LINUX MAGAZINESLINUX MAGAZINES: Open Source News, Articles and Reviews

A week or so ago I said I’d write a short tutorial on installing a couple of Linux distros on your computer and I’ve decided I’d just show you the various ways for Ubuntu, because the other distros are very similar to install and there’s tons of tutorials out there. Anyway on with the how-to. There are a couple of ways to install Ubuntu:

• Live CD from Canonical (or the manufacturer of your chosen distro. This option uses a Live CD made by Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu. This is by far the easiest way to install a distro.
• Live CD created by you. Slightly more difficult than option 1, with more room for error but not that hard.

Option 1 is by the easiest of them all. You just send off for a disk from Canonical (for Ubuntu), shove it in your CD drive on your computer/laptop, boot up and some options will come up. But before the options come up you must press F-, one of the F- keys along the top of your keyboard. This will depend on your machine, mine if F9. The computer will say, usually in the left hand bottom corner, something like ‘Boot options F5′ and you press that key, select the boot device (the CD) and away you go. You can choose to install the distro straight to your hard drive, or, and this is a very nifty, little idea, you can ‘try before you buy’. This involves booting up the disk and checking out the distro to make sure that everything works with your machine and that sort of stuff.

Option 2 is marginally harder than the above. What you will need is a blank CD, a CD creator drive, a CD burner program and of course the distro ISO. An ISO is basically the file that contains everything needed to run the OS on your computer. It is called an image and is usually around 650MB. You can find it by typing the distributions name into Google, bringing up their site and clicking on download. Right on to the creation. Start you CD burner program, such as Nero and click ‘create CD-ROM ISO’ or something along these lines. Then browse through to where you you saved the .iso file, for example Computer>Documents>Downloads, select it and click create. This will burn the disk and you just do the same as in option 1. It also gives you the option to test before you install it.

So good luck with the installation, and have fun with Linux.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux

distrowatch.com/

Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for any part of this process going wrong or damaging your computers hardware or software. You use this tutorial at your own risk.

Visit my site http://alexworld12.blogspot.com for more information on this and many other related topics.

Author: Alex Davies
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Latest trends in mobile phone

Okay, so you have this old computer system hanging around and you’re not quite sure what to do with it. Maybe you’re a small company and you think disposing of it might be a waste yet the idea of paying an extraordinary amount of money in new software licensing isn’t appealing. Perhaps you’re an individual and you want to pass along your old laptop to one of your kids. Maybe you’re a non-profit and need to make use of every resource you have. Regardless, you have a very simple need: you want this computer functional so that it’s easy to use, can browse the Internet, edit common office documents, instant messaging, and can read email – and you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg to do it. Certainly it can’t be that hard to turn this old worthless machine into something useful again?

And in fact, it’s not. Here’s a practical approach to creating an Open Desktop using free solutions that you can download today from the Internet.

1. Operating System. Download Ubuntu Desktop Edition.

2. Internet Browser. Download Mozilla FireFox.

3. Productivity Application. Download OpenOffice.

4. Email Application. Download Mozilla ThunderBird.

5. Instant Messaging Application. Download Jabber.

A full 32-bit operating system, Ubuntu is quick and easy to install, performs better than Microsoft Windows ®, and you don’t need a degree in computer science to be able to use it. It comes with a familiar graphic user interface and a friendly wizard-driven setup process.

OpenOffice is a free productivity suite capable of handling word processing, spreadsheets, database, and presentation graphics, and is fully compatible with Microsoft Office ® documents.

Meanwhile, ThunderBird is a simple to use email client that has similar capabilities to Microsoft Outlook Express ®.

Mozilla FireFox and OpenOffice comes with Ubuntu so no extra downloading is necessary; you can get the latest versions by downloading them directly from their respective websites after installing Ubuntu.

Finally, Jabber is a cross-platform instant messaging solution. Use Jabber if you have multiple instant messaging accounts with the likes of Google Talk, Yahoo! IM, or MSN Messenger to bring all of that messaging into one place.

Through installing these applications in the order presented, you can turn that doorstop of a computer into something useful again. Bear in mind that the Open Desktop won’t be able to run some of your favorite Microsoft applications, but if you want something that connects to the Internet and performs some very rudimentary functions, this configuration is easy to implement. We’ll see you online!

