After becoming increasingly frustrated with Windows Vista, I began searching for an alternative operating system. An “upgrade” to Windows XP seemed like the only other option, but Skatter Tech’s senior editor, Sahas Katta, suggested I try Ubuntu 9.10: Karmic Koala. Naturally, after years and years of using Windows based systems, I hesitated to install Ubuntu. First off, I did not like using Linux. I never got into the habit of learning all the different commands and functions of a Linux OS and did not want to start now
Archive for December, 2009
Ubuntu 9.10: Karmic Koala
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Google Chrome Browser Comes to Mac, Linux
Friday, December 11th, 2009Google on Tuesday released beta versions of its Chrome browser for Mac and Linux. The company also unveiled extensions in Chrome for Windows and Linux.
“It took longer than we expected, but we hope the wait was worth it,” Brian Rakowski, Google product manager, wrote in a blog post.
Free Software Fanatics
Friday, December 11th, 2009Over at Desktop Linux Reviews, I recently wrote a review of Mandriva Linux 2010. For the review I picked the “free” version of Mandriva Linux, which meant it had no proprietary applications or codecs installed.
Taking a break from Ubuntu
Monday, December 7th, 2009Have you read the past 25 or so entries in this blog?
Once I finally solved all my issues with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, I decided to start the upgrade path to version 9.10.
I wanted newer applications. I needed better hardware drivers.
But especially with 9.10, nicknamed Karmic Koala, I’ve had to deal with too many issues. I’m tired.
Using Your iPod with (K)ubuntu 9.10
Monday, December 7th, 2009After a rocky beginning, I’ve been able to do many neat things with my Black iPod Classic with 120 GB, but it hasn’t been without its trials and tribulations. In this post, I’ll write about the tools I use to sync music, add photos, and transcode videos to the correct format
The Perfect Desktop – OpenSUSE 11.2 (GNOME)
Monday, December 7th, 2009This tutorial shows how you can set up an OpenSUSE 11.2 desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.
Trouble Free Karmic Koala
Monday, December 7th, 2009The last time I blogged about Ubuntu Desktop, either I didn’t explain the problems I was having sufficiently, or people just don’t get it and react. I try to make what I write clear enough for those new to Linux, but that may make it seem like I’m not very experienced with Linux, even though I have been actively abusing it since 1995. I have decided to just keep on writing and let the chips fall where they may.
Majority of new HTC phones will run Android
Monday, December 7th, 2009A leaked HTC roadmap for 2010 has revealed that the majority of the company’s smartphones for the first half of 2010 will run Google Android, not Windows Mobile,
StressLinux 0.4.136 – Review and Commentary
Monday, December 7th, 2009StressLinux.org just recently announced a new release and we thought we would take a quick look at the system to see what it’s made of.
Back From The Wilderness With Mandriva One 2010
Monday, December 7th, 2009BLIMEY, you turn your back for a minute…
Actually, it’s been a few months, because my attention has been consumed by a major project at the newspaper where I work: the introduction of a new editorial database system which, incidentally, works entirely within Mozilla’s Firefox web browser.
Ubuntu 9.10: The Karmic Koala Benchmarked And Reviewed
Monday, December 7th, 2009Canonical releases a new version of its Linux distribution, Ubuntu, every six months. Sometimes new versions, like 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” are definitely worth the time investment, while others, like 8.10 “Intrepid Ibex” should be avoided. So, where does version 9.10 stand? Is the free download worth your time and bandwidth, or should you stick with the (still) cutting-edge 9.04, or even the rock-solid 8.04 LTS release? We’ve had a month to really get to know the Karmic Koala. We’ve put it through the paces and now have our final verdict.
Linux Mint 8
Monday, December 7th, 2009To start off, this review will attempt to describe/find what sets Linux Mint apart from all the other remastered/customized version of Ubuntu.
Normally, I don’t really fancy Ubuntu based distros, as most of them are nothing more than custom / remastered versions of the original Ubuntu. However, Linux Mint has really broken the tradition of poorly made custom respins and has nearly became a whole complete distro of its own
Why Chrome OS Is No Threat to Windows
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Google’s new operating system is meant to supplement, not supplant, your current computer.
Why Red Hat doesn’t see CentOS as a Linux rival
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009I wrote a story yesterday about CentOS (the Red Hat Enterprise Linux clone) getting commercial support from OpenLogic. One thing that isn’t in the posted story, that I’ve always been curious about, is why Red Hat itself doesn’t go after CentOS users in an effort to convert them to paid Red Hat support.
What Kind Of Bird Are You Booting?
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Consider this a Thanksgiving post. I know most of you are away eating, or arguing with family. Up here, in the Great White North, Thanksgiving was back in early October so I’m sort of working today. You might say I’m indulging in a different kind of bird. Just what kind of bird, however, was something I was very curious about.
Howto setup Wireless on Chrome OS
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Chrome has recently been open sourced by Google as a developer preview. Its very young, clearly has some issues and needs serious work, however it is usable and lots of people have managed to get it running in a virtual machine or via a USB key.
The Perfect Desktop – Linux Mint 8 (Helena)
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009This tutorial shows how you can set up a Linux Mint 8 (Helena) desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge. Linux Mint 8 is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 9.10 that has lots of packages in its repositories (like multimedia codecs, Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Skype, Google Earth, etc.) that are relatively hard to install on other distributions; it therefore provides a user-friendly desktop experience even for Linux newbies.
KDE Plasma netbook interface demoed on Asus Eee 1005Ha
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009At times I’ve felt like KDE 4 is a little bit on the sluggish side on my desktop PCs. On a netbook’s Atom processor? I wouldn’t even have considered switching from Gnome if I hadn’t seen this video on YouTube.
A Linux answer to Windows SBS: ClearOS
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Linux is used as a server all the time. From branch-offices using Linux and Samba to Google running, well everything, on Linux, it’s the operating system for choice for most businesses. Except that is, for small offices. There, Microsoft’s SBS (Small Business Server) is the server of choice. The Clear Foundation wants to change that with their ClearOS 5.1 small business server distribution.
Linux Pranks
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Do you know what people think about us linuxers? No Clue!! Get some Popcorn coz I am going to tell you a great story. A long long time ago, back when linux was getting powerful, there was a boy who started using it. He liked it so much that he would spend all the day learning and exploring.