Linux posts

Over the last year, Paint.Net became my default app for quick photo edits. It's an excellent Photoshop alternative for beginners and non-professional users.

Now, thanks to Jonathan Pobst, Linux users have a similar app they can enjoy. Pobst began working on the project in response to a call last year from Thomas Holwerda from OS News, who lamented the lack of a decent Paint.Net-like app for Linux.

The result is Pinta, Pobst's clone of Paint.Net utilizing the Cairo and GTK libraries. Though currently only at v0.1, Pinta already includes all the basic drawing tools you'd expect plus important advanced features like an undo history and multiple layers. While it looks somewhat similar, the only code borrowed from Paint.Net are the adjustments and effects functions.

Pinta could nicely fill a void on Linux. As a bonus, you don't even need to be a Linux user to try it out: Windows users need only have the GTK runtimes installed and Mac users will need Mono for Mac. Check the instructions at the Pinta FAQ!

If you're looking for an easy way to port some of your favorite Apple fonts over to Ubuntu, here it is! I've just started to get exposed to alternative OSes like Ubuntu and was really excited to find a way to easily get some of my favorite fonts over to it quickly and easily. TechSource has provided a really great tutorial on how to access those fonts without a lot of fuss.

To get started, open up the Linux terminal and download the required font files with this command:

$ wget http://ubuntu-debs.googlecode.com/files/macfonts.tar.gz

Next, you'll need to extract the files:

$ tar zxvf macfonts.tar.gz

Move the fonts to the /fonts directory:

$ sudo mv macfonts /usr/share/fonts

Then just reload the font cache to start using them:

$ sudo fc-cache -f -v

That's it. To use or test the fonts, head over to System > Preferences > Appearance > Fonts.


If you're looking to implement a secure, private chat environment in your company, have a look at what's going on at Ignite Realtime with their OpenFire real time collaboration server and Spark cross-platform IM client.

Being that they are open source, both OpenFire and Spark are free; that makes it easy to convince management to give it a try.

But the open source nature of the products also means that if they almost but don't quite suit your needs, you can always modify them to fit the bill.

Ignite Realtime also hosts a number of other related projects including SparkWeb, Smack API, Tinder API, Whack API, and XIFF API. If you're an IT manager or developer looking to implement a secure private chat environment, have a look at OpenFire and Spark.

While it didn't land in time for the release of Chrome OS Zero, Hexxeh has now made a script available which bolts on an automatic update feature.

The updater is currently in open beta, and installing it requires a little bit of tinkering via terminal (ctrl + alt + t starts a terminal session on Chromium OS). Follow Hexxeh's instructions, reboot your system or VM, and watch the magic! If you're not totally up-to-date, you'll see a window like the one above.

One of the most welcome fixes is listed at update 2: no more Broadcom delay. If you've been testing Chromium OS on a netbook or laptop running one of their wireless adapters, this is fantastic news!

One note: for the final step of the process, Hexxeh's instructions say to type reboot [enter] in terminal. That didn't work for me -- but sudo reboot did.

Hexxeh's Chromium OS build is one of my favorite independent projects so far this year, and it just keeps getting better. If you've used it, share your thoughts in the comments!

Have you ever wished that you could have a photo booth running at your wedding reception, engagement party, or kegger? If so, you might want to check out Party Booth.

Party Booth is a desktop application that runs in full-screen kiosk mode that allows party guests to walk up to the computer, simply press the spacebar, and pose for pictures. The process is entirely automated. The app allows you to use custom graphics for a border or banner on the prints, allowing you to commemorate your event for your guests. It can also optionally automatically upload photos to Facebook, img.ly, Mobypicture, Posterous, ScreenTweet, TweetPhoto, TwitDoc, Twitgoo, TwitPic, twitrpix, TwitSnaps, and tumblr.

Party Booth is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X and Linux due to it being a Flash application distributed in in Adobe's AIR Runtime. Party Booth will set you back $38US, which is far less expensive than renting an actual photo booth, and you can run a trial of the app for free.

For instance, two of the E-book readers (Google Books and Amazon Kindle) can monitor what you're reading. Google's Book Search Project takes tracking reading habits to a new level, logging what you searched for, the page you read, how long you viewed the page, and where you searched next.

