Clark Computer Consulting Port Jervis, NY » Switching to Open-Source

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS: The Lucid Lynx arrives on 4/29/10

Scott — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:28:48 +0000

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS “The Lucid Lynx” arrives on April 29th. So how does the latest version of Ubuntu stack up? The Lucid Lynx or Lucid for short has been the primary OS on my Laptop since the Alpha 2 release in mid January. My Dell Vostro 1500 has worked flawlessly since I wiped the drive and installed Lucid. The look and feel of the latest Release Candidate of Lucid is very polished and shows a great attention to detail. The installation went smoothly and finished quickly, the new installer splash screens are very clean and informative. All of my previous annoyances seem to have been resolved; my old iPod shuffle is even recognized and now ejects nicely from the default music player Rythmbox. The addition of the new Music Store and integration with Ubuntu One makes Lucid a real challenger for its closed platform competition at Microsoft and Apple. If you have a PC that is constantly getting bit by the latest malware, you really should check out Lucid before spending $1000 + for a new computer from Apple.

There are many free and open alternatives to all your common Windows and Apple applications. The only logical reason to stick with Windows is because you don’t like change. If you plan to switch from your Windows PC to the Mac, trying out Lucid before the switch. You don’t even have to actually install Lucid, you can just boot off the CD and try the OS out right from the disk.

More adventurous users can use the included Wubi installer and install Lucid inside Windows. The advantage with the Wubi installed version is that it will run much faster than running from the CD. If your not satisfied you can actually uninstall Lucid right from your control panel just like any other Windows application.

Its time to look outside the box and not always go with the mainstream OS choice. The switch from Windows to Linux has no greater learning curve than from Windows to the Mac. I currently run Windows 7, Snow Leopard and Ubuntu Lucid Linux 10.04 on different PCs in our home. Each system has a learning curve and each system will easily allow you to browse the web, check your email, create and edit documents, play your music, edit your pictures etc etc. The excuse that you constantly “need” to go into a terminal or command prompt window in Linux is nonsense. Everything can easily be done through graphical applications and most of your needs are covered by the default installation.

Check out the following links for more info on this great new version of Ubuntu.

Discover the new features in Ubuntu 10.04, the Lucid Lynx

Screenshots of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS RC

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Release Candidate info

Sync any folder and file publishing

Before you go, check out some of our other links.

Free Stuff and Great Deals http://rootaid.com/deals/

Follow Me on Twitter http://twitter.com/scccpj

Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Port-Jervis-NY/Clark-Computer-Consulting/133104913979?ref=ts

Use the following link to get an extra 250MB of storage when you sign up for Dropbox.https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTEyODQxMjE5

VIPRE Antivirus Premium is high-performance antivirus + antispyware software with an integrated firewall. It doesn’t slow down your PC like other security products. The press loves it, and it’s antivirus certified. Protect your PC from ‘being owned’ by bad guys with our free (registered) full-function 30-day trial!

Firefox 3.6 Has Finally Arrived

Scott — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:09:58 +0000

Firefox 3.6 has finally arrived, head on over to getfirefox.com for the latest version or from within Firefox choose “Help” and then “Check for Update”.

This update sees several improvements:

Improved performance, security and stability
Users can now change their browser’s appearance with a single click, with built in support for Personas.
Firefox 3.6 will alert users about out of date plugins to keep them safe.
Open, native video can now be displayed full screen, and supports poster frames.
Improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness and startup time.
Support for new CSS, DOM and HTML5 web technologies.

Review: Firefox 3.6 brings joy to Web devs, not just users

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/01/hands-on-firefox-36.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Firefox 3.6 Release Notes

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.6/releasenotes/

Now don’t be an update slacker, stay updated and safe.

Go already, and have a nice day

Check out our Amazon Mac Store Amazon Mac Store

Free Stuff and Great Deals http://rootaid.com/deals/

Follow Me on Twitter http://twitter.com/scccpj

Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Port-Jervis-NY/Clark-Computer-Consulting/133104913979?ref=ts

Use the following link to get an extra 250MB of storage when you sign up for Dropbox. https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTEyODQxMjE5

Thunderbird and Gmail are still fine feathered email friends.

