Posts filed under 'Linux'
When dealing with a computer issue, you will often hear your tech have you restart in “Safe Mode“. You may be wondering what “Safe Mode” is, and what it does. Safe Mode is the troubleshooting option for your Operation System (OS) which starts your computer with the most basic drivers, and services.
Anti Virus software, print drivers, and other 3rd party process’ are disabled, so you can get into the system on a clean slate, fix the issues, and reboot into normal mode.
Safe Mode may be required for Malware removal at times, since it allows the computer to boot, and prevent the virus from loading in the background.
You may be getting the “blue screen of death” (BSOD) when booting into Windows 7, and are wondering if it is an issue with your Windows installation, or is it a problem with a piece of software, or device you are using. If the problem does not appear when you start in safe mode, you can cancel out the default settings, and basic device drivers as possible causes of the issue.
If you are still unsure about the cause of the issue, you can use the process of elimination to narrow down the possiblities:
In Safe Mode- start your commonly used programs, one by one, and see if you can replicate the error. Often times, corrupt software can halt the entire system. If you recently made a change to your system before it went down, such as installed a new webcam, Safe Mode will allow you to log in and uninstall the cam, and reboot to see if it solved the problem.
How to boot into Safe Mode:
Windows - Power on the PC and hold F8 as it begins booting up. Choose the “Safe Mode” option when prompted.
Mac - Power on the Mac, immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone but not before.
Linux (most distros) - Power on your system, when at the GRUB boot menu, choose the version of the Kernel that has the Safe Mode option in the name.
June 21st, 2010
Today Google launched “Google Public DNS“. It is supposed to make your web browsing experience even faster.
A lot of you may be unfamiliar with DNS (Domain Name System)
here’s Google’s explanation:
“Most of us aren’t familiar with DNS because it’s often handled automatically by our Internet Service Provider (ISP), but it provides an essential function for the web. You could think of it as the switchboard of the Internet, converting easy-to-remember domain names – e.g., www.google.com – into the unique Internet Protocol (IP) numbers – e.g., 74.125.45.100 – that computers use to communicate with one another.”
need more info? : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System
Your ISP has you run through their DNS servers by default- and if you’re a broadband subscriber, surfing web pages is probably fast enough. Google hopes to make it even faster and safer when you use theirs.
Click here to follow their easy step-by-step guide here to change over to Google DNS!
For those who already know how to change their DNS address’- the address’ are 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
My thoughts:
I jumped on the chance to try it out, and I could tell you that I notice pages loading snappier. I believe it takes half a second longer to get to the page, but once it does, it feels as though the page is fully loaded and ready. I will be using it for a while to see if I want to keep the configuration.
Please let us know your experiences in the comments section below.
December 3rd, 2009
The average life span of a computer is 3 to 5 years. After that time, the computer is either obsolete (to the g33k crowd 
), or broken (bad ram, hard disk, CPU, motherboard, etc). Even though computers have gotten very inexpensive over the years- it is still a fairly large expense, especially if you go for the higher-end models.
“If a computer is badly infected with malware or has other severe security-related problems, fixing it may not be practical,” explains Ed Correia, CEO of managed service provider Sagacent Technologies. “Yes, you could clean it off, but if it’s going to take 20 hours of expert IT time to do it, it might more cost-effective to buy another one.”
This post highlights the 5 things you should try to do, in order to increase your computer’s life span and avoid buying another one. It includes useful tips from Ed Correia, CEO of Sagacent Technologies. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments section below.
1. Keep the computer free of unneeded applications. Unused or obsolete applications leave bits of code behind that can clog up your computer, eating up RAM and slowing everything down. Besides being a software problem, too much leftover code can also lead to hardware failure, by causing your hard drive to spin more than it needs to, thus wearing it down. “Your hard drive can wind up looking like Swiss cheese,” Correia says. One way to get rid of unneeded code is to use tune-up software, but Windows also has a disk cleanup feature. Make sure the system tray and registry are also free of unneeded applications.
2. Keep images of your computers. The operating system, configuration, and applications on a computer can be stored as a space-saving image, which makes it easy and quick for IT staff to restore them. Being able to re-image a computer solves the it’ll-take-so-long-to-restore-we-might-as-well-buy-a-new-one problem. And support staff can often re-image over the Internet, without even touching the computer.
