The Linux Rifle, Benefits, and Netflix
Our top story tonight on this Monday August 11, 2014 is Arstechnica.com's hands-on review of a Linux-powered AR-15. Elsewhere, Matt Hartley discusses the pros and cons of running Linux; David Anderson attempts to answer the is Linux more secure than Windows question; and Bryan Lunduke posts his opinion of KDE Plasma. And that's not all.
Arstechnica's Lee Hutchinson was recently out on the range with America's greatest achievement since Linux was installed on a potato, TrackingPoint's AR 556 and AR 762 Linux assault rifles. There are several models to choose from now and there's a waiting list. Company spokesman said the wait is down to a few weeks now. The larger models can cost between $20,000 - $30,000, but the ARs can be had for around $10,000. But go read all of Hutchinson's article for all the details and lots of pictures.
Matt Hartley today discussed the "benefits" and "challenges" of Linux. Under the benefit column is "free." Of course, that's first. He also mentions the different desktop choices as well as amazing hardware detection. The oddball piece of hardware and security problems continue to be among the challenges. See his full post at www.datamation.com.
David K. Anderson said today, "Though there are benefits to both operating systems, eternal vigilance is required to mitigate risk regardless of which OS you choose." He says he wants to say Linux is more secure, but he concludes that all operating systems need to be secured (even if some are more hassle than others). Catch that full post at www.automationworld.com.
Bryan Lunduke has been doing this series on Linux desktops and today he posted his opinion of KDE Plasma desktop under KDE 4.13. He begins by saying that only Unity would use more system resources than KDE. Although he's always liked KDE and that 4.13 "runs like greased lightning," the visual effects "made him cranky." Don't miss that full post, also with links to his other desktop reviews. Speaking of desktops, Gary Newell last week posted "a guide to the various desktop environments available and the distributions that use them."
In other news:
* How To Watch Netflix on Ubuntu The Easy Way
* DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 571, 11 August 2014
* The Witcher 2 Should Now Be Offering Faster Performance
* Gentoo Monthly Newsletter: July 2014
* Business must ‘wake up to the benefits’ of ever-growing open source software sector