Ibuntu 10.04 reviw

Ubuntu 10.04 is out and trust me its out with a bang. The new OS looks really cool in its new theme or avatar ill call is awsome. Lets look at some of the new features and updates.

Installation

Installation is extremly easy and even a novice can do it. And if your system is connected with the internet it will also download and instal all the updates while installing. During installation it will ask for your country, Time Zone,Keyboard Layout, Partition Info etc. It will also search your windows partition and gave you the option to copy settings from your windows desktop in my case it worked perfectly and it copied my wallpaer and documents folder etc continuing with installation installer will complete the installation in seven steps and some 15-20 mins on a decent system with 2GB RAM. If you have Windows installed it will automatically create a dual boot using GRUB and you dont have to worry regarding partitions or data loss as installer will take care of that.

Booting

My good this was something booting is extremly fast on my old system it takes less than five seconds to show my desktop and i am ready to roll. Ubuntu team has worked really hard on booting time i remember in days of 8.04 it used to take minimum 20 seconds to boot.

Desktop

Desktop looks neat and beautiful in new Default Ubuntu theme running on gnome which is called Ambiance. You have the standard Applications, Places and System tool bar as well as the power options bar on the right top. The new desktop manager is very easy to operate. It is bundled with all the standard gnome apps. And if you are a kde lover you can download KDE as well or try Kbuntu.

Internet and Social Networking

Ubuntu is ready with internet with latest version of firefox, Empathy IM client which supports your gmail, yahoo, msn, live and even Facebook Chat and provides a single window from chat and you can easily change your status and picture fom top bar. It also come with gwibber using which you can broadcast on your tweet and facebook accounts. For email you Evolution the default option.

Multimedia

By default you cannot play your mp3 and mpeg video files but it take few seconds to download codec for these files and you are ready to roll by default it provides you with Rythmbox for playing audio and Totem for playing video but ill recommend you to download Amarok for audio and VLC for video. Ubuntu has also added ubuntu music store from where you can purchase music etc.

Office & Productivity

For office you have the usual choice openoffice which is now Oracle open office after the accusition of Sun by Oracle. The office suite dose a decent job and if you want to try diffrent you can also download abiword and koffice from Ubuntu Software Centre.

Overall

Last word is ubuntu 10.04 is refined product with three year LTS support from ubuntu its seems a great option for home and even Enterprise. Its neatly packaged and is amazingly fast you also have the standard compiz 3D Desktop affects which adds the glamour and the standard administration and configuration options which are farely easy to use. Overall undoubtly the best Linux desktop ever.

How to install apps through disc without dependency errors in Linux

This is a very common issue which Linux users face when they try to install any package from a CD or DVD they always have dependency errors as the package manger only tries to install the package you selected and if there are dependency issue it will not look for the required file either on CD (even if they are presnet in the disc) so to resolve this issue there is a Hack we can make the disc which contains package looks like a online repositry to the package manager. In this case we are doing it with YUM.
First you need to reate a dvd.repo text file in /etc/yum.repos.d/ with the following content:
[dvd]mediaid=1170972069.396645*name=DVD for RHEL5( if Redhat Enterprise Linux 5 is Your Operating system if you are using any other OS please change the name)baseurl=file:///media/RHEL_5%20i386%20DVD/Serverenabled=1gpgcheck=0 (*) The mediaid= value comes from the .discinfo file located in the root of the DVD.
For example, to install the dovecot package using the new dvd.repo file, run yum with the --noplugins option so yum will not try to communicate with the online repositry server for dependencyinfact will look in the drive for other files.
# yum install dovecot --nopluginsSetting up Install ProcessParsing package install argumentsResolving Dependencies--> Running transaction check---> Package dovecot.i386 0:1.0-1.2.rc15.el5 set to be updated--> Finished Dependency Resolution
Dependencies Resolved
===========================================
Package Arch Version Repository Size ===========================================
Installing: dovecot i386 1.0-1.2.rc15.el5 dvd&nb!sp; 1.5 M
Transaction Summary===========================
Install 1 Package(s) Update 0 Package(s) Remove 0 Package(s)
Total download size: 1.5 MIs this ok [y/N]: If problems occur while trying this procedure, run yum clean all and try running yum install again.
[dvd-cluster]mediaid=1170972069.396645name=DVD for RHEL5 - Cluster (type Fedora in place of RHEL5 if using Fedora same goes for if you are using any other flavour)baseurl=file:///media/RHEL_5%20i386%20DVD/Clusterenabled=1gpgcheck=0
[dvd-cluster-storage]mediaid=1170972069.396645name=DVD for RHEL5 - ClusterStorage (type Fedora in place of RHEL5 if using Fedora same goes for if you are using any other flavour)baseurl=file:///media/RHEL_5%20i386%20DVD/ClusterStorageenabled=1gpgcheck=0
[dvd-vt]mediaid=1170972069.396645name=DVD for RHEL5 - VT (type Fedora in place of RHEL5 if using Fedora same goes for if you are using any other flavour)baseurl=file:///media/RHEL_5%20i386%20DVD/VTenabled=1gpgcheck=0
Happy Hacking :-)

