What is LWN.net?,LWN.net

What is LWN.net?

LWN.net aims to be the premier news and information source for the free software community. We provide comprehensive coverage of development, legal, commercial, and security issues. The LWN.net Weekly Edition is our weekly summary of what has happened in the free software world; our front page offers up-to-the-minute coverage.

How did LWN get started?

When LWN was initially designed, at the end of 1997, it was intended to be an attention-getting side project of a new consulting company called Eklektix, Inc. The initial editors (Elizabeth Coolbaugh and Jonathan Corbet) wanted to share the results of their efforts to keep up with developments from all over the Linux community. Over the years LWN has grown with Linux and become one of the definitive Linux news sites.

Where does LWN get its information?

We spend an unbelievable amount of time wandering the net in search of interesting developments to cover for our users. We also depend heavily on tips from our users; see the next section on how to send in something you have seen. 

wine 1.4:How to run windows software in linux?

Run Windows applications on Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac OS X.
  WINE is a free and open source  software that allows computer programs written for windows to run on linux platforms.The name Wine initially was an acronym for WINdows Emulator. Its meaning later shifted to the recursive backronym, Wine Is Not an Emulator in order to differentiate the software from other emulators.

 Wine benefits
Last but not least, Wine can provide benefits over Windows right now:

• Wine makes it possible to take advantage of all the Unix strong points (stability, flexibility, remote administration) while still using the Windows applications you depend on.
• Unix has always made it possible to write powerful scripts. Wine makes it possible to call Windows applications from scripts that can also leverage the Unix environment to its full extent.
• Wine makes it possible to access Windows applications remotely, even if they are a few thousand miles away.
• Wine makes it economical to use thin clients: simply install Wine on a Linux server, and voila, you can access these Windows applications from any X terminal.
• Wine can also be used to make existing Windows applications available on the Web by using VNC and its Java client.
• Wine is Open Source Software, so you can extend it to suit your needs or have one of many companies do it for you.

Latest Releases

• Wine 1.4
• http://www.winehq.org/ 

credits:http://www.winehq.org/ 

Setting Up A Linux File Server Using Samba

A quick Google will show many ways to to setup a Linux file server running Samba, most of them however don't work! Some leave out important bits leaving you stuck and some will only work with one version of a specific Distro (but of course don't mention this). I struggled for ages getting Samba to work reliably and made quite a few wrong turns on the way. I was just trying to set up a simple Linux file server to store music, photos etc. but eventually found a foolproof (probably) way to do it. The following works and has been tested several times on fresh installations. This is not meant to be a high security setup, all folders are accessible to everybody for read, write and delete. If you have stroppy teenagers who want exclusive access to their own area on the server, then you can use this as a starting point. A few simple changes would achieve that level of security but it is beyond the scope of this tutorial.

full story
credits:http://www.howtoforge.com/setting-up-a-linux-file-server-using-samba

NVIDIA joins Linux Foundation, doesn't mention driver development

It's a big day for open source fans now that NVIDIA, the last member of the "big three" chip makers with AMD and Intel, has signed on with the Linux foundation. The company has previously kept the system at arms length, with users relying on reverse-engineering to get things working nicely with Linus' baby. It's joining Fluenco, Lineo and Mocana, three companies who also became signatories to the foundation at the same time. Whilst there's no commitment to provide drivers for its chipsets, at least there's a glimmer of hope that the company will contribute -- especially given the growing popularity of its mobile platforms.

credits : http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/08/nvidia-linux-foundation/

Linux Foundation's Collaboration Summit Coming in April

The Linux Foundation, which has emerged as a true leader in encouraging technology companies, open source community members, developers and others to work together to brighten Linux's future, is holding its sixth annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit in April. The event will take place at the Nikko Hotel in San Francisco from April 3 to 5, and if you're able to make it, the roundup of speakers is particularly notable this time around.
Keynote speakers at the Collaboration Summit will include Facebook's Frank Frankovsky, Huawei's Timo Jokiaho, Intel's Imad Sousou and NYSE Technology's Feargal O'Sullivan. Among the keynote topics:

Full story:  http://ostatic.com/blog/linux-foundations-collaboration-summit-coming-in-april

A-Z Bash commands

A-Z Bash commands

  alias    Create an alias

  apropos  Search Help manual pages (man -k)

  apt-get  Search for and install software packages (Debian)

  aspell   Spell Checker

  awk      Find and Replace text, database sort/validate/index

b

  bash     GNU Bourne-Again SHell 

  bc       Arbitrary precision calculator language 

  bg       Send to background

  break    Exit from a loop

  builtin  Run a shell builtin

  bzip2    Compress or decompress named file(s)

c

  cal      Display a calendar

  case     Conditionally perform a command

  cat      Display the contents of a file

  cd       Change Directory

  cfdisk   Partition table manipulator for Linux

  chgrp    Change group ownership

  chmod    Change access permissions

  chown    Change file owner and group

  chroot   Run a command with a different root directory

  chkconfig System services (runlevel)

