Learn about Linux
Download Linux
Get Linux helpSpecial Offers
NewsVac: News from around the Web
-
The Interactive Linux Kernel Map
27 minutes ago
The Linux kernel is one of most complex open source project. There is a lot of books, however it is still a difficult subject to comprehend. The Interactive Linux kernel map gives you top-down view to the kernel. You could see most important layers, functionalities, modules, functions and calls. You can zoom in and drag around to see details. Each function on the map is hypertext link to source code. -
Linux video camera geo-tags, writes to SATA drives
3 hours, 27 minutes ago
This riveting tale describes the development of a fairly amazing Linux device. Andrey Filippov's latest paper describes how at the behest of an unnamed client, his small Utah-based company fit GPS, DMA-enabled storage, and multi-camera synchronization into its Linux-powered camera, which has an open hardware design. -
10 changes Steve Ballmer should make at Microsoft
8 hours, 27 minutes ago
From an open source project to not swatting at the competition, ten directions Ballmer should consider steering Microsoft in the post-Gates era. -
Coming Battle Over Open Source Phones
13 hours, 27 minutes ago
Forget the iPhone. The real battle in the mobile industry is over open-source software. -
Microsoft rebuilds open source Sandcastle
19 hours, 27 minutes ago
Microsoft is apparently serious about its efforts to adhere to the letter of the Open Source Definition and is now set to relaunch its Sandcastle effort as a result. Nearly a month ago Microsoft pulled the Sandcastle project from its CodePlex site because it was listed as being open source (under the OSI approved Ms-PL) when in fact it wasn't because it didn't adhere to the licensing terms of open source. Sandcastle which is a documentation compiler for managed class libraries did not have source code open and available for download. -
Michael Robertson--Where's the Cash?
1 day, 3 hours ago
When I left Linspire there were lots of assets in the company (computers, furniture, servers, trademarks, employees, and millions in cash), and virtually no liablities. What happened to these assets and cash? -
Why Is So Hard for Windows Users to Understand That Linux Is Not Windows
1 day, 9 hours ago
This is just a rant (hopefully it will be regarded as pertinent and non-'laming') on why Windows users try Linux and return frustrated to Windows after several hours or days. I won't praise Linux and the way it works, I won't even compare and say 'here Linux is easier because ...', instead I have a few questions for all of you who blame Linux for not being and behaving like Windows. The following issues address the problem to the Windows users who had their first computer with Windows pre-installed and were simple beginners not only in the computing world, but in Windows as well. -
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Desktop Enviroment
1 day, 13 hours ago
Linux enables us to choose between different desktop environments. Which is the right one for you? More info, more research and more work are contained in this post. Enjoy, and favorite it if you like in the case you’re in a dilemma with you Linux install. -
Time to school the FCC on what "free" really means
2 days, 1 hour ago
It's time to get ornery again with the FCC. Fortunately, they're asking for it, by soliciting comment on this FCC rulemaking proposal for "Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1915-1920 MHz, 1995-2000 MHz, 2020-2025 MHz and 2175-2180 MHz Bands. -
RadeonHD Driver To Use AtomBIOS
2 days, 2 hours ago
We've talked all too often about AtomBIOS and there being two different open-source drivers that support the same ATI Radeon hardware with the key architectural difference between the two just being the use of this video BIOS abstraction layer. From the beginning, AMD was planning to have their Novell partners use AtomBIOS when writing this new (at the time, R500/600) driver, but the developers ultimately declined. These developers have expressed their opinions on AtomBIOS, which range from it being an unbearable mess to this design being nothing more than writing open-source code to power someone else's closed-source work. However, under pressure by AMD, the developers are now preparing to use AtomBIOS to a much greater extent within the xf86-video-radeonhd driver. In this article we'll tell you more about what's gone on and where you can checkout this AtomBIOS-bearing RadeonHD driver. -
Apricot - Open-Source Blender Game
2 days, 3 hours ago
Apricot is the newest project from the Blender Institute with the goal to build an open-source game instead of a Blender video this time. The characters used in the game are from the Big Buck Bunny movie, the last free movie developed using Blender under the name Project Peach. -
