Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Linux”

What a Layperson Can Gain From an Enterprise Open Source Conference

Here at FOSS Force we’re very proud to be an official media partner for the Great Wide Open conference that’ll be held in Atlanta next week. Because this is an enterprise conference, I don’t think I need to explain to those who work in IT the benefits of attending such an event. However, those of you who are primarily home users may think there’s nothing for you at a conference focused on professionals.

This isn’t true.

** If you're finding this article useful, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Any open source user, whether a professional or not, will benefit from attending an enterprise conference. Remember, the user is considered just as important to any open source project as those who develop and distribute the product. In other words, an enterprise conference is just as much about the user as the developer — even if the user is never likely to call Red Hat on the phone to order service contracts for the RHEL stack on a hundred servers.

Here are just a few reasons for a living room Linux user to attend an enterprise conference such as Great Wide Open:

Meeting Windows User Expectations With Linux

There has been a lot of talk in the past month over the looming doom of Windows XP. Microsoft will be pulling the life support plug on XP on April 8th this year. There are plenty of folks a bit jittery about this and those jitters are justifiable.

Microsoft Windows XP has undoubtedly been the longest running Windows operating system to date. Microsoft has extended the deadline for killing XP a couple of times. Now it appears there will be no stay of execution for the aging OS.

** If our coverage matters to you, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

Even with all the publicity and news about the demise of XP, it’s gonna be a problem. A big problem.

Ken Starks

Ken Starks is the founder of the Helios Project and Reglue, which for 20 years provided refurbished older computers running Linux to disadvantaged school kids, as well as providing digital help for senior citizens, in the Austin, Texas area. He was a columnist for FOSS Force from 2013-2016, and remains part of our family. Follow him on Twitter: @Reglue

Is Your City Open Source?

There is more to open source than software, hardware and the Creative Commons. Open source can also be seen as a guide for living life that is based on principles that go back to antiquity. Openness and sharing aren’t only for computers, electronics and creative writing.

Jason Hibbets is working to convince local governments to adapt open source ideas in their day to day operations. His book, “The Foundation for an Open Source City,” attempts to be a step by step guide for implementing open source ideas into government policies and solutions, based on his own experiences. He uses Raleigh, North Carolina, where he resides, as his example. He calls it the worlds first open source city. In a way, the small southern capital is his laboratory.

**If you’re finding this article useful, please consider helping us meet our absolute minimum daily goal of $86 so our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser stays on track for the month of May.**

Jason Hibbets
Jason Hibbets, Director of OpenSource.com
He works as a project manager for Red Hat, where he’s currently in charge of the community website OpenSource.com. His work to bring open source ideas to Raleigh’s city hall is something he does on his own time as a private citizen. These days he spends a lot of time travelling to conferences, spreading the word about how people can engage their governments through the use of open source ideas.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

Time Warner’s Live Chat Doesn’t Speak Linux

Monopolies are like porn. I can’t describe one to you but I know one when I see it. OK, so maybe the term monopoly is technically incorrect in this instance…but not by much. In my area of service it’s Time Warner Roadrunner, AT&T DSL or nothing. While there is competition, there isn’t anyone that can deliver the same speeds as Time Warner, making the price difference between the two services make sense.

** If our coverage matters to you, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

The idealist would say that this is a good situation. There are products to serve almost everyone, regardless of income. You get what you pay for and when you pay less you should expect to receive less.

Ken Starks

Ken Starks is the founder of the Helios Project and Reglue, which for 20 years provided refurbished older computers running Linux to disadvantaged school kids, as well as providing digital help for senior citizens, in the Austin, Texas area. He was a columnist for FOSS Force from 2013-2016, and remains part of our family. Follow him on Twitter: @Reglue

What Operating Systems Do You Use?

There was a time, back before smartphones and tablets, when most of us used, at most, only three operating systems. Indeed, for the average computer user there was only one operating system that mattered and that was Windows, which held a 95% market share. Even those of us who used Linux or Apple at home usually had to use a Windows computer at work–which remains true today.

