With only nine days left until Karmic Koala's official release, it's time to take a look into the past. Five years ago, on the 20th of October, 2004, Mark Shuttleworth and the "warm-hearted Warthogs" from the developer team announced the first official Ubuntu release. Version 4.10, code name "Warty Warthog," was only the first representative in a line of operating systems that were made by human beings for human beings, aiming to let normal people use Linux.

Let's take a quick look at when each of the Ubuntu versions was released, and what it brought new:
· Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog) - Released on the 20th of October, 2004
· Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog) - Released on 8th of April, 2005
· Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger) - Released on 13th of October, 2005
· Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake) - Released on the 1st of June, 2006
· Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) - Released on the 26th of October, 2006
· Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) - Released on the 19th of April, 2007
· Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) - Released on the 18th of October, 2007
· Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) - Released on the 24th of April, 2008
· Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) - Released on the 30th of October, 2008
· Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) - Released on the 23rd of April, 2009
· Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) - Planned for release on the 29th of October, 2009

Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog) was something weird for its time. It was common back then for Linux operating systems to ship on anywhere from two to even nine CDs, but Warty only had two: a Live and an Installation CD. Another thing that separated Ubuntu from the other Linux distributions of the time was the ShipIt service that sent Ubuntu CDs to anyone who requested them, free of charge.

The Warty Warthog was followed by Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog), which brought another series of improvements that catered to non-technical users. The update manager and the notifier changed the task of updating the system from a deeply administrative one to something anyone could do. Under the hood, dynamic frequency scaling kept laptops running for a longer while, and the hardware database kept a tight watch on what components worked well out of the box.

The Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger) release hid the kernel start-up messages that looked like an alien language to most users under a graphical bootloader for the first time. At that time another defining feature of Ubuntu was created: integration with the Launchpad developer portal.

Fast forward to Ubuntu 6.04 and you will see that there is no such thing. Because the development was not complete, Mark Shuttleworth moved the release date to June that year, but made up to the users by giving them the first long-term support release: Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake). This version changed the installation process in two ways: the two CDs that were typical for a release were merged into one, which served the double purpose of being a live and an install disk and, related to that, the setup process stopped using Debian's installer and switched to a graphical setup tool named Ubiquity.

You probably still remember Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft), because it was the first release that featured the finished Human graphical theme. Also, this version featured Tomboy, the note-taking application, and F-Spot, the photo manager. The Beryl desktop effects were also one of the attractions.

Those uber-cool desktop effects that were impressive for seasoned users and novices alike were made possible for the first time with the inclusion of Compiz in Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn). Switching from Windows to Ubuntu was made much easier by the migration assistant that was created for this release, and virtualization was given a helping hand by including the Kernel Virtual Machine. Along with the packages was improved multimedia support with the restricted driver and codec installation tools.

I can actually remember Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon), because it allowed me to save files on an NTFS partition. NTFS-3G's inclusion opened the way for tighter interoperability with Windows systems, while AppArmor watched the system's security and Compiz Fusion took the graphical aspect of the desktop one step further.

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) will continue to be on desktops for a while, because its official support will end in April 2011. It featured a new desktop search tool, Tracker, the Brasero disk burner, the Transmission bit-torrent application and many other new programs. Most of us remember it because of PulseAudio, that was a new thing back then and it caused a lot of problems with audio. Also, Hardy was another big step towards an easy installation, because Wubi allowed you to skip partitioning and stuff Ubuntu in a file on one of your Windows disks.

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) was released into a world where netbooks were starting to conquer the market. Since most of those portable computers had no optical drive, Ubuntu came up with the Live USB Creator that allowed you to transfer the bootable image to a USB drive. Also, 8.10 had a lot of security improvements, like home folder encryption support and a ready-made guest account. Rebuilding kernel modules by hand was made obsolete by the inclusion of Dynamic Kernel Module Support.

You must be familiar with Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope), because you're probably running it right now. It brought us the new Notify OSD and fresh graphics, along with faster boot times and web service integration. The hardware in netbooks was supported, and Wacom tablets were now hot-pluggable. On the development side, everything was moved to the Bazaar revision control system.

Now we're leaving the past and moving on towards the future. Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) will be here in nine days, should everything go according to plan. The anniversary presents will be a new graphical theme, ultra-fast boots and a Netbook Remix that truly deserves the Ubuntu name.

Since such a trip down the memory lane would not be complete without a mental image of each release, we prepared this screenshot tour. It represents the journey of a free operating system that truly changed the way people use their computer. Enjoy the Ubuntu timeline, 11 releases in 5 years!

Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog)

Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)

Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake)

Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron)

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)

Happy Birthday Ubuntu!

