The 10.04 LTS release of Ubuntu happens tomorrow (and yes I’ll be sure to download a copy), however some Linux users prefer a lighter GUI so overall operation is faster. The first obvious choice for those that prefer a light GUI is Xubuntu, which uses XFCE. But then there those not too hot on XFCE either. The lightest of the light as far as I’m aware...

I learned that Windows 7 RC has an expiration date of June 2010. That’s great because it means I have adequate time to try it out to see if I like it or not. I have been asked in the PCMech LIVE show several times, "Did you try Windows 7 yet?" My answer was no because I didn’t want to install an OS that had a close expiration date on it....

Need your Linux fix? Ubuntu’s new version 9.04 is available today and with it some genuinely significant updates, such as: GNOME 2.26 The biggest improvement (for me) is that GNOME does better multi-monitor setup now with this version. Multi-monitor troubles with a Linux GUI have been a longstanding complaint of mine, and while Ubuntu 8 was a huge...

Of the new stuff with Firefox 3.0.9, I’m happy to see that several really (and I mean really) annoying issues were attended to, such as: Cookie database getting screwed up I have a love/hate relationship with browser cookies. But I do appreciate them for the fact they make my web surfing faster due to the fact they make the browser "remember"...

For those of you out there that compute in a Red Hat way, both Cent and Fedora have been quite busy as of late. The deal with the new CentOS is that the contribs repository is back with v5.3. In plain English this means more empowerment to the user (you) to submit and manage packages. There’s obviously more to 5.3, so read up on that if you like. CentOS...

With Ubuntu it is important (as it is in XP) to know certain network command functions. When most people have a problem with their router, cablemodem or DSL modem, they simply reboot the computer to renew the IP address. You do not have to do this. Instead you can simply shut down the network interface and restart it. ifconfig ifconfig is the command used in...

If you’re a Mozilla Firefox user you will be getting an update shortly (if you haven’t already) to update your browser to v3.0.5. The release notes for this version state there have been several security and stability issues addressed. So if your Firefox has been a bit on the buggy side and crashes periodically, an update to v3.0.5 should cure that...

The latest trunk build of Mozilla Thunderbird at the time of this writing is version 3.0b1pre, called Shredder (the Mozilla Firefox 3.1b2pre is called "Minefield" just in case you were wondering). I downloaded it and tried it out – more on that later.Thunderbird at this stage of the game is really, really far behind. It has not followed along...

In a few days Ubuntu 8.10 will be released. For those following Ubuntu news, you already knew about this. But for those that weren’t, now you know. Some are wondering what some of the new/improved/updated features in 8.10 will be compared to 8.04. Here’s a short list (not a full list – just some of the newer features I noticed personally): New...

Many moons ago when I was attending college getting my Video/Radio Production degree, the primary computers the school used for animation rendering were Commodore Amiga 2000 and 4000 boxes with LightWave software. For our younger readers, this is before Microsoft Windows 95 even existed. Amiga computers did things back then which were nothing short of...

Firefox users: You will be prompted soon to update your software to v3.0.2. If you don’t feel like waiting, just click Help and then Check for Updates… and you can upgrade right now. So what’s new in 3.0.2 (hey, that rhymes)? Quite a bit, actually. There’s been some security fixes, "several stability issue" fixed (which...