Game Cabinets – A Newcomer’s Guide
By Michael Russell

Game cabinets are basically cabinets that contain low-end computers and are sometimes painted and decorated to look like real retro arcade machines. The computer is hidden inside the cabinet, opening with a lock and key; if the PC needs to be taken out for some reason. Often a joystick or game pad is firmly attached to the cabinet as controls. But if those are not available, a keyboard or mouse may be used as substitution. A sort of cabinet frame is built around the monitor, which is set slightly deep in the cabinet at an upward angle, to resemble the authenticity of an arcade machine and for easy viewing as well.

The actual computer itself need not have impressive specs or hardware – only the basics will do. Any second-hand computer, or an old one that’s lying around will work. All such a ‘cabinet computer’ needs is:

1) A basic monitor that can fit in the cabinet. (a television can be used for better authenticity)

2) A simple, working keyboard and mouse.

3) Any old processor (even a 166 MHz Intel Centrino Processor would do)

4) A CD-ROM drive to install the operating system.

5) A USB port to transfer files in, or use the CD-ROM Drive.

6) A set of speakers to render the game sounds and music.

7) A 10 or 20 Gigabyte hard disk.

And that’s it – no internet capabilities such as wireless bluetooth, a modem, or ethernet ADSL broadband are needed. After all, did arcades have internet access in those days? ;)

Now on such a computer, a low-end operating system with low system requirements will do, such as Microsoft Windows 98 or Windows Me, or a minimal distribution of Linux (such as Zenwalk). Microsoft no longer supports Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me, so you can either buy a used copy of Windows off eBay or any local computer shop. Old or unused copies of Windows 98/Me should cost around $30 to $50. However, if you want to cut down on expenses, you can download a free Linux distribution from the internet. A few examples of good, minimalistic Linux distributions are Zenwalk, SLAX, Zipslack, or Debian. Read up on them on websites like Distrowatch or Wikipedia to see which one best suits your needs, but Windows is still a safe bet.

Once the machine has been set up with an operating system, you should now load it up with Emulators and ROMS. Emulators are software programs that run ROMS (the arcade games). You need emulators as these games do not run natively on Linux or Windows just like double clicking an EXE file (an executable).

The best known emulator for all sorts of arcade games is known as MAME, which works for both Windows and Linux and ROMS for such games can be searched for on the internet. The ROM file sizes usually aren’t all that big, taking up a few megabytes each. If you want to play laser disc games like Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair II, Space Ace, etc. you will have to use another emulator known as DAPHNE. Do note that the ROM game files for laser disc games take up a lot of memory, being anywhere from 200 megabytes to 1 gigabyte for each game, so you want to watch your hard disk space there.

When it comes to actually building the game cabinet, you will need plenty of large wood materials and carpentering tools, or you can order such custom parts from companies specialising in selling game cabinet parts, including wooden frames, special televisions, joystick controls and more. You can even buy a complete game cabinet frame plan from them, or order an empty cabinet pre-built, shipped and delivered to you. The second alternative seems to be a cheaper solution instead of buying new materials, but the choice is all yours.

Sites like GroovyGameGear and the BYOAC Wiki can help you out and give you more authentic information and details on how to build your dream game cabinet. So go out there and build your own arcade machine!

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Cabinets

Welcome to the World of Knoppix
By Mike Ber

Knoppix is a bootable CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals. Knoppix can be used as a Linux demo, educational CD, rescue system, or adapted and used as a platform for commercial software product demos. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk. Due to on-the-fly decompression, the CD can have up to 2 GB of executable software installed on it.

If one is to believe news from the Linux camp one could be forgiven for thinking that the world was out to destroy the beautiful thing that is the Open Source movement. Angry fingers would be pointed in several directions, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) all in the general vicinity of Microsoft. Of course, the noises from the other side are just as loud (actually quite a bit louder). They, in turn, claim that Linux is ‘unsafe’, hard to use and even harder to maintain, and worse of all, prone to exploitation by hackers (since the source code is open source and thus can essentially be seen and played around with by anyone).

I’ve always preferred the uncomfortable seat on the fence, despite the green grass on both sides. Granted, you tend to get sore sitting in such a way after a while, but the view from here is great, and argument very clear. The battle between proprietary code (led by Microsoft, no less) and open source (Linux) has been going on ever since Linus Torvalds created Linux and started the process that has made it the genuine force that it is today. And as is the case in such fighting, there are three sides to the story: Microsoft’s tale, Linux’s woes and my bit of the story. And my part begins with the most interesting OS of them all…

What if you had an operating system that ran completely from a CD? That’s right, just one CD. And this CD also contained very useful programs for word-processing, data recovery and system repair utilities, image-editing and internet connectivity, along with excellent audio and video players? What if all you had to do was to boot from this CD and voila, in a few minutes your new OS had taken over your PC. Taken over? Nothing to worry about, as removing the OS from your computer was to be as easy as removing the CD. Literally.

Welcome to the world of Knoppix.

