When almost the entire screen freezes I launch a virtual terminal by pressing CTRL-ALT-F1 and then look for the process number of the application which I think triggered it. Usually it’s firefox or what. In any case, looking for the process number could be done by listing them all with the ps command and then grep. Then use the kill command. That or I look for the process in the graphical user interface.

As for the rest of the methods for killing processes there’s a blog entry on MakeUseOf that would help you remember the different methods.

In the Philippines, one of our local bloggers was able to check out the Nokia N900 with Maemo running on it. It’s said to be really beautiful and has a fast response time. It feels light, in his words. Hands on with the Nokia N900 (by Jayvee Fernandez) has a quick run-down of what he liked about the phone. Some comparisons with the iPhone and the Android-powered HTC Hero are mentioned too. Sounds good right?

For other such topics, let me know what else you’re curious about. Let’s see what we could talk about on this blog.

Post from: New Linux User

What’s in store for us in ‘Eclair’ or Android 2.0?

Those who work in companies whose emails are managed by Microsoft
Exchange servers will be happy to note that Eclair is said to ship
with support for MS Exchange. Probably a good enough reason for some
to consider getting a new Android 2.0 powered smartphone.

Some of the features are said to be corporate friendly. Anyhow here’s a list of some features:

• Multiple email accounts. If you’re like me, then you probably have at least two email accounts. This feature sounds practical to me.
• Combined inboxes. Well, after all you have multiple accounts. It is possible to view them all as if they’re just in one inbox. No need to keep switching from one inbox to another, apparently.
• They also put a virtual keyboard where you could use two fingers to type faster. The multitouch surface should make it fine for you to use this on smartphones which are supported.
• Interestingly enough, there will be HTML 5 support on the browser on Android 2.0 so that sounds cool.

Developers might want to take a look at their improved API too. Includes changes in handling contacts, especially because of the multiple account feature. There is also a centralized acount manager for storing and accessing auth tokens/passwords.

Does Anroid 2.0 or Eclair look like a sweet deal to you? Then it might be worth waiting for. Well, there’s also Maemo so it should be interesting to see devices powered with Android Eclair and Maemo and compare them. Smartphones and Linux could be the future of computing for all we know. ; )

Thanks to Linux Insider for the heads up!

Post from: New Linux User

I hope that this team success for the upcoming hackfest! I also hope to hear/read about it from you.

Image credit: clarita, via Morguefile

Speaking of events, Asia Source 3 is coming up soon! It will be held from November 7-12 in Silang, Cavite — that’s in the Philippines! You got that right.

There will be several tracks that participants will be able to attend:

• Managing your information.
• Migrating to FOSS.
• Broadcasting your information.
• Joining the FOSS Community/Using FOSS tools.

It would be great to hear and read all about the participants’ reactions after the camp. I hope that a lot of the participants will be encouraged to join the FOSS community and spread the love~! Not just for Linux but for the free and open source software movement at large.

What other events are coming up soon? Care to share them here? It will be more interesting to hear about them. It will be good to experience those events too if it were possible. ; ) Just let us know and maybe some of us can be there too. : D

Post from: New Linux User

Having to learn about new software happens to us, whether it’s proprietary or free and/or open source. It’s just that I am bothered by how close-minded people could get. “If it’s not Windows, it sucks” and “I don’t trust how this software works because it’s just a free download so I get what I don’t pay for” are two things I dislike a lot. Why? Because it’s not fair to lump all free and open source software this way. It doesn’t help that manufacturers seem to give this image that only Microsoft is good. Asus with it’s campaign of “It’s better with Windows” and now with HP dropping the the Ubuntu-based Mi system from their HP Mini offering, I could only think of terrible conspiracy theories.

It feels like manufacturers are also powerless when it comes to resisting Microsoft’s software on their machines. They’re bound to support it. Acer, even if it will have Android on the newer Aspire One model, has Windows 7 too. Dagnabit, they all want to put Windows 7 on the spotlight. Maybe because it’s new and much better than Vista ever could be? Some people have weighed out the pros and cons of Windows 7 and I guess that if it works for you go get it. But see here, my issue is that why did these manufacturers take out the option for you to have your netbook run Linux? Is it just all marketing hype that’s why Windows 7 is becoming a new favorite of these manufacturers? Well, what?

Honestly, I am suspicious. Then again, if you’re one who’d be likely to think that it’s better to risk the ire of a seemingly small group of users of Linux than to risk your business then it’s your decision. But please back it up with better reasoning than “Windows® helps you quickly and easily get online and connect to your devices and services – without dealing with an unfamiliar environment or major compatibility issues.” If you’ve got someone who was using Windows XP switching over to Vista or Windows 7, things will be different. It looks somewhat familiar but not quite. Not everything’s the same as before.

So yeah, with the advent of Windows 7 I am expecting more FUD against Linux and free and open source software in general. But I know that the community is improving on the kernel as well as the distros and the other applications that come with it.

Post from: New Linux User

• less pressure on the instructors and students as well
• tools they could play around with and not be too afraid to make mistakes
• there are tools that could be fitted within her budget

It is awesome to read case studies that show us that installing Linux on their school computers, etc. It is never easy to just switch. (Is proprietary software an addiction? A habit? Sounds like it sometimes.) In any case, setting up a new system could be tricky and those who see the need to change into a completely free and open source software the management and staff who would be in charge of it will need assurance of these changes. Unixmen gives us an article about Desktop4Education.

