Software

A recent episode of a Linux news podcast I keep up with featured an interview with a journalist who had written a piece for a non-Linux audience about giving it a try. It was surprisingly widely read. The writer's experience with some of the more popular desktop distributions had been overwhelmingly...

Feren OS might well be the Linux computing game-changer that lures you away from your current operating system. Feren OS is based on Linux Mint 19 and the Cinnamon desktop environment that Linux Mint devs developed. This distro currently does not give you any other desktop options. However, it comes...

Red Hat is the new keeper of the keys to two popular versions of the open source Java implementation, OpenJDK 8 and OpenJDK 11, having taken over stewardship from Oracle. Oracle ended commercial support for Java 8 and the Oracle JDK 8 implementation of Java SE last year. Oracle left the enterprise J...

Condres OS, a distro much like the defunct Apricity OS, could be a speedier replacement for Linux OSes that have turned slow to no-go in recent new releases. Condres OS is an Arch-based distro that offers many pleasing usability traits similar to three popular Debian-based distros: Linux Mint; Peppe...

Q4OS and the little-known Trinity Desktop Environment are an unbeatable combination that provides a powerful and flexible computing platform. I periodically revisit releases of interesting Linux distros and developing new desktops in my weekly quest for exciting and innovative choices. Some of these...

Microsoft has released the first Dev and Canary channel builds of the next version of Microsoft Edge, which is based on the Chromium open source project. The company last year revealed that it was reworking its Edge browser to be based on Chromium. Now the latest developments are ready for early tes...

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 Zorin OS 15 series, released last week in beta, introduces many changes to its desktop interface and utilities. It keeps Zorin on track with its goal of maintaining a Linux OS for everyone, not just advanced Linux users. Zorin OS 15 beta is the first major release since Zorin OS 12 in late 2016....

Telegram Messaging has introduced a new privacy rights feature that allows user to delete not only their own comments, but also those of all other participants in the message thread on all devices that received the conversation. Although the move is meant to bolster privacy, it's likely to spark som...

SparkyLinux can ignite your daily computing experience. Its spark is pushing me to rethink my computing priorities. Regularly reviewing so many Linux operating systems for Linux Picks and Pans has serious consequences for my computing sanity. Normally, I have a flirtatious episode with a new release...

MORE Technologies last week launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $20,000 for development of its open source robot ecosystem. The company will fund the project if it reaches its goal by April 21. As of this writing, $6,485 of that $20,000 goal has been pledged. It teaches real tech skills to the ...

Time-tracking software records the time you spend on tasks. The time-tracking helps you create billing reports, prepare invoices, and analyze your workflow for better efficiency. This week's Linux Picks and Pans product review highlights some of the best free time-tracking applications for Linux. Mo...

Parrot offers several options for running a Linux OS that pays much closer attention to security. If you already are handy with digital forensic tasks and want a state-of-the-art system to handle pentesting and privacy issues, check out the Parrot Security release, which offers a complete all-in-one...