June 19, 2013

3 Great Linux Applications for Kids

June 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Child & Computer 

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Technology and computers are now essential to the learning processes of the youngest generations. Students must be proficient with computers at younger ages than ever and, while you may want to give your child a technological edge, purchasing expensive educational software for them can be a challenge. If your budget won’t allow for the purchase of kid’s computer software, consider a Linux-based program. Here are three top Linux-based software choices popular among today’s youth.

KDE Education Project

The KDE Education Project includes a great collection of educational software. These applications are directed towards mid-aged youths and provide assistance with everything from fractions to geography. The applications are available in multiple languages to meet varying cultural needs.

Tux Paint

Tux Paint helps your child develop their creativity with a variety of interactive paint and drawing tools. The application is designed to help children learn while also having a little fun.

TuxTyping

Learning the way around a keyboard is now essential to childhood development. If you want your child to advance quickly in the classroom, you must encourage the development of their typing skills. TuxTyping is a free typing program designed to assist with advancing this skill set.

While you may want the best for your child when it comes to their educational development, your budget may place certain restrictions on your aspirations. Since the cost of a new computer can already be high, consider using free Linux-based software rather than costly alternative versions. These free applications are expertly designed and provide the tools your children need to excel with computers and technology.

 

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3 Great Linux Design Software Programs

June 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Venturing into the world of design can be exciting. As a new designer, you have an entire career to develop your skills and accumulate clients. However, in the beginning days when your client list is still building, funding for your design business may be limited. Rather than creating debt by purchasing expensive design and photo manipulating software programs, purchase Linux-based design programs. The following three Linux-based applications are free and are great software options for new designers.

GIMP

The GIMP application is free and is designed for image composition, authoring and photo manipulation. A few books have even been published on GIMP to assist users when they’re first learning how to use the application. Whether you want to recolor an image or retouch a photographic element, GIMP has the tools you need.

Inkscape

If you’re a vector artist, consider downloading Inkscape. This open source software has functions similar to high end programs such as Illustrator and CorelDraw and can be a great tool to utilize in developing your vector illustrating skills.

Avidemux

Video production and editing is one of the most expensive design fields. The prices of cameras, software and other video editing gadgets can quickly become unmanageable for new editors. However, Avidemux is designed to relieve the expense-load by offering free applications for cutting, filtering and encoding, among other tasks.

Finding free design based software can be immensely helpful during your beginning years as a designer. These programs can assist you in creating wonderful designs while helping you maintain a reasonable budget.

 

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Connecting to the Internet using Linux

May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
LinuxQuestions.org 

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Having problems connecting to the Internet using Linux? You’re not alone. Those who are new to Linux find that Linux is a different language altogether from the typical operating system they’re used to. With so much connecting and booting, and altogether assembling of the computer, it is easy to miss something.

Some suggestions on getting you through the turmoil:

  • Talk to an expert that you know. This could be a friend or family member or someone from you work who is a geek at this sort of thing. Don’t be afraid to ask around until you get an answer you think will help. If the person can come to your come, even better.
  • Join a Linux Forum. Forums are organized to get answers to you quickly from folks that understand the intricacies of Linux.
  • Try a newsworthy Linux blog. Blogs like this one are written by folks who love the tech stuff, and are usually prepared to spell it out in language a newbie geek can understand. Watch a Linux video tutorial or a quick Linux tutorial for answer to your questions.
  • Websites are also good sources of information. Though not updated as frequently, they yet provide solutions to those hairy Internet problems as well as others you may encounter in the future. Search the directory to find an answer to your question, watch a video on the subject, or get involved within the web community. Find the latest how-to information at this website, for example.

Getting the computer help you need is really not difficult, but it does take some time and a bit of thought as you work your brain through the process.

 

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Geeky Gadgets for Linux

May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Servers designed for Linux 

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What are some fun and noteworthy gadgets for Linux that are still going strong this year?

Google gadgets for Linux include digital clocks, weather gadgets, arcade gadgets, WiFi meters, and more. Any or all of these fun gadgets can’t help but get your heart pumping.

