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Thread: Linux Fanatics ~ October 23, 2006
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| Linux Fanatics ~ October 23, 2006 |
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2006-10-24 06:34:23 |
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by Matt Hartley on October 20, 2006 at
11:29 pm · Comments off
Categorized by Talk / Related
Information As a rule, HPs have been very workable in
Linux. Really, it’s been great. And this piece below works to
illustrate what I think. I recently replaced both
my Epson
CX5400 All-in-one printer/scanner and my Brother
MFC-210C fax/copier with a single all-in-one Hewlett-Packard
Officejet 5610. Not only does the new product do more than both of
the machines it replaced, it does it in less space. The price
isn’t real big, either. Unpacking and setting up the
Officejet 5610 took me less than 15 minutes. The hardest part of the
job was locating all the places where things had been taped shut for
shipping. The power cord, USB cable (not included), and the phone line
all connect to the back of the unit. Everything else is done up front,
including routine chores like feeding paper and changing ink
cartridges. Once the ink cartridges have been installed and
aligned - the unit first prints an alignment page, then scans it to
check for needed adjustment - Windows and Mac OS users are told to
load their respective CDs to install the drivers. Linux users can
scoff at the intellectual property handcuffs imposed on their non-free
brothers and sisters and simply configure the unit from the friendly
confines of their distribution… [Source: Linux.com]
by Matt Hartley on October 20, 2006 at
11:20 pm ·
Categorized by
Misc / Related
Information NVIDIA has, more often than not, been
extremely helpful when it comes to making sure it is supportive of the
desktop market. Today̵7;s post just goes to reaffirm this, I
think. NVPerfKit is a comprehensive suite of
performance tools to help debug and profile OpenGL and Direct3D
applications. It gives you access to low-level performance counters
inside the driver and hardware counters inside the GPU itself. The
counters can be used to determine exactly how your application is
using the GPU, identify performance issues, and confirm that
performance problems have been resolved. NVPerfKit 2.1 now
includes support for 64-bit Windows platforms, as well as 32-bit and
64-bit Linux platforms. Other improvements include an updated
installer, Release 90 driver support, enhancements to NVPerfHUD, and
more. The performance counters are available directly in your
OpenGL and DirectX applications and in tools such as Intel VTune and
Graphic Remedy’s gDEBugger via the Windows Management
Instrumentation (WMI) Performance Data Helper (PDH) interface. A
plug-in supporting Microsoft PIX for Windows is also provided, giving
you low-latency access to NVPerfKit performance counters directly from
the driverR30; [Source: LinuxLookup]
by Matt Hartley on October 20, 2006 at
11:16 pm · Comments off
Categorized by Misc / Related
Information So does this mean that Xandros is no more
then? Hardly. Rather they are simply reexamining where they want the
future of their company to be headed.
On Oct. 18,
Linux distributor Xandros was reorganized, resulting in the loss of at
least five jobs and a change in chief financial officers. The company,
which positions its desktop-oriented Linux distribution as an easy
migration path from Windows, has never gained significant momentum in
the market. One source told DesktopLinux.com that 10 employees
had been cut from the small business, including staff in tech support,
marketing and sales̷0;. Source: eWeek
by Jack Carlson on October 20, 2006 at
6:06 pm ·
Categorized by Books / Related
Information Usually I prefer to
review books one at a time. Since I like to not only read the book
IR17;m reviewing but apply some of the suggestions, it makes to
evaluate it from an average user’;s point of view as well, trying
to cover more than one book per review is difficult. In the
case of these two books, though, my usual practices have to be
ignored. These two books not only need to be reviewed together, they
need to be purchased and read together. Allow me to expand on my
reasoning. Fedora Core is, in my experience, the first Linux
distribution to include setting up SELinux (Security Enhanced Linux)
as part of its installation routine. Even though SELinux is supported
by Debian and Gentoo, Fedora is the only OS I’ve encountered
that presents the opportunity to setup SELinux during installation.
