Linux and Open Source Blog » linux

An Introduction to Linux Operating System

Linewbie.com — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:20:41 +0000

An easy to read, accurate and in plain language guide to the linux operating system.

Preface

Some of my readers today will be aware of a beautiful operating system that goes by the name of Linux. For those who are not already familiar, here is a brief introduction: Linux is a free open-source alternative to Windows and Macintosh. Based off of Unix, Linus Torvalds laid the framework for the kernel many years ago and then made the source code open to all. He still works on the kernel today, but he’s not alone; millions of programmers around the world work to improve Linux with their free time. They’ve worked hard to bring Linux to maturity, and as of the past couple years, it has reached a mature stage where the average computer user is more than capable of using it. In other words, you no longer need to know how a computer works or how to program in order for Linux to be useful to you.

So why am I bringing up this topic? Quite frankly, there aren’t enough Linux users accessing TechwareLabs, and I believe this needs to change.

Whether it’s because you’ve never heard of Linux, have an interest, or tried it years ago when it was still young and was disappointed, one thing is certain: you’re missing out. I’ll be elaborating further into Linux in future articles, but for now, here is a nice introduction.

What do you mean by open-source?

The source code is freely available on the internet per the GPL license. You are more than welcome to view the code, edit it, and republish a new product (assuming you know a thing or two about programming). The only catch is that you have to release your product under the very same GPL license.

This approach to software truly throws the concept of “proprietary” out the window, and is no doubt confusing to anybody who is business-minded. It’s a foreign concept for many as to why one would develop a product and not claim intellectual property rights. The Linux community, in general (though there are exceptions), does not seek to gain profit. Rather, they put their time into Linux for pride and the occasional “thank you.”

There are companies that sell Linux, though.

This is partially true. They’re still licensed under the GPL, which means they are required to release the source code to the general public. What companies such as Red Hat and Novell are doing is not selling the operating system, but rather they are selling support, primarily for servers. Even so, you can use their products for free. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has fees attached to it, but Red Hat sponsors an open-source community around Fedora, which is the free alternative, developed by programmers in their spare time. Similarly for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise, there is a free alternative in openSUSE.

Windows works fine. Why should I use something else?

Here, we get to the heart of the matter. Why switch, you ask? What’s the point? Simply put, Linux is faster, more stable and above all, easier to use. The speed is due to higher efficiency in storing/retrieving information. The issue of stability isn’t even questioned by [knowledgeable] die-hard Windows fans. Ultimately, the most controversial claim I’ve made is that it’s easier to use.

This is where the argument rages on within the desktop market. There are many long-time Windows users who try Linux, and are scared off, upon which they claim that Linux is hard to use. The fact is, Linux is different, but I would argue that this is a good thing. There is definitely a learning curve, as there always is when you try something new, but the more you just play around with Linux, the more you’ll find it is simply better.

How is it better? What makes it easier?

Everything is better organized. For starters, you know that little program on Windows, Add/Remove Programs? Raise your hand if you’ve ever actually “added” a program using it.

I see a few hands from people who have via a NT system or something similar, but other than that, it is unlikely you’ve used Add/Remove for anything other than “remove” (though Vista does allow for the user to download programs directly from Microsoft, a feature suspiciously appearing long after Linux started doing the exact same thing). In Linux, this little program is called the “package manager”, and this is where you both add AND remove your programs. Everything that’s currently installed, as well as everything you’re able to install from the supplied servers appears in an easy-to-use catalog. For the most part, everything you need is right there in one place. Want to install an office suite? How about an IM program? Or how about a game? Just go to the respective section and choose the program you want. Check the boxes for everything you want to change (install/uninstall) and push the appropriate button to update your system (specifics will differ depending on the package manager used by the distribution).

Your OS X style couch

Linewbie.com — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:49:04 +0000

Mac OS X fans are gonna love this one:

â€¦ now some Linux user has to come up with an answer, especially the Gnome users :-p

Syncing your BlackBerry on Linux, a howto guide

Linewbie.com — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:03:48 +0000

If you use Linux on your desktop, and you also happen to have a BlackBerry handheld device, youâ€™re probably aware that Research in Motion, the company that develops the BlackBerry platform, offers nothing in the way of support for its devices on Linux â€” but the intrepid geeks in the free software world do. Thanks to to the efforts of the Barry and OpenSync projects, I just finished syncing my BlackBerry 8800 with my Evolution contacts on my Ubuntu 7.10 desktop.

If all you want to do is share data between your Linux box and the BlackBerry, no sweat. The 2GB Micro SD storage I inserted in my 8800 is available to my Linux system just like any other USB storage device. When I connect the USB cable to the BlackBerry, I simply say yes when Ubuntu asks if I want to enter Mass Storage Mode, and I can copy music and photos to the phone. I have run into a problem getting the audio for videos that were created with Kino to work correctly, but other than that, moving data back and forth between the PDA and the desktop â€œjust works.â€The Barry and OpenSync projects aim to provide a little more functionality than just moving data. According to its home page, the Barry project â€œis a GPL C++ library for interfacing with the RIM BlackBerry Handheld. It comes with a command-line tool for exploring the device and a GUI for making quick backups. This projectâ€™s goal is to create a fully functional syncing mechanism on Linux.â€ Release 0.11, which Iâ€™ve been playing with the past week, goes a long way toward meeting those goals. With it, you can explore, backup and restore, and â€” with a little help from OpenSync â€” sync databases. There is, however, some assembly required.

