14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 42nd issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
This week's editorial talks a little about the "Ubunchu!" initiative. In the Linux distribution announcement section you will find the following releases: Sabayon Linux 4.1 GNOME Edition, gNewSense 2.2, Ubuntu 9.04 Release Candidate and SliTaz GNU/Linux 2.0. In other news: GNOME 2.26.1 is out and it's here to fix various bugs; AXIGEN Mail Server 7.1 gets improved groupware and sharing functionalities; Canonical takes orders for free CDs with Ubuntu 9.04 and the latest ATI Linux video driver introduces support for Ubuntu 9.04. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the latest Linux distributions released/updated last week and the development releases.
Summary:
Editorial: Ubunchu! - by Daniel Pop-Silaghi
· Though for the last few years there would always be someone claiming that "this is the year of the Linux desktop" and end up realizing how wrong the statement was, one cannot argue that Linux's popularity is growing exponentially as time goes by. And with that, its userbase is of course enlarging and not only geeks and IT pros see it as a usable operating system anymore. There are more and more stories about grandpas and grandmas 70+ years old writing emails and making their groceries online using Linux on their decade-old computers without worrying about viruses or malware.
The other "niche market" for Linux is represented by kids, who simply love learning new things and tinkering with everything they get their hands on. But before that, you have to really sparkle their interest in that new thing and also make sure it won't get boring after a few minutes. For that, one should identify the number one thing most children would like to do all day long: watch cartoons and/or read comics.
Though I've yet to see any educational animated cartoons about Linux, I recently stumbled upon two very interesting comics with a lot of potential: "Ubunchu" and "Hackett and Bankwell." Both could prove to be highly entertaining not only for kids but for everyone who wants a smooth, easy to grasp introduction to the Linux world.
Ubunchu, as its name probably suggests, is a Japanese anime comic. Don't turn away just yet, as English (and other languages) translations are available so you will be able to do more than stare at some pictures without knowing what the characters are saying. Ubunchu's subtitle hints to this comic's storyline format: "Ubuntu romantic school comedy." The first (and still only) episode features three characters: two girls and one boy trying to find the best solution for their club's fresh new quad-core computer. Of course, the fight between Linux and Windows (with a bit of Mac in the middle) begins with a lot of skepticism from Masato (the boy), who is under the impression that not even online videos can be watched on a Linux system. Then, Ubuntu's Live CD comes to the rescue and is quickly loaded on a computer without touching the hard drive. In the end, as Masato realizes the fact that Linux is quite usable and can even run Windows programs (his collection of adult-oriented games that is), they all agree Ubuntu is the way to go. What is really to appreciate is the comic's honesty as, at some point, Ubuntu's desktop breaks down and they all try to figure out what happened, concluding that if they work together they can learn from it (a reference to Linux's helpful community maybe). All in all, this first issue isn't very explicit and only provides newbies with a general feel of Linux in a fun, anime style.
The other comic, Hackett and Bankwell, is currently at its second episode and is available in both a free PDF format and a paid printed copy. Hackett is a penguin and Bankwell is a business man. In the first issue, Bankwell sends Hackett to their recently bought company that specializes in documentary production, "Interplanetary Pictures." When the penguin gets there he finds out that the company has no IT stuff because of "Mastersoft's" high software fees and decides to properly introduce the company's representative to Linux (she believes that Linux is a "text-based operating system for cyber criminals"). After a quick but accurate history of UNIX, the GNU project and the Linux kernel, Hackett goes on to present alternatives for proprietary software. Ubuntu is Linux's ambassador in this comic too, but, given its ease of use, that's understandable. The rest of the comic consists of a comprehensive tutorial on how to install Ubuntu (even changing the BIOS settings to be able to boot from CD), manage software sources, update the system and download new applications. Everything is explained thoroughly yet in a light manner. The second issue gives the basics of the command line interface (CLI), security and Linux's directory structure, with harsh references to "Mastersoft" and the evil "Balmy."
Both these projects are really great ways for newbies (be they children or adults) to learn about Linux and free software alternatives. One of the main reasons for Linux's low popularity is the fact that most people simply got used to other operating systems and can't motivate themselves enough to switch. That's why it's important for parents and teachers to introduce children/students to Linux in the early stages of their lives. Why use closed, expensive software when there is a whole world of same- or better-quality free alternatives?
Linux distributions announced last week:
On April 13th, Fabio Erculiani announced the immediate availability of a new edition of Sabayon Linux, entitled Sabayon Linux 4.1 GNOME and based on the Lite MCE version. This GNOME edition of Sabayon Linux 4 brings a "ready to use" version of the powerful and popular XBMC Media Center, multimedia applications, a dark GNOME desktop environment and all the other apps you'll need. Sabayon Linux 4.1 GNOME is available for the x86 and x86_64 architectures, featuring a custom Linux kernel 2.6.29.1 with support for the EXT4 filesystem, which is enabled by default in the installer!
Highlights of Sabayon Linux 4.1 GNOME:
· Linux kernel 2.26.9.1; · EXT4 as the default filesystem; · X.Org 7.4; · GNOME 2.24.3; · OpenOffice.org Office Suite 3.0.1; · Entropy Package Manager 0.52.8; · XBMC Multimedia Center; · Amazing desktop effects powered by Compiz Fusion 0.8.2; · World of Goo Demo; · Dark artwork; · and many more!
