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It's Easy to Bitch, Easy to whine, Easy to moan, Easy to cry,
Easy to feel like there ain't nothing in your life,
Harder to work, Harder to strive, Harder to be glad to be alive
But its really worth it if you give it a try...
Fred Leblanc

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SimplyMepis is a Debian-based distro developed by Warren Woodford who believed that Mandrake Linux was too hard for new users. (Mandrake, now Mandriva, was the Ubuntu of its time). I’ve heard him interviewed a few times on The Linux Link Tech Show and he seems to be of the realist (as opposed to idealist) school of Linux distro maintainers. He believes users should be able to listen to MP3s, use Adobe Flash, and so on. SimplyMepis 8.0 is based on Debian 5 stable, which I recently reviewed. So let’s load her up into VirtualBox and see how it goes
SimplyMepis 8.0
2009-06-04
Xandros has spent the better part of a decade trying to take Linux to the masses and build itself up as a serious contender in the commercial Linux racket. And now, after the advent of Linux-based netbooks and an evolving new class of devices that are being dubbed smartbooks, Xandros is getting another chance at going mainstream and taking Linux with it. Even if people don't know they're using Linux.
Xandros - the Linux company that isn't
2009-06-04
The first thing that puzzles someone new to Linux is the concept of Linux distribution. When you want to get Linux on your computer, what you install is actually a Linux "distribution" that contains a Linux kernel (see here for a definition of kernel) and some applications like Firefox (web browser) and Open Office (word processor and spreadsheet). There are several distribution available for you choose from, and one of the the first decision you will have to make is to choose your Linux distribution. To help you understand what is a Linux distribution I will take the Windows world as an example.
What is a Linux Distribution?
2009-06-04
If you’ve always worked with a Windows or Mac desktop, you may not know what you’re missing. Jack Wallen says the Linux desktop offers numerous advantages worth checking out — from efficient and flexible design to superior update systems
10 ways the Linux desktop improves the user experience
2009-06-04
Over the years, the question “is Linux ready for the desktop” has been raised time and time again, and countless articles have been written about the strengths and weaknesses of this operating system. While desktop Linux adoption has yet to go completely mainstream, recent indicators show that a major change is underfoot.
Why Linux is ready for the desktop today
2009-06-04
A couple of years ago I would probably easily dismiss the idea of trying out a new version of Windows on the basis of a Free Software ideology or the chorus of voices of Free Software or Open Source fans saying how it just sucks and I better not bother. But things have changed and while some may accuse me of betraying my own four freedoms or even worse the sin of promoting subjugation of computer users, my "evolution" (or de-evolution, perhaps, in some views), has exactly a lot to do with freedom. For what that's worth to would be detractors, it's freedom that I rediscovered, not that I betrayed.
Why I chose Ubuntu after trying Windows 7
2009-06-04
KDE 4 creator Matthias Ettrich, envisaged a Unix desktop with a common look and feel. KDE 4 has been released for over a year now, has it met this goal?
KDE 4: The Komplete Desktop?
2009-06-04
It has only been one week since the release of Phoronix Test Suite 2.0 Alpha 2, but we happen to be ahead of schedule on the third (and possibly the final) alpha release for 2.0 Sandtorg. In the past eight days there has actually been a very large number of changes to the Phoronix Test Suite, both to pts-core and the included test profiles and suites
A Huge Update To Phoronix Test Suite 2.0
2009-06-02
GNU Screen is a terminal multiplexer program that Linux folk have used for ages. It allows you to turn one terminal into many, and run processes even after logging out. In this article we will give a brief overview of screen usage for the uninitiated, then talk about how Ubuntu's defaults and new screen-profiles package have taught us about new and wonderful features of screen.
Ubuntu-ized GNU Screen is Faster and Friendlier
2009-06-02
Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:JAVA) today announced a major new update to its OpenSolaris operating system. Technically called OpenSolaris 2009.06, the new release includes enhanced networking, virtualization and storage capabilities for the open source operating system.
OpenSolaris: Foreshadowing Next Solaris?
2009-06-02
Linux has, in some ways, always been a bit politicized in the sense that there are true believers among Linux users and developers that all software should be truly free. When I say free, I mean free as in free to use and share with others without any restrictions on that usage or sharing. gNewSense Linux is a distribution that is strongly devoted to those ideals
Free as Free Can Be--gNewSense Linux 2.2
2009-06-02
There's been quite a bit of hubub about the KDE project ever since the 4.0 release last year. Critics have slammed the 4.0 series repeatedly, citing the mentality of "Well, it's not good enough to be a full release.". Between the poor publicity, the crashes in Plasma, and the still-developing early features, KDE was definitely not having a good time. Developer blogs were plastered with hateful comments, and one of my favorite devs Aaron Seigo had to temporarily shut down his blog. However, for all the bad rap that the 4.0 series received, KDE has grown wonderfully. With the upcoming releases of KDE 4.3, Plasma has become a rock-solid desktop environment. Sites such as KDE-Look.org have dozens of Plasmoids and Plasma themes ready for desktop user consumption. Major headway is being done on theming, as new community artists continue to contribute new variations of the existing theme engines.
Things I like about KDE4.
2009-06-02
The sad shape of apt-rpm, especially in combination with rpm5, has caused us to look at alternatives. Our decision to go with rpm and apt-get was made when we started 8 years ago – since then, a number of new things have come up and a lot of things could have changed.
Another look at Linux packaging systems
2009-06-02
Ubuntu Jaunty was released around 2 months ago now, and the Linux Mint team have been busy coding their version based upon it. In my opinion, Linux Mint has always been a great distro, taking the excellent points of Ubuntu, and removing some of the bad points, such as the lack of multimedia plugins, and replacing the warm brown with a cool crisp green
Linux Mint 7
2009-06-02
There are many types of linux audio players available. This linux system is open one. There are many clones like linux audio players which are based on some of the famous audio players.
Linux Audio Player
2009-06-01
Before, I have posted here a few basic Linux terminal commands that I think are essential for newbies to know. I've also shared some deadly ones that should be avoided at all costs. This time, I'm going to show you several terminal commands that are perhaps unfamiliar to many new-to-Linux users but could be really handy when used properly.
10 Unknown but Useful Linux Terminal Commands
2009-06-01
Today I’d like to take a quick look at a distribution still in the early stages of development, but one that, in my opinion holds massive potential. That distribution is Chakra Project and it’s based on Arch Linux, which I reviewed not too long ago
Chakra Project Alpha 2
2009-06-01
Fedora, Red Hat's community Linux's arrival has been delayed until early next week, June 2, but the release candidate is already looking mighty darn good.
Fedora 11's best five features
2009-06-01
I had one of those blinding brainflashes, the kind that left me wondering how could I have been such a blind beetle all these years, after reading the Freeform Dynamics report, Linux on the Desktop: Lessons from mainstream business adoption.
Linux Is Easy
2009-06-01
This tutorial shows how you can set up a Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) 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 7 (Gloria)
2009-06-01
Ubuntu 9.0.4 Desktop, nicknamed Jaunty Jackalope, is likely to continue the Mac-like cult following for Canonical's Debian-based Linux distribution. But there's not a lot new here.
