Ubuntu, another choice

When Canonical broke the news recently that Ubuntu 10.10 will include uTouch 1.0, a multitouch and gesture stack, it caused a flurry of excitement about the Linux release's potential for use in tablets . Thanks to the new technology, users of Ubuntu 10.10--also known as Maverick Meerkat--will be able to switch applications or tabs within an application, for example, using gestures. Android users have already been enjoying the power of touch, of course, but this new technology will bring it to the Linux desktop. Ubuntu 10.10 is currently in its third alpha release, with the final version expected on October 10. Current home and business users of older versions of Ubuntu will have to decide if the benefits make it worth upgrading the free software. Though changes will inevitably happen over the next few weeks, here's a summary of some of the key features that are currently expected. 1. Simpler Installer Ubuntu 10.10 is expe...

We love Linux, and want to make it easier for others to do so, too. This first edition of the Lifehacker Pack for Linux includes our favorite apps that get things done and make your desktop great. Linux isn't quite like Windows or Mac, as there are many, many distributions, usually running on one of two desktop systems (GNOME or KDE). We've chosen to write this list up from the perspective of a standard, GNOME-based Ubuntu user. Ubuntu is what the Lifehacker editors use, it's what most of our Linux-leaning readers use , and it's generally popular and frequently updated. Many of these apps can be downloaded and installed on other Linux systems, of course—check the Download link, or search out its name in your own system's package installer. If you are using Ubuntu, you can also install these apps by clicking the "Install in Ubuntu" link after each item. It's a link that prompts your own Ubuntu system to search out and install an app from ...

August 28, 2009 by: Allen Sanford Cinelerra has three main functions: capturing, compositing, and editing audio and video with sample level accuracy. It’s a movie studio in a box, he best of the best …. Yaddie, Yaddie, Yaddie. Cinelerra is not community approved and there is no support from the developer. Donations to community websites do not fund Cinelerra development. However there is a community version and here is how you install it on Ubuntu. buntu: Install Cinelarra: Linux Video Editing « Blogternals : "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Just a heads up, we talk about and mention Ubuntu in the article but this will really work for any distro. Some of these instructions may vary just a bit for Logical Volumes but you should easily be able to figure out the slight differences. Having the “/home” directory tree mounted on it’s own partition has several advantages amongst them is being able to reinstall the OS (or even a different distro of Linux) without losing all your data. Different reason have left some of us not installing a separate partition for “/home” when we first installed Ubuntu. Now for what ever reason we need to move “/home” to its own partition. First, we need to create a partition of sufficient size for your “/home” directory. You do what ever you need to do here before we continue just make sure you have an empty partition somewhere to work with that is big enough and that you know what file format it uses I suggest ext3 or ext4. Next, mount the new partition: ? View Code SHELL mkdi...

When I made the switch to Ubuntu Linux on my desktop computer (that is, if you can call triple-booting Windows XP, Vista, and Ubuntu a "switch"), I was a little worried about finding the applications and tools that would make me as productive working in Ubuntu as I am working on Windows. After a little searching around the interweb, however, I've been more than impressed with the number of great, full-featured applications available for Linux, many of which outshine their Windows counterparts. And what's best - they're all totally free. Here are my top 10 favorite applications and tweaks that made replacing Windows with Ubuntu a breeze. Taking a page from Mark Pilgrim's essential software list, I've included the necessary command line code to install most of the applications below; if you don't like Terminal, you can use Ubuntu's very friendly Add/Remove software application interface (Applications -> Add/Remove...). Where I haven't in...

Today, you will learn how to install Ubuntu Gutsy (as a second operating system) on your PlayStation 3 gaming console. This will not replace the PS3 operating system (called XMB). Ubuntu will run as an alternative OS on your PS3 console. Ready Are you excited Let’s go! Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon has greatly been improved for the PS3 hardware. It can now recognize all the components of your PS3 console, like the Blu-ray unit, the Gelic network card, USB and Bluetooth ports, and the sound system! Installing Ubuntu (Linux) on your PS3 | Hack N Mod

A huge reason many people don’t want to try Linux, a free open source OS, is because it typically involves formatting or repartitioning their hard drives. Learn how to give Ubuntu a try on your Vista or XP machine without altering the original state of your hard drive. Full article here: How to Install Linux without Formatting or Partitioning | Hack N Mod

