Mandriva Linux 2010 RC1 has been out for a few days. It includes many new end-user features for innovative metadata management on the desktop. This is a walkthrough of these semantic desktop features that bring task oriented desktop to Linux. The new semantic features are based on innovative Nepomuk, Scribo and KDE technologies.

The open source desktop world got a boost this week with the release of GNOME 2.30 -- the latest incarnation of one of the leading open source desktop GUIs that's a part of nearly every major Linux distribution. With GNOME 2.30, the open source effort is adding new features that aim to make it easier to connect to online services, such as social networking giant Facebook.

You have probably heard of Nepomuk, the semantic desktop technology we've been shipping for a while as part of the KDE Platform. However, so far, you may not have noticed it really doing very much useful for you. So what is this thing called Nepomuk, what can it do for us now and what will it bring us in the future?

The third and final beta edition of Mageia 2, a desktop Linux distribution derived from Mandriva Desktop, has been released. The first and only Release Candidate is expected on May 2, with the final, stable edition slated for release on May 15.

So, what does this release has to offer? Aside from the usual new features and bugfixes, Mageia 2 beta 3 features a new desktop design.

Many bug fixes in Mandriva tools especially in network tools. Bugfixes in KDE 4.3 and GNOME 2.27.90, Linux kernel 2.6.31 final release, Amarok 2.2 Beta 2. This release also comes with new integration of Nepomuk semantic desktop in KDE. This experimental functionnality helps you add notes to all your files, add some annotations and labels.

NEPOMUK-KDE introduces semantic capabilities to the upcoming release of the K Desktop Environment (KDE 4), providing an interoperable framework that can be harnessed by all KDE applications to allow annotating and interlinking any and all desktop objects.

Thanks to the open source NEPOMUK (Networked Environment for Personalized, Ontology-based Management of Unified Knowledge) effort, the Semantic Desktop isn't a dream; it's an emerging reality and will be here with the upcoming release of KDE 4 for the Linux desktop.

I know it is not so nice to complain and bash a project when you don't contribute to it. And yes until now, I did not contributed to the KDE4 desktop as I wished. I compiled it regularly and used the libraries, but did not run the KDE4 desktop or KDE4 version of the applications except KDevelop and Quanta.

I was lately impressed by Marble Desktop Globe, a free, open-source application for KDE4 which includes a 3D atlas of the world, with lots of features and an interface similar to the one of Google Earth.