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NewsVac: News from around the Web
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Adobe Breathes AIR into Linux
3 years, 10 months ago
Adobe has launched its AIR 1.5 software for Linux. Supported distributions include Fedora 8, Ubuntu 7.10, and openSUSE 10.3. This enables companies and developers to easily target users using all three major OS -- Windows, Linux and Mac -- with a single code base. -
IBM Lotus Strategist Sees Linux on Netbooks Making Inroads Vs. Windows in 2009
3 years, 10 months ago
Linux and open source will start to chip away at Microsoft Windows desktop software thanks to their popularity on netbooks, those ultralight, low-cost laptops. IBM Lotus strategy director predicts this as a major trend in 2009, as well as the proliferation of messaging and collaboration technologies asa function of UCC, SAAS, cloud computing, enterprise social networks and Web services. -
The Range of Linux Distributions
3 years, 10 months ago
A comment from Tezzer to my recent blog post about Two New Linux Beta Distributions got me thinking. Tezzer mentions using Debian, but looking at PCLinuxOS and others for systems that have "issues" with some Linux distributions. I have heard the same comments on other blog posts, and in fact I have seen the same sort of "issues" with my Lifebook S2110 (often because of the ATI display adapter). -
Indian Express Switches to Red Hat Solutions
3 years, 10 months ago
Red Hat , a provider of open source solutions, announced that The Indian Express Group, a media firm in India, has switched to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 from Novell (News - Alert) Netware, to provide a cost-effective scale with accelerated company growth. -
TI adds ARM9, Linux to sound chip
3 years, 10 months ago
Texas Instruments (TI) is shipping a third-generation "Aureus" digital audio processor platform with a Linux software developer's kit (SDK). Available with an evaluation module (EVM) from Spectrum Digital, the DA830 and DA828 system-on-chips (SoCs) combine an ARM9 core with a digital signal processor (DSP). -
AMD Linux 2008 Year in Review
3 years, 10 months ago
Last year when publishing our AMD Year in Review article there were numerous new features to account for, including but not limited to the new OpenGL driver, support for Compiz, and the AMD Catalyst Control Center Linux Edition. This year has been another interesting year for AMD's Linux efforts on both the open and closed fronts. We are focusing on their Catalyst driver efforts in this article, which has picked up support for CrossFire, is now capable of being overclocked with OverDrive, and AMD is now delivering same-day Linux product support. In this article we will recap some of the highlights from the Catalyst driver releases this year as well as set out on a benchmarking extravaganza. -
Teacher claims Linux 'holding back the kids'
3 years, 10 months ago
A US student has landed in hot water with an irate - and apparently ill-informed - teacher for handing out discs of Linux. -
How is Microsoft with Vista like the Big Three automakers?
3 years, 10 months ago
For more than a decade, if you owned a PC, you ran Windows and, far more often than not, Internet Explorer was your Web browser. In fact, for a while, the only three things you could be sure of were death, taxes and Microsoft. Things have changed. -
The EE Gender Gap Is Widening
3 years, 10 months ago
Walk into a classroom of environmental engineering students and, odds are, nearly half of them will be women. Now head next door to an electrical engineering class: you’ll likely find eight men for every woman. -
Windows needs a Linux package manager
3 years, 10 months ago
Windows users have a real problem when it comes to updates. Sure they have Microsoft Update and certainly many applications include their own update mechanisms. Yet despite that, there seems to be a problem with Windows users actually updating. -
Slackware 12.2 Release Announcement
3 years, 10 months ago
Well folks, it's that time to announce a new stable Slackware release again. So, without further ado, announcing Slackware version 12.2! Since we've moved to supporting the 2.6 kernel series exclusively (and fine-tuned the system to get the most out of it), we feel that Slackware 12.2 has many improvements over our last release (Slackware 12.1) and is a must-have upgrade for any Slackware user. -
"Ubuntu has the strongest chance to take Linux mainstream"
3 years, 10 months ago
Jeremy Allison's contributions to the free software world are legion, and yet the project he's best known for continues to be Samba, the open implementation of some of Microsoft's most important networking protocols. -
Hey Karen, welcome to (hell control W) the community.
