The Linux Newb

Netbooks!

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Well, it has been a very long time sense I last posted anything here. But a new inspiration. Right now, I am typing on a new EEE PC 1000HE with Windows XP currently installed.

I intend to toss on Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix on this thing, and give a good picture loaded review....

Stay tuned.....

HOWTO update intel-microcode, microcode.ctl

noreply@blogger.com (loomsen) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Here we go.

This post will provide: CPU microcode update for INTEL CPUs

Hardware Dependencies: any x86 based Intel CPU (x86_64, IA32...)

--> So, if you have an Intel CPU, this will probably work for you.

OS Dependencies: Ubuntu jaunty, but this will probably work with any debian based system (or more likely with any linux system) However, I tested it on Ubuntu only so far...

Official package description:

Intel IA32/IA64 CPU Microcode Utility

The microcode_ctl utility is a companion to the IA32 microcode
driver:

- it decodes and sends new microcode to the kernel driver for Intel IA32
family (Pentium Pro, PII, Celeron, PIII, Xeon, Pentium 4, etc.) and
Intel x86_64 family processors;
- it signals the kernel driver to release any buffers it may hold.

The microcode update does not permanently alter the CPU and must be
performed each time the system is booted.

Preview/aperitif

Predefines:

Quotes will be cursive

docter[~] <--- this indicates a terminal/shell

docter[~] echo "code to run will be bold, make sure you copy the whole line"

docter[~] echo "each time you copy and paste"

================================================

HERE WE GO

================================================

To perform the actual upgrade udev is used, so you gotta have that installed in your system. If you're sure you have udev installed you may skip this section.

---- Section 1) Installing udev

To check, you could do something like:

docter[~] dpkg -l | grep udev | awk '{print $2}'
libudev-dev
libudev0
udev
udev-extras
docter[~]

If your output differes, use:

docter[~] sudo aptitude install libudev-dev libudev0 udev udev-extras

to pull them in.

END Section 1) Installing udev

#####################################

##### SKIPPERS JOIN NOW ###############

#####################################

Now we need the microcode module to be created upon system boot time

---- Section 2) Enable microcode module

To enable microcode support in our kernel (or more likely have the node /dev/cpu/microcode created upon each boot) we need to edit /etc/modules and make sure it has a line reading microcode

docter[~] sudo nano /etc/modules

And, if not enabled yet, add

microcode

to the bottom of the file, close it with CTRL-X, hit Y to save it. Sample:

(don't change other lines, only apply microcode if it does not exist yet)

To create it now without rebooting, we may use

docter[~] sudo depmod -a

The node

/dev/cpu/microcode

should have been created now, and our microcode module should be alive. Let's check:

docter[~] lsmod | grep microcode

microcode 25000 0

docter[~]

END Section 2) Enable microcode module

#####################################

##### SKIPPERS OF SECT2 JOIN NOW #######

#####################################

Our system is ready to grab the packages we need:

docter[~] sudo aptitude install intel-microcode microcode.ctl

After the installation finished, run:

docter[~] sudo update-intel-microcode

To grab the latest code available. Usually Intel updates the code regularly, but you'll only have to run it now. The default location for the code is

/usr/share/misc/intel-microcode.dat

Now to update the code, use:

docter[~] sudo microcode_ctl -u

*** DONE ***

--> Sample output:

--> Sample dmesg:

Now, to make sure everything worked well, reboot your system, and when back up check dmesg

get-a-loom

noreply@blogger.com (loomsen) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:13:00 +0000

That's right, I'm in!

Some of you might know me from ubuntuforums.org where I'm around too.

Short introduction, I'm a 26yr old economics student from Germany, and at the moment running jaunty beta. I'm a laptop user and running amd64, which I try and keep as clean as possible (= free from 32bit compat libs where possible)

I hope I can share some useful/funny/pointless/stunning apps & hints I stumbled upon so far.

And I'll sincerely try and avoid issuing any commands which will cause you harm. (like for instance the "getlibs" command, and such)

Any application I will point to will be free of spam or compatibility libs you don't need, or I will explicitely WARN you.

Alright, I hope you'll enjoy my posts.

Looking for bloggers!

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:57:00 +0000

The Linux Newb is looking for some people to help with blogging!!

If you feel that you write good content, but your site just isn't being seen by enough people, or if you don't have a site but a passion for our topic; please email me with a sample of your work. We can discuss the terms, and hopefully make this a better source of information/entertainment for everyone!

These positions are currently unpaid, and on a volunteer basis, but that may change after not too long.

Email: blake@thelinuxnewb.com

Its Up!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:56:00 +0000

The new site is up!!! I hope everyone likes it, if you have any suggestions please let me know!!!

Regards,
Blake

Review - Dream Linux 3.5

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Dream Linux, the dream of every new user, or at least the distro that's a dream to use has taken another jump forward and released a newer version. But as with every new version, questions remain as to how well the new version stacks up against the older ones. And how does this one do against it's predecessors? Let's find out.

Live CD

The LiveCD boots up quite fast and gets you to a rather nice looking XFCE desktop complete with numerous icons and a quick launch bar very reminiscent of MacOSX. One thing though that really stood out during the bootup sequence was a series of words that would scroll in from the left announcing each major thing that was happening, such as doing auto start or loading the desktop.

It would then scroll out to the right and another would come in behind it. That was a rather nice and somewhat eye candy'ed touch. Another interesting thing you notice right away upon reaching the desktop is the notation along the right side (at a sideways angle) announcing three noteworthy features of DreamLinux 3.5: Powered by Debian, Boosted by Flexiboost, and Install USB FlashDrive.

Of the three, the one that catches my attention the most is the Boosted by Flexiboost. This is obviously a speed improvement system, and leads one to believe that it's there to provide a lot of help in performance.

The desktop includes your standard home, computer, trash and other items, but also has several interesting additions. The first is Live Dream, a point and click LiveUSB installer. Across the screen from it is it's counterpart, Persistent Dream, that provides a LiveUSB install that keeps all of your settings, even after reboot. The second is DL Installer. This is just the standard DreamLinux installer that will walk you through everything you need to do to install DreamLinux.

Next to it is an Easy Install icon. This one allows you to point, click, and install a selection of popular and obscure applications not included in the default install with the least amount of effort possible. There's also an OEM installer. This will create an OEM like install on your computer, which makes this perfect for any computer builder or OEM to use when building PC's to create a ready to go, out of the box PC installed with DreamLinux. (I think this is a fabulous idea other distros should pick up to increase OEM usage of their distro)

The last item of interest is the CD remastering tool that allows you to make your own custom mixed version of DreamLinux that you can use wherever you want.

The overall system in LiveCD mode is very fast, easily within the upper half of LiveCD speeds. The number of installed applications are a bit on the lean side, but all the important ones are there, including many of the lightest weight internet, multimedia, and graphics apps available.

