Home
Backgrounds
Cowboy Mouth Pictures
Linux Links

Debian Admin

Debianhelp

Debuntu

DesktopLinux

User Friendly






















Old News



Thanks To Osdir for ScreenShots!

Why Linux

My PC
Whats under the hood.

Contact me!
Webmaster

















 
Web Capnkirby.com

It's Easy to Bitch, Easy to whine, Easy to moan, Easy to cry,
Easy to feel like there ain't nothing in your life,
Harder to work, Harder to strive, Harder to be glad to be alive
But its really worth it if you give it a try...
Fred Leblanc
Welcome to Capnkirby's Linux Reviews and News
Linux News                                                                              Capn's Distro Review Database

After my review of do-it-yourself-Arch, I wanted to test a distro with a totally different philosophy, one that aims to give you a complete desktop system from the start. The problem was, I didn’t want to test Ubuntu, OpenSuse, Mandriva, Mint…those are too well known. I’ve installed them many times before and, well, by now I think they’re a bit boring Pardus is a relatively new kid on the block, but it has been gathering positive reviews. These are my impressions.
Pardus 2008
2008-07-03
Today we’re announcing on our blog that we’ve launched a new 7” netbook with Sylvania, one of the most trusted consumer brands in the world… Called the Sylvania g netbook, it is the first of a future series of Sylvania netbooks to come and feature gOS inside. Turn it on and you’ll find reliable Wi-fi, closed the lid and power on later again and you’ll find reliable a Suspend feature, and on our favorite green desktop you’ll find your classic Google Apps, IM, Skype, and Open Office for opening Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
gOS and Sylvania's g netbook series
2008-07-03
Up to now I reviewed SMPlayer and 11 video players for Linux, and in this article I'll take a look at Kaffeine 0.8.6, the last version for KDE 3.x, and also a well-known video player for KDE.
Kaffeine 0.8.6 Review
2008-07-03
Banshee 1.0 is finally here, and the development team has added a truck load of new features; making it not only an audio player but a full blown media player and manager. This video discusses all of the new and improved features of version 1.
Banshee 1.0 is more than an audio player (video)
2008-07-03
REGULAR readers of this blog will know I'm a huge fan of Parsix, the Debian-based Linux distribution created by a small team in Iran. In my in-depth review of version 1.0 I said: “The fact that it's all sitting on a Debian base is hugely reassuring, and my initial concerns about using a system primarily designed for Persian users – with all the language-based implications that brings – have been completely erased. Parsix 1.0 comes very highly recommended.” Now we have Parsix 1.5r0, codename 'Viola', with the promise of extra features and improvements to what was already a fine operating system.
A Symphony For Viola: Parsix 1.5r0 Review
2008-07-02
openSUSE 11.0 has been one of the most anticipated distributions of the 2008 release season. In terms of innovation, openSUSE is perhaps the most ambitious of all the highly popular Linux distros so far this year. Since its 10.0 release to the open source world in 2006, openSUSE has experienced its share of ups and downs, not the least of which has been questionable quality assurance on final releases. Most notably, since adopting several poorly integrated package management backends in the 10.x series, openSUSE has alienated even some of its most loyal users. On the other hand, openSUSE has generally maintained its reputation of being polished and detail-oriented. What will the 11.0 release bring to the Linux scene?
openSUSE 11.0 - Smooth Outside and Rough Inside
2008-07-02
Today Linux desktop manufacturer Xandros acquired Linspire for an undisclosed amount. Xandros will also be keeping existing engineering, support, and key sales employees and long-time Linspire employee and CEO Larry Kettler will be joining the Xandros executive team as the VP of Business Development. While Xandros didn’t mention their total employee numbers Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos claims Xandros to be the third largest Linux company in the world after the acquisition. Former Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony has some harsh criticism of the deal on his blog.
Xandros Acquires Linspire
2008-07-02
There is no dearth of software that can help you run that indispensable Windows app over Linux. Win4Lin has managed to survive through the years as an inexpensive tool for people who like to pay for support. The recently released Win4Lin 5, available for $30 a pop, has shrugged off the shortcomings of its predecessor and delivers on its "near native-performance" promise.
Win4Lin 5.0 makes big improvements
2008-07-02
Well, since I've gone through both Ubuntu and openSuSE Linux, and my curiosity about Unix systems in general has really started to kick in, I've decided to go through a few more variants to see what they are like, how they load on my laptops, and whether I might prefer one of them over my current favorite (Ubuntu). I might end up regretting this decision, but I assume there will be plenty of adventure and frustration along the way, and perhaps some learning and enlightenment.
Mandriva Linux - Wonderful and Maddening
2008-07-02
