Articles about Linux

Ubuntu is a great Linux-based operating system that seems to get all the attention. Truth be told, however, Fedora is the better Linux distribution. Hell, some would argue it is the overall best distro. Quite frankly, if you are an open source champion, you should be using Fedora. It is the perfect no-nonsense distribution, and best of all, it largely focuses on truly free and open source software.

Today, following some delays, Fedora 36 finally becomes available for download. While hardly an exciting update, this new version of the Linux-based operating system is notable for utilizing GNOME 42 and kernel 5.17. Plus, for those using an NVIDIA GPU and driver, you will now get Wayland by default. You can read full release notes here.

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While Chromebooks are often great, there is a big problem -- a lack of AMD processors. Most laptops running Chrome OS are powered by Intel or ARM-based chips. Wouldn't it be great if AMD released some new specialized processors designed for Chromebooks specifically?

Well, folks, AMD has done exactly that with the all-new Ryzen 5000 C-Series processors. There are four such chips coming to market -- the dual-core Ryzen 3 5125C, quad-core Ryzen 3 5425C, hexa-core Ryzen 5 5625C, and octa-core Ryzen 7 5825C. These processors are based on Zen 3 architecture and AMD says they will be paired with Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth 5.2 modules -- likely its own RZ600 series radio chips it co-designed with MediaTek.

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If you’re at all worried about your privacy -- and frankly you should be -- Tails can help secure it. The Amnesiac Incognito Live System, to give it its full name, is a live Linux-based operating system that you can boot into on any computer. It can be used to encrypt files, emails and instant messaging chats, and much more besides.

Today, the developers release Tails 5.0, the first version of the distro based on Debian 11 (Bullseye), and this comes with an important new security feature, as well as lots of other changes and updates.

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Can you buy a Windows laptop and replace Microsoft's operating system with a Linux distribution? Sure, but you shouldn't have to. Look, folks, in 2022 you should be supporting the open source community by purchasing computers with Linux pre-installed. Even if it costs you a few bucks more, it will be worth it for the community overall.

Today, the latest Linux laptop is released, and it looks like a beast. You see, the 4th generation Kubuntu Focus M2 Linux laptop is powered by a bleeding-edge 12th gen Intel Core i7 processor. The company claims this chip will increase performance by 20 percent compared to the 3rd generation of the notebook. And yes, it comes with the latest-and-greatest Kubuntu 22.04 LTS pre-loaded.

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Today we get some very exciting news for the Linux gaming community. And yes, smart aleck, people do play video games on Linux these days. What is the big news? Canonical has released an early-access snap version of Steam for Ubuntu and other compatible Linux-based operating systems!

What exactly does this mean? Well, Canonical is aiming to make it even easier to get Steam up-and-running on Linux. Gamers will be able to install Valve's software from the snap store for a more elegant experience.

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As Linux continues to gain prominence, there has been a rise in network services being deployed on Linux for cost and flexibility reasons.

If you are a networking professional or an infrastructure engineer involved with networks, extensive knowledge of Linux networking is a must.

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Security researchers at Microsoft have found a series of vulnerabilities affecting Linux. Collectively named Nimbuspwn, the security flaws can be chained together to allow an attacker to gain root access to a system.

Microsoft warns that the vulnerabilities, which are being tracked as CVE-2022-29799 and CVE-2022-29800, could also be exploited to execute ransomware attacks and more.

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Ubuntu is a great operating system -- and so are the many Linux distributions that are based on it. Quite frankly, you really can't go wrong by choosing any Ubuntu-based distro. With that said, there is one Ubuntu-based operating system in particular that really takes things to another level -- Pop!_OS by System76.

System76's operating system focuses more on the user experience, making it a superior desktop distribution compared to "regular" Ubuntu. Following the release of Ubuntu 22.04, today, Pop!_OS 22.04 becomes available as well, and yes, you should be excited. The distribution uses Linux kernel 5.16.19, Mesa 22, and the GNOME 42 desktop environment (with System76's COSMIC UX enhancements).

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Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, we will start to see updates to all the Linux distributions that are based on Canonical's operating system. For instance, the first release candidate of Linux Lite 6.0, which is based on Ubuntu 22.04, is now available. If you aren't familiar, Linux Lite is very popular with those that are switching to Linux from Microsoft Windows.

Linux Lite 6.0 RC1 is notable for ditching Mozilla Firefox as the default web browser, and switching to Google Chrome 100 instead. The operating system currently uses Linux kernel 5.15.0-25 and the desktop environment Xfce 4.16.3. It comes with some excellent software pre-installed, such as GIMP 2.10.30, Thunderbird 91.7.0, VLC 3.0.16, and LibreOffice 7.2.6.2.

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The developers over at Canonical have been busy baking a yummy new version of Ubuntu recently, and following a brief beta period, it is finally time to take the open-source operating system out of the oven. Yes, folks, the stable Ubuntu 22.04 is finally here!

Code-named "Jammy Jellyfish," Ubuntu 22.04 is an "LTS" version, which stands for "Long Term Support." Yeah, that means exactly what it sounds like. The Linux distribution will be supported for a long time -- five years to be exact. Very nice.

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Last month, Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 5 was released to the world. Code-named "Elsie," many fans of the operating system probably did a fresh install right away. Understandably, however, some users are still running the previous version of the distribution, LMDE 4 "Debbie."

If your computer is still running Debbie, but you want to easily move onto Elsie, I have some great news. Today, the Linux Mint developers officially release the new LMDE Upgrade Tool in Beta. It is important to note this tool is only to be used with LMDE at this time, and not the "regular" Ubuntu-based Linux Mint.

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If you need to buy a new Chrome OS laptop, I have some exciting news. Starting today, you can trade your money for the all-new Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360. This convertible notebook can transform into a makeshift tablet, and with Android app support, that will be very much appreciated.

While the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is powered by a rather anemic Intel Celeron N4500 processor, you can opt for a respectable 8GB of RAM rather than the 4GB of memory that comes with the base model. Sadly, regardless of which storage capacity you choose -- 64GB or 128GB -- you only get a sluggish eMMC drive. Thankfully, you do get USB-A, USB-C, 3.5mm audio, and a micro SD card reader. You can configure with option LTE wireless connectivity too.

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MX Linux ranks number one for popularity over on DistroWatch, but truth be told, I do not know anyone that uses the distribution regularly. Don't get me wrong, it is a fine operating system, but it really isn't anything special. Quite frankly, the distro's need to exist is questionable at this point, but whatever.

Despite the rather negative opening paragraph, I am pleased to tell you that the newest version of the operating system is ready to be downloaded. Huzzah! Given the codename "Wildflower," MX Linux 21.1 is a rather ho-hum point release. The developers share the changes below.

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Believe it or not, some modern desktop computers don't have any USB-C ports, and for those that do, many only have one or two of the ports. Thankfully, if you have a free PCIe slot in your machine, you can easily add more.

A new card from Sonnet takes adding USB-C ports to another level. Called "Allegra Pro," it offers an impressive eight external Type-C ports all running at USB 3.2 Gen 2 speed (10Gbps).

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Linux Mint is a very popular operating system, so any news surrounding upcoming versions is highly sought after by members of the open source community. Today, the developers of that operating system have shared some very interesting information -- the name of Linux Mint 21!

The Linux Mint developers always use female names (alphabetically) as codenames, and version 21 is no different. You see, following version 19 ("Tara") and version 20 ("Ulyana"), version 21 of Linux Mint is named "Vanessa." According to Think Baby Names, it is a Greek name meaning "butterfly."

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