Download Sabayon Linux 4.1 GNOME Edition right now from Softpedia.
On April 15th, Karl Goetz proudly announced the second maintenance release of gNewSense 2, an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that contains only 100% free software. Dubbed DeltaH and available only for the 32-bit architecture, the new gNewSense 2.2 Live CD contains mainly security updates and a few other important improvements. But the good news is that the 3D desktop effects powered by Compiz Fusion are working again in this release and they will be enabled by default after the installation.
Highlights of gNewSense 2.2:
· Two new filesystems were added in the installer; · Re-added hardware acceleration (GLX); · The description of "backports" and "updates" was changed in the Software Sources tool; · The linux-image-386 package was replaced with linux-image-generic; · Fixed the output of lsb_release; · The GNU Icecat software repository is available via the Software Sources tool.
Download gNewSense 2.2 right now from Softpedia.
On April 16th, Canonical announced the Release Candidate version of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 (codename Jaunty Jackalope) What's new in Ubuntu/Kubuntu 9.04 RC? Well, not much has changed since the Beta release, only various software updates and many bugfixes. We also decided not to publish any more screenshots, as nothing has changed on the artwork part, and you already know from previous screenshot tours how Ubuntu 9.04 will look. This Release Candidate has the brand new GNOME 2.26.1 desktop environment, which brings lots of fixes and a few improvements.
There is also good news for Wacom tablet users, as these devices will be automatically recognized and enabled. However, the configuration for button mapping isn't supported at the moment (it can be set only manually if the user adds an fdi file in /etc/ha/fdi/policy). The kernel packages were updated to version 2.6.28-11.14, based on Linux kernel 2.6.28.9.
Download Ubuntu 9.04 Release Candidate right now from Softpedia.
On April 17th, the SliTaz team proudly announced the immediate availability of the SliTaz 2.0, a minimalistic Linux distribution. The new version comes after thirteen months of hard work and includes many bug fixes, as well as significant new features. So, if you're wondering what's new in SliTaz 2.0, let us tell you that it can handle various new pieces of hardware (such as Wireless devices), support for Windows drivers, support for web boot, the Openbox window manager and a lot of new system utilities.
Not to mention the fact that SliTaz is still one of the smallest and fastest Linux distributions around. Being powered by an LZMA-patched Linux kernel 2.6.25.5, SliTaz 2.0 offers support for the EXT3 and EXT2 filesystems, SCSI, IDE and many network/sound cards. The old JWM desktop was replaced by the extremely fast Openbox window manager.
Download SliTaz GNU/Linux 2.0 right now from Softpedia.
· Gecad Technologies announced on April 14th the release of AXIGEN Mail Server 7.1, boasting extended groupware and sharing capabilities as well as other important fixes and new features. Read more about it here.
· Almost one month after the big 2.26 release, the popular GNOME desktop environment reached version 2.26.1 on April 15th. Though changes were made in all areas, including development tools, mobile or platform, the desktop received the highest amount of attention, with a plethora of bugfixes, improvements and translation updates. Read more about it here.
· There's only one week left until the final release of Ubuntu 9.04 and, if you are anxious to get your hands on some nice CDs with the new Ubuntu operating system, then you should pre-order them right now from Ubuntu's ShipIt service, free of charge (a free account or an OpenID is required). Canonical started to take the orders on April 16th, so hurry up! Read more about it here.
· Yet another stable version of the ATI/AMD Linux display driver was released on April 18th, for both x86 and x86_64 architectures. ATI Catalyst 9.4 introduces early support for the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 operating system and full support for the recently released Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3. Read more about it here.
Review of the Week: Tomboy 0.14.0
· From the review: Don't you just love those sticky notes that keep piling up onto your desk to a point where you have to dig through them to find your mouse? Even worse, there will come a time when you'll need that really important note from last month's conference. And what do you do? You spend half a day sorting through all the doodles you artistically created during a boring meeting just to realize it was stuck on the back of your monitor.
There's no doubt that Tomboy is a truly powerful application. Rather than a simple sticky note replacement, Tomboy is a great way to centralize your otherwise scattered pieces of information. But if you just want to remind yourself to buy milk, GNOME's "Sticky Notes" applet is a better choice.
Read the full review here.
Video Clip of the Week: Easy Peasy 1.0 live on EeePC 701
· For this week we decided to present a video clip that showcases the Easy Peasy Linux distribution for ASUS EeePCs and many other netbooks. The video has 5 minutes and 42 seconds and it was posted by netbookitalia. Enjoy!
· TurnKey AppEngine Live CD 2009.04-hardy-x86
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· TurnKey MediaWiki Live CD 2009.04-hardy-x86 · PaiPix Linux 8.11.30 · Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.1 · SLAX 6.1.1 · Pupeee Linux 4.2 · PelicanHPC 1.9 · R.I.P. 8.1
· Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.2-2 · Kubuntu 9.04 RC · Ubuntu Server 9.04 RC · Edubuntu 9.04 RC · Xubuntu 9.04 RC · Ubuntu Studio 9.04 RC · MythBuntu 9.04 RC · Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 RC · Wolvix 2.0.0 Beta 2
See you again next Monday, April 27th, for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.
The Softpedia Linux Editorial Team.