Ubuntu Desktop: Plenty of sizzle, not much steak
2009-06-01
Support deals are now the same for the open source and commercial versions of the OS; open source upgrade also adds Sparc support
OpenSolaris is becoming more like regular Solaris
2009-06-01
Linux has, in some ways, always been a bit politicized in the sense that there are true believers among Linux users and developers that all software should be truly free. When I say free, I mean free as in free to use and share with others without any restrictions on that usage or sharing. gNewSense Linux is a distribution that is strongly devoted to those ideals.
Free as Free Can Be--gNewSense Linux 2.2
2009-06-01
It's a peculiar world of computing where some say Linux is ready to replace Windows on the Desktop. They consider Linux is better than Windows by every possible way. Some others (including many Linux enthusiasts) are in the opinion that Linux is still not ready for mass consumption. So, what's holding the Tux back?
So What's the Real Problem in Desktop Linux?
2009-06-01
RedHat, one of the biggest contributor to open source and Linux, proved the world that the Open Source service based model is profitable. RedHat introduces all the exiting new technologies in Fedora, the community driven distribution sponsored by RedHat. These technologies will be integrated into the official RetHat distribution after they are mature enough. The technologies like udev, upstart, SELinux, pulseaudio, Plymouth, Xen and KVM are first introduced (if I remember correctly) in Fedora and then later integrated into various other distributions. I've not used Fedora as my main desktop, but I always try every release of Fedora to get a feel of the new technologies.
Fedora 11 Preview
2009-05-29
There are several ways to run Windows programs on Linux (virtualisation, WINE) and vice versa really isn't a problem either with Cygwin, or better yet, native ports thanks to the Windows variants of Gtk+ and Qt. Still, what if Windows support was built straight into the Linux kernel? Is something like that even possible? Sure it is, and the Chinese figured it'd be an interesting challenge, and called it the Linux Unified Kernel.
Linux Unified Kernel Aims to Combine Linux, NT Kernel
2009-05-29
Fedora, Red Hat's community Linux's arrival has been delayed until early next week, June 2, but the release candidate is already looking mighty darn good.
Fedora 11's best five features
2009-05-29
We are currently playing with a new base (DL-4.0), new kernel (.29-3) new modules, and nelsongs´ new distro building and module creation scripts. I have been left alone to play with the Fluxbox edition (Which I hope they will let me name DreamFlux), but in the meantime we got our hands on nelsongs’ preliminary Gnome desktop modules to play with on the new base and kernel.
Dreamlinux 4.0 Gnome - Sneak Peak
2009-05-29
Top 10 Apps that Boosts Ubuntu’s User Experience
Top 10 Apps that Boosts Ubuntu’s User Experience
2009-05-29
Ext3, the default Linux file system for many years, is definitely starting to show its age. Modern mass storage devices are approaching its limits and block-based data management is no longer adequate for modern file sizes. High time for an update!
The Ext4 Linux file system
2009-05-29
The open source Chromium project, which serves as the basis for Google's Chrome web browser, has reached alpha status on the Linux platform. Ars takes a look at the Linux port's progress and functionality.
Hands on: Google Chromium browser alpha for Linux
2009-05-28
I thought the deal with Ubuntu — at least in the 8.04+ era anyway — was that if you tried to play a not-totally-free form of multimedia, the system would open up a window asking you whether or not you wished to download a proprietary codec or some other form of nastiness to facility the playing of such verboten media.
Ubuntu 8.04 rant: Getting MP3s to play is too fundamental to be left up to geekery
2009-05-28
X.Org 7.5 with the X Server 1.7 update has been delayed, again. X.Org 7.5 was originally scheduled for release in early April but that ended up being an April Fool's Day joke. In late April the X.Org 7.5 / X Server 1.7 release schedule was then revised for a July release. The feature freeze for X Server 1.7 was supposed to occur last week, but Daniel Stone has announced this morning that X.Org 7.5 will be set back by another month.
X.Org 7.5 Release Schedule Slips Again
2009-05-28
Before we start our journey to Linux land there is one question you need to ask yourself: why do YOU want to switch from Windows to Linux? What do you expect Linux to achieve? You don't want to spend the time and effort learning about Linux just to realize that changing your operating system to Linux does not solve the problem you have or does not deliver the benefits you expected.
9 reasons to switch from Windows to Linux
2009-05-28
Last week we took a look at four great Linux/FOSS applications that are as good as any of their competitors, FOSS or proprietary. Today I'll wrap up with four more fine applications that I think are excellent and bragworthy, and that have not already been reviewed to death:
8 Great Linux Apps Worth Bragging About, part 2
2009-05-28
I have now loaded the new release of Linux Mint on all four of my laptop and netbook computers. It loaded absolutely smoothly on all four of them, including both HP 2133 netbooks, with no problems and no special "tricks" required.
Linux Mint 7 "Gloria" - It Just Keeps Getting Better
2009-05-28
Earlier this year AMD launched the Phenom II series to succeed the original quad-core Phenom processors, with these newer desktop CPUs being built upon a 45nm process, tripling the amount of Level 3 cache to 6MB, and offering support for both DDR2 and DDR3 system memory. Prior to the launch of the Phenom II we had tested the AMD Shanghai Opterons on Linux and benchmarked these CPUs on OpenSolaris too, which were the server/workstation version of this new AMD 45nm core. With the Phenom II series there is the X3 and X4 line-up for triple-core and quad-core processors, respectively. In this article we are looking at how well the AMD Phenom II X3 710 performs under Ubuntu Linux.
AMD Phenom II X3 On Linux
2009-05-27
Linux Unified Kernel which I was telling you about a few days ago was recently recently reached version 0.2.4.
Linux Unified Kernel Reaches Version 0.2.4
2009-05-27
Last week I fired up the latest beta of Moblin, the open source netbook/MID/nettop operating system originally spearheaded by Intel, but now shepherded by the Linux Foundation.
Forget Moblin! Ubuntu Netbook Remix rocks on the Classmate
2009-05-27
The other week I theorized about "Invisible Linux" -- what Linux would need to become to really make inroads on the desktop. Since making that post, I've been refining my ideas about what this would be and how it could be created. Read on for more.
Invisible Linux: The Details
2009-05-27
Few topics in the IT industry are more contentious than the prospect of putting Linux on the corporate desktop. Opinions range from the religious view at one end, promoting a fundamentalist belief in open source as the saviour of mankind, to the reaction of corporate conservatives at the other, dismissing Linux as irrelevant to serious end user computing.
Getting real about Linux on the desktop
2009-05-27
At today's ASUS product showcase in Sydney, a bunch of media representatives where given a taste of the company's latest and greatest notebooks, including the new range of Eee PC netbooks.
Has ASUS all but given up on Linux?
2009-05-27
Over the long Memorial Day weekend I decided to do some further Linux distro-hopping, and so wiped out my beloved Crunchbang Linux to test the following distros:
OMG! I’m using a non-Debian Linux distro!
