Historically, Linux and gaming were like oil and water -- it did not mix. For the most part, this was just accepted as a fact of life. Quite frankly, this was OK as users were more interested in maintaining their box and chatting with other Linux users anyway. However, as time went by, jealousy of DOS, and then ultimately Windows, definitely grew as more and more amazing games were released for Microsoft's operating system. Even Linus Torvalds himself dual-booted Linux and DOS to play Prince of Persia.

Gaming is no longer an optional aspect of an operating system -- it is now a necessity. Luckily, Linux has been making huge strides in this regard, particularly thanks to Steam. Today, SparkyLinux 3.4 "Game Over" becomes available and it is very intriguing -- a Linux-based desktop operating system with a focus on gaming.

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Eric Ligman, Microsoft Senior Sales Excellence Manager, has released a whole new batch of free ebooks, covering topics such as Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 7, Office 2013 and Office 365, Azure, Lync 2013, and SQL Server. There are ebooks and resource guides for all things Microsoft.

For the past few years, Ligman has been writing posts in which he has given away almost 150 free Microsoft ebooks, and now he has another 130 more titles available to download for free, in addition to all the ones previously offered. Yes, that's right -- there are now close to 300 titles available.

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We're all familiar with software licenses. It's the bit you ignore when installing a new program, right? But what's less understood is the difficulty they cause for businesses. New research by IDC sponsored by Flexera looks at the latest trends in software licensing, virtualization and the compliance issues involved.

The report points out that the software license supply chain is one of the most opaque, difficult to understand and complex to manage. As a result, the relationship between application producer and customer has often suffered in the past.

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I have been waiting for BBM to make its triumphal arrival in Windows Phone Store for quite a while now. Its launch was revealed in February. Android and iPhone users are luckier, as the messaging app already launched on those platforms in the fall of 2013. But it now looks like Windows Phone users might soon also be able to join the party, and exchange PINs.

BlackBerry has published the BBM app for Windows Phone, but sadly for interested users it is not yet available for everyone to download, as it now undergoes private testing. That means only a select few can install it. Still, some progress is better than no progress at all, especially for those rocking a smartphone running the tiled operating system.

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It’s Patch Tuesday, and Microsoft has issued six security bulletins including two which are rated "critical" and allow for Remote Code Execution (RCE), and three which are labeled "important" and allow for elevation of privilege inside Windows. The final patch is rated "moderate" and fixes a Denial of Service vulnerability in the Service Bus for Windows.

The patches affect all versions of Internet Explorer, as well as most versions of Windows. XP users are at risk from these vulnerabilities, but are not covered by the updates.

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Kim Dotcom's extradition hearing has been delayed again as the Megaupload founder continues to fight a series of criminal charges and civil lawsuits.

It is claimed that Megaupload was used to store and share films and other content illegally, but Dotcom has denied all charges.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a world-class enterprise operating system. If your company is looking to embrace open-source technologies, it is arguably the best choice. However, if you do not need official support, there is no point in using RHEL and paying Red Hat for it. Instead, you can use CentOS, which is basically the same thing, without official Red Hat support or branding.

Today, the CentOS Project team announces version 7 of the free operating system. While the focus is on servers and the enterprise, there is no reason why it can't serve as a desktop OS too.

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If you’ve taken a video which you’d like to share with others, it can often be useful to include a few frames as well. They’ll give your recipients an immediate idea of the contents, and might help them find the movie again later.

Batch Video to Image Extractor is a free tool which can help by extracting image frames from one or more videos. At its simplest, just drag and drop your source videos, decide how many frames you need, and you’re ready to go.

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Foreign languages are a real pain in the butt. Over the years, I have tried to learn another, like Spanish, but always give up. Heck, I have a hard enough time with my native English. I've always held the belief that learning an extra language is generally a waste of time as it takes up valuable brain storage. Yes, the brain does have space limits and storing something other than English just seems like a bad choice.

I may be biased, but English is the best language -- it is the preferred of writers and poets. And so, it is understandable to be content with it. Google however, is never content -- the company seems intent on world domination with its services. Today, the search giant announces that Gmail has learned 13 new languages.

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The problem with running rumors -- something we rarely do on BetaNews -- is in most cases they are entirely made up. We will occasionally cover claims by trusted Microsoft watchers like Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley because they usually come from a knowledgeable source.

Russian leaker WZor knows a lot about Windows too, and although the group's website has been down since an ex-Microsoft employee was charged with stealing secrets (and early builds of Windows 7 and Windows 8), that hasn’t entirely stemmed the flow of leaks. A post from WZor on the Russian-language Ru-Board makes some interesting claims regarding both Windows 8.1 and its successor.

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Sixth in a series. On July 1, I officially started my "Microsoft All-In" summer sojourn. Surface Pro 3 is my PC and Nokia Lumia Icon my smartphone for the next couple of months. Google gets the boot -- at least for awhile. I now largely use Microsoft products and services and third-party apps available for the company's platforms. Many commenters wonder why, so let me explain.

I last used Windows as my primary platform in 2010 -- never for Windows Phone. Like other BetaNews reporters, I tend to write about products used regularly. Writing is more authoritative from experience, and often only long-time use reveals hidden problems or benefits. The reality, and it's something obviously seen in comments: Microsoft platform users largely make up BetaNews readership.

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Microsoft is rolling out Skype for iPhone 5.2, the second significant update to its iPhone client since version 5 was released less than a month ago.

It seems Microsoft has been stung by the negative reaction to the redesigned Skype, and version 5.2 is quick to add another three new features in response to user feedback.

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Web tools like Google Translate or Bing Translator have done a great job of bringing speedy translations to the masses, but they’re not always ideal for regular use: you’ll be forever copying, task switching, pasting, setting options and maybe a whole lot more.

QTranslate is a free Windows tool which gives much easier access to a range of web translation tools, including Google Translate, Bing Translator, Promt, Babylon, SDL FreeTranslation.com, Yandex.Translate, youdao and Baidu.

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Smartwatches are not hugely popular today, but the big names in the tech industry continue to jump on the bandwagon. At I/O 2014 in June, Google announced the first iteration of its operating system for wearables, Android Wear, and today LG reveals that its first smartwatch to be based on it, G Watch, is now available.

G Watch is one of three Android Wear smartwatches announced last month at Google's yearly conference, with the other two coming from fellow makers Motorola (Moto 360) and Samsung (Gear Live). LG's offering goes for sale on Google Play and, worldwide through "key" retailers.

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The hotel and leisure industry is based on understanding and meeting customer needs. But new research from network hardware company NETGEAR suggests that this doesn't stretch to the importance guests place on good Wi-Fi connections.

The study finds that 76 percent of hospitality venues are convinced that their quality of service and facilities are far more important to customers than Wi-Fi. As many as 43 percent believe customers think poor or non-existent wireless access is a price worth paying for the experience on offer.

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