And there’s a lot to celebrate – Since last month’s Alpha 3 version the masterminds behind this wondrous program have poured so many improvements into it, it’s hard to know where to start.

The default theme for Ubuntu 10.10 is now more muted, with softer gradients and new animations. Many of those who are testing the Beta say it’s the smoothest look yet. The icons are also improved.

The new version, 10.10 [due out on 10-10-10] also boasts seventeen brand new wallpapers, and in a typical demonstration of Linux’ core ethic they’re all sourced from the users.

A brand new take on the sound menu has also appeared, and the results are addictive. Then there’s the Software Center – Open access to more than 55,500 free programs, to fit any task any sane geek could need, and the new look is superb.

Even the installation  procedure has been supercharged – it now requires fewer steps, does the install as you fill in your info, and even offers to install multimedia support at first boot – a clear snub to Linux Mint.

Overall, as if it were possible, the smoothest, safest and most powerful OS on this Earth just got even better. And it’s not even out yet!  October 10 should be a hell of a day. Go get some champagne and be ready to party…

The survey produced over 60,000 suggestions on how to improve efficiency and cut costs, but just 31 were then listed on the web site of Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer. And among those rare few were these Linux ideas.

The site says the 31 options “show some of the main themes and ideas.” But the fact that two ideas on one theme both made the list has many people convinced that those running the country are seriously considering the plans.

One suggestion is to migrate every government operation – Healthcare, Education, Environment, etc – from MS products to Linux, which would save the UK taxpayers several million a year.

The other idea is to end the government’s contract with Microsoft, and switch entirely to open source software and Linux-based systems. This would not only shred costs, but also bring huge security perks as Linux is almost impervious to malware and other infections.

And this is not an impossible dream – In 2003 the same government signed a 5-year agreement with Sun to test open source systems in their various works. So they’ve done this before.

And the UK are not alone – The US administration has also been been developing sites on open source platforms, and the  governments of several other nations are now considering migrating to Linux.

But some cynics caution that this could just be high-profile posturing by those in Whitehall, aimed at making Microsoft blink and lower their fees.

The potential fallout, however, is huge. If the UK migrated even half of their workload to Linux, the sheer scale of that endorsement would dig a vast hole under the foundations in Redmond. And as other countries followed, large parts of their own populations could also decide to upgrade.

And Microsoft’s choke-hold on the world’s mind and their money would be finally broken.

For every true Linux fan, the idea of such a switch, the ease with which it could happen and the long-overdue justice it would also entail are too great to think of.

Well, almost.

Personally, I think this is a wonderful concept, and I now leave my fellow fans of the penguin to savor the scene…

On July 25th my main PC – which was a dual-boot of XP and Linux – seized up entirely and would not even offer a DOS screen or the basic Grub menu. And two days of persuasion and professional help didn’t help at all.

I was faced with two things – a completely dead and unresponsive PC, and a copy of Ubuntu 8.10 – Intrepid Ibex.

I put the disk in the drive and in under an hour I had a working PC which was already online and updating to the 9.04 version.

Since then I have upgraded to 10.04 [Lucid Lynx,] and the speed, the freedom and overwhelming dependability of the result makes me unable to even comprehend why I ever used Windows at all.

To those who may be mulling the idea of a date with the Penguin, or are running a dual-boot as I was, because they’re scared to actually switch, I’d say one simple thing – Come on in, the water’s amazing! It’s three weeks today since I used that lesser O/S – and I wouldn’t switch back now for half of all Bill Gates’ money…

Dell UK insist they are still offering the option to escape the Windows mind-meld, but you now have to call them direct and place your Ubuntu order that way.

“We’ve recently made an effort to simplify our offerings online by focusing on our most popular bundles, based on customer feedback,” A Dell-UK droid told PC Pro. “We’re also making some changes to our Ubuntu pages, and as a result they are currently available through phone-based sales only.”

It’s ironic to read such a statement from a firm which barely offered a choice. If they had the cajones to properly offer Ubuntu, then they might be believed. One weak netbook and one over-priced laptop do not make a range.

And there are two possible reasons for this indefensible insult:

1] Dell  will claim they were not selling enough Ubuntu-loaded PC’s to be worth making the offer. This excuse can be shredded by the fact that no sane user would buy the underpowered, outmoded models they deigned to offer.

2] Microsoft saw the growing potential of Ubuntu [and Linux in general] to spoil their monopoly and either threatened Dell with cancellation of its place as an MS vendor, or offered indirect ”bribes’ if they came back to heel.

Whichever may be their true motivation – and I suspect both – this is another wound in Dell’s previously strong reputation, and – with the recent farce over faulty graphics cards – could see them relegated to the lower ranks of customer’s choices when they need a machine.

I used to be a disciple for Dell and recommended them highly to people for their reliability and value. I’m now in the market for a newer PC — and I’ll be buying HP.

