This year has proven most interesting for GNU/Linux. While there were not any amazing surprises, there were numerous events that are noteworthy for review. The upshot to all of this is that most of what happened was good overall for the Free Software community.
Less than a week before Christmas, MandrakeSoft has been forced to issue a second urgent call for support from users. Apparently, while the long-term outlook looks good for the company, the short-term is not quite as bright. The company has urged those enjoying Free copies of Mandrake Linux to consider supporting the company's efforts by joining the MandrakeClub or purchasing a products from MandrakeStore.
The goal is tough, the reviewers tougher, and while the lineup of contenders are all worthy the award, only one will receive it. In this report, Open for Business' Timothy R. Butler grills Xandros in the first of a multi-part series to find out which vendor has created the best GNU/Linux distribution in town.
Craig Drummond has released a new theme and “engine” for GTK programs that provides something many people have been looking for: a common look and feel for KDE and GNOME applications. While Red Hat's Blue Curve attempts to do something similar, Mr. Drummond's Geramik is the first theme implementation to provide smooth integration between environments.
No matter how often it has been said, it seems that many GNU/Linux and Macintosh users refuse to see the obvious. The response to a recent article of mine demonstrated this statement as well as any other example I can think of. What is so obvious? That while speciality software and functionality is nice, it isn't going to make or break adoption of an operating system.
Andreas Pour, of the KDE League, published a nice overview of new features coming to the first upgrade to the third generation KDE desktop. “KDE 3.1, the strongest KDE release to date, promises new goodies for just about everyone who gets to enjoy the full KDE desktop experience. Here is a sampling of what is in store for you.”
In one of the biggest stories in the last few weeks, Linux and Main reported Friday that the KDE League - KDE's promotional (and press release issuing) organization - had ceased to exist. According to the report at the time, that publication's Dennis Powell said the situation consisted of missed payments on a franchise fee, but also suggested that the KDE League might be failing to release information as required by the Internal Revenue Service. Now, with new information obtained by Open for Business, it seems these concerns can be laid to rest.
Today marks our first anniversary here at Open for Business. For the occasion, Editor-in-Chief Timothy R. Butler considers one of the most prominent arguments against adopting a Free Software desktop: Apple's Mac OS X.