Russell Mickler works a technology consultant in Battle Ground, WA, USA. With over fourteen years of experience, Mickler teaches for numerous colleges and universities. Mickler holds a CISSP, MCSE, and Masters’ Degree in Information Technology. His website can be found at http://www.micklerandassociates.com he can be contacted at mickler@micklerandassociates.com

Author: Russell Mickler
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Creditcard Currency Conversion Fee

When it comes to security, versatility and stability, there is no better solution in information technology than open source. From operating systems to Web development to just about any common application, the open-source revolution finally has taken hold.

Businesses have started to truly understand the benefits of opting for open source, not only to save money, but also for the peace of mind it brings to their IT environment.

The term “open source” has a variety of meanings in the IT world. It is used to describe initiatives and collaborations ranging from software projects to enterprise environments with source code that is accessible to anyone. It stands as perhaps the ultimate example of the process of continuous improvement by encouraging everyone to make it better – and share how they did it.

Many open-source-based solutions like RedHat, Ubuntu and Suse are becoming down-right mainstream, drawing offers for proprietary partnerships from hardware giants like Dell, HP and IBM. So far, each has maintained its autonomy and reiterated its commitment to furthering “the movement” rather than its bottom line.

The issue of support no longer keeps businesses from buying in to open-source technology either. Most are fully supported, either through packages by their distributors, as in the case of RedHat and Suse, or via the well-rounded Internet network.

Open-source now is possible – and pragmatic – for every new Web development project. By using LAMP – that’s Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP – an open-source solution can be created that is versatile and secure.

Author: Aaron Wittersheim
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Latest trends in mobile phone

The Linux operating system has experienced huge growth in the past few years. With excellent stability. flexibility and the free price tag. People are realizing that Linux is a great alternative. Just like Windows, users would have to learn how to use Linux. Linux developers have taken note, and have come up with several ways to allow people to try Linux without getting rid of your Windows installation. Here are a couple of ways you can get a taste of what Linux has to offer.

Live CD
Linux distributions like Ubuntu offer a feature called Live CD. Live CD allows you to boot off of the install CD instead of your hard drive. All you have to do is burn the CD, keep it in your CD drive when booting your computer and press the option to boot from CD. Now each computer is different so consult your PC manufacture for instructions to boot from CD. Once booted you will be able to use almost all of the functionality of the Linux distribution that you have on CD without impacting your Windows installation. There are two drawbacks: You cannot save your settings once you turn off your computer and the operating system tends to run slow because CD drives access data slower than hard drives. If you like what you see you can install to your hard drive from the live CD. Get more on Ubuntu’s website.

Wubi
Wubi is great. What Wubi does is creates a virtual hard drive in one folder stored on your Windows partition. Then Wubi gives you the option to boot into Windows or Linux upon booting by changing your boot record. Installation is easy. Just download the install file. Select the install path and what install of Ubuntu you would like. That’s it. Once complete you will have the option to boot into Linux or Windows. If you want to remove Linux just go to add/remove programs and uninstall Wubi. That’s it. No mess. There is a small risk of damage to your boot record but I have never seen it. Check out Wubi by doing a Google search.

Virtualbox
Virtualbox is really cool. Virtualbox is a piece of software that you can install in Windows and Linux that will allow you to emulate another operating system while running another. For example, if you use Windows you can install Virtualbox and install Ubuntu then run Ubuntu in a small window or full screen while being able to use everything in Windows. I hope that makes sense. The only drawback Virtualbox has is it runs slow because it has to share system resources with your host operating system. So you won’t be playing any games while running Virtualbox. If you want just learn this is a great solution. Once you are done you can close up Virtualbox to free up system resources. For more information check out VirtualBox’s website.

That’s it! You have three free ways to get your feet wet with Linux. If you like Linux give it an install as your main operating system. There are too many things to explore with Linux to fit in one article. I recommend trying out Ubuntu.

Author: Mike Man
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty rate

When it comes to the environment do you want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem? If you don’t want to be part of the problem avoid tossing that supposedly outdated computer onto a landfill. Did you know that your outcast computer remains will take decades to biodegrade and leach scads of poisonous chemicals into the environment during the process?

Several years ago the Utah Department of Environmental Quality estimated that by 2004 more than 300 million computers would be considered obsolete, generating well over 1 billion pounds of lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 1 million pounds of chromium, and 400,000 pounds of mercury. Municipal incineration is the largest point source of dioxins into the US and Canadian environments and among the largest sources of heavy metal contamination of the atmosphere. Of course the year 2004 is long gone, and these horrible numbers have undoubtedly been far surpassed in spite of efforts such as corporate trade-in programs.

Why do people toss their computers? That’s simple; given the computer industry’s unending performance advances there is a widespread perception that you can no longer DO anything worthwhile with your old computers. This dangerous assumption is simply not true.

