After some stops and starts, the first release candidate for Open Office 3.0 is finally ready; after some discussions the project team decided today to go for a second try.

In response to a challenge to programming language developers set by the editors of Linux Magazine, Python Django returned with a solution that is now available as a video workshop.

The second early Firefox 3.1 test version (code-named Shiretoko Alpha 2) provides at first glance a video tag, which allows audio and video to be played in free Ogg/Theora format.

At the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, (August 29-September 3), Chinese hardware vendor HiVision showcased a Linux laptop that is to cost a mere $98.

The latest version of the open source anti-virus scanner, ClamAV 0.94, promises to improve virus detection rates with enhanced scanning capabilities.

U.S. Linux distributor Red Hat has bought the virtual computing solutions vendor Qumranet.

Phoronix Media releases its version 1.2 test suite.

Google touts its Javascript engine version 8, among other things, as setting new speed records for its Chrome browser. Linux Magazine found during a benchmark test that the next Firefox generation can keep up with it.

The Ubuntu Linux distribution is offering online workshops from September 1 through 5 for those who would like to jump on board the initiative.

According to a survey by the Austrian broadcasting station ORF, the majority of the parliament is for supporting the use of open source in the public sector.