GNU/Linux Everywhere: New Stories, More Evidence
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-03-05 13:58:09 UTC
- Modified: 2014-03-05 13:58:09 UTC
Success Stories
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Linux is a most popular Operating System compared to Windows and Mac. Linux is everywhere even at those places where most of us have not even thought. Tiny machines to Gaint Supercomputers are powered by Linux. Linux no more remains a Geeky thing.
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Although the Head Up Display (HUD) will remain the default, Canonical will be bringing back the local menus as an option. Jack Wallen responds to this announcement.
Ivory Coast, Romania, Latvia, India
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Before Emma, the JerryClan-Ivory Coast had flirted with Ubuntu, but that was before encountering the beautiful EmmaBuntus distribution.
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The laptops are running Linux, specifically Ubuntu 13.10, along with several dozen free and open source programs. Our program is believed to be the largest open source 1:1 implementation in Pennsylvania. By using open source software exclusively, we estimate an initial cost savings of at least $360,000 on licensing fees.
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Romania's Ministry of Education urges the country's schools to consider switching to open source solutions such as the Ubuntu distribution. This will help the schools to avoid legal problems with using unlicensed copies of proprietary software, the ministry confirmed today.
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A former Romanian secretary of state, Constantin Teodorescu, is calling on the country's public administrations to switch to Linux and other open source solutions. "The Romanian government should contact the budgetary heads at all public administrations and explain that they can switch everything to free software", he writes on his blog on Friday. "Let's get this straight, and end this tragedy".
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The Children's Hospital in Riga, Latvia, is using the Ubuntu Linux distribution for an increasing number of tasks. About half of the hospital's 600 workstations are now running Ubuntu, says Juris Alins, working in the hospital's IT department.
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National Council Of Education, Research and Training (NCERT) has released a notification on their website which promotes the use of Free and Open Source software in Indian schools. This notice is released well in time, as other schools, colleges and government institutions in India are already moving to open source software to save costs and prevent vendor locking. NCERT is responsible for maintaining standards in most government and private schools and educational institutions in India.
Chromebook
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When Google announced Chrome OS, many people scoffed at the viability of a browser-based OS. Currently, however, Chromebooks are among the most popular inexpensive computing devices today. The search giant has done a great job of making an OS that is light enough to function on entry-level Atom-based SOCs and even low-powered ARM silicon. With the launch of many new Chromebooks (click hear to find out which one we think is the best chromebook) we wanted to see if a person could survive with a Chromebook playing games, videos, word processing and more for an entire week. Read on to see how the OS fared against Windows in our seven-day challenge.
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There has been breakthroughs in sales of Chromebooks, with devices selling well in the inexpensive notebook segment in the US, and widely adopted for educational use through government procurement projects, the sources said. Chromebook shipments in 2014 are expected to increase to 4-5 million units, the sources indicated.
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Tango PC, the small form factor desktop rig that can fit in the palm of your hand, was already an impressive concept based on the fact that, despite its size, it’ll be powered by desktop hardware while also booting to traditional desktop operating systems like Windows 7 and Windows 8. On top of that though, Tango also announced that Tango PC owners will also be able to configure their miniature desktop computer to ship with alternative operating systems like Chromium OS and Ubuntu Linux pre-installed.
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Here are four Chrome extensions that make it easier to read web pages on your Chromebook. These extensions will let you skip making the font sizes of web pages larger to improve readability.
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I think computers like Chromebooks are the way of the future, but not because of their operating system - because of their hardware. Relatively low cost laptops with SSDs for storage and an insane battery life are everything I want in a computer.
Skills
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“Enterprises are increasingly describing Linux as a core part of the business,” said Shravan Goli, President of Dice. “In turn, hiring managers are turning up the dial on the incentives offered to technology talent with Linux skills. These professionals are working on projects tightly aligned with a future vision of what enterprises look like.”
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In terms of employers, Yoh's research found that there are 8,000 employers currently hiring for IT jobs with Linux requirements. The companies with the most Linux-related job postings are: Amazon.com, 2,356 jobs; Lockheed Martin, 713; Dell, 679; Northrop Grumman, 569; and Computer Sciences Corporation, 535.