Do you really need Giga-everythings to get your work done and have your fun? Microsoft seems to think so. I remember when 128 Megabytes was a lot of memory. Of course I also remember when “Why would anyone ever need more than 640 Kilobytes of memory?” was the official party line expressed by none other than William Gates III himself.

I’m told that Damn Small Linux requires only 50 Megabytes of disk space, a 486 processor (do you remember what that is?) and 8 Megabytes of RAM. If you want to browse the Internet, you’ll have to move up to 16 Megabytes of RAM and use the Dillo browser. The popular Firefox browser requires additional memory. Frankly, I wouldn’t use such an underpowered computer for moderate or heavy Internet usage. But you can run Linux commands and learn how operating systems work on such computers. And you can play a multitude of games.

For every individual trying to resuscitate a 486 computer there are dozens trying to know what to do with an old Pentium such as my Pentium III 450 Megahertz computers with 128 Megabytes of memory purchased in 1999 or more powerful computers purchased several years later. Without extensive upgrades many of these computers won’t run Windows Vista and may not run Windows XP. But they will run Damn Small Linux or other Linux versions alongside a full range of today’s applications. Let’s put them to work, learn Linux, and do our bit saving the environment.

We next see how Linux lets you control the computer, “obsolete” or not.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Pressure Cooker

There are several options when it comes to choosing an operating system for your computer. Of course Windows is the overwhelming heavyweight in the market place and it isn’t a bad choice in some ways, especially for those not interested in the nuts and bolts of things. Also looking for users are Linux, BSD and Leopard.

1. Windows

The good side of Windows is that it is made to operate programs. The rich variety of software that works here is a huge selling point. You don’t have to be a programmer or even a techie to be a user. Everything comes from a disc or a download. Click the install button and away you go. Word processors, Spreadsheets, Games, Synthesizers, Photo Editors, Art Creators, Email Handlers, Bookkeepers and Website Makers are some of the most common. Then there are the not so popular yet also intriguing out of the mainstream volumes such as File Converters, Iso File Makers, Virus Hunters, Adware Killers and endless utilities you may discover once you start looking. There is a small utility that saves clips (as many as you want) that can be pasted anywhere so you don’t have to retype all the time.

That’s the good side of Windows. Just so you know it’s not all roses and candlelight you should know there are some drawbacks too. Everything you do on Windows should be backed up regularly. Why? Because just about the time your five week project is within a few paragraphs of completion, Windows will have a hiccup and lose the whole thing or some virus will erase your hard drive, or you’ll press the delete button accidentally. Boom, it’s all toast. Another thing about Windows is that it’s already programmed, you have to accept it as it is. If it doesn’t have a feature you need, you’re out of luck. If the button arrangement is not convenient (although there is some flexibility), you must adapt. Don’t need all the bells and whistles? Your stuck with them. Then there are the slow days when it all just seems to sit there and mock you taking it’s sweet time. It’s no wonder someone occasionally tosses one out the 10th story window.

2. Leopard

So, what are the other options? Well, first is Leopard which is the Macintosh operating system. Macintosh is made by Apple Computers. If you don’t know who Steve Jobs is, you must live in a dark and deprived world. Macs, as they are known, cost a little more than others systems (about twice the price of a Windows machine). I will tell you right here that I have yet to meet a Mac user that has a bad word to say about his or her machine. If you get one, you are practically guaranteed to love it. They are the choice of graphic artists almost universally. The local ad sheet for the city is made on them, so they make commercially viable tools.

The negative side. Not a lot really. There isn’t as much software made for them, but the ones you get are extremely well made. A lot of the less popular stuff doesn’t exist for Macs. That along with the higher price are the main hitches.

3. Linux

Another option is Linux. The Linux operating system is actually free at this time so the price is right. There are many flavors (versions) of Linux, so you don’t have to use the same thing everyone else has. Some that I know of are:

* Red Hat
* Ubuntu
* Suse
* Damn Small

Each one has advantages and limitations because they are geared toward a certain area such as games or internet or servers. They have a ways to go to become popular, yet are making great strides in market share. Also, if you can do the programming, Linux offers wonderful access to the code. In the last year or so, it has become quite easy to obtain and install Linux on any computer. In fact it will coexist right alongside Windows, so now there is little excuse for not trying it out. They offer a GUI similar to Windows and Leopard which is fairly intuitive. Some software is quite comparable to the bigger fish. OpenOffice will take Office on and come through looking pretty good. Gimp has a learning curve, but can do much of what Photoshop does for free.