Given the fact that we are in the midst of multi-gigabyte operating systems that we there would be such a competent one that could be run entirely from a CD-ROM is stupendous. Imagine the possibilities. Customized versions of the Knoppix OS would mean that you could literally carry a streamlined version of your home PC around with you wherever you went. Need to recover data from a crashed hard-disk? Boot into Knoppix and use the system repair and data recovery tools to retrieve your data (burn it to a CD-R, or transfer it via a PC-to-PC connection) and maybe attempt to fix the disk as well. Secondly, if you are a web developer who wants to check how sites look from within a Linux environment, all you need to do is pop Knoppix in and check out your websites from Mozilla or Konqueror. Away from the office and want to work on customized software specially made for your company? Knoppix, along with a USB drive to store data, turns your crisis into a simple matter of finding a PC. And like all Linux versions, meeting the minimum system requirements (see http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html#requirements) would be a snap (82 MB RAM, CDROM drive, SVGA card, Intel compatible CPU (i486 or better)).

Knoppix also boasts a classic boot screen

There is a lot to be said for Knoppix, especially for its appeal to Linux newbies (or ‘noobs’, as vernacular has it). With no need for an installation (although that is given as an option), and with excellent hardware detection, Knoppix has single-handedly done away with the two major concerns for Windows users wanting to try out Linux: A complicated installation process, and the problem of finding the right drivers for all your hardware. In effect, Knoppix is an excellent choice for someone who wants to try out Linux without having to go through the usual hassle. It’s easy to use, and doesn’t mess with your system either. Despite being run completely off the CD, it runs pretty quickly as well.

Knoppix also boasts a comprehensive suite of programs that has almost everything that home/office desktop could be used for. The package list is tremendous, with the compression system allowing for over 2GB of stuff to be stored. This is amazing and is certainly more than any other single live CD can hold. For a basic idea as to how you should be fine, Knoppix contains 2 office suites (Koffice and OpenOffice), has KDE, Mozilla (web+mail+IRC), PHP, MySql, samba, xmms and tons more. This is no gaming platform, but more than enough is packed in there to let you do accomplish most of your usual tasks on the PC (see http://www.distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=knoppix for a complete list). And if you want more, do an installation and now that you can write on the hard-disk, use apt-get upgrade, apt-get dist-upgrade (after making sure your sources.list is correct) to get more.

Knoppix does have a few minor problems. These are limited to a few quirks within the KDE, some problems with hardware detection and complaints that 5 minutes to boot a PC is too long (which, by the way, is quite quick for a live-CD OS). The reality is that such problems are expected from an Open Source operating system. Linux platforms are not judged by the same criteria that Windows, or any other ‘paid-for’ OS is (this is perhaps a major reason behind the Linux-bashing that goes on in Microsoft-related circles). No one expects Knoppix to work perfectly when detecting hardware, and the fact that it more often than not works extremely well forms the basis of our judgment, whereas if Windows XP Professional refused to detect my LAN card I would not stop cursing their ineptitude (no matter that it detected everything else, or everyone else’s card). The standards applied here are totally different, and thus Knoppix survives all such criticism and continues to bathe in the afterglow of a job well done.

A few thoughts on customization. One gets a feeling that the package is perhaps too comprehensive (how many text editors do you really need?). My view is that at least for the downloadable version, there should be a way for the user to select or unselect the programs that are required. As such, one could select their favorite browser, text editor, office suite, etc. and produce a more compact installation package. Theoretically, you could also build a custom Knoppix installation that would even run your office applications (as mentioned earlier). The possibilities are great, and hopefully the Knoppix development team will take into consideration the idea of streamlining / customization, if only for the downloadable version.

So there you have it. A special flavor of Linux that offers, apart from a live-CD OS, a quite stable operating environment as well (and comes bundled with lots of goodies) that is unprecedented in terms of hardware detection. And more importantly, this could be a precursor of things to come with respect to OS development and how the industry perceives the role of an operating system, be it Linux or Windows. Maybe it’s time for diversification and specialization in the OS market, and maybe, just maybe, Microsoft is set to lose more ground as the ‘free’ operating systems get better and better.

Mike Ber is the owner of the Canadian Domain Name Portal called http://www.Every.ca. He is also a contributing author to Canadian Computer Magazine and http://www.Developer.ca website.

Buy Knoppix today!

Linux Distro and Desktop – The More the Merrier, Right?
By Ashok Ramachandran

Isn’t it great that the open source world gives you a lot of choices? When it comes to Linux distributions, shortly known as distros, there are hundreds of them. Once you have selected a distro, you are up against a decision regarding the desktop. You need to know enough about the pros and cons of these choices so that you can pick the one that is right for you.

Let us briefly revisit the requirements for a successful migration.

You have to meet three requirements before installing Linux on your home PC:

1. You have identified a demonstrable benefit you can gain by migrating to Linux
2. You have done your prep work
3. You have realistic expectations

By following these three steps, you will maximize your chances of success.

However, there is a mind boggling variety of Linux distros available.

Let us try and shortlist the Linux distros based on the following five criteria:

1. Is it backed by a commercial vendor?
2. Is desktop Linux for home a stated focus area for this vendor?
3. Is a retail product available in the form of a CD/DVD?
4. Are branded PC vendors shipping this distro pre-installed?
5. Is paid support available, if needed?

We find that there are only two Linux distros that meet these five qualifications largely – Ubuntu and SUSE Linux.

