Very new to Linux. Is it a better choice for this old PC?
I went for Linux Mint. But feel free to suggest me a better Linux OS. I noticed that Windows 10 on my Celeron N2830 with 2GB is too heavy just using my computer for browsing, fastboot and Spotify.
https://redd.it/cfkj4x
@r_linux
I went for Linux Mint. But feel free to suggest me a better Linux OS. I noticed that Windows 10 on my Celeron N2830 with 2GB is too heavy just using my computer for browsing, fastboot and Spotify.
https://redd.it/cfkj4x
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - Very new to Linux. Is it a better choice for this old PC?
0 votes and 13 comments so far on Reddit
The Economist - What open-source culture can teach tech titans and their critics
Paywalled source: https://www.economist.com/business/2019/07/18/what-open-source-culture-can-teach-tech-titans-and-their-critics
#What open-source culture can teach tech titans and their critics
####Firefox and friends
THE GREATEST fear of an ambitious technology firm is to be condemned to “legacy”, tech speak for irrelevance. Its products may still be used, but out of inertia. The damning judgment could apply to Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser. Even on personal computers, where it used to excel, its market share has dropped steeply over the past ten years, from 30% to 10%, at a time when browsers have been losing ground to apps on smartphones. You could argue that Mozilla is kept alive by its main competitor, Google, whose Chrome browser accounts for 60% of the market and which provides most of Mozilla’s revenue in exchange for the privilege of being Firefox’s default search engine.
Put all this to Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s intense but approachable chairwoman and spiritual leader, and she is unfazed. Quite the opposite: more than ever, she counters, the digital realm needs an organisation that “puts people first and doesn’t squeeze every last penny out of the system”—unlike most of today’s tech giants. Is Ms Baker right? And if she is, what does the 20-year Mozilla experiment mean for the penny-squeezing parts of Big Tech?
Mozilla has always been a strange beast. It began life in 1998 after the “browser war” of the first dotcom boom, between Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape’s Navigator. Even though the fight got Microsoft into deep trouble with competition authorities, which nearly broke it up, Netscape, an internet pioneer, had to capitulate. But as a parting shot it released the Navigator’s source code, so that an alliance of volunteer developers could keep the browser alive—and fight the “borg”, as Microsoft was called then, referring to a universe-conquering alien group from “Star Trek”.
Even compared with other such open-source projects, Mozilla remains an unusual hybrid. It boasts a volunteer workforce of nearly 23,000 that contributes about half of the company’s computer code in exchange for little more than recognition from their peers and the satisfaction of chipping in to a project they believe in. But it also has 1,100 paid employees, two-thirds of them programmers. It chiefly develops software, but offers services, too, including things like file transfer. And it is two organisations in one: the Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation, both based in Silicon Valley. The first is a charity, which owns the second and makes sure that it does not stray from its mission. The corporate arm is in charge of products and gets the cash that search engines pay for appearing on Firefox’s start page. Together Google, China’s Baidu, Russia’s Yandex and a host of smaller firms forked out $542m for the traffic they got from Firefox in 2017, the last year for which data are available, more than Mozilla’s expenses of $422m.
The set-up is less than optimal. Firefox’s falling market share is partly down to slow decision-making, which must involve the volunteers. It took years to begin collecting data about how its software is used, which helps improve it but raised privacy concerns that were only allayed recently. Mozilla was slow to kill an ill-fated mobile operating system, which cost it hundreds of millions of dollars. It has yet to find sources of revenue beyond the browser; details of plans to charge for add-on services, such as secure storage or virtual private networks, are scarce. And, in an echo of founder-dominated tech firms, too much responsibility rests on Ms Baker, who chairs both the foundation and the corporation.
Yet Mozilla turns out to be much more consequential than its mixed record and middling numbers would have you believe. There are three reasons for this.
