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From Windows XP to Linux: Adding to the List

By Larry Cafiero on May 13, 2015 |

Desktops, Distros and Operating Systems

Yesterday on Datamation, Matt Hartley wrote what could best be described as a reminder piece about the folks using Windows XP at home or in small businesses having options when it comes to replacing that particular operating system, and that the best option — go ahead and say it with me — is Linux.

Hartley mentions an adequate lineup of distros — Linux Mint, Ubuntu MATE, PCLinuxOS, and Puppy Linux (okay, for the really old machines, I’ll go with that one) — but in the wide world of Linux, there are more. Several more. Okay, maybe more than several more.

I understand that Matt may not have wanted to get bogged down in a distro food fight, and while I enjoy that as much as the next guy or gal, I’m not looking to hurl edible projectiles either. But I don’t shy away from it either.

Continue readingFrom Windows XP to Linux: Adding to the List
Symple PC’s Gift to ReglueSymple workshop

Symple PC’s Gift to Reglue

By Ken Starks on May 12, 2015 |

Community, Hardware and Operating Systems

Many of you may recall that two weeks ago I was lamenting our loss at Reglue of a valuable hardware donation source. The computers donated by this firm were a bit older, but we had little to do to make them ready. We just installed our KDE Mint respin and sent them out the door. The company had been generous with money donations as well. Depending upon the year’s profits, they either matched employee donations by 100% or else donated $1,000. Losing this asset was a kick in the stomach.

Symple workshop
You’d be excused for thinking this to be one of Ken’s Reglue kids. It’s actually Jason Spisak’s daughter helping her father in his workshop.
Rick, who supervises the company’s four man tech support team in Austin, emailed me and said I could get an appointment to see some big shot VP in charge of corporate giving if I wanted to plead my case. I set up the appointment for that Friday.

We were torpedoed before I walked through the door.

The CIO had already released a memo to all tech support chiefs, stating that all retiring hardware should be placed on pallets for pick up by a soon-to-be-named reclamation and recycling vendor. The real kick? They’re paying big money to have their stuff picked up and parted out for profit — all in the name of “responsible recycling.” Rick quietly shared with me that the CIO was miffed because we were repurposing their donated computers with GNU/Linux. Because we were removing Windows, he thought the donated hardware was being wasted.

Continue readingSymple PC’s Gift to Reglue
Nowhere to Run or Hide in the Technology AgeLPR camera

Nowhere to Run or Hide in the Technology Age

By Christine Hall on May 11, 2015 |

Politics

Free tech is about much more than free software. It’s more than just being able to see and modify code and deeper than the rivalry between proprietary and FOSS or Windows versus Linux. It’s not just about computers. Free tech is also about freedom and rights, and keeping our lifestyle from being destroyed by the misuse of technology.

LPR cameraEach day our news sites offer more evidence that this is happening. Collectively, we shrug and think there’s nothing to be done. This dragon is too huge to slay.

On Friday, Ars Technica and other sites reported that the town of Paradise Valley, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, is hiding license plate readers (LPRs) inside artificial cactuses. Ho-hum. The cameras aren’t very well hidden and there’s really nothing new here. LPR technology has been around for a while — cops love it because it makes their jobs easier — and other jurisdictions have been hiding them too.

Besides, the town is so inept that there can’t be much danger here. The town manager told a local TV station that the cameras weren’t active, although the local gendarmes had announced a few days earlier that the cameras had scored their first hit and that a motorist had been subjected to a traffic stop but not arrested. Another ho-hum. This would seem to be another case file from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”

Continue readingNowhere to Run or Hide in the Technology Age
Linux Mint in June, Matt Hartley’s Goodbye & More…Linux Mint Logo

Linux Mint in June, Matt Hartley’s Goodbye & More…

By Larry Cafiero on May 8, 2015 |

Browsers, Distros, Media, News and Operating Systems

FOSS Week in Review

Well, as they say, TGIF: Thank God it’s FOSS. As folks get settled in this weekend in beautiful downtown Orem, Utah, at OpenWest — the expo formerly known at one time as the Utah Open Source Conference — here’s a look at some of the things that transpired during the course of the week.

Linux Mint LogoHello, Rafaela: According to a Softpedia article, Linux Mint announced this week that it will release its next version of Linux Mint 17 — 17.2, which was given the release name Rafaela. Not much else was released in the way of information, other than the release candidate would be available next month, as well as lead developer Clement Lefebvre saying that Linux Mint 18 will be available sometime next year.

Continue readingLinux Mint in June, Matt Hartley’s Goodbye & More…
WordPress Upgraded to Fix Security HolesWordPress logo

WordPress Upgraded to Fix Security Holes

By Christine Hall on May 7, 2015 |

News, Security and Web Apps

Website publishers using the popular free and open source WordPress content management system (CMS) woke up this morning to find that their sites had been upgraded to version 4.2.2. Users who’s sites somehow missed being automatically upgraded are urged to update immediately, as this update addresses several important security issues. According to Wordfence, maintainers of a popular WordPress security plugin, this release fixes one recently discovered vulnerability and further hardens a security issue that was addressed in version 4.2.1.

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Linux From Square OneOpensource.com logo

Linux From Square One

By Larry Cafiero on May 6, 2015 |

Community, Distros, News and Operating Systems

This week I had been pursuing a story on a virtualization development which was prematurely suggested/whispered/uncovered at LinuxFest Northwest. However, I understand from those who know more about the subject than I do — which is just about everyone — it was apparently not as groundbreaking as I thought. With my knowledge of virtualization ranking just slightly above my non-existent grasp of quantum physics, I had to put that one aside thanks to a ever-approaching deadline.

Opensource.com logoBut never mind: Something better came along, and the virtual lemons now become lemonade.

We’ll take a walk down memory lane in a minute, but Jason Hibbets and his team of scribes at Opensource.com published a story today announcing a new page on the site to introduce everyone — from the curious to the not-yet-enlightened and beyond — to Linux/FOSS.

Continue readingLinux From Square One