As we all look ahead to the future of Linux in 2009, it's worth refreshing our memories with the big developments of 2008. CRN sums up the 10 Coolest Open Source 'Products' of the last 12 months, harking back to the releases of OpenOffice.org 3, Firefox 3 and various distros.

While many pundits initially dismissed netbooks as a fad, this report for DisplaySearch shows that micro-netbooks are here to stay, with 160% market growth in the third quarter of this year (over quarter two). Most major PC vendors now have a netbook or two in their lineup, and given the widespread use of Linux on these machines, we can expect our favourite OS to win over many more users in 2009. Fingers crossed!

Slackware may not get much attention thesedays, but the longest-running distro still has an army of hardcore fans who love its simplicity and stability. Version 12.2 includes kernel 2.6.27.7, KDE 3.5.10 and Xfce 4.4.3, all built with GCC 4.2.4. Snag a copy from here or support development with a shiny boxed set (coming soon).

Yes, the most discussed gadget in the history of anything is now Tux-enabled. Well, there's no support for the touchscreen, phone transmitter, wireless or sound, but a basic framebuffer has been implemented along with the Busybox shell utils. Could this be the tiny acorn that grows into a full-on Android port? (Usual disclaimer: if you try this, you risk bricking your iPhone and making Steve Jobs frown.)

Codenamed "Caterpillar", the first beta point on the development path to KDE 4.2 has been reached. The release announcement details the changes, including new desktop effects, task bar grouping, new Plasma applets and Google Gadgets support. KDE fans who're familiar with building the source are encouraged to try it out and submit bug reports.

It's finally over. After more than five years of legal wranglings, courtroom antics and FUD, The SCO Group has received a final judgement. In short, SCO owes Novell over $2.54 million (plus interest) for unjust enrichment. Novell is the rightful owner of the UNIX SVRX copyrights. Pretty much everyone in the Linux community expected this, but we're all glad it has come to an end.

If you've been the unfortunate victim of job cuts in this economic wrongness, you may be tempted to while away the mornings eating Super Noodles and watching Judge Judy. But OpenSUSE Community Manager Joe Brockmeier is urging unemployed IT folks to get involved with FOSS projects as a more valuable use of time. The idea is this: helping out with Free Software brings you new skills and contacts that you can use when the financial facepalms end.

Love Mandriva? Fancy a version with a snappier GUI? XFCELive is a community-based effort to bring the distro and desktop environment closer together, and the 2009.0 release is now available (albeit with a few rough edges -- see the 'Known Issues' bit in the link).

Make Blog has a fascinating picture representing the Linux boot sequence, in which 'nodes' (system calls) are "are laid out using an unweighted force-directed layout algorithm, where each node is simulated as if it were electrically repulsive and had springs between nodes". Yipes. But is it art?

Debian 5.0, aka Lenny, inches closer with the first release candidate of the installer. This page details the most recent improvements and gotchas, and the team is looking for more testers to ensure Debian's famous stability is maintained.

LinuxDevices notes a 49% leap in Linux-powered smartphone shipments over last year, as the market flourishes (with the exception of Symbian). Analysts expect more Linux gains in the next year as Android-based devices get stronger footholds.

The end of October saw the much anticipated release of Ubuntu 8.10 - affectionately called the Intrepid Ibex. It's a release that sees Ubuntu going from strength to strength. And with its popularity reaching stratospheric proportions, TechRadar thought that now was the perfect time to pool together its favourite tips into one place - read more here.