There's a cartoon that made the rounds in the Linux community a few years back that I often think of at this time of year. In essence, it depicts a Linux aficionado refusing to help convince someone to switch to Linux, explaining, "If everyone's using it, I'm not cool anymore."
The Archos 5 Internet Tablet runs Google Android, has a 5 inch, 800 x 480 pixel display and an 800MHz ARM-based processor. Out of the box it can handle a wide range of audio and video formats, and with a little work, you can even install the Google Android Market on it. But the Archos 5 is stuck with Android 1.6 for now, and it’s not clear of Archos will ever update the software to let you run newer versions of the operating system since the company is now pushing a new line of “generation 8? tablets running Android 2.2.
I've been testing out a prototype of Google's Chrome OS laptop for about a week now, and while I love certain things about the device my mind keeps coming back to the fact that it would be so much nicer if it could boot a "real" operating system as well.
The forthcoming release of Debian GNU/Linux, version 6.0 or Squeeze, will have a completely free kernel without any binary blobs, according to an announcement from the project. The word free refers to freedom, not price. Debian, at present, ships a kernel with its default images that includes binary firmware.
The release said that Debian developers had been working on stripping all non-free firmware from the kernel since Etch (version 4.0). This had continued in the next release cycle, Lenny. However it had not been possible to complete the task.
If you are a mobile Linux user one of the first things you need to do is to connect that mobile device to a wireless access point. By default, the standard Wi-Fi tools for the Linux desktops are straight-forward and reliable. That of course presumes you are using the standard desktops (GNOME or KDE). But what happens when you opt for a different desktop such as E17 or Fluxbox? Or what if the "default" standards aren't flexible enough or feature-rich enough for your needs. In those instances you need to take a look at a different toolset for connecting you to a wireless access point.
The "Unity" user interface that debuted in Ubuntu 10.10's Netbook Edition will be standard on the next version of the Ubuntu Desktop Edition, as well. Ubuntu Desktop 11.04 will replace the Linux distribution's default GNOME environment in favor of the multitouch-enabled Unity user interface, says Canonical.
If you do not value the information stored on your computer, data loss may not represent a significant issue. However, for the majority of users, the loss of their data is likely to have profound implications, such as financial loss, time and effort, and emotional distress. Typically, users who are casual about data protection have not yet experienced data loss. However, it represents the most important thing on your computer.
Two new vulnerabilities affecting Linux were uncovered this week that could potentially be used by malicious hackers to gain root privileges. One vulnerability, which was reported on Tuesday by security firm VSR, arises from a flaw in the implementation of the Reliable Datagram Sockets protocol (RDS) in versions 2.6.30 through 2.6.36-rc8 of the Linux kernel.
How easy is it to give up Windows and move to Linux? To find out, we decided to put Ubuntu on one of the computers in the office that was previously used by a dedicated Windows fan. The only problem is that it was mine! The challenge was to last a week without going back to Windows.
Security is always a primary concern for enterprise IT managers, with a constant need to ensure that systems are kept updated and properly configured to prevent exploits. A new tool debuting in the upcoming Red Hat-sponsored Fedora 14 Linux release could prove a key ingredient in enabling properly secured systems.
