Linux

Linux Announces the Linux.com T-shirt Design Winner

December 14, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

The Linux Foundation recently launched a new storefront for customers to buy t-shirts, mugs, hats, and stickers in order to support the Linux cause. The company also launched a Linux T-Shirt Design Contest that drew over 100 entries. Six finalists were chosen from the 100 entries. After over 8,000 votes, the foundation announced the winner of the contest. The design won by 57 percent (or 4,501 of the votes cast). The other 43 percent belonged to the remaining five finalists. The winning design was displayed on T-shirts in Linux.com store.

The Linux Foundation announced that Mr. Said Hassan, a marketing consultant SADAF Information Technology in Gaza, Palestine as the winner. Hassan said it “represents the collective work of the people.” As the winner, Mr. Hassan will receive travel expenses and a free pass to LinuxCon in Boston where “The People’s Product” design will be displayed at the store.

Amanda McPherson at the Linux. Foundation said, the People’s Product design is an important addition to the Linux.com Store to help generate revenue for activities that advance the Linux operating system,” said Amanda McPherson at The Linux Foundation.

The Linux.com Store is an online marketplace where you can purchase items from a line of original T-shirts, hats, mugs, and other items. Six finalists were chosen from more than 100 design entries. Designers competed for the grand prize and encouraged their personal networks to vote.

Said’s design reads “We Made IT.” The T-Shirt design demonstrates the contributions of a worldwide community working to produce an innovative operating system. As the winner, Said gets a free pass to LinuxCon in Boston (along with travel expenses). T-shirts with the winning design will also be available to purchase at the conference.

Filed Under: Computers, Linux, Linux versions, Operating Systems Tagged With: Linux, Linux Foundation, Linux.com, LinuxCon

The Importance of Unique Content

December 10, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

One of the most important things you can do for you business when you are trying to establish your online brand is to use unique content. You can choose to write the content yourself or you can outsource to other people to do it for you. Either way, it’s vital that the work is not scraped off of someone else’s blog or website. Here are a few reasons why being unique is so important in the online world.

To start with, Google does not like duplicate content. If it finds several duplicate pieces of work it will either index just one of them and then let the rest slip into oblivion, or simply choose to not index any of the articles. Once your page is de-indexed you don’t stand a good chance at getting it back into the ranking game this really sucks when you’ve poured a lot of money and research into your business idea.

Writing unique content gives you an edge on your competition. Your readers are following you because they are interested in what you have to say not the person that is competing with you. If you start duplicating content you will begin to lose trust and interest from your followers which will in turn hurt your money making opportunities. Consumers don’t want to visit ten websites that all say the same thing give them a reason to buy from you, and you alone.

The most important reason that places unique content far above duplication is the fact that copying the work that someone else has done is just wrong. They took the time to research and write it, you shouldn’t steal that from them. If you want to use someone’s idea consider quoting them and then linking back to their website on yours, or just using it for inspiration.

Filed Under: Computers, Internet, Linux, Programming, Software

Backing Up Data Files

December 2, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

As a computer user, you’ve spent hours saving file to your computer’s hard drive, and in most cases, it’s information that you need to save. You can’t afford to lose information; it’s valuable. If you use your computer on a regular basis (as many people do), it’s critical to back up your files on a regular basis. As a general rule, you should back up the data files on your hard drive every week. Data files are anything you create on your computer’s hard drive, include databases, documents, and spreadsheets.

If you don’t have an external hard drive or network attached drive available to you, more recently, your choices for backing up data files include either a CD or DVD burner (assuming you don’t have an external hard drive or network). Since a CD holds 400 or 500 times much more information than a floppy disk, it’s a much better option for storing files.

Many years ago when computers were first invented, the only way to back up files was to use a floppy disk. It was an ineffective way to back up files, since the disk held on 1.44 megabytes of data (which isn’t very much information).

When backing up data files, keep in mind that you don’t have to back up every single file on your hard drive, especially if you’re a Linux user. In that case, you’ll only need to back up a few files that exist outside of your Home directory. If, you were to lose all the data on your computer (heaven forbid) or your hard drive, you’re options are to reinstall the Linux operating system. In addition, you’d need to restore the backed-up contents of your Home directory. Typically, your Home directory contains your personal mail file, as well as setting and preference for the applications installed on your computer.

Filed Under: Computers, Linux, Open Source, Programming Tagged With: Backup, Data, Hard disk drive, Hardware, Linux

A Brief Look at Wine for Linux

November 30, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

When you make the switch, and start using a Linux distribution as your operating system, you may feel a little nervous. Many people today have grown up using Windows Microsoft, and they are comfortable with the look, feel, and programs that come along with it. Luckily, if you have made the decision to use Linux, but still have some Microsoft programs that you want to use, you are in luck. There are programs out there that will allow you to do this. The most popular of these is Wine.

