Microsoft and Apple are promoting their operating system with their ‘I’m PC ‘ and ‘I’m MAC’ contests. Now Linux foundation is also joined them with ‘I’m Linux’ video contest. ‘I’m Linux ‘ video contest, Linux community members are invited to create video, expressing what Linux mean to them. The winner will receive a free trip to Tokyo, Japan to participate in the Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium in October 2009. The winning video will also be unveiled at the Linux Foundation’s Collaboration Summit in San Francisco on April 8, 2009.

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In Sanfrancisco, Adobe system has announced that – AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) technology will be associated with the Linux Desktop. Currently AIR technology is available for Windows and Macintosh, but users will be able to get this AIR technology to Linux desktops from Thursday. AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) technology is available free for users. Even you can Download the free Adobe AIR SDK & AIR development tools also.

The Adobe AIR runtime lets developers use web technologies to build rich Internet applications that run outside the browser on multiple operating systems.Now Users will be able to build AIR applications by using Web development technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, ActionScript and Adobe Flex. The same AIR installer runs on all three platform Linux, Windows, and Macintosh.

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The new Ubuntu 8.10 Beta version may release on 30th October this year. The development team has made innovative changes and  planning to launch in October with latest features and technologies, and given Intrepid Ibex code name for this version. As compared to previous Version it is coming up with latest  Mozilla Firefox 3.0.3, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, GIMP 2.4.7, GNOME 2.24 desktop and PAM authentication framework and many more.

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system for laptops, desktops and servers. Ubuntu contains all the applications you’ll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

The updated features of Ubuntu 8.10 Beta (Intrepid Ibex) are listed below

• Mozilla Firefox 3.0.3
• OpenOffice.org 2.4.1
• The GIMP 2.4.7
• F-Spot 0.4.4
• Pidgin 2.5.1
• Brasero 0.8.2
• Transmission 1.34
• Rhythmbox 0.11.6
• Ekiga 2.0.12
• Evolution 2.24.0
• Nautilus 2.24.0
• Vinagre 2.24.0

The advance features of Ubuntu 8.10 Beta (Intrepid Ibex)

1. Intrepid Ibex will be available in amazing desktop with better performance can work on any computer.
2. With the updated version you will be able to connect to Internet. It’ll support wireless connection also.
3. pam-auth-update : Intrepid Ibex has introduced new tool called pam-auth-update, it will allows you to manage the PAM authentication     configuration for both servers and workstations.
4. Totem: A Ubuntu movie player enable you to fetch digital content from BBC.

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Beta will be available in three forms for all type of users

1. Desktop CD: It’ll allow you to install Ubuntu on your computer based on your system configuration {PC (Intel x86) desktop CD and  64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop CD }, You will need at least 256MB of RAM to install from this CD.
2. Server install CD: It’ll  allow you to install Ubuntu permanently on a computer for use as a server{PC (Intel x86) server install CD  and 64-bit PC (AMD64) server install CD }
3. Alternate install CD: It will perform some functions like creating pre-configured OEM systems, setting up automated deployments,  upgrading from older installations without network access and LVM and/or RAID partitioning based on PC (Intel x86) alternate install CD and 64-bit PC (AMD64) alternate install CD.

Note: This is a beta release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on October 30th, 2008.

The Ubuntu development team is moving very quickly to introduce you the latest and greatest software the Open Source community. With "Intrepid Ibex" Alpha 6 come some new features as well as lots of bug fixes. Ubuntu 8.04, a Linux-based operating system that’s capable of mounting a serious challenge to Microsoft Windows on mainstream desktops and notebooks.

For Windows applications for which there is no suitable Linux-friendly version or alternative, Ubuntu 8.04’s KVM and Xen-based virtualization tools offer a free, built-in means of running Windows software from within an Ubuntu system.

Alpha 6 includes "Intrepid Ibex" and many more additional features that will help you to find the bugs and fixes it.

Center for Development of Advanced Computing , C-DAC has launched its Bharat Operating Systems Solutions (BOSS) Linux software latest version of 3.0 developed by NRCFOSS (National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software). This release brings support for both KDE and Gnome desktop environments, and includes wide Indian language support, Bluetooth, PDF Viewer and RSS Feed Reader.In addition to that, support for 18 desktop Indian languages is provided, in order to try to increase the popularity of open source software among the non-English literate people of India.

BOSS is a GNU/Linux distribution developed by NRCFOSS for enhancing the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the country. The NRCFOSS is promoted by the Department of Information Technology, MC&IT, Government of India to address the issues related to FOSS in the Indian context and to explore how FOSS can play the twin roles of helping to bridge the digital divide as well as strengthening the Indian software industry.

S. Ramakrishnan, director general, C-DAC said:

“C-DAC is committed on developing software solutions that are technologically advanced, yet providing value to Indian user community. Our constant endeavor to increase the adoption of computing among a wide cross section of Indian users, especially those in government first time users and Indian language centric users.”

List of applications this version includes -

• GIMP
• PDF Viewer (including an Edit function)
• RSS Feed Reader
• Firewall
• Firefox 3.0
• Instant Messenger
• Bluetooth for short range communication
• Desktop sharing and Remote Desktop Connection
• CD and DVD Burning tool
• Package Manager
• Strong support for Printers, Digital/Web, Cameras and for Scanner

Also with this release, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between C-DAC and NIC (National Informatics Center). This action has been taken with the purpose of implementing BOSS Linux on eGovernance applications developed and maintained by the NIC.

