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OSVDB Shuts Down, Firefox Add-ons Unsafe & More…

By Christine Hall on April 8, 2016 |

Community, Distros, News, Operating Systems, Security and Software

OSVDB Shuts Down, Firefox Add-ons Unsafe & More…OSVDB icon

FOSS Week in Review

Bubbling beneath the headlines in this week’s FOSS news review: ownCloud gets a new release, the Linux kernel grows by a half million lines since January 1, a new OS for the Pi 3 and FOSS Force welcomes a new columnist.

It seems as if even some FOSS writers have been buying into “Microsoft luvs Linux” this week, as some have been been bending over backwards to applaud the Ubuntu connection with bash on Windows. I only have one thing to say about that: Windows with bash support is still Windows.

In the real FOSS news this week…

Continue readingOSVDB Shuts Down, Firefox Add-ons Unsafe & More…
Looking at the $15 PINE 64 Single BoardPINE 64 single board computer

Looking at the $15 PINE 64 Single Board

By Phil Shapiro on April 8, 2016 |

Distros, Hardware and Video

The Video Screening Room

These days you don’t have to spend much money to get impressive specs on a new computer, as long as you’re willing to do a little DIY work.

A German fellow with the YouTube username Rhymoore shows his PINE 64, the 64 bit single board computer that’s been taking preorders for $15 on Kickstarter, booting the Android based Remix OS on his 4K monitor. Glitches still exist, but those will likely get ironed out.

Continue readingLooking at the $15 PINE 64 Single Board
Poll: Don’t Help Government Unencrypt DevicesApple vs FBI encryption poll

Poll: Don’t Help Government Unencrypt Devices

By FOSS Force on April 7, 2016 |

Politics, Polls and Security

The FOSS Force Poll

The results of our “Apple vs. the FBI” encryption poll are in. Most of our readers agree with Apple CEO Tim Cook’s decision to stand up to the FBI.

Often when we run a poll on FOSS Force, the results only go to confirm what we already know. Our latest completed poll is an example. What we got was exactly what we expected. You don’t think the makers of encrypted devices, or encryption software, should help the G-Men get inside — not even with a warrant.

Continue readingPoll: Don’t Help Government Unencrypt Devices
A Young Linux-Loving Singer-SongwriterEmily Fox

A Young Linux-Loving Singer-Songwriter

By Phil Shapiro on April 5, 2016 |

Media and Video

The Video Screening Room

What’s a young lass from the UK who writes songs, makes videos and sells her albums online doing being featured on a FOSS site? Maybe it’s that penguin on the wall.

Emily Fox is a talented musician and Linux-loving youth in the United Kingdom. Her musical talent is enormous and she produces all her music videos using open source software.

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Maybe It’s Time to Trust Microsoft — Maybe NotFreedom from Microsoft

Maybe It’s Time to Trust Microsoft — Maybe Not

By Ken Starks on April 5, 2016 |

Business and Software

The Heart of Linux

In this story, Microsoft is the cunning spider and Linux the intended victim, the fly. Everyone knows how the story begins. ‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the Spider to the Fly.

The punishment needs to fit the crime, but in Microsoft’s case, it never has. The punishments that have been meted out to Redmond for their civil and criminal asshattery over the years have been almost laughable. From the ridiculously small punishment for obvious antitrust violations at the turn of the century when the company was convicted as a monopolist, to the law seemingly turning it’s blind eyes away from Microsoft for their blatant patent-slinging abuses.

What it all boils down to is Microsoft being fined millions while making billions.

If Penfield Jackson, the initial judge in the Microsoft antitrust case, hadn’t gotten himself thrown off the case for discussing it with the press, the Microsoft of today would look much different. The pieces of it anyway. Personally, I think I would like that Microsoft much better than the one today.

Continue readingMaybe It’s Time to Trust Microsoft — Maybe Not
Five Linux Distros that Break the MoldTiny Core Linux distro

Five Linux Distros that Break the Mold

By Christine Hall on April 4, 2016 |

Distros and Software

Do you want to try something completely different? Here are five Linux distros that are most likely different than anything you’ve taken for a spin.

One of the complaints we hear sometimes about the plethora of GNU/Linux distributions is that they’re all “cookie cutters.” One is just like the other, we’re told, so why have so many versions of the same thing? For starters, except for a couple of rare instances, no two Linux distros are exactly alike, not even when they start with the same base. The most obvious example here would be Ubuntu, which although based on Debian, offers the user an experience completely different from the parent distro. Likewise, Linux Mint is built with Ubuntu under the hood, but as many Mint users will attest, the distro is hardly just a rebranded *buntu.

Tiny Core Linux distro
Tiny Core Linux
Here’s a brief look at five distros that really break the mold. A few of them are the result of some out-of-the-box thinking. Others are designed for specific purposes. What they all have in common is that they’re not your daddy’s Linux distro.

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Michael DeHaan on Achieving Project AdoptionMichael DeHaan

Michael DeHaan on Achieving Project Adoption

By Phil Shapiro on April 1, 2016 |

Software, Tutorial and Video

The Video Screening Room

While open source software has many advantages over proprietary software, it takes more than writing good code to find a user base for a project.

Starting a successful open source project requires a lot more than technical skills. You need to have wise strategies, which Michael DeHaan, founder of the IT automation company Ansible, clearly explains in this valuable video. In this talk, recorded March 22 on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, he explains that for users to adopt your open source creations, the documentation needs to be outstanding. Your web site needs to be very well done. Learn these and other tips in this video.

Continue readingMichael DeHaan on Achieving Project Adoption

Our ‘Breaking Encryption for the Man’ Poll

By Christine Hall on March 31, 2016 |

Mobile, Politics and Security

First it was the NSA, the FBI and every big city cop shop on the planet insisting we need legislation to force safe, secure and for their eyes only back doors in damn near every device on the planet, presumably including light switches, garbage disposals and dishwashers. Eventually they came to see that doors, hidden or not, are merely temptations for hackers to break on through, and just decided to go on the down low for a while so they could pull a sneak attack later when we least expect it, which is a favorite trick of government types.

Continue readingOur ‘Breaking Encryption for the Man’ Poll