Newsletter 7/21/2009

SliTaz 2.0: Simple, Speedy, and Secure Posted: 21 Jul 2009 04:48 AM PDT It has been more than a year since my last look at SliTaz (Simple Light Incredible Temporary Autonomous Zone) GNU/Linux so I kind of miss it already. That's why I decided to grab its second distribution release. At 29.7MB, SliTaz 2.0 is slightly bigger than its previous version but is packed with new features. Some of the highlights of this latest edition include: * Window manager is changed from JWM to Openbox * Improved hardware support * Easier customization for creating own distro * Overall desktop and system improvements Since I don't have a spare hardware at the moment to install SliTaz on, I decided to run it via VirtualBox inside my Ubuntu desktop. SLiTaz by the way is a LiveCD that can also be installed on the hard drive. It's good to know that its installer will allow you to easily upgrade from version 1.0 to 2.0. The minimum recommended requirement in order to use the main LiveCD is 256MB. However, you will only need 16MB for the "slitaz-loram-cdrom" flavor. After I've configured and loaded the ISO image of SliTaz 2.0 LiveCD on VirtuaBox, I was greeted with the usual boot menu screen and was presented with several options. I just pressed ENTER and went on. I then picked the language and configured the keymap and X display resolution. In the blink of an eye, I'm inside SliTaz's fully loaded desktop. As said earlier, SliTaz 2.0 now uses the very lightweight Openbox window manager instead of JWM. I think this is a good move since Openbox is highly customizable and it can be easily tweaked using the ObConf utility GUI (Openbox Configuration Manager). I really like the default look of SliTaz 2.0 and I'm sure most of you will do. --It's simple and very easy on the eyes: The applications found on the main menu and inside the panel is well arranged and exactly where I want them to be placed. But to those who want to make some changes, you can always create/remove panels and add/remove panel items very easily just like using GNOME. SliTaz 2.0 is filled with handy desktop applications and utilities that will make you forget about its minute size. It has PDF viewer, web browser, BitTorrent client, mail client, FTP client, image viewer, image editor, audio player, CD ripper, DVD burner, IDE, text editor, and a whole lot more. Plus you can easily and instantly install new packages from the fast-growing SliTaz repository using Tazpkg. Installing Python via SliTaz Package Manager (GUI) failed... Using tazpkg shell failed... I have no success when installing a package via GUI and shell console. The installation was interrupted and I was back at the login screen. After I logged back in, the panel and desktop icons are all gone. I still don't know what's causing this glitch. I'm quite disappointed that SliTaz 2.0 has been rather prematurely released as some of the problems that I've encountered on the previous version have not been ironed out. Although there are several areas that SliTaz has matured and improvements are noticeable. Despite the few issues that I've encountered, I still consider SliTaz GNU/Linux as one of the elite fast and lightweight distros because it has maintained its speed and simplicity while continuously enhancing its many useful features. I'm still looking forward to its future releases and hoping for the best. If you want to download SliTaz 2.0, you can get it HERE. Then, you can always share with us your views via comment later on.

