I admit it. I'm impressed. I might have written a wishy-washy review of the beta of Ubuntu 9.04, but now I've had a chance to play with the final release, I like what I'm seeing. I like it a lot. Well done, Ubuntu guys!

The changes are subtle but impressive. The dramatic improvement in boot speeds is a lot more useful than it might first sound. It's no longer a matter of suspending to disk at the end of the day for me and my computers. Now I just shutdown and reboot. Hibernating is too time-consuming nowadays!

I've long thought it funny when Microsoft-fans would tell me how Linux, open-source, the Mac, whatever would never be important because Microsoft products were clearly better. Now, everyone can get on the joke as Microsoft's earnings plummeted in the last quarter by over 30%.

For the stockholders among you that means Microsoft's diluted earnings per share were down 30% over last year and well below what the the analysts were expecting. What carved into Microsoft's piggy-bank? According to Microsoft it was "a poor showing in its Client, Microsoft Business Division and Server & Tools groups." In other words, pretty much everything.

I've been using Jaunty Jackalope--what a name!--for the last few weeks, and I upgraded to the release candidate last night the hard way, i.e. from the source code. I'm impressed. I think you will be too when you download it yourself. The ISO versions are scheduled to be available later today, April 16th, from the usual Ubuntu download sites.

I've been running Jaunty on a Gateway 503GR. This is an older PC with a 3GHz Pentium IV CPU, 2GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon 250 graphics card, and a 300GB SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard drive. Even on this 2006 vintage system, Ubuntu ran quite well.

The latest version of the Linux kernel includes an experimental driver module that tears apart the fabric of space-time. Keir Thomas tested this module, and in doing so managed to retrieve the following article, posted on PC World supersite in the year 2025.

Undoubtedly the biggest upset in the world of tech over the last ten years has been the demise of Microsoft. However, the end had been obvious as early as 2009. The corporation narrowly fought off an antitrust judgment under the (first) Clinton and Bush administrations. But it also developed fatal issues with its product line.

As I've mentioned in a previous Linux Line post, I am not a programmer. Yet Linux is built on the philosophical principle of freely sharing source code. This is how those who create Linux frequently advocate it.

But if I'm not a programmer, and source code therefore means little to me, why do I use Linux? Why do I spend much of my time suggesting others use it? Is it just because it's available fore free? (Spoiler: No.) These are interesting questions that are not discussed very often.

Recently I started work on a new Ubuntu tips book that will partner my existing title, Ubuntu Kung Fu . The new book is still being planned and won't be published until next year, but I thought I'd share 10 tips that are on my list to be included. If you have any others that you think would go into such a book, put them in the comments below. I'd love to hear them, as would other readers, I'm sure.

These tips aren't Ubuntu-specific, but they've been tested on Ubuntu, and I can't guarantee they'll work on other distros. You might already know about some or all of them them, but resist the temptation to gloat about this in the comments. You're just extra clever, OK?

Over the past few days there's been a raft of stories about how the Linux netbook market share is not as healthy as it used to be.

Up until now it's been believed that the emerging netbook market (arguably the first new PC hardware platform for decades) has been sewn-up almost entirely by various varieties of Linux. However, it seems the truth is that Linux netbooks see far more returns than their Windows equivalents, and--according to research firm NPD--about 96% of netbooks sold recently ran Windows. Needless to say, a Microsoft employee has been gloating about this.

Most of us have fantasies about winning the lottery. It's part of being human.

Along with buying property, fast cars, and a life-sized Kylie Minogue fembot (including optional hot pants accessory), my fantasy would be to create the perfect operating system. This is perhaps not high on the list of Lottery-Winner-Fantasy lists. It's definitely below buying a sports team or travelling the world. But it reflects my inherent geekiness and also my frustration with existing operating system efforts.

I am not a programmer. Sometimes I've wanted to get a t-shirt made saying this, because--as an author of Linux books--it's always assumed I am. But I'm an impostor. The last program I wrote ran on a ZX Spectrum in 1988, and then it was only to make "Keir is cool!" scroll across the screen.

What I am is a journalist and author. In other words, I'm an end-user. I'm a very good end user, as it happens. I might even be called a professional end-user. I wouldn't be able to write my books otherwise.