In today's open source roundup: A version of Intel's new Compute Stick will offer Linux. Plus: Upcoming distro releases in 2015, and a screenshot tour of PCLinuxOS 2014.12 MATE The Intel Compute Stick Intel has a cool, new pocket computer called the Compute Stick. It hasn’t been released yet but there will be a Linux version as well as one that runs Windows. Image credit: Intel The Intel Compute Stick site has more information: The Intel® Compute Stick is a new generation compute-on-a-stick device that’s ready-to-go out-of–the-box and offers the performance, quality, and value you expect from Intel. Pre-installed with Windows 8.1* or Linux, get a complete experience on an ultra-small, power-efficient device that is just four inches long, yet packs the power and reliability of a quad-core Intel® Atom™ processor, with built-in wireless connectivity, on-board storage, and a micro SD card slot for additional storage. It’s everything you love about your desktop computer in a device that fits in the palm of your hand. Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon. Intel® Compute Stick launches later this year; look for new details, product specs, and availability information. More at Intel Geek.com reports on the Intel Compute Stick: The Compute Stick is actually strikingly similar to the one made by Shenzen Apec Electronics that went on sale in October. Intel is planning to offer two models initially. Both will be powered by a quad-core Atom processor. This one, which will run Windows 8.1 with Bing and comes with 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage, will sell for $149. A less expensive version with Ubuntu pre-installed will also be available. It’ll sell for just $89, but the hardware will be stripped down. The Linux Compute Stick will have just 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. That’s still plenty of power for basic computing tasks. More at Geek.com Redditors had some thoughts to share about the Intel Compute Stick: Ckozler: “I’m sure someone will find/post a way to wipe windows and get Linux installed with no issues. I’m sure they probably have some agreement with Microsoft to not have their (Intels) Linux supported hardware items (besides core items like processors) / consumer grade devices discount or take away from Windows market share. In giving it a literally 1/2 RAM and 1/4th the storage, they effectively keep Microsoft happy while still pushing Linux.” Bobj33:”I know it’s not the same thing but you can get an Asus Chromebox for about the same price and it has a Celeron instead of Atom, 2GB RAM, 16GB SSD, 4 USB3 ports, etc. Flash the firmware and install any Linux distro you want.” Kadin2048:”Yeah, I think this is the real reason. If the devices were spec’d out the same, then it would be obvious what the cost of Windows was. By not making them the same, they hide the Windows license in with the hardware.” Delineated:”Intel is charging more money for less power for the linux version.” Dnoup:”Yahh, It feels like they treat linux second class citizen.” More at Reddit Upcoming Linux distro releases in 2015 We’re in a new year and the development of Linux distributions will roll on as usual. Linux Planet has a helpful list of distribution releases that will happen in 2015. Sean Michael Kerner reports on 2015 distros: 2014 was a unique year for Linux in that Red Hat, SUSE and Ubuntu all had Enterprise (or Long Term Support/LTS releases as Ubuntu refers to them) releases. There will be no major enterprise Linux platform milestones in 2015, but there will be plenty of updates for enterprise and community Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1 Fedora 22 Ubuntu 15.04 Linux Mint 18 Debian 8.0 Jessie OpenSUSE 13.3 Open Mandriva/Mageia More at LinuxPlanet A screenshot tour of PCLinuxOS 2014.12 MATE PCLinuxOS 2014.12 was released recently. You might already have seen screenshots of the KDE version, which seems to usually get most of the media attention when a new release happens. But there’s a MATE version too and I have a screenshot tour of it on my blog: For this screenshot tour, I opted to download and install the 64-bit MATE version of PCLinuxOS 2014.12. That version weighs in at a 700 MB. There are various other versions of PC Linux OS available as well. You can get PCLinuxOS 2014.12 with the KDE and LXDE desktops instead of MATE. PCLinuxOS 2014.12 MATE is a live distribution. So you can run it off a disc to check it out without having to do an actual install on your computer. However, the performance may not be as good if you run it from a disc so bear that in mind. More at Jim Lynch The PCLinuxOS MATE download page has additional details about features and hardware requirements: Features: kernel 3.18.1 xorg 1.14.6 mesa 10.4.0 Full MATE 1.8.x Desktop. Updated desktop theme Nvidia and ATI fglrx 3D driver support. Multimedia support for many popular formats Wireless support for many network devices. Addlocale allows you to convert PCLinuxOS into over 60 languages. LibreOffice Manager can install LibreOffice supporting over 100 languages. MyLiveCD allows you to take a snapshot of your installation you can then burn to a LiveCD/DVD or copy to a USBkey. Requirements: Processor Modern Intel or AMD processor. Memory and storage RAM : 512 MB minimum, 1 GB recommended. Hard disk 3 GB minimum, 10 GB or more recommended if you plan to install additional software from our repository. Video card nVidia, ATI, Intel Sound card Any Sound Blaster, AC97 or HDA compatible card. More at PCLinuxOS Jim Lynch Jim Lynch Did you miss a roundup this week? 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