The Linux SIG is in suspension; no further meetings are planned at this time.
If you would like to volunteer to run the SIG, .
If you would like information posted on this site,
22 Oct 2007 — It's Here! Ubuntu 7.10 Arrives
Ubuntu, the remarkably popular desktop Linux distribution that tries to bring the latest and greatest open-source programs every six months, arrived Oct. 18. Read the review at eWeek or the whole article at DesktopLinux.com.
New users can use the Ubuntu CD as a live CD to get a taste of Ubuntu without having to install it on their Windows PCs. Users who want to upgrade from Ubuntu 7.04 to 7.10 should follow the instructions on the Ubuntu upgrade page. For those who'd rather not install or upgrade software of any sort, Dell has announced that it will soon be shipping desktops and laptops with Ubuntu 7.10.
7 May 7 2007 — Making Ubuntu Usable By Neal Krawetz. A new help article at Extreme Tech, Making Ubuntu Usable, gives you everything you need to know about tweaking Ubuntu for better usability. It's a chapter from the ExtremeTech book available from PC Magazine Hacking Ubuntu: Serious Hacks Mods and Customizations.
Apr 2007 — Jason Brooks at eWEEK Labs tested and wrote a review of Debian 4.0. Debian is freely available for download from the Debian project or from one of its mirrors via www.us.debian.org. The entire Debian distribution spans 21 CDs or three DVDs. They typically download the distribution's 159MB netinst, or network install, image. For the security conscious, Debian 4.0 is the first distribution that supports full volume encryption right from the installer.
Hacking Ubuntu to Improve Performance. This feature includes various hacks to boost Ubuntu's performance, such as viewing running processes, identifying resources, finding process startups, tuning kernel parameters, and speeding up boot time. This is a complete chapter in the ExtremeTech book Hacking Ubuntu: Serious Hacks Mods And Cusomtizations.
See also Free Agent: Seven Post-Install Tips for Ubuntu 7.04 - Fixes, extras, and eye candy: Here are seven steps to take just after installing Feisty Fawn. Read the article
A useful reference is Linux Journal, "since 1994: The Original Monthly Magazine of the Linux Community", and besides the magazine archibes, there are Free eNewsletters to which you can subscribe to keep up with latest developments. If you use OpenOffice.org, there are many tutorials and discussions how to use the features.
If you use a live Linux CD (which lets you boot up a Linux desktop from a CD without having to install Linux) your flexibility is greatly increased. You don't need to double-boot, or install Linux. A good one to look at is the Ubuntu LiveCD. You can find other live CDs at the Live CD List at Frozen Tech.
12 March 2007 — Linux for Beginners By Jason Brooks at eWeek.com. eWEEK Labs offers advice for getting your head, and your organization, around Linux.
16 Jan 07 — Ubuntu 6.10, OpenSUSE 10.2 Rise to (and in Some Ways Above) Microsoft's Vista Challenge - read the article by Jason Brooks in eWeek.com's Linux & Open Source Reviews (archived here)
26 Oct 2006 — My question to Acronis:
Rather then upgrading to Vista, I may go for Linux (e.g. STEP or Red Hat or similar). Is there a version of Acronis True Image Home that will run in WinXP and will also run in Linux? Or is there a Linux-only version?
Acronis reply: Currenly the only Acronis product that can be installed on Linux system in Acronis True Image Server for Linux 9.1 (www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATISLin/), there is no version of Acronis True Image Home for Linux, but we can suggest you the following workaround:
You can install Acronis True Image 10.0 Home on your Windows XP, than create Acronis True Image 10.0 Home bootable rescue media (this is a stand-alone application based on Linux kernel) and use it to backup/restore your Linux system.
Note, latest Red Hat distributions automatically installs LVM (Logical Volume Manager) and Acronis True Image Bootable CD does not support LVM yet, so you can use the bootable CD only if your Linux system has regular ext2/ext3/reiserfs partitions, without LVM.
Best regards,
Marian Fadeeva
Acronis, Inc.
52 3rd Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803 USA
www.acronis.com
To record phone conversations in Skype, there is a small program called skype-rec-kraken in the Skype forum. It can be best used with Audaciy.
