Articles about Open Source

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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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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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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Just a couple days ago, Fedora 36 Beta was released, and now, Ubuntu Linux 22.04 Beta follows suit. Called "Jammy Jellyfish," this pre-release version of the Ubuntu operating system uses Linux kernel 5.15, Mesa 22, and the GNOME 42 desktop environment by default.

Don't like GNOME? Hey, that's cool. There are several flavors of Ubuntu that use alternative desktop environments, such as Kubuntu (KDE Plasma), Lubuntu (LXQt), and Xubuntu (Xfce) to name a few.

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Canonical has announced the general availability of OpenStack Yoga on Ubuntu 22.04 Long Term Support (LTS) Beta and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

What does this mean? Yoga, the latest version of OpenStack, provides a foundation for next-generation, highly performant infrastructure as needed by telco NFV (Network Functions Visualization), media streaming, traffic analysis and high-performance computing (HPC) services.

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Today is the day many Linux users have been eagerly awaiting -- Fedora 36 has officially reached Beta status. Yes, folks, you can download the pre-release operating system immediately! For many Linux users, Fedora is considered the most important distribution based on that open source kernel. Why? Because the distro focuses on truly free and open source software -- a pure Linux experience. Hell, the father of Linux, Linus Torvalds, famously uses Fedora.

What makes Fedora 36 Beta so exciting? Well, this pre-release version of the upcoming operating system uses the brand-new GNOME 42 as its default desktop environment. If you instead choose the LXQt spin of Fedora, you will be delighted to know it now uses version 1.0 which was released late last year. Plus, users with an NVIDIA GPU are in for a treat when using the proprietary graphics driver -- GDM will use Wayland by default.

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There are many great desktop environments for Linux, such as Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, and MATE to name a few. With that said, only one can be the best, and that is obviously GNOME. I mean, look, there's a reason Canonical uses it as the default DE for Ubuntu -- it's that good.

If you are a GNOME fan, I have some extremely exciting news. You see, as of today, GNOME 42 is officially here! There are many new features, such as a new dark mode, improved screenshotting, and support for RDP (remote desktop protocol). There are also performance improvements, updated apps, and new default apps including a beautiful new terminal called "Console."

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When the Log4Shell vulnerability appeared in December last year the effects rippled across the cybersecurity world with potentially millions of devices affected.

A new study from Qualys takes a look at how enterprises responded to the vulnerability and how successful their remediation efforts were.

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Open source software is usually selected for reasons like flexibility, access to development resources and cost. But the latest State of Enterprise Open Source report from Red Hat shows that 82 percent of decision makers are more likely to choose a vendor that contributes to the open source community.

Top reasons given for preferring these vendors are that they're familiar with open source processes and help sustain healthy communities -- both cited by 49 percent of respondents -- that they can influence the development of features (48 percent) and that they are likely to be more effective in the face of technical challenges (46 percent).

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Debian is a great Linux distribution in its own right, but also, it serves as a base for many other operating systems. For instance, two of the best Linux distros, Ubuntu and deepin, are based on Debian.

Linux Mint is a popular operating system based on Ubuntu, but did you know there is actually a lesser-known variant of the operating system based on Debian? It's true! The unimaginatively named "Linux Mint Debian Edition" (aka LMDE) cuts out the Ubuntu middleman and is based on Debian directly.

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A new report based on data from more than 100 open source audit projects conducted in 2021 finds that companies are only aware of 17 percent of the open source components they use, an increase of just four percent in the past year.

The 2022 State of the Software Supply Chain Report from Revenera also shows that risks are increasing.

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Local councils in the UK report a 27 percent increase in the use of digital services over the 12 months from summer 2020, compared to the previous year.

Digital experience company Acquia used freedom of information requests to compile the report, which also suggests the UK government’s drive to encourage usage of digital services is bearing fruit with local councils making considerable strides to improve accessibility.

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Windows 11 is a rather good operating system. In fact, I can confidently say it is the best desktop operating system Microsoft has ever created. Seriously, folks, it is a pleasure to use. If your computer is compatible with it, and you like Windows 10, you should enjoy Windows 11 even more.

With all of that said, Windows 11 can be a bit polarizing. It features radical changes to the user interface (such as a centered task bar) which I adore, but some users may dislike. Not to mention, the system requirements will leave many still-capable computers unable to upgrade without using unofficial hacks. Even worse, computers deemed incompatible could eventually stop getting updates! These unfortunate computer owners will have to decide whether to continue using Windows 10 or buy a new Windows 11-compatible PC.

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We have written about PowerToys quite a lot here on BetaNews. Microsoft has put a lot of work into building a useful collection of tools and utilities for Windows 11 users, and it is incredible to see each new addition and development.

PowerToys is aimed at power users looking to get more from their computers, and now there is a utilities collection designed with developers in mind. Described as a "Swiss Army knife for developers", DevToys comprises 14 outrageously useful tools and has just hit a major milestone.

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It used to be, people would scoff at the idea of switching to a Linux-based operating system due to a lack of software. While that is still true for some folks -- especially business users -- it is less of a concern these days. Why? Well, so many things are done through the web browser nowadays, lessening dependence on Windows software. For many consumers, just having the Google Chrome browser on, say, Ubuntu, is more than enough to accomplish their wants and needs. Not to mention, there are many quality Linux apps like GIMP and DaVinci Resolve.

But OK, lets say you really want to use a Linux-based operating system, but there's some Windows-only software that you absolutely cannot live without. Thankfully, you may still be able to ditch Windows and upgrade to something like Fedora or Linux Mint. How? Thanks to the excellent Wine! This compatibility layer (don't you dare call it an emulator), can sometimes enable you to run Windows software on Linux. Today, version 7.0 is released.

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