Ubuntu

• Sponsored by Canonical.
• You can download it free, buy it on DVD from Amazon or get a free CD shipped (takes 6 to 10 weeks).
• Starter support for Ubuntu Desktop Edition is available for one year at $ 54.99 (as of Sept 2009).
• Security update is available for 18 months from release.

SUSE

• Sponsored by Novell.
• You can download it free, buy it on DVD from Amazon.
• You can buy a package from Novell consisting of a DVD with printed manual and 90-Day installation support (by phone or e-mail) for $59.95 (as of Sept 2009).
• Security update is available for 2 years from release.

Can I buy Linux pre-installed from a branded PC vendor? Dell offers PCs for the home and home office market pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux. HP and MSI offer PCs with Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop pre-installed. Asus offers notebooks with Xandros Linux pre-installed. Acer offers notebooks with Linpus Linux.

Can I get Linux pre-installed from another vendor? Zareason, Berkley, CA and System76, Denver, CO sell Ubuntu Linux desktops and laptops.

Which desktop? Though there are other options available, we will restrict our selection to the two leading desktops, namely GNOME and KDE.

GNOME

• GNOME is a very mature and stable desktop.
• The GNOME project has well defined human interface guidelines to make the desktop and applications easy to use. Most GNOME applications follow these guidelines, resulting in common usability between applications.
• GNOME doesn’t provide a graphical interface for some of the settings. Users will have to use the command line interface for these.

KDE

• KDE is also a very mature desktop. However, KDE 4 was completely rewritten and so had some issues. The recent 4.3 version seems to be more stable.
• KDE is also better for new users switching from Windows, and relies less on the command line interface.
• Unfortunately, KDE does not use Firefox as the default web browser or OpenOffice as the default office suite. You will have to install Firefox and OpenOffice subsequently.

If you are planning to use an older machine and just require stability and an uncluttered approach then you can go with GNOME. However, if you have a newer machine, looking for a desktop closer to Windows and avoid the command line interface, then KDE is your best bet.

Ashok shows home PC users how to successfully migrate to Linux. He writes articles applying Product Management concepts to open source software and related topics.

By Kurt Hartman

If you’ve been involved with the IT community at all, or are even a serious internet addict, the chances are high that you have heard of Ubuntu Linux. If you have heard of it, then the chances are also good that you have considered installing the operating system, and playing around with it a little.

If you did install it, say, 2-3 years ago, chances are, things didn’t work properly. I mean, things that “just worked” in good ole’ XP, failed you entirely. You then did what you could to get rid of it, and vowed never to get involved with Linux ever again.

I would know, as I had similar problems the first time I ventured into the land of Linux. Here is my dim recollection of that moment.

I don’t remember the first time I heard of Ubuntu. I only remember a few things about my experience installing it for the first time:

1. It installed fairly quickly.
2. I could never get my wireless card to work properly.
3. They forced me to fix things via the command line
4. I messed around with “sudo this’ and “sudo that” to no avail.
5. I ended up having to reformat my entire hard drive to get rid of it.

Fast forward 2 years. Ubuntu is running as the only OS on my machine. WIreless works perfectly, as does printing, and most other features that are available for my laptop. In fact, most everything that I install works well. I never have to even look at a command line if I don’t want to.

What changed? Well, Ubuntu improved, and drastically, I might add. Everything from stability, to usability and driver support are approaching windows-level compliance. In many areas, Ubuntu has surpassed Windows, especially performance.

If you feel like giving it another try, I can guarantee that you won’t have the same problems with it that you did last time? Why? Well, for one, Ubuntu has added a Windows based installer to newer distributions that allows you to install and remove Ubuntu like a standard Windows application. No more accidents where GRUB wipes out all record of your NTFS partition, and makes Vista unbootable. What’s the name of this magical program: Wubi.

How am I so sure that it is easy to use? It took me 15 minutes to get my friend’s PC dual booting the other night. It installed Ubuntu as a single file. It also defaults to WIndows on boot, unlike Grub, which usually defaults to the latest kernel, and puts XP after 3 or 4 other kernel choices.

By minute number 30, my friend was running Linux versions of his favorite programs, like HandBrake and Audacity. He even discovered the newest version of KDEnlive for his video editing needs. The only issue that we had resolved itself on the next boot. His wireless card was not working. Ubuntu found the driver, and installed it on reboot. Happy day. No command line (except for the commands I learned, and wanted to issue, instead of going through graphical menus), and zero extra configuration.

Look, it’s not an easy choice to try something again after you were burned. I suggest you do, however. If you can find the courage to try Ubuntu again, you have a pleasant surprise waiting for you: It comes in 3 flavors, based on the window manager of choice.

• Ubuntu – Gnome
• Kubuntu – KDE
• Xubuntu – XCFE

I’m going to go ahead and say that for 98% of you, vanilla Ubuntu is the way to go. All of the bells and whistles have been thoroughly tested and integrated to work with Gnome. The eye candy is great, and it just feels very polished. The only downside is that the performance requirements for all but the very oldest machines may be a bit too much.

Of the 2% of you that may want to run something besides Gnome-based Ubuntu, 99% of the 2% won’t want to run KDE. On the plus side, it feels a bit more like a Windows based operating system. Except for the fact that it isn’t nearly as user friendly as regular Ubuntu. There are some KDE diehards out there, but I’m not one of them. I don’t have much more to say about KDE as a window manager.

