Articles about Linux

Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu, finds itself the subject of criticism after contacting an Ubuntu related website and asking that the domain name be changed. Fix Ubuntu was created by Micah Lee to provide Ubuntu users with instructions about how to disable the web component of the desktop search tool. Lee was emailed by Canonical to request that he not only stop using the word "Ubuntu" in the domain name, but also refrained from using the logo.

The reason? Canonical's email suggests that the name and use of logo could cause confusion among Ubuntu users:

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People celebrate birthdays every year but the celebrations have expanded beyond humans. A search of YouTube reveals people baking birthday cakes and having celebrations for their pets. However, birthdays can be celebrated for anything, including Linux distributions.

Today, The Fedora Project (which is owned by Red Hat Inc.) celebrates 10 years of bringing open-source joy to the Linux Community. It is hard to believe that the operating system choice of the controversial Linus Torvalds is now 10 years old. That's like...a really long time in internet-years.

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Today, TeamViewer announces a new beta version of its popular remote control software for Windows, Mac and Linux PCs. The latest release, named TeamViewer 9 Beta, introduces new features aimed at businesses, developers and end-users as well as security improvements.

The most noteworthy security addition in TeamViewer 9 Beta is two-factor authentication. It allows users to add an extra layer of protection to their accounts by using security codes, that can be sent to their mobile devices and, alternatively, generated by dedicated mobile apps. On Macs, TeamViewer 9 also adds the option to increase the password strength in QuickSupport.

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There are many records available to be broken -- worlds tallest man, biggest hamburger or loudest crowd, to name a few. However, in the technology sector, there are records to break too; namely benchmarks. A benchmark is a way to test performance of both hardware and software. Red Hat announces that in a partnership with Hitachi, they too have broken a record -- the largest TPC-H database benchmark ever published.

"As a testament to Red Hat's continued innovation, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux team is pleased to announce that longtime Red Hat partner Hitachi, a leading global social innovation company with headquarters in Tokyo, has chosen Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 for the largest TPC-H database benchmark ever published at a scale factor of 100 Terabytes (100,000 Gigabytes)", says Red Hat.

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In the world of Linux, Ubuntu serves as a gateway for many. You see, the popular Linux distribution is very easy to install and use, so it makes an ideal first distro. While some users may choose to stick with the 12.04 Long Term Support version (which is supported until 2017), other users will prefer to have the latest and greatest.

Today, Canonical releases the freshest stable version of its operating system, Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, which has 9 months of support. While this is big news on its own, the bigger news is that it is available for both desktops and smartphones at the same time.

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Red Hat has been very busy lately. It was only a week ago that the company updated the previous version of its Enterprise Linux, 5.10. Today, rather than look backward, the company is looking forward and announces Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 beta.

"We are pleased to announce the beta release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5. To keep pace with the demand for enterprise-class infrastructure, the newest version of the leading Linux platform extends its scalability and manageability to aid in the build-out and control of large, complex IT environments. For example, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 will be designed to simplify the operation of mission-critical SAP applications by automating the optimal configuration of common SAP deployments", says the company.

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Linux offers much quality software. From Gimp, for photo and image manipulation, to Rhythmbox, for music, a user can easily achieve a positive software experience. However, once a program becomes largely adopted, it can get stale -- developers may rest on their laurels.

When developer Yorba came on the scene in 2009 with the popular Shotwell (photo management) and Geary (email client), it was a breath of fresh air. Not only are the programs functional, they are attractive and receive steady updates. Yesterday, Geary announced updates to both of these programs.

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To say Canonical's Mir has been controversial is putting it lightly. After all, it is designed to usurp X Server as the typical display server on Linux (with compatible video cards). To make the transition easier, the company developed XMir -- a way to support X server-designed applications until they can be updated. However, many members of the Linux community are backing the alternative X Server successor, Wayland.

Things got ugly in August when Intel abruptly pulled XMir support from its xorg display driver, saying only "we do not condone or support Canonical in the course of action they have chosen, and will not carry XMir patches upstream". Canonical employee Michael Hall replied by saying "I've said it before, I'll say it again. You will not make your open source project better by pulling another open source project down".

