More keynotes on technological and politics, and more room for free projects: this was Linuxtag in its eleventh year. But attendance was down because Europe’s biggest Free Software event charged an admission fee for the first time.

The conference sessions were less than inspiring, but the show had plenty of chemistry.

The annual winter meeting of Europe’s open source developers took place February 25-27 in Brussels, Belgium. Again the event was a mustn’t miss for thousands of contributors to free projects and a welcome opportunity for developers to exchange ideas outside the borders of their own communities.

Linux fans live in a special world,so it makes sense for them to have their own special star signs. If you too were born under the influence of Open Source,read on as the 2005 Linux Magazine Horoscope reveals the secrets of your future.

This column looks into projects and current affairs in the world of free software from the perspective of the GNU Project and the FSF. In this issue,we focus on communication programs for mobile telephones.

Free software covers such a diverse range of applications that it can be hard to find the perfect tool. In this column,we pick the best of the bunch.This month you’ll learn about XFce 4.2, the PC in the PC,QBuildkde,and the latest news on the Sarge Release.

If you are on one of those huge cruising ships and,instead of middle-aged ladies sipping cocktails,you spot a bunch of T-shirt touting,nerdy looking guys hacking on their notebooks in the lounges,chances are you are witnessing a “Geek Cruise”.