Interviews

Linspire Keeps Focus On Pre-Loaded PCs
With $20 million from a Microsoft settlement in their pockets, what does the often-hyped Linspire have in mind next? According to CEO Michael Robertson, it's OEM time.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 06:25:06 PM EST

Opinions

.comment: A Tale of Two Packages
One key difference between Linux and the Unixes that have come before it is its very real potential as a desktop operating system for everybody, and SuSE is a good example of a distribution doing the work to make that happen. So what to make of the fact that something like PCMCIA seems to work "out of the box" while XFree86 4, despite all its enhancements, continues to present daunting configuration challenges? Dennis Powell explains.
Wednesday, May 9, 2001 09:48:55 AM EST

.comment: Little-Iron Chef
When is Linux like "Iron Chef" and "Junkyard Wars"? When you're spending your days playing with old hardware and a bleeding edge distro. Dennis Powell picked up some old toys for a song and was reminded after ten epic days of struggle that sometimes yesterday's software is best for yesterday's hardware. Read about Dennis' visit to the hardware boneyard, and learn why he says Linux distributions can no longer claim
to run on minimal hardware.
Wednesday, March 28, 2001 10:12:35 AM EST

.comment: Help Comes From Unexpected Places
It should have been simple: throw a new graphics card in a Linux system and be dazzled by the shiny new images. But, as Dennis E. Powell relates, nothing is ever quite so simple--and the end result was a journey that taught him more both about Linux and the vast number of helpful Linux users than he thought possible.
Wednesday, August 9, 2000 08:49:21 AM EST

Reports

Linux Computing at MIT
It is the institution that is arguably the home of free software, as well as so many other important technologies. So it comes as no surprise that the IT infrastructure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology depends on Linux. Rob Reilly takes a tourist's look at the nuts and bolts of MIT information systems.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 09:06:26 AM EST

Inside the Novell Linux Migration
It is open knowledge that Novell has been progressing towards migrating their own internal desktops and servers to a pure-Linux play. Details of this migration have been sketchy, but in a public presentation to attendees of Ohio LinuxFest, Novell specialists gave a rare look inside the ongoing move to Linux and laid out ideas for other companies to follow in their own migration plans.
Thursday, October 6, 2005 11:29:56 AM EST

WiFi PDA Meets Linux--Part 1
In this series we'll give tips and observations on using a current generation WiFi enabled PDA with Linux desktops and servers. The plan is to save you some research time by showing you what has worked for us, using a standard off-the-shelf PDA and a Linux-based operation.
Thursday, March 31, 2005 03:56:48 PM EST

Making Linux Sing
Along with sight, the sense of hearing is one that we demand to be treated with respect. Most of us are closet audiophiles--though we may not realize it until the first time we hear bad sound, or no sound at all. Even in the business world, good sound is key to an enjoyable computer experience. Dee-Ann LeBlanc reports on the various sound tools available for Linux today.
Tuesday, July 2, 2002 11:27:34 AM EST

Server Consolidation—Beyond the Hardware
Hardware may be the most obvious component of server consolidation, but it's by far not the only one. This overview discusses how and why hardware, software, and human capital must be taken into account when considering undertaking such an endeavor.
Thursday, June 13, 2002 03:14:24 PM EST

The Law Office Network/Linux Server Trial
Entrepreneur-based small businesses make up a large percentage of the business community. Not quite an enterprise and not quite home users, small businesses have their own unique needs in getting a Linux network put together, as Rob Reilly explains.
Thursday, April 4, 2002 09:12:28 AM EST

Is Linux Difficult to Use?
The question, 'Is Linux Difficult to Use?' is one of the most often asked queries floating around the Web at present. James seeks to resolve the issue by touching on key areas related to Linux's learning curve and overall usability.
Saturday, May 29, 1999 01:36:47 PM EST

3D Graphics Hardware in Linux
Will Weisser provides a comprehensive rundown on how to use 3D video card technology with Linux. Be sure to check it out!
Tuesday, May 25, 1999 12:43:09 PM EST

