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Ed Homan, an orthopedic surgeon representing a central Florida district in the state legislature, thought an amendment touting open-source document formats he tucked into a 38-page bill wouldn't draw much attention. As lawmakers like Homan have learned, Microsoft's hardly taking a passive position.

It is my privilege to announce on behalf of the team members of the PCLinuxOS Magazine Project sponsored by MyPCLinuxOS.com, the May 2007 issue (#9)  is available for download!

Some highlights include:

1. KDE User Guide Part 2
   
2. Scroogle and Konqueror Integration
   
3. Top Ten Reasons for Using Linux
   
4. Linux in Education
   
5. Using Settings from a Previous Linux Install
   
6. As always, much more
   

Download May 2007 Issue 9

Mirror Download May 2007 Issue 9

Low-Fi Version

According to action-figure.com, Toys R Us will be helping to promote the release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” by giving away an 18k gold plated Jack Sparrow action figure to a lucky fan every day from May 4th - 24th.

Each figure will come with a certificate of authenticity - and the fact that only 21 will be in existence makes for a highly sought after collectors item. Details will be made available on the Toys R Us website on the 4th.

It’s a good thing that this figure will be worth some cash because it’s pretty damn ugly.

If you cringe at the thought of your gaming controllers lying around all willy-nilly, the Game Shell can help by hiding those unsightly controllers in a stylish hard shell case.

The Game Shells pebble-like form is made from a black and white cast acrylic with chrome details and a flocked interior. This is all well and good, but is your average gamer really concerned about how their Playstation controller takes away from the ambiance of the room?

You can pre-order your Game Shell from the Vitamin Store for the ridiculous sum of £69.50 ( $138 ). The case fits both wireless and standard controllers.

Pidgin 2.0.0beta7 has just been released on SourceForge. This is the first release since being renamed from GAIM. Download your copy now!

KDE 4 is still in development and won't be out for a couple of months. You can however check its current state and play with the new futures and applications, thanks to special demo LiveCD put together by KDE developers.

  

Heltzer Furniture’s Ti Collection is touted as the “industry’s first titanium indoor/outdoor seating and table collection” due to its use of a bent titanium frame. It also features cushions made of blue silicone gel that can be adjusted for firmness.

If that wasn’t enough, the cushions are draped with pull-over removable towels that are made from a eucalyptus-based eco-friendly fiber and cotton.

To be honest, I’m not sure whether the pieces in this collection are interesting and unique, or just plain tacky.

The Ti Collection is priced upon request.

HGTV

The Ninja Clock provides yet another unique way for guys like us to keep track of our “busy” schedules while continuing to maintain the nerdy aesthetic that makes us so popular with the ladies.

Besides the cool shuriken based design, the Ninja Clock also features nunchuck hands and a swinging ninja that acts as the pendulum.

You can pick one up from dannabananas for $20.

According tothis announcement, WorldVistA EHR/VOE 1.0 is now CCHIT certified. Formerly VistA Office EHR (VOE) there has been a name change due to entanglements. It is now known as WorldVistA EHR.

LuxuryYacht writes "The PLAICE is an open source hardware and software project developing a powerful in-circuit development tool that combines in one device the features of a FLASH Programmer, Memory Emulator, and High Speed Multi-Channel Logic Analyzer. It runs uClinux. The logic analyzer features up to 200MHz sampling rates and up to 32 input channels. The logic analyzer Java client supports up to 200MHz sampling rates, user-controlled filtering operations, time line in diagrams, transfer rates, and user configurable drawing modes. The Java client supports access via almost any PC with a serial port and uses the RXTX serial library with support for 34 platforms including Linux, Windows, and Solaris. Java client plugins include an SPI and I2C bus protocol analyzer, conversion of timing analysis to state analysis, and post-processing functions."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.