About BOSS Linux:
BOSS Linux tries, and succeeds in being the optimal choice for government employees from India. The needs of this kind of users involve mostly office applications, like spread sheet or word processor, and of course, accessing multimedia and the Internet, all of them done in a safe environment. BOSS Linux has been proved to excel with this sort of tasks, while being absolutely free to install, use, modify and distribute.
Another trait of BOSS Linux is that it brings technology to more people than ever before, by supporting many Indian languages and being very easy to install and use. These advantages and more make BOSS Linux the OS of choice for a great number of Internet cafes owners, as it is cheap, friendly, language-supportive and a more than adequate replacement for unlicensed proprietary software.

Bharat Operating Systems Solutions Linux Screen Shots

Download Bharat Operating Systems Solutions

MidnightBSD is a FreeBSD 6 fork aimed at providing an easy-to-use desktop experience. It aims to provide a GNUstep desktop with a solid BSD core. MidnightBSD contains both BSD and GPL licensed code. License: BSD License (revised) Changes This version focuses on adding hardware for newer devices including ATI, Nvidia, and Intel SATA controllers. A great deal of work was put into creating packages, with over 2000 packages available via FTP. There are 2 CDs of packages plus X11 on disc 1. Software update includes

• gcc 3.4.6
• BIND 9.4.2-p1
• Sendmail, bzip2 and OpenSSH 5.0p1.

The pcc compiler has been added (i386). GNU cpio has been replaced with the BSD licensed version. cpdup and mksh have been added. There are IPv6 fixes.

Lucas Holt, main developer of MidnightBSD said

Users who install kde from the ISOs will be able to enable graphical login on bootup. A script now runs on the first boot asking to enable bsdstats and ‘graphical desktop environment’. If the script finds kdm, it will enable it automatically. If you select yes without KDE, it will install and enable slim login manager. I would greatly appreciate users installing bsdstats so that we can get a better idea on usage.

List of features you will get in MidnightBSD 0.2.1 GCC 3.4.6 Bind 9.4.2-p1 Sendmail Bzip2 OpenSSH 5.0p1 PPC compiler added (i386) Removal of gnu cpio for BSD licensed version cpdup added IPv6 fixes mksh added

Five major points of MidnightBSD are:

1. Setup a binary update system. Therefore, users do not need to compile patches or new releases to get security updates or bug fixes.
2. Integrate GNUstep into the system, but maintain BSD licensing on its own code whenever possible. The kernel and most userland software must be BSD licensed.
3. Create an easy to use BSD-powered desktop environment, with basic functionality and a full graphical administration interface.
4. Incorporate new technologies from other BSD projects that may interest desktop users, such as OpenBSD’s OpenNNTP, OpenSSH, and wireless drivers.
5. Create its own ports system, based on the popular FreeBSD ports.

Source : MidnightBSD 0.2.1-RELEASE

The PC BSD has declared the new first beta version  PC BSD-7 with the advance features, is now available to you. PC BSD is a operating system lined up with additional features based on freeBSD, popular KDE 4.1 environment ,easy to use for new users, can install your favorite application with setup wizard from CD and DVD media and also support the audio, video and office documents.

The PC -BSD team states

This release marks the first PC-BSD based on FreeBSD 7-STABLE and the KDE 4.1 desktop, and also provides many new ways to install, including DVD, USB and Network/Internet installation choices. Our PBI site has also been updated with a wide variety of software ready for PC-BSD 7, with more being added weekly.

Advance Features

• FreeBSD 7-STABLE
• FreeBSD Ports-3
• FreeBSD System Source
• KDE 4.1
• KDE Language Packages
• KDE Educational Games 4.1
• KDE Toys 4.1
• KDE SDK 4.1
• OpenOffice 2.4.1 PBI
• Opera 9.51 PBI
• Firefox 3.0.0.1 PBI
• K3B 1.0.4 PBI
• Xorg 7.3

Its main goal is To hide the complexity of FreeBSD and to deliver an alternative to Linux on the desktop.The web-based software installation infrastructure called PBI. Also, a new version of the PBI Builder software has been made available today. This update will allow the building of PBI files & modules for the upcoming release of PC-BSD 7. The team is currently releasing weekly Alpha ISO’s, that allow us to test out the new features, and fix bugs associated with the switch to a FreeBSD 7 and KDE 4.1 base

PC-BSD version 1.5.1 is now available for download as both ISO and updates from version 1.5. This version provides updates to the default port set, as well as numerous bug fixes to the system tools & utilities.CodeWeavers has made the announcement that an experimental build of CrossOver Games is now available for PC-BSD users. This unsupported edition will allow users to test out playing Windows games on their PC-BSD desktop.The 1.5 Live CD, users who want to try PC-BSD without having to install it, or those who want to use PC-BSD for testing/developing purposes can now download the 1.5 VMware image.

System Requirements

• Pentium 4 or higher
• 512MB of Ram
• 12GB of free Hard Drive space (either partition, or entire disk)
• Network card
• Sound card
• 3D accelerated video card (NVIDIA or Intel)

Download PC-BSD 7 Beta 1