Source: sikalong.blogspot.com

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The second alpha of Mandriva Linux 2010.0 was launched last night, on July 31st, by the Mandriva team. The development cycle of Mandriva Linux 2010.0 will continue with a beta release at the end of August, two release candidates scheduled for September and October, and the official public release expected around November, 2009.


Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2 is still not available as a Live CD, the only way for you to test it is to grab the DVD and install it. It is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.

The features of this release are exactly what everyone was expecting, the newly released GNOME 2.27.5 and KDE 4.3 RC3 desktop environments, Linux kernel 2.6.31 RC4, and many more.

Highlights of Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2:
· Linux kernel 2.6.31 RC4;
· KDE 4.3 RC3;
· GNOME 2.27.5;
· Xfce 4.6.1;
· X.org Server 1.6.2;
· OpenOffice.org 3.1.0;
· KOffice 2.0.1;
· Amarok 2.1.1;
· Digikam 1.0 Beta 3;
· Kipi plug-ins 0.5.0;
· KMess 2.0.0;
· Apache 2.2.22;
· PHP 5.3.0;
· Improved Drakxtools;
· Device permission handling changes.

Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Release Schedule:
June 19th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 1
July 31st, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2
August 20th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Beta
September 17th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 RC1
October 8th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 RC2
November 3rd, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Final release

Download Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2 right now from Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here.
Remember that this is an alpha release and it should not be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Mandriva Bug Tracker.

By: Marius Nestor

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Canonical has announced today in a press release that it will offer new support services for both individual and small businesses, which will ease the transition to the popular Ubuntu operating system, from Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh. Ubuntu is a 100% free and open-source Linux OS for both desktop and server platforms, with millions of users around the globe. With these support services offered by Canonical, users can take now take full advantage of the Ubuntu OS. They will include support for installations, desktop configuration and general assistance (see below for details about each package).


Steve George, director of Canonical's Corporate Services division says: "Canonical's Desktop Support Services provides an easy, inexpensive way to get Ubuntu up and running in the home, home office and small business - reaching the vast majority of computer users. [...] With our team supporting them, Ubuntu is ideal for people who just want their computer to work, where the goal is to get up and running with no fuss, focusing on the things they want to accomplish."

Canonical's Desktop Support Services includes three packages: Starter, Advanced and Professional:
- The Starter Desktop Service offers support for installations and basic configuration and functionality of the Ubuntu system, like creating various documents, playing audio and video streams, using various applications or setting up the Internet. The package's price starts from 34.73 Pound Sterling (GBP) + VAT;
- The Advanced Desktop Service offers support for power users who need help or assistance for migrating documents or settings from a Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh operating system. Advanced installations, personnel accounting and desktop publishing are also covered by this offering. The package's price starts from 72.62 Pound Sterling (GBP) + VAT;
- The Professional Desktop Service offers support for experienced users who already use Ubuntu as their main operating system, but need help with network installations, various applications support, advanced productivity, advanced system administration and more. The package's price starts from 138.03 Pound Sterling (GBP) + VAT.

All three offerings described above include:
- Live phone support 9x5
- Email support
- Security upgrades
- Product upgrades
- Duration: 1 year or 3 years

For more details and prices you can check out the Canonical Store.

By: Marius Nestor

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Marco Ghirlanda, team leader of ArtistX, announced the immediate availability of version 0.6, now created with the help of Remastersys Live CD creation software. Using the 2.6.27 Linux kernel, ArtistX 0.6 lets you choose between GNOME 2.24 and the recent KDE 4.2 desktop environments and has Compiz Fusion included for a full 3D-effects experience.

Having plenty of space on a DVD, ArtistX 0.6 comes with almost 2500 free multimedia applications designed for all Linux users. This version is based on the latest stable Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) release and features the Ubiquity installer.

The software packages that are included in ArtistX 0.6 are, among many others:
· The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), Inkscape, Nip2, Krita, Cinepaint, Synfig, Rawstudio, Skencil and Hugin for the 2D Graphic suite;
· Blender, Wings3D, K3D, Kpovmodeler and Povray 3.6 for 3D Graphics;
· Cinelerra, Kino, Openmovieeditor, Kdenlive, Pitivi, Avidemux, Devede are some of the video editing tools;
· MPlayer, Helix Player, VideoLAN (VLC media player), Xine, Kaffeine, Kmplayer, LastFM for playing audio and video files;
· PD, Rosegarden, Ardour, TerminatorX, Cecillia/Csound, Gnusound and Mixxx for creating and editing audio files.

About ArtistX
ArtistX Linux Live DVD, an Ubuntu based distribution, transforms a normal computer into a full-featured multimedia production machine. Containing almost all available free audio, video and 2D/3D graphics tools, ArtistX is a good choice for multimedia enthusiasts, professionals and amateurs alike. Being a Live DVD, there is no need to install ArtistX on the hard disk, thus leaving your partitions untouched. All the created files can easily be saved on USB drives and even burned on CDs or DVDs.

