Open source and Linux in 2014

Since we've reached the very end of the year, it's always fun to look back and review what's happened in open source and Linux. 2014 was certainly an eventful year, with more than its share of controversy and drama.

SJVN at ZDNet ruminates on what happened in 2014 with Linux and open source:

Taken together, it's been a good year for Linux and open-source software. Next year will be even better. Don't mistake me. 2014 also had more than its share of problems, but with everyone now backing Linux and open-source, 2015 really is the year that these two twin technologies will dominate all of IT. There may never be a year of the Linux desktop, but the year of Linux IT is almost upon us. The bad: 1) Heartbleed 2) Systemd wars 3) Open-source licensing not being used 4) Neither Ubuntu Touch nor Steam Machines shipped The good 1) The top end-user operating system is probably Linux 2) Open source becomes the top programming methodology 3) Open source rules the cloud 4) Red Hat and Canonical to battle for the cloud 5) Docker redefines data-center and cloud computing More at ZDNet

Games were certainly a big part of Linux in 2014. Robin Muilwijk at Opensource.com looked back at Linux gaming in 2014:

We started the year with OpenPandora, which further opened its hardware by releasing its designs. We looked at the Oculus VR, who acquired and open sourced their networking engine, and later in the year they released a software development kit. The Raspberry Pi is on the list, with emulating retro OSs. And we covered a few controllers, like the one from Steam, the Microduino-Joypad, and Gamebuino: an 8-bit 'maker movement' Arduino console. Games need an engine to run on, and this year we saw a few of them released. The first one was Game Develop, the easy-to-use, no-programming game engine, which failed to fund its Indiegogo campaign back in May, and is now open source. Unity, another well-known engine in the gaming world, opened up and released its source code. We also looked at Chukong Technologies who launched Coco2d-x game engine. More at Opensource.com

Switching from Apple laptops to Chromebooks

Apple has long had a dedicated customer base for its laptops, but at least one Macbook Pro user at InfoWorld has made the jump over to Google's Chromebook. And he seems quite happy with the switch.

Simon Phipps at InfoWorld reports on his transition from MacBook Pro to Chromebook:

Not only am I still using my Chromebook, now my business and family do too. Swapping out of Apple’s walled garden for Google’s fenced yard was the right move. I still long for a fully open source solution — an open field in the commons — but I don't want to make a full-time hobby of keeping my laptop working. Overall I am still a happy Chromebook user. Chromebooks run on an open source foundation, which means Google invests in open communities in varying degrees. The apps I use leave me free to switch suppliers to varying degrees, and I’m trying hard to find open source alternatives among them. I've spent much less money to stand pat than I would have in either Apple or Microsoft’s ecosystem, while the functionality steadily expands. The biggest lock-in is Google’s login and identity management system, but an alternative seems beyond the reach of the noncorporate user. More at InfoWorld

It's not just journalists like Simon Phipps that have ditched an Apple product for a Chromebook. Back in 2013 there was an interesting thread in the MacRumors forum that was started by a user who switched from the Macbook Air to a Chromebook.

Airforcekid shares his experience using a Chromebook: