Articles about Ubuntu

Who knew that IRC (Internet Relay Chat) would be making big news in 2021? Look, I spent a good part of my childhood chatting on IRC, but I haven't seriously used it in well over a decade. Well, folks, people are talking about IRC again, but sadly, it is because of drama. You see, Freenode IRC was purchased recently, and the implications have the open source community in a tizzy.

What do people do when they are upset about a change? They wisely jump ship when possible. Yes, many people are running from Freenode as fast as they can. Two of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu and Fedora, utilized Freenode for their IRC server needs, and now they have both switched to Libera Chat. Ubuntu made the switch first, with Fedora following shortly thereafter.

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System76 makes and sells excellent computers running Linux-based operating systems. The company's laptops and desktops can be had with your choice of the popular Ubuntu or the company's own Ubuntu-based Pop!_OS. For many years now, System76 has been a huge proponent of both the Linux and open source communities. Quite frankly, Linux users all over the world are very lucky to have System76 computers as an option.

And now, PC manufacturer System76 is becoming an accessory maker too. You see, after teasing the product for months, today, the company officially unveils its newest product -- the "Launch Configurable Keyboard." Yes, folks, it is a mechanical keyboard made in the USA with a focus on open source. The Launch has both open source firmware and hardware. Even the configuration software -- which runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS -- is open source.

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There are way too many Linux distributions nowadays. Some of them are unique, but for the most part, they are largely repetitive and don't all need to exist. One Linux-based operating system that manages to stand out, however, is Bodhi, which uses the Moksha desktop environment (a fork of Enlightenment).

If you aren't familiar with Bodhi, please know it is a lightweight operating system that is based on the great Ubuntu. Today, Bodhi 6.0 becomes available. This release comes nearly three years after version 5.0 became available. This is the first release of Bodhi Linux to be based on Ubuntu 20.04.

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When you live in the USA, you get used to buying things that are made in other countries. It is just very common to see things stamped with "Made in China" or "Made in Mexico." Some Americans take issue with this, actively trying to buy products made in the USA, but this can be quite hard. Even American car companies, like Ford, outsource labor to foreign counties, such as Mexico.

System76 is a company that sells computers preloaded with Linux-based operating systems, including laptops and desktops. While its laptops are not yet manufactured in the USA, its beautiful Thelio desktops are handcrafted here. And now, in an interesting twist, System76 has begun shipping its computers to customers in Mexico.

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Ubuntu 21.10 won't get a stable release until October of 2021. In fact, we know the exact date the Linux-based operating system should be made available -- October 14. In addition to that date, we also know what the distribution's codename is -- Impish Indri.

Unfortunately, we only just entered the month of May, meaning Ubuntu 21.10 won't be available to download -- in stable form, at least -- for about five more months. According to the release schedule, the beta of Impish Indri won't even be released until September at the earliest. Sigh. What is an Ubuntu enthusiast supposed to do?

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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, it can be faster and easier than installing Windows 10 -- depending on the distro, of course.

For beginners, once installed, their chosen Linux 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. And now, elementary OS 6, code-named "Odin," has officially achieved Beta status.

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Linux distributions and silly names go together like peanut butter and jelly. For whatever reason, the maintainers of these operating systems seem to enjoy having fun with what they call them -- some argue it is childish. Hell, even Google -- a multi-billion dollar company -- once used sugary dessert names for the Linux-based Android operating system. I am glad the search giant stopped that nonsense.

One of the most well-known desktop Linux distributions to use funny names is Ubuntu. It famously uses the convention of an adjective and a lesser-known animal, each starting with the same letter. The letter is chosen sequentially by alphabet. For example, Ubuntu 21.04 uses the letter "H" -- "Hirsute Hippo".

