While GNOME is my favorite desktop environment, I don't hate KDE. Actually, I rather love Plasma when it is done right. Case in point, I absolutely adore Netrunner -- the best KDE-focused Linux-based operating system. Technically, there are two versions of the OS -- the "regular" variant based on Debian and a rolling release based on Arch/Manjaro.

Today, after more than a year, Netrunner Rolling gets a refreshed ISO. This time, we have Netrunner Rolling 2017.07. Some highlights include SMPlayer becoming the default music and video handler, while SUSE Imagewriter is replaced by the KDE Neon variant.

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The use of open source components can help speed up the software development process, but it comes with a risk if poor quality code leads to vulnerable applications being released.

The latest State of the Software Supply Chain Report from DevOps tools specialist Sonatype reveals that organizations which actively manage the quality of open source components flowing into production applications realize a 28 percent improvement in developer productivity, a 30 percent reduction in overall development costs, and a 48 percent increase in application quality.

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As a Linux workstation user, I have been using Fedora 26 as my main distro for months now -- first the alpha and then the beta. While it is never suggested to use a pre-release operating system for anything other than testing, at no point did I encounter any apparent bugs -- impressive, right?

Today, Fedora 26 sheds its pre-release status and becomes available for download as a stable release. GNOME fans are in for a big treat, as version 3.24 is default. If you stick to stable Fedora releases, this will be your first time experiencing that version of the desktop environment since it was released in March. Also new is LibreOffice 5.3, which is an indispensable suite for productivity. If you still use mp3 music files (I've moved onto streaming), support should be baked in for both encoding and decoding.

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Does Microsoft support open source? Absolutely. The company has released many open source projects, and believe it or not, its has the most open source contributors on GitHub. With that said, Microsoft stops short of being a complete open source proponent. After all, the company makes a lot of money from two of its closed source golden geese -- Windows and Office.

Today, Microsoft releases yet another open source tool -- Visual Studio Code Extension for Arduino. This MIT-licensed code should greatly help developers that are leveraging Arduino hardware for Internet of Things-related projects and more.

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The Internet of Things has enjoyed major growth in recent years, as more and more of the world around us gets smarter and more connected.

But keeping all these new devices updated and online requires a reliable and robust software background, allowing for efficient and speedy monitoring and backup when needed.

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Another day, another distro! Today, Linux Mint 18.2 achieves stable release. While the usual desktop environments, Cinnamon and Mate, are available immediately, so too are both KDE and Xfce. It is nice to see all four of these flavors released at once, as sometimes the Mint Team opts to stagger them.

Code-named "Sonya," this operating system is based on Ubuntu 16.04 which is a long term support version. This means Linux Mint 18.2 will be supported until 2021. The kernel is fairly modern at version 4.8. To further highlight the continuing death of optical media, the excellent Brasero is no longer being included by default.

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There are so many quality Linux distributions nowadays, that it can be hard to choose one. Heck, when people ask my advice on which operating system to install, it can be tough for me to match a person to a distro. While choice is a good thing, I am a firm believer that there can be too much choice. When an ice cream shop has 100 flavors, you can feel like the correct decision is an impossibility. Sometimes just offering a choice between chocolate and vanilla is the best experience. Linux could benefit from a few less flavors.

While I am a Fedora user primarily, I recognize that what's good for me is not good for all -- especially those new to Linux. Windows-switchers in particular may not want to deviate from the user interface they have used for many years. It is for this reason that I often suggest Netrunner -- one of my favorite Linux distros. Its polished use of KDE creates familiarity, and the OS comes chock-full of useful apps -- it really is fantastic. Today, the Debian-based operating system reaches version 17.06 -- code-named Daedalus. It is not a massive update by any means, but it is still exciting.

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There has been tons of Ubuntu news lately, with the death of Unity continuing to be felt in the Linux community. Just yesterday, a company that is one of Ubuntu's biggest proponents -- System76 -- announced it was creating its own operating system using that distribution as a base. While some might see that as bad news for Canonical's distro, I do not -- some of System76's contributions should find their way into Ubuntu upstream.

Today, we get some more positive news, as Ubuntu Linux 17.10 'Artful Aardvark' has officially achieved Alpha status. While details about changes and such are virtually non-existent, you can download Alpha 1 for testing. The Artful Aardvark operating system is only available in four flavors for now -- Lubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, and Lubuntu Next. Not familiar with that last one? That is because it is a new experimental version of Lubuntu that uses LXQt instead of LXDE.

