OStatic

It's been a week since Ubuntu 9.10, aka the Karmic Koala, was unleashed on the world. I wanted to post a general review after having used the special K since it went RC in late September and early October. In general, I've been very impressed, especially in comparison to another, recently released, operating system.

Why Google released Closure tools. The release of Closure Tools by Google under an open source license is about putting muscle behind Javascript.

Microsoft Linux: Why one free software advocate wants it. An ex-Microsoft employee says Windows is doomed, and FOSS will rule.

Vint Cerf plugs Android into the Interplanetary Net. He has added a software stack to the open source Android code.

Q&A: Ubuntu 9.10 security. What are the most notable security features introduced with Ubuntu 9.10, and how can you work with them?

Barnes & Noble, aided by Android, aims to disrupt the Kindle. The Nook has two capabilities that could expand the market for e-book readers beyond Amazon's.

Why Mac open source gets no respect. There are several theories about Why open source hasn't made a huge impact on the Apple faithful.

Top 10 open source apps for Mac OS X. Despite the point made above, here are some excellent applications for the Mac.

Ubuntu's design team: Make it look good, run better. Ivanka Majic, leader of Canonical's design team for Ubuntu Desktop and Netbook Remix, talks about her design team.

Open source database to wean companies off Oracle. EnterpriseDB is touting enterprise level capabilities of its Postgres Plus Standard Server 8.4 database.

There's news out of Canonical today that the release of Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition -- codenamed Karmic Koala -- is just around the corner. It's the greenest release yet, with a heavy emphasis on power management and cloud computing tools.

Ubuntu 9.10 includes Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC), a system designed to help users build and support private clouds. It's underlying technology relies on Eucalyptus, an open source infrastructure for implementing cloud computing on clusters.

We've been reporting this week on excitement surrounding netbooks running the new Moblin version 2 operating system, and how many different directions Moblin may go in. At the Intel Developer Forum conference this week, Intel showed a smartphone running the operating system, with its own chips powering the phone.? While Intel has officially handed over stewardship of Moblin to The Linux Foundation, the company is demonstrating its belief in Moblin for many types of hardware platforms ranging from netbooks, to smartphones, to Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).

Intel has a long history of high-profile partnerships with big technology companies such as Microsoft and Dell, and that's why I'm not surprised to see that the first netbook running Moblin version 2 is Dell's very well-liked Mini 10v (shown). It's set to ship with Canonical's Moblin remix of Ubuntu, and is evidence that Dell--the world's number two computer manufacturer--remains committed to shipping Linux-based netbooks.

Google's Chrome plug-in for IE is half-baked. IT organizations are unlikely to adopt the plug-in without enterprise deployment and management tools.

Big IT projects fail. Open source can help. In traditional software sales cycles, it takes forever for the the customer to really get to experience the software.

Why Africa gets the IBM-Ubuntu bundle and you do not. IBM and Ubuntu are partnering on a Linux bundle for Africa, but only there.

Why open-source DNS is the Internet's dirty little secret.? Do Nominum's new Skye cloud DNS services close a key weakness in the Internet?

CodePlex Foundation will help spread use of Mono. The foundation will ensure that there are incentives for open source software developers who embrace Mono.

Why one writer can never be exclusive to Linux and open source on the desktop. The file compatibility of the current productivity stack and the lack of some applications matter.

Open source does not work well for bad guys. While some researchers express fear of malware writers using open source to improve their work, it actually doesn't help them.

OpenID implementation works on mobile platforms. Swedish company Accumulate has implemented a version of the OpenID standard for mobile phones.

Atlanta Linux Fest: Top 9 Ubuntu highlights. Many of the standing-room-only sessions focused on Canonical and Ubuntu.

How one Melburnian spent Software Freedom Day. He introduced an audience to Python.

Attendees at Atlanta Linux Fest's breakout session Ubuntucon were among the first to hear straight from Mark Shuttleworth that the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu's next release -- version 9.10 10.04 -- will be named Lucid Lynx.

This codename in the next in a long line of clever choices that designate versions of Ubuntu releases. Past names include Hardy Heron, Dapper Drake, Breezy Badger, and the most recent, Karmic Koala. According to Shutteworth, the idea for the odd naming scheme originated quite by accident.

UPDATE: As our eagle-eyed readers correctly point out, the next version number will be 10.04 not 9.10.