Penguin Platform
By “Free John” Kennedy, Advisor, Regions 3 and 6/7
THE BEST LINUX DISTROS OF 2018 – If you can’t stand the lackluster security of a Windows computer, but macOS is much too shallow, allow us to introduce you to Linux. It is, quite simply, the ultimate in open source software. The OS started out as being exclusive to regular x86 desktop PCs but has since found its way into everything from Android phones to Google Chromebooks. This guide, from TechRadarPeo, focuses on picking out the very best distros overall. Review it re: http://bit.ly/2sgQAFs
CHOOSING THE BEST LINUX DISTRO FOR DESKTOP 2018 – And another point of view. Searching for the best Linux distro (distribution)? This article will probably be most useful to those who don’t know what /etc/fstab is used for. Also, this post does not cover Linux server distributions, but instead focuses on Linux desktop distributions. One great way to increase your familiarity with Linux servers is to run Linux on your laptop and/or workstation. Get another person’s viewpoint/recommendation at this Hayden James blog post: http://bit.ly/2L79KEJ
HOW TO ADD A SHOW DESKTOP ICON TO UBUNTU DOCK / DASH TO DOCK – If you’re a Gnome Shell user and you’re missing having a Show Desktop icon on your dock to quickly show / hide all open windows, here’s a script to achieve this with the Ubuntu Dock, Dash to Dock, or any dock you may be using. Full instructions on Linux Uprising at this web page: http://bit.ly/2L5CVbb
COPYING AND RENAMING FILES ON LINUX – There’s more to copying and renaming files on Linux than cp and mv. Try some commands and strategies that might surprise you and save you some time. Linux users have for many decades been using simple cp and mv commands to copy and rename files. These commands are some of the first that most of us learned and are used every day by possibly millions of people. But there are other techniques, handy variations, and another command for renaming files that offers some unique options. Learn what these are from NetworkWorld: http://bit.ly/2JhUDLa
HOW TO CUSTOMIZE THE GNOME SHELL IN UBUNTU USING EXTENSIONS – Starting with Ubuntu 17.10, the GNOME 3 desktop is the default. There are many new features in Ubuntu 18.04, and you can even extend the functionality of the Ubuntu desktop with GNOME shell extensions. These extensions are add-ons for the GNOME desktop that either add new functionality or modify existing functionality to expand it, a bit like browser add-ons. Read more of this MakeUseOf article to find different ways to install and enable GNOME Shell extensions, how to remove extensions, and how to get notified of extension updates: http://bit.ly/2sOPShV
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST LINUX DISTRO FOR YOUR NEEDS – There are hundreds of Linux distributions and according to some people there are too many. For people new to Linux, however, it is tricky to know which Linux distro is best for them. This guide goes through the top Linux distros as listed at Distrowatch.com and gives a short description of each one as well as a table showing how easy they are to install, who they are for, level of expertise required and the desktop environment that they use. Find your Linux at this Lifewire article: http://bit.ly/2xpMwHX
DEBIAN-GOODIES – A SET OF USEFUL UTILITIES FOR DEBIAN AND UBUNTU USERS – Are you using a Debian-based system? Great! I am here today with good news for you. Say hello to “Debian-goodies”, a collection of useful utilities for Debian-based systems, like Ubuntu, Linux Mint. These set of utilities provides some additional useful commands which are not available by default in the Debian-based systems. To find out what these utilities are, check this article from OSTechNix at: http://bit.ly/2IVUOIT
22 ESSENTIAL LINUX SECURITY COMMANDS – If you’re looking after the security of Linux systems, these are the commands you must know. There are many aspects to security on Linux systems – from setting up accounts to ensuring that legitimate users have no more privilege than they need to do their jobs. This is a look at some of the most essential security commands for day-to-day work on Linux systems. Read the full article at NetworkWorld: http://bit.ly/2L2ND29
THE BEST LINUX DISTROS FOR EVERY KIND OF USER – There are Linux distributions (distros) for every niche and need. The best and most suitable Linux operating system for you depends on your specific needs and hardware. So, what’s the best Linux distro for you? Read this article from MakeUseOf to find out: http://bit.ly/2siCmDT
FEDORA 28 COMES WITH NEW SOFTWARE OPTIONS – On May 1, the Fedora Project announced the general availability of Fedora 28, which introduces a new software delivery system based on a modular repository. The new system provides alternative versions of the software and updates that come with the default release. Find out more from LinixInsider: http://bit.ly/2LCjhEV
A QUICK LOOK AT WHAT’S COMING TO KDE CONNECT – KDE Connect is a project that helps integrating Android devices with Linux desktops, allowing you to receive phone notifications on your Linux desktop, easily transfer files between Android devices and a desktop, use your phone as a desktop remote control, synchronize the clipboard across devices, and more.
While it’s created for KDE / Plasma desktop, KDE Connect works on any desktop, and there are various third-party implementations, like an Ubuntu AppIndicator, or the Gnome Shell GSConnect extension which implements the KDE Connect protocol for Gnome Shell, without requiring KDE dependencies. Read more about this new integrating piece of technology in the article from Linux Uprising at: http://bit.ly/2GYOLRV
HOW TO MOVE UBUNTU’S LAUNCHER BAR TO THE BOTTOM OR RIGHT – This works on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04, as Ubuntu now uses GNOME Shell instead of Unity. This trick doesn’t even require obscure terminal commands, as it did with the Unity desktop. You can move the launcher with just a few clicks. Find out how you can move the launcher bar in this How-To Geek article: http://bit.ly/2GyczMo
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE: WHAT IS IT, AND WHICH IS THE BEST? – If you were to take a time machine ride back to the late 1990’s and look at the Internet, there are some things you would notice. The main one would be the dominance of Microsoft products. Internet Explorer and the Office word-processing suite. Nowhere would there be any evidence of open source software.
If you got into that same time machine and moved forward at least a decade, you would see signs of Microsoft’s monopoly slackening. A lot of that has to do with open source projects. But what is open source? What are some of the best examples? Today we look at all of that and more. Read more of this groovyPost article: http://bit.ly/2Krnnhp
HOW TO ENABLE CLICK TO MINIMIZE ON UBUNTU – The launcher at the left-hand side in Ubuntu is a handy tool for quickly accessing applications. When you click on an icon in the launcher, the application window appears in focus.
If you click again on the icon of an application already in focus, the default behavior is to do nothing. This may bother you if you expect the application window to be minimized on the second click. This quick It’s FOSS tutorial shows you how to enable click to minimize option on Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 16.04: http://bit.ly/2xiDIn7
HOW TO PERMANENTLY CHANGE THE MAC ADDRESS ON LINUX – This article explains how to permanently change / spoof the MAC addresses of network interfaces. For this purpose, we’ll use Macchanger, a utility for manipulating MAC addresses, for which we’ll create a systemd unit to start it automatically on boot. Get the full set of instructions complete with detailed screenshots from Linux Uprising at: http://bit.ly/2IUXiHf