Operating Systems » Linux

Analysis: Why Linux is a desktop flop

It's free, easier to use than ever, IT staffers know it and love it, and it has fewer viruses and Trojans than Windows.

By Maria Korolov | 30 April, 2012 21:28

Tags: Android, Configuration / maintenance, consumer electronics, Data Center, desktop, desktop pcs, Gartner, hardware systems, IDC, Linux, open source, operating systems, smartphones, software

Ubuntu Linux Satanic Edition (666.9) review

Getting ready to review a Linux distribution is usually pretty straightforward. After some background research into the distribution's history, you download the latest ISO and beseech the head of IT to lend you a netbook or scrounge up some moth-infested, aging desktop PC.

By Rohan Pearce | 10 May, 2011 15:30

Tags: Linux, open source, ubuntu

For an old or slow PC, try Puppy Linux 5.2

There's no doubt Canonical's popular Ubuntu Linux distribution gets the majority of attention in the Linux world these days, but there are myriad others equally worthy of consideration.

By Katherine Noyes | 12 January, 2011 08:58

Tags: canonical, Linux, non-Windows, open source, operating systems, software, unix

Open source helps Facebook achieve massive app scalability

People all over the world spend a total of eight billion minutes a day on Facebook. Some 3.5 billion pieces of content are shared every week, 400 billion Web pages are viewed every month and the site logs a staggering 25TB of data every day. David Recordon, senior open programs manager at Facebook, talks about how the social networking giant uses open source tools to achieve its massive app scalablilty.

By Rodney Gedda | 24 February, 2010 09:40

Tags: apache, cloud computing, databases, Facebook, high performance computing (HPC), lamp, Linux, memcached, mysql, open source, php, SaaS, software development

Apple's iPhone now one-third the market share of desktop Linux

According to recent market share data, Apple's iPhone is now being used to access the Internet a third as much as desktop Linux.

By Rodney Gedda | 13 October, 2009 04:03

Tags: desktop linux, iPhone, Linux, market research, market share, operating systems, web browsers

ING Life India adopts open source to expand business

In the insurance business, everyone's headed into the hinterland. But the cost of every new branch can bite deeply. Here's how going Open Source helped ING Life save US$1.7 million and funded its expansion plans.

By Sneha Jha | 19 October, 2009 10:41

Tags: desktop linux, india, insurance, Linux, novell, open source, sled, suse

Open source identity: PulseAudio creator Lennart Poettering

He likes photography and skiing, but the primary concern of Lennart Poettering is advancing the Linux audio experience with PulseAudio, an open source sound server. With this the Linux audio experience will be more context-aware. For example, if a video is running in one application the system should automatically reduce the volume of everything else and increase it when the video is finished. We catch up with Lennart immediately after this year’s Linux Plumbers Conference to find out the latest PulseAudio developments.

By Rodney Gedda | 08 October, 2009 15:33

Tags: audio, Linux, Linux Plumber's Conference, open source, open source identity, PulseAudio

QEMU virtualization reaches 0.11, brings 1400 changes

Open source virtualization app QEMU has reached version 0.11 and brings some 1400 changes from 90 contributors.

By Rodney Gedda | 30 September, 2009 14:06

Tags: emulation, kvm, Linux, open source, QEMU, virtual desktops, Virtualization

Linux kernel 2.6.32: virtualization, power management and more drivers

Less than a week after Linux kernel 2.6.31 was released, the kernel developers are beginning to submit changes and improvements across virtualization, power management, file systems and device driver code for the upcoming 2.6.32 version.

By Rodney Gedda | 16 September, 2009 12:43

Tags: drivers, linus torvalds, Linux, linux kernel, operating systems

The Linux Foundation's grand new ambitions for Linux

Like a fervent preacher appearing before his flock, Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin emphasized benefits and potential for the Linux platform Thursday during an industry conference that also featured an update on mobile Linux efforts. At the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit in San Francisco, Zemlin cited advances by Linux into multiple spaces, including supercomputing and embedded systems. "It is the fastest growing platform in every aspect of computing," Zemlin said, "Linux is growing two to three times faster than any other platform out there today."

By Paul Krill | 05 September, 2009 06:19

Tags: Linux, linux foundation

Ubuntu Server: Lean, mean, cloud-making machine

Ubuntu Server is a fast, free, no-frills Linux distribution that fills a niche between utilitarian Debian and the GUI-driven and, some would argue, over-featured Novell SUSE and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

By Tom Henderson and Brendan Allen | 02 June, 2009 08:12

Tags: canonical, Linux, linux distribution, ubuntu

Switching my dad to Linux -- part two

As mentioned in my last posting, I'm not a very good Linux evangelist. I don't try and convert family and friends to Linux. Therefore, as surprising as it sounds, putting Ubuntu on my dad's new laptop--as I did a week ago--was the first time I've ever directly converted another individual to Linux.

By Keir Thomas | 15 May, 2009 23:31

Tags: Linux, ubuntu

Desktop Linux: why you shouldn't care

Recently, the Web site analytics company Net Applications came out with figures that showed that in April, the percentage of "client devices" used to surf the Web that were running Linux crossed the 1% level for the first time ever -- 1.02%, to be exact. The firm enthusiastically noted that "Linux has reached

By Preston Gralla | 18 May, 2009 14:07

Tags: desktop linux, Linux

Switching my dad to Linux - part one

You might think that, as a Linux guy, I spend all my time converting friends and family to Linux. This is an epic cliche of the Slashdot-like Linux people, who will often post a comment like: "I switched my grandmother to Gentoo and she's never looked back! I had to teach her to use the optimization flag when compiling code, but now her system is running sweet!"

By Keir Thomas | 13 May, 2009 07:19

Tags: Linux

Top 7 reasons people quit Linux

I've been writing Linux guidebooks for some time, and it's fair to say that most people who buy my books are Windows users looking to make the leap to Linux (or perhaps just wondering what the fuss is about).

By Keir Thomas | 02 May, 2009 03:26

Tags: Linux, ubuntu

Ubuntu 9.04 beta: quick look

So far there have been six alpha releases of the forthcoming Ubuntu 9.04, due for final release next month, and late yesterday the one and only beta release was made available for download. From this point forward there's a release candidate in mid-April, before the final release is made on the 23rd.

By Keir Thomas | 28 March, 2009 12:03

Tags: Linux, ubuntu

Living free with Linux: Round 2

Last month, in "Living free with Linux: 2 weeks without Windows," I wrote about what life was like for a longtime Windows user trying to live with Linux. One of the main drawbacks: The difficulties I encountered when installing or updating software.

By Preston Gralla | 12 March, 2009 09:45

Tags: Linux

Desktop Linux: Ready for the mainstream

It's been a decade since Linux proponents first argued their OS was ready for mainstream adoption. Yet for all intents and purposes, Linux remains nonexistent on "regular" people's desks. Sure, developers and other tech experts use Linux, but that's about it.

By Galen Gruman | 03 March, 2009 09:06

Tags: Linux

More specialty Linuxes to the rescue

The day of the mold-your-own OS has come, and Linux is the clay.

By Rick Grehan | 25 February, 2009 08:19

Tags: Linux

Don't Fear the Penguin: A Newbie's Guide to Linux

Getting started with Linux can be an intimidating task, particularly for people who have never tried any operating system besides Windows. In truth, however, very little about Linux is actually difficult to use. It's simply a different OS, with its own approach to doing things. Once you learn your way around a Linux desktop, you're likely to find that it's no more challenging to work with than Windows or Mac OS.

By Neil McAllister | 23 January, 2009 09:00

Tags: Linux

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