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Newsletter 7/20/2009

Weekly Ten (7-20-2009) Posted: 20 Jul 2009 12:10 AM PDT 10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful: 1. DRM is Dead, RIAA Says For years the RIAA has defended the use of DRM, much to the dislike of millions of honest customers who actually paid for their music. Now, in a shocking turnaround, the outfit seems to have come to the realization that DRM does more harm than good and has officially declared its death. More @ TorrentFreak 2. How to Go to Mars--Right Now! Many people believe that a manned mission to Mars is a venture best left to the next generation. They're wrong. We have in hand all the required technologies; we don't need to build giant spaceships, a lunar base, or a space station grander than the one we have. Instead, we can go straight to Mars in relatively small spacecraft powered by boosters like those that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon 40 years ago. More @ IEEESpectrum 3. Migrating to Linux, Part 1: Sharing a Room With Windows Going from Windows to Linux need not be done all at once. You don't need to throw yourself into the deep end of the pool in order to learn how to swim. For those with a Microsoft habit they want to kick but don't want to go cold turkey, here are some ways to ease into Linux without giving up Windows -- well, not immediately, anyway. More @ LinuxInsider 4. $15 HDR camera More @ HackaDay 5. The Anatomy Of The Twitter Attack The Twitter document leak fiasco started with a simple story that personal accounts of Twitter employees were hacked. Twitter CEO Evan Williams commented on that story, saying that Twitter itself was mostly unaffected. No personal accounts were compromised, and "most of the sensitive information was personal rather than company-related," he said. The individual behind the attacks, known as Hacker Croll, wasn't happy with that response. Lots of Twitter corporate information was compromised, and he wanted the world to know about it. More @ TechCrunch 6. Google Frenzy and Mono Mania Just when I was getting thoroughly bored with Mono news, which is the same arguments recycled over and over, and little of anything more definitive from the Mono camp than "Same to you!", along came a tidal wave of Google Chrome OS news. More @ LinuxToday 7. Microsoft's Empty Promise Last week, Microsoft extended the terms of their Community Promise to implementations of the ECMA 334 and 335 standards. You might think this means it's safe to write your software in C#. However, this promise is full of loopholes, and it's nowhere near enough to make C# safe. More @ FSF.org 8. Parajet SkyCar flying vehicle evolves, now ready for pre-orders More @ Engadget 9. Steve Ballmer laughs off Google's Chrome OS threat Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer ridiculed Google's browser-based PC operating system which is slated for shipment next year, using a tone remarkably similar to that used to blow off the potential of the iPhone two years ago. More @ AppleInsider 10. Top 10 DIY Projects that Harness the Power of the Sun Cheap, powerful, and available almost everywhere—solar energy is a truly great thing. With these 10 sun-powered projects, you can turn a sunny day off into some brag-worthy, possibly money-saving backyard tech. More @ Lifehacker

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Quick Tips - Ubuntu TipsnTricks

Weekly Ten (7-13-2009) Posted: 13 Jul 2009 07:45 AM PDT 10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful: 1. Polish teen derails tram after hacking train network A Polish teenager allegedly turned the tram system in the city of Lodz into his own personal train set, triggering chaos and derailing four vehicles in the process. Twelve people were injured in one of the incidents. More @ TheRegister 2. How to use electrical outlets and cheap lasers to steal data The only thing you need for successful attacks are either the electrical grid or a distant line of sight, no expensive piece of equipment is required," Barisani and Bianco say in a paper describing the hacks. More @ NetworkWorld 3. Netbooks Are Little Notebooks, and Linux on Netbooks Rocks This newfangled netbook phenomenon has brought with it a bit of confusion, which is understandable since it is so new. The EeePC 701 launched the modern netbook craze, a tiny little low-powered thing with a 7" screen, 512MB RAM, WiFi, and 4BG of storage. It ran a stripped-down Linux, and at two pounds and $399, it quickly won many hearts. More @ LinuxToday 4. Robots learning facial expressions More @ HackaDay 5. Open Source is Infiltrating the Enterprise There's a persistent perception that open source software is being ignored in the enterprise, that IT management fears it and it ends up being more costly to deploy than proprietary solutions. That's certainly the perception that some major software vendors would like you to have. But it's Jeffrey Hammond's job to dispel those perceptions, at least when they aren't accurate. More @ OreillyRadar 6. Windows 7 Forecast to Squash Vista Quickly Just more than a year after it launches, Windows 7 will account for nearly half of all the client operating systems Microsoft ships to corporate users, according to forecasts by IDC. More @ PCWorld 7. Apple nears wireless license for iPhone in China Apple may have finally cleared a hurdle in bringing the iPhone to China as it has reportedly applied for a Network Access License in the Asian country, putting a release just a few months away -- albeit without Wi-Fi. More @ AppleInsider 8. Video: Life-sized Gundam's back, looking deadlier than ever More @ Engadget 9. How to Debug PHP Using Firefox with FirePHP Typically, there are two main ways of debugging server-side code: you can utilize an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with a built-in debugger or log and perform your debugging processes in a web browser. More @ SixRevisions 10. The Healthy and Fit Algorithm Remember: Getting in shape is about 3 things. Eating right. Exercising. And doing those two things consistently! Of course, that's easier said than done but it's the truth. Getting into shape is not rocket science! More @ ZenHabits

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