SANE is not the most often updated pack of drivers and associated software around, but when they release, they do deliver.

Newly released SANE backends v1.0.25 features support for over 300 new scanners and multifunction units, quite of few which have been introduced in the past two years since the last release of SANE.

Read the full thing at http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/sane-update-brings-support-for-over-300-scanners

I ordered the new Project Sputnik laptop from Dell to replace my six-year-old MacBook. It’s basically the most-tricked-out version of the XPS 13, running Ubuntu 12.04 instead of Windows 8. I won’t get into why I dislike Apple’s OS, but I run Linux on my desktop and on any server machine I login to, and I enjoy a consistent experience. The most appealing part about Project Sputnik, as opposed to installing Linux on any ol’ Windows laptop (or a MacBook, for that matter), is that it includes a Dell-managed PPA for the hardware. In theory, this means that Dell is committed to making sure that the laptop’s hardware “just works”.

Read the full thing at http://mattspitz.me/post/44202150125/a-month-with-dells-project-sputnik

As the latest Valve Linux news for today, Valve Software actually cares about open-source Linux graphics drivers. Last week they had the Intel OTC Linux graphics team out to Bellevue to jointly work on the OpenGL renderer for the Source Engine and the Intel Mesa driver.

Read the full thing at http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTE0MzQ

Recently, Linus Torvalds made it clear just how displeased he is with Nvidia. If his colorful language wasn’t enough of a confirmation, the familiar one-finger gesture he made certainly did. But while Nvidia can deal with public criticism (even from someone as influential as Torvalds), they’re probably having a harder time swallowing the hundreds of millions of dollars in sales they just lost due to poor Linux driver support.

Read the full thing at http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/nvidia-loses-order-due-to-poor-linux-support-20120628/

Finally, after many years of people asking for this, Linux can now properly support all known Samsung laptop devices. This means we can now handle backlight control, wifi button issues,and the weird "performance mode" keys as well as some of the other function keys.

Read the full thing at http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/samsung_laptop.html

Power saving is a hot topic for laptop users who need to get things done when they are on the move and running on limited battery energy. Here is a list of smart Linux tricks to save battery power.

According to Less Watts.org, the leading source for power saving tips on Linux, the following components of our computer consumes most of our battery life and we can lengthen our battery life by tweaking them:

Read the full thing at http://productivegeek.com/articles/how-to-maximize-the-battery-life-on-your-linux-laptop/

This article explains how to install GNU social on a "wall wart" plug server in order to free yourself from the control of proprietary social networking software running on other people's servers.

Read the full thing at http://foocorp.net/projects/fooplug/

Another area of hardware support that has caused much grief for users has been with printer support. Printers are not nearly as complex as a modern-day graphics processor, but the different vendors have not been quick to offer up any Linux support -- and binary-only drivers frequently back the ones that do. There is one printer manufacturer though that as of last year has begun supporting Linux from top to bottom with their entire line-up of printers. Not only are they providing CUPS drivers, but also they are even printing Tux in the corner of every box they ship right besides the Windows and Apple logos. Do you know who we are talking about? Probably not, but it's Lexmark.

Read the full thing at http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=lexmark_linux&num=1

From /.:

A new router, designed by one of the creators of ARPANET, manages flows of packets instead of only managing individual packets. The router recognizes packets that are following the first and sends them along faster than if it had to route them as individuals. When overloaded, the router can make better choices of which packets to drop.

Read the full thing at http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/07/10/1830217/New-Router-Manages-Flows-Not-Packets

Coreboot.org released an almost-final 0.90 version of open source BIOS flashing firmware it says was nine years in the making. Flashrom offers Linux and UNIX users a BIOS flashing mechanism they can call their own, with support for 150 flash-chip families and 75 chipsets, Coreboot.org says.

Read the full thing at http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS6158241352.html