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The OpenSuse project has released a new version of its Linux operating system. OpenSuse 11.0 became available for free download this week. The software -- an open source project powered by Novell -- aims to bring the Linux world to the masses. Version 11.0 builds on the original open source system developed back in 2005. The update includes dozens of new features designed to improve installation and performance. One of the most notable changes is OpenSuse's completely revamped installation utility, made to be far simpler for users.

Well, it was a relatively quiet week on the Linux blogs last week, as schools around the country wrapped up another year and everyone began the transition -- even if just unofficially -- into summer. Perhaps it was those stimulus checks burning holes in their pockets, but the most lively discussion on Slashdot last week focused on the critical decision that any Linux geek contemplating the purchase of a new PC must face: Whether to buy it preloaded with Linux, or whether to get a Windows machine and reformat it with Linux themselves.

Last week was one of those weeks on the Linux blogs where every thread seems to boil down to the same message, as if coordinated by invisible cosmic forces. Fedora 9 was unleashed, of course, bringing joy to the hearts of many. Perhaps more notable than the details of the release itself, however, was its timing. Specifically, it hasn't escaped the notice of astute Linux bloggers that Fedora 9, Ubuntu Hardy Heron and OpenSuSE 11 have all arrived in remarkably quick succession. Indeed, Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth even just sounded a call for coordinated release cycles among the major Linux distros.

Red Hat will look primarily to emerging markets, not the United States, to expand service sales in the coming years, chief executive Jim Whitehurst said. Red Hat sells services that support open source software, or software whose underlying code is shared freely by professionals and amateurs worldwide. Red Hat's business relies on servicing versions of that software. "While there is still plenty of opportunity in the U.S., outside of the U.S. is exploding," Whitehurst said in an interview.

With the arrival of Ubuntu's Hardy Heron last week, it is perhaps an understatement to say that conversation on the Linux blogs was plentiful. The news was picked up on virtually every forum out there, including Slashdot (where more than 600 comments had already been made just a day after the release), the Linux Loop, All About Linux and Foogazi, to name just a few. The reviews were nearly universally glowing. "With Ubuntu they seem to make sure users can hand-edit if they want," said Gerhard Mack, a Montreal-based consultant.

Months of eager anticipation came to an end Thursday with the long-awaited release of Ubuntu Hardy Heron. Both desktop and server editions of Ubuntu 8.04 were released as free downloads, and both are Long Term Support releases, meaning that they come with commercial support for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. Ubuntu sponsor Canonical also announced that Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition is certified on several high-performance, energy-efficient Sun x64 server platforms, including the Sun Fire X2100 M2, X2200 M2 and Sun Fire X4150 servers.

The former president of the One Laptop Per Child project stepped down from his position earlier this week as the non-profit continues restructuring and faces competition from the private sector. Walter Bender directed the MIT Media Lab for six years before joining Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC project in 2006. Negroponte, who cofounded the Media Lab in 1985, has overseen the "$100 laptop" project since its inception; however, three executives -- including Bender -- have left the organization since December 2007.

You know it's a good week on the Linux blogs when there are topics that draw more than a thousand comments on Slashdot. Indeed, such was the case last week. To start with the most obvious, Red Hat's announcement that it would not develop a desktop version of Linux for the consumer market in the near future made quite a stir on the Linux blogs, with conversations on Slashdot, Foogazi and LXer, to name just a few. "Red Hat is concentrating too much on the short term," charged deragon on Slashdot, where more than 400 comments followed that news.

In what surely came as a blow to many Linux aficionados, Red Hat announced Wednesday that it will not develop a desktop implementation of the operating system for the consumer market anytime soon. "We have no plans to create a traditional desktop product for the consumer market in the foreseeable future," the company wrote in a post on its blog, citing market pressures as its reason. "The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative."

Sun Microsystems, one of the largest server makers, announced that it would increase the number of products certified for use with Ubuntu Linux, one of the fastest growing open source operating systems. The upcoming expansion -- which is expected to be detailed in the coming days -- is the latest development in the two-year relationship between Sun and Canonical, which reaches back to the 6.06 LTS release in 2006 which was certified for some Sun systems. By 2007, the Java stack was included with the Ubuntu 7.04 release, said Barton George, Sun Microsystems' open source community manager.