If youâ€™re not willing to get your hands dirty by downloading and building software executables in their early stages of development, and working from the CLI once you do, then the Barry/OpenSync combo is not ready for you just yet. If you are, heed this advice: back up your BlackBerry before you begin, because itâ€™s possible you could lose some data.

If youâ€™re willing and able to take the risks, you can get in on the fun and functionality ahead of the curve. The buzz on the Barry developers mailing list indicates that work is already underway to provide Barry as an Ubuntu package, as it already is on Mandriva, so it shouldnâ€™t be long before everyone can simply install the executables and leave the building and testing processes to developers.

I wonâ€™t walk you through the installation of each of the components, but I will tell you which ones I used and where I found them. Implementation details will vary with your distro, of course. Hereâ€™s what you need:

Install the OpenSync packages first, because youâ€™ll need them in order to compile Barry. Make sure that not only OpenSync is release 0.22 â€” there are earlier and later releases, but you need 0.22 to work with Barry â€” but that any plugins you install match the 0.22 release number of OpenSync.

Before you compile Barry, be sure to specify --enable-opensync-plug-in when you run the configure script, as per Barryâ€™s detailed installation help.

Exploring the BlackBerry with btool

The first time you connect your BlackBerry and Linux machine with a USB cable, youâ€™ll get a screen on the PDA whining about an insufficient amount of current to charge the device. You can safely ignore that; you wonâ€™t be short of power for long. In fact, after entering the btool command, youâ€™ll have all the power you need to charge the phone via USB.

You can enter btool -h for a complete list of options. If you enter btool -t, for example, youâ€™ll get a list of all the databases Barry finds on your BlackBerry. There were about 75 on my 8800. Barry canâ€™t presently parse all of them, but the most important ones are there, as entering btool -S reveals:

Supported Database parsers: Address Book Messages Calendar Service Book Memos Tasks PIN Messages Saved Email Messages Folders Supported Database builders: Address Book

You can explore any of the databases on the BlackBerry, not just those with parsers, by dumping their records to the console. To see whatâ€™s in Browser Folders, for example, simply enter btool -d 'Browser Folders' at the command line. btool will reply with something like this:

Blackberry devices found: Device ID: 0Ã—8063860. PIN: 666d6a66, Description: RIM 8800 Series Colour GPRS Handheld Using device (PIN): 666d6a66 Raw record dump for record: 805f8a8 00000000: 06 00 26 00 40 02 44 01 01 00 02 e6 17 8a 00 14 ..&.@.Dâ€¦â€¦â€¦ 00000010: 00 00 81 d6 e2 b7 60 00 0d 57 41 50 20 42 6f 6f â€¦â€¦`..WAP Boo 00000020: 6b 6d 61 72 6b 73 kmarks Raw record dump for record: 805f8a8 00000000: 06 00 2d 00 40 02 44 01 02 00 88 2a 69 2c 00 1b ..-.@.Dâ€¦.*i,.. 00000010: 00 00 81 d6 e2 b7 60 00 14 42 6c 61 63 6b 42 65 â€¦â€¦`..BlackBe 00000020: 72 72 79 20 42 6f 6f 6b 6d 61 72 6b 73 rry Bookmarks

Of course, raw data like this is more important to developers than to ordinary users, so letâ€™s move on to more user-friendly things, such as the backup and restore utility.

The GUI backup application included with Barry is simple and effective. Note: Barry has a configure option to build the GUI, but it was built by default on my install. If itâ€™s not on yours, rerun the configure script and add the --enable-gui option, then rebuild.

Start by entering barrybackup at the command line, wait a second until it finds your device and displays its PIN number, and when it does, click on Save. You can edit the list of databases that the app will either save or restore by selecting Edit -> Config from the option menu to display the pop-up window in Figure 1, from which you can edit either list.

After selecting Save, I watched the Progress bar slide across the screen and the database names scroll past in the Database text box until the process was complete. I then immediately tested the Restore function.

When you click Restore, youâ€™re presented with a list of all the saved backups Barry finds in the .barry/backup/PINNUMBER directory, where PINNUMBER is the PIN of the device youâ€™re working with. After clicking Restore, I watched as database names appeared, were deleted on the BlackBerry, then restored from my desktop. All went well until I came to the Time Zones table, when I started to see â€œusb_bulk_restoreâ€ errors. The cure was simply to install release 4.4.5 of libusb. Since doing so, Iâ€™ve seen no more of these errors.

