Katherine Noyes

LibreOffice has been nothing if not an active and vibrant project since it was forked from OpenOffice.org back in 2010; and it was just a few months ago that we saw the debut of LibreOffice 3.5, the software's third major release.

Several smaller updates have come out since then, but on Wednesday a new one was launched that looks truly notable.

It was just a few short weeks ago that I wrote about the beta release of Fedora Linux 17, but on Tuesday the free and open source operating system--also known as “Beefy Miracle”--made its widely anticipated final debut.

“I am extremely proud of the Fedora 17 release,” said Robyn Bergeron, Fedora Project Leader, in a statement.

Microsoft has already ruffled more than a few feathers with the exclusionary potential of its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system, and this past week the open source community has been up in arms again.

The cause this time has been its Visual Studio 11 product line, new details about which the company published earlier this month.

Star Wars Day may have just barely come and gone, but today, May 25, is perhaps an even bigger event for those of us in the tech world: Geek Pride Day.

That's right: Not only is today Towel Day for fans of Douglas Adams' “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” trilogy, the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film, and the Glorious 25th of May for fans of Discworld, but it's also the day we can all revel without inhibition in our geekiness and love of technology.

It's no secret that open source software is playing an increasingly prominent role in businesses around the globe, but a recent survey has uncovered a few surprising findings about adopters' motivations for choosing it.

Specifically, freedom from vendor lock-in is now users' top reason for choosing open source software, according to the 451 Group.

Your business revolves around producing creative works, and you use the Internet to market those works. Considering how quickly and easily such material can be disseminated around the world without your knowledge or permission, how do you go about protecting your rights to those works? A Creative Commons license might be the most realistic solution.

Although international law holds that a traditional copyright is automatically granted the moment you produce a creative work, such a restrictive right is difficult to enforce in the real world, and it doesn't provide artists with as many tangible benefits as you might think.

Mozilla on Tuesday announced a new effort aimed at helping everyday users of the Web become more proficient at developing and helping to create it.

Called Mozilla Webmaker, the new program offers tools, projects, and events designed to help users of all kinds create, learn, and connect online.

There's been much attention focused lately on Canonical's recently released Ubuntu Linux 12.04 “Precise Pangolin,” but it's by no means the only popular Linux distribution out there with a major update in the offing.

Just a few weeks ago we saw the launch of a beta release of Fedora 17, with the final version due this month, and now the Linux Mint project has rolled out a release candidate for its own Linux Mint 13, or “Maya.”

Linux creator Linus Torvalds on Sunday released a brand-new version of the Linux kernel, and it's packed with a range of goodies that promise to make life considerably better for users.

Among the highlights of the new Linux 3.4 are driver support for several new graphics cards as well as a new security module and numerous key updates to the Btrfs file system.

Over the past few months there have been no fewer than three tiny, cheap Linux PCs making headlines, and now there's a fourth to add to the list.

First we saw the Raspberry Pi and the Cotton Candy devices emerge; then, almost exactly a month ago I wrote about the Mele A1000, a small ARM device that sells with Android but can be configured to run Ubuntu Linux as well.

When Canonical launched its Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix back in February, it was based on Ubuntu Linux 11.10 “Oneiric Ocelot,” which was then the most current stable version of the free and open source operating system.

Since then Ubuntu has received a major update to version 12.04, however, and now Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix has been refreshed accordingly with the new “Precise Pangolin.”

When Android 5.0 “Jelly Bean” launches this fall, it will appear first on several new mobile devices sold by Google itself as part of the “Nexus” line.

That's according to a Tuesday story in the Wall Street Journal, which reports that Google is shifting its Android strategy so that it will not only give select mobile-device makers early access to new releases, but will also sell the resulting devices unlocked directly to consumers.