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Newswires are buzzing with Wal-Mart's Linux PC and its sold out status. This news alone should be enough to prove the viability of Linux in mainstream households for people who don't need a mega powerful PC for word processing, e-mail and Web browsing. I can go on and on about the same old issues and solutions, but I don't need to. Wal-Mart's success proves that very well.

I hear this too often - Windows is easier to use than Linux. And so in light of this, being as I have used both operating systems for years, I thought I would put this to the test, the results are not going to make Windows users feel too good about this desktop choice overall, I'm afraid.

By now all of you have likely heard of the Google concept call the 'Gphone.' Yet there remains a lot of speculation in regards to its future.

Every once in a while, something new comes along that is both a bit confusing and amazingly cool all at the same time. Upon discovering the new product aptly called Splashtop, DeviceVM allows a user to browse the Web, talk on Skype, and access other PC functions without the need to boot into your computer's OS.

Do you see what is happening here? Whether or not Linspire understands what is going on, Canonical is prepping to pick-up where Linspire left off. It will be a new means of software distribution, but bundled in a much more widely used distribution of Linux.

What happens when you take 200 hardcore roughly 10 project managers heck bent on making sure that your preferred Linux distro has the best driver support possible? You end up with The Linux Driver project.

Is Linux really ready for prime time, and just as importantly, can the idea of changing the way people compute be passed onto the common home user? When reading brilliant comments like this, I have to wonder if the common user is bright enough to make such a subtle switch over to the open source OS alternative...

For a number of reasons, I have opted to leave my cube spinning days behind me, as it just did nothing for me. Certain applications ran poorly in Beryl, and while no fault should be placed on its development, I was finding myself booting into Metacity more and more for my GNOME desktop.

Has anyone really, and I mean really, spent hours researching the issue of using libdvdcss in Linux to watch DVDs? What would you say if I told you much of what you are reading about this issue is complete bunk? Want the truth? Using libdvdcss is only illegal if, and I say if, it needs to implement DeCSS to allow for encrypted DVD viewing.

For the most part, I have been fairly content with the release of Flash 9 for Linux, with the possible exception of occasional Flash-related browser crashes. Even with this bug, just the move from Flash 7 to Flash 9 has made the usability of any modern browsing experience a lot more attractive, especially when watching Flash video.

Looks like Europe is collectively ready to bring Microsoft's monopoly down so that other OS options will have a chance to flourish. Well, at least one group of like-minded people have managed to begin clearing the playing field some.

I was truly disheartened after trying out Evolution on Windows: how in the heck is this even considered anything but an Alpha? As a full-time Evolution user in Ubuntu, I have always been very happy with its PIM (personal information manager) abilities, MS Exchange support and the fact that it's easy to create a simple backup script to keep things safe in case of data loss.

Better hardware support - this is something we would all like to see happen. And it seems that it could happen, thanks in part to a Dell supported project known as DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support).

When I read reports on the Linux gaming industry, I can't help but wonder where the Linux gamers are at? Can we find them on the Nintendo Wii or perhaps the Playstation 3 (PS3)? After all, I have heard that PS3 actually works rather well with Yellow Dog Linux.

We often take the ability to choose our default Firefox search engine for granted. By default, it's set to Google, and for most people, this is just fine. But what about queries where a typical search engine is not cutting it?

Despite my gripe about the Web site's sparse message and design, the message is a good one. The Trusted Computing Project allows its recipients to free themselves from the clutches of Microsoft and find themselves in a position where open source is the way of the land.

Having been a Linux user for a number of years, weathering immense criticism for thinking like a normal person rather than an engineer, you might think that articles like this one would have me moving in to agree with such statements. But me being me, I choose to rebel.

I have been watching the buzz surrounding this recent WSJ piece on the usability of Ubuntu by the common user. As per critics of the reviewers, they fail to actually hear what the man is saying.

As I anticipated, the 'colorful' e-mails came floating in quickly when I did the article on Automatix. Many readers apparently missed the point completely. Frankly, I'm not all that worried about it, since the misunderstanding presents an opportunity for us to examine the bigger issue - software installation and Linux.

First off, I'm by and large a full-time Ubuntu user. However, I'm also one of their most vocal critics for becoming so detached from their core market as well. In response, I have used both operating systems and it has been interesting to see how each deals with the issue of usability for the casual user.