Ubuntu, another choice

Virtualbox is a virtualisation package for Linux originally developed by Sun Microsystems. It’s an incredibly powerful and easy way of being able to run Windows XP or Vista from Ubuntu. This guide will talk you through the process of installing Virtualbox , after which we’ll look at installing Windows XP. Running XP inside Ubuntu has so many benefits, like file compatibility, using active-x in internet explorer and lots more. Here’s a few shots of my PC running Ubuntu and Windows XP, BBC Iplayer and Microsoft Office 2007. Click the images for a full size view: I took the screenshots while Compiz cube was in mid-rotate. Looks good doesn’t it? Performance wise, Windows XP starts up just as quickly if not slightly quicker than a standard installation if you have a powerful machine. Just goes to show what a great operating system Linux can be. How is it done? Installing Virtualbox is quite straightforward. There’s a simple process to follow to get up and running...

Think Aqua interface in Mac OSX and 3D Flip in Windows Vista was the best looking Operating system? Ever thought that the 3D effects on hacker’s desktop shown in movies are not for real? No need to think again, just read on because the freedom and flexibility Compiz Fusion provides is beyond imagination. Compiz fusion is the result of a merge between the well-known Beryl composite window manager and Compiz Extras, a community set of improvements to the Compiz composite window manager. You don’t even need a high performance hardware for this, it will work fine with 256MB RAM and a decent processor. Many distros such as Ubuntu , openSUSE, Mandriva, Fedora, Sabayon etc comes with out of the box Compiz Fusion and for others distros it can be added as an add-on. This article is aimed at encouraging users to try linux if they want the best rather than using Windows and refraining themself to try something new and better. Here are screenshots of various effects that can be accomplished...

When you need something done quickly, efficiently, and without any software overhead, the command line is where it's at. It was the first way humans told computers what to do, but as graphics became increasingly important, the command line, or terminal, became an insiders' secret weapon. But with the right commands and a little bit of know-how, anyone can get things done from a text-only interface. Let's take a look at 10 commands and tricks that make the terminal more accessible, and more powerful, on any system. Photo by blakepost . Note: Mac OS X and Linux users have robust command line interfaces baked right into their systems. To get to them, head to Applications->Utilities->Terminal in Finder. It varies in Linux, depending on your distro and interface, but a "terminal" can usually be found in an "Accessories" or "Utilities" menu panel. Windows users are best served by installing and configuring Cygwin , a Unix emulator, which we...

Linux is more than just software. It’s an entire community of users, and as such, there’s a detailed social history behind it. Below I take a look at the origins of Linux, both in terms of where it came from and the people who make it. Your instinct might be to skip information like this. But it’s important that you understand it at some stage, because it’s what being a Linux user is all about. Linux is more than simply the sum of its parts. It’s far more than simply a set of computer programs. If nothing else, what’s below explains the fundamental philosophies behind Linux and attempts to answer some of the often-baffling questions that arise when Linux is considered as a whole. In the Beginning Linux was created 17 years ago, in 1991. A period of 17 years is considered a lifetime in the world of computing, but the origin of Linux actually harks back even further, into the early days of modern computing in the mid-1970s. Linux was created by a Finnish national named Linus Torvald...

Access Your Favorite Sites with Firefox 3 Now you can access all your StumbleUpon favorites simply by typing the topic into your search bar. Firefox 3's Smart Location Bar allows you to import your SU favorites into Firefox bookmarks for easy reference! The process may take a few minutes, depending on the number of StumbleUpon favorites you've saved. After importing, just type the name of a topic into the search bar at the top of your browser window and you'll see all your SU favorites matching that topic.

Welcome to easylinuxwifi.org, home of the Auto-NDISwrapper project. Where we try to make Linux wifi a little bit more painless. Some hardware manufacturers do not provide linux drivers for their products nor provide the hardware specifications necessary for creating them. A project called NDISwrapper was created so that these cards could be used in Linux using Windows drivers. Sometimes finding and installing these drivers can be difficult, and that's when Auto-NDISwrapper comes into play. Auto-NDISwrapper 0.1 is out!

Since version 2 came out in 2005, Google Desktop for Windows has included a sidebar that users can fill with screen gadgets, but the Linux version (version 1, from June 2007) provided only indexing and search functions, with no eye candy whatsoever. This has finally changed. Google recently released Google Gadgets for Linux (GGL), which closes the gap between the operating systems. With GGL, you can run as many gadgets as you wish on your screen -- or at least that's the idea. Some flaws still need to be fixed, and not everything works 100% correctly. GGL resembles SuperKaramba , Screenlets , gDesklets , and KDE 4's Plasma . All produce similar results and offer similar gadgets, and the only reason to choose one over another is if it offers unique gadgets you're particularly interested in. Some programs are compatible with each other, allo...

It’s being reported that Acer is going to start pushing Linux on it’s Laptops and netbooks. The choice for Acer is obviously a smart financial move. Linux is open source and much cheaper then the alternative Microsoft operating systems. Gianpiero Morbello, the vice president of marketing and brand at Acer, even stated “We have shifted towards Linux because of Microsoft,” he said. “Microsoft has a lot of power and it is going to be difficult, but we will be working hard to develop the Linux market.” This is definitely a great push for Linux. Acer has a lot of influence in the hardware market, and taking a stand against Microsoft for Linux could make other major companies think twice about what operating system they develop hardware for. However, I’m reluctant to see how Acer will go about marketing the OS on their brand of laptops. I hope they don’t plan on just having a lower cost laptop sitting on the store shelf and waiting until the customer gets home to discover that the oper...