Download ArtistX 0.6 right now from here, here.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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The Kubuntu team announced on Saturday (February 21) the second maintenance release of Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron), which is supported with security fixes and maintenance updates until October 2009. Kubuntu 8.04.2 brings to its dedicated users a lot of security updates and corrections (over 200), all with a single goal: to keep Kubuntu 8.04 a stable and reliable Linux distribution!

"In all, over 200 updates have been integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates, and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Kubuntu 8.04." - said the Kubuntu team in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Kubuntu 8.04.2:
· The K Desktop Environment was updated to version 3.5.10;
· Kaffeine's codec installation loop bug was fixed;
· KHelpCenter's indexer now works with dash;
· Kopete's latexconvert now works with dash;
· Repaired a dash latexconvert incompatibility;
· Fixed some Kontact crashes, when using GCal;
· The hdparm power management was set to 128 for all hard disks while on battery, and 254 while on AC (please note that the suspend/resume functions still crash this and a complete fix will arrive in the third maintenance release of Hardy Heron);
· Added support CDs with compressed packages, which will allow everyone to upgrade to future release using CDs;
· Updated the MySQL 4.1 packages, which will allow a smooth upgrade from Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake);
· Repaired the checksum recheck, after reset, for Asus Eee PC 1000.

For the complete list of the changes, please check the official release notes.

About Kubuntu
Kubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, and built on top of KDE (K Desktop Environment). Kubuntu can be used on your desktop or server. Among its features we can notice a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd. and hundreds of other companies around the world.

Download Kubuntu 8.04.2 (Hardy Heron) right now from here.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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Mandriva Announces Pulse 2 v1.2 - A technology for Linux and Windows desktop roll-out projects. Mandriva announced the immediate availability of version 1.2 of their Pulse 2, an Open Source tool for managing workstations, mobile computers and servers. Mandriva Pulse 2's purpose is to make managing of information systems much easier for those who choose to use it.

Mandriva Pulse 2 keeps a software and hardware inventory for each computer in its database, deploying and updating applications. Other features include diagnostic and remote control modules. This set of tools automates the management of workstations, servers or even mobile computers and, at the same time, reduces management and information system administration costs, regardless of the operating system.

Pulse 2 identifies instability risks and security errors in time to prevent further problems, and it is able to detect differences between current features and security policies that are pre-established.

"Companies are called upon to manage information systems ever more heterogenous whilst at the same time assuring their global availability. [...] The status of Open Source software gives Pulse 2 a powerful capacity of integration within highly diversified environments. It helps users to manage this diversity by enabling updates and maintenance tasks no matter the number of platforms and their location, to reduce the time and cost of the system administration.", stated Mandriva's Business Products and Services Division VP, Sebastien Lefebvre, in the official release announcement.

Mandriva Pulse 2 increases the overall security and reliability of user environments by automating roll-outs, maintenance and update processes. It can also observe and record user's choices, making migration a faster process. Having a modular architecture and bandwidth management mechanisms, Mandriva Pulse 2 is a great solution for large, wide-spread IT infrastructures.

Highlights of Madndriva Pulse 2 v1.2:
· automatic management
· available for a wide range of operating systems
· identifies risks in time
· reduces costs
· modular architecture

About Mandriva:
Mandriva is the publisher of one of the most popular Linux distributions, Mandriva Linux, a user-friendly operating system. Mandriva's products are available online in 80 languages, with dedicated servers in 140 countries. More information can be found by accessing their website.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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Slamd64 12.2 Released - Brings important system-wide updates. Fred Emmott announced yesterday the release of version 12.2 of his Linux distribution, Slamd64, a system compatible with both 32- and 64-bit hardware. Its multilib capability enables this distro to have an increased support for both 32-bit software and 64-bit binaries, but without the cluttering of the root directory. The nspluginwrapper viewer is still included in the distribution, making it easy to install and use 32-bit plugins on 64-bit versions of Firefox and Konqueror, which are included in this release.