If you need a very easy to install, feature complete Linux distribution, do not look any further than PCLinuxOS. This gem of a distribution is an absolute joy to use. Many eons ago when Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux) was the king of Linux distributions, a certain person called Texstar, used to prepare RPM packages to improve Mandriva Linux. Texstar, then forked Mandriva Linux and this fork became PCLinuxOS. Texstar’s experience, devotion, and perfection to his task, shines through even today in PCLinuxOS.
PCLinuxOS Mini ME 2008 - A Joy To Use
2008-07-02
Back in March we had looked at the Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 mobile processor with its Penryn core and 6MB of shared L2 cache between its two cores clocked at 2.50GHz. We were very pleased with the performance of this mobile processor on Linux, which was found within a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 notebook, and today we are looking at the Penryn's desktop counterpart. Intel's Core 2 Duo "Wolfdale" E8000 series processors were released earlier this year with 6MB of L2 cache, 45nm manufacturing, a 1333MHz FSB, and support for SSE 4.1. The processor from the Wolfdale series we are looking at today under Linux is the Core 2 Duo E8400.
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
2008-07-02
OK, so over the past few months I’ve grown from being a Linux skeptic into being quite a Linux fan. I’ve still got lots to learn but it’s great having the ability to roll out a no-cost OS onto systems that don’t need to have Windows on them (I understand that not everyone reading this will need Linux, but I do …). That said, there are a few aspects of Linux that do annoy/frustrate/anger me/make me hulk out* (delete as overall mood dictates), and one of these aspects is so core to an OS that I’m surprised that it hasn’t been addressed already.
Linux’s dirty little secret
2008-07-02
With the huge success of Firefox 3, I think it is fair to say that a lot of people have been wondering how Firefox’s success could be achieved in other open-source projects
The Importance of the Windows Ubuntu Expierience
2008-07-02
After the recent release KDE 4.1 beta 2 and openSUSE 11 with KDE 4.0.4, some critics have been especially vocal in expressing their displeasure with the KDE 4 user interface paradigms. The debate has grown increasingly caustic as critics and supporters engage in a war of words over the technology. The controversy has escalated to the point where some users are now advocating a fork in order to move forward the old KDE 3.5 UI paradigms. As an observer who has closely studied each new release of KDE 4, I'm convinced that the fork rhetoric is an absurdly unproductive direction for this debate.
The critics are wrong: KDE 4 doesn't need a fork
2008-07-02
DAVIX, a live CD for data analysis and visualization, brings the most important free tools for data processing and visualization to your desk. There's no hassle with installing an operating system or struggle to build the necessary tools to get started with visualization. You can completely dedicate your time to data analysis.
DAVIX
2008-07-02
So it looks like Pat and I had the same idea this weekend. That is to play around with the new OpenSuse 11. Before I started, though, I needed a system I could install on. Live cd’s are great and all, but it’s just not the same as having the OS running on your real hardware, and I wanted to give it a fair shake, so to speak. Well, since I am broke and can’t afford a test box, I figured I would just install on my trusty lappy and see what was what. But first things first, I needed to make some freespace. I just didn’t want to blow away everything I already had on there.
OpenSuse 11
2008-07-02
The first alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, codenamed Intrepid Ibex, was made available on Saturday. This preliminary Intrepid prerelease includes updated packages, a new version of the Linux kernel, and an experimental new visual style.
Horny for Ubuntu 8.10: first look at Intrepid Ibex
2008-06-30
I am one of Linux enthusiast like you people, and have used almost all major Linux distros in past.Currently I triple boot Windows XP/Ubuntu Feisty /PCLinuxOS 2007.I am very impressed with PCLOS 2k7, even more than i was with Ubuntu. So i though why not write something which may help other people…. So here it goes as if why PCLOS 2k7 is better than Ubuntu
Why Is PCLinuxOS 2007 Better Than Ubuntu ?
2008-06-30
The first development snapshot for the forthcoming release of Ubuntu 8.10 (codenamed Intrepid Ibex) is coming out two weeks late -- likely due to Canonical's focus on getting the Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS update out next week -- but what matters is that it's finally here. Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1 is far from meeting the quality standards for end-users (there isn't even a desktop LiveCD spin of this release), but that didn't stop us from playing with this latest build from the Canonical camp. In this article we are looking at the few changes in the Intrepid Alpha 1 release for Ubuntu and Kubuntu as well as looking at some of the changes they have planned before this release goes gold in October.
Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" Alpha 1
2008-06-30
This tutorial shows how you can set up an OpenSUSE 11 desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge
