Linux
gregladen | September 2, 2008How can Google be taken seriously if a) it runs it's own business on LAMP servers using mainly Python; b) develops a multi-threaded browser with a memory-conservative development API; c) call it all open source and d) make it available only on Windows?
Since Google Chrome is probably very good competition for the remaining users of Microsoft Internet Explorer (which apparently is some kind of a web browser) I'll refer you'all to THIS very interesting cartoon (hat tip: Joe) that will convince you, if you are a Windows user, to install Chrome. But if you are a Linux/Unix (including Mac) user…
gregladen | August 20, 2008The Linutop is a tiny Linux computer that you stick onto the back of your flat screen monitor (and hook it to the monitor, obviously), plug in, and go. It makes no noise, produces very little heat, uses hardly any electricity (eight watts) and seems to be reasonably powered. It cost about 300 bucks.
There are things it won't do. The system is solid state, which means it is totally secure but upgrading would not be done in the usual way. I believe this computer is what you want to use if you are not storing data or if all your data is stored on line.
But for public computers in…
gregladen | August 7, 2008 Linux has powerful graphics tools For the average user or the professional image manipulator, there is a range of OpenSource software that will run on Linux as well as (in some cases) other platforms such as Windows. As discussed earlier, there are two basic kinds of image: Bit mapped and vector. Here we are looking at some of the bit mapped software.
There are many options in the OpenSource world, but in the end you are most likely to choose as your main graphics application Krita if you use KDE, or The Gimp if you use any other desktop (in particular Gnome). Both are slick and…
gregladen | August 6, 2008Graphics software for Linux is superior to most other software for several reasons. Since the Linux system is inherently more efficient than other systems, memory-hungry graphics operations will always run faster, better, and more reliably on a Linux box than on, say, a Windows box, all else being equal. Day to day graphic needs can be met with a wider range of software on Linux than on other systems. Most of the available applications are OpenSource, so not only are they free and easier to install, but no puppies were mutilated during the production of the software.
The purpose of this…
gregladen | July 25, 2008Some current news in the Linuxosphere, and some things going on on my very own desktop, have me wondering about the nature of the Linux Desktop. Here are a few questions to ponder.
Are Gnome and Ubuntu ruining the Linux Desktop? And if they are, what do we do about it?
Is Linux currently at a fundamental disadvantage that people are often not considering, having to do with how computers are set up?
Is it possible that the Linux Desktop is going to surpass the Mac in use? And why or why not?
Let's start with the first question.
Why am I asking if Gnome and Ubuntu are ruining the Linux…
gregladen | July 19, 2008More Computer Humor available here. Samples below:
Excerpt from "Fifty Ways to Leave your Editor:
Just press control-K, Ray,
Try double-Z, Fred,
You're still in insert, Bert,
So hit control-C.
Press meta-x, Lex,
Then type, `exit-quit-leave'
Or else just suspend, friend,
and kill(1) it with glee.
Or, in case you are missing Winter, try this Xmas Carol:
better !pout !cry
better watchout
lpr why
santa claus town
cat /etc/passwd >list
ncheck list
ncheck list
cat list | grep naughty >nogiftlist
cat list | grep nice >giftlist
santa claus town
who | grep sleeping
who | grep awake
who |…
gregladen | July 19, 2008If the difference between success and failure in your business, as the economy comes crashing down around you, is money, and you have ID demands, consider this:
With both people and companies having to squeeze a nickel's worth of good out of every penny, how long do you think people will be paying Microsoft for its imperfect operating systems and office suites? Vista Business SP1 'upgrade' has a list price of $199.95. Office 2007 Professional is $329.95. That's $529.90, or as much as a new low-end PC. Or, I could go with Ubuntu Linux for zero money down. if I wanted big business support, I…
gregladen | July 13, 2008... As Homer Simpson once said: "Where's the 'anykey'"...
The title of this post is an actual error message spotted on, I presume, a Windows computer. Another:
"You lied to me when you told me this was a program"
or how about:
That makes 100 errors; please try again.
Or this:
Maybe you should try asking a human?
Actually, I lied above when I blamed Windows. These are all examples of Linux or Unix errors, taken from this massive list on one of my favorite web sites. Have a look.
gregladen | July 12, 2008Joe died yesterday.
Joe Barr (October 19, 1944 - July 11, 2008) was an editor and writer for the SourceForge sites Linux.com and IT Manager's Journal.
