There was a time when Apple fans hated Windows, but the new trend is to hate Linux. Apple is turning into a consumer electronics company, where Linux is its main rival. Apple diehards can't seem to live without hating someone.

The difference? Linux fans are a bit more educated than the Apple crowd. Few Apple fans realize that the origins of Mac OS X are tied to FreeBSD, an open-source version of Unix. The origins of Linux are also tied to Unix, which now are mostly used on mainframes and supercomputers.

An Ubuntu app will soon reach Android smartphones and tablets to sync music and bookmarks with the Ubuntu One free hosting service, Canonical said on Monday.

"We’re close to launching full-fledged clients for Windows and Android – effectively exposing the extended world of Ubuntu to millions of users for the first time," the company said in a blog entry on Wednesday.

Here's a listing of what the new client app will be able to do:

Canonical is now offering Ubuntu Server 10.10 free in the cloud for free. Essentially it's a remote desktop version of Ubuntu 10.10 -- do a sudo, login, and use a remote virtualized version of Ubuntu Server on your desktop.

But why is Canonical doing this? There are many reasons. This could provide a  quick way for users to test the OS prior to downloading a new versions. Developers can use it as a sandbox to test applications.

The release schedule for Ubuntu 11.10, code-named Oneiric Ocelot, is set for Oct. 3, according to the Ubuntu Wiki, which was just put online. The first alpha for developers is due out on June 2, and the first working beta of the OS will be released on Sept. 1.

The 11.10 will follow Ubuntu Natty Narwhal, or version 11.04, which will be released on April 28. Ubuntu 11.10 will have a better interface, and will exploit the power of cloud and easy access to online services.

The poster child of Ubuntu Linux, Mark Shuttleworth, has code-named Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot." It's a complicated, and I'm not sure how to pronounce or spell it correctly.

Work on the new Linux distro has begun, and it will succeed Natty Narwhal, which is version 11.04, and will ship out on April 28. So far the developer releases have received rave reviews. The new features include a souped up Unity 2D/3D interface, and the new LibreOffice software as a replacement to OpenOffice.

It is easy to write Android applications and them upload them to the Android marketplace. The level of app policing is not as strict as Apple's App Store, where every app is strictly vetted before becoming available.

Today, the iPad 2 came out. It is a beautiful device -- thin, fast, light, and a bright and shiny 9.7-inch screen that glitters straight in the eyes. But the iPad's problems start with its software, iOS 4.3, which is a one-trick pony.

The iOS 4.3 operating system has very little connection to online services (which are also called cloud). Android 3.0 has integrated Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps and other online services, which makes tablets like Xoom much better.

The first thing you do after buying an iPad is give Apple your credit card number, only which after you can download apps. You may think it's harmless to buy one song from Apple for $0.99, isn't it? That's what Apple makes you think, and that's their whole point. Slowly but steadily they'll squeeze your pocket app after app, song after song.

Linux Fund just bought the domain Open.org, now it needs your input on what to do with the website. The remarkable nonprofit has given away $750,000 in open-source project donations to date, and is now asking: "come help us imagine what it could be."

The first tablet with Google's Android 3.0 operating system, Motorola Xoom, is finally here. The tablet has a 10-inch screen and is one of the first serious challengers to Apple's iPad. It also has a more powerful dual-core processor.

But with iPad 2 due in the next few weeks, have Motorola and Google done enough to challenge Apple and iOS? Yes, there's always a start, and Google has built a pretty solid OS that has strong device support around it.