If you have an older machine, XCFE is lightning fast. It takes up relatively little ram, is a great compromise, and runs most things fairly well. If you don’t need alot of extra graphical polish (read: minimalist) then Xubuntu may be the way to go.

Now, I’m going to really confuse you. How? Well, if you really like a classy looking Linux install, with all the support of Ubuntu, and all the flair of a professional graphic designer, then you want Linux Mint. It’s based on Ubuntu, and customized with versions of programs that have been altered to fit the Mint distribution. They can be a few months behind the latest Ubuntu distribution, but there is no doubt that it is a great distro.

So, now that I am through gushing, why don’t you try downloading it, burning it to a disk, and giving it a once through using Wubi. Oh, and if you have problems with sound or wireless cards while using the Live CD, don’t be so sure that you will have that problem when you do a full installation. 9 times out of 10, those problems are fixed in a full install.

So, go get your favorite pocket protector, strap on your safety glasses, and take the plunge. It will be nearly painless, and totally worth it. You can find all the extra info you need at Ubuntu.com.

I’m off to download a podcast, and get a cup of coffee. For the record, coffee has burned me once or twice, but that hasn’t stopped me from drinking a pot or two a week.

Kurt Hartman is an open source advocate, and has save thousands of dollars for his company by implementing open-source solutions. He currently serves as Head of Web Development for Mobile Fleet Service Inc.

Their website, located at http://www.buybigtires.com, sells mining tires, along with tires for industrial and agricultural use.

In his spare time, he enjoys reading business related books, and gaining a greater understanding of geopolitics

His recommended reading for any industry is “The Black Swan”, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Marketing My Website – How to Do it Yourself
By SI Mitchell

Ok, so you’ve decided it’s time to start getting more customers for your product or service and you need a marketing road map to follow. Here is a detailed overview of what you should be focusing on in promoting your website. Key in on the word focus here… You do not want scattered efforts or you’ll end up with scattered results.

Here is the list of things I’ll cover regarding the marketing of your website:

1) Domain Selection 2) Hosting 3) Setup of Website 4) Adding Content 5) Marketing Activities

Let’s start of with domain selection. If you already have a domain but it does not contain a keyword (search phrase) that your customer would use to find you, you start off with a little disadvantage to those websites that do contain at least a partial match for the keyword phrase your market would be seeking. Don’t worry, if you publish great content on your site and get some good quality backlinks to it authentically, you can overcome some of this keywords not being in your domain issue. Now if you don’t already have a domain it’s a really good idea to do some keyword research and select an appropriate domain for it that’s available. You can check the availability of domains at either of my favorite registrars: moniker.com or namecheap.com.

Remember that although you want to have keywords in your domain you don’t want something ridiculously long or hard to remember. Keep it to a relevant 2-3 words if possible.

Now, on to hosting. When choosing a web host you want to ensure the following:

* It’s some flavor of unix (example: linux, centOS, debian, redhat, etc) * They will give you your own unique IP

The rationale for wanting your website hosted on a unix flavor of operating system is that many of the most powerful content management systems and marketing scripts available for websites are built to run from this type of hosting account. Fortunately about 98% of the web hosts out there offer this type of setup.

As for the second criteria…this is so that if another person hosting with the same company is not on your IP address and if they start doing some spamming or serving up malware, etc you won’t be in the same ‘bad neighborhood’ as they are. This is also important when trying to achieve good search engine rankings.

Setting up your website does not have to be difficult at all. You can either buy a template from templatemonster.com and have a designer customize it for you or you can spend about 1-2 hours setting up a self-hosted WordPress.org script which is a powerful content management system and there are 100s of very nice free design themes you can apply in a snap. The advantage of using a WordPress CMS hosted on your web site is that for some reason Google and the other engines seem to really love sites built on this platform. The rationale is that the organization of the site is done very well with these systems and it makes it very easy for you to update and share your content. Which leads us to the next element.

Adding content to your website should be done at least weekly. Why is this you ask? Simply put, Google and other engines don’t care for sites that are static-business-card websites. They love sites that update with great quality and unique content. I can almost guarantee your competition is updating their sites at least occasionally. It has a huge impact on the marketing of your website and ultimately your business. If you’re not a writer, don’t sweat it. This process can be outsourced for decent rates.

Now after you get clear and understand that marketing online is about publishing, you’ll want to consider publishing in a variety of formats such as text (on your website and other publishing directories), audio and video. For every piece of media you publish, with an emphasis on text, you want to ensure the search engines notice those pieces of work. You’ll need to get lightly familiar with social bookmarking which allows for the search engines to find your publishing pieces *very* quickly. To sum it up, it’s just a group of sites that allow users to share content and for some reason Google and the others consider these sites ‘authorities’ so they check them often to see who’s updating and when. All you end up doing is filling out a very small form on a few websites and hit the submit link button. Get your published pieces indexed and you will get your website found…and ultimately ranked high on the search engines.

Ok, I know that was a lot to digest but keep in mind this can be a simple process. The core of marketing your website should be on the initial setup, realizing that you need to publish fairly often (and that this can be outsourced), and that once you publish you need to ensure those pieces get noticed.

