In other words, if you’re offering or giving a Linux-based computer this holiday season — whether you’re a big box retailer, online distributor, or Linux fanatic who wants to spread FOSS to family or friends — make sure you tell them it’s Linux.

Fall season is one of the busiest times for Linux distributions, and this year is also a very busy time for me. Ever since two years now I gradually migrated family and friends to Linux. This year these new Linux users gave me quite some work, especially on week-ends, and my own upgrade gave me quite some work.

A few days before the release of the new Ubuntu, here’s a guided tour through the Ubuntu family album with some annotations telling my story with the different versions.

In our house, the refrigerator door is where we post the family calendar, showing our family and friends' birthdays, school terms, and important events, along with public holidays. We create the calendar using a nifty command-line program called PCAL, which produces a standard one-month-per-page calendar with each day in a separate box.

HP has introduced its first all-in-one PC as part of the enterprise-class HP Compaq 6000 Pro family. It is unfortunate that HP doesn't offer Gnu/Linux on these machines.

MSN Messenger allows you to chat online, in real time, with family, friends and colleagues. It's faster than e-mail, more discreet than a phone call, and best of all it's free! MSN Messenger is more than just text, it's a great way to collaborate with co-workers or touch base with family and friends. Now runs on Linux with Wine!

The best part about being a grownup is you can be your own favorite Linux/FOSS geek and buy yourself nice things. Here are some cool gift ideas for this holiday season. Or any time of year, because excellent adult toys know no seasons.

There are plenty of charities in this world, many with noble causes. Some, probably more noble than the ones listed here. But if you’re like me, many (if not all) of these organizations and their causes have a special place in my heart. So here it is, the geek’s guide to giving this holiday season.

It's the holiday season! Regardless of which holidays you celebrate, it's a good time to connect with relatives and absent friends. GIMP is a great tool for creating your own custom holiday cards; Akkana Peck shows how to do this using your own images.