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…
Posts tagged as “open source”
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.
For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
The Video Screening Room Running a GNU/Linux distro within Chrome OS greatly increases the capabilities of a Chromebook. Leo Laporte is a longtime technology commentator…
The FOSS Force Video Interview It would be difficult to find anyone who’s been hanging in FOSS circles for more than a week or two…
We were pleased to discover an online retailer that caters to Linux and FOSS users and seems to understand exactly what free and open source is all about. This company gives a percentage of each purchase to free tech projects.
Are you one of those people who likes to use your laptop as a billboard to announce to the world that you’re a Linux user? Do you feel compelled to plaster stickers all over the outside of your laptop, maybe even your luggage, letting everyone know your favorite distro, some of your favorite FOSS programs or even a favorite programming or scripting language? Do you find yourself wishing there was an easy way to cover up the Windows key on your PC’s keyboard with something that actually represents an operating system you use?
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
The Raspberry Pi Report
As with many Linux distros, perhaps the biggest strength of the Pi is the community that surrounds it.
One of the biggest questions I get asked is “why would I want to use a Raspberry Pi over Device X?” Almost always, the other device has a better processor, more USB ports or something else that should make the answer to choose Device X over the Pi.
I’m not going to argue that the Raspberry Pi should always be the device of choice for every situation. Sometimes it just doesn’t cut it and using it in a given situation will cause more work than necessary. Whenever I am asked the above question, I usually get the details of what the person is intending to do, and then talk about the pros and cons of the Raspberry Pi for that use. One of the things I always remind the person is that no matter how good Device X might be, you need to consider the community behind the device. In my opinion, a constantly growing supportive community is what the Pi offers over all other devices.
In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.
The Heart of Linux
The lead developer of Pinguy Linux, Antoni Norman, has said he’s considering shutting the project down due to a lack of funds. This raises the question: How much do you give to the distro you use?
I think of them as our own little personal supernovas. There’s a brilliant flash when a Linux distro tosses in the towel and calls it quits. But whenever a distro goes away, it leaves behind the people who’ve used and worked with it on a daily basis. While there’s no formation of a black hole, there is a hole at the center of users’ work schedules and that disruption can do serious damage to those relying on the distro’s stability. And while getting a new distro installed and running isn’t the nightmare it used to be, it’s still a pain.
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