"Like previous releases of Slamd64, 12.2 provides seamless FHS-compliant 32-bit compatibility, via a multilib system (/lib for 32-bit libraries and /lib64 for 64-bit libraries). [...] nspluginwrapper is still included in c/, allowing you to easily use 32-bit browser plugins (such as Adobe Flash) in the included 64-bit browsers, such as Firefox and Konqueror - given the availability of prerelease 64-bit versions of Adobe Flash Player and Sun's Java Plugin, this will hopefully vanish soon." – said Fred Emmott in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Slamd64 12.2:
· Linux kernel 2.6.27.7
· GCC 4.2.4
· Apache HTTPD 2.2.10 server, with SSL support and PHP 5.2.8
· Updated development tools
· KDE (K Desktop Environment) 3.5.10
· XFCE 4.4.3
· The latest Mozilla Firefox 3.0.5
· Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.19
· Sun's Microsystem Java (JRE and JDK) 6 update 11

Fred Emmott also reminded that the support for Slamd64 11.0 would soon be dropped.

About Slamd64
Slamd64 first appeared in 2004 as an unofficial port to the 64-bit architecture of Slackware Linux. Because of this, almost all packages created for the x86 version of Slackware can be run by Slamd64. The minimum system requirements are: 128 MB of RAM, 100 MB disk space for the text-only install or 3 GB for the full version and a VGA card. 3D graphics are also supported with a recommendation to use NVidia or Intel cards.

Download Slamd64 12.2 right now from here.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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Paul Sherman, father of the Absolute Linux, announced on January 8th, a new bug fix release of his Slackware-based operating system. Absolute Linux 12.2.1 delivers updated versions for the Pidgin (2.5.2), Samba (3.2.7), the GIMP (2.6.4), WPClipart (7.1), Audacity (1.3.6) applications and the following Mozilla products: Firefox 3.0.5, Thunderbird 2.0.0.19, Seamonkey 1.1.14. Moreover, this point release version of Absolute Linux 12.2 updates the PTP camera auto-mounting feature, the wireless/wired networking manager (wicd 1.5.8) and it also introduces a newer version of the Help System, which is now located on the second disc and works properly. Last but not least, wxPython was updated to version 2.8.9.1 and it replaces the older wxPython and wxGTK packages.

"This is primarily a security update. [...] Also in this release, PTP camera auto-mounting has been updated as well as wicd (wireless and wired networking manager), GIMP has been updated twice since the last release, and the newer version of the help system now works properly and is on CD2. Just a couple other updates and you may also notice that the package for WPClipart-7.1 is online and ready to install onto Absolute (note that the complete package is well over 700 MB)" - said Paul Sherman in the official release announcement.

Absolute Linux is a lightweight modification of the Slackware Linux distribution. It makes maintenance and configuration much easier, and it has common applications installed and configured. Absolute Linux allows you to play audio CDs, DVDs and movies "out of the box," and is easy to configure and use. Highlights of Absolute Linux include:
· icewm/ROX_Filer as a window/file manager combination;
· Time-saving utilities;
· Preconfigured shortcuts/menus;
· Desktop-oriented software;
· Customized installer;
· Manuals, HOWTOs and other useful documentation.

Absolute Linux includes applications such as:
· Pidgin (multi-protocol instant messenger)
· Avidemux (video editor)
· Azureus (P2P client)
· Mozilla Firefox (web browser)
· Mozilla Thunderbird (mail client)
· OpenOffice.org (office suite)
· Scribus (desktop publisher)
· Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF viewer)
· Bibletime (Bible study application)
· Deluge (BitTorrent client)

If you want a fast, lightweight, Slackware-based Linux operating system for your personal computer, you can download Absolute Linux 12.1.1 right now from here and here.

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Patrick Verner announced a few days ago the third maintenance release of Parted Magic 3, a Slackware-based Linux distribution designed to help users with partitioning tasks. Parted Magic 3.3 contains a few new applications, brings improved support for video drivers, adds NFS support, and updates various packages. On top of that, the USB edition of Parted Magic 3.3 was drastically cleaned up (see the following quote for details).

"Files in the USB version have moved. GRUB files are in the /boot/grub folder and syslinux files are in the /boot/syslinux folder. The proper command to boot the USB is 'syslinux -d /boot/syslinux /dev sdXX' for Linux and 'syslinux -ma -d /boot/syslinux X:\' for windows." - said Patrick Verner in the official release announcement.

Changes since Parted Magic 3.2 release include:
· Improved support for video drivers by downgrading the xorg-server package to version 1.4.2;
· Included all the extensions and drivers, such as GLX and DRI, from the standard build;
· udhcpc is no longer used for obtaining DHCP leases;
· NFS daemons will automatically start at boot. To cancel them use the nonfs boot parameter.

