openSUSE 12.3 Milestone 2 was released two days ago, a month after Milestone 1 was released. The final edition, openSUSE 12.3, is not expected until around the ides of March 2013, so a milestone release offers a good opportunity to see what goodies will be on the final version. I haven’t used openSUSE since version 7.3, when it was still [...]

Finally, it’s here! After almost a year since the last stable release, installation images of PC-BSD 9.1 hit a download mirror near you. (PC-BSD is a multi-purpose distribution based on FreeBSD.) And it comes with a lot of goodies, especially for intermediate to advanced users, or for those that want to use with what intermediate to advanced users play with. [...]

The first GNOME 3 edition of ROSA Linux Desktop has been released. ROSA Linux is published by ROSA Laboratory, a Linux software solutions provider based in Moscow, Russia. The main desktop edition published by the company uses the K Desktop Environment (KDE), and the release candidate of the 2012 edition for that desktop environment was made available for download just [...]

Fedora 18 was not released on schedule, but knowing how the Fedora project operates, this was no surprise, because unlike other distributions, a new Fedora edition is almost never released until all major issues have been fixed. What makes this delay unique is the stable release will not hit public download mirrors until next year. And I think this marks [...]

Pear Linux is a desktop distribution based on Ubuntu, but unlike its parent distribution, which uses the Unity desktop interface, Pear Linux features a modified GNOME Shell called Pear Shell decked out to look like a MacOS X desktop. Not that it is a succeeded, but it is good attempt. Apple has nothing to worry about. The latest edition is [...]

On an unmodified, GNOME 3 desktop, the Activities button provides access to all installed applications. But in some circles, it is one reason that the GNOME 3 desktop is not very popular. In fact, a few GNOME 3-using distributions that offer a more user-friendly interface for desktop computing feature a modified GNOME Shell without the Activities button, opting to replace [...]

Sabayon 9 is the latest edition of Sabayon, a multi-purpose distribution based on Gentoo Linux. It is a rolling distribution, which means that existing users do not have to reinstall to get the latest edition. The simple act of installing updates and upgrading the kernel gives those users the latest and greatest edition. The Sabayon projects supports all the popular [...]

The latest edition of Pear Linux, Pear Linux 5, has been released. Code-named Sunsprite, based on Ubuntu 12.04, and using (Linux) kernel 3.2, Pear Linux 5 ships with a modified GNOME Shell called Pear Shell. This article just presents a few screen shots from a test installation of a 32-bit installation image on real hardware. A future article will present [...]

Sabayon 9 is the latest release of Sabayon, a multi-purpose Linux distribution derived from Gentoo Linux. Made available for download are 32- and 64-bit installation ISO images for KDE, GNOME 3 and Xfce desktop environments. Sabayon is a rolling-release distribution, so existing users do not have to reinstall to get the latest core and applications of a Sabayon release. That [...]

Fedora 17, code-named Beefy Miracle, was released yesterday for all to download and use. Aside for the main edition, which uses the GNOME 3 desktop environments, installation images for three main Spins were also released. These are for KDE, LXDE and Xfce. Specialized Spins for Security, Scientific-KDE, Design-suite, SoaS, Games, Electronic-lab and Robotics were also released. It is very unlikely [...]

GNOME 3, KDE, LXDE and E17 are four complete desktop environments available during the installation of Mageia 2, the latest release of the Linux distribution derived from Mandriva. While KDE is usable without modification for the vast majority of users, the other three require that most users get some digital grease on their hands before getting real comfy using them. [...]

It is no secret that I do not like the default GNOME 3 desktop, not because everything about it is bad, but because the default setting does to rhyme with how I interact with my desktop or how I like to interact with my desktop. Consequently, I have not even bothered to install a distribution running GNOME 3 in its [...]

Mageia is a Linux distribution forked from Mandriva Desktop. Mageia 2 is the upcoming release, which is slated to be made available for public download just four days from today. I have been messing around with the Release Candidate, whose installation image comes in a CD- or DVD-size ISO image. During the installation process, I observed that you are given [...]

Nothing boosts productivity like an application or piece of software that makes if very easy to get your computing tasks done without fighting your way computer all the way. And I am always in search of such applications. In the past few months, five such applications have come to my attention. And they are all free software, available on your [...]

Fedora 17 GNOME beta, as well as the beta of the KDE, LXDE and Xfce Spins, were released yesterday – almost two weeks past due date. This, however, is not highly unusual for the Fedora project. Unlike Ubuntu, their release schedule is not cast in concrete. They are more interested in getting stuff that works out the door, instead of [...]

So Fedora 17 beta was supposed to have been released on April 3. Today is April 5 and we are still waiting. But that is the way it is with the Fedora project. Release dates are not set in concrete. They will release something when it is ready, not to meet a predetermined release schedule. When it does become available [...]