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.

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.”

Mandriva Linux is a venerable distribution with numerous advantages to recommend it, but it's no secret that the software's French publisher has been facing tough times.

An announcement is apparently imminent as to the company's financial future, but in the meantime Mageia--the fork that was born as a result of all the turbulence--is proceeding along nicely.

It used to be that OpenOffice.org was the leading open source alternative to proprietary productivity suites like Microsoft Office, and it was included in pretty much all the major Linux distributions.

Then Oracle bought Sun Microsystems, and OpenOffice fell onto hard times.

Dell has taken what you might call an on-again, off-again approach to offering Ubuntu-preloaded hardware over the years, but on Monday the company made an announcement that Linux fans are sure to cheer.

Specifically, through an effort known as Project Sputnik, Dell has been working on a prototype open source laptop aimed at developers, based on Ubuntu Linux 12.04 “Precise Pangolin” and Dell’s XPS 13 hardware.