OO.o users everywhere. Writer can now export directly to the Media Wiki format. Chart can now do 3-D pies and 3-D exploded doughnut charts in addition to a simple 3-D look. Impress now allows you to edit the animation paths of moving objects on slides. Entire slide shows can now be exported to HTML format. OO.o now supports approximately 130 languages...hey, how about a Nobel prize!
Before I turn OFF this SOAPBOX post, I would like to salute the efforts of all the people working on the openSUSE, Ubuntu, Freespire and OpenOffice.org projects. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) keeps us free to choose and you help to create that freedom. Thanks for making it happen.
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