Google has released a new Linux version of the popular beginner-level photography program, Picasa. Picasa 3.0 for Linux (beta) adds an improved collage tool, red-eye-out, watermark support, a retouch tool, and enhanced integration with Picasa Web Albums, says the company.

As with the original Picasa for Linux, which arrived in 2006, Picasa 3.0 is not a true Linux port. Although it now includes the vast majority of the feature set of the Windows-based Picasa, the implementation combines Windows Picasa code with Wine, a native Linux implementation of core Windows DLLs. continue

“Sidux” is a fairly new Linux distribution based on Debian’s “unstable” branch, which is perpetually code-named “Sid.” An early review suggests Sidux might have the ingredients to make the very newest versions of open source software available for wider testing and use.

I have long suspected that a majority of Debian users actually use Sid. Despite its name, the “unstable” tree works fine on the desktop.

Ironically, Debian is sometimes criticized for slow release cycles. Yet, the packages in Sid track upstream releases very closely. Typically, the tree offers software versions contemporaneous with any other available Linux distribution, at any time. Want to run the software in the next version of [insert favorite distro here], before it is released? Give Sid a try. Instead of downloading software by the DVD-ful, and digesting big coordinated releases, you can surf a steady stream of in-place upgrades on a daily basis.

During my own decade of Debian use, when doing a fresh install, I inevitably try out stable or (when frozen) testing, since those are usually the only trees with installers. However, it’s never long before I read about some new application I’m dying to try… and it depends on newer versions of things. Then, it’s time to edit /etc/apt/sources.list and apt-get upgrade; apt-get dist-upgrade to sid once more.

I suspect it’s the same for most Debian users, and that there are a lot of Sid users out there. But there could be even more, if Sid were a little less… unstable.

So, am I saying there’s a downside to running Sid? Well, yes.

Sometimes, given the large daily software pushes, stuff breaks. When that happens, you typically have to wade into /var/cache/apt/archives and manually dpkg -i previous versions of things before your system is usable again. This can be tricky, and time-consuming, but is actually kind of a fun, since you may learn advanced dpkg techniques, and it’s thrilling to recover a broken system. But, you have to be judicious about timing your upgrades, so that you have a bit of time should it be needed to put things right. And, you’re well-advised to query the bots on the #debian irc channel to learn in advance about anything that’s giving people trouble.

But what if there were a utility that sat in your system tray, advising you in advance about any issues with Sid’s most freshly added packages? Such a gizmo might go a long way toward making Sid more stable for more users. Now, according to Linux.com reviewer Susan Linton, it exists.

According to Linton, Sidux includes an interesting “Hermes Upgrade Sentinel” tray icon that aims to warn users of potential problems. She writes, “Hermes Upgrade Sentinel is a system tray app that monitors the News section at Sidux.com to warn you of any showstoppers with the dist-upgrade packages. If a warning is detected, it will display a red ’stoplight.’ It can also brief you on regular news postings, list other package advice from Sidux, and update packages.”

It really is marvelous to watch Debian and open source software keep getting better and better and better. Even if it does not work perfectly — and it well-might — the idea alone is brilliant, in my opinion. It could help more people use newer software, accelerating the pace of open source innovation even faster.

To learn more about Hermes and Sidux in general, find Linton’s nicely done review here.

French software firm Mandriva has released its Mandriva 2009 Linux distro, moving to KDE 4 as the default desktop. Other new features include a revamped installer and “Control Center,” netbook compatibility, and a variety of updated applications.

Although KDE 4, or more specifically 4.1.2, is now the Mandriva default, the GNOME desktop has also been bundled and upgraded to version 2.24. Other updated applications include OpenOffice 3.0, and Mozilla Firefox 3. It now includes version 2.6.27 of the Linux kernel.

The KDE 4 desktop offers new features including:

• “Plasma” desktop shell in which each desktop entity is constructed as a “Plasmoid” widget
• Phonon multimedia framework
• Support for “advanced visual effects” in the KDE window manager
• New applications, including “Dolphin” file manager, “Okular” document viewer, and “Dragon Player” media player
• Nepomuk metadata framework for tagging and rating files in KDE applications

The company is touting Mandriva 2009’s specific support for Asus Eee PC, Acer Aspire One, and MSI Wind netbooks. Several weeks ago, Mandriva released Mandriva Mini, a version of its Linux distribution designed for netbooks. Aimed at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs), Mandriva Mini is touted as being a faster booting, smaller footprint version of the Mandriva desktop distribution.

