Recently we aquired a Sony Cybershot n50 I hooked this camera up to my Linux system and it picked it right up as Linux does with many Digital Camera’s and the world was good. Then one evening I get home from a long night at work and my newly converted from Windows wife is asking for her Window’s install back. New Linux users can be so difficult to please. Anyways upon investigation I found out that she just wanted to run the Sony Picture Motion Browser software that came with the Camera. So I fired up wine-doors and put the disk in and gave it a try inside Linux.

How to install the Picture Motion Browser in Wine

I wasn’t sure if this would work but it did work very well and here is how I installed the Sony Picture Motion Browser in Linux. To install the Picture Motion Browser I used the install from disk option which can be found in the File menu of Wine-doors. Once installed the program works fine. Wine will work with USB devices that are supported in the Linux kernel. Just another piece of information that may come in handy to know. And likely this fact has a little bit to do with why this program is able to work in Linux with the camera even though it is a Windows program.

Also, for those of you who ended up on this page because your Partner is wanting another Windows program installed, I feel your pain :o).

While Microsoft and Linux Zealots duke it out over the whole every operating system is vulnerable and Linux has problems too and so forth and so on and while flame wars rage across the internet, the people at Microsoft are looking at a possible solution to the security flaws in their operating system. It seems that the solution that is being looked at is not to develop solutions but to tax our way into a healthier more stable Window’s Millennium. That

is right, a suggestion has been made to use Tax dollars to fund the massive repairs that are needed on Windows. Does Microsoft not have the funds and the programmers at their disposal to keep their systems secure? If not, then I suppose the Mac commercial about Microsoft having a bake sell to raise money to fix windows wasn’t too far off the mark.

Tax dollars are not enough, Microsoft is also asking that you quarantine your system if it has a virus. As one commenter put it that is 90% less Windows systems we will be seeing on the internet.

Does Linux need an Antivirus? It is possible for a Linux system to get a virus. That fact is not to be confused with the idea that Linux is just as weak and vulnerable as Windows since that is simply not the case. But it is not impossible to get a virus in Linux, and as Linux becomes more popular it is possible that security threats will increase as people turn their attention to Linux.

And that is where Clamav comes in. If you are interested in installing Clamav you will likely find that you can install it from your package manager. Most distributions have the program available for install in their reposititories. Also Clamav has a page with information about installing their software on various Linux distributions. Here is a link to that page.

How to use Clamav

Now that you have it installed you will want to update the virus definitions. Open up your terminal and log in as root. For most linux users this is done by typing su then when asked for your password just type in the root password that you setup when you installed Linux on your system. Now that you are logged in as root type in freshclam to update your definitions.

Now that you have up to date virus definitions lets run a scan type in clamscan -r -i this will run a scan on your entire system and list any directories that have a virus.

Here is a case scenario that many have experienced or will experience in the future whether you are a Linux user or not: You purchase a product which later proves to be defective. So you pursue a refund for your purchase. The item is supposed to be covered under warranty. But the vendor denies your claim. So what do you do next?

Recently the Linux community has been experiencing this problem. What happens is that somebody purchases a laptop or computer and installs Linux. Then when their purchase proves defective the company claims that Linux damaged their hardware and refuses to honor the warranty due to the individual having installed Linux. Since Linux has become popular on netbooks and smartbooks and laptops most of those systems that are sold with Windows are available with Linux preinstalled as well. Still, when somebody puts Linux on a system that originally had Windows, the fact that the same computer is available with Linux from the Manufacturer doesn’t stop some businesses who think their customers are stupid from trying to pull this stop to avoid refunding their defective product.

Recently a Linux user won this battle with newegg.com. I want to help get this article out to others since the advice in it can be usefull to anyone who is in a situation where a business is refusing to provide a refund.

The strategy that was used in this case scenario was to contact the vendor. When the vendor ignored the user, he or she then reported the situation to a reputable website and got the story published. Then they went to the companies facebook page and signed up as a fan. And posted a comment with a Link to the story recommending that they read that article. In this case the individual was finally able to get a refund on a clearly defective product.

Also none of the businesses that are using this ploy to avoid honoring their warranties have provided a single piece of evidence that the Linux operating system is damaging computer hardware. And I have used Linux for many years now and I have never had any such experience.

Here is a link to the original article it is a good read.

So computers don’t run off of Magic. They run off of hardware and software. Yes, I know. But Notion Ink has done something quite magical in comparison with the Apple Ipad. Notion Ink’s Adam has flash support! In comparison with the Ipad that is quite magical. It can also be obtained for 172 dollars less than the Ipad. And who else to be able to provide such a Magical product then a company that is utilizing Linux. Many were wondering, where are the Linux tablets. But here we are with a Linux tablet that provides the features you would expect, many of which are not available with the Ipad. The Notion Ink Adam is a Linux powered Tablet PC. It has an SD card slot that you will not find on the Ipad and a Camera which you will not find on the Ipad either.

