Posts published in “Distros”

Best Linux Distro: Final Round of Voting Has Begun

By FOSS Force on January 30, 2017 |

Best Linux Distro: Final Round of Voting Has Begun

Arch Linux wins the qualifying round for the second year, followed by Linux Mint. In addition, eight distros qualified by write-in votes to be included in our final round. Now it’s time to get out the vote in the all-important final round to determine the Best Linux Distro according to our readers.

The FOSS Force Readers’ Choice Awards Poll

Through our qualifying round of voting, you have decided the final slate of candidates for our annual FOSS Force Readers’ Choice Award for Best Linux Distro. At 11 a.m. EST, final round voting began to determine which desktop Linux distro gets the prize for this year’s award.

Admittedly, there’s not much at stake here; the winning distro receives nothing more than bragging rights and a heartfelt symbolic pat on the back from our readers — which has to count for something.

It’s ‘Best Linux Distro’ Time Again

By FOSS Force on January 21, 2017 |

Distros and Polls

Who’s going to get bragging rights this year? Last year it was Arch. The year before it was Ubuntu. Call out the troops and get bragging rights by making your favorite our “Best Linux Distro.”

The FOSS Force Readers’ Choice Awards Poll

Update: The voting on the first “qualifying” round of our Best Linux Distro poll closed on Saturday, January 28. We have replaced that poll in this article with the Best Linux Distro final round poll. Results from the first round of polling can be found on our Completed Polls page.

It’s time to start the process of choosing the FOSS Force Readers’ Choice Award winner for Best Desktop Linux Distro for 2016. This is the third outing for our annual poll, which began in a March, 2015 contest that was won by Ubuntu, which bested runner-up Linux Mint by only 11 votes. Last year we moved the voting up to January, in a contest which saw Arch Linux as the overall winner, with elementary OS in second place.

Just like last year, this year’s polling will be a two round process. The first round, which began early Friday afternoon when the poll quietly went up on our front page, is a qualifying round. In this round, we’re offering a field of 19 of the top 20 distros on Distrowatch’s famous “Page Hit Ranking” list. Those whose favorite distro isn’t on the list shouldn’t worry — your distro’s not out of the game yet. Below the poll there’s a place to write-in any distro that’s not in the poll to be tallied for possible inclusion in the second and final round of polling to follow.

The Many, the Humble, the Ubuntu Users

The Many, the Humble, the Ubuntu Users

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on January 19, 2017 |

Distros and Humor

The proverbial “better mousetrap” isn’t one that takes a certified biologist to use. Like Ubuntu, it just needs to do its job extremely well and with little fuss.

Roblimo’s Hideaway

I have never been much of a leading-edge computing person. In fact, I first got mildly famous online writing a weekly column titled “This Old PC” for Time/Life about making do with used gear — often by installing Linux on it — and after that an essentially identical column for Andover.net titled “Cheap Computing,” which was also about saving money in a world where most online computing columns seemed to be about getting you to spend until you had no money left to spend on food.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Robin “Roblimo” Miller is a freelance writer and former editor-in-chief at Open Source Technology Group, the company that owned SourceForge, freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, ThinkGeek and Slashdot, and until recently served as a video editor at Slashdot. Now he’s mostly retired, but still works part-time as an editorial consultant for Grid Dynamics, and (obviously) writes for FOSS Force.

When Peer Pressure Nukes Linux for Windows

When Peer Pressure Nukes Linux for Windows

By FOSS Force Guest Writer on January 16, 2017 |

Distros, Gaming, Hardware, Humor and Operating Systems

Ed Matthews

A grandson was happy with the flame throwing hot rod Linux gaming computer that his grandfather had built — until peer pressure came into play.

It’s Sunday evening and I’m in my daughter’s kitchen. My grandson and I have taken over the table with the computer I built for him, the family’s desktop, his laptop, and my laptop.

