Gartner reported a steep growth for the smartphone market. Linux loses. Android still gains, but producers mistrust Google's intentions. Symbian can't rest on its laurels.

The Cirrus Plug 3.0 from Ionics with 2GHz ARM processor, WLAN b/g, Bluetooth, and internal 120GB hard disk is about the size of a Coke can. The device is displayed at CeBIT Hall 2.

NetSecL, a Slackware-based Linux distro with a special eye to security, is now available in version 2.6.

With a revenue of $202 million and a net income of $20 million, Novell ended its first quarter somewhat as expected on Wall Street.

Tuesday is kick-off for CeBIT, the world's foremost tradeshow for the digital industry in Hannover, Germany, and with it high-class talks in the CeBIT Open Source forum. All talks will be visible on a live-stream in the internet.

Linux is the operating system of choice for devices with ARM processors. Unfortunately problems with graphics appear in most cases. Ubuntu wants to fix this with a new GUI.

The German Linux expert, Klaus Knopper, will launch the new version 6.3 of his PC operating system Knoppix, at the start of the CeBIT this year.