Linux-specific resources and distribution reviews (via Mowser)

Information for Linux System Administration

Pear Linux Comice OS 4 review (beta 1)

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Back on December 17 2011, I published a review of a new Linux distribution named Pear Linux OS Panther 3. It is based on Ubuntu Desktop and has a desktop interface fashioned after Apple’s Mac OS X. It had its faults, but it was a refreshing take on the Linux desktop.

That first release was code-named Panther, after Mac OS X 10.3. Subsequent releases were supposed to be code-named after the corresponding Mac OS X version. So the next version, Pear Linux OS 4, would have been code-named Tiger, after Mac OS X 10.4. But that was last year. This year, things have changed.

The distribution now goes by a slightly different name – Pear Linux Comice OS, and the latest version is Pear Linux Comice OS 4. read more...

See all of Ray's abstract art prints on canvas.

mail this link | permapage | score:9976 | -finid, February 15, 2012

Linux Mint 12 KDE review

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So we moved from Linux Mint 10 KDE to Linux Mint 12 KDE because Linux Mint 11 KDE did not make it out of the developer’s box.

Being based on Ubuntu Desktop, Linux Mint shares many of that distribution’s features. Other than changes in software and kernel versions, there are very few new features in this release, so rather than go through the usual review drill, I will concentrate purely on usage experience. read more...

permapage | score:9958 | -finid, February 6, 2012

Customize Linux Mint 12 KDE

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This article provides simple suggestions that you can employ to customize an installation of Linux Mint 12 KDE that would make it a little bit more user-friendly and fun to use.

Step 1. Apply updates – By default, the first time you log into any installation of Linux Mint 12 KDE, new or old, the system will check for updates 30 seconds after you log in and every 15 minutes afterwards.
To ensure that you are running the latest software versions, it is best to apply or install any available updates pronto. But do you want the system to be checking for updates every 15 minutes? read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9957 | -finid, February 7, 2012

Sabayon 8 KDE review

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Sabayon follows a rolling release development model, which means that once you install a new system, you may never need to re-install – ever.

While the project provides installation images for all known desktop environments, only those for the 32- and 64-bit editions of the K Desktop Environment, GNOME 3, and Xfce, have so far being made available for download. Going by the distribution’s release history, installation images for other (supported) desktop environments should be released soon. This article offers a summary review of Sabayon 8 KDE. read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9952 | -finid, February 10, 2012

Detecting server file changes with AIDE

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AIDE (Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment) is the Open Source version of Tripwire. AIDE takes a snapshot of every file on your server, records it and then will notify you of any changes. This tutorial will show you how to create a script that will automate this process and send you an email of the outcome. read more...

permapage | score:9937 | -aweber, February 6, 2012

Relinux: Create a custom Ubuntu DVD

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This article is about how to create a DVD image of your machine with the exact same software included on the disk. This can be done using a software called Relinux. Relinux is a fork of the recently discontinued Remastersys. read more...

permapage | score:9914 | -falko, February 1, 2012

Fedora 16 KDE review

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Fedora 16 is the latest stable edition of Fedora, a Linux distribution whose development is sponsored by Red Hat, Inc. The main edition uses the GNOME 3 desktop environment, but there are editions, called Spins, that use other desktop environments.

The available Spins in order of popularity, based on download count, are: Fedora KDE, Fedora Xfce, Fedora LXDE, Security, Games, Design-suite, Scientific-KDE, SoaS, Robotics, and Electronic-Lab. This review is of Fedora 16 KDE. read more...

permapage | score:9869 | -finid, December 15, 2011

webOS: The latest Linux distribution

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The source or cause of the joy is none other than the announcement from HP that webOS will be, in their own words, a “pure open source project.” Awesome! Did I see this coming? Yes, sir! Did I influence HP’s decision? Perhaps.

Ok, alright, that last one is a stretch, but back on August 19 2011, after HP had announced that it “will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones,” I suggested in a blog post (see what HP should do with webOS), that “to not let webOS be a failed distribution, here’s what I think HP should do with webOS – make it a free, Linux distribution, such that the relationship between it (HP) and webOS would be akin to that between Red Hat and Fedora, or Canonical and Ubuntu.” read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9865 | -finid, December 12, 2011

Linux Mint 12 KDE screen shot preview

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The first release candidate of Linux Mint 12 KDE was made available for download yesterday, but do not be surprised if the “stable” version is released next week. While we await that, here are a few screen shots for your viewing pleasure. read more...

permapage | score:9837 | -finid, January 12, 2012

Dual-boot Pear OS Panther 3 and Windows 7

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Pear OS is a desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, Desktop, but with a desktop appearance fashioned after the Mac OS X UI. A review of the latest edition, Pear OS Linux Panther 3, has already been published on this website.