Jabber is more than Instant messaging. You probably all know Jabber as an instant messageing protocol. And if you still don't use it, I recommend you to try But people know less that XMPP (the protocol behind Jabber) is more than just instant messaging. XMPP is a protocol that simply allow you to exchange XML fragments between clients. So possibilities are infinite. With this post, I want to show to others KDE developers some of the XMPP possibilities that could improve KDE. Jabber is more than Instant messaging. - Gof's weblog

One of my favorite geek shirts is my ZaReason ' Friends help friends use Linux ' shirt, which I was in the mood to wear last night after I helped my friend move to Linux. My non-technical friend was suffering from a sickly Windows Vista PC. She'd caught herself a nasty virus (she blames an old Red Hot Chili Peppers video, but we'll never know for sure). Other people had suggested that my budget-conscious friend move to Linux. Tip #1: Don't tell your non-technical friends to move to Linux. Please, just don't do this. If you do this, you set them up to hate it. Your friend might be like my friend, who just wants her email, music, and internet to work. My friend doesn't want to install, configure, or troubleshoot. Yes, she's certainly smart and capable enough, but she's just not interested. She's got two teenagers and some chickens to raise and a business to run, and she'd rather live without her computer than spend hours tweak...

Media Center PCs have been around for almost a decade—even longer if you count earlier forays like Gateway's Destination PC lineup from the mid-1990s. It's not just about PCs, either. More recently, we've seen set-top box media extenders and media-focused game consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3, as well as targeted peripherals like the Slingbox PRO-HD and the Hauppauge HD PVR . All have garnered their share of fans. Unfortunately, many media center setups are inflexible. The Apple TV is probably the worst example; it's tough to do much with that box unless you're a slave to the iTunes Store. ( Or unless you hack it .) But even Windows 7 and the Xbox 360 can be unnecessarily limiting when it comes to your media. That's where Linux comes in. Granted, a lot of the fun is thanks to the hobbyist nature of the OS, at least on the consumer end. There's also a distinct feeling of getting something for nothing—and in many cases, better performance than ...

Microsoft has long pooh-poohed Linux as a desktop competitor. But a recent filing with the Security and Exchange Commission has the company admitting for the first time that Linux represents a significant threat to Windows. TechFlash reports that in Microsoft's recent annual filing with the SEC, it listed for the first time Ubuntu's maker Canonical, and Linux distributor Red Hat as competitors to its Client division, which makes Windows. Previously, TechFlash says, Red Hat was listed but only as a competitor to its Business and Server & Tools divisions. Full article here: Microsoft Admits Fear of Linux - Business Center - PC World

For productivity, Linux can compete with Windows and Mac as Linux has a great set of productivity applications. While some applications run on all platforms, there are others just available exclusively on Linux. Here is a list of 10 apps that are focused on getting things done quickly and effectively. Daily Artisan » 10 Handy Productivity Tools in Linux

There are quite a few possibilities to take the Linux distribution Ubuntu for a test drive. It can be run from Live CDs, run in a virtual machine or installed on a free partition on the computer system even from within Windows (using Wubi ). Portable Ubuntu adds another possibility to these choices by offering to run Ubuntu directly in Windows without installation or configuration at all. The Linux distribution can be downloaded directly from its Sourceforge page. It comes as a 438 Megabyte self extracting executable that requires 1.86 Gigabytes on the computer’s hard drive after extraction. Users can then immediately start Ubuntu in Windows by clicking on the run_portable_ubuntu.bat file that is located in the root directory of the software program. Starting portable Ubuntu in Windows will open a command line window which will remain open all the time. This command line window contains information about background processes and the state of the Ubuntu system. The Ubuntu dock at th...

The new style of Ubuntu is driven by the theme "Light". We've developed a comprehensive set of visual guidelines and treatments that reflect that style, and are updating key assets like the logo accordingly. The new theme takes effect in 10.04 LTS and will define our look and feel for several years.   Ubuntu has seen a tremendous amount of growth and change since it was conceived in 2004. Back then it was a small project with strong ambitions and a handful of developers passionate about delivering a world class Linux Operating System that can compete on every level with Microsoft and Apple. We adopted a style based on the tagline "Linux for Human Beings", and called it "Human". Six years on we have made incredible progress. Ubuntu is a global phenomenon: we have carved out a pervasive culture of quality and design, thoughtful usability and great technology all fused together in a project that maintains the same commitment to community an...

