Michael Eilers has written a sort of introduction to Beowulf, what it does, what it doesn't do, and why we should care. It really is a sort of quickie distributed computing FAQ that many of you might enjoy. So hit the link below and find out.

I had a few minutes and felt like writing something completely off the wall. So if you so desire, you can hit the link below and read "Rob's Ultimate Solution for Eliminating Spam". It's purely a joke, so don't take it too seriously.

Wade Naveja sent us This SF Examiner Piece where they explain what portals really are:A waste of corporate money trying to morph the Internet into your TV. Several people have jokingly suggested a Slashdot Portal (yeah, right). But in general, I'm curious what everyone thinks about the ideas.

Several people have written in with an idea that has merit. And Jason Skomorowski has written a fine article explaining some of the ideas behind using Linux as a video game OS. The thought is that Linux is provided with new games, and you could boot Linux from the CD to play games. Sound brilliant? Lame? Read on and see what you think.

Last night I left my shallow world of poof chairs, laptops and beer to go view not one, but two movies. I watched The X-Files, as well as Mulan (those who know me, realize the significance of a new Disney Movie in my life *grin*). If there is demand, I'll post a review of Mulan (the short review, is it greatly exceeded my expectations. Very fun). In the meantime, Hit the link below to read my X-Files review.

Okay... weds we asked for submissions of weird links for a conspiracy feature to coincide with the opening of the X-Files movie. What happened? Click the link below...

Matthew Newhall has written an interesting piece on commercial vs. GPLd programming, and OS development. His solution is a free software advocacy commercial license. Will it work? Read and decide for yourself.

Recently Red Hat has announced that they will begin distributing binary X servers for video cards with NDAs and unreleased specs. Personally, I have a NeoMagic chipset, so I'm happy to see it. Frank LaMonica has written up his opinions on this issue and sent them here. In any case, you should read why he thinks that this is a good idea.

Robin V. Stacey has written an excellent feature on installing an alternative operating system, and the troubles he encountered while doing it.

David Ishee has written a piece on the Fear of X.0 where he talks about (surprise!) release versions of software. It's worth a gander...

Eric S. Raymond has written a reply to the recent pair of editorials I ran regarding what makes us hack. His concerns is that the previous editorials have oversimplified the situation. Hit the link below to read his response.

Robert Levin has written a response to Yesterday's editorial on the Tragedy of the Commons. It's an excellent rebuttal.

Recently I've had at least a dozen people comment about case design and modern computers. SGIs look cool, and the NetWinders, MicroServers, and even yesterday's Rock thing are interesting case design. Now I realize that a lot of people don't give two shakes what their case looks like (as long as it is big *grin*) but a lot of other folks seem to desire exotic and strange new case designs. Do people know where we could get cases? Is there a demand? Could the prices be reasonable? I realize that this is a really strange topic, but I've had an amazing amount of mail related to it lately so I figured I'd let you guys have at it.

This is fairly sizable. Michael McLagan, better known to most readers as the brave soul responsible for Linux.org has written a response to the criticism he has recieved lately about the web site. I feel Linux.org is an important resource and Michael is working hard to do a good job. I think it's important that we work together to make sure that Linux.org is all it should be. I guess the first step is to hit the link below and read what he has to say, and talk about it.

The one and only Richard M. Stallman wrote in to clarify his views on Proprietary Software running on free OSs. Hit the link below to read his statement on the subject.

Jon A Christopher has risen through the ranks to become the new release coordinator for the LessTif project (for those unaware, LessTif is a free version of Motif, the defacto standard widget set from days of old, and days not so far off). He has written an editorial on LessTif, speaking of why it is still important today for this project to be finished, and why folks should be interested, and even join in. Read on to see what he has to say.

Chris Tyler has written an excellent piece examining the recent Gartner Group article we mentioned yesterday, and discussing what Linux needs to do in order to achieve Linus' vision of Total World Domination. It's an excellent piece worth your time.

Our drive back proved much less eventful then the drive down, and now having had a nice nap, I'm ready to post a final batch of rants and rambles about the Expo and my experiences there. Hit the link below to read more. And now since I'm back, I should be reading email again, and of course posting articles more regularly.

It's been quite a day folks. I decided that I will take a few minutes to give everyone a bit more details about the adventures that we're having out here. Hit the link below to read everything that I can think of that happened today that might have been interesting.

The battle for the X desktop has never been fiercer. And the major contenders for the easy-to-use integrated desktop of the future is being waged between KDE and Gnome. Kevin Forge has written in with his "Twisted View" on the situtation.