It seems that Picotux is the world’s smallest Linux running computer.
Its sizes are 35mm×19mm×19mm. Inside there’s an ARM7 CPU running at 55 MHz and an uClinux kernel 2.4.27 + Busybox 1.0.
Being this small, you might think the communication/connectivity part would have to suffer, but that’s not true.
It also has an 10/100 Mbps half/full duplex Ethernet and a serial port with up to 230.400 baud.
You may want to check the full list of technical specifications here.

The price may vary from ~100Euros (the cheapest) and it can go up to ~240Euros for advanced features. Aditional features can be bought as well.

Here’s a picture of it. What do you think?

Starting with the “3d bumptop desktop prototype” the new hype was 3D desktops for linux. From the most popular I mention XGL, Looking Glass for Ubuntu and of course Beryl-Compiz (based on XGL).

But the main features are the same:

• Scale effect - Using the scale effect you can see all your opened windows and switch between them. Not only that but this is live preview so the movies will keep rolling, sites updating, etc. This is really helpful for operations like drag&drop and others that require you working with multiple windows.
• The switcher - New way to visualize the windows when you ALT-TAB. It uses live preview of course, and it can be set to dim other windows besides the one active, it rotates the cube when you select a window in another dektop, etc.
• Desktop Cube - I think this was the biggest hit. That cool 3D Cube that uses live preview (also) and that lets you manipulate your default four desktops in any way you want. Add to this the window effects and you’ll get some pretty nice visual effects.
• Window Effects - There are dozens animations and effects for your windows. You can set your windows to fade in and out, to destroy themselves when you close them, to ‘wave’ when you move it, etc. Besides there are many attributes you can alter for each window, such as: Transparency, Brightness, Saturation, etc.

And these are only basic features enhanced and modified by each desktop, case by case. As you have seen the novelty is mostly visual, and the way I see it there’s little or no addition to usability.

You can’t call yourself a computer expert if you haven’t tried at least once one other operating system on your own computer. Bonus points if you tried multi-booting. Either way you want to take it, I am going to share a few suggestion regarding the most popular combination of dual-OS systems. Windows and Linux. A pleasant combo, but accessed separately. By default you cannot view your files from the Linux partition while booting Linux for example.

While Windows uses NTFS or FAT(32) as a file system, Linux uses EXT 2 or EXT 3. Definitely not compatible. However, I have searched and found the following two applications that are meant to do this process way easier for the end-users.

Ext2 Installable File System For Windows
It provides Windows NT4.0/2000/XP/2003 with full access to Linux Ext2 volumes (read access and write access). This may be useful if you have installed both Windows and Linux as a dual boot environment on your computer. The “Ext2 Installable File System for Windows” software is freeware.

If you currently have Windows running and you realize that you need some files for your work which you have stored on an Ext2 volume of your Linux installation, you no longer have to shut down Windows and boot Linux. Furthermore, Windows will now be able to handle floppy disks which have been formatted with an Ext2 file system. Linux Ext3 volumes can also be accessed. Isn’t that nice?

Freeware Linux Reader for Windows
This program plays the role of a bridge between your Windows and Ext2/Ext3 Linux file systems. This easy-to-use tool runs under Windows and allows you to browse Ext2/Ext3 Linux file systems and extract files from there.

There are a number of evident merits of the program, which you should know. First of all, DiskInternals Linux Reader is absolutely free. Secondly, the program provides for read-only access and does not allow you to make records in Ext2/Ext3 file system partitions. This guarantees that the interference in an alternative file system will not affect the work of Linux later. Apart from this, it is necessary to note, that it gives you an opportunity to use common Windows Explorer for extracting data. A preview option for pictures is one more pleasant point, which is worth mentioning. While saving, it ignores file security policies. It means that it is possible to access absolutely any file on a Linux disk from Windows. The program can create and open images of Ext2/Ext3 disks.

Hope at least one of these two programs suit your needs.

A common known project started 5 years ago, focused on developing and maintaining a project called CNR (Click ‘n’ run). It’s a standardized process for finding, evaluating, installing, and updating desktop software for the most popular Linux distributions, both Debian and RPM based.

CNR is a free and easy way to access over 20.000 desktop Linux products, packages and libraries, and all with a single mouse click. Finding, installing and managing software on your desktop Linux computer was never that easy.

CNR makes finding the right piece of software easy with user reviews, screenshots, descriptions, charts, and so on. When you find the software you want, with literally one click, it will be installed on your computer and icons will be added to your desktop and Start Menu. Also, CNR notifies you when updates are available for the installed applications via the main website, which you can easily install with one click as well.

Launching in the 2nd Quarter of 2007, CNR.com will be a free on-line digital software warehouse and one-click delivery service designed to solve the complexity of finding, installing and managing software applications on your Linux desktop computer. CNR.com will be the most extensive resource available anywhere for desktop Linux software. Search from tens of thousands of Linux software products, packages and libraries by title, popularity, similar software, category, author, or function, and then install the software with just one click of your mouse.

Linspire started to work on this project a year ago, and that changed the CNR technology completely. Like I said at the beginning of this article, it now supports multiple distributions, both Debian and RTM based.

Should you want to find out more about this interesting project, check out the FAQ, Screenshots, Press releases and official forums.

Personally, I think this technology will bring a lot of new users into the UNIX world.