Get a free 15min site eval and phone consultation at http://greatwebstrategies.com “Online Marketing that works…period.”

I was just reading up on the local news today and noticed this story, Off-leash recreation areas are healthy for many dogs, but not all and figured I’d read it. I noticed the picture of the two authors and to my surprise one of them is a dog! Make up your own mind, but it looks to me like journalist Gina Spadafori is the spittin’ image of Lassie!

Below you will find the screen capture of the item in question:

How To Get Out of the Microsoft Habit
By Lorie Therese Locara

In our country, we have become so addicted to Microsoft that we cannot seem to do without it. It has become like morphine: we get off it, we feel pain so great, we writhe in sheer agony.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a BIG fan of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Encarta. But the OS’s? Oh, don’t ever get me started!

From the moment I saw Ubuntu Linux, I was… Stunned to say the least. I always thought that Linux OS’s were… Primitive. Turns out, it just got bad press.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed Ubuntu, I had to delete my Ubuntu drive after about a month or two of using it when I needed the space for my other files. And the parting wasn’t easy. Though I loved Ubuntu Edgy Eft like crazy, I wasn’t ready to be weaned off Windows yet. I thought I “needed” Windows. Yeah right. Like a hole in the head.

The decision to fully migrate my desktop to Ubuntu or any other reliable Linux distro came when my Windows XP melted down. I decided I was finally ready to move permanently… When I discovered Wine. But more on that later. This is an article on how to choose a different OS. :p

The mainstream Operating Systems for desktops for the everyday user come in two major branches. I know, I know, there are other OS’s out there, but for the moment, I’ll just talk about the most well-known, most user-friendly “Windows alternatives”.

How to choose the OS for you

Choosing is a universal function of needs, desires, and availability, among other factors. There is no one way to go about it, and sadly, it is not a science. but I have made a system for myself on how I can go about my own choices. I hope my system would help you. Below are the steps on how I go about making Operating System choices.

Know what you need.

Knowing what you need need not be a precursor to lobotomy. Just grab a notepad and the guidelines and questions below may help you:

What is it that you do?

Are you a graphic artist? A web designer? A writer? A student? A casual user?

Base your choices on what you do, because your needs will depend on this.

What software needs to be on your computer?

If you are a graphic artist or a web designer, you would definitely need tools like Adobe Photoshop. If you cannot afford the price, there are alternatives like the Gimp on Linux. However, I have a friend who says that he can never work on Linux, though he’s not a Microsoft loyalist. According to him, Adobe Photoshop doesn’t look as good on Linux as it does on Microsoft Windows. BUT, there is Adobe Photoshop for Mac, and it actually looks light years better than on Windows. Why? Mac screens are just rich, with the million-color support. If you have the money to burn, and you need apps like Adobe Photoshop and even Dreamweaver, then you better get OS X. Or else, get yourself a Macbook/Macbook Pro/iMac. Now. :p

As for the writer, since word processing is light, and doesn’t really require as much RAM as applications like Adobe Photoshop or Dreamweaver, which, in turn, require support for high resolution, I guess it would be safe for me to recommend that you use Linux. There are excellent applications to replace MS Office, like Open Office, Star Office, etc. AbiWord is an excellent MS Word replacement. It’s light, fast, and simple. And you can write in pure white space, if you’re allergic to distractions. These applications can save in the MS Word .doc format. But if you just have to have the MS Word formatting for your work, then by all means, go for Ubuntu Linux’s Feisty Fawn! It has Wine built into the system. Wine is the application that can run your MS programs, and it’s really an excellent tool to wean you off the Microsoft addiction. Though I have yet to try out Wine on Linux, as I am waiting for the official release of Feisty Fawn on April 19, I have tried Crossover, a non-free distro of Wine, on my OS X. It was able to run MS Office seamlessly so far. It’s not slow when it’s up and running, and though the fonts are just smaller, the main point is, it’s running the Microsoft program. Enough said. I’m planning to pay for my copy when the trial expires.

Students, on the other hand, have varied needs. I recommend Linux if you’re not into heavy photo editing anyway, as:

• It’s free.
• If you want games, Wine can run World of Warcraft for you. Yes it does. Games are the priority of the Wine community!
• Linux helps sharpen your skills, if you’re a Computer Science or Information Technology student.
• It’s free.

If you are a casual user with money to burn, then you could definitely work well with OS X! OS X, according to my friend, is better for the dummy user than Windows! Why, I am a very destructive dummy user. I actually install anything I fancy. I have installed some pretty serious stuff here in my Macbook, decided I didn’t want them anymore, couldn’t find the documentation for how to uninstall the stuff I did, and decided, “What the hell, I’ll just toss all the programs in the trash”. The only thing I noticed that was different right after was that the fonts in iTunes got messed up a little. :D But after installing an update on everything including the system, that problem was fixed. :D Oopsie. :D

But if you’re like me, a total cheapskate, I believe that you would do well on Ubuntu or PCLinuxOS. Both are very user friendly, and I was blown away by the two Operating Systems. As soon as I get a stack of CD’s, I’m trying out the other user-friendly Linux OS’s, and I’m going to feature them here. Meanwhile, why don’t you check out these OS’s themselves, and see for yourself that they really are nice. :) Go to http://www.distrowatch.org or http://www.ubuntuforums.org to see what people think about the different OS’s, and which are the popular favorites. :)

What are the primary features that you would want on your operating system?

