Archive

Building Custom Widgets with the Zinzala SDK

In this article, we will explore the creation of a custom widget for an automotive application using the Zinzala SDK. Introduced in April 2003, Zinzala is a BeOS flavored Software Development Kit for QNX. It has improved since then, taking on small features inspired by the Symbian OS. Because Zinzala brings in the benefits of object oriented programming, it can leverage the quality of your QNX RTOS based embedded products.

Interview with amaroK’s Developers

Market share numbers in free software is a rather dubious thing and tend to reflect more often the wishes of the quoter than any true objective measurement. I still dare to claim thought that XMMS has historically been the most used GUI media player on Linux and FreeBSD systems and maybe still is. Still there have been a lot of alternatives popping up all hoping to dethrone XMMS over the years and maybe the time has now come when either there will be no clear leader or someone else will ascend. One of the alternatives I really like is amaroK.

Ubuntu: From Warty to Hoary

Probably one of the most talked about linux distributions in second part of this year was Ubuntu. It is Linux distribution based on Debian Unstable with nice selection of Gnome applications and it fits to one CD. Thanks to financial support from Canonical they have been able to offer free CDs, and that is really nice touch.

Definition of Today’s Geek!

This document has been created for those who do not have a clear definition of "today's geek". So if you are a geek, or think you may be a geek, sit back, relax, grab your bottle of Bawls and your Tux pillow and join us on this ride. For everyone else, please pay attention so we can embrace the geek in you.

Opinion: Ignorance of the Geek

Geek is defined by Dictionary.com as 'A person who is single-minded or accomplished in a scientific or technical pursuit'. Many of us either acknowledge ourselves as computer geeks or are labeled by Friends, Family, and/or Colleagues as the such. This is not a condescending statement and should not be taken in a negative connotative way. It is in fact an admiration of our technical skills and abilities.

Opinion: Learning The Basics

A couple of days ago, I read an interesting article by Kevin Kostis about how complex computer systems are and how they have a long way to go. I have to partly agree with his assessment, however a lot of folks don’t take the time to learn about there own investment.

Regarding High Level Computing

The IT sector today is a complete mess. The end-users rarely understand this, but most insiders reach a point when they realize that things should be different. The problems are numerous but they all reduce to a basic principle. IT and consumer electronics companies are interested more about money than helping people solve their problems. Of course companies need to make a profit and nobody denies that. They should however make money by helping people and not by creating more problems for them.

The solution to many logins and passwords

Remembering all the logins and passwords to all the services and systems you've got access to is pretty hard to do nowadays. Many people use the same login and password for multiple sites and systems. That won't improve security. One of the IT buzzwords is SSO (Single Sign-on). Most SSO systems are hard to setup and will only provide SSO to the systems of one company. It is possible to easily provide worldwide single sing-on.

XFce 4.2 – the Future is Now!

No doubt, all of you have heard of Xfce and those who haven't will hear about it soon anyway. I remember trying out Xfce for the first time back on SuSE 9.0. I am not sure if it came with the distrobution or if I downloaded it. At the time 9.0 came out I remember thinking to myself "nice, good potential, could be eyecandy, fast..." but I still logged into KDE upon booting. Sure I tried Gnome but somehow for a windows-commer KDE was more user friendly at the time. Update: More screenshots of XFce.

Review: Fedora Core 3 Vs Ubuntu Warty Warhog

Linux distros are advancing everywhere. Not only servers but also on the desktop pc and notebooks. There are wild discussions, if Linux-Distributions are ready for serious business work or personal use. This critical review will deal with two long awaited Linux-distributions, Fedora Core 3 and Ubuntus Warty Warhog. Why these two? Because both feature Gnome 2.8 and it would not be a comparision on equal terms to compare Gnome to e.g KDE. Also, both use kernel 2.6.8+ and have their very own theme for the default desktop. Bluecurve for Fedora and Human for Ubuntu.

What Linspire Has Going For It

I admit that I'm a geek. I use Linux. I use Solaris. I use FreeBSD. At times, I use Windows. And without a doubt, I download and try almost every Linux distribution when they come out. Over the last few years, I've tried all of the RedHat/Fedora releases, 2 different Lindows/Linspire releases, Mandrake, Gentoo, Xandros, Suse, Ubuntu, and the list goes on.