linux

It really seems that Chrome OS is being groomed to be the one OS that runs them all. Well almost all. In addition to its native Chrome-based platform, it now supports Android through Google Play Store and, just recently, Linux. Because of those two, it is also possible to run Windows programs to some extent. CodeWeavers, which develops software for running Windows programs on Mac and Linux, has just shown what could be a better way to run those same programs on a Chromebook.

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Thanks to the antics of some of your favorite, and not so favorite, tech companies, there has been a lot of focus and frenzy shed on privacy. If you really think about it, no one and nothing is safe from these corporate giants, from always-listening and sometimes-recording smart speakers to even your supposedly silent and deaf smartphone. There has never been a more opportune time for products that champion privacy and the user to come out of hiding. And, if all goes well, one such product will be available for purchase at the start of 2019: the privacy-focused, freedom-loving, Linux-based open source Purism Librem 5.

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This morning the Steam Link app was released for Android devices in BETA mode. A release in Beta on Android means there'll probably be a few bugs left to work out. If you're alright with a few tiny insects, now might be the best time for you to download the app.

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Wear OS by Google, the wearable platform formerly known as Android Wear, is based on Android and, therefore, technically and legally open source. But just like Android itself, development doesn't exactly happen in the open completely and there are some parts that are proprietary to Google. That is especially frustrating for smartwatch believers, especially when their wearables get abandoned and outdated. Now they might have a choice with the first stable release of AsteroidOS, a completely open source operating system designed not just to run on Wear OS smartwatches but also to give the community a hand in its development.

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Chrome OS is slowly but surely transforming into an all-in-one, general purpose operating system, the Google OS that many might have been waiting for. While running Windows software is still a bit roundabout, Chrome OS already supports directly running Android apps and, announced at I/O 2018, now Linux apps as well. More than just simply increasing the number of things you can run on a Chromebook, this move opens up the platform for development, including creating Android apps right on Chromebooks.

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Who needs a combined Android and Chrome OS when Chrome OS can pretty much run it all. There's native Chrome OS, of course, and official Android support via Google Play Store. There's even preliminary Windows support via WINE for Android on Chrome OS. And, soon, Chromebooks might be able to run Linux programs as well. That possibility already was hinted at last February but might be coming really soon with the appearance of the Terminal app in Chrome OS' dev channel.

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Steam Machines have failed, at least commercially. There’s hardly any argument there. Even Valve itself admits as much. Valve, however, would not concede defeat and promises to remain committed to pushing Linux gaming forward. Some might see it as simple lip service to calm SteamOS fans. Others might see it as a pointless endeavor and business suicide. And yet, if Valve’s dreams are to become reality, it really doesn’t have much choice to stick to its Linux guns for the long term and these are the reasons why.

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Earlier this week, we ushered in the month of April by discovering that Valve had removed mention of Steam Machines - pre-built PCs that run SteamOS - from its hardware listings on Steam's main page. Many people, including me, took this to mean that Valve was moving away from Steam Machines, which haven't been heavily promoted for a couple of years now. Today, Valve spoke out about why it removed the PCs from Steam's main store page, and what that means for other products like SteamOS.

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There's a Hifi music player called HiBy R3 out in the wild this week, and it's made for Tidal alone. This is a mobile music player made by the folks at HiBy Music. It has a touchscreen and connects to Wi-Fi to play music specifically and solely through Tidal. It's not made by Tidal, but it works with its own version of the Tidal app - and that's it. This is the specificity you've been waiting for.

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It’s not unusual to hear giant companies being sued left and right, by other companies or by customers via a class action suit. And it’s also not unusual to hear about those lawsuits dragging on for years. That was indeed the case with the “fat” PlayStation 3 when Sony removed its advertised “OtherOS” feature. Six years later, Sony decided to settle the lawsuit for what is basically loose change for the company. Now those who wish to claim a part of that settlement have to do so until April or else forfeit that $65 forever.

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This week developer rom1v released an application for Mac, Windows, and Linux which makes Android appear on a desktop. The user has only to connect their smartphone to their desktop computer with a USB cord, and the Android's home screen appears on their desktop's screen. From there, mouse clicks and keyboard entry work and the phone's functions are all available from the desktop, with little to no lag whatsoever.*

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Technically speaking, it has always been possible to run different flavors of Linux on top of Windows. None of those methods have been easy, much less official. Especially considering how the old guard at Redmond was almost viciously antagonistic towards the open source operating system. So when Microsoft announced its efforts to bring a slice of Linux to Windows 10 via the Windows Subsystem for Linux, it was almost like hell froze over yet again and something that probably wouldn’t last. Now it seems that WSL is serious and seriously here to stay, with heavyweights like Debian and Kali Linux joining other Linux distros available on the Windows Store.

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