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'Computer Market share.' This is one of the most misunderstood and misapropriated terms in the computer industry. All too often, journalists mis-use the term when they are speaking of a computer's install-base. As a result, the public is led to believe that certain computing platforms are significantly less popular than what is actually true. Unfortunately, many consumers take this as truth, and then base their purchasing decision on the miss-information. osRadio spoke with Jeffrey Hewitt of Gartner research to offer some clarity to this growing problem. The following is a broadcast excerpt of that interview.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates brushed off the threat posed by Linux software in Asia and pushed for the use of the Windows operating system in Malaysia. Gates, who is in Malaysia for a one-day visit to meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, expressed Microsoft’s willingness to help the country improve computer proficiency and boost its IT sector. “I was able to explain our commitment to work with the government and help in the best way we can,” he told reporters.

In this week's Gentoo Weekly Newsletter you'll find out about the Gentoo Foundation Web Redesign Contest, where we're asking users for submissions for a new look and feel for Gentoo community sites, as well as about the new availability of bootsplash under the PPC architecture. We also feature MIPS project team leader Joshua Kinard, and bring you plenty of security and community coverage as well. Enjoy!

Lindows, Inc. today introduced an Italian version of Linspire to Linux desktop and laptop computer users around the world. LinspireItaliano delivers the same features and cost-savings as Linspire and is fully localized for Italian customers wanting to experience Linux in their native language. To place an order, view screenshots or learn more about LinspireItaliano, please visit Questar, Lindows's exclusive Italian partner at http://www.questar.it/linspire.

Sendmail is adding support to its mail transfer agents. Sender ID is expected to be relatively simple to deploy, requiring little ongoing maintenance.

Linux poster boy Red Hat is embarking on an aggressive expansion drive in the Asia-Pacific. It recently sunk in S$20 million (US$11.7 million), together with Oracle, to set up their first joint Linux applications porting and development centre in the world.

Linux is not after Microsoft. Linux is chasing Unix out of the enterprise server scene. Why not Microsoft? Well, its because Microsoft apparently has not completely succeeded in the data center league.

Princeton University implements a Linux on POWER system from IBM for critical stem cell research. How research applications can benefit from Linux.

The Supreme Court is looking at using open source software in its planned purchase of new computers, the high court's chief information officer Ivan Uy told INQ7.net last week.

Recently I've had several inquiries about who uses the terms "open source" and "free software", and with what frequency. I never like to speculate when I can collect facts, so I went looking with a search engine.

The choice of software to run our computers can get awfully depressing. On one hand, there's Windows XP -- expensive and woefully insecure, but it works on almost every machine out there. On the other, there's Mac OS X -- far more secure, but also expensive and restricted to Apple's own computers.

What's not to like about OpenOffice? The big motivation for switching from Microsoft - security - isn't an issue here as it is with Internet Explorer. Online user complaints tend to center on speed (although the current version, 1.1.1, is plenty fast on my laptop) and glitches in file compatibility when reading documents from Microsoft Office. Problems with Word are usually pretty simple to fix, but complex formulas in Excel occasionally generate outright spurious results. Setting up a mail list in OO isn't as bonehead simple as it is with Works. A fair number of users would like to see an integrated e-mail program and personal information manager, a la Outlook.

You can cut the risk from malicious software or hacker intrusions to nearly zero in just one step. That step is to stop using computers with Microsoft's increasingly vulnerable Windows operating system.

"The tenth annual LinuxTag proved to be a very successful event for the forty-plus KDE developers who presented their award-winning desktop environment to more than 16,000 enthusiastic visitors at 'Europe's largest OpenSource Event'." So begins Torsten Rahn's excellent report on KDE's presence at LinuxTag 2004.

A friend got a new laptop with Windows XP pre-installed. "Does this come with an IRC program?" he asked. No, it doesn't. There are plenty of IRC programs for Windows, but you need to download and install them yourself. Word processing? Not included. Spreadsheet? Windows leaves you on your own yet again. I swear, by the time you buy or download all the software it takes to actually do something with Windows, you might as well install Linux. It would take a lot less time. I don't know about you, but my time is worth money, and if I need to do a whole bunch of software downloading and installation to make my computer usable, we're talking huge TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

It's strange. For years, geeks, sys admins, and nerds in general have been praying for someone to come along and knock Microsoft off its near-monopoly perch. I've been one of them: The healthiest thing that could happen to Windows is competition. But now that it may actually be happening, I find myself strangely concerned about Microsoft's reactions. Redmond is just going about the Linux war all wrong.

A consortium that includes Sony, Panasonic, Royal Philips Electronics and other companies has taken a step toward advancing the use of the Linux operating system in consumer electronics devices.