As far as an average Linux user is concerned, the launch of Steam for Linux was perhaps the most critical event happened in the last decade. Speculations started as early as in 2010 when it came to know that Valve is actively looking for people who can port Windows games to Linux. After many ups and downs, Steam for Linux was finally confirmed in 2012 and they even went on to launch a limited access beta in November that year itself. But not even the most optimist among us expected such a tremendous turn around for Linux gaming.

1,500 Linux Titles: Steam on Linux Breaks New Ground

Most hardcore Linux users had a Windows partition just to meet their gaming needs. But things were starting to change. The floodgates were opened when the Steam client for Linux came out of beta in 2013. Barrage of major gaming titles started pouring in so much that Steam client is a must have app now if you are a Linux user (available in Ubuntu Software Center). Left 4 Dead 2, Half Life 1 & 2, Counter Strike, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, XCOM, Witcher 2, Football Manager 2014, Shank 2, Dota 2, Don't Starve, the list goes on.  

Not only that. Valve also builds and runs all of its source code, animation and assets on Linux - a typical setup for companies in the gaming industry, says Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve inc., while speaking at LinuxCon 2013. "Valve became convinced that Linux is the future of gaming," he added.

According to a report by Phoronix, Valve has been adding as much as 100 Linux titles per month throughout the last several months. The total number of games for Linux platform swelled to a whopping 1,500 now from 1000 in February 2015. A significant number even when compared to other supported platforms. To put this in context, number of supported titles for Windows is 6,464 and OSX is 2,323 respectively. New games continue to be ported to Linux and offered via Steam almost daily.

But there is still room for improvement, the report adds. Even though there has been a number of exciting titles like DiRT Showdown, Company of Heroes 2, Metro 2033 etc., many of the games ported over to Linux have been small, indie-type games. According to Valve, the five most popular Linux games right now include Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, ARK: Survival Evolved, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2. 

[Image source: Linux Gamecast, Full report: Phoronix]

After BQ Aquaris and Meizu MX4, a new manufacturer is getting ready to launch their first ever Ubuntu hardware. This time, its a Tablet with top of the line specs. And the startup in question is MJ Technology LLC.

Open source became part of state policy in India recently. French Armed Forces ditched many thousands of Windows PCs for Ubuntu and used FOSS solutions to cut costs. So did UK Government. And speaking of Italy, Turin recently became the first Italian city to adopt Ubuntu and LibreOffice saving millions of Euros in licensing and other costs involved with proprietary solutions. The momentum is clearly building in favor of FOSS alternatives. And Italian Military becomes the latest to join the Open Source bandwagon.

Italian Armed Forces Adopts LibreOffice and Open Document Format (ODF)

Italian Military joins the latest list of LibreOffice and ODF adopters. The Ministry of Defense will over the next year-and-a-half install this suite of office productivity tools on some 150,000 PC workstations - making it Europe’s second largest LibreOffice implementation, according to Open Source observatory.

Italian Agency for the Digitization of the Public Sector (AGID) congratulated the Ministry of Defence, and hoped that other organizations will follow through. The switch was announced on 15 September by the LibreItalia Association, an NGO working to promote FOSS solutions in Italy. The NGO will help the ministry to ready trainers in different parts of the military, and the Ministry is to develop a series of online courses to help with the switch to LibreOffice. The material is to be made public using a Creative Commons licence.

The switch to LibreOffice is a consequence of a June 2012 law which says that free and open source should be the default option for the country’s public administrations, according to LibreItalia. The project is also one of Europe’s largest. In a world where the mightiest of corporations and even the International Space Station adopting Linux and FOSS, this is hardly surprising. (further reading, image source)

I don't even remember the last time when I used KDE. The versions after KDE 3.x were not really my cup of tea. But when Sean mailed me some of his new works, I just had to try KDE one more time. Sean (half-left) is a renowned designer and customization guru who for years have been producing some of the greatest themes and artwork for Linux desktop. And as always, his latest creations are just as good as ever. 3 gorgeous Plasma 5 themes folks.

KDE Plasma 5 First Impressions
First and foremost, a few things about the latest KDE. So I installed Kubuntu 15.04 on my USB yesterday and have been using it ever since. I got to tell you, KDE over the years has improved by leaps and bounds. Initial KDE Plasma versions received a lot of flak for being buggy and unreliable, especially the Kubuntu implementation of the same. Not anymore. Plasma 5 seems robust, well-designed and packed to the brim with features.

I especially liked the new launcher. It is so damn fast! The overall design feels very mature and clean. And the notifications implementation is perhaps the best Linux has to offer in this space. Another highlight was Dolphin file browser, so full of features, yet very light and really really fast. This does deserve a detailed review. Stay tuned.

Gorgeous KDE Plasma 5 Themes by Half-left

• Smoother for Plasma 5 theme by half-left

• Google+ for Plasma 5 theme by half-left

• Elune for Plasma 5 theme by half-left

• This one is still in the works.

Download and installations instruction for plasma 5 themes are provided in each of the above links. If you want to experience KDE Plasma 5 first hand, get Kubuntu 15.04.

Built on top on Raspberry Pi, Mycroft intends to become your personal home Artificial Intelligence platform that can play your media, control lighting, lock your door and can control pretty much any IoT (Internet of Things) capable device you have in your home. Mycroft's Kickstarter campaign has been massively successful and has already raised some $110,353 beating its target of $99,000.

Mycroft: An Open Source, Open Hardware Artificial Intelligence For Everyone
Mycroft uses natural language to control Internet of Things. Mycroft intends to take away AI from the domain of few private players into the hands of people. Mycroft is the world's first open source, open hardware home A.I. platform and is built on top of Raspberry Pi 2 and Arduino. Mycroft uses natural language processing to respond to your voice (similar to Google Now, Siri and Cortana, but with more fucntionalities). It makes online services like YouTube, Netflix, Pandora, Spotify and others available to you instantly.



As you can see, it isn't just for streaming devices. Mycroft has an integrated high quality speaker.  It can play music directly. Mycroft also integrates with your smart devices and allows you to control the Internet of Things. Connect Mycroft to your SmartThings hub, WeMo devices or Phillips Hue lights and command your devices with the sound of your voice. Turn on lights, lock doors, make coffee, water plants and feed pets. Whatever it is - If it is connected to the internet - Mycroft can control it. And that's the bottom line.

More importantly, Mycroft is an open source and open hardware platform. It allows developers, makers and tinkerers to explore their own ideas. Mycroft has also decided to partner with Canonical and will be using Snappy Core Ubuntu as the OS of choice. That makes the deal even sweeter. Here's Mycroft on Kickstarter. Mycroft is priced at only $129 per unit. But as an early adopter, you can get one at $99 apiece.