Tag Archives: Linux

Where to Find Linux Screencasts/Video Tutorials

The importance of video in learning Linux cannot be overemphasized. For most people, the best way to learn is to watch someone do it first. One great advantage of video tutorials is that learners can work at their own pace. They can watch the recording, pause it, go to a particular time code, stop it and watch it as many times as they need.

The video tutorials and screencasts offered in the following sites cover a wide range of Linux systems and applications. Most of the free tutorials are designed to help beginners who wish to learn new applications and new skills. There are also videos that are made to satisfy the need of advanced users and those who want to advance their skill set.

If I missed any relevant site, please let me know via comments.

ShowMeDo

Linux Journal

BeginLinux

LinTube

GoingLinux

Ubuntu Clips

Ubuntu Screencasts

FOSSCasts

Create Video Slideshows in Linux with SMILE

Slideshow Maker in Linux Environment

SMILE is a Free Software that allows you to create video slideshows using images and videos. The name SMILE is acronym for Slideshow Maker In Linux Environment. The best way to start using SMILE in Ubuntu 9.10 is to install this package from getdeb.net because it installs all the required components with a couple of clicks. Users of other Linux distros can download SMILE here.

SMILE allows you to create slideshows either in PAL or NTSC format and you can render the final output in XVID, MPEG2, FLV, DV and MPEG4 HD formats. You have about a hundred transitions at your disposal. You also have an array of choices when it comes to effects: image rotation, slide opacity, motion blur, resize, transition speed and many others. As you might have guessed it, this powerful application also lets you add and edit titles.

An Atheist Defends Religion, Prayer Before Sex and Other Stories Worth Sharing

In this weekend’s roundup we’ll see how an atheist defends his claim that humanity is better off with religion than without it, find the reasons why everyone is crazy about vampires, learn how to install Ubuntu 9.10, browse more than a hundred brilliant tilt-shift photos, take our first glimpse at the Google Chrome Operating System and understand why couples should pray before making love.

  • An Atheist Defends Religion
    “Religion’s misdeeds may make for provocative history, but the everyday good works of billions of people is the real history of religion, one that parallels the growth and prosperity of humankind,” Sheiman affirms. Read more…
  • Why Is Everyone Crazy About Vampires?
    You’d have to be living under a rock not to have noticed the prevalence of vampires in today’s culture… one of the most successful movies of late is “Twilight,” the story of teen mortals and teen vampires in love. How do we explain the seemingly endless fascination with the undead? Read more…
  • Good Karma: An in-Depth Review of Ubuntu 9.10
    Ubuntu 9.10, codenamed Karmic Koala, was officially released last month. In this comprehensive review, Ars takes you under the surface for an in-depth look at the new features and major architectural changes. Read more…
  • 100+ Examples of Brilliant Tilt-Shift Photography
    “Tilt-shift photography” refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital post processing; the name may derive from the tilt-shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically. Read more…
  • Hub for Parents Launches
    YouTube and Kodak have teamed up to launch For Mom, a robust resource for anyone raising children today. The videos housed on this channel cover everything from cooking and parenting tips, to the best toys and games for kids, to easy ways to maintain your own health and beauty routine. Read more…
  • First Glimpse at Google Chrome OS
    Google offered up everything but a finished Chrome OS today, releasing its source code and explaining how it’s different than other operating systems. Here are the features, functions, and screenshots you’ll want to know about. Read more…
  • “Prayer before sex” guide comes to Australia
    The prayer before sex asks the Holy Spirit to “place within us love that truly gives, tenderness that truly unites… (and) loving physical union that welcomes” before asking to “clothe us in true dignity and take to yourself our shared aspirations, for your glory, forever and ever. Mary, our mother, intercede for us. Amen.” Read more…

Free Software: Create Your Own Avatar with MeMaker

MeMaker

In the world of computers, an avatar is a graphical representation of a user. Avatars come in different sizes, colors, dimensions and shapes. I like avatars so much that I use one as my profile image in my Facebook page. There are many tools to create a personalized avatar, but in the world of Linux the one that I like best is MeMaker.

MeMaker is a Free Software that allows users to create customized avatars and use them in social networking sites, forums, chat rooms and other virtual places. And yes, of course, you can use the avatars offline. While the application itself is tiny (only 4628 kB), it can do the work of giants. MeMaker provides seven styles to choose from: freestyle, artistic, plastidudes, glyphface, plazmoid, cocohead and animal-crackers. The avatar in the screenshot above is of the artistic type.

You can also choose the pigment and style of your hair as well as the color and shape of your face, eyes, mouth, ears, nose and eyebrows. You can even add eyeglasses, hats, beards and other accessories to your avatars.

The current stable version of MeMaker is 1.5. The easiest way to install it in Ubuntu 9.10 is to launch Ubuntu Software Center and find the free application under the “Graphics” category. If you are using another Linux distro, you can download the package here.

