The best free Linux PC Product Feed syndication available.

by Ronnie Whisler

Recently Buntfu.com has updated its extensive list of shopping sites and ping services that syndicates Linux or BSD computers listed here across the Internet for free. Buntfu now believes it is offering the most extensive, widest syndication available for free on-line to open-source system builders.

Currently when listing a computer for sale on Buntfu its automatically syndicated to the following services including, Oodle, Google Product Search, Twitter, Vast, ShopIt, WillyFogg, TheFind, Yakaz, Shopalize, BidFind, Deal Myster, Classifieds.org, BidHopper, ReadPath, and Lycos Classifieds. (links show examples)

Also included with the services listed above is pinging or notifying other services of the new system listed on Buntfu. The following ping services are notified instantly. These services in turn ping the new listing to multiple on-line locations. Currently the ping services included are, PingoMatic, Autopinger, Moreover, Syndicate8, and Google Blogs.

RSS is also utilized using FeedBurner. These feeds are included in numerous sites across the Internet like Ubuntu-News.net, and TuxMachines. Most sites use the Just Listed feed in support of Buntfu and the promotion of open-sourceource systems in general.

This month Buntfu began advertising on the Ad Bard network. Further extending its reach and informing the community of its services. Buntfu believes that anyone with a computer for sale thats loaded with Linux or BSD is an open-source system vendor.

We don't just sell stuff. We are apart of something bigger. We help drive technology and freedom forward by helping to promote open-source software by selling your new, used or refurbished Linux or BSD computers for free. We don't want your money. We want to promote and sell your open-source systems.

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Is Craigslist using Ubuntu? Is this picture proof?

by Ronnie Whisler

This is going to be a relatively short article. Why? Because its basically just a discovery but an interesting one at that. While visiting Craigslist today before signing in I noticed that the picture they used to display cautionary directions about scam addresses is most likely an Ubuntu screenshot of Firefox.

There is nothing totally definitive about the picture but the colors, icons and overall theme suggest that it is in fact Firefox on Ubuntu. If not Ubuntu then most definitely a GNU/Linux machine of some flavor. But if I were a betting man I would bet it all on Ubuntu.

Just to make sure this wasn't some sneaky little script the Craigslist web-masters used to determine what OS a visitor was using. I visited Craigslist on a Windows computer with both Firefox and Internet explorer. Surely confirming that it is a static image not a dynamic one that is being displayed to everyone.

This is some of the best advertising that GNU/Linux or Ubuntu can ask for. Perhaps its advertising that they should be looking into and asking for purposely. I know at least for me when I see system screenshots I always try to guess what operating system and programs they are using.

The more times users see an OS that is not their own the more intrigue, interests and investigation it provokes. At least it sounds good. In actuality its probably true. At worst its an advertising idea worth exploring for GNU/Linux in general.

Craigslist may have had it like this forever and I finally noticed. Even if thats true it proves my point. Users will finally notice and say hmmm what OS is that. I'm glad to see the Craigslist web-masters showing this type of support. Even if it is subtle. It might have been slipped in without approval. :)

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Linux has reached the Apple buzz of 1976 and Microsoft knows it.

by Ronnie Whisler

For many of my younger years I was a devoted Apple Macintosh user. Convincing friends and family of the advantages and ease of use of the system. I am beginning to believe that I was predisposed at birth not to like Windows. Thats not to say I haven't used it or currently use it. However, I only use Windows the same way I use a parking meter. When I have to.

Having been a Mac user for so long I was well aware of the history between the two companies and of course watched the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. Which wasn't 100% accurate but pretty darn close. As always, understanding history is incredibly valuable so you know what to do and what not do to in the future. Or in this case what to expect and what not to expect.

Understanding Apple vs Microsoft of the past can prepare Linux for the road ahead. It teaches us what to expect from Microsoft once the buzz hits a certain level. We can expect some underhanded, ulterior motives while we get a big smile and buddy handshake.

Being a current college student majoring in computer information systems I get to read the latest computer course books and interact with a bunch of students in the field. Most of the students are under 30 years old and very in tune with the digital age and how to interact with it. That being said I have also noticed that there aren't nearly as many die hard Windows only users as there used to be by far.

