Pear OS is a new Linux desktop distribution based on Ubuntu. Development started in early August 2011, and Pear OS 1.0, the first version marked “stable,” was released on August 15 2011. The newest release is Pear OS Linux Panther 3. I tend not to pay too much attention to Ubuntu-based distributions especially when there is no feature or features [...]

The security features in Fedora make it one of my favorite Linux distributions. And that is partly why it is in my list of the top 6 KDE distributions of 2011, even though it takes some tweaking to get it to the it just works state. I will take the security advantages of an operating system over any user-friendliness weaknesses, [...]

Elation does not come close to describing what I am feeling right now. Euphoria does not even do it justice. Every cell in my being is in a state of extreme, joyful excitement as I speak (or write). The source or cause of the joy is none other than the announcement from HP that webOS will be, in their own [...]

Wuala is a cloud storage service by LaCie, a computer storage and display outfit. Like all cloud storage services, Wuala makes it easy for you to backup, sync, share and retrieve your data from any location. How does it differentiate itself from the rest of the pack? Well, LaCie claims that Wuala is different because “All files get encrypted and [...]

The last time I followed a distribution’s suggestion to remove some packages that were no longer needed, I completely hosed the system. Could not use it afterwards. Though the machine was a test machine, the experience thought me to always let sleeping dogs lie. If what those orphaned packages, as they are called, are doing is just using up a [...]

Disk encryption is one of several physical security measures that could be used to protect data on your computer from unauthorized physical access. And it is best configured during installation, not after. But once configured, how effective is it? First, let’s see how it is implemented in some popular Linux distributions. In Fedora, for example, all you need to encrypt [...]

Linux Mint 12 is the latest release of the Ubuntu Desktop-based branch of Linux Mint. This release comes with several desktop options, a few screen shots of which have been posted here. By default, Linux Mint 12 ships with a guest session enabled, so a password-less access to the system is possible from the login screen to anybody with physical [...]

Linux Mint 12, code-named Lisa, is the latest release of the popular desktop Linux distribution. This is the version of Linux Mint based on Ubuntu Desktop, not the one based on Debian. That one is called Linux Mint Debian Edition, or LMDE. Linux Mint 12, the GNOME edition, which is what this release uses, offers several desktops. There is the [...]

The first alpha release of Mageia 2 has been made available for download and testing. As you might expect, this is not a review-quality release, so if you have the time and resources, time to start hunting for bugs – and reporting them, if any, to Mageia Bugzilla. Installation and Live CD and DVD ISO images for 32- and 64-bit [...]

These days, everybody is talking about cloud computing, and many people use it in one form or the other. But popular cloud computing services are provided by a third party, which means that you store you data on a server somewhere, so that you can access it any time, from anywhere. But there are cloud applications that any person can [...]

Ubuntu 11.10, code-named Oneiric Ocelot, is the latest stable release of the popular Linux distribution. Since tradition demands that screenshots be published before a review, here are a few from a test installation for your visual pleasure. If you would like to get the gist on new features in this release, you might want to read the Release Notes. The [...]

Sabayon 7 is the latest release of Sabayon, a Gentoo-based, multi-purpose Linux distribution. It is the third and most likely, the final release this year. While a detailed review is being written, here are some screenshots for the KDE and GNOME 2 and GNOME 3 desktops. Though not listed in the Release Notes, the installer, has been tweaked a bit. [...]

Muon Package Management Suite is the package management application that will replace Kubuntu’s package manager when Kubuntu 11.10 is released next month. It is designed for Debian-based systems, so it could be used on similar distributions, not just on Kubuntu. In fact, it is included in the default repository of Linux Mint 11. Its development is by Jonathan Thomas. It [...]

We believe that urgent action is needed to protect our children and young people from a epidemic of brain and other tumours in 10 to 30 years time. The majority of malignant gliomas (the most common type that has been associated with mobile phone use) are fatal within 3 to 5 years of diagnosis, even with treatment. If a large [...]

Android’s USB port has in the past been curiously inaccessible to programmers. Last week at Google I/O we announced the Android Open Accessory APIs for Android. These APIs allow USB accessories to connect to Android devices running Android 3.1 or Android 2.3.4 without special licensing or fees. The new “accessory mode” does not require the Android device to support USB [...]

Security concerns are one of the key obstacles to the adoption of new non-volatile main memory (NVMM) technology in next-generation computers, which would improve computer start times and boost memory capacity. But now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new encryption hardware for use with NVMM to protect personal information and other data. NVMM technologies, such as phase-change [...]