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Forbes rewrites the history of open source
20 minutes ago
In the name of defining jargon, Forbes this week tries a complete rewrite of open source history. -
Rotate Desktop Backgrounds in Ubuntu
1 hour, 20 minutes ago
I get bored with my desktop wallpaper pretty easily, especially in Ubuntu Linux, where it's nearly the only thing on my desktop. Until recently, that meant scouring theming sites for great artwork, opening the Appearance tab and re-scaling and choosing background colors for each picture, and just general unproductive knob-twiddling. Digging through the Ubuntu Forums, however, I came across a few tools that can rotate customized background images with a shortcut, on a timer, or based on the time of day. Let's take a look at how any GNOME-based Linux user can use rotating backgrounds to keep better track of time, keep your desktop looking fresh, and inspire all kinds of coffee shop conversations. -
Grokking SCO's demise
2 hours, 20 minutes ago
The SCO Group 's US$5 billion threat against Linux is effectively finished. On Friday, Aug. 10, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled that SCO doesn't actually own the copyrights that it was using to threaten -- and in some cases, sue -- Linux users. -
10 Total Commander Alternatives for Linux
3 hours, 20 minutes ago
Although we all remember that everything started with legendary Norton Commander, somehow lots of TC users religiously believe that every other, two pane file manager, is a not worthy clone. They all share the same roots, but TC with its rich Plugin library managed to capture the largest user base. -
Michael Pyne
4 hours, 20 minutes ago
n what ways do you make a contribution to KDE? I developed and maintain kdesvn-build. I also help work on JuK, and beyond that I do lots of random bugfixing, bug triage, and general helpfulness on the mailing lists. Time permitting, of course. ;) -
How to get system info in Linux
5 hours, 20 minutes ago
Here are some useful commands that you can use to find (almost) every information that you want to know about your system from the command line. Most of this commands can be run as non-privileged user, but more information can be obtained if (and should be) run as root.: -
The market share of Firefox vs. Internet Explorer
6 hours, 20 minutes ago
In his Open Road blog, Matt Asay was skeptical about some browser market share data because the sample audience was heavy on techies. The July 2008 stats for the site in question, W3Schools.com, were: -
Mozilla grabs new Exec Director from Shuttleworth
7 hours, 20 minutes ago
The Mozilla Foundation has named Mark Surman as its new Executive Director effective September 22. Surman is currently serving as an Open Philanthropy Fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation. -
NVIDIA 177.67 Display Driver
8 hours, 20 minutes ago
It has been a few weeks since NVIDIA last pushed out a Linux display driver update, but this morning already they have pushed out a new update. The just-released NVIDIA 177.67 display driver doesn't introduce OpenGL 3.0 support or any other major features, but it does look to resolve a number of bugs, provide improvements to the Render extension, add official support to the GeForce GTX 260/280 graphics cards, and a number of other improvements. -
36 Items To Capture For Practical Hardware Asset Tracking
9 hours, 20 minutes ago
If you are managing more than one equipment in your organization, it is very important to document and track ALL information about the servers effectively. In this article, I have listed 36 attributes that needs to be tracked for your equipments, with an explanation on why it needs to be tracked. I have also provided a spreadsheet template with these fields that will give you a jumpstart. -
A tour of Empathy IM client. Will it replace Pidgin?
10 hours, 20 minutes ago
On the roadmap to Gnome 2.24 is the integration with Empathy, a multi-protocol IM client. Could this integration be a sign of a replacement for Pidgin and Ekiga with one single SIP and multi-protocol IM application? Let's see how Empathy is doing now. -
Passenger Brings Rails Apps to Apache
10 hours, 50 minutes ago
Phusion released Passenger, an Apache module for deploying Rails applications. I have been working with Passenger over the last few weeks, and am pleased to report that the module is extremely easy to install, use, and configure. Passenger has succeeded in bringing me back into the world of Apache after several years of wandering in the HTTP server desert. -
42 of the Best Free Linux Scientific Software
11 hours, 20 minutes ago
Science is the effort of trying to understand how the physical world works. From observation and experimentation, science uses physical evidence of natural phenomena to compile data and analyze the collated information. Science really prospers and advances when individuals share the results of their experiments with others in the scientific community. There is a certain logic that scientific software should therefore be released in a freely distributable environment. -
Debian @15 is it still relevant?