Having both these books at hand while setting up Fedora Core 5 will
leave you with no unanswered questions. Red Hat Fedora 5
Unleashed is a massive book. To look at it, someone unfamiliar with
Linux might think that Fedora is a very complicated system. Actually
Fedora is one of the easier distributions to install. The reason the
book is so large is that it covers every aspect of the Fedora Core 5
operating system in exquisite detail. The
first several chapters deal with the usual topics; an introduction to
Fedora, preparing to install your new operating system (hardware
requirements, partitioning, etc.) and the actual installation process.
If you elected to enable SELinux during the installation, this is the
time to set aside Red Hat Fedora 5 Unleashed and crack open your copy
of SELinux by Example. If you’re new to Linux or if the
phrase “policy language” means nothing to you, then
you’ll want to follow the authorR17;s suggestions on how to
use this book. “Thoroughly read and understand Part 1
(Chapters 1-3); this part provides you with the necessary background
and conceptual insights to understand SELinux. In particular,
carefully read and study Chapter 2. You may want to skim Part II
(Chapters 4-10) to get a sense of the content of these chapters. These
chapters are loaded with the details of the SELinux policy language.
For most people, there are too many details to absorb as part of a
strategy to first learn about SELinux.” You don’t
really need to fully grasp all the functionality of SELinux before you
start using your Fedora installation. Eventually you’ll want to
read SELinux by Example completely through and establish your own
policies to meet your needs. SELinux allows you to construct a secure
operating system from the ground up. It gives you control over kernal
resources, allows you to write policy statements for type enforcement,
roles, users and constraints. Using SELinux you can define, manage and
maintain security policies as well as develop and write new policy
modules. After reading this book, you’ll be able to effectively
administer any SELinux system. Now you’ve installed
Fedora Core 5 and gained a bit of enlightenment about SELinux.
It’s time to pick up Red Hat Fedora 5 Unleashed again and dig
deeper into this system. Because so many applications come
pre-installed in nearly all modern Linux distributions, perhaps the
hardest task facing any new user is trying to decide what they want to
do first. Should you set up your peripherals, get your network up and
running, play around with the user interface? There̵7;s a chapter
to help you do all of those. Fedora 5 Unleashed will also help you to
manage services, set up and administer your computer as a web server
using Apache, learn about shell scripts, play games, share files with
a Windows user via Samba, create databases with MySQL or PostgreSQL,
watch TV on your computer (providing you have a TV tuner card
installed), or build a new Linux kernal. You can even create
publications using Open Office, the application I’m using to
write this review. Fedora 5 Unleashed will walk you through every step
of accomplishing these tasks and many more with clear examples and
easy-to-understand writing. Once you advance beyond the basics
and want to really dig into the guts of Fedora, keep this book handy.
It will tell you how to manage the X window system, teach you about
Linux programming, administering a web server and a network, all from
within Fedora Core 5. You’ll even be able to set up a DNS server
if you wish. Fedora Core is the step-child of the Red Hat Enterprise
version of Linux, and shares a lot of the Enterprise functionality.
Red Hat Enterprise is the operating system of choice on many servers,
perhaps the only serious challenge to Microsoft’s Windows Server
system. The Enterprise edition is a rock solid and fully featured
operating system, and Fedora Core has inherited those characteristics.
If functionality means more to you than a flashy interface, Fedora
Core may be the right operating system for you. I can’t
imagine anything you might want to do in Fedora Core 5 that
isn’t explained in Fedora 5 Unleashed. If you want to run a
server, have a functional not flashy OS or just want to install one of
the most mature Linux distributions available, buy a copy of Fedora
Core 5 Unleashed, put the DVD into your DVD-ROM drive and get started.
The DVD contains hundreds of applications that will have you being
productive within minutes of installation. And if security
concerns you, and it should, you’ll want to have a copy of
SELinux by Example handy to refer to as you set up your policies.
Combined, these two books will make you a master of your new operating
system. Red Hat Fedora 5 Unleashed
Paul Hudson & Andrew Hudson
Sams Publishing 2006
ISBN
0-672-32847-x
1069 pgs. DVD-ROM
$49.99 USA/$66.99 CAN/
£35.99 Net UK (inc. of VAT) SELinux by
Example
Frank Mayer, Karl Macmillan, David Caplan
Pearson Education, Inc. 2007
ISBN 0-13-196369-4
425
pgs.
