Articles about Linux

Microsoft is both an open source and Linux champion nowadays -- on the surface at least (pun intended). In other words, while it does embrace those things, we may not know the motivation of the Windows-maker regarding them. Regardless, Linux and open source are now important to the Redmond company.

Today, Microsoft announces a CentOS-based VM image for Azure called 'Linux Data Science Virtual Machine'. The VM has pre-installed tools such as Anaconda Python Distribution, Computational Network Toolkit, and Microsoft R Open. It focuses on machine learning and analytics, making it a great choice for data scientists.

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Linux apps running in Windows 10? What gives?! As if the arrival of Bash on Ubuntu on Windows 10 wasn't enough, people have been quick to investigate the capabilities and limitation of Microsoft's embracing of the Linux command line.

Some commenters on our how-to guide asked what the point is. How about being able to run Linux apps in Windows without having to resort to using a virtual machine? It can be done. Here's how.

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Microsoft has been showing Linux a lot of love recently, and at Build 2016 the company announced that the Bash shell was coming to Windows 10. It’s a feature that will make an appearance in the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update (due for release in July), but it's something that Windows Insiders on the Fast Ring already have access to in Build 14316 right now.

If you have installed this build, you'd be forgiven for not being able to find Bash however hard you look; there are hoops you have to jump through. So if you like the idea of accessing the Linux command line in Windows 10, there are a few steps for you to follow, starting off by enabling Developer Mode.

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Linux-based operating systems are rock solid -- reliable and secure -- but not infallible. The Mumblehard malware, for instance, targets servers running the open source kernel, installing a backdoor, and then turning them into part of a powerful spam-focused botnet. Surprisingly, Mumblehard was rather widespread, infecting 4,000 Linux-powered servers.

Of course, had administrators patched the systems appropriately, there is a good chance that some of them would have avoided infection. I say this, because ESET found that some machines were infected through known exploits, in things like WordPress. Thankfully, ESET successfully terminated the botnet on February 29th, 2016 by taking control of the home IP.

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About a year ago, I declared Windows 10 was "the final nail in the coffin for the Linux desktop". What I meant by this was not that Linux on the desktop was really dead, but that the Linux community had failed to capitalize on the negative sentiment towards Windows 8x. What I didn't expect at the time, however, was Microsoft's privacy faux pas with Windows 10. While there are more than a quarter billion installs of the latest operating system, plenty of folks have serious concerns about spying.

Maybe Linux has a chance on the desktop after all. Ubuntu is being integrated into Windows 10, and Android seems to be headed towards the desktop. In other words, Linux is making significant moves. Heck, even Linus Torvalds is prepared to keep fighting the good fight, and he declares that he is still "working on it".

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While many people use the old cliché that nothing in life is free, that isn't always true. Are there often strings attached? Absolutely. With Gmail, Google combs through your communications for targeted advertising. Microsoft's Windows 10 is a free upgrade for many, but it has more strings than a gross of violins -- from a privacy standpoint, that is.

In the world of open source, however, free sometimes really means free. Today, Red Hat -- fresh from celebrating a historic $2 billion in annual revenue -- releases a developer-focused gift to the world. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Developer Suite is totally free, including a RHEL license and valuable developer tools, like the JBoss Middleware portfolio. This is through the Red Hat Developer Program.

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At Build 2016, Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 has now been installed on more than a quarter of a billion devices. But Build is about looking forward, not to the past or present. Windows 10 may have been lapped up by hundreds of millions of users, but there is already demand for the next big update -- and it's just on the horizon in the form of Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

Due for release late summer -- although no date has been given at this stage -- Windows 10 Anniversary Update is described as an "interim release", but one that will feature "significant new features". Timed to coincide with Windows 10's first anniversary, the update will enable developers to make use of hundreds of new features in an updated API set.

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If you are a big GNOME fan -- like me -- then there is one distribution you must try -- Fedora. The Linux-based operating system -- the same that Linus Torvalds uses -- is a great way to have a vanilla GNOME experience. Desktop environment aside, it is also both stable and fairly cutting-edge, offering modern packages and kernels.