2009-05-27
For years now I've recommended Mandriva Linux as the best choice for newcomers to Linux. I have always found it to be an incredibly user-friendly distribution that manages to avoid sacrificing functionality for simplicity. I've also found that, more often than not, it has fewer significant bugs than a certain more popular distribution that touts itself as being Linux for the masses. Naturally, when Mandriva announced their 2009.1 release a few of weeks back, I was interested to see how the latest version stacked up. I freely admit I had very high expectations for Mandriva 2009.1.
First look at Mandriva Linux 2009.1
2009-05-26
They say first love never dies, and I guess there is a degree of truth in that. Mandrake the predecessor of Mandriva was my first Linux, and despite the fact that over the years our ways parted, I have a sentiment for this distribution and I come back to it every now and again to check what’s new. This time round I decided to have a look the newest addition to Mandriva family; Madriva One 2009.1 Spring, boldly promising to bring the best of the latest cutting edge technology to your desktop. As promises go this is a big one, and after reading the release note on the Madriva website I wondered if this once probably the most popular distro is ready regain the leader position.
A quick look at Mandriva 2009.1 Spring
2009-05-26
After my less than stellar rant on Arch Linux, I received much feedback. It was almost as much as some of my Slackware rants. One fellow suggested I look at something called the CHAKRA Project. Chakra is sort of a jumbled acronym for "Arch and KDE." Its stated goals include making a distribution that is easier to install than Arch, but still based on it. Sounds good so far.
Chakra Alpha 2
2009-05-26
I think the words “package manager” are of the very first things a new GNU/Linux user learns (and soon appreciates!) when he opens the door to the free software world.. The idea of having the ability to install most of the programs available in the free software market from a simple application is both an exciting and practical feature.
Kpackagekit - First Impressions and Troubleshoots
2009-05-26
This one is strictly for the hardcore fan - for the very first time, it says here, you have the chance to purchase a giant poster showing the history and development of Unix. That's right - this 40 foot poster includes over 1,000 versions of 150 different types of Unix.
Who wants a giant poster of the history of Unix?
2009-05-26
Puppy Linux provides a very small, yet complete Linux desktop, with a lot of useful applications, many supported hardware devices & a pleasant user interface. Puppy Linux can boot from any removable media & runs completely from RAM, but can also be permanently installed on the Hard Drive.
PUPPY LINUX 4.2.1
2009-05-26
Gnome is pretty cool. It’s simple and solid. Unfortunately a default Gnome desktop is not very appealing to the eyes. We all come to the point where we wonder, “Can I make my Gnome desktop look super l33t?” And then when we see screenshots of awesome Gnome desktops, a burning desire flames up in our hearts. That’s how it was for me, anyways. So I set out to transform my desktop into something that looks cooler
Gnome desktop overhaul guide
2009-05-26
Intel has unveiled the next-generation user interface of Moblin, the company's open source Linux platform for netbooks and mobile Internet devices. We tested it on real netbook hardware so that we could give you a detailed hands-on look.
Hands-on: Intel brings rich UI to Moblin Linux platform
2009-05-20
Everybody loves the wild and wacky names that end up gracing releases of the various Linux distributions throughout the year, even if some of them — we're not going to name names, that might hurt our karma — have gotten a bit more bizarre of late. Among the more interesting processes for picking release names comes from the Fedora Project, where unlike most other distributions, the new name must share a unique link to its predecessor. Its time then to put your thinking caps on, as the race to make that most creative of links is underway.
Tom, I Can Name That Distro in Two Notes
2009-05-20
Last week's tip covered some ways of getting into a system when you don't have (or have forgotten) the root password. Obviously, being able to do this has disadvantages when the person doing it is an attacker trying to get at the system for nefarious reasons.
Protecting the Linux Root Password
2009-05-20
For those of you who are regular visitors, you may already know that before I started playing with GNU/Linux (2001/2) I was using FreeBSD. And while I continue to use GNU/Linux, I still hold an emotional tie to BSD-based operating systems. It was not until recently that I had decided to give the latest version of PC-BSD a try. This is version 7.1: Galileo Edition. A side note: PC-BSD is a desktop oriented version of FreeBSD intended to be extremely user friendly, primarily because of their implementation of their PBI package management system along with other features.
My good ol’ friend FreeBSD (actually PC-BSD 7.1)
2009-05-20
One debate which the FOSS community will never give up on is the one about GNU/Linux on the desktop. No matter that the two big companies which were once interested in putting GNU/Linux on the desktop have now officially given up.
Desktop Linux: it ain't a better Windows
2009-05-20
Consumers already have a user experience in mind when using a device focused on personal computing tasks. That experience is largely Microsoft Windows-based.
Why are we pinning Linux desktop hopes on netbooks
2009-05-20
gNewSense Version 2.2 (pronounced “guh-new-sense”) Code name DeltaH - Origin Ireland, started by and continues to be maintained by bbrazil and ompaul. A live Distribution. Gnome: 2.22.3 Build Date 2008.07.31 – Debian 5.0 Lenny is 2.22.3 Build Date 2008.09.18. gNewSense is a pure 100% Free Software Ubuntu base GNU/Linux sponsored by the Free Software Foundation and it does not contain any proprietary licence code; therefore it is completely legally distributable. gNewSense is a great Operating System.
gNewSense Version 2.2
2009-05-20
Oh good. Linux Hater has replied to my challenge to stop being anonymous and debate me. And, look at that, it is a numbered list of excuses why he isn’t going to man up. Because it sounds like fun, I’m going to quote his entire post and reply to each item inline…
Linux Hater is an Excuse Lover
2009-05-20
A while back I looked at the Christian Edition of Ubuntu (that distribution has been cancelled apparently as per the note on its site). This time around I was pleased to find that there was a Muslim edition available. So I gave it a download and thought I'd add it to our collection of Linux distribution reviews.
Ubuntu: Muslim Edition (Sabily) Review
2009-05-19
Should the Linux faithful go on the wagon and give up Wine entirely? Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth seemed to imply as much when he said in a recent Q&A that "the free software ecosystem needs to thrive on its own rules." Yet he also said that both Wine and native Linux ports "play an important role." Linux bloggers have been hashing out the issue from every conceivable angle.
Wine: Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It
2009-05-19
Network managers are utilities that allow users to control the network in their operating systems. This includes configuring various network devices, setting up IP addresses, dialing connections to ISPs, and other settings. Every operating system has a network manager. Some are GUI, some are command line, some are friendly, others are not. Whatever their look and feel, they do one thing - allows us to change important network settings without directly accessing different configuration files that define the network.
wicd - A friendly network manager for Linux
2009-05-19
The Proxmox VE (Virtualization Environment) system isn’t the main thrust of Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH. The company began in 2004 as a provider of anti-spam and anti-virus mail gateway appliances. They currently offer both a virtual appliance and a CD version of their Proxmox Mail Gateway. The CD version of the software must be installed on its own dedicated hardware to create the appliance.
Proxmox VE 1.2: First Impressions
2009-05-19
It's actually pretty darn easy to run a virtual operating system on a server or on the cloud. The real trick is managing them. That's why I'm excited that Canonical, Ubuntu's Linux commercial backer, recently released Canonical Landscape 1.3, an Ubuntu network systems management and monitoring service that will let you control your Ubuntu servers no matter whether they're on your desktop or a few thousand miles away on the Amazon EC2 (Amazon Compute Cloud).
