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Twists and Turns for Linux on Intel's Slippery Clover Trail
September 24, 2012

Given the shock they've had to endure as a result of the ongoing Secure Boot saga over the past year or so, Linux geeks may perhaps be forgiven if they're a tad sensitive to apparent attempts to exclude Linux from other new technological developments as well. It was perhaps less-than-entirely surprising, then, that FOSS fans reacted so swiftly to the initial news about Intel's Clover Trail Atom chip.

The Linux Desktop: Not Dead, Just Broken
September 20, 2012

Faithful readers of the Linux Blog Safari column here at LinuxInsider may recall the woeful report a few weeks back that a murder had been committed -- by Apple, no less! -- and that the Linux desktop was dead. It was a distressing report, to be sure, not least because there was no corpse in sight.

'Rectangle with Rounded Corners' Part 5: The Mocking Begins
September 17, 2012

Well the ear-splitting din emanating from the neighboring Apple territories last week may have made conversation difficult for a few hours here in the Linux blogosphere, but it seems safe to say that the temporary discomfort was a small price to pay for the lively and entertaining discussions that have followed ever since.

Law and Disorder: Where Are the Tech Peers?
September 13, 2012

Well it's been a stressful few days here in the Linux blogosphere, what with the ruckus going on over in the bordering Apple territories. For such a small strip of land, you'd never think such a din could emanate from there, and all over a rectangle with rounded corners -- however "creative" and "innovative" it might be.

'A Week with Windows 8' and Other Tales of Linuxy Virtue
September 10, 2012

"A while back I wrote a review on Windows 8, but when writing a review they tend to be more based on first impressions rather than how a system actually grows on you," wrote Ken Quirk, a committed Linux fan and Ubuntu user. "So, in the interest of fairness I have decided to give Windows 8 a fair crack of the whip."

The Linux Professional Job Quest: 4 Real-Life Tales
September 06, 2012

They say everyone has a story to tell, and certainly Linux geeks are no exception. So it was with great anticipation that Linux Girl came upon an "Ask Slashdot" posting recently titled, "How Did You Become a Linux Professional?" "I'm interested in taking my skills to the next level -- and making a career out of it," wrote blogger ternarybit.

White House Mobilizes Devs for App Upgrade
September 05, 2012

The White House launched new versions of its mobile app Tuesday, releasing the app source code along with the new version in an invitation for developers to tinker with the revamped iOS and Android apps. The apps, which have been rebuilt from the ground up, now feature live video streams of White House events and access to 99 percent of the content on WhiteHouse.gov.

A Murder Is Announced, but No Corpse Can Be Found
September 04, 2012

Well, it pains Linux Girl to have to write these words, but it looks like the "Death of Desktop Linux" story is back for another round. Yes, after countless debates and discussions of the topic ad nauseum over the years -- the most recent being just a few short months ago, in fact -- it recently reared its ugly head again, like a zombie that just won't quit.

Linux's Brilliant New Gaming Career
August 30, 2012

The legendary Mark Twain is said to have once observed, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes," and much the same sentiment could just as well be applied to life here in the Linux world. To wit: Not so very long ago, gaming was held up as one of the big obstacles keeping PC users off of Linux and on Windows instead.

Twitter Perches on Linux Foundation's Shoulder
August 28, 2012

Twitter on Tuesday joined the Linux Foundation. However, the move comes just days after Twitter removed its find-friends feature from blogging service Tumblr. Twitter had earlier done the same to Instagram, and has imposed new restrictions on developers.

Disney and FOSS: Fun and FUD in the Magic Kingdom?
August 27, 2012

They say it's a small world after all, but in the Magic Kingdom, it appears to be a FUD-filled world as well. How else to explain a recent episode of "Shake It Up" on the Disney Channel? Asked to diagnose a misbehaving PC, a stereotypically geeky character asks, "Did you use open source code to save time and the virus was hidden in it?" Much canned laughter ensued, of course -- as did widespread outrage.

Linux and Apple: Which Is the Lemon, Which Is the Lemonade?
August 23, 2012

When life gives you lemons, everyone knows you should make lemonade. But what if life gives you Linux on a Retina MacBook Pro? That, too, has been shockingly referred to as a "lemon" in recent days, but the solution there isn't so clear. "If you are planning to buy one of the new Apple MacBook Pro notebooks with a Retina Display for use under Linux, hold off on your purchase," warned Phoronix's Michael Larabel.

Linux and Kids: A Tale of Success as a Hero Battles for Life
August 20, 2012

Well it was a dark, dark week in the Linux blogosphere last week, as further evidence of the economy's sickly state spread across the land. Tale after tale of personal tragedy has popped up on Google+ and beyond, in fact, making it more clear than ever that the magnitude of this economic crisis has reached nothing short of epic proportions.

GNOME's Ambitious OS Adventure
August 16, 2012

With all the ongoing debate over desktop environments here in the Linux blogosphere, there's never any shortage of discussion of the GNOME project, even on an ordinary day. Last Tuesday, however, was no ordinary day -- at least, if a certain blog post was anything to go by. "The idea of GNOME OS has been around for a couple of years," wrote GNOME UX designer Allan Day in said post.

Qt's Move Gives FOSS the Jitters
August 13, 2012

There's been much ado about Linux desktops in recent months, but few would dispute KDE's prominence among them. That, indeed, is one of the many reasons there's been so much concern over Nokia's impending sale of the Qt toolkit, upon which KDE is based.

In Search of the Best Linux for Windows Refugees
August 09, 2012

Much as we here in the Linux community may wish that everyone could cut their proverbial computing "teeth" on our favorite operating system, the fact remains that the majority of the world starts off on Windows. That, after all, is why the tragedy of "Microsoft Trained Brain Syndrome" has persisted all these years.

Who Loves Hadoop?
August 07, 2012

Mention big data and the first thing that might come to mind is Hadoop. The open source software framework has recently enjoyed a great deal of popularity among vendors and enterprise users. However, if it is to really be useful to the enterprise, Hadoop may need to be taken out of open source, argues Brian Christian, chief technology officer of Zettaset.

Is GNOME in Free Fall?
August 06, 2012

Between the arrival of both MATE 1.4 and KDE 4.9 and the emergence of SolusOS' brand-new GNOME Classic on the scene, there's no denying it's been an exciting few weeks here in the world of Linux desktops. That, in turn, has made it all the more difficult to witness the identity crisis that has apparently befallen GNOME itself.

Dreaming a Little Dream of the Ideal Linux Distro
August 02, 2012

Here in the world of Linux, with hundreds of distributions to choose from, it seems safe to say that there's something for just about everyone. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't all dream a little. While Linux is famous for its virtually infinite customizability, sometimes we may wish our favorite distro were a little bit different, even if just in some minor way.

Netflix Releases Chaos Monkey Into the Wild
July 31, 2012

Netflix on Monday released the source code for its Chaos Monkey tool into the open source jungle. Chaos Monkey is a tool the company built in the Amazon Web Services system. Its job is to randomly kill virtual machines and services within Netflix's architecture. The idea is to test systems in real-world conditions.