A former programmer, Barr had worked on everything from microcomputers like the TRS-80 Model I to IBM mainframes with acres of DASD, writing code in more than a dozen languages, including RPG II, 370 ALC, COBOL, BASIC, TIBOL, MASM, and C. Much of that experience coming in his 13 years with Ross Perot's EDS.[citation needed]
As a writer, Barr first gained notoriety and, according to Ziff-Davis' Spencer F. Katt, a cult-like following for his zine…
gregladen | July 9, 2008I had promised a little more info on Scientific Linux. This is a form of Linux with a name that changes faster than my shirt when I realize I've got it on inside out. Form the Fermi LInux site:
Fermi Linux is the generic name for linux distributions that are created and used at Fermi National Accelerator Lab. These releases have gone through different names: Fermi Linux, Fermi Linux LTS, LTS, Scientific Linux Fermi, SLF. At the time of this writting, the only officially supported Fermi Linux is Scientific Linux Fermi.
But the inside story is both less and more interesting than you might…
gregladen | July 8, 2008As I recently reported, there is an order of magnitude difference between the market share of Linux "out there" in the world, and the market share of LInux on Scienceblogs.com and on this very blog. Subsequently, I was trolled by my very own brother "... so, when is Luniux going to reach 1% market share?...." and this item has come out on ZDNet (which we all know is essentially funded by Microsoft, right?): Linux - Still chasing that elusive 1% market share.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that something is wrong with this picture.
Maybe.
Is it necessary to assume that the readers of Sb are…
gregladen | July 5, 2008 Hans Reiser asks for a new lawyer (see below) This first item is not exclusively Linux at all...
Remember the effort by Firefox to break a downloading record? They did it. Guinness has given Firefox the record, officially. Over eight million hamburgers sold...
The de facto registrar of superlative achievements has credited Mozilla for officially setting a record for downloads in a 24-hour period: 8,002,530 copies of Firefox.
Mozilla's Download Day on June 17, whose server-crippling success delayed its official start, sought to popularize the open-source Web browser. Mozilla, which…
gregladen | July 1, 2008Among the top five hundred super computing sites, the vast majority are running Linux. For the desktop environment, there are many opportunities for Linux. For audio, have a look at 42 of the Best Free Linux Audio Software. More broadly, consider these Seven Reasons to Move to Linux. The world of Linux distros is dynamic and stable. The most recent Surprise Desktop Linux Move: Xandros Buys Linspire. It should be no surprise that Linux experiences 'prolific' growth, says Linux Foundation's Zemlin.
Meanwhile, Microsoft tactics push India toward Linux.
gregladen | June 16, 2008Wine is the software that runs in Linux which, in turn runs Windows programs. I have experimented and I could not believe how incredibly well it worked. At the time, I was able to achieve greater stability and performance, and an easier install, for Microsoft Office and Endnote on my Linux computer than on a comparable Windows computer. The down side in that case was that I had to run an older version of Office than currently (at that time) available. Also, the increase in reliability and performance was almost certainly in the system itself. The Linux computer simply worked (as they…
gregladen | June 15, 200842 of the Best Commercial Linux GamesKOffice 2.0 Alpha 8 (an office suite for KDE)....0 Best KDE Applications Not Included in KDEAnd for those of you who like it even when it is not OpenSource: Opera 9.50 Is Out! Review of the Newest Opera Release
gregladen | June 9, 2008Hans Reiser developed a file system a while back, for LInux computers (but in theory useful for other systems as well) which is probably the best file system out there. File systems vary in how good they are at handling very large vs. many small files, with something of a trade off between the two. File systems can be super duper fast or very very secure, but there is a trade off between the two. And so on. The Reiser File System addresses these trade offs better than other systems, at least, so many think. This is an open source file systems.
There is one small problem:
Hans Reiser…
gregladen | May 21, 2008This is not a funny Linux video. This is an actual educational video. And it's long. Only for serious Linux scholars ...
Produced by the Computer History Museum.
Hat Tip: Linux Journal
More on Linux
gregladen | May 20, 2008According to Really Linux writer Andrea W. Cordingly, "Chicks Love Linux" ...
There I was standing around the LUG booth at the annual Linux expo when I realised that unlike years past, there were considerable numbers of female attendants. No, I am not referring exclusively to those female models hired to promote an OS (I won't mention which one) wearing skimpy demon costumes.
I was truly encouraged to find that women from all backgrounds and ages were making up an increasingly larger portion of those attending such Linux conferences.
Microsoft blames YOU
A recent study shows that Microsoft…
gregladen | May 13, 2008There are many versions of Linux. At the deepest level, there are a few fundamentally different Linuxes, and each of these may appear in one or more, sometimes many, different "distributions." So, most Linux distributions are based on either Debian, RedHat/Fedora, Gentoo, and a couple/few others. Off hand, I'm not sure how many different core systems one has to add together to reach 50%, or 80%, or whatever you like.
Ubuntu is based on Debian. Debian is part of the GNU project, and is in some ways the philosophically purest, or main distribution. Many, many people will hate that I said…