Stability in the LiveCD is fantastic. Trying to crash this is like trying to crash a bumper car. You can bang around all you want, but you aren't going to dent any fenders. One annoying thing I did find was that the screensaver was set a little too short, and came on at some rather inconvenient or inappropriate times. Otherwise it was fine. Now, let's move on to the installer and see how that does.

And for those of you who aren't too fond of XFCE, or are fanatical for Gnome, there is also a Gnome version of Dream Linux 3.5 now. Now not as a knocking against Gnome by any means, but the disk for Gnome booted noticeably slower into the desktop and ran noticeably slower as well. Feature wise however, it was essentially the same as the primary XFCE version, save for the Desktop Environment and a few UI tweaks consistent with the use of Gnome. Otherwise they're almost identical.

Installation

Using the DreamLinux installer is fairly easy. It starts you out with a single screen that asks you for the root and user login, as well as how you would like your disk partitioned. It's not directly explanatory on how to use, but a few seconds of clicking around will allow almost any user to figure it out.

Once you're ready to begin, just click Apply and let the installer do the rest. Really, this is one of the simpler installers, as far as steps go. However, it's anything but one of the fastest, as it took well over 40 minutes to complete the install, which easily puts it in the bottom third of installer speeds.

The only thing you have to do at the end is simply reboot and you're all set to go. Installation to USB pen drive is amazingly fast and easy. Almost in a way it's easier than the hard drive install. The OEM install is also fairly easy, as it more or less just dumps a default configuration onto the system.

Overview

Now although everything prior to this worked fine, including the LiveCD, I had some really ugly issues trying to get the system to boot. Had to actually run the install twice just to get it to take, since I got an unbootable drive the first time. Once the second install succeeded, I rebooted and found that it crashed on the first two tries at booting.

I got some weird segment fault, but no explanation what faulted or why. It did finally boot on the third try, but took an immeasurable amount of time to complete that. Subsequent boots were a hit or miss proposition. And I know it wasn't the hardware, since the system booted just fine on the LiveCD and the previously installed copy of PCLOS.

But on the times when it did succeed in booting, the desktop ran just fine. I expected it to get flakey on me, but interestingly enough, it didn't. I don't really know how to explain it, but once it was past all the boot problems, it ran just as clean as the LiveCD.

Software selection in the installed selection is identical to the LiveCD, as is the desktop as well. So if you need to test drive DreamLinux 3.5, you can pop in the LiveCD and see if it fits your needs. Load times for applications aren't noticeably different than the LiveCD. Maybe a tad faster, but not much.

One positive note is that the DreamLinux control panel looks both simple and beautiful. It's well laid out and pretty much point and click easy to use. Also, the dream Linux Easy Install, USB installers, and OEM installer are all still available in the installed desktop, including the remastering tool.

For those who are curious, the Easy Install is there to make adding certain programs and drivers to the system very easy. These are things that normally wouldn't come with the system due to legal or other reasons. Thus you, the end user, are given the option of installing them manually yourself. Some of these items are things like the Nvidia drivers, Libdvdcss, Acrobat and others.

Another little surprise is that XBMC is installed by default, so you can fire it up and watch your favorite movies right from your PC. It could also easily turn a small PC into a DVR of sorts too if you really wanted it to. Oh, and before I forget, DreamLinux is eyecandy heaven. There's eyecandy everywhere. No fancy Compiz like effects, but rather just a lot of really great looking graphics.

Anywho, getting back to the gagging that happened earlier in the boot, I checked and I can't find a reason for it. It's not a hardware issue, as it found every single bit of my hardware, including sound, network and everything else. So aside from it's boot problems, which may not be a problem for everyone, it's really not a bad distro. As for the boot issues, I suspect to see an update soon that will address those. So if you want to hold off for a little bit until that update hits the repositories, that'd be fine.

Conclusion

Overall, other than what I listed above, I see no real reason why a new user couldn't just dive right into DreamLinux 3.5 and start having fun with it. It's really not bad. Again, it's not as fast as other XFCE centered distros, a real surprise given the speed boost claimed by the desktop wallpaper, but still it's fast enough to work well for most users.

For more information, check out their homepage: http://www.dreamlinux.com.br/

Source of this article

Advertise

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:32:00 +0000

The Linux Newb is quickly growing past 1000 visitors a day, and targets a niche group of consumers. If you think your product is a fit, we offer specials to first time advertisers without contracts.

If you are interested in advertising with us. please contact Blake (founder of TheLinuxNewb) at blake@thelinuxnewb.com

About

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:24:00 +0000

The Linux Newb is still a new and growing blog! We talk about everything & anything Open-Source. Which includes, but is not limited to, Linux builds, mobile solutions (Android), and Open-Source software.

From time to time we will be reviewing hardware, software, and games. Truthfully, this is an all around tech blog, with a focus on Linux and Open-Source.

If you are interested in blogging for TheLinuxNewb.com please contact me by email at blake@thelinuxnewb.com with a sample post. If approved I will create a login for you, and you can begin to contribute.

Hopefully everyone enjoys the new site!

Regards,
Blake
Founder
blake@thelinuxnewb.com

Linux Newb Upgrades

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:50:00 +0000

As many of you know, I took a bit of a break from blogging, but heres the good news. Now that I'm back I will be finishing up the new site desgin...in fact, im so close that all i have left to do is clean up the side bars and it should be good to go. I plan on rolling out the new site next week! I am hoping that the process will go smoothly and have minimal downtime, but we all know how that goes.

So stay tuned, once the new site is up and running, I have some pretty exciting blog posts for you. I'm going to disect KDE and Gnome...both of the new versions, as well as some posts on Android, and the o-so-anticipated "cupcake" upgrade.

I will be reviewing some new apps for the G1, and apps for linux as well...stay tuned...

Blogging with Android

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:48:00 +0000

So about 2 weeks ago I made the jump and bought myself a G1 "Google phone" for T-Mobile. The first thing I tried to do was login to blogger and make a post...well, that didnt go over that great with the standard browser. The only way I could make a post was in the html editing screen, and even that was iffy sense you cant really scroll around while typing etc etc. needless to say, I started searching for a new way.

As most of you know, thelinuxnewb.com uses the Blogger platform...so being that Google was involved with both the G-Phone, and Blogger, you would think that they would have an app made up for this very purpose....no such luck, and honestly it was just by a stroke of luck that I figured it out.

At work I can only pick up the 2G EDGE network, so browsing the internet can be sluggish. To fix the problem I started the search for a new web browser to speed things up for me....sooo to the Android App Market I went...after a few failed attempts I decided that I would grab Opera Mini (which I had on my Blackberry), and wow what a difference this made.

I will post up a full review of Opera Mini in an upcoming post, but in short, if you have a G1.....Get Opera Mini!!! Its not the same experience you have on a Blackberry, its better.

Anyways, so I was busy being amazed by the speed when I decided to go to www.blogger.com and see if i could make a post. Voila, here I am writing a post on my Android phone. Yes, I wrote this whole post on my phone. I didnt add any pictures, because I can effertlessly do that later on a PC...but this make for a very nice way to get a head start on blog posts, kill time, or just act like you have friends to text.

