When Google introduced two-factor authentication for the Google and Google Apps accounts, they also created a pluggable authentication module (PAM) for Linux. This is great news for people running Linux servers who want to protect their remotely-accessible SSH accounts with two-factor authentication. For free.

Read the full thing at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/two-factor-ssh-authentication-via-google-secures-linux-logins/2607

Just under a year ago I wrote about how Adobe had abandoned 64-bit Linux, at least temporarily. Linux users who chose to run a 64-bit OS were left with a range of unsatisfactory choices: use an outdated beta with known security vulnerabilities; run an FOSS alternative, most likely gnash, despite limits in functionality and compatibility; or run a 32-bit browser in a 64-bit operating system.

Read the full thing at http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2011/06/one-year-later-adobe-abandons.html

One thing that keeps Linux in the back foot is the lack of good quality applications that can compete with the best out there. The advent of paid softwares section in Ubuntu Software Center is a start, things like that can kick start application development for Linux in a big way. But things were not as bad I thought it would be. On further browsing, I found out that there are indeed a good number of paid applications for Linux, some of them were a total surprise for me. Here are some of those paid applications for Linux which I found interesting.

Read the full thing at http://www.techdrivein.com/2011/05/10-commercial-apps-for-linux-that-i.html

Fedora 15 is out. Get it while it is hot! It is probably the biggest distribution release of a all time with being first in shipping both GNOME 3 and systemd.

Since this is the first distribution release based on systemd, it might be interesting to read up on what it is all about. Here's a little compilation of the available documentation for systemd.

Read the full thing at http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/systemd-docs.html

Ubuntu and Fedora are arguably the most popular Linux distros out there today. They both make a huge impact on the Linux community release after release, but are somewhat opposite philosphies at times. Fedora, the RedHat-sponsored community project is adamant of RPM packages, while Ubuntu is based on Debian and therefore uses DEB packages. Fedora maintains that RedHat corporate environment vibe to it, more like a specialised distro, the perfect choice for developers. Ubuntu, on the other hand, based its strategy around creating "Linux for human beings", a friendly desktop environment that is accessible to all kinds of users.

Read the full thing at http://cristalinux.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-painlessly-switch-from-ubuntu-to.html

I announced in April that as of today, I wouldn't be writing any more articles for Groklaw. I intended to finish the Comes v. Microsoft exhibits as text and perfect some of our other collections and then I would retire from Groklaw, knowing as I did that the research we have done together will remain useful no matter what happens in the future.

Read the full thing at http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110515173831922

CoffeeScript is a simple, clean, fast language which compiles to JavaScript, either at build time, with a caching framework plugin on the server, or at runtime in the browser.

The syntax looks like a cross between Python and Haskell and, generally speaking, is used similarly enough to Python that you’ll have little trouble picking it up and using it comfortably.

Read the full thing at http://blog.ssokolow.com/archives/2011/05/07/a-python-programmers-first-impression-of-coffeescript/

As programmers, we deal with a lot of unusual keyboard characters that typical users rarely need to type, much less think about.

Even the characters that are fairly regularly used in everyday writing -- such as the humble dash, parens, period, and question mark -- have radically different meaning in programming languages.

Read the full thing at http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/06/ascii-pronunciation-rules-for-programmers.html

I often get the feeling that developers of the major Linux desktop environments suffer from commercial envy. It seems they’re always trying to make Linux more “user friendly” for the .01% of Windows or Mac users that might halfway consider making the switch, while ever increasingly ignoring the 99% of full time Linux desktop users who just want easy customization and solid performance. Many argue that the major environments (KDE, GNOME) aren’t for Linux power users, who should use one of the more bare bones environments available.

Read the full thing at http://onezerothrice.com/?p=233

MeeGo is a flavor of Linux, with a similar purpose as Android in the mobile computing space (being a versatile, open-source OS for phones, tablets and other mobile devices).

I root for MeeGo because it has a lot of advantages over Android and iOS

Read the full thing at http://soltesza.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/why-i-root-for-meego/