You might want to try these geeky gadgets for Linux as well:

  • How about a USB thumb drive that supports Linux? This military drive from IronKey sports a potted metal case that can easily be restored to a new IronKey if the key is lost.
  • The powered sub notebook, RazorBook 400, runs on 512 MB of RAM. Built in WiFi. Just a bit larger than your hand, the RazorBook can be toted to class or the grocery store.
  • Watch for the CherryPal Cloud PC. Can you believe it uses just two watts of power? Get 4GB of NAND flash memory instead of a hard drive and 256MB of RAM. See it here.
  • Assemble some modular Linux gadgets such as engineering, control and industrial automation gadgets.
  • Try some Screenlets. Check out the information guide, downloads and FAQ page here, to learn more.
  • Kernel Linux, Data Recovery Software 4.02 does what it says. Recover your damaged, deleted, formatted, or corrupted partitions when operating systems such as Mandrake Linux, Turbo Linex, and other systems have been used.

Geeky gadgets, might, well, appear geeky, at least upon first inspection, but you know what happens when you’re willing to open your eyes and give something new a try. You just might like it.

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Best Benefits of Linux

May 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Tux, the Linux penguin 

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You’ve chosen Linux as your operating system, and you find that it serves you well in many arenas. You like that the system is open software with no hidden secrets. Though Linux is difficult for many new users, it isn’t for you, and you’re glad that the low cost for software, the portability of the unit, and the ease in window manager use specifically keeps you traveling happily forward.

Are these the best benefits of the program you love?

Here are a few others you might want to consider or remember:

  • Free desk-top applications. Get your spreadsheet, audio player or CD writer free of charge.
  • Specialized applications and commercial programs are all the rage. How does advanced graphics, modeling and visualization sound to you?
  • Try what you like in Linux distros CDs and narrow the choices down to a favorite like Gentoo.
  • Build the computer yourself, and supply it with whatever your heart desires.
  • No more viruses. No more invasions of privacy or forced upgrades you really don’t want.
  • Try some exciting school applications. No more closed or locked software here, just hands on opportunities with charts, graphs, models, scientific formulas, diagrams, dictionaries, history apps, even a study guide.
  • Free tools and applets that work together to perform a more detailed task.

You know you’ve made the right choice with a Linux operating system if you’ve tried one of the above benefits and have found the benefit to be more than useful. Multiple benefits of Linux, tried and true, just confirms what you’ve known all along.

 

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Debian Version 6 Released

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Debian project has recently release version 6 of the operating system which has been in development for 2 years.

This release does not contain a lot of new features – unlike new releases for other Linux products like Ubuntu or Fedora. However, this fact may be a feature for some Debian users who appreciate the stability of the product. IT managers will not have to set up upgrades for the company computer system or training sessions for the workers. The software included in the release typically has been tested and most bugs have been worked out.

Some features that are included in the Debian release include the Google Chrome web browser and the latest versions of GNOME and KDE 4. An interesting software inclusion is OpenOffice.org. Other Linux releases have switched to LibreOffice which is a version of OpenOffice.org that will remain free no matter what Oracle decides to do with the licensing of OpenOffice.org. Debian has already made the switch. Debian has also taken some ideas from other Linux applications; some of the software management tools from Ubuntu are now available in Debian.  Ubuntu’s Software Center and Management Update Tools are part of the Debian version 6 release.

For installation, you can use a network-based install media which allows all of the pending updates to be grabbed during the installation. There is also a LiveCD version available which allows users to try out the system before they install it on their hard drive. Debian has also managed to remove all non-free firmware from the installation.

Debian 6 offers stability for users who enjoy open source and the freedom it offers.

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Linux Tools May be Able to Save Your Computer

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of the most stressful times in a computer user’s life is a computer shutdown. Sometimes the computer won’t load up, the operating system won’t boot, or files get corrupted or lost. In some instances, there may be a rescue disk that may be able to save the day – and often this disk runs a version of Linux.

As Linux is an open source system, it is often used as a platform for rescue tools for both Linux and Windows systems.  The anti-virus companies use Linux because it is open source and because it is free. The Linux kernel is modular and can support a large number of hardware. Linux is also not susceptible to Windows-based viruses.

A technology that also enables that use of Linux as a repair and rescue tool is the ability to have a live distribution.  A live distribution can be run from a memory stick and takes up little disk space or RAM. One version of this – called Klaus Knopper’s Knoppix – allows the user to inspect the hard drive and run a test drive of programs without writing to the hard drive. There are other live distributions like Puppy or Damn Small Linux; all of these distributions can be used to inspect the hard drive and restore if needed.

Other Linux distributions are specifically created for rescue operations so that the user can look for and save data while using very little memory. Most live distributions of Linux can perform these tasks; however, the typical distribution may be too unwieldy and large to easily perform the search and search operations.