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With large firms making attempts to equip themselves better with the latest technology so as to maintain their edge over the competition; this seems to be a good time to be a technology professional. However, it’s even a better time to be into Linux system administration. How? We will see it here.
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Linux experts get higher pay checks, better opportunities as their skills are still hard-to-find
Recommending GNU/Linux to a Friend
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Based on the figures in LinuxQuestions' Members Choice Awards, 84% of Linux desktop users prefer a classic desktop. By contrast, innovations like GNOME 3 or Ubuntu's Unity lag far behind. Which raises the question: what accounts for the popularity of the classic desktop, and what are the implications for the design of graphical interfaces?
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Last but not least, Starks' article is "wrong a bunch of ways," blogger Robert Pogson told Linux Girl.
In fact, "the Linux kernel is very similar on every distro," he explained. "If there is no driver for some hardware in a particular distro, build a kernel from kernel.org or change hardware.
"You have to get your priorities straight," he added. "Because some manufacturer may not have provided a driver for Linux is no reason not to use Linux. On the other hand, there are dozens of benefits of using GNU/Linux."
In all of Pogson's years of using Linux, "I have only seen a very few pieces of hardware I could not use: two printers, a wireless thingy and that's it," he recounted. "I used to use the Vesa driver if I could not get a driver for some video card. Along the way I have had more than a decade of excellent use of GNU/Linux."
In short, "I would recommend it to a friend," he concluded. "I would recommend Debian GNU/Linux even for a newbie. I would never recommend that other OS for any purpose. It's just too burdensome."
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She was on her computer at home doing something or the other when suddenly things went bad for her. The menu bar and the task bar disappeared, including the “Start” button and she couldn’t close or change anything on her screen. In a panic, she called friends to try to see if she could get guidance to fix it. One friend told her that the same thing had happened to her and it turned out to be a virus. Olivia was told to turn her computer off immediately and reinstall Windows. That was the only way to proceed.
All of her family pictures and all of her files…gone. She and her friend reinstalled Windows and spent the next two days getting her computer back into shape.
When I was giving the keyboard shortcut portion of the class, I noticed Olivia holding her hands over her mouth as her eyes grew wide. I thought she was going to cry. It turns out that Olivia had accidentally hit the F11 key while she was typing. She had no controls, no cues or hints as to how to get her computer screen back to normal. She had no idea she had accidentally hit the F11 key or that hitting it again would return things to normal. When she discovered how easy this was to fix she was both relieved and angry. She even left her seat to come forward and give me a hug as she recounted the story.
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During this period in time, the most common issue I ran into was Windows malware disrupting my client's ability to use their computer(s). After a while of fixing the same old problem, I decided I was ready for a change. During this transitional period, I became more familiar with the various popular Linux distros that were available: Red Hat, Mandrake (Mandriva), and the live Linux CDs that followed a short time later.
Flash forward to now, I use Linux on the desktop almost exclusively. For my day-to-day duties, Linux on the desktop allows me to create written content in addition to occasional video how-to tutorials. I can email, print, scan and store files on my computer in much the same way as those of you who use Windows do. The key difference is that I choose to use an operating system where the key support comes from the community, and not from some large corporation.
Advocacy
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To conclude, my point isn’t whether or not its wise to highlight the failings of one distro compared to another. My point is simply this: Linux Advocacy in its simplest and clearest definition is not MyLinux versus YourLinux. It is simply Advocating the use of Linux.
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I noticed a huge pop in my web stats for today and wondered why. The cause was a link on Tux Machines. There was a recent change of ownership. Now Dr. Roy Schestowitz and Rianne Schestowitz seem to be the main authours. In a couple of days they produced a huge number of informative articles mostly links to diverse sites advocating FLOSS and GNU/Linux. I love it.
Pessimism
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It's always "somewhat interesting and entertaining to see the ebb and flow of the top Linux distributions," said 451 Research's Jay Lyman. "One of the highlights is typically the Linux operating systems with staying power. After years of jockeying, we've seen Ubuntu in the top few distributions consistently for some time, which speaks to its desktop and developer popularity."
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It's long been the case that the world of Linux distributions offers at least one compelling choice for virtually every taste and purpose, but -- much like those dissatisfied with the weather in New England -- users who don't see a distro they like need only wait a few minutes.
