The Future is Open – Thoughts on the world of open source

01/09/202601/09/2026

Discovering Cosmic Atomic: The Immutable Desktop That Just Works

I started using Pop!_OS in 2017, then purchased a computer from System76 and used it, and I recommended it to my friends. For much of the last five years, I’ve been using Linux Mint Cinnamon on the desktop and tinkering with other distributions in VirtualBox or using a spare laptop. My daily driver is a System76 Meerkat that is running Linux Mint Cinnamon. Along the way, I experimented with System76’s remake of Pop!_OS, featuring the Cosmic desktop, written entirely in Rust.

There is something very compelling in the design of Cosmic. It runs more smoothly and gets out of your way. I recently wrote an article about doing a fresh, bare-metal install of Cosmic on my laptop, and even considered backing up the desktop and reinstalling Pop!_OS to replace Mint Cinnamon. Then, an effort to help the local library save some ten-year-old computers rendered useless by the end of Windows 10’s life. That led me to experiment with Fedora Silverblue.

Why choose an immutable Linux distribution? One of the most compelling reasons is that once you install the system, you no longer need to know how to add applications using a package manager. It’s like those of us who learned to drive a standard transmission, once you have been introduced to an automatic transmission.

Adding software to Silverblue is so easy with Flatpak, but the downside of Silverblue is Gnome. Gnome is clunky. It uses a lot of memory, and it’s not easy for a Linux newbie. I liked the ease of an immutable distribution, but the longing for a better desktop experience led me to Cosmic Atomic, which has made using a Linux desktop easy. I downloaded it first, tried it out in VirtualBox, and then decided to do a bare-metal install on my Dell Latitude 7410 laptop.

I downloaded it and made a bootable USB drive. I started up the laptop, pressed F12 to boot from USB, and followed the instructions on the display.

Screen Picture by Don Watkins CC-by-SA 4.0

After choosing to continue, the next screen allows you to choose where the system will be installed and to create a user account and a root account, if you want.

Next, the display sets up the user and prompts for a password.

Then the installation process begins. This is more time-consuming because you are installing everything that makes up the immutable system. No OS updates or upgrades will be needed after completing the initial install. Once that process is complete, the system will restart, and the first login screen will look much like Pop!_OS because this is the Cosmic Atomic desktop.

This is where Cosmic Atomic rocks. The initial login display has menu choices at the far left to set up accessibility options, including a screen reader, magnifier, high contrast, and invert colors. After entering the user’s password, the next display takes the new user through a series of configuration screens.

You can select a screen reader if necessary, choose the interface size and additional scale options, and include a magnifier. The next display connects you to your wireless network, if you have one, or to another network option. The next display allows you to choose the language option. The next display lets you personalize your desktop’s appearance, too.

Now you are ready to rock Cosmic Atomic.

The Cosmic can be further fine-tuned using Cosmic Settings on the dock at the bottom of the display. The myriad ways the Cosmic Desktop environment can be configured are masterfully designed with the end user in mind, no matter whether you’re a developer, sysadmin, or a guy like me who reads and blogs.

Adding additional software is easy. The Cosmic Store is a performance-focused application built in Rust. The store is considered more stable and responsive than the Gnome Software Store. Thanks to Flatpak, thousands of open-source and proprietary containerized applications are available. Installation is as easy as point-and-click.

Screen Picture by Don Watkins CC-by-SA 4.0

Cosmic has its own terminal, Cosmic text editor, and Cosmic Files for organizing your files and folders. It has its own graphical system monitor, disk utility, screenshot tool, and the rest; you can easily add the rest using the Cosmic Software store.

Cosmic Atomic feels like the natural next step in a Linux journey that started nearly a decade ago with Pop!_OS and has since wound its way through Mint, Silverblue, and countless experiments in between. What System76 is building here isn’t just another desktop environment—it’s a thoughtful reimagining of how a Linux system should feel: fast, intuitive, accessible, and genuinely enjoyable to use. The combination of an immutable base with a beautifully crafted Rust‑powered desktop strikes a balance I didn’t realize I’d been searching for until I found it.