For the next few posts I will be writing on various Android related apps, tips, tricks, and reviews. Fear not though, my next Linux posts are coming, especially with a new build of Ubuntu coming.....

10 Obscure Linux Apps You Need To Try

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:43:00 +0000

Search for Linux applications on Freshmeatand you'll get more than 11,000 hits. Of those thousands of applications, which are worth using? Certainly not all of them. Still, buried within that grand total you will find gems that get no publicity, but are worth trying. Here are 10 of those little-known apps, which range from multimedia to certificate authority tools, and anything and everything in between.

1. Floola
Floola is not an open-source application, but it does run on Linux, as well as OS X and Windows. Floola takes music management — in particular, synching iPods — one step further. With this nifty application, you can download and convert YouTube videos for playback on your iPod.

However, unlike clunkier alternatives, Floola does this seamlessly and simply. No commands to enter, it's all GUI. The only possible catch is that before you can add videos from YouTube, you have to install FFmpeg on your Linux box. Floola uses FFmpeg for the conversion process.

Don't expect Floola to have all the bells and whistles available with iTunes. Floola offers Photo support, but Snarl support is Windows-only, and Growl support is Mac-only. Floola also offers Notes, repair iPods, export lists to HTML, language support, lyrics, duplicate and lost file search, artwork support, video support, Google calendar support, playlists, podcast, Last.fm support, and more.

Floola is simple to use in Linux, as it comes in an executable binary that you can simply copy to the /usr/bin directory and run with the command Floola.

2. TransKode
Sticking with the multimedia theme, TransKode is a front end for the highly flexible, modular command-line toolset Transcode, which is one of the most versatile audio and video-converting tools available.

Transcode has both a graphical and a text-only interface and supports a vast number of formats including DV, Mpeg-2, Mpeg-2 Part 2, H.264, Quicktime, AC3 and any format included under Libavcodec. Transcode can import DVDs on the fly and record from Video4Linux devices.

The problem with Transcode is that the commands can become a bit overwhelming for the average user. TransKode remedies that problem by using a user-friendly interface that makes the complex business of converting multimedia format files as simple as it can be.

3. Giver
This is one of those brilliant little pieces of software that you won't be able to live without once you've sampled it. Giver allows you to drag and drop files to users on your network. It will also automatically detect other Giver users on your network.

When you drag a file, or multiple files, to a user represented by an avatar on the Giver window, the files are automatically transferred. The recipient of the files is warned that a user wishes to send files. The user can accept or decline them. The only downside to Giver is that there is only a candidate available for Ubuntu.

I have tried to install the software on both Fedora and Mandriva with no luck. Ubuntu installation is as simple as apt-get install giver. This application makes transferring files literally as simple as drag and drop. A must-have for company file-sharing.

4. Transmission
Sticking with the file-sharing theme, Transmission is an outstanding BitTorrent client that simplifies torrent management. To seed the client, you just click the torrent link to open up Transmission.

We all know that downloading copyrighted data is illegal. But that doesn't mean clients such as Transmission have no use. In enterprises where large-scale data transmission is a must, using applications such as Transmission can enable end-users or clients to download large pieces of data much more easily. And having a client such as Transmission to make this a no-brainer is a must.

5. BloGTK
No matter what business you're in, you are likely to be affected by a blog of some sort. And a lot of people do blog. Many companies allow employees to blog, and many employees blog even if they aren't supposed to.

There are times when your blogging fix must come in bits and bites, and you have complete your blog in chunks and offline. For this you need a client such as BloGTK. BlogGTK can connect to WordPress, Movable Type, MetaWeblog API, Blogger, and more.

This client allows formatting, custom tags, categorising, inserting tables, images and links, and offers a spell-check. You can also add excerpts and preview your posts before you upload them.

6. Ark
The Ark application is often overlooked, especially by Linux veterans. Ark is an archival manager. When you click in your browser on an archive package link with file extensions such as .tar or .tgz, typically you can either save the file or open the file with Ark. Most users just save the file and then drop into the command line and use the Tar utility to unpack the archive.

Why do this when Ark can handle the task quickly and cleanly? When efficiency becomes a necessity, tools such as Ark should not be overlooked, even by expert users. One useful feature of Ark is that you can open an archive and extract a single file from the package without unpacking the file.

That task can be performed from command line, but for most people it is much easier to have a GUI that lets you right-click a file and select Extract.

7. Tea
Tea is a text editor for programmers working in nearly any language. Tea was created with bits of GPLed code from a number of other applications to create a one-stop-shop for coders.

Tea supports built-in file manager, spell-check, built-in search, tabbed layout, multiple encodings, code snippet/session/template support, OpenDoc, RTF, KWord, AbiWord, OpenOffice support, SRT-subtitle preview, text analyser, key customisation, HTML tools, bracket matching, Wikipedia/DocBook/LaTeX support, string-handling functions, bookmarks, and more.

8. Nano
Nano is one of my favourite editors. For years I used Pico, until it was crippled by licensing issues. Nano took Pico's place. Nano is an Ncurses-based text editor that is far easier to use than either Vi or Emacs.

Nano takes Pico and improves it, offering UTF-8 support, better colour syntax highlighting, copy text without cutting, verbatim input, repeat last search, spell-check, indent marked text, search within file browser, and more. Nano works within any terminal window, has an incredibly small footprint, and is as reliable as any editor available. And unlike Pico, Nano is simple to install on nearly any distribution.

9. MultiTail
Imagine being able to use the Tail command to follow multiple files in one window. That facility is exactly what MultiTail offers. MultiTail is a Linux administrator's dream come true.

With the ability to follow any, and as many log files as you can stand in one window, MultiTail can stack multiple tails of log files vertically or horizontally, with colours or without. Commands, such as multitail -s 2 /var/log/messages /var/log/security.log, will follow the Messages and the Security.log logs in two vertical columns in one window. MultiTail is very easy to use.

10. TinyCA
The command-line creation of certificate authorities requires a veritable dance of the fingers at the keyboard. The TinyCA application takes care of all of that typing for you. TinyCA makes the creation of certificate authorities a breeze. With TinyCA, you can create unlimited CAs and SubCAs, server and client certificates with multiple language support. If your IT department needs a CA-management tool, you should look at TinyCA first. TinyCA is open source, written in Perl/Gtk, and works with OpenSSL.

What tools are you hiding? Most of us rely on at least one tool that nobody seems to have heard of. What's in your toolkit that more administrators should know about?

source of this article

Linux losing ground on netbook

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:39:00 +0000

Linux is losing ground on the netbook front, but there lies opportunity for it in smaller, dedicated Internet-enabled appliances, said an Ovum analyst.

Laurent Lachal, open source research director at the U.K.-based analyst firm, said in a research note, Linux is not doing as well in terms of market share, compared to when it made its debut on the netbook market.