Scott — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:48:11 +0000

Thunderbird 3 came out on Tuesday and its Gmail integration is better than ever. Download the newest version of Thunderbird from www.mozillamessaging.com/thunderbird Once you’ve installed Thunderbird 3 all that you need to do is enter your Name, Email Address and Password and you will be up and running in minutes. Thunderbird even downloads all your Gmail labels automatically. I highly recommend Thunderbird 3 for anyone that wants a local copy of their Gmail for offline use. I personally use Gmail as my primary personal and business email client. Thunderbird allows me to make a local copy of my Gmail account for both safety and offline use. Check out the following links for more info on this great free and Open Source application.

Thunderbird Release Notes http://www.mozillamessaging.com/thunderbird/3.0/releasenotes/

Thunderbird 3 Features http://www.mozillamessaging.com/thunderbird/features/

Review: Thunderbird 3 takes flight with tabs, enhanced search http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2009/12/review-thunderbird-3-hatches-with-tabs-and-enhanced-search.ars

The French Military contributed to Thunderbird 3 http://www.geek.com/articles/news/the-french-military-contributed-to-thunderbird-3-20091211/

Like Firefox? Try Thunderbird 3 http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/121109-like-firefox-try-thunderbird.html

Mozilla’s Thunderbird E-mail Client Comes With Tabs

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/184073/mozillas_thunderbird_email_client_comes_with_tabs.html

Check out our Amazon Mac Store Amazon Mac Store

Free Stuff and Great Deals http://rootaid.com/deals/

Follow Me on Twitter http://twitter.com/scccpj

Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Port-Jervis-NY/Clark-Computer-Consulting/133104913979?ref=ts

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala has arrived

Scott — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:06:21 +0000

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala has arrived right on schedule and can be downloaded from the following link http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

I highly recommend this new version of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala has lived happily on my Dell Vostro 1500 laptop since the Alpha 5 test release. The installation is smooth and all my hardware was recognized right out of the box.

Check the following links for more info on this great new version of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu 9.10 Feature Tour http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/910features

What is Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu

Ubuntu 9.10 brings web sync, faster bootup, GNOME 2.28

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/10/ubuntu-910-brings-web-sync-faster-bootup-gnome-228.ars

What’s new in Ubuntu 9.10

http://www.h-online.com/open/features/What-s-new-in-Ubuntu-9-10-846772.html

Check out our Amazon Mac Store Amazon Mac Store

Free Stuff and Great Deals http://rootaid.com/deals/

Follow Me on Twitter http://twitter.com/scccpj

Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Port-Jervis-NY/Clark-Computer-Consulting/133104913979?ref=ts

Use the following link to get an extra 250MB of storage when you sign up for Dropbox. https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTEyODQxMjE5

Download of the Day

Scott — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:04:14 +0000

VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac …) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

I personally love this lightweight Open Source media player. Download the most recent version from the link below.

http://www.videolan.org/

Firefox 3.5.3 and 3.0.14 have been released

Scott — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:03:18 +0000

Firefox 3.5.3 and 3.0.14 have been released

Head on over to getfirefox.com for the latest version or from within Firefox choose “Help” and then “Check for Update”.

The latest update fixes the following security issues.

Security Advisories for Firefox 3.5

http://www.mozilla.org/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox35.html

Security Advisories for Firefox 3.0

http://www.mozilla.org/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox30.html

The great new feature of this update is the warning you will receive when your flash player is outdated.

Old versions of the Adobe flash player are a common entrance for malware into your system. This new feature is yet another reason why I will continue to recommend Firefox over Internet Explorer.

Now don’t be an update slacker, stay updated and safe.

