Today in Open Source: All Linux distros store Wi-Fi passwords in clear text. Plus: Ten open source predictions for 2014, and thirty great open source applications Linux distros store Wi-Fi passwords in clear text Softpedia has a follow-up article about how all Linux distros storing Wi-Fi passwords in clear text. Ubuntu isn’t the only distribution that does this. The “problem” with the NetworkManager application is that it stores the details of any connection (Wired, Wi-Fi, VPN, Proxy, etc.) created by the user in some text files, called profiles, under the /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/ or /etc directory. Many users have reported this functionality as a bug, in the past few years. This happens for any new connection created via the default NetworkManager applet (kdeplasma-applets-plasma-nm for KDE and network-manager-applet for GNOME, Xfce, and other desktop environments). So anyone who inserts a Live CD Linux distro into your laptop, can view your not-so-secret Wi-Fi password… or steal even more important data! More at Softpedia I’m sure that this will come as a shock to some Linux users. Note that the article also includes a few ideas on how to fix this as a user. Encrypting your Linux system seems to be the most obvious solution, and is probably a good idea in and of itself anyway. Ten Open Source predictions for 2014 TechRepublic has a list of ten open source predictions for 2014. Some of you may be shaking your heads at yet another prediction of world domination by a Linux zealot. But there are plenty of reasons for such a bold prediction. In fact, here are 10 reasons why I firmly believe 2014 will be a banner year for Linux and open source: 1. Open source will dominate corporate data 2. Valve will prompt OEM hardware developers to open up 3. The Linux tablet will finally see the light of day 4. GNOME 3 will become relevant again 5. KDE will release a major game-changing feature 6. MariaDB will begin to make inroads to usurping MySQL 7. Open source will lead the way for smart machines 8. Open source will re-define cloud management 9. Linux desktop will break double-digits in the market share 10. Linux pre-install sales will steadily increase More at TechRepublic I certainly hope he’s right about the Linux desktop increasing market share. That would be wonderful to see. Ditto on the pre-install sales, I’d like to see those numbers zoom way up too. I am somewhat skeptical about his prediction regarding GNOME 3. While it still has a devoted fan base, many people have written it off completely and have moved on to other desktop environments. It’s going to be very hard for the GNOME developers to ever get them back. Thirty great Open Source software applications The year 2013 is behind us now, but nixCraft has a list of the thirty best open source software products from 2013. These are full-featured open source software products, free as in beer and speech that I started to use recently. Vivek Gite picks his best open source software of 2013. 1. Replicant 2. Miro video converter 3. OwnCloud 4. Docker 5. Adminer 6. MariaDB 7. RackTables 8. Apache Cordova 9. Angry IP scanner 10. Jekyll 11. TurnKey Linux 12. DokuWiki 13. MediaGoblin 14. Scrollout F1 15. Observium 16. SimpleInvoices 17. FileZilla 18. WinSCP 19. XAMPP 20. Abiword 21. {less} 22. Cinnamon 23. Tmux 24. Artica 25. Zentyal 26. Ack-grep 27. ditaa 28. GNU parallel 29. luckyBackup 30. OpenShot More at nixCraft Whew! That’s quite a list! And it really doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the amazing open source software that’s available right now. These are great days to be an open source software user or developer. What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open SourceSoftware Development