So Blino baked a recipe, put it all in Cooker and made a video of Mandriva Linux 2007 running sexy Compiz effects (powered by XGL in this case). Check it out:

Apart from those addictive effects (try using a 3D-Desktop for a few days then go back to a plain old desktop to understand “addictive effects”) and the “Wow factor”, many say there’s not much to the 3D-Desktop on Linux yet. Major Linux distributions, and some smaller ones, have just integrated these technologies. This was the first step.

When you’re done showing-off your cool Mandriva Linux 2007 and evangelizing the great things we can achieve through Free and Open Source Software, go make some great 3D-ready applications!

Delighted, we are.70 entries, and counting. And it’s not over yet! Many thanks to all of you that participated! and hurry up if you still did not sent your works, you have two weeks left to show us your… talent!

On past Wednesday (August, 2^nd), some of us (Estelle, Hélène, Nicolas, Sébastien and Romain) who started the contest idea sat down around the table in a quiet, cool meeting room and carefully listened to all entries. We discussed those in regard of the rules and what we wanted. A [yes|no|perhaps], because game, you could say.

The contest is not over, that was merely an informal meeting to hear how things are going. Moreover, we were just a few, so this post will not represent the opinion of all employees. You may find it noticeable anyway, as we tried to make significant points, and we almost always all agreed. There may be some truth in here.

Wait. What was that? Can you play it again?

Here are our main points:

• the standing-out factor; many entries will sound similar in the long run (same sounds, or almost same idea); that’s an issue as we really would like something different;
• the sound samples length; the rules state is should be 5 seconds long at most;
  1. not everyone made it within this limit; longer entries just won’t make it, so please check yours;
  2. this is the maximum length; if you think your sample should be shorter, just do it. For instance, we were several to think that, in the end, the closing jingle should be no longer than 1 second long: when you shut your system off, you want this to be fast;
• idea clarity; some nice entries are cluttered by too many things happening at the same time, or by something just popping out at the last moment, somehow breaking the very first idea; some effects and sounds could just be dropped, for the better, in many cases;
• moreover, some people noticed that some areas have not been covered yet, like traditional instrument sounds, field recording, human voices or animal sounds. That sure would be nice to see entries like these as well;
• some broad ideas for sound design have been expressed at this meeting; if these appeal to any of you, you might try it, but again, this is not a simple receipt to success: stardust, star filante, galaxy, ouverture, innovation.

The contest is not over yet, so there is room for new entries and for improvements. Note we are making general points here, and they may not apply to all entries; so if you feel confident with your work, stay so. As to keep the contest a contest, we won’t make specific notices to any contestant.

Be sharp and short, that could be the two master words for the right entry. Thanks again for your work and your contributions, keep up with the good work!

Results of the contest:
The winner, Martyn CLEMENT, chose to publish his artwork under the Creative common CC-BY-SA license and his opening sound has been included in every edition of the Mandriva Linux 2007 distribution. He received a copy of Mandriva Linux PowerPack+ 2007, a GlobeTrotter 2.0, and an Archos Pocket Media Assistant PMA400 for his nice work. Thanks to everybody who participated to this contest.

Either you got smarter, or Linux just got easier

Mandriva Linux is the most widely recommended system for Linux beginners. It’s loved by its fans for its unmatched Control Center, the graphical tool for managing your whole system, and other home-made tools. As a pionneering Desktop Linux distribution, it opened the way to many others.

Now, we simply pushed the frenzy a little further.

A single CD, packed with user-friendliness, hardware recognition, stability and powerful applications galore. You can use it without installing it, by simply inserting the CD into your CD or DVD drive and booting your computer.
Your Internet connection is working, you can read your e-mail, listen to music, play a little and, if you really need to, you can use the OpenOffice.org suite to get some work done.

That’s when you say: “I want more of this!”

So you simply click on the “Install” icon on the desktop, let the formatting tool do the choices for you, reboot, take out the CD, choose Linux on the bootloader, feel proud of knowing that a system made out of freely exchanged knowledge and code is just booting on your computer right there under your nose, to finally feel a little embarrassed when you notice that the system saved your documents and that you had no need to email them to yourself.

After that… yeah, after that what happens?

Well, you’re Free! Free to roam through the web, probably our websites, looking for something interesting to do with your new system. Then, suddenly, it strikes you!

People told you Linux was like Hell: no pain, no gain. You start sweating, thinking that you’ll never see a Flash animation again, because, even if you could, you wouldn’t be able to install the Player! No more free phone calls over the internet, no more instant messaging, no more video conferencing, no more, no more…
But there’s Light! Yes, LIGHT!

You enter this peaceful website and you read “HEAVEN, Freedom is a simple choice”. Huh?
You read again, and in fact it read “KIOSK, Freedom is a simple choice. Install software bundles from the Web in one click”. You’re stunned. And I don’t blame you… what a ride!

From hell to heaven in one click.

Now you curse, for you know you won’t sleep for a few nights. You can already hear her calling, but you just can’t get enough of this new-found freedom.

Say goodbye to those dirty windows, throw down the gates, and breath the fresh air of Freedom!

Download Mandriva One and subscribe to Kiosk.
A new world awaits.

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We are Mandriva S.A.