  cksum    Print CRC checksum and byte counts

  clear    Clear terminal screen

  cmp      Compare two files

  comm     Compare two sorted files line by line

  command  Run a command - ignoring shell functions

  continue Resume the next iteration of a loop

  cp       Copy one or more files to another location

  cron     Daemon to execute scheduled commands

  crontab  Schedule a command to run at a later time

  csplit   Split a file into context-determined pieces

  cut      Divide a file into several parts

d

  date     Display or change the date & time

  dc       Desk Calculator

  dd       Convert and copy a file, write disk headers, boot records

  ddrescue Data recovery tool

  declare  Declare variables and give them attributes

  df       Display free disk space

  diff     Display the differences between two files

  diff3    Show differences among three files

  dig      DNS lookup

  dir      Briefly list directory contents

  dircolors Colour setup for `ls'

  dirname  Convert a full pathname to just a path

  dirs     Display list of remembered directories

  dmesg    Print kernel & driver messages 

  du       Estimate file space usage

e

  echo     Display message on screen

  egrep    Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression

  eject    Eject removable media

  enable   Enable and disable builtin shell commands

  env      Environment variables

  ethtool  Ethernet card settings

  eval     Evaluate several commands/arguments

  exec     Execute a command

  exit     Exit the shell

  expect   Automate arbitrary applications accessed over a terminal

  expand   Convert tabs to spaces

  export   Set an environment variable

  expr     Evaluate expressions

f

  false    Do nothing, unsuccessfully

  fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk

  fdisk    Partition table manipulator for Linux

  fg       Send job to foreground 

  fgrep    Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string

  file     Determine file type

  find     Search for files that meet a desired criteria

  fmt      Reformat paragraph text

  fold     Wrap text to fit a specified width.

  for      Expand words, and execute commands

  format   Format disks or tapes

  free     Display memory usage

  fsck     File system consistency check and repair

  ftp      File Transfer Protocol

  function Define Function Macros

  fuser    Identify/kill the process that is accessing a file

g

  gawk     Find and Replace text within file(s)

  getopts  Parse positional parameters

  grep     Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern

  groups   Print group names a user is in

  gzip     Compress or decompress named file(s)

h

  hash     Remember the full pathname of a name argument

  head     Output the first part of file(s)

  history  Command History

  hostname Print or set system name

i

  id       Print user and group id's

  if       Conditionally perform a command

  ifconfig Configure a network interface

  ifdown   Stop a network interface 

  ifup     Start a network interface up

  import   Capture an X server screen and save the image to file

  install  Copy files and set attributes

j

  join     Join lines on a common field

k

  kill     Stop a process from running

  killall  Kill processes by name

l

  less     Display output one screen at a time

  let      Perform arithmetic on shell variables

  ln       Make links between files

  local    Create variables

  locate   Find files

  logname  Print current login name

  logout   Exit a login shell

  look     Display lines beginning with a given string

  lpc      Line printer control program

  lpr      Off line print

  lprint   Print a file

  lprintd  Abort a print job

  lprintq  List the print queue

  lprm     Remove jobs from the print queue

  ls       List information about file(s)

  lsof     List open files

m

  make     Recompile a group of programs

  man      Help manual

  mkdir    Create new folder(s)

  mkfifo   Make FIFOs (named pipes)

  mkisofs  Create an hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem

  mknod    Make block or character special files

  more     Display output one screen at a time

  mount    Mount a file system

  mtools   Manipulate MS-DOS files

  mv       Move or rename files or directories

  mmv      Mass Move and rename (files)

n

  netstat  Networking information

  nice     Set the priority of a command or job

  nl       Number lines and write files

  nohup    Run a command immune to hangups

  nslookup Query Internet name servers interactively

o

  open     Open a file in its default application

  op       Operator access 

p

  passwd   Modify a user password

  paste    Merge lines of files

  pathchk  Check file name portability

  ping     Test a network connection

  pkill    Stop processes from running

  popd     Restore the previous value of the current directory

  pr       Prepare files for printing

  printcap Printer capability database

  printenv Print environment variables

  printf   Format and print data

  ps       Process status

  pushd    Save and then change the current directory

  pwd      Print Working Directory

q

  quota    Display disk usage and limits

  quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage

  quotactl Set disk quotas

r

  ram      ram disk device

  rcp      Copy files between two machines

  read     read a line from standard input

  readonly Mark variables/functions as readonly

  reboot   Reboot the system

  renice   Alter priority of running processes 

  remsync  Synchronize remote files via email

  return   Exit a shell function

  rev      Reverse lines of a file

  rm       Remove files

  rmdir    Remove folder(s)

  rsync    Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)

s

  screen   Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh

  scp      Secure copy (remote file copy)

  sdiff    Merge two files interactively

  sed      Stream Editor

  select   Accept keyboard input

  seq      Print numeric sequences

  set      Manipulate shell variables and functions

  sftp     Secure File Transfer Program

  shift    Shift positional parameters

  shopt    Shell Options

  shutdown Shutdown or restart linux

  sleep    Delay for a specified time

  slocate  Find files

  sort     Sort text files

  source   Run commands from a file `.'

