Don I’ve been enjoying the Brave browser lately. It’s refreshing not to be bothered by annoying pop-ups and to know that my browser is blocking trackers and ads. I’ve also appreciated using Brave’s Leo AI for research. However, when I opened a Brave session today, I encountered several persistent pop-up warnings indicating a profile error. After closing multiple … Read more
This afternoon, while reading about new developments in Linux Kernel 7.0, my browser session locked up, and I received a verbal warning that my system had been hacked, along with a number displayed for me to call Microsoft for help. I could not close the Chrome browser session, so I just shut down the system … Read more
In a previous article, I discussed the evolution of software installation on Linux, beginning with the early days of compiling software from compressed packages known as tarballs. Red Hat developed the package managers yum and later dnf, while Debian introduced apt. Other distributions, such as Arch, use pacman, and Suse employs Zypper and Yast. Although … Read more
I downloaded Ubuntu 26.04 today, which is the latest long-term release of one of my favorite Linux distributions. I started using Ubuntu twenty years ago. While listening to one of my favorite Linux podcasts, the hosts discussed the new features in this latest release, which piqued my curiosity and led me to download and install … Read more
In the early days of Linux, installing software applications was much more difficult. Most software was not distributed in easy-to-install packages. I frequently had to download source code, which usually came as a ‘tar’ file that had to be extracted and then compiled to run on the system. There was usually a four-step process which … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, while volunteering at the public library, a patron came in with a laptop. He was trying to reinstall Windows 11 but was having trouble installing the wireless driver. He asked for my help. I found the laptop’s model and serial number and searched online, which indicated that it had a … Read more
I have done a lot of distro hopping and continue to experiment with different Linux distributions. I started with Linux before Fedora or Ubuntu existed. The first distribution I really explored was Red Hat 6.1, back in 1999. At that time, it used the LILO bootloader, and the distribution was available on CD-ROM. I installed … Read more
The first Linux CD I bought in the mid-1990s was Red Hat 5.0. It came with a book that claimed you could learn Linux in twenty-four hours—or maybe it was a week—but in any case, that seemed unrealistic. Before diving into the Linux learning curve, I had some experience with MS-DOS and, prior to that, … Read more
When I think of open source web browsers, I typically think of Chromium and Firefox. I have used both extensively, and they’re both exemplary. Chromium is the open-source base for the Chrome browser and Microsoft Edge, and was originally released in 2008. Firefox’s origins are with Mozilla and were originally released in 2004. This year, … Read more
One of the questions I often receive from people I talk to is, “Why should I use Linux?” Let’s be honest—most department stores and online retailers are selling Windows machines from various vendors. Most of our neighbors use Windows, and while many people have Android phones, which run Linux in their pockets, very few use … Read more