Reviews

The Bad Guys Will Cut Off Your Fingers
Linux has always supported Thinkpads pretty well, though the onboard modems and sound are chronic trouble spots. In this article, Carla Schroder focuses on her Lenovo T61's integrated fingerprint reader, to see what is involved in getting it to work on Linux.
Thursday, March 27, 2008 10:12:22 AM EST

ESP Print Pro: The Commercial Cousin to CUPS
CUPS is the standard printing system on virtually all modern Linux distributions and MacOS X. It runs on all Unixes, and provides print services to Windows and *nix systems. CUPS + Linux make a good printer server for Linux/Unix LANs. CUPS + Linux + Samba make a great printer server for Windows and mixed LANs. So if CUPS is free, why should you even consider paying money for ESP Print Pro?
Thursday, January 20, 2005 10:35:28 AM EST

SuSE Linux Demonstrates Old PCs Still Have Use
When most reviewers look at a new version of a distro, they install and work with the software on the latest cutting edge hardware. Rob Reilly likes to take a different approach: as Linux distros evolve, do they still do well on the older platforms? Is Linux still a viable option to recycle old PCs and potentially save businesses thousands of dollars in hardware costs?
Monday, May 12, 2003 11:26:53 AM EST

Red Hat 8.0: Past the Hype and Under the Hood
We've all read the reviews about how nifty/weird/wonderful/bad the new Red Hat desktop looks; we've all read about how well it installs. But what's the distribution really like? Carla Schroder has spent quite a bit of time actually using Red Hat 8, and files this report on how an actual Linux user reacts to the latest Red Hat release.
Monday, November 4, 2002 10:40:39 AM EST

Palm and Linux: Making the Connection
Linux fanatics tend to be gadget freaks, so it's no surprise that there's a wealth of tools designed to sync a Palm Pilot with a Linux desktop. Palm fan Michael Hall details the main tools available for extending your Linux data to the Palm platform.
Monday, April 3, 2000 11:59:38 AM EST

Essential Linux Applications
Opponents of Linux argue that there are no applications available for these systems to run. The truth is that there is free software available for the Linux OS for almost any task imaginable. Check out just a few of those apps here!
Saturday, May 29, 1999 01:36:47 PM EST

Tutorials

Better Linux Sound Managment With ALSA, Part 2
Last week we learned how to configure soundcards for playback with ALSA. It's easy, it works on all Linuxes, it doesn't create conflicts or introduce latency, and it doesn't require the X Window System. Today we're going to use ALSA for recording, and learn how to test our sound system.
Thursday, March 6, 2008 09:28:40 AM EST

Webcams in Linux, Part 1
Webcams are everywhere these days: they're standard on a lot of laptops, LCD monitors are starting to incorporate them, and decent standalone USB webcams can be had for less than $40. In this two-part series we'll set up a Webcam on Linux, and then use it to perform a number of amazing and fun tasks.
Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:04:51 PM EST

Linux Backups For Real People, Part 1
Everyone knows they should make regular backups of their data. But hardly anyone is as diligent with backups as they should be. So in this two-part series we're going to learn some nice simple methods for making regular backups on single PCs or small networks. Part 1 covers external backup media, and bending udev to your will so that your backup devices will have persistent names.
Thursday, November 1, 2007 10:18:12 AM EST

More Than HPLIP Service for Linux
HP's Linux Imaging and Printing subsystem brings parity to the penguin where previous printer purveyors have punted.
Monday, August 13, 2007 11:16:48 AM EST

Overhauling CUPS: Pushing Windows Printer Drivers
Network printing is a leading cause of high blood pressure and premature hair loss in our long-suffering network administrator demographic. Fortunately, the FOSS world, as usual, does its best to mitigate our suffering. Today you shall learn how to use CUPS and Samba together to set up automagic client printer installations.
Thursday, July 27, 2006 11:13:27 AM EST