I have read multiple sources in the alt.os.linux.mint newsgroup saying that Windows is much, much easier to install and configure than Linux. Some people say those guys are trolls. Whatever. I need one of those sources to meet me in my daughter’s kitchen in the lower left corner of Missouri, USA, to show me how to finish installing Windows 7 on my grandson’s computer.

A First Look at the Samsung Chromebook Plus

By Phil Shapiro on January 13, 2017 |

Distros, Hardware and Video

Based on this video, it appears as if this Chromebook from Samsung would be a great machine with GNU/Linux installed on it.

The Viewing Room

When watching this video, imagine how nice this Chromebook would be with a full Linux install.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Eight Things to Do After Installing Linux Mint Xfce 18.x

By Christine Hall on December 27, 2016 |

Desktops, Distros, Security and Tutorial

After you get Linux up and running on your computer, there are still a few things left to do. Here’s a short list that newcomers might find helpful.

Linux for Newcomers

Those who are new to Linux might just go to work right away after installing, or having someone else install, GNU/Linux. However, there are a few things you should do first. Some of them, such as updating your system and activating the firewall, are essential. Others are just things you do to customize your Linux experience.

Here’s a short checklist of things to do after you get Linux up-and-running on your computer. You should consider the first two items on this list as being required, with all the other items being optional. The list is specific to Linux Mint 18.x Xfce Edition, so if you’re using another flavor of Linux, you’ll be better off searching for another list.

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

FOSSForce.com

A Nonreview of Linux Mint Xfce 18 ‘Sarah’

A Nonreview of Linux Mint Xfce 18 ‘Sarah’

By Christine Hall on December 26, 2016 |

Desktops, Distros and Reviews

With Linux Mint Xfce 18.1 “Serena” due to be released any day now, we decided it was too late for a full review of Mint Xfce 18.0 “Sarah,” and opted instead for this down-and-dirty “nonreview.”

The FOSS Force Review Nonreview

Oh, drat. I’ve done gone and procrastinated too much again.

Shortly after Clem Lefebvre and his buddies released the Xfce edition of Mint 18 — that’s “Sarah” for those who prefer names to numbers — I installed it on one of the laptops I keep at the office so I could write a review. I even took the laptop with me to All Things Open in late October to give it a good workout — which I did writing my coverage of the conference for “another website.”

I never did get around to writing the review, but it’s always been on the back burner. I’d get it written before the next version of Mint is released, I figured.

Christine Hall

FOSSForce.com

Dear CIO: Linux Mint Encourages Users to Keep System Up-to-Date

Dear CIO: Linux Mint Encourages Users to Keep System Up-to-Date

By Christine Hall on December 22, 2016 |

Distros, Media, Security and Tutorial

Regardless of what you may have read elsewhere, the Linux Mint team takes security very seriously and wants you to keep your system up-to-date.

Swapnil Bhartiya gets it wrong.

Let me start by pointing out that Bhartiya is not only a capable open source writer, he’s also a friend. Another also: he knows better. That’s why the article he just wrote for CIO completely confounds me. Methinks he jumped the gun and didn’t think it through before he hit the keyboard.

The article ran with the headline Linux Mint, please stop discouraging users from upgrading. In it, he jumps on Mint’s lead developer Clement Lefebvre’s warning against unnecessary upgrades to Linux Mint.

Christine Hall

FOSSForce.com

System 76 Talks With Ubuntu, WordPress Ups Game and More…

By Christine Hall on December 11, 2016 |

Community, Desktops, Distros, Hardware, Internet, News, Software and Web Apps

Also included: Fedora community says goodbye to Matthew Williams, Solus gets a new package build system, end-of-life for Fedora 23 and IoT security.

FOSS Week in Review

Something arctic this way comes. That”s what Lannie Pope, the weatherwoman on the local NBC affiliate, tells us, Trouble is, I’m still stuck in a house without proper heat, a situation that’s been dragging on since near the end of September. It’s a long story, but…brrr. I’m glad I don’t live in a part of the country where it gets really cold.

