The fun of open source
Doghouse – Real Values

A great part of early Linux was the fun – of programming, sharing, meeting others – and it's worth cultivating now.
I have been going through my digital pictures this past week looking for illustrations to use in articles. Most of these pictures reach back to 1994 and are arranged by date and the city or event where they were taken.
As I went through them, I realized a couple of things. First of all, there were not only people that had slipped my memory, but even the event or city had been "forgotten." The amazing thing about the human mind, however, is that you never really forget anything that you ever consciously do, so even though I had forgotten about some of them, the pictures often reminded me of great times with great people.
Free software was at the core of this. Throughout my lifetime (or at least from the time that I was a university student and finding out about computers for the first time) people sharing their skills and knowledge through their software has propelled my learning, my career, and my persona. People tried to help me, and I hope I have not only paid it back but also have "paid it forward" to others.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
There's a New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle is a Linux AI assistant that can work with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.