Managing Ubuntu Linux on the cloud
2009-05-19
Arch Linux is a Linux enthusiasts dream. It has a rare reputation of being very basic at the same time very user friendly. It is a minimalistic distribution which allows for great customizations, it very updated ( much better than OpenSUSE or Ubuntu) and has a very good package manager.
Why People resort to Arch Linux
2009-05-19
We have already had three articles on Linux forensics. This is the fourth. In the first three parts, we had an introduction to basic concepts on and some common tools and two detailed reviews of Helix and Protech, Linux distributions specially designed for penetration testing, security auditing, incidence handling, system investigation and analysis, data recovery, and other useful tasks.
BackTrack 4 - Hacking galore
2009-05-18
The last time I looked at Ubuntu in depth was actually 12 months ago with the 8.04 release. I found it to be a solid enough but somehow lacking a little in ambition. Would Jaunty jump forward with new features? I decided to find out…
Ubuntu 9.04
2009-05-18
I'm puzzled. Desktop Linux, for the first time ever, has at least 1% of the desktop market. Linux probably has considerably more than that. So, why is Lenovo's Worldwide Competitive Analyst Matt Kohut claiming that Linux has no future on netbooks?
Linux does have a future on netbooks
2009-05-18
Dear Asus, I write to you as a customer of your Eee PC line of computers. I'd never really considered buying any of your hardware up until you released your Eee PC line of products. When I discovered that the Eee 701 was pre-loaded with (Xandros) Linux and came pre-configured with all the usual applications that I am familiar with on my Linux Desktop I was delighted.
Asus, The Fair Weather Friend
2009-05-18
Written by award-winning author Keir Thomas, Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference is a totally unique and concise guide for everyday Ubuntu use. It's the world's most popular Ubuntu book, with over half a million readers (and rising!).
THE ULTIMATE UBUNTU BOOK
2009-05-18
When Will it Really Be the Year of Linux? It already is. It already has been. It will continue for the forseeable future.
When Will it Really Be the Year of Linux?
2009-05-18
In most Linux distro (including Ubuntu), the keyboard combo Ctrl + Alt + Backspace is often used as a shortcut key to restart X. However, in Ubuntu Jaunty, this keyboard shortcut was disabled, “to reduce issues experienced by users who accidentally trigger the key combo”, as quoted by Ubuntu.
How to Restore Ctrl + Alt + BackSpace In Ubuntu Jaunty
2009-05-18
Setting up a Linux distribution isn't a difficult task anymore, but if you want to install Linux on a machine that already has a Windows installation on it, you'll have to slice your disk into smaller partitions to do so.
Run Windows and Linux: easy partitioning guide
2009-05-18
Ubuntu has got some excellent FREE applications which can turn your PC into Live Studio! Here I am highlighting top 10 free applications available to make your PC into a Live Studio.
10 Free Apps that Turn your Ubuntu into Video Studio
2009-05-18
The popularity of linux has finally captured 1% of world desktops. then comes the need for softwares. Personally, I am a Ubuntu linux user.Now, there are a lot of top Ubuntu software posts available on the internet and all of them narrow down to around 7 applications when combined. Not so cool! Here is my list of softwares i have on my Ubuntu installation.
Ubuntu Softwares - Not Just Another Top 5 List
2009-05-18
I am writing this article after testing Ubuntu on many systems and presently writing this post through it. My system based on Windows and double booted through Ubuntu is down and there’s some hardware problem in it and am reduced to work on a desktop working purely on Ubuntu 9.04 with Edubuntu derivative.
Ubuntu Experience–How it Feels
2009-05-18
I have been recently covering various Linux desktops. So far you can read about Fluxbox, Xfce 4, Window Maker, and IceWM. I also touched on creating dropshadows with xcompmgr and transparent windows with transset. If you have been reading me long enough, then you know my favorite Linux desktop is the Enlightenment desktop. I have been using this desktop for quite some time and have never felt it lacked for anything in the desktop space.
Get to know Linux: Enlightenment E17
2009-05-14
Slackware has been a Linux distro I’ve never really been interested in. It is the oldest distro still going (with Debian in second place, it was started 1 month after Slackware) and really did show it in my opinion. It was difficult to use, unfriendly and fairly slow. Debian has moved on and was actually the first distro ever installed, but Slackware seemed to have remained stuck.
Slackware 12.1
2009-05-14
Originally I installed Arch over the Crux installation on my Thinkpad because I needed some sort of outside reference as to why I kept seeing noise floor calibration errors with my ath_5k-driven wireless card. So in that sense, the little experiment was a success — my network will freeze at inopportune times, usually with heavy torrent traffic or prolonged CPU stress. More than that I still don’t know, but it’s enough information to let me troubleshoot the wireless card. And that was the original goal.
A visit with Arch
2009-05-14
I am writing this not to simply disagree with Ubuntu in a general sense, but to back it up with experience. I have long since loved Ubuntu for its “just works” philosophy. And its “can do” attitude with default software. Ubuntu is a great solution for those who wish to break free from the clutches of Microsoft or Apple, and put them in control of their domain. However, after using Linux for many years, I have seen Ubuntu start to annoy me in key areas.
The Sad Truth: Ubuntu Not As Fast As They Say…
2009-05-14
Canonical is preparing to launch Ubuntu One, a new Web service that will offer cloud synchronization and collaboration features. Ars gives you a detailed hands-on look at the service and some of the underlying technology.
Hands on: Canonical aims for the cloud with new Ubuntu One
2009-05-13
According to Dell's Ubuntu page in recent months, the number of machines that Dell has offered in the UK with Ubuntu Linux instead of Microsoft Windows has dwindled from three (a netbook, laptop and desktop) to, apparently, none. Meanwhile the news from Dell US is that there is a new version of Ubuntu coming for the Dell Mini 10 netbook.
Dell reworks sparse Ubuntu offerings
2009-05-13
In around 15 minutes, the time it takes to install Ubuntu Server Edition, you can have a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) server up and ready to go. This feature, exclusive to Ubuntu Server Edition, is available at the time of installation.
Step By Step Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty) LAMP Server Setup
2009-05-13
I’m a Mac user. I gave up on Windows a while ago. The term “gave up” should say it all. From time to time I still use Windows and I’m still amazed it’s not better than it is. I don’t want to make this about Windows but about options.
Linux - the other OS
2009-05-13
PC World blogger Rick Broida shows you how to install and use Presto, a fast-loading, easy-to-use Linux OS that's free to try.
Fast-and-Easy Linux From Hassle-Free PC
2009-05-13
The relaunching of Linux.com has been, without a doubt, one of the most challenging professional tasks I have ever been a part of. And I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The opportunity was stunning--to be part of a team that would take a marquee site that's been a part of the Linux community and infrastructure for years and change it to something even better.
Welcome to the Beginning of the New Linux.com
2009-05-13
So far, in this series, we have taken a look at FluxBox, Window Maker, and Xfce 4. We’ve even examined adding a little eye candy to these old school window managers with xcompmgr and transset. This time around we are going to take a look at what most would consider a more standard metaphor window manager for the Linux operating system.
