Possible Linux distros to use Moblin are: Ubuntu, Xandros and Red Flag. Novell also announced a Moblin version of SUSE for Acer Aspire One and MSI Wind. I already blogged about Moblin so you have a better idea of what it looks like, right?

Moblin

Will these netbooks be available within the quarter? I am hoping that Moblin will be polished early next quarter so that more users could get a feel of things there. I’d like to see more feedback about the user interface. Of course it is different from the rest of usual desktop environments so there might be much resistance or acceptance.

Looking for Android-powered netbooks? Acer might be coming up with something. It is reported that Acer is currently working on a netbook running Android. The market will have another choice when it comes to operating systems on the Acer Aspire One.

Interestingly enough, Acer might be releasing the Android-powered Acer Aspire One in the third quarter of the year. And they could probably even have a netbook sale around Thanksgiving, right? Or around Christmas time. A strategic time of release, don’t you think? Especially if these netbooks would cost lower. For Linux users who want to play around with Android on their netbooks, this would be interesting because at least you get hardware that works with the software already. Unless Acer releases something half-baked, that is. I don’t think they would be doing that because their customers could end up complaining.

Somehow, I’d like to see Android on even smaller devices like the Sony Vaio P Series that just looks like a pocketbook because it somehow feels right to me for it to ‘feel very mobile’ due to its size. Or maybe something like a DS Lite or a DSi. The DSi could even connect to wireless internet even with WPA security so I wonder if there’s a way to load Android there for the heck of it.

There’s news that AVG has a new version for Linux with AVG 8.5. It is  said to have editions available for servers and workstations. Here is a run-down of the features of this software :

• streamlined scanning capabilities
• new antivirus filters
• improved handling of system resource
• improved ease of use
• support for 64-bit and multi-CPU architectures and multi-core
  CPUs
• a modular approach to software

It has been tested on the following distros:

• Mandriva
• Fedora Core
• Debian
• SUSE
• Red Hat
• Red Flag
• Ubuntu
• other Debian-based distros

Maybe those who are running small businesses might want to consider using AVG for their needs. I’ve encountered some people who use AVG on their Windows computers and they swear by it. I personally used it for a time but right now, I only turn to ClamAV for my needs. At least, this is one more option for us who would like to make sure our Linux machines are not breeding grounds for malware. After all, these viruses might affect other users who would like to access your machine, especially if they are on Windows. As they say: an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. But do note that AVG has a price tag of 163USD per year for every 10 client access.

If you love music then you’re probably looking for the music player of your choice. You could choose among several types of music players out there. In my case, as long as it doesn’t hang, as long as it shows me all the important information I need as well as store playlists well, then everything’s alright.

Lately I’ve been listening to music on my netbook using Listen. It’s like iTunes, Amarok and Exaile and Rhythmbox in a way because the interface is like that.

Screenshot of Listen (image credit: Clair Ching, 2009)

Aside from that, my Rhythmbox install keeps hanging until I have to restart. It totally sucks when that happens. So far, I haven’t had similar issues with Listen. That’s why I think you ought to give it a try because it might actually work for you.

Here’s a quick list of Listen’s features:
* Partial DAAP support
* Listen Last.fm Station
* Record any stream played in listen
* A Equalizer 10 Bands
* Icecast Agent (to use with a icecast server)
* Visulisazer (all gstreamer visualizer plugin are supported)
* Jamendo Music Store browser
* Crossfade playback engine
* A plugin system to easy write new feature
* Some other (gajim plugin, avant-window-navigator plugin, new lyrics backend)

So far, things are looking great for Listen and it really had a release candidate you could check out by downloading and installing it on your computer.

It looks like a promising project so I’d keep using it, I think. So far it seems better than Bluemindo.

I’ve successfully download the latest version of Knoppix and it’s now running live from my USB drive. Awesome, ain’t it? I used unetbootin but I was careless at first when I defined which device I wanted to use. Apparently I chose a different partition so my USB drive wasn’t recognized. The netbook wasn’t booting from it. Anyhow, it’s working now and here’s a screenshot of Knoppix at work.

Image Credit: Clair Ching, 2009.

Some of the interesting things about this version of Knoppix:
1. My wireless works out of the box. (Look ma, no tweaks!)
2. The user interface looks very similar to something…
3. There’s Compiz right away. I finally got to see Compiz funkiness on my own netbook.
4. Clean-looking user interface.
5. Media playing is not fussy. I was able to play avi files as well as mp3s without a hitch.
6. There’s an option to try bluetooth connectivity so you could surf the internet.

There are some things that aren’t quite perfect yet:
1. Dual screen is not enabled by default. Because the screens are just mirrors of each oher. Orz
2. There aren’t too many choices in terms of default applications.

I want to test this on my machine a bit more but the printing and internet access will have to wait.

