10 Amazing Linux Desktop Themes MyDigilife: "Dust is a concept for a new, refreshing look for Ubuntu. The idea was to take the defining aesthetic elements of Ubuntu and remix it into something clean, modern, functional, and unique...." (Nov 23, 2008)
Linux Today Features
Fedora 10 vs. Ubuntu 8.10 Benchmarks Phoronix: "With Fedora 10 finally entering the world earlier this week, we have performed benchmarks comparing the performance of Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 10. In our testing we used both the 32-bit and 64-bit builds of each distribution and then ran a series of automated tests through the Phoronix Test Suite." Link fixed--ed. (Nov 29, 2008)
Small Features
2008 State Of The Penguin Report - Part 1 Blog of Helios: "Blog of helios is happy to publish their findings after over 1000 separate Linux installs. This will be the first part of a three part weekly series. We hope there is something for all of us to learn within." Nov 26, 2008
TIP: Switching Soundcards In Ubuntu (Dec 4, 2008, 22:33 UTC) (15 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Shantanu's Technophilic Musings: "If you have multiple soundcards in your system and have to switch between them regularly...you would definitely be under-whelmed by the less-than-stellar performance of ubuntu in switching between the sound cards."
Netflix Movie Downloads Come to Linux PCs (Dec 4, 2008, 21:33 UTC) (252 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) DeviceGuru: "Boxee announced today that it has added Netflix video downloads -- including the ability to browse Netflix's media library from within Boxee -- to its A/V media center platform for Linux, Mac, and (soon) Windows PCs."
Our Linux Dream 2008 (Dec 4, 2008, 21:03 UTC) (322 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxLoop: "The question is: what do you want to happen in this upcoming year? Last year I asked for reader’s Linux dreams, and received a great response, so this year I am doing it again."
Will a Linux Certification Help You Get a Linux Job? (Dec 4, 2008, 20:45 UTC) (408 reads)
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(feedback) LinuxPlanet: "There are a host of Linux certifications, such as the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), Novell's Novell Linux Certified Engineer (NLCE), and the Linux Professional Institute's entry-level LPIC-1. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols looks for the answer to the question, How much help are they for turning your Linux expertise into a Linux job?"
WordPress Being Slow, a DNS Problem (Dec 4, 2008, 20:33 UTC) (204 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) MyThoughts: "His site was still extremely slow, I mean it took almost a minute to load the index page. Installation of a caching plugin, deactivating all plugins, selecting the default theme did not help at all."
Ubuntu or Fedora? (Dec 4, 2008, 20:03 UTC) (974 reads)
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(feedback) MyBroadband: "Last week Fedora Linux released its latest version, Fedora 10. We take a look at how it stacks up against Ubuntu 8.10, released a month before."
Microsoft's Tired TCO Toffee (Dec 4, 2008, 19:33 UTC) (498 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Open Enterprise: "Those with good memories may recall a phase that Microsoft went through in which it issued (and generally commissioned) a stack of TCO studies that "proved" Windows was better/cheaper than GNU/Linux. Of course, they did nothing of the sort, since the methodology was generally so flawed you could have proved anything."
WFTL Bytes! for Dec 3, 2008: Now Open Source Is Broken, Viruses Eat Army, Microsoft Buys Friends (Dec 4, 2008, 19:03 UTC) (536 reads)
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(feedback) WFTL Bytes!: "This is WFTL Bytes!, your occasiodaily FOSS and Linux news show for Wednesday, December 3, 2008, with your host, Marcel Gagne. In today's news, not only is Linux apparently broken, so is the open source business model. Mandriva falls on hard times again, viruses cripple US military base, Microsoft pays for recommending them, OpenSUSE throws out the EULA, the costs of piracy, and a new browser war."
IBM Virtual Desktop Bundles Lotus, Ubuntu Linux to Freeze Out Microsoft (Dec 4, 2008, 18:47 UTC) (692 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) eWeek: "IBM teams with Ubuntu provider Canonical and virtual desktop software maker Virtual Bridges on a bundle that lets systems administrators deliver open-source Linux and Lotus messaging and collaboration software to desktops and workstations across remote offices."
Intel, Hitachi Make a Splash in Solid State Storage (Dec 4, 2008, 18:19 UTC) (323 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Enterprise Storage Forum: "A new partnership between Intel and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies to develop enterprise-class solid state drives (SSDs) promises to push the technology further into enterprise storage systems."
Does Google Have a Secret OS? (Dec 4, 2008, 18:03 UTC) (1335 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) InternetNews: "Net Applications caused a bit of a stir this week with a report that showed Microsoft's operating system share had dipped below 90 percent. This played very well where anti-Microsoft sentiment was strongest, not surprisingly."
