Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published by “FOSS Force”

CrunchBang Development Halted

CrunchBang lead developer Philip Newborough released this statement on the CrunchBang forums today:

“I have decided to stop developing CrunchBang. This has not been an easy decision to make and I’ve been putting it off for months. It’s hard to let go of something you love.

** If you value this kind of coverage, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

“When I first started working on CrunchBang, the Linux landscape was a very different place and whilst I honestly didn’t know if there was any value to it, I knew there was a place for CrunchBang on my own systems. As it turned out, there seemed to be quite a demand for it on other people’s systems too. I’m not entirely sure why this was the case, but if I had to guess, I would say that it was probably due to the lack of competition/alternatives of the same ilk. If I’m remembering correctly, at the time, there was no LXDE tasksel in Debian and certainly no Lubuntu around. CrunchBang filled a gap and that was nifty.

Update, The Last Ken

Ken is home now and he’s writing emails. We know this, because we got one already. His friend Ed Matthews has also been being kept informed, and this is his latest dispatch:

** If you value this kind of coverage, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Ken has been home 24 plus hours

Got to talk with Diane a little after lunch. Ken was asleep and Roxie, her daughter in law, was out getting groceries to fill their pantry and freezer. She’s a big help right now.

Ken walks where he wants to go and takes Astro outside for nature’s calls. Haven’t heard how DeeDee is doing, but she was on the downish side last I heard. Diane said Astro was about sick while Ken was gone and practically went berserk when he realized Ken was back. Faithful, I’d say.

Top Ten Things Linux Users Say About systemd

Back about four or five years ago, when FOSS Force was just a young whippersnapper yelling to be heard, we found people first noticing us when we dreamed up a unique weekly feature we cleverly called the Top Ten List. It was an immediate success. Unfortunately, we can’t claim credit for originating the concept, as Michael J. Fox saw one of our lists on his DeLorean’s dashboard computer while on a foray into the twenty-first century, and told someone at NBC when back home in the eighties, who told David Letterman. We lost out when Letterman used it on his show and took credit for it — even though it was our idea years later in the first place. Thanks, David.

Until now, we thought the days of the Top Ten on FOSS Force were long gone. However, the systemd brouhaha has awakened the inner Top Ten List that has been sleeping within us for all these years. Today, for one day only, the Top Ten List returns for one last encore — or the last one until the next time something tickles us funny.

** If you're finding this article useful, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Ladies and gentlemen, from the home office in Omaha, Nebraska, here is this week’s Top Ten List — the top ten things Linux users say about systemd.

Update: Ken’s Getting Back to His Old Cantankerous Self

It’s all good news on the Ken front.

On the same day that we posted our last update, we received an actual honest-to-goodness email from Ken, who certainly wasn’t short of things to complain about. The short of the matter is that he’s in a hurry to get out of the hospital and back home. We replied by sending him an email explaining that now we’ve seen he can write emails and all, we’re accepting no more excuses. We want a column and we want it now.

** If you value this kind of coverage, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Just kidding. What we really want is for Ken to do whatever he needs to do to regather his strength.

Early this afternoon, we received another email from Ken’s friend Ed, which includes a little story which illustrates how much he’s getting back to normal…back to normal for Ken, that is.

Update: Slight Setback for Ken

We were hoping that we wouldn’t need to update you on Ken Starks’ condition again until either we heard from him or he’s released from the hospital. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case. When we heard from Ed Matthews this afternoon, we learned that Ken’s suffered a minor setback in his recovery, with the keyword being “minor.”

** If you're finding this article useful, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Still, a setback is a setback.

Update: Ken’s Recovery Continues

We’ve received another update from Ed Matthews on Ken Starks condition as he recovers from the serious but routine surgery he underwent nearly a week ago. It’s all good. Maybe good enough that the next update we get will be coming from ol’ Ken himself. We’ll keep our fingers crossed on that.

** If you value this kind of coverage, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

I talked with Diane this (Tuesday) morning. She said that Ken was doing better yesterday and his color and strength are improving. He was moved out of ICU to a regular room, which makes it more convenient for her to see him. He was sitting in a chair when she got there, though he obviously didn’t get there by himself and was tired in a big way.

Update: Starks Recovering ‘Better Than Expected’

This morning, Ken Stark’s friend Ed Matthews posted an update on Ken’s condition in the comments to our first update post surgery, which we’re copying here to make it easier to find. It’s pretty much all good news, which is…well, good news.

** If our coverage matters to you, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

‘Linux Advocates’ Throws in the Towel

The website Linux Advocates is no more. The site, which focused on a variety of Linux issues, went offline on January 7th with little fanfare and no advance notice. The site had been being published for two years, having gone live in early 2013.

** If our coverage matters to you, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Before taking the site down, a notice was posted by site owner Dietrich Schmitz, which can still be read on the site’s Facebook page.