A question from John.P in Texas: “…About the poll called “Are you considering a switch from Windows to Linux?” I see that almost 47% of visitors say “Yes” (so did I). I am an XP user and was wondering if you can post a short note for advice about switching to Linux?…“spacer_gif Switching From XP to Linux - Should You?

We here at Make Use Of try to make your switch to Linux as smooth as possible, which includes using simple and common terminology. However there are plenty of terms that are unavoidable or at least impractical to avoid. Some terms we can explain as we go along, but some are so common that they would need explaining in every article.

"Maybe this is old news, but I was checking Facebook’s terms of use to see if something had changed since the last time I saw them. But everytime I read this, I keep getting surprised and annoyed. The following is the exact quote from the terms of use that makes me think twice about uploading any pictures to my photo gallery..."

Operating systems seem to have received more attention these days than they have ever before, and while there are numerous available discussion points, in relation to new versions of these operating systems, one of the biggest trends that has been fascinating to watch is how people are switching operating systems like crazy.

"... RMS: «Assuming that humanity doesn’t wipe itself out, the work we do today to produce the free educational infrastructure, the free learning resource for the world, will be useful for as long as humanity exists. If it takes 20 years to get it done, so what?

If you’re just starting out with using Linux then chances are you’ve probably seen or heard a few Linux terms that you don’t recognize. It’s typical that when you ask, or search, for help on the Internet for Linux, you’ll see some of the following terms. I’ve put them in one place for you so that the next time you see a Linux vocabulary word you don’t know, you can check back here.

"So for non-lawgeeks, this won't seem important. But trust me, this is huge [...] In non-technical terms, the Court has held that free licenses such as the CC licenses set conditions (rather than covenants) on the use of copyrighted work. When you violate the condition, the license disappears, meaning you're simply a copyright infringer. This is the theory of the GPL and all CC licenses.

Small and Medium-sized Businesses are usually quite keen to consider switching to Open Source IT solutions, and not without reason: Linux and other Open Source tools are mature—often with features that rival and exceed proprietary alternatives in terms of usage and implementation—proven to be secure, low-maintenance once set up and most important of all, free.

Alcatel-Lucent is planning to switch from VxWorks to embedded Linux for its network switch equipment, says an industry report. The shift is intended to be transparent to users of the overlaying Alcatel-Lucent Operating System (AOS), which has been upgraded to version 6.3.4, says the story.