How to configure & use YUM

What is yum ?
Yum or Yellow dog Update, Modified is a package manager that was developed by Duke University to improve the installation of RPMs. Yum searches numerous repositories for packages and their dependencies so they may be installed together in an effort to alleviate dependency issues. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 uses yum to fetch packages and install RPMs.Yum uses a configuration file at /etc/yum.conf. Also refer yum(8) man page for more information.There are multiple ways by which you can install a repository on the system and install/update packages :
- Add an existing repository
- Setup a new repository having packages populated from ISO’s downloaded from RHN
- Register the system on RHN and subscribe to the channels depending on the subscription you have.How do I use it?
Here are some useful commands.
Install a package:yum install package
Example: “yum install apache”
Remove a package:yum remove package
Example: “yum remove apache”
Update a package:yum update package
Example: “yum update apache”
Search for a package:yum search package
Example: “yum search apache”Find information about a package:yum info package
Example: “yum info apache”List packages containing a certain term:yum list term
Example: “yum list apache”
Find what package provides a particular file:yum whatprovides filename
Example: “yum whatprovides httpd.conf”

Gnome 2.26 Screenshot tour and Latest features

Gnome foundation just released the latest version of Gnome Desktop 2.26.GNOME Desktop is a popular, multi-platform desktop environment for your computer which is used by many operating System for Example Linux, Unix, BEOS , Solaris etc. GNOME's focus is ease of use, stability, localization and accessibility support. GNOME is Free and Open Source Software and provides all of the common tools computer users expect of a modern computing environment, such as e-mail, groupware, web browsing, file management, multimedia, and games. Furthermore, GNOME provides a flexible and powerful platform for software developers, both on the desktop and in mobile applications.
The latest features in Gnome 2.26 are -
- Comprehensive New Disc Burning
- Simpler File Sharing
- Evolution Evolves its Migration from Windows
- Media Player Improvements
- Volume Control Integrated with PulseAudio
- Support for multiple monitors and projectors
- Almost Telepathic Communication
- Location Epiphany
- Fingerprint Reader Integration

Mobin 2.0 The most advanced netbook OS

Intel in association with Linux Foundation successfully launched Moblin 2.0. The New version is totally different from the old Operating System with a redesigned GUI. Which seems to be very easy to use and also looks very funky. Operating system home page includes a calender and your favorite apps and on top you have drop down menus which take care of your internet , media and other needs. Finally Ubuntu remix has a challanger in Netbook OS but ironically both are Linux Based OS. here is a Hands On video of Moblin.

Ubuntu 9.04 Hands on Review

Ubuntu 9.04, also known as the Jaunty Jackalope comes in three different versions desktop, server and a new Netbook remix specially designed for Netbooks. Ubuntu 9.04 was released on April 23 and millions of hackers and users started there download immediately and here I am with full fledged review.
First lets discuss the few major Updates in Ubuntu
GNOME 2.26
Support for Microsoft MAPI Exchange Server Protocol
Open Office 3.0 Productivity Suite
Kernel 2.6.28
EXT -4 File System
Desktop Review
For the past few years now, I've recommended Ubuntu as the best overall desktop Linux option, in large part due to its large catalog of ready-to-install applications and its excellent online resources for locating support information. Version 9.04 remains a very good choice for desktop deployments, but in certain circumstances, Ubuntu's software enhancements come with some drawbacks. For example, Ubuntu 9.04 includes Version 1.6 of the X.Org graphics server, which improves performance for some graphics adapters while breaking compatibility with AMD's proprietary drivers (and thereby disabling hardware-accelerated 3-D support) for other cards. I had this experience on a desktop system with an ATI RV410 X700 adapter that I upgraded to Jaunty from the previous Ubuntu release, Intrepid. But on the other hand Ubuntu now does a good-enough job auto-detecting display and graphics hardware (including multi monitor setups) that Ubuntu systems typically don't require an xorg.conf configuration file. Also along the lines of making its graphics configuration less arcane, 9.04 is the first Ubuntu release to do away with the Vulcan-death-grip Ctrl-Alt-Backspace key combination that you can use on most Linux distributions to dislodge misbehaving graphical applications by killing your X server session. Once upon a time, this came in handy fairly often, and the fact that it's become an anachronism is a mark of Linux's maturity.
In addition to support for Microsoft's MAPI Exchange protocol, the GNOME 2.26 release with which Ubuntu 9.04 ships includes a new volume control applet with a horizontal slider and an integrated interface for switching among sound themes (or silencing them), an overhauled disc burning application, and a handful of other enhancements laid out here.
While I was able to opt for Ext4 from Ubuntu's LiveCD-based installer, this installer still lacks support for building an Ubuntu system with encrypted partitions. To install a system with encrypted partitions, it's necessary to use Ubuntu's text-based alternate installer. Considering that even the buttoned-down Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 now includes an option for encrypting hard drives in its regular graphical installer, there isn't any reason why Ubuntu's default installer shouldn't offer users this important security option.