Get to know Linux: IceWM
2009-05-13
Ratpoison. It sounds like something that kills a rat. It sure does. Ratpoison is a WM (Window Manager) that runs on Linux that has one purpose: to kill your rat. Here we are referring to that disgusting little lump beside your keyboard that shoots lasers out of its arse.
Ratpoison: an efficient and minimalist WM.
2009-05-13
Last week we looked at VirtualBSD, this week we're moving back to Linux and to a more convential kind of distribution. Sabayon Linux is based on Gentoo. Gentoo as you might already know is somewhat famous for being the "roll your own" kind of distribution. It's an extremely powerful and customizable version of Linux but installing it in the past has sometimes been difficult for some folks. Gentoo has had the reputation of being one of the "geek's geek" types of Linux distributions
Sabayon Linux 4.1 Review
2009-05-12
On April 27 I wrote a blog entry titled, “Ubuntu 9.04: Wow.” This was nothing more than a knee-jerk reactionary piece that extolled the values of what the newest release from Mark Shuttleworth and company had to offer. And there is quite a bit of good to take in from the latest-greatest Ubuntu. However, once you get beyond the shiny, glossy exterior you might find a few less-than stellar issues that can raise a flag or two.
Ubuntu 9.04: The official review
2009-05-12
Before Ubuntu there was Mepis. At that time it was one of the most user-friendly Linux distribution available. Despite being overshadowed by the popularity of Ubuntu in recent years, SimplyMepis is still one of the most friendly desktop distributions in the Linux landscape.
Before Ubuntu Was SimplyMepis: A Long-Term Review
2009-05-12
It’s been a while since I did one of these, for one because they’re time consuming, and also because after you’ve done a couple of reviews, it’s like you have nothing new left to say. These days, it’s rare that a Linux distribution is anything else than a different repackaging of traditional open source software
Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) RC: A Review
2009-05-12
One of the distributions I've enjoyed working with in the past is Linux Mint. It's been one of the best new user distributions in quite some time and I've found it to be very easy to both teach and work with. It's also incredibly stable and reliable, with great hardware detection and features.
Linux Mint 6 KDE
2009-05-12
The Mozilla Foundation has released version 1.0 beta of its Prism software. Formerly called WebRunner, this program closes the gap between local applications and web applications. Under Windows, Linux or Mac OS X you can, for example, use Prism to run web applications directly from the desktop or the dock.
Prism - Mozilla minimal browser beta
2009-05-12
The latest addition to AMD's Radeon HD 4000 series (R700) family is the ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics card, which was released in late April. We finally have our hands on this graphics card which uses the RV740 -- the first 40nm GPU -- and have proceeded to run our usual assortment of Linux-based tests. Along with the transition from a 55nm to 40nm process, the Radeon HD 4770 has been designed to bridge the current R700 solutions to their next-generation graphics processors that will be introduced later this year. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 may cost less than $100 USD, but it packs serious performance capabilities.
AMD Radeon HD 4770 On Linux
2009-05-12
Not so long ago I was telling you about the new version 2 of Cairo Dock which was at the time still in beta/rc and that it doesn't look at all like the old 1 branch - this new version is by far the best dock menu application I've seen for any operating system.
Cairo Dock 2.0.0 is Here (Linux Dock Menu)!
2009-05-12
Conky is a free, light-weight system monitor for X, that displays any information on your desktop. Conky is licensed under the GPL and runs on Linux and BSD. Conky has more than 250 built in objects, including support for a plethora of OS stats (uname, uptime, CPU usage, mem usage, disk usage, “top” like process stats, and network monitoring, built in support for IMAP and POP3 and many popular music players (MPD, XMMS2, BMPx, Audacious).
Conky - Lightweight system monitor in openSUSE
2009-05-12
One of the best things about any Linux Desktop Environment/Window Manager, is the ability to have as many virtual desktops as you like. On any system I set up, I stick with the default of four, and reserve the first one for chatting, the second for browsing and e-mail, the third for any multimedia-apps and the fourth for file managers and terminals.
Virtual Desktops: Brilliant or Nuisance?
2009-05-12
WINE, which stands for ‘Wine Is Not an Emulator’ is a piece of software which enables Linux systems to run Windows software. Some programs don’t work at all, some work perfectly, but some work if certain configurations are made. This is where these Wine front-ends come in.
5 Easy Wine Front-ends for Linux
2009-05-12
Last year we provided benchmarks looking at Ubuntu versus Mac OS X when it came to using the latest releases for both software platforms at the time. Both operating systems had performed competitively -- in some tests, the Apple OS wound up on top while in other areas Canonical had the advantage. Since that article back in November, Apple has released a minor update to Leopard (v10.5.6) and Canonical last month released Ubuntu 9.04. We have already looked at the performance of Ubuntu's Jaunty Jackalope, and even found it to perform with old hardware, but how does it now compete with Mac OS X? We have more benchmarks this morning to continue this performance investigation.
Ubuntu 9.04 vs. Mac OS X 10.5.6 Benchmarks
2009-05-12
Despite the positive buzz generated by Windows 7, it is only a matter of time before Linux takes its rightful place at the top of the operating-system pile.
10 reasons why Linux will oust Windows
2009-05-08
This tutorial shows how to prepare an Ubuntu 9.04 server for the installation of ISPConfig 3, and how to install ISPConfig 3. ISPConfig 3 is a webhosting control panel that allows you to configure the following services through a web browser: Apache web server, Postfix mail server, MySQL, MyDNS nameserver, PureFTPd, SpamAssassin, ClamAV, and many more
The Perfect Server - Ubuntu 9.04 [ISPConfig 3]
2009-05-08
Novell is swearing its oath of fealty to the Moblin variant of Linux for mobile computing devices, based on Intel's Atom low-powered processors and, soon with the Moblin 2.0 release, netbooks
Moblin 2.0 Linux goes alpha (again)
2009-05-08
We began talking about Intel graphics regressions in Ubuntu 9.04 back in January but for the most part that went under the radar at Canonical up until Ubuntu 9.04 was nearing release. At that point it was then explored whether greedy migration heuristics improved performance as the UXA acceleration architecture was still too problematic to enable by default. We had found that using some of the latest kernel code had improved the performance some, but still there were major regressions within Intel's new Linux driver stack.
Ubuntu Intel Performance Still In Bad Shape
2009-05-08
With the first release in 2004, Ubuntu established itself as one of the most user-friendly GNU/Linux distributions available. Since then, each release has reaffirmed this reputation, although recent versions have coasted a little.
Ubuntu is the Linux Usability Leader
2009-05-08
Sabayon was probably the first Linux that offered 3D gadgets in the live session out of the box, no special configurations on behalf of the user required. It is also probably the first Linux that demanded more than 10GB of hard disk space as a requirement for the installation. Sabayon is also based on Gentoo, which makes for yet another wonder.
Sabayon 4.1 - A Linux monster (cute one)
2009-05-08
Ahhhh….the old days. Wait, no I have only used Linux since 2004, but thats enough to still know that X.org.conf was still fully functional at that time. With new releases of distributions such as Ubuntu 9.04, we now see X.org.conf as a deprecated, dying dinosaur, that is sure to make even the strongest willed Linux nerds shed a tear.