The downside is that Linux is just not as developed. It is a terrific platform for geeks that love to swim through code and troubleshoot glitches. The creative potential is unlimited which is the main drawback at the same time. Most people want something ready to go, not something they have to create before they can operate. The number of programs (though growing) is quite limited.

4. BSD

The last of our operating systems to consider is BSD. Just like Linux, it is free (though there is a commercial version). The major selling point is that it is the most modern system. It doesn’t have the backward compatibility issues of Windows. So many advances in hardware have been made since windows was introduced that you wouldn’t believe some of it. BSD was created to take advantage of these advances. It has the most potential of all these systems because of it’s modern design. It is quite compatible with and similar to Linux, just more modern.

That at the same time is it’s largest problem. Most of the accessories that go with an operating system (software and interface) are lacking at this time. It’s like having a Ferrari engine and framework without the rest of the drive train.

Author: Dean Walden
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker

Unlike Windows, Linux users must have an account. This account is accorded permission to do things such as read and write files and execute programs. For ease in account management, accounts are combined into groups. Users belonging to a group may be assigned additional permissions that smooth the process of accessing common files. Let’s take a closer look at how Linux handles these users. Another article will examine permissions and groups.

Linux provides two categories of users, ordinary users essentially restricted to working with files of their own creation, and the superuser, or root, who administers the system and is allowed to do almost anything. The real situation is a bit more complex. For example, ordinary users may be accorded restricted access to additional files deemed to be of interest to everyone. The superuser can assign some privileges to deputies reducing an otherwise crushing workload.

The root user is the only one authorized to run the adduser or the more complicated useradd command. If you have downloaded Damn Small Linux you can test these commands on your Windows computer. In response to the adduser command Linux requests the user name, the password, and then a few optional fields that may be skipped. An organization with many users has or should have a policy for composing user names.

The password is a key element in protecting the computer’s security. We could easily write an article discussing the password and password selection. Remember that Linux distinguishes between lower-case and upper-case letters. If you’re new to computing you may try working with easily remembered passwords at first. But to protect your account and account information you will have to choose passwords that no one can guess.

As Linux creates your account it creates a directory whose name is easy to remember. If your account name is lucy then your working directory is /home/lucy . I’m leaving it up to you to find out the location of lucy’s working directory when she uses Windows systems.

Damn Small Linux shares an interesting feature with many other Linux systems. If the system administrator wants new users to have copies of some directories and folders, she or he simply places them in the /etc/skel directory before launching the adduser command.

How is the system administrator supposed to handle creating dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of new users, for example at the beginning of the semester? He or she won’t have the time to undertake this backbreaking task. And there is no way that the root password should be revealed to the employee who is assigned this task. The answer is simple: write a program to create these new accounts. This program can even spiff up the account creation interface and perhaps grab some necessary information from sources such as the student registration file.

Of course we don’t want to create users without the possibility of removing them. The live process is fairly complicated and includes removing the user’s password from the /etc/passwd directory, removing all files from the user directory, and other activities such as making backups of essential information. The next article discusses the related concepts of permissions and groups.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News

Isn’t it great that the open source world gives you a lot of choices? When it comes to Linux distributions, shortly known as distros, there are hundreds of them. Once you have selected a distro, you are up against a decision regarding the desktop. You need to know enough about the pros and cons of these choices so that you can pick the one that is right for you.

Let us briefly revisit the requirements for a successful migration.

You have to meet three requirements before installing Linux on your home PC:

1. You have identified a demonstrable benefit you can gain by migrating to Linux
2. You have done your prep work
3. You have realistic expectations

By following these three steps, you will maximize your chances of success.

However, there is a mind boggling variety of Linux distros available.

Let us try and shortlist the Linux distros based on the following five criteria:

1. Is it backed by a commercial vendor?
2. Is desktop Linux for home a stated focus area for this vendor?
3. Is a retail product available in the form of a CD/DVD?
4. Are branded PC vendors shipping this distro pre-installed?
5. Is paid support available, if needed?

We find that there are only two Linux distros that meet these five qualifications largely – Ubuntu and SUSE Linux.

Ubuntu

• Sponsored by Canonical.
• You can download it free, buy it on DVD from Amazon or get a free CD shipped (takes 6 to 10 weeks).
• Starter support for Ubuntu Desktop Edition is available for one year at $ 54.99 (as of Sept 2009).
• Security update is available for 18 months from release.