We've lost a few distros since 2013 began, but we've also gained some interesting fresh blood. "You win a few, you lose a few," as the old saying goes; fortunately, the overall pool of choices remains as rich and diverse as ever.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- British Women Don't Want to Work for American Men Who Attack American Women
- "[g]reeting clients and preparing beverages"
- Mass Layoff Event on June 30 at Red Hat? Let Us Know...
- We are looking for more Red Hat whistleblowers
- IBM Red Hat Kicks Out the Community, Promotes Slop
- It has gotten so bad
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- Links 03/07/2026: Slop "Isn’t Replacing Lawyers", "App Fatigue"
- Links for the day
- Statement on This Week's DDoS Attacks
- DDoS attacks are not a "badge of honour". They are a nuisance.
- Skinnerboxes as Health Problems and Impediments (Against Happiness)
- skinnerboxes are a form of addiction
- Costa Ricans' Adoption of GNU/Linux Reaches New Highs
- Windows is doing poorly in general
- Gaming on Windows is in Trouble, XBox is Practically Dead Already
- It seems increasingly clear that Microsoft wants to get rid of XBox
- New Record for GNU/Linux in the World's Largest Muslim-Majority Population (287,983,025)
- Will Indonesians leave GAFAM behind?
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 126 Out of 200: Becoming More Aggressive Against Us Only Proves Us Right
- the police involved
- The Register MS Covers "AI" Because It Gets Paid to
- A lot of noise "in the news" about "AI" is paid-for trash
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 02, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, July 02, 2026
- Gemini Links 02/07/2026: OpenBGPD, Newt and OpenBSD, Indieweb Theme for Ghost
- Links for the day
- Links 02/07/2026: China "Ethnic Unity" Law a Global Threat, "EU Imposes €3 Duty on Parcels From China"
- Links for the day
- Japan's Share of GNU/Linux Has More Than Doubled
- GNU/Linux now sits around 3.5% compared to about 1% two years ago
- 'Largest Single Layoff Event In Gaming History' or 'Largest Single Layoff Event In Microsoft History'?
- we need whistleblowers, not official or semi-official statements from Microsoft
- Off-putting Terms or Behaviour That Keep Women Away From Areas of Technology (Not What IBM and GAFAM Tell Us)
- the use of language
- Microsoft Windows "Goes South" in South America, GNU/Linux Popularity Soaring
- Brazil and its neighbours must have paid attention to what happened earlier this year in Venezuela
- It's Not the Layoffs, It's the Debt
- PIPs and/or "silent layoffs" are about the companies flouting obligations to staff, reducing or eliminating the compensation packages
- European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Cutting Ribbons in Sintra While the EPO Burns
- Like the Roman Emperor Nero, Campinos fiddles in Sintra while the EPO burns
- In Spain, GNU/Linux Now Measured at 5.5%
- Microsoft and Windows are generally shrinking
- North America: GNU/Linux Leaps to 8% "Market Share"
- the trend is clear
- statCounter: GNU/Linux Has Risen to All-Time High of 6% Worldwide (July 2026)
- GNU/Linux has massive gains
- Not Tolerating Death Threats
- Death threads are a serious matter
- Silent Layoffs, 'Happy' Layoffs, and 'Buyouts' (Pretending to Voluntarily Retire)
- We've been seeing lots of that at IBM and Microsoft
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 125 Out of 200: Litigants in Person (LIPs) Handling American Lawfare Funded by Third Parties (About a Million Pounds for 100 Kilograms of Legal Papers)
- An appeal to the Court of Appeal can be justified at one point
- IBM HR "Process is Similar to Raising Farm Animals"
- IBM "silent layoffs" won't stop
- Attacks on the Sites
- These are clearly censorship attempts
- Links 02/07/2026: Microsoft May be Shutting Down 5+ Studios, Slop Got Too Expensive, "RAMpocalypse" Discussed
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 01, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, July 01, 2026
- Gemini Links 02/07/2026: Kondo, Theological Thought, and X4
- Links for the day
- Links 01/07/2026: Apple and Microsoft Price Hikes, Political Catchup
- Links for the day
- Parroting the Script of RAs and PIPs, "Buyouts" and Layoffs by Any Other Name
- Over time people will find out just how many people "leave" IBM
- Slop Gives No Real Edge, It's Just Falsely Marketed That Way (FOMO)
- Plagiarism in some measurable form is always bad, irrespective of what we call it
- The Microsoft-Owned Media Shows What Spin Microsoft Will Use Amid Mass Layoffs
- Microsoft says goodbye to over 10,000 workers this month
- Brett Wilson LLP Has Just Lost a Case of Its Biggest Client "IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)"
- Is Brett Wilson LLP proud of such clientele?