All of the E-book readers, Google Books, Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, and Sony Reader can keep track of book searches and book purchases. Most troubling is the fact that the information collected on your book selections, searches, and purchases could be shared outside the company without your consent (applies to the Kindle, Nook and Reader).

The good news is you do have options. You can laugh in the face of the commercial behemoths and get a free, open source FBReader (for Windows/Linux) which collects no data on your book selections or searches. Another option: you can go to a bookstore and purchase an old fashioned paper book, with cash preferably.

It looks like KDE 4.4, the newest version of the popular Linux desktop environment and app suite, is on track for its scheduled February 9th release. A second release candidate just became available for ambitious experimenters to try out, and that milestone was only a few days off schedule. A bump from 4.3 to 4.4 doesn't sound like it would be a big deal, but don't discount it just because it's not a nice, round version number: KDE 4.4 includes new widgets, enhancements to existing apps, multitouch support, and even some entirely new apps.

Bloggers will be glad to hear that there's a new blogging tool, Blogilo, included in this release (I was kind of expecting them to call it Klogger, but hey). Konqueror, the KDE browser, now has a history sidebar. Akonadi, the personal information manager that plugs into apps like Kontact and KOffice, has been updated with POP3 support. There's also an onscreen keyboard and multitouch for hardware that supports it.

For the second time in just three years, China is planning to build a supercomputer using its own home-grown Loongson family of processors.

Loongson processors were meant to be used in the Dawning 5000a supercomputer back in 2008, but as they lacked Windows compatibility they were ultimately switched out for AMD processors. This year, the Chinese Academy of Sciences intends to make good on its promises and build a supercomputer using Chinese processors -- and it'll run Linux!

The actual technical specifications are mind boggling (take a look if you like), but I'll try to boil it down to something you can make sense of. It's safe to assume they are going for #1 position on the Supercomputer TOP500. To reach that, they need to beat the current leader -- the Cray Jaguar -- which clocks in at 1.75 petaflops -- 1.75 thousand trillion calculations per second, or 1,750,000,000,000,000 if you like numbers with lots of zeros

Take a moment to comprehend how many operations per second that is.

One analyst estimates that only 782 16-core Loongson processors would be required to break 1 petaflop -- but it's usually the infrastructure that's the real challenge with supercomputers. You need motherboards and controllers that can harness the power of 1,500 CPUs. Ultimately it's all for nought if the operating system is unable to utilize all of the resources -- and that's where Linux comes in! Since 2000, Linux has grown from obscurity in the supercomputer segment to almost 90% of the TOP500.

[via Technology Review -- if I got that 1.75 petaflops figure wrong, please correct me in the comments. I hate maths.]

To say Ubuntu has a dedicated fanbase is probably a bit of an understatement. As the most widely-recognized Linux distribution, Ubuntu has helped push Linux beyond the fringe of desktop computer use.

But because it's Linux -- and because Linux and open source are intertwined so tightly in the minds of many -- things get a little dicey when there's mention of closed source software being packaged with Ubuntu by default.

Take the recent survey they posted. It's a reasonable enough request - which apps would you like to see in Ubuntu which currently aren't available? Where the trouble arises is with the selections listed in the survey, apparently: Photoshop, iTunes, Skype, Hulu.

Oh god, no! What the hell are they thinking?!

I'll tell you what. They're thinking that Ubuntu needs those apps in order to appeal to a much broader group of people. Windows still owns the desktop computer market, and the lack of recognizable apps like iTunes keeps many people from even considering Linux as an alternative.

It's the truth, whether the Ubuntu community wants to admit it or not. I've tried to extol the virtues of Linux to plenty of retail customers and more than one has replied "can I run iTunes on it?" When I say no, their interest disappears completely.

Bringing apps like those mentioned would be a bold move by Canonical, but one that would indeed pay off in the long run.

[via webupd8]

Boxee is one of those magically delicious technologies that you may not "get" until you try it. Then you try it and you're hooked. I'm just talking about the old alpha builds here, which I tried on my non-techy mate and she loved Boxee, frequent crashes and all. With tons of free video and audio streaming content, plus the ability to add your locally stored multimedia wares, it's one of the least painful "media center" tools I've ever used.

