The K Desktop Environment community came out earlier this year with their brand new KDE 4.0 release that marked significant advancements to this open-source desktop environment compared to its KDE 3.5.x code-base. Meanwhile, the GNOME community has been living in a 2.0 cycle for quite some time with no signs of a major overhaul, but their six-month release cycles just continue to deliver new refinements and minor improvements. The plans for GNOME 3.0 just put this release out when there is significant API/ABI breakage to GNOME 2.0 / GTK+ or a major rewrite. Well, in addition to announcing Stormy Peters joining GNOME, at GUADEC 2008 they have just announced plans for GNOME 3.0!

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Popularity: 12% [?]

Out of the box, a Linux desktop is far more secure than most others.

However, this level of security is not necessarily attained through typical security-focused software or techniques. Sometimes, the easiest means to security are those that are the easiest to forget.

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Popularity: 12% [?]

Support for a tabbed user interface in the Nautilus file manager is a feature frequently requested by users of the GNOME desktop environment. It’s finally here and you can try it yourself.

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The newest Ubuntu Linux long term support (LTS) release, code named ‘Hardy Heron’ (officially called Ubuntu 8.04) is set to be available today, including both desktop and server editions with a long list of new features.

Among them is an innovative new way to install and uninstall Linux with a Microsoft Windows desktop.

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The next red-letter day for Ubuntu fans will be April 24, when Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support) arrives. Mark Shuttleworth, the CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, guarantees that the next version of the popular Linux distribution will make it on time, with something for enterprise, desktop, and Internet users.

In an interview, Shuttleworth made the point that, while many executives have yet to realize it, “Open source software projects and Linux distros are actually better than proprietary companies at hitting deadlines.” In particular, Shuttleworth says, “Companies are now comparing Linux with Vista, and it’s clear that’s Linux does a better job of meeting people’s expectations.

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I like the features of this new release, as an Ubuntu fan as I am, I will be upgrading to Heron.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Sometimes putting together a best-of-the-year list is like pulling teeth. There simply isn’t enough big news to fill the list out. That was not a problem for desktop Linux in 2007.

This year was one of the most eventful years in desktop Linux’s short history. While Mac OS X remains the most successful of all the Unix/open-source-based operating systems, the Linux desktop made great strides forward in both the office and in homes.

As I look back over the year while making up my list, one thing strikes me: This was not a year where I can point at some substantial advancement in the Linux desktop itself. That’s not to say there weren’t significant desktop Linux releases; there were. To name but a few, this year saw the arrival of such significant distributions as Fedora 8, OpenSUSE 10.3, SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 Service Pack 1, MEPIS 6.5 and last, but never least, Ubuntu 7.10.

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Popularity: 4% [?]