3. Maximize memory. One inexpensive way to extend the life of desktop computers is to upgrade to the maximum amount of RAM possible, so the operating system does not have to use memory on the hard disk. Here again, the idea is to cut back on excess use of the hard drive, which fills in whenever RAM is overloaded. Adding memory will improve users’ experience, too, since RAM is much faster than disk.
4. Minimize dust. Heat is anathema to computer components, so when their insides fill with dust, it traps heat, causing fans to work overtime, and wear out more quickly. So don’t set a computer directly on the floor, where it will act as a stationary vacuum cleaner — even a few inches’ elevation will help. And don’t allow smoking or incense use around the computer either, since smoke will fill it with dust fast. I’ve heard of computer motherboards frying because there was a layer of dust on them keeping the heat in. You can’t keep dust from getting in, he adds. “Air has to circulate in a computer to keep it cool, and with air comes dust.” The only remedy, he says, is to open the computer case and blow out the dust periodically.
5. Hold off on Vista. Microsoft Windows Vista demands much more processing power than its predecessor XP. “It’s much, much more demanding, so we do not recommend installing Vista on existing computers,” Correia says. “Most computers currently in place don’t have the needed processing power.” Windows 7 is on the way! It’s more light, and way more powerful. Wait for it instead of taking the plunge to Vista.
August 11th, 2009
You may have heard it from different people; how Linux is so much better, and free! One thing to keep in mind is: Linux is pretty hard when you’re just starting out. Applications install differently, files get managed differently, and much more. Luckily, there are some free e-books that will help make learning Linux a breeze. Check them out below– all free!
(Download)
MakeUseOf’s very own Newbie’s Guide to Linux, tells you how to choose a distribution and then teaches you how to perform a basic Linux install. You can then use the guide to familiarize yourself with the Linux desktop and some basic commands.
Stefan did a great job in keeping it simple and to the point, the way beginners want it. Also don’t forget to check out our other MakeUseOf Manuals.
(Download)
Takes you from the absolute basics to basics. This hands on guide tells you everything right from logging in, basic file management, backup techniques up to basics of networking. It is what you need if you are having difficulty figuring out how to get to that resume file you saved just now. The guide explains Linux file structure and introduces to basic commands and text editors as well.
(Download)
One important aspect of working in Linux is that you have to familiar with the command line. This book shows you how to use the command line in Linux to your advantage. Apart from the ins and outs of the shell, this book also introduces various commands and the situations where you would use them. There are chapters that deal with specific tasks and list various commands you can use to achieve the task. If you can study online, there is another excellent manual you can refer to.
(Download)
Ubuntu is one of the most popular distributions, new users look up to when trying out Linux. If it is Ubuntu specific information that you are after then you should definitely check out Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference. The guide takes you from installing and configuring Ubuntu to adding and managing software and securing your system. A must read book if you use Ubuntu.
(Download)
This one is not for the faint hearted! There is enough Linux juice in this book to keep even the intermediate to advanced users interested. The book begins humbly by presenting the basic commands and tools, however before you know it, you are learning everything from regular expressions to shell scripting to C programming to networking.
There is plenty of great material out there if you are trying to learn Linux, similar to these downloadable ebooks to teach yourself everything you ever wanted to know about Linux. If you have read a book or a tutorial that you found particularly useful, feel free to tell us about it in the comments below.
Thanks [MakeUseOf.com]
August 8th, 2009
Adobe is the standard in the digital design, and illustration industry. They are also moving into the audio and video sector with Adobe Premiere, and Soundbooth. One problem, they are very expensive. A struggling artist will have a lot of trouble affording it- luckily there are some great alternatives out there for free. Here are my favorites:
Photoshop Alternatives:
Gimp
Gimp is a very popular alternative to Photoshop. It has a very different interface when compared to Photoshop, but is able to perform pretty much the same tasks. It is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. http://www.gimp.org/
Paint.Net
An amazing photo editing software for Windows (XP, Vista). It has won many awards such as PC World Best Freebies 2007, the Webuser Gold Award, Cnet 5 Star review, and more.