Wine, like many other open source programs, is free. It allows programs that are written and used by Microsoft to be able to run on other operating systems. Some people are concerned that Wine is an emulator, but it is not. It acts as a compatibility layer.

The Wine project was started in 1993. It has since its inceptions, been somewhat of a difficult process for its developers. Not only are some of the documentations of Windows incorrect, but many things have had to be reverse engineered, which requires a lot more time and effort.

Some people are concerned that wine hurts other applications that are made to be used with Linux, or that it is completely pointless. While people who use Wine to gain access to Windows based programs may not use the similar open source program, that does not mean that there are not many more people that are using those programs. Many people feel the need, or legitimately have the need to use certain Microsoft programs, and if a program like Wine was not available, they would not be using Linux at all.

Wine is a program that is constantly being changed, added to, and updated. currently, not every Microsoft program is working, and the program will continually be expanded. If using Windows programs is a concern that you have about moving to Linux, don’t let it be a concern any longer.

Filed Under: Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems Tagged With: Linux, Microsoft Windows, Open source, Operating system

Photo Editing and Other Multimedia Programs for Linux

November 27, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you are a designer, or just enjoy editing pictures, you may be concerned about the compatibility of a Linux distribution operating system and your favorite photo editing program. Unfortunately, not all photo editing programs are available to use with Linux, but even if your favorite isn’t, there are great options for other photo editing programs.

One of the most well known programs that is usable with Linux is GIMP. This is a free, open source photo editing program that you can use. It is great for both the experienced photo editors, as well as novices. Even if you are not currently using Linux, GIMP is usable for other operating systems as well. It is seen as one of the best, if not the best, free open source program that you can get for editing your pictures. It has been compared to Adobe Photoshop, and has a lot of the same functionality.

ImageMagick is another open source program that you can use to edit your pictures. It supports a wide variety of picture formats. There are quite a few different special effects that you can add to your pictures, as well as changing colors, scaling, flipping, and more. Though it has been said that this program is not as powerful as GIMP, it is still very functional for most people.

If you are wanting to create images, mvComicsMaker may be an option for you. With this program you can make vector images, and create bitmap files. You can even make animated images with this program! If you are wanting to get a little more in depth with your animations and do some 3D, Blender is a program that offers you a professional grade application.

Depending on what you want to do with your photos or images, there are different programs that you can find in the open source market that will surely fit your wants and needs!

Filed Under: Linux, Operating Systems, Software Tagged With: Adobe Photoshop, ImageMagick, Linux

Office Software of Linux

November 24, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

One thing that many people are concerned with when they move from Microsoft Window to a Linux based operating system is that they will not have the office software that they are used to working with. While the software that is available for a Linux based operating system may be a little different than what you are used to with Windows, there are still options and programs that can help anyone.

Open Office is currently the most widespread and well known of the programs that are considered office software. It has been made to be compatible with many, if not all, major office programs out there. In fact, many people who do not use Linux also use openoffice, because of the complete compatibility that it has. It is a completely free program, and has multiple applications that can be used.

If you are looking for something that focuses just on spreadsheets, Gnumeric could be a great option. The entire goal of the program has been to make the absolute best spreadsheet possible. They have also made it an effort to not copy other, existing applications exactly. Gnumeric is able to open files that have been saved on other spreadsheets.

If you are looking for a processor that will help you structure your documents how you want them to be, and give a great looking product right away, you may want to look at LyX. This program focuses on the structure of the document more than the appearance, and you don’t have to worry nearly as much about formatting or playing around to make it look good.

No matter what you are looking for in your office software, you can find great options that are free and open source. If you still prefer Microsoft Office, a program such as Wine may be able to help you get what you want for your Linux based operating system.

Filed Under: Linux, Operating Systems, Software Tagged With: Gnumeric, Linux, Operating system

Recognizable Companies That Use Linux

November 21, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There are many companies that you are familiar with that use Linux as their operating systems. In fact, you may be surprised by the companies that rely on a Linux distribution for their every day workings.

If you have ever shopped at Burlington Coat Factory, you know that the store is a large factory outlet for mens clothing, women’s clothing, children’s clothing, and more. They actually have nearly 300 stores, which are located in 42 states throughout the United States. Burlington uses a Linux based operating system in their warehouses, back offices, and even their gift registry.

There are multiple large oil companies that use Linux in their daily operations. Amerada Hess Corporation, as well as Conoco.

You may be interested to find out that Cisco, which is a company that makes routers throughout the world, has their printing services running off of Linux. At one point, they signed a large agreement with Microsoft, and as part of that agreement, Cisco stated that they were an “all Microsoft” company. Cisco’s IT staff was unable to work correctly in Microsoft though, and is now working in a Linux based operating system.