Schools have a limited budget and licenses do cost a lot. In this case a teacher started a project to provide a solution to free the school from paying licenses as well as have something that is easy to network and administer. Helmuth Peer was the one who launched it. Eventually, there have been perceived economic benefits of using open source software in schools.

There have been extensive research on software packages. What’s good about them is that they highlighted the needs of each grade level. I think that these are valid points of consideration.

In this study in Austria, they note that slow migration is practical, as seen in the case of the secondary school of Rechte Kremszeile. This study is encouraging when it comes to migrating to open source software. Another lesson learned from this is that goverment intervention is a factor too. If government will help in the preparation of migration to open source software. This is something that might be critical because public schools will be the beneficiary. If there will a good adoption plan that’s supported by the government, that will influence other schools as well.

Post from: New Linux User

Image Credit: jppi. Via MorgueFile. Click on the image for the original.

Rapid Photo Downloader has documentation that is also reader-friendly. It gives you tips on how to get started. It has a practical approach to installing the application. Here are the basic considerations you must have when considering starting to use Rapid Photo Downloader:

• where you want your images downloaded
• how you want your images named
• where to download images from
• if and how you want your images backed up
• if you want image filenames to be compatible with other operating systems
• how you want to handle any image name conflicts or missing backup devices

So you see, your considerations as users of this application are also considered and the documentation guides you through using it. It even has the explanations for the different things that you might have to use/consider when using it. After all, one of the features of Rapid Photo Downloader is that you could generate file names that are descriptive and you could create a filter for them. This way, you could deal with the files as an entire batch that has to be renamed. A great solution to a cumbersome task, right?

Another neat thing about this photo downloading application is that you could have backups of your images while you’re downloading them. And you could also automate tasks if you so wanted them.

I am sure my friends who are aspiring photographers will love this application, especially because of the options they have. Whether they’re using GNOME, KDE, XFCE or something else, this is said to run but because there’s so many out there, you might have to take a shot at using this to confirm it. Now you can be happily clicking your files and so on.

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

So yeah, Acer’s joining the Android group and it might be interesting to see what happens. I am kinda hoping they will drop Windows 7 and stick with an all Android setup and see how that will progress. Part of me is thinking that we shouldn’t rely on Windows applications because there are Linux-based apps that work well too. Unless the person’s needs are highly specialized that is.

Are you excited about this latest news or are you dreading it? What do you expect from Acer now that they are planning to release a netbook with both Android and Windows 7? I am personally excited to have a netbook with 9 hours of battery life with a really fast boot-up time. But Windows 7 — no, I don’t think I’d want that. In any case feel free to drop by and share your thoughts here.

Post from: New Linux User

1. Linux Professional Institute certification
2. Samba
3. Linux on S/390
4. SELinux
5. Linux Live CDs
6. Linux clusters
7. Linux supercomputing
8. Linux on Play Station
9. Virtualization
10. One Laptop Per Child

Tux, the mascot (heart brushes from free-brushes.com)

Samba is simply awesome because it is useful especially when sharing files with people within the office. If not for Samba, we’d all have to keep looking for flashdrives and CDs to copy files on to. Too much of a hassle if not for Samba.

And there’s also great news for those using iPod Touch and iPhones. There’s now a way for you to connect them to your laptop in Ubuntu Karmic Koala, Jaunty Jackalope, Intrepid Ibex and Hardy Heron. Thanks to UbuntuGeek.com for the tutorial on connecting your iPhone and/or iPod Touch on Ubuntu. This requires you to get iFuse, a tool which does not require jailbreaking nor extra software on your iPhone or iPod Touch because it uses “libiphone” to connect. The comments might also be useful because there are people who gave feedback on how it was when they tried it. Fortunately, there are also packages for Debian, OpenSUSE, Fedora and Mandriva. The project team currently needs alpha testers too. If you could contribute patches, documentation, etc. it will be really cool and helpful not only to you but other iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Post from: New Linux User

Locally, a group of Linux advocates set up Sahana, a collection of web based disaster management applications that provides solutions to large-scale humanitarian coordination and collaboration in disaster situation and its aftermath. It’s a good start for us to have a centralized area for any possible communication when disaster strikes. There are also others who have been tweeting and plurking the latest news. The updates were related to volunteer work, how to give relief goods, as well as tips on how to check on your car when it gets flooded to info on which shop offers services to laptops which needed to be serviced/recovered after the flood. I also received messages from friends in other countries and amidst the time differences it is heart-warming to receive messages from those who care.

Personally, I am glad that technology is not only used to improve one’s work. It is also being used to effectively disseminate information needed. This way, we’re able to not just be updated about where the storm is going but what we could do when it hits, etc. It also helps us track which shelters need more supplies, or more volunteers and so on.

This is one heck of a learning experience for all of us, I think. Especially for us in the Philippines. It’s a matter of preparation and coordination among people so we could adapt to whatever storms (literally and figuratively) that might hit us.

Post from: New Linux User