Tutorials

A lot of people seem to get themselves about 90 per cent of the way to where they want to be with their Ubuntu installation and then hit a wall. "Why can't I play a DVD?", "Why can't I listen to MP3s?", "How can I watch streaming video in my browser?": these are the sort of questions I keep coming across.

A few years back, I used an old 486 running Red Hat Linux and tcpdump to easily diagnose a client's denial-of-service attack, illustrating the benefits of creating a powerful network analysis tool from "scrap" parts. There are plenty of tools to build a similar Windows-based network analyzer, but Linux can run on machines that can't efficiently run Windows.

A perennial e-mail in my inbox asks: "Should I use KDE or Gnome?" While tedious, it's actually natural for a user arriving from the land of commercial operating systems, where you don't have this sort of choice. Maybe not stupid, but perhaps a little silly.

I used Mandrake Linux for years before switching to Fedora Core and then to Ubuntu Linux last spring - around the same time Mandrake, which is based in France, bought a Brazilian Linux distributor called Conectiva and renamed itself Mandriva.

SUSE Linux 10.0 is the latest edition of a venerable Linux distribution that Novell took under its wing nearly two years ago. SUSE has always been known for including everything but the kitchen sink - like previous versions, SUSE 10.0 comes on five CDs, compared to Ubuntu Linux's one - and for its extremely comprehensive YAST setup and configuration tool set. (YAST stands for "Yet Another Setup Tool," because geeks just can't get enough silly acronyms.)

Unable to stay away from his favourite flavour of Llinux, Matthew Newton checks out Ubuntu 5.10 - the breezy badger.

This Tutorial describes a system which can be used at home and in shops to retain several views of an object or person, so that comparisons can be made between them on a computer screen.

Linux is great, but sometimes a guy's gotta play games. Here's how to set up a quicker Dual-Boot to get you back into windows.

As you already know, if I have to sit down in front of a computer, I want it to be running the Gnome desktop on Linux. I've watched it mature from a downright ugly, needlessly complex playground for geeks, to an attractive, simple interface that holds its own against commercial alternatives. And yet, every day I still encounter rough edges that make me think there aren't nearly enough folks out there hacking away at this stuff. I'd like to watch.

No problem: if you can't get a Linux driver, Ndiswrapper lets you use the Windows drivers.

Matthew Newton continues his love affair with the new Ubuntu distribution, finding two killer tools for this particular Linux.

Not so long ago, the only way to see whether Linux would run on a particular PC was to install the OS on its hard drive. Times change. Nowadays, many so-called live CD versions of Linux boot and run solely from a CD-ROM. Ubuntu Linux, our 2005 World Class winner for Best Linux Distribution, has a live CD version available for download. You may be asking yourself, "How do I download a CD-ROM?"

Matthew Newton gives his recommendations for those of us who are thinking of taking the Linux plunge, but need a little coaxing.

Much more powerful than a Windows batch file, shell scripts can be used to run multiple tasks. Here's a brief introduction.

Imagine recording studio-quality audio using your iPod and a regular-old microphone. Or sitting on the commuter train, playing Othello, Pong, Tetris or Asteroids. All this and more is possible when you install Linux on your 3rd generation or earlier iPod. Best of all, one soft-reset and you're back in Apple Computer's iPod operating system, listening to your tunes.