Whether you’re a seasoned Linux user or someone just dipping a toe into the ecosystem, Cosmic Atomic offers a refreshing, modern experience that gets out of your way and lets you focus on what you want to do.

01/05/202601/05/2026

Tinkering with Immutable Linux: How Cosmic Atomic Won Me Over

I have been doing a lot of reading and listening to YouTube videos about immutable distributions and why they might offer the most flexibility for developers and tinkerers like me. I have been experimenting with Fedora Silverblue, NixOS, and traditional distributions like Linux Mint, Ubuntu 24.04, and Fedora 43. I was looking for ways to use ten-year-old Dell All-in-one desktops in the local public library.

After my experimentation, I decided to stick with Cosmic Atomic because I really love the Cosmic desktop. In the past week, I’ve become more familiar with an immutable desktop and how it might fit into my workflow. One of the difficulties I have had is connecting my Brother MFC-L3780 laser printer to this new environment. Traditional Fedora and Linux Mint were easy for me to connect to and use for the occasional printing that I needed. But what about this new environment? I did some reading and research and went to the Brother website, where I downloaded the drivers and other necessary files. Study and reading informed me that I needed to download the driver install tool and the Linux printer driver. These are RPM files. I saved them in my Downloads folder.

The download was:

$ linux-brprinter-installer-2.2.6-0

That file has to be executed to open the file containing the necessary RPM files. I had to change it to an executable file first.

$ chmod +x linux-brprinter-installer-2.2.6-0

Then execute the file:

$ sudo ./linux-brprinter-installer-2.2.6-0

The resulting RPM files are:

mfcl3780cdwpdrv-3.5.1-1.i386.rpm
brscan5-1.3.10-5.x86_64.rpm
brscan-skey-0.3.2-0.x86_64.rpm

Each of these is installed with rpm-ostree.

rpm-ostree mfcl3780cdwpdrv-3.5.1-1.i386.rpm
rpm-ostree brscan5-1.3.10-5.x86_64.rpm
rpm-ostree brscan-skey-0.3.2-0.x86_64.rpm

$ rpm-ostree mfcl3780cdwpdrv-3.5.1-1.i386.rpm

We are now ready to install the printer using CUPS after it was installed:

http://localhost:631

Getting my Brother MFC‑L3780 printer working was the final test. While it required a bit more manual effort than on traditional distributions, the process was straightforward once I understood how rpm‑ostree fits into the picture. With the correct drivers installed and CUPS configured, everything now works seamlessly. It’s reassuring to know that even in an immutable environment, I can still rely on the tools and hardware I need.

As I continue exploring what Cosmic Atomic can do, I’m feeling more confident that this setup strikes the right balance between stability, experimentation, and day‑to‑day practicality.

12/30/202512/30/2025

How Immutable Linux Could Save Libraries Thousands

In our small public library, where I volunteer weekly, we have several ten-year-old all-in-one desktops with i5 CPUs and 8 GB of RAM. They’re currently running Windows 10, and the library needs to upgrade to Windows 11, according to the IT folks at the library system. Those of us who are regular Linux users know that there is almost no such thing as a computer too old for Linux. Why should these libraries be forced to purchase new computers, especially now that memory prices are skyrocketing, when a different operating system could keep the computers secure, extend their lifetime, and save these libraries thousands of dollars?

The search for a solution led me to consider Fedora Silverblue, which is an immutable Linux desktop. I’ve been reading about immutable Linux distributions for a couple of years, but I hadn’t explored them until today. Immutable Linux distributions use a read-only root filesystem. That means it cannot be changed the way a typical Linux filesystem can. This means that every installation is identical to every other installation of the same version.

