Today in Open Source: The best Linux apps and games of 2013. Plus: ZaReason Zeto compact gaming PC review, and get a discount on the Debian Administrator's Handbook The Best Linux Apps and Games of 2013 OMG! Ubuntu! has a couple of roundups that cover their take on the best Linux apps and games of 2013. Last year we rounded up 10 of our favourite apps that debuted on the desktop. This year we’re doing things a little differently by also including updates released during the course of the year. What did we pick? Geary Birdie Twitter App Springseed Unity Tweak Tool Intel Graphics Driver Installer Ubuntu SDK VoD Enablement App VLC Lightworks for Linux GNOME Music Preview Image credit: OMG! Ubuntu! More at OMG! Ubuntu! Strangely enough, the app that stands out for me is Springseed. I’m a compulsive note-taker so any app that lets me do that well is greatly appreciated. The fact that it’s free and open source just adds to the appeal. I noticed that the comments have been disabled at OMG! Ubuntu! for the top apps article. It’s a shame that some people can’t disagree in a civil manner. Oddly enough, the comments for the gaming list linked to below are still on. So much for the idea that gamers don’t have good manners. With 2013 wrapping up, we’ve brought together 10 of our favourite Linux games of the past year. Our list contains both indie titles and some of the most influential AAA titles to date. This list isn’t intended to be comprehensive nor anything other than our opinion. Garry’s Mod Half-Life 2 Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs Metro: Last Light Starbound 0 A.D. War in a Box: Paper Tanks FEZ Europa Universalis IV Kentucky Route Zero Image credit: OMG! Ubuntu! More at OMG! Ubuntu! I didn’t find too much that appealed to me on the top games list. These days I’m a very casual gamer, so something like SuperTuxKart is more my speed. Yeah, I know I’m lame. No doubt there’s plenty on that list to keep Linux gamers busy for quite a while though. It’s good to see that Linux gaming rolled right along in 2013, I think 2014 is going to be even better. ZaReason Zeto compact gaming PC reviewed OMG! Ubuntu! also has a review of the ZaReason Zeto gaming computer. The Zeto is Linux-friendly vendor ZaReason’s compact gaming PC that packs a lot of power into a one foot high and 12.1-inch deep form factor. We got to spend a few weeks over the holiday playing with the Zeto and seeing what all ZaReason could pack into such a small footprint. The test device provided to us was mostly a base configuration with additional RAM and a graphics card bump: Intel Core i3 4130 3.4 GHz 8GB RAM 1TB Seagate SSHD Slot-Loading CD-RW/DVD-RW EVGA Nvidia GTX 760 Dual Ethernet + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N (with external WiFi antenna) Blue Case LEDs Bluetooth Image credit: OMG! Ubuntu! More at OMG! Ubuntu! The Zeto looks like a great little gaming rig for Linux gamers. I love the fact that it can run Fedora 20 as well as Ubuntu. It would be fun to test some other distros on it and see how they fare. I also like the size of this unit, it’s something you can easily keep on your desk without losing tons of space. Yet you still get enough power to run games at a more than acceptable level. Debian Administrator’s Handbook discount The Debian Administrator’s Handbook has been revised. We’re pleased to announce the availability of “The Debian Administrator’s Handbook, Debian Wheezy from Discovery to Mastery”. This is the first major update of the book since the first edition (in May 2012). We went through all chapters to update everything that changed with Debian 7. We also got rid of some really old content that was really no longer relevant. On the opposite, we added new stuff (such as a section about multi-arch), and addressed 16 bugs reported by loyal readers. Image credit: Debian Handbook More at Debian Handbook Note that there’s a link in the article that offers a 10% discount on the paperback edition if you order before January 9. That’s not a bad deal if you want an updated copy of the book. A very happy new year to all of you! What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open SourceSoftware Development