If you have a system based on AMD 64 3000 processor with Linux based on Debian amd64, you can get all the software that you need:
there are thousands of applications available in the Debian amd64 archives. Be patient, it takes a while to load -- it's a text only web page that is 11.5 MB in size.
How to Install Knoppix on a Hard Drive.
Many of the CD versions of Linux have an “install to CD” option.
To avoid the complications of dual-booting, a “Virtual PC” tool can be just what you need, allowing you to run Live Linux setups either from CD or a virtual hard drive, without interfering with or affecting your main setup at all.
Virtual PC Info: www.google.com/search?q=virtual+PC
Check out coLinux - which lets you run Linux and Windows XP together, at the same time, on the same machine. The site says: “Cooperative Linux is the first working free and open source method for optimally running Linux on Microsoft Windows natively. More generally, Cooperative Linux (short-named coLinux) is a port of the Linux kernel that allows it to run cooperatively alongside another operating system on a single machine. For instance, it allows one to freely run Linux on Windows 2000/XP, without using a commercial PC virtualization software such as VMware, in a way which is much more optimal than using any general purpose PC virtualization software....”
Find one that “feels” best to you, especially as you poke around beyond the GUI interface that looks like Windows. When you find one that feels right and works on your hardware, that's the one to concentrate on, with a full install to your hard drive, probably in dual-boot mode so you can still use Windows while you learn Linux.
Here's a list of almost 200 (!) Live CD versions of Linux
If that's too much to wade through, try one of the current top-ten distros:
For Live CD versions, and for any "ISO" based software downloads, you'll need to know how to turn the ISO file (a kind of image of the CD contents) into a usable CD. Your CD burner software may have a "make CD from Image" or "burn CD from ISO" or some such command in it; or you can learn more about the process here, or the article below “Run LINUX from a CD without installing it on your computer”.
Bootable LiveCDs have made the lives of Linux dabblers easier. They're also good for administrators and people facing system recovery woes. Among LiveCDs, Feather Linux is a lean and powerful tool. KIVILCIM Hindistan demonstrates how it can make backing up and restoring partitions easy.
www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/11/11/featherlinux.html
Novell delivered Linux-based software for the PC that includes Office-like productivity applications, along with e-mail and Web-browsing programs.
The Linux Desktop 9 package includes the SuSE Linux operating system; Novell's version of the OpenOffice productivity suite; the Novell Evolution e-mail and calendaring software; and the Firefox Web browser. The package will give customers the choice of using the Gnome or KDE user interface software, and it will include the Mono development tools for building Linux applications.
Novell will charge $50 per person for an "entitlement" to use the software, a deal that includes one year of updates and bug fixes. The company will charge $18 per desktop per year for its ZenWorks desktop management software, which can manage both Linux and Windows PCs. Support services, which cover both Novell's open-source and proprietary software, are paid on top of the software acquisition cost.
I was intrigued by this recent article on the Linux DevCenter: "The Best Tips from the Great Linux Desktop Migration Contest"
As I read the winning entries from the O'Reilly- and Novell-sponsored contest, I thought to myself, "It can be done. Things have evolved to the point in which you could migrate a group of non-gearheads to Linux." That's exciting!
If you're a sysadmin or an IT professional who has dreamed of getting your company's workforce off Windows, take a look at this article. You just may see a glimmer of hope.
Derrick Story
O'Reilly Network Managing Editor
derrick@oreilly.com
PC World has an iso file which is supposed to contain all you need to create a cd-rom with the linux program plus some other stuff on it. The cd is supposed to boot, if you setup your PC to boot from cd. Don't extract anything - just tell your CD burner to put the .ISO onto a CD. It's a CD image file.
Here's how to burn a Knoppix-CD (under Windows) with Nero:
You can have your Windows and your Linux, too, by setting up a dual-boot system. We'll step you through the process of installing Linux alongside Windows XP so that you can boot either OS. http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4520-6603_16-5141497.html
You can get a free copy of this terrific Linux operating system for personal use. It's ideal if you're wanting to poke around because it's designed for new users and, according to some people, easily rivals Windows with both programs and functionality.
"When I installed it, I put it on my PC alongside Win XP and had no problems whatsoever; I get the choice, at boot, which OS I want to work in," said Tracy, a stevebass list subscriber.
