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In 2020, I decided that I wanted to add some light gaming to my repertoire. I bought the most popular Logitech game controller on Amazon (the Logitech Gamepad F310), and I assumed that since it was so popular, it would work in CentOS 8 with no problems. When the gamepad arrived, I fired up Extreme Tux Racer, but the gamepad wasn’t recognized. In this article, I will describe why this lack of Logitech F310 gamepad support in CentOS 8 motivated me to switch from CentOS 8 to Pop!_OS 20.10.

I am a long-time C++ developer, and for more than 10 years, my Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of choice has been Code:: B locks. Code::Blocks is a completely free and open source IDE licensed under version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPL). In this article, I will show you how to set up a C++ development environment on Pop!_OS 20.10 by installing the latest version of Code::Blocks, version 20.03, which was released on March 29, 2020.

In this edition of The Linux Week in Review, I will demonstrate how to use tools readily available in GNU/Linux to do quality assurance checks on texts before submitting them to a professor, publisher, code reviewer, reader, editor, or other authority. The principles that I will present are applicable to ANYTHING, not just writing.

Devcoin is an ethically-based crypto-currency that is a direct descendant of Bitcoin. Devcoin has been developed specifically for funding open source projects. 90% of the Devcoins generated go to open source developers, and the remaining 10% go to Devcoin miners. Devcoins have the potential to revolutionize how open source projects receive funding.

A group of established business operators collude to lock a radical new upstart out of the marketplace (O’Toole, 2013). Does this sound familiar? It should: as proprietary software vendors tried to lock GNU/Linux out of the computer market, traditional car interests are trying to block Tesla Motors’ direct sales business model. In both cases, what is best for the consumer is a secondary concern to maintaining the old profit regimes.

I have been a faithful user of the Microsoft Windows operating systems for over two decades, starting with Windows 3.1 back in the early 1990s. Over the years, I upgraded to Windows 95, 98, Millennium, 2000, XP, Vista, and finally Windows 7. When I started using GNU/Linux in about 2004, I happily used GNU/Linux and Windows side-by-side, effortlessly switching between the two operating systems. However, Windows 8 would take me along a path that I cannot follow. It is time for me to finally get off of the Windows train.

Moodle is a free software Learning Management System (LMS) that is taking the educational world by storm. It is bringing advanced features that used to only exist in expensive commercial products to the educational community.

Moodle is a free software Learning Management System (LMS) that is taking the educational world my storm. It is bringing advanced features that used to only exist in expensive commercial products to the educational community.

On January 15, 2013, Fedora 18 was released, after a few delays. I’ve had F18 running on my Toshiba laptop for about a month-and-a-half now. In TLWIR 54, I’ll give you some of my impressions of the latest and greatest Fedora operating system.

In The Linux Week In Review 52, I talked about the need for a Linux Reference System, a GNU/Linux computer guaranteed to work with the latest free software and drivers. In TLWIR 53, I will present some ideas on how to fix the broken U.S. patent system.

In TLWIR 51, I talked about how Coreboot might provide a solution to the confusion created by the Secure Boot fiasco. In the Linux Week in Review 52, I’ll talk about the need for a GNU/Linux reference system. In this “gold standard” system, all of the installed hardware would be known to work perfectly with the latest version of the Linux kernel.

Is it possible that the recent attempts to push secure boot onto computer users was a response to the growing hardware vendor support for coreboot back in 2011? This is only speculation on my part, but I suspect that this might be the case. Coreboot is a badly need solution that can restore freedom to PC users while updating the outdated PC BIOS technology.

In The Linux Week in Review 49, I showed you how to reliably print to a printer connected to a Windows 7 computer. This article is for those who don’t want to depend on a Windows machine for printing. In TLWIR 50, I will show you how to print directly from GNU/Linux to a WiFi-enabled printer. My case study uses a Canon MP560 all-in-one WiFi-enabled printer.

I try to use GNU/Linux solutions whenever I can. However, one exception to this rule is the printing process in my home. I have one printer, and it is connected to my Windows 7 machine. As GNU/Linux becomes more popular in homes and businesses, it is becoming more common to see mixed GNU/Linux-Windows environments. Printing from GNU/Linux to Windows 7 using Samba did NOT work for me reliably, but I have found a method that works 100% of the time. In The Linux Week in Review 49, I’ll explain how to set up a 100% dependable GNU/Linux-to-Windows 7 printing network. The video at the end of TLWIR 49 demonstrating the entire setup process from beginning to end.

Let’s face it: we all have biases. I readily admit that I have a very clear bias in favor of Free Software. There is no human being that is truly objective and neutral. However, in the modern world of technology blogging, these biases are often cleverly hidden. “Studies” are released without revealing the true motivations behind those that conducted the study. In The Linux Week in Review 48, I will take a closer look at this growing problem.

Limerick, Ireland has embraced Free Software in a move that demonstrates a continue global shift away from vendor lock-in. Writing a lot has forced me to learn how to write efficiently. Again, Free Software came to the rescue in the form of Gedit and Notepad++ tabs.

I applaud the European Union for trying to persuade Microsoft Corporation to allow more competition in Windows 8. However, they are trying to solve the wrong problem. In The Linux Week in Review 45, I will give give my opinion as to what problem we should REALLY be trying to solve.

Free software and open source concepts have spread into areas where they were never intended to go. Crowdsourcing, a cousin of open source, is growing in popularity as a way for people to share information, get better deals, and to make micro-contributions to society. Over the last few weeks, I have been playing around with some great gps apps, each of which takes a different approach to crowdsourcing: GasBuddy, NavFree USA, and Waze. In The Linux Week in Review 44, I would like to focus on one of the most impressive Android apps that I have found in a long time: Waze.

Wikipedia defines a cabal as a type of conspiracy where like-minded officials form an association to further the group’s shared cause. This is exactly what is happening: a group of software and hardware engineers have decided that GNU/Linux may be the road forward as Windows 8’s arrival looms. What is happening is inevitable: NOTHING lasts forever.

Close your eyes and imagine this scenario: Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer wakes up one day and says: “God, I love LibreOffice! It is a great alternative to Microsoft Office, and it makes people more enthusiastic about office suites in general!” Would this ever happen in a BILLION years? Probably not. Yet Red Hat’s CEO, the amazing Linux gentleman named Jim Whitehurst, recently said that he loves CENTOS. Nothing could me more demonstrative of how differently the Free Software community operates and thinks. Hatred and fierce competition are slowly being replaced by sharing and collaboration. Is this a better system? Only history will be able to answer that question. But it will certainly be a fascinating ride.