Coming Home

It will always be about freedom. I have long contended that the ordinary desktop user cannot afford to become a partisan for any operating system or software. I don't begrudge partisans their love; we all need a place to call home. What I can never appreciate is the degree to which a vocal minority have so identified themselves with their favorite OS/distro that anything less than worship is taken as a personal insult. My sense is that, thankfully, most Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) users are not there.

Gurus versus Newbies

There is no lack of publicity these days knocking The Redmond Giant for its inherently insecure software. There's even a recently announced lawsuit against them for just that. Those of us who have actively promoted Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) are now hoping that, finally, the balance of perception with the average computer user is in our favor.

Learning to Walk: A Linux User Migrates to FreeBSD

If you haven't read part 1 of this -- "Babe in the Woods: A Linux User Migrates to FreeBSD" -- you may be at a loss. For those who did read it, many are still at a loss. That is, they didn't grasp the subtle purpose behind the article. Of those who commented, most were hardcore geeks, the techies who are in a position to really understand computers.

FIRST LOOK: Mandrake Linux 9.2 Discovery Edition

It's official. By the time you read this, Mandrake Linux 9.2 will be available to Mandrake Club members around the world. Mandrake Linux 9.2 marks the first release from the “big 3” distributors in about six months. If you're wondering whether you should rush out and install it, read on for our first look at a distribution from the Fall 2003 distribution release cycle.

Babe in the Woods: A Linux User Migrates to FreeBSD

Most people know what GNU/Linux is, but fewer know about BSD and fewer still have actually used one of the major BSD variants (other than the highly customized Mac OS X). Ed Hurst, a writer and a long time GNU/Linux user, decided to give FreeBSD a try. Will Ed join the ranks of happy FreeBSD users? Read on to find out.

SCO Goes After SGI

Silicon Graphics Inc says that it has received notice from SCO Group Inc that the Unix vendor intends to terminate its Unix System V license on the basis that SGI has breached the terms of the license.

OfB Open Choice Awards 2003

Choosing the best of the best in different sectors of GNU/Linux products and services is not an easy task. In many cases, there was more than one contender that was worthy of an award in any given category. However, we attempted to select the easiest to use, most robust, most promising, and - when possible - most free (as in freedom) products for the Open Choice Awards 2003.

Mandrake 9.1 Tips & Tricks

Here
is a brief list of some useful suggestions for any user

interested in getting a better use of a Mandrake installation.

These are derived mainly from my own personal experience, so

use at your own risk.

A Free Desktop for Free People

This is a critical review of the installation, setup and actual performance of the Mandrake distribution of the GNU/Linux operating system, version 9.1, and comes as a second part of OfB.biz's Mandrake review. (You can see part I here.) The review will cover these areas: (1) Installation and install-related setup; (2) Post-installation system administration; and (3) System performance. The review will end with a general evaluation and will assign grades on relevant areas.

A Galaxy of Possibility Part 1: Mandrake 9.1 ProSuite

Our last consideration of Mandrake Linux was early this year when my colleague Eduardo Sanchez thoroughly reviewed Mandrake 9.0. In that review, Sanchez noted the numerous advances made in 9.0, but also reported some serious flaws that somewhat limited his enthusiasm. With that considered, we were anxious to find out if 9.1 could again return Mandrake to the amazing quality achieved in release 8.2.