Ubuntu has quickly become the number one Linux distro for the desktop. Not only is it free, but it has also made Linux easier to use than ever. Now, Wubi enables Windows users to install Ubuntu just like any other application, so you no longer have to mess around with partitions, burning CDs, etc.
posted on Jan 21, 2008 - View this thread

Jess does Ubuntu! I know nothing about Ubuntu, but Metafilter's own jessamyn has inspired me to try this on my old PC before I donate it to a friend. (via)
posted on May 8, 2007 - View this thread

YouOS.com - A javascript powered web-based desktop operating system.
posted on Dec 28, 2006 - View this thread

The Croquet Project is a staggeringly ambitious attempt to create 'an operating system for the post-browser Internet' - a multi-platform, open-source, extensible, decentralised, peer-to-peer, 3D virtual reality metaverse [2,3], designed for 'highly scalable deep collaboration', led by Alan Kay.
posted on Oct 1, 2006 - View this thread

OSVids shows you how to install and use alternative operating systems. Currently demonstrating a wealth of Linux systems, Vista, and soon Mac OSX.
posted on Jun 26, 2006 - View this thread

hack your brain An insightful post on "ourselves". A interesting metaphor: your brain as an OS.
posted on Sep 10, 2005 - View this thread

Is Mac OS X Becoming Crufty? I definitely think so.
posted on Aug 2, 2005 - View this thread

Inventor of CTRL-ALT-DEL ridicules Bill Gates. "'I may have invented CTRL-ALT-DEL, but Bill Gates made it famous". Video clip of the episode, via TUAW, who say "The funniest part is the expression, or lack thereof, on the face of Bill."
posted on Jul 28, 2005 - View this thread

Whizzkid develops Linux application for Windows [...]The significance of the development is that Linux and Windows are able to work in parallel on the same computer or server. To[sic] now, the computer world is divided into systems that operate either with Windows or with Linux. [...]
posted on Apr 12, 2004 - View this thread

The secret source of Google's power

While competitors are targeting the individual applications Google has deployed, Google is building a massive, general purpose computing platform for web-scale programming.

SCO is at it again ... this time they've asked a federal judge to declare that Linux's general public license — a backbone of the free software movement — unconstitutional. Let's hope the judge has more sense than SCO.
posted on Oct 31, 2003 - View this thread

Why was I still writing for these clowns? Charlie Stross wrote the Linux column in UK magazine 'Computer Shopper' for over sixty months, until a regime change started to impinge on his editorial freedom. The last straw came when he submitted a column regarding weblogging tools for the Linux platform only for it to be bounced because the tools weren't actually part of the operating system ... so he produced this column for himself and emailed his resignation. Part of his decision was based on declining quality and sales. Does anyone still actively buy computer magazines anymore? [thanks Sore Eyes]
posted on Oct 16, 2003 - View this thread

Is it me, or does Mac Mentor sound like the name of a comic book super-villian? (Say it slow.)
posted on Jun 13, 2003 - View this thread

Which OS are you? I am Slackware Linux. This would make sense, if not for the fact that I use Win2K.
posted on Jun 2, 2003 - View this thread

Contiki is a multi-tasking, GUI operating system for the Commodore 64. It has TCP/IP support, which means you can access the internet , and even comes with a built-in web browser. The OS and all its programs come to a staggeringly small 42K.
Via /.
posted on Mar 10, 2003 - View this thread

Wal-Mart Ships PCs with Lindows Wal-Mart has stood up to MicroSoft's monopoly with its latest computer offerings, being sold sans Windows. The retailer is selling its super cheap boxes either without an OS or with the upstart LindowsOS. I guess I'll have to start shopping at WalMart to show my support!
posted on Jun 21, 2002 - View this thread

Ancient OS may be the best weapon against hackers. I thought this was great, aging Operating Systems such as Solaris and older versions of Mac Os are becoming valuable tools against electronic attacks, simply because they *are* older. (Anyone got the full set of floppies for System 7?) Link from RobotWisdom
posted on Jun 7, 2002 - View this thread

What Linux Really Needs: Non profit, public service announcements by a foundation formed expressly for that purpose. Whether you keep up with the OS fray or not, what a neat idea really. Trolls: Slashdot is burning! You're needed over there.
posted on Mar 3, 2002 - View this thread

Free Radio Linux is about to go online, reading the entire Linux kernel over the internet using the Ogg Vorbis codec. Free as in beer.
posted on Feb 3, 2002 - View this thread

