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This is something that I have been toying with as an idea - creating my own distribution, based on the Ubuntu core, but making sure some basics that continue to go ignored are covered. In this quest, I have been led down an interesting road of discovery. Here are some of the tools that I think might be helpful, should you decide to take this path.

I was thrilled to see Linspire continue to work on its CNR service. While our visions for this product vary, in the end, Linspire and I hope to see this as yet another viable, standardized alternative to using other package managers for those who choose to do so. With that said, there are still some very important things that must be addressed. And unfortunately, Linspire has decided to ignore them.

OLPC is a lost cause. It's amazing how an otherwise interesting project with headline-grabbing mission could spiral out of control with disastrous results. The project has always had noble intentions. I can't fault them for that.

There is no question that most Linux distributions are too much for most people. I say this as a PC power user who happens to be a full-time Ubuntu/Fedora user. And back in 2004-2005, Linspire was indeed, the best overall beginner-friendly Linux option in the market. Then came improvements to Mandriva, new options like Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS (based on Mandriva), and recently, the new Fedora 8.

Earlier this week, I took a close look at the latest release of Fedora. Overall, Fedora 8 is a really solid distro. But there were specific areas that a lot of other reviews completely missed. In this piece, we will examine these more intimately to get a better understanding of Red Hat's new release.

After reading this post from the Ubuntu forums, I have to admit that running random code can be dangerous, even on a secure OS like your favorite Linux distribution. But does this mean that using shell scripts should totally be forgotten about? I tend to think not.

This is something that had to come out eventually - has Xandros picked up where the SCO Group left off? Well, let me put it this way. The single most effective way to defeat something that's offered for free it to find a way to make it better, then make a fortune doing it. In the past, Linspire and Xandros, among others, have tried this via various Wal-Mart sold Linux PCs and generally failed miserably at it. Then out of nowhere, comes another - Everex Linux PC - this time using common sense with Google branding power and make a fantastic go at it. Rather than convincing people that Windows-based PC hardware can be "tweaked to work,"

This is a question that has struck a lot of new Linux users. Should they use closed source software when the open source alternatives are lacking? Today, I will talk about some of the applications I use and the advantages that each of them present.

Are we doing enough to attract new users from the IT community? The results are right here, many of the IT pros do not see Vista as an option any longer, and I personally see a fantastic opportunity for various Linux distros to make a name for themselves going forward.

There are two things that bother me about this article. The first is pirating any copyrighted content. The second is using the tools designed to make computing affordable for all to catch people breaking the law.

In most cases, operating system updates are a good thing because they fix problems and sometimes provide new functionality for you to use and enjoy. There’s no problem with this, but when these updates cause more problems than they solve, then you know something’s wrong.

Many Linux users find themselves working in Windows-based environments. More often that not, this is not something that can be avoided, and to be honest, I cannot actually say for certain that it should be.

I don't care whether or not you are thinking of using Vista, OS X or Linux. As a personal rule, I rarely upgrade until any release has been out for at least 6 months. Why is this?

Users by the truck load fill various user forums with problem topics in Linux despite widely available support documents available online. Today, I will talk about a few key areas that would solve a number of problems if they were to be addressed in the open.

Why is it that we can manage to sway countless hardware manufactures into looking our way yet those who work in other business circles continue to ignore Linux to the point of almost being laughable? Today, we will highlight these companies, just to remind them how their decisions are costing them money.

I haven’t really been keeping track of how the OLPC project has been evolving for the past few months, honesty. I truly admire the motivation behind what they’re doing, and I wish them all the best, so when I heard about their Give One Get One program, I was instantly intrigued.

It was only a short time ago I wrote a piece detailing my initial thoughts on the little Everex boxes running a Google branded OS (Linux) that magically had no actual Google fingerprints anywhere on it at all. Today, I learned that their main distributor, Wal-Mart, has completely sold out of them. I have to admit, I'm speechless.

A lot of us spend a lot of time talking about how we are preaching the value of Linux to our Linux using friends, but how hard are we collectively working to make sure others outside of our comfort zone understand that popular Linux distros are a viable OS alternative? If you are like me, you probably are not doing nearly enough.

[I vehemently disagree, it is because of our perseverance and personal advocacy that the use of FOSS continues to grow by leaps and bounds. - Scott]

With the growing popularity of refurbished PCs with Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Puppy Linux, Damn Small Linux and so on, Microsoft has tossed their hat into the ring as well. While some people have rolled their eyes at the very idea, I see nothing wrong with it.

Recently the BBC had a bit of a wake up call regarding numbers and how many Linux users were really out there. Why does any of this matter? It has to do with something the BBC provides called the iPlayer.