There is currently no Windows version of MeMaker.

Vatican Library Uses Linux

I was browsing the Vatican Library website when I chanced upon this bit of interesting information. The Information Technology Center (C.E.D.) of the Vatican Library uses Red Hat. The site’s info page reveals that C.E.D.’s networks “are protected internally by two first-level firewalls in a Linux Red Hat environment”. But that’s not all. Of the 27 servers the Center uses, 19 are in a SUSE and Red Hat environment. The rest are running in a UNIX AIX environment and in a Microsoft environment (virtualized on Linux systems with VMWare).

A variant of the Red Hat distro is also employed in the Digital Photographic Laboratory of the 500 year-old Library. According to this page, the operating system used for the storage equipment in the Digital Photographic Laboratory is Centos.

More technical information here about the systems they use in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana.

Established by Pope Nicholas V in 1448, the Vatican Library is one of the oldest libraries in the world. It contains more than 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books from throughout history, which makes it one of the most important repositories of knowledge in the world. The Information Technology Center of the Vatican Library was set up as early as 1985.

I am overwhelmed to know that the Church’s most important library uses the most secure operating system in the planet.

Free Software: Minitube

The coolest thing about Minitube is it allows you to stream YouTube videos endlessly, without requiring you to install a Flash Player. Just type a keyword and then you can sit back and relax as you watch your favorite YouTube videos hassle-free.

I discovered Minitube while I was browsing the newly-renovated GetDeb.net. According to its official website “Minitube is a native YouTube client. With it you can watch YouTube videos in a new way: you type a keyword, Minitube gives you an endless video stream. Minitube does not require the Flash Player.”

Minitube runs in Linux and Mac OS X only. Ubuntu users can get it here and here. For other Linux distros please find the download links here. Mac users can download the Minitube universal binary from here.

Based on my experience, Ubuntu 9.10 users need to install the following plugins for Minitube to work flawlessly:

  1. GStreamer Phonon
  2. GStreamer Bad Plug-ins

Linux Helps Me Live a Stress-Free Life

Most of my day is spent in front of the computer. Thus a perfectly functioning machine is of vital importance to me. I do not want to worry about viruses and spyware. I do not want to have to defrag my harddisk every now and then or reboot everytime I install a new application. I do not want to worry about some malicious software or hacker gaining control of my computer. Since I multitask all the time, I do not want to be limited to a single workspace. In short, I want a computer that is secure and gives me what I need.

Thankfully there is an operating system that gives me the security and ease-of-use that I need. My laptop currently runs Ubuntu 9.10, a wildly popular Linux distribution. I’ve been using Linux (Red Hat, Mandriva, OpenSuse, PCLinuxOS and other distros) since 2004 and I can say that this free operating system helps me enjoy a stress-free life. And it’s because:

1. Linux makes me forget about viruses.
2. Linux allows me to update my system and all my applications with a single click.
3. Linux allows me to give copies of the OS for free
4. If I need to install an application I do not have to scour the web for it. In my Ubuntu-powered machine, all I have to do is run the Ubuntu Software Center
5. Linux allows me to use multiple workspaces. Great for multitasking
6. Linux comes pre-loaded with an office suite, media player, graphics programs, and many other essential applications
7. When I need help, the Linux online community will never forsake me

If you want to know more how Linux can make your life easier and why is it better than Windows or Mac, please go to this site.

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denniswong/3867706307/

How to connect to SmartBro Prepaid in Ubuntu Jaunty

nullA friend of mine recently bought a SmartBro Prepaid USB stick (Huawei E156C). She asked me to help her set it up. You might think that you need to be a Linux geek to configure the mobile broadband to work in Linux. It is so easy anyone who knows how to use a mouse and a keyboard can do it. Here is how I made it work in Ubuntu Jaunty.

Once you connect the USB stick, you are prompted with this dialogue box. Just click “forward”. You may also click on the images for full view.

You choose “Smart,” of course. Then click “forward” again. Continue reading

Firefox 3 Packages for Fedora 9

The latest stable version of Firefox is out now.  Click here to download the best browser on the planet and be part in making a Guinness World Record today.

I have two Linux boxes – one runs Ubuntu 8.04 and the other Fedora 9. In Ubuntu, all I have to do is to let the Update Manager do the job. In Fedora, on the other hand,  I have to download and install Firefox 3.0 manually. Well, at least my “yum update” command did not yield any Firefox upgrade (I wish Livna were that fast in updating its repository). And since I am too lazy to go through all the process of installing from a Tarball, I tried to look for RPM packages. I found the Firefox 3 packages for Fedora 9 here. Here are the direct links to the packages:

Firefox-3.0-1.fc9.i386.rpm (24775 KB)
Firefox-3.0-1.fc9.src.rpm (36096 KB)
Firefox-3.0-1.fc9.x86_64.rpm (24329 KB)