After writing four posts about this, it’s time to wrap it up. Over the last few weeks I installed and tested enough software to last a lifetime and I feel confident to draw a couple of conclusions.

Have you bought a Kindle or Kindle 2 yet? Don't--at least not until you check out the COOL-ER ebook reader.

KDE 4 brought some big changes to the desktop, including timesaving widgets that do everything from popping you into Twitter to keeping tabs on your servers to providing on-the-fly spell-checking. Jack Wallen runs through 10 of these handy little labor-saving apps.

Going through the almost endless repository of Puplets, I came across a little doggie called Macpup Foxy. It intrigued me, so I downloaded it and tried it - and very much liked it. So today, we're going to have a short review; nothing major. Call this a Puppy sequel, if you will.

"After what seems like an almost endless amount of paperwork, visa applications, immunisations, negotiations, contracts, travel agents, and administrivia, I'm about to fly to Saudi Arabia, to teach Perl to the world's biggest oil company..."

xPUD is certainly unique. In fact, there are some excellent ideas that are beginning to take place here. This is a Linux distribution that is built around two things that most people want, a good web browser, Firefox and a media player. Combine that with an unbelievably simple interface and you have an operating system that boots in 10 seconds and is functional from the start.

As promised, Palm's Linux-based smartphone went on sale Saturday, available exclusively for Sprint networks, says eWEEK. Early reviews have been favorable, although analysts worry about the lack of software and the ability of Sprint to effectively market the Palm Pre.