Archive for category Open Source
Howto install amarok 1.4 in Ubuntu Jaunty | Ubuntu Geek
Posted by Biffster in Debian/Linux, Digital music, Install, Open Source on April 24th, 2010
I keep meaning to blog about this post, and keep forgetting. I personally can’t stand Amarok 2.x but loved Amarok 1.4. The link below gives an easy step-by-step procedure to install Amarok 1.4 in newer versions of Ubuntu/LinuxMint. Note: in the list of steps, replace “jaunty” with whatever Ubuntu distro you are using.
Some users are not happy with amarok 2 and they want to install amarok 1.4.This tutorial will help them to install amarok1.4 version.
Howto install amarok 1.4 in Ubuntu Jaunty | Ubuntu Geek
Facebook Chat now XMPP-ized!
Posted by Biffster in Open Source, Web on February 12th, 2010
I have *no* idea how I missed it, but Facebook Chat is now officially XMPP-capable! Lifehacker spells it out in an excellent post titled “How to Add Facebook Chat to Your IM Client“:
If you are using a multi-protocol IM client such as Pidign, Adium, or iChat, set-up is really easy—you just add a new Jabber or XMPP account, the username being your username@chat.facebook.com, with your password being the same as your Facebook password. If you still haven’t gotten a Facebook username (the tag that appears after www.facebook.com/ for your profile page) you’ll need to go to your Settings page to enable it.
All I have to say is: ‘HUZZAH!!!!!!’
Open stupid-ass .docx files in Linux via OpenOffice
Posted by Biffster in Debian/Linux, Open Source on February 19th, 2009
Twitter clients for the Linux desktop
Posted by Biffster in Debian/Linux, Open Source, Web on May 10th, 2008
I am just starting to get into Twitter. I’m still not 100% certain that I can get any use out of Twitter, but it is fun to play with. Theoretically, anyone who knows me can get updates from me if they Follow me. In reality, I don’t update Twitter very often, so no one can actually see what I am doing.
But I am trying to change that. Which is why a Linux.com article about Twitter clients for the Linux desktop caught my eye. There are some interesting clients, most in very early stages of development. The most obvious one that I’ve tried is gTwitter, which integrates nicely with my XFCE desktop.
Remote computing via FreeNX and a laptop
Posted by Biffster in Debian/Linux, Open Source on November 11th, 2007
It occurred to me that, as cool as Compiz Fusion is on Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy), I almost never get to take advantage of that anymore. I do most of my computing from my laptop, and connect to my Ubuntu machine via FreeNX. Over a 54mb/s wireless connection using a standard mix of applications, FreeNX provides real-time remote access. It is really almost impossible for me to tell the difference speed wise between sitting at my desktop or accessing remotely. I can see why No Machine called their company what they did.
Of course, there are things that one just doesn’t get over the FreeNX connection. Video, games, good quality audio. All the nice parts of computing, and one’s that I would really miss, if it weren’t for the other devices I can use. For example, watching TV on my High Def set. It’s a tradeoff, one that is usually worth making.
One other big advantage is being able to access my home computer at other places than just home. The FreeNX connection is still pretty fast piped through Comcast’s pathetic upload pipe and over the ‘net itself. I don’t run full-screen sessions then, but normally run floating windows. Which is kinda cool, because then the apps come up like any other Windows application. The difference being that it is running on my home computer, and I can’t easily trade data between the two.
All in all, it is very cool. If you haven’t given FreeNX a spin, do so immediately. You won’t regret it.
Google Desktop for Linux? Ummm… no thanks.
Posted by Biffster in Debian/Linux, Google, Open Source, privacy on July 3rd, 2007
Well, it took a while, but Google has finally released their desktop search program Google Desktop for Linux. While this sounds like great news, I get the feeling that Google might be in the wrong market with this product. Don’t get me wrong: I love that Google is no longer ignoring Linux. I love that they have native versions of Google Earth and Google Desktop. But I just don’t think that Google Desktop fits in well with the Linux crowd.
I see at least a few problems with Google Desktop for Linux:
- It’s not open source. Everything doesn’t need to be, of course. But there are enough good open-source alternatives (metatracker, recoll, even that piece of crap beagle) that do the same thing at least as effectively.
- Google has an image problem that isn’t getting any better. The former “do-no-evil” folks are doing a lot of things that seem evil lately, including taking pictures of people on the street for Street View and trying to snatch up Doubleclick. I wrote a lot about this in a recent entry on my blog (http://apt-get.us).
- The installation and interface are tied to having an active ‘net connection. Will this run when a user is offline? And what kind of data is being transferred back to Google?
There are a couple of positives, though:
- Google Desktop is a relatively tight piece of code. It’s memory footprint is about 75% smaller than beagle’s bloat, for example. And even though the initial indexing takes forever, it doesn’t impact system performance (as opposed to beagle, which brings system performance to a crawl).
- Google Desktop integrates with Google’s web search and GMail. For those who keep their email on Gmail, this can be a lifesaver. And it does save a step for those who realize, “hey, I should search for this on the web, too!”
As for me, I’m sticking with recoll. All of my email is stored (and backed up) on my computers. ALT+TAB over to Firefox is no skin off my nose. And I don’t know that I trust Google anymore. So I’m staying away.
I think that a lot of people will, too. Maybe Google is looking to corner the market on Windows users switching to Linux because of Vista/Dell’s new Ubuntu machines?
ZDNet on Linux adoption
Posted by Biffster in Debian/Linux, Open Source on May 30th, 2007
I am certain that most everyone saw ZDNet’s article/editorial describing “five crucial things the Linux community doesn’t understand about the average computer user. When I read the title of the article, I immediately became defensive. After all, what in the world could the ZDNet folks know about Linux? Who are they to say why Linux isn’t being adopted as quickly as some would hope? Who were they to even suggest that Linux isn’t being adopted? I was positive that the article was going to be a load of horse manure.
Good thing I actually read the article. Because there are actually some very good points listed, including:
1 – On the whole, users aren’t all that dissatisfied with Windows
Despite what you read on websites and blogs, newspapers and magazines, people on the whole aren’t all that dissatisfied with Windows. There are millions of users out there who just get on and use their PCs without any real difficulty.
It’s an interesting read, and raises some interesting points. While a few have been debunked (Linux is too geeky, you have to use the command line), the other points are definitely valid. The point above is very true. Most people don’t think about their OS, they want their computer to Just Work. The other regards hardware: as long as hardware manufacturers won’t release Linux drivers, hardware compatibility is going to be a problem.





