Eliana Willis

ZDNETI often sit around wondering what Linux can do to help attract new users. Sometimes, I come up with ideas that are pretty obvious and tend to center around how those teams could better market themselves and their products. Other times, those ideas are kind of out there. And then there are moments of clarity when I realize some sort of fundamental change that could be made to expand the user base.Also: This lightweight, easy-to-use Linux OS can save your aging Windows 10 PCOne such idea hit me the other day. This idea came about from some comments made on one of my Linux 101 videos I posted on YouTube. The video in question was about Arch Linux and its slogan “Keep it simple.”I realized there was a disconnect.Let me explain.Simple doesn’t mean easyI like the Arch slogan. The problem with it is that it seems to be aimed at the wrong people. What do I mean? If you’ve ever installed Arch Linux the old way, you know how much of a slog it was. There was no point-and-click GUI, and everything had to be done manually. Eventually, someone simplified the process by creating a script to run that would handle some of the heavy lifting. The developers stuck to their slogan and kept things simple.The thing is, who is it simple for? Imagine someone new (or new-ish) to Linux booting an Arch ISO, landing at a terminal prompt, and wondering why there’s no desktop. Sure, that’s simple. There’s not much to it, and it makes me think that the “Keep it simple” slogan is more for the development team than it is for the users.Instead, they need to make it easy.There’s a difference.Also: How to install Arch Linux without losing your mindThe Arch text-based installer is simple. There’s not enough to it to make it complex. It’s basic, it’s easy to maintain, and it’s quick.But it’s not easy. At least not for those trying Arch for the first time.To me, simple equates to a simplistic approach, whereas easy means it won’t challenge the user. There’s a lot in Linux that’s simple. There are application developers who have finally realized that easy is more important. Not every Linux distribution has followed that same path. Some distributions try, and some (such as Linux Mint and Ubuntu) have succeeded.But let’s go back to Arch for a second. If you know what you’re doing, the installation process is fairly easy. For the new user, not so much. Even if a new user were to get Arch installed, what’s next? The developers have stuck with their mantra on the desktop and kept it simple to the point where there’s no easy-to-use GUI for installing applications.When you force users to use the command line, that might be a simplistic approach for the developers, but it’s not easy for the users. More

ZDNETThe thing I find most baffling about the programming tests I’ve been running is that tools based on the same large language model tend to perform quite differently.Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use)For example, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and GitHub Copilot are all based on the GPT-4 model from OpenAI. But, as I’ll show you below, while ChatGPT and Perplexity’s pro plans performed excellently, GitHub Copilot failed as often as it succeeded.I tested GitHub Copilot embedded inside a VS Code instance. I’ll explain how to set that up and use GitHub Copilot in an upcoming step-by-step article. But first, let’s run through the tests.If you want to know how I test and the prompts for each individual test, feel free to read how I test an AI chatbot’s coding ability.TL;DR: GitHub Copilot passed two and failed two. Test 1: Writing a WordPress Plugin So, this failed miserably. This was my first test, so I can’t tell yet whether GitHub Copilot is terrible at writing code or whether the context in which one interacts with it is limiting to the point where it can’t meet this requirement.Let me explain.This test involves asking the AI to create a fully functional WordPress plugin, complete with admin interface elements and operational logic. The plugin takes in a set of names, sorts them, and, if there are duplicates, separates the duplicates so they’re not side by side.Also: I tested DeepSeek’s R1 and V3 coding skills – and we’re not all doomed (yet)This was a real-world application that my wife needed as part of an involvement device she runs on her very active Facebook group as part of her digital goods e-commerce business.Most of the other AIs passed this test, at least partly. Five of the 10 AI models tested passed the test completely. Three of them passed part of the test. Two (including Microsoft Copilot) failed completely.The thing is, I gave GitHub Copilot the same prompt I give all of them, but it only wrote PHP code. To be clear, this problem can be solved solely using PHP code. But some AIs like to include some JavaScript for the interactive features. GitHub Copilot included code for using JavaScript but never actually generated the JavaScript that it tried to use. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Asus ProArt P16 is available now, starting at $1,900. It pairs powerful hardware with a suite of customizable options designed for creatives. The deep personalization requires engagement from the user, the huge trackpad won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and the ultra-glossy display tends to glare. more buying choices Asus’ […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Amazon’s third-generation Echo Show 8 is available for $150. The smart display has an improved speaker with spatial audio, a centered camera for improved video calls, and Adaptive Content that adjusts based on how close you are to the device. Although the Echo Show 8 brought many improvements, the screen remains […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Vivobook S 15, Asus’ first Copilot+ PC, normally retails for $1,299, but it is currently on sale for $1,099 on Amazon. It is sleek and lightweight with a gorgeous OLED display, great battery life, and snappy performance. However, because of the nature of Windows on ARM laptops, it’s not yet […] More

OnePlus Open Apex Edition and OnePlus Open Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETThe newest OnePlus 13 smartphones recently hit the market, but OnePlus More

Lina Chekhovich/Getty Images I film and edit a lot of video content. Editing and color-correcting videos can be a very complicated and time-consuming process. When you’re done, you want to see an accurate representation of what the content will look like. Are the colors true? Are the edits clean?  There are so many moving parts. […] More

CFOTO/Contributor/Getty Images A new player has entered the AI villa, and it’s creating significant disruption.  Chinese AI startup DeepSeek made waves last week when it released the full version of R1, the company’s open-source reasoning model that can outperform OpenAI’s o1. On Monday, App Store downloads of DeepSeek’s AI assistant — which runs V3, a model […] More