For all its server room successes, Linux has found the mainstream corporate desktop a much harder nut to crack, and much of the blame belongs to usability issues. With a solid, configurable interface that should please Linux newbies and power users alike, Version 3.0 of the K Desktop Environment represents Linux\'s best shot yet at breaking out of the back office to gain ground on the desktop.

Once a purveyor of closed and proprietary solutions, the company has recast itself as flag bearer of all things open and interoperable. Seeing the company\'s peace, love and penguin ads for Linux are indeed worthy of an eye-rubbing double take.

This is for people who want to learn the basics of Linux at home, on the Internet. You don\'t have to be a \"learn all alone\" kind of person to do it this way -- there\'s plenty of human help out there. These three venues offer current, interactive, real-life Linux help for real people.

KDE 3.0 is available in 50 languages and ships with the core KDE libraries, the base desktop environment, an integrated development environment, and hundreds of applications and other desktop enhancements from the other KDE base packages (administration, artwork, development, edutainment, development, games, multimedia, PIM, utilities, and more).

A new biography of Richard Stallman looks at how the free software mastermind got to be so single-mindedly stubborn.

Not only are the planets aligning in the Linux universe of late, it seems also that the stars, the moon, and even Sun are snapping into place for the once upstart OS.

The third annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders and individual, business and government GNOME users to Seville, Spain next month. The conference is a unique forum for highlighting the capabilities of GNOME, the user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. GUADEC will also feature meaningful discussions of the future direction of GNOME development.

The third annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders and individual, business and government GNOME users to Seville, Spain next month. The conference is a unique forum for highlighting the capabilities of GNOME, the user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. GUADEC will also feature meaningful discussions of the future direction of GNOME development.

Rick Carey has staked his reputation and his job on a project that he concedes is risky--but with potentially huge returns. He is the person in charge of a top-down implementation of Linux software at Merrill Lynch. Merrill (nyse: MER - news - people) is one of many Wall Street brokerages doing a large-scale Linux deployment in an effort to cut their costs and boost revenue.

Linus Torvalds steps down as the person incharge of Kernel Development. You can cast your vote for the next successor.