Today, Fedora 24 reaches public Alpha -- you can download it now. While using an Alpha operating system on your main computer is probably not a great idea, there is one specific thing that makes such an early version very attractive -- GNOME 3.20. While the ISO does not contain the final version of 3.20, you can update to final immediately after installation by using either Software or DNF in terminal. Huzzah!

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While Linux remains insignificant on the desktop, it is the clear king of mobile thanks to Android. While the iPhone may generate more money, there are more Android handsets being sold globally.

Unfortunately, while Android uses the Linux kernel, the devices are usually not in line with the typical experience. Outside of Nexus devices, many users have to deal with locked bootloaders and the inability to install an alternative OS. Luckily, Android is not the only mobile Linux game in town -- Ubuntu can scale beautifully from smartphone, to tablet, to desktop. Today, the first official Ubuntu tablet -- BQ Aquarius M10 -- becomes available for pre-order, giving Google a run for its money.

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If you are a Linux desktop user, there is a good chance you have used Ubuntu at some point in your life. The distribution is one of the best, offering stability, many available packages, and an overall great user experience. Unfortunately, the last few releases have been rather ho-hum -- boring and evolutionary. Don't get me wrong, Canonical shouldn't fix what isn't broken (as Microsoft often does with Windows), but some users expect a bit more from operating system upgrades.

The upcoming 16.04 release looks to remedy this, finally delivering a meaty upgrade to Ubuntu fans. Two major changes are a much improved Unity with the ability to move the dock (woo-hoo!), and a refreshed software store. Today, Canonical releases the final beta, signaling that the true non-beta final version, due April 21, is right around the corner.

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One of the great things about Linux-based operating systems is the ability to change the user interface by way of desktop environment. If you like Ubuntu, for instance, but don't like Unity, you can choose an alternative such as KDE, Xfce, or GNOME, to name a few.

While GNOME 3x was initially quite controversial for its abrupt design change from 2x, it has evolved into something quite remarkable -- my favorite such DE. Actually, GNOME 3 is much more than a pretty UI -- it is a design philosophy and suite of useful programs. Today, it reaches a major milestone with 3.20. It features many enhancements, such as improved Wayland support.

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Open source is big business. To quantify and define "big business", how about I throw out a number -- $2,000,000,000. That is a lot of zeros! But what does it represent?

It is a figure that Red Hat has surpassed for its 2015 earnings, as it just posted revenue of $2.05 billion for last year. This makes it the first-ever open source software company to ever meet or exceed $2 billion in revenue in a year.

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During the Windows 8 era, I was very worried about that operating system -- the UI and design choices were troubling. Luckily, as a longtime Linux user, I was not tied to any Microsoft OS. Unfortunately for some consumers, Linux-based operating systems can be difficult to install and use, while Mac computers are very expensive. Chrome OS and the inexpensive Chromebooks swooped in to save the day.

For those that stuck it out with Windows, or used other desktop operating systems, Google introduced a Chrome OS-like launcher -- the unimaginatively named Chrome app launcher. It allows Windows, Mac, and Linux users to launch Chrome apps from within their OS' native UI -- it sort of felt like Chrome OS running inside of them. Today, Google kills this project.

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ShareByLinkShareByLink is an open-source file sharing service and application for Windows, Linux and Mac.

The package is all about simplicity. There’s no registration, no account to create, nothing to set up: just install the program, then right-click a file and select "Share file(s) online...".

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At the Free Software Foundation's LibrePlanet 2016 conference, Edward Snowden credited free software with enabling him to blow the whistle about government surveillance. Speaking via video link from Russia, the former NSA contractor said that "what happened in 2013 couldn't have happened without free software".

But as well as indicating his preference for free, open source software, Snowden revealed that he refused to use Microsoft software because he "couldn't be sure" that there weren't backdoors built in.

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