Remix Review
Ubuntu 9.04 also is available in a netbook remix edition, which sports a set of user interface components that have been designed to work well on 10-inch and smaller displays.I used a utility available in Ubuntu's repositories, called usb-imagewriter, to turn a 1GB USB memory stick into an installer and live test environment for Jaunty's netbook remix edition.I tried out the stick on an Dell Mini 10 with a 10-inch display, and I found that the remixed Jaunty release did indeed make the most of the small screen. The system did away with the familiar desktop, window and menu structure, and offered me instead an interface more akin to a smartphone.When I followed one of the application or location links laid out on my home screen, the application or file manager window would fill the whole screen. A small bar atop the display contained links I could use to bring other open applications to the front or to push everything to the back and expose the home screen again.
Server Review
Ubuntu is also a solid option for server implementations, but in the past Canonical hasn't done as much to set Ubuntu apart from other Linux server options as it has to distinguish its distribution on the desktop.
This appears to be changing, as Version 9.04 ships with what's meant to be a turnkey mail server role based on the dovecot IMAP server and postfix mail transport agent. These two pieces of software—which, respectively, handle mail receiving and mail sending—are developed separately and typically distributed separately, as well. In the server flavor of Ubuntu 9.04, the two components are bundled together to streamline configuration. However, at this point, the mail server configuration is far from turnkey, and I couldn't find any official documentation available for the dovecot-postfix bundle. In the community-provided portion of the Ubuntu documentation wiki, I found several how-tos regarding these mail components, but a polished mail server role for Ubuntu remains a work in progress.Along similar lines, I would like to see the project come up with a turnkey directory server implementation, based on LDAP, Fedora Directory Server or perhaps Red Hat's FreeIPA project. As Microsoft has demonstrated with Active Directory, well-integrated directory services can be a powerful addition to a server operating system and can make life easier when implementing other server roles, such as mail services.

Ubuntu 9.04 also includes a string of updates to the distribution's virtualization hosting stack. Like Red Hat, the Ubuntu project has trained the bulk of its virtualization focus on KVM, the hypervisor that's built directly into the Linux kernel.As with most other Linux distributions, Ubuntu 9.04 also ships with virt-manger, a graphical virtualization management tool that comes out of Red Hat's Emerging Technology group. This tool is flagged as experimental, but it works well for basic creation and monitoring of virtual machines running atop either KVM or Xen.

Suse Linux 11 Enterprise Desktop review

The much anticipated Suse Linux Enterprise desktop is finally Out. I worked on Beta and it was not what i expected from Novell lets check weather the final release gives us the same expiernece or not.