Now on to this week’s FOSS news, which is always warm…

Christine Hall

FOSSForce.com

Remembering Linux Installfests

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on December 8, 2016 |

Community, Distros and Operating Systems

In this article, for the first time since 2003 a writer makes mention of Caldera without immediately following it with a mention of SCO. Must’ve been a mistake.

Ah, yes. I remember the good old days when you had to be a real man or woman to install Linux, and the first time you tried you ended up saying something like “Help!” or maybe “Mommmmyyyyy!” Really, kids, that’s how it was. Stacks of floppies that took about 7,000 hours to download over your 16 baud connection. Times sure have changed, haven’t they?

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

New IoT Botnet, Attackers Target Tor, and More…

By Christine Hall on December 3, 2016 |

Browsers, Distros, News, Security and Software

Also included, Flash on life support, Mageia’s new release, Ubuntu sets date for “Zesty Zapus” and our News Wire gets an RSS feed.

FOSS Week in Review

Outside of FOSS, the news becomes too depressing and repetitive to read. Gamergate has taken over our country and is set to move into the White House and to have free rein in the halls of congress. Roles are being reversed and it’s rapidly becoming politically incorrect to express concerns for our mother the earth or for the creatures who inhabit it, while it’s perfectly fine to label anyone who advocates for equality as a “social justice warrior” who should have no place within any organization.

If you think I’m bummed out, you’re right. At least for the time being, in the world of FOSS life goes on as usual…

Christine Hall

FOSSForce.com

Everything Open 2025 – Australia

Spacewalk 2025

FOSDEM 2025

ATO RTP Meetup – Speaker John Willis

International FOSS Hackathon

Posts published in “Distros”

Best Linux Distro: Final Round of Voting Has Begun

The FOSS Force Readers’ Choice Awards Poll

It’s ‘Best Linux Distro’ Time Again

Who’s going to get bragging rights this year? Last year it was Arch. The year before it was Ubuntu. Call out the troops and get bragging rights by making your favorite our “Best Linux Distro.”

The FOSS Force Readers’ Choice Awards Poll

The Many, the Humble, the Ubuntu Users

The proverbial “better mousetrap” isn’t one that takes a certified biologist to use. Like Ubuntu, it just needs to do its job extremely well and with little fuss.

Roblimo’s Hideaway

When Peer Pressure Nukes Linux for Windows

A grandson was happy with the flame throwing hot rod Linux gaming computer that his grandfather had built — until peer pressure came into play.

A First Look at the Samsung Chromebook Plus

Based on this video, it appears as if this Chromebook from Samsung would be a great machine with GNU/Linux installed on it.

The Viewing Room

Eight Things to Do After Installing Linux Mint Xfce 18.x

After you get Linux up and running on your computer, there are still a few things left to do. Here’s a short list that newcomers might find helpful.

Linux for Newcomers

A Nonreview of Linux Mint Xfce 18 ‘Sarah’

With Linux Mint Xfce 18.1 “Serena” due to be released any day now, we decided it was too late for a full review of Mint Xfce 18.0 “Sarah,” and opted instead for this down-and-dirty “nonreview.”

The FOSS Force Review Nonreview

Dear CIO: Linux Mint Encourages Users to Keep System Up-to-Date

Regardless of what you may have read elsewhere, the Linux Mint team takes security very seriously and wants you to keep your system up-to-date.

System 76 Talks With Ubuntu, WordPress Ups Game and More…

Also included: Fedora community says goodbye to Matthew Williams, Solus gets a new package build system, end-of-life for Fedora 23 and IoT security.

FOSS Week in Review

Remembering Linux Installfests

In this article, for the first time since 2003 a writer makes mention of Caldera without immediately following it with a mention of SCO. Must’ve been a mistake.

New IoT Botnet, Attackers Target Tor, and More…

Also included, Flash on life support, Mageia’s new release, Ubuntu sets date for “Zesty Zapus” and our News Wire gets an RSS feed.

FOSS Week in Review