As I have been going around alternately prodding my friends and family to try Linux, or asking them if they thought it would be possible, one thing I have heard repeatedly is that a lot of people use Microsoft Office and are concerned about their Office documents on Linux.

OpenID sounds like a great idea - essentially single-sign on for multiple web sites or web applications, without participating sites having to see your credentials. But is it trustworthy and safe in the light of recent revelations concerning a flaw on the DNS system on which it relies?

The computing industry is familiar with the low-cost lab known as the garage, a historic hot-bed for innovation, and this week LinuxWorld had its own "garage" to showcase embedded Linux.

CodeWeavers' CrossOver Linux is a software framework that emulates the Microsoft Windows 98, 2000 and XP application programming interfaces (APIs) on GNU/Linux. This allows Windows programs to run on GNU/Linux without having to run a virtual instance of the operating system e.g. a virtual machine.

In my last article I looked at gaming on Ubuntu Linux and concluded that it is alive and well! Now we head back into the "useful" side of Linux. Linux has a bad reputation of having to use the Command Line Interface (CLI) to do anything really useful. In this article I will talk about some graphical interfaces for tools to get those "useful" things done.

It had been decided to create a new theme after each Long Term Support release, meaning that starting with Ubuntu 8.10, a new theme will be released, and there will be no new theme until after the next LTS release in 2010. During that period of time, the theme is fixed to be more appealing and complete.

Ten years from now, if Linux has managed to gain something like 10 per cent or more of the desktop market and continues to maintain its lead in the server market, one person would have to take a goodly share of the credit - Mark Shuttleworth.