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LinuxPlanet Classics: This was originally published on LinuxPlanet Dec. 18, 2000, though it could be brand-new, as these same old anti-Linux arguments are being recycled yet one more time. And just in time for the holidays! Read on to learn how Brian Proffitt artfully demolishes the "It's not even an operating system, it's just old technology cobbled together" nonsense.

LinuxPlanet Classics: "No," the technician explained, "Linux is probably causing this problem and it needs to come off the machine." Michael Hall's classic battle with Dell tech support was first published in July 2001. Has anything really changed?

LinuxPlanet Classics: I ran across this funny and true rant about dimwitted tech support that thinks MS Windows is the whole world: "Linux is an older version of UNIX that crashes if you try to use it to look at graphics, or as a web server." This was published in September 2000-- has anything really changed?

The need for Mono's Moonlight project, which allows Microsoft's Silverlight to run on Linux, might be questioned by many Linux purists, but the fact remains that there will be websites developed using Silverlight. Paul Ferrill tries to cut through the controversy and examines the issues surrounding Moonlight.

Don't get into IT because you want an air-conditioned office. Get into it because it's your passion. Not sure it's your passion? There are a lot of free tools that'll help you explore.

For some time now, business and free software have coexisted relatively peacefully. But in recent months this cooperation has shown signs of becoming strained.

By using Free and Open Source software, you are supporting one of the few initiatives that give developing nations and the poor any hope of participating as equals in the modern world.

Starting from nothing, the free software community has achieved the impossible, confounding all sorts of expectations. So why all the angst?

Should Debian be more commercial, as Ubuntu is? A look inside one of the GNU/Linux movement�s leading distributions.

From KDE to the OOXML controversy to video drivers: a gaze into the crystal ball for free (as in free speech, not as in free beer) software.

Those who have experienced free software projects firsthand know that they depend on innovation and genrally foster it. And although this isn't a highly innovative era for the computer industry as a whole, free software is an exception--and likely to become more of one as it continues to come into its own. In fact, the very idea of free software is one of the most innovative ideas in the history of computing.

There's an enormous difference between your average PC consumer and the hardcore computer enthusiast. One of the key differences is how much time someone is willing to expend on a system.

Discovering the perfect formula for profiting from an open source project is not easy. There are countless variables that must be considered, many of which determine early on whether or not a project will be successful with the community using it.

So, Mr. Small- and Medium-Businessman, what's holding you up? Don't you need to run a Web site, be able to transfer files around your office, or automate some processes so they run 24/7? Wouldn't you like to put the worry of a virus wiping out your valuable data out of your mind? Have you ever thought about how nice it would be to buy one DVD and be able to load it on all the machines in your company?

One of the basic premises of evolution is that traits that are advantageous to the species are perpetuated and adverse ones winnowed. Extending the metaphor to software design project management, one would expect that modern "best practices" would be the ones that had resulted in the most benefit to companies. James Turner analyzes why this is not usually the case, and what can be done to correct the problem.