Losses at Mandriva (Dec 4, 2008, 17:33 UTC) (537 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) LWN.net: "Two Mandriva contractors - Adam Williamson and Oden Eriksson have announced that their contracts are being terminated. These two developers are responsible for a great deal of the work which goes into the Mandriva distribution; as Oden notes: "Someone, or a couple of people will get their hands full (or not) maintaining the 1200+ source rpm packages I currently maintain."
Saving the Intellectual Commons with Open Source (Dec 4, 2008, 17:03 UTC) (282 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Open Enterprise: "Despite that, I strongly recommend a new book from someone who not only approves of the term "intellectual property", but of its fundamental ideas. I do so, however, because this avowed fan also has serious reservations:"
Slicing up Sun (Dec 4, 2008, 16:33 UTC) (631 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Tech Broiler: "One of those companies that has been front and center in the middle of this crisis is Sun Microsystems, which incurred massive losses last quarter, just cut 6000 jobs, and has been steadily hemorrhaging money for years, particularly in their enterprise server business."
Linux Comparison: Introduction and Ubuntu (Dec 4, 2008, 16:03 UTC) (796 reads)
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(feedback) Neowin: "I have toyed around with Linux on and off for the last few years, mostly with Ubuntu. My first experience of Linux was Ubuntu. At first it was a bit scary, with me wondering if my CPU would implode should I type the wrong command. The more I used Linux though, the more I learnt about my computer."
What is trackerd and Why Is It Running? (Dec 4, 2008, 15:41 UTC) (952 reads)
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(feedback) The How-To Geek: "If you've looked at the running processes on your Ubuntu box and wondered why there's a process named "trackerd" that is overusing the CPU, you are in luck, because that's exactly the topic we'll cover today.
Tracker is a search tool built into Ubuntu, and by default seems to be configured to maximize CPU while indexing."
Speaking UNIX: Go Fish! The Friendly Interactive Shell (Dec 4, 2008, 15:33 UTC) (707 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) IBM Developerworks: "The Friendly Interactive Shell, or fish, is a joy to use. Its syntax, context-sensitive help, and color-coded command-line interface (CLI) greatly simplify the use of UNIX and ease the burdens of scripting."
Dell Customer Awarded Windows Refund (Dec 4, 2008, 15:03 UTC) (1354 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) ynet: "Zvi Devir from Haifa was recently able to do the impossible: He held Dell to the fine print in its end-user license agreement."
World's Second Android Phone Unveiled (Dec 4, 2008, 14:33 UTC) (982 reads)
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(feedback) APC Magazine: "Australian-based tech importer Kogan has revealed the first Google Android-based phone that will ship in Australia -- and only the second that will ship worldwide."
Android Phone Launches in China (Dec 4, 2008, 14:03 UTC) (514 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) 17Lamp.net: "TechFaith Wireless and Qigi Future Technology announced a smartphone that runs the Google Android mobile Linux stack. The i6-Goal is only the second Android phone to launch, and reportedly includes a 2.8-inch touchscreen, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and a two-megapixel camera."
Fedora Project Taking Ideas For Next Release Name (Dec 4, 2008, 13:33 UTC) (561 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) OStatic:"Distribution naming schemes are one of the more humorous aspects of the open source community. Ubuntu uses an adjective followed by an animal name (Intrepid Ibex, Jaunty Jackalope), while Debian names releases after characters in the movie "Toy Story" (Sarge, Etch, Lenny). Fedora's method is a bit more obscure, but no less clever."
How Windows Users Are Changing Linux And What We Should Do About It (Dec 4, 2008, 11:33 UTC) (2539 reads)
(10 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Canuck's Weblog: "There is no doubt that people are leaving Windows, many going to the Mac and some are turning to Linux. This is partly due in part to dissatisfaction with Vista. The reason isn't important. What is happening to the Linux community is."
Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 512MB OC (Dec 4, 2008, 10:03 UTC) (558 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Phoronix: "Sapphire though manufactures a Radeon HD 4650 graphics card that operates well beyond the reference core and memory frequencies for the RV730PRO and sells it at a very affordable price. In this article we are seeing how well the Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 512MB OC graphics card can perform under Linux."
Installing Cherokee Web Server With PHP 5 & MySQL 5 Support On Ubuntu 8.10 (Dec 4, 2008, 08:33 UTC) (650 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) HowtoForge: "Cherokee is a very fast, flexible and easy to configure Web Server. It supports the widespread technologies nowadays: FastCGI, SCGI, PHP, CGI, TLS and SSL encrypted connections, Virtual hosts, Authentication, on the fly encoding, Load balancing, Apache compatible log files, and much more."