Barry aims to provide the infrastructure for more advanced, user-friendly applications that can be developed by others. It includes a couple of sample applications to demonstrate. One allows you to enter new contact information, and the other new calendar entries. They work well, but a full-blown app that would allow you to not only add, but edit or delete existing entries, would really be useful.

Synchronicity

Probably the most sought-after feature Barry provides is synchronization. I wasnâ€™t familiar with the synchronization process before I began exploring BlackBerries and Linux, so the concepts of groups, members, and device plugins were new to me in this context.

The synchronization process acts on a group of devices. Before I could actually sync something, I needed to define a group, its members, and the plugin required for each member. When I installed the OpenSync packages, I also installed a tool to do all those things called msynctool, as well as plugins for Evolution and Google Calendar. Both msynctool and the plugins come from the OpenSync project, but are separate downloads. Msynctool runs from the CLI, and it includes a helpful man page; I recommend entering man msynctool if synchronization is new to you.

Create a group and its members is easy:

msynctool --addgroup Blackberry

msynctool â€“addmember Blackberry barry-sync msynctool â€“addmember Blackberry evo2-sync msynctool â€“showgroup Blackberry

The last command reported that the Blackberry group contained two members, but that the first one was not yet configured, which I had to do before I could sync. Still using the msynctool tool, I entered msynctool --configure Blackberry 1, where the 1 represented the barry-sync plugin. That opened the default text editor â€” nano if youâ€™re using Ubuntu 7.10 and havenâ€™t changed the symbolic link at /etc/alternatives/editor to point to another editor â€” which allowed me to edit the default configuration for the BlackBerry and insert its actual PIN number in place of the default.

If you prefer to use an editor other than the default on your distro, you can accomplish the same thing outside of msynctool simply by editing ~/.opensync/group1/1/barry-sync.conf.

Finally, it was time to sync the BlackBerry and my Evolution contact files. All I had to do was enter the command msynctool --sync Blackberry, then answer a single question about which plugin should rule when duplicate contacts were found. That was it; I was in sync at last.

If all of this sounds too geeky for you, donâ€™t despair. Help is coming for both installation and use. With a working framework in place, thanks to OpenSync and Barry, GUIs are on their way, in the form of the kitchensync project at KDE.org, for example, or, if youâ€™re a GNOME user, the multisync-GUI tool from the OpenSync project.

Why Linux Will Succeed On The Desktop

Linewbie.com — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:50:43 +0000

I believeÂ Linux will become the de-facto standard desktop operating system. Though it’ll take a while for many users to break free from ties to Windows, there is good reason to believe that this day will come.

Consider that the global community is already beginning to rally behind standard document formats. In addition, as browsers like Firefox gain more market share, users are less tolerant of Internet Explorer-only web sites. However, the transition is slow and will continue to be a slow one. Most people will switch away from Windows only when dollars are on the line.

The Perfect Generic Client

AÂ desktop supports multiple methods of work habits. For example, you can edit a document with a local word processor like Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Word for Windows, or you can use Google Docs. You need Windows to run Word, but any operating system with a good browser will handle Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Docs well. Once you eliminate the problem of migrating to a new document format, the question becomes, “Why am I paying through the nose for a buggy, bloated, insecure and buggy Windows?” Put more simply, take away the force of legacy inertia, and the cheapest, least-problematic desktop becomes the most desirable.

In the long run, Linux makes the perfect generic client. It is the hub of free software development, which makes it the focal point for generic, open computing. As people continue to use Linux as the basis for cell phones, DVRs (such as TiVo and Dish Network), routers, and other dedicated systems, it is becoming ubiquitous on just about every platform but the PC. This only makes it more likely to dominate the PC in the future.

The more Linux becomes the de-facto standard platform for software development of any kind, the more appealing it becomes as the platform for personal computing. Any overlap between appliances and PCs saves duplication of effort. The vast repository of free software available for the asking makes Linux even more appealing as the basis for development.

Many of the duties Linux must perform on a PC it already performs on appliances like cell phones. We may never see the era of $100 network computers, but network computing is advancing, nevertheless, as is evidenced by the increasing reliance on web-based email and the appearance of network applications like Google Docs. We owe thanks to AJAX and Java for the rich client features now available through your PC and/or cell phone browser.

The more we depend on this type of computing, the more invisible operating systems will become. Most people don’t know or care what OS runs their cell phone. We may always care more about what we run on our PC, but the distinction between the two will gradually blur. As it does, Linux should be the best choice, because it is already prevalent on so many devices.

Linux can’t succeed as a generic network computing client, only. People will continue to use their PC as a power workstation, even when it isn’t appropriate. It’s the nature of computer users to do so. For this reason, Linux needs a compelling desktop experience. It already has Compiz Fusion, but even though 3-D on Linux doesn’t require nearly the hardware resources as Vista, many Linux users still refuse to install Compiz or turn it off. The desktop needs a more substantial advance in thinking. The new KDE, KDE4, looks promising in this regard. The KDE developers seem intent upon bringing something new to the desktop experience that isn’t just eye-candy. KDE4, or parts of it, will run on Windows and Mac OS-X, but it will be fully native on Linux, and should benefit Linux more than any other platform.