Troubled Times: The X.org As We Know It, Is Over…
2009-05-08
Some one told me once that all of the good system administrators are lazy, I believe this but I also think that Linux users are lazy. While I’m not a full time systems administrator, I am a full time Linux user. I sometimes think that I’m so lethargic that I don’t have the energy to turn on a light switch.
Linux Users are Lazy
2009-05-08
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution, a free alternative operating system, if you will. Those of you who consider yourself computer geeks already know this, the rest don’t care. I was always a Mac person until a few years ago, when the whole “Live CD” craze allowed regular guys like me to install Linux without any fear. But back then it was more just a curiosity, something I could install on my huge hard drive just because I could.
WHAT DO CARROT TOP AND UBUNTU HAVE IN COMMON?
2009-05-08
Mark Shuttleworth made some interesting comments recently about the role of the Wine compatibility layer in fostering the migration of Windows users to Ubuntu. Shuttleworth views Wine, and binary compatibility with Windows applications in general, as a distraction from the real goal of making the free-software world “thrive on its own rules,” not those borrowed from the proprietary ecosystem. I disagree. Here’s why
Why Ubuntu Should Embrace Wine
2009-05-08
Conky is a highly customizable desktop monitor for X Window System. Think of it as KDE4 desktop widgets on crack. Conky, a fork of torsmo, has been around for a long time but new Linux users usually stay away from it because customizing it requires editing the scripted configuration file, which can be a bit intimidating for new users.
8 Beautiful Conky Desktop Monitor Setup
2009-05-08
Sabayon was probably the first Linux that offered 3D gadgets in the live session out of the box, no special configurations on behalf of the user required. It is also probably the first Linux that demanded more than 10GB of hard disk space as a requirement for the installation. Sabayon is also based on Gentoo, which makes for yet another wonder
Sabayon 4.1
2009-05-08
In my previous First Look, I expressed my slight disappointment with the KDE version of Linux Mint and concluded that I would rather stick with its main, GNOME desktop environment edition. That was version 6, also known as Felicia, a great release from the wonderful Linux Mint Team. I was delighted today when I saw the latest entry on their official website announcing the immediate availability of Linux Mint 7 "Gloria" Release Candidate 1. Though I usually write First Looks only for final versions, seeing Mint's new features I couldn't help it this time
Linux Mint 7 RC1
2009-05-07
Since its last release, Mandriva has undergone a few changes – many of which have rubbed the community up the wrong way. But when it comes to producing a general-purpose Linux distro, Mandriva always seems to pull it off. Its latest, Mandriva 2009.1 Spring, is haute couture, trend-setting stuff.
Mandriva 2009.1 Spring
2009-05-07
First a big thank you to the Ubuntu / Kubuntu communities for providing their time to put together such fine Operating Systems. If you want to learn more about Ubuntu 9.04 you can go here and if you would like more information on Kubuntu 9.04 go here. With the release of Ubuntu 9.04 I figured it was time for me to download the ISO and see what this new version of Ubuntu brings to the table. While I was at it I also decided to get the Kubuntu 9.04 ISO and if I had time I would check that out as well.
A weekend with Ubuntu 9.04 and Kubuntu 9.04.
2009-05-07
My question to this kind of suggestion would be "then what?". Assume that we succeeded in "unifying" the effort and experience, and GNU/Linux achieves significant market share in desktops, then what? What have we offered to the world but Windows-with-Linux-kernel?
Linux - Dealing with the reality
2009-05-07
Unfortunately, maintaining a multi-boot configuration like this can be a pain, especially if you later install an operating system which overwrites the GRUB boot loader you had in place (such as a version of Windows). If your boot loader is overwritten, you could be left with no choice but to boot the most recently installed OS.
Fix / Restore GRUB Boot Loader
2009-05-07
Mandriva 2009.1 Gnome Live CD is a very nice distribution. As always you can expect a great hardware detection and I was surprised at the speed of the distro once I had it installed. This is a short tutorial on how to install Mandriva. Burn the Live CD and then boot and you will have an icon on the desktop to do the install. Double click the icon and you can get started.
Mandriva 2009.1 Install
2009-05-07
I was once again battling against the lack of free space on my hard disk (mp3 collection grows up, and I don’t have the courage to delete most of the things), so I ended up removing my Arch Linux partition. It was my default OS for about 3 years, it is one of the best distros around in my opinion, and I recommend it for anyone interesting in having a fully-customizable, dynamic, extremely fast and tunable system.
Mandriva-only mode
2009-05-07
I got an email from a reader a few days ago and he pointed me to a blog entry by the developer of Linux Mint, one of the most popular Linux distributions. I did a review of it recently and came to the conclusion that it's pretty darn good for anybody interested in Linux on their desktop.
The Great Linux Mint Political Train Wreck
2009-05-07
I love placing all the shortcut icons and files on my Desktop because it allows me to access to my data quickly and save me the trouble of searching for it in Nautilus. On the other hand, I also have a passion for clean desktop. I have a huge collection of beautiful wallpapers and I love to set my desktop to rotate the wallpaper every 30 minutes. It is my source of inspiration and seeing the beautiful wallpaper allows me to relax whenever I am too stress out from my work.
Ubuntu: Two Ways to Keep A Clean Desktop Without Affecting Your Efficiency
2009-05-07
A few days back, Mandriva released the newest version of its operating system, Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring. As I had already taken a look at the Release Candidate 2, I know pretty much what was in store. I wanted to setup this new release and get it running as quickly as possible even though the previous version Mandriva 2009 was working like a charm on my laptop. It was by far the most stable OS to have run on my laptop.
Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring - First Impressions
2009-05-07
Yes, there is more to Linux than Ubuntu. As you are probably aware, there are many different types of Linux to choose from, even though not all get the attention they deserve. These are organized into separate distributions, (distros) and each one is different. If you've read our previous Beginner's Guide to Linux, you are already familiar with the advice we gave about choosing the right distro for your needs. This guide will shed more light on some of the more common distributions in use today and will cover the distinct advantages or disadvantages of each.
There's Way More to Linux than Ubuntu: 8 Distros Compared
2009-05-07
Discussions of Ubuntu with people outside (and sometimes inside) the free-software community often devolve into criticism of Linux advocates as arrogant elitists, endlessly singing the praises of their operating system of choice but frightening away potential new users with their snobbish and intolerant attitudes. This reputation for pretension may be undeserved, but it’s something the Ubuntu community needs to deal with more actively.
Is Ubuntu Elitist?
2009-05-06
If you remember my last media entry, The best Linux media players, you’ll remember I left out one very important entry - Songbird. At the time I really hadn’t given this relatively new entry to the media players a try. But recent “upgrades” to Rhythmbox and Banshee which left either 1) much to be desired or 2) the application unusable made me take a look at Songbird.
