The very early stages of the REAL Google Chrome operating system has been released (and done so fully open sourced). It’s not an operating system you can (and should) be putting on a stand alone machine. Actually what has been released are VirtualBox and VMware images that can be booted in their respective virtual machines.

Martin has posted his concerns about Chrome OS in his insightful “Google Chrome OS: My concerns“. I am in full accord with Martins’ take on cloud computing. But instead of discussing my feelings on the cloud or why we need another OS, I thought it would be beneficial to take a look at a running instance of the Google Chrome OS. I will preface this by saying the OS is in the very early stages of development. But even with the early stages it is quite obvious where this fledgling operating system is heading.

(more…)

Tags: Chrome, Google, google os, Operating Systems
Categories: Advice, Browsing, Google Chrome, Open Source, Operating Systems

I’m fairly confident that you have, at one time or another, run across an md5checksum file as you have perused the internet. Whether it was a download file or even an application upgrade, those md5 files are there for a reason. But just what is the reason?

When someone puts a file up on a server for download, how does the host or the end-user know, for sure, the file they are about to download (or are serving up) is the valid file? What if someone hacked into the server and replaced the file with a bogus file that contained malicious code? It’s happened before and it will happen again. Fortunately there is a way to avoid downloading invalid files – checking the md5 hash. The only problem is that this method only works if the host and user knows how to use md5 tools. In this tutorial you will learn how to add an md5 checksum to a file and how to run a check on a file you have downloaded.

(more…)

Tags: check sum, file downloads, md5, secure downloads
Categories: Advice, Hacking, Linux, Open Source, Security, Tutorials Basic

In the wake of Ubuntu’s 9.10 release, many distributions were forgotten. But one distribution, in particular, keeps getting better and better under the radar. That distribution? Fedora. Just this week Fedora 12 was released, brining some serious improvements not only to the cutting edge distribution, but to Linux in general.

Upon installation you might not immediately notice the improvements. They are there and eventually these improvements will impress you. So instead of you having to wade through the distribution to witness these improvements, I will highlight those that will have certain impact on the user…whether directly or indirectly.

(more…)

Tags: distribution, Fedora, Linux
Categories: Knowledge, Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems

As you have most likely seen on Ghacks, there are numerous ways to keep your Linux distributions up to date. There are new systems available such as the Ubuntu Software Center (see my article “The new Ubuntu Software Center“) that make installing software a piece of cake. But even with applications such as the USC in place, there is still a need for other systems. Take, for instance, the USCs inability to install more than one package at a time…this is a big issue within the Linux community. Add to that the fact that there are many Linux users who prefer to stick with older, more proven technologies, and you can see why other installation tools remain.

One of those tools is PackageKit. PackageKit is a background service charged with updating and installing software on your computer. But because PackageKit itself is just a background service, it requires a front end so that end users can take advantage of the system. One very powerful front end is KPackageKit. KPackageKit is the KDE front end for PackageKit, whereas Gnome PackageKit is the GNOME front end (see my article “Installing applications in Linux with GNOME PackageKIT.”)

(more…)

Tags: apt, KDE, packagkit, repositories
Categories: Advice, Desktop Manager, Linux, Open Source, Tutorials Basic, software

If you’re like me (and I know you are) you have an endless assortment of passwords stored in your head. And, again, if you’re like me your age is defying your memory such that your brain isn’t always so quick to recall that endless stream of random characters you have for passwords (and you know they are random, because you are a geek after all).

So what do you do when you’re brain reaches critical mass for passwords? Simple, you let a single application store and encrypt them for you so all you need is a single password to access all of those crucial passwords. And what Linux distribution is without a tool (or twelve) to enable such a feature? One of those many tools is Password Gorilla. Password Gorilla manages your logins as well as all of your passwords for web sites, encrypted files, etc. But PG does more than just store those passwords. Password Gorilla makes logging in to various websites easy by copying and pasting your username/password to the clipboard. Those passwords are never revealed on the screen so you’re even safe from prying eyes. But how does it work? Let’s find out.

(more…)

Tags: password encryption, passwords, Security
Categories: Advice, Linux, Online Services, Open Source, Security

Here on Ghacks I have mentioned a few tools that allow you to create various types of Linux CDs. Most of these tools allow you to create Live CDs that are either images of your current working distribution or tools to create a Live CD with special packages. But none of these tools, so far, have allowed you to really get customized with your Live CD. You can’t specify desktop backgrounds or other configuration options. These are tasks that can really make creating a customized Live CD worth the effort.

In this article I am going to show you how to take a downloaded Ubuntu 9.10 iso image, mount it, customize it, and rebuild the Live CD from your newly customized image. This process can be time consuming, but is worth it. This entire process will be done from the command line, so get your fingers ready to type.

(more…)

Tags: custom CD, customized Linux, live cd, ubuntu
Categories: Linux, Open Source, Tutorials Advanced

KDE is not a desktop that should be overlooked. Not only did it completely redefine itself upon the launch of 4.x, it has added features that have made it unique in the land of desktops. But because KDE completely re-invented itself at version 4 it’s almost as if you have to consider this a completely new desktop. That should explain the landslide of problems that surrounded the Linux desktop until some of the more recent releases fixed many of the major issues. And although not as slick and clean as the latest releases of GNOME, KDE 4.3.2 has made plenty of strides forward to once again became an outstanding desktop environment for the Linux operating system.

The only problem you will find is that some of the many distributions do not ship with KDE installed. If you want KDE on these distributions you must install it. In this article I am going to walk you through the steps for installing the latest KDE on a Ubuntu system. Now you may be saying to yourself: “Why don’t I just install Kubuntu and be done with it? That’s a good question. The answer? Most new users have no idea that Kubuntu even exists and will have already installed the GNOME-based Ubuntu. For those people who already have their Linux running, they might want to give the KDE desktop a try as well. That is where tutorials like this come in handy. And of course, once we get KDE installed, we will also take it one step further and install support for Compiz so you can have your 3D effects just like you can on GNOME.

(more…)

Tags: desktop manager, KDE, linux desktop, ubuntu
Categories: Advice, Desktop Manager, Linux, Open Source, Tutorials Basic, software