KDE4, the proliferation of Linux on appliances, the trend toward generic network computing, the fact that Linux is free (both as in freedom and as in “free beer”), and other factors contribute to the inevitable success of Linux on the desktop. But Linux still needs more. It needs windows of opportunity to supplant the legacy systems, and it needs to overcome some important obstacles.

Linux’s ‘Window’ Of Opportunity

Both the successes and failures of Microsoft provide a substantial window of opportunity for Linux to seize a significant desktop market share. It is painful, especially at the enterprise level, to switch desktop operating systems, so any legacy system like Windows will always have a huge advantage. But Microsoft has made so many blunders in recent times that one must credit Microsoft itself for encouraging users to seek an alternative desktop operating system. Windows was already a notoriously insecure operating system, but Microsoft has compounded the problem with the expensive, buggy, incomplete, complex license-burdened, DRM-encumbered, hardware-challenged, frequently updated without your permission Vista.

As noted earlier, people are most likely to switch to a new operating system when dollars are on the line. Microsoft would be wise to continue supporting the “good enough” Windows XP, since any move to force people to upgrade to Vista could create the “dollars on the line” scenario. The risk of adjusting to a new operating system becomes much more palatable when it saves you the cost of upgrading to a desktop you know you won’t like.

Perhaps the most significant Microsoft failure was its flubbed attempt to use SCO as a proxy to create fear, uncertainty and doubt about Linux. Those who backed SCO are now eating crow. This makes it far less likely for high-profile analysts to make the same mistake, now that Microsoft is attacking Linux directly by claiming Linux violates its software patents.

Microsoft began a catch-22 strategy when it released Windows 95. On the one hand, it successfully leveraged its unique advantage in building 32-bit Windows applications to eliminate virtually all competition in mainstream desktop applications. The catch is that Microsoft has left itself without friends. For example, if Lotus Smartsuite and WordPerfect Office were still thriving competition for Microsoft Office, it would be all but impossible for Linux to break into the desktop market. Companies would be content to collect their Windows applications revenue. There would be no incentive to support another desktop platform.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, this isn’t a mistake it can undo easily. Microsoft can’t afford to give away a significant portion of its Office market share just to try to regain some loyalty for the Windows platform. Now that the damage is done, companies are more inclined to support platforms where the playing field is level, hence this opportunity for Linux and other desktop operating systems. But while Microsoft made it nearly impossible for competition to make money on mainstream desktop applications for Windows, Linux does not necessarily restore that opportunity. The best mainstream applications for Linux are free, open-source applications. While many companies are beginning to recognize the superiority of free software, most still haven’t figure out how to make money on it – at least, they realize they can’t make money the same way they did in the old market.

Another problem with these Microsoft-driven windows of opportunity is that they simply make it easier for any alternative operating system to gain desktop market share, not necessarily Linux. Mac OS-X, can reap the benefits from these opportunities, and probably already has. Linux may have the edge in the long-term, but in the short-term, it’s going to take some additional changes for Linux to exploit these opportunities. Linux will have to overcome some significant obstacles.

Obstacle: More Preloaded Linux Systems Are Needed

It is the personal experience of many users of both Windows and Linux that Linux is far easier to install than Windows when Linux recognizes the hardware properly during installation. Obviously, Linux can be a bear to install when it has trouble recognizing hardware, but then so can Windows.

One could argue that Linux installers are doing a better job of recognizing hardware these days. It’s irrelevant. The easiest installation is the one you don’t have to perform. This is the reason why so many people believe, true or not, that Linux is harder to install than Windows. They have to install Linux. They don’t have to install Windows. They get Windows on their PC when they buy it. Mac OS-X has the advantage here. Buy a Mac, and you’ve got your desktop operating system installed for you.

The way past this obstacle is obvious. Get Linux pre-loaded on PCs and Linux users won’t have to deal with installation woes. Ubuntu and Dell partnered up to pre-load Linux. That’s a great start, but it’s only a start. Linux will need much broader support in pre-loads to be successful on the desktop.

Obstacle: KDE Must Replace GNOME As Linux’s Preferred GUI

GNOME is the default graphical desktop environment for Red Hat Linux, Ubuntu, SUSE, and others. GNOME may not be keeping Linux off the desktop, but it is not selling desktop Linux, either. GNOME can’t seem to make up its mind if it’s for novice users or hard-core hackers. It would be different if GNOME, like KDE, attempted to serve both types of users. Instead, the GNOME approach to being user-friendly is to make it impossible (or all but impossible) to perform anything but the most basic operations. If you really want to do something GNOME doesn’t want you to do, you have to get down and dirty and edit the GNOME registry or other configuration files.