Availability

Mandriva Linux 2009 is available in three editions: One, Powerpack, and Free, for both i586 and x86-64 architectures. One and Free can be downloaded free of charge from official Mandriva mirrors and via BitTorrent. More information and links to download sites may be available here.

The operator of the popular Wikipedia website has reportedly standardized its 400 servers on Ubuntu. San Francisco based Wikimedia Foundation, which employs five geographically distributed IT staff, and serves two million pages daily, says the move will simplify server maintenance, according to a report.

ComputerWorld’s Todd R. Weiss reports that Wikimedia began the transformation in 2006, starting with caching proxy servers. Prior to that, the infrastructure expanded “haphazardly,” with a mix of Red Hat and Fedora servers, Weiss wrote.

Weiss quotes market analyst Gordon Haff as saying the choice of Ubuntu may be due to its free and commercial versions being identical. Other commercial Linux vendors, notably Red Hat, offer added functionality in their paid products, Haff is quoted as having said.

Another noteworthy feature of Ubuntu Server Edition not mentioned by Haff is support for “upgrade-in-place” scripts. These let users upgrade between releases each six months, or as infrequently as every five years (with “long-term support” or LTS releases).

Weiss’s interesting article can be found here. The Wikimedia Foundation page is here.

French software firm Mandriva has released a version of its Linux distribution designed for netbooks. Aimed at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs), Mandriva Mini is a faster booting, smaller footprint version of the Mandriva desktop distribution, says Mandriva.

Based on Mandriva 2008, which was released last October, Mandriva Mini is designed to work on small format, low-cost netbooks, which typically have screens ranging from 7 to 10 inches. It is said to support key netbook platforms, such as products based on the Intel Atom. According to a recent report on netbooks by Market Intelligence Center (MIC), netbooks will achieve sales of 8.02 million units in 2008, and 18.3 million units in 2009.

No stranger to the netbook category, Mandriva was the first official distributor of Linux for Intel’s Classmate PC, and it also provided a customized 2008 Spring release designed for the Asus Eee PC, says the company. (No screenshots were provided of Mandriva Mini, but it may appear somewhat similar to the Classmate version, as shown below.) continue

The largest conference devoted to Linux technology is changing its name to embrace open source software on other operating systems (OSes). Next August, LinuxWorld will relaunch as the OpenSource World Conference & Expo, but will retain existing LinuxWorld features, says show organizer IDG World Expo.

The first OpenSource World will take place Aug. 10-13, 2009, at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Like LinuxWorld, it will be co-located with IDG World Expo’s third annual Next Generation Data Center (NGDC) event. The two events will share the exhibit floor, but feature separate conference programs, say organizers.
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A recent interview quoted an MSI executive as saying that returns of Linux netbooks were more than four times higher those of Windows XP netbooks. However, the quote may say more about MSI’s Linux implementation than the suitability of Linux as a netbook OS.

The Laptop Magazine story, which also announced that MSI is planning a new U120 version of the Linux-and Windows-compatible, Intel Atom-based Wind U100, quoted MSI Director of U.S. Sales Andy Tung as saying that netbooks returns are higher than usual. “Our internal research has shown that the return of netbooks is higher than regular notebooks, but the main cause of that is Linux. People would love to pay $299 or $399 but they don’t know what they get until they open the box. They start playing around with Linux and start realizing that it’s not what they are used to. They don’t want to spend time to learn it, so they bring it back to the store. The return rate is at least four times higher for Linux netbooks than Windows XP netbooks,” Tung reportedly said, according to LaptopMagazine.

The quote has generated much discussion in Internet blogs. Some have pointed out that MSI has yet to ship its Linux-based netbook, so Tung’s figures may actually be based on earlier MSI notebooks that ran Linux. Also, Tung was quoted as saying that his impression about returns was based in part on discussing the subject with a retailer of Asus netbooks. continue