Articles about Open Source

Why don’t more desktop computer users run Linux-based operating systems? Well, software compatibility aside, there is fear of change and the unknown. For a user to switch from Windows, it need to be a fairly simple affair. For years, just installing a Linux distribution was a daunting task. These days, however, it can be faster and easier than installing Windows -- depending on the distro, of course.

For Linux beginners, once installed, their chosen distro should be easy to use with an intuitive desktop environment. I'm a big fan of GNOME, but understandably, not all folks like it -- especially Linux novices. One particular Linux-based desktop operating system has been focusing on accessibility to all -- elementary OS. This distribution is polished and focuses on being easy to use. It is a good choice for both experts and beginners alike. Today, elementary OS 6, code-named "Odin," becomes available for download, and it is loaded with exciting changes.

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Back in the days before Facebook Messenger, iMessage, and WhatsApp, we had other chat platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MSN Messenger, and ICQ to name a few. At first, everyone used the first-party apps for each platform, but eventually, many of us switched to third-party software that could connect to multiple chat platforms at once. The multi-chat apps were more convenient, but equally important, they were usually advertisement-free. AIM, for instance, had annoying ads.

One of the most popular such programs was Gaim, which was ultimately renamed to Pidgin. Believe it or not, Pidgin is still being developed to this day. The open source Pidgin is available on both Linux and Windows. Unfortunately, use of Pidgin has dipped dramatically over the last decade. Hell, I don't even remember the last time I used it. And now, in what is certainly a huge blow to Pidgin, the Ubuntu Linux-based Xubuntu is finally ditching it.

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Businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of data, but most acknowledge that they could do better in using it to drive business transformation.

A new report from DataStax, based on a survey of over 500 technology executives and practitioners, reveals that while 96 percent of respondents say they have some level of a data strategy, only 38 percent of enterprises give themselves top grades when it comes to using data to create value for customers.

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Debian 11 is a long time coming now, with users of the Linux-based operating system anxiously awaiting the upcoming release. Code-named "Bullseye," it has been suspected to have 2021 availability, but as of today, we now know the specific date.

You see, the Debian developers are planning to release version 11 on August 14 of this year. In other words, it is less than a month away! This year, you can celebrate the August 14 birthdays of celebrities Mila Kunis, Steve Martin, and Magic Johnson by downloading and installing the wildly popular Linux distribution.

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The development team behind Audacity learned the hard way that people do not take kindly to the introduction of telemetry, particularly when communication is poor.

Over the last few months, there has been a very public debacle involving Audacity's proposed changes to its privacy policy. It resulted in the software being branded "possible spyware" and led to explanations, apologies and backtracking. Now the team behind the open source audio editor has published its updated privacy policy along with a lengthy explanation about various elements of it and an apology for the "significant lapse in communication".

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Enterprises are relying on data more than ever before, but that can come at a cost in terms of the time spent on building and managing the infrastructure to handle it.

In order to streamline the integration and efficient scaling of these big data and AI workflows into hybrid cloud environments, IBM Research is launching CodeFlare.

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Following yet another vocal backlash against a new privacy policy, the makers of open-source audio editor Audacity have responded to concerns, blaming "unclear phrasing" in its policy update.

While a previously proposed policy change was not implemented because of the negative response from users, it does not seem that this latest change will be halted. Instead, the developers say that it will be rectifying what it regards as poor wording, and goes to some lengths to explain the reasons for the changes in an attempt to justify them. While the type of data collected is nothing particularly out of the ordinary, the arrival of telemetry is not something that is welcomed by fans of open source software.

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Is your computer up to the task of running Windows 11? To help you to find out, Microsoft released the PC Health Check app, updated it to make it more useful, but then pulled it for not being useful enough.

So how can you check your system's compatibility with Windows 11 -- especially the TPM requirement? We've already written about WhyNotWin11 which does a great job, but you can also try Win11SysCheck, a great open source utility that gives you a straight yes or no, along with helpful information if the answer is negative.

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One of the problems with open source vulnerability databases is that each uses its own format to describe vulnerabilities and this makes tracking and sharing of vulnerabilities between databases difficult.

To address this and boost security, the Google Open Source Security team, Go team, and the broader open-source community have been developing a simple vulnerability interchange schema for describing vulnerabilities.

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Blender is one of the most important open source projects, as the 3D graphics application suite is used by countless people at home, for business, and in education. The software can be used on many platforms, such as Windows, Mac, and of course, Linux.

Today, Ubuntu-maker Canonical announces it will offer paid enterprise support for Blender LTS. How cool is that? Surprisingly, this support will not only be for Ubuntu users. Heck, it isn't even limited to Linux installations. Actually, Canonical will offer this support to Blender LTS users on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Wow!

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Many organizations are now relying on voice assistant systems to handle enquiries, but just as with other forms of information it's important to protect the consumer and the proprietary data that flows through voice.

The Linux Foundation is launching an Open Voice Network, an open source association dedicated to advancing open standards that support the adoption of AI-enabled voice assistance systems.

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Many digital transformation initiatives have been boosted by the pandemic, but they are still too often held back by a shortage of the technical skills needed to deliver them.

Now though open source company WSO2 is launching Choreo, a new integration platform as a service (iPaaS) for cloud native engineering.

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As recent high-profile attacks have shown, bad actors are increasingly going after software supply chains to exploit vulnerabilities in commercial and open source code.

Developer tool specialist Sonatype is launching a new deep code analysis platform called Lift that installs easily on any source repository and provides developer-friendly feedback on a wide range of bug types.

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Enterprise cloud developers believe open source will be key to the future of their organizations, as businesses look to restart growth post-pandemic.

Research from Finnish software company Aiven surveyed 200 UK developers in large companies and shows that 90.5 percent say open source will be a part of the future of their organizations.

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Being able to find web vulnerabilities as soon as they emerge, before attackers can exploit them, is critical for organizations wanting to stay on top of web application security.

Saas security specialist Detectify is launching a new stand-alone application security tool that's specifically tailored for ethical hackers, making it easier for them to share their latest findings.

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