In the books I am reading I am very surprised at how much Open-source, GPL, OpenOffice, Mysql, Firefox, Gimp and Ubuntu/Linux are mentioned. Not just as a side note but as a featured program(s) that they discuss in detail. Not only is it in the text but I have also found that many people are very aware of these Open-source programs and most use them regularly. I overhear conversations like; “Dude just download OpenOffice or I'm dual booting Ubuntu and Windows” all the time.

No doubt its very exciting to hear about Open-source and Linux in everyday life not just computer land. It also got me thinking. This is what it must have been like in the early days of the Apple I right before the big show of the Apple II at the West Coast Computer Fair. Portrayed so well in the movie.

To me its round two for Microsoft to stand to the side while the buzz is around someone else. Only this time they have a ton of money and power. However, I suspect their actions will be no different than in 1976. All you have to do is ask yourself one question to prove it. Has Microsoft or Bill Gates ever really changed? OK proven.

So that being said what should we expect. Most likely they will want to be friends with every intention of stealing what they can and leaving Linux for dead. Just one thing. That only worked with Apple because both companies had the same proprietary philosophy just a different business model, mainly licensing.

Lets not forget, although Apple zealots would like to, that Apple originally wanted more than Microsoft. They wanted both hardware and software domination. At least give Microsoft that. They only wanted software domination.

I account my own ignorance of this fact about Apple as being really young and dumb at the time. I believe I ignored much of this fact because at least Apple was actually being innovative and pioneers in their field. Not just really good theives.

Corporations don't bother me if they are actually doing real R&D with their money. They all really need to get back to basics and stop trying to kill eachother and just focus on how brillant their company could be and the products they release if they cut out the evil. I know idealistic thinking. Just in case anyone was going to enlighten me through an email.

I do believe Apple had an opportunity when Steve jobs first returned to truly take a giant bite out of Microsoft. Unfortunately they picked the wrong Open-source solution, BSD. Why? Because Apple still had proprietary in its heart. Basically a BSD license says, here is the code, you can do whatever you want with it and you don't have to share it with anyone. Since Apple wanted to stick a proprietary GUI on Open-source development model. BSD made perfect sense. They could get the community to help develop it and then just take. With nothing in return except for a price tag on a new version of OS X. Can anyone say ewww.

But this time around the buzz is coming from an alien. An alien in the sense that Linux doesn't play by the same proprietary rules. Buyout is a non existent option because once something hits the GPL it virtually escapes corporate death. Remember the code lives on even if its called something different later.

Also competitors of Microsoft that would have simply been pushed out of the market years ago now give a final farewell kiss by releasing their code as Open-source. Something of which Microsoft is aware that karma brought their way. Just take a look at StarOffice and Netscape being responsible for the birth of Openoffice and Firefox.

In other words, all the usual tricks don't seem to work in destroying Linux. Bill Gates knew it years ago. It doesn't need to be said that the man is not an idiot. A high tech thief? Maybe. But not an idiot. He realized how this is eventually going to go down in the history books once we are all dead and gone. Which is Microsoft ran the whole show till Bill Gates stepped down.

Once he did, Linux was able to take over. When in actuality Bill knows and knew it was unstoppable, especially after he tried to kill it a few times, so he got out. Always remember, in 100 years its all new people!

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Ubuntu Switch to Yahoo. Trouble in Paradise?

by Ronnie Whisler

This situation really doesn't sit right with me. I understand that Canonical needs to be creative in acquiring new revenue streams. The stumbling block for me is. Isn't Google using mostly Ubuntu guts/code under the hood of its upcoming Chrome OS? You would have thought that their must have been some sort of communication between Google from Canonical after Yahoo approached them with their offer. Did Google not counter offer? Did they even offer the same as Yahoo in order to keep Ubuntu user base connected to Google search and start page? Doesn't look like they did.

Trouble in paradise always starts small, like a crack in the driveway. You know its there, but you try to ignore it, till its just to big to avoid. Looks like Google is tired of paying Mozilla and Canonical for search results. Google figures they can keep all that money in house. Having the Chrome web browser and the up coming web browser based OS gives them their own start page and Google search bar without paying others.

It also looks like Google is attempting to push Firefox out of the market with YouTube using H.264 video standard because it's patented and licensing the patents "would violate principles of free software. Mozilla has decided differently, in part because there is no apparent means for us to license H.264 under terms that would cover other users of our technology, such as Linux distributors.”

