Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized by the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Advertising, and eBay, affiliate programs. All prices are subject to change, and this article only reflects the prices available at time of publication.
Ubuntu Linux seems to be having a moment. Or a bunch of moments, really. The developers at Canonical have been working for years to bring the popular Linux-based operating system to new types of devices, and a few weeks ago pre-orders opened for the first Ubuntu tablet to support “convergence,” allowing you to switch between a desktop and tablet user interface when a mouse and keyboard are detected.
Then Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would include an Ubuntu file system, allowing you to run command-line Linux software without running a virtual machine. It turns out you can even run some desktop-style programs.
Now Canonical is getting ready to release the next major version of its operating system. Ubuntu 16.04 is set to launch later this month. Among other things, it’ll allow you to install apps using a new package system.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web… not all of which are Ubuntu-related.
- Ubuntu on Windows benchmarked
Now that it’s possible to run Ubuntu on the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview builds, Michael Larabel at Phoronix ran a series of benchmarks and found that for the most part, the operating system is competitive with a clean install of Ubuntu. Some things are slower though, particularly in benchmarks that measure disk performance. [Phoronix] - Ubuntu 16.04 LTS will support Snap packages as well as .deb
This will let developers package their apps and dependencies so that you don’t have to worry about installing software that requires other software which may not be available in the Ubuntu repository. If developers take advantage of this new method, it should let you install new versions of software sooner. [Ubuntu Insights] - Mele PCG61-U mini PC has an Intel Braswell CPU, Ubuntu Linux software
Chinese mini-PC maker Mele is showing off a few new PC sticks with Intel Atom bay Trail processors. But much more interesting is a nwe mini-desktop with an Intel Braswell processor, support for up to 8GB of RAM, up to 128GB of storage, and Ubuntu Linux. [Notebook Italia] - BungBungame introduces Kalos 2 Android 6.0 tablet
The tablet has a 10.5 inch, 2560 x 1660 pixel AMOLED display, a Samsung Exynos 7420 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. [BungBungame] - GeekBuying review an all-in-one, Android-based VR headset
Sure, you should take reviews from a retailer with a grain of salt. But Eric and I have been emailing back and forth about this new class of VR headset that’s sort of like a Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear VR, but without the need for a separate phone. I’ve been wondering why someone would spend money on that instead of just a phone + CardBoard headset. This is Eric’s answer. [GeekBuying] - LibrELEC is a new fork of OpenELEC
OpenEELC is a light-weight, Linux-based operating system designed to run the Kodi media center application. But a number of key developers of the operating system seem to have split off to start work on an alternate version called LibreELEC. [Phoronix]
You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.