Lachal said: "After a strong start, Linux netbooks have now been overtaken by Windows netbooks and Linux is lagging increasingly behind in terms of sales."

While the first netbooks came with Linux OSes, manufacturers started finding Windows-based devices more popular, with customers finding they could not get accustomed to the Linux interfaces.

In the Philippines, Asus dropped Linux on all of its Eee PC models in the country because Filipinos were not taking to the Linux OS well.

But Linux could find its market as an OS for smaller, handheld Internet-enabled appliances such as Apple iPod Touch, said Lachal. The iPod Touch is a device similar to the iPhone but without telephony capabilities.

Linux, having had more success and a longer history as a phone OS, may be more suitable for such devices, said Lachal.

He added that Linux-based Android could be better positioned in this segment, with "increasing support" from the developer and ISV (independent software vendor) communities.

Google's recent revenue-sharing announcement for the Android app market is also expected to help raise developer interest in the platform. The increased variety of apps may also make Android more attractive to consumers.

source of this article

Woah, wtf happened to you?

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:36:00 +0000

I suppose some of you are wondering where I went. Well, let me be perfectly honest.

Busy, but here is the good news......drumroll......I'M BACK! I will keep digging up good Linux and Open source news, as well as reviewing new Builds of Linux. I intend to toss up a podcast here and there for you folks as well.

In otherwords, things are going to be back in full swing!

I appreciate all of you that have hung in there through the slow times.

Cheers,

Blake

10 ways to go green with linux

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:00:00 +0000

If you’re not beginning to think green, you’re a release behind. In today’s world you have to think green. But how do you do that without installing a roof of solar panels? If you are using (or thinking of using) Linux, you’re one step ahead of the competition.

In this article, you will find 10 solid ways to start thinking green in your IT department. It’s responsible, it’s smart, and it’ll save you money and time on this great planet.

1: Reduced landfill

With Linux, you can keep using that older hardware even while using the latest version of your distribution. When you use Linux, you don’t have to throw away ugly packaging that typically comes with software. And there are no transportation costs required to ship distributions from a warehouse to your retail store. According to a UK study in 2004, Windows users are required to upgrade their computers twice as often as Linux users: “Industry observers quote a typical hardware refresh period for Microsoft Windows systems as 3 - 4 years; a major UK manufacturing organization quotes its hardware refresh period for Linux systems as 6 - -8 years.”

2: Powertop

This little gem of an application can help you learn how to make your laptops (and desktops) more efficient. When you run Powertop, it will examine your system and give you tips on how to better your energy performance. When I run Powertop on my laptop, I get: “Suggestion: Disable ‘hal’ from polling your cdrom with: hal-disable-polling –device /dev/scd0 ‘hal’ is the component that auto-opens a window if you plug in a CD but disables SATA power saving from kicking in.” Some of the suggestions will even tell you how much wattage you can save by killing (or configuring) services. Even though the man page for Powertop states it is for Intel-based machines, it will work on AMD machines as well.

3: Netbooks

No matter how much you deny this, netbooks are not only here to stay but are growing faster than many predicted. Many of these netbooks are optimized for long battery life through minimal power usage. Intel has finally put a hand of cards into this game with its Moblin OS. Moblin’s primary goal is low-power and high battery life. Moblin is a Linux-based operating system and is only for netbooks. Another netbook feature that makes them especially green is their no-moving-parts-storage — which means they should exceed the lifespan of the standard notebook. So netbooks are one of the greener options available. And no matter how well Windows 7 is received, it can’t beat the cost of Linux on a netbook.

4: Zonbu

I have used the Zonbu (both the desktop and the laptop flavor), and I can attest that these pieces of hardware are in fact some of the greenest computers I have ever used. The Zonbu laptop has some of the best battery life I have ever experienced on a laptop (especially when running a lightweight desktop like Enlightenment). And the Zonbu Mini is like a netbook for your desktop. When using Zonbu, you can enjoy its Elastic Drive, which is basically remote storage. No extra hardware to purchase (or toss when it goes bad). And the Zonbu OS is Energy Star compliant and optimized for low power consumption.

5: Money savings

This may not seem green, but you can use all the money you save using Linux to “green up” other aspects of your business or home. Also, because you’re not spending money on boxed software, you’re not increasing the carbon footprint of the companies putting CDs and printed versions of EULAs (which no one will read anyway) in shrink-wrapped boxes and shipping via smoke-belching semis. Instead, just download an ISO of a Linux distribution (or binary of an application) and install away. No waste. No guilt.

6: Less energy-demanding desktops

If you’re like me, you enjoy using alternative desktops. In nearly every laptop I use, one of the first things I do is install Enlightenment because it uses far less CPU (hence far less energy) than GNOME or KDE. Using these desktops has another benefit. Because they will use fewer CPU cycles, they could, theoretically, extend the life of your machine. But even though these desktops will require fewer resources, don’t be tricked into using less RAM. Less RAM means more disk swapping and more disk swapping means more energy.

7: Custom-compiled kernel

If you have the skills for kernel compilation, you can roll your own kernel to fit your hardware perfectly. With a good kernel compilation, you can take out services and features you don’t need and add in services you want (such as the tickless kernel). Naturally, many Linux users have never compiled a kernel. But if you haven’t, you should look into it. It’s a real treat to have compiled your own kernel on your system.

8: Kpowersave, ACPI, and other power-saving tools

Some laptops will suspend and hibernate out of the box with Linux. But others can be a real head-scratcher. Having a laptop that will not suspend or hibernate is nothing more than a waste of power and battery life. Fortunately, tools are available to help you solve these problems. One of those tools is a simple user-grasp of ACPI will help you understand why your laptop will not suspend or hibernate.

9: Migration from Windows Server

Red Hat Linux has proven to beat Windows Server 2008 in 13 out of 16 power consumption tests. The tests included Quiescent test without power savings applied (Red Hat won three out of four); Quiescent test with power savings applied (Red Hat won four out of four); Active test without power saving applied (Red Hat won three out of four); and Active test with power savings applied (Red Hat won three out of four). When you’re looking for the most in power-saving, green computing, why wouldn’t you migrate to Linux? With the ability to tune your machine to specific needs (either by installing software or compiling your kernel), you can eke out every drop of power. With Windows, however, you take what you get and hope that Microsoft has tuned the kernel to save as much energy as possible. If not, you hope you can find efficient hardware to run the operating system on.

10: Only the daemons you need to run

This should be a no-brainer. There are always background processes you do not need. Bluetooth is one of the culprits. To find out what services are running, issue the chkconfig -list command, which will list every running service on your machine. You can dig through this listing to find out all the services you do not need. For instance, if you’re running a desktop machine and you see laptop-mode listed, you can kill that service. There might well be plenty of other unnecessary services.

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Linux Phones on Tap for 2009 from Verizon, Others

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Your next cheap phone might be a Linux phone – but you might never know it. The LiMo Foundation announced Monday that Verizon Wireless and other global carriers will be rolling out Linux-based phones in 2009, possibly including low-cost devices capable of running advanced Web apps.

