Overview of the Ten Major Linux Distributions

Overview of the Ten Major Linux Distributions: "LinxForums gives short overviews of the ten major distributions, and concludes: 'People often ask 'so which distribution is right for me?' The answer is very simple: 'It depends!' It depends on your needs, it depends on your experience, on your philosophy or your tastes. It depends on a lot of things, and even if you found the one you preferred among these 10 majors distributions, don't forget that there are about 340 other distributions available, which could potentially suit your needs. If you're ready for the adventure, go and explore.'"

Overview of the Ten Major Linux Distributions

Overview of the Ten Major Linux Distributions: "LinxForums gives short overviews of the ten major distributions, and concludes: 'People often ask 'so which distribution is right for me?' The answer is very simple: 'It depends!' It depends on your needs, it depends on your experience, on your philosophy or your tastes. It depends on a lot of things, and even if you found the one you preferred among these 10 majors distributions, don't forget that there are about 340 other distributions available, which could potentially suit your needs. If you're ready for the adventure, go and explore.'"

Windows Live Messenger (almost) final UI screenshots

Windows Live Messenger (almost) final UI screenshots: "Filed under: Internet, Windows, Microsoft
It's been awhile since I've posted anything about Windows Live Messenger (nee MSN Messenger 8), so here's a bone to chew on: LiveSide, a blog that covers developments in Microsoft's Windows Live initiative, has posted a couple screenshots of Live Messenger with what they claim is an almost-final UI design. The screenshots show a contact list and message windows that are much close to the Vista feel we've been seeing a lot lately, and less chunky than the last batch we saw. The new design has retained most of the elements from the last revision, but to my eyes seems more compact and less cluttered. It still has that unwelcome (to me, at least) MSN Video box at the bottom, but I'm guessing that will be toggleable. The message windows are (still) completely uninspiring, but apart from AIM Triton's vertical tabs (which I'm not entirely sold on yet), I don't really see anybody else doing anything different in that department. Head over to LiveSide to see the screenshots.
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OpenSUSE Linux 10.1 Beta 9 Released

OpenSUSE Linux 10.1 Beta 9 Released: "The OpenSUSE team has released beta 9 of OpenSUSE 10.1. Again, no changelog, no release notes, nothing, so I cannot inform you about what is new, improved, or fixed. Download the CD set and see for yourself. Locations are listed in the announcement."

Office 2007 interface preview video

Office 2007 interface preview video:

By now you've probably seen a few screenshots of the new 'ribbon' interface that will replace the menubar and toolbars in Microsoft Office 2007. It doesn't seem so mysterious to me, but then I'm not really Office's average use case. If you want a better idea of what using Office's new interface is really like, I recommend this streaming preview video (direct link to WMV stream) that Microsoft has put together. It's a 13-minute marketing piece so be prepared for some awkward scripted dialogue from Real Microsoft Employees (Dear Product Manager Julie Larson-Green: The camera is over here. Please look at it.), and unless you're a corporate executive you'll probably get the gist of it in the first five minutes. Personally I'm excited about the new interface, but then I only use Office a couple times a month and am used to picking up new interfaces at the drop of a hat. For the average cube-dweller, I'm not yet convinced that it wouldn't cost companies a bundle in time spent relearning.

Converting Quicktime videos to AVI

Converting Quicktime videos to AVI: "Filed under: Utilities, Video, Windows, Freeware
If you have spent much time working with video on PCs, it is likely that you have come across a situation where you would really like to convert a Quicktime video into a Windows-native AVI file, but found it difficult to do so. There are very few utilities that offer this functionality for free, but one that does is called, simply, RAD Video Tools.

Pain in the Tech offer a very nice walk-through explaining how to go about converting that pesky Quicktime video into an AVI file using RAD Video Tools. As they mention, this utility has capabilities far beyond simply converting videos, but if you're looking for a free way to do some difficult conversions, have a look at this one.

Internet Explorer exploits escalating

Internet Explorer exploits escalating: Windows, Microsoft The vulnerability in Internet Explorer that we reported on Friday is quickly being taken advantage of, says the Washington Post's Brian Krebs, and more than 200 web sites have been altered by hackers to include malicious code to exploit it. Sites being seeded with infectous code include small business sites that most users would never suspect of harboring malicious software. When an Internet Explorer user visits such a site, all kinds of malware may be silently installed on their computers, including programs which steal passwords and credit card numbers. Microsoft has yet to release a patch and likely won't for another two weeks when Patch Tuesday rolls around. They're still advising users to disable Active Scripting, but Krebs is recommending much more direct action that I echo: drop Internet Explorer and install Firefox or Opera.

Is Google OS an Always-Online OS?

Is Google OS an Always-Online OS?: "Phil Sim, a professional with technology editor journalist background, has written three interesting blog posts recently, discussing the much-rumored Google OS (1, 2, 3). He speculates that all user's data will be stored online on Google's servers and so one's desktop and files can be retrieved exactly as left by any other PC station, anywhere in the world, by simply using your Gmail credentials. It's like having your OS on a usb key with you at all times, only, without the usb key..."

*A Quick Look at Fedora Core 5*

*A Quick Look at Fedora Core 5*: "It's been about 2.5 years since the first release of Fedora Core. And boy has it come long way! The new version of Fedora Core (FC) is featuring a number of goodies and performance enhancements as we describe below (and yes, it even includes a new logo).