One of the great joys of constantly checking out new or obscure Linux operating systems is finding some insane innovations that stand out from the crowded collection of distros. The current release of PsychOS Linux, code-named "Insane," possibly might blow your mind. This distro is really an off-the...

ALT Linux offers a buffet of Linux distributions that meet a variety of specialized needs. Its inviting selections could be a good source of alternative Linux OS solutions if you take the time to sort out the menus. You might find navigating the poorly designed website a tedious chore. Still, persev...

The type of organizing tools you use to plan your projects can make your work routine more efficient and improve your productivity. A project management application is an essential tool in some business environments. This week's Linux Picks and Pans takes a deep dive into some of the best project ma...

The subject of this week's Linux Picks and Pans is a representative of a less well-known computing platform that coexists with Linux as an open source operating system. If you thought that the Linux kernel was the only open source engine for a free OS, think again. The Berkeley Software Distribution...

Ascensio System SIA recently released its free office suite upgrade -- OnlyOffice Desktop Editors -- with a ribbon and tab interface plus numerous updated features. The refresh makes version 5.1 a potential alternative to Web versions of the Microsoft Office suite and Google Docs for Linux users. Th...

Four big tech players this week moved to improve their handling of open source software licensing violations. Red Hat, Google, Facebook and IBM said they would apply error standards in the most recent GNU GPLv3 to all of their open source licensing, even licenses granted under older GPL agreements. ...

Black Duck Software has released its 2017 Open Source Security and Risk Analysis, detailing significant cross-industry risks related to open source vulnerabilities and license compliance challenges. Black Duck conducted audits of more than 1,071 open source applications for the study last year. Ther...

The ability to run Android apps natively in a Linux desktop environment is a step closer to realization, thanks to Anbox, a new open source project. Simon Fels, who is the lead software engineer at Canonical, last week debuted a pre-alpha release of the Anbox platform, which he has been working on i...

MuseScore is a complete tool to help musicians and songwriters write musical scores, play them back and print the sheet music. It is available in a variety of Linux distro packages and comes in versions for Windows and OS X 10.7 or higher. It is fully open source software licensed under GNU GPL. The...

ConnochaetOS is a nice entry into a pure, free Linux experience. Most people mistakenly equate open source with "free," as in pay nothing. Experienced Linux users know, however, that the open source concept separates the price of the software from the cost of obtaining enterprise-level modifications...

The Software Freedom Conservancy earlier this month announced that it was funding a lawsuit filed by Linux kernel developer Christoph Hellwig against VMware in the district court of Hamburg in Germany. The conservancy entered a grant agreement with Hellwig for the legal action. Its funding of the le...

Marten Mickos, SVP and general manager of HP's cloud unit, preaches what at first glance may appear to be two opposing business models. One is the notion that developing open source software entails meeting a reciprocity requirement. The other is the idea that using open source software does not req...

Converting video files from a variety of media sources can be a huge chore. That task can be much more manageable with HandBrake, a GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder. It is available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows, which makes working on more than one platform a bit more co...

The Open Invention Network, or OIN, is waging a global campaign to keep Linux out of harm's way in patent litigation. Its efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 companies joining forces to become the largest defense patent management organization in history. The Open Invention Network was created ...

It's never easy to stand by and watch a relationship in trouble. First there's the constant bickering, the growing sense of distance, the discontented grumbling and snide remarks. Next, there are the wandering eyes and intentions, and the seeking out of greener pastures. For many longtime Linux user...

FOSS fans perhaps may be excused if they've felt a bit confused over the past few days. Dizziness, headaches and vertigo also have been common. What strange new ailment is this, you might ask? Well, it's no ailment -- but that doesn't mean it's any simpler to remedy. The cause, it turns out, is none...

Black Lab Linux is a general purpose free distribution for home users and SMBs. This particular segment of the Linux OS tries to bridge free OS and preconfigured commercial hardware/software with a flexible set of options. Black Lab Linux is an outgrowth of OS4 OpenLinux, a distro released in 2008 b...

Halloween has come and gone here in the Northern reaches of the Linux blogosphere, but for those of us paying attention, few things could be more frightful than the bloodshed now taking place in Debian's civil war. The streets of the blogosphere are filled with smoke; conversations are getting drown...

Enterprise IT is a very serious matter, but you might not know it judging by the software tools that are often integral to its operations. The list of odd names in today's data centers and enterprise IT shops also highlights the ongoing trend of polyglot programming. Today's applications and service...

Here in the Linux community, there's never any shortage of opportunities to wax philosophical about the success of our favorite operating system. After all, the traditional model had nothing to do with it, strictly speaking, so FOSS fans can't be blamed for wanting to extol the virtues of the free a...