Immutable systems like Silverblue can be configured for kiosk mode in libraries and other public spaces that allow patrons to use them for internet access and other uses but do not allow those patrons to change the core system in any way.

I downloaded Silverblue and gave it a try. I set it up in VirtualBox, and after it was installed, I started it up. It ran well, and I looked at other Atomic Desktops on the Fedora Project website. Cosmic Atomic caught my eye as I have been running Cosmic from System76 on my laptop for a couple of weeks. I downloaded the ISO, created a bootable USB drive, and installed it on my Dell Latitude 7410.

The laptop has a quad-core Intel Core i7-10610U processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. It’s about four years old. I purchased it recently for projects like testing distributions. I connected the USB drive to the laptop, pressed the power button, then pressed F12 to boot from USB and started the install, which took some time. I was prompted to choose an install location and provide a username and password. Once the installation was complete and the computer restarted, I logged in to Cosmic Atomic for the first time. The initial login looked identical to my experience with Cosmic on Pop!_OS, but then I noticed some changes from my past experiences with traditional Linux distributions. LibreOffice was not installed by default. Firefox was installed by default, so I had access to a browser. I learned from reading that immutable distributions like this one use Flatpak to install other programs, such as the Brave browser, Chrome, LibreOffice, Visual Studio Code, and more.

I opened a terminal to use inxi and discovered that it was not installed by default. I tried using dnf to install inxi, but that doesn’t work on an immutable system. Some research and reading showed me that to install utilities like that, I needed to use a new command to change the immutable system.

$ rpm-ostree install inxi

Follow that command with systemctl restart, and I was in business to look at my system. I can see advantages to immutable systems. There are distinct advantages to immutable systems. They are reliable and easy to maintain. The core system is locked down so it cannot be compromised by malware. Applications are easily installed from the ‘Cosmic Store’ for Cosmic Atomic. Click the application you want to install, and in short order, it is added and ready to use. No need to remember to use

$ sudo dnf install application

Once the application is installed, it appears as it should in your library. The applications seemed to run faster on their Flatpak installs, but that might be an illusion. In any event I am impressed at how easy application installation is and how well the ‘Cosmic Store’ is appointed.

Exploring Fedora Silverblue and Cosmic Atomic reminded me that aging hardware doesn’t have to be a burden—especially for places like public libraries, where every dollar matters. Immutable Linux desktops offer a modern, secure, and low‑maintenance alternative that can extend the life of capable machines while reducing costs and complexity. After installing and testing Cosmic Atomic on a four‑year‑old laptop, it’s clear that these systems deliver a smooth, reliable experience without demanding new hardware or constant tinkering. As libraries face pressure to upgrade to Windows 11, it’s worth asking whether the real solution lies not in replacing computers, but in rethinking the operating systems we rely on. Embracing Linux could empower libraries to stay secure, stay functional, and stay within budget—a win for staff, volunteers, and the communities they serve.

12/26/202512/27/2025

Teilhard de Chardin’s Vision Meets Quantum Science

What if the universe isn’t just expanding — what if it’s remembering, connecting, and waking up?

That was the bold conviction of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the Jesuit priest and paleontologist who saw evolution not as a blind shuffle of matter, but as a spiraling ascent toward deeper consciousness and greater unity. Long before the language of quantum physics existed, Teilhard described a cosmos built not from isolated pieces, but from relationship, complexity, and interior depth — all converging toward what he called the Omega Point: the ultimate center of Divine unification.

Decades later, quantum theory revealed something strangely aligned with his vision. At the smallest scales:

Reality is probabilistic, not clockwork Particles exist in fields of possibility Systems become linked through entanglement And most fascinating of all — the universe doesn’t erase information

Physics doesn’t say consciousness survives death. It doesn’t calculate souls. It doesn’t predict personal immortality.

But it does describe a universe that is:

Non-deterministic — creativity is baked into its foundations Deeply relational — connection isn’t emergent, it’s fundamental Non-erasing — the cosmos evolves without deleting its past

That last point matters more than most people realize. If information isn’t destroyed, the universe doesn’t move forward by subtraction, but by transformation.