GNOME developers reason that you can keep users out of trouble and avoid confusing them if you eliminate all but the most simple features. Even Linus Torvalds questioned the wisdom of this design strategy, writing in a mailing-list e-mail two years ago: “If you think your [GNOME] users are idiots, only idiots will use it.” One could argue that GNOME gets it right because the most popular Linux distributions use it by default. That might hold water if Linux desktop market share was growing rapidly thanks to these distributions. The pitiful desktop market share of Linux would argue otherwise. These distributions are popular, but they’re popular among those who are already familiar with Linux, the segment to which GNOME is more likely to appeal. GNOME is attractive to some seasoned Linux users because it one of the few complete desktop environments that is more lightweight than KDE, which makes GNOME more appropriate for use on servers. The limitations in GNOME are also unobtrusive to someone who knows how to get around them; someone who is unafraid of the GNOME registry or the command-line.

What must be done to remove this obstacle? Red Hat endorsed GNOME due to licensing issues which arguably were resolved long ago. SUSE favors GNOME because one of the early GNOME developers practically runs the company. Heaven only knows why Ubuntu defaults to GNOME (though you can download and install Kubuntu, which defaults to KDE). But if these distributions want to contribute to the expansion of Linux on the desktop, they need to adopt and promote KDE as the default desktop and/or pressure the GNOME developers to abandon their brain-dead development philosophy. This is especially true of Ubuntu, which leads the way in getting Linux pre-installed on popular brands like Dell. Linux desktop market share will probably grow regardless, but it will grow faster with the more popular distributions backing a sane graphical desktop.

Open Document Formats Will Drive Adoption

Linux has a dual-legacy to unseat. Windows and Microsoft Office are practically synonymous, and there is no Microsoft Office or fully compatible suite for Linux. Either users must make the switch to open document formats, or Linux applications must support perfect imports of Microsoft Office files. The ideal solution would be to migrate to open formats, but the market will decide.

This obstacle isn’t nearly as insurmountable as it seems. One should recall that WordPerfect once virtually owned the word processing market, yet people still found a way to migrate to Microsoft Office. Microsoft will make any transition from Microsoft Office a difficult one, but it is still possible. The appeal of open document formats is undeniable. It has to make more sense than the nearly one-way trip people took to Microsoft Office. A move to open document formats is a move toward guaranteed compatibility in the future.

The Bottom Line

Despite the obstacles involved, there is good reason to be optimistic about Linux on the desktop. This author has been using desktop Linux almost exclusively since the mid-90s, although it required a lot more computer savvy back then than it does now.

There is one additional factor that cannot be overstated. To anyone who truly knows what free software means, they know that “free” as in liberty is the greatest strength of Linux. However, one cannot deny the power of “free” as in “free beer.” Microsoft applied this power to make Internet Explorer the most popular browser in the world. Netscape faded away because the company was unable to compete against free as in beer. Firefox has only been able to fight back because it, too, is free as in beer. Of the three top competitors on the desktop, Windows, Mac OS-X, and Linux, only one of them is free as in beer. That will go along way toward making it the de-facto standard on the desktop.

ATI Open-Source vs. Closed-Source Performance & AIGLX Performance

Linewbie.com — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:45:12 +0000

For those that may have missed it, the ATI/AMD fglrx 8.42 display driver that was released last month had introduced AIGLX support. The open-source â€œRadeonâ€ driver for ATI graphics cards going up to the R400 generation has supported AIGLX for quite some time, but the ATI binary display driver hadnâ€™t until last month. However, one of the complaints about the fglrx implementation of AIGLX is that in the 8.42.3 driver, some are encountering slow performance in Compiz / Compiz Fusion. We have taken an ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI-E graphics card, which is supported by both the Radeon and fglrx drivers, and have compared their Compiz performance in a few different scenarios.

ATI Open vs. Closed-Source AIGLX Performance

The system once again was running Ubuntu 7.10 â€œGutsy Gibbonâ€ with the Linux 2.6.22 kernel and X server 1.3, but with these benchmarks, the Compiz effects were disabled during testing. The hardware included a PCI Express ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB graphics card, Intel Pentium D 820 (2.80GHz dual-core), 2GB of DDR3-1333 memory, and an ASUS P5E3 Deluxe (Intel X38) motherboard. We had used Enemy Territory and GtkPerf as our vehicle for benchmarking the two drivers, since both benchmarks are compatible with the current Radeon driver. The ATI driver used was fglrx 8.42.3.

ATI Open vs. Closed-Source PerformanceÂ

Appleâ€™s Leopard Features ODF

Linewbie.com — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:16:57 +0000

Appleâ€™s latest incarnation of OS X â€œLeopardâ€ will be able to read OASISâ€™s ODF.

Good news for open source community and for the compatibility as whole, but then how does ECMAâ€™s Office XML correspond to UNIX specs!!! How about saving files in ODF â€¦ is it there in Save As option. Here is what else Leopard is going to feature.

Puppy Linux. The small but powerful distro.