Hot on the heels of their Boxee box unveiling at CES, Boxee now has the beta version of the Boxee application ready for download on Mac, Linux and Windows. Apple TV users still get the alpha version, but I keep wishing Apple would just bundle it (they never, ever will). There's a 64-bit version for Linux and some 64-bit lovin' for Windows as well. If you want to know more about the features in the beta, you can read Brad's writeup here.

And lest we not forget the humble browser origins from whence Boxee came, there's a bookmarklet that works on a handful of right-minded sites like Vimeo, Viddler, YouTube and such. The bookmarklet will add videos you want to watch to Boxee. Pretty handy if you see something you'd like to watch on your big HDTV instead of your teensy netbook.

Go forth and download!

A common complaint about Ubuntu is that its default Gnome themes (and the other selections it ships with) are unattractive. Personally, I think Dust is quite nice, but I'm always up for additional skins that are pleasing to the eye.

Bisigi has created a dozen very nice options, and they're dead simple to install. It's just a matter of adding a key and source to your software repositories. First, add the Bisigi PPA key via terminal:

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0x1781bd45c4c3275a34bb6aec6e871c4a881574de

Then, head over to synaptic (or hack it into your sources via the terminal) and add:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bisigi/ppa/ubuntu [Karmic/Jaunty/Intrepid/Hardy] main

Then update your sources and search for zgegblog. Alternatively, you can just grab them from terminal:

sudo apt-get install zgegblog-themes

Once the command finishes, you'll be asked to select the correct aspect ratio for your screen (4:3 or 16:9), and then you're free to switch themes via your appearance preferences. That's Bamboo-zen in my screenshot above.

[via webUpd8]

Before I start: this is for Linux. Specifically, it's for Ubuntu and Debian, but it'll probably work on other Linux distros if you know what you're doing. With that out the way, I give you rTorrentWeb, the best BitTorrent client for Linux.

If you've heard of rTorrent, you've probably guessed what this is: a Web GUI layer for rTorrent. If you haven't heard of it, which is really unlikely, rTorrent is a command-line interface BitTorrent tool. rTorrentWeb basically straps a PHP-enabled web server to rTorrent. In this case Lighttpd is used, but you could use an existing Apache installation if you like.

After you install rTorrent, 'screen' (isn't this installed on every Linux system by default?), and a web browser, you need to install rTorrentWeb itself. This basically uses rTorrent's XMLRPC to hook in and provide you with a nice Web-based user interface.

Take a look at the full installation instructions if you want to give it a go -- it's fairly early days for the rTorrentWeb guys, as you can see, but they've just reached version 1.0 Beta! Hooray!

It's here! Enna, a media center application made for Linux is finally ready for public release. Yay? If you're not sure what this is, you're not alone. First, GeeXbox is a Linux app that turns your computer into a media center that can work on a lot of software configurations. Enna is a nice graphical interface for GeeXbox that adds some cool new features and makes it a lot more usable.

The software has been in testing for a while but the first "stable" release is coming out now. It's available as both a standalone application but it will be part of the upcoming GeeXbox 2.0 release. It takes the program from a pretty basic CD player to a full media center than can even rival Windows 7. It includes the ability to play music, watch movies, read internet-based books, get weather information and browse files on your computer.

After playing with Enna for a little while, I must say it looks awesome. It has a lot of the features that people who are accustomed to Windows Media Center or even Front Row have come to expect. Like the developers promised, the version out now is "very stable" and didn't have any real problems.

Here are a few shots of the application:
Try it out for yourself and let us know in the comments if you like it!

[via InstantFundas]

As you can probably tell, I'm not as savvy when it comes to software -- sure, I know my way around a computer, but it's nothing like the prowess that Lee and Jay display here on Download Squad. You see... I'm a geek. Not a Mac nerd like Jay, or a security-Linux-OMG-netbook dweeb like Lee -- I'm a geek. I get excited about the things people do with computers. A virus-free computer is cool but calculating and navigating a path to the moon is frickin' awesome.

What I've tried to compile here are the 10 greatest applications of software and computers in the year of 2009. Even the most die-hard, odorous and bearded nerd should find something to squeal about in this list.

In no particular order (I'm not that brave)...

6. Windows 7

Yeah, sue me -- while I'm by no means a Microsoft cheerleader, I am a huge Windows fan. 2009 saw the release of, dare I say, the best operating system ever made. Sales figures of both the bundled-with-new-PCs and boxed standalone versions have been massive, blowing all other competitors out of the water. Software support is great, the Superbar is awesome... I'm hard-pushed to think of something bad about Windows 7. I guess the lack of Network Activity icon in the system tray is pretty annoying...