3 years, 10 months ago
So, after listening to people gripe about this story today, and yesterday, on IRC in email, on various blogs, where Mr Starks was talking about an email he received, I got to thinking. Just to give you context if you don't know what I am on about, click here. -
Eight Crazy Nights of Hanukkah and Linux
3 years, 10 months ago
Trying to find something for your gelibte this year? Look no further, my Linux Geek's Guide to Hanukkah will help you make the right decisions. -
OpenSolaris now on Toshiba laptops
3 years, 10 months ago
Sun has reached an agreement with Toshiba to pre-install the OpenSolaris operating system on Toshiba laptops. - More News
Linux.com : Features
Foresight Kid's can inspire young minds
Foresight Linux is best known by many as the distribution that features the Conary package management system. Perhaps soon it may become known as your child's favorite distro. The recent release of Foresight Kid's Edition 1.0 introduces a new generation to the benefits of Linux and open source software. Not that kids care about that -- they'll just appreciate the unlimited hours of fun at their fingertips.
Clocks for time travelers
Whether you believe that punctuality is "the politeness of kings" or "the art of guessing how late the other fellow is going to be," you can count on your Linux box for information about local times across the globe, so that you can plan a punctual VoIP call, stock transaction, or meeting. Here are some world clocks that work well on the desktop.
KOffice 2.0 beta hints at improved capabilities
KOffice has been trailing the office application leaders for a long time. Despite years of development, it has yet to match OpenOffice.org feature for feature, although its features are complete enough that they have attracted a loyal community. Judging from the first beta, KOffice 2.0 will still not rival OpenOffice.org or other free software rivals, but it should be a major step in that direction.
Security scans with OpenVAS
As important as security is, remaining current with every development is hard, and evaluating possible vulnerabilities across a network can be quite a chore. You need a way to both automate tests and make sure you're running the most appropriate and up-to-date tests. Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is a network security scanner that includes a central server and a graphical front end. The server allows you to run several different network vulnerability tests (NVT) written in Nessus Attack Scripting Language (NASL), which OpenVAS updates frequently.
After 2.0 release, Miguel de Icaza reflects on Mono's past and future
Few free and open source software projects have attracted such a range of reactions as Mono. On one hand, as an implementation of Microsoft's .Net that's sponsored by Novell, it has been vilified both for the company it keeps and as a possible source of patent claims, should Microsoft choose to get nasty. On the other hand, Mono has been the platform of choice for such major projects as Second Life, which uses it to increase the efficiency of its servers. This week, as the Mono project reached version 2.0, Miguel de Icaza, the project's founder and maintainer, talked with Linux.com about the history of the project, its application and the criticism leveled at it, and where the project goes from here.
In search of bigger, stronger calculators
If I had had SpeedCrunch or Qalculate! during high school, finishing homework really would've been child's play. From breaking down complex algebraic equations, to solving your calculus problems, to performing geometric computations and providing statistical answers, SpeedCrunch and Qalculate! are tools that offer quick solutions to difficult questions.
Monitor your network with GroundWork Monitor Community Edition
A reliable network monitoring and management solution must accurately detect network devices such as routers, servers, and client workstations. It must be able to display a map of the whole network, monitor the health and performance of each device, and have a way to notify someone of a problem by email, text message, or other form of communication. It should be able to fix a problem by restarting services or running specific programs. It should generate detailed reports that you can analyze easily to help prevent future incidents. Finally, a decent monitoring system must be easy to use, deploy, and customize according to your monitoring needs. Let's use these standards to see if GroundWork Monitor Community Edition is up to the task.
Sidux grows on you
Sidux, a relatively new desktop Linux distribution, is based on Sid, the unstable developmental branch of Debian. The developers strive for an easy-to-install and easy-to-use modern Debian derivative, and pride themselves on remaining true to the principles and values of the Debian project. Despite a few inconveniences, I like Sidux a bit more each time I use it.
Become a multimedia pro with the Vector Linux Multimedia Bonus Disc
Many audio, video, and graphics professionals would like to make the switch to Linux, but don't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out multimedia on Linux or are scared off by the purported lack of such tools. I created Vector Linux Multimedia Bonus Disc (MMBD) to address this problem and perception. It's a complete multimedia creation and production system that contains hundreds of the best multimedia applications available on Linux.
