Free Software Linux

Recently there have been numerous discussions on software and media piracy, with a few people even saying that open source could be the solution to stopping software piracy... However, software piracy is one of open source's biggest enemies, and few people realize that.

A lot of people view Windows as Linux's main competition, largely because Microsoft has, by far, the majority of the market and is considered "the standard' by most people. Mark Shuttleworth and I disagree.

Some people seem to challenge the idea that most (if not all) free software projects need a benevolent dictator—that is, somebody who has the last say on every decision. They are quick to point out Linus Torvalds’ past “mistakes” (see the speech marks): using BitKeeper to manage the kernel, not allowing “pluggable” schedulers in Linux, etc.

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Software engineers are often touted as people whose logic is excellent. That's why I'm amazed when some of these so-called virtuosos always indulge in personal attacks when they spot something with which they disagree.

Currently, the most talked about and criticized development project is the 4th major version released by the KDE team – KDE4. It is an ambitious open-source project which focuses on providing a new and unique desktop experience combined with fun.

One thing about the Free Software Foundation: there's seldom any doubt where they stand. Take the blog entry they recently posted: "5 reasons to avoid iPhone 3G." You can't come away from it thinking that there are pros and cons to the iPhone. Rather, if you agree with them, you shouldn't even consider putting an iPhone in your pocket. But how well do their arguments stack up?

Even though SCO has suffered another legal defeat, the company looks like it has enough willpower, if not sense, to keep its legal losing streak going.

Linux itself does not represent any great departures from previous technologies, but has led a technological revolution that is predicated on free software licensing.

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It's official, I've ditched Debian (and Ubuntu) completely. All my computers are now running Arch Linux. Why did I switch? It's more stable, faster, updated more frequently and more customisable. Let me explain some of the main differences.

"...It is a failure of the GNU project and of the free software movement that there is so much emphasis on monolithic distributions and binary package distributions. It is a failure of the GNU project and the free software movement that one so often encounters distros that offer to not install source trees and even offer to not install development environments.

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One thing I hate above almost anything else is when a vendor tells you what you can and can't do with your software. That drives me bonkers. Sure, they wrote it and it's theirs to do with as they wish, but once they sell/give it to me, it's mine to do with as I see fit - within the confines of the software itself.

It has been suggested by one of our prominent community members that the use of negative votes should be confined to demoting spam. As the individual responsible for the introduction of negative voting on FSDaily, I feel I should explain my rationale for its inclusion and provide my tips on negative voting.

Recently a blog post entitled 'Why Desktop Linux is its own worst enemy' has come across my feed-radar a few times. It's yet another in the long line of 'Linux ain't ready yet' jeremiads and it doesn't really say anything new yet it got on my nerves. Why?

Over at arstechnica there is a glimpse at the new Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. A few screenshots show that Ubuntu is still going dark. The direction they are headed is not very clear. Even by scanning other user’s comments it appears its not a very popular idea, and I agree 100%! Here are 5 reasons a dark theme will only hurt Ubuntu

Regardless of what you think Microsoft is doing wrong, no one seems to think that Microsoft is doing a great job. They may still have the top position (by a lot) in desktop market share, but they are losing it fast. The point is, Microsoft seems to be shooting themselves in the foot.