While Linux is pretty efficient with a computer's resources out of the box, there are still ways you can make it run leaner and meaner on your desktop. Using a little bit of know-how, a willingness to run a few terminal commands and a mind for efficiency, you can get every last bit of power from your Linux box, or get more life from an older system. Read on for a roundup of ways to slim down and speed up Linux that any level of user can implement.

Mozilla Foundation, the organization behind the Firefox web browser, has defended itself against claims from sections of the Linux community that it has ignored Linux in the development of Firefox 3, the next generation of the browser. Mozilla's chief interface designer says Linux is very much included in the development project.

Geubuntu 7.10 was released last Thursday and a couple of people asked me to take a look at it. As the distribution's logo hints, it's an Ubuntu derivative that uses Enlightenment E17 for the desktop environment.

Apple and Linux are engaged in battle – a battle to win over disgruntled Windows users. But who will win, and what will the consequences be for the loser?

Some people are happy with their operating systems as installed. Others like to tinker. Still others need to dive under the hood and make those systems run exactly the way they want. Its all about control, and Linux gives you as much control as you can handle. The configuration tools in Ubuntu Linux provide a full range of customization choices. Some are cosmetic, of course, but others dig deep into system settings.

Mandriva is the only Linux maker that offers a version of its distribution packaged with and designed to run off a USB stick. True, you can install virtually any Linux distro onto an external USB device, but Mandriva Flash 2008 offers you a complete solution, including a USB stick with pre-installed version of Mandriva Linux and a CD containing a few useful tools. It's a worthwhile package, though not without room for improvement.

In 1991, DUX Software licensed the rights to port Maxis Software's SimCity to Unix. Don Hopkins, working then as a contractor for DUX, rewrote the Mac version of the game to run on numerous Unix platforms. More recently, John Gilmore, an advisor to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, suggested the idea to Hopkins of bringing the game to the OLPC's XO laptop. Hopkins told SimCity creator Will Wright, who was enthusiastic about the idea and got the ball rolling at Electronic Arts, the current owner of Maxis.