I know you need to shift to Linux from Windows as you can’t afford the side effects of windows. If you are having this feeling then this article is really for you. Like you i too, was a user of Windows and decided to shift to Linux when i was fed up with it. This was mainly because of the virus attacks and lack of stability of Windows . You know once i installed windows XP four times a day. One of my friends advised me to take a look at Linux . I have taken his advice , but soon came back to windows , when i found it was not right for me. But more and more nasty windows events took place and i made my mind to shift to Linux and the first Linux distribution in my life was Knoppix. Later i came to use Ubuntu and the journey in my Linux world continues.
Let me say, these days almost all programs which are for Windows are available for linux, atleast something like that do exist. Here are a list of few programs you should not miss when shifting to linux.
1. vlc player for linux , Mplayer also recommended.
2.Mozilla Firefox (available by default for most distributions).
3.OpenOffice
4.If you are an IRC freak then consider, Xchat
5.Interested in Virtualization , Virtual Box from Sun is a good option.
6.Amarok Music Player
7.For bittorrent clients consider Deluge , Azure, or Ktorrent .
8.K3B for cd burning.
9.GIMP image editor
10.Gwenview , default image viewer for KDE.
11.Text Editor Nano or Emacs or Vi(advanced).

Personally it is best to start with Ubuntu and if needed you can change to other advanced distros. Now Ubuntu 9.10 is available.If you are too skeptic about your Windows XP, then there is smooth shuffle program for linux which transforms your old XP to a virtual machine. Download any Linux distribution and feel the spirit of free software.

keywords windows becomes linux linux windows

With the release of fedora 12 ,we decided to give it a try with a 64 bit live cd on a Toshiba machine.There is no good difference in appearance with the older editions of fedora ,just some changes in Nautilus icons.What to say,they offer a clear and clean appearance.

Firefox is preloaded with some addons like java and media works.But flash is not present.If needed you can install them.

The overall performance of the system has increased with the new launch.Moreover on the instant messaging companion Pidgin has been replaced with Empathy.The wireless device support is simply amazing and it detects all hardware easily.Bluetooth options have been increased and it even supports file sharing with via bluetooth.

Fedora has introduced a  third party product for Fedora called Easy Life which helps you to configure anything you need .

It does the following:

• Sets “sudo” command up for your regular user.
• Configures RPMFusion repository for extra and non-free software for use.
• Installs Flash Player plugin for .swf,.flv file formats.
• Installs all kinds of multimedia Codecs for playing video and audio.
• Installs additional fonts.
• Installs Skype.
• Integrates Sun Java with system-switch-java for easy use.
• Installs Google applications like Picasa, Desktop etc.
• And many others…

Fedora  has done a great job considering security and performance in this release .As usual it is easy to use .

fedora 12 screenshots..

More linux related news.. ,KDE VS GNOME .. linux wallpapers gallery

Have you ever dreamed to end the trouble of licensing and copyright of Microsoft Windows ,but also not willing to stop using it, as you were using it for years and you may be missing your favourite applications if you shifted to any other OS  like Mac OS or linux.Then there is a good news for you,ReactOS.ReactOS  is an OS developed on windows NT platform completely written from scratch.It is not related to linux but it is a free software licensed under GNU GPL license. which takes you out of all the bottle necks of copyright.

It can work the same way as your Windows XP or Windows 7 or whatever.Fully loaded ,it supports all windows softwares and drivers.It is also having appearance similar to windows operating systems as people are accustomed to using it.ReactOS project reimplements a state-of-the-art and open NT alike operating system based on the NT architecture-design.It includes the strength and power of NT kernel.Considering the case of security it doesn’t share the common security flaws unlike others.ReactOS  incorporates various design decisions from other operating systems like Unix,MacOS etc.

One of the powerful features of reactOS is that it is a lightweight os that can be run in computers with low performance.It is sure to overtake other bloated os in several ways.Considering portability it is just about 35MB in size as an .iso file.

System Requirements

* x86-compatible processor, Pentium or later
* 24 MB  or above, RAM
* FAT16/FAT32 Boot partition
* Standard keyboard and PS/2 compatible  mouse.
* 2 MB VGA graphics adapter
* IDE hard drive of at least 150 MB in size,it even supports SATA harddisks.

Note:Alpha version of ReactOS 0.3.10 is available and not recommended for daily use.For more details visit official site at : http://www.reactos.org.

Screenshots of ReactOS

top 7 linux distributions

Linux is one of the best operating systems ever .Considering the number of distributions ie,about 350 there always arises a question which is the best linux distribution.According to recent polls ubuntu is voted as the best linux distribution.It doesn’t signify that others are not good.But one thing which is an important factor to be considered is that the linux distribution suited for you entirely depends on you.For eg,if you are a penetration tester ,you would be most probably using backtrack compared to ubuntu which is the most popular linux.Mostly quality of an os depends on its popularity .Here is a list of some famous linux distributions and their homepages :

• Slax
• Fedora Core
• Kubuntu
• SUSE
• Mepis
• Red Hat
• Knoppix
• Debian
• DSL (Damn Small Linux)
• Gentoo
• Linspire
• Xubuntu
• PCLinuxOS
• Mandriva/Mandrake
• openSUSE
• Puppy

It is always up to you which one should you choose.Have a look at them and choose your one.