In a previous article I stated that “I have yet to see a company of that size not eventually give into temptation. In this case temptation is unfairly killing off competitors so money is easier to make and the profits are bigger.” Hate to say I told ya so. :) Honestly though I don't know. No one does except the players involved. However it does look suspect already. Lets hope it doesn't get ugly.

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Chrome isn't out yet and its already a regular OS.

by Ronnie Whisler

All the hype behind Google's new Chrome OS is how its going to be a web based operating system using only a web browser as the system. This idea has been kicked around so much over the years taking on different forms under different identities. Anyone remember Larry Ellison touting Network Computer? It is almost the same thing and that was 15 years ago. Everyone in the industry is intelligent enough to predict the natural progression of computing and its relationship to the Internet. However for some reason the industry has been trying to kill independent computing for years.

Independent computing in my opinion includes any computing accomplished without the need to be “connected”. Apparently this is the ultimate bullseye for any company. The first company to persuade the public to perform all their computing online wins. We are all aware of what winning means. Which is being the biggest, baddest, richest company of them all. For the rest of us it means total dependence and little to no choice but to pay and use whatever the “winner” is offering.

So each attempt of this idea I see I wonder if this will be the effort that makes it. I always cross my fingers and hope not. I found myself relieved after reading an article titled “Google's Chrome OS to include a media player". It is basically an informative article explaining and describing Google's decision to include a media player with their upcoming Chrome OS.

Reading between the lines of this article I found it saying was that the traditional OS is not dead and probably never will be. Regardless how much the industry wants to kill independent computing its users behaviors refuse them to do so. Google announced its decision because it realized that people want to listen to music, read documents and watch movies even when they are not online. Really? That would have never crossed my mind. :)

So all in all this means that Chrome OS really will end up being no different then any other operating system. It is just being delivered and built in the same fashion as everything else that Google does which is backwards. If you want to amuse yourself take a close look at all of Google's business moves and entries into any market and you will discover they enter each market backwards. Chrome OS is apparently no different in that regard. Look at it closely. They became your #1 goto to spot on the internet. They developed and released a few applications for business and education. Then the Chrome Web Browser and now the operating system. Backwards seems to be a winning tactic at Google.

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_{IE is so secure we just had to build an OS out of it.}

by Ronnie Whisler

Microsofts new Gazelle concept is the greatest thing to hit Linux or the computer industry as a whole ever. According to Microsoft, Gazelle is a secure web browser constructed as a multi-principal OS. I never thought I would live to see the day that Microsoft announces its own suicide.

I also never imagined that you could become a top executive and yet be so absolutely clueless as to sell an idea to the board that will mark their own demise and yet be so blinded by greed that the obvious has become a non issuing factor.

Does anyone really need reminded of the non stop security issues related to Internet Explorer over the years of its existence. If you think about it. How many years and money do you really need to build a secure stable web browser. If Microsoft really needs more time and money to get it right then they really shouldn't be writing code at all. Face it Microsoft. Internet Explorer is a virus, adware, spyware, and malware delivery device. IE is as good for your computer as a cigarette is to your health. Its a great browser for security software companies but a real nightmare for users.

So I have an incredibly difficult time understanding how a company would want to build an operating system around something so disease ridden. Maybe I'm just too much of a common man but you never take your worst product to build your business around. Do you? Is that why I'm not a billionaire? Hmmm. Maybe that is why we've only ever received junk from Microsoft. Maybe the key to billions is forcing garbage on others.

I read Microsofts “Research” plans for their Gazelle idea which we all know is not really an idea but Bill Gates greatest fear that he himself predicted in the 90's. It was the #1 reason for killing Netscape and has now come full circle with Google Chromium OS. Microsoft figures instead of fearing its nightmare its better to become it.

I say go for it Microsoft. This is the single greatest idea you had at least from a Linux users stand point. Build Gazelle with the same build quality as Internet Explorer and hopefully we will get to enjoy a Microsoft free world before we die. Thanks again.

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Ubuntu and Mozilla: The inevitable alliance.

by Ronnie Whisler

Speculation is a part of technical news as prophecy is to religion. Its only important, valid or genius if it turns out to be true. However, we dare not have technical news without any speculation at all since this will surely hinder the creativeness of individuals and corporations to explore avenues influenced by ideas expressed in speculation. If any of that made sense to you, good. Because this was the reasoning I used in order to explore and develop the idea to create this article. In other words I have no factual evidence that anything of the sort would occur.

