One of the pains of installing so many distros is configuring Firefox exactly as I would want it; especially this means loading the right extensions (add-ons). Seriously, there are some firefox extensions (add-ons) that I can’t live without and the following is the list that I need. It’s personal (of course), suited only to my need, so this list is not normative for anyone.

There is always a time when your GNU/Linux machine's screen output stops working. Maybe it's displaying garbage to your monitor instead of Gnome or KDE. Or maybe it's displaying 640x480 resolution with 8 colors instead of 1280x1024 with 24 colors. Actually, this will happen with Windows as well. But unlike Windows, GNU/Linux provides a handy tool to fix it.

GeoGebra, a GPL-licensed teaching and learning tool that integrates geometry, algebra, and calculus, benefits both teachers and students alike. Developed by Markus Hohenwarter at Florida Atlantic University, GeoGebra constructs geometrical figures and demonstrates the relationship between geometry and algebra.

Fedora 8 test releases have a surprise for all users interested in graphics: a release candidate for the new GIMP 2.4, meaning the final version will get the stable GIMP 2.41. This is exciting news, as the previous major release, GIMP 2.2, is several years old, and a lot of new features were added in the meantime.

"Developers, artists and user interface designers from all over the world worked together to make GIMP more powerful and easier to use than ever. The changes from version 2.2 are too numerous to list here, please check the Release Notes to get an overview..."

http://next.gimp.org/release-notes/gimp-2.4.html

Avant Window Navigator, or AWN is a neat little dock that sits at the base of your monitor and looks exceedingly nice. It’s a great addition to your compiz-fusion install (in fact, you need compiz or something like it running for AWN to work).

I've been using Windows since it was battling for desktop supremacy with GEM in the early 90s. In the mid 90s I spent several years producing newspapers on Apple Macs. Since the late 90s I've dabbled with Linux, but there have always been compelling reasons to return to, or stick with, Windows.

After a slight delay here is the third instalment of my Linux tour. On Wednesday of this week I wiped openSUSE off my machine and decided to try Mandriva 2008 next. I used to Mandrake a lot a few years back before it became Mandriva and even paid to join their Club but never felt like I got value for my money.