Is Microsoft finally doing things right? According to this usability study putting Win98 and XP side by side, the answer seems to be affirmative - on favour of XP. Won't make me trade my Mac for a Wintel machine though.
posted on Nov 2, 2001 - View this thread

Can Linux be anything more than a Server/Developer OS without something like Eazel? Will the open-source community be able to do anything productive with its code? Or have we just reached a point where the OS is superfluous?
posted on May 16, 2001 - View this thread

VMware. Run the Operating Systems You Need, All at Once, on the One Machine.
posted on May 8, 2001 - View this thread

Every OS sucks... A nice little ditty (requires either windows media player or flash player).
posted on May 8, 2001 - View this thread

Linus doesn't hate Mac OS X after all. Contrary to what you may have heard, Linus Torvalds has said in an interview with LinuxWorld that he actually has nothing against Mac OS X--as some people here suspected, the original article seems to have been more aimed at creating controversy than at conveying information.
posted on Apr 11, 2001 - View this thread

Bill Gates created MacOS X? I came across this memo written by Bill Gates on July 29, 1985 to John Sculley, then president of Apple Computer. In the memo, Gates writes about the possibility of licensing the Macintosh operating system to third party companies. Here's where it get wierd, Bill suggests that Apple talk to AT&T about migrating the MacOS as a GUI layer on top of their UNIX. Makes me wonder who had the idea first, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?
posted on Apr 10, 2001 - View this thread

Wincent Colaiuta has seen and reviewed the new Mac OS but you can't read the review. He's encrypted the whole thing using PGP and he's not releasing the key until the OS is released. He says he's done this to avoid law suits from Apple.
I say he's begging for hits.
If he wanted to avoid lawsuits, he could just wait to publish the review...
posted on Mar 20, 2001 - View this thread

98lite IV is a cool tool that lets you strip most of bloat from Windows 9x (Me) installations. While trying to find the correct website, 98lite.net, I stumbled into 98lite.com, which is trying to sell pirated software for $25.00. The fine people at 98lite.net also offers a freeware IEradicator, which will cleanly uninstall any versions of IE from your Windows machine.
posted on Dec 17, 2000 - View this thread

Codeweavers, Windows software on Linux. I think the average consumer might be very interested in Linux, if they could run their current Windows programs on it. Another step closer to the end of Bill Gates' evil rule.
posted on Dec 14, 2000 - View this thread

Screen Wars, a decent stab by Stephen Levy from Newsweek/MSNBC at summarizing the changes afoot in desktop OS GUIs. Credit where credit is due for some notable Apple alums; more faith than is justified in .NET.
posted on Dec 5, 2000 - View this thread

Sign the petition to have Apple make the Mac OS X for the Intel platform. Hopefully Apple will Think Different.
posted on Sep 25, 2000 - View this thread

Lord, thank you for this. Mac users our prayers are being answered. No longer will the plagues of type 11 errors and system freezes rule over the people. The writings is on the wall and it is time for us to reign.
posted on Sep 18, 2000 - View this thread

IBM's Linux commercial. Part of their Avery Brooks "serious software" ad campaign, which I like a lot, I have to say.
posted on Jul 22, 2000 - View this thread

I don't care if it's the greatest operating system in the world.. It's still got a stupid name:
Doesn't Bell Labs' Plan 9 OS remind you of Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space?
Watching my Geek Rating drop to minus-23...
posted on Jun 8, 2000 - View this thread

RedHat Linux security problem uncovered. Today, apparently it was discovered that if you install the Piranha package with RedHat 6.2 (ostensibly part of the default installation, but there's controversy over this), a default password is installed that would give anyone access to the Piranha configuration package; from there, it is apparently trivial to execute any command on the box that you want.
I find it very interesting that the fact that Microsoft had a "backdoor password" in a DLL made huge news (and it turned out to be patently false), yet this has gotten almost no press. I'd like to think otherwise, but I know it's because people hate Microsoft, and thus are eager to deride it... and yet here's proof that even the mighty Linux is susceptible to the same exact problems.
Next time you reach for the keyboard to cry out "nyah nyah!" at the discovery of some problem with Windows, remember this...
posted on Apr 24, 2000 - View this thread

BeOS 5 will be free for download later this quarter. Smart move. I can't wait to try it out.
posted on Feb 18, 2000 - View this thread

Now that Sun's Solaris 8 OS is going to be free, and the BeOS too, I wonder if it's too little, too late. Will we see jumps in their respective shares of the OS market? Or is this a last ditch attempt to compete with Linux?
posted on Jan 27, 2000 - View this thread