You would do well to make a list of what you want as features on your OS. Below is my own list:

–User-friendliness

–Easy to install built-in applications

–Package manager/handler for easy installation

–Applications that are good equivalents for Windows applications

–Easy networking setup

–Compatibility with Wine or any other Windows emulator

–Can read Fat32 (hard drive format) for easy Windows sharing

–Customizable User Interface

–Installable Windows/Apple media codecs

–Easy install of Java and other media support

–Fast loading/non RAM hog

–The OS does not “hang,” restart randomly, or crashes. If it does, it should be rare, or like in Ubuntu, will only prompt that it has crashed, but will not affect the operation of the system or its applications.

–The OS should have a very helpful support community.

So far, Ubuntu Linux is my best choice. It is the best in application installation, has a really wide range of built-in apps, and with each release in its 6-month cycle, it gets increasingly user-friendly, and is getting more packed in features as the days go by. Ubuntu Feisty Fawn comes with a Windows networking setup manager, so it will be easier to manage your local network/s. It also comes with Wine, so you don’t need to really rack your brain with how to install this (non) emulator. The only thing that’s annoying with Ubuntu is that it takes long in starting up.

If you want a faster OS, you can try PCLinuxOS. I have yet to install it, so I don’t know about its application manager: if it’s easy to deal with or not. But it’s highly user-friendly according to forums, and as I’ve used it through its live CD. And it’s eye candy, too. :)

Ubuntu can also become eye candy if you install themes and change the desktop background. If you find the pre-installed brown theme yucky, change it! The options are shown when you right click on the desktop, the panels, and if you go to system>themes. Mine is delicious pink. Heehee. :D

Another thing that is great in Ubuntu is the kick-ass community. According to some people I read there, PCLinuxOS has a great community, too, as according to people I’ve read on Ubuntu’s forums. It’s actually better, according to them, as the programmers/developers themselves entertain questions on PCLinuxOS.

If your hardware cannot support heavy programs, there are “thin clients” out there, which can be run even on a decade-old machine. If your machine used to support Windows 95 and is still wired for 95, you can go for OS’s like Xubuntu or Puppy.

Research on your options.

If only I didn’t need to work, I would rather be on the forums all day and clicking away at Linux sites. So far, the best Linux distros as far as I’ve learned are Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, Sabayon, Arch, Mint (Ubuntu based), Puppy Linux, Mepis, Xandro’s and Knoppix, to name a few. Knoppix and Puppy can be installed on removable media, and you can save your files there, especially if it’s a multisession/rewritable disk or flash drive.

Again, do try to frequent the forums, you will sure learn a lot there.

Test the top three to five on your option list.

I do not like to wade through the hundreds of Linux distros, only to find them to be lousy. I would rather know about the best few then test them. It’s a good thing that most Linux OS’s come in Live CD’s, so you can run them without having to install them. I suggest you try Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, Xandro’s and Puppy. They are the most user-friendly around, according to most people. PCLinuxOS and Puppy are very fast. If you really like Ubuntu and just want it to run faster, as I’ve said, you can go for Xubuntu. Take heart, there is an OS out there for you. Or else, you can compile one from Linux’s source code. Hrhr. :p

As for OS X, I cannot say more. It is really an excellent Operating System. It has the stability of Linux, being also a Unix-based OS, and it is far more user-friendly than Windows. No, you do not need to have an Apple machine to run it. People have been able to run it on X86 machines successfully. Just read the how-to’s on the Internet.

OS X is really eye candy, and they have “dumbed down” the controls on a lot of the programs, to increase user-friendliness. Yes, there are moments when I feel that some Mac programs (especially the iLife programs) are too simple for my taste, but I really don’t want to complain, as they do the job, and they do it excellently. Where else can you install programs by just dragging the icon to the Applications folder? If that isn’t idiot-friendly, what is?! :D

As I said, choosing an OS need not be brain lobotomy. Just explore, research, and have a system in making choices. You need not suffer on a system that melts down with every trojan and spyware outbreak. You can be free. You can migrate. Screw Microsoft. Screw Vista. Go for Open Source (or Apple :p).

Linux – 5 Steps to a Wider Adoption
By Luqman Saeed

Linux is the world’s best alternative to Microsoft Windows. It has everything that Windows has always dreamed of having. However, it is a big wonder why after being around for close to 20 years, Linux still has less than 5% of the desktop market share. The solution, I strongly believe, lies in overcoming five simple but often overlooked barriers which when tackled by all concerned parties, will go a long way to push Linux to the mainstream everyday computer user.

Step 1- Language

Linux is too full of technical jargon that just puts off the average Joe from even attempting to learn more about it. Though a lot has been achieved in breaking the Linux language barrier in modern distros like Ubuntu and Fedora, there still is a long way to go to make it more appreciable by everyday users. Much should be done to reduce the use of technical jargon to the barest minimum. The “sudo apt-get” type of language must be eliminated. Linux should use the language of everyday people than that of geeks if it is to reach the wider user base and make a meaningful thrust into Windows’ domain.