"If you'd like to try this, install XP first. Make your XP partition and leave the space for Xandros untouched — don't do anything to the leftover space at all. Once you have XP up and running, drop the Xandros CD in and it will install and partition/format/itself in the remaining space.
"It correctly identified all of my hardware—and I have a truly el-cheapo, CPU embedded motherboard (complete with the old-style CNR telephone modem). Everything runs like a top. I haven't delved in any further than to simply use the provided programs as-is. I'd like to study Linux more and learn its file structure, but I'm a bit busy at the moment. So much to learn & so little time in a day...sigh..."
http://snipurl.com/free_xandros
Submitted by Steve Bass
[excerpt...] You say you want to try Linux, but it just seems like too much trouble? Well, worry no more because there's a slew of new "Linux on a disc" distributions." These are distributions that come on a CD, or in an ISO image that you can burn to a CD, and you can use them to run Linux on a PC without actually having installed Linux on the system. This way, users can give Linux a trial run while never touching their existing Windows systems. There's more Linux news at eWeek's Linux and Open Source page
The first meeting of the Linux SIG was held on 1 April 2003 at Jim Dinkey's house. It was a success, with eight attendees, despite short notice.
Dick Delp gave an intoduction to Linux, and demonstrated how to install it on a PC. With the help of System Commander for partitioning the hard disk, the process turned out to be remarkably simple. Although there was not time to explore all the features, we touched on several features of Star Office (Sun's answer to Microsoft Office at a fifth of the cost).
It became very clear that the common mythology that Linux is only for techies, with no useful apps for ordinary folks, is just a myth. And it's getting more friendly all the time. This does not even mention the better stability than the leading OS, avoiding the frequent crashes. Members who are curious about the possibilities are encouraged to attend the next meeting.
Thanks to Jim for providing the venue, and to Dick for the presentation.
Red Hat is moving outside the Linux OS with an open-source enterprise architecture to increase the breadth of Linux uses, improve TCO and strengthen Linux's role in the enterprise. Read the story. For more Linux news, go to eWEEK's Linux & Open Source Topic Center.
August 6, 2003 video of Real announces Helix media player project.
At the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco, CNET's Brian Cooley talks with Kevin Foreman, general manager of RealNetworks' Helix technology, about a new open-source program that's aimed at creating a media player for Linux.
You may not know your grep from your gruff, but that doesn't mean you can't learn the commands to install Linux like a pro with a little help from the Web. The first stop for any novice should be Linux Online, which offers detailed tutorials for almost every Linux distribution plus additional tips on getting the OS to work. Another great resource--designed for experts but with plenty for newcomers too--is The Linux Documentation Project. Geeks help geeks by answering specific questions at LinuxQuestions.org and on Google Groups at comp.os.linux. Just visit the appropriate category (hardware, setup, security, and so on), and some kind soul will probably throw a little charity your way.
Thanks to the huge number of emails from those of you who are new to Linux, Frank Charlton goes back to basics - what it is, what it can do, and whether it's as awkward to install alongside Windowsa PCPlus Tutorial
PCPlus April 2003 issue 201 Ease the pain of installing a new Linux distribution, both on a standalone PC and alongside an existing Windows installation
Want to find out for yourself just how secure your standard wireless network really is? Rob Flickenger lets you in on what it took to circumvent the security of his own standard 802.11b network. Read what he discovered in this excerpt from his latest book, Wireless Hacks.
Kismet - Kismet is an 802.11 wireless network sniffer that separates and identifies different wireless networks in the area
AirSnort - AirSnort is a wireless LAN (WLAN) tool which recovers encryption keys. AirSnort operates by passively monitoring transmissions, computing the encryption key when enough packets have been gathered.
tcpdump - the protocol packet capture and dumper program
Ethereal - free network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It allows you to examine data from a live network or from a capture file on disk.
arpwatch - a tool that monitors ethernet activity and keeps a database of ethernet/ip address pairings.
If you want to use a USB flash drive with Linux, this article by Dave Salvator of Extreme Tech will show you how. The article was written using on a box running Red Hat 9, but the same procedure should yield the same results on any Linux distro. The original article is here.