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Certain inevitabilities occur in technology. For instance, open source software will make its way into your business. Ten years ago, this could easily have been called into question. Now? There's no way to avoid it -- and there's no reason to. With so many powerful (and necessary) pieces of technology, open source has become, in various cases, the savior of tech. But what areas of your business are best suited for open source? The answer to that question is, of course, will be different from one company to the next. But some applications can apply in almost every circumstance.

At long last, the first Ubuntu phones are here. It's been more than two years since Canonical first showed off its Linux-based mobile platform, and fans have been clamoring for consumer devices ever since. The Ubuntu Edge never made its ambitious $32 million crowdfunding target, and the first handsets from BQ and Meizu were delayed last year. But finally, it's all starting to come together. BQ has started selling its "Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition" in Europe and Meizu shouldn't be too far behind with its modified MX4.

Over the years I've found that a significant hurdle to getting family and friends to switch to Linux comes from its lack of familiarity. This is especially true when it comes to troubleshooting any issues. Obviously, when a malfunction occurs it's not always possible to be there in person.

When tragedy strikes your electronic devices (and there's no way around that inevitability), will you be ready? Will your data be backed up? Will the process of purchasing another phone be as simple as firing it up, associating it with your Google account, and waiting for the data to sync?

This month, the GIMP lost its User eXperience (UX) maintainer.

This week we are joined by Simon Phipps and Patrick Masson to talk about the Open Source Initiative (OSI). The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a global non-profit that supports and promotes the open source movement. Among other things, the OSI maintains the Open Source Definition, and a list of licenses that comply with that definition.

Are you cheating if you download open source software without paying for it? Recently, Linux distribution elementaryOS angered users by implying that you are -- an opinion that is hardly new, but no more valid than the last dozen times anyone voiced it.

This morning I awoke to a veritable armageddon of news regarding a new piece of Android malware hell-bent on stealing all of your secrets, your identity, recording all of your actions, taking video, and probably even stealing your unborn children. That malware has been labeled PowerOffHijack (or Shutdown Hijack in some circles). It was discovered by AVG and, in theory, could be very nasty. That theory, however, would be hard to apply in most situations.

By now, most of you have likely heard about the new Ubuntu phone selling out fairly quickly after its release. In a crowded mobile market, any new entries to the smart phone operating system space must find their niche fairly quickly. We've seen how failing to address this can lead to mediocre results with Windows Phones.

Now that it's become easier to swap out SIM cards on smartphones, the ability to swap devices to nearly whatever network you want is a reality. In some cases, the simple act of swapping out the SIM will be enough. There are cases, however, where the Access Point Name (APN) on the device will not allow the phone to communicate with the new carrier cell towers.

This week, SuSE officially released their SUSE Storage, a self-healing, self-managing, distributed software-based enterprise storage solution. This project is based on the Firefly version of the Ceph open-source project and is not only ready to safely and reliably store your data, it's ready to do so while saving you money.

Do you have a favorite Android app that you wish you could run on your Windows tablet or laptop? Well, now you can. A new program called DuOS-M runs full-blown Android as its own Windows application, so that you run almost any Android app on a Windows 7/8/8.1 system.

It is hard to believe that the Raspberry Pi has been around for three years already. Launched back in 2012, the credit card-sized PC attracted quite a bit of attention due to its $35 price and potential ability to encourage programming with children. Today, it was revealed that over 5 million units of Raspberry Pi have been sold to date.

Every time a new boutique Linux distro rolls out into the limelight it seems the same two thoughts cross my mind. First, the distro’s developer must be excited to present their vision to potential uses and work hard to provide the best distro possible. Second, this also means that if something happens to the developer the project can instantly end in its tracks.

There have been a lot of rumors about what Microsoft plans to do if it can't gain traction against Android.

Most discussions of free software licenses bore listeners. In fact, licenses are usually of such little interest that 85%of the projects on Github fail to have one.

Ladies and gents, the Ubuntu Phone has finally been released. That's right -- Canonical has delivered. Sort of.

Ten top picks for best Linux software to get the most from your desktop.

The Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition will be sold via BQ.com through a series of flash sales.

Microsoft is starting to roll out its next update for its Intune mobile-device-management service starting today, February 6, which includes new features for Android devices.