Can I sneak in a quick shout-out to Bing in this section too? It's not that Bing itself is amazing, but the competition with Google and the competitive one-upmanship that it fuels is priceless. It is no coincidence that Google has released a vast number of advances and technologies this year -- we have the scary, looming behemoth of Microsoft to thank for that.

Also, moving into 2010, it's vital that we put Microsoft's awful attempts at advertising behind us.

7. The Cloud, Web Apps, Botnets

2009 was the year of cheap, easily-accessible computing power. As we all know, with great power comes great responsibility! For every Panda Cloud Antivirus, there is a 250,000-zombie botnet that needs taking down. Amazon's EC2 (and scalable storage!) is growing in power, diminishing in cost and being utilized by more and more large-scale services every day. Did you know that Twitter runs in the Amazon Cloud? That's how they've managed to scale so quickly (and turn a profit!) with little initial outlay and tiny numbers of staff.

With Google now fully on board with cloud computing, and invested in its vast array of web apps, we will continue to see more end-users, large corporations and even governments move towards the Cloud in 2010.

8. Real-time news takes over as Twitter gives the faceless Iranian horde a voice

This year, mostly driven by Twitter, we have seen the proliferation of real-time news: proper, breaking news -- not an hour after the fact, but usually within mere minutes. We've always known the Internet to be pretty special and capable of some wild things (like Flash mobs!), but it's not often that we actually hear of the Internet doing something important like this.

With the Iranian presidential 'scandal', Twitter was very suddenly thrown into the limelight. Here, handed on a social media silver platter, was Twitter's legitimacy. Who cares if 80% of all Tweets are about your bout of irritable bowel syndrome if it can also provide a voice for the oppressed protesters in Iran? Twitter's impact was so big that the event has even been nicknamed the 'Twitter Revolution'.

Recognizing the importance of news as-it-happens, most of us now follow BreakingNews (BNO) on Twitter. MSNBC, acknowledging that the conventional news wire is just too damn slow bought them out this year. Who knew that reporting on the Tiger Woods situation 30 minutes after BNO would ever be considered 'slow'... Damn Internet!


9. Google's Online (for now) Domination

I really want to love Google. They do so much good -- they offer so much value for such a low price -- but... part of me remains cautious. I know that while I get to search maps and trawl billions of expertly-indexed websites for free, someone else is footing the bill. Is this capitalism? I pay $300 for a LCD monitor, which Samsung then spends on Google AdWords. Google takes its cut, Samsung turns a juicy profit, and I get tons of free stuff. It sounds pretty damn good to me.

2009 must surely go down in history as one of Google's greatest years. Its stock prices are soaring, their fluid cash reserves are strong and they're buying up bright new start-ups like there's no tomorrow -- recession? What recession? Meanwhile, Microsoft sits in the wings and humbly mumbles to itself about how it 'used to be my job'. I think it's fairly well-accepted that Google is fast becoming the new Microsoft -- the only real difference is the business model. Microsoft struck gold via its monopoly of the operating system market. Google's livelihood is accruing and analyzing your Internet-usage habits.

It's just a question of which method of doing business you prefer. It's very hard to say no to a free lunch though, that's for sure.

10. The Large Hadron Collider runs Linux

The largest science project. The most powerful particle accelerator. The biggest and coolest cryogenic system in the world. And it runs on open-source software. Linux -- Scientific Linux, a modified Red Hat distro, to be exact -- powers a machine that propels atomic nuclei to speeds within 99.9999991% of the speed of light... and then smashes them together! This year saw the first actual collision, and while the boffins at CERN haven't quite worked up to full speed yet, nor have they worked out a way of keeping baguettes out of the system, 2010 should see some really big bangs.

With a total budget of nine billion dollars, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is by far the most expensive scientific experiment ever devised. Hopefully we'll discover crazy new particles and uncover the laws of quantum mechanics. No one knows what's really going to happen -- it's an experiment after all -- but scientists assure us that the creation of a black hole is unlikely. Phew.
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I think I've hit just about every major geeky-newsy story from 2009, but if I've missed something big, let me know in the comments.