Which is better  KDE or GNOME????….I have heard this question many a times from my friends who are new  to linux systems.So today i decided to write my new post aiming to choose the best one for them.

WHAT IS KDE AND GNOME???

KDE and GNOME are two kinds of linux desktop environments.Both of them contain many integrated softwares and graphical features associated with themGnome uses a window manager called metacity, KDE uses kwin. Both these desktops can be used with any other window manager if you are not comfortable with the default choice.

KDE in very similar to windows in its appearance and interface.It is very customisable and ‘flashy’ compared to Gnome.It is provided with many graphical tools to assist you.Most Linux programs written for the X-display are designed for KDE.However it is a bit slower in loading compared to GNOME.The latest version of KDE is KDE 4.3 which includes many window animation techniques and addons .It has a different theme called Air which replaced the earlier one -Oxygen.

GNOME on  the other hand is linux’s ‘own’ desktop environment.It is more popular through  linux ditros like ubuntu and is more common to normal linux users.It is much more simple than KDE and gives more importance on performance rather than on look.Also Nautilus is quoted as being more stable than Konqueror, file manager of KDE.

WHICH IS BETTER FOR ME

If you are a complete newbie to linux and  prefers appearence better than performance then KDE is for you.It has features very similar to windows environment.On the other hand if you’re running an old machine and just require stability and a simple desktop then you’re best looking into Gnome. Also see How to install kde in ubuntu 9.10

There has always been an argument between distro users of linux ,which distro is the best.Let me say one thing different distros are meant for different purposes.For example ubuntu is suited for home and office use ,while backtrack is a must for penetration testing.Nimblex suited for ones who are very specific of what they want in their computer.So let me come to the point i am pointing out the most popular ten linux distributions which are : Debian, Slackware, Fedora, Mandriva, Suse, Ubuntu, Knoppix.You need to note that there are about 350 distributions of linux.I wont say that they are not good ,but i may list out the ones which are mostly preffered .The choice of os depends on people .It cannot be confined to some distributions.Here is a brief introduction:

Debian : It is one of the oldest linux distributions.It was first developed by Ian Murdock.It supports about  15,000 packages on 11 architectures.Debian is known for its strong adherence to the Unix and free software philosophies, its stability and its huge community.Due to the high stability and quality it is mainly used in servers which need to be very stable.Official website: http://www.debian.org

Slackware :

It was founded in 1992 by Patrick Volkerding, and it is  oldest surviving GNU/Linux distribution. It is a very minimal distribution with high stability .It has a very minimal package management and installers are text based.It is suited for admins who are very eager to understand the working of linux and for novice who are very eager.It is in no way an eye candy and what ever one learn from it is available for every other distros.Rather than using distribution specific configurations one needs to edit configuration files manually.Official website: http://www.slackware.com

Fedora:

One of the best known Linux company in the world is Red Hat, founded in 1995 by Bob Young and Marc Ewing.It was later converted to Fedora Core.It uses rpm installation packages.It has installers like yum etc.It is a candy in every facet .It is a general purpose distribution.Due to close resemblance to redhat it is very popular to companies too.It has a very excellent graphical interface.Official website: http://fedora.redhat.com

Mandriva:

It was originally called Mandrake and it was created by Gael Duval in 1998.It is a great option for novice with a powerful graphical installer.It is based on redhat and it uses rpm packages.In this gnome has been used earlier which have been replaced by KDE.It is highly up to date and therefore has a lot of users.Official website: http://www.mandriva.com

Ubuntu

Ubuntu was created by Mark Shuttleworth and is distributed by his company Canonical Ltd.It was first released in 2004 and has taken over the market over these years.It is not good as mandriva or fedora in its appearance.It has become so popular as it offers free ubuntu cds including shipping charges.Every new version is much better than the previous versions and it is its quality.Official website: http://www.ubuntu.com

Suse

Suse is one of the best choices for a desktop install.It is well known for its installer and configuration tool named  YaST.It is a good os from the boot to to its appearance.In 2003 it was taken by novell and it began distributing .iso for free all over the web.It is based on KDE environment.Official website: http://www.suse.com , http://www.opensuse.org

Knoppix:

Klaus Knopper,was the man behind the  Knoppix ,which is a live-CD distribution which can run from a cd without the need to install on a harddisk.It has a high compression efficiency and a much better hardware recognition much better than other distributions.The CD can be used as a recovery or administration tool or even used for a live demonstration session.This is based on unstable debian edition and its updates are quite uptodate.Official website: http://www.knoppix.com