New Linux User » maemo

Killing Processes & A Bit of Maemo

Clair Ching — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:50:56 +0000

In Linux sometimes your applications end up hanging. For some reason they just don’t work all of a sudden. Or they are totally unresponsive. If and when that happens don’t panic. I’ve been there and dealt with that too.

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

Eyecandy for Your Chromium and Desktop

Clair Ching — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:54:01 +0000

If you’re using Chromium, the developer edition of the Google Chrome browser, then it’s your lucky weekend. There are new Chrome themes to choose from. Themes include Anna Sui and Viviene Westwood styles. Anime and such kinds of things are also present as distinct themes you could download to personalize your browser. That includes theme with Hatsune Miku, K-on and Super Monkey Ball.

New Chromium themes

Another eyecandy is the wallpaper clocks you could install. If you are familiar with Screenlets already then that’s good for you because you need them for this. If not, the Ubuntu Guide has an instruction for those running Ubuntu on their computers. This guide gives the step by step process of installing it. It also gives you an idea where to get wallpaper clocks, which happens to be Vladstudio. The moment you close your many application windows you will most likely be surprised to see the time. It’s either time flies fast because you’re having fun, or you would be relieved to see that it’s the end of the day and that means it’s time to go home. ; )

In mobile news, there’s a blog which compares the Nokia N900 with the iPhone and Android phones. Developers are interested in these mobile devices because they could create applications for these phones. Even one of my friends wants the Nokia N900 because of the possibilities for development as well as the features of the phone, its form and style. Looks like this blog is similar to my friend’s sentiments as he is holding out for an N900 when it becomes available in Manila (or when the price becomes lower, or both actually). Oh and yes, this is the Maemo-powered Nokia phone so you might want to check it out. ; ) I will be back for more with other guides and/or reviews later.

Post from: New Linux User

Watch Out for Linux on Your Mobile Phones

Clair Ching — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 07:19:28 +0000

There were some models of mobile phones that had Linux on them. It was how many years ago when Motorola released some, and I think it was also possible to have Ubuntu on Palm mobile phones, if I recall correctly. Anyhow, these past few days had something to say about Linux and mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia and Samsung, aside from Palm, RIM and HTC. And also something about the dwindling marketshare of Microsoft’s smartphones.

Mobile phones have practically become part of our lives. And Linux is emerging as an OS to be used on the smartphones. Image credit: Morguefile, user: taliesin

There’s a review of Nokia’s N900. From the looks of things, Nokia will be using Maemo rather than Symbian on its smartphone offerings in the future. With Symbian they are too limited and with Maemo, they hope to attract even more developers. With what they gave as screenshots of the phone and its applications, it looks user friendly enough for me to get interested in it. In terms of the design of the phone’s interface, the icons look clear enough and big enough.

Samsung seems to be following Nokia when it comes to making a Linux that fits its smartphones. It will combine Linux will its TouchWiz technology. Unwired View points out other information that might be important when it comes to the development of an operating system for Samsung phones.

For me, what’s exciting is that there are advantages in the Maemo-powered Nokia N900:

Faster boot time. This is what’s apparent in the protoype.
It has a stable browser. It also has support for Flash, video and applets.
It’s easier to switch languages in it compared to the Symbian-powered Nokia phones.

If the Nokia N900 is like this, it brings me to wonder what the Samsung phones will look like with Touch Wiz and its OS. I think that there will be users that won’t even care what OS is on their phones but for those who do care, this is great news.

Are there other mobile phones that you are excited about because of Linux? What are they? Care to share them here?

Post from: New Linux User