Archive

MakuluLinux Shift is a well-designed Linux distro that blends several mainstream design concepts with performance features not found elsewhere. One of Shift's most unique features, which is greatly expanded in this latest version, is the ability to modify major design elements effortlessly. Hence, i...

Intel's Clear Linux* has been on my radar for its ambition to sprint to the head of the pack. While it's certainly not the first distro developed by a tech heavyweight, it's a rare case in which a private company releases a distro with no direct commercial application. It's an experiment to prove wh...

MakuluLinux is an ever-changing family of Linux desktops built on its own base around several heavily modified desktop environments. Core, the latest release, is an evolutionary redesign well worth trying. Most distribution maintainers focus on annual or semi-annual OS updates. MakuluLinux creator J...

The Linux operating system is many things to many users. It is not a one-size-must-fit-all computing platform like Microsoft and Apple provide. A prime example of Linux's wide range of functionalities is easily found in Garuda Linux. Not typically available in mainstream distributions, its large ass...

When I last visited the ever-changing Netrunner distribution, I said that Netrunner Linux still went its own way. That was its twentieth rebirthday upgrade over its then 10-year history in late February 2020. The same is true for Netrunner 21.01 XOXO -- now with more modern trappings. This new relea...

MakuluLinux is an unusually creative operating system that developer Jacque Montague Raymer is constantly changing with each major upgrade. Some of these changes are radical and innovative. Trust me on this point. I have had my hands on so many Linux varieties that the really good ones are in a leag...

Trisquel Linux is one of those computing staples you wished you knew about much sooner. This Linux distribution has been around literally for years and is extremely polished. It offers a family of Linux editions that meet or exceed the needs of home users, small enterprises, and educational centers....

GeckoLinux is a unique distribution that goes a long way towards unifying the often-confusing array of workstation choices available to business and mainstream consumers looking for an alternative to other computing platforms. This distro is fully functional, offers some of the best Linux desktop en...

If you ever have considered investigating or working with elements of the geospatial world, check out the latest edition of OSGeoLive. OSGeoLive is a Linux distribution that runs directly from a bootable DVD or USB thumb drive. You also can load a pre-made virtual machine disk file that runs in a VM...

The Vivaldi browser provides a refreshing approach to traveling along the Internet. It offers something beyond the same old thing in a different skin. Vivaldi is the brainchild of former Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. The developers built the Vivaldi browser on top of Chromium, which is open source, b...

The combination of custom-made hardware and a tweaked Linux OS makes the Librem laptop lineup a unique offering with several innovative security features not offered in any other computer. The Librem line is a work in progress. The OS just reached version 2.0 and comes preinstalled on the hardware b...

"So simple a child could do it" -- I have heard that expression abused often in advertising. Yet it aptly applies to the Kano computer kit. Kano is a computer and coding kit that is suitable for all ages. Well, to be truthful, Kano's step-by-step instructions in the included booklets and its simplif...

Working with the Android OS on a desktop computer environment takes personal computing in a new direction. How many will follow it remains to be seen. The release of Android-x86 version 4.4-RC1 (KitKat-x86) by the Android-x86 Project brings the viability of an Android distro as an alternative deskto...