In today's open source roundup: Chrome OS users often own more than one device. Plus: DistroWatch reviews Ubuntu 15.04. And VLC 1.3.2 has been released for Android How many Chrome OS devices do you own? Chrome OS devices have proven to be quite popular with Chromebooks, Chromeboxes and Chromecast devices all regularly showing up in Amazon’s various bestseller lists, and also getting good ratings and reviews by the people who have bought them. Jarec707 asked his fellow redditors how many Chrome OS devices they owned: Hello Reddit, How many ChromeOS devices is it reasonable to have? I ask because I just got a Toshiba CB2 and am thinking of selling my old Acer C720. But then I realized that I’d only get $100 or so for it, and that maybe I should keep it as something more compact and rugged that I can comfortably throw in a backpack etc. without worrying about it, and use the CB2 for couch browsing etc. What are you doing? Thanks! More at Reddit His fellow Chrome OS redditors shared their thoughts: Shadowish: “I have a Toshiba CB2 and the Samsung Arm chromebook, which is about 2 years old. If ever need to use the Samsung chromebook, because I forgot my charger at work for my CB2 or some other reason. It always boots up fast and feels exactly the same as the day I stopped using it regularly. Can’t say the same about my windows laptop that stopped working properly after a year of use. I think its great to have a couple around. There is now pain switching between them, and you might find it useful at some point.” Wynterwind: “I have two, a Toshiba Chromebook and a new Toshiba Chromebook 2 with the IPS screen. The older model I’ve hooked up to a monitor/kb/mouse and use as a “Chromebox” for RDP, ssh, and secure web browsing. The new one is my default travel system doing everything I need to on the go.” Outbound: “Just one Chromebook. Mostly, its a replacement for my tablet+keyboard that I’d lug around with me everywhere. I realized that I really needed a smallish, light, browsing laptop with a good screen and half-decent keyboard and ended up with a Chromebook. The fact that I can load up Linux when needed is an awesome bonus. I rarely bring a laptop when I’m travelling as the little HP11G2 is all I need. But, because I never powerdown my Chromebook (I just close the lid and sleep), its very handy at home when I just want to look something up. I also use it to couchbrowse, or watch a video (in bed, in the backyard, in the tub). I can’t really see keeping a second Chromebook around – I treat it like my phone. My Chromebook is always with me. A second one would just run out of juice and gather dust unused. When it comes time to replace mine, I’ll find it a good home (probably give it to a friend or family member).” Amnicel: “One, an HP 14 (2955U/4GB model). I am seriously considering buying other ChromeOS devices, though. I think a Chromebox would be perfect for my grandmother. I am really getting tired of dealing with her Windows machine.” Gtrays: “Just one for the moment, a new Pixel LS. I’m going to get a Chromebox to replace my desktop at home, though. I gave away my CR-48 a couple of years ago and I sold my Samsung Chromebook when I bought the LS.” Spfldadm: “I have 3, Samsung 11″, HP 14″ and a Samsung Chromebox. Love them all.” Brokedown: “I’ve got a Samsung chromebook 2 13″ 1080p, my GF has the HP14, and we’ve got a Samsung Series 3 that visitors can use or for light travelling. Always nice to have an extra that you’re not overly concerned about!” Jazzyfjj13: “Does a Chromecast count? If so then 4, 3 Chromecasts and a Dell 11 inch Chromebook.” More at Reddit DistroWatch reviews Ubuntu 15.04 Ubuntu 15.04 was recently released, and some users are wondering if it’s worth switching to or upgrading from a previous version of Ubuntu. Jesse Smith at DistroWatch has a full review of Ubuntu 15.04 and feels it’s more of an incremental release for Canonical. Jesse Smith reports for DistroWatch: On the surface, Ubuntu 15.04 does not bring many changes. There are a few cosmetic adjustments, but nothing major that desktop users are likely to notice. Most of the interesting work appears to be going on behind the scenes. Unity 8 on Mir, for example, is an experimental add-on option. While I like to see Unity 8 and Mir progressing, they are not yet ready to be rolled out to the general public. Another big change is the move to systemd from Upstart and I am really impressed with the way Ubuntu developers handled this shift from one init technology to another. With both systemd and classic init commands, services and logs supported out of the box it makes the transition seamless for almost every use case, both on the desktop and on servers. The last few releases from Canonical have been relatively calm, introducing only minor changes in the user interface and generally improving things. Ubuntu 15.04 feels very stable and easy to configure. This is an operating system that is virtually effortless to set up and run and I feel the Unity 7 desktop does a nice job of providing lots of features while staying out of the way. In fact, what I have come to like about Unity is there is a lot of information around the border of the display while the central work area remains calm, letting the user focus on the task at hand. Updates, new messages notifications and such are presented via subtle visual changes along the edges of the screen rather than popping up and distracting me from my work. All in all, I like what Canonical has done with Ubuntu 15.04. This feels like a small, incremental evolution for Ubuntu and Unity. The init switch, which has disrupted the users of several other distributions, goes largely unnoticed in Ubuntu and I think that is worthy of praise. I would still like Ubuntu to default to not sending search queries and usage data to Canonical, I think those features should be “opt-in” rather than “opt-out”. Ubuntu makes it easy to toggle these features on/off, but I think most people would feel better if their privacy were given a higher priority. Privacy concerns aside, Ubuntu 15.04 feels like a stable release and an evolutionary step forward from previous releases. More at DistroWatch VLC 1.3.2 released for Android VLC is one of the most popular video apps ever created. And now you can download version 1.3.2 for Android. Rpadla reports on features and changes in VLC 1.3.2 for Android: The VLC app for Android has just been updated. You’ll see a few changes to VLC whether on your smartphone or tablet. Playing videos on the background is now possible while Audio Delay control has also been activated. If you use the VLC regularly, you’ll notice a new audio player look and some more Android Lollipop elements. VLC for Android version 1.3.2 features a new look in the audio player. It shows a new Album view and the side bar has been tweaked a little. Each behavior has been improved as well and video play controller has been simplified. You’ll notice a new file browser too and more Android 5.0 Lollipop effects. Some errors and bugs have been fixed too on SD card browsing and hardware acceleration for TS file. More at Android Community Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Technology IndustryOpen SourceSoftware Development