Linewbie.com — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:35:41 +0000

Yesterday, Barry Kauler, the founder of Puppy Linux announced its latest version Puppy Linux 3.00. He said that this version is the massive upgrade to its predecessor Puppy Linux v2.17.1.

What exactly is Puppy Linux?

If you dont know what am I talking about…read this:”Puppy Linux is the Slackware 12 based Linux distribution designed especially for low-end computers and because of its small size (80-100 MB) it can run from live CD or from USB stick”. It is based on Slackware than it doesn’t mean that it is a clone of Slackware but it is totally a different distribution from base. And if you run this from USB stick then it will transfer caching and flush data to RAM in every 30 minutes and hence will not affect your USB.

Whats new in 3.00?

Here is the list:

All base packages upgraded, including glibc v2.5, gcc v4.1.2, GTK v2.10.13.
Application upgrades (incomplete list): pptp v1.7.1, Isomaster v1.1, KP2 v0.2 (gray), Pbdict (zigbert), pure-ftpd (getnikar), trashcan (disciple), Pbackup v3.0.0 (zigbert), Network Wizard (Dougal, tempestuous, BarryK), JWM v2.0.1, Xvesa Wizard (gray, BarryK), Burniso2cd (BarryK), Busybox v1.6.1, TkDVD v4.0.6, various small utilities (gray), Pidgin v2.0.2, SeaMonkey v1.1.2, Xorg v7.2, Unionfs v2.1.2, Pfind v2.4 (zigbert), PDF-printer v0.8 (jcoder24), WakePup2 (john doe, dgi), v1.6.9pre7, NoteCaseHomeBank v3.5, Universal Installer (BarryK), Pmirror v0.2 (zigbert), PRename v0.6 (plinej), partview (PaulBx1).
Massive improvements achieved with new boot and shutdown scripts, including pup_save file custom naming, frugal install into a subdirectory, correct recognition of multiple pup_save files at bootup, pup_save file resizing.
New kernel: 2.6.21.7, configured with ‘tickless’ option. Initrd.gz is now a cpio archive.
NetSurf web browser v1.1 as our internal HTML viewer.
True flushing for Flash drives (andrei, BarryK). Finally.
Also a great number of bug fixes.

Resources:

For more information on Puppy Linux go here
For announcements and release notes click here
Download the ISO image from here (size=97.63 MB)

Some screen shots:

Here I put some Puppy Linux screen shots for you to see[Obviously ].

Top 13 Reasons Why Linux Should Be on Your Computer

Linewbie.com — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:00:23 +0000

Only a couple of years ago, Linux as a desktop was a pimply adolescent with half-baked ideas. Today we see a handsome, well-dressed grown-up who handles a range of tasks with confidence and even performs some fancy tricks. No longer do we need to make allowances for his dress sense or his strange habits.

The timing couldn’t be any better. Vista is a Wagner Opera that is usually late to start, takes too long to finish. Mac OS X Leopard, meanwhile, is the late show in an exclusive nightclub where the drinks are way too expensive. In contrast, the Linux desktop is the free show in the park across the street — it imposes some discomforts on the audience, but provides plenty of quality entertainment.

The first challenge is getting hold of the tickets, since you can’t just choose your new PC and then tick the Linux box in the list of software options. The good news is that installing Linux is no longer a challenge that rivals splitting the atom. With a handful of mature linux distros designed for average users, the benefits Linux offers are much easier to experience. And there are plenty:

Cost — Linux is free, and that includes most of the apps. On the other hand, Vista Home Premium and Ultimate cost hundreds of dollars, even when upgrading from Windows XP. Moving up to Office 2007 involves handing over another bundle of dollars.

Resources — Even the most lavishly equipped Linux distros demand no more resources than Windows XP. Vista is greedy: a single-user PC operating system that needs 2GB of RAM to run at acceptable speed, and 15GB of hard disk space, is grossly obese.

Performance — Linux worked faster on my Dell Inspiron Core Duo than XP, at least the way XP worked out of the box. After cleaning out the bloatware and trading McAfee’s Abrams Tank for the lightweight NOD32, XP and Linux (with Guarddog and Clam-AV) perform at similar speed.

No bloatware — Linux is free from adware, trialware, shovelware, and bloatware. Running Linux is like watching the public TV network.

Security — Last year, 48,000 new virus signatures were documented for Windows, compared to 40 for Linux. Still, most distros come with firewalls and antivirus (AV) software. Programs like Guarddog and Clam-AV are free, of course.

Dual booting — The best Linux distros make dual booting a simple affair, along with the required disk partitioning (so you don’t need to buy partitioning software). Windows on my Dell laptop is still intact after installing and uninstalling a dozen distros.

Installation — Anyone who’s done it once knows that installing Windows from scratch takes hours or even days by the time you get all your apps up and running. With Linux, it can take as little as half an hour to install the operating system, utilities, and a full set of applications. No registration or activation is required, no paperwork, and no excruciating pack drill.

