After years of being relegated to server racks and the desktops of ultrageeks, Linux is finally making some headway as a viable alternative to Windows on the consumer desktop. That's the optimistic message delivered by a newly energized contingent of Linux proponents.

"Pyro is a new kind of desktop environment for Linux built on Mozilla Firefox. Its goal is to enable true integration between the Web and modern desktop computing...."
http://www.pyrodesktop.org/Main_Page

The OpenBSD Foundation is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation which exists to support OpenBSD and related projects such as OpenSSH, OpenBGPD, OpenNTPD, and OpenCVS. While the foundation works in close cooperation with the developers of these wonderful free software projects, it is a separate entity.

Sometimes being the open source software leader means distancing yourself from open source claims.

The city of Madera, Calif., has spent the last year successfully running an open-source-based network as a replacement for one based on Cisco gear.

Levelstar used embedded Linux to create a PDA (personal digital assistant) for visually impaired users. The "Icon" has a custom hardware design with built-in 30GB hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB, and comes with a full complement of "life managing software," much of it written from scratch for blind users.

In the previous piece on Mandriva's usability, we looked at the good and the bad of booting to the Live CD and then finally installing the distribution. In this article, we will pick up with installing software, the available selection of such software and the overall analysis of the distro.

Flash drives running Linux are not a new concept. Simply install the portable distro of choice onto the removable drive, connect to a target computer, set to boot from USB and enjoy. Earlier today, I came across Calao's USB-9260. Taking the ARM-based Linux approach, I found myself thinking about the possibilities of taking Linux computing to a completely different level.