In today's open source roundup: Check out seven of the best Linux desktop environments. Plus: Firefox 40 available for Linux. And Kali Linux 2.0 has been released Seven of the best Linux desktop environments Choice has always been one of the best things about desktop Linux, but it can also be confusing to newcomers as they try to find the desktop environment that suits them best. Fortunately, PC World has a roundup of seven of the top Linux desktop environments that should be helpful to anyone trying to find the right one for their Linux computer. Chris Hoffman reports for PC World: Linux is all about choice, and choosing a distribution is only the first step. Linux distros usually have a default desktop environment, but there are a slew of desktop environments available to use. Heck, Ubuntu alone offers nine official alternate “flavors” with different desktop configurations. None of these desktop environments is better than another. They have different aesthetics, functionality, and features. They may perform better or worse on different hardware. Only you can decide which you prefer. Curious? Here’s a run-down of some of the most popular Linux desktop environments. Unity GNOME 3 KDE Plasma 5 Cinnamon MATE LXDE Xfce More at PC World Firefox 40 available for Linux The Firefox developers have been working hard on the next release of their browser, and now Firefox 40 is available for Linux users. Silviu Stahie reports for Softpedia: Mozilla has released Firefox 40 for the Linux platform, and it brings better scrolling, graphics, and video playback performance for this particular operating system, among many other changes. According to the changelog, the add-on manager has been redesigned with style used by Preferences, the Suggested Tiles now show sites of interest based on browser history, the Add-on extensions that are not signed by Mozilla will now display a warning, JPEG images now use less memory when scaled, and a number of developer-centric changes have been made. More at Softpedia Kali Linux 2.0 released Kali Linux is a penetration testing distribution, and version 2.0 has just been released with a slew of new features. Kali Linux is now a rolling distribution that offers updated tools, enhanced workflow, the GNOME 3 desktop and updated VMware and VirtualBox images. The Kali Linux site has the official announcement: We’re still buzzing and recovering from the Black Hat and DEF CON conferences where we finished presenting our new Kali Linux Dojo, which was a blast. With the help of a few good people, the Dojo rooms were set up ready for the masses – where many generated their very own Kali 2.0 ISOs for the first time. But the excitement doesn’t end for us just yet. With the end of the cons, we now find ourselves smack in the middle of the most significant release of Kali since 2013. Today is the day that Kali 2.0 is officially released. So, what’s new in Kali 2.0? There’s a new 4.0 kernel, now based on Debian Jessie, improved hardware and wireless driver coverage, support for a variety of Desktop Environments (gnome, kde, xfce, mate, e17, lxde, i3wm), updated desktop environment and tools – and the list goes on. But these bulletpoint items are essentially a side effect of the real changes that have taken place in our development backend. Ready to hear the real news? Take a deep breath, it’s a long list. More at Kali Linux Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Software DevelopmentOpen Source