Overhauled CUPS: Improved Unix Printing
CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) version 1.2 was released last month, bursting with over 90 fabulous new features and improvements. Today we'll take a look at them and decide how fabulous they really are.
Thursday, July 20, 2006 10:38:41 AM EST

Building a Linux Network Appliance, Part 1
In this series of articles, you'll learn how to configure Internet-connection sharing and firewalls, and how to add useful services such as intrusion detection, HTTP caching, name services, file and print sharing, and network storage. It doesn't matter what your LAN hosts are running, whether it's Linux, Windows, Mac or something else--your Linux appliance will serve them all.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 01:35:56 PM EST

WiFi PDA Meets Linux--Part 3
Did you know that your new WiFi-equipped iPAQ can be used as a VoIP communicator? How about your Linux notebook? Rob Reilly continues his series on PDA/Linux interoperability with this look at Skype.
Friday, May 27, 2005 11:19:49 AM EST

Connecting to a Wireless LAN with Linux, Part 1
Wireless hardware for Linux is a moving target. The wireless network adapter that worked fine with Linux yesterday may be released with an unsupported radio chipset today, and with no indication of the change. So buyer beware--always confirm the chipset before you buy. Part 1 begins within.
Sunday, January 30, 2005 07:40:48 PM EST

SpamAssassin and Amavisd: Go Ninja On Your UBE Woes
Building an Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam Gateway (Part 1): With SpamAssassin, Amavisd-new, and ClamAV, you've got all you need to build a Linux-based SMTP gateway that stops spam and viruses cold.
Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:38:36 AM EST

My First Linux Server, Part 1
Linux is now a lot simpler than you may think. We can provide you with the easiest, simplest, no-problem process for installing Linux on a PC. After going through this simple installation process, you will have a basic machine that you can configure into any kind of server, workstation, or office desktop.
Wednesday, June 9, 2004 10:30:52 PM EST

Getting Some GRUB For Linux
If you're still lumbering along with the good, but antique, Linux Loader, it's time to consider a move to GRUB, the Grand Unified Bootloader--the bootloader of today's generation.
Monday, April 26, 2004 03:06:54 PM EST

A Writer's View of the Linux Wireless Dream, Part 1
As we travel from place to place, office to office, we still need that all-important connection to the Internet. Laptops are a perfect solution to this need, and it's even better if you get them running wirelessly. Rob Reilly steps through how he got the popular PrismII-based 802.11b card up and running with Linux.
Monday, June 2, 2003 10:51:02 AM EST

No Excuses--Sync Your Visor/Palm to Linux
The ubiquitous handheld is a common element in business life today. But there is a common misperception that getting such a device to sync to a Linux machine is a major chore. In actuality, as Rob Reilly demonstrates, nothing could be further from the truth. It's just a matter of prepping Linux, installing the right software, and pushing that nifty little Sync button.
Thursday, September 19, 2002 10:12:09 AM EST

CPEN and Linux: Techno-Tools for the Techno-Cool
LinuxPlanet writer Rob Reilly is more than a little excited about his new CPEN handheld device. And when he figured out how to use the device with his Linux laptop, he was in heaven. Reilly details how he got CPEN to talk to Linux and vice versa, and gives a brief lesson in dealing with IR ports in Linux as well.
Thursday, September 5, 2002 11:30:42 AM EST

From the Desktop: Good Vibrations
One of the last tasks a Linux user tackles is the configuration of a sound card. But with the rise of multimedia on the Web and on the desktop, the well-equipped Linux user will find a properly configured sound card to be a necessity. Brian Proffitt explains how easy it is to configure your sound card.
Friday, July 7, 2000 08:47:39 AM EST

Linux Device Drivers Demystified
We give you inside information on how Linux device drivers work and what devices are supported. Use our search facility to check if your soundcard, joystick, ethernet card or any one of dozens of devices is supported by Linux.
Thursday, September 23, 1999 12:49:47 PM EST