The following packages were updated in Parted Magic 3.3:
· NTFS-3G 1.5130
· Udev 135
· GParted 0.4.1
· Busybox 1.13.1
· hdparm 9.3
· XArchiver 0.5.2

The following packages were added in Parted Magic 3.3:
· gFTP 2.0.19
· dhcp 3.0.7
· dhcpcd 2.0.8
· Portmap 6.0
· nfs-utils 1.1.2

Parted Magic is a business-card operating system, based on Slackware Linux, with programs that allow you to partition hard disks with ease. Programs like Partition Image, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, ddrescue, and a good documentation will help you in your partitioning tasks. Parted Magic is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and it can be downloaded right now from here and here.
Source: http://linuxarticle.blogspot.com/

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Clement Lefebvre and the Linux Mint community proudly announced last night, on the official Linux Mint Blog, the final release of Linux Mint 6 (dubbed Felicia), a popular Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu operating system. Linux Mint 6 is a new and important step in the evolution of the Linux Mint OS, it is based on Intrepid Ibex (Ubuntu 8.10), and it includes all the latest technologies, such as Linux kernel 2.6.27, GNOME 2.24 or X.Org 7.4. Why is Linux Mint 6 so important? Because it now offers a new, in-house tool called mint4win, which will allow everyone to install the Linux Mint operating system directly from Microsoft Windows!

"The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 6 “Felicia”. Congratulations and thanks to all the people who contributed to this release, to all the translators, to the upstream developers and projects which made this possible and above all to the development team for their continuous support." - said Clement Lefebvre, developer of Linux Mint, in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Linux Mint 6:
· mint4win allows you to install Linux Mint from the Microsoft Windows operating system;
· mintInstall 5 with a new offline interface, software versions information and support for multiple portals;
· mintUpdate 3 with a revamped GUI, proxy support, updates history;
· mintUpload 2 with support for FTP transfers;
· mintNanny, a useful parental control tool;
· Giver, a LAN (Local Area Network) transfer tool;
· Gufw, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) frontend for the ufw firewall;
· Flegita, an utility for scanners.

On top of that, the Linux Mint team is proud to present the introduction of the Linux Mint Universal Edition, a customized version of Felicia, available as a Live DVD. The Universal Edition contains the following features:
· Installs all the missing audio and video codecs;
· Offers support for English, Italian, German, Spanish, Indonesian, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Hindi, Greek, Urdu, Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, Danish, Filipino, Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Hebrew, Korean, Catalan, Esperanto, Croatian, Serbian and Farsi languages;
· Available as a Live DVD.

What are recommended system requirements? To install Linux Mint 6, you will need minimum 512 MB of RAM (however, the system will work very well with 256 MB of RAM after installation). Be aware that the installation may hang if you have less than 512 MB of RAM. As a solution, you can try to repeat the installation process several times. Also, you must have at least 3 or 4 GB of free hard drive space.

What is Linux Mint? Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up-to-date, 100% free and comfortable Linux desktop distribution based on the very popular Ubuntu operating system. It offers paid commercial support to companies and individuals. Also, free community support is available from the forums and the IRC channel. If you want to give Linux Mint 6 (Felicia) a try, download it right now from here, here (torrent). The Linux Mint Universal Edition can also be downloaded from here.
Source: Linux Articles

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Kris Moore from the PC-BSD development team announced today the immediate availability of the second maintenance release of PC-BSD 7.0 (Fibonacci Edition). "The PC-BSD Team is pleased to announce the availability of PC-BSD 7.0.2, with an updated FreeBSD 7.1-PreRelease under the hood and the latest KDE 4.1.3." - said Kris in the official release announcement.

Therefore, PC-BSD users can upgrade their systems today with the new version, which includes KDE 4.1.3, improved support for NTFS partitions, better desktop performance for owners of Nvidia video cards, enhancements and fixes to HAL, bug fixes to the installation.

Here are the changes since PC-BSD 7.0.1:
· Updated KDE to version 4.1.3;
· Updated HAL to version 0.5.11_8 (fixes an issue when trying to eject a CD/DVD in KDE4, and offers enhanced NTFS-3G support);
· Resolved an issue with the scanner permissions that prevented users to scan;
· Resolved an issue with PBI updates;
· Fixed knotify4 bug, which made the computer hang at shutdown sometimes;
· Better Online Updater utility, which now supports proxy servers and allows the use of TMPDIR;
· The sound-detect script was updated to support various new cards;
· Nvidia cards owners have now a new script (automatically activated on startup), which improves the desktop performance (lag and compositing effects);
· Fixed some empty hard drive installation issues;
· Resolved three System Manager bugs.

How to upgrade? Just apply the update and reboot your PC-BSD system. Remember that it may take 15-25 minutes to complete (depending on your system's specs).

If you want to install PC-BSD, it is recommended to have at least a Pentium 4 or higher CPU (or AMD64 alternatives) with 512 MB of RAM, minimum 12 GB of free hard drive space (either a partition, or an entire disk), a network card, a sound card and a 3D-accelerated video card (Nvidia or Intel).