Why Does Microsoft Always Get A Free Pass? Why Does Big Business Reek So Badly? (Dec 4, 2008, 07:03 UTC) (1460 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxPlanet: "John Gilmore, one of the founders of Electronic Frontier Foundation and all-around awesome geek and activist, is often quoted as saying "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." But does it? The Internet is under the control of the companies who own the wires, which ain't us peons out here in the world."
A Ride With Hessian (Dec 4, 2008, 05:33 UTC) (813 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Noor: "Today, I came across what I call a deep-sea pearl. I came to know Hessian, the binary web service protocol."
Bash Script To Find Free Online Fiction and Non-Fiction Books (Dec 4, 2008, 04:03 UTC) (1029 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) The Linux and Unix Menagerie: "For this week's Monday Linux/Unix bash shell script we're going to do the (almost) exact opposite of what we've been doing for the past few weeks. Today, we're going to find free books on the Internet and, possibly, read them ;)"
Public Key Crypto for Enterprise Users (Dec 4, 2008, 02:33 UTC) (691 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Enterprise Networking Planet: "Its strength lies in the fact that it can be used to exchange encrypted information between two parties that have never communicated together before and have therefore never agreed on a secure way of exchanging messages."
Analyzing TCP Disconnects On Linux Or Unix (Dec 4, 2008, 01:03 UTC) (1131 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) The Linux and Unix Menagerie: "One question that I get asked a lot (and used to ask a lot ;) has to do with the TCP protocol. More specifically, with how an established connection goes about graciously ending. And, if you haven't guessed, the reason the question gets asked so often is that, with all the different states a graceful TCP disconnect goes through, lots of folks (involved in troubleshooting) are curious as to whether the output they're pouring over is "good" or "bad.""
Linux Evolution Reveals Origins of Curious Mathematical Phenomenon (Dec 4, 2008, 00:33 UTC) (1796 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Physorg.com: "Zipf's law is a testament to the order in our world, showing that the same patterns emerge in a wide variety of situations. The linguist George Kingsley Zipf first proposed the law in 1949, when he noticed that the distribution of words in a newspaper, book, or other literary article always followed the same pattern."
Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase Looking for Artistic Ninjas (Dec 4, 2008, 00:04 UTC) (24 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) OStatic: "Ubuntu has once again opened up a call for submissions to anyone interested in being a part of the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase. If you're a musician, artist, photographer, or all-around creative genius and would like to enter your work in the current competition, you've got until February 9, 2009 to submit something to the judges."
A Microsoft Veteran Embraces Open Source (Dec 4, 2008, 00:03 UTC) (1631 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) New York Times: "That in itself isn't unique. More unusual is that Mr. Curtis, an 11-year veteran of Microsoft, the world's largest software company, believes deeply that open source is the future of software."
Using Spawner To Populate SQL Database (Dec 3, 2008, 23:33 UTC) (855 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxHaxor: "There are many reasons why you would want to generate bogus data for your database. Perhaps you'd like to know how well your databases will perform when filled with data, or maybe you just need some data so that you can start creating a front end for the database."
WiMAX Deal "Clears" Linux for Takeoff (Dec 3, 2008, 23:03 UTC) (810 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) DesktopLinux: "Clearwire Corp. announced that it has completed a $14.5 billion transaction with Sprint Nextel to combine their Mobile WiMAX broadband services. The merger of the two largest WiMAX services may accelerate deployments crucial to the success of Linux MIDs, netbooks, and other devices."
Nitrogen: A Background Setter For Lightweight Desktop Manager (Dec 3, 2008, 22:33 UTC) (838 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) MakeTechEasier: "Gnome, KDE and XFCE users will have no problem changing the wallpaper on their desktop. However, if you are using a lightweight desktop manager such Openbox or Fluxbox, you will find that there is no way that you can set the wallpaper for your desktop. In this case, Nitrogen will come in handy."
Technology, Innovation and the Challenge of the Missing Standards (Dec 3, 2008, 22:17 UTC) (497 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Standards Blog: "Barack Obama promises to be the most technologically attuned U.S. president ever. More than a year ago, he released a policy statement on technology and innovation that detailed his plans to employ state of the art technology to pursue a broad spectrum of goals...In pursuit of these goals, he also promised to appoint the nation's first Chief Technology Officer."
Red Hat Chief: 'Cheaper Generally Wins' (Dec 3, 2008, 22:03 UTC) (783 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) ZDNet: ""At times like this, cheaper generally wins," Whitehurst said as he spoke to journalists on Monday about his thoughts on the Linux market and the immediate future for Red Hat."