Ubuntu 11.10 - Oneiric Ocelot Has Been Released

Ubuntu 11.10, code-named "Oneiric Ocelot" has been released. This latest version of Ubuntu improves on the previous release which marked the introduction of a whole new Desktop concept in Unity. In this version of Ubuntu - 11.10, the Desktop shell Unity has been updated to make it even better.

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Download Ubuntu 11.04 aka Natty Narwal

Ubuntu 11.04 code named Natty Narwhal has been released. Natty (11.04) brings a new desktop experience through the Unity project. Unity delivers a consistent user experience for the desktop and netbook users by redesigning the desktop and incorporating new technologies thus optimizing the experience for touch, consistency and collaboration.
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Switching To Linux - Tale Of A Former Mac User Who Is Also A Musician

Switching to Linux is easy for most of us. You just have to download and burn a Linux distribution and boot your computer with it. If the Linux distribution you have chosen is a modern one, then you can finish installing it on your machine in 6 steps or less.

However, if you rely on your computer for a living, then you need to do some preparations prior to making the switch. Kim Cascone, an experienced and gifted musician and composer had been using an Apple PowerBook to compose music. When his PowerBook G4 exhibited signs of age, he did a quick fact check and found that he could save as much as $3000 (which includes the machine and the software costs) if he switched to Linux.
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Ubuntu Might Ship With Qt Libraries

In future iterations of Ubuntu (Natty and onwards), Ubuntu CD might ship with Qt libraries - Mark Shuttleworth noted in one of his blog post.

The basic premise behind this announcement is that it is the quality and usability of the application (to be included) that is important; the choice of toolkit should be irrelevant.
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Pinguy OS - An Ubuntu Based Linux Distribution on Steroids

Ubuntu has helped spawn umpteen Linux distributions. Pinguy OS is yet another Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (version 10.10 to be exact).

Pinguy OS is targeted at lay persons - people who are going to use Linux for the first time, or those who want an out-of-box working OS.
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Cover Thumbnailer - How to install in Ubuntu Linux

Cover Thumbnailer is a small Python script which displays music/video album covers in Nautilus in place of ordinary icons of folders, preview of pictures in a folder and more.

It is similar to what you see in Microsoft Windows 7 where the folder shows a preview of the pictures contained in it.
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Ubuntu 10.10 Unveiled - Supports Multi-Touch

Ubuntu's next iteration namely Ubuntu 10.10 aka "Maverick Meerkat" has been released. Ubuntu releases a new version of its Linux distribution every six months, incorporating new features and, upgrading software bundled with it to the latest version.

Ubuntu 10.10 has been released in three versions -

1. Desktop edition - To be installed and used by lay persons on their PCs.
2. Server edition - Tailor made to be installed on servers, and
3. Netbook edition - Which is geared to be used on low powered laptops and netbooks.

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Avant Window Navigator for Ubuntu Linux

Avant Window Navigator (AWN) is a Mac OS X like panel for the GNOME Desktop. In addition to launchers that can be dragged onto the bar, it features a taskbar that behaves similarly to the Mac OS X dock. The window navigator uses the composite extension for transparency and other effects.

The latest version of Avant Window Navigator - as of this writing - is version 0.4.

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Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx - A Fresh Look At What Is On Offer

As many of you will know, Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx is officially being released today - perhaps has already been released as I am writing this. Ubuntu 10.04 is an Long Term Support (LTS) version. With the Long Term Support (LTS) version you get 3 years support on Ubuntu Desktop, and 5 years on Ubuntu Server.

Let's get a bird's eye view of what is on offer in this latest avatar namely  Ubuntu 10.04 a.k.a Lucid Lynx.

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Ubuntu Linux Made Simple For Windows Power Users

Ubuntu Linux comes in multiple flavors. However, broadly speaking, Ubuntu is available as the Netbook Remix edition - tweaked to be run specifically on netbooks, the Desktop edition for PC users, and the Server edition for your server. The latest stable release of Ubuntu as of this writing is 9.10 aka Karmic Koala.  But Ubuntu 10.04 which comes with long term support (LTS) is just around the corner expected to be released on April 29, 2010 and is touted to bring a host of exciting new features including built-in integration with Twitter, identi.ca, Facebook, and other social networks.

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Ubuntu One Music Store - An iTunes Equivalent For Linux Users

In the next version of Ubuntu - namely Lucid Lynx, you will find a well integrated Music store in the same lines as Apple's  iTunes for Mac and Windows users. With one major difference namely - Ubuntu One music store will be selling DRM free songs. Each song will use 256 kpbs (or higher) encoding which enhances the quality of the song.

