Linus Torvalds, the creator of the open-source Linux kernel, was once mauled by a very small penguin while on a trip in Australia. The experience had a lasting impact on him and later inspired him to make a penguin the official Linux mascot.

Organic open source. Non-organic open source. Genetically modified free software. None of these are phrases that are in common usage but exploring what they mean is an interesting exercise. MySQL's Brian Aker used the first two terms when responding to a post by Linux kernel guru Ted T'so about what Sun was trying to do with its OpenSolaris project. I made up the third one myself!

The rumors are true. Microsoft (news, site) has an official open source license that was approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) — the Ms-PL, or Microsoft Public License. Since they have licensed their latest offering ASP.NET MVC 1.0 under the Ms-PL, we thought we would take a look at the license terms. Is there an evil catch somewhere in the terms and conditions?

Now it's hard to deny that some Linux fans can be pretty evangelistic about their operating system of choice but I wouldn't have thought that that religious dedication would extend so far at to want an idol of the Linux mascot, Tux the penguin, sitting on one's desk.

Have you ever run into an old friend, whom you've not seen in a long time? I experienced this recently with a Kubuntu install. You see, I used to be a heavy KDE user and really loved using it. When Ubuntu become a fairly common household word, I started taking a look at it, but was turned off by Gnome initially. By the time Ubuntu 7.10 rolled out I found myself comfortable with Gnome.

Director of Source Program at Microsoft Corporation Jon Rosenberg submitted its Shared Source License called "Microsoft Community License" to Open Source Initiative for considering it as an OSI approved Open Source License.

We here at Make Use Of try to make your switch to Linux as smooth as possible, which includes using simple and common terminology. However there are plenty of terms that are unavoidable or at least impractical to avoid. Some terms we can explain as we go along, but some are so common that they would need explaining in every article.

I’ve been playing with the Ubuntu 10.4 beta for the past two days, and it’s bloody brilliant. You’re sick of hearing it, I know. Every Ubuntu release sends fanboys scrambling for the same, old script – the one where Ubuntu cracks the mainstream, crushes Windows and convinces the ignorant public that open source can cure cancer and inspire world peace.

Clearly fed up with the penguin's generally soft and cuddly image, the lead character in Penguinz is Hell-bent on changing that perception. He's kicking ass and taking names.