Verizon and a slew of international operators including Vodafone, Orange and Telefonica committed to releasing LiMo-compliant phones in 2009, the foundation said in a press release on Monday.

The LiMo Foundation is a loose association of mobile-phone carriers and manufacturers devoted to coming up with a Linux platform for lower-end phones. They're not aiming to compete with Apple or Android in the smart phone market. They're hoping to displace a lot of operating systems you haven't heard of, things like Nucleus and OSE, by using a variety of platforms based on common Linux building blocks.

"LiMo has the ability to do customization on top of a common middleware platform, so the handset can reflect market requirements while deploying a common platform across different territories," said Andrew Shikiar, LiMo's director of global marketing.

Translation: the LiMo platform, ideally, combines the stability and flexibility of Linux with extreme customizability, so Verizon can have their Verizon phones full of Verizon software.

"I don't think a consumer will be looking for a 'LiMo handset,' but they'll be very impressed by the latest device they get from a Verizon retail store," Shikiar said.

The foundation also announced the release of LiMo Platform R2 and the development of several reference platforms. The basic LiMo platform includes software code for doing things like device management, security, playing multimedia and accessing location-based services, but it isn't a full, retail-ready OS package. A half-dozen different reference designs at next week's Mobile World Congress trade show will show how the LiMo code can be turned into end-user-friendly models.

"The next step is integrating this code into a bundled platform," Shikiar said. "You will see R2 technology in handsets in meaningful scale in Q3 or Q4 of this year."

One of the hottest technologies in the LiMo platform will be BONDI, a new software initiative to create a standard so Web apps on phones can access data on the phone in a consistent way. Right now, different phones have different browsers and different security models, meaning Web apps either have to be tailored to the specific phone or be very, very basic. BONDI aims to change that, and BONDI-compatible LiMo phones will be available by the end of the year, Shikiar said.

"We're meeting leading operators, and they want WAP to go away. They want DHTML support. This is part of that promise. Our objective here is to bring some sanity to an insane situation for Web developers who want to develop for mobile phones," Shikiar said.

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11 reasons to switch to Linux

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:29:00 +0000

People like to publish top-10 lists of all sorts. And "reasons to switch to Linux" is no exception. Many of those have been published, and the latest entry is here. However, I think the author completely forgot a very important point. Also, some of the points he makes should be examined a bit more closely and critically. The comments on the original article reflect some valid and some unfounded criticism. Let me just run through those points (italics are quotes from the original 10-point list, my comments are directly below each point) and provide my own take on those:

1. Free: Linux is an open source project. As they say, it is free as in free beer. All you need to install Linux is an Internet connection to download the iso files and a CD where you can burn the iso. Compare this with Windows which costs a lot!

That is of course true. It doesn't cost anything to download a GNU/Linux distro, besides whatever charges you have for bandwidth. Note also that in the case of Ubuntu you don't even need to burn your own CD. They will send you one for free if you request it. On the other hand, most users are not aware of the cost of Windows, since it comes pre-loaded with their PC and is 'just there'. Consequently, for many this is not really a reason to 'switch'. The cost advantage is only relevant if you are installing a new computer from scratch. Also, the author forgot to mention a very aspect of 'free'. See point 11 below.

2. Linux distributions are COMPLETE: All the decent Linux distributions are complete: they include almost all the applications like office applications, pdf reader, web servers, compilers, etc. You don’t have to pay anything to download and install these applications. Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice, which is a perfect substitute for MS Office.

Well, they may not all include them right off the bat, but you can usually install easily whatever is missing through the repository of that distro. This easy and efficient means of installing software is really one of the biggest advantages for the end-user when dealing with modern GNU/Linux distributions. While most of the high-profile FOSS software, such as OpenOffice, Thunderbird and Firefox are also available for Windows, you have this huge selection of FOSS software in the repos, with a very easy management and installation interface. I think the incredible ease of use should have been emphasised more.

3.Virus, Spyware, Adware? None of these can affect a Linux based system. In fact, you don’t even have to install an anti-virus software which bogs down system performance in Windows.

That is an overly optimistic statement. Of course one can write software that takes advantage of vulnerabilities even under Linux, or any other OS, really. But the commenters that complain about this assertion are also missing the point: They talk about how Linux security is based on the fact that there is less of an effort made by the malware authors to exploit Linux, due to its smaller market share. The 'less effort' part might be true, but it is not the complete picture. The Linux OS architecture is more secure and desktops apps are not normally run in admin mode. Exploiting Linux by clickable, executable email attachments is possible, but more complex and requires more steps for the user to go through. If Linux would gain significant market share, we would certainly see an increase in exploit attempts. How effective they would be, however, is another story. For the time being, though, GNU/Linux systems clearly have much less of a risk of being infected by anything than Windows machines.

4.Low system requirements: I have a tough time running Windows XP on my system and Vista needs 1-2 GB RAM to work properly. On the other hand, Ubuntu boots and runs perfectly fast on this low configuration PC.

Ok, let's not get carried away here. A full blown Gnome or KDE desktop will chew up a pretty astonishing amount of memory. The good thing is, however, that there are smaller, compact desktops (xfce, and others) available, which result in significantly smaller system requirements. Also, it is possible to produce distros with incredibly small footprint for embedded systems or small servers, especially if you forgo the graphical desktop. So, the correct thing to say would be that 'it is possible' to create very small footprint Linux systems. The flexibility to do so is a huge plus for Linux. But we should also admit that modern, full-blown GNU/Linux desktop distros will very happily use up gigabytes of memory as well.

5.Much Stability: Linux is much more stable when compared with Windows. This is the reason most of the web servers are run using Linux. Forget about the blue screen of death [BSOD]!

GNU/Linux can be very stable, especially in a server environment. I have had lockups in the graphical desktop, though. That desktop is a complex piece of software, apparently, and I find it disturbing that applications can screw it up in such a way that it locks me out. That doesn't happen often, but it has happened. The legendary reputation for stability of GNU/Linux was build in server environments. In general, the core of the OS is very stable. But while the desktop is quite good, it is not perfect. Maybe a bit more comparable to the typical Windows user experience? Your mileage may vary, though. If you don't try experimental 3D features in the desktop, or use a well-supported graphic card, or have your standard set of apps that you use every day, you may experience very good stability from the Linux desktop as well.

6.Programming tools: If you want to learn programming, Linux is the best for you. Linux distributions come with many compilers and other tools to write and execute code. For example, I use gcc to compile C files which I write using the vi editor. I also have python IDLE installed which I use to learn programming in python.

I can only agree here. The amount of available software development tools and languages, all for no cost at all, makes a Linux system a dream for any student of programming languages and software development. Combine that with a huge number of ready-made server packages, libraries, etc., and you can see how putting together complex, working software systems is quite a joy.

7.Faster release cycles: Linux distributions are upgraded very fast. New versions of most Linux distributions are released once in every 6 months.