How To Measure Linux Filesystem I/O Performance With iozone
2 days, 4 hours ago
This article gives you a jumpstart on performing benchmark on filesystem using iozone a free Filesystem Benchmark utility. -
Garmin Nav devices run Gnome Linux
2 days, 5 hours ago
Garmin has posted Linux source code for its Nuvi 8xx and Nuvi 5xxx-series GPS navigation devices. The Nuvi 8xx offers a 4.3-inch, 480x272 display, and appears to be based on a Marvell PXA-3xx processor, Gnome Mobile Linux, and GeoClue location technology. -
IBM vs PSI: Goliath slays David
2 days, 6 hours ago
Well, this sad little story has now come to an end. PSI is no more. IBM purchased the company this week for an undisclosed amount rumored to be in the tens of millions of dollars, thus extinguishing PSI's legal claims against it, and – more importantly – cementing a monopoly that is now more complete than at any time since Amdahl launched the first plug-compatible mainframe in 1975. But aren't antitrust laws supposed to prevent this kind of thing? Surprisingly enough, the answer might be no. According to the Wall Street Journal, IBM believes PSI's revenues are too small to trigger action by either the U.S. Department of Justice or the European Union in Brussels. In other words, IBM is saying that since they already own 99.9% of the market, squashing the one remaining competitor who has 0.1% is no big deal. -
KDE Developer Quits
2 days, 7 hours ago
Recently though several KDE developers came right out and asked, “Does KDE even need (certain) users?” In the end though, KDE has ended up with at least one less developer. - More News
Linux.com : Features
Mozilla officially scores a world record
They did it -- Mozilla now holds the world record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours, according to Jamie Panas, press and marketing assistant at Guinness World Records.
Happy Independence Day
We're taking the day off to celebrate the US Independence Day holiday. We intend to reflect on traditional American values such as freedom of speech and religion, fairness, justice, respect for the rule of law, the right to pursue happiness, standing up for the underdog, and taking responsibility for one's actions. We suggest other US residents do the same, and hold their elected leaders to the same if not higher standards. Then we suggest everyone have a barbecue and watch some fireworks.
How to write a thorough review of a Linux distribution
I have never written a review of a Linux distribution, but I've read more than I can count, and many of them have been maddeningly incomplete and not worth the time it took to read them. Here's a list of items you need to talk about in order to write a thorough review, covering every aspect of the distribution from the initial download to the final recommendation and everything in between.
OpenOffice.org extension will add PDF editing
Easy PDF editing is coming to OpenOffice.org, but you'll have to be patient for a few months. Recently posted to the OpenOffice.org Extensions site, the Sun PDF Import extension (SPI) is only in beta, and only works with recent developer builds of OpenOffice.org 3.0, which is scheduled for September release. Right now, the quality of the final release is anybody's guess, but the beta's capabilities fall squarely in the middle of the available PDF import tools.
An introduction to the Kismet packet sniffer
Kismet is a wireless "detector, sniffer, and intrusion detection system," and one of the growing list of essential open source tools for computer network security professionals. Kismet runs on any POSIX-compliant platform, including Windows, Mac OS X, and BSD, but Linux is the preferred platform because it has more unencumbered RFMON-capable drivers than any of the others.
IOzone for filesystem performance benchmarking
IOzone lets you benchmark your filesystem performance, seeing how well record IO occurs for files of various sizes. With IOzone you can see more detailed information than the read, write, and rewrite figures that Bonnie++ reports. IOzone is great at detecting areas where file IO might not be performing as well as expected.
Barracuda launches reluctant legal offensive against Trend Micro
The already vicious lawsuit involving Barracuda Networks and Trend Micro that is currently in discovery in front of the American International Trade Commission (ITC) just turned nastier. Barracuda has filed its own patent infringement claim against Trend Micro, based upon three recently acquired patents. The suit is in response to Trend Micro's allegation that its patent is being infringed by Barracuda shipping Clam Antivirus (ClamAV), the popular free software application, and appears designed to pressure Trend Micro to reach a negotiated settlement.