11 hours, 50 minutes ago
Debian GNU/Linux is now 15 years old -- which isn't too shabby for an operating system. Yet though Debian is still alive and kicking, I'm not so sure it holds the market position that it should at this point in its maturity. -
If it's animation or special effects, it's Linux
12 hours, 20 minutes ago
Like the special effects in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; 300; The Golden Compass; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; and I Am Legend? The animation in Star Wars: The Clone Wars; WALL-E; or Ratatouille? You can thank Linux for all of them. - More News
Linux.com : Features
Open options for cloud computing
Some cloud computing vendors, such as 3tera and Nirvani, push their own proprietary platforms and tools, which forces adopters to limit their options and work in a restricted or closed architecture. When these established vendors say cloud, they mean their cloud. As a result, Web developers may believe that, in order to use cloud computing, they must accept limitations in the way they write and build their applications. But that view is a misconception; open standards for cloud computing are already in place and are being tweaked.
XBMC's Linux port lacks impressive features
Linux has no shortage of audio and video players, but if you want to devote you whole system to multimedia use, you need the Xbox Media Center (XBMC). Although initially designed for the Xbox gaming console, XBMC has been ported to other platforms. The Linux port of XBMC that I use is quite usable, especially for video playback, despite the fact that not all XBMC features have yet been ported.
New Scalix open source groupware is competition for Microsoft Exchange
Scalix collaboration platform, with its latest release version 11.4, aims to be a good alternative to Microsoft Exchange. Based on the HP OpenMail platform, discontinued by Hewlett-Packard in 2001, it has been further developed by Scalix and now acts as an enterprise email and group calendar server with the option of integrating systems like ERP, CRM, and billing into the Scalix system using its open API. It is compatible with most LDAP authentication mechanisms, such as those in Windows Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, and Red Hat Directory Server. The most prominent feature of Scalix is its Exchange compatibility; you can use an Outlook client to access the Scalix platform. Scalix also provides an AJAX-based client that is nearly identical to Microsoft Exchange Outlook Web Access (OWA). Aside from Outlook compatibility, Scalix also claims to coexist peacefully with other existing Exchange email systems.
Linutop 2.2: A desktop where smaller is better
A shift from multi-core power-gobbling monsters toward whisper-quiet systems with single-digit power consumption is rippling through the desktop market. This trend plays right into the hands of a Paris-based company called Linutop, which offers a miniature Linux-based desktop system. The latest version of the machine appeals to customers who are in the market for a machine with green credentials and low maintenance costs. After testing one myself, I found the tiny desktop has a lot going for it.
Meet Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt (video)
Linux.com correspondent R. Scott Belford caught up with Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt at the 2008 LinuxWorld Expo and had a pleasant (on-camera) conversation with him.
Rocks clusters make sense for educational environments
Cluster computing has played a pivotal role in the way research is conducted in educational environments. Because the amount of available money and hardware varies between university researchers, often it's necessary to find a clustering solution that can work well on a small scale, but also can be expanded into a large computing cluster. To maximize grants, researchers typically ask for an open source solution to meet their needs. Despite the lack of certain desirable features, Rocks clusters are among the best open source solution for building a computing cluster.
NimbleX 2008 is speedy but flawed
NimbleX, a Slackware-based distribution, advertises itself as "the new wave of Linux." However, what is appealing in NimbleX -- its speed and small footprint and the resulting selection of alternative software choices -- will likely strike veteran GNU/Linux users as being very old school. By contrast, its limitations -- too little attention to such aspects as the installer, packaging, and security -- seem all too modern, being reminiscent of other distros intent on commercialization or emulating Windows, even though NimbleX is a community distribution and largely a labor of love for Romanian developer Bogdan Radulescu.
Three Firefox extensions for Gmail
Gmail, Google's popular Web mail application, is already full of useful features all on its own. But Firefox users can further customize Gmail with a variety of add-ons. Some only change the appearance, while others add functionality that makes Gmail more like a personal planner than just a plain old email application. Let's take a look at three Firefox add-ons for Gmail.
