Why is that phone so special? My wife asked me. I was exited like a child with my shiny new toy: the PinePhone KDE Community Edition. So how do you explain the history of failing efforts to get ‘real’ Linux on a smartphone in 5 minutes? How do you explain the difficulties of developing an operating system for the always changing ARM ecosystem? I tried: It’s not normal that you can install an Operating System on a phone. Normally you…
During the openSUSE + LibreOffice Virtual Conference, there were 2 presentations on what’s next for openSUSE Leap. These presentations also touched on Closing the Leap Gap. This is a project which tries to resolve / minimize the differences in packages between openSUSE Leap and SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), by unifying the code base and the development process. More details on this project can be found here. On the 20th October, there was a Go-No Go decision to be made. This…
Hacked! Recently I had an experience that let me re-evaluate my approach to Security on Linux. I had updated my Desktop computer to the latest openSUSE Leap (15.2) version. I also installed the proprietary Nvidia drivers. At random points during the day I experienced a freeze of my KDE desktop. I cannot move my mouse or type on my keyboard. It probably involves Firefox, because I always have Firefox open during these moments. So for a couple of days, I…
I have recently bought a 14″ laptop, the HP Pavilion 14-ce0830nd. This is a mid-range laptop. It is an upgrade from my previous laptop, the ASUS VivoBook X402NA-FA112T. However, this machine is not without it flaws. Design and hardware The HP Pavilion 14-ce0830nd looks and feels like a quality laptop. The body around the keyboard is made of anodized metal and feels quite premium. Somewhat less premium is the plastic cover at the bottom and the plastic screen cover. A…
openSUSE Leap 15.2 has entered the Beta phase on the 25th February 2020. I have recently installed this on my laptop to check it out. Leap 15.2 will coincide with SUSE Enterprise Linux Desktop 15 Service Pack 2. Both Leap and SLED share a lot of underlying packages, so this will be (again) a rock solid release. openSUSE Leap 15.2 features many big updates. This includes a new version of the KDE desktop environment, a new version of the GNOME…