Compiz and Beryl 3D projects merge.
Several months after parting ways, the leaders of the two leading 3D compositing Linux desktop projects, Compiz and Beryl, have agreed to come back together. more...

Why doesn't Linux need defragmenting?
That is a question that crops up with regularity on Linux forums when new users are unable to find the defrag tool on their shiny new desktop. more...

Working with raw images on Linux.
Most digital cameras are set to produce JPEG files; for many applications, such files are more than good enough. But most decent cameras support other formats, and a vendor-specific raw format in particular. more...

Debian releases version 4.0 Etch.
The Debian project has released its long-awaited new stable version, Debian 4.0, code-named "etch." more... and Debian 4.0 finally arrives! more...

Gaim changes name to Pidgin.
Some might wonder why the 2.0 release of Gaim has taken more than a year since the first beta was published. more...

Thunderbird 2 release candidate emerges.
Mozilla this week made available the first release candidate of Thunderbird 2, the next generation of the organization's popular open-source email client. more...

Checking out the new Open Font Library.
The Open Font Library (OFL) is an offshoot of the Open Clip Art Library (OCAL) and Inkscape. Just beginning to get underway, its creation reflects the growing demand for fonts released under a free license, as well as the emergence of a free font community of designers in the last year and a half. more...

Misc.
Issue 17 of Free Software Magazine is here. more...
Mozilla Development Center: Do not hurt the web poster. more...
Why Linux is better.

Applications.

A Death Blow to DRM.
Less than two months after Apple chief executive Steve Jobs challenged record labels to stop insisting on "digital rights management" copy restrictions, one of the major record labels took him up on the invitation. more...

New GPLv3 draft takes new approach to patents, lock-down technologies.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has released the third draft of the revised third version of the GNU General Public License (GPLv3). more...

Torvalds 'pretty pleased' about new GPL 3 draft.
Linus Torvalds, leader of the Linux kernel project and a major figure in the open-source programming movement, said Wednesday he's "pretty pleased" with changes in a third draft of the General Public License (GPL) released Wednesday. more...

System 76 Darter laptop.
While users are pleading with Dell to sell systems with Linux pre-installed, smaller vendors have been offering Linux on OEM hardware for some time. One of the more recent arrivals in the OEM Linux market is System 76, which sells a decent selection of desktop, workstation, and notebook systems with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed. more...

Here come the Dell Linux desktops, laptops.
Dell contacted DesktopLinux.com on March 28 to let us know that the company will be releasing select desktop and notebook systems with pre-installed Linux as an option in the coming weeks. more... Since launching Dell IdeaStorm a little more than a month ago, one idea has risen to and stayed at the top: better support for Linux. more... Linux Driver Support is Key more... Dell gives the go-ahead for Linux. more...

Dell, the Linux desktop, and timing.
Dell may have picked the perfect time to begin offering Linux-powered desktops. Why? Because, the next generation of Windows, Vista, has just sprung its first major security leak: the .ANI vulnerability. more...

OpenOffice 2.2 available.
The OpenOffice.org Community on March 29 announced the release of a major upgrade to OpenOffice: version 2.2. The group claims that with upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and database software, the free office suite provides a real alternative to Microsoft's recently-released Office 2007 product. more...

Linux kernel gains paravirtualization option.
The next stable release of the Linux kernel will reportedly have a new paravirtualization ABI (application binary interface) contributed by Vmware. more...

Applications.