Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS Linux distro released
Linux users can often be broken down into two groups: minimalists and maximalists. Minimalists generally prefer lightweight distributions with little bundled software. But maximalists want everything thrown in, including the kitchen sink. Ultimate Edition is a maximalist distribution, and a new version has just been released for Christmas.
Marius Nestor reports for Softpedia:
TheeMahn, the developer behind the Ubuntu-based Ultimate Edition Linux operating system, has had the great pleasure of announcing the general availability for download of Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS.
According to the release notes, which were published a couple of days ago on the project's website, the Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS operating system comes in multiple editions, and it is intended as the developers' Christmas gift for their user base, bringing support for the ARM hardware architectures as well as various other goodies.
There are three editions available for the Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS release: the Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS MATE Lite for 64-bit and 32-bit computers, Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS ARMhf, and Ultimate Edition 4.2.3 LTS ARMhf Lite. On the other hand, there's also Ultimate Edition 4.9 for 64-bit systems.
Are you an Android or iPhone person?
Nothing brings out the ... er ... best in people like picking a side in the ongoing war between Android and the iPhone. A recent Consumer Reports study indicates that people often start out with Android and then eventually migrate to the iPhone.
Mike Gikas reports for Consumer Reports:
My wife hates her Samsung Galaxy S 5, an oldie-but-goodie Android smartphone that still scores near the top of our Ratings. Oh, she's grateful that her Galaxy's battery, unlike the iPhone 5's can last a day on a single charge. And she appreciates that the relatively big display on the Samsung helps her squint less. But she's still not an Android person. The gesture controls and widgets and other customizing options that define Android smartphones are lost on her.
She's not alone. Consumers are loyal to their smartphone operating system, according to a nationally representative survey on mobile devices by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
The survey found that among those who purchased a new smartphone in the past six months and stayed with their previous operating system, 73 percent had been using that operating system for three or more years. But when people did switch operating systems, they migrated from Android to iOS more often than the other way around.
The fight for Free Software continues
Free Software can often be a confusing idea for some folks to wrap their heads around. What does it really mean? And where did it come from? Linux Voice takes a look at the history of free software and delves into what it really means for those who believe in it.
Graham Morrison reports for Linux Voice:
There's a problem with the word "free." Specifically, it can refer to something that costs no money, or something that isn't held down by restrictions -- in other words, something that has liberty. This difference is crucial when we talk about software, because free (as in cost) software doesn't necessarily give you freedom. There are plenty of no-cost applications out there that spy on you, steal your data, and try to lock you in to specific file formats. And you certainly can't get the source code to them.
To make the distinction clearer, many people refer to free (as in liberty) software as a proper noun: Free Software. But it's important to note that Free Software didn't just pop up as an idea one day, as a "wouldn't it be cool" notion from some hackers in a pub. The principles behind Free Software go back to the early days of computing, and many people have fought long and hard to protect freedom in computing, even when all hope looked lost.
So this issue we want to delve deep into the world of Free Software: where exactly did it come from, why is it important, and what challenges are ahead. We also look at the differences in licences, one of the thorniest issues in FOSS, especially when people have different definitions of "free". But let's start by going back to the early days of computing, when the world was a simpler, happier place…
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