First lets discuss some of the key players and situations involved in developing such an alliance. First we have Mozilla which showed the world that the browser wars were not over and that Microsoft can be hurt. Second is Ubuntu which showed the world that Linux can be viable, easy and popular desktop operating system. Finally lets look at Google who has been inspired by the previous two achievements mention and are currently working on their own Linux based browser OS called Chromium.

Some call this evolution. I call it swiping the feet out from under your competitors by combining their known strengths and insisting that this is a web based OS only for Netbooks. Which to me is a ploy to keep future competitors from forming alliances now before Chromium OS is truly off the ground.

Do I believe Google is evil? No. However with great power comes great responsibility and I have yet to see a company of that size not eventually give into temptation. In this case temptation is unfairly killing off competitors so money is easier to make and the profits are bigger. Only God himself knows how far behind the digital age is because of these types of egregious behaviors by the men and women who run these companies. Shame on all of you.

With that being said lets take a look at the possible choke hold scenarios that Google could have Mozilla and Ubuntu in if Chromium OS becomes popular. The first thought would probably be about Mozilla making most of its money from Google. Google could start paying less to Mozilla for searches and clicks. Google could add a few features to Google search and services that are browser specific forcing you to use Chrome etc. etc. The list could go on for hours. But who has that kind of time.

I feel that Google is to Ubuntu as Microsoft was to Sega. Does anyone remember what happened when Microsoft helped Sega make the Dreamcast? I do! Sega was dead soon after and Microsoft had the new Dreamcast 2 errrr I mean Xbox. I smell the same exact thing possibly happening here as well. Canonical should be helpful but cautious. There is of course always a possible buy out of Ubuntu/Canonical from Google. This would not be shocking considering this is what Mark Shuttleworth is really good at, which is starting up hot companies and selling big.

If Mozilla and Ubuntu/Canonical pulled together they should have enough combined resources to really compete in the market place with Google or anyone else. However they can not sit still and do nothing because other larger companies will push them out of the market they helped create. Now is not the time to “See what happens”. Its time to prepare for the future and make essential friends.

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RMS: An American Free Software Advocate

by Ronnie Whisler

Richard Mathew Stallman or “RMS”, his famous initials of the hacker community at Harvard where he graduated magna cum laude in Physics in 1974, is the most prominent American Free Software Advocate alive today. Stallman has become very successful in his quest to give freedom to computer users “by replacing proprietary software under restrictive licensing terms with free software, having the ultimate goal of liberating everyone” (Daly). Stallman began his successful movement out of his necessity to be able to get work done more efficiently.

“In 1980, Stallman and some other hackers at MIT were refused access to the source code for the software of the first laser printer”(Williams). Source code is like the DNA of a program. Programs can be written in many different languages the same as life has many different forms yet all life must have DNA the same as all programs must have source code. “Stallman having modified the source code on an older printer so it could message a user when another person's job was printed, and message all logged-in users when the printer was jammed was unable to add this feature to the new printer. This one experience convinced Stallman of people's need to be free to modify the software they use”(Williams).

In 1983 Stallman wanted to create a free Unix-like operating system so he launched the GNU Project and set up the Free Software Foundation just a couple years later. “The name “GNU” was chosen because it met a few requirements; “first, it was a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix”, second, because it was a real word, and third, it was fun to say” (FSF).

Stallman also pioneered the concept of copyleft which is a legal mechanism to protect the modification and redistribution rights for free software. He is the main author of several copyleft licenses including the GNU General Public License (GPL), the most widely used free software license. “The Foundations of the GPL states that nobody should be restricted by the software they use. There are four freedoms that every user should have:

• the freedom to use the software for any purpose,

• the freedom to change the software to suit your needs,

• the freedom to share the software with your friends and neighbors, and

• the freedom to share the changes you make” (FSF).

In 1991 a Finnish student named Linus Torvalds used the GNU development tools to produce the Linux kernel. Finally Stallmans Free Unix like operating system was possible. The kernel was the last piece of code needed to be able to build Stallmans dream. Shortly after Linus Torvalds released the kernel under the GPL license, GNU/Linux was born. GNU/Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. This operating system is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL.

