A look behind the latest headlines in the Linux desktop arena.

Take Part in Novell's Survey to Bring Most Popular Apps to Linux

Have you been waiting and hoping for Adobe to release a Linux version of Photoshop? If so, you're not alone. According to the latest results of Novell's survey to find out what applications Linux users want ported to their OS, Photoshop is the number-one most-wanted Linux port. Novell announced the survey about a month ago. The company intends to take the results directly to the vendors in hopes of getting them to partner with Novell on Linux ports.

As Linux's desktop share continues to grow, it makes sense that vendors would want their applications to reach this audience. Joining our voices together can only help bring these ports to market faster. So take a few minutes to participate in the survey and help get these most-wanted apps on Linux desktops everywhere.

New Releases

Several Linux distributions announced new releases in the past week or two. SimplyMEPIS released version 3.4-3 of its live CD distribution that allows users to boot and run Linux from the CD rather than installing the OS directly on the computer. Based on Debian, the new SimplyMEPIS contains over 900 packages, including KDE 3.4.3, OpenOffice.org 2.0.1, Firefox 1.5 and kernel version 2.6.15. It also offers multimedia features with Amarok that enable iPods to work with the desktop. See for yourself what SimplyMEPIS has to offer.

Damn Small Linux (DSL) also released a new version of it live CD distribution. Living up to its name, DSL 2.2 fits in 49MB of memory. Features for version 2.2 include the 2.4.26 kernel, a Fluxbox desktop, XMMS 1.2.8 for MP3s and MPEGs and Firefox 1.0.6. According to the DSL site, DSL 2.2 can "boot from a business card CD as a live Linux distribution, boot from a USB pen drive, or boot from within a host operating system". In addition, you can use the CD to install a Debian distro on your hard drive. Check out Damn Small Linux for yourself.

Finally, VectorLinux also delivered a new version of its live CD Linux distribution, SOHO-5.1. Based on the Slackware distribution, SOHO-5.1 offers the XFCE4.2, Fluxbox and ICEwm window managers; a customized KDE 3.4.1 installation; the Firefox browser; the Gaim instant messaging client; plus, The GIMP, Mplayer and XMMS for audio and video needs. Click here for more information about VectorLinux.

The "Are You Kidding Me?" Moment of the Week

A few days ago I was having coffee at my local coffeeshop and flipping through the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. On the front page of the Business/Tech section was an article titled "June debut for Microsoft PC security service". (Here's the link to the on-line version so you can read it for yourself.) The first paragraph explained that Microsoft will be offering a $49.95/year subscription service that will keep track of security problems, patches, viruses and so on and provide maintenance for these types of issues.

Now, I'm not big on Microsoft bashing for its own sake, but my first thought upon reading this article was, "well, that's a lot of nerve!" Imagine, a company charging people to fix problems associated with a product, problems that were able to occur because of the company's own work. I'm not saying Microsoft is responsible for the actions of malicious people who create and spread viruses that cripple computers at home and around the world. But, many flaws are present in Windows code, and Microsoft policy seems to be one of putting "patches" on the problem after the fact.

I'm not a programmer and I don't pretend to know what's involved in writing and maintaining code for one of the most popular pieces of software on the planet. But something about this new program rubs me the wrong way. "There's flaws in our programs, and bad people can use those flaws to create havoc on your computer. Right now, there are so many flaws that it's hard to keep track of them and keep up the repairs. So, for $49.95 a year, we'll do it for you. And trust us that we'll get it right this time."

At the very least, they could offer the service for free.