Teilhard believed consciousness is the inner face of rising complexity. In other words:

Mind isn’t an accident in the universe. Mind is where the universe has been heading.

And a universe that remembers and interconnects, one that evolves toward ever-richer interior life, can’t logically terminate in nothingness. Its structure suggests not disappearance, but continuation into greater coherence.

Not as ghosts floating outside reality. Not as clones in a multiverse. But as personal consciousness carried forward into the universe’s ultimate convergence in God.

In this worldview, death is not a full stop, but a phase transition. The body’s quantum and biological order eventually disperses, but the interiority it supported — the “within” of a person — is not deleted. It becomes part of the ongoing cosmic complexification, drawn forward rather than pushed from behind.

Quantum uncertainty isn’t a threat to meaning here — it’s the open frontier of creation itself. God doesn’t override probability; God attracts through it, inviting the universe to explore pathways toward deeper consciousness and greater unity.

So while physics can’t compute a probability of eternal life, it helps us imagine a universe where eternal life is:

Not absurd Not accidental Not escapist But beautifully coherent with the direction of cosmic evolution itself

The big synthesis?

Science shows us a universe that doesn’t forget.

Evolution shows us a universe that complexifies inward.

Consciousness shows us the universe becoming personal.

Teilhard shows us the universe converging toward God.

Together, they whisper a daring conclusion:

The universe isn’t built to end in silence. It’s built to finish in communion.

Omega doesn’t erase — it gathers.

Death doesn’t cancel evolution — it advances it.

And God is not the terminus of becoming, but the forever-ahead horizon that draws us deeper into being.

A universe that evolves toward connection and consciousness is not a universe that ends. It’s a universe that completes.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:

“The Omega Point: Why Evolution Has

12/17/202512/17/2025

How Linux Mint, NTFSFix, and ClamAV Saved Microsoft Publisher

Recently, I was helping a Windows-using friend transition from her ten-year-old Windows 10 laptop to a new Windows 11 laptop. All of her important files had been backed up by Microsoft OneDrive, which was a great relief when we logged into the new computer. My friend is a Microsoft Publisher user, and you guessed it: Microsoft has announced the end of life for Publisher in October 2026. Since she’s an Office 365 user, she has until then to export all her Microsoft Publisher files as PDFs or lose the information.

The ten-year-old laptop had become unusable, locked up mid-application with Windows errors, and refused to budge. It was an i3 with 4 gigabytes of RAM that started as a Windows 8 laptop and was upgraded to Windows 10 about five years ago. It had seen better days, but I suggested to my friend that I might be able to resurrect it so she could continue using it with the 2021 version of Microsoft Publisher, which will no longer receive updates. She said, “Sure, I’m happy to have you work your magic!”

I took it home and did a live boot with Linux Mint MATE 22.2, but the Windows drive would not mount. It gave me an error message:

$ wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda6

I ran fsck on the drive and got more messages indicating that a bad block existed and needed to be repaired. How could I fix the error from within this live boot environment? That’s when I happened upon ntfsfix. The program was already loaded in the live boot environment. I used lsblk to determine the exact location of the NTFS disk in the disk system and issued the following command:

$ sudo ntfsfix -b -d /dev/sda6

There are several options for the command:

ntfsfix v2022.10.3 (libntfs-3g)

Usage: ntfsfix [options] device
    Attempt to fix an NTFS partition.

    -b, --clear-bad-sectors Clear the bad sector list
    -d, --clear-dirty       Clear the volume dirty flag
    -h, --help              Display this help
    -n, --no-action         Do not write anything
    -V, --version           Display version information

In my case, I used the -b (clear-bad-sectors) and -d (clear-dirty). That command fixed the problem I had with the NTFS partition, and I was now able to download and install Clam Antivirus to clean up the suspected malware causing the issue.

