Showing headlines posted by tuxchick

I'm a Thinkpad fan from way back, though anymore I think it's a misplaced loyalty because Lenovo treats Linux like the perv uncle and keeps it hidden away, and plasters "We recommend Windows!" all over the place. It took some detective work to find the S-series IdeaPad netbooks on Lenovo.com, and forget finding one with Linux. I about Googled my fingers off and found a number of reviews and announcements that claimed it had either SUSE Linux or Linpus Linux options, but I never found them. In fact I am getting very tired of vendors who claim to love the penguin and Free/Open Source software, and then make it impossible to actually purchase any OEM Linux computers. That is why I stick with independent vendors like ZaReason. They tell the truth.

It's a swampy bureaucratic wasteland full of legal minefields, and creepy little wild-eyed paranoid people scuttling around clutching secrets to their chests and croaking "Mine! Mine!"

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In the olden days we had real modems with bauds and everything. A lot of years have passed, and Linux has acquired a lot of new communication protocols and devices. But here we are back to modems (EV-DO and HSDPA) being the latest and greatest. Paul Ferrill shows us what and how.

Robotics engineering has taken a giant leap forward with this bionic-powered prototype wireless vacuum cleaner invented by iRobot, threatening the growing trend toward embedded Linux in robotics.

Like Dracula, the old myth that free software can't innovate keeps returning. But this accusation is one that's overdue for a stake through the heart. Those who have experienced free software projects firsthand know that they depend on innovation and generally foster it. Bruce Byfield aims to retire this moldy canard.

The Kate text editor is a friendly power tool that is easy to use and configure, and it comes with a giant collection of advanced features. Juliet Kemp dives into keyboard shortcuts, plugins, document variables, its command-line interface and built-in terminal emulator.

Is your company a victim of vendor lock-in? Who really owns your data, who really makes your procurement and infrasctructure decisions? Matt Hartley examines the problem of lock-in, and how it wastes your time and costs you real money.

In the "Linux Rescues Windows From Itself In Yet Another Creative Way" category we have all these newfangled Linux-powered instant-on environments. Hit the on switch, and in a few seconds you're connected and Web-surfing. Phoenix Technologies HyperSpace stands apart from the herd; follow along as your faithful correspondent torture-tests it.

Linux is a joke. Well, that may be a bit harsh, but Ubuntu certainly seems to be all the excuse founder Mark Shuttleworth needs to make one bad pun after another. After Bill Gates' performances with Jerry Seinfeld, one wonders if becoming a billionaire tech mogul alters brain chemistry. At any rate, Paul Rubens reports on the future of Karmic Koala and Canonical. (Hint: not as successes in show biz.)

Akkana Peck has shown us how pathnames work, the difference between /home and home, and using ls to see the contents of a directory. Today we're going to go all dotty and learn what ../../ means, and how to share, or not share, files with other system users. You'll never be mystified again

Mobile workers are especially vulnerable because they operate outside corporate security systems, and often return home to unload nasties into the company network. Paul Rubens finds seven excellent Firefox plugins to help protect the mobile worker.

Last week, we began the migration from Outlook in Windows to Thunderbird in Linux. We transferred over the basic data to the open source email client. Now we'll install a calendar, task manager, and note feature. We'll also figure out how to export our existing Outlook data and import it into Thunderbird. Lastly, we'll set up auto signatures. Let's get started!

ZaReason is an independent Linux systems vendor, and I think one of the best. They "get it". Which is not something you can say about a lot of Linux vendors. Like the ones who plaster "We Recommend Windows Vista!" all over their Linux pages...

Microsoft (MSFT) has gone and done it, they've filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming Linux violates their patents. The case centers on portable GPS device maker Tomtom, which uses Linux in its device.

I remember the first time I saw a Toshiba Libretto way back in 1999 or so. It was small and easy to lug around, and perfect for checking email and writing notes while on the road. But it cost nearly as much as a full-size laptop, so even though it filled an important niche, it was hard to overlook that for a little more money you could get a lot more computer.

The number of women entering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers is declining. There are programs at the college and professional levels that try to attract women and racial minorities into these fields, but they're not all that successful. I think it's because college is too late. What sort of future do you want for your own girls-- a wide-open future full of possibilities? Or more of the same old "you can't do that"?

Thanks to this press release that appeared on Linux Today a few weeks ago, V.i. Labs Announces CodeArmor Intelligence Support for Linux Platforms, I had a "Oh no, the MAFIAA is coming to Linux" moment:... My first reaction was "Ick! No way!" because the release uses inaccurate buzzwords like "intellectual property" and "piracy", and it sounds like spyware. Yay, spyware for Linux! But something about it piqued my curiosity, so I did a little digging.

In what came as a surprise to many Linux observers, Red Hat announced on the morning of February 16th that it has signed reciprocal agreements with Microsoft to enable increased interoperability for the companies' virtualization platforms.

We need to give up the notion that such computer users can be rescued by Linux-- we don't WANT them using Linux. "It is impossible to make anything foolproof, because fools are ingenious".

"With so much turmoil today, the good news is that there are more areas of opportunity for new products and services than ever. The even better news is that most of these opportunities won't attract venture capital."