Reinstalling the OS — You can’t just download an updated version of Windows. You have to use the CD that came with your PC and download all the patches Microsoft has issued since the CD was made. With Linux, you simply download the latest version of your distro (no questions asked) and, assuming your data files live in a separate disk partition, there’s no need to reinstall them. You only need to re-install the extra programs you added to the ones that came with the distro.

Keeping track of software — Like most Windows users, I have a shelf full of software CDs and keep a little book with serial numbers under my bed in case I have to reinstall the lot. With Linux, there are no serial numbers or passwords to lose or worry about. Not a single one.

Updating software — Linux updates all the software on your system whenever updates are available online, including all applications programs. Microsoft does that for Windows software but you have to update each program you’ve added from other sources. That’s about 60 on each of my PCs. More icing on the Linux cake is that it doesn’t ask you to reboot after updates. XP nags you every ten minutes until you curse and reboot your machine. If you choose “custom install” to select only the updates you want, XP hounds you like a mangy neighborhood dog until you give in.

More security — These days, operating systems are less vulnerable than the applications that run on them. Therefore a vital aspect of PC security is keeping your apps up-to-date with the latest security patches. That’s hard manual labor in Windows, but with Linux it’s automatic.

No need to defrag disks — Linux uses different file systems that don’t need defragging. NTFS was going to be replaced in Vista, but Microsoft’s new file system didn’t make the final cut. Instead, Vista does scheduled disk defragging by default, but the defrag utility is a sad affair.

A wealth of built-in utilities — The utilities supplied with Windows are pretty ordinary on the whole, that’s why so many small software firms have made a nice living writing better ones. Linux programs are comparable with the best Windows freeware, from CD burners to photo managers, memory monitors and disk utilities. PDF conversion is built-in, both into OpenOffice Writer and into the DTP application Scribus. All you do is click a button on the task bar.

KDE 4 Preview

Linewbie.com — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 11:34:37 +0000

KDE 4 is coming. Itâ€™s starting to look and behave mature enough to use it on a normal desktop. This article is a little introduction to what you might be expecting from the brand new KDE due later this year.

Itâ€™s been a whole month when Iâ€™ve investigated the new environment called KDE 4. Honestly I wanted to wait till â€œBeta 3â€³, which should have appeared on 5th October. But as you all can see it has never happened. On the IRC channel #kde4-devel I was informed that the â€œBeta 3â€³ should have been tagged yesterday but unfortunately it didnâ€™t turn out to be true. Not waiting any longer I made my mind and I have updated the SVN and have run the cmake.

First glance

Right after running the KDE you can tell at once that new wallpaper is far more beautiful than the grey old one and the marvelous contrasting flower is well matched to the bottom bar. Unluckily it does nothing more than displaying the clock. The taskbar despite the fact it was on the bar didnâ€™t display processes and all the effort I made to add there any applet or the Pager was in vain, and ended with a complete crash of the bar. The only thing I succeeded in was to put there the Kickoff menubar.

Kickoff – the new KDE menu

The first appearance of Kickoff was in SUSE Linux 10.2 as a new menu for KDE. The icons were arranged in five categories: Favorite, Applications, My Computer, Recently used, Leave. There is nothing more than the search box that helps you finding applications and documents. Itâ€™s too early to discuss about the new KDE menu even talking about its appearance. IMHO I wish that the searching engine wouldnâ€™t be based on Nepomuk or Strigi. Iâ€™d like to mention that it is only the initial version of this menu in KDE.

Kget – is still surprising

Iâ€™ve talked about this program a lot so far. Even now there has changed a lot of stuff, not only the appearance but the functionality. Iâ€™ll shortly remind that Kget is the download accelerator that provides you quequing, placing files in a specific directory chosen by some criteria. This version is enriched with the Transfer Graph applet, which shows you the graph of the download speed of current file. Itâ€™s the third applet like this. The first two are: Pie Graph and Bar Chart.

Plasma – new applets

Iâ€™m used to some sort of nice rule. All the time I check the state of KDE 4 I meet new Plasmoids – so is now. The first one is the old well-known Network Monitor which transformed from two flushing monitors to the graph that shows the traffic flow.

The next two applets are quite new. The first one is the System Monitor. This applet in the intention of the creators will inform you about the state of the main parts of your PC. In the future you can expect for reading ACPI information such as temperature or fan speed. Unfortunately at the moment the applet tries to perform only the usage of the disc space.

Today the best applet Iâ€™ve tried was the Color Picker. It helps you to â€œpickâ€ the color of any pixel on the screen. Using the standard tool, the â€œpipetteâ€, you are provided with the color in a few color formats. Very interesting feature it seems to be the probe history that shows a few earlier tries.

KWin Composite – defaultly enabled

It seems that KWin Composite effects are defaultly enabled. You can notice shadows under windows and the animated windowsâ€™ minimization. There are also available features from Compiz Fusion that pointing at the left top corner of the screen you are starting something similar to Scale plugin. Switching between windows using Alt+Tab displays thumbs of the windows. Quite interesting is the fact that KRunner looks different from when the Composite effects are disabled.

