Community

Rumblings in the Browser World
April 11, 2013

There may never be any shortage of topics to debate and discuss here in the Linux blogosphere, but it's not often that we see not just one but two major developments happening in the same area on the same day. That, however, is just what happened last week in the world of browsers. The day started off just like any other ordinary Wednesday; then news about Servo and Blink arrived, and it quickly became clear fate had more in store.

OpenStack Gives the Open Source Cloud a Lift
April 09, 2013

Since its start in the summer of 2010, the OpenStack open source cloud computing project has been the subject of a lot of hype. Today, the technology, backers and users of OpenStack are giving substance to all of that sizzle, and skepticism is giving way to service provider and enterprise use cases across the globe. OpenStack is relatively immature and still requires a high degree of technical aptitude to deploy, but its community continues to grow.

Facebook Home: Brilliant Stroke or Desperate Measure?
April 08, 2013

Political and economic news from around the globe may bombard us with annoying regularity here in the tech community, and as most of us know, the news is almost always bad. That, of course, is why it's such a good thing we have Facebook to filter out what we don't want to hear. It's also why we all waited in rapt attention for the Facebook Home announcement.

Sorting Out the Linux Desktop Mess
April 04, 2013

It seems fair to say that every tech community out there has its own hot-button issues that are pretty much guaranteed to get conversations flowing and blood pressures rising. The Linux community, of course, is no exception, and it's difficult to imagine a better illustration than a debate that came up recently. "The Linux Desktop Mess" is the title of the post that got the discussion going.

Kona's Scott DeFusco: Open Source Advocate in a Closed Source Firm
April 02, 2013

Kona, an innovative social networking platform for businesses and organizations, was launched in late 2012. It grew out of a vision developer Scott DeFusco had for a way to solve communications issues shared in peoples' business and social lives. DeFusco and Kona cofounder Jeff Eckerle developed the new approach to online collaboration as an internal start-up within Deltek, an enterprise resource planning vendor

Microsoft's Pain in Spain Lies Mainly in Secure Boot
April 01, 2013

It's not exactly any secret that Microsoft has had its fair share of legal troubles over the years, many of them arising from its pesky little habit of finding ways to shut the door on competitors. So when Secure Boot came along in Windows 8, many considered it just a matter of time before a formal complaint was made.

Perl: Jewel in the Rough or Scourge of IT?
March 28, 2013

It seems scarcely a day can go by without someone declaring some technology or another "dead." Take the netbook, for example. People have been saying for years it's dead; today, however, we have the Chromebook phenomenon. The command line is another popular target, of course, but few can compete with the Linux desktop itself, the death of which has been trumpeted so many times now that Linux Girl has lost count.

New Kid on the FOSS Block: OX Documents
March 25, 2013

There's been much ado about office suites over the past year or so, thanks in large part to the anticipation and then arrival of Microsoft's baffling Office 2013. We've seen the ascendance of LibreOffice, we've seen Redmond's wacky pricing plan, and we've even heard rumors -- as yet unsubstantiated -- of a launch that would blow more than a few minds. None of that could have prepared us for what came to light last week.

Mac and Back Again
March 21, 2013

There's no denying that those of us here in the Linux community see our fair share of ups and downs in any given week or month, as events unfold that either advance or set back our favorite operating system. Sometimes, though, it's difficult not to be amazed by the way things often balance out "Even Steven" -- much the way they did for Jerry Seinfeld way back when.

Chrome OS and the Cloak of Unhackability
March 18, 2013

Once upon a time there was a modest young operating system named "Chrome OS." It tried to live a quiet life helping others, but its ancient roots made some in the mainstream computing world wary. Not only was it one of the first examples of a new type of OS, focused as it was on the browser, but it was also descended from Linux, the very name of which was still widely misunderstood among the masses.

Canonical: The Next Apple
March 14, 2013

Given all the legends surrounding Apple's widely mourned Steve Jobs, it's not entirely surprising that comparisons should be made any time another tech leader begins to resemble him in any way. Case in point: Mark Shuttleworth. The billionaire Canonical founder has actually been compared to Jobs on numerous occasions before, but lately the discussion was renewed afresh by a recent post on Linux Advocates.

Fedora Project's Robyn Bergeron: The Linux Desktop Is Almost Ready for Its Close-Up
March 12, 2013

The Fedora Project is perhaps one of the hallmark Linux distributions. Fedora is sponsored by Red Hat, the commercial developer of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Red Hat's investment in the Fedora community is collaborative. As such, Fedora Linux releases often provide RHEL developers with a field test environment that incubates innovative open source software technologies.

Man Overboard: GNOME Cofounder Joins the Mac Side
March 11, 2013

It seems that the FOSS community sees its ranks expand just about every day, as new fans of free and open source software join the fold. What's much less common is to see former advocates of Linux and FOSS change their minds and depart. That's pretty much what happened last week, when GNOME cofounder Miguel de Icaza announced that he had abandoned desktop Linux in favor of Apple's Mac platform.

The Puzzling Case of the Chromebook Pixel
March 07, 2013

Here in the Linux blogosphere, most fans of FOSS are nothing if not outspoken with their many opinions. Those opinions tend to be unequivocal on matters large and small, so it's always notable when a new technology comes along that leaves bloggers scratching their heads in uncertainty. That's a rarity, needless to say, but just recently a shining example emerged: the Chromebook Pixel.

Open Source's Deep Dive Into the Enterprise
March 06, 2013

Server provisioning and configuration management and automation are the latest examples of where the tech industry is being driven, largely by open source software. The leading open source server and IT infrastructure automation frameworks, Opscode Chef and Puppet Labs' Puppet, sit on the leading edge of significant trends under way in enterprise IT.

Advocating for Linux on the Front Lines and in the Kernel
March 04, 2013

Well March has arrived here in the Linux blogosphere and with it, widespread hopes for the rebirth and renewal of spring. Linux Girl wishes she could say things have been calm and tranquil over the past few days, but of course they haven't -- this is the Linux community we're talking about, after all. There have been many trials and tribulations for Linux fans recently.

Linux Admin Tips, Tricks and Tools of the Trade
February 28, 2013

Here in the Linux community, most of us enjoy high-level debates about strategies and trends just as much as the next technology enthusiast does. At the end of the day, however, it seems safe to say that what we tend to relish most of all is a good ol' nuts-and-bolts discussion of the tools and tricks of the trade.

And Now, Ubuntu for Tablets - Wait, What?
February 25, 2013

Six weeks have passed since Canonical's splashy debut of Ubuntu for phones, but for many here in the Linux blogosphere, the memory is still crystal-clear. It came as some surprise, then, to see follow-up news announced so soon afterward. The news this time? None other than Ubuntu for tablets.

In Search of Linux's Greatest Moment
February 21, 2013

There's no denying that Linux has had a lot of great moments since the turn of the millennium, and Linux Girl has done her best to highlight each and every one of them -- at least over the past six or so of those years. Recently, however, the question was the subject of a new poll that prompted vigorous debate.

Linux, Microsoft and the Juicy Office Rumor
February 19, 2013

Rumors are not exactly an uncommon phenomenon here in the Linux community, but every once in a while one comes along that is so compelling, such a deliciously tantalizing prospect, that bloggers just can't leave it alone, no matter how far-fetched it may be. Case in point? Oh, it's a juicy one: "Microsoft is having a 'meaningful look' at a full Linux port of Office ... .