Showing posts with label Linux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Linux. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Linux and Windows XP on Dell Computers
It's interesting that after offering Windows Vista on its new computers, Dell is now offering new computers with Windows XP on them. Dell followed this by introducing new Dell desktops and laptops with Ubnutu, a popular Linux distro, installed on them instead of Windows. It seems Linux is starting to take over on mainstream computers. This is sure a hard time on Microsoft.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
ReactOS - A Microsoft Windows Alternative
Linux has been promoted as the free alternative to Microsoft Windows. Despite years of heavy promotion by its dedicated fans, Linux still remains a competitor to Windows only for server machines but looses ground when it comes to desktop computers. Linux started to gain some ground on the desktop computer front, yet it still has a long way to go.
The two main obstacles facing Linux when trying to gain ground in the desktop area are first that a large number of users are already familiar with using Windows and second because there is a huge amount of software applications that run on Windows yet does not run on Linux.
Enter ReactOS. ReactOS attempts to become an open source alternative to Microsoft Windows. An alternative in the real sense of the word, that is it can run all software applications that have been developed for Windows! That's a freakingly interesting idea. If they succeed in achieving their goal, I believe that could deal a heavy blow to the Windows operating system. I wonder then how will Microsoft React.
The two main obstacles facing Linux when trying to gain ground in the desktop area are first that a large number of users are already familiar with using Windows and second because there is a huge amount of software applications that run on Windows yet does not run on Linux.
Enter ReactOS. ReactOS attempts to become an open source alternative to Microsoft Windows. An alternative in the real sense of the word, that is it can run all software applications that have been developed for Windows! That's a freakingly interesting idea. If they succeed in achieving their goal, I believe that could deal a heavy blow to the Windows operating system. I wonder then how will Microsoft React.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Make a New Linux!
Linux From Scratch provides you with "step-by-step instructions for building your own custom Linux system." I found the idea amazingly interesting a couple of years ago when I bumped into it. Although I have not tried it myself, yet I believe there are those out there who would love to give it a try.
I just came across their web site a while ago and I noticed it had a sleeker cleaner look. This made it look much more appealing to me. After all this could reflect a more tidied and user friendly approach in their step-by step instructions. I remember last time a sow their site a couple of years back it looked so geek-like. Now it's neat.
You can think of LFS (Linux From Scratch) as a book which gives you instructions on how to compile different bits of source code, taken from the open source community of course, to finally arrive at a Linux operating system. This OS will be unique because you are the one who built it. You may decide to take it further and pass it around. Who knows, it might turn out to be a popular Linux distro. Perhaps you can name it after your own name too!
It came to my mind that perhaps one of the tests one could make to an job applicant is to provide him/her with the LFS web site and ask him/her to build a Linux distro. This will show how the applicant can read and understand English, solve problems and show perseverance. Perhaps it could be too long for a mini-project for job assessment. Maybe it would be a better idea to make applying LFS be a graduation project for Computer Engineering grads for instance. That would be interesting. They also would have the time to build a usable and useful distro. I hope some Computer Science or Computer Engineering students in Egypt pick up this idea and take it for their graduation projects. Would be a really good exercise in problem solving, and in learning new technologies and how things work. Perhaps the distro they come up with too could be of use and even wide distribution and adoption in our community later on.
I just came across their web site a while ago and I noticed it had a sleeker cleaner look. This made it look much more appealing to me. After all this could reflect a more tidied and user friendly approach in their step-by step instructions. I remember last time a sow their site a couple of years back it looked so geek-like. Now it's neat.
You can think of LFS (Linux From Scratch) as a book which gives you instructions on how to compile different bits of source code, taken from the open source community of course, to finally arrive at a Linux operating system. This OS will be unique because you are the one who built it. You may decide to take it further and pass it around. Who knows, it might turn out to be a popular Linux distro. Perhaps you can name it after your own name too!
It came to my mind that perhaps one of the tests one could make to an job applicant is to provide him/her with the LFS web site and ask him/her to build a Linux distro. This will show how the applicant can read and understand English, solve problems and show perseverance. Perhaps it could be too long for a mini-project for job assessment. Maybe it would be a better idea to make applying LFS be a graduation project for Computer Engineering grads for instance. That would be interesting. They also would have the time to build a usable and useful distro. I hope some Computer Science or Computer Engineering students in Egypt pick up this idea and take it for their graduation projects. Would be a really good exercise in problem solving, and in learning new technologies and how things work. Perhaps the distro they come up with too could be of use and even wide distribution and adoption in our community later on.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Linux is Easier to install than Windows!
It is not secret that installing Linux on your machine is always more difficult than installing Windows. At least that's what I have believed up until yesterday when I bought my new PC. I have previously tried installing Linux in my machine years ago. I know that installing it is usually not smooth, sometimes it misses the monitor, other times it cannot figure out the modem. I remember the hell of trying to make Linux connect to the Internet via a dial up modem. One might argue that it was not fault of Linux, but that such internal modems have been designed for Microsoft Windows and blaming Microsoft for monopolizing the market. Yet the point was still valid, if you tried going online using those dial up modems you could be lucky after some hard work to succeed. I remember having to recompile the kernel, an older version of it, in order for the dial up modem to work.
When I bought my new computer, I did have in mind putting Linux on it, at least as one of the options. The old miseries of trying to install Linux and making it figure out all the hardware came to my mind. I hoped that I can ask those who have tried and select hardware that is Linux-friendly. Yet I did non of that. I just bought the hardware and prayed it would work smoothly with Linux.
It seems that my prayers have been answered. Yesterday I installed Novel's SUSE 10.1 distro of Linux on my new machine. In below an hour Linux was setup and all hardware configured except just for the wifi card. The following day I decided to scrap Linux and install Windows just to check if the wifi card was working or not. The wifi card had a CD with it which said it has software and drivers for Windows only. Not so nice of them, but that was the case. Anyway, I installed windows, but guess what. After installing Windows it did not detect by itself the sound card, the LAN card nor the video card! I had to use the CD that came with the motherboard to set them up. Linux had done that the previous day by itself and did so very smoothly! That was the time when I realized, and for the fist time, that installing Linux can be easier than installing Windows!
When I bought my new computer, I did have in mind putting Linux on it, at least as one of the options. The old miseries of trying to install Linux and making it figure out all the hardware came to my mind. I hoped that I can ask those who have tried and select hardware that is Linux-friendly. Yet I did non of that. I just bought the hardware and prayed it would work smoothly with Linux.
It seems that my prayers have been answered. Yesterday I installed Novel's SUSE 10.1 distro of Linux on my new machine. In below an hour Linux was setup and all hardware configured except just for the wifi card. The following day I decided to scrap Linux and install Windows just to check if the wifi card was working or not. The wifi card had a CD with it which said it has software and drivers for Windows only. Not so nice of them, but that was the case. Anyway, I installed windows, but guess what. After installing Windows it did not detect by itself the sound card, the LAN card nor the video card! I had to use the CD that came with the motherboard to set them up. Linux had done that the previous day by itself and did so very smoothly! That was the time when I realized, and for the fist time, that installing Linux can be easier than installing Windows!
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