There are even entire cities that use Linux based operating systems for their business offices. The City of Largo, Florida uses a Linux operating system, as well as the government of Mexico City. They could not justify the cost of Windows any longer, when they could get Linux for much, much cheaper. Even the United States Army, Federal courts, and Postal services use Linux bases for many of their operations.

Google, which is the most widely used search engine in the world would not work correctly if they did not use the extreme customizability of a Linux operating system.

There are many companies, both large and small, that use Linux based operating systems for their back end, daily use, warehousing, and more. Linux is a great system not only for companies, but also for individual users.

Filed Under: Linux, Operating Systems Tagged With: Linux, Microsoft, Operating system

Games for Linux

November 17, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Nick J Adams via Flickr

If you are looking for some games to play on your Linux based operating system, you may feel like you have come across some snags. Quite a few of today’s most popular computer games are not compatible on a Linux based system. There is hope, though. There are many games that are able to be played on Linux, without worrying about using Wine or dual booting your system.

If you are interested in shooter games, America’s Army may be a good option for you. This game was actually originally made and distributed by the United States Government. Originally, it was used as a tool for new army recruits to train by. This has become a very popular game for Linux users that want to get out and shoot some bad guys.

Another first person shooter that is enjoyed by many people is Cube 2. It is known by gamers to be a game that is both quick, as well as easy, to get into. Cube is also a game engine, and so if you are also a game developer, you can actually create your own game with the engine.

If you prefer puzzle games, Pingus is a great game. You must tell the penguins in your control exactly what they should be doing. The end goal of the game is to get all of your penguins to the exit.

Frozen Bubble is another puzzle game that is extremely popular. You must get groups of at least 3 of the same color bubble together, for them to go away.

No matter what type of game you are looking for, most likely you will find one that will work for you on your Linux computer. There are so many types of games that have been developed for Linux, that it is difficult for people to say today that there are not good games for the system.

Filed Under: Computers, Linux, Operating Systems Tagged With: Frozen Bubble, Linux, Pingus

Educational Programs for Children on Linux

November 15, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you have children, you may be on a constant look out for great educational programs for them. There are some amazing programs and games that are open source software for children, and many of them have an educational aspect.

For older children, Anagramarama is a great option. Not only is it free, it will get your kids thinking and reading. You will get a word or series of letters, and the goal of the game is to make as many real words as you can before you run out of time. A similar game is Kanagram, which actually starts with the letters of a particular word all mixed up. The goal of this game is to actually figure out what the word is supposed to be. Kanagram comes an editor for the vocabulary, so you can make the game fit you, or your children’s skill set best.

If you are looking for a program that will fit children of varying ages, GCompris could be exactly what you are looking for. There are well over 100 activities on this program. They are all educational based, and best for children between the ages of two and ten. There are different categories that have different activities based on them. Some of these categories include geography, ready, and algebra, along with many others.

For many children, learning to type is not necessarily a fun task. With Tux Typing, you can change that. There are many types of games for this program, and the difficulty level varies as well. Learning to type correctly can be fun with these games.

There are quite a few different options to keep your children thinking while they are on the computer. Adding in an element of fun is the best way to get kids engaged and involved, and many of these programs do this extremely well.

Filed Under: Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems Tagged With: Child, Game, GCompris, Open source

Multimedia Options for Linux

November 10, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Some things that many people do on their personal, and maybe even their work computers, are listen to music, watch videos, or talk to friends or coworkers. No matter what operating system you are using, it is essential for many people to be able to do these things.

If you are looking to play some music, KPlayer is one of the multimedia players you may be interested in. You can play both audio and video files, as well as stream information from this platform. MPlayer and RealPlayer for Linux are also both great options. Many people will feel most comfortable with RealPlayer for Linux, simply because it is a program that they may recognize from when the used Windows.

Video players are also important to many. The vlc media player is a great program that works on many platforms. It handles discs, streaming, and other files. RealPlayer for Linux and other of the music players will also allow you to play video on them, as well.

There are many options if you want to talk to coworkers or friends. If you are playing a game, or just want to talk to someone vocally through your computer, TeamSpeak is a great application that allows people to speak to each other over the internet. Pidgin is a messaging service that works on many platforms. It actually supports many of the common messaging services, such as Yahoo, Google Talk, AIM, and more. Xchat is a chat client based on IRC. It is usable both in Windows and Linux, and allows file transfers, connection to multiple channels, and even private messaging.

No matter what type of program you are looking for when it comes to multimedia, you can find it all for your Linux computer. Multimedia is a large part of many people’s lives, and most feel that their computers would not be complete without the opportunity to talk to others, watch a video, or listen to some music.

Filed Under: Linux, Operating Systems, Software Tagged With: Google Talk, Linux, RealPlayer