An old Korean flag
UBUNTU has come under a lot of fire and persistent criticism this year. It has, however, made some unprecedented strides in making GNU/Linux more widely used (something which not only Ubuntu contributes to, as the Linux Foundation points out [1,2]_. Ubuntu, based on some reports, challenges not just Windows but also Wintel, which means x86 as well. This is a good thing and it has been something that Google has done with Android and Chromebooks. The "Google"-branded gear can run Ubuntu GNU/Linux well enough [3] and some derivatives of Ubuntu [4] come preinstalled on machines [5]. Some groups work on turning Android devices into a full GNU/Linux desktop computers [6], so efforts here are mutually beneficial.
In the Linux community we love predicting that this is the year of Linux in cars, or in gaming, or yes, even the desktop.
It was a phenomenal year of growth for Linux. It is the fastest-growing operating system in the enterprise where it’s supporting the latest advancements in cloud computing, big data, storage, power and more. Linux is also being used to bring new technologies to consumers on their phones, tablets and even into their living room and kitchens (TVs, refrigerators and more). And, some of the greatest advancements in high performance computing this year can be, at least partially, attributed to the help of Linux.
The Acer C720 was recently released as the latest Google Chromebook selling for just $199 USD. I have been running the Acer C720 Chromebook recently but not with Chrome OS and instead Ubuntu 13.10 Linux. This Chromebook with a Haswell-based dual-core Celeron CPU runs Ubuntu Linux rather nicely. Here are the first thorough benchmarks from this low-cost laptop.
You can get the ISO Live images from the Mint 16 Download page but please remember, at the time of this writing, the KDE and Xfce versions are still 'release candidates', the final versions will appear sometime in the next few days or weeks.
The images are fairly large, ranging from just over 1.2GB to just under 1.5GB, so they will certainly not fit on a CD, they require either a DVD or a 2GB or larger USB stick. These are hybrid images, so if you already have a Linux system you can simply dd them to a USB stick; otherwise you can use the windows Image Writer to accomplish the same task. For details on this, Clem has written a very concise How to install Linux Mint via USB tutorial.
The new Linux on Android indiegogo project aims to further the convergence between desktop and mobile by improving the Complete Linux Installer to support the Linux desktop over HDMI or on the device screen as well as allowing both operating systems to access the storage of the other. Other integration features will be the ability to play audio from Linux via the device’s speakers and view the Android notifications from within Linux. Further Zac wants to make it possible to send emails and text messages from within Linux via accounts setup in Android.
Munich's switch to open-source software has been successfully completed, with the vast majority of the public administration's users now running its own version of Linux, city officials said Thursday.
In one of the premier open-source software deployments in Europe, the city migrated from Windows NT to LiMux, its own Linux distribution. LiMux incorporates a fully open-source desktop infrastructure. The city also decided to use the Open Document Format (ODF) as a standard, instead of proprietary options.
oday's weather brought to you by open source
We always love to hear about big companies making the switch to open source technologies, and this week we found out about another one. The Weather Company, which oversees oversees brands such as The Weather Channel and weather.com, is now using an open source big data analytics system to run its operations, reports cio.com. Weather forecasters rely on big data for everything from satellites, radars, and forecast models to users and weather stations around the globe, so it's nice to know they'll also now be relying on an open source system.
Munich's long running switch to open source software has been successfully completed, with the vast majority of the public administration's users now running its own version of Linux. The move is one of the largest open source software deployments in Europe, the city migrated from Windows NT to LiMux, its own Linux distribution.
LiMux incorporates a fully open source desktop infrastructure. The city also decided to use the Open Document Format (ODF) as a standard, instead of proprietary options. It has taken nearly a decade to make the switch but as the project roled out there were more savings announced.