KSysGuard – the system guard

The System Guard has also changed its appearance by the new background under the graphs.

KStyle / KWin – styles and decorations

It is a rule that I always look very carefully at the appearance comparing Oxygen with Bespin (the unoffical style). IMHO Oxygen still seems too less contrast. I think authors are deserving of credit for continuous improvement. From the last version they improved the appearance of tabs and the highlightment of elements and buttons. The scrollbar turns to green under the mouse point. But still it is far away from mockups in the Internet.

At last the buttons have tooltips. Now you donâ€™t have to think which button closes the window

Dolphin and Kate – the new appearance

It is the high time to see how some applications look like in Oxygen. Iâ€™ve tried the file manager Dolphin and the text editor Kate.

Amarok – at least there is some noise!

At the end Iâ€™ve checked my favourite audio player. The best way to describe it is to say â€œsometimes better. sometimes worseâ€. This time I couldnâ€™t manage to make a collection, not even play one mp3 :/ But instead I could connect to Jamendo and listen to their songs. Thanks to that you can see how the Amarok looks like.

This article is a direct translation of text published on authorâ€™s blog: KDE 4 rev 723381

Control multimedia applications with ReMoot

Linewbie.com — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:24:42 +0000

You can manage most of today’s multimedia applications easily with ReMoot, a universal remote control program. ReMoot even provides an esoteric way of controlling your PC remotely from your cell phone or PDA, earning it top geek points.

Start by going to the ReMoot site and clicking on Source Download to get the latest version, 0.4. The software consists of Perl and Ruby scripts. After the quick download completes, open a console, go to the directory where you downloaded everything, and type these commands as root:

tar zxf remoot-0.4.tar.gz
cd remoot-0.4
chmod +x re*
cp remoot* /usr/bin
cp rewww00t* /usr/bin

ReMoot comprises three scripts: the basic remoot script itself, which you use to command the different multimedia applications; remoot-remote, which shows onscreen graphical controls; and rewww00t, which lets you govern your PC via a Web interface. You need Perl to use remoot, and you need Ruby to use rewww00t. If you don’t already have these available, use your favorite package manager to get perl, perl-Tk, and ruby. You’ll also need Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA), but most distributions already include it, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Begin by checking that ReMoot is actually working. Open your favorite music program, such as Amarok, and start playing something. From a console, try some commands, such as remoot volup and remoot voldown to turn the volume up or down, or remoot next to advance through the tracks.

Remoot commands	Description
`remoot voldown`	Turn the volume down.
`remoot play`	Start playing.
`remoot stop`	Stop playing.
`remoot prev`	Go back to the previous track.

ReMoot supports several different programs, all with the same commands. For example, whether you’re listening to music with Amarok or watching a video with xine or Kaffeine, the remoot stop command will produce the same effect in the player program. As long as you’re running a program known by ReMoot, you’ll get consistent results. This lets you configure the multimedia keys on your keyboard in a single way that will work no matter which program you happen to be using at the time.

Programs known by ReMoot
Amarok	Kaffeine	Quod Libet
Audacious	KsCD	Totem
Exaile	MPlayer	xine

However, some of these programs require tweaks to work properly. Check the ReMoot wiki site if something doesn’t work as expected.

ReMoot can control several programs at the same time. If you pause Amarok, for instance, and then want to start it again, the remoot playpause command won’t start any other programs that might be running but instead will continue with Amarok. If you want to continue with other programs, you have to reactivate them manually before ReMoot will work with them.

If you are more graphically oriented, the remoot-remote program shows a bare-bones window with all available commands. No matter which program is running, you can click on one of these buttons to command the currently playing program. The company promises that a new version will feature icons instead of text.

If you really want to earn a “geek award,” start the rewww00t program (check the name carefully; it usually includes a version number) and navigate to yourOwnURL:14300. You’ll see clickable links that operate on your multimedia. With rewww00t, you could use your cell phone or PDA to connect to your server (though you’d have to open firewall ports and do some other things in order to get this to work) and turn the volume up from anywhere in the world. That may be of little use, but it’s interesting!

Program the multimedia keysWith the scripts installed and working, you can get Linux to perform certain commands whenever you press a multimedia key. Following the instructions in the article “Customize your laptop keyboard with X and KDE,” you should:

Open the Control Center.
Click on the Regional & Accessibility tab.
Pick the Input Actions option.
Add a group with the New Group command (give it a name such as Multimedia).

Then, for each key you want to program:

Add a new action to the group.
Go to the General tab.
Fill in the Action Name field.
Set the Action Type to Keyboard Shortcut -> Command/URL (Simple).
Go to the Keyboard Shortcut tab.
Click on the button and then press the Multimedia key (remember, you can use modifiers such as Shift, Alt, and Control).
Go to the Command/URL Settings tab.
Type in the appropriate command (for example, use remoot volup for the Volume Up key).

That’s all there is to it. ReMoot makes handling multimedia keys both simpler and more powerful.