For now, I will give you some screenshots I took of Knoppix.
1. Video playback

Image credit: Clair Ching, 2009.
2. Music playback

3. Installing of components

Image credit: Clair Ching, 2009.
4. UMTS/modem setup options

Image credit: Clair Ching, 2009.

Aspire One users like me have other choices aside from the default Linpus Lite and Windows XP options. There’s Ubuntu UMPC, probably other lightweight distros such as Puppy Linux, as well as Kuki.

Kuki is also based on Ubuntu but it boasts of tweaks that are specific to the hardware of your Aspire One. The Kuki team’s objectives are as follows:

• For Kuki to be an out of the box working system
• For Kuki to boot fast
• Have a low usage on SSD/HDD
• Include lightweight and fully working programs for common daily tasks

It uses the combination of Openbox and LXDE so the graphical user interface is comparatively lightweight. LXDE is comfortable to use as I’ve posted before. And for those who like Openbox as a window manager, it seems like a good option for the Aspire One as I am using it myself. As pointed out by It Runs On Linux, you could install the Kuki Linux kernel on top of the Ubuntu installation so you could get the patches and fixes instead of installing it completely.

Sorry I’ve been away most of the time last month. Real life got in the way but I am back now!

So how have you Linux users have been? Any newbie troubles you’ve been experiencing? Let me know and maybe I could help you out.

One of my online buddies didn’t really know how to add/remove programs on his sister’s Acer Aspire One and he posted an SOS online. Though I haven’t really tried Linpus on my own AAO, I found a tip that might help you if you have the same issue he’s having.

You could install new applications via the Add/Remove Software menu by making it show in the graphical user interface. When you do that, you will have a wide variety of programs to choose from. Those who are intimidated by the command line will find this not so difficult to follow.

I hope that helps!

I learned something new today about the less command:

When you need to look at the contents of the tar.gz file you downloaded, you could actually use the command less to list them for you!

$ less yourfile.tar.gz

Image credit: Clair Ching, 2009. Screenshot posted on Flickr.

This is a sample of the output of the less command. You don’t have to extract the file’s contents before you could check if all the files you are expecting to be there.

This is thanks to the article on ServerWatch It’s called Reading Compressed Files with Less.

Another tip I got from the article is that you could list contents of .gz files with zless instead of less. There are other useful commands in the article and maybe you’d be able to use them depending on what your needs are. If you’re not using a GUI environment you already have a tool for listing files. I have to admit using the desktop environments and window managers like GNOME and OpenBox more so I’ve been relying on the tools available with them.

I was avoiding trying to install another dock for Openbox and I thought that maybe the WindowMaker dock apps would work for the docker.

I’ve read that other people used different panels and docks for their system tray and applets. I actually like the full screen goodness I have with OpenBox right now as well as the docker which shows that I have applications running like Pidgin and Gnome-do. I also want to see the time and date just so I won’t be too disoriented.

I’ve tried wmclock but I didn’t like the way it looks. Now I have wmcalclock. It has the same layout but it looks cleaner than wmclock in my eyes. I just have the docker hidden until I do a mouse over on the upper left part of my screen.

What clock applets have you tried and liked? Are you also on Openbox or some other desktop?

Image credit: Clair Ching, 2009.

I wanted something different from GNOME. So I switched back to Openbox. How I missed the way you could just edit things in a text editor when it comes to settings. Well, there’s still nifty tools like Obmenu to help you write the options in your right-click menu.

Things to do when you want a similar setup:
1. Install Openbox, Obmenu, grun.
I’ve been using GNOME before so I already had Gnome panel installed already. O also had Gnome-do so I am actually using it a lot.
2. After installing them, start tweaking with your setup.
You need to edit the following files:
a. ~/.config/openbox/menu.xml - your menu when you right click
b. ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml - keyboard shortcuts, mouse shortcuts are here
c. ~/.config/openbox/autostart.sh - the apps would you like to start automatically when you log in

You could find some sample files in /etc/xdg/openbox You could just copy the files from there and stick with the defaults. Or tweak them as you see fit.
Editing the menu is easier with Obmenu because when you run Obmenu, you have a graphical user interface with everything on it. You could add the applications you want to launch via the right click menu. The part where it says command is where you type the command to launch the application.

In the menu.xml file, it’s the part with the “execute” tags. Whatever’s in between is your command.

The keyboard shortcuts are fun to think about in the rc.xml file. It really depends on your choice. I created a new keybinding in the keyboard section:

<!-- Keybindings for running grun -->
<keybind key="A-F2">
<action name="Execute">
<command>/usr/bin/grun</command>
</action>
</keybind>


When I press Alt-F2, the run dialog is launched. Even if you don’t have Gnome-do, at least you have a launcher of applications from there.

As for autostart.sh, I made sure that Gnome-panel would run once I log in so I appended this towards the end of the file:
gnome-panel &

I hope it works out for you