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Do hippopotamuses really like eating balls? In real life, no. In the classic game Hungry Hungry Hippos, however, the creatures love gobbling them up. And that is why it's appropriate that Ubuntu 21.04 is named "Hirsute Hippo." Much like the hippos devouring spheres in the aforementioned game, the Ubuntu developers at Canonical are trying to eat up Linux users and gain market share.

Today, Ubuntu 21.04 "Hirsute Hippo" is finally made available. This follows a previous beta testing phase. It is a very significant version of the operating system, as it now uses Wayland by default. Canonical promises that it won't just be an improvement graphically, but for security purposes too. Sadly, with the good comes the bad. You see, Ubuntu 21.04 does not come with GNOME 40 -- the latest and greatest version of that desktop environment. At least we get a refreshed "Yaru" dark theme, though.

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Today is April 1, also known as "April Fool's Day," which is a holiday for pranks and jokes. On this day, it can be hard to know what news stories are real and which are fake. Some find April Fool's Day to be fun, while others see it as annoying.

Well, folks, I am happy to say that today, Ubuntu Linux 21.04 achieves final Beta status. And no, that isn't a joke -- it is the real deal! Code-named "Hirsute Hippo," the Beta can be had with your choice of several desktop environments, such as GNOME, KDE Plasma, and Xfce.

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A new content collaboration platform for 64-bit ARM processors will deliver the first viable self-hosted web office solution for the popular Raspberry Pi 4.

The result of a joint effort between Canonical, Collabora and Nextcloud this will allow Raspberry Pi users to turn their Pi 4 into a self-hosted content collaboration and document editing solution in just a few minutes.

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If you are a Linux user, you can't go wrong with Intel. That company's processors, chipsets, wireless cards, and other hardware have long been very compatible with Linux-based operating systems. An all-Intel system should be a headache-free experience with Linux. If you want to game or do other graphic-intensive actions, however, an NVIDIA GPU has historically been the best option -- a better experience than AMD graphics cards.

Nowadays, AMD-based systems are Linux-friendly too, and Radeon graphics are becoming more commonplace in computers running Linux distros. Today, popular Linux-based computer-seller System76 finally launches its first-ever laptop to have both an AMD processor and AMD graphics -- the 2021 "Pangolin" that we told you about in December. This is not only historic for System76, but it is a godsend for Linux users that are fans of AMD.

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System76 started its life as a Linux computer seller only. Essentially, the company would sell re-branded laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed. To provide a class-leading experience, however, System76 also provided top-notch customer service, helping Linux beginners get started with a little hand-holding when needed. This focus on service continues today, and it is largely responsible for the company's success and longevity.

Seeking to better control its own destiny, the company branched out from only being a computer-seller and transformed into a maker too. Its handcrafted Thelio desktops are powerful works of art, comprised of wood, metal, and good ol' fashioned American elbow grease. Yes, these Thelio machines are made in the USA -- Colorado, specifically.

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The Internet Archive is unquestionably one of the most useful sites on the web. The Wayback Machine makes it possible to find snapshots of most websites at any given point in their history, and the archive itself is also home to a wealth of books, magazines, games, software, movies and more.

You probably don’t give too much thought (or any thought for that matter) to the day-to-day running of the archive, but it relies on a long-term support server distribution of Ubuntu Linux and everything on its servers (with the possible exception of the JP2 compression library) is free and open-source software.

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Canonical is making Ubuntu Core 20, a minimal, containerized version of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS for IoT devices and embedded systems, generally available from today.

It improves device security with secure boot, full disk encryption, and secure device recovery and builds on the Ubuntu application ecosystem in order to create ultra-secure smart things.

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Security researchers have revealed details of a vulnerability in Sudo that could be exploited by an attacker to gain root privileges on a wide range of Linux-based systems.

News of the security flaw was shared by Qualys, and it has been described as "perhaps the most significant sudo vulnerability in recent memory". Worryingly, the heap-based buffer overflow bug has existed for almost a decade. It is known as Baron Samedit, tracked as CVE-2021-3156, and affects various versions of Sudo.

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