$44.99 USA/$55.99 CAN
Tags: fedora, selinux, pearson
education, sams publishing
by Jack Carlson on October 19, 2006 at
5:55 pm ·
Categorized by Books / Related
Information Most Linux distributions are built to
meet a specific purpose; address a specific audience. There are
USB-bootable versions, live disks, and versions geared toward
scientific research or desktop publishing. Ubuntu Linux is one of the
few distributions designed around a philosophy. You may have
heard about UbuntuR17;s founder and first developer, Mark
Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth gained worldwide fame on 25 April
2002 as a civilian cosmonaut aboard the Russian Soyuz TM-34 mission,
paying approximately US$20 million. Two days later, the Soyuz
spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station, where he spent
eight days participating in experiments related to AIDS and genome
research. On 5 May, he returned to Earth. In order to participate on
the flight, Shuttleworth had to undergo one year of training and
preparation, including seven months spent in Star City, Moscow.
[Source: Wikipedia] In the 1990s, Shuttleworth was a
developer for Debian Linux. In 2004, he released Ubuntu Linux.
The Ubuntu Web site has this to say about its guiding
philosophy: “The Ubuntu community is built on
the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Philosophy: that software should be
available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by
people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that
people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software
in whatever way they see fit.”;
The
book’s forward and first chapter both discuss this philosophical
distribution. Details on installing and configuring Ubuntu begin in
chapter 2. The Ubuntu developers have done an outstanding job at
making Ubuntu as easy to install as any other distribution, despite
its Debian ancestry. Chapter 3 covers most all the activities
the average desktop computer user might need to do in the course of a
day. It discusses finding and using the installed applications (adding
new ones is covered in Chapter 4), understanding the file system, the
various parts of the desktop and how to get around, adjusting the look
and feel of Ubuntu and working with multimedia. The next
chapter deals with managing your system, keeping it updated and
configured. It details working with devices like cameras and printers
and ends with a look at the Terminal. Using Ubuntu in a server
configuration is covered from start to finish in chapter 5. You can
even set up RAID under Ubuntu. Chapter 6 covers troubleshooting
while chapter 7 introduces you to Kubuntu, the KDE window manager
based version of Ubuntu, which uses the Gnome manager by default. If
you prefer KDE and decide to install Kubuntu, this book is still
applicable. Chapters 8 and 9 finish the book by looking at
various participants in the Ubuntu community and other Ubuntu related
projects. Ubuntu has experienced a huge surge of enthusiastic
users. In a short space of time its popularity has begun to rival
Fedora and Mandriva. There are various theories as to why this is
happening. Some credit the philosophical roots of the OS, some say
itR17;s due to the pleasing brown default color scheme. I doubt
it’s because of its interface. Gnome is a no-frills desktop, but
many distributions offer Gnome. I say it has something to do with the
fact that the Ubuntu community is serious about their mission to make
and maintain an operating system that offers freedom of use and low
cost to the user. Ubuntu offers a unique distribution method.
Anyone can request a copy of the
OS on disk here free of charge, including shipping. Another
unique thing: Once you’ve installed Ubuntu to your hard drive
using the included DVD, you’ll find a full copy of the book in
your home directory. This means you can give the book and disk to a
friend and still have the Official Ubuntu Book available for reference
any time you need it. It seems Ubuntu is really serious about
that philosophy. The Official Ubuntu
Book
Benjamin Hill and Jono Bacon et. al.
Canonical, Ltd. Pearson Education, Inc. 2007
ISBN
0-13-243594-2
412 pgs. w/DVD-ROM
$34.99 USA/$43.99
CAN
Tags: ubuntu, kubuntu, canonical, pearson
education
by Matt Hartley on October 18, 2006 at
11:17 pm · Comments off
Categorized by Misc / Related
Information It’s here! It’s freaking
about time, man! Flash 9 Beta is now live and here for you to try if
you are feeling man enoughR30; I haven̵7;t had a
chance to try it out yet, but a publicly available beta of Flash 9 for
Linux is now available. Kudos to the Adobe Linux Flash team for the
hard work. From the linked blog post: While we are still
working out exactly how to distribute the final Player version to be
as easy as possible for the typical end user, this beta includes 2
gzipR17;d tarball packages: one is for the Mozilla plugin and the
other is for a GTK-based Standalone Flash Player. Either will need to
be downloaded manually via the Adobe Labs website and
unpacked….Source: jeremy.linuxquestions.org
by Matt Hartley on October 18, 2006 at
11:15 pm · Comments off
Categorized by Talk / Related
Information If you are a fan of Ubuntu Dapper, then
you are going to simply love Edgy. Ubuntu, now featuring Beryl!