$ sudo apt install clamav

Then I was ready to scan the disk for viruses and malware. I opened a terminal in the mounted Windows drive and entered the following command:

$ sudo clamscan -irv --remove

Those clamscan options: i – only prints files that are infected, r-scans directories recursively, and v- provides detailed output during the scan. The –remove option deletes any files that are found to be infected. Be careful with that last option.

The laptop has an i3 CPU and 4 GB RAM, and the process for scanning a 400-gigabyte drive was lengthy. It took overnight to complete the scan, but when I started the laptop in the morning, I was able to log in without difficulty, and my friend is delighted at the prospect of extending the life of her access to Microsoft Publisher.

In the end, what began as a seemingly hopeless situation with a locked-up Windows 10 laptop turned into a valuable lesson in resourcefulness. By combining the flexibility of a Linux live boot, the repair power of ntfsfix, and the thoroughness of ClamAV, I was able to breathe new life into aging hardware and preserve access to software that is nearing its end of support. For my friend, this means more time to safely transition her Publisher files, and for me, it’s a reminder that with the right tools and a bit of persistence, even a decade-old machine can still serve a meaningful purpose.

12/11/202512/11/2025

System76 Celebrates 20 Years with Pop!_OS and the New COSMIC Desktop

System76 is celebrating 20 years, and they did so by officially releasing Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS and the COSMIC desktop. I got an email from Carl Richell today that said, “COSMIC is built on the ethos that the best open source projects enable people to not only use them, but to build with them. COSMIC is modular and composable. It’s the flagship experience for Pop!_OS in its own way, and can be adapted by anyone who wants to build their own unique user experience for Linux.”

I have been following the development of COSMIC for the past four years. System76 had been customizing GNOME for Pop!_OS, which first launched on October 27, 2017, with Ubuntu 17.10. The operating system was designed to provide a clean, productivity-focused experience, featuring full-disk encryption by default, curated drivers for NVIDIA GPUs, and a streamlined installer. Over time, System76 introduced its own desktop environment tweaks, which ultimately led to the development of the COSMIC desktop. This project began in 2021 and has become fully independent.

Today, I received an email announcing the release of COSMIC as Pop!_OS. I was excited to download it and try it out on a spare laptop that has an i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM. I downloaded the ISO file, created a bootable drive, and started the installation process. As usual, it was extremely easy and well-designed. The installation proceeded just like previous Pop!_OS installations.

I decided to do a clean install, erasing the recently installed Fedora KDE Plasma.

I was invited to create a user and provide a password.

I chose not to encrypt my disk, but it’s all set up to use your user password as the encryption password unless otherwise specified.

Installation proceeded quickly on my laptop. When the initial install was finished, I was invited to restart the computer. That’s when I began to see the changes brought by the COSMIC desktop.

Wow, this was a new feature! At the bottom-left of the initial login screen, I noticed I could set my accessibility options, including a screen reader, magnifier, high contrast, and inverted colors. This is such an important option for those of us who need accessibility options from the first login.

On the next screen, I can set the screen reader, interface size, additional scale options, and the magnifier. Kudos to System76 for putting accessibility first in COSMIC. The next screen is my chance to connect to the wireless networks I will be using. Following that is the choice of language I will be using. Then a screen to set the keyboard layout, time zone, and location.

Next, I am provided with options for how I want my desktop to look. This is too cool.

Next, I can choose how I want the dock to appear on my desktop. They really considered all the options I might want to customize my workspace, giving me maximum flexibility to tailor my workflow.

Choose whether your windows will float or tile.

Then, an introduction to keyboard shortcuts to make window management easier.

The COSMIC desktop represents a significant shift in the way we interact with Linux environments. It’s worth exploring its development and features further by checking out the detailed articles on the System76 blog. This desktop environment is not only visually appealing but also highly functional, streamlining workflows and enhancing user experience. I find myself increasingly tempted to make it the primary interface for my System76 Meerkat, as its sleek design and innovative features are making a strong case for a permanent switch. The thoughtful design and user-centric approach make COSMIC a compelling option for anyone looking to elevate their Linux experience.

