Articles about Open Source

As more and more people wake up to the fact that Windows 10 is a giant turd lately, computer users are exploring alternatives, such as Linux-based operating systems. First impressions can be everything, so when searching for a distribution, it is important that beginners aren't scared off by bewildering installers or ugly and confusing interfaces.

Linux "n00bs" often opt for Ubuntu, and while that is a good choice, there are far more pretty and intuitive options these days. One such operating system that I recommend often is deepin. Why? It is drop-dead gorgeous and easy to use. It is guaranteed to delight the user, and its intuitive interface will certainly impress. Today, the newest version of the excellent Linux distro, deepin 15.8, becomes available for download.

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Google Chrome Labs has released a new online image conversion app by the name of Squoosh. The open source tool is essentially a simple browser-based image editor, and the focus is very much on speed.

Showcased at the Chrome Dev Summit, Squoosh is not limited to working only in Chrome -- other browsers are also supported. While the conversion options are useful to many people, Squoosh is really an opportunity for Google to show off new web technologies.

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Many companies are producing mechanical keyboards nowadays, but not all of them are great. Companies like HyperX and Logitech make quality such products, but there is another company that is very well respected by in-the-know consumers -- Das Keyboard. Its products are legendary because of their high quality and reliability.

Today, Das Keyboard launches a new mechanical keyboard that looks downright drool-worthy. The 4Q, as it is called, features Cherry MX switches (brown), RGB lighting, and a handy two-port USB hub. Best of all, it leverages open source applets for a truly unique experience.

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I love when products are made in the USA. Don't get me wrong, I am not against things made in other countries. Hell, it is virtually impossible to live in America and not buy foreign goods. If you look at the tags on your clothes, you will almost never see "Made in the USA." But still, I take pride when a product is made here. For instance, so far in my life, I have only ever owned Ford vehicles. With that said, Ford is moving more and more of its labor to Mexico, but I digress.

Computers made in America are virtually non-existent, but a little company in Denver had a dream to do just that. System76 has long been looking to make a Linux-powered computer in the USA using open source ideology. A lofty goal, which many folks didn't think would ever be achieved. Well, against all odds, today, System76 proves the haters wrong as it finally unveils its much-anticipated Thelio desktop computer. And boy, oh boy, it is beautiful.

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Red Hat Inc. is a great example of how a company can be successful with open source. Hell, Red hat is a billion dollar company -- yes, billion with a "B." Its contributions to the Linux community are invaluable -- RHEL, CentOS, and Fedora are important and indispensable.

That's why I'm a bit scared today. You see, International Business Machines has acquired the open source darling, Red Hat. I suppose IBM could be a great Red Hat owner from a financial standpoint, but IBM's leadership has been questionable over the years. I'm sure I am not alone is fearing that IBM could ultimately ruin Red Hat and its offerings. With that said, IBM has long been an open source proponent, so maybe it will work out well.

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An "incorrect command-line parameter validation" vulnerability in X.Org server makes it possible to escalate privileges as well as overwrite files. The problem affects Linux and BSD distributions using the open source X Window System implementation.

The vulnerability has been present for a couple of years, but has been brought to light by security researcher Narendra Shinde. Unpatched system can be exploited by non-root users if X server is running with elevated privileges.

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System76 has been making big news in the Linux community lately with its upcoming open source Thelio computer. Many Linux users have been clamoring for System76 to make its own hardware, and that dream will soon be a reality.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Thelio hardware other than it is definitely a desktop computer that is built with open source ideology. Today, however, System76 shares new details and images about the computer with those that signed up for its email list. Probably the most exciting is the promise of an open source "daughter board" that will apparently strip the proprietary aspects from a typical motherboard -- this has me seriously intrigued.

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One of the big knocks against Linux-based operating systems is lack of software. The truth is, there are countless excellent programs for both productivity and fun. One fair criticism, however, is fragmentation between distributions. For end users, it can be difficult installing an app that isn't designed for their distro. And yeah, that has been a pain point for years.

Thankfully, Canonical -- maker of Ubuntu -- aimed to alleviate that problem with Snaps. These containerized packages can be installed on pretty much any Linux distribution, making things easier for both users and developers. But has the organization's standard been a success? Apparently, very much so. As a way to celebrate yesterday's release of Cosmic Cuttlefish, Canonical shares the following infographic.

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There has never been a better time to be a Linux enthusiast. There are so many great distributions from which to choose, including elementary OS 5 Juno, Linux Mint 19, and Bodhi 5.0.0. What do those aforementioned operating systems have in common? They are based on Ubuntu. To take things a step further, Canonical's operating system is based on Debian, but I digress.

But yeah, Ubuntu is wildly popular -- with both end users and other Linux distro maintainers. When a new version of the operating system is released, the world goes wild. Well, it's time to get excited, yall! Today -- after a short Beta period -- Ubuntu Linux 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish is finally available for download!

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Ubuntu Touch never lit the world on fire as many Linux fans had hoped, but to be honest, most mainstream consumers didn’t even know it existed. So when Canonical canceled it, not many people cared. Luckily, since the project was open source, it was easy for another organization — in this case, UBports — to grab the torch and run with it.

Back in August, UBports surprised many with the Ubuntu Touch OTA-4 release, which breathed new life into tablets and smartphones that ran the Linux distro. Now, OTA-5 is here to take it up yet another notch. The new version gets a new web browser called Morph which is based on QtWebEngine. Best of all, OTA-5 gets improved adaptive scaling for a better experience regardless of screen size. From a superficial standpoint, there are new wallpapers based on community submitted artwork.

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Microsoft has joined the "largest patent non-aggression community in history", the Open Invention Network (OIN), effectively open-sourcing almost its entire patent portfolio.

The company has shown increasing warmth to the open source community in recent years, and this latest move means that other OIN members will have access to its patents -- with the exception of those relating to Windows and desktop applications. The OIN embraces -- as Microsoft has done of late -- Linux "as a key element of open source software".

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While many people are familiar with popular Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Mint, there are far more open source operating systems available. There are probably too many, but I digress. Please know, just because a distro isn't very well known, doesn’t mean it's bad.

One such quality Linux distro that isn't super popular is Mageia. It is a fork of the once wildly popular Mandriva operating system. Today, Mageia 6.1 becomes available for download. It features LTS Linux kernel 4.14 and updated Nvidia drivers.

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Back in 2014, Microsoft gave the source code for MS-DOS 1.25 and MS-DOS 2.0 to the Computer History Museum. Now -- in a move it describes as "re-open-sourcing" -- the company has pushed the code to GitHub for all to see.

Dating from mid-1983, the source code may moisten the eyes of anyone who remembers the days of text-based operating systems, and it gives an interesting glimpse into the world of software development a few decades ago.

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Tim Berners-Lee is famous for inventing the world wide web, and now he's ready to take things to the next level with an ambitious open source project called Solid. Noting that the web has become "an engine of inequity and division", Berners-Lee wants to restore the power and agency of individuals online and move the balance of power away from "powerful forces who use it for their own agendas".

Solid is not a completely new venture. Berners-Lee has been working on it for some time, and it is built on the existing web as we know it. Where it differs is that "it gives every user a choice about where data is stored, which specific people and groups can access select elements, and which apps you use". This is about decentralizing the web.

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Developers rate security as their top concern when dealing with open source components, above integration and functionality, according to a new study.

The report from open source security and license compliance management company WhiteSource reveals that an average developer invests 15 hours a month dealing with open source security vulnerabilities, but only a small fraction of that time (25 percent) is devoted to actual remediation.

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