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As a Fedora user and fan, I keep an interest in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). You see, Red Hat owns Fedora which many people consider a testing-ground for RHEL. Today, the company announces a new update to the fifth version of its commercial-focused Linux distribution.

Red Hat announces "the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.10, the latest minor release of the mature Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Platform. With an emphasis on providing greater stability for critical applications, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.10 offers enhanced features for reliability and security, including an updated version of OpenSCAP".

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I have been using Linux for many years. I consider myself well-versed in the open-source kernel and its associated operating systems. When I first started using Linux distributions, the community dreamed of a day when it would become the dominant force in computing.

Well, arguably, the time is now. You see, Android is now the most popular mobile operating system and ChromeOS is making big strides in education -- both operating systems use the Linux kernel. Also, Unix-like operating systems power 66 percent of the web (47 percent of which is Linux). However, Linux is not perfect and is still trailing on the desktop to Microsoft. Below are what I view as the top five problems with Linux.

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The video game controller has evolved over the years. However, from the iconic NES and going all the way to the soon-to-be-released PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, they are basically the same; directional pad on the left and buttons on the right. Sure, the number of buttons has increased, and there are now analog thumb-sticks, but overall, the concept hasn't changed -- until now.

Today, Valve announces that it is revolutionizing the game controller with its innovative Steam Controller. This controller is designed to accompany its new Steam Machine hardware and SteamOS Linux distro. Clearly, the company has its sights set not only on your living room, but competing with Sony and Microsoft. Yes, the company is using Linux and a custom-designed controller to compete with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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When it comes to Linux, the potpourri of available desktop environments can be both scary and exciting. It can be a hard decision for a beginner, but a fun one too. Over the years I have tried a plethora of environments and they all have strengths and weakness. Ultimately, I fell in love with the controversial Gnome 3. I say controversial because the changes from version 2 to 3 were quite radical and many users did not like them. However, as version 3 progresses and improves, Gnome 2 loyalists are starting to take notice.

Yesterday, the newest iteration, Gnome 3.10 was released. According to the Gnome website, "the GNOME project is proud to present GNOME 3.10. The release comes six months after 3.8, and contains 34,786 changes by approximately 985 contributors. It contains major new features as well as a large collection of smaller enhancements. 3.10 provides an improved experience for users, as well as new capabilities for application developers".

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Last year, Gabe Newell of Valve infamously called Windows 8 "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space". However, this was not just lip service -- the company put its money where its mouth is and released its game-distribution service, Steam, for Linux. Today, Valve takes this a step further and announces a new Linux-distribution called SteamOS.

"As we've been working on bringing Steam to the living room, we've come to the conclusion that the environment best suited to delivering value to customers is an operating system built around Steam itself. SteamOS combines the rock-solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience built for the big screen. It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines", says the company.

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China has been in the spotlight lately. Most recently, the country was rumored to be the major catalyst for the "low cost" iPhone 5c. However, this has largely been discredited since the phone was revealed to not be "low cost", but instead a relatively expensive, premium device. However, China is still a major player in the computer market and manufacturers are chomping at the bit to take advantage of it. Today, Canonical announces that Hewlett Packard is focused on the nation and will be selling Ubuntu-based laptops in its 1,500 retail stores.

Canonical says, "Ubuntu’s retail presence has grown again as HP brings a range of laptops pre-installed with a Chinese-centric version of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to over 1,500 of its stores across all major cities in China. Consumers in China will now be able to purchase HP laptops running Ubuntu directly from stores, where they will also find information packs and marketing materials to help with their purchase".

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When it comes to Linux, people tend to picture pale nerds in a basement coding away; which is only partly true. You see, in addition to those independent basement nerds, major companies such as Google and Samsung are also involved. The Linux foundation periodically publishes a report on who contributes to the Linux kernel. Today, the foundation releases the newest report titled "Linux Kernel Development: How Fast It is Going, Who is Doing It, What They Are Doing and Who is Sponsoring It."

According to the report, "The Linux kernel is one of the largest and most successful open source projects that has ever come about. The huge rate of change and number of individual contributors show that it has a vibrant and active community, constantly causing the evolution of the kernel in response to number of different environments it is used in. This rate of change continues to increase, as does the number of developers and companies involved in the process; thus far, the development process has proved that it is able to scale up to higher speeds without trouble".

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