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Chef Marcel at your service!Food, Wine, and Linux may seem like a strange combination, but combining three passions can be a wonderful thing. I'm Marcel Gagné. Those of you who read Cooking with Linux, the multi-award-winning column that appeared monthly in Linux Journal magazine for 10 years, likely agree. With the help of my faithful waiter, François, Restaurant Chez Marcel serves up the finest in Linux and open source software paired with exceptional wines.

In that same spirit, this site features great Linux and Open Source software, ongoing wine tasting reports, recipes, and the occasional restaurant review. If you came here looking to read past Cooking with Linux columns, you'll find newer releases on the front page, a comprehensive list here and under the "CWL, The Column" menu link to the left. A votre santé! Bon appétit!

Android

Why Android might just kill GNU/Linux. Quickly.

Mon, 02/27/2012 - 16:46 — Marcel Gagne

Interesting analysis by Tony Mobily over at Free Software Magazine. What do you think about this?

I write this article exactly 24 hours after receiving my Galaxy Tab 10.1. It's something I've been wanting for a long time. I had to wait for the dispute between Apple and Samsung to settle (Samsung actually lost on millions of dollars worth of sales thanks to software patents, but that's another story). After all that, I came to the realisation that we are in front of a forking path. On one side there is the death of GNU/Linux as we know it. On the other side, there is a new exciting world where free software is still relevant. I am not writing this just to be "sensational": here is why.

We have all seen the gadgetification of software: it started with Nokia phones that allowed you to install extra applications and games. It exploded with Apple, and the glorification of the "app market" (which is, excuse me, a generic term). It "inspired" the Android market, and -- let's not forget -- the Mac OS X app market. It also inspired Ubuntu's own "app market".

The world of software has changed. In the (recent) past, software was something to install and use. Today, with the "app markets", software is becoming a gadget to play with.

Source : Free Software Magazine : Read the full story here:

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Linux
Android

Has Linux dropped off the face of the Earth?

Tue, 11/15/2011 - 02:52 — Marcel Gagne

Over on my mailing list, the WFTL-LUG, a "whatever happened to" discussion has emerged in part because question traffic has gone down dramatically. Fewer people are coming out to LUG meetings. It's as if Linux is fading away.

"Has Linux dropped off the face of the Earth?" The answer is obviously no. Linux is still around, stronger than ever, but the desktop OS does seem to be disappearing. Of course this is true of Windows and Mac OS, at least from the average user's perspective. Desktop Linux is strong with those who use it; those who have been using it, but the buzz seems to be gone. 

None of this surprises me though. Sure, we may never see the Year of the Linux Desktop, but the nature of the desktop is changing. People are increasingly living their lives online. Yes folks, it's that cloud you keep hearing about and it's really out there. Google+ and Facebook and Twitter and online document management and email and just plain old Web surfing. For most, the network really is the computer and as time goes on, people care less and less what is running on their computers and more about what they can access once they get online.

For a while there, it looked like netbooks were going to be the big thing with Linux getting another shot at the elusive desktop. Now it's tablets and smartphones everywhere you turn. And what's emerging as the de facto operating system of the tablet and smartphone world? Something called Android. Those of us who have been doing this FOSS thing for a long time still see Linux back there somewhere. Android is the evolution of Linux for the mobile world.

And what of the old Linux? It's still out there, and it's bigger than ever before. It's everywhere. It's everything. It runs the infrastructure that makes the mobile world work. Mail servers and media servers and Web servers and application servers and every kind of server you can think of.

Want to know just how good Linux and free software is these days? Get this. Linux has become invisible. Maybe that's how you measure real success.

World domination? Been there. Done that.

Tags: 
Linux
LUGs
Android

Cooking With Android

Wed, 04/20/2011 - 15:13 — Marcel Gagne

Way back a  million years ago or so (early March), I asked the WFTL-LUG mailing list about Android tablets. Since then I've bought two tablets and I have, as you might expect, been trying out different applications to go with it. Since I expect to post a fair bit on the subject as I try software, buy new hardware (will likely happen), and otherwise muck about with Android, I've decided to spin off a site dedicated to my thoughts on the subject.

It's called Cooking With Android and you can find it here: http://cooking-with-android.com

First post (Taking Android to Dinner; First Date) just went up with more to come in the next few days, weeks, etc. Feel free to register, leave comments, make suggestions, etc. 

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by Dr. Radut.