The term "vendor lock-in" has been in common parlance for as long as I've been working on this magazine. We don't talk about vendor lock-in as much as we used to, but everyone knows it is still out there, operating in evermore subtle ways to take choice away from users.

In the news: Two New Distros Adopt Enlightenment; Solus Linux 4.8 Removes Python 2; Zorin OS 18 Hits over a Million Downloads; TUXEDO Computers Scraps Snapdragon X1E-Based Laptop; Debian Unleashes Debian Libre Live; Valve Announces Pending Release of Steam Machine; and Happy Birthday, ADMIN Magazine!

Chronicler Zack Brown discusses AI in the kernel.

Linux users bristle at the whole idea of getting "tracked," but pixel tracking is built into the very foundation of the commercial web. We examine the dark art of pixel tracking and tell you about some tools that will keep the trackers at bay.

Nate explores Devuan 6.0, SparkyLinux 8.1, Zorin OS 18, and BesGnuLinux JWM 3-1.

Gemini CLI helps you write, debug, and test your code, all from the command line.

With bandwhich, you can quickly see the current network load on your computer.

Every pen test begins with information gathering. Give yourself a head start with the Shodan search engine and its powerful toolkit.

Video codecs help reduce bandwidth and save storage space. We compare AVI and VVC to help you decide which one is right for you.

If you're processing a group of files in a single command pipe, the xargs tool just might save you some precious execution time.