Ask Linux.com: Theft recovery, skeleton files, and boot-looping Eees
This week in our parade through the wide world of the Linux.com forums, what to do with a stolen-then-recovered laptop, how to rescue an Eee PC netbook stuck in an endless boot loop, and how make Likewise Open and /etc/skel play nice together. Plus, competitive bash scripting, unanswered questions, and a world of bad Olympic puns.
Spend your vacation getting started with OpenStreetMap
We have written about the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project many times, but we have yet to explain how to get started with it as a contributor. Since it is the vacation high season in the Northern Hemisphere and many more people will be hitting the maps, this is the perfect time. You can contribute a lot to the project even if you don't own a Global Positioning System (GPS) device -- or even a compass.
China takes lead in Linux education
Since the Chinese government began supporting domestic open source communities in 2005, hundreds of thousands of young people in the world's most populous country have become a part of the open source world.
Using Windows, Xbox, and iPod as alternative MythTV front ends
Digital video recorders (DVR) are becoming more and more mainstream. TiVo, in fact, has passed the truest test of any popular technology -- having its name transformed into a verb. MythTV, a free and open source application that lets you turn a computer into a DVR, burst on the scene a few years ago, and has found fans among Linux users. However, with a little effort, it's possible to run MythTV front ends on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Xbox, and even an Apple iPod Classic.
gOS 3 Gadgets (beta) targets Linux beginners and Google Gadgets lovers
I first heard of gOS when it was chosen to power the $199 Wal-Mart gPC. The third iteration of the OS, gOS 3.0 "Gadgets" Beta, was released last week. It's a great Web-focused desktop, but it doesn't offer much to experienced or current Ubuntu users.
A video tour of gOS Gadgets 3 (beta)
gOS is an interesting Ubuntu GNU/Linux offshoot. We've reviewed it and interviewed gOS founder Daniel Liu. Now, in this video, you can see the distro in action before you decide whether it is something you want to download and play with for yourself. Remember that this video was made with a beta version of gOS Gadgets 3, so some features don't work correctly that will almost certainly be just fine in the final version. That caveat given, here's the video.
Quickly put data from MySQL to the Web with DrasticGrid
With DrasticGrid, you can easily put a MySQL database table or view on a Web page, complete with editing, sorting, and pagination capabilities, and support for adding and deleting records.
Learn about the Open Source Census (video)
The Open Source Census goes way beyond the traditional, too rarely used Linux Counter. It claims to be "the first collaborative, global project to count the number of installations for each open source software package." A lofty (and possibly unobtainable) goal, perhaps, but in this video, shot at LinuxWorld 2008, OpenLogic's Kim Wein explains why OpenLogic, along with more than a dozen other companies and groups, is sponsoring the Open Source Census.
Fluendo walks the line between free and proprietary codecs
Despite all its advances, GNU/Linux remains weak in its support for proprietary audio and video codecs. Because these codecs are often encumbered by patents, distributions must choose either to include support of questionable legality or else exclude it altogether. In the middle of this controversy sits Fluendo, a Catalan company of about 50 employees that is a main contributor to projects like GStreamer, and supports open formats, but also offers licensed, proprietary codecs such as Windows Media Video and MPEG4. While many would argue that this dual position is necessary, it's one that sometimes creates an unasy balance for the company, says Muriel Moscardini, Fluendo's sale director.
QGIS earns a spot on GIS software map
Quantum GIS 0.11.0, released last month, is a free geographic information system (GIS) application released under the GPL that runs on multiple platforms, including Linux. QGIS can read, edit, and export common GIS file formats. After installing it and using it to work with existing data layers available from official data repositories, performing common spatial analysis tasks, and sharing files and data with the commercial GIS products, I found QGIS has the potential to be a viable alternative to proprietary commercial GIS programs from the likes of ESRI and Intergraph/Geomedia.
Set up your firewall with Firewall Builder
Firewall Builder (fwbuilder) is a graphical application that can help you to configure IP traffic filtering. It can compile the filtering policy you define into many specifications, including iptables and various languages used by Cisco and Linksys routers. Separating the actual policy you define and the implementation in this way should let you change what hardware is running your firewall without having to redefine your policy for that platform.
Windows apps on Linux the CrossOver way
Who says you have to give up your must-have Windows applications when you migrate to Linux? If you can't leave some crucial Windows program behind, you can run it using CodeWeavers' latest version of CrossOver Linux.