Tonight I upgraded to Ubuntu Edgy and installed Beryl.
Sounds interesting. You mentioned Ubuntu, what is that?
Ubuntu is a free, open source Linux-based operating system that starts
with the breadth of Debian and adds regular releases (every six
months), a clear focus on the user and usability (it should “Just
Work”, TM) and a commitment to security updates with 18 months of
support for every release (and with 6.06 LTS you get 3 years on the
desktop and 5 on the server!). Ubuntu ships with the latest GNOME
release as well as a selection of server and desktop software that
makes for a comfortable desktop experience off a single installation
CD. …. Source: macewan.org
by Matt Hartley on October 18, 2006 at
11:12 pm · Comments off
Categorized by News / Related
Information OK, admit that Linux coming into play
with Sony’;s PS3 is not simply the wildest thing you have ever
heard of?
Open source software firm Terra Soft is to
produce a version of its Yellow Dog Linux specifically for
Sony’s PlayStation 3.
Terra Soft said the operating system
should be available in mid-November for subscribers to its YDL.net
service.
Soon after a free version will be put online for anyone
to download.
The operating system will come in two versions. One
that installs via a single click for casual users and another that can
be customised…. Source: BBC
by Matt Hartley on October 17, 2006 at
11:23 pm · Comments off
Categorized by Linux / Related
Information This is a problem with regard to many
software titles when it comes to the Linux world. It appears that
Linux is no exception. Online auction giant eBay is
continually upgrading and supplementing its services, and that means
frequent users periodically discover something new when they log in
— integrated PayPal, new messaging tools, and so on. I am one of
those frequent users, and I recently discovered that the latest update
to one of the core auction tools locks out Linux users.
The tool is the sellers217; auction setup wizard officially
named Sell Your Item. eBay rolled out Sell Your Item 3.0 at the end of
the summer, adding some more AJAX-ified flair and polish. It was
October before I dusted off a relic in need of selling and tried the
new form for myself, and found that it didn’;t work in
Linux. Some interface elements were grayed-out and
unusable, some text changes I made vanished right in front of my eyes,
and entire form reset itself to its empty defaults, trashing
everything I had done. The top of the page admonished, “For more
selling options and features use a newer browser and JavaScript enabled.” I was using Firefox 1.5 and yes, sir, JavaScript sure was enabled230;. Source: Linux.com
by Matt Hartley on October 17, 2006 at
11:20 pm · Comments off
Categorized by Misc / Related
Information Personally, I think it is simply easier
to simply install Kubuntu in the first place. Still, this is a good
how-to for converting an existing Ubuntu install should the need
arise. In the Introduction to this book, I mentioned that
there are several distributed versions of Ubuntu. These include
Edubuntu and Kubuntu, both of which are Ubuntu but with a different
default environment. I also introduced you to the concept of desktop
environments and told you that GNOME was the default environment for
Ubuntu. There is, however, another very popular desktop environment
for Linux called KDE. I highly recommend that you introduce yourself
to KDE and that you work with it as well. I make that same
recommendation for people already working with KDE, by the way. Try
out the GNOME desktop as well. You have a choice with Linux. Why not
see what works best for you?
Showing you how to work with KDE is
beyond the scope of this book, so I won’t spend a great deal of
time on it, but I will show you how to convert your Ubuntu system to a
Kubuntu system. If you want to learn more about KDE, may I suggest
that you look at my book, Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of
Death Goodbye! I cover KDE in detail and the concepts you learn there
will serve you well on your Kubuntu system. … Source: Linux Journel
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