SUSE

• Sponsored by Novell.
• You can download it free, buy it on DVD from Amazon.
• You can buy a package from Novell consisting of a DVD with printed manual and 90-Day installation support (by phone or e-mail) for $59.95 (as of Sept 2009).
• Security update is available for 2 years from release.

Can I buy Linux pre-installed from a branded PC vendor? Dell offers PCs for the home and home office market pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux. HP and MSI offer PCs with Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop pre-installed. Asus offers notebooks with Xandros Linux pre-installed. Acer offers notebooks with Linpus Linux.

Can I get Linux pre-installed from another vendor? Zareason, Berkley, CA and System76, Denver, CO sell Ubuntu Linux desktops and laptops.

Which desktop? Though there are other options available, we will restrict our selection to the two leading desktops, namely GNOME and KDE.

GNOME

• GNOME is a very mature and stable desktop.
• The GNOME project has well defined human interface guidelines to make the desktop and applications easy to use. Most GNOME applications follow these guidelines, resulting in common usability between applications.
• GNOME doesn’t provide a graphical interface for some of the settings. Users will have to use the command line interface for these.

KDE

• KDE is also a very mature desktop. However, KDE 4 was completely rewritten and so had some issues. The recent 4.3 version seems to be more stable.
• KDE is also better for new users switching from Windows, and relies less on the command line interface.
• Unfortunately, KDE does not use Firefox as the default web browser or OpenOffice as the default office suite. You will have to install Firefox and OpenOffice subsequently.

If you are planning to use an older machine and just require stability and an uncluttered approach then you can go with GNOME. However, if you have a newer machine, looking for a desktop closer to Windows and avoid the command line interface, then KDE is your best bet.

Author: Ashok Ramachandran
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Ubuntu comes pre-installed with a few Desktop themes. The default is referred to as “Human”, and is what defines the characteristic Ubuntu earth-tone colors. Some people love the default theme while others don’t like it at all. The most common complaint that I’ve heard is that it’s “too brown”. If you’d prefer to modify your theme, follow the steps below.

To switch your theme, you need to navigate to System > Preferences > Appearance

This will launch the GNOME Appearance utility, which will default to a list of installed themes. You can simply change your theme in on-the-fly by simply choosing a another theme from the list. The default installed themes are:

Clearlooks
Dark Room
Dust
Dust Sand
High Contrast Inverse
High Contrast Large Print Inverse
Human
Human-Clearlooks
New Wave

On a default installation of Ubuntu 9.10, you should have nine default themes installed to pick from.

You can quickly change your theme by choosing one of the listed themes within the window.

You can make other theme modifications, including Backgrounds, Fonts, Interface, and Visual Effects. Remember, if you decide to set the theme back , simply select “Human” from the list.

Original source: Linux Magazines

Many companies, especially the large ones, have their very own websites. Why do they have websites? That is because there are many advantages of having a website for a business. One advantage is that many people can browse your latest products and services easily. Consumers can also communicate with you faster if your website can provide contact information. You can give any information a customer would need from your company to help them decide to avail of the products and services that your company offers. A website truly is an important part of businesses these days.

So if you are planning to have a website, then the first thing that you should do is to look for a web hosting company. The web hosting company that you choose must be reliable. It must have an almost perfect uptime so that your website will be accessible anytime. You need to carefully search for a good web hosting company that can offer you the features that you need and can secure your data from hackers.

While you search for a hosting company, you might find some offering Windows Hosting and Linux Hosting. For many people, there really is not much of a difference between these two. While it is true that the performance and features that the two offer are almost the same, the question is the security. Many people are asking, “Is Linux web hosting secure?” As you probably already know, there are many malwares on the Windows Platform. Malware such as viruses, Trojan, worms and spyware threaten a system. A web server using Windows is open to these threats. A good Windows Hosting can protect their servers from this. What about Linux?

With so many people asking the question “is Linux web hosting secure?” many people have began to doubt Linux web hosting. The Linux platform is also open to different malwares, but there are only a few malwares that can harm Linux. Still, these malware can potentially harm a server hosting your website, which will lead to downtime. If you do not want this to happen, then you must know the answer to the question, “Is Linux web hosting secure?”

So when the developers of Linux was asked the same question, they answered by showing all the security features of Linux web hosting. What are these features? Here are some:

IP (Internet Protocol) Addresses – IP addresses of the visitors of the website are logged. This is used to identify the problems of the server and to prevent fraud.

Data Integrity – Linux ensures that the information on the websites of the customers remains accurate. Their hosting service can prevent unauthorized access, guarantee the correct use of information and preserve data accuracy.

