PCLinuxOS comes with numerous flavors, but the default one is actually KDE. Just like Fedora, which uses GNOME, and Linux Mint, which uses Cinnamon, the PCLinuxOS Linux distribution is based on KDE.

Unlike other distributions that also integrate KDE as the default desktop environment, PCLinuxOS provides a customized experience. Most developers and maintainers out there don't bother too much with KDE and they usually choose to offer a KDE desktop that resembles the stock one. On the other hand, the PCLinuxOS developers customize the desktop to quite an extent, and it looks unique and is easily identifiable.

Read more ►

We are happy to release another stable update for the 1.9.x series and Enlightenement 0.18.7.

EFL fixes:

build: Disallow non-working sdl + opengl ES combination (T856)
evas/proxy - redraw proxy source properly.
edje_cc: Fix the crash when compiled wrong edc file containing empty part
evas - fix incorrect object reset.
ecore-evas - fix object cursor to not delete the same cursor when set
Evas cserve2: Fix crash in elm_test GLView
ecore-con - deal with internal buffer growing over 2g in size
fix swap buffers with damage to not detect if ext str is not there

Read more ►

Samba 4.0.17, an app that seamlessly integrates Linux/Unix servers and desktops into Active Directory environments using the winbind daemon, has been released with a large number of fixes and other various improvements.

Read more ►

Cinnamon 2.2 was released today, bringing various improvements to the System Settings, HiDPI/Retina Display support, client side decorations support along with other interesting refinements.

Read more ►

You might feel that the names of Nitrux and Numix sound a little familiar. The developers involved with these are responsible for numerous icon packs and themes for the Linux systems, and Nitrux also has its own Linux distribution called Nitrux OS.

The collaboration between two teams has been going for quite a while, and the upcoming operating system that has been promised by Nitrux and Numix finally got a face. Until now there were only glimpses and teases, but the Linux community can now get a good look at Ozon OS.

Read more ►

This computer-assisted engineering (CAE) distro clearly is not for the vast majority of Linux users, but it certainly has all the features you would expect in any mature Linux OS -- and then some.

The extra ingredients make CAELinux a unique Linux distro for engineers and engineering students, as well as scientists. It offers an unusual mix of Xubuntu 12.04 LTS 64-bit with a customized Xfce desktop environment. An enhanced run mode gives good performance directly from the DVD or from a USB drive without any hard drive installation.

Read more ►

As Chromebooks--portable computers based on Google's Chrome OS platform--continue to carve out a healthy niche for themselves, there are strong signs that we are soon going to see Chrome OS tablets. This, of course, has been in the rumor mill for some time. Last October, I reported on a developer-focused version of Chrome OS that included an on-screen keyboard, which of course would be ideal for use on a tablet. Now, the Chrome OS team has confirmed that the latest Stable Channel version of Chrome OS has such a keyboard, and it's likely we'll see tablets based on Google's operating system soon.

Read more ►

“Once VortexBox has been loaded on an unused PC, it will automatically rip CDs to FLAC and MP3 files, ID3 tag the files , and download the cover art. Vortexbox will then serve the files to network media players such as Logitech Squeezebox, Sonos, or Linn. The music files can also be streamed to a Windows or Mac OSX system,” notes the developer of VortexBox.

Read more ►

The Zorin developers have always marketed their products as the perfect Windows alternatives and they’ve had some success with this strategy. Their operating systems are regarded as good replacements, with familiar interfaces that can help people running away from Windows OSes to better adjust to a Linux distribution.

Now that Windows XP is no longer being supported by Microsoft with security updates and other patches, many users will look to replace that with a new solution. The Lite version of Zorin OS might just be the OS, mostly because it has some ridiculous system requirements.

Read more ►

So the question is, what would Android need to do to make it a great laptop operating system? The biggest thing missing, in my opinion, is bringing great desktop apps to this OS through the same Play Store. Just like you install Chrome for smartphones, there should be an option to install Chrome Desktop for the same touchscreen devices—this app, however, would need to be made for keyboard usage.