Step 2- Publicity

There does not seem to be any kind of active publicity going on anywhere- at least from where I stand- that is aimed at creating an awareness about Linux. There are hundreds of millions of people out there who simply have not heard about Linux before. That is a vast market waiting to be tapped. But without the proper publicity by the main Linus distros, such a market lies untapped. Lots of people are fed up with Windows and want an alternative, but how do they get to switch to something they have not even heard of before? It seems to me, frankly, that the few people that use Linux as their OS are doing more to advertise Linux than the distro vendors themselves. The internet is a very great tool that can be used to push Linux to the limelight.

Step 3-Cohesion

The Linux world is simply too fragmented. There are hundreds of distros out there all seemingly competing against themselves instead of against Microsoft. There does not seem to be any kind of cohesion or coordination in the release of the major distros, at least in my view. This has given Linux the very bad image of looking more like some kind of child’s play OS. The fact that the Linux source code is a public property does not necessarily mean there should be no cohesion in the Linux world. I strongly believe that a certain measure of cohesion or control would go a long way to make Linux look more professional in the eyes more and more people especially those in the enterprise market.

Step 4- Support

There should be more and more vendor support for the various Linux distros. It is not enough to just refer people to the fora for help. There should be some form of vendor support aside the community support available. This will give Linux a double advantage over Windows given the fact that the Linux community support is generally very helpful. A distro like Ubuntu has recently started offering such a support service and should be commended. More of such much needed initiatives will only go a long way to improve the popular adoption of Linux as an alternative to Windows.

Step 5- Reference manuals

More and more Linux manuals need to be published and promoted by the Linux community at large. More people may consider Linux if they know there is some kind of reference manual available to them- there are more people out there that still view Linux as something from outside of this Earth. There are some really good ones out there, but there is more room to go. More Linux bookshops need to be setup and promoted by the community at large.

Some very good Linux reference manuals can be found in the Ghabuntu store, the link can be found below.

The author is the owner of Ghabuntu, a popular Open Source blog from Africa. Please stop by to join the effort in making Open Source Software the preferred choice of computer users. You can also reach me here at sinaisix@gmail.com.

Beginners Under Gnu – Linux? There Are Five Errors to Be Avoided
By Didier Pradel

To give the desire for testing linux so that it is one day your operating system, is one of the objectives of this site. The new users of GNU/Linux often make the same errors when they test GNU/Linux for the first time. The reasons of these errors are numerous: because GNU/Linux is a different OS; because Windows gives bad habits; because the user chooses the bad distribution and much of other possibilities. Here some solutions with five current problems under GNU/Linux.

1- To choose its distribution:

There is much opinion on the GNU/Linux distribution with which you will have to start, and the majority are not relevant.

After having to seek, to study, read the opinions of users, with the wire of time, on many distributions, two points arise:

the first: GNU/Linux Bureau is a question of taste,

the second: not a distribution does not join together the whole of the best options.

For start with GNU/Linux, it is to advise to choose among the following distributions, without order:

Professional SUSE and, in the future, openSUSE

Linspire Xandros

Fedora Core

Mandriva (in the past Mandrake)

Ubuntu

2- Is Linux free?

Some claim that all that is related to Linux is free. A good software deserves that one pays for him it is obvious, but the price must be reasonable the majority of the commercial distributions GNU/Linux for the office costs less than $100 and is really very rich. The term distribution meaning that a great number of software are gathered they also contain thousands of applications for the office. The commercial distributions GNU/Linux include word processing softwares, P2P, spreadsheet, presentation on transparency, edition file sharing of video, binary compatibility with Windows, virtual machine, reading of DVD, Web server, Web navigator, and much of others.

3- The partitions:

With Windows, you are accustomed to only one partition on your hard disk. It contains the operating system, the applications, the data, and a great space for your file of Windows exchange (the software uses space on the hard disk when the read-write memory is not enough any more). GNU/Linux functions differently. In order to obtain the best performances of the system, the file of exchange is on a separate partition. If you have 512 MB or 1GB of read-write memory the size the partition of exchange (swap) should not be lower than 512 MB, and not lower than 1GB if you have less than 512 MB of read-write memory.

It is useless to make a larger partition if you use your machine only for office automation applications. With this solution you can safeguard the remainder of your personal and software data on a second partition. It is a good solution if you never change hard disk or operating system. But if you wish to preserve your data and the preferences of the applications which you use, it is to better do two other partitions for the operating system, the other for your data and your adjustments. that thus gives 1 partition root “/”, 2 partition “/home”. 3 swap the size depends on the number of software which you install, but 20 GB are more than sufficient for the partition root “/”root, the largest part of your disc must be to hold has” /home “, because it is there that you will store images, films, and other large files. It is wise to give 75% of the total disk space to the repertory /home, the majority of the GNU/Linux distributions can make the partitions for you, but they have all various ideas on the number of partitions to create and their size. you must decide if you want to change the default values. You can preserve your Windows partition and thanks to the dual-boot to choose to start your computer either under Windows or under GNU/Linux. You must install Windows in first to make only one partition but not too large not to obstruct the installation of GNU/Linux after. And if you want to exchange files between the Windows partition and the GNU/Linux partition, use the filing system FAT32 to format your Windows partition (Window does not read the partition linux and linux does not read partitions NTFS whereas it can read and write easily on a system FAT32).