I’ll let the following quotes review it for you:
“Impressive.” – PC World, #19 on “Top 100 Products of 2007″
“It raises the quality bar,” - Jeff Atwood, Coding Horror
Download: http://www.getpaint.net/index.html
Dreamweaver Alternatives:
Kompozer
This is an open source WYSIWYG HTML editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows. It does the job.
Download: http://kompozer.net/
Adobe Premiere Alternatives:
Avidemux
Avidemux is a free video editor perfect for simple cutting, encoding, and filtering jobs. It supports AVI, MPEG, MP4, and ASF using different codecs.
Download: http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/
VirtualDub
VirtualDub is a video caputure application for Windows. It is geared towards the processing of AVI files, and can read MPEG-1 (not write).
Download: http://www.virtualdub.org/
Adobe Reader Alternatives:
PDFCreator
PDFCreator allows you to create PDF documents from any Windows application that support printing. After installed, it will get added to your set of installed printers as a virtual printer. When the virtual printer is selected, for example in Word, it will output the document as a PDF file, and allow you to save it anywhere you want. Very handy for professionals.
Download: http://www.pdfforge.org/products/pdfcreator
Foxit PDF Reader
A true light weight champion. This application is so light, yet so feature rick, you will never go back to Adobe Reader again!
Download: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/
June 23rd, 2009
A lot of people ask me why Macs don’t get viruses. Some people I come across also think that it’s not possible for a Mac to catch a virus (oh brother).
That couldn’t be farther from the truth- it is possible for any OS to get a virus, including OS X- but there are a lot of reasons why OS X hasn’t had a big threat for a while now- while Windows machines have become toolbar infested, pop-up happy, identity stealing lag-boxes over night.
Here’s what you should know:
1. OS X is built on UNIX. UNIX is on a multi user system and its security architecture was built into it from the beginning. WINDOWS came from single user architecture with security and multi user capability implemented later.
2. UNIX had networking built into it since its start, for Windows this was included later.
3. Windows developed Internet Explorer deep into the OS, and allowed code execution within the browser. In OS X the browser is a completely separate program, it’s not a major part of the OS. This is a HUGE screw-up Microsoft made, as they opened up so many doors into the OS.
4. In earlier Windows, everything ran as the system user, so the capability to compromise an entire system was easier (see reason 1)- UNIX requires you to sign in as Root to make changes (which Mac uses).
5. OS X has no registry. Another HUGE flaw Microsoft made.
6. OS X asks for your password before allowing you to run new software or install something. Not fool proof, but it helps.
I want to pull my hair out when I hear people saying “Macs don’t have viruses because their market share is so low, so programmers don’t want to waste time developing the threats”. Are you serious?!? Don’t you think that a virus writer would love to be one of the first to write a virus on OS X!? It would’ve been done.
Viruses are possible on any computer system, it CAN be done. But, Mac’s architecture works in its favor.
June 17th, 2009
We’ve all bookmarked an interesting site while surfing around. But, we usually forget to go back to the bookmark, and end up cluttering our Bookmarks with sites we’ve forgotten about. Now there is a nifty little app available by the name of “Read It Later”.
It’s a Firefox add-on that provides users with a solution to the issue of forgotten bookmarking. Once you install it, just right click on a cool website, and select “Read this Page Later”. The page will be saved to the app, which will prepare a queue of sites you can come back to when you have a chance. All you have to do is click on the top-corner of Firefox, where it says “Read it Later”. Once done reading, just check it off!
The current version (0.9945) includes offline reading, synchronization of reading list between multiple computers, and more.
Donwload it here.
June 16th, 2009
If you’ve been using your computer for a long period of time without re-formatting it, you have probably built up duplicate files due to copying and moving all over the place.
In my case, it is a large number of media files such as videos, music, and images. I may lose track, and copy the sames file more than once to any given directory. Windows does not provide you with a duplicate file checking solution, but there is freeware that does the trick.
Duplicate Files Searcher checks and removes duplicate files. It is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. You can preview files before deleting, or set DFS to automatically delete duplicate files.
Features:
- Searching results can be saved and loaded in future
- Checks any files, folders and drives
- Works with removable drives
- Decide on automatic deletion or preview
- Works on all OSes
Download here – requires Java Runtime Environment, so please install JRE first if you haven’t already
June 16th, 2009
Older Posts
What is RSS?