You & Linux, Small Business Distros, FreeDOS
The Linux Voice asked readers today, "How did you discover Linux?" Many of the comments are from those who started in the mid 1990's or earlier. ComputerWorld featured an interview with Jim Hall who's been spearheading the project to keep FreeDOS alive and TechRadar recommended the best distributions for small business. Elsewhere, the next Slackware will use UTF-8 by default and Dedoimedo said, "Linux is slowly killing itself."
My favorite feature of the day had to be Linux Voice's question: "How did you discover Linux?" They've received comments from users dating back to 1994. It was interesting how many were introduced through CDs that came with magazines of the era, others said their dad or university mates. Some early names mentioned were Corel, Slackware, and Red Hat. Phrases such as "16 single sided 360k floppies" and "22 floppy disks" peppered the recollections. Some of their stories made me feel like a newbie. I was one of those Steve Gibson/grc.com groupies, trying everything Steve said to secure Windows and stop it and its pals from spying. I was complaining in one of GRC's Usenet newsgroups about still not feeling secure and the other Windows shortcomings. A couple of guys, who were kinda the experienced helpers, suggested I should just try Linux (I believe one specifically mentioned Mandrake because it was "easy for beginners"). I don't remember the words they used to describe Linux, but I was interested. I began buying CDs in 1998 but it was Fall 2000 before I could bid adieu to Windows forever. Check out all the interesting stories at the Linux Voice Website.
Dedoimedo said today at OCS-Mag, "Linux is slowly killing itself." He began:
Looking at the state of the Linux desktop in the past 6-7 years, I can see a definite negative trend in terms of quality. Overall, it has held steady for a good solid four years, around 2010-2014, and then things have sort of started to slip.
Using his Lenovo G50 as his example, he said all kinds of things don't work anymore in Linux that used to. He listed battery life decreasing, connection dropping, multimedia support lacking, smart phone support missing, failing software managers, overridden with bugs, and some that won't even boot anymore. He thinks there are two main reasons for the decline which he pegs as hardware bugs that are never addressed and desktops becoming so complex distros can't keep up. "The pace is too fast, too wild, and our favorite operating system is unraveling. If things continue the way there are, Linux will just become irrelevant."
GIMP 2.9.4 was released today and announced by Wilber. "After half a year in the works, GIMP 2.9.4 delivers a massive update: revamped look and feel, major improvements in color management, as well as production-ready MyPaint Brush tool, symmetric painting, and split preview for GEGL-based filters." Source code is available for Linux and a Windows installer is coming shortly.
In other news:
* How (and why) FreeDOS keeps DOS alive
* Best Linux distros for small businesses (slideshow including Slackware 14.2)
* GNOME Board of Directors Announced