These Linux rescue and repair programs can also be used to recover other operating systems like Apple and NTFS.

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Citadel: A Turnkey Groupware Server Solution

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Groupware can help your organization coordinate and schedule its work better.  This is a collaborative software that can allow users to work together – no matter the location – through the Internet or the corporate Internet system. However, better groupware solutions can improve your workers’ ability to function. Multiple Linux groupware servers are available; these platforms offer the ability to use popular email applications, messaging functionality, and organizational tools. One of the turnkey Linux solutions is the Citadel/UX server.

Citadel is a complete, open-source collaboration suite that offers a groupware server and an online PIM suite. Citadel also had been popular for use as a bulletin board system.  Over time, the developers have added shared calendars, mailing lists, instant messenger services, and a wiki. Other features of Citadel groupware are included email filtering services, built-in listserv, RSS feeds and a high-performance server engine.

The architecture of Citadel is also very versatile; it is organized in concepts called floors and rooms. You can use the floors and rooms to organize the server to suit your organization’s needs.  A floor can consist of any number of rooms and each room can be different things like an email folder, a calendar, task list or a bulletin board. A room may also host several of these functions at the same time.

Installation for Citadel is very simple – you can use the Easy Install option, use either an Ubuntu or Debian package or download it via a VM appliance. Another benefit is that this system is easy to distribute across multiple servers which increase the options for scalability.

Users can access the Citadel services through a web-based interface or through other clients like Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, or Evolution. Citadel also offers great support through support forums, administration manuals, and frequently asked questions applications. The groupware itself is also updated regularly which makes it a good option for your organization.

It is free to download and use.

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Horde Groupware: Browser-Based Collaboration Suite

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Horde is another groupware program that is free and enterprise ready. Horde is browser-based and can be installed on a variety of platforms such as Linux, Windows, Mac and Solaris. It contains the basic groupware options but allows the organization to add modules to increase functionality.

The Horde server is available in two editions – one with no access to email and one with webmail. Users can share calendars, task, notes and contacts; additional modules that can be added include Kronolith which is a calendar application, Turba which is a Horde address book and contact manager, Mnemo, a note manager. Each of these applications allow for significant functionality for scheduling and organization. Other modules that you can add are a file manager, a wiki, bookmark manager, and a photo gallery.  With the separate email application, users can create distribution lists and contains a WYSIWYG editor and spellchecker.

Other features of Horde groupware allow for further customization of the application among users. There are unlimited resources for each user, multiple interface themes, a customizable portal screen interface, and support for over 40 languages. Horde users can sync with Evolution, Outlook, Thunderbird and other mobile platforms.  You can also import groupware data from other applications and the user can establish his or her own user preferences. The Horde groupware also provides support for databases like MySQL or Oracle.

Horde Groupware Webmail edition may be a bit more difficult to install than the other version of the groupware. Both systems have strong online support services with an active frequently asked question section on the Horde website, bug tracker and mailing lists. There is also documentation for the server program as well.

You can download the groupware software from the Horde project website; patches are also available at the website for the current release.

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Customizing Your Linux Desktop

January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We all have strong opinions when it comes to computers and which operating systems are the best. Linux is now proving to people that it’s a really strong opponent against Microsoft and Apple for operating systems.

Linux is an “open source” and anyone can add to its coding. This is the ideal computer for those who want to be able to really get the most out of whichever computer they’re using. While the Linux operating system could look a little scary, the system is really easy to use and learn, not to mention it’s user-friendly. Here are tips for customizing your Linux desktop.

Changing the background on your Linux desktop is pretty easy. You can use a preinstalled image or one of your own. All you’ll have to do is right-click onto your desktop and pick the icon that says, “change desktop background.”

You can even change the theme of your desktop. The theme is a bunch of options that you could change at the same time. This will be everything from the font to the icons and desktop image. In order to change your themes, go under the “system” menu at the top of your desktop and go to “preferences.” Once you’re in your preferences folder, hit the icon that says “themes.” From there you can change your theme.

If you’re not a fan of the icon or certain colors, you are able to tweak certain things from you Linux desktop theme. Go back to “systems,” hit “preferences” and then click on “customize.” Go ahead and check the option “appearance” and choose the option available that you like the best.

Working on a Linux desktop might seem like an intimidating thing, but it really is easy to use. Don’t be too scared to make the switch to using the operating system Linux. It really isn’t much different than using a PC.

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