May 9, 2026
Keeping tech free
POSSCON is back.
After taking a year off so that IT-oLogy, the nonprofit behind the event, could concentrate on launching the Great Wide Open conference in Atlanta, the POSSCON developers’ conference will return to Columbia, South Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 14th and 15th. Last year, regular attendees of POSSCON were urged to attend the Atlanta event instead. This year’s event will take place at various venues in the Vista, Columbia’s arts and entertainment district.
Inquiring minds want to know: What Linux distro is on your computer?
Market share matters, even in the nonprofit world in which most distros live. Most likely, a large user base means more dollars coming in from donations or corporate grants. Also, a popular and much used distro might also prompt more folks with technical skills to volunteer, which might result in an improved user experience — or not. You know what they say about too many cooks in the pot.
These are the ten most read articles on FOSS Force for the month of January, 2015. 1. Welcome the New Breed of Linux Users by…
Those who’re new to Linux want the best distro out there for new users, which means simple things like ease of use, productivity, speed, and…
Distros, News and Operating Systems
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.
“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.
These are the ten most read articles on FOSS Force for the month of January, 2015. 1. Saying Goodbye to Java the Hard Way by…
If you’re running any flavor of Linux, you might want to check with your distro’s repository for security updates. A vulnerability has been found in…
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