  split    Split a file into fixed-size pieces

  ssh      Secure Shell client (remote login program)

  strace   Trace system calls and signals

  su       Substitute user identity

  sudo     Execute a command as another user

  sum      Print a checksum for a file

  symlink  Make a new name for a file

  sync     Synchronize data on disk with memory

t

  tail     Output the last part of files

  tar      Tape ARchiver

  tee      Redirect output to multiple files

  test     Evaluate a conditional expression

  time     Measure Program running time

  times    User and system times

  touch    Change file timestamps

  top      List processes running on the system

  traceroute Trace Route to Host

  trap     Run a command when a signal is set(bourne)

  tr       Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters

  true     Do nothing, successfully

  tsort    Topological sort

  tty      Print filename of terminal on stdin

  type     Describe a command

u

  ulimit   Limit user resources

  umask    Users file creation mask

  umount   Unmount a device

  unalias  Remove an alias

  uname    Print system information

  unexpand Convert spaces to tabs

  uniq     Uniquify files

  units    Convert units from one scale to another

  unset    Remove variable or function names

  unshar   Unpack shell archive scripts

  until    Execute commands (until error)

  useradd  Create new user account

  usermod  Modify user account

  users    List users currently logged in

  uuencode Encode a binary file 

  uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode

v

  v        Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')

  vdir     Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')

  vi       Text Editor

  vmstat   Report virtual memory statistics

w

  watch    Execute/display a program periodically

  wc       Print byte, word, and line counts

  whereis  Report all known instances of a command    

  which    Locate a program file in the user's path. 

  while    Execute commands

  who      Print all usernames currently logged in

  whoami   Print the current user id and name (`id -un')

  Wget     Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, HTTPS or FTP

  write    Send a message to another user 

x

  xargs    Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s)

  yes      Print a string until interrupted

  .        Run a command script in the current shell

  ###      Comment / Remark

Different flavours of linux?

Debian
Debian is regarded as the largest Linux distribution to date in terms of users. It is renowned for its stability and quality and its interoperability with other software. It has a very large following and over 28,000 packages you can add to it. It is very stable and newbie friendly. The community is knowledgeable and helpful and most of the questions you may have will have been asked before on their forums. Debian seems somewhat over engineered to me, which isn’t a bad thing. It just means that it is never the latest and greatest, but is very, very stable. Currently on Debian Version 5, Lenny.
Ubuntu
Seemingly the most popular distro out in the world right now, since its release five years ago. Some suggest it has as much as 40% of Linux desktops. It is another good quality, stable release that is very newbie friendly. It even has a migration assistant for Windows refugees. This eases the pain a little by helping you in your first steps. Another distro that works with most hardware straight out of the box. Current version 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope.
Fedora
This is a distribution with a long history. Once part of Red Hat, Fedora was launched for the ‘Linux Hobbyist’. It is very secure and has a large number of packages available for it. This one seemed to be less newbie friendly than others, with not so many options for desktop users. If you want to run a web server or something then this would be ideal. Current version is Fedora 10, new version shortly
OpenSUSE
This is another distro with a rich history, now owned by Novell. It is a comprehensive package with some good documentation. The following is helpful and informative and there are lots of packages available for it. There is however some controversy over a deal it has with Microsoft, something about use of patents. This doesn’t detract from the usability of the product though. It does have graphical tools for an administrator. Current release is 11.1
Mandriva
Mandriva used to be Mandrake, and even as a Windows user back then I knew what that was. It is one of the distributions that offer both free and commercial versions of the software. The commercial version is regarded as one of the best distros for newbies. Although I don’t see that it has much that Ubuntu or Debian doesn’t offer and for free. Current version is Mandriva 2009.1.
Slackware
This is allegedly the oldest Linux distribution still around today. It is supposed to be the cleanest and most bug free edition available, but seems quite hard core. You definitely need skills to get into Slackware. It lags a little behind other distributions and doesn’t have all the cool bits to make your desktop smart. Current version 12.2
FreeBSD
Yes I know…it is not Linux but it is worth mentioning. It is primarily directed a server applications and is rated as one of the most stable. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that some of the more popular distros have but if you need something to run a server, you can’t go wrong with this. Current version 7.2.
Mint
This is my personal favorite, and not only for its cool name. It is based on Ubuntu, but is developed mainly ‘on demand’. The programmers have forums and feedback loops which they subscribe to. They listen and try to implement the best suggestions into the distribution. It has many specific tools, and to my mind is the most useable out of the box. Current version is Mint 6 Felicia.
PCLinuxOS
Despite the not so catchy name this distribution is supposed to be very good for the Linux newcomer. Another distro that works out of the box, natively supporting lots of hardware. The documentation and website are pretty good if a little disorganized. This one also seems to be English only, so if you speak something other, then you had best look elsewhere. Current version is PCLinuxOS 2009.

credits:beginlinux.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/the-many-flavors-of-linux/