In today's open source roundup: Bryan Lunduke points out the flaws of Linux in 2014. Plus: A week with the Ratpoison window manager, and five large organizations that use desktop Linux Linux is a great operating system, with much to offer any user. But nothing is ever completely perfect in life. In order to improve Linux it’s necessary to understand its faults. Bryan Lunduke explores some of the problems facing Linux in 2014 in this YouTube video taken at LinuxFest Northwest. More at YouTube Be sure to watch the video from beginning to end before passing judgement. I found it to be entertaining (Lunduke is a funny guy) but also quite informative. This sort of criticism is helpful and absolutely necessary if Linux is going to be improved in the years ahead. I’m sure there are folks out there who might be offended by some of his commentary, but my advice to them is to take the larger view. I think Bryan Lunduke deserves a pat on the back for having the courage to be so honest and direct about the problems facing Linux. You can contact him via his blog, twitter account or Google+ page. A week with the Ratpoison window manager Lunduke also has some thoughts to share at Network World about the Ratpoison window manager, after spending a week using it. He found it to be…er…poisonous. According to Network World: With that experience fresh in my mind, I had high hopes for the environment selected for me to live full time in for this last week – ratpoison. Normally, I’d make you wait for the end of the article to discover my ultimate conclusion. But I just can’t do that this time. You see… I hated it. No. That doesn’t do my feelings on ratpoison justice. The heat of my hatred burned hotter than a thousand suns. Ratpoison should be sent to The Hague and put on trial for crimes against humanity. More at Network World I haven’t used Ratpoison, so I can’t tell you if it’s worth trying or not. But if you are interested in checking it out, head over to the ratpoison site for more information. Linux Goodies also has an overview of Ratpoison that you might find helpful. You can also see Ratpoison in action in this video: Five large organizations that use desktop Linux Somehow I missed this article from TechRepublic at the end of August, so here it is now. It lists five well known organizations that use Linux. According to TechRepublic: Linux-based desktop operating systems face barriers to widespread adoption and skepticism about their future prospects due to their limited use today. Yet major users do exist, including companies such as Google and a small but growing number of government bodies. Here are five of the highest-profile users of the Linux desktop worldwide. Google NASA French Gendarmerie US Department of Defense CERN More at TechRepublic This list doesn’t come as a surprise to me, but it’s still good to see it published by a prominent site like TechRepublic. It reminds everybody that desktop Linux is quite viable, and it’s already being used by such widely known organizations. What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of ITworld. Software DevelopmentOpen Source