You might have heard about the well known command line utility called FFMPG which converts videos from one format to another. If you are a developer or system administrator and you develop or administer Linux based apps then you probably know how complex it is to work with the command line utility to convert videos. WinFF makes it easier, you can easily convert files with the GUI interface rather than stuffing your head with the difficult and long commands of FFMPG. To put in a netshell, it is the graphical interface for FFMPG. The key features of this tool include the support for multiple formats and multiple languages. Further this tool can also be used on different versions of Windows. It also doesn’t require any external codecs. The installation of this tool is very simple, just open the terminal and run the following command to install it. sudo apt-get install winff Once the installation is over, you can launch it from Applications > Sound &Video > Video Co...

Old hardware? Want a faster boot up? Need to free some system resources? Want snappier applications? This is for you. Note, I wouldn’t suggest doing anything within this if it doesn’t make sense to you. Tux Training » Blog Archive » How to make Ubuntu extremely fast

Getting Started with Ubuntu 10.04 is a comprehensive beginners guide for the Ubuntu operating system. It is written under an open source license and is free for you to download, read, modify and share. The manual will help you become familiar with everyday tasks such as surfing the web, listening to music and scanning documents. With an emphasis on easy to follow instructions, it is suitable for all levels of experience. Download now Alternative download options Features Easy to understand - our manual has step by step instructions and is jargon-free A picture is worth a thousand words - lots of screenshots to show you how to do tasks All in one place - conveniently located in one file, so you don’t have to look all over the web for help Progressive learning curve - start with the basics, and learn as you work through each chapter Dozens of languag...

Most computers these days come with a myriad of sensors to monitor the temperature of your computer. These sensors are generally located on the processor and the motherboard, and you might also have sensors on your video card. On top of that, all S.M.A.R.T-enabled hard drives have built-in temperature monitoring. The temperature of your computer is a vital thing to keep track of – heat and computers don’t mix very well. Unfortunately, Ubuntu doesn’t setup your computer’s sensors automatically; but you can follow these steps to enable the temperature sensors in your computer in Ubuntu, or any other version of Linux. While sensor-monitoring is somewhat hardware dependant, this guide will work for most users. It involves heavy use of the command-line, but don’t worry – I will walk you through it step-by-step. Enabling Hardware Sensors in Linux | Techthrob.com :

Linux infrastructure was heavily used in Avatar's graphics rendering done by Weta Digital. (C) Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Weta Digital is the digital visual effects company which worked on the visual effects of the flora and fauna of Pandora. To achieve the impressive visual effects, Weta Digital have modified their in-house software Massive and used their 10,000 square foot Data Center with more than 40,000 CPUs. The Data Center of Weta Digital was re-built in 2008 and consists of 34 racks and more than 4,000 Hewlett-Packard blade servers with a 104TB of RAM. Ubuntu is at the core of all of this, running on all of the rendering nodes, and 90% of the desktops at Weta Digital, according to Paul Gunn , the data center's systems administrator. The "farm" is in fact an Ubuntu Server farm and does not run Red Hat Linux as previously reported by the Media. Processing 7 to 8 gigabytes of data per second, running 24 hours a day and 17.28 gigabytes per minute...

Need to monitor Linux server performance? Try these built-in command and a few add-on tools. Most Linux distributions are equipped with tons of monitoring. These tools provide metrics which can be used to get information about system activities. You can use these tools to find the possible causes of a performance problem. The commands discussed below are some of the most basic commands when it comes to system analysis and debugging server issues such as: Finding out bottlenecks. Disk (storage) bottlenecks. CPU and memory bottlenecks. Network bottlenecks. See here : 20 Linux System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know

K3b 2.0 released Today the reformed K3b team within the KDE Community is proud to release the final 2.0 of the premier disk recording application, codenamed “Komeback”. Although pre-release versions have already enjoyed widespread adoption, we'd like to recap some of the highlights of this release. K3b 2.0 marks the last milestone in the effort to port one of the most popular disk recording applications to KDE's current Platform 4. Although some parts still use legacy libraries, the application takes advantage of the new platform and integrates better with it. Solid, the KDE hardware layer, is now used for hardware detection. On the interface front K3b 2.0 is a direct port of its KDE3 predecessor. The overall look remains the same but it now uses modern widgets. For example, file browser shows a list of KDE's global Places and takes advantage of the breadcrumb bar. The icons have also been updated to match the rest of the Oxygen theme. ...

ScrapBook is a Firefox extension, which helps you to save Web pages and manage the collection. Key features are lightness, speed, accuracy and multi-language support. Major features are: Save Web page Save snippet of Web page Save Web site (In-depth Capture) Organize the collection in the same way as Bookmarks Highlighter, Eraser and various page editing features Full text search and quick filtering search Text edit feature resembling Opera's Notes SCRAPBOOK :: Firefox Extension