Articles about Linux

Dell's XPS 13 is a legendary laptop, not just with Windows users, but hardcore Linux fans too. You see, through the company's Project Sputnik program, Dell has long provided special "Developer Edition" variants of its laptops that come pre-loaded with Ubuntu. Operating system aside, the XPS 13 has been highly lauded for its build quality, attention to detail, and top specifications. Ultimately, you buy an XPS 13 and always know you are getting a quality laptop.

Today, Dell announces the newest XPS 13 Developer Edition and it looks incredible. This 10th generation computer (which is being dubbed "2020") is thinner and smaller while offering even better specifications, such as an improved 13.4-inch display (with 16:10 aspect ratio) and the ability to be configured with up to 32GB -- double the previous generation's maximum memory. There are no USB-A ports, sadly, but it does have two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a micro SD card reader. You get thinner bezels and a larger trackpad too. Believe it or not, Dell is even promising proper fingerprint reader support in a future software update, meaning you can finally secure Ubuntu with biometrics!

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Linux Mint is a great operating system, but with the most recent version (19.3 "Tricia"), there was some shocking news -- GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) was being removed! Crazy, right? I mean, of all of the great software available for Linux, GIMP is one of the best. It is an essential image editing tool that rivals Adobe Photoshop.

So, why did Linux Mint remove it as a pre-installed program? The developers thought the software was too advanced for newer Linux users. While I think that is a bit of nonsense, I can understand why the Mint developers would want to cater to beginners. Thankfully, it is totally easy to install GIMP on a new Linux Mint 19.3 installation.

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With 2019 almost over, we turn our sights to a new decade with 2020. Soon we will celebrate the new year by partying, eating good food, and watching the Times Square Ball drop on TV. Sadly, Dick Clark is dead, but his legacy lives on through Ryan Seacrest.

But what if you want to celebrate 2020 in a more... nerdier way? Well, I have some good news. Calculate Linux 20 is now available for download! Yes, the Gentoo-based operating system is ready to be installed on your computer. Since it is version 20, that makes it perfect for ringing in 2020.

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Multi-cloud environments have been a hot topic for the last year. Already, businesses have been realizing the benefits of a vendor-agnostic approach, which not only minimizes costs but gives them the freedom to innovate. However, there are a couple of aspects of operations which will be key in ensuring multi-cloud remains viable for enterprises in the long-term.

Despite the freedom which comes with a vendor neutral ecosystem, orchestrators haven’t yet overcome the headache associated with migrating workloads between these different cloud infrastructures. The past year saw major cloud players like IBM making acquisitions to address this, but as yet, they haven’t found a successful solution. Over the next year, this will be a priority for enterprises looking to remove the bottlenecks in their CI/CD pipeline. Organizations will invest in services which can help them harness a multi-cloud ecosystem, by supporting fast deployment, scalability, integration and operational tasks across public and private clouds.

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Back in May of 2019, Peppermint 10 was released. The Ubuntu-based operating system is great for those switching from Windows, but also, it makes a fine operating system for Linux experts too. It may not be as popular as, say, Linux Mint, but it is still a solid option.

Today, fans of Peppermint -- and the entire Linux community, really -- have reason to celebrate. No, version 11 of the operating system is not released. However, Peppermint 10 Respin is now available for download!

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The Linux Mint developers vowed to release a new version of their operating system before Christmas, and today, they fulfill that promise. Yes, Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia is finally here, a full week before the big Christmas holiday -- a very welcome early gift.

Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia can be had with your choice of three excellent desktop environments -- Cinnamon (4.4), MATE (1.22), and Xfce (4.14). I highly recommend users with modern computers try Cinnamon first -- it is the prettiest of the trio, while the other two DEs are designed for more meager PCs. With that said, even those with high-end machines sometimes opt for Xfce and Mate because they simply prefer them.

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It may seem that the big names of tech are eager to embrace -- and to be seen embracing -- Linux, but Google is being a little selective.

Users of the Konqueror, Falkon and Qutebrowser web browsers for Linux-based operating systems have reported that they are unable to log into Google services. What's strange is that not all users of these browsers are affected, but many people are seeing a warning when they try to use them.

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Windows 7's death is imminent -- support for the popular operating system ends next month on January 14, making it extremely dangerous to use from a security standpoint after that date. This is very unfortunate for the millions of computer users that don't want to switch to the much-maligned Windows 10. Thankfully, in 2019, you don't have to run Windows anymore -- Linux is a totally legitimate option for both business and home use these days. Hell, even the Windows-maker sees the writing on the wall -- the company recently released its wildly popular Office 365 program, Microsoft Teams, for Linux.

