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IRS Targets Open Source, Android Outprices iPhone & More…

By FOSS Force on July 13, 2013 |

Hardware, Mobile and News

FOSS Week in Review–Part 1

We’re making up for lost time. We took last week off to celebrate the Fourth (any excuse for a party), so this week you get more bang for your buck. To paraphrase the Doublemint Twins, you get two, two, two weeks in one!

Windows 8 now used by more people than Vista

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Something tells us this is a milestone Steve Ballmer wishes we’d keep quiet about, but last week we learned from CNET that Windows 8 is now on more computers than Vista. It took eight months, but as of June, the installed base of Redmond’s latest has now passed that of Vista, probably the least popular operating system in Microsoft’s history.

Continue readingIRS Targets Open Source, Android Outprices iPhone & More…
CentOS Tops Our Web Server PollCentOS web server winner

CentOS Tops Our Web Server Poll

By FOSS Force on July 12, 2013 |

Distros, Internet and Polls

The polls are closed. The votes have been counted. CentOS hands down wins our Web Server OS poll.

About six weeks ago we offered-up a list of six GNU/Linux distros and asked which you’d choose for your web server if you were limited to the distros on that list. The list was composed of what we’ve found to be the most frequently offered Linux OS choices by web hosting companies for their virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated server customers. We offered each of the six in both their 32 bit and 64 bit implementations, which is also usually the case with web hosting companies.

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CentOS web server winnerMissing from the list were two distros that are almost exclusively associated with server environments, Red Hat and SUSE Linux Enterprise. They were not included in our list because they’re rarely offered without additional cost by hosting companies because they’re not freely available to download and install.

Continue readingCentOS Tops Our Web Server Poll
Windows 8 AWOL at Dell

Windows 8 AWOL at Dell

By Christine Hall on July 10, 2013 |

Business, Media and News

In the last couple of weeks I’ve received two advertising flyers from the folks at Dell. As usual, both were pretty flashy print jobs featuring high quality color photography on slick paper. One of the brochures was aimed at business customers, the other at consumers.

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The ‘Too Many Distros’ Theory

The ‘Too Many Distros’ Theory

By Christine Hall on July 9, 2013 |

Desktops and Distros

No matter what anybody says there are numerous reasons why desktop Linux still doesn’t have traction. None of them have anything to do with the fact that there are a gazillion distos available.

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Sure, it’s true that with the release of Vista there was a golden moment when desktop Linux could’ve flown high, but the fact that didn’t happen had nothing to do with users being confused over the number of operating systems carrying the Linux brand or with the developer base being spread too thin by this plethora of FOSS projects for any really good development to happen.

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Are You Making PRISM or Other NSA Changes?

Are You Making PRISM or Other NSA Changes?

By FOSS Force on July 8, 2013 |

Internet, Politics and Security

If you’re a regular visitor to free software sites like FOSS Force, the recent revelations regarding the NSA and PRISM were probably not news to you. Probably most of us who are concerned about such luxuries as civil liberties understood from the first time we went online that we might as well assume we’re being watched and that there might one day be personal legal consequences, even if we never do anything illegal.

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Newbies Guide to Debian 7 – Part TwoDebian 7

Newbies Guide to Debian 7 – Part Two

By Gustav Fridell on July 3, 2013 |

Distros and Tutorial

Getting Your New Debian 7 “Wheezy” Box up to Speed

In Part One we learned that installing Debian 7 definitely isn’t rocket science–anybody can do it! Now that we have our Debian system installed and our computer is booting into the world of Debian Linux, let’s take a look and discover our new computing environment.

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The Locked FOSS Door

By Christine Hall on July 2, 2013 |

Internet and Media

Today I found this really cool FOSS site. I mean really cool. The people who run the site want to do things for the FOSS community. They’re looking for community involvement. They’re a bona fide nonprofit; they’re not looking to use their site to make their car payments or put their children through college. Their site isn’t cluttered with ads like, say, FOSS Force.

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Newbies Guide to Debian 7 – Part One

By Gustav Fridell on July 1, 2013 |

Distros and Tutorial

Editor’s note: Part Two of the Debian Guide is now online.

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An Illustrated Debian 7 Installation Guide

First of all you need an installation image (ISO file) which you can download from www.debian.org. I recommend the small network install image. After downloading the file, copy it to a blank CD, DVD or USB memory-stick. For information on creating a bootable USB memory stick, see the article Create a Bootable Live USB Thumb Drive or Rescue Drive Using UNetbootin.

Continue readingNewbies Guide to Debian 7 – Part One
What’s Your Take on the GPL?GPL Version 3 logo

What’s Your Take on the GPL?

By FOSS Force on June 30, 2013 |

Copyright and Polls

Most of us come to GNU/Linux and FOSS for reasons other than the GPL. Some, perhaps, first installed Linux only as a way of tinkering or just to have a look at a PC running something other than Windows. Others, maybe, grew tired of Microsoft or constantly dealing with the “blue screen of death.” The need to breathe new life into a computer that had grown obsolete by Redmond’s standards brought others to discover Linux. Then there are those who came for the free beer.

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RMS Inducted, Nook Tablet RIP & More…

RMS Inducted, Nook Tablet RIP & More…

By FOSS Force on June 28, 2013 |

Desktops, Hardware, Internet, News, Politics and

Friday FOSS Week in Review

Texas stands up for email rights

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Texas? Did you really say Texas? The state that leads the world in the number of executions–that Texas? Well, la-di-da, who would’ve ever thought the folks down there in the Lone Star State would be the first to stand up and protect our inboxes? Does this mean that the spirits of Ann Richards and Maury Maverick, Jr. are looking over the Texas legislators?

Continue readingRMS Inducted, Nook Tablet RIP & More…