Tag: Linux
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Exaile on Lubuntu
Recently I switched my Dell B130 laptop from Linux Mint 10 to Lubuntu 10.10 because the bloat/drag was really making it a pain to use. Lubuntu’s LXDE desktop is very snappy and the default applications are, as you would expect, lean on resources. My need for good Audioscrobbler support and streaming audio left me dissatisfied with…
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Virtual Desktops in KDE
Linux OS desktops have had Virtual Workspaces since long before Windows or MacOS—just one of the reasons I’ve been a full time Linux user for the last 6 years, with no temptation to switch back. Here’s a video demonstrating Novell’s openSUSE Linux, which is what I’m running on my main desktop at the moment.
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Is It Windows 7 or KDE 4?
People are bowled over by Linux with the new KDE 4 desktop, believing that they’re looking at Windows 7. (I’ve been using Linux with a KDE desktop since early 2005).
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Product #WIN: Kudos to Sandisk; respect for the Sansa Fuze
A lot of people write reviews for products they’ve used for a week. It seems to me that there’s limited value in that: kinda like the automobile manufacturers that struggle to get the J. D. Power & Associates Award for Initial Quality. That doesn’t impress me. How does the quality of the product and support…
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New year, new OS?
So far it’s shaping up to be a year of changes. Some milestone birthdays, the family website on a content management system (at long last), and now, a change of operating system. After about 3 years of running Kubuntu on the family desktop, I’ve switched to openSUSE. Not a huge change I guess, switching from…
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MythTV – The Do-It-Yourself DVR
My television watching has decreased exponentially with every passing year. It wouldn’t take much statistical analysis to determine a correlation (and probable causal relationship) between this trend and the additional children that have also arrived at Chez Lyons over the years. I’m not complaining; it’s two blessings in one. More tangible enrichment; less etheral mind…
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Kaffeine: Can’t check DMA mode. Permission denied or no such device: “/dev/dvd”
I recently ran into trouble trying to play copy-protected DVDs on my new installation of Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron beta). Initially it seemed that there was a problem with the installation of libdvdcss2, because Kaffeine kept offering to re-install it. However, after a re-start of Kaffeine from Konsole with wizard mode (kaffeine -w), I got…
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Will The Canoniclique Finally Listen To Kubuntu?
Yesterday, Ubuntu tore a page from The Book of Dell and launched Brainstorm, an opportunity for its users to contribute their ideas for software development and marketing. To my own surprise, I signed up for an account. It’s not that I don’t enjoy giving my opinion. Tirades and diatribes are my raison d’être. If you…
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Persnickety Linux Isn’t Doing Itself Any PR Favours
I spent last Saturday fixing up an old computer. For the last 7 years or so, I’ve donated equipment to needy kids and families. This computer was a generic 1GHz Pentium-III: a local computer shop house brand. Apparently the previous owner tried to do a bit of fixing-up himself and got in over his head,…