Best Linux distros for the enterprises : Red Hat, Linux mint, Ubuntu, Trusted End Node Security and more

In this article, I'll share the top Linux distros for enterprise environments. Some of these distros are used in server and cloud environments along with desktop duties. The one constant that all of these Linux options have is that they are enterprise grade Linux distributions -- so you can expect a high greater degree of functionality and, of course, support.

What is an enterprise grade Linux distribution?

An enterprise grade Linux distribution comes down to the following – stability and support. Both of these components must be met to take any Linux distribution seriously in an enterprise environment. Stability means that the packages provided are both stable to use, while still maintaining an expected level of security.

The support element of an enterprise grade distribution means that there is a reliable support mechanism in place. Sometimes this is a single (official) source such as a company. In other instances, it might be a governing not-for-profit that provides reliable recommendations to good third party support vendors. Obviously the former option is the best one, however both are acceptable.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat has a number of great offerings, all with enterprise grade support made available. Their core focuses are as follows:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server: This is a group of server offerings that includes everything from container hosting down to SAP server, among other server variants.

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop: These are tightly controlled user environments running Red Hat Linux that provide basic desktop functionality. This functionality includes access to the latest applications such as a web browser, email, LibreOffice and more.

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation: This is basically Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop, but optimized for high-performance tasks. It's also best suited for larger deployments and ongoing administration.

Why Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Red Hat is a large, highly successful company that sells services around Linux. Basically Red Hat makes their money from companies that want to avoid vendor lock-in and other related headaches. These companies see the value in hiring open source software experts to manage their servers and other computing needs. A company need only buy a subscription and let Red Hat do the rest in terms of support.

Red Hat is also a solid social citizen. They sponsor open source projects, FoSS advocate websites like OpenSource.com and also provide support to the Fedora project. Fedora is not owned by Red Hat, rather its development is sponsored instead. This allows Fedora to grow while also benefiting Red Hat who then can take what they like from the Fedora project and use it in their enterprise Linux offerings. As things stand now, Fedora acts as an upstream channel of sorts for Red Hat's Enterprise Linux.

SUSE Linux Enterprise

SUSE is a fantastic company that provides enterprise users with solid Linux options. SUSE offerings are similar to Red Hat in that both the desktop and server are both focused on by the company. Speaking from my own experiences with SUSE, I believe that YaST has proven to be a huge asset for non-Linux administrators looking to implement Linux boxes into their workplace. YaST provides a friendly GUI for tasks that would otherwise require some basic Linux command line knowledge.

SUSE's core focuses are as follows:

- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server: This includes task specific solutions ranging from cloud to SAP options, as well as, mission critical computing and software-based data storage.

- SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop: For those companies looking to have a solid Linux workstation for their employees, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is a great option. And like Red Hat, SUSE provides access to their support offerings via a subscription model. You can choose three different levels of support.

Why SUSE Linux Enterprise?

SUSE is a company that sells services around Linux, but they do so by focusing on keeping it simple. From their website down to the distribution of Linux offered by SUSE, the focus is ease of use without sacrificing security or reliability. While there is no question at least here in the States that Red Hat is the standard for servers, SUSE has done quite well for themselves both as a company and as contributing members of the open source community.

I'll also go on record in suggesting that SUSE doesn't take themselves too seriously, which is a great thing when you're making connections in the world of IT. From their fun music videos about Linux down to the Gecko used in SUSE trade booths for fun photo opportunities, SUSE presents themselves as simple to understand and approachable.

Ubuntu LTS Linux

Ubuntu Long Term Release (LTS) Linux is a simple to use enterprise grade Linux distribution. Ubuntu sees more frequent (and sometimes less stable) updates than the other distros mentioned above. Don't misunderstand, Ubuntu LTS editions are considered to be quite stable. However I think some experts may disagree if you were to suggest that they're bullet proof.

Ubuntu's core focuses are as follows:

- Ubuntu Desktop: Without question, the Ubuntu desktop is dead simple to learn and get running quickly. What it may lack in advanced installation features, it makes up for with straight forward simplicity. As an added bonus, Ubuntu has more packages available than anyone (except for its father distribution, Debian). I think where Ubuntu really shines is that you can find a number of vendors online that sell Ubuntu pre-installed. This includes servers, desktops and notebooks.

