In today's open source roundup: Microsoft open sources .NET for Linux and Mac. Plus: A comparison of three security distributions, and Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS is available for download Microsoft open sources .NET Microsoft’s new CEO has been very busy making changes to the software behemoth’s culture and products. The latest change comes as a real shocker for many who are used to Microsoft being a much more proprietary company. Parts of .NET will be open sourced, and will run on Linux and OS X. Microsoft corporate vice president S. Somasegar announces the .NET changes on his blog: Over the coming months, we will be open sourcing the full server-side .NET Core stack, from ASP.NET 5 down to the Core Runtime and Framework, and the open source .NET will be expanded to run on Linux and Mac OS X in addition to Windows. More at Somasegar’s Blog Cade Metz at Wired reports that Microsoft has recognized that Windows is not as dominant as it once was: …Microsoft is embracing the reality that modern software and online services run atop a variety of operating systems—and that Windows no longer dominates the market the way it once did. At least tacitly, the software giant is acknowledging that so many businesses and developers now choose to run their software atop computer servers loaded with the open source Linux operating system… More at Wired John Fingas at Engadget cautions Linux and Mac users not to expect an onslaught of Windows software for those platforms: The release omits parts needed for the user-facing side of things, including the Windows Presentation Foundation that handles interface and document features, so many .NET apps and services will either need major changes or won’t run at all. Also, there are plenty of Windows apps that depend on other frameworks. You’re probably not going to see a ton of converted Windows software running on your MacBook or Linux box, then. More at Engadget A comparison of Linux security distributions Security is an issue on the minds of many users these days. Linux offers a number of different distributions that can be used for more secure computing. But trying to figure out which one to use is no small task. Lifehacker contrasts and compares Tails, Kali and Qubes, and lists the pros and cons of each. Thorin Klosowski at Lifehacker on the advantages and disadvantages of Qubes, Tails and Kali: Here are the strengths and weaknesses of all three. Tails Pros: Routes all your traffic through Tor, comes with a ton of open-source software, has a “Windows Camouflage” mode to make it look more like Windows 8. Tails Cons: Can’t save files locally, slow, loading web sites through Tor takes forever. Kali Pros: Everything you need to test a network is included in the distribution, it’s relatively easy to use, and can be run on both a Live CD and in a virtual machine. Kali Cons: Doesn’t include too many tools for everyday use, doesn’t include the cryptographic tools that Tails does. Qubes Pros: The isolation technique ensures that if you do download malware, your entire system isn’t infected. Qubes works on a wide variety of hardware, and it’s easy to securely share clipboard data between VMs. Qubes Cons: Qubes requires that you take action to create the VMs, so none of the security measures are foolproof. It’s still totally susceptible to malware or other attacks too, but there’s less of a chance that it’ll infect your whole system. More at Lifehacker Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS released OMG Ubuntu Ubuntu 14.10 has gotten a lot of attention lately, but not everybody likes the Unity desktop environment. Thankfully, you can now download Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS, and use its more traditional desktop instead of Unity. You can also check out a list of changes in Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS. Joey-Elijah Sneddon reports on the release of Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS and notes that it’s really a blend of Ubuntu 14.04 and 14.10.: Now, at this point you’re probably wondering if I’ve made a typo (I’m Joey Sneddon; that is a near certainty). But in this instance, no; you read correct. The Ubuntu MATE team has decided to retrospectively create an LTS release. Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS should really be called Ubuntu MATE 14.11 LTS. Not just because it has been released in November, but because its code base is more of a mix of 14.04 and 14.10… More at OMG Ubuntu What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open Source