True. It's important to point out that the improvements and updates are incremental and thus aide in the stability of the overall distro. See also what I wrote about that yesterday.

8.Helpful community: Linux has a large fan-following. There are many forums and blogs which can help you if you have any problem. Millions of people cannot be wrong!

Well, even millions of people can be wrong as history has shown over and over again. However, the point about the helpful community is of course a valid one. While this same community also has a problem with prick-ish elitists and fanboys, there is indeed a very large community of helpful and very nice individuals out there. And with popular distros a solution to a problem is often just a quick search away. It should also be pointed out that for those who want commercial support it is available as well through support contracts with the large Linux vendors (RedHat, Novell, Oracle, Canonical, etc.).

9.You can run Linux along with Windows: You can run Linux along with Windows on a different partition. You can boot to Windows wherever you want. It is also possible to run Linux in Windows using emulator software like VMWare or MS Virtual PC. Likewise, it is also possible to run Windows applications in Linux using emulators like Wine (This Wine is different!).

That's all true. Even though your mileage may vary when trying to run Windows software under Wine.

10.A new learning experience: Install Linux on your computer and you will learn many new things. Linux does have a point and click interface, but you can use the command line or “Terminal” as it is called to completely unleash the power of Linux. This way you will learn many cool and new things.

Yes, learning a bit about the command line and looking under the hood is a rewarding experience. GNU/Linux (and BSD and most other *nix OSs) wear their hearts on their sleeves. You can see and experience what's going on. A wonderful way to learn. But one more point: 'Linux' doesn't have a point and click interface, it's the graphical desktops you have in many distros with the point and click interface. Contrary to Windows, the desktop and the underlying OS are well separated. Linux as a server doesn't have a point and click interface. Ok, maybe I'm picky, but I think that is an important strength that shouldn't be left unmentioned: No unnecessary weight if you don't want to.

11.Linux is truly free, as in freedom: As promised, there is at least one more point. The original article completely forgot to mention this one, which I personally think is the most important one of them all: GNU/Linux is free, as in freedom! The first point alluded to free as in beer (price) only. But I think the freedom aspect is much more important. Computers run our lives, they store our data and our most intimate secrets and communications. How can we give up control over this data to proprietary, closed software that was developed by corporations with the single, overriding motive of increasing their profits? Nothing wrong with making a profit, but the goals of those corporations are often directly opposite to our goals as consumers and users. How can we not demand complete transparency in the software that runs and manages our lives? How can we allow software that puts artificial restrictions on us to have any control over our lives and data? To put it in the words of the Free Software Foundation: Free software is the answer to a world built in code.

So, this is my comment on that most recent "10 reasons to switch to Linux" post. A bit too much enthusiasm and the most important point was forgotten. But I think the points provide a good basis at least for a more differentiated discussion.

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Have Something You Want to Say?

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:26:00 +0000

If you have written a good article on Linux or Open source, Send it to blake@thelinuxnewb.com and I will post it up here giving you full credit. If things work out I may invite you to be a full time blogger with The Linux Newb!!

Cheers,
Blake

14 of the Best Free Linux Wiki Engines

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:32:00 +0000

A Wiki engine is a type of collaborative software that runs a wiki system. This facilitates web pages being created and edited using a web browser. This type of software is usually implemented as an application server that runs on one or more web servers.
The content is stored in a file system, and changes to the content are typically stored in a relational database management system (such as MySQL), although some simple wiki engines use text files instead.

Wikis try to make it as simple as possible to write and share useful content, using intuitive page naming and text formatting conventions. Wikis are usually (but not always) wide open and assume a cooperating community. However, with spam bots prevalent, most wiki engines have lots of anti-spam measures such as page permissions, Access Control Lists, host blocking, blacklists, and CAPTCHAs in place.

TikiWiki is a very powerful content management system, which just missed out on being included in our 21 of the Best Free Web Content Management Systems. However, it merits a mention in this feature, as it is a very popular wiki engine.

To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 14 high quality free Linux wiki engines. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for anyone who wishes to share information with others.

Now, let's explore the 14 wiki engines at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.

MediaWiki - Collaborative editing software that runs Wikipedia

DokuWiki - Targeted at developer teams, workgroups and small companies

MoinMoin - Advanced, easy to use and extensible wiki engine implemented in Python

PmWiki - Offers a simple-to-install system

PhpWiki - Wiki engine written in PHP

Zwiki - Powerful, innovative engine based on the Zope web application server

XWiki - Enterprise wiki written in Java

MindTouch Deki - Web-based enterprise collaboration, wiki software and mashup platform

Foswiki - Supports the embedding of active and passive macros

JSPWiki - Built around the standard J2EE components of Java, servlets and JSP

WackoWiki - Small, lightweight, handy, expandable, multilingual written in PHP

Triki-Wiki - Simple, robust, flat-file XHTML-Wiki in PHP

WikkaWiki - Flexible, lightweight, standards-compliant wiki engine

TWiki - Easy to use enterprise wiki and collaboration platform

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Second Netbook Wave Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Asus is taking pre-orders for a netbook based on Intel's second-generation netbook platform, the secret-shrouded N280/GN40 chipset. Early product specs confirm that the second wave of netbooks are likely to offer faster graphics and lower power use, along with room for much, much larger batteries.

(Click here for a large view of the Asus PC 1000HE)

Asus is the company that arguably touched off the netbook craze with its original Eee PC, originally launched in July 2007. The little Eee PCs started out with Intel Celeron processors, but switched last June to Intel's 1.6GHz Atom .

Now, according to Asus's website and a promotional Facebook group, the company is set to ship a netbook based on Intel's next-generation Atom N280, reportedly codenamed "Pineview." Thus far, Intel has made next-to-no information on this CPU public, beyond referencing a GN40 companion chip and a miniscule 0.06GHz increase in clock speed compared to the N270. However, it's widely believed that Pineview -- like Intel's forthcoming "Moorestown" platform -- will integrate northbridge functionality. The N280's IGP (integrated graphics processor) will clock at 200MHz, and may be capable of HD video playback. For more details, see later in this story.

Asus touts the N280 in its new Eee PC 1000HE netbook as providing "better performance at only 2.5 Watts of power." Taking no chances, the company has equipped the device with a massive 8700mAh battery, which is claimed to allow "up to 9.5 hours of run time."

Despite its power, the battery "sits flush with the chassis," claims Asus. Indeed, photos of the device (above) reveal a tidy footprint, and with a cited weight of 3.2 pounds, the PC 1000HE isn't significantly heftier than the netbook norm, either.

Asus says the netbook will provide "fast bootup and shutdown times." The device will also sport a new "chiclet" keyboard design, as pictured, plus a "multitouch keypad [that] allows two-fingered zooming and scrolling," according to the company.

Asus says the PC 1000HE includes a 160GB hard disk drive and a 10-inch display with LED backlighting. The device also offers 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth, according to the company.