For one thing, Mozilla has shown that the open-source approach can work in consumer software, which even its champions doubted when th
Paywalled source: https://www.economist.com/business/2019/07/18/what-open-source-culture-can-teach-tech-titans-and-their-critics
#What open-source culture can teach tech titans and their critics
####Firefox and friends
THE GREATEST fear of an ambitious technology firm is to be condemned to “legacy”, tech speak for irrelevance. Its products may still be used, but out of inertia. The damning judgment could apply to Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser. Even on personal computers, where it used to excel, its market share has dropped steeply over the past ten years, from 30% to 10%, at a time when browsers have been losing ground to apps on smartphones. You could argue that Mozilla is kept alive by its main competitor, Google, whose Chrome browser accounts for 60% of the market and which provides most of Mozilla’s revenue in exchange for the privilege of being Firefox’s default search engine.
Put all this to Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s intense but approachable chairwoman and spiritual leader, and she is unfazed. Quite the opposite: more than ever, she counters, the digital realm needs an organisation that “puts people first and doesn’t squeeze every last penny out of the system”—unlike most of today’s tech giants. Is Ms Baker right? And if she is, what does the 20-year Mozilla experiment mean for the penny-squeezing parts of Big Tech?
Mozilla has always been a strange beast. It began life in 1998 after the “browser war” of the first dotcom boom, between Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape’s Navigator. Even though the fight got Microsoft into deep trouble with competition authorities, which nearly broke it up, Netscape, an internet pioneer, had to capitulate. But as a parting shot it released the Navigator’s source code, so that an alliance of volunteer developers could keep the browser alive—and fight the “borg”, as Microsoft was called then, referring to a universe-conquering alien group from “Star Trek”.
Even compared with other such open-source projects, Mozilla remains an unusual hybrid. It boasts a volunteer workforce of nearly 23,000 that contributes about half of the company’s computer code in exchange for little more than recognition from their peers and the satisfaction of chipping in to a project they believe in. But it also has 1,100 paid employees, two-thirds of them programmers. It chiefly develops software, but offers services, too, including things like file transfer. And it is two organisations in one: the Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation, both based in Silicon Valley. The first is a charity, which owns the second and makes sure that it does not stray from its mission. The corporate arm is in charge of products and gets the cash that search engines pay for appearing on Firefox’s start page. Together Google, China’s Baidu, Russia’s Yandex and a host of smaller firms forked out $542m for the traffic they got from Firefox in 2017, the last year for which data are available, more than Mozilla’s expenses of $422m.
The set-up is less than optimal. Firefox’s falling market share is partly down to slow decision-making, which must involve the volunteers. It took years to begin collecting data about how its software is used, which helps improve it but raised privacy concerns that were only allayed recently. Mozilla was slow to kill an ill-fated mobile operating system, which cost it hundreds of millions of dollars. It has yet to find sources of revenue beyond the browser; details of plans to charge for add-on services, such as secure storage or virtual private networks, are scarce. And, in an echo of founder-dominated tech firms, too much responsibility rests on Ms Baker, who chairs both the foundation and the corporation.
Yet Mozilla turns out to be much more consequential than its mixed record and middling numbers would have you believe. There are three reasons for this.
For one thing, Mozilla has shown that the open-source approach can work in consumer software, which even its champions doubted when th
The Economist
What open-source culture can teach tech titans and their critics
Firefox and friends
e outfit got going. Some studies have shown that Firefox now beats Chrome in terms of speed, for instance. Second, an oversight board that looks beyond the narrow business can help tech firms live up to Google’s original credo, abandoned last year, of “Don’t be evil”—potentially useful when the likes of Google and Facebook stand accused of monopolising markets, playing fast and loose with user data, even undermining democracy.
Lastly, like Linux, an open-source operating system, and to an extent Android, Google’s semi-open software that powers mobile devices, Mozilla has demonstrated that a non-commercial alternative minded to defend users’ interests is good for consumers in digital markets. Although Mozilla is not solely responsible for the widespread adoption of open standards for browsers, even rival firms concede that it helped to chivvy them along. Firefox was the first browser to block pop-up ads and allow users to surf anonymously, prompting commercial browsers to offer similar features. Google’s plans to make it harder for other firms to track Chrome users on the web may have been precipitated by Firefox’s decision last month to turn on anti-tracking features as the default setting.
