For programmers on big projects, a version control system for managing source code is vital, but working on files in a large project from one of these programs' command-line interfaces is cumbersome. Worse, the results of the commands lack highlighting to show the differences between files and revisions.

Barcelona, Spain-based Tuxbrain has released an application-rich Linux distribution for the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone called Fat and Dirty OpenMoko (FDOM). In addition, Openmoko announced that both Tuxbrain and French design firm FaberNovel have joined the company's network of more than 20 distributors.

Zipf’s law is a testament to the order in our world, showing that the same patterns emerge in a wide variety of situations. The linguist George Kingsley Zipf first proposed the law in 1949, when he noticed that the distribution of words in a newspaper, book, or other literary article always followed the same pattern.

Gnome, KDE and XFCE users will have no problem changing the wallpaper on their desktop. However, if you are using a lightweight desktop manager such Openbox or Fluxbox, you will find that there is no way that you can set the wallpaper for your desktop. In this case, Nitrogen will come in handy.

Openmoko Inc, maker of the world's first totally open mobile phone, today announced that faberNovel, Inc has joined the worldwide distribution network for the FreeRunner open source mobile phone. Since launching the FreeRunner in July of this year, Openmoko has built out a network of more than 20 distributors covering North America, Europe and Asia.

Considering that I have been writing daily posts basically without missing a day for around a year now, there is obviously a lot happening in the world of Linux and open-source software. The question is: what do you want to happen in this upcoming year? Last year I asked for reader's Linux dreams, and received a great response, so this year I am doing it again.

Keith Curtis has just written a book about the future of software.
Enterprise Computing. That in itself isn’t unique. More unusual is that Mr. Curtis, an 11-year veteran of Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, believes deeply that open source is the future of software.

Nokia announced a home automation system based on the open source OpenWrt Linux distribution. Due in late 2009, the Z-wave wireless radio-equipped Nokia Home Control Center will let users remotely control security, automation, and energy management applications via their mobile phones, says Nokia.