ZDnet reports:

Specifically, the ISS astronauts will be using computers running Debian 6. Earlier, some of the on-board computers had been using Scientific Linux, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) clone. While not the newest version of Debian, Debian 7 has just been released, Debian is nothing if not well-tested and reliable.

While Linux has been used on the ISS ever since its launch (PDF link) and for NASA ground operations almost since the day Linus Torvalds created it, it hasn’t seen that much use on PCs in space. “Things really clicked,” said Chuvala in an interview, “after we came to understand how Linux views the world, the interconnectedness of how one thing affects another. You need that worldview. I have quite a bit of Linux experience, but to see others who were really getting it, that was exciting.”

ExtremeTech reports:

The laptops that were upgraded belong to the station’s OpsLAN. The crew use the OpsLAN to perform day-to-day activities, such as viewing stock inventory, controlling scientific experiments, or checking their current location. Presumably the laptops used to run bespoke Win32 apps on Windows XP, and now those apps have been re-written to work on Linux — hopefully they’re not being emulated in WINE. To get the astronauts and cosmonauts up to speed, they will be trained by the Linux Foundation.

Not only are the computers being witched to linux, but the first humanoid robot in space, R2, is also reportedly powered by Linux.

The BeagleBone Black is the latest Linux board from BeagleBoard. The board can run Linux or Android, and features a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor. It’s a bit faster than the 720 MHz CPU on board the original BeagleBone. The BeagleBone Black was also upgraded to 512MB of RAM and 2GB of onboard flash memory.

The BeagleBone Black is a substantial improvement over the $89 BeagleBone so one would expect a higher price, right? Fortunately, cost cutting measures have allowed BeagleBoard to sell the BeagleBone Black for only $45. It’s even cheaper if you just buy the board as the $45 cost also includes a power supply.

Here’s the full spec list:

Other I/O:

Expansion connector I/O:

Power:

If you prefer video tours, here’s a quick rundown of the BeagleBone Black:

For more info, including where to buy it, check out the BeagleBone Black product page. You’ll even find links to Android and Ubuntu builds that are certifiably stable on BeagleBoard hardware.

[LinuxGizmos via Slashdot]

Canonical updated the Ubuntu wiki with a list of Android devices that are compatible with Ubuntu. The original four Nexus devices are still listed as running fine, but now there’s two more tables of compatibilty – “sort of working” and “work in progress.”

The “Sort of working” list contains the devices that are almost ready to welcome Ubuntu with open arms. Here are the devices that should be getting Ubuntu soon:

As for the Work in Progress, a much larger pool of devices are currently in the works:

The wiki contains links to unlocking instructions and Ubuntu install instructions for each device. Some are still a work in progress, however, so you might have to check back at a later date if your phone still doesn’t have a ROM available.

For links to the source code and instructions on how to install Ubuntu ROMs, hit up the Ubuntu Wiki.

Ubuntu mobile is already off to a great start if this list is any indication. The wide variety of devices receiving support should ensure that Ubuntu can operate any any number of mobile devices when it launches later this year.

[h/t: Droid Life]

Canonical announced today that its bringing Ubuntu to tablets. The Ubuntu tablet combines the best desktop and smartphone UIs have to offer and combines them into a cohesive interface that offers maximum usability. It’s the continuation of Canonical’s philosophy that Ubuntu should remain the same across all devices with only a changing interface to reflect the platform its currently on.

Check out a quick video tour of Ubuntu for tablets below:

The most interesting feature of Ubuntu for tablets is the new “side stage” feature that promises to improve multitasking on tablets. Here’s the breakdown:

Ubuntu’s unique side stage places a phone and a tablet app on the same screen at the same time for amazing tablet productivity. True multitasking comes to the tablet. Take calls in Skype while you work in a document, make notes on the side while you surf the web, tweet while you watch a movie. Or use apps collaboratively – drag content from one app to another for a super-productive day. We’ve reinvented the tablet as a bridge between phone and PC.

Ubuntu for smartphones will be out in October of this year, but it’s still unknown which territories it will be initially launching in. I would presume that Ubuntu for tablets would be on a similar schedule, but it’s still up in the air at this point.

That being said, Canonical is inviting developers to start making apps for Ubuntu on phones and tablets for when they become available. You can grab the preview mobile SDK here.

The Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview will be launched on February 21, and will initially support Google’s Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones. The preview is intended for enthusiasts and developers who want to get a sneak peek at what Ubuntu has in store for mobile devices later this year. It will also be advantageous for developers who want to test Ubuntu Mobile apps on a real smartphone instead of an emulator.

There will be two ways for developers to get a hold of the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview next week. The first will be a set of tools that Canonical will release on its Web site next Thursday that will allow you to flash your Nexus phone to Ubuntu. The other will involve meeting up with Canonical team members at Mobile World Congress on February 25. They will flash your phone to the latest version of the Developer Preview at their booth.

