Linux is a powerful operating system, but chances are it's a very different operating system than any you've used before. The dizzying number of choices in distributions alone is enough to make your head spin, but it also means there's something out there that really suits your computing style. There are some things in Linux you just have to work out for yourself -- distributions, applications, neato screen savers (hey, we like distractions as much as the next guy).

We're taking a departure from the norm this week and not discussing a specific piece of software. Instead, we've been thinking about what we most wished we'd been told on our first foray into Linux-land. These tips run the gamut from installation planning to how to best ask for help. We chose these tips because they are not distribution-specific, and the majority of new users will at least find a few tips apply to their situation at some point.

It seems like everything is going 'social' these days, and the tech bargain and coupon industry is the latest to join the list. Introducing: dealplumber, "a community-driven deals site that delivers the best deals and coupons from across the internet". Almost everything you might expect from a 'web 2.0-meets-discounts' site is here, including tags (complete with a cloud), comments, saving coupons, affiliate commission sharing, different views for deal lists (list - with pictures - and a grid view), RSS feeds and more.

As the first post in the dealplumber blog states, one of their main goals is to act as a unifying location for all deals on the web, instead of leaving the job to what they feel (and I agree) is a segmented toolbox of sites that don't seem to communicate or cooperate with each other, which ends in a lose-lose situation for everyone.

Being that they went public just this past Monday, I think they're already off to a great start. A click on their 'latest coupons' section gives me a list comprised of a laptop rebate, a Dreamhost discount, a deal on Adidas shoes and even an AVON bargain. I honestly never thought I'd see beauty product discounts next to rock-bottom RAM deals. Still, during my initial signup and browsing through the site, I find myself wishing for a couple of features, specifically: RSS feeds for all tags, as well as a more concrete system that tells the shopper who a deal is offered by. But hey: they can't reveal their entire hand this early in the game, right?

Like I said though: all things considered, dealplumber is off to a rockin' start, and they have already earned themselves a place at the top of my list of shopping sites. It'll be interesting to see how this social-bargain site evolves in the months to come.

Back in February we reported on stirrings related to a brand new design for Yahoo!'s home page, and today Yahoo! is officially showing it off. For me the new design shows up when I go to yahoo.com, but if it doesn't show up for you, try going to yahoo.com/preview. Read/WriteWeb's Richard MacManus has a nice overview of all of the new Yahoo!'s biggest features, but here are the highlights: A bigger search box, a lot more JavaScript and Ajax, more multimedia, an emphasis on news and community, and a new "Personal Assistant" that displays Yahoo! Mail messages, online friends from Y!IM, and local weather, traffic, movies, etc. The new design makes the home page wider, filling a 1024x768 browser window and accomodating a new left-hand navigation bar for accessing Yahoo!'s various services, but there's also a "Page Options" drop-down that lets you switch to a narrower view and even choose a color scheme. Like MacManus, I think the new design isn't just a pretty change of scenery; it really seems to improve on the home page experience and cut down on the "portal bloat" that Yahoo! has fallen victim to over the past decade or so.

A few people are reporting that Google is testing out a new design for its search results page. The alleged new design has a sidebar on the left that shows the number of search results for Google's various services (Images, News, etc.) as small green bars, with links for Advanced Search, Preferences, and Search History below. The search results are displayed as usual in the rest of the page. At first I was skeptical, but cruising the comments on Digg turns up a number of reports from different users all with screenshots of the same layout but with different browsers and search results. One user even posted a RAR file with the source of one such results page. Sure, it could all be an elaborate hoax, but it's more likely that Google is testing out its new interface on a few users here and there. When and whether the rest of us will get to see it in action is anyone's guess.