Songbird in Linux
2009-05-06
Firefox has been a reliable browser for me for many years and it still continues to be so to a certain extent. However, over the last few releases Firefox has become bloated and slow in performance that same way IE used to be before we switched to Firefox. The only thing that is stopping me from switching to another browser, is the large number of extensions available for Firefox. Specifically firebug. Since I spend most of my time on a Linux system, over the last few days I have been looking for an alternative Linux browser. Here are 10 of the best Linux browsers out there that can be a decent alternative to Firefox:
Beyond Firefox: 10 Other Great Linux Browsers
2009-05-06
Running Mandriva 2009.1 on my EEE pc, I am sensitive to performance, as it’s a fairly low end system. 900 Mhz, 1GB ram, and also have laptop with only 192 MB. I could not understand why plasma was using 47 MB of ram and some other processes where also really hogging a lot of ram considering what they do.
Memory usage - 2009.1 with KDE4
2009-05-06
I've written (and before that observed/suffered) about the Xfce flavor of Ubuntu — Xubuntu — not offering much of a speed advantage over plain ol' GNOME-based Ubuntu and certainly not comparing well to the default Xfce setups of Debian and Slackware.
Xfce in Ubuntu/Xubuntu and Debian(/Slackware/fill in the blank)
2009-05-06
François Vogelweith is the author of zgegblog, a site that maintains a collection of great GNOME themes (you can see screenshots of the themes and some more info but in French, on his website). Balanzan (translated: Balance) is one of its most popular creations, a very comprehensive theme based on Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope, which contains a wallpaper, logon theme, Emerald theme, controls and icons.
9 Great Gnome Themes with Ubuntu Repositories
2009-05-06
Most Netbooks aren't suitable to run "heavy" Operating Systems like Windows Vista, or XP. That's the reason why many users are installing a Linux distro onto their Netbook & some manufacturers like ASUS & Acer do offer their Netbooks with Linux pre-installed. Tux Radar did test some popular Linux distros
5 Linux distros for Netbooks reviewed
2009-05-06
This tutorial shows how you can set up an Ubuntu Studio 9.04 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.
The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu Studio 9.04
2009-05-06
You should not upgrade to Ubuntu 9.04 (aka Jaunty Jackalope), released a few weeks ago, if: You have an older ATI graphics card (prior to R500, .e.g xpress 200m) You like to have 3D support (read compiz/games, etc)
Why You Should Not Upgrade to Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope (9.04)
2009-05-06
Linux hardware support has improved a great deal over the past few years, but there are still a few troubled spots. With computer motherboards, for instance, the core functionality is generally there and most consumer motherboards will "just work" with the latest desktop Linux distributions out there. Where users though can run into problems are with the ancillary features. Motherboard manufacturers usually bundle proprietary software with their products that allow monitoring of hardware sensors, flashing of the motherboard BIOS, and overclocking all from within the Windows operating system. With the exception of LM_Sensors providing some sensors support, this is a grey area for Linux. Fortunately, however, the folks working on the CoreBoot project have developed a program that will near universally allow you to flash your motherboard's BIOS from within the Linux desktop.
Flashing Your Motherboard BIOS From The Linux Desktop
2009-05-05
I tried a binary upgrade method, but it failed due to custom kernel installed on my FreeBSD 7.1_p5 64 bit AMD systems. How do I upgrade my FreeBSD server using source code method?
Upgrade FreeBSD 7.x to 7.2 Stable Release
2009-05-05
What is Ubuntu? Ubuntu is a free Linux distro, which you can get your hands on by many ways. You can download the ISO and burn a CD, so you have your copy of Ubuntu directly. You can also buy a CD or DVD for a very low price. You can request a CD, using Shipit, for free (!), and you will get some free stickers with every package. Or you can download Wubi (Windows Ubuntu Installer) and install Ubuntu side by side with Windows, without messing up your hard disk/Solid State Drive
The Big Ubuntu 9.04 Review!
2009-05-05
While anti-virus and anti-malware is not much of a problem on Linux at this time, AVG has added this anti-malware protection to their Linux security software. AVG has supported Linux for sometime when it comes to virus and spam protection, but with version 8.5 they have expanded their anti-malware support. Besides that there are also many other improvements to the AVG Linux support like a new anti-virus filter, improved system resource handling, multi-core CPU support, and a new virtual file-system.
AVG Ventures Into Linux Malware Protection
2009-05-05
Well well.... I couldn't blog on friday when the news were fresh (and I knew right away everybody was going to comment on it). GNU/Linux has hit a 1% market share during April 2009 according to Hitslink's statistics. Alongside these statistics we can see that IE keeps bleeding market share while FF and Chrome continue to go up. Great news as well.
GNU/Linux up 60% YoY, Windows down 4.02%
2009-05-05
I won't rehash my feelings about earlier versions of KDE. Suffice it to say I didn't like it and you can review my comments about KDE 4.0 and KDE 4.1 elsewhere. At first glance, I also wasn't impressed with KDE 4.2, but I decided to give it one more try, after some performance fixes in the latest edition, and I'm finally impressed.
KDE 4.2: Finally a new Linux desktop I can like
2009-05-05
I’m a Fedora fan, and I’m impressed with each new release, but in the end, its just nowhere near ready. You have to do far too much research and under the hood work to get it to do
Linux Still Not Ready for Prime Time
2009-05-05
Hi there! I’m going to gather some well known info about these five popular Linux distribution to give you small preview of Linux operating systems. This is not a top five, rather five distributions I know about. This article should give you an overview on what to choose. And of course there are many more of Linux distributions, if you are interesting in finding them, they are listed on wikipedia.
5 Must Try Linux Distros
2009-05-05
There are many KDE distributions, but some have refused to move to KDE 4 and have stayed with KDE 3.5 instead like Mepis, Sidux and Slax. Here is a list of KDE 4 distributions to help distro-hoppers with their searching: Kubuntu
8 KDE 4 Distributions
2009-05-05
Though there are lots of differences and dissimilarities in Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu and we have discussed them in our earlier articles, here are five such more things that you won’t find working in Ubuntu but are used to do in Windows.
5 Things that Don’t Work in Ubuntu
2009-05-05
If you read Superman comics as a kid or an adult then you're probably already familiar with Kandor, the Kryptonian capital city that was miniaturized by the evil Braniac and trapped in a bottle. Well how ironic then that I managed to stumble across an operating system in a very similar situation.
VirtualBSD Review--Inside and Out
2009-05-05
Critics are calling 'Jaunty Jackalope' as slick and seamless as Mac OS X. We uncover the Linux distro's pitfalls and gotchas -- as well as its hidden delights
Inside Ubuntu 9.04
2009-05-04
Sabayon is a fairly popular Gentoo-based distribution which is generally said to target power-users instead of users who need user-friendliness. Sabayon Linux is developed by Fabio Erculian in Italy.
Sabayon 4 Lite MCE Review
2009-05-04
Once I filled up a few screens complaining about how LogMeIn failed me in OpenBSD, I was too far along to report how I feel about Ubuntu 8.04 after not booting into it for almost a month, during which time I used a nearly identical Toshiba laptop running OpenBSD 4.4, lately using the Xfce desktop environment.
Ubuntu 8.04 checkup, Part 2
2009-05-04
Yakuake - Great terminal application Yakuake is a very popular Quake-style terminal application which sits in the background unless it's invoked with the (default) F12 global shortcut
Top 10 KDE4 Applications
2009-05-04
I've been writing Linux guidebooks for some time, and it's fair to say that most people who buy my books are Windows users looking to make the leap to Linux (or perhaps just wondering what the fuss is about).
