Why do you use linux?
Linux has much to offer any user, and people run it on their computers for lots of different reasons. One redditor recently asked why his fellow redditors are running Linux on their machines, and he got some interesting answers.
Undergrownaverage started the thread with these questions:
Why do you use linux?
From what I've heard and seen Linux is just a basic OS (I've only used Ubuntu).
Is there a reason why you use Linux and not windows or OSX?
More at Reddit
His fellow redditors responded with their thoughts:
Snisser147: “Speed
It's free
Privacy
Stability
Security
Workflow
Terminal <3
Package manager
Good for programming
Theming & Customization -> Looks pretty good!
Does everything I need to do extremely good/fast/reliably
Linux is just a joy to use IMHO! :)”
Djcabbagehead: “Because Free as in FREEDOM.”
JoJo)Pose: “I watched as MS tripped over itself with Windows 8. "That's fine, I'll stick with 7" I said. Then my hopes for Windows 10 were dashed, and I said "that's fine, I'll stick with 7".
Then they started backporting telemetry under hidden security updates and kept un-hiding the windows updates I'd hidden for the windows 10 upgrade. I just said…it and grabbed Mint.>”
Gabboman: “Because I love it, I love tweaking it, and I love breaking it to fix it again.”
Cismalescumlord: “The big one is trust.”
Drdeadringers: “I can't even remember what the last straw was, but I had just got plain fed up with Windows. A mountain of annoyances and a waste of time.
iOS has it's own rolling hills of annoyances, but so far is almost tolerable.
Linux... oh look, I can use my computer. Who would have thunk?”
Somaek: “I'd love to say that it is because GNU/Linux respects my freedom and that I love and support the FLOSS movement. While those things are certainly true, I am a tinkerer. I love to mess with things and customize them. No other platform allows the for the amount of tweaking, mixing and matching, and tinkering than Linux.
I have also found that I can usually find a linux distribution that runs more stably and efficiently than whatever proprietary software, which shipped with whatever hardware I purchased.”
AtmosphereLabor: “Trust
Cost
Freedom
Privacy
Workflow (all my servers are linux based)
Speed and less bloat
Customization
Windows 10 was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Couldn't swallow that pill and finally made the jump full time.”
Tea-drinker: “Windows comes in lite, home, office, pro, ultimate, post-truth, cherry, and windows for warships editions. You get what you pay for. Warship not included.
Linux comes in industrial grade let's-get-it-done edition.
When I started learning Swedish, Microsoft offered to sell me a language pack for windows. And another one for office.
When I switched languages on Linux, I clicked ok and everything from the command line up changed over.”
0x6f6d67686178: “Native package management
Powerful CLI
FLOSS Programmer-oriented features
Relatively fast security patches
Long-term support
Stability
Variety of desktop environments
Runs on many different architectures
Lack of data mining
Many things run Linux -- routers, IoT devices, Android phones, and more. As such, familiarity with Linux is useful in a lot of situations.
That being said, I don't exclusively use Linux.”
More at Reddit
5 best Android features you should be usingAndroid has tons of great features that sometimes get ignored or forgotten about by users. A writer at Forbes has a list of 5 Android features that you should consider using on your phone.
Ryan Whitwam reports for Forbes:
Android does a lot of neat things; so many that it can be hard to keep track. You may even be unaware of some of the coolest, most useful features your phone has to offer. Rather than dig around in the menus and settings to find everything, here are the five best features of Android that you probably aren't using. These are things that are disabled or simply hidden by default, but a few quick taps can make them part of your repertoire.
Data Usage Tracking
Scheduled Do Not Disturb
Smart Lock
Screen Pinning
App Standby
More at Forbes
Android malware disguised as Super Mario RunSuper Mario Run has not yet been released for Android, but that’s not stopping some unsavory people from releasing malware disguised as Nintendo’s popular mobile game.
Danny Palmer reports for ZDNet:
Cybercriminals are taking advantage of Android users who are desperate to play Nintendo's wildly popular Super Mario Run mobile game, in order to spread the notorious Marcher banking Trojan malware.
…some desperate users are looking for ways to gain access to it on Android by attempting to download versions from third-party websites. And, much like they did when Android users wanted to download Pokemon Go before it was available, attackers are actively looking to exploit that demand by tricking users into downloading the bank information stealing Marcher Trojan.
The Marcher malware has been around since March 2013, and has repeatedly evolved in order dupe unsuspecting victims into installing it, even posing as an Android firmware update, then tricking users into entering their banking details into a fake overlay page which hands them directly to the attackers.
Now, cybersecurity researchers at Zscaler have warned that the Trojan is disguising itself as Super Mario Run in a new effort to steal financial account details and credit card numbers from those most desperate to download the game on Android by bypassing the official Google Play store.
More at ZDNet
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