November 12, 2005 -- PCLinuxOS, a start-up KDE engineered distribution, has recently released their v0.92 Test 3 build that contains an updated Unionfs stable version as well as fixes largely when it comes to the livecd-installer. Bundled with PCLinuxOS v0.92 is everything from the LimeWire P2P application to a scientific calculator. Even though PCLinuxOS hasn't yet gained much momentum from the desktop Linux community, its intentions are definitely in the right direction and we look forward to seeing how this distribution "shapes up" after passing its development stages.

November 07, 2005 -- GoblinX, one of the many Brazilian-based LiveCD distributions, has just released their Mini v1.2.1 build. GoblinX Mini is a light-weight distribution that comes ships with XFce 4 and GTK support. The objective of this LiveCD Slackware-based distribution is to make a pleasant yet functional desktop. In addition to upgrading the Linux kernel to 2.6.13.2, Gxine has been added to its arsenal of petite packages, along with Ghcpd, Xarchive, and Graveman among many other additions and removals.

October 28, 2005 -- Symphony OS, among the latest Linux distributions receiving quite a bit of attention by the general public, has released their first BETA candidate (BETA 1 Preview 1) after a series of ALPHA releases. Rather than using GNOME, KDE, Fluxbox, or another one of the many desktop environments Symphony OS has created the Mezzo Desktop Environment to allow for a visually attractive and easy-to-use interface. In addition, this Knoppix-based distribution packs a punch when it comes to its standard set of packages and user friendly features.

October 17, 2005 -- Kate OS, the Linux distribution designed for just about everyone ranging from programmers to home-users, have released their 2.2 version. Contained in this release is the 2.6.13 kernel with Reiser 4 file-system support along with the GTK+ v2.8.3 library and support for GNOME 2.12, however, XFCE continues to be the default desktop environment of choice. As always, Kate OS developers have done a magnificent job on the default theme.

October 16, 2005 -- Designed primarily for desktop deployment throughout South Africa, OpenLab GNU/Linux is designed to be an easy-to-use Slackware-based LiveCD distribution with a variety of exclusive innovations. OpenLab's latest release, 4.0 - Perdita, features a greatly improved OpenLab Administration tool, HyperDrive Suite, and the award winning Nuvola icon set. Although this was our first encounter with OpenLab, we were quite pleased by our initial findings.

October 13, 2005 -- After a preview release and multiple colony development builds, Ubuntu Linux has finally released v5.10 (Breezy Badger). Looking at this release first hand, it continues to look incredibly promising for the GNU/Linux movement and we hope that Mark Shuttleworth continues to invest in this valuable commodity. Some of the major improvements to Ubuntu 5.10 include thin client integration, OEM installer support, and Launchpad integration. Other advancements include GNOME 2.12.1, OpenOffice.org 2.0 BETA 2, GCC 4.0.1, and a wealth of other improvements to the hardware support and usability.

October 12, 2005 -- SME Server, formerly known as e-Smith, has released its fifth BETA for the upcoming v7.0 release. Among many improvements to the language translations and enhanced server controls, there is numerous installer changes and DNS improvements. SME Server/e-Smith has been at work since 1999 on creating a reliable distribution for handling small to medium enterprise server needs and SME Server v7.0 Beta 5 is very evident of their hard work at hand, and today we have some new snapshots from their web-interface.

October 10, 2005 -- Ark Linux, a distribution aiming to hit the systems of desktop users, has released its 2005.2-rc3 candidate that now encompasses a predecease of KDE 3.5 and a GNU compiler for the D programming language. From our initial encounter with Ark 2005.2 we've been impressed by its optimizations for use as a desktop system as well as various other improvements. This distribution is attempting to make it so easy to install and operate, a game of Tetrix is even playable while installing the data to your hard drive.

October 02, 2005 -- Last week Puppy Linux v1.0.5 was released, which contained a wealth of changes while continuing to be minimal in size. Today another minimalist distribution came out with a new release and it's the Slackware-based pocketlinux v1.3, which finally incorporates KDE v3.4.2, among many other improvements. This bantam release also appends French language support as well as improvements to fbpanel and the standard development packages.

September 29, 2005 -- Quite often we enjoy trying out new and unique Linux distributions not only to express our eternal love for open-source software but more importantly to see how various distributions compare to our personal favorites, and to see the progress Linux is making for desktop usage. The latest of these distributions to hit our systems is Puppy Linux; which recently experienced its v1.0.5 release. In addition to the DotPup Downloader there is the new Wireless Access Gadget, puppyPDF, and a wealth of other Puppy advancements. Today we're sharing our first looks at this lightweight distribution weighing in at a measly 53.4MB.