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Simple Beautiful Wallpapers to Adorn your Linux Desktop

Who doesn't like wallpapers right? Aesthetically done wallpapers are a pleasure to view on the Desktop. I am always on the look out for beautiful wallpapers.

Now here is a collection of very good wallpapers with pleasing colors. The USP of this collection of wallpapers is that they feature simple abstract designs.
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GIMP going to get the boot in Ubuntu Lucid

It is heard that GIMP is going to be left out of the default selection of packages bundled with the next version of Ubuntu aka Ubuntu Lucid. There is an interesting write up about this at omgubuntu.co.uk.

The following are the reasons provided against inclusion of GIMP in the default installation of Ubuntu Lucid.

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Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 Released

Ubuntu today released its latest offering namely Ubuntu Karmic Koala version 9.10. Ubuntu Karmic Koala comes with lots of new features.Read more »

50 Time Saving Tips For Ubuntu Users

If you are an avid Ubuntu Linux user and wish to be more productive in using Ubuntu, these 50 time saving tips are for you. These 50 tips range right from doing mundane tasks to doing something spectacular all the while helping you save on time.
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Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope makes its debut

Ubuntu 9.04 code named Jaunty Jackalope has made its debut as a release candidate. This is a pre-release of Ubuntu which is almost ready for general use. On first glance, this release of Ubuntu looks very promising.Read more »

10 Desirable features in Ubuntu

Ubuntu is no doubt a fabulous Linux distribution. And it is gaining in popularity by leaps and bounds - thanks to Mark Shuttleworth and his team at Canonical. As an end user, what would you like to see in Ubuntu which would tempt you to ditch your current OS and embrace Ubuntu with gusto ?

Kumail Hunaid has a wonderful post describing what he feels are the 10 things the developers should include in the future releases of Ubuntu. The intelligent icons and the icons that talk do look rather enticing. Incidentally, Kumail is also the co-developer of Xenon - a web based operating system (still in alpha stage) designed with netbook users in mind.

Free Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference

Ubuntu neophytes and gurus alike have cause to rejoice. Here is a gem of a deal - a free ebook on Ubuntu authored by none other than Kier Thomas. The book is divided into seven chapters spanning 170 pages. And it contain a wealth of information right from an introduction to Ubuntu, to installing and configuring it on your machine, coming to grips with the desktop, a lucid explanation of the various system administration tasks you should carry out to maintain your system, and of course the security aspects of Ubuntu which is dealt with in the seventh chapter of this book.

This is a wonderful book which is sure to be a ready pocket reference to all Linux users running Ubuntu on their machine. And true to Keir's class, the language is lucid and to the point. The sapient advice he belts out in this book to many of the common problems faced by Ubuntu users puts this book on a singular level of its own.

While the author has been gracious in providing the ebook as a free download, the real value of this book lies in buying a print edition of the book. As owing to its pocket size (8 x 5.2 x 0.4), it is ideal to carry the book where ever you go without much hassle. You can order a print copy of this book from Amazon for a nominal price of $9.94.

Enable DVD playback in Ubuntu

I am sure any Ubuntu user will swear by the fact that it is a piece of cake getting multimedia to work in Ubuntu. In fact Ubuntu walks a fine line in ensuring that the users who are passionate about freedom and those who are keen on functionality are provided for.

But playing encrypted DVDs is a bit trickier. Tech-recipes.com provides a simple way of enabling DVD playback in Ubuntu.

In fact there are just two simple steps namely,

$ sudo apt-get install totem-xine libxine1-ffmpeg libdvdread3

and

$ sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/install-css.sh

Ubuntu 8.04 guest on VirtualBox 1.5.5 on Solaris: a problem with the screen resolution

I just installed an Ubuntu 8.04 guest on top of my VirtualBox 1.5.5 (with guest additions 1.5.6) on Solaris Express Developer Edition. As soon as I logged in, I wanted to change the screen resolution and I realized that the maximum resolution allowed was 800x600. It's not clear to me yet if the problem is related with the guest additions, but it was easily solved by adding:

Driver "vboxvideo"

to the device section. Doing so, Xorg now recognizes 1024x768 as a valid resolution, too. If you need higher resolutions you can add a Display subsection in the Screen section and manually specify the modes, as in:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "VirtualBox graphics card"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "2048x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection