Linux 2.6.24 Released.
The release is out there (both git trees and as tarballs/patches), and for the next week many kernel developers will be at (or flying into/out of) LCA in Melbourne, so let's hope it's a good one. more... and The 2.6.24 kernel is out.

Nokia Buys Trolltech..
Nokia and Trolltech ASA today announced that they have entered into an agreement that Nokia will make a public voluntary tender offer to acquire Trolltech. Trolltech is a recognized software provider with world-class software development platforms and frameworks. In addition to the key software assets, its talented team will play an important role in accelerating the implementation of Nokia’s software strategy. more... and Nokia to acquire Trolltech.

Dell releases new Ubuntu-powered laptop: XPS 1330n.
On Jan. 23, Dell quietly announced that it was releasing the Dell XPS 1330n to the European market. In addition, for the first time, Dell is allowing its customers in Spain to order this and other PCs with pre-loaded Ubuntu Linux. The Ubuntu-equipped XPS 1330 will be available to North American customers the first week of the February. more... and Ubuntu 7.10 on the XPS M1330, Ubuntu Coming to Customers in Spain.

Elisa 0.3.3 turns Linux into a movie theater.
The developers at Fluendo have been working on an open-source, cross-platform media center application called Elisa. Version 0.3.3, which was released last week, includes a complete user interface overhaul that dramatically improves usability. more...

Ten Years Ago: Netscape Announces Free Communicator Source Code Release.
Today marks ten years since Netscape Communications Corporation announced its intention to release the source code of the then in-development Netscape Communicator 5.0, heralding the beginning of what would become the Mozilla project. more...

Zend Studio weds Eclipse,
With today's release of Zend Studio for Eclipse, Zend has made Zend Studio, which we reviewed last year, even better. This release of Zend Studio introduces a number of terrific features and as a whole provides you with the most feature-rich release of Zend Studio to date. One of the notable features is Zend's use of the Eclipse as the base platform. more...

OpenStreetMap project completes import of United States TIGER data.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) has completed the bulk import of comprehensive street and highway data for the United States, months ahead of the project's original estimates. The massive data set originated with the US Census Bureau's public domain map database, and importing it required a dedicated upload process running around the clock since August 2007. more...

New Linux flash filesystem offers 4X speed.
Flash filesystem (FFS) specialist Datalight Inc. will soon release a commercial Linux FFS claimed to provide 400 percent faster write performance and 500 percent faster mount speed compared to JFFS2. The new FFS will target Linux-based mobile phones, set-top boxes, and other embedded devices. more...

How to replace Windows completely with Ubuntu.
We all know how far open source software has progressed, but has it come so far to not only challenge Windows, but replace it? Can you really install Linux and open source software in place of Windows, and want for nothing? more...

Wine-doors 0.1.2 (Carménère).
Wine-doors 0.1.2 has been released, this release sees vastly improved exception handling thanks to Andrew Stormont who joined the project after 0.1.1, along with some new features tweaks and various other fixes. more...

Applications.
Htop is an interactive process viewer for Linux. Top’s Cooler Cousin. more...
DebianPackageMaker is a simple user interface/tool to make a debian package easier for deploying your linux application to any debian based distro.
gLabels is a lightweight program for creating labels, business cards and media covers for the GNOME desktop environment.

Magazine.
Full Circle - the Ubuntu Community Magazine Issue 9 and pdf.

Misc.
Alternative search engines: jux2 and openDNS and Alexa.
Last.fm Announcement: Free On-Demand Music more... and Free The Music.
KDE 4 Release Event - Speech links.
Podcast Ready provides software and services that remove the obstacles that currently limit the widespread adoption of podcasting.
PodNova your place to find podcasts, videoblog.
Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal.

How To Tips.

See you next Thursday 7 P.M. at 420 Cafe, 420 Washington Ave, Eau Claire, WI.

EC_LUG