Data Security – Linux also protects the information collected from their customers. They use industry-standard security measures like the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and Encryption of vital information using Hosting VentureOS web sites.

Data Access – Linux also offers a 24/7 customer support. With it, customers can have access to identifiable information and correct errors regarding this information. Linux takes steps to identify the customer before giving access to the said information.

With all these features, you should now know the answer to the question, “Is Linux web hosting secure?” Looking at all these features, you can say that Linux can do an excellent job at not only providing you with an accessible website, but also one that is secured enough to protect information from leaking out as well as other cyber crimes that can threaten your business. So if you asked me the question, “Is Linux web hosting secure?”, then I shall answer it with a “Yes.”

Author: Mark Andrews S
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Credit card currency-exchange fees

Ubuntu, a user-friendly version of Linux, has been running so nicely on my home PC that I decided to do an experiment. I wrote down a list of tasks I normally do with Windows XP and decided to see how many of them I could do on Linux.

Heres what my list looked like: 1) Write this column; 2) Browse the Web; 3) Get new software and install it; 4) Download files; 5) Play music and video files; 6) Burn CDs; and 7) Print my documents.

Of all these, the first was the easiest. Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice.org 2.0, an excellent personal productivity suite that works much like Microsoft Office, with its own word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation programs. It reads and writes files in MS Word, RTF and a variety of other formats, so sharing your files with colleagues who use Windows or Mac PCs wont be a problem. Unlike earlier versions, too, the program seems to load and run much faster.

OpenOffice.org 2.0 seems to run much faster now. I open up XMMS to listen to some music while I work.

Browsing was just as easy. Ubuntu lets you take your pick from several Web browsers, including Firefox. I experienced some glitches initially with YouTube the videos were playing without sound but that worked itself out after I rebooted the system.

For Windows users, downloading and installing new software on Linux can be rather daunting. Wheres the .EXE file? What do you do with the downloaded file (called a package, in Linux)? What file do you run? Fortunately, Ubuntu takes care of most of these problems for you. A program called Synaptic Package Manager takes care of finding new programs and installing them for you. These are sorted by program types, but the sheer number may be overwhelming. When I ran Synaptic Package Manager, it happily reported that there were more than 18,808 programs available, only 1,221 of which I had installed.

Downloading music and videos? Check. My favorite BitTorrent client, uTorrent, isnt available on Linux but KTorrent, which works much the same way, already comes with Ubuntu. I put the program through its paces and found it held up quite nicely against my trusted file-sharing utility.

To play music and videos, Ubuntu comes with a number of multimedia players. For MP3 files, I like XMMS, which looks like WinAmp. Downloaded AVI files wont play properly on the default Movie Player, but installing VLC Media Player (using Synaptic) will take care of that.

Burning CDs proved to be trickier.

Ubuntu is smart enough to detect a blank CD when its inserted and will ask if youd like to burn a data or an audio CD. If you choose data, it will open a window into which you can drag files youd like burned. Burning a data CD in this manner is simplicity itself, but it might be a bit too simple. The program, Nautilus, doesnt even tell you how much disc space youre using.

If you choose to burn an audio CD, Ubuntu will start a program called Serpentine, which enables you to add audio files to an audio CD compilation. The puzzling thing is, Serpentine will not accept MP3 files by default! All is not lost, however. You need to install the LAME encoder for the Gstreamer package (gstreamer0.8-lame), again using Synaptic. Once youve done that, Serpentine will burn your MP3 files into an audio CD without a hitch.

Serpentine burns an audio CD.

Burning a VCD from AVI files is even trickier. In very broad strokes, youll need to install K3b, a CD burning program, and a package called VCDimager, and tell K3b where its located. Youll also need a command-line program called FFmpeg to convert AVI files to MPG, which is the format that K3b uses. Sounds complicated? It is, but its doable.

Finally, I wanted to print documents on my Epson Stylus C50 inkjet printer. Simple as it sounds, this last task almost stumped me. Even though Ubuntu detected my printer and said it was using the correct printer driver from a program called Gimp-print, my C50 kept spewing out garbled, unreadable text. Hours of online research about Gimp-print only confused me further with what seemed to be gobbledygook. Many sheets of wasted paper later, I remembered a snippet of information from a mailing list. It was written before the C50 driver was available and suggested that the driver for an earlier Epson model, the C44UX might work. I went to Ubuntus printer setup utility and told it to use that driver and voila!I was finally able to print. Frustration faded away and a sense of satisfaction set in. I had survived the weekend without Windows.