I realize that People are excited that Apple is releasing something that cost less than 500 dollars. But it really doesn’t hurt to take a look at other options.

Here is a link to the Notion Ink website to learn more about this product and get a sneak peak at what will soon be available.

It does not take an expensive piece of software or a college course to learn how to create awesome digital graphics. In fact you can get the tools and begin creating your own work for free.

I use Linux and I already knew that!

Then good for you. And you likely already have the Gimp installed on your system. For those of you who are new to open source software the gimp is available for Linux and Windows. Here is a link to download the Gimp.

Now with that out of the way all you need is to take some tutorials. Or if you are already familiar with photoshop then alot of the features in the Gimp will create similar effects.

Here is a link to some tutorials that I recently took and a few I have not taken yet. They helped me to sharpen up on graphics design and I have used what I have learned to create the header for this page and the outer space scene posted above this article.

That is right the Linux operating system Ubuntu Linux specifically is learning how to walk. A Univerisity of Arizona student developed this spider bot using a 1.6 ghz intel atom processor and a US15W chipset. The spiderbot has a webcam for an eye that enables it to see where it is going and avoid obstacles. Some have suggested that this spiderbot could be used for space exploration. Since this Robot has been designed to avoid obstacles I could see where it would be handy to have something that would not just walk off of a cliff the Moment NASA lets it loose on some planet at a multi Billion dollar expense.

It learns how to walk!

While the fact that this Robot can find it’s way around and avoid obstacles is interesting, what is really impressive is that it has not been programmed to walk. It has been programmed to learn. Like something from a sci fi movie this Robot actually learns how to walk.

See it in action

Here is a link to a video of the Robot walking and displaying its various movements in html5

Here is a flash link.

Wine-Doors is a program that makes it easy to get Windows programs installed and running in Linux. It provides an alternative to crossover office. And it is available for free.

If you have a program that you have had to use crossover office to run then this program may be worth taking a look at, as it provides many of the features that crossover office provides, including the task of installing fonts that are needed for many Windows programs.

In many cases wine-doors will be available in your software manager that comes with your Linux distribution. If not, then here is a link to their download page.

I am hearing a lot about the new release of an Open Source web browser. And unlike many others I am not too excited about it. The reason why is that although their software is an open source project they seem to have a preference for the Proprietary. How so? Each time they release a new version of their software it is released for Windows first. Then later a Linux based release comes out. It is most unfortunate that this trend is so common with open source software. It does not make sense to me that an open source project and one that first gained momentum in the Linux sector chooses to give an open source operating system the last place on their list.

It seems that many companies and or projects view Linux as a way to get their foot in the door. Once they become popular than their real focus comes to the fore. And so they begin to place their primary efforts on developing their software for Windows and then they will think about their Linux users later. Don’t be surprised if such companies do not quit supporting Linux altogether when they become popular enough. I hope the community takes note of such events and maintains the software that is developed by more loyal software projects many of whom develope their software primarily for Linux.

Recently there has been a barrage of complaints going out that Laptops and Netbooks running Windows 7 are experience problems with their battery packs. The users are getting messages that their batteries need replaced. While a few individuals complaining that their batteries are dying off prematurely could be expected. But what is being experienced right now is more than just a few complaints. Complaints are flooding in. Everything from Windows 7 being a battery hog to the complaints that Windows 7 kills battery packs.

Microsoft to the rescue, or maybe not

Microsoft responded by assuring everyone that they are on it. And that they are exploring this issue. Now that everyone is assured that it is okay because the problem is being investigated and will be fixed, they could get down to the real order of business that of denying any responsibility for the problem. The response from Microsoft has been that the battery packs are dying of natural causes and that the messages that are received about replacing the battery packs are accurate. Immediately thereafter long winded herds of Microsoft sheep began writing up articles about how the battery pack issue was not Microsoft’s fault, despite the fact that multitudes of users including those with batteries that are only a few weeks or months old are sending in these complaints.

Microsoft in Denial

Microsoft took their denial a step further in a posting on their Windows 7 Engineering blog:

“There is no way for Windows 7 or any other OS to write, set or configure battery status information,” Sinofsky said. “All of the battery actions of charging and discharging are completely controlled by the battery hardware. Some reports erroneously claimed Windows was modifying this information, which is definitely not possible.” End of Quote

So there you have it Microsoft must be innocent because it is impossible for them to be wrong.

But is that really so. How much seperation is there between Windows 7 and the battery packs processes? Notice what a spokeswoman for Boston Power had to say on this topic:

“The operating system usually receives information from system firmware which is responsible for monitoring battery capacity and operation,” End of Quote

So the truth is that the operating system actually does work in connection with the systems firmware that monitors the batteries capacity and operation.

There is still Linux

We may never know for sure what is going on here with Windows 7 and Laptop battery packs. But at least you still have an option, you can opt for Linux instead of Windows on your Laptop, keep in mind also that Linux makes an awesome desktop solution.