12/08/202512/08/2025

Linux and AI: Why Efficiency Still Matters

Choosing the Right Hardware

My daily driver is a System76 Meerkat, powered by an Intel Core i7-255H and with 32 GB of RAM. It is marketed as “AI-ready” and has lived up to this promise, effortlessly handling open-source AI applications locally. Recent market forces driven by the AI and ML boom have driven up the cost of memory. This in turn has led some PC manufacturers to increase prices for new models by as much as twenty percent. I’m grateful to have purchased the Meerkat earlier this year when prices were lower. What are the longer term ramifications of the memory chip shortage?

The Cost of Memory

This trend suggests that if you’re considering buying a new PC, now may be a good time to buy, as costs are likely to rise further in the near future. But, what about now. How can you mitigate the increased cost of memory and the drive for locally hosted AI and ML models?

Techniques such as quantization—which reduces the numerical precision of the data used in model training—and pruning—which eliminates unnecessary parameters from models—are already being explored to make artificial intelligence models more efficient and less resource-intensive. The most significant gains are achieved when quantization and pruning are used together. They create a synergistic effect: pruning reduces the size of the model, which then allows for more aggressive quantization without significant accuracy loss.

Why Linux Makes Sense

In the near future, Linux presents a compelling advantage owing to its modest memory and processor requirements. This characteristic allows users to explore and experiment with artificial intelligence locally, eliminating the need for costly high-performance hardware. For developers, educators, and community builders, Linux’s efficiency not only enhances accessibility but also fosters a more inclusive environment. As a result, a wider array of individuals can engage in AI projects and innovations without the financial burden of expensive ecosystems, paving the way for a more diverse and collaborative tech community.

Looking Ahead

Challenges such as high memory demand serve as catalysts for innovation and creativity. In response, hardware engineers, open-source developers, and AI researchers are diligently crafting solutions to enhance the efficiency of tomorrow’s computing systems. Meanwhile, Linux stands out as a viable option for those navigating this landscape: it offers a lightweight, highly adaptable platform that empowers users to explore AI without the burden of high costs. This flexibility makes Linux an appealing choice for both seasoned developers and newcomers eager to experiment with cutting-edge technologies.

Conclusion: AI is pushing hardware to its limits, but Linux proves that efficiency still matters. With the proper hardware — like the Meerkat — and the right operating system, you can stay ahead of the curve while keeping your workflow practical and sustainable.

12/04/202512/04/2025

Monitoring Linux Systems: From Basics to Advanced Tools

1. Classic Utilities: Top and Htop

One of the earliest lessons in managing a Linux machine is learning the top command. This lightweight, text‑based utility comes preinstalled on all Linux distributions and provides real‑time information about running services, CPU usage, and memory consumption. It also allows administrators to selectively kill processes that are misbehaving, making it an essential tool for quick troubleshooting.

For users who want a more interactive experience, htop offers a colorful and user‑friendly interface. Unlike top, htop is not preinstalled and must be added manually with commands such as:

$ sudo dnf install htop
or
$ sudo apt install htop

2. Graphical Monitoring: Gnome System Monitor

Beyond text‑based tools, Linux also provides graphical options like the Gnome System Monitor. This utility comes preinstalled with the Gnome desktop environment and offers a visual representation of system performance. Users can view resource graphs for CPU, memory, disk, and network utilization, and manage processes with simple mouse clicks. While customization options are limited compared to command‑line tools, its ease of use makes it accessible for beginners who prefer a graphical dashboard.

3. Modern Dashboards: Mission Center

A newer addition to the Linux ecosystem is Mission Center, a comprehensive performance dashboard. Built with GTK4/Libadwaita and written in Rust, it delivers speed, reliability, and hardware‑accelerated graphs for smooth performance. Mission Center tracks CPU, memory, disk, network, GPU, and even fan activity, while breaking down resource usage by individual apps and processes. For quick checks, it also includes a compact summary mode.