Five outliners for Linux
The first essays of the school year are coming due, and with the essays comes the need to outline and plan. GNU/Linux users are fortunate to have a number of outlining applications from which to choose. True, some outliners have become obsolete, and you will be lucky to get programs like GNOME-Think or the once-popular KnowIt to run on a modern distribution. But you can still choose among OpenOffice.org, TuxCards, NoteCase, Emacs, and VimOutliner for doing your planning.
NPX-9000 UMPC is inexpensive but underpowered
The wave of cheap netbooks, mini laptops, or ultra-mobile PCs has crested with the cheapest yet, the NPX-9000 from Carapelli. Though it was announced in July with great fanfare at a price of £65 (or $110), it has yet to appear on the vendor's Web site. But we got our hands on one of the first units to escape from the factory and put it through its paces. We found that you get what you pay for -- if that.
PC-BSD 7 is a mixed bag
FreeBSD is a Unix-like open source operating system that can trace its ancestry back to the original Unix. It's well known and well respected in the server marketplace, but until recently FreeBSD lacked an easy-to-use desktop version. In 2005 the PC-BSD project was started to provide just that. This month PC-BSD version 7 was released. I downloaded and installed it to see how it squares up to user-friendly Linux distributions like Ubuntu. I came away a little disappointed.
FUEL: An initiative in language standardization via collaboration
FUEL (Frequently Used Entries for Localization) aims to solve the problem of inconsistency and lack of standardization in computer software translation in a new and unique way. Initiated by Red Hat, the project is trying to give a better experience to end users of a localized desktop by resolving the issues of standardization and inconsistency.
New Manju project plans to redraw desktop art
Most free software projects produce applications for users. A minority, however, produce specifications or libraries for developers and other contributors. An example of this second type is the recently announced Manju project, whose goal is to make themes easier to create. The project's goal is to write the specifications and scripts for using scalable vector graphics (SVG) files to store widget and other theme-related information that can be used on a variety of toolkits.
Areca and plan/b offer Java-based backup for Linux
Everyone needs to back up their computers, but when you have machines running on different platforms and different operating systems, it can be annoying to have to learn several interfaces. Areca and plan/b are two Java-based backup solutions that can run on any platform, including Linux, Windows, and Unix. Although maintenance has been discontinued for plan/b, both apps are worth a look.
Clean up your filesystems with fslint
Maintaining filesystems can be a real administration burden. Over time you might start getting multiple copies of the same file, soft links that point to files that no longer exist, temporary files that have been hanging around longer than they should, and binaries that have been installed and not had their debugging information stripped out. fslint can help you find these troublesome files so you can clean up your filesystem.
Pidgin instant messaging client: a video tour
Pidgin, formerly known as Gaim, is a popular Instant Messaging (IM) client for Linux. It works with 16 different IM services, including AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and Google, and can handle simultaneous connections to as many of them as you like. This 10-minute video is a brief introduction to Pidgin that shows how easy it is to install, in this case on OpenSUSE 11, how easy it is to set Pidgin up to use an existing IM account, and how to find and join an IRC channel with Pidgin.
Enhance your DNS and DHCP services with dnsmasq
When a network is small and most of its users interact chiefly with services on the Internet at large, it's easy to get by simply by assigning numeric Internet Protocol addresses to your nodes rather than names. As the network grows, however, and as internal services (wikis, mail servers, media servers, and more) come online, recalling numeric addresses becomes unwieldy. One solution is to implement Domain Name Server (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) with dnsmasq, and thereby cache external DNS addresses for performance reasons, dynamically assign IP addresses to all of the members of your network, and manage everything from one location. This article shows you how.
Adding search to your Web site with Xapian and Omega
With Xapian and Omega you can quickly build a powerful search interface for your Web site. You'll be able to index your HTML, PDF, and PHP content and search for it by metadata or words contained in the documents.
Protect your network with pfSense firewall/router
pfSense is a free, powerful firewall and routing application that allows you to expand your network without compromising its security. Started in 2004 as a child project of m0n0wall -- a security project that focuses on embedded systems -- pfSense has had more than 1 million downloads and is used to protect networks of all sizes, from home offices to large enterprises. pfSense has an active development community, and more features are being added in each release to further improve its flexibility, scalability, and, of course, security.