Author: Chin Wong
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system (OS); thus, most web hosting companies cater to sites running on Windows, as expected. However, there is an increasing demand for hosts that can support websites running on other platforms such as Mac OS and Linux, just to name a few. For this article, we will focus on Linux web hosting.

Why do some people choose Linux web hosting? To start with, Linux is an open source OS designed after Unix. It means Linux is free, which is a fact that is easily a factor in some people’s choice of operating system. Aside from being free, Linux is also known to be very stable even in the midst of some heavy-duty multitasking. It’s also known to be flexible, powerful, and portable. The graphical user interface (GUI) looks great, too.

Whatever the reason may be, there’s no denying that more and more people are turning to Linux web hosting. If you’re comfortable with using Linux with Perl programming language, now is the right time to go for Linux web hosting. It has its place in mainstream, so any worries you may have about lack of suitable choices for Linux web hosting should be thrown out the window. There are a lot of affordable packages being marketed by web hosting companies for the Linux user.

Surprisingly, even if Windows is the most popular OS, Linux web hosting has more presence on the internet than Windows web hosting. The reason behind this is Linux’s open source nature. A lot of technological developments in web hosting are also open source. It’s easier for developers and programmers to experiment with different innovations when high fees and licenses are not part of the equation. Thus, Linux web hosting provides you with a lot of flexibility at almost no cost. When technologies update, you can go along with them without worrying about your budget because they are free.

Linux web hosting is also highly standardized because Linux, as an OS, is a standard platform. Thus, you can easily add to your website without too much hassle since everything is streamlined. You’ll appreciate this more as your website steadily and quickly grows. Long-term management with diligent maintenance is one of the most difficult things you need to do as a webmaster; luckily Linux web hosting can help in that aspect.

Take note, though, that there’s a downside to all the good stuff, and it’s up to you if it’s worth looking over when you finally choose Linux web hosting. Since Windows still dominates as the number one OS, Linux web hosting does not have a lot of technical support available for applications and languages that are based on Windows. Sure, you have a wide range of Linux-based applications and languages to choose from, but there are very useful ones that are Windows-based. You either don’t use them at all, or prepare yourself to encounter difficulties when you do.

Weigh your needs and wants before choosing Linux web hosting over Windows web hosting. Both have positive and negative aspects to them, and choosing what works better for your website is something only you can decide.

Author: Charles Yarbrough
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Import duty tariff

Ubuntu Mobile is an Ubuntu edition targeting an exciting new range of computers known as Mobile Internet Devices. It is based on the world’s most popular Linux distribution with MID hardware from OEMs and ODMs and is all set to redefine mobile computing.

The biggest utility of this model is that it gives full Internet to its users. The following are some of the main features of this model:

1. Full Web 2.0/AJAX fidelity, with custom options of Adobe Flash, Java.

2. Outstanding media playback in order to provide full enjoyment to videos, music and photos with best quality and easy navigation.

3. Set of applications that work seamlessly to meet need of every age group of people.

4. Full Web 2.0 experience etc. It is the product of Canonical collaboration with Intel and the open source community.

All in one:

This mobile is just the right applications providing Web 2.0 experience. User can do at his ease Web browsing, email, media, camera, VoIP, instant messaging, GPS, blogging, digital TV, games, contacts, dates/calendar, simple software updates and much more. Thus it is all in one set.

Structure and feel:

It is a finger friendly, with no stylus needed. It works on just gentle touch. One is just required to tap the screen or drag a finger to make gestures for intuitive navigation and control. It’s very easy to operate as well.

Following are the ways to operate it:

1. One needs just to tap an application with his/her finger to launch it, and have to use tap menus and buttons to use them.

2. Just what all is required is simply to swipe a web page to pan up, down or sideways.

3. In addition just one needs to swipe a video, photo, song or thumbnail page to move to the next or the previous one.

Author: Bill Pratt
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Benefits of electric pressure cooker

I spoke about IDS (Intrusion Detection Systems) and IPS (Intrusion Prevention Systems) a few days ago in a question posted by a user. So I thought I would dive a little deeper into the subject with a specific application that I have personally used – Snort. Snort is a very powerful IDS that in later versions can act like an IPS. Snort is free to download and use in the personal environment as well as in the business environment. In fact Snort is used by many enterprises as a very effective option for their business because not only is it free, but it is one of the most powerful IDS’s out there if you know what you are doing when you configure it. Snort can be created as a program that you run when you want on a personal computer or it can be setup to run when your OS starts and protect all computers on your network from attacks.