Portrait: Louis Landry of Joomla! finds direction in FOSS
For Louis Landry, a member of the core team for the Joomla! management system, free and open source software (FOSS) is not just a hobby, nor just the technology behind Jxtended, the consulting business in which he is a partner. For Landry, FOSS is also the movement that gave him direction in life, and provides both the rationale and the outlet for his diverse interests. In fact, he is so enthusiastic about FOSS that he sounds like an evangelist for the community whenever it is mentioned.
Banshee 1.0 is more than an audio player (video)
Banshee 1.0 is finally here, and the development team has added a truck load of new features; making it not only an audio player but a full blown media player and manager. This video discusses all of the new and improved features of version 1.
Expert tip: Print booklets in Scribus
Scribus, a free, open source desktop publishing application, offers a wide range of page layout features, but one thing it lacks is the ability to print booklets. Fortunately, I've come across a simple procedure that lets you work around this issue. Here's how to do it in Linux; Windows users should be able to follow along too.
A new utility for quickly interpreting multiple Bonnie++ benchmarks
Yesterday I discussed the Bonnie++ tool, which can be used to benchmark filesystem performance. When you are tweaking a RAID and filesystem combination, you generally want to see whether your changes work in a positive manner across the board, and by how much. I created a utility called bonnie-to-chart to show the results of multiple Bonnie++ runs in either absolute or relative performance terms. It's primarily a Perl script that can be used together with the Open Flash Chart component.
Open source social networking app thrives in China
The popular social networking site Facebook just announced a Chinese version, but similar Chinese-based Web sites such as Xiaonei and Hainei have been struggling there. However, since April, UCenter Home, an open source social network service based on PHP and MySQL, is pushing open social networking in China.
One live DVD, one ton of Linux games
LinuX-Gamers Live is a live DVD from Germany based on Arch Linux that includes nothing but games. Version 0.9.3 was released in June and provides an excellent means of sampling Linux games or setting up a home arcade, although a few of the games wouldn't run on my machine.
Investigating strange dialup activity with Wireshark
A controlled dial-on-demand router is a convenient tool. An uncontrolled dial-on-demand router is not. The Wireshark network protocol analyzer helped me track down the cause of some strange and unwanted dialup connections.
Using Bonnie++ for filesystem performance benchmarking
Bonnie++ allows you to benchmark how your filesystems perform various tasks, which makes it a valuable tool when you are making changes to how your RAID is set up, how your filesystems are created, or how your network filesystems perform.
Three reasons why GNU/Linux is better for Web servers than OS X
Apple's OS X, which has been an official certified Unix system for some time now, is often installed onto Internet-exposed or intranet-only Web servers for serving up dynamic content. I've worked with such configurations for a couple of years, and with GNU/Linux alternatives for even longer. There are at least three reasons why GNU/Linux systems do the job better.
Big Buck Bunny builds a better Blender
Big Buck Bunny is the colorful product of the Peach open movie project: an animated short released online and on DVD. But in addition to the 'toon itself, Peach has produced an altogether different yield: improvements to the Blender 3-D modeling application. Like its predecessor Project Orange, Peach pushed the open source tool forward with the demands of a real-world media production, in a way that hobbyist usage cannot. Could other free software projects use the same model?
Win4Lin 5.0 makes big improvements
There is no dearth of software that can help you run that indispensable Windows app over Linux. Win4Lin has managed to survive through the years as an inexpensive tool for people who like to pay for support. The recently released Win4Lin 5, available for $30 a pop, has shrugged off the shortcomings of its predecessor and delivers on its "near native-performance" promise.
Three image extensions for WordPress
Images are an important part of an attractive, eye-catching blog. Well-chosen images can highlight and capture the essence of your communication, helping your audience to better appreciate your message. Here are three WordPress extensions that help you gain more control over the photos and graphics you want to display on your blog.
Ask Linux.com: Specialty distros, startup scripts, and a whole new forum
In this week's junket through the latest and greatest from the Linux.com forums, we look at Linux distributions for security testing, gaming, and the visually impaired, writing your own startup scripts, and our new forum for job seekers.
