OStatic

There is one universal truth in desktop computing, regardless of operating system: There are more music players out there than you'd be inclined to try (never mind use) on a regular basis. Some focus on the simpler, basic functions, and others strive for improved music and media management and delivery. A few of these players achieve their goals and gain a loyal user base. More fall short and get lost in the noise. New music players, then, need something distinctive (that's well developed and delivered) to draw new users, and keep them coming back.

Songbird is still in beta, but nearing the milestone 1.0 status. A few months ago, it showed promise, but not enough was there to be able to predict how much of that promise would translate into a strong application. The 0.7.0 beta release reveals more of Songbird's strengths, and suggests that the player is able to rise above the noise.

These are good times for Linux users. Ubuntu's 8.10 release recently went live, Fedora's 10 release is coming up in mere weeks, and openSUSE will finalize its 11.1 offering in December. Even if none of these distributions are your first choice for daily use, they are popular and are frequently worth checking out on liveCD, even if you plan to continue using your current distribution.

This is where I admit I've been remiss. Taste aversion is a funny thing, and a few previous experiences with Fedora left a funny taste in my mouth. I have not seriously sat and looked at a Fedora release since FC2. As Fedora's new release started to take shape, I was hearing a lot of positive things -- comments about how good it looked, and how fast and solid it was. It seemed the right time to overcome the mental block I'd developed, and see what the fuss was about.

openSUSE 11.1 is moving ever closer to its December release date. The fourth beta release became available Monday, with some new bug fixes, updated versions of GNOME, Banshee and the kernel, and webcam support re-enabled. One of the changes long time openSUSE users will notice right away is the new YaST disk partitioner.

I had the chance to kick the tires of the new partitioner this week. It does what it says, but the box looks very, very different.