September 19th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Windows XP is still the most popular operating system today, despite being ever so slightly outdated. The main reason is that people are comfortable with it. They’re comfortable with the way it looks, the way it works, and the way it acts. That’s a huge reason why many people refuse to switch to Linux, OS X, and even Vista. Luckily, there is hope for Linux evangelists. Just make Linux look like Windows!
September 5th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
When Google filed their Android patent in September 2007, the hype was almost as high as the hype surrounding Apple’s iPhone. Native apps, any phone, any carrier, and open source sounded pretty dang good. But then, Google started losing its jump. Apple picked up speed, added 3rd party native apps, and brought down the price. Meanwhile, Google twiddled their thumbs and announced a few developer contests. Soon, the iPhone was achieveing popularity next to the iPod. And Android? The only ones who remembered it were the Google diehards, a few programming geeks, and the guys at the Buzz Out Loud podcast. Recently, the hype has been picking up, especially since the Android might actually be shipping soon (or, by the time you read this, already been shipped). But Android will still be second-best to the iPhone, unless Google makes some significant steps.
August 15th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about cloud computing. The CherryPal Linux-based machine got on both Slashdot and Digg when it announced it was shipping a machine with “Firefox as the OS”. The BBC ran an article that claimed that Microsoft was ending the Windows era with a new operating system, Midori, which would store almost all your information in the cloud, getting rid of you being tied to one machine. And the Red Hat CEO thinks that cloud computing is the way of the future. Unfortunately, they’re all wrong. For now, the computer is staying right where it is.
August 1st, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Open source operating systems obviously give more bang for the buck than any other operating system in the world. After all, they’re free, and you can’t get lower than free (unless you’re Kaspersky). However, what about pre-installed Ubuntu machines? Do they beat their Windows and OS X competitors in the bang for the buck category? Dell got rid of the so-called Windows tax, so it’s obvious that pre-installed Ubuntu on Dells give more power than pre-installed Windows on Dells. But what about Macs?
July 25th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Recently, Gnome’s been gaining a lot of ground on its KDE counterpart in the desktop environment wars. The KDE developers were hoping to change this with KDE 4, the new radical release of KDE, but it was not to be. KDE 4.0 was buggy and unstable, leaving everyone except the hard-core KDE lovers unsatisfied. Mainly, this was because it just didn’t work most of the time. However, the developers were not without hope. They promised that KDE 4.1 would be more stable and fix all the holes and problems with KDE 4.0. That time is coming soon: in just four days, K Desktop Environment 4.1 will be released to the Linux masses.
July 11th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Ah Vim. You can’t live with it and you definitely can’t live without it. It’s the world’s most powerful (and arguably the most popular) text editor, yet it’s virtually impossible to understand. You start typing, and nothing happens. You look for the save button, and it isn’t there. You try and exit, and Ctrl-C won’t do it. Fear not! Vim is actually quite easy, once you know a few basics. Continue reading →
July 4th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Ubuntu is, according to DistroWatch, the #1 Linux distribution. That’s a huge feat in itself. However, once you realize that Ubuntu is only three and a half years old, the feat is much bigger. How did the Linux rookie beat out the nine-year-old Mandrake, the fourteen-year-old SUSE, or the fifteen-year-old Debian?
June 20th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
One of the biggest arguments in the Linux world rages around proprietary software (software restricted by license and/or price). The majority of the Linux users out there are for pure FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software). That is, they only want FLOSS software on their machines. This movement really took off mostly because many of the original Linux and UNIX pioneers were firm FLOSS disciples. However, many users, especially the less philosophical and the more pragmatic, have gotten into the habit of simply wanting what works. Which is the right answer?
May 9th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
If you’re a Linux user, you probably use a forum, mailing list, or IRC chat room for getting community support. After all, it’s free (as opposed to commercial support), has users that understand your problem (no more tech support stupidity), and often, the original developers for really bad problems. However, not all answers are treated the same. Many are disregarded because they fail to follow the proper etiquette of forum or IRC posting. Here’s a short list of six rules to make sure you aren’t one of those. Continue reading →
April 26th, 2008 — Linux Land
By Andrew Min
Well, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when the Ubuntu faithful crash servers everywhere trying to download the newest version of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, or derivative (all at the same time). So instead of doing my usual column, I’m listing what’s new in the latest release of Kubuntu and everything that it offers. Continue reading →