Report: Best Linux PIM: Kontact or Evolution?

July 2nd, 2009 by admin


Some of us rely heavily on our personal information managers for keeping our appointment calendars, contacts, reminders, and notes. Gnome offers Evolution, and KDE has Kontact. Which one is better? Bruce Byfield takes a detailed look at both.

Tip: xclip Does Copy-and-Paste on the Linux Command Line

July 2nd, 2009 by admin


In this tip, Juliet Kemp shows how to use xclip for copy-and-paste on the Linux command line– without using the mouse.

Kernel Log - Coming in 2.6.31, Part 1

July 2nd, 2009 by admin


Linux 2.6.31 will include a new Wi-Fi driver for Intel chips and will be WPAN-capable in accordance with IEEE 802.15.4. The developers have also improved support for Ralink Wi-Fi components and for newer power saving technologies…

Mozilla Slates First Firefox 3.5 Patch

July 2nd, 2009 by admin


Mozilla will patch the just-released Firefox 3.5 later this month to stamp out several bugs that went unfixed in the final version of the browser, the company said.

New Linux Patch Could Circumvent Microsoft’s FAT Patents

July 2nd, 2009 by admin


Microsoft’s recent lawsuit against TomTom, alleging infringement of filesystem patents, has left many questions unanswered about the legal implications of distributing open source implementations of Microsoft’s FAT filesystem.

Is Software Installation on Linux ‘Broken’?

July 2nd, 2009 by admin



You know a controversy is a big one when none other than RMS weighs in with his opinion, and sure enough, that’s what happened in the Mono debate late last week. “Debian’s decision to include Mono in the default installation, for the sake of Tomboy which is an application written in C#, leads the community in a risky direction,” RMS wrote on the Free Software Foundation’s site. Of course, rather than settling the debate, Stallman’s proclamation only fanned the flames higher, resulting in a raging inferno.

The Kernel Newbie Corner: Your First Loadable Kernel Module, Part Deux

July 1st, 2009 by admin


Moving on from where we left off last time, this article isn’t so much the next in the series as much as it’s just tidying up some random loose ends. And so, to business.

SourceForge Delivers 4 Billionth Open Source Download

July 1st, 2009 by admin


SourceForge.net, the big open source app/code repository has hit a major milestone: 4 billion downloads.

Is Dell Building an Android PDA?

July 1st, 2009 by admin



Here’s one of the many questions facing device makers targeting the mini notebook and netbook markets: When business users or consumers want to access the Web on the go, will they be willing to set aside a smartphone or cellphone and instead log on using a next-generation PDA? Dell may be wagering the answer is yes. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday the company is developing an Android-based, non-phone device that will run on the ARM architecture instead of an Intel Atom mobile chip.

Report: Mixing Proprietary Software and Linux

June 30th, 2009 by admin


It’s easier than ever for Linux users to avoid closed, proprietary applications and drivers. But life is complex, and there are still times when a Linux user’s choices are not as simple as FOSS/non-FOSS; for example, multimedia is a minefield of patented codecs, binary blobs, and DRM. So what’s a freedom-loving Penguinista to do?