Don’t expect Silicon Valley to transform itself into an agglomeration of Mozillas anytime soon. But tech giants are toying with some Mozilla-esque ideas. Last month Facebook announced another step towards an independent “oversight board”—not unlike the board of the Mozilla Foundation—to make the tough calls on what content should be allowed on the site. Earlier this year Google convened an expert group to ponder the ethics of its artificial-intelligence endeavours (it was disbanded after employee protests over its composition).
**Outfoxing Big Tech**
To rivals and critics of dominant tech firms Mozilla shows a way to keep them honest. Hints of what it has done to browsers can be discerned in other corners of cyberspace, from open-source wallets where people can keep their digital identities to social networks that are not controlled by one company. Mozilla itself is working on Common Voice, a rival to digital assistants like Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Siri. Breaking up the tech giants is a satisfying war cry—but probably futile. Perhaps it would be better to breed more Firefoxes instead.■
https://redd.it/cflbpp
@r_linux
Lastly, like Linux, an open-source operating system, and to an extent Android, Google’s semi-open software that powers mobile devices, Mozilla has demonstrated that a non-commercial alternative minded to defend users’ interests is good for consumers in digital markets. Although Mozilla is not solely responsible for the widespread adoption of open standards for browsers, even rival firms concede that it helped to chivvy them along. Firefox was the first browser to block pop-up ads and allow users to surf anonymously, prompting commercial browsers to offer similar features. Google’s plans to make it harder for other firms to track Chrome users on the web may have been precipitated by Firefox’s decision last month to turn on anti-tracking features as the default setting.
Don’t expect Silicon Valley to transform itself into an agglomeration of Mozillas anytime soon. But tech giants are toying with some Mozilla-esque ideas. Last month Facebook announced another step towards an independent “oversight board”—not unlike the board of the Mozilla Foundation—to make the tough calls on what content should be allowed on the site. Earlier this year Google convened an expert group to ponder the ethics of its artificial-intelligence endeavours (it was disbanded after employee protests over its composition).
**Outfoxing Big Tech**
To rivals and critics of dominant tech firms Mozilla shows a way to keep them honest. Hints of what it has done to browsers can be discerned in other corners of cyberspace, from open-source wallets where people can keep their digital identities to social networks that are not controlled by one company. Mozilla itself is working on Common Voice, a rival to digital assistants like Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Siri. Breaking up the tech giants is a satisfying war cry—but probably futile. Perhaps it would be better to breed more Firefoxes instead.■
https://redd.it/cflbpp
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - The Economist - What open-source culture can teach tech titans and their critics
0 votes and 0 comments so far on Reddit
Redpill me on CloverOs
Is CloverOs worth using? I like gentoo but I don't have time to install and configure everything and CloverOs seems to be good option for me
https://redd.it/cfl5vz
@r_linux
Is CloverOs worth using? I like gentoo but I don't have time to install and configure everything and CloverOs seems to be good option for me
https://redd.it/cfl5vz
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - Redpill me on CloverOs
0 votes and 8 comments so far on Reddit
Runs on Librem 5, Day 27 - GNOME File Open Dialog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBeFkgA3jVo
https://redd.it/cfn8ao
@r_linux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBeFkgA3jVo
https://redd.it/cfn8ao
@r_linux
YouTube
Runs on Librem 5, Day 27 - GNOME File Open Dialog
As we rapidly approach the release of the Librem 5 smartphone (Q3 of 2019), we're going to take a look at one new application (or game, or feature) running on the Librem 5 Development Kit every single day (or very close to it).
Critical system components…
Critical system components…
Runs on Librem 5, Day 26 - Apache Web Server
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V8q59UKmAQ
https://redd.it/cfn87b
@r_linux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V8q59UKmAQ
https://redd.it/cfn87b
@r_linux
YouTube
Runs on Librem 5, Day 26 - Apache Web Server (in 60 seconds)
As we rapidly approach the release of the Librem 5 smartphone (Q3 of 2019), we're going to take a look at one new application (or game, or feature) running on the Librem 5 Development Kit every single day (or very close to it).
