Phoronix, the website published by Michael Larabel and his team, is having its twelfth birthday today. And while websites can’t eat cake, the people who keep them up and running can, so we’re hoping that Larabel and his friends partake of some cake and ice cream today to celebrate all of the great work they do through the site.
FOSS Force
Also included: Four new distros, the quote of the week, Steam Machine lacks steam, Ubuntu’s tool for making Snaps, and ArchAssault changes its name.
FOSS Week in Review
The week ahead looks exciting. Again this year, I’ll be going to the SouthEast LinuxFest and will be turning in reports from the conference. Also, FOSS Force will have a booth at this year’s event, a first for us at any conference. So if you’re going to be there, remember to keep an eye out for us.
Meanwhile, it’s been an interesting week in the world of FOSS…
There’s a component to the SouthEast LinuxFest that’s not seen at most other free and open source conferences, as the conference seeks to celebrate not only FOSS, but Southern culture as well.
The SouthEast LinuxFest is the conference that dares to be different. That’s because along with “Linux” and “FOSS,” “hospitality” is always a keyword at SELF, which will get cranked up next Friday, June 10. Hospitality — as in the “bless your heart” version known as “southern hospitality” — is sure to be on full display. That’s a given.
I point this out not for the benefit of good ol’ boy or girl FOSSers who call the Southeast home — ’cause y’all already know — but for those who live outside the area who might not be aware that SELF allows attendees the chance to not only be immersed in the culture of free and open source software, but in the culture of the New South as well.
The folks at SELF like to call this mixture of free tech with southern culture the “Gnu South.” Clever, eh? And to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to get some learnin’ about all things southern, the team behind the event always includes some southern fried extras to help you experience some of our culture while you’re here.
What do you do if you have an open source idea you think might get some traction from a Kickstarter campaign but you’re not sure it’s ready?
The Video Screening Room
If you’re an open source enthusiast who thinks you might have a good idea for a Kickstarter campaign, but are not yet ready to launch the campaign, why not launch a draft campaign and request feedback from the public? In doing so, you might be able to rally supporters before your campaign launches — and you might also receive vital cautions that could help you revise (or abandon) the planned campaign. This neat video for an Audio DSP Shield for Arduino reminds us that you can use Kickstarter to test the waters before launching a campaign.
At the turn of the century, generating positive interest in free and open source software was an uphill battle. These days FOSS practically runs the…
These are the ten most read articles on FOSS Force for the month of May, 2016. 1. A Truly Easy New User Linux Distro? Let’s…
In an illustration of the value of diversity, four out of five of the recipients presented with O’Reilly Open Source Awards at this year’s OSCON were women.
The Video Screening Room
At O’Reilly’s OSCON conference earlier this month in Austin, Texa, open source developers and evangelists who have earned the respect of their peers worldwide were honored. In case you run into these folks at upcoming conferences, this short video will help you recognize these open source luminaries.
Some new GNU/Linux users understand right away that Linux isn’t Windows. Others never quite get it. The best distro designers strive to keep both in mind.
The Heart of Linux
Nicky isn’t outwardly remarkable in any way. She’s a thirtysomething who decided to go back to school later in life than most. She spent six years in the Navy until she decided a job offer from an old friend would be a better bet than a career in the armed forces. That happens a lot in any of the post-war military service branches. It was at that job where I met her. She was the regional manager for an eight state trucking broker and I was driving for a meat packing outfit in Dallas.
We became good friends in 2006, Nicky and me. She’s an outgoing spirit, curious about almost anyone whose path she crosses. We had an ongoing Friday night date to go fight in an indoor laser combat arena. It wasn’t rare for us to burn through three 30 minute sessions in a row. Maybe it wasn’t as cheap as a paint ball arena, but it was climate controlled and had a horror game feel to it. It was during one of those outings that she asked me if I could fix her computer.
We decided to take the Arch Linux based distribution Antergos out for a test drive. Here’s how it handled, out in traffic and on the track.
A few months back, a fellow tech writer mentioned in an email exchange that I might try using the Arch Linux based Antergos distro as a way to grab the latest and greatest versions of popular software titles for review. Mainly because of Arch’s community repositories, in which users suggest and vote on packages to be included, many popular software titles are available within days after a new release. And since Antergos is a simple install compared to Arch, it would be easy to quickly throw up an installation on a test machine just to look at the latest and greatest from LibreOffice, GIMP and the like.
Photo courtesy Antergos
Also included: Google in a TKO over Oracle, four distro releases and Microsoft’s latest trick to force Windows 10 upgrades.
FOSS Week in Review
Today I’m finally old enough to officially take my seat on the council of the elders and let taxpayers pick up the tab for a large portion of my medical expenses. As you might notice, I’m spending the day working. But I did get a really special birthday present Thursday when Google beat Oracle. Of course, that just ends the regular season for this battle. Next up, Oracle appeals to see if there’s going to be any post season play. Read the closing play-by-play on Ars Technica.