Businesses such as Intel, IBM, Sony, Dell, Apple, Google and Hewlett Packard help develop and contribute source code under Stallman's GPL License. These contributions lead to efforts like “The One Laptop Per Child Association which uses a GNU/Linux operating system to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning” (OLPC).

GNU/Linux was and continues to be the driving force behind Google's information services, which help the world stay connected, informed and educated. Google was created by two students of Standford University who simply didn't have enough money to launch their idea using proprietary software. Today Google runs all of its services on several server farms, each comprising thousands of low-cost commodity computers running stripped-down versions of GNU/Linux. GNU/Linux is also the heart of a new free operating system from Google called Chromium OS which debuts in mid 2010.

“In 1999, Stallman called for development of a free on-line encyclopedia through the means of inviting the public to contribute articles called GNUPedia” (FSF). This project became the inspiration behind Wikipedia which is now endorsed by Stallman and accessed by millions daily, helping society evolve through freely accessible knowledge.

“Stallman argues that the term "intellectual property" is designed to confuse people, and is used to prevent intelligent discussion on the specifics of copyright, patent, trademark and other laws by lumping together areas of law that are more dissimilar than similar. He also argues that by referring to these laws as "property" laws, the term biases the discussion when thinking about how to treat these issues” (Transcript Torino).

“These laws originated separately, evolved differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy issues. Copyright law was designed to promote authorship and art, and covers the details of a work of authorship or art. Patent law was intended to encourage publication of ideas, at the price of finite monopolies over these ideas — a price that may be worth paying in some fields and not in others. Trademark law was not intended to promote any business activity, but simply to enable buyers to know what they are buying” (Stallman).

Stallmans views on patent monopolies stretches outside the realm of sheer source code. Stallman argues that patent monopolies on plant, animals, genes, and new medicines “threaten to harm developing countries in three ways. First, by raising prices so far that most citizens have no access to these new developments: second, by blocking local production when the patent owner so chooses: third, for agricultural varieties, by forbidding farmers to continue breeding them as has been done for thousands of years.” Stallmans influence and success for everyones freedoms and the common good of others is something to be admired.

“When asked about his influences, he replied that he admires Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ralph Nader, and Dennis Kucinich, and commented as well: "I admire Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, even though I criticize some of the things that they did." Stallman is a Green Party supporter, and a supporter of the National Initiative proposal” (FSF India).

In conclusion its important to remember that the rights of people and the common good comes in many different formats. We should be careful not to overlook these necessary rights and freedoms when considering the software that runs the worlds computers. Computers have become this generations industrial revolution. Stallman believes we need liberated from proprietary software that cripples the ability to participate in that revolution.

Works Cited

Williams, Sam (2002). Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 0-596-00287-4. Chapter 1. Available under the GFDL in both the initial O'Reilly edition and the updated FAIFzilla edition.

Stallman, Richard (N.D.). "Richard Stallman's 1983 biography". Richard Stallman's homepage (Published in the first edition of "The Hacker's Dictionary"). http://www.stallman.org/. Retrieved 20 November 2008. "

FSF “The GNU Operating System - What is GNU?” Free Software Foundation. September 4, 2009. http://www.gnu.org/. Retrieved October 9, 2009.

FSF India: “Q & A session with Richard M. Stallman” Free Software Foundation of India.

http://www.gnu.org.in/node/68. Retrieved 2009-11-11.

Transcript in Torino “Richard Stallman speaking on GPLv3". 18 March 2006. http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/torino-rms-transcript.en.html#note-on-ip Retrieved 2009-11-11.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education". 2008-06-08. http://laptop.org/vision/index.shtml. Retrieved 2009-11-11.

Sean Daly “Stallman interview” Groklaw. 2006-06-23. http://www.groklaw.net/article.php? story=20060625001523547 Retrieved 2009-11-11.

Buntfu says buy or sell your Linux PC here and you'll earn free ad space.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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A community based PC vendor. Anyone can buy and sell their Linux or BSD computer here at no cost. Buy & Sell Linux PC Computer Systems like Ubuntu, Chrome OS, Fedora, Debian, OpenSuse, PCLOS, BSD, CentOS.