Go already, and have a nice day

Follow me on Twitter here

How to smoothly transition to the Linux Desktop

Scott — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:39:32 +0000

Using Free and Open software on your PC will save you money and also provide a more secure operating system. Switching to the following applications on your Windows PC will help you smoothly transition to the Free and Open Linux desktop.

Firefox as a replacement for Internet Explorer http://www.mozilla.com

Thunderbird as a replacement for Outlook Express http://www.mozillamessaging.com

Open Office as a replacement for Microsoft Office http://www.openoffice.org/

Abiword as a lightweight replacement for Microsoft Word. http://www.abisource.com/

Pidgin to replace your instant messaging software http://www.pidgin.im/

And finally Ubuntu as a replacement for Windows http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/904features/

Once you go free and open there will be no turning back to the dark side. Go set your desktop free…

Firefox 3.5.2 and 3.0.13 updates available

Scott — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:13:48 +0000

Update Firefox to the newest version ASAP; click the following link for the most current version.

http://www.mozilla.com or from within Firefox choose “Help” and then “Check for Update”.

Bugs addressed by the current update include the following.

MFSA 2009-46 Chrome privilege escalation due to incorrectly cached wrapper
MFSA 2009-45 Crashes with evidence of memory corruption (rv:1.9.1.2/1.9.0.13)
MFSA 2009-44 Location bar and SSL indicator spoofing via window.open() on invalid URL
MFSA 2009-38 Data corruption with SOCKS5 reply containing DNS name longer than 15 characters

Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/

The latest advisories can always been found at the Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory site http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/

After the update you will have either Firefox 3.5.2 or 3.0.13 depending on your current version.

The Mozilla Foundation is recommending that Firefox 3.0.x users should now upgrade to 3.5.x – support for the former is set to end in January 2010.

Head on over to getfirefox.com for the latest version. Don’t be an update slacker, stay updated and safe.

Follow me on Twitter here

Google Chrome OS clouds up the OS market

Scott — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:44:43 +0000

Google has opened another front in its fight with Microsoft. The new Free and Open Google Chrome Operating System was announced last night on the official Google Blog According to Google “netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010″

The idea behind this new OS is to take advantage of the cloud through an Operating System designed from the ground up for the cloud.

From the Google Blog

“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

If Google succeeds in producing this new lightweight ultra secure OS, the writing might be on the wall for that old shrink wrapped OS from Redmond.

Good luck Google…Keep it Free and Open.

Firefox 3.5 is here in all its Open and Free goodness

Scott — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:48:30 +0000

Firefox 3.5 is finally here in all its Free and Open Source goodness. Let the web browsing begin again.

Why would you want to download this new version of Firefox? Check out the What’s new video from the Mozilla site.

What’s New in Firefox 3.5? http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/video/firefox-3.5.html

The new support for HTML 5 and its ability to play videos without using a third party insecure browser plugin is a big plus.

Private browsing mode allows you to shop on-line for birthday or anniversary gifts without leaving any info on the system at all.

Many of the features of Firefox 3.5 are included in other browsers with different names. Why should you use Firefox instead of Chrome or Internet Explorer? The simple answer is that Firefox is Free. You may be thinking that Internet Explorer is also free…but its not Free. You can only use Internet Explorer if you pay Microsoft for your copy of Windows which then includes Internet Explorer as part of that fee. Unlike Internet Explorer, Firefox is Free and it works on all major operating systems . You can use Firefox on Linux, your Mac or your Windows PC and have the same browsing experience on all three platforms. Firefox is also Open Source which means you can freely add too or change Firefox to meet your needs.

So now you know what you need to do… head on over to getfirefox.com and be a part of another record setting download day. Support Free and Open software and help break the stranglehold that Microsoft has on the worlds desktops.

Once you have Firefox downloaded and installed finish up your day by adding Thunderbird and Open Office to your happy new “Free and Open desktop”.

What else can you do? Now that you are part of the Free and Open Source movement don’t just sit there, tell your friends. Spread the love What are you waiting for? Go already.