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When Canonical announced the death of the Unity desktop environment, it sent shock waves through the Linux community. After all, Ubuntu is probably the most popular Linux-based desktop operating system and switching to GNOME was changing its trajectory. With Unity, Canonical was promising Ubuntu would be an OS that could scale from smartphone to desktop with a focus on convergence, and then suddenly, it wasn't. Overnight, Ubuntu became just another desktop distro -- not necessarily a bad thing.

While this hit many people hard, computer-seller System76 was probably impacted the most. The company only sells machines running Ubuntu, meaning its entire customer base would be impacted by Canonical's decision. Not content with simply following Canonical and embracing vanilla GNOME, System76 has decided to take its future into its own hands. Today, the company releases the first alpha of an all-new Linux-based operating system called "Pop!_OS," which will eventually be the only OS pre-loaded on its computers. While it will still be based on Ubuntu and GNOME, System76 is tweaking it with its own style and included drivers. In other words, the company is better controlling the user experience, and that is smart.

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Many Linux snobs push the Arch operating system as the greatest thing since sliced bread. In fact, some members of the Arch community (not all of them) can be downright mean and unpleasant to non-users. Not using Arch? Ugh. Peasant! In reality, while Arch is a fine OS (stable and fast), it can be very hard to install and set up, and quite frankly, often not worth the hassle. People have lives to live, and sometimes it is easy to forget that an operating system and associated computer are tools -- not a religion.

But OK, if you want the benefits of Arch without the tedious setup process, there are Linux distributions that can help. One such operating system that I love is Manjaro. The OS is excellent, and you can tell the developers truly care about the user experience. Its wonderful Calamares installer makes everything a breeze. Today, version 17.0.2 becomes available with three of the best desktop environments -- GNOME, KDE, and Xfce.

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During Build 2017, Microsoft delighted open source enthusiasts with a surprise announcement -- Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, and SUSE) was coming to the Windows Store. If you were running Windows 10 (not including the crippled "S" version) you would soon be able to install a Linux distribution directly from the official software store. Exactly when these distros would become available was unknown, sadly.

Ubuntu and Fedora are still not yet in the Windows Store, but starting today, both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 and openSUSE Leap 42 are -- sort of. You see, while they are technically in the store, you must be a Windows Insider running Windows 10 build 16190.0 or higher to install. If you are like me and you aren't running an Insider build because you prefer a stable experience, you are out of luck for now. Sigh.

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Debian is a very popular Linux-based operating system, but its development does not exactly move at a breakneck pace. In other words, it tends to focus on stability rather than bleeding edge. In fact, the development of Debian 9 "Stretch" has been going on for over two years!

Today, Debian 9 'Stretch' finally sees release. It is chock full of changes from the prior version. While GNOME 3.22 is the default desktop environment, you can opt for plenty of others, such as Xfce, KDE Plasma, and MATE. Users will appreciate LibreOffice 5.2, which is included. Also of significance, MariaDB replaces MySQL.

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Microsoft is an open source champion. It is weird to say, I know, but it is fact. Yeah, the company makes most of its money from closed source technologies, such as Windows and Office, but it is an open source contributor as well. It has made many quality open source projects available, such as Cognitive Toolkit and PowerShell. Heck, it was even revealed that Microsoft has the most open source contributors on GitHub! Its support for Linux on Azure deserves major kudos too.

Today, Microsoft takes its open source focus even further. You see, the Windows-maker has become an official Cloud Foundry Foundation Gold Member. Microsoft is in excellent company, with other big-name Gold Members, such as Google, Ford, and Huawei.

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Microsoft continues to embrace not only Linux but BSD too, as it just revealed that Azure has added support for OpenBSD. The latest move comes more than two years after the cloud platform officially started to support FreeBSD virtual machines.

The OpenBSD support in Azure comes as a result of a collaboration between Microsoft and network security vendor Esdenera, which also sees the release of an OpenBSD-based firewall in the Azure Marketplace.

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If you are looking for a dedicated media box for your living room or bedroom, the first thing you should consider is Kodi. This is a media center software package that delivers a very focused consumption experience. It can even be customized with "addons," although some of them can be used for piracy -- something we do not condone.

Unfortunately, Kodi is not its own operating system, meaning it has to be run on top of an OS. Sure, you could use Windows 10, but that is overkill if you only want to run Kodi. Instead, a lightweight Linux distribution that only serves to run the media center is preferable. One of the most popular such distros is OpenELEC. It can run on traditional PC hardware, but also Raspberry Pi, and, my favorite -- WeTek boxes. Today, version 8.0.4 achieves stable release. It is a fairly ho-hum update, focusing mostly on fixes and stability.

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