If you want to use Snort to protect your entire network it will need to be placed in line with your Internet connection. So as an example lets say that you have a business Internet account with your local cable company and you want to protect it with a computer running Snort. The computer running Snort needs to be placed between the cable modem and the router, this way Snort is able to monitor every piece of traffic that comes into your network and is in the best place to discover possible attacks.

Installation:

We are going to be installing Snort on a computer running Ubuntu 9.04 which at the time of this article is the newest version of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is also a free OS that is available to download, making this IDS a totally free appliance for you, except the cost of the computer. There are two ways to install Snort onto a Ubuntu Distribution and the easiest is to do it through a command line. If your computer is up to date you can simply type:

sudo apt-get install snort

This will then download and install the newest version of snort on your computer through command line. As soon as it is done you will be ready to use snort. But if you run into an error or cannot install Snort through command line you can always go to the Snort website and download the newest version, but make sure that you are downloading the tar.gz file and follow their installation guide to completely setup Snort.

Once installed you can run snort as just a sniffer and have all packets captured and logged but that will create an enormous log file that you would then have to view. Snort works so well because of its use of rules to know which traffic to log and which traffic to ignore. Rules are going to be beyond the scope of this article but I plan on writing an article in the near future on creating rules for Snort.

How Snort runs depends on the flags that you specify when you launch Snort from command line.

Flag Function

-v View packet headers at the console.
-d View application data with IP headers.
-D Run Snort as a daemon.
-e Show data-link layer headers.
-l Run in packet logger mode.
-h Log information relative to the home network.
-b Log information to a single binary file in the logging directory.
-r Read packets contained in a log file.
N Disable packet logging.
-c Specifies which file will be used to provide a rule-set for intrusion detection.
-i Specifies which port you would like Snort to look at when running.

As you can see from above we have a few different options when it comes to flags used with Snort. Lets start with just viewing IP packet headers by using the command sudo snort -v. Be sure to use the sudo command before snort so that it runs in administrative mode, this is needed to open the appropriate port. Now since we did not specify a port for snort to look at it is going to use the eth0 port by default, well I am not using the eth0 port right now as I write this article I am using the wlan0 port which is my wireless card. We will need to us the -i flag to tell Snort to use my wireless card to check for traffic, sudo snort -v -i wlan0. Now Snort will run and display on the screen every packet header that comes across my wlan0 or wireless card, as you can see this is very useful if you want to monitor all traffic across your network but very impractical if you want to protect your network. To end the application once it has started you can simply hit CTRL+C to end the program and bring you back to a command prompt.

We have quickly discussed installing Snort and then running some basic Snort commands to get some output from the program onto our screen. Stay tuned for the next article on configuring Snort rules and running Snort as true IDS with alerting.

Author: Mike L Walton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing

Regular Ubuntu Linux Users and the (Lack of Use of the) root User

When you install Ubuntu Linux, you create a user, which is the “first” user and you can also create more users if you need to. When you create the “first” user, you assign this user a password – and this one is very important!

It is required to log in to the desktop (at the Linux GUI login prompt) as the “regular” (non-root) user – and this password is also required to be able to do the equivalent of logging in as the root user – when you’re working at the Linux prompt a terminal emulation window on the desktop.

By default, the root use is not “enabled” (not available) in Ubuntu and so you can’t log in as this user – which is an innovative thing – as it stops anyone from logging in to the desktop as this user – which should never be done!

Example of Running the Linux sudo Command – To Start Working as the root User

You type in: sudo -i and then press Enter to change from working as a “regular” user to working as (the equivalent of) the root user in Ubuntu (and variations or derivatives, such as Kubuntu – see more on this further below).

And then you provide the password of the first user that was created on the system. After running the Linux sudo command, the prompt changes from a dollar sign to a number or hash sign (press Shift 3). To “go back” to working as a “regular”, run the exit command by entering the command name and pressing the Enter key.

This Linux version has its own “derivatives” (variations), and many of these end in “ubuntu”, such as Kubuntu.

Linux Commands Training Tips: The “K” in Kubuntu stands for “KDE” – it is the “K” in “KDE”, for the KDE desktop.

The Ubuntu distro uses the GNOME desktop by default and Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop by default.

Ubuntu Linux and it’s derivatives are some of the few distributions that require the use of the sudo command with the -i option as shown above – as opposed to using the su command with the – “dash” option and then typing in the password of the root user.

Author: Clyde E. Boom
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker