Tag: linux

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Linux Mint Debian Edition 201009 has been released!

A few years ago, I wrote about Linux Mint as an unofficial Ubuntu distribution that is preinstalled with proprietary codecs and plugins then I write a follow up article when the project has evolved into providing a user-friendly Linux distribution, with additional application but is still based on Ubuntu.

linux mint debian edition

But now, the Linux Mint teams has taken another step forward by introducing Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE), which is based on Debian GNU/Linux distribution (Debian-Testing or Debian Squeeze). LMDE features a new installer which was developed from scratch with Debian in mind, bleeding-edge application from the Debian-testing repos and the same proprietary software addons from Linux Mint own repositories.

LMDE is however is not compatible with Ubuntu repositories as there are differences between the binary and the configuration files. Those who are seeking for full compatibility with Ubuntu, should download Linux Mint standard edition instead. Another caveat is, LMDE currently is only available on 32 bit X86 platform and GNOME, with no immediate plan to release 64bit edition or with KDE environment, due to complications with the process of making Debian much more ‘friendlier’ to keep up with Linux Mint standards.

linux mint debian thumbnail screenshot

LMDE can be downloaded from its official website : http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php, it comes with a DVD ISO image (875 MB)

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Broadcom has released open source Linux Wifi 802.11n drivers

In a welcoming step, Broadcom finally released the the source code of its wifi (802.11n) Linux drivers under open source license. The source code can be found on the Linux staging-next tree at git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/gregkh/staging-next-2.6.git in the in the drivers/staging/brcm80211 directory. The open source drivers will support current chips (BCM4313,BCM43224, BCM43225) and it also acts as a framework to support future chips by Broadcom.

This can be considered as a significant move made by the company, as Broadcom chips are widely in use on laptops and netbooks in the market. Its competitor, Atheros, has already open sourced its drivers back in 2008, which in turn, made Atheros drivers much better supported on various operating system platform compared to Broadcom.

Previously, Linux users with Broadcom chip, have to rely on NDISwrapper utilities to enable the wifi functionality on their laptops.

[source][via]

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New features and changes in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick!

Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) BETA has been published a few days ago and quite a few brave souls has already upgraded to it. The Beta release gives general idea of what final release will look like when it is due in October 2010. Among of the noticeable features in Meerkat are:

  • GNOME platform 2.31
  • Shotwell replaced F-Spot as photo management software
  • Gwibber release that supports the new Twitter oAuth authentication system
  • Better Ubuntu One integration with the desktop with faster sync speed and added feature that allow users to share music links to Ubuntu One Music
    Store
  • Better Ubuntu One integration with the desktop with faster sync speed and added feature that allow users to share music links to Ubuntu One Music Store
  • Ubuntu Netbook Edition gets the Unity Interface!
  • Includes kernel based on 2.6.35.3 upstream release
  • Includes improved multitouch capability

Other Bugs and Issues

  • Wubi Windows Installer is reported not being able to open Windows’ boot configuration files in some cases, so might not be the best idea to install the Beta release on production Windows PC environment
  • Upgrading previously installed Ubuntu (10.04) that uses Wubi to 10.10 Beta does not work and is not recommended.

Read the full post here : http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/maverick/beta

p/s: As with all other BETA release, it is only recommended for power users and those who are helping Ubuntu community to iron out bugs by filing bug-reports before final-release. It is certainly not recommended for production users, especially to newbies who just want to try out Ubuntu.

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Fanatical Linux Fanboys == Fake Linux Users?

A comic strip from Mostly Harmful got me thinking, how many are you so-called Linux fanboys actually use GNU/Linux operating system? Do you own a Windows box? or even Apple Mac OS X? How many are you, Linux advocates use GNU/Linux in your daily lives? Claiming that Linux is great and hating every other operating systems, while still (in secret) using them by choice?

APz Mostly Harmful I hate Linux Fanboys

Thanks APz for the comic strip

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How to use GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) – Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign and Verifying identities

GPG or the GNU Privacy Guard is a free and open source software that implements OpenPGP public-key cryptography message format (RFC4880). You can use GPG to encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify files or emails. To use GPG, you need to generate the public-key/private-key pairs in your computer by running this command, and choose the default option


gpg --gen-key

The application will ask you to enter your ID and passphrase, make sure you choose a strong passphrase to guarantee the safety and security of your keys.

Encrypting and Decrypting Files
You can use GPG to encrypt files, it can be only decrypted by those who have your public-key. The command that can be used to encrypt file is :

gpg --out encrypted_file.txt --encrypt original_file.txt

Run this command to decrypt. Files encrypted with private key can only be decrypted with public key and vice-versa.

gpg --out decrypted.txt --decrypt encrypted_file.txt

Signing Email or body of texts
Alternatively, you can chose to sign emails/texts instead of encrypting them. Signing files is a way to ensure that the message/texts/emails are from the right sender and its content has not been tempered with. You can run this command to sign email or texts :

gpg --clearsign original_text.txt

This will produce a signature file which content the original text with PGP signature embedded at the bottom of the message.

To verify it (assuming you have the public key), you need to run this command:

gpg --verify original_text.txt.asc

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