I suspect many people will make the same choice, and Dell has no-one to blame but themselves. And Microsoft.

ATD reports the store will offer high-fidelity, “loss-less” downloads in an environment similar to iTunes, and Sony will bring in the other big labels like Universal Music, EMI, Warner and others as well.

The best-known loss-less format is open source, so could this be FLAC’s big chance?

In 1999 a firm called Loki Software released their first translation of a major commercial game – ‘Civilization: Call to Power’ for the Linux platform. Eighteen others soon followed. Linux gamers were in six kinds of heaven. Then in 2001, Loki filed for bankruptcy and the party was seemingly over.

For the next decade Microsoft exerted a strangle-hold on the sector, via Direct X and Direct3D. The world of Linux gaming was a desert. ID Software released Doom 3 and Quake 4, and Epic Games released Unreal Tournament III in 2007, promising a   Linux installer.

Three years later there is still no sign of this.

But the answer to the multitude of prayers offered by fans of the penguin is about to emerge – Android is now the second most popular smartphone OS in this country [after Blackberry] and mobile gaming is on the rise. Which creates a huge market. Also, ‘Steam’ [the popular online game service,] has announced Linux plans.

So game geeks are stoked!

But the real kicker was ‘The Humble Indie Bundle,’ where several developers bundled their games, with no DRM, and sold them on a ‘pay what you want’ model. So far, the bundle has earned them over $1-million.

And income like that will bring a response. Four games from the pack are also being open-sourced.

The millions who love this wondrous OS cannot allow what happened in 2001 to occur this time. If you love games and want to see truly good titles arrive for the Penguin, support these firms — donate cash or write code, or just promote them. That other OS has had a cozy monopoly on gaming for too long.

Odd though it seems, games represent one of the last major barriers to Linux achieving the widespread acceptance and  universal conversion it’s so long deserved. Let’s prove there is a huge Linux fanbase that is begging for titles, and the respect their beloved Penguin deserves….

Which includes that radiant example of Germanic precision, Open Suse.

This is horrible news. I don’t go in for conspiracy theories, but if Microsoft does not offer a bid for parts of the firm I’d be amazed. They may not do it directly, but the chance and temptation is too vast not to do it at all.

But it has to be said that part of the problem is Novell themselves – When you underwrite an OS that is faster, lighter and more user-friendly than its monolithic competitor, the one thing you do not do is form or allow a clearly self-serving alliance with said monolith, whose sole motivating desire is to see you and your product implode and present no further threat.

One way or another, Novell is doomed. And perhaps so is Linux. It may even be time for Suse users to start checking their alternatives and preparing to switch.

Let’s hope the nightmare doesn’t get quite that bad…

After months of anticipation and drooling the glorious day has arrived. Around mid-afternoon yesterday Canonical unleashed its newest incarnation of the finest O/S on the planet, bar none – Ubuntu 10.04.

First impressions? Amazing. The eye candy on this outing is far smoother and cleaner than earlier installations. And despite being Gnome the overall screen appearance is close to Kubuntu, and the result is worryingly easy to spend hours gazing at.

The one snag was installing multimedia. Since version 8.10, Canonical has published a short list of commands to be copied into a terminal, which then installs and configures all the media codecs at once. That no longer works. But with them installed, the one nagging flaw of 9.10 [Karmic Koala] is also removed: The constant drop-outs in sound.

Linux is, without question, the smoothest, most enabling, lowest stress O/S in the history of modern computing, and Ubuntu is rightly seen as its flagship. If we can just find a way to demonstrate its appeal and sheer power to those misguided souls who still cling blindly to Vista, this remarkably well crafted collection of elegant code could finally assume its rightful place as the superior and peerless O/S.

Photo by Benja

Palm Pre - Runs on Linux

For those who may not have heard it’s been announced that Hewlett Packard have agreed to buy Palm, the smart-phone makers, for $1-billion.

This is luminously wonderful. The world’s biggest computer maker will now join Google in combined – and massively well-funded – resistance to Microsoft’s undeniable plans to keep the cellphone market all to themselves.

The other huge perk is that Palm’s current range runs on WebOS – which is based on Linux. HP’s selling power will therefore help millions of people discover the endless joys of the penguin.

Two massive industry icons ranged against Microsoft, and millions of new users of Linux who could then see the light and convert to free software.

Life for the phone market looks remarkably good.

Unless you have Microsoft stock.

[Photo by WikiMedia.]

It is therefore a great relief to report there are several alternatives to the Cupertino creation, which not only boast better features and an affordable price, but whose overall specs make Apple’s new trinket look like the fan boy-focused bauble it was so clearly created to be.

So if you’re even considering an iPad, don’t do it yet – The clued-in geeks at OpenSource.com have a review of your options, so do yourself [and your wallet] a favor and read the reviews…