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Posts published in “Distros”

Shuttleworth at SCALE, Google Rolls Over & More…

FOSS Week in Review

Wow. It certainly didn’t take long after the holidays for the FOSS news wire to heat up again. It’s like all the newsmakers have been chomping at the bit to get back to work doing what they do best, which would be, well, making news. Let’s start with some breaking news concerning a well known FOSS personality…

Soyuz Rocket Shuttleworth
Mark Shuttleworth, rocket man and founder of Canonical/Ubuntu will be a keynote speaker at SCALE 14X in Pasadena, Calif. Presumably, he’ll arrive using a conventional mode of transportation.
To SCALE or not to SCALE: If you live somewhere within driving distance of Southern California and you’ve been sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to attend SCALE 14X (that’s the Southern California Linux Expo for the jargon impaired), then we’re about to give you a tidbit that might help you make up your mind.

Raspberry Pi Closes December on Up Note

The Raspberry Pi Report

Pi Wars Logo - Raspberry PiWith the holidays and all, the month of December wasn’t as action packed as some of the past months have been concerning the Raspberry Pi, but there were still some interesting stories that occurred. Let’s take a minute to reflect back on the Raspberry Pi and December.

Pi Wars: The second annual Pi Wars competition occurred in Cambridge this past December, and just like the year before it was a complete success.

Isaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

FOSS Force’s Hot Nine for 2015

We’re going to pretend like we’re AM disc jockeys from the golden days of top 40 radio and countdown the top nine stories that appeared on FOSS Force last year. Along the way, we’ll offer a bit of commentary, and maybe remind you a time or two that things were much different way back in 2015.

It’s Time for ‘What’s Your Distro’ Round One

FOSS Force Best Distro 2015

The FOSS Force Poll

It’s time for our annual “What’s Your Distro” poll, to determine who gets the FOSS Force Best Distro Award for 2015. This year we’re pulling out all the stops. We want this one to be a metaphoric old fashioned slug fest that will be played until only one distro is standing.

Ubuntu’s Magical Abacus, New Linux Releases & More…

FOSS Week in Review

Ubuntu's abacusThere was a time, back when FOSS Force was young, when we called the weekly round-up Friday FOSS Week in Review. Sometimes we’d get so far behind in our work that the Friday column wouldn’t get published until Saturday, sometimes late in the afternoon. To solve the problem that caused with the column’s title, we pulled a page from an old ABC playbook, from when they owned the Monday Night Football franchise, and called these late roundups “Friday FOSS Week in Review — Special Saturday Edition.” We didn’t change the header, but always made the “Saturday edition” mention in the text of the column, just as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

Linux Predictions 2016, FreeNAS Logo Contest & More…

FOSS Week in Review

FreeNAS logo
Artists, can you improve on this? Get on it, then…
This week’s wrap-up needs no introduction, with an art contest to redesign a logo for a BSD-based OS, predictions for 2016, a new release from CentOS, shenanigans from our friends in the Isle of Man, and multiple reasons to use FOSS.

Oops.

FreeNAS Logo Contest: Okay, artists, get those colored pencils sharpened, those brushes cleaned and ready, because you have an assignment — that logo isn’t going to design itself.

Larry Cafiero

Larry Cafiero is a journalist and a Free/Open Source Software advocate and is involved in several FOSS projects. Follow him on Twitter: @lcafiero

Raspbian Levels the Field With Latest Update

The Raspberry Pi Report

During all the Pi Zero hype and showcasing, most of us probably didn’t realize that the Raspbian OS got a much needed update. While this update isn’t a major release, it still contained some amazing features. If you are running Raspbian Jessie, then take a moment to read over this article so you won’t be left out in the cold. I’ll go over the best parts of the update and also provide install instructions on how to get all this on your current Raspbian install. If you are eager to pull down the update, then feel free to jump to the end of the article and follow the instructions provided.

Raspbian LogoNode-RED: One of the biggest features of this release is support for Node-RED. Though the name is new to probably a lot of people, the concepts and design of what Node-RED does are not.

Isaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

Ubuntu Bugs That Won’t Go Away

I grew up on a farm and ranch up until I was fourteen. It’s a tough life, best suited for tough people who can beat their environment into submission and produce the results needed to thrive. Should I ever have displayed the poor judgement to complain about something within earshot of my dad, I would get the same advice every time.

“If you’re bitching about something, then you ain’t doin’ nothin’ to fix it.”

Wise words from a man with hands as rough as raw leather and a broad back made for ten hour days of hard work. That work began for him on the Montana prairie at the age of eleven, the age when he could saddle his own horse and accurately fire his Marlin 35 varmint rifle. It’s been 38 years that he’s been gone, but every time I find myself pissed off and griping about this or that, I can hear him as clearly in my head as I could then from inside the tack shed.

Ken Starks

Ken Starks is the founder of the Helios Project and Reglue, which for 20 years provided refurbished older computers running Linux to disadvantaged school kids, as well as providing digital help for senior citizens, in the Austin, Texas area. He was a columnist for FOSS Force from 2013-2016, and remains part of our family. Follow him on Twitter: @Reglue

New GIMP, Ubuntu’s New Year’s Gift & More…

FOSS Week in Review

GIMP mascot
Trivia: Did you know this fine creature representing GIMP has a name? It’s Wilber. You’re welcome.
Several items crossed the FOSS Force radar this week — including a feature on FOSS Force that will help you keep track of daily developments (see below) — and as we head into the holidays, we have the following for your reading enjoyment.

Larry Cafiero

Larry Cafiero is a journalist and a Free/Open Source Software advocate and is involved in several FOSS projects. Follow him on Twitter: @lcafiero

November Brought Plenty of Raspberry Pi

Every month it seems like the Raspberry Pi Foundation keeps wowing us, and this November was no exception. As a matter-of-fact, this past month was jam packed with headlines, so much so that I’m eagerly waiting to see what the month of December will offer. Since there was so much that happened, here is a recap of the biggest stories that headlined the Raspberry Pi for the month of November.

Magpi Issue 70
Issue 40 of Magpi magazine comes with a free Raspberry Pi Zero attached to the front cover.
Pi Zero: The release of the Pi Zero was easily the story that caught everyone’s eye. And why not? The Pi Zero cost $5 out of pocket, while most computers today easily eclipse $400. If you are curious about the specs of the Pi Zero, then check out Larry Cafiero’s FOSS Week in Review article this past week on FOSS Force. To go along with the Pi Zero, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a lite version of Raspbian Jessie, which is available for download from the official Raspberry Pi website.

Isaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.