This article presents a step-by-step guide on how to dual-boot Pear OS and Windows 7. To start, you need to download Pear OS Panther 3 from here and burn it to a CD or transfer it to a USB stick. The computer used for this article has a 500 GB hard drive with an existing installation of Windows 7, and it is assumed that you will also be attempting this on a computer that also has an existing installation of Windows 7. read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9831 | -finid, December 31, 2011

Dual-boot Windows 7 and Linux Mint 12

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Dualbooting means having installed two operating systems on one hard disk and being able to boot from any of them. This tutorial will explain how to install Linux Mint 12 alongside Windows 7 - the procedure however should be the same for all Ubuntu based distributions and only slightly different for every other. read more...

permapage | score:9813 | -falko, January 26, 2012

Fedora 16 security features

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The security features in Fedora make it one of my favorite Linux distributions. And that is partly why it is in my list of the top 6 KDE distributions of 2011, even though it takes some tweaking to get it to the it just works state. I will take the security advantages of an operating system over any user-friendliness weaknesses, provided those user-friendliness weaknesses are not show stoppers.

Two of the four security features in Fedora 16 are enabled out of the box. The others are optional features that can be configured during installation. So, let us look at those two optional security features first. read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9811 | -finid, December 14, 2011

CentOS 6 Minimal Desktop Install

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This example of a minimal desktop shows how to manually create partitions using ext3 and ext4 for a server that has a minimal desktop for a graphical interface.

Create a / partition with the ext4 file system. The size of this partition should be at least 6 GB for a minimal install. One aspect to think about, if you are using the standard partitions you will not be able to resize these later as you would if you were using LVM. 10 GB is a safe choice for a server if you are creating a separate /usr partition.

CentOS 6 Basic Install

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There are a lot of new options to explore in CentOS 6 during install, be sure that you have a basic understand of what the options are before you begin the installation. One important aspect is to understand what type of hardware will be used for the server, hardware or software RAID, LVM, ext3 or ext4, etc. read more...

permapage | score:9793 | -aweber, December 6, 2011

Customize Pear OS Linux Panther 3

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Pear OS Linux Panther 3 is the latest edition of the desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, but with a desktop appearance that is fashioned after the Mac OS X UI. It is the only distribution released this year that actually makes GNOME 3 look really good. It is not perfect, but it is a lot better than other distributions that use the GNOME 3 desktop environment.

As good as I think it is, there are aspects of it that could have been better configured out of the box. This short tutorial provides some tips on how to tweak those areas to make the UI a bit more user-friendly than it already is. read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9793 | -finid, December 23, 2011

Disable guest and create user accounts in Linux Mint 12

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By default, Linux Mint 12 ships with a guest session enabled, so a password-less access to the system is possible from the login screen to anybody with physical access to a Linux Mint 12-powered computer. If you do not want that level of openness on your computer, this tutorial will show you how to disable that guest session, and also how to create additional user accounts on the system. read more...

permapage | score:9777 | -finid, November 29, 2011

Kubuntu 11.10 review

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Kubuntu 11.10 is the latest stable release of the desktop Linux distribution sponsored by Canonical Ltd., a Linux software provider based in London, UK. It is based on Ubuntu, but uses KDE, the K Desktop Environment.

Like Ubuntu, Kubuntu comes either as a CD image with a graphical installer, a CD image with an alternate installer, and a DVD image that offers access to a graphical and alternate installer. This review is based on test installations of 32-bit images of the CD and alternate CD installer editions. read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9749 | -finid, November 21, 2011

Review: Chakra Linux Edn 2011.12

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Chakra Edn 2011.12 is the third and final edition of the Chakra Edn line of Chakra, a desktop GNU/Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. The first two editions were Chakra Edn 2011.09 and Chakra Edn 2011.11.

I always like to start my reviews by providing information about the installer and installation process of the distribution being reviewed, but since there were no changes or new features in Tribe, Chakra’s installation program, there is no point in rehashing information that is already available in Chakra Edn 2011.11 review. read more...

mail this link | permapage | score:9745 | -finid, December 22, 2011

Does your package manager handle orphaned packages?

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The last time I followed a distribution’s suggestion to remove some packages that were no longer needed, I completely hosed the system. Could not use it afterwards. Though the machine was a test machine, the experience thought me to always let sleeping dogs lie. read more...

permapage | score:9727 | -finid, December 6, 2011

Compare directories with diff

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The Linux command diff can be used to create a script that will list the differences between two directories. This comparison is often very useful when writing scripts.

The diff command compares two files or directories and returns the differences. This provides you a way to monitor changes in an important directory like /etc which houses most configuration files on a Linux system. In order for this to work properly you will need to create a file that lists the content of the /etc directory so that you can make a comparison.