- The Media is Shooting Its Own Foot by Peddling Slop and Spam
- Nobody wishes to read slop; as soon as people realise "the news" (or "news site") is LLM trash, they will walk away
- Gary Smith Says Brett Wilson LLP Engages in SLAPP Against Him Over LinkedIn Post, "This is the Streisand Effect in Real Time"
- "Lawyers who front SLAPP‑style threats on behalf of powerful institutions are not “defending reputation”; they are abusing legal process to intimidate and silence legitimate public‑interest scrutiny."
- Gemini Links 01/07/2026: Wild Flowers, Slop, and Waystone Tools
- Links for the day
- Links 01/07/2026: Bending Spoons Makes an 'Exit' ("Going Public"), US Supreme Court Rules on Many Issues
- Links for the day
- Misattributing Blame, the Core Issue is Slop
- that issue has nothing to do with Bash
- Microsoft: Layoffs Are an Investment
- Sales of the console will take another plunge and debt will skyrocket
- Links 01/07/2026: MElon (Elon Musk) "Confronted With List of People He Has Killed", Microsoft Ignores Union, Chooses "Bloodbath"
- Links for the day
- The Register MS: Paid-For SPAM Advocating Chinese Colonialism in Africa, Not Even a Disclosure (as Before)
- Does The Register MS recognise what this piece is promoting and who for?
- Techrights Never Defended Rapists
- In the past, I and others got falsely accused of "defend[ing] a rapist"
- "Regular Silent Layoffs and PIPs" at Microsoft, According to Microsoft Insider
- Many people leave without a fuss, only a signed NDA
- Gaming Companies Help Promote Rootkits ('Anticheat') and Help Microsoft Take Control of People's PCs
- The industry in its current form acts a bit more like a cabal of power-hungry companies that actively try to back-door everything and smear people who oppose that
- IRC (Internet Relay Chat) Turns 38 Next Month
- IRC did well because over 300k users are on significant networks (simultaneous, also counting bots and cross-network overlaps)
- opensourceforu.com is a Slopfarm, It's Not "Open Source" and It's Not "For U"
- Slop "For U"
- DRM and Ownership
- We now even have PCs that "expire"
- GNU/Linux Reaches 6% in North America
- Tomorrow around 10AM we'll see what preliminary data they get for July
- IBM Layoffs Still Happening in 2026, They're Just Not Being Reported
- The demise of IBM accompanies the demise of the media
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 124 Out of 200: The Court Deems My Wife Connected to the Case of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Invites Her to the Hearing Last Week
- Brett Wilson LLP does not play by the rules
- Paying Severance to Staff Laid Off by Microsoft Too Expensive for Microsoft Now?
- When companies earn such a bad reputation (not paying severance to people they discard) it lowers morale even further
- Microsoft Mass Layoffs Due to Money Problems (Debt, Lack of Money to Complete Payroll), Not "Hey Hi"
- If Microsoft later comes up with some "Hey Hi" narrative, then immediately reject it
- Stop Conflating Free Software With Slop Plagiarism and Time-wasting
- Even decades ago people could use "compute" for lots of fuzzing, then file away false or unaudited reports using bots
- What Security Means
- Security does not mean asking Microsoft for permission
- Microsoft May be Losing 10,000+ Workers This Month
- Here's the quick math
- BSN Senior School Leidschenveen is Shutting Down and What That Means to the European Patent Office (EPO)
- Follow-up meeting with Site Manager VP1 on school matters
- Gemini Links 01/07/2026: Keeping (Relatively) Cool plus Adventures in Solar, Camp Snap Cameras and XTEINK X4 Ereader Reviews
- Links for the day
- European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Different Strokes For Different Folks
- Organisation operating in two parallel universes
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- GNU/Linux Measured at 4.4% by statCounter, Even More by analytics.usa.gov
- GNU/Linux has fared well