PC-BSD is a free operating system, based on FreeBSD, created with ease of use in mind. Like any modern system, it allows you to watch movies, listen to your favorite music, work with office documents, and install your favorite applications with a couple of mouse clicks (and a nice setup wizard).
PC-BSD 7.0.2 can be downloaded right now from Here (Link 1), Here (Link 2).
Source: Linux Articles

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Having released Opera 9.5 and Opera 9.6 in 2008, the Norwegian browser maker is now offering the first taste of Opera 10.0. While Microsoft and Mozilla are laboring to hit the Release Candidate stages of Internet Explorer 8 (now at Beta 2) and Firefox 3.1, respectively (now still at Beta 1, and on the verge of Beta 2), Opera is also cooking the next iteration of its browser. The first Alpha development milestone for Opera 10.0 is now available for download.

“It seems like yesterday we released Opera 9.6 and now you can all get your hands on Opera 10.0. Rather than ramble on, here's a quick list of what's new: Presto 2.2 Engine; performance boost; 100/100 and pixel-perfect on the Acid3 test; auto-update; inline spelling checker; Opera Mail improvements, including rich text composition and delete after X days; Widget Improvements on Linux,” revealed Adam Minchinton, Opera Mac developer.

Opera has tweaked and optimized the core of the browser, and has taken Presto up to version 2.2 from 2.1 in Kestrel. In this context, now Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 passes the Acid3 Test for web standard support to perfection, the browser maker claims. At the same time, the evolution of the engine has delivered a new level of performance, not only in terms of speed, but also in regard to how the broser handles CSS, XML printing, and RGBA and HSLA support.

“The long awaited auto-update functionality is here! That's right, Opera will now update itself as new versions are released. And for those of you who want every single snapshot release just enable the 'Download All Snapshots' setting (opera:config#AutoUpdate). Please be aware that if you do so, you will be upgrading to all snapshots - and, as you know: snapshots contain the latest changes, but may also have severe known issues, including crashes and data loss situations. In fact, they may not work at all,” Minchinton added.

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Windows is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5).

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Linux is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5), here (Link 6).

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Mac OS X is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5), here (Link 6).

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Elive team proudly announced last evening yet another development release of their GNU/Linux Live CD, Elive 1.9.18, which brings a new and improved kernel, better network configurator and many other updates. "This version includes a greatly improved new kernel and a lot of upgraded packages." - said the Elive developers in the official release announcement.

As mentioned, the kernel package has been updated (to version 2.6.26.8), and includes the following improvements:

• Wireless improvements: The kernel now contains all the available wireless drivers, including ath9k from Atheros;
• Apple MacBooks improvements: With the introduction of the ath9k wireless driver, the WEP encryption bug in MacBooks has been solved.

The Net-Connector tool introduced in the 1.9.10 release has finally been finished and it is now working at full capacity. The Net-Connector will help Elive users easily configure their networks (wireless and wired).

Last but not least, the Elive team added new and useful bookmarks for the Mozilla Firefox web browser. For example, you will now find a good list with links and tutorials for The Gimp, and some bookmarks with articles about Elive and the EFL development.

Elive is an operating system created using Debian GNU/Linux as its basis. It offers a lot of eye-candy while keeping the resources consumption very low with the help of the Enlightenment window manager.

Elive Linux sports a large number of applications, ranging from office and Internet related applications, to games and entertainment. With Elive, you can watch movies, listen to your favorite songs or chat with friends. E17, the development version of the Enlightenment window manager that comes with Elive Unstable, is brought to you from CVS, and is updated on a regular basis through Elive's testing repository.

If you want to use Elive, it is recommended you use a computer with minimum 128 of RAM and a 300 MHz CPU. Remember that this is an unstable release and it should not be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only! You can report bugs to Elive's Bug Tracker.
Download Elive 1.9.18 right now from Here.

Source: http://linuxarticle.blogspot.com/

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Ubuntu 8.10, also known as the Intrepid Ibex, arrived exactly one week ago (on October 30th, 2008), and is the ninth release of Ubuntu OS. The following tutorial will teach you how to install the Ubuntu 8.10 operating system on your PC, and is addressed to people that have just heard about Ubuntu, people that have never installed Ubuntu before and want to test it, but don't know how.

This guide will make things very simple for you, but if you get stuck somewhere in the middle of the installation and you need help, do not hesitate to use our commenting system at the end of the article.

What do I need to get started?
· You will need the Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop ISO image that corresponds to your hardware architecture (i386 or amd64), and which can be downloaded from here. When the download is over, burn the ISO image with your favorite CD/DVD burning application (Brasero on Ubuntu or Nero, CDBurnerXP, Roxio on Windows) on a blank CD at 8x speed. Insert or leave the CD in your CD/DVD-ROM device, and reboot the computer in order to boot from the CD. Hit the F8 or F12 key (depending on your BIOS) to select the CD/DVD-ROM as the boot device.

