The dog days of summer may best be endured at a leisurely pace, but for those of us here in the sweltering Northern reaches of the Linux blogosphere, that simply hasn’t been an option. Far from being the lazy month many typically expect, July has brought not only a fiery debate over codes of conduct among kernel programmers but also the launch of Canonical’s ambitious Ubuntu Edge crowdfunding campaign.

It’s no secret that humans tend to be motivated by cash, and developers are no exception — heck, even Microsoft knows that! Little wonder, then, that Linux developers took in the latest from the Tizen project with such interest. “Tizen is a brand new ecosystem, with a brand new store,” the announcement read.

Well the Fourth of July may have come and gone for another year here in the Land of Stars and Stripes, but for Linux fans, every day is Independence Day. Freedom from the dictates of a few giant software behemoths is what we celebrate each and every time we use our computers, not to mention the world of user choice that comes along with that freedom.

It may be largely a locked-down PRISM world we’re living in today, but that doesn’t mean those of us here in the Linux blogosphere can’t still have a little fun once in a while — especially if it’s at Microsoft’s expense. The latest opportunity? Well, get this: Microsoft had a really good idea recently. *Really* good! Redmond has decided to… wait for it… launch a bug bounty program!

After all the bold moves Canonical has made regarding Ubuntu in the past few years, it’s not exactly any secret that a significant portion of the Linux community remains unconvinced as to the wisdom of its chosen path. Indeed, it was just a few weeks ago that the project decided to launch its very own package format and installer, resulting in more than a few raised eyebrows among FOSS fans.

Life is like a roller coaster, as the popular saying goes, filled with both ups and downs. Here in the Linux blogosphere we’ve certainly experienced our share of downs in recent months — thanks in large part to a frustrating spate of FUD — but lately the clouds have parted and the sun is shining on Linux with full force once again.

If Canonical has shown anything over the past few years, it’s that it’s not afraid of doing things differently. Ever since the arrival of Unity in Ubuntu 10.10’s netbook edition back in 2010, it’s been clear the company is “marching to the beat of its own drum,” as they say, with a growing focus on mobile and convergence. Well, last week brought yet another example of Canonical’s independent-mindedness.

Well it’s spring storm season in many parts of the world, so it should come as no great surprise that we’ve had some storms here in the Linux blogosphere as well. The latest example? None other than an intriguing poll about paying for Linux. Could you, would you, do you pay for Linux? the poll asked. The question had barely hit the airwaves when the stampede began.

The size of Linux’s waistline has long been the focus of recurring attention here in the Linux blogosphere, even drawing occasional criticism from Linus Torvalds himself. Recently, however, a fresh weight-related complaint was made — not about the kernel itself, but about today’s Linux distros.

Last Monday delivered both death and taxes. April 15 was not only the day U.S. taxes were due, but also the day two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. The magnitude of that tragedy is far beyond the scope of this column, of course, but Monday also brought a casualty — albeit on a much smaller scale — to those of us here in the Linux world. It wasn’t a human death, fortunately.