- Ubuntu Server: This includes server, cloud and container offerings. Ubuntu also provides an interesting concept with their Juju cloud "app store" offering. Ubuntu Server makes a lot of sense for anyone who is familiar with Ubuntu or Debian. For these individuals, it fits like a glove and provides you with the command line tools you already know and love.

Ubuntu IoT: Most recently, Ubuntu's development team has taken aim at creation solutions for the "Internet of Things" (IoT). This includes digital signage, robotics and the IoT gateways themselves. My guess is that the bulk of the IoT growth we'll see with Ubuntu will come from enterprise users and not so much from casual home users.

Why Ubuntu LTS?

Community is Ubuntu's greatest strength. Both with casual users, in addition to their tremendous growth in the already crowded server market. The development and user communities using Ubuntu are rock solid. So while it may be considered more unstable than other enterprise distros, I've found that locking an Ubuntu LTS installation into a 'security updates only' mode provides a very stable experience.

What about CentOS or Scientific Linux?

First off let's address CentOS as an enterprise distribution. If you have your own in-house support team to maintain it, then a CentOS installation is a fantastic option. After all, it's compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and offers the same level of stability as Red Hat's offering. Unfortunately it's not going to completely replace a Red Hat support subscription.

And Scientific Linux? What about that distribution? Well it's like CentOS, it's based on Red Hat Linux. But unlike CentOS, there is no affiliation with Red Hat. Scientific Linux has one mission from its inception – to provide a common Linux distribution for labs across the world. Today, Scientific Linux is basically Red Hat minus the trademark material included.

Neither of these distros are truly interchangeable with Red Hat as they lack the Red Hat support component.

Which of these is the top distro for enterprise? I think that depends on a number of factors that you'd need to figure out for yourself: subscription coverage, availability, cost, services and features offered. These are all considerations each company must determine for themselves. Speaking for myself personally, I think Red Hat wins on the server while SUSE easily wins on the desktop environment. But that's just my opinion – do you disagree? Hit the Comments section below and let's talk about it.

Apple will release three new iPhones in 2018, claims latest analyst note

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, widely known as one of the most-famous and accurate Apple analyst, has released a new research note on iPhones set to release in 2018. According to Kuo's research note, Apple will release not two but three iPhones this year. Mac Rumors website has obtained the release note. Here's what the release note says about Apple's alleged line-up of iPhones for the year 2018.
6.1-inch iPhone with LCD

* Apple is said to be working on a 6.1-inch iPhone. The smartphone is claimed to come with full-screen display and True Depth sensors. It will have iPhone X's 3D sensing technology as well as support for An Emoji-es. The alleged iPhone is said to come with single battery cell with 2,850-2,950 mAh capacity. Note also suggests rectangular shape for the device

* As per Kuo's note, Taiwanese manufacturers Patronage, Foxconn and Wistron will be the key assemblers of the 6.1-inch iPhone. The note claims 60 percent, 30 percent and 10 percent allocation of EMS respectively for these companies.

* Rumors suggest that Japan Display will be the key supplier of LCD displays for the 6.1-inch iPhone. The alleged iPhone is said to sport the company's advanced LCD display, Full Active LCD technology. These LCD panels have 18:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2,160x1,080 pixels. Some other smartphone makers like Xiaomi too have used Full Active LCD displays.

* The Full LCD displays instead of OLED displays will reportedly help Apple to keep the price of the iPhone comparatively low. Other design changes expected include aluminium frame instead of stainless steel. Rumors also suggest single-lens camera instead of dual-lens.

Next-generation iPhone X, iPhone X Plus

* The note claims higher RAM for the alleged second-generation iPhone X and iPhone X Plus smartphones. As per Kuo, both the iPhones will come With 4GB RAM. iPhone X Plus is also said to sport higher battery capacity of 3,300 to 3,400 mAh. Kuo's note suggests that the iPhones will have two battery cells, increasing the capacity by 25 percent. The battery is pegged to be similar to iPhone X's L-shaped battery.