Though further technical details weren't revealed, it's clear from the released photos of the PC 1000HE's left and right sides (above) that it will offer three USB ports, a VGA output, an Ethernet port, and either a memory card reader or an ExpressCard slot. The device also appears to include a webcam, like most other netbooks.

Which OS for the Asus: XP, Linux, Moblin, Android?

Asus has not revealed whether the PC 1000HE will be offered with both Linux and Windows XP, like its predecessors. Earlier EEE PCs used a version of Xandros Linux built with Intel's Moblin toolset (Xandros claimed a 25 percent increase in battery life with the switch to Moblin last summer). More recently, Intel last week released an alpha of Moblin V2.

Another possibility may be Android. A netbook version has been rumored to be under development by Google, and VentureBeat recently reported that a "reliable source" has informed them that Intel is "preparing for the mass production of Google Android-based netbooks." Meanwhile, The Girvan Institute has stated that it will present a conference on Android development for the Intel Atom, as part of its "Mobile Internet Developers Conference" series this year.

The Atom N280

With the "Pineview" N280, Intel is apparently set to integrate northbridge functionality onto the CPU itself, though it has said little officially. Last month, we found a document on the chipmaker's website that confirmed the N280's name, clock speed, and use of the GN40 companion chip, but revealed little else. Now, that document has been taken down, leaving Asus and other netbook manufacturers as the only source of information leaks.

On its own, the N280's miniscule clock speed increase compared to the N270 will do little to cheer those who were hoping for faster netbook performance. However, both Asus and Digitimes claim the N280 will ramp DDR2 memory speed up to 667MHz, compared to the N270's 533MHz. Additionally, some northbridge processing, such as graphics, could benefit from the move to smaller process technology. The effective "front-side bus" speed between CPU and northbridge components should also increase significantly, because on-chip interconnects are typically much faster than off-. However, highly integrated designs sometimes use the main CPU for on-chip peripheral processing functions, resulting in a performance wash or even a slow-down.

According to a story published last month in the Taiwanese publication Digitimes, Pineview's integrated CPU+northbridge design will substantially reduce the amount of motherboard real estate required by the Atom, from a total of 2174mm square for the N270/945GSE combo, to just 773mm square for the N280/GN40 combo. Although Pineview's graphics core will still be Intel's GMA 950, the GPU's core frequencies will be increased from 133MHz to 200MHz, Digitimes claims.

As most readers will now be well aware, Intel first released its Atom processors -- targeting low-cost devices that previously used its Celeron -- in April of last year. The initial Z5xx series of Atoms, also known as "Silverthorne," featured a 13mm x 13mm package, clock speeds from 800MHz to 1.86GHz, and a northbridge/southbridge companion chip known as the SCH US15W (aka "Poulsbo").

The second series of Atoms, announced in June 2008, includes the N270 and 230, aka "Diamondville." Architecturally identical to the Z5xx series, they come in 22mm x 22mm packages designed to be more affordable. Hence, they rely on separate northbridge and southbridge chips -- Intel's 945GSE is commonly paired with the N270; the 945GC with its desktop cousin, the 230.

Further Information

According to Asus, the PC 1000HE will be available "soon" for approximately $400. More information may be found on the manufacturer's website, here, and on a related Facebook group, here.

To read the Digitimes report referred to in this story, see the publication's website, here.

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Torvalds: Linux and OpenSolaris a tough mix

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:01:00 +0000

It should be obvious, but the more I talk to people about open source, and where and how it's useful, the more I'm surprised by how overinflated (or underinflated) expectations often are for open source.

One case in point is with the utility of source code as a way to save time and money, rather than reinventing the wheel. For example, Alfresco, my employer, was able to get its initial content management product to a 1.0 state in less than six months because it heavily borrowed from successful open-source projects such as Hibernate, Spring, PDFbox, and others.

However, as Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds notes in a recent interview, it's not always that easy. Speaking of the possibility of including Sun's OpenSolaris code in Linux, the Torvalds remarks:

"One of the problems is that taking code from other projects is hard. You can't take the code as is, right? Solaris is very different in many areas from Linux, so if you take Solaris code, you have to fix it for all the differences. "

"Quite often, it's actually more work to try to take code from another project than it would be to just write it yourself from the start, from scratch."

In some cases, it's worth the effort, but it is effort. For those who think that adopting open-source software is easy, you clearly haven't been involved in it for very long.

Open source doesn't make development or business easier. It's a different way of doing development that has its own significant benefits and some downsides. I think that it leads to superior code, but don't expect the road to be smooth.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 released

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Red Hat has announced the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3.

The company has posted details about the latest version of their Linux-based operating system, noting that the latest version has been delivered to customers with a Red Hat subscription, via Red Hat Network.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 has many improvements over previous version, which include:

-- Virtualization enhancements: The number of physical CPUs supported has been increased to 126, whilst the maximum memory supported has been increased to 1TB.

-- Improved power management: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 has improved handling of low-level power management sleep states, which is an important feature as "green computing" is becoming very popular.

-- Security: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 has support for hard drive encryption, very important for today's laptops, but also important for desktop computers and servers.

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How Vista's total failure hurt Linux

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:02:00 +0000

Once I got a good look at Vista, I knew desktop Linux was in for good times. Vista was, and still is, a disaster of an operating system. I was right too. When netbooks started coming out, it was Linux, not Vista, that ruled.

What I hadn't expected though was that Vista would be such an absolute sales flop that Microsoft would actually reverse course and bring back first XP Home and then, in December 2008, XP Pro.

Of course, Microsoft hasn't come right out and said, "Vista sucks, we get it, here have XP instead," but for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what they're doing. That's one reason why they're pushing Windows 7, aka Vista Lite, out the door as fast as possible.

Windows 7, unlike Vista, will run on netbooks. Once, Windows 7 is out, Microsoft will go back to the business of killing off XP.

In the meantime, though, Linux has gone from owning the netbook niche to no longer even holding a majority stake in it. What happened?

According to Gary Marshall on Tech Radar it's because users are being presented with a choice between "Windows XP versus a whole bunch of different distributions."

I don't buy that. Only a Linux fan knows the differences, or even the names, of the various Linux distributions on the netbooks. What a customer or a sales rep. knows about a netbook is what it looks like, its amount of RAM and storage space, and its price. That's about it.

So why is XP making such a strong comeback? Well, I think Microsoft is offering some very sweet deals to the OEMs to make sure that XP gets a lot of play. The OEMs, who feel like Microsoft owes them after sticking with the Vista stink-bomb, are happy to get low-cost XP.

Even so, Linux-powered netbooks are still cheaper than ones with XP, but the vendors, with the exception of Dell with its Ubuntu hardware, aren't doing much to promote them. Yes, everyone who's anyone in PCs now offers desktop Linux, but they're not advertising it.

I suspect all of them are happy to have desktop Linux now. I also suspect, however, that it's mostly so they can tell Microsoft to make them a good deal for XP and Windows 7 licenses because if Microsoft doesn't come across, they can always switch to Linux instead.

