With the coming of a new year, it is time to take a look at the Linux computer offerings and see which distributions you can get shipped to your doorstep. I just recently ordered a new desktop from one of these vendors, and I will publish a review as soon as I have thoroughly tested it.
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Tavis J. Hampton
How to Install a Preview of Ubuntu TV
By | January 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment
At CES, Canonical announced its latest major project that it is calling Ubuntu TV “TV for human beings”. Much of the Ubuntu TV interface will be based on the groundwork that has already been established with the development of Unity, Canonical’s revolutionary, and sometimes polarizing, desktop environment.
In keeping with tradition, Ubuntu TV is free and open source. Therefore, you can install it now, while keeping in mind that it is still under heavy development. If you have the time and wherewithal, you can try installing it from source. If not, there is also a PPA available with binary packages.
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How to Install and Configure ownCloud
By | January 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment
It is difficult to read any tech news and not see something about “the cloud”, cloud computing, cloud hosting, or at least something that mentions the word “cloud”. Many businesses have moved their entire software operations into the cloud, and many individual users rely on cloud service providers for email, documents, and file storage.
There are a plethora of file storage and file sharing services available on the web. Many of them are free for a limited amount of space (often around 2 to 5 GB). For a lot of people, this type of service is sufficient, but if you want your own file storage system, need a lot more space, do not want to pay a third party service, and already have your own web hosting account for your website, ownCloud is a free and open source option you should definitely consider.
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How to Make GTK3 Apps Look Presentable in KDE4
By | January 4, 2012 | 4 Comments
With the release of Gnome 3, many developers of GTK apps have begun to port their programs from GTK2 to GTK3. If you have used Ubuntu 11.04, you will notice that many of the popular GTK2 themes did not yet have GTK3 equivalents, which left the few GTK3 applications looking awful.
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How to Get a Dock-Like Taskbar in KDE with Icon Tasks
By | December 28, 2011 | 6 Comments
KDE has always given users the ability to add launchers to its panel, and it has always had a very usable task manager. Until recently, however, there has not been a comprehensive and well-designed merging of the two. The Icon Tasks widget has changed all of that. It is a robust plasma widget that includes support for task-oriented launchers and even the Ubuntu Unity API.
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How to Run Startup Scripts in KDM before KDE Starts
By | December 15, 2011 | 1 Comment
KDE has an easy-to-use system for configuring programs or scripts to run at startup. Linux distributions also have methods of starting programs at boot, but there are some unique instances when it would be ideal to start a script at the moment KDM starts, in between the start of X and the start of your desktop environment.
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How to Make KDE 4 Look Like KDE 3
By | December 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment
When KDE 4 was first released, it was met with both hope and dismay, depending on the person you asked. Some loved everything from the new interface to the improved functionality. Others called it a significant step, but one in the wrong direction.
Those purists still love KDE 3.5, and many of them continue to use the supported version of it called Trinity Desktop Environment. Others, however, mainly just preferred the KDE 3.5 look over the current Plasma Air appearance. If that is the case, Plasma gives you the flexibility to make your KDE 4 desktop look like KDE 3.5.
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How to Use Custom Tray Icons in KDE
By | November 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment
KDE icons are generally very easy to customize, and there is a complete graphical interface in System Settings for choosing an icon theme or installing a new one. One thing you might notice, however, is that the standard KDE tray icons are all monochrome. When you start using non-KDE apps or lesser-known KDE apps that do not have monochrome icons, it kind of ruins the look. Of course, for those who dislike monochrome icons, the look is also ruined.
Fortunately, some KDE users have taken the initiative to create monochrome icons for those programs that did not already have them and even some alternative tray icon sets for users who want a different look from the standard Air desktop theme set. This brief tutorial will show you how to quickly and easily install tray icons for your KDE Plasma desktop theme.
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How to Give Any KDE Desktop An Ubuntu Makeover
By | November 23, 2011 | 5 Comments
Although some might consider it blasphemous, the default KDE desktop is not a style everyone automatically likes. If it were, KDE-Look.org would not be filled with desktop themes, window manager themes, and more. KDE is all about customization, and the ability to make it look however you want is part of that.
I have spoken to many people who dislike KDE solely based on its default appearance, the Air/Oyxgen set of styles and themes. Some have even argued that it looks too much like Windows (although evidence strongly suggests that Windows 7 mimicked KDE, rather than the other way around). What those people may not realize is that you can make KDE look as much like Gnome or any other desktop environment as you want.
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How to Use KVM with Virtual Machine Manager
By | November 16, 2011 | 2 Comments
Virtualization has many uses. You can use it to test another operating system, run applications that your OS does not support, or even maintain virtual servers within one or more virtual machines.
KVM (kernel-based virtual machine) is a Linux virtualization tool that makes use of hardware-assisted virtualization (also called native virtualization) using processor technology such as Intel VT-x and AMD-V. Red Hat’s Virtual Machine Manager now has support for KVM, making it easy to setup a virtual machine with a free graphical interface. It is also available for Fedora, Gentoo, FreeBSD, Ubuntu, and many other operating systems.
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