**If you’re finding this article useful, please consider helping us reach our absolute minimum daily goal of $86 today so our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser stays on track for May. Any amount helps.**

However, today’s computer users daily come into contact with many other operating systems than merely Linux, OS X and Windows. Smartphone and tablet users boot into Android and iOS, with some even using the more open Firefox OS and Sailfish OS. To traditional consumer computers we can now add Chrome OS for those who don’t mind doing most of their work in the cloud.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

Ubuntu Keeps MySQL, Why XP Won’t Go Away & More…

FOSS Week in Review

Cops tracking phones sans warrants

Tallahassee PoliceIt appears that the police in Tallahassee, Florida have been busy tracking folks by their cell phones without bothering to show up before a judge and ask for a warrant. Why would they violate the constitutional rights of their citizens this way? Evidently because they were using technology on loan and had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

**If you’re finding this article useful, please consider helping us reach our absolute minimum daily goal of $86 today so our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser stays on track for May. Any amount helps.**

According to Wired, this information came to light in an appeal of a sexual battery case dating back to 2008 in which a suspect was tracked using the technology to locate a phone that had been stolen from the victim. The police have admitted using the device 200 times, with no judge or warrant involved, since 2010. In a blog post made Monday, the ACLU said the device is “likely a Stingray made by the Florida-based Harris Corporation.” Evidently, the ACLU has long suspected that Harris has been loaning the devices to Florida police departments.

Linux for Seniors 101

In my age group I am an anomaly. I turned 60 years old last September, a birthday I wasn’t supposed to see. Any time you can ignore a doctor’s prognosis of terminal, I suggest you do it. It worked out well for me. But no, beating cancer to this point isn’t what puts me into the anomaly category…

It’s knowing how to use a computer. Not because I know how to work on them or how to write a working script for a system call. I’m an anomaly simply because I know what to do after I turn a computer on.

** If you're finding this article useful, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

You think I’m kidding, huh? Unfortunately, I am not. My Reglue project deals primarily with financially disadvantaged kids in Central Texas. I also have the opportunity to interact with the parents and guardians of those kids. The kids figure out their machine in a couple of hours. It’s the 50 and above folks who hesitate.

Ken Starks

Ken Starks is the founder of the Helios Project and Reglue, which for 20 years provided refurbished older computers running Linux to disadvantaged school kids, as well as providing digital help for senior citizens, in the Austin, Texas area. He was a columnist for FOSS Force from 2013-2016, and remains part of our family. Follow him on Twitter: @Reglue

Redmond FUDs FOSS While Forking Android & More…

FOSS Week in Review

Botnet steals bitcoins

We figure that any currency that can’t be safely tucked into a mattress isn’t secure, so we haven’t been too quick to jump on the bitcoin bandwagon. Needless to say, we weren’t surprised on Monday when Reuters reported that there’s a botnet on the loose with the aim of stealing the virtual currency.

** If you're finding this article useful, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

According to the Chicago based security firm Trustwave, hundreds of thousands of computers have been infected with “Pony” malware to form a botnet going after bitcoin and other virtual currencies. So far, at least 85 virtual wallets have been stolen.

February’s Top Ten

These are the ten most read articles on FOSS Force for the month of February, 2014.

1. Recommending Linux to a Friend by Ken Starks. Published February 21, 2014. Our Mr. Starks explains how he got one nothing-but-Windows user to try and like Linux.

** If our coverage matters to you, please consider supporting our work through our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser. **

2. Maintenance–The Achilles Heel of Linux by Ken Starks. Published January 30, 2014. Should Linux users fight back again “broken” aspects of their favorite distro because “that’s just the way it is?”

3. KDE Tops Desktop Poll by Christine Hall. February 12, 2014. Visitors to FOSS Force choose KDE as their favorite desktop.

Satya Nadella, Who’s Next at Microsoft

It appears that Satya Nadella is everything Steve Ballmer is not, or so it seems at first blush. It’s hard to remember what Microsoft was like before Ballmer, at least for me. He didn’t lead at Microsoft. Most times he reminded me of a charging storm trooper, shooting first and asking questions later.

**If you’re finding this article useful, please consider helping us meet our absolute minimum daily goal of $86 so our FOSS Force Independence 2026 fundraiser stays on track for the month of May.**

Ballmer rarely asked questions. You did what he said or you did the unemployment line. Friends at Microsoft have told me of such abrupt firings, even at the executive level. No one was warned or privy to the change ahead…the next day there would be a new name plate on someone’s door. The attitude from above? Deal with it.

Ken Starks

Ken Starks is the founder of the Helios Project and Reglue, which for 20 years provided refurbished older computers running Linux to disadvantaged school kids, as well as providing digital help for senior citizens, in the Austin, Texas area. He was a columnist for FOSS Force from 2013-2016, and remains part of our family. Follow him on Twitter: @Reglue