LXer Weekly Roundup for 07-Sept-2014

Posted by Scott_Ruecker on Sep 8, 2014 12:57 AM EDT
LXer Linux News; By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, U.S.)
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LXer Feature: 07-Sept-2014

Well well well, the big story this week seems to be the row between those who want to boycott systemd because of its "complexity" and ambiguous "is it a daemon or OS building block" and its replacement init. Also, low-spec hardware desktop environments, Linux hardware revenue, 10 answers to 10 Linux questions, and how many (different kinds) Linux distros are on the top ten? Enjoy!

Low-Spec Hardware? Try these Desktop Environments: I have selected my pick of desktop environments that are excellent candidates for older hardware. They typically run well on low-spec machines, even a system with a Pentium II 266MHz CPU, a processor that is now 16 years old. All of the desktops are released under freely distributable licenses. If your Linux box feels sluggish in general use, try one of the desktops featured below. It may just save you from discarding a perfectly good machine.

NotepadConf: NotepadConf: the textiest conference you'll attend! See the latest technological advancements in plaintext editing. Meet the luminaries of the market and some sneak peaks at what's coming next!

The Trouble With Android: Don’t get me wrong, Android is a beautiful operating system if ever there was one – and dumbed down to the max, which makes it even more beautiful in the minds of many mobile users. Indeed, you can play on an Android device all day without ever even realizing that you’re working with an operating system or even a computer. Just swipe away and see what they’ll try to sell you next.

Matching databases to Linux distros: According to market analysts IDC, Linux accounted for 28.5 percent of all server revenue at the close of 2013. It doesn't surprise anyone that Linux is popular - low support costs and high stability are what Linux is known for. But it is surprising just how many dollars it rakes in - IDC estimates Linux generated $US14.1 billion last year in hardware revenue alone.

boycott systemd: systemd is a replacement for the sysvinit daemon used in GNU/Linux and Unix systems, originally authored by Lennart Poettering of Red Hat. It represents a monumental increase in complexity, an abhorrent and violent slap in the face to the Unix philosophy, and its inherent domineering and viral nature turns it into something akin to a "second kernel" that is spreading all across the Linux ecosystem. This site aims to serve as a rundown and a wake-up call to take a stand against the widespread proliferation of systemd, to detail why it is harmful, and to persuade users to reject its use.

Is systemd as bad as boycott systemd is trying to make it?: To the critics, all those capabilities are exactly the problem with systemd. And they feel so strongly about their position that they set up a website where they listed all the ills of systemd. And I must say that many of the points they list on that website make sense.

The Story Behind ‘init’ and ‘systemd’: Why ‘init’ Needed to be Replaced with ‘systemd’ in Linux: The init daemon is going to be replaced with daemon systemd on some of the Linux Distributions, while a lot of them have already implemented it. This is/will be creating a huge gap between traditional Unix/Linux Guard and New Linux Guard – programmers and System Admins. In this article, we will discuss and solve following all queries one-by-one.

Systemd rampages through the Linux community like Godzilla through Tokyo: In today's open source roundup: Systemd is the controversy that just won't die. Plus: Gentoo Linux 20140826 LiveDVD is available for download, and WordPress 4.0 has been released.

Ten Linux Desktops Showing Just How Far Behind Mac OS X and Windows Designs Are: There are still many users of other operating systems who think that Linux is behind Mac OS X and Windows in terms of desktop design, but the reality is just the other way around. Linux doesn't have any kind of PR, and in the collective mind of the people, there is still an impression that Linux users spend their time inside the terminal and in dreary desktops. In fact, most of the current Linux desktops are much better than anything made by Apple of Microsoft.

How Many Linux Distros Are On the Top Ten?: Most distros are based on other distros, basically making them modifications of their parent distros. In most important ways, these child distros behave like their parent distros. They mostly use the same package management and packages can usually be easily installed from the parent distros repository. Configuration is also usually the same, or nearly so, among these derivatives.

Random Thoughts, Cheap Shots, Bon Mots…: Ruth Suehle added to Ohio LinuxFest keynoter lineup: Yep, the Raspberry Pi queen and ruler of all she surveys in the realm of Red Hat’s Open Source and Standards group, Ruth has joined the list of keynoters for the October event in Columbus. Ruth participates in the Fedora Project and is co-author of “Raspberry Pi Hacks” (written with fellow Red Hatter Tom Callaway). She also leads discussions about open source principles at opensource.com, and serves as a senior editor at GeekMom.com.

10 answers to the 10 most frequently asked Linux questions: Here are answers to the 10 most frequently asked questions via Google's search engine. Is Linux better than Windows? Can Linux get viruses? What does Linux look like?

NBC, Today Show Use Ubuntu to Illustrate Celebrity Hacking Story: Spotting Ubuntu in the wild should be promoted to a sport and records must be set for the most interesting places where the distro has been seen. It looks like NBC and the Today Show have used Ubuntu to illustrate the nefarious practices of the hacker that release some nude pictures of various celebrities.

Free Office Suites that Cut The Mustard: Microsoft Office still dominates market share of office suites. Businesses have often rejected free Office alternatives. However, whether this will continue is uncertain. With the cost of a price plan for Microsoft Office, the average home user or small business will welcome a free alternative. Fortunately, there are some truly excellent free alternatives available for Linux (and other operating systems).

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» Read more about: Story Type: News Story, Roundups; Groups: Android, Distributions, Fedora, GNU, Kernel, Linux, Microsoft, Mobile, PHP, Raspberry Pi, Red Hat, Standards, Ubuntu

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