Mission Center is open source under the GPL v3 license, with its source code freely available. Installation is straightforward via Flatpak, Snap and it is also distributed as an AppImage for both x86_64 and Arm64 architectures. This makes it a versatile and modern choice for Linux users seeking a full‑system monitoring solution.

12/01/202512/01/2025

15 Open-Source Backup Solutions to Safeguard Your Data

Protecting your data has never been more crucial. With the advent of hybrid work, cloud-native applications, and ransomware threats, reliable backup solutions are indispensable for individuals and organizations alike. Open-source tools have emerged as leaders in this domain, offering transparency, flexibility, and community-driven innovation. In this article, I will present a list of fifteen open-source backup solutions that can be utilized to keep your work safe, secure and backed up.

BorgBackup – It is a deduplicating backup solution that features compression and encryption. It is supported on Linux, MacOS, and BSD and has a BSD License. The project has excellent documentation.

Restic – backup program that is fast, efficient and secure. It supports the three major operating systems. It has a 2-Clause BSD license. Its code is available on Github. The proejct has excellent documentation. You can follow the project on Fosstodon.

Rclone – According to their website, “Rclone is a command-line program to manage files on cloud storage. It is a feature-rich alternative to cloud vendors’ web storage interfaces. Over 70 cloud storage products support rclone including S3 object stores, business & consumer file storage services, as well as standard transfer protocols. Rclone has an MIT license. RClone support Linux, macOS and Windows. It is easy to download and install. The project has great documentation.

urBackup – It does full and incremental image and file backups; you can save whole partitions or single directories. It has clients for Windows, Linux, and MacOS and has a GNU Affero Public License. The project maintains good documentation.

Duplicati – is a free backup solution that works on Windows, MacOS, and Linux and a variety of standard protocols, such as FTP, SSH, and WebDAV, and cloud services. It features strong encryption and has an MIT license.

Amanda – is a backup system written in C and Perl that allows a system administrator to back up an entire network of client machines to a single server using tape, disk, or cloud-based systems. It was developed and copyrighted in 1991 at the University of Maryland and has a BSD-style license.

Bacula – Their website says, “Bacula is a set of Open Source, computer programs that permit you (or the system administrator) to manage backup, recovery, and verification of computer data across a network of computers of different kinds. Bacula has a AGPLv3 license.

BackupPC – “is a high-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up Linux, Windows, and MacOS PCs and laptops to a server’s disk,” according to its website. It is licensed under the GPLv3.

Timeshift – is a backup utility for Linux that is similar to System Restore for Windows and Time Capsule for MacOS. According to its GitHub repository, “Timeshift protects your system by taking incremental snapshots of the file system at regular intervals. These snapshots can be restored at a later date to undo all changes to the system.”

Syncthing -synchronizes files between two computers. It is licensed with the Mozilla Public License and, according to its website, is secure and private. It works on MacOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and OpenBSD. It is easy to download. The project provides good documentation.

Back In Time – is a simple backup utility designed for Linux. It provides a command line client and a GUI, both written in Python. To do a backup, just specify where to store snapshots, what folders to back up, and the frequency of the backups. BackInTime is licensed with GPLv2.

Cronopete – A Time Machine like backup for Linux. The project provides packages for ‘rpm’ and ‘deb’ based systems. You can choose to build it from source if you need a different solution. It has a GPL v3 license.

Kup – Is a backup scheduler for the Plasma desktop. According to the project website, “Kup is created for helping people to keep up-to-date backups of their personal files. Connecting a USB hard drive is the primary supported way to store files, but saving files to a server over a network connection is also possible for advanced users.”