I’ve been taking the train to work for 4 years now. It’s a 45 minute rambling ride in which I usually either read a book, sleep, or grab my laptop loaded up with Ubuntu and get some stuff done. Over time, I’ve collected a few funny remarks I’ve either over heard, or that people have said directly to me. Here are the 10 best. That’s not windows, it’s a Mac! (One teenager to another). Where’s the start button? (Asked directly to me on a train). Random middle manager 1: He must be in Marketing, he’s making a new picture! Random middle manager 2: I don’t know, look how he’s dressed. (While using gimp). Don’t turn your computer on Bill – that guy can look into it! (two business men). You’ve got to work in IT. (said directly to me). (Whispered) How did he get Vista early? (Two teens). Yeah, I’m surrounded by yuppies, kids, drones and two guys using Linux. (Someone on a cell phone). What the hell is that? (Pointing to my screen -followed by a 15 minute conversat...

Simple things Windows users can't do I think we can make a nice list of simple things the average Windows user can't (or doesn't, see [7]) do, I'll keep track and add them here. The list: Change the extension of a file _successfully_ F2 Update the whole system with a few clicks Autoupdate, no clicks Resolve problems by logging out and then logging back in without a full restart (CTRL+Backspace). What problems? Do everythng with the command line. Average windows user? "Whats the command line" Ignore the threats of viruses Comes with being so popular Do a complete system install in under 20 min and be ready for word processing, spreadsheets, watch and listen to media, view pdf files, check email, surf the web (safely) and connect to your network without once trying to find those missing driver discs, install and download multiple programs that you need to do anything at all. you must be lucky! Ubuntu was...

Firefox 3, a new generation of web browser has been officially launched and available for public download on June 17th 2008. With the new Firefox version 3 release, security requirements for add-on and extensions have been tighten, breaking lots of the extensions, add-on, toolbar and others to be disabled due to incompatibility and not support FF3. One of the affected add-on is Google Toolbar version 3.0.20070525L. Old version of Google Toolbar is automatically disabled when FF 3.0 is run due to incompatibility. And user cannot reinstall or re-enable the older version of Google Toolbar too with the following dialog message. Google Toolbar for Firefox 3.0.20070525L could not be installed because it is not compatible with Firefox 3.0 Now, the Firefox 3.0 (FF3) supported Google Toolbar version 3.1.20080605W is now available for download and install, directly from Google Toolbar homepage. When browsing to the Google Toolbar site, it will automatically detects the type and ...

Just a few things you can do with Remember The Milk... Manage tasks quickly and easily. An intuitive interface makes managing tasks fun. Set due dates easily with next Friday or in 2 weeks . Extensive keyboard shortcuts make task management quicker than ever. Get reminded, anywhere. Receive reminders via email, SMS, and instant messenger (AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo! are all supported). Organize the way you want to. Are you a list lover? Create as many lists as you need. Into tagging? Use the task cloud to easily see what you have to do. Want to store notes along with your tasks? You can do that too. Locate your tasks. Use the map to see where your tasks are located in the real world. See what's nearby or on your way, and plan the best way to get things done. Work together to get things done. Share, send and publish tasks and lists with your contacts or the world. Remind your significant other to do their ...

How to Install Media Codecs for Flash, DVD, QuickTime (MOV), MP3, WMV, WMA, and ACC (MP4, M4A) Playback in Linux [Ubuntu Guide] By Sam on May 30, 2008 filed under Guides , Linux , Ubuntu | View comments 1 Comment Due to copyrights, Ubuntu (currently Hardy Heron 8.04) is distributed without codecs to play many of the most prevalent media formats including DVD video (unencrypted and encrypted), Flash (.swf and .flv extensions), QuickTime movies (.mov ), MP3s (.mp3), Windows Media Audio and Video (.wma and .wmv), and unencrypted ACC files (.acc, .mp4, and .m4a). Luckily, these codecs are easy to install. This guide shows you how. How to Install Media Codecs for Flash, DVD, QuickTime (MOV), MP3, WMV, WMA, and ACC (MP4, M4A) Playback in Linux [Ubuntu Guide] : Zaphu

CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhances Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam). Features Use Google Suggest (suggest words while you're typing) Add links to competitors Rewrite links to point straight to the images in Google Images Removes image copying restrictions in Google Book Search Secure Gmail and Google Calendar, switch to https Block Google Analytics cookies Hide the Gmail spam counter Make URL previews on sponsored links visible NEW! Add favicons in the web search result NEW! Remove ads Anonymize your Google userid Add a result counter in search result Filter spammy websites from search results Add links to WayBack Machine (webpage history) Remove click tracking Add links from Google to your bookmark manager Use a fixed font for Gmail mail bodie...

Different operating systems. Different styles. But what if the quirks and styles of the different operating systems were applied to AIRLINES? What if airlines ran things the way operating systems do? This humorous analogy, applying operating system philosophies as if they were airlines, is a long-standing much-circulated amusing story, and we'd credit the author if we knew who wrote it! If Operating Systems Ran The Airlines... UNIX Airways Everyone brings one piece of the plane along when they come to the airport. They all go out on the runway and put the plane together piece by piece, arguing non-stop about what kind of plane they are supposed to be building. Air DOS Everybody pushes the airplane until it glides, then they jump on and let the plane coast until it hits the ground again. Then they push again, jump on again, and so on... Mac Airlines All the stewards, captains, baggage handlers, and ticket agents look and act exactly the same. Every time you ask questions abo...