OStatic

Novell Linux revenue soars as global server revenue plummets. The company reported Thursday that its Linux Platform revenue climbed 25 percent year over year in one of the worst recessions in history.

Google expects 18 Android phones by year's end. Andy Rubin, senior director for Mobile Platforms for Google, said the number could be as high as 20.

A grab bag of Linux games. From first person shooters to racing games, here are some titles to try over the weekend.

Microsoft Update quietly installs Firefox extension. A routine security update for a Microsoft Windows component installs a .NET update extension.

Navigate the web faster with these Firefox hotkeys. Here are a whole lot of easy shortcuts.

I'm sure there's got to be something to the observation that many ideas that are conceived in purity -- capitalism, socialism, open source, closed source, democracy, and even the massive, single platform server farm that sits in a building with specialized cooling and dedicated power and telecommunications lines -- only start to take a general, strong, enduring grip, one with impact, when there's a certain element of an opposing (or at least fundamentally different) approach introduced somewhere in the mix. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's more often a positive step, where the original good idea strikes out into the world and makes its stand.

Maybe these hybridizations are intentional, or maybe they just sort of happen over time -- in the case of network configurations and licensing of software running thereon, it's just as likely to be one or the other (or both) that leads to a mixed network. Taking an unscientific (and quick) look back at Canonical's recent survey on the Ubuntu Server market, the questions posed on platforms used in businesses invariably returned a sum greater than 100%, because so many organizations use multiple server (never mind desktop) environments. In this Ubuntu-specific and somewhat informal survey, it was also apparent that even if Active Directory use wasn't the leading directory service among the respondents, it was one of the more popular services.

This is in no small part why Likewise's software, geared to simplify managing and securing mixed networks using Active Directory services, is now being offered to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 users. The Enterprise version of Likewise's software will be integrated with the SUSE Desktop and available through SUSE 11 repositories.

openSUSE recently announced the dates and agenda for its very first Community Week. Much like the Ubuntu team's OpenWeek, the purpose of Community Week is to assemble and introduce new contributors all over the Linux-using world to each other, and the openSUSE Project. And while developers are a vital part of an open source community and are encouraged to attend and get involved in openSUSE's Community Week, participants don't necessarily need programming skills -- only a willingness to learn, connect and pitch in the skills they possess.

Community Week kicks off on Monday, May 11th and concludes on May 17th. Most of the events take place on Freenode, with individual components (such as openSUSE-specific discussions on KDE, GNOME, or marketing) having their own unique #openSUSE-project channels and schedules.

As the story broke yesterday that Novell and Intel were joining forces to encourage OEMs and ODMs to use the Linux-based Moblin platform on netbooks and small devices, a number of comments -- and questions -- began swirling in the open source world.

InfoWorld wonders if the collaboration efforts aren't a bad omen for Novell's SUSE Linux, while CNet's Matt Asay thinks the move could be a positive one for Moblin and Novell, and one that could ultimately give Google's Android a real fight.

It's one of the biggest gotchas for alternative operating systems -- at some point in the middle of one project's release cycle, some other component that's tied in some way to the original project's functionality gets a whizbang new update that's significant enough that full-fledged integration has to wait until the next release. Of course, there are ways around this for those who just can't wait, but these work arounds might not always be as straightforward as one would hope.

The KDE team continues to roll out updates, enhancements and new features for the KDE 4 desktop environment. The sticking point here is that different users on different machines might find the updates are neat little improvements -- or absolutely vital. And a distribution needs to balance stability and utility of its official packages with the needs of its userbase.

The openSUSE community recently took charge of this particular situation in the form of the openSUSE 11.1 KDE4 Reloaded respin. The installable liveCD, masterminded by Stephan 'Beineri' Binner, incorporates the openSUSE 11.1 image (complete with updates issued since its release) and the KDE 4.2.2 desktop.