Critical system components…
Critical system components…
Librem 5 Dev-kit making a "Real World" phone call to a cellular phone.
https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/calls/uploads/f08b10c118f283af9ee00b69a64438ea/calls-echo-from-devkit.webm
https://redd.it/cfozuv
@r_linux
https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/calls/uploads/f08b10c118f283af9ee00b69a64438ea/calls-echo-from-devkit.webm
https://redd.it/cfozuv
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - Librem 5 Dev-kit making a "Real World" phone call to a cellular phone.
16 votes and 2 comments so far on Reddit
Telegram Desktop file sharing from command line
https://medium.com/@konchunas/telegram-file-sharing-from-command-line-9a3f593bcf4e?sk=e3392685eae064d55a5a027766d3042f
https://redd.it/cfp2lf
@r_linux
https://medium.com/@konchunas/telegram-file-sharing-from-command-line-9a3f593bcf4e?sk=e3392685eae064d55a5a027766d3042f
https://redd.it/cfp2lf
@r_linux
Medium
Telegram file sharing from command line
Apparently there are Share menus everywhere on modern systems: OS X, Windows, Android, iOS. Everywhere, but not on Linux.
Red Hat CTO Chris Wright to host online AMA on Reddit
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/red-hat-cto-chris-wright-host-online-qa?sc_cid=701f2000000tyN6AAI
https://redd.it/cfrfh7
@r_linux
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/red-hat-cto-chris-wright-host-online-qa?sc_cid=701f2000000tyN6AAI
https://redd.it/cfrfh7
@r_linux
Redhat
Red Hat CTO Chris Wright to host online Q&A
Poppins version 0.4 released
Poppins is a command line backup utility for Linux, written in PHP. It is based on rsync and handles backup rotation based on hardlinks or BTRFS/ZFS snapshots. For a full list of features, go to the website.
See [https://poppinsbackups.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/poppins-0-4-released/](https://poppinsbackups.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/poppins-0-4-released/)
https://redd.it/cfmx3n
@r_linux
Poppins is a command line backup utility for Linux, written in PHP. It is based on rsync and handles backup rotation based on hardlinks or BTRFS/ZFS snapshots. For a full list of features, go to the website.
See [https://poppinsbackups.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/poppins-0-4-released/](https://poppinsbackups.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/poppins-0-4-released/)
https://redd.it/cfmx3n
@r_linux
Poppins
Poppins 0.4 released
We are proud to announce the new release of Poppins 0.4. This release includes new features, minor bug fixing and refactoring. Poppins 0.4 runs on PHP 7. It was tested on Ubuntu server 18.04 and De…
Is it normal that those supposed-to-be simple Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora or Mint fail to be simple?
I'm used to do everything by myself. My current favorite distribution is Void (https://voidlinux.org), before that I used Arch and long long time ago Slackware. So somehow, although I'm used to some manual labor to make everything work, I expected those user friendly distributions to work at least without much knowledge out of the box. But I always got disappointed. Last experiment was Fedora 30. Nice, colorful installer, yes. But even that one failed at simple things like package selection (error: one of the package dependencies is not satisfied). How can that happen with a preselected selection of packages? Then the popup offered to change the selection or cancel and cancel just killed the whole installer. I had more problems like automatic reboot that failes because the system never actually shuts down but everything is hidden behind a pretty spinner. That's not only Fedora btw, I had more problems with KDE Neon and Linux Mint.