Select your language when asked...

Select the second option "Install Ubuntu," and hit the “Enter” key...

Wait for the CD to load into RAM...

When the installer appears, you are able to select your native language for the installation process. Click the “Forward” button to continue...

Where are you?
· The second screen will feature a map of the Earth with little red dots, so you can select your city/country. Upon the selection of your current location, the time for the final system will adjust accordingly. You can also select your current location from the drop down list situated at the bottom of the window.

Click the “Forward” button after you have selected your desired location...

Test your keyboard
· On the third screen, you will be asked to select the keyboard layout that suits you best (default is U.S. English). You can also test your keyboard on the small text input field situated at the bottom of the window.

Click the “Forward” button when you have finished with the keyboard configuration...

Hard disk partitioning
Hold on, don't leave just yet! The hard disk partitioning is an easy task, so I am quite sure you will handle it too. You have three options here:

1. If you want to keep your existing operating system (e.g. Dual boot with Windows XP), select the first option: "Guided - resize the partition and use the freed space." This option will appear if you have another operating system installed, such as Microsoft Windows. Remember that, after the installation, the Windows boot loader will be overwritten by the Ubuntu boot loader!

2. If you want to delete your existing operating system, or the hard drive is already empty and you want to let the installer automatically partition the hard drive for you, select the second option, "Guided - use entire disk."

3. Manual is the third choice and it is recommended for advanced users.

WARNING: Be aware that all the data on the selected hard drive or partition will be ERASED and IRRECOVERABLE.

Click the “Forward” button to continue with the installation...

Who are you?
· On this screen, you must do exactly what the title says. Fill in the fields with your real name, the name you want to use to log in on your Ubuntu OS (also known as the “username”), the password and the name of the computer (automatically generated, but can be overwritten). Also at this step, there's an option called “Log in automatically.” If you check the box on this option, you will be automatically logged in to the Ubuntu desktop.

Click the “Forward” button...

Are you really ready for Ubuntu?
· This is the final step of the installation. Here, you can select to install the boot loader on another partition or hard drive than the default one...

Click the “Install” button to install Ubuntu...

The Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) operating system will be installed...

After approximately 8 to 15 minutes (depending on your computer's specs), a pop-up window will appear, notifying you that the installation is complete, and you need to restart the computer in order to use the newly installed Ubuntu operating system.

Click the “Restart Now” button...


The CD will be ejected, remove it and press the “Enter” key to reboot...

The computer will be restarted and, in a few seconds, you will see the Ubuntu login screen. Input your username and password...

Have fun using Ubuntu!


Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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Believe it or not, CrossOver, a software that lets Linux and Mac OS X users install popular Windows applications and games, is free for download (yes, FREE)... but only for one day! That day is yesterday (October 28th, 2008), so you better go grab the serial number right now from the CodeWeavers website. Hurry up, because the code you will receive can be unlocked until 23:59 (Midnight) Wednesday, October 29th, Central Standard Time (CST). The software has a limit of 1 copy per customer.

How did this happen? Long story short, three months ago, Jeremy White (CodeWeavers CEO) launched the Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge, to "force" George W. Bush into achieving a major political or economic goal. Jeremy White stated that if one of the six goals would be accomplished, he would give his CrossOver application for free to customers worldwide, for one day. Well, this happened on October 14th, when the average price of gasoline dropped below $2.79 per gallon.

"My fellow Americans. As you probably know by now, we recently succeeded in reaching one of our Lame Duck Presidential Challenge Goals. Of course, we reached it in perhaps the worst way possible - by destroying the world economy. And while ostensibly President Bush was to get the credit/blame for meeting our goals, the bottom line is that I cannot help but feel personally responsible for the greatest financial collapse since the 1930s." - said Jeremy White, CodeWeavers CEO.

Below is a list of the applications and games that can be installed via the CrossOver software:
· Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0
· Adobe FrameMaker 7
· Adobe Photoshop 6 / 7 / CS / CS2
· Cortona VRML Client
· Dreamweaver MX
· EndNote 7.0
· EndNote 8
· Flash MX
· Flash Player
· Internet Explorer 6.0
· iPIX Netscape Plugin Viewer
· Lotus Notes 5
· Lotus Notes 6.5.1
· Microsoft Excel Viewer 97/2000 / 2003
· Microsoft Office 97 / 2000 / 2003 / 2007 / XP
· Microsoft Outlook 2003
· Microsoft Project 2000 / 2002 / 2003 · Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 97/2000 / 2003
· Microsoft Visio 2002 / 2003
· Microsoft Word Viewer 97/2000 / 2003
· Oracle JInitiator 1.1
· Quick View Plus
· QuickBooks
· Quicken
· Quicken 2007 or 2008
· QuickTime 7
· Shockwave Player 8.5
· Superscape Viscape Universal
· VP3 for QuickTime 5
· Windows Media Player 6.4 / 9
· EVE Online
· Guild Wars
· Half-Life
· World of Warcraft