4- The Permissions:

With Windows, you are in general either an administrator, or a user with the rights of administrator. With GNU/Linux, you are in general connect as a user to restricted access, and you pass as a root (i.e. administrator under Windows) when you must change important parameters of the system or regulate the hardware configuration or add or remove a program. This organization based on the permissions makes your system protected and one is accustomed quickly, although that is strange at the beginning.

5- To give up with the first problems:

GNU/linux is not Windows thus you enter a new world with new rules. To learn has to evolve/move in this new world will take time, it is normal. It will be necessary to learn from new software, a new interface, with a new manner of making. but once passed this stage hardest is made. The community the forums are sources of support as well as the site of your distribution if you chose a distribution commercial. To learn an operating system is a challenge. Essayer Linux is not in fact so hard and a thing is sure in any case: more you are frustrated with Windows and its problems, more the transition to GNU/Linux will be easy. Good luck! Those which want to install linux on a laptop will find here The linux laptop support a list of the laptop on which that was already done.

Didier Pradel is the webmaster of laptop support and The linux laptop support where you can find many useful informations, and help for your lovely laptop.

5 Easy Steps to Become an Ubuntu Power User For Newbies
By Luqman Saeed

More and more people are migrating to Ubuntu Linux on an unprecedented scale. However, most if not all, of these new users are people who have no prior knowledge of Linux whatsoever. The road to being a power Ubuntu Linux user can be summed up in five simple steps that every new user in whatever category will find easy and fun to implement. Using Ubuntu is more than just running an OS, it is about joining an ideological movement of freedom that in my view is symbolized by the Statue of Liberty in the US. Read on to become the next Mark Shuttleworth.

Step 1- Join the Ubuntu Forums.

The first thing you should do as a new user of Ubuntu is to join the Ubuntu Forums. It is a very helpful place where you can get to introduce yourself, make friends with newbies like you and more experienced geeks, ask any question you have about Ubuntu or Open Source in general, join any ongoing conversation and more. I also advice that you take time everyday to visit. Be an active participant. If you like, you can even subscribe to the feeds of the Forums. But whatever the case, please make it a note to join the Ubuntu Forums and you will be amazed at how much you get to learn for free..

Step 2- Get your own personal reference manuals.

It is highly recommended to get your own reference manuals about Ubuntu and Linux in general. Linux is more of a subject to be learned than something to just use. With Ubuntu Linux, you always have something to learn and it is very much worth the effort given the fact that Linux is poised to be the future of computing. You also improve your computing skills when you get to learn as much as you can about Linux. You will also be surprised at the kind of exhilaration that you experience when you successfully troubleshoot your own system the very frist time without the help of anybody. Two of my personal favorite reference manuals on Ubuntu Linux are Ubuntu 9.04 and Kubuntu 9.04, 4-disks DVD Set Includes Linux Training Library, “Introduction to Linux” video-DVD, also includes printed Quick Reference Card of Linux commands, 32-bit Set and Ubuntu Linux Toolbox: 1000+ Commands for Ubuntu and Debian Power Users. They are very powerful reference guides you must have at home or the office.

Step 3- Ask, ask, ask.

Whatever problem you might be facing in using Ubuntu Linux, be sure to know that someone out there has encountered that problem before and all you need to do to get it solved will be to ask. This brings us to the first step of joining the forums. You should also be using Google a lot. Just Google your question and get millions of suggested results in seconds. Do not shut your mouth when you have a problem and run back to Windows simply because you had a problem with Ubuntu Linux. You must ask to get help. To even get more specific suggestions on the forums, you should make it clear that you are a newbie. Most people are willing to help more newbies than others. Don’t let your Windows friends tease you with the age old phrase of ” that’s Linux for you” just because you did not ask. The solution to every single Ubuntu Linux problem is as simple as asking at the right place.

Step 4- Experiment with your system.

The only sure fire way to be a Linux geek is to practice, and what better practice is there than to experiment with your own system. Always have a backup of your system and experiment with other ways of using Ubuntu. Do not just settle for the default setup of your installation. Apply the skills and tips you learn in the above books as much as you can, read about other methods of getting things done and apply them. Read wide and apply more. Be sure to always backup your system though. Try using other utilities like Compiz and a host of others. Experiment with how to make your system unique and you will be surprised at how much you get to learn by doing.

Step 5- Help others out

This is the most important step of all the five. Ubuntu Linux users are a worldwide community of people that believe in “humanity to others” and as such, you should endeavor to help others out as much as you can. If all you know is how to run a LiveCD, share that knowledge with someone. Anytime you visit the Ubuntu Forums, be sure to seek out new users like you and share your little experience with them. Help as much as you can. Go out of your way to be very helpful to new users with every single bit of knowledge you have. Over ten million people are using and benefiting from a very powerful, reliable and secure OS because one man believed in giving back to others. The least you can also do is to share your experience with those in need. You will be amazed at the level of knowledge you gain sharing yours with others.

Practice these simple but powerful points and in no time you will be on your way to being a geek that others will look up to for help and support.

The author is the owner of Ghabuntu, a popular Open Source blog from Africa. Please stop by to join the effort in making Open Source Software the preferred choice of computer users. You can also reach me here at sinaisix@gmail.com

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