If you ever read trade magazines, you’ve probably seen the phrase “…areas in which Linux needs to grow to…” washing down articles that would otherwise promote some open source software. One such article made me bite my lip at work the other day, and I couldn’t wait to get back here and voice my opinion… no… fact.

Fact: Desktop Linux is better at package management. (more…)

Dear Mr. Ballmer,

Last week at one of your events “across the pond” you, yet again, went on to attack Linux. Well, customers of Red Hat more specifically, and I guess I’m not a Red Hat customer. I wasn’t even there. Hell, I jump to the defense, anyway. I saw the video. Perhaps I’ll become a Red Hat user. Perhaps Fedora, they are sponsored by Red Hat. Does that put me in the crosshairs? (more…)

Did you inadvertently plan a trip around, to, or through Springfield Missouri? Do you live within an hour and want something to do on a lonely Saturday night? Are you an old school gamer geek in need of a Mecca? Then have I found the place for you! The 1984 Arcade is your one-stop (and one price) shop for all things 1984 Arcade. (more…)

Gamepark Holdings is releasing an update to their totally sweet Linux-based device, the GP2X, this month. Designed primarily for the homebrew community using emulation and mobile media, it was on my wishlist around its initial release, but I never actually got one because I own a modded PSP. This new model, the GP2X F200, doesn’t change much on the inside, but they did decide to add a touch screen, making for a wealth of DS-style possibilities. (more…)

If you’re considering trying out GNU/Linux for the first time (or even changing to another), choosing a distribution can be a daunting task. With literally hundreds of distros out there, actually narrowing down to the one to try can be an extremely confusing process, especially to those that are new to linux. This is just another short list to help new users examine a few of the differences between a few of the major, more mainstream distributions (and possibly make it more confusing). (more…)

Network Neutrality has, for some time now, been a bit of a hot topic in internet ramblings. The critics of net neutrality would have you believe there’s no need for regulation because there “is no problem.” Proponents warn of tiered internet services and provider control of content over consumers. Will there be a problem? Is there one already? (more…)

Those of you who’ve been here before may have noticed that I tend to write and report a bit about SCO (NASDAQ: SCOX), but I can’t seem to help myself. Ever since they changed their business strategy from continuing development on valid market products to suing (and threatening to sue) every company using open source software under the Sun, I’ve been waiting for (and wanting) their demise. A report at Computer World came out today about an interview with SCO’s President and CEO, Darl McBride, and his thoughts on why the possibility of SCO’s death is greatly exaggerated. This is why it’s not. (more…)

Novell has made a move to try and lift the stay of litigation on SCO under their bankruptcy protection so that they can ensure the recovery of licensing revenue owed to Novell. (more…)

This year, the iPhone has been all the rage. Rumors flew for years before its release, ads flew after. Everywhere you look you can spot the chic slic shine of the iPhone, from TV, to movies, to the streets of every major city (and everyday more and more outside the city). With the iPhone sweet feature sets, however, come some massive disappointments. Not least among these, AT&T (read: Deathstar) Wireless actually has inflated rate plans specifically for the iPhone. Choosing to purchase an iPhone will not only cost you a premium on initial price (though now substantially less than on release) but also a $20 per month price increase on any given plan. AT&T and Apple’s decision to not only lock the phone but also actively discourage users from unlocking themselves, has left more than a bitter impression of the device’s parents in my mind. In light of this, I’d like to discuss, The Great Hope, the open-source alternative, the OpenMoko. (more…)

If you’re running a dual-boot linux windows machine, there’s a pretty big chance you’ve come to a point when you’ve wanted access to certain files in the opposite OS’s partition. Granted, if you’re in linux, getting at NTFS partitions is easy enough (and if it’s not, you can find any number of resources to get you there), but the other-way-around isn’t nearly as easy (at least to find). (more…)