Top 7 Reasons People Quit Linux
2009-05-04
I noticed Jim by his thoughtful replies on openSUSE mail lists and forums. He has ability to listen, understand and answer in the way that correspondent can not only find correct, but also understand, which is seldom found talent.
People of openSUSE: Jim Henderson
2009-05-04
I’m constantly vigilant, assesing how much of the general public who are not technically minded have heard about Ubuntu, or use Ubuntu or who have used Ubuntu in the past. I’m happy to report that incidents of people who use Ubuntu or who at least know what it is are increasing. To such a point that I would credit word of mouth and nothing else for the increase in awareness. So I decided to take an informal poll of local computer shops/stores and large stores such as BestBuy and Radioshack.
Overview of Ubuntu in the Highstreet
2009-05-04
Let’s talk about Linux without X. Sure, there are several nice lists of applications which don’t require X. I use several of them. However, there is a whole range of things not considered if we simply talk console.
That Non-X Linux Thing
2009-05-04
With Firefox marketshare now above 20% and rising fast, can the KDE Project’s browser, Konqueror, compete? Recently I started running KDE 4.2.2 and decided to use Konqueror in place of my default browser — Firefox. Let’s see how Konqueror stacks up.
Can Konqueror Compete? A Look at KDE’s Browser
2009-05-04
After an unbelievable eight weeks and a day in repair, the laptop is back. The entire motherboard and CPU were fried, so it's basically a new computer. (The actual repairs were completed long ago; my techies shipped it to an outside vendor for a warranty-covered job and the idea I get is that they had a $$$ dispute and my machine was held hostage.)
Linux Monday: The Laptop and the Jackalope
2009-05-04
The world of open-source desktop revolves mainly around Linux. Still, there are several other players that you may want to consider as your desktop distribution. One of them is Open Solaris, trying to nibble into the free market with the 2008.11 version, featuring a Gnome desktop. Another one is PC-BSD, a desktop oriented flavor of the UNIX-based BSD operating system. With the recently released Galileo and KDE 4.2.2 environment, PC-BSD is definitely worth testing.
PC-BSD 7.1 Galileo - Review
2009-05-01
If you like me upgraded to ubuntu 9.04 jaunty jackalope changes are that you are confronted with a login screen at startup. Here's an easy way to get back your settings to login immediately. If you think this is a security risk, just read the article 10 ways of resetting a lost linux root password and think if you really need to protect against 4 year olds. If you really need security take appropriate measures. To me the login screen is only an annoyance.
Reconfigure automatic login in ubuntu 9.04 jaunty jackalope
2009-05-01
With Ubuntu’s easy-to-use approach, the excellent apt-based (Advanced Packaging Tool) software management system, and a polished and well-presented Gnome desktop, this distribution soon came to dominate the free Linux world. In recent releases, Fedora has begun to fight back. Many of the new features included in Ubuntu releases are created by Fedora developers; this includes the popular NetworkManager and much of the PulseAudio sound system. Fedora has always been strong in development and has often been a little more cutting-edge and experimental with new software than other major distributions, and this continues to be the case.
Fedora 10 put to the test
2009-05-01
Mandriva has released the final version of Mandriva Linux Spring 2009. The new version offers KDE 4.2.2 as the default desktop, delivers up to 25 percent faster boots, supports additional netbooks, and provides enhanced networking and security tools, says the French software company.
Mandriva's latest touted for fast boot
2009-05-01
The public administration of the city of Boom is using Ubuntu for ten new publicly accessible desktop PCs in its public library. The Boom library is not the only public library in Belgium using this GNU/Linux distribution.
Ubuntu GNU/Linux for desktop PCs public library in city of Boom
2009-05-01
With my latest foray into Windows 7 build 7100 (official Release Candidate from MS Technet) I was experiencing largely the same errors/issues/bad performance as I had on the unofficial 7057 and 7077 wherein everyone replied “Hold your horses”
Mandriva 2009 Spring Kicks Vista7 back to /dev/null
2009-05-01
Yawn: That's how I reacted when I heard that Ubuntu 9.04, aka "Jaunty Jackalope," had reached the release candidate stage. It was sort of like hearing about President Obama making another policy speech. There was a time when everything he said was new and exciting. But now it all sounds like another rehash of the previous week's press conference.
Ubuntu 9.04: More of the same
2009-05-01
In episode 6 of our podcast we asked the question, "should netbook manufacturers standardise on a single distro?" Well, as netbook manufactuers continue to find ever more obscure distros to fit onto their systems, Canonical has stepped into the fray wielding a mighty cluestick: Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR).
Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 hands-on
2009-04-30
For the first time, I decided to purchase the OpenBSD CD set to both support the project and make it easier for me to upgrade my two OpenBSD laptops and install the OS on some new boxes.
OpenBSD 4.5 CD set — this time I bought one
2009-04-30
I had intended to create blog post about my frustration with Vista and how I finally installed Linux on my almost one year old PC. A funny thing happened on the way to Linuxland, a roadblock whose name is Jaunty.
The Not So Jaunty Jackalope
2009-04-30
I moved to Ubuntu from windows XP since Feisty Fawn. At the time I was thinking that (1) the year of the Linux desktop is near and (2) that Ubuntu will soon replace windows. I was wrong. I realized there are 3 major problems Ubuntu has to address. This blog is about the 3rd one. But let's first consider the first 2 ones:
Underestimated hurdles to Ubuntu desktop adoption
2009-04-30
I've done this sort of thing before, but luckily somebody else is comparing the Xfce environments of Debian Lenny and Xubuntu/Ubuntu. Results are not surprising and are in line with what I found over a year ago when I did a major comparison of everything from Xubuntu and Debian to Slackware and gOS, as well as Wolvix and standard Ubuntu
Xubuntu vs. Debian Lenny with Xfce
2009-04-30
Charles Dickens wrote that "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". I have a feeling that he wasn’t referring to computer operating system boot times, but that's what I’m going to discuss today. More specifically Ubuntu 9.04's boot times.
Ubuntu 9.04 Boot Times
2009-04-30
I have been a GNOME user since I have jumped into Linux bandwagon. Even though trying out KDE and XFCE, I always had to fall back to GNOME even though people are said never to be happy with it. As I feel, just jumping here and there, changing DE’s won’t help. If I feel something is lacking or some feature is buggy, I would surely poiny it out. The criticism would be constructive. Just have a look.
My two cents on improving GNOME
2009-04-30
Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition brings minor cosmetic and UI enhancements to the easy-to-use desktop distribution. Highlights include new versions of OpenOffice.org and Gnome, as well as a new desktop notification feature. On the downside, installation was marred by missteps, and hardware support remains mixed.
First look: Ubuntu 9.04 stays the course
2009-04-29
Arch Linux is a strange beast. It's closer to Gentoo than anything else, and even that comparison is imperfect. It's a do-it-yourself, minimalist OS that has everything I don't want in a desktop.
Arch Linux 2009.02
2009-04-29