If you are ready to ditch the soon-to-be-unsupported Windows 7 for a more secure Linux-based operating system, you have plenty of great options. One of the best choices, however, is Zorin OS -- a Linux distribution that specifically targets people switching from Windows. Today, the latest version of that operating system, Zorin OS 15.1, is released to the world.

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Modern Linux users have it pretty good. In 2019, there are many major players supporting desktop operating systems running the open source kernel. Years ago, it felt like Linux on the desktop was a second class citizen -- switching from Windows was not as easy as it is today. These days, it is totally possible to forgo Microsoft's desktop operating system and still have a high quality computing experience with top-notch software, including video editing and PC gaming.

To show just how far we've come, Microsoft today brings an essential Office 365 program to Linux. No, it isn't Word, Excel, or PowerPoint -- that would be a true miracle. Actually, it is one of the newer Office applications that is seeing a surge in popularity -- Microsoft Teams. This is a top-notch communication and collaboration service. Depending on who you believe, Teams actually has more users than Slack -- a very impressive feat. Now, Microsoft Teams joins Slack on the Linux desktop!

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While most Raspberry Pi owners opt for Raspbian as their operating system, the tiny barebones board can run a number of other Linux distros, including Ubuntu.

There was a major problem with the previous Ubuntu images though -- a kernel bug prevented USB ports from working on the 4GB RAM model of the Raspberry Pi 4. A temporary workaround was proposed, but Canonical has finally fixed the flaw, and made updated 32 and 64-bit images of Ubuntu available for the Raspberry Pi 2, 3 and 4, which you can download now.

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When Disney+ launched, Linux users were shut out. Attempting to stream content resulted in an error message reading: "Something went wrong. Please try again. If the problem persists, visit the Disney+ Help Center (Error Code 83)."

The problem stemmed from the way in which Disney chose to implement digital rights management but now the company has tweaked the way DRM is used, lowering the security settings it had in place, meaning that it is now possible to enjoy Disney+ on Linux.

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elementary OS has long been viewed by many as the future of Linux on the PC thanks to its beautiful desktop environment and overall polished experience. Development of the Ubuntu-based operating system has been frustratingly slow, however. This shouldn't be surprising, really, as the team of developers is rather small, and its resources are likely much less than those of larger distributions such as the IBM-backed Fedora or Canonical's Ubuntu. And that is what makes elementary OS so remarkable -- its developers can make magic on a smaller budget.

Today, the latest version of the operating system is released. Code-named "Hera," elementary OS 5.1 is now available for download. Support for Flatpak is now baked in — this is significant, as the developers explain it is “the first non-deb packaging format we've supported out of the box.” The Linux kernel now sits at a very modern 5.0. One of the most important aspects of elementary OS, the AppCenter, is now an insane 10 times faster than its predecessor. Wow.

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Back in October, we told you the Linux Mint developers were hoping to have version 19.3 released by Christmas 2019. Well, I have some good news regarding that -- Linux Mint 19.3 "Tricia" it is still on schedule for a release by December 25! Yes, Linux Mint fans, you will likely be treated to something much better than any gift wrapped under your tree-- a new version of the OS you love.

With all of that said, I have some more great news about Linux Mint 19.3 "Tricia" -- the BETA will be released this upcoming Tuesday, December 3! This past Friday was "Black Friday," tomorrow is "Cyber Monday," and I think we can now dub the day after that "Mint Tuesday."

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Kali Linux is a security-focused, Debian-based distro popular with hackers and penetration testers. It can be used to identify, detect, and exploit vulnerabilities uncovered in a target network environment.

Offensive Security, which maintains the Kali Linux project, has just announced its fourth and final release of the year, and version 2019.4 comes packed with lots of changes and new features, including an intriguing Kali Undercover mode that lets you pretend to be using Windows.

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I am not one to judge people. However, the whole "Brony" thing does bewilder me. If you aren't familiar, "Bronies," as they are called, are adult males that enjoy watching the TV show My Little Pony -- a cartoon designed for children. They even play with pony action figures and attend conventions where they dress up like ponies. Sadly, some of these Brony people even sexualize the cartoon ponies. It's a really disturbing community.

And so, today, I was a bit dismayed by a Tweet from the official Ubuntu Linux Twitter account. You see, on that social network, the operating system seems to be promoting Brony culture by suggesting users install a cartoon pony-related package called "ponysay."

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