Ubuntu 10.10 beta is the latest Linux distribution release to have support for the btrfs file system. Btrfs (B-tree File System) is a copy-on-write file system for Linux. As far as I am aware of, Fedora and Sabayon are the other (Linux) distributions with support for it during installation. While btrfs changes how we manage disks on Linux, you should [...]

Zentyal, the Linux distribution formerly known as eBox Platform, is a server distribution which can be used as a network gateway, unified threat manager, office server, infrastructure manager, and a unified communications server. The latest release, the first under the Zentyal name, is based on Ubuntu server 10.04. For installing the base system, it uses the same installation program as [...]

As a desktop distribution built atop FreeBSD, PC-BSD makes available to the desktop user all the cool technologies inside FreeBSD. One of those cool technologies is ZFS, the Zettabyte File System, a file system developed by Sun Microsystems (acquired by Oracle Corporation) for the Solaris operating system. ZFS has no parallel in the Linux/BSD world. It packs features that no [...]

Performing a distribution upgrade is one task I have never attempted on Mandriva Linux. And that is because Mandriva Linux 2010 is the first Mandriva version that I have used on any of my personal computer until the next update was released. So here was an opportunity to test how well the upgrade feature worked. For this article, I show [...]

In the last article about btrfs on Fedora, we showed how to pass the btrfs option to Anaconda, the Fedora system installation program, on Fedora 13. This article presents a step by step guide on how to actually partition a disk and install Fedora 13 on a btrfs-formatted root filesystem. Basically, this is a continuation of how to enable the [...]

Fedora 13 is one of a handful of Linux distributions with support for btrfs, the B-tree File System, one of the newest file systems in the Linux kernel. Btrfs is destined to be the default Linux file system. Expect to see it as the default on Fedora by the time Fedora 17 comes along. For now, however, it is still [...]

Thanks to its use of Anaconda, the Fedora installer, Sabayon 5.3, the latest release of the Gentoo-based distribution, is one of the first Linux distributions with support for the btrfs file system. Btrfs is one of the newest filesystems in the Linux kernel. It is similar to Oracle’s ZFS, but lacks ZFS’ more advanced features. It is also still in [...]

One of the most useful features of any operating system is an application or package update notifier, a simple utility which notifies you when there are package updates available for the system. Most Linux distributions have such a tool installed and running out of the box, and Mandriva is one of them. On Mandriva 2010 Spring, the latest release, the [...]

Mandriva Linux is one of the distributions with built-in support for the Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM) in the installer. As a disk partitioning and management system, LVM brings a level of flexibility to disk management in a manner that is not possible with the traditional disk management scheme. There is no downside to using it. So if your distribution [...]

Spotify is a popular streaming music service developed by Spotify AB of Sweden. Like music streaming services, it enables you to enjoy and share the songs you love anytime,anywhere. Well, not exactly anywhere – Spotify is currently only available in a few western European countries – Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Spotify requires the use [...]

Nanny is a graphical parental control tool developed for Guadalinex, a Linux desktop distribution derived from Ubuntu and developed and maintained by the regional government of Andalucía, Spain. Linux Mint has a graphical parental control called mintNanny, but compared to Nanny, it is very primitive. The only distribution I am aware that has an advanced, graphical parental control tool is [...]

One of the most important features introduced in Sabayon 5.3, the latest release of the Gentoo-based Linux distribution, is Anaconda, the best installation program you will find on any Linux or BSD distribution. It’s not perfect, but no other installation program offers the same enterprise-grade features that comes with it. It is the same installation program you’ll find on Fedora [...]

Dual-booting refers to the concept of installing two operating systems on the same computer, and having the option to choose which one to boot into when the computer is rebooting. Dual-booting is actually a special case of multi-booting, or installing more than one operating on a computer. This is a very common practice in the Linux and BSD communities. If [...]

Pardus is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution sponsored and developed by the Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey. Pardus 2009.2, the latest release, reviewed here, leaves plenty of room to customize the desktop’s features. If you are new to Linux and to Pardus, this simple tutorial will help you learn the different ways you can customize your desktop. Note that [...]

Pardus is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution sponsored and developed by the Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey. It’s not a perfect Linux distribution, but it works – out of the box. A light-weight distribution, it is similar in many respects to Linux Mint. Unlike Linux Mint, however, it is not based on any other distribution, and the default desktop [...]

One of the best features introduced in Sabayon 5.3, the latest upgrade to the Gentoo-based, multi-purpose Linux distribution is the installer. The old installer was dumped in favor of Anaconda, the Fedora 13 installation program. Aside from bringing enterprise-class storage features to Sabayon, Anaconda boots a lot faster than Sabayon’s old installer, which had the unenviable reputation of being very [...]