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News

• Linux skills are hot on improving IT hiring front

  IT professionals enjoyed a dramatically improved hiring landscape in 2010, marked in particular by the fewest job cuts in a year since 2000.

• News of 'Natty Narwhal' preview what's next for Ubuntu

  Ubuntu 11.04 may just be one of the most widely -- and sometimes even anxiously -- anticipated releases yet of Canonical's popular open source operating system.

• Firefox 4 beta 9 gives short shrift to Linux users

  Considerable fanfare greeted Friday's release of the ninth--and apparently final--beta version of Firefox 4, which boosted the popular Web browser with hundreds of bug fixes and a raft of powerful new features.

• Ubuntu adds sparkle to Nufront laptops

  Despite Linux's growing popularity, trade shows like CES tend to be dominated by Microsoft and other vendors of closed-source products.

• Linux adds driver support for raft of devices

  While much of the world's focus was on the Consumer Electronics Show Wednesday, Linux creator Linus Torvalds quietly released the next version of the Linux kernel.

• New Linux kernel strengthens SMP support

  The latest release of the Linux operating system kernel offers a number of improvements that should speed up operations in SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) systems.

• 10 last-minute gift ideas for Linux geeks

  It may be better to give than it is to receive, but that doesn't mean geeks the world over don't have virtual sugarplums dancing through their heads.

• Can the balance shift towards open source in mobile?

  The battle lines for the mobile marketplace have been drawn, and the battle of the titans - Google, Apple, Microsoft -- has begun. While the generals amass their troops, what have we here in the corner? A bunch of doodlers, cartoonists, storytellers, and other amateurs. Surely, this ragtag group won't have any effect on the outcome of the battle--or will they?

• How Ubuntu Linux could help Google's CR-48 notebook

  Google's Chrome operating system-based CR-48 notebook computer may be in just a select set of hands so far, but it's been generating plenty of media attention.

• Google pushes Chrome for businesses with Windows management tools

  Google is continuing its push for business customers by adding policy features to the Chrome browser, giving IT shops the means to manage Chrome in Windows, Mac and Linux environments.

• Top 10 Ubuntu ideas offer hint at what's to come

  As part of its effort to involve the Ubuntu community in making its Linux distribution better, the Ubuntu Technical Board last week published a list of some of the most popular recent suggestions for inclusion in a future version of the open source operating system.

• Why Nokia is in deep trouble with MeeGo

  Beware open source. Just ask AOL. All it wanted in the late 1990s was a killer browser to destroy Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They figured the best way of getting this was to make Netscape open source. Four long years later, AOL finally got what it wanted, just about, but the world had changed almost beyond recognition. Internet Explorer was dominant; the game was over.

• Google offers a peek at its Chrome laptop. Hint: It's an NC

  Google gave the world a first look at its new Chrome OS laptop Tuesday and according to CEO Eric Schmidt it's very much like the Network Computer devices that he was pitching while chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems 13 years ago.

• Ellison: Oracle Enterprise Linux coming to Sparc

  Oracle will port its Enterprise Linux distribution to Sun's Sparc processor, a move that could help it compete better against IBM and Hewlett-Packard in the high-end server business.

• 'Natty Narwhal' alpha offers peek at Ubuntu 11.04

  Canonical on Thursday released the first alpha version of Ubuntu 11.04, offering fans of the open source Linux operating system an early glimpse at the next major version.