Kopia – Has emerged as a powerful alternative to Borg, with a modern UI and cloud integrations. It is a versatile backup solution for Windows, macOS, and Linux that delivers fast incremental backups with built‑in compression, data deduplication, and secure end‑to‑end encryption. Available with both a command‑line interface and an easy‑to‑use graphical interface. It has an Apache 2.0 license.

DejaDup – Déjà Dup is a user‑friendly backup tool that takes the hassle out of doing backups the right way. It runs on top of Restic, giving you strong encryption, off‑site options, and reliable scheduling—all without the complexity. Using DejaDup you can backup your files to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, network server or a local folder.

Whether you need a lightweight tool for personal files or a robust system to protect enterprise networks, the fifteen solutions highlighted here provide reliable options for every scenario. By adopting one of these tools, individuals and organizations alike can ensure their data remains secure, recoverable, and resilient against evolving challenges.

11/29/202511/29/2025

Taking Zorin OS 18 for a Test Drive

It’s been awhile since I tried a new Linux distribution so I was game for a new experience when an edtech blogger I follow suggested giving Zorin OS a try. I had heard of Zorin but until recently had never downloaded and installed it. The landing page for the site proudly proclaims that Zorin is:

“Zorin OS is the alternative to Windows and macOS designed to make your computer faster, more powerful, secure, and privacy-respecting.”

There is a download button right in the middle of the page and upon clicking I was invited to try Zorin OS 18 Pro, Core or Education. I opted for Zorin Core which is free to download, Zorin Pro is $47.99 plus tax. After the download finished I tried Zorin in a virtual machine with VirtualBox. It looked inviting enough that I made a boot drive with Linux Mint Cinnamon 22.2 which is my daily driver and installed the operating system on an extra laptop I have for projects like this. Zorin is based on Ubuntu and the installation is very simillar to anyone who has installed any Ubuntu based distribution. Once installed and updated I began to explore the desktop experience. Zorin Core is a Gnome desktop with a twist. It’s heavily customized and looks a bit like the Cinnamon desktop I’m familiar with on LInux Mint. Here’s a ‘neofetch’ look at my computer. You can see that I have an i7 with 16 GB RAM and Zorin is running Gnome 46 and it supports FlatPak out of the box.

Zorin comes with ScreenShot as part of the base intall.

The Zorin desktop looks a lot like Windows 7 or Windows 10 and would be easier for a Linux newcomer to feel comforable with.

Zorin is privacy conscious and comes with Brave as the default browser install. It also comes with Remmina for remote desktop support. Zorin makes it easy to change the way your desktop looks with a menu item “Zorin Appearance.’ You can easily change the layout, theme, effects and more. You can opt for a more classic Gnome look.

Zorin even has built in Microsoft Windows application support with ‘Wine and Bottles’ as part of the System Utilities menu item. There are parental controls in the System utilities as well as a tool to send feedback to Zorin for problems you might encounter. Zorin includes a backup utility based on Deja-Dup which backs up your home folder to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, a network server or a local folder.

Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. It was initially released in 2009. The project was started in 2008 by co-founders Artyom and Kyrill Zorin. Their goal was to create a Linux distribution that is easy for newcomers—especially Windows users—to adopt, while still offering the power and flexibility experienced Linux users expect.The company is based in Dublin, Ireland. Zorin has an active community of users who help provide support for the distribution. Zorin is active on Github.

In the end, Zorin OS impressed me in all the right ways. It isn’t trying to reinvent Linux so much as refine it—building on Ubuntu’s stability, adding a carefully tuned Gnome experience, and delivering a level of out-of-the-box polish that many distros only reach after a weekend of tweaks. For longtime Linux users, the draw isn’t just the Windows-like layout or the curated defaults; it’s the feeling that Zorin is designed for real, everyday use rather than experimentation. With its privacy-conscious decisions, integrated Windows-compatibility tools, and a community clearly committed to the distro’s long-term future, Zorin OS stands out as a project that genuinely respects both newcomers and power users alike.