Press "Enter" to skip to content

FOSS Force

November’s Top Ten

By FOSS Force on December 1, 2015 |

Site News

These are the ten most read articles on FOSS Force for the month of November, 2015.

1. The Devil & BSD: Leaving Linux Behind by Larry Cafiero. Published November 23, 2015. Mr. Cafiero takes a stand and makes a statement by wiping Linux from his go-to laptop in favor of PC-BSD.

2. System Requirements: When Is ‘Enough’ Enough? by Ken Starks. Published November 10, 2015. Do you have a computer that still runs great, but you can’t install anything on it because it doesn’t meet modern “system requirements”? Well, our Mr. Starks says that enough might be enough.

Continue readingNovember’s Top Ten
$89 Symple PC Project Evidently DeadSymple PC's Jason Spisak

$89 Symple PC Project Evidently Dead

By Christine Hall on November 30, 2015 |

Business, Hardware and News

Phoenix based Symple PC, which offered refurbished “web workstations” running Ubuntu for $89, has evidently ridden off into the night of no return. Since at least August 24, the company’s website has said the product is “No Longer Availabe,” although the website remains operational. Numerous attempts to contact the company for clarification have gone unanswered.

The venture was the brainchild of Jason Spisak, whose history with Linux and FOSS goes back to being the co-founder and marketing director Lycoris, which made news in 2003 when Walmart offered the Linux distro preinstalled on $199 PCs. FOSS Force first told you about the Symple PC back in March, not long after the company’s official launch.

Continue reading$89 Symple PC Project Evidently Dead

More Raspberry Pi, Exterminating LibreOffice & More…

By Larry Cafiero on November 27, 2015 |

Community, Hardware, News and Software

FOSS Week in Review

Raspberry Pi ZeroThe Thanksgiving holiday really put a damper on FOSS developments this week — but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to report. On the contrary. So without further adieu, and on the heels of Thanksgiving, help yourself to another slice of…

Pi Zero for $5: Our friends at Phoronix reported this week about the Pi Zero, the latest Raspberry Pi board, costing a grand total of $5 American.

Continue readingMore Raspberry Pi, Exterminating LibreOffice & More…

Dell, Comcast, Intel & Who Knows Who Else Are Out to Get You

By Christine Hall on November 26, 2015 |

Hardware, News and Security

You might be excused for thinking that every tech company is out to get you, especially if you still use Windows, which we like to think of as “yesterday’s operating system.”

We’ll start with the poor Windows user.

News came out on Tuesday that since August Dell computers have been coming out-of-the-box with a root certificate preinstalled that is an “unintended security vulnerability.” The source of the quote, by the way, is Dell itself.

Continue readingDell, Comcast, Intel & Who Knows Who Else Are Out to Get You
Will Steam Machine Solve Linux’s Gaming Woes?Syber Steam Machine X

Will Steam Machine Solve Linux’s Gaming Woes?

By Hunter Banks on November 25, 2015 |

Distros, Gaming and Operating Systems

The Steam machine is now publicly on sale as of last week, but it’s not off to the best start. A couple of weeks ago, Ars Technica compared the performance of games when running on Valve’s Linux based SteamOS and Windows 10. Six Valve games were tested on a single machine and results showed a 21 to 58 percent frame rate drop when running on Linux. While only six games were tested out of an entire collection of around 1,800 available titles, the games used Valve’s own Source engine, which is designed for Linux and SteamOS. Valve had previously stated that Steam games run faster on Linux, so it was expected that any of Valve’s own Source engine games would run smoothly.

Syber Steam Machine X
Top drawer Syber Steam Machine X which retails for $1,499 sold out in less than a day after Syber put them on sale for $1,299.
Under-performing Linux ports may be something players will have to deal with for a little while longer as porting is difficult and time consuming with not much of an expected payoff for developers.

Continue readingWill Steam Machine Solve Linux’s Gaming Woes?
FOSS Powered Learning Center Name a ‘Thank You’ONC Mask

FOSS Powered Learning Center Name a ‘Thank You’

By Ken Starks on November 24, 2015 |

Community and Operating Systems

On February 28th, 2012 at approximately 5:30 p.m., an emergency room ear, nose, throat doctor (ENT) who treated me for difficulty in breathing gathered my family around him. He reported that the throat cancer he found while inserting a trach tube was at stage 4 and that my prognosis was terminal. They were informed that the only thing they could do was to take me home and make me “comfortable.”

ONC MaskI don’t remember much. Diane, my youngest daughter Amanda, my ex-wife and others were at my bedside. I was heavily sedated and could barely speak. It was a carousel of faces and nurses, all in their own way, trying to bring me comfort. However, my life partner Diane wasn’t having any of the take-me-home-and-make-me-comfortable thing. She would have none of that. She demanded that an oncologist see me.

Continue readingFOSS Powered Learning Center Name a ‘Thank You’
The Devil & BSD: Leaving Linux Behind

The Devil & BSD: Leaving Linux Behind

By Larry Cafiero on November 23, 2015 |

Community and Operating Systems

Over the last several weeks, I have to confess to doing a little soul-searching in the wake of some developments in the Linux world, and I’ve come to a decision of sorts. It’s hard to say when the actual tipping point was, but you can probably mark it around the time Sarah Sharp closed the door on any further Linux kernel work, augmented by the accompanying “lack of understanding” by some who are significantly smarter than their responses would reflect.

PC-BSD LogoReally, folks, I get it: Linus Torvalds is a great and historic man, one who changed the world for the better by developing a kernel that put a huge fast-forward on technology for all, on a far-more-level playing field than it could have been with the Linux kernel’s absence.

Continue readingThe Devil & BSD: Leaving Linux Behind

Patreon Hack: Users Now Receiving Threatening Emails

By Christine Hall on November 21, 2015 |

News and Security

Patreon logoMembers of the popular Patreon crowdfunding site for makers and artists who had accounts that were open before the beginning of October are now receiving threatening emails demanding payment of one Bitcoin (about $325 U.S) or else personal information such as Social Security number, tax id, tax forms, name, address, and credit card details will be made public.

Continue readingPatreon Hack: Users Now Receiving Threatening Emails
OSCON Deadline Nears, Linux in High Places & More…OSCON logo

OSCON Deadline Nears, Linux in High Places & More…

By Larry Cafiero on November 20, 2015 |

Community, Distros, Media, News and Operating Systems

FOSS Week in Review

So before we start it should be noted that our friends on the Isle of Man have deemed today Ubuntu Community Appreciation Day, with the intention of thanking someone in the community for their contribution. So go ahead and thank someone, and remember where you heard it first.

Continue readingOSCON Deadline Nears, Linux in High Places & More…
Latest Articles