Opera 4.0a for Linux is now available! As noted by the version number, this is still an Alpha release. Since this is a technology preview, and not a beta, we are asking that you do not send us bug reports--there are still enough being generated internally to keep us busy for a while.

When communicating with Unix or Linux systems from a Windows machine can sometimes be a tedious process, and tends to be done with programs such as telnet and ftp. But, when one needs to run a graphical application, telnet and ftp won't help too much. Enter Exceed, a PC-based X server with a host of utilities that will make any Unix or Linux geek feel at home.

After the overwhelming debut of LINUX Business Expo during COMDEX/Fall '99, ZD Events today announced that the LINUX Business Expo family of events will expand to 4 annual events in North America. A 10-member LINUX Business Expo 2000 Advisory Board has also been announced to assist ZD Events in directing the events and selecting conferences themes and tracks.

Office, not Windows, is Microsoft's real killer asset, according to VA Linux Systems CEO Larry Augustine. In an interview with CNBC yesterday Augustine described MS Office as "the one big application" in the desktop arena, and said Linux wouldn't make serious headway here until a strong enough rival appeared.

Mounting interest by institutional investors in Linux is proving the operating system is more than a fad. But a nagging question remains: how do Linux companies make money when the core product is free?

Linux firm Red Hat today said it has agreed to buy e-commerce software company Hell's Kitchen Systems in a stock deal worth about $86 million.

In the wake of the gadget-filled halls of COMDEX last year, perhaps we should have seen it coming. But Xybernaut, a company that makes wearable computers, has just confirmed that its most recent wearable PC, now runs Linux.

Intel will further expand its horizons beyond the microprocessor today when it details plans for selling Linux-powered Internet appliances that make phone calls, surf the Web and send and receive email.

With the release of the latest Linux kernel, version 2.2.14, a new doorway has been opened to the Linux platform, Computer Telephony. This is the first kernel to include support for a telephony device.

IDG World Expo announced that The XFree86 Project, Inc. is the recipient of the February 2000 IDG/Linus Torvalds Community Award. IDG Chairman and Founder, Patrick J. McGovern and Linux creator Linus Torvalds will present the $25,000 award at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo.