Articles about Ubuntu

It has been well-established that Microsoft is a friend of open source. The company releases many projects on GitHub, and recently, the Windows-maker became a Cloud Foundry Foundation Gold Member. During Build 2017, the company even shocked the world by announcing it was bringing Linux distributions to the Windows Store.

Some SUSE-based distros recently arrived in the Windows Store as promised, but sadly, no Fedora or Ubuntu. While Red Hat's distro is still missing, today, Canonical's finally arrives. Yes, folks, Ubuntu has officially joined the Windows Store Linux party!

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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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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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This has been an interesting week for Linux Mint. The team released the official beta for the Cinnamon and Mate versions of "Sonya," signaling a final release should be here soon. While that is good news, there was some bad news too. While technically not a Linux Mint issue, it was discovered that the MintBox 2 had a bios vulnerability. Luckily, there is already a patch for the diminutive computer.

Today, we can get back to the positive news, as there are two new Linux Mint releases. You can immediately download Linux Mint 18.2 'Sonya' Beta ISO images with the KDE or Xfce desktop environments. True, the Mint experience is usually all about Cinnamon and Mate, but the team offers a choice to those that dislike the standard environments.

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System76 sells really great Ubuntu Linux laptops, but there has been one glaring issue -- the machines aren't exactly svelte. Don't get me wrong, the notebooks aren't ridiculously large or heavy, but compared to, say, a new MacBook Pro, there is a very big difference.

Many people have been anxiously awaiting a thin and light System76 laptop, and I am happy to say that it is finally here. The newest version of the Galago Pro notebook is very elegant, featuring an aluminum body and HiDPI display. But is the whole package worth your money?

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With the future of Ubuntu uncertain, and with Canonical abandoning the Unity desktop environment, now is a great time to try Linux Mint. Since it has Ubuntu as a base, but instead uses Mate or Cinnamon -- environments with a future -- it should be an easy transition for users of Canonical's Linux-based operating system.

Today, the upcoming version of Linux Mint, 18.2 "Sonya," achieves BETA release. It is based on Ubuntu 16.04 and uses Linux kernel 4.8. You can download either the Mate or Cinnamon ISOs now. Yeah, its a pre-release operating system so you should proceed with caution, but historically, these BETA releases have proven quite stable -- you will probably be fine.

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Bodhi is an interesting Linux distribution thanks to its lightweight nature. If you have an older PC that isn't particularly powerful, the operating system could breath new life into it. Unlike some other distributions that are light on resources, Bodhi is not ugly -- its Moksha desktop environment looks rather modern. I highly recommend giving the OS a try.

Today Bodhi reaches version 4.2.0. It is quite the boring release, as there isn't much to it. It is merely a rollup, incorporating many of the updates that were released since the previous stable version, 4.1.0. If you are already running Bodhi and have been installing updates, there is no reason to bother -- this is more for those that aren't already running the OS.

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When the education-focused Windows 10 S was announced, many people were dubious that it could be a success. Limiting the operating system to apps from the Windows Store seems like a recipe for disaster. That opinion is understandable, as we have sort of been down this road before with Windows RT -- which failed. The concept can confuse users.

I was sort of hopeful for Windows 10 S when Microsoft made a shocking announcement at Build 2017 that it is bringing Linux distributions to the Windows Store. This gave the impression that students using the S variant of the OS would be able to tinker with Linux. Unfortunately, this is not the case as Microsoft will be blocking Linux on the new OS. In other words, not all apps in the store will be available for Windows 10 S.

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When Microsoft brought Ubuntu to Windows 10, it was monumental. No, Microsoft wasn't abandoning its own operating system for Linux, but the company was showing developers that it was open-minded towards such things.

Today, Microsoft is taking its embrace of Linux a step further. With Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the company is delivering versions of three popular Linux distributions to its Windows Store. Yes, folks, Linux on Microsoft's app store -- shocking! For now, it will be limited to Fedora, Ubuntu, and SUSE.

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Linux Mint is a very popular operating system -- for Linux, anyway. It is based on Ubuntu, but it ditches one of the most maligned aspects of its base OS -- the Unity desktop environment. Instead, it primarily offers the Cinnamon DE, which is reminiscent of Microsoft's Windows 7. Mint's popularity and relevance is in question lately, however, as Ubuntu itself has decided to stop using Unity too. It remains to be seen if GNOME 3 being the default DE for future Ubuntu releases will decrease the number of folks switching to Mint.

The uncertainty about Ubuntu has not deterred the Linux Mint team, however, as they are moving ahead with plans for version 18.2. While details about the upcoming version of the operating system are scarce, we have learned two important details. First, the code name for the OS will be "Sonya," and second, the distro will use LightDM as default display manager.

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I walked away impressed after reviewing the Chuwi LapBook 14.1. There's something charming about a laptop that gets the basics right at an affordable price point. The new LapBook 12.3 is shaping up to be even more impressive, featuring more attractive hardware at a still-competitive price.

The LapBook 12.3 is designed for consumers in the market for a more portable laptop, featuring a 12.3-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2,736 by 1,824. That's pretty impressive for a budget offering, considering that there are premium laptops that ship with lesser screens.

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You can't help but have noticed that Microsoft has started the rollout of Windows 10 Creators Update. After testing with Windows Insiders, the third big update to Windows 10 is finally making its way to the masses. But while Creators Update brings some pretty major changes to Windows 10, Windows Subsystem for Linux is not automatically updated.

The arrival of Bash/Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in Windows 10 Anniversary Update meant Ubuntu 14.04 support, but you can now manually update to gain Ubuntu 16.04 support in Creators Update. Microsoft says you need to perform one of two manual update methods: the recommended option of "Remove & Replace", or "Upgrade In-Place." Here's how to perform the update.

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Today is finally the day. Ubuntu 17.04 "Zesty Zapus" is available for download. No, this is not an Alpha or Beta, but an official stable version of the Linux-based operating system. Unfortunately, the release is a bit tainted -- it uses Unity as the official desktop environment, which Canonical has announced will be killed. Not to mention, there has been some controversy regarding some comments by Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth. Just yesterday, the CEO of Canonical announced she is leaving the position.

With all of the aforementioned controversy and chaos, it is understandably hard to get too excited for "Zesty Zapus," especially as this is not a long term support version. With that said, if you are an existing Ubuntu user that likes Unity, this is certainly a worthwhile upgrade if you are OK with the shorter support. Unity may no longer have a future, but version 7 will continue to be supported -- for a while, at least.

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Ubuntu is in a very weird and uncertain place right now. If you have been following the Linux distribution lately, you would know that Canonical dropped some bombshell news that it was killing the Unity desktop environment, along with its tablet, phone, and convergence plans. This was shocking, as the company sunk a lot of resources into these things, and now it looks like all that time and money was wasted.

Then, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth insulted the free software community, going so far as to compare the hatred towards Mir to the gun control debate. Now today, following rumors and speculation, Canonical CEO Jane Silber announces she will be stepping down and walking away from the position -- ultimately handing the reigns to Shuttleworth. She will remain on the company's board of directors, however.

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