Linux Video Ad

"I'm a Mac." "I'm a PC." Tired of the commercial rivaly between these two OS giants? Now Linux will launch its very own "I'm a Linux" promotional video with help from the Linux community - meaning YOU.

While the Linux Foundation would love to spend millions promoting Linux on TV, it's simply not our style (or in our budget). Even more importantly, Linux isn't a top-down, commercially controlled operating system. It's a grassroots product of mass collaboration. That's why we're sponsoring a community contest to create a Linux video that showcases just what Linux means to those who use it, and hopefully inspires many to try it.

The winner gets to fly to Tokyo, Japan to participate in the Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium in October 2009.


[Read more at the Linux Foundation]

Adobe AIR for Linux

[From ComputerWorld] Adobe System has now recognized Linux and is extending its Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) to Linux.

AIR 1.5 will be released a month after versions for Windows and Mac have been released, which was late November. So i guess we'll be waiting just a few weeks more. More information on Adobe AIR here.

Download of the Day: OpenSuse 11.1

OpenSuse 11.1 has been released yesterday, December 15. If you are a KDE lover, OpenSuse should definitely be one of your choices. (Another choice is of course Linux Mint which has also released a new version a few days ago).

The latest offering gives us 230 new features, including major improvements in Yast, KDE, and GNOME. Of particular interest are Kwin effects, the Plasma desktop shell with autohide panel, and Powerdevil power management tool.

[Download]

Emergency IE Patch Released

Microsoft has released an emergency patch to combat attacks against Internet Explorer.

The critical update MS08-078 exploits IE's XML Handling Remote Code Execution.

The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

Download and patch now!

Mac OS X 10.5.6 Now Available

For Mac OS X Leopard owners, Apple has released a new update 10.5.6. Wonder what's new in this update? See below or check the Apple Support Page.

Important Fixes Done:

•  Address Book - reliability syncing with iPhone and other devices and applications. 
• AirPort - improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.  
• Client management - fixes an issue in Mac OS X 10.5.4 and 10.5.5 in which managed users may not see printers that use the Generic PPD.
• iChat - addresses an issue that could cause an encryption alert to appear in the chat window; setting your iChat status to "invisible" via AppleScript no longer logs you out of iChat; resolves an issue in which pasting text from a Microsoft Office document could insert an image rather than text. 
• Graphics - fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards. 
• Mail - fixes an issue that could cause messages identified as junk to remain in the inbox, or cause Mail to append a character to the file extension of an attachment.
• Networking - improves Apple File Service performance, especially when using a home directory hosted on an AFP server.
• Time Machine - fixes issues that could cause Time Machine to state the backup volume could not be found.

General

• Includes Mac OS X security improvements.
• Addresses inaccuracies with Calculator when the Mac OS X language is set to German or Swiss German.
• Improves the performance and reliability of Chess.
• Improves DVD Player performance and reliability.
• Performance improvements for iCal are included.
• Fixes an issue when running the New iCal Events Automator action as an applet.
• Adds a Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs.
• Improves compatibility with smart cards such as the U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Card.
• Updates time zone data and Daylight Saving Time rules for several countries.

Send Holiday Greetings the Techy Style

We are used to sending holiday greeting through e-cards (remember Hallmark and greetings.com?). What if for a change you want to send something else? These are some things you can try:

1. Send a video through YouTube greetings. The steps are simple. Just choose a video to send, choose a theme, and compose your heartfelt holiday greeting.

2. Create a personalized carol through Yahoo Messenger Emoticarolers. To do this, simply choose four emoticarolers, select a jingle, and have your own lyrics if you want. I personally like this.
   

3. Send Virtual Gifts. If you've been a Facebooker for a while, sending gifts or items is nothing new. You can choose from among thousands of items from shoes to mistletoes, everything of course are virtual icons. It's the thought that counts anyway.
   

If you have other interesting ways to spread the Christmas love the techy style, please let us know through the comments below. Happy Holidays!

Download of the Day:

Ok being the first post on the topic, this is rather a checklist of downloads. Have you downloaded these free, open source softwares yet? If not, well, you might be missing on the FOSS experience.

1. Wordpress 2.7 - the famous blogging platform has released version 2.7 last week. A few days before public release, wordpress.com users were treated with a pleasant surprise with the cleaner interface with easier navigation. Download here.
   
2. Fedora Core 10 - have you upgraded from Core 9 yet? For first time installations, there may be some difficulty encountered with Network Manager. This is the same case as Core 9 though, I don't know why they won't just remove it. Choose among the distribution types and download methods here.
   
3. Slackware 12.2 - released yesterday, Dec. 12. If you are 12.1 user, this upgrade is a necessary since the new version now supports the 2.6 kernel and many improvements were implemented.  Download from an FTP mirror here.