The Perfect Desktop - OpenSUSE 11 (GNOME)
2008-06-30
chrooting is a very important skill that any *nix administrator must know. It's essentially what allows one to repair an existing Linux environment by entering it from another environment. The process is actually relatively simple, and useful for doing tasks such as reinstalling GRUB, repairing a broken kernel, resetting the root password, etc.
Chrooting into a Linux environment
2008-06-30
With Ubuntu, Canonical has had notable success in convincing people to switch from other platforms, but potential Ubuntu users are still running into trouble in several areas. Having spent some time on Canonical's forums, I've identified 10 points that seem to be common sticking points for new users -- that is, problems that have the potential to prevent a new user from adopting Ubuntu in the long term. These problems span the entire Ubuntu experience, but they all have two things in common: they are all serious enough to evoke the dreaded "I tried Linux but it didn't work" excuse, and they are all solvable.
Ten sticking points for new Ubuntu users
2008-06-30
A few weeks ago I was asked to testdrive Pardus - a distro of Turkish origin - once it was released. It was released on june 27 and here is my report on this distro.
Pardus 2008 : A testdrive
2008-06-30
Based on Arch Linux, the linuX-gamers Live DVD (bit of a mouthful) first came about as a way to show gaming on linux to the uninitiated. I get the feeling your average PC gamer (read: Windows gamer) wouldn't accidentally stumble across this DVD unless it was either bundled with a computer magazine or a Linux gamer introduced it to them, though if they did it would definitely dispel the myth that you can't play games on Linux
Review: linuX-gamers Live DVD 0.9.3
2008-06-30
It’s been a while since I did a technological (read: geek) blog, so I thought I would update you on what’s going on. As you are aware, I am a full-fledged geek by trade and passion and I have gone from Windows to Mac to Linux. My Linux evolution went from Linspire to Mepis to PCLinuxOS to Ubuntu. I stayed with PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu for the longest. However, I have always read good things about another distribution called Linux Mint. It’s based on the latest Ubuntu release but with a lot of add-ons. The latest version is called Linux Mint 5, Elyssa. So, at the office, I downloaded the latest iso and tried it out to see how it all worked.
Linux Mint 5
2008-06-30
Zenwalk is a Slackware based distribution that is aimed at giving it’s users a fast, stable, and to easy to use machine. It has been ranked 18th on Distrowatch for the past 6 months. Zenwalk 5.2 was released this month so I decided to give it a try on my Dell Inspiron 1150 system. This notebook is few years old so it is a good machine for an agile distribution like Zenwalk. The 1150 has a Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz Celeron processor with 1 Gigabyte of RAM. It runs pretty well under Ubuntu provided I don’t turn Compiz on. Being that Zenwalk is based on Slackware and uses XFCE window manager I was hoping it would run faster. Their site claims Zenwalk has very low system requirements. Their manual states that it will run on a Pentium II with 128 MB of memory and 2 GB in hard disk space. By the way, the manual is very well done. It is something you could give to someone who has never used Linux before. They go through the basics like how to burn and ISO in Linux and Windows. Screenshots and complete explainations of the whole install process are also included.
Zenwalk 5.2 on a Dell Inspiron 1150 Review
2008-06-30
The extremely lightweight Swiss GNU/Linux distribution Slitaz burst upon the scene in March of this year promising to be easy on system resources yet possessing enough power in the form of basic applications to actually get things done.
A second look at Slitaz 1.0: turns out it has a lot of potential
2008-06-30
At the beginning i must admit that this review may be a little biased, but in the end you’ll see that’s a good thing. Couple of months back I read that Foresight Linux just hit number 2.0 release. After some reading, I found that it’s a distro that has the latest and greatest from Gnome (which in my case is a must as I’m a Gnome freak :) ), so I decided to give Foresight Linux a try.
Foresight Linux - user perspective review
2008-06-30
One of the major inhibitors to the spreading of Linux, as I see it, is that people don’t know why they should try it. Other reasons may include lack of support for their favorite game, or that Photoshop doesn’t run on Linux. For those of us who weren’t stopped by those reasons, why did we switch? What is it about Linux that makes it a viable alternative?
20 Reasons Linux Users Like Linux (and you might, too)
2008-06-25
So a friend gave me her old computer and says ‘ I can’t use it, it has a virus or something’. Turns out it didn’t have a virus it had a huge problem with the hardrive. The computer didn’t boot. I got a blue screen of death with error code 0×00000024. I did a quick search on the Microsoft site and quickly learned there was serious problems with the hardrive. Basically there was something seriously wrong with the hardrive. I didn’t have the OS and my friend didn’t care what I put on it, as long her daughter could use it for teenage stuff.
Ubuntu Linux not for ! Puppy Linux Rocks.
2008-06-25