Ubuntu Karmic Koala is scheduled to be released on the 29th this month. Just two days before Halloween! So don’t forget that ok? Everyone must be busy preparing for Halloween parties and other such events but before you do that, upgrade your computers first. ; )

Speaking of laptops and netbooks, we need to make sure that our laptops and netbooks are in good shape. After all, these are our tools to make our work easier. (Well, other stuff aside from work too! Like communicating on the go, etc.) If we don’t monitor our little babies we might find them having problems and conking out on us at the most inopportune moments. Gkrellm will save the day and your laptop for you. You will see a stack of information that gives you an idea of how your laptop is like. With Gkrellm you could see if your laptop is too hot and if you might actually have a very dusty laptop. You never know, right? Because all of those dust sometimes gets in and your laptop gets increasingly hot if you never bother to monitor the temperature. Thanks to Rob Reilly and his awesome article on Gkrellm. Now I know and it’s better now that I know about this. I’ve been travelling around with this netbook and goodness knows how much dust there is everywhere.

Post from: New Linux User

image credit: cohdra via Morguefile

Their plan:

The group developed software that, when the user is not using the mouse or keyboard, plays a tone at a high frequency and records the tone’s echo. The computer then processes the tone and filters out everything except the frequency and looks for variance.

Interesting concept, right? Because it’s not just about efficiency in using power but it’s also about your user experience. And these researchers know from experience too.

If you’re really concerned with power saving the software is said to detect your presence up to 8 feet away. The research group is looking for people to participate in the project by testing the software. This Sonar Power Manager could be tested on Linux but you’d have to compile from source. It looks like a good project to participate in testing. You and the researchers will both gain from learning more about the feasibility of this power manager.

In other news, there is now an open source game editor you could check out. It’s called Game Editor. It’s for those who want to create games for computers as well as mobile devices. Users can choose to make free and open source games but if they want to distribute the games using other licenses they have to pay USD 95 for the professional edition. Interested? Check out Game Editor and see if it fits your needs.

Post from: New Linux User

At 250 USD, you might get tempted to buy this ultramobile laptop. Why? Because it’s small and light. And it’s got Linux on it. But there are drawbacks: No webcam, no built-in wifi. Those two things are worth buying in the Asus EEE. Well if you want more space there’s also the Cloudbook to satisfy your needs.

These days Linux users have a great variety to choose from and it could be overwhelming. But in this case, I think I’d have to agree with Slashgear that you could let this opportunity pass. Even if you’re thinking you’re just going to surf and watch some videos, this ultramobile might not be worth it unless you’re sure you could get wired internet access.

I am disappointed that there’s not much information about the Linux distribution they included in this laptop. Really, I am curious. But with this lack of information what does that mean? You could choose any?

Post from: New Linux User

What does it involve?

• Removing the WPA supplicant installed by default.
• Installing WPA supplicant from the Debian repositories.
• Installing MadWifi drivers.
• Creating wpa_supplicant.conf_MINE
• Creating a new network configuration.
• Making sure that you fix the network monitor icon.

The steps are all there and you just need to follow them one by one.

Hope that helps you with your wifi needs! All thanks to the people of the EEE User wiki and Timelady.

Post from: New Linux User

*sigh*

Reasons mentioned:

• Compatibility with Flash sites
• Compatibility with other software

And speculations seem to imply that the move by Intel to sell the Classmate PC for a low price was one of the triggers. Why? Because consumers would buy that. And it seems like this shift to Windows XP would help them sell them machines better.

Here’s the thing: Windows XP would make them change their hardware. They need more harddrive space for the operating system alone. Another: How much would those modified machines cost?

Here are some suggestions which I think could help the OLPC team:

• Why not team up with a group such as Asus? I’d rather see them do that than ditch Linux in favor of Windows. Then again, maybe the teaming up with a particular hardware manufacturer would tie them down further? And after what Intel did, they probably felt really bad already so maybe not this one.
• Prepare other educational materials which would cater to the target audience. There are groups out there who could be tapped as resources for materials if they’re worried about educational sites out there.
• Don’t give up yet! Rather than going with the Windows-way, find out if there are other groups who’d be supporting them in their endeavors. Their project could change the way of the world, so why not go through with the changes?

Maybe I sound idealistic but I don’t think that cheap laptops in the hands of children should be the end-all be-all. There are other benefits of having an open source operating system and applications in the hands of these students. We don’t just want them to have the tools. We want them to have the freedom and power in other aspects as well. I don’t know what else to say except that I am disappointed with today’s news.

Post from: New Linux User

…HDTV channels broadcasting in this format won’t play on Eee. Other channels sent over in MPEG-2 were played back properly. One caveat is that software doesn’t come with recording function…

Well, it’s been designed for learning and surfing, not really much for entertainment purposes (and it really isn’t so much fun to watch on such a small screen, if you ask me!). I suppose there will be some who’d love to have it work as an entertainment unit as well but that seems like shooting for the stars already. Unless of course, Asus decides to upgrade it and give it a performance boost so that more consumers would be able to find something affordable and practically an all-around gadget.

If you want to try out the tuners, you could download drivers from Asus.

Post from: New Linux User

There are versions of the laptop. One runs Linux and the other is powered by Windows Vista. Consumers have the choices. The Linux one is cheaper.

Cheaper machines won’t be enough to convince the market to use Linux, in my opinion. It needs more than that to let them see what’s in store for them. If people would be given enough time and resources to learn more about it then it would help. But companies don’t only need people in tech support that these consumers could count on but what’s important is how the user is helped from the moment they are deciding to buy a new machine for home use or for school use. Not everyone has the attitude which drives them to learn more about computers. Some are even more afraid of using them boxes with buttons.

I know I should be happier about the news related to creating more Linux powered laptops for consumers, I just think that it’s not enough.

Post from: New Linux User

If you’ve been using Linux and wondering if you could use two monitors, especially for those who are laptop users, you have a tool Xrandr. But the thing with Xrandr is that it’s buggy and it’s mainly something you have to configure via the command line which not everybody is comfortable with. I’ve used Kubuntu some time last year and there was a graphical tool to fix it but at first I had to use the command line to make sure my external monitor was detected.

Enter Ubuntu Hardy Heron, the upcoming Ubuntu release. Bryce Harrington blogged about the Xrandr GUI tool he’s been working on and even shared some images to give us an idea as to how it would look like. It reminded me of the graphics settings on Windows XP that let you set which monitor is primary and stuff. The new tool even lets you change the orientation of the rotation of the screen. Sounds cool? Check out Bryce Harrington’s blog for more details.

Post from: New Linux User

This sounds great to me! No lock-up with Windows. You could either go with the default Linux installed or you could install a distro you are more comfortable with.

News from PCWorld.

Post from: New Linux User

The truth is you can get a much more powerful laptop for the same amount of money if you’re willing do deal with a larger notebook. However, no other laptop on the market gives you this much computer in such a small package for such a low price … at least for now.

As I said last year, the Eee PC can’t replace a full-featured desktop or notebook, but it makes the perfect choice if you are in the market for an ultraportable notebook for school, work, or travel. – Asus Eee PC Review Part 2: Budget Subnotebook Perfection

The article also noted some of the improvements in the battery which will be released this February or next month. It might add some weight to the machine but the battery life will be a blessing indeed!

Post from: New Linux User