OpenSuse is rapidly approaching the next version of the free Linux distribution with the release of the first beta version. According to the roadmap the final version of OpenSuse 11.0 will be released June 19.

Linus Torvalds has released the new 2.6.25 kernel just slightly behind schedule. Besides improvements to the CFS scheduler and a plethora of new drivers, the kernel also introduces a political aspect: it debars non-GPLd USB drivers.

The Fedora developers have released a preview of the next version of the Fedora 9 Linux distribution; this is the most important release en route to the final version, they say.

The Helix developers have announced version 11 of Helix Player and Realplayer for Linux.

The Open Office project has just announced that the latest 2.4 version of the free office suite removes a number of security issues.

The Open Source MySQL database, which is now maintained by Sun Microsystems after Sun's acquisition, benefits from a performance boost and easier management following the update to version 5.1.

Open Source software is likely to dominate the Software as a Service (SaaS) segment for reasons of economy and community building says market researcher Gartner: Open Source is cheap, and communities keep it popular.

Version 2008-1 of the live distribution Sidux, which is based on Debian Sid, has just been released.

Rob Glidden of Sun Microsystems reports in his blog on two new Open Source projects by his employer which will lead to a free media solution with video and audio codecs.

The results of the election are confirmed: Debian veteran Steve McIntyre has won the Debian Project Leader (DPL) election in the third round of voting.