So, is it only me? Do I expect too much?
https://redd.it/cfkqr5
@r_linux
I'm used to do everything by myself. My current favorite distribution is Void (https://voidlinux.org), before that I used Arch and long long time ago Slackware. So somehow, although I'm used to some manual labor to make everything work, I expected those user friendly distributions to work at least without much knowledge out of the box. But I always got disappointed. Last experiment was Fedora 30. Nice, colorful installer, yes. But even that one failed at simple things like package selection (error: one of the package dependencies is not satisfied). How can that happen with a preselected selection of packages? Then the popup offered to change the selection or cancel and cancel just killed the whole installer. I had more problems like automatic reboot that failes because the system never actually shuts down but everything is hidden behind a pretty spinner. That's not only Fedora btw, I had more problems with KDE Neon and Linux Mint.
So, is it only me? Do I expect too much?
https://redd.it/cfkqr5
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - Is it normal that those supposed-to-be simple Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora or Mint fail to be simple?
6 votes and 38 comments so far on Reddit
Powered by Plasma: ALBA Synchrotron in Barcelona, Spain
https://dot.kde.org/2019/07/19/powered-plasma-alba-synchrotron-barcelona-spain
https://redd.it/cfjtl2
@r_linux
https://dot.kde.org/2019/07/19/powered-plasma-alba-synchrotron-barcelona-spain
https://redd.it/cfjtl2
@r_linux
KDE.news
Powered by Plasma: ALBA Synchrotron in Barcelona, Spain
As you go about your daily tasks, you’re probably unaware that Plasma runs on the computers in one of Europe’s largest research facilities. We were also oblivious – until we met Sergi Blanch-Torné at FOSDEM 2019. We’re always looking for interesting stories…
I actually run Multiple Distros, but I still found this funny, it's just to esoteric for /r/funny
https://redd.it/cfubh3
@r_linux
https://redd.it/cfubh3
@r_linux
Writing on Linux (stories and such).
I love Linux. I also love writing. If there are any authors who use linux what do you use to write your stories? Do you use vim or neovim? Or is there something else that you use. I am looking for something that is not in the way and will stay out of the way when I write which is why i dont use libre-office. I would like something that has a file explorer if possible so I can dig through my notes on the fly. Thank you in advance.
Edit: words and things
https://redd.it/cfuv5w
@r_linux
I love Linux. I also love writing. If there are any authors who use linux what do you use to write your stories? Do you use vim or neovim? Or is there something else that you use. I am looking for something that is not in the way and will stay out of the way when I write which is why i dont use libre-office. I would like something that has a file explorer if possible so I can dig through my notes on the fly. Thank you in advance.
Edit: words and things
https://redd.it/cfuv5w
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - Writing on Linux (stories and such).
0 votes and 5 comments so far on Reddit
The Unix Haters' Handbook (Take it with many grains of salt)
https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~weise/unix-haters.html
https://redd.it/cfuexd
@r_linux
https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~weise/unix-haters.html
https://redd.it/cfuexd
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - The Unix Haters' Handbook (Take it with many grains of salt)
4 votes and 3 comments so far on Reddit
Kinetic scrolling in Firefox Wayland makes scrolling feel better than on other Windows or Linux browsers (except GNOME Web)
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1213601#c112
https://redd.it/cfvh7u
@r_linux
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1213601#c112
https://redd.it/cfvh7u
@r_linux
bugzilla.mozilla.org
1213601 - Kinetic scrolling does not work on Linux
RESOLVED (val) in Core - Widget: Gtk. Last updated 2019-11-04.
Linux Wine
Hi, I am using MX linux and I installed wine64 1.8.7-2... It works for Cemu (Wii u emulator) and note++ but there are some softwares such as "send to kindle" don't work...
​
I googled for solution and realized that many tutorial install a version called WineHQ, current stable version is 4.0.1
​
are they different? which one are you using?
​
thanks
https://redd.it/cfwl61
@r_linux
Hi, I am using MX linux and I installed wine64 1.8.7-2... It works for Cemu (Wii u emulator) and note++ but there are some softwares such as "send to kindle" don't work...
​
I googled for solution and realized that many tutorial install a version called WineHQ, current stable version is 4.0.1
​
are they different? which one are you using?
​
thanks
https://redd.it/cfwl61
@r_linux
reddit
r/linux - Linux Wine
0 votes and 0 comments so far on Reddit