* The note further clams that besides the iPhone X Plus' screen and battery size, the two new upcoming smartphones will offer minor upgrades.


* Incidentally, a recent report from Kuo also claimed that iPhone X will be "end of life" in the summer of 2018. According to the note, the company may not want to sell iPhone X as low-cost device, considering it being a special edition iPhone. So, for the first-time ever, Apple may not retain the previous year's entire line-up.

How to Use Virtual Keyboard in Windows 10 – (Windows 10 Touch Keyboard)

Hello friends, Today I will tell you a method on how to use Virtual Keyboard Windows 10. You can use both Virtual keyboard and Physical Keyboard at the same time. Users can use this Virtual keyboard on Windows 10, 8.1 and 8. You can use Windows 10 touch keyboard on your PC/Laptops. Virtual Keyboard will be shown on screen. You can even draw pattern to write an alphabet or number.

There are two on-screen keyboards in Windows 8 & 10. First, the basic one which can be accessed merely from the taskbar and second, a more advanced one found in the Ease of Access settings. You need to enable Virtual Keyboard on Windows 10. I will share a complete method to use Virtual Keyboard Windows 10.

Windows 10 Touch Keyboard

1. Right-click on the Taskbar => Toolbar => Touch keyboard.
2. Once you have enabled it, a keyboard icon would appear near the system tray or notification area on your computer screen. Just click on the icon or tap on it in case of a touchscreen to bring up the on-screen virtual keyboard.
3. You can work on the keyboard by just clicking on the keys with a mouse or if your screen is touch-supported, by tapping on it. The keyboard is simple to use, and there is nothing more to know about it at present.
4. You can relocate or enlarge the keyboard using the icons at the top-right corner of the keyboard. The button at the bottom of the keyboard allows you to select and choose from different layouts.

Enable On-screen keyboard Windows 10 Download

Windows 10 consists of another more advanced version of virtual keyboard which can be accessed through the Ease of Access settings. To pop it up, just open the Start menu and select Settings. Now, go to Ease of Access > Keyboard and then enable the On-Screen Keyboard option you’ll find at the top of the window.

This keyboard resembles the traditional PC keyboard in functionality and comes with a few more keys. The keyboard is included in a separate desktop window which you can resize or minimize unlike the basic one. There are additional configuration options for the keyboard which you can access through the Options button at the bottom right-hand corner. You can also access the keyboard more efficiently in future, and you can pin it to your task-bar.

This keyboard is also accessible from the sign in screen of the Windows 10. All you need to do is click or tap on the Ease of Access button at the bottom-right corner of the sign-in screen. It is situated at the left of the power button and chooses On-Screen Keyboard from the menu appearing afterward.

How to Hide your secret Files Behind an Image, without coding.

We all have secret files that we don’t want anyone to look at. Most common way of hiding important files was either creating a folder inside a folder or some people change the folder type to hidden. But both of these ways are not safe and anyone with little intelligent can easily find the folder you wish to hide.  Today I will show you how you can store a folder inside an image so that who ever wants to find your folder will have a really hard time finding it.

 To do this a basic knowledge of command prompt is sufficient. Even if you don’t have it, I will make sure the path is easy for you to follow.

1. First select an image beneath which you will hide the file you want.

2. Now select the file you wish to hide and convert into .RAR formattd file using winRAR.

3. Paste both of these files on the desktop.

4.Now press windows key + ‘R’ and then enter cmd.

cd desktop

5. CD stands for change directory.By typing the above mentioned command you redirect the directory to desktop.

Copy /b name.jpg + filename.rar image.jpg

• Replace name.jpg with the name of image you want your file to be hidden behind. Don’t forget to add image format like  .jpg,.png,.gif etc.
• Replace filename with the file of your choose that you choose to hide. It must be in .rar format.
• Finally Replace image.jpg with the name of the final image with files inside.

6. The newly created image just looks like an image from all sides. You need to follow the following steps to extract files from images.

 Accessing the Hidden File ?

To extract the file out of the image, you should open the image in winrar, which can be done in either of these ways.

    1. Open winrar

    2. Now locate your image and open it or simply drag your image in winrar.

    3. Extract the file and done.