Tell me, what's the difference between open source and commercial software?

If you'd have asked me not long ago, I'd say that there's a world of difference between the two, and that they both sat at opposite ends of the software spectrum. "Isn't it BAD," I thought, "to pay for software?"

No!, it seems. The correct answer is that it's perfectly OK to pay for software. (gnu.org) Open source software at it's heart is a philosophy: it is software which...

Should you make the switch to Gnome 3?

For some of you out there, you won't even be using a graphical interface. For others, you may have to think more about this decision.

Some distributions will include it as a prominent feature of their upcoming releases (Fedora 14, Mageia), but a lot of people are really just waiting for real world bug fixing before giving 3.2(?) a serious try.

Gnome 3 is a snappy revision to the traditional desktop. This new version...

What's in a name?

I'll admit, I think the name 'Freedom Box' is a bit cheesy. It reminds me too much of the 'Freedom Fries' reaction in the US a few years ago to some news media quibble between the US and France. It's also one of those names that is too descriptive to be cool. Facebook was famously once known as 'The' Facebook.

The problem now is that as distributed as the web is, major platforms such as The Facebook hold on to people's information for them in exchange...

I've become involved in preparations for GUADEC 2010, the GNOME Users And Developers European Conference 2010. I can go into detail about the size and scope of the thing, but you can find out more on the website. I'd rather talk about why I became involved.

I am a GNOME user. I know: I fall into a pretty 'vanilla' category for being a fan of the world's most popular linux flavour. But I like it and and it works. And one of the things that impressed me so much about it was GNOME. Years...

How close is the nearest distro to you?

Certain distributions reflect their regional origins, and some regions have their own distributions. Regionalization is a major share of the efforts needed in on-going work of linux.

For many, though, the tool isn't the source of joy as much as the community of fellow users. Imagine - hacking late at night on a small code change. Who stays up with you? Not your spouse, not your colleagues or buddies. It's those faceless masses...