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User Agent Switcher keeps Ubuntu usable at College

by Ronnie Whisler

I have recently gone back to school to further my education. I am currently majoring in Computer Information Systems with a focus on Linux & Database Administration. With the future looking like cloud computing will be very successful and the current state of the global economy. I came to the conclusion Linux & Database management is really going to explode. However we will see if this prediction plays out.

Most of the subjects require some interaction with some online based service in the education field. Most sites that I must use for class assignments seem to have no preference on what browser or operating system I use. They all seem to work perfectly fine under Ubuntu and Firefox.

However out of all the classes that work on any operating system or browser its my computer class that insists on Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. I actually found myself a bit dumbfounded that my computer class would assume that everyone uses Windows and made no provisions or alterations necessary to ensure that their computer classes would work on any computer regardless of preference.

Surely they realize that there is more to computing than Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. So of course being a true Linux user I want to see if this is actually the case or just typical software profiling that some sites seem to love to do for no good reason.

I went and picked up the latest greatest User Agent Switcher. This Firefox extension adds a menu and a toolbar button to switch the user agent of the browser. It is designed for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and Songbird, and will run on any platform that these browsers support including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

After installation and a restart of Firefox I quickly went to the website in question MyITLab. l put user agent switcher on IE 7 and entered the site. Some activities do require actual interaction with Windows through activex but everything else works perfectly fine. No hangups or hick-ups. I plan to inform my class of my findings.

The real twist to this story is that MyITLab is a part of the Pearson Education, Inc. which many different college courses use as their online lab of some kind. The Pearson Education systems is also used by my Algebra class under the name CourseCompass which logs me into the exact same system but unlike MyITLab it doesn't care or complain of the operating system or browser.

To me this inconsistency is a true sign that computer discrimination and software profiling not only exists but should be a very big concern for all of us. There is no other reason that the Pearson system works with a Linux operating system sporting Firefox except for their Microsoft based computer course which they claim doesn't work with anything but Microsoft which is actually untrue.

But until software discrimination ceases to exist then programs like User Agent Switcher truly saves the day but also points out that most of the sites claiming it only works with one operating system or browser is usually just the ignorance of the website administrator pushing what they believe you should be using.

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Open Source pays for U.S. Healthcare

by Ronnie Whisler

I don't know if you reading this from the United States or if you have been keeping up with our current healthcare crisis. If you haven't its been a very heated debate for quite some time now. The biggest question or worry in a national healthcare plan is “where will we get the money to pay for it”?

Well if you haven't guessed it from the articles title then I'll lay it out for you. If you want national healthcare or you are a business being crushed by healthcare cost for your employees then its time to take action.

If our government and businesses across the nation stopped paying for Windows and Office on every computer in use in their organization and switch to an open source operating system and OpenOffice then you could cover the health care bill no problem and probably still have money left over to pay off some of our trillion dollar debt.

Now before I get a bunch of hate mail about how this is un-American. How it would unfairly put Microsoft out of business and how they are not responsible for the American heathcare issue. Let me point out that Microsoft has done nothing for the American public besides stifle software innovation and squeeze as much money as possible out of every business, individual and government agency since the introduction of the Macintosh 95 err wait I mean Windows 95. Also keep in mind how many companies Microsoft has put out of business with their anti-competitive behavior.

This country is so ridiculous sometimes with everyone proclaiming they can't find the money anywhere to pay for a national healthcare plan. Bull! Lets call it for what it really is.

America has a proprietary healthcare system thats only available to those who can afford access to it. If you can't afford it well your just out of luck and no one cares if you live or die.

Sounds a lot like proprietary software doesn't it? Remember the days where if you didn't have a proprietary OS you weren't really doing anything with your computer. Especially when the Internet explosion hit in the mid 90's. Getting on-line and doing anything without a Windows machine or Mac was nearly impossible especially to the average user aka the common public.

Americans now get to experience what it was like for all the third world countries that could not afford to buy Windows or Office and communicate, learn and grow with the world. While everyone else benefited from the Internet. We now stare through the same looking glass watching other countries citizens who have a national healthcare plan and how happy they are to have it.

Well America welcome to third world healthcare. Yea I know we have some of the most advanced healthcare procedures and facilities in the world. But if you don't have a “validated genuine copy” of insurance then your stuck with robotussin and aspirin.

