Filed under: k/ubuntu, review

Dapper Drake, the new version of K/Ubuntu is out, and it rocks. I've been using the beta for awhile, & I'm very very very happy. For an interesting review that's chock full of screenshots & useful info about software to install, check out Ubuntu Dapper Review. In particular, there's nice info about getting the nVidia drivers installed, and even the coolest eye candy in the world, XGL. I'll be posting more in coming days, so keep posted ... & if you haven't tried Dapper yet, go try it!

(Check out all of our posts on K/Ubuntu.)

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Filed under: ntfs

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has a great little review of Paragon's NTFS for Linux driver, which can help you access & recover data stored on drives formatted with NTFS from Linux. This is important stuff guys, as it helps Linux users work with Windows in ways that help us get around MSFT's attempts to lock people into their own special formats. And while Paragon's software is proprietary, it's reasonably priced, with the Personal edition (which works on a bootable CD) at only $19.95. Not bad at all.

(Check out all of our posts on NTFS.)

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Filed under: ntfs

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has a great little review of Paragon's NTFS for Linux driver, which can help you access & recover data stored on drives formatted with NTFS from Linux. This is important stuff guys, as it helps Linux users work with Windows in ways that help us get around MSFT's attempts to lock people into their own special formats. And while Paragon's software is proprietary, it's reasonably priced, with the Personal edition (which works on a bootable CD) at only $19.95. Not bad at all.

(Check out all of our posts on NTFS.)

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Filed under: k/ubuntu

Windows & Mac OS make it really, really simple to install software because there's really only one way to install: click on Setup.exe or Install.exe in the case of Windows, or a .dmg in the case of Mac OS. Linux is more difficult because there's such a variety of packaging formats. Now here comes the excellent How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu!, which delivers exactly what it says. This puppy covers the package manager as a concept, the APT GUI Synaptic, using APT via the terminal (my preferred method), and how to install a package manually, no matter if that package is a .deb, .rpm, .tar.gz, .sh, .bin, or even a .exe. And while the title is for Ubuntu, this guide works for pretty much any Debian-based distro. Read & bookmark this one, guys - it's a keeper!

(Check out all of our posts on K/Ubuntu & software installation.)

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Filed under: k/ubuntu

Windows & Mac OS make it really, really simple to install software because there's really only one way to install: click on Setup.exe or Install.exe in the case of Windows, or a .dmg in the case of Mac OS. Linux is more difficult because there's such a variety of packaging formats. Now here comes the excellent How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu!, which delivers exactly what it says. This puppy covers the package manager as a concept, the APT GUI Synaptic, using APT via the terminal (my preferred method), and how to install a package manually, no matter if that package is a .deb, .rpm, .tar.gz, .sh, .bin, or even a .exe. And while the title is for Ubuntu, this guide works for pretty much any Debian-based distro. Read & bookmark this one, guys - it's a keeper!

(Check out all of our posts on K/Ubuntu & software installation.)

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Filed under: kde, auditor

Robert volunteers for a St. Louis organization called ByteWorks, which takes old PCs & refurbs them, then teaches kids how to use 'em. At that point, the kids get to keep the PCs. Pretty cool program. Robert is helping them move from old versions of Windows to Linux, which is great. Unfortunately, these machines are so old that "modern" Linux desktops like GNOME and KDE are too much. Here's what I suggested:

<begin my email to Robert>

If this was for "normal" users we were trying to wean away from Windows, I would push KDE, but that's impossible with this ancient, underpowered hardware. Ice [a window manager] is way too different & weird. Actually, so is KFCE, since it's based on GNOME's ideas about desktops (which are quite bizarre).

Have you looked at this?

http://www.simplekde.org

It's a stripped-down KDE.

Or this?

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8239

Another stripped-down KDE.

Interestingly, Auditor - one of the absolute best Live CDs for security - switched from ICEwm to a stripped down KDE.

http://www.remote-exploit.org/index.php/Auditor_changes

Have you looked at this distro, which is specifically for old hardware & uses KDE?

VectorLinux
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=vector

<end my email to Robert>

(Check out all of our posts on KDE, ICE, XFCE, & Auditor.)

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Filed under: kde, auditor

Robert volunteers for a St. Louis organization called ByteWorks, which takes old PCs & refurbs them, then teaches kids how to use 'em. At that point, the kids get to keep the PCs. Pretty cool program. Robert is helping them move from old versions of Windows to Linux, which is great. Unfortunately, these machines are so old that "modern" Linux desktops like GNOME and KDE are too much. Here's what I suggested:

<begin my email to Robert>

If this was for "normal" users we were trying to wean away from Windows, I would push KDE, but that's impossible with this ancient, underpowered hardware. Ice [a window manager] is way too different & weird. Actually, so is KFCE, since it's based on GNOME's ideas about desktops (which are quite bizarre).

Have you looked at this?

http://www.simplekde.org

It's a stripped-down KDE.

Or this?

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8239

Another stripped-down KDE.

Interestingly, Auditor - one of the absolute best Live CDs for security - switched from ICEwm to a stripped down KDE.

http://www.remote-exploit.org/index.php/Auditor_changes

Have you looked at this distro, which is specifically for old hardware & uses KDE?

VectorLinux
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=vector

<end my email to Robert>

(Check out all of our posts on KDE, ICE, XFCE, & Auditor.)

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