Read more ►

The central part of Chromebook is the operating system that powers it. Hardware wise, it’s the same hardware that runs Microsoft’s Windows or Apple’s Mac. It’s the OS which separates it from the rest. Chrome OS uses the Linux kernel, the same kernel which is being used by Android, Amazon Kindle, B&N’s Nook. Linux powers stock exchanges, NASA’s missions and a lot of other things that you may not have imagined. More or less Linux is like the plastic of the modern world – it’s everywhere. Before we go into details, let’s quickly explain what is a kernel as people get scared the moment they hear the world Linux.

Read more ►

BBQLinux is an user-friendly Linux distribution made for Android Developers and for enthusiasts who want to test a bit of Arch Linux. It has everything on board to build AOSP or AOSP-based Distributions like OmniROM or CyanogenMod. It’s based on Arch Linux and uses Rolling Release system. BBQLinux uses Arch repositories so its a direct Arch derivative, for example Manjaro is based on Arch but uses their own repositories.

Read more ►

Influential government service supplier Memset has urged local and central government to ditch VMware in favour of open source alternatives.

The company reckons that open-source-based service suppliers, such as itself, can shave as much as 40 percent off government bills simply by removing the licensing fees.

Read more ►

In today's search was two Zorin OS reviews and a recommendation. The Document Foundation released the second update to the 4.2 branch of their popular office suite. Jamie Watson got a new Acer laptop and test drove several popular distributions on it. Computer Weekly online has published an article on Unix to Linux migrations and Simon Phipps put out a new post titled 2014 is the year of the Linux desktop.

Read more ►

There was a time, back before smartphones and tablets, when most of us used, at most, only three operating systems. Indeed, for the average computer user there was only one operating system that mattered and that was Windows, which held a 95% market share. Even those of us who used Linux or Apple at home usually had to use a Windows computer at work–which remains true today.

However, today’s computer users daily come into contact with many other operating systems than merely Linux, OS X and Windows. Smartphone and tablet users boot into Android and iOS, with some even using the more open Firefox OS and Sailfish OS. To traditional consumer computers we can now add Chrome OS for those who don’t mind doing most of their work in the cloud.

Read more ►

Zorin OS 8 installs smartly and runs without glitches. It is a solid choice for hassle-free computing, even if you ignore the education bundle. However, educators with access to computer stations in the classroom can benefit from using Zorin's Education Edition rather than the Core release. Because it offers all the power of Ubuntu without the Unity interface, you can not go wrong with Zorin OS 8.

Read more ►

AV Linux is a very particular distribution aimed at a very specific niche of users. First of all, this is an OS geared towards the 32-bit PAE processor, which is considerably older than the current ones. In theory, the distribution is capable of turning older PCs or even Mac OS systems into an Audio / Graphics / Video workstation appliance.

Read more ►

We have been having the biggest debate of the mobile world for a few years now… Android, or iOS? Each of them have their own major perks. Android has its insane amount of customization possibilities, and iOS has its ease of use (just to name a few). However, a new report from the IDC shows us some irrefutable proof: Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world. Over the last three years, the Android operating system market share, in percentages of global unit shipments, has increased by roughly 29.6%, while iOS has dropped 3.6%. Windows Phone has surprisingly gained 1.5%, and BlackBerry has dropped 9.4%. As of May of last year, Samsung held the title of the first place, but that is to be expected.

Read more ►

Tizen has always been the presumed heavyweight among the new crop of mobile Linux operating systems, yet it has increasingly seemed more like a wispy shadow. Now, despite growing signs that Samsung’s first Tizen phones may not ship until late 2014, and doubts whether the company will put much effort behind the OS now that it has made peace with Google, the Tizen marketing push has cranked up for the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This week, the Tizen Association industry group that supports the Linux Foundation hosted Tizen project, announced 15 new members for its partner program.

Read more ►

The Genode Operating System Framework has been one of the more interesting and successful open-source OS research projects of recent times. Genode OS is becoming increasingly usable to enthusiasts and is also proving to be an interesting environment for developers. A lot of headway was made for Genode OS in 2013, but there's already a list of TODO items for the community-based operating system in 2014.

Read more ►