Archive for the ‘linux/open source’ Category

openSUSE KDE 4 Repositories in plain English

via the KDE Mailing List:
READ THIS SUMMARY

If all you want is a workable version of KDE, stick with what came with the distro when you installed it. Everything else can break your system at any time with no warning because it *will* always be changing.
If you want the latest released version of just the applications [...]

openSUSE is best wreck-proof Linux distro

I’ve spent the last three weeks installing, testing, and wrecking various distros on purpose among three machines of various ages and here’s what I found:

Ubuntu/Kubuntu had the most bugs and Kubuntu the most aggravation with KDE;
Fedora is quite good (as it is every other release) and has a strong integration of KDE;
Mandriva/Mepis/Mint are fine but [...]

Don’t fall for 2010 predictions!

In the category of “I’m not falling for that again,” I suggest we take 2010 off as a year of predictions. Your tech life will get smaller, smarter, and more mobile. But it will not necessarily be cheaper.

How to install codecs on openSUSE — It’s so simple!

It’s simple. Go to openSUSE-Community.org and follow the Multimedia/Restricted Formats link. You can also go to the Package Repositories page on the openSUSE.org site.
Enjoy!

why not linux?

As computing has gradually moved toward the cloud in the past three years, one may not have noticed until Google announced its Chrome OS this week. But as Microsoft and Apple have put their money on locking in users by controlling their platforms in consistently more restrictive ways through patenting everything they can think of, [...]

Best Chrome OS video I’ve seen so far

The Chrome OS demo on YouTube. Very exciting. Windows users unfamiliar with Linux’s multiple desktop feature will be in for a surprise (or be pissed that Windows doesn’t have this old, old feature)!
If I’m spending 90% of my time online and 10% inside applications, Chrome OS is going to be nice. The fact that I [...]

openSUSE: the 7-minute (full) installation

This past week I tested the installation times — including HD format — of three distros and Win7 among five machines. Those five machines included:  an i7-2.93 Quad-core desktop, a Core-2, 2.83 desktop, a Pentium-III desktop, a 2Gb netbook, and a 4Gb laptop. Here are the averaged results in minutes:

7:05 – openSUSE 11.2
7:40 – sidux [...]

openSUSE 11.2 worth the wait

I’m a confirmed distro-hopper, but openSUSE 11.2 works so well that Microsoft should begin to worry about desktop Linux.

It installed in 11 minutes, which included a 2Tb HD format for the EXT4 filesystem.
Recognized my second drive during installation.
The integrated KDE Firefox is nice. Hardly noticeable until you remember its old look.

Win7 running in [...]

Newest sidux brings KDE 4.3.2

One of my favorite distros, sidux, debuts a new release today with KDE 4.3.2. This should be really fun. sidux installs faster than any other distro I’ve tested. Nothing could be easier. See for yourself!

How Chrome OS changes your world

Google’s Chrome OS, is based on Google’s Chrome web browser and the Linux kernel. What Chrome represents, however, is something much larger and far more significant for consumers than is realized with regard to data storage, IT and software licensing costs, and hardware savings.

With Chrome, the web and the browser are united as the platform [...]

KDE 4.3 bucks up a notch

SJVN updates us at ComputerWorld on KDE 4.3’s stability and refinement. Worth a look.

KDE Pinheiro has more.

If you don’t think open source is alive and well…

Check out the responses to Chris Dawson and his ZDNet article on the Amazon Kindle controversy:
Don’t like DRM and Amazon’s ability to access your Kindle? The solution is easy: Don’t buy a bloody Kindle!
Dawson’s readers disagree that Amazon — or any company — should have the power to change or reinterpret their agreements post hoc. [...]

So far, Win7 has only impressed other Windows users

If you’re using some of the flashier Linux distros like Mint or openSUSE and have also tested one or more Win7 builds to date, you feel sad for Microsoft users. Truly you do.
Note also that no Mac OS users are bragging about their Win7 impressions.
However, if you are a current vista or xp user, I’ll [...]

Fedora 11 and Ext4 = F.A.S.T.

First, boot speed.
Fedora 11 on my quad-core system boots in an amazing 15 seconds! from the GRUB boot manager to the login screen. After signing in, it takes about 1.5 seconds to open my desktop session, ready to go. This session includes opening a file manager, text editor, and a browser (Opera) with Gmail, Twitter, [...]

UltraEdit for Linux? Could it (finally) be?

The long-rumored UltraEdit for Linux (and Mac), officially named UEX, has only been vaporware to date. But the alpha has been announced and beta testers are being called for.

IDM is already signaling how serious it is about UltraEdit’s cross-platform debut by claiming that UEX will in some ways be better than its Windows version. As [...]

Making the case for desktop Linux now

Galen Gruman makes the case for desktop Linux now, in both business and at home:

I now understand why governments in Asia and Europe say they want to get off the Microsoft train and shift to Linux. I thought these were empty threats meant to get better licensing deals or to blunt some of Microsoft’s monopolistic [...]

Linux needs more porn

Yes, I went there, and by ‘Linux’ I mean generic software that runs on the platform. This week is the annual Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, and there’s at least a billion users out there who think the computer is at best a porn delivery device. Linux doesn’t need more codecs; those can be [...]

Are you still using your printer?

If so, how much? Except for letters to family members who don’t have internet access, I’ve printed virtually nothing in the last three years. I want to blame it on expensive print cartridges and the rising cost of paper, but it’s just not needed (for me).