Intel has announced the launch of Moblin, an umbrella open source project for a Linux-based operating system and applications for Intel Ultra Mobile Platform which includes mobile Internet devices and ultraportable PCs.

Recently things got better for Linux enthusiasts as Google released its Desktop search tool for Linux as a native build. Because I consider desktop search to be a very important must have feature in all operating systems, I decided to download the Google search tool for Linux and give it a run.

From my perspective, offline installation is the weakest spot in the Linux superstructure. I understand the shared libraries concept, and I think it’s a marvelous thing, but it doesn’t erase the fact that if you’re not in a position for at least intermittent Internet access, it’s a dealbreaker.

"When we review budget computers, a phrase we commonly throw around is "just the basics." We use it to denote a PC that can handle e-mail and instant messaging, Web surfing, average office tasks (such as word processing, spreadsheets, and finance management), light photo editing, and simple print-design projects."

The Mozilla Foundation acknowledged over the weekend that its own Firefox browser allows links that can send malicious code to external programs, a security issue that the group had previously argued should be fixed by the browser maker.

FFmpeg is a complete solution to record, convert and stream audio and video. It includes libavcodec, the leading audio/video codec library. FFmpeg is developed under Linux, but it can compiled under most operating systems, including Windows.

In a splendid move by Google, the company has recently released Google Desktop for Linux. The program provides search results for files residing on your local hard drive and the internet.

Since May, ingimp, a modified version of the GIMP, has collected daily logs on what users do with the program in the hope of improving its usability. The richness of this data is unprecedented, yet improving the GIMP is only a sideshow for the project.