GNOME 2.6 is just around the corner, and I figured out that many GNOME users would like to know what’s in store. So I installed GNOME 2.5 (development version for 2.6) in my box, and came up with a list of the new stuff that are coming up.

With the announcement of the Fedora Project, various analysts have predicted a shift in the corporate strategy for Red Hat. In an interview for Indian GNU/Linux Users Group - Kolkata, Javed Tapia (Director - Red Hat India) talks to Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay about Fedora and other current issues.

SM: Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay sankarshan at bengalinux dot org
JT: Javed Tapia Director - Red Hat India

SM: There has been a lot of talk about ‘Fedora’ - what exactly does the Fedora project signify ?
JT: The intention of the Fedora project is to use the early adopter community as well as the hobbyist/tinkerer to continue to define Linux and Red Hat Linux in particular. Changes and innovations in the Fedora Project will be incorporated into the Red Hat Enterprise Linux product line. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I could link my (pretty dated) HOWTO for building diskless workstations with Linux on ILUG-Cal. I guess more people could read it this way. Anyone prepared to maintain, or improve the document are most welcome. Visit this link if the one below doesnt work.

The last time I did try to make a serious attempt at using SuSe Linux was around 1999 when I tried my hand at SuSe Linux 7.0. Unfortunately the experience wasn’t something I relished and thats where we parted ways…till date. I have always been a self confessed fan of Mandrake and Slackware, and definitely I still would say, (IMHO mind you!!) Slackware is the best distro I have ever used. But this isn’t about Slackware, nor is this about Mandrake. This is about SuSe and this time around, I must say the chameleon is making my neighbors go green with envy !!

There is something about Europeans that lets them create absolutely novel Linux distros. Mandrake and SuSe itself are cases in point. Over the last 4 years or so SuSe has upped the ante in end user XPrience (pun intended) and made users both on the desktop as well as the server, sit up and take serious notice. ? Have a lot of fun !!? is the catchphrase that SuSe uses to sell its product and fun definitely is what SuSe 9 is all about. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Internet has a curious paradox. At one end it breaks down barriers of geography and politics, on the other it takes away the vitality of personal interaction” says, Dipankar Das [1]

Madhyamgram is around 40 minutes by train from Kolkata, and is really not the archetypal suburban township. Elements of modernity and urban living tinge the area with an upwardly mobile character. In the midst of such surroundings flourishes a GNU/Linux Community - the GNU/Linux Thek [2]

The GLT-Madhyamgram [3] is an initiative of Dipankar Das, who stumbled onto the F/L OSS world by accident. Tired of being the victim of virus attacks on Microsoft platforms, he turned towards GNU/Linux and GLT-Madhyamgram (or GLT-Mad as they fondly call it) is his way of contributing to the community. Read the rest of this entry »

The last time I did try to make a serious attempt at using SuSe Linux was around 1999 when I tried my hand at SuSe Linux 7.0. Unfortunately the experience wasn’t something I relished and thats where we parted ways…till date. I have always been a self confessed fan of Mandrake and Slackware, and definitely I still would say, (IMHO mind you!!) Slackware is the best distro I have ever used. But this isn’t about Slackware, nor is this about Mandrake. This is about SuSe and this time around, I must say the chameleon is making my neighbors go green with envy !!

There is something about Europeans that lets them create absolutely novel Linux distros. Mandrake and SuSe itself are cases in point. Over the last 4 years or so SuSe has upped the ante in end user XPrience (pun intended) and made users both on the desktop as well as the server, sit up and take serious notice. “ Have a lot of fun !!” is the catchphrase that SuSe uses to sell its product and fun definitely is what SuSe 9 is all about.

The Premise

In a recent issue (Vol 1 no 9) of Linux For You (www.linuxforu.com), Frederick Noronha raises an important issue when he states that -

“Mastering technology is good but it’s more important to be large-hearted when sharing it.”

A ground level shift is slowly but surely happening in the Free/Libre and Open Source software development scene. The driving force of this change is the number of projects that are being implemented, tested, pilot-run or phased in. As harbingers of the new future, they are important enough to merit nationwide announcements as well as discussions. FLOSS implementations challenge and more often than not completely reverse existing paradigms. Thus, successful models need to be reproduced, while cases which did not produce the desired results require to be analyzed. Read the rest of this entry »

Having nothing better to do (and wanting to do a bit of testing on the localization stuff we are working on), I decided to download the latest beta of GNOME - GNOME 2.3.5 (Jebe) . Since the beta release is imminent, and the feature freeze is already in place, the system that I am running currently will not be significantly different from GNOME 2.4, when it is released on September. In this article, I would be briefly describing the new features and applications of GNOME 2.4. However, I would concentrate mainly on the packages in the core GNOME system, and will not be going beyond those.

Installing the packages (WARNING: slightly hairy)

To GARNOME or not… Read the rest of this entry »

Eric Raymond has once again come up with a profound and brilliant book - The Art of Unix Programming. Read an online copy of the book at http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html.

One of the recurring problems faced by Free and Open Source Software enthusiasts is that being fed on a staple diet of MS-Windows platforms and suites [in their different flavors] it becomes difficult to encourage people to change to a GNU/Linux environment. In most cases the migration curve is steep and the fear and uncertainity that creeps in makes it all the more difficult to ensure proper conversion. For a long time, there was a latent need for programs that would run under the Windows environment, yet be free or open source software. These programs can then be used on a ‘trial and error’ basis by the end-users during the period of hand-holding and would lead to smoother migration.

The GNU WinII CD is created by the team of EPFL students for the promotion of Free Software in general and the GNU/Linux concept in particular. This GNU Generation as they stylise themselves hold install fest and demonstrations during the academic year and also releases GNU Win. It is a collaborative and voluntary project with the aim of making the Windows users ‘discover’ Free and Open Source Software. After using such software on their familiar OS platforms, it becomes easier to migrate to a GNU/Linux environment. The compilation demonstrates the power and robustness of Free Software programs on Windows platforms, promotes the work of developers as well as at the same times eases the pain of transition between OSs. Read the rest of this entry »