Linux users can grab the CrossOver Office and Games installers right now from here.
Source: http://linuxarticle.blogspot.com/2008/

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Two days ago, Paul Sherman, developer of Absolute Linux, announced the immediate availability of the Absolute Linux 12.1.09. This version comes right after the 12.0.8 release, which was baked and delivered on October 11th. Absolute Linux 12.1.09 fixes three bugs and updates one package.

Let's take a look at the bug fixes:
· The first bug fix is for the TiLP package, which had some permissions set incorrectly for the /usr/share/applications directory. This caused to render useless .desktop files for the regular user accounts.
· The second bug fix resolves the desktop file type association for .gz files.
· Last but not least, the linking problem between Mozilla Thunderbird mail client and Mozilla Firefox web browser (the mailto function in Firefox and url function in Thunderbird) was fixed in this release.

Moreover, Absolute Linux 12.1.09 updates the "absolute" theme in the gtksourceview2 package, so you can use even more visible colors for the mouse cursor.

Absolute Linux is a lightweight modification of the Slackware Linux distribution. It makes maintenance and configuration much easier, has common applications installed and configured. Absolute Linux allows you to play audio CDs, DVDs and movies "out of the box," and is easy to configure and use. Highlights of Absolute Linux include:
· icewm/ROX_Filer as a window/file manager combination;
· Time-saving utilities;
· Preconfigured shortcuts/menus;
· Desktop-oriented software;
· Customized installer;
· Manuals, HOWTOs and other useful documentation.

Absolute Linux includes applications such as:
· Pidgin (multi-protocol instant messenger)
· Avidemux (video editor)
· Azureus (P2P client)
· Mozilla Firefox (web browser)
· Mozilla Thunderbird (mail client)
· OpenOffice.org (office suite)
· Scribus (desktop publisher)
· Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF viewer)
· Bibletime (Bible study application)
· Deluge (BitTorrent client)

If you want a fast, lightweight, Slackware-based Linux operating system for your personal computer, you can download Absolute Linux 12.1.09 right now from here.
Source: http://linuxarticle.blogspot.com/

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Installing openSUSE 11.0 - From GNOME or KDE Live CD! The final version of openSUSE Linux 11.0 was released a couple of hours ago, after approximately 7 months of hard work. It brings lots of new features for end users, developers and system administrators. Among the new features, we can find a redesigned and professional installer, a live installer, new and glamorous artwork, PackageKit software manager, Microsoft Office file compatibility with the latest OpenOffice.org office productivity suite, and enhanced multimedia support. What more could an ex-Windows and future Linux user want? Therefore, if you have decided to install openSUSE 11.0 on your computer, right below is a full tutorial, complete with screenshots.

First of all, you will need to download the openSUSE 11.0 CD or DVD right now from here. We recommend you download either of the GNOME or KDE Live CD editions, as they are smaller in size (about 700 MB compared to the 4.3 GB DVD edition), and you can also test it before you install it. Burn the CD with your favorite CD/DVD burning application and insert/leave it in the CD/DVD unit of the computer on which you want to install openSUSE. For this installation, we've used the 32bit GNOME Live CD, but the KDE4 Live CD installation is absolutely the same!

You will be greeted by a very nice welcome screen...


Hit Enter on the first option, "openSUSE 11.0"...



Wait for the Live CD to load...



The desktop will appear in about 1-2 minutes...


Double click the "Live install" icon from the desktop and the openSUSE 11.0 Live Installer will appear. Agree to the license agreement...


Choose your time zone and set up the system clock...


Select the "LVM Based" option on the partitioning screen, as it will create a separate /home partition for future upgrades...


Create the default system user. Here, you'll find an option to enable automatic login with this user every time the computer starts and to use the password for system administrator, if you so wish.


Now, the system will be analyzed and you can change the settings if they don't suit your needs...


Click the 'Install' button and wait for installer to copy all the necessary files to your hard drive...


When the installation is over, click 'OK' on the notification window...


Reboot the computer...


After reboot, eject the CD and wait for the system to do an automatic configuration...


That's it! Congratulations! You'll be automatically logged in and we really hope that you will find openSUSE 11.0 a great, useful and wonderful Linux distribution!

Source: Linux Article

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