For my evaluation of SLED 11, I used Dell Latitude D630 with 3GB of RAM and nvidia 8400gs graphic card. This is the standard system I had been using for Windows Vista and Windows 7 testing.
At first look, Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (SLED 11) is exactly same like openSUSE 11.1. But does SLED 11 have the extra polish and the value add to justify its position as Novell’s premier enterprise desktop OS? We need to figure that out.
First, let’s start with the good. Since SLED 11 is heavily based on openSUSE 11, which is a modern and completely up-to-date Linux distribution. it has all the features of that product along with a number of commercial enhancements:
* Commercial fonts have been licensed from AGFA Monotype Imaging which match the same typefaces that in Windows and Microsoft Office, so that documents imported into Novell’s enhanced OpenOffice.org build in SLED 11 render in a more native fashion than with the basic OpenOffice.org build.
* SLED 11 includes the commercial Citrix Presentation Server (XenApp) ICA client for remote access to Windows and Linux applications on Citrix XenApp servers.
* Sun Java JRE 1.6 is included along with the Java Web Start plugin for Firefox.
* Adobe Flash Player 10 commercial license plug in included.
* Commercial Fluendo Gstreamer codec for AAC has been included for compatability with iPod m4a files in the Banshee media player.
* Post General Availability, free copies of Likewise Enterprise will be available for download for enhanced Active Directory integration (In other words, Novell’s own basic Winbind integration in SLED is still insufficient for widespread enterprise deployment, this despite several years into their interoperability alliance with Microsoft)
* The Evolution mail client now supports Exchange 2007 mail and calendaring and Novell’s own GroupWise 8 enterprise messaging platform via native MAPI. Various improvements which were initially introduced with prior versions of openSUSE are also included in SLED 11:
* Clone installations and network deployments of SLED 11 and SLES 11 can be accomplished thru AutoYaST (a process similar to Redhat’s Kickstart) or via image distribution with Novell’s ZENWorks Linux Management product version 7.3.
* Support for Microsoft .NET API with Mono, which is showcased in SLED 11 with the integrated Beagle desktop search, the Banshee media player, the Tomboy. note taker and F-Spot photo manager applications included with the release.
* Initial Silverlight and Microsoft WMA support with Moonlight 1.0 release.
* Support for enhanced power managment and CPU throttling
* A new PolicyKit GUI that allows for fine tuned User Access Control — restrict use of devices and desktop/OS privileges.
* “Technology Previews” of the Xen and KVM virtualization hypervisors.
* “One-Click Install” of applications from the openSUSE build service website.

And now, the bad part
* The installation process itself was uneventful and straightforward, and is nearly identical to openSUSE’s. The main difference is that you have less package selection choice as SLED is a subset of openSUSE in terms of functionality, so certain things like legacy KDE 3.5 desktop support and more comprehensive developer packages are not included. The lack of developer packages or at least an option to include a package feed during install time is an omission I take
serious issue with, as the environment should be self-hosting as a development platform.

* Additionally, the system prompts you to accept licenses for the various commercially licensed add-ons listed above.
* The first problem I ran into was that the automatic nVidia driver install during the second stage installation process yielded a completely unusable system
with an X Window server that refused to start. I had to go into the Xorg.conf file and revert the driver back to Xorg’s “nv” driver instead of the proprietary “nvidia” driver modules to get the GUI to start up again.
* The next issue I had was a repeat performance of what happened to me with openSUSE 11.1 back in December — the default firewall settings are too aggressive and block SMB filesharing, and SLED’s samba services aren’t started by default, so Windows networking is broken out of the box. How they did not catch this through beta testing absolutely bewilders me, because this is very basic functionality for an enterprise desktop, particularly one which is geared towards
being a drop-in Windows replacement. Did I fix it? Yeah, all it required was disabling the firewall and turning the samba services on as the superuser(root), but your typical end-user in an enterprise environment would have no clue how as how to do this, let alone your typical openSUSE user. If Novell is assuming the enterprise or the OEM would do this during image or scripted install deployment, it’s a stupid assumption because not everyone is going to deploy
desktops this way.
* My next major problem was installing 3rd-party applications written for SUSE. I tried installing Sun’s xVM VirtualBox by double-clicking on the downloaded RPM file, only to discover that there were unresolvable package dependencies because the “pango-devel” pre-requisite package was not installed. Okay, so I attempted to do a “zypper install pango-devel” from the command line while logged in as the superuser. BZZT! “no such package“. Wha? Not even on the SLED 11 DVD? I was able to resolve this by adding the openSUSE base repository using “zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.1/repo/oss/ opensuse111”
, installed the update repository with “zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/update/11.1/ opensuse111-updates” and then issuing the “zypper install pango-devel” command to resolve the dependency. After installing the pre-requisite package, I was able to double-click on the VirtualBox RPM file to install it on the system and run the program.
* The openSUSE repository came in handy later because I kept getting various errors about the Intel audio chipset sound device not working. A “zypper update” yielded several hundred megabytes of package updates and fixed the sound problem.

While the technology itself in SLED 11 is impressive, Novell clearly has a lot of work to do before I can recommend deployment of SLED 11 as an enterprise desktop. Are these issues fixable? Yes, but I recommend that the openSUSE and SLE developer teams work much more closely together and rationalize their development processes, and that new usability studies be commissioned in order to flush out problems that might emerge in typical usage scenarios, and not usage by geeks or Linux enthusiasts.