Those who don’t own a Nexus smartphone will be understandably saddened by the limited breadth of the first developer preview, but worry not, as new devices will be continuously added to the list of supported devices. There’s also a pretty big chance that developers will just build support for their own devices once the ROM is released. You can keep on top of developments at the Ubuntu Wiki.

[h/t: engadget]

Valve announced today that Steam for Linux is officially out of beta. It’s available as a free download from the Ubuntu Software Center. Steam coming to Linux, as well as the efforts of many indie developers, may finally make Linux a viable gaming platform. That’s what the folks at Canonical think at least:

“The introduction of Steam to Ubuntu demonstrates growing demand for open systems from gamers and game developers,” said David Pitkin, Director of Consumer Applications at Canonical. “We expect a growing number of game developers to include Ubuntu among their target platforms. We’re looking forward to seeing AAA games developed with Ubuntu in mind as part of a multi-platform day and date release on Steam.”

All games purchased through Steam for Linux will also be playable on Windows and Mac through Steam Play. That’s great for those who already own hundreds of games on Steam for Windows, but perhaps want to start experimenting in Linux.

For long time Linux users new to Steam, Valve has a treat for you guys as well. Team Fortress 2, Valve’s hugely popular team-based shooter, is available day one in all its free-to-play glory. For a limited time, Team Fortress 2 players on Linux will also receive a free exclusive in-game Tux item. Other Valve titles available today include Half-Life, Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Source.

To celebrate the launch of Steam for Linux, all the currently available Linux titles on Steam are on sale until February 21. There’s over 50 titles to choose from, and a lot of them are pretty fantastic. You can check out the full list of games on sale here.

Before you ask, PC and Mac gamers can get in on the sale too.

Mojang announced today that Minecraft Pi Edition is now available for download. It’s pretty basic at this point, but the team at Mojang says they will be adding new content in the future. Here’s how to get started:

If you’re able to follow all of that, you’re well on your way to learning the basics of programming. Once in game, you can fully hack away at the title to learn more about how code comes together to make games work.

While we don’t know when Firefox OS will launch, but the Wall Street Journal reports that Canonical will launch the Ubuntu smartphone in October. Canonical says that it will launch the new smartphone in two geographic areas at that time. It’s unknown at this point if the U.S. is one of those launch markets so hardcore Linux fans may not want to get their hopes up.

Leading up to the October launch, Canonical has to make sure developers are on board building apps for the new mobile Ubuntu platform. To that end, the OS will be going out to developers in late February. The WSJ report says that the current developer OS is optimized for the Galaxy Nexus hardware.

There may be concern among developers, however, that building applications for an untested platform would not be a wise decision. That’s where the real magic of Ubuntu mobile comes in. Canonical says that any application built for Ubuntu will work across both desktop and mobile. Even if Ubuntu smartphones don’t immediately take off, developers still might earn a following on desktop.

Of course, it doesn’t look like Ubuntu will have any trouble finding acceptance among carriers at least. Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth told the WSJ that carriers are liking what they’re seeing from Ubuntu smartphones.

All of this leads up to a potential growth spurt for Linux adoption. Desktop Linux is getting more and more support everyday from major players like Valve and maybe even Microsoft. The addition of a mobile ecosystem that shares applications between itself and its desktop counterpart is all kinds of genius. It may just be what Ubuntu, and Linux, needs to become a mainstream player in personal computing.

Phoronix, the site that broke the news of Steam coming to Linux, has heard from an anonymous source that Microsoft is taking a “meaningful look” at bringing Office to Linux in 2014. This recent change of heart is apparently due to Microsoft finding that Linux may just a profitable platform now.

The past few months have been good to the Linux community as more developers start to see the platform as a viable alternative to Windows and Mac OS X. We’ve already mentioned Valve making a native Linux version of Steam available, but other companies like Nvidia have also been working to bring better software drivers to Linux.

Microsoft may see Linux as being even more financially viable as Valve plans to launch its Steambox later this year. The mini-computers will run Ubuntu thus increasing the marketshare for Linux even more. The upcoming Ubuntu smartphones and Ubuntu for Android may also serve to get Linux into the hands of even more people.

Truth be told, Linux doesn’t necessarily need Microsoft Office as there are already some great open source alternatives. It’s more about the principle than anything else as it means Linux is finally starting to get some recognition. Games are one thing, but getting official support from Microsoft would hopefully make Linux far more mainstream than it already is.

A Chinese Star Wars fan took an old R2-D2 interactive toy and outfitted it with a Raspberry Pi and some other enhancements. The result is a fully interactive R2-D2 unit that can understand both English and Chinese. It also has face recognition, motion detection, ultrasonic distance detection and Wi-Fi. Check it out:

The best part about all of this is that the Droid is a gift for the creator’s girlfriend. She must be the luckiest lady alive to have somebody put this much work into a present. I know a few Star Wars fans that would kill to have a working R2 unit.

It’s also a major win for the Raspberry Pi community as its one of the most impressive projects yet accomplished with the open source computer. As more people begin to work with the tiny computer, we’ll start seeing really cool projects like this one.

[h/t: Pocket-lint]