Articles by Jack M. Germain

GitHub has made it easier for open source developers to garner financial support as recipients of paid sponsorships GitHub Sponsors, launched in beta last week, is a new funding mechanism that enables open source users to make recurring payments, much like crowdfunding services such as Patreon and managed open source subscription services backed by...

Aside from malware and viruses, nothing has the potential to be more dangerous to your computer's health than power outages. Here is how to ensure your computer keeps its boot on when a power failure turns the lights off With the approach of the turbulent summer season, it is important to know what kills the electrical lifeline, how to safeguard yo...

Linux Mint may no longer be an ideal choice for above-par performance out of the box, but it can still serve diehard users well with the right amount of post-installation tinkering The Linux Mint distro clearly is the gold standard for measuring Cinnamon desktop integration. Linux Mint's developers turned the GNOME desktop alternative into one of t...

Budgeting apps come in all sizes and shapes. Budget apps for Linux are part of a software category that has been all but abandoned. But take heart. Several Web-based solutions will more than meet your budget-tracking needs. If you still insist on finding a pure Linux-based application, do not mix the concept of open source with free If you want a f...

Flexa on Monday launched a new digital payment network that uses cryptocurrencies to cut processing costs, eliminate fraud and preserve users' privacy The network uses Flexa's Spedn app to process consumer transactions at cooperating merchants. The new payment platform makes it possible to spend Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and th...

Microsoft this week announced that its own full Linux kernel will power WSL2, the newest version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) This marks the first time that Microsoft will include the Linux kernel as a component in Windows. Microsoft also introduced a Windows command line terminal that will add functionality to PowerShell and WSL....

Are you Looking for a hassle-free Linux operating system that is very user-friendly and extremely stable? Pop!_OS from System76 is a prime candidate to fit that order Pop!_OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring a custom GNOME desktop. Custom is *the* essential part of that description. The developers have done an impressive job of tailo...

Almost two years after the infamous Equifax breach, many organizations still struggle to identify and manage open source risk across their application portfolios Meanwhile, the latest report tracking open source security shows a 40 percent rise in the average number of open source components detected in each codebase analyzed. The scanned software ...

A new Linux OS gets to the core of Linux computing with a revamped desktop environment and a new way to have fun with your daily computing tasks. Developer Jacque Montague Raymer on Monday debuted the MakuluLinux Core OS. He hopes Core becomes the crown jewel of the Series 15 release family.

Feren OS might well be the Linux computing game-changer that lures you away from your current operating system Feren OS is based on Linux Mint 19 and the Cinnamon desktop environment that Linux Mint devs developed. This distro currently does not give you any other desktop options. However, it comes with a wide assortment of configuration choices th...

Red Hat is the new keeper of the keys to two popular versions of the open-source Java implementation, OpenJDK 8 and OpenJDK 11. The company has taken over stewardship from Oracle, it announced last week Oracle ended commercial support for Java 8 and the Oracle JDK 8 implementation of Java SE last year. Oracle left the enterprise Java business when ...

Hackers piggybacked onto a Microsoft customer support portal between Jan. 1 and March 28 to gain access to the emails of noncorporate account holders on webmail services Microsoft manages, including MSN.com, Hotmail.com and Outlook.com Microsoft has confirmed that a "limited" number of customers who use its Web service had their accounts compromise...

Q4OS and the little-known Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) form an unbeatable combination that provides a powerful, flexible computing platform I periodically revisit releases of interesting Linux distros and develop new desktops in my weekly quest for exciting and innovative choices. I am always looking to tweak my Linux OS productivity. Some of ...

Microsoft on Monday released the first Dev and Canary channel builds of the next version of Microsoft Edge, which is based on the Chromium open source project. The company last year revealed that it was reworking its Edge browser to be based on Chromium. Now the latest developments are ready for early testers and adopters on several versions of Wi...

The type of organizing tools you use to plan your projects can make your work routine more efficient and improve your productivity. A project management application is an essential tool in some business environments This week's Linux Picks and Pans takes a deep dive into some of the best project management software solutions available for the Linux...

The Zorin OS 15 series, released last week in beta, introduces many changes to its desktop interface and utilities. It keeps Zorin on track with its goal of maintaining a Linux OS for everyone, not just advanced Linux users....

Telegram Messaging on Sunday announced a new privacy rights feature that allows user to delete not only their own comments, but also those of all other participants in the message thread on all devices that received the conversation. Although the move is meant to bolster privacy, it's likely to spark some controversy Telegram, a cloud-based instant...

SparkyLinux is a Linux distro that can ignite your daily computing experience. Its spark is pushing me to rethink my computing priorities Regularly reviewing so many Linux operating systems for Linux Picks and Pans has serious consequences for my computing sanity. I normally have a flirtatious episode with a new release each week, and I'm always on...

MORE Technologies last week launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise US$20,000 for development of its open source robot ecosystem The company will fund the project if it reaches its goal by April 21. As of this writing, $6,485 of that $20,000 goal has been pledged....

Time-tracking software records the time you spend on tasks. The time-tracking helps you create billing reports, prepare invoices, and analyze your workflow for better efficiency. This week's Linux Picks and Pans product review highlights some of the best free time-tracking applications for Linux. The apps included in this roundup are not presented...