I'm guessing here but I'm willing to bet a few billion dollars could be saved in a very short amount of time. I realize manufactures, companies and government agencies don't pay retail for Windows and Office but they still pay billions to Microsoft every time they upgrade or get new equipment that they need to put Windows and Office on. Which I will never understand when Linux and OpenOffice is just as capable of handling any office environment.

If you ask me our national healthcare plan can be paid for using the bad karma Microsoft has rightfully acquired.

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Got Extras?

by Ronnie Whisler

We have all read many tutorials and articles about what programs to add to Ubuntu after installation. However I have yet to see an article or tutorial talk about installing the extras that beef up the default programs that come with Ubuntu.

Many of the default packages are ones you want to keep. The Gimp, Pidgin, OpenOffice and the default games just to name a few. I'm not going to tell you to install this codec or that program or anything like that. This article is simply about adding umph to the existing default programs.

The easiest way to install some and discover other “extras” is to open synaptic package manager. Click on the search button and select by name only. Type in the word “extra” and click search. You will find a pretty long list of "extra" packages that can be installed for various programs to add additional features. You won't find all of them but you will find most.

I have compiled a small list of extras that I usually always install after a fresh installation. This is no where near everything that could be installed to spice up programs since we are only concentrating on the standard default programs.

Ubuntu-restricted-extras

Installing this package will pull in support for MP3 playback and decoding,

support for various other audio formats (GStreamer plugins), Microsoft fonts,

Java runtime environment, Flash plugin, LAME (to create compressed audio

files), and DVD playback.

Gimp-data-extras

This package contains extra brushes, palettes, and gradients for

extra GIMPy artistic enjoyment.

gnome-extra-icons

Optional GNOME icons from http://art.gnome.org/

gnome-games-extra-data

This package contains extra data files for the gnome-games package. At

the moment this is almost entirely extra themes and artwork for the

games.

gnome-themes-extras

This package contains a few nice contributed themes for the GNOME

desktop, including vector icons for applications and nautilus, GTK+

themes and metacity themes.

totem-plugins-extra

This package contains an extra set plugins for Totem, which allow to: Annotate the screen with the Gromit tool, Have a DLNA/UPnP client for Totem powered by Coherence

openclipart-openoffice.org

The Open Clip Art Library is a collection of 100% license-free,

royalty-free, and restriction-free art that you can use for any purpose.

gedit-plugins

Contains a set of plugins for gedit, GNOME's text editor.

Pidgin-themes

This package provides few different smiley theme for Pidgin.

After you have all packages marked for installation click apply and install them. These extras will add some kick to the default programs and should be come a part of your “things to do” after a fresh install.

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FireFTP: No mindshare for Ubuntu?

by Ronnie Whisler

I recently installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a machine for a customer and part of my initial configuration process is to install FireFTP. FireFTP is a free, secure, cross-platform FTP client for Mozilla Firefox which provides easy and intuitive access to FTP servers.

Once arriving at the FireFTP website I soon realized that the version they have on the front page available for download is for Firefox 3.5. Which currently is available on all platforms but for Ubuntu 9.04 users this is a special install.

This install of Firefox 3.5 usually entails either manual installation from the command line or the addition of another repository to your software libraries. Which usually winds up in two installations of Firefox since removing the 3.02 version of Firefox also takes with it the ubuntu-desktop meta file which regulates what the default packages of the Ubuntu desktop should be. This is usually something people would rather keep rather than disable.

After searching the FireFTP site a bit, I was able to discover the directory previous versions. I found the last FireFTP version known to work with Firefox 3.0.12 which was FireFTP 1.0.4.

The fact that FireFTP only currently links (easily) to the FireFTP version designed for Firefox 3.5 leads me to believe that they don't really have Ubuntu in mind in the same way they do Windows and Mac OS X users.

So I decided to post the link to latest FireFTP that works with Firefox 3.0.12 in case anyone running Ubuntu Jaunty or any other operating system needs it.

Click here to install FireFTP 1.0.4 for Firefox 3.0.12

A simple small link to FireFTP 1.0.4 on the homepage would have at least shown they recognize some of their users are using Linux. Most of them probably being Ubuntu users.

Little reminders throughout the web like this incident makes one realize that the last thing missing from Linux desktop success is: MINDSHARE

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Google patent agreement with Microsoft?

by Ronnie Whisler

For the past few