So what can Linux do? Well, for one thing, we need to get the word out that desktop Linux is available and every bit as good, when it's not better, than Windows.

The Linux Foundation is doing what it can to promote this by pushing forwards with its "We're Linux" video contest. Desktop Linux has gone about as far as it can without the support of the broader, non-technical market. With the ads springing from the Linux Foundations' work, easy-to-use Linux distributions, and pre-installed Linux laptops and desktops, it's up to Linux's fans and vendors to get Linux moving forward on the desktop again.

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Microsoft takes further step in open source

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Microsoft has taken further steps into the open source world. The company has made code for its Live Labs Web Sandbox available via open source under the Apache Licence 2.0.

Web Sandbox, which is a project for securing web content through isolation, features technology for mashing up code while maintaining process isolation, quality of service protection, and security. It is intended to address a problem in which web gadgets, mashup components, advertisements, and other third-party content on sites either will run full trust alongside content or are isolated inside of IFrames. This results in many Web applications being intrinsically insecure with unpredictable service quality.

Since announcing the Web Sandbox at Professional Developer Conference 2008 in October, Microsoft has open-sourced the Web Sandbox framework and is partnering with industry leaders to evolve Web Sandbox into an industry-wide solution, Microsoft said.

Microsoft is looking for developers to experiment with Web Sandbox, even including samples so developers can try to break the Sandbox.

"Since the initial release of Web Sandbox we have received a great deal of feedback from the web security community. We have also been collaborating with a number of customers, partners, and the standards communities that would like to adopt the technology when it is ready. Our goal is to achieve widespread adoption of Web Sandbox and to help foster interoperability with complementary technologies like script frameworks," Microsoft Live Labs.

Although Microsoft is using an Apache license for the project, it is not sponsored or endorsed by the Apache Software Foundation, Microsoft said. The company last year became a sponsor of the foundation.

Web Sandbox builds upon Microsoft's experience with DHTML, Windows, Windows Live Web-based gadgets, and the Microsoft BrowserShield project, which leverages JavaScript virtualization through rewriting.

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Notebook 10 Now compatible with all three major OS's

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:13:00 +0000

SMART's most popular software now compatible with all three major operating systems

Dubai, UAE - January 21, 2009 - SMART Technologies has announced that SMART Notebook 10 software is now available for the latest core distributions of the Linux® operating system. SMART is currently the only interactive whiteboard manufacturer to provide full versions of its whiteboarding software for all three major operating systems - Linux, Windows® and Mac.

SMART Notebook 10 software now supports five core Linux distributions, including Ubuntu 8.04, openSUSE(TM) 10.03, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux 5.1, Fedora(TM) Core 9, and Debian(TM) 4.0 (Etch) r3. SMART Notebook ships with all SMART Board(TM) interactive whiteboards, Sympodium(TM) interactive pen displays, AirLiner(TM) wireless slates and SMART Document Cameras.SMART Notebook software has been available for the Linux operating system since 1999, and this release marks the sixth iteration that is Linux compatible. Aside from minor variations to accommodate different development languages for each platform,

SMART Notebook software for Linux offers all the core features available to Windows and Mac users. For example, teachers and students can search the software's Gallery for learning resources, write in freehand on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard and then use the handwriting recognition feature to turn handwriting into digital text. A large variety of file types can also be easily dragged and dropped onto and off SMART Notebook pages. SMART Notebook for Linux is as intuitive and flexible for delivering lessons as the Windows and Mac versions. SMART Notebook for Linux is also currently available in 12 languages. Italian, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish were recently added, reflecting growing worldwide adoption of the software. In early 2009, SMART will support five additional languages - Albanian, Macedonian, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Valencian.

"The Linux operating system continues to gain in popularity, with about 29 million users around the world," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's CEO. "Many SMART customers are using the Linux platform, and SMART is committed to ensuring our software products work effectively for these users."

Jeevan Bhingarkar, Director, Intmark Distribution, SMART's authorised Middle East distributor, said, "Even in the Middle East, Linux as an operating system is growing in popularity, which makes SMART's latest announcement about the Notebook 10 software all the more significant."

New features of SMART Notebook 10 software:

Table Tool - Easily create a table from the SMART Notebook toolbar, and then insert, or drag and drop text, images and objects into any cell. Add or delete individual cells to create asymmetric tables.

Object Animation - Animate any SMART Notebook object with effects such as fading in, flying in or spinning.

Magic Pen - Use this tool to spotlight, magnify or zoom in on an image, or write notes that will disappear in 10 seconds.

Active Alignment - Format a SMART Notebook page to accurately align objects to other objects.

Shape Pen - Draw a freehand shape on the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, and SMART Notebook recognizes and perfects it.

Themes - Create design features such as font, background color and images, and apply them to SMART Notebook pages.

Page Groups - Organize the pages of a SMART Notebook file into groups. Drag pages into the groups, add new pages and show one group at a time in the Page Sorter.

Properties - Use the new Properties Tab to change an object's line style, fill effects and animation options, all from one accessible location.

Enhanced support - An updated teachers' resource hub is directly accessible through SMART Notebook's Welcome Center. The hub contains access to hundreds of lesson activities and other resources to help teachers easily create lessons.

New languages - In addition to English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Basque, Gaelic and Catalan, support for Italian, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish have recently been added. Albanian, Macedonian, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Valencian will be available soon.

Enterprise Tools - SMART Notebook 10 includes a group of tools that makes it easier for system administrators to install the software on networked computers and monitor its use.

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Acer plans Linux, SSD version of 10-inch netbook

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:16:00 +0000

Acer has confirmed it plans to release a Linux version of its 10-inch Aspire One netbook, even though its initial announcement of the upcoming machine said it would be Windows XP-only.

Acer announced details of the 10-inch Aspire One on Friday, describing a netbook that has Windows XP as the operating system and a 160GB hard disk drive (HDD) for storage. The original Aspire One, which had an 8.9-inch screen, comes with a choice of XP or a Linux distribution called Linpus, and the option of a solid-state drive (SSD) or an HDD.

On Wednesday, an Acer spokesperson told ZDNet UK that the 10-inch Aspire One "will be available with XP or Linux, and HDD or SSD", and confirmed that the Linux distribution would be Linpus. However, buyers will not have these options in the initial release of the netbook, which will launch in mid-February and cost £299 ($425).

The SSD will have a capacity of 16GB. There is, as yet, no launch date or pricing for the Linux flavor of the machine. Unlike the 8.9-inch Aspire One, the 10-inch version will not have a second SD card slot. In the earlier version, the second SD slot was there to hold a flash memory card that would be more-or-less permanently housed in the netbook to augment the 8GB or 16GB SSD. According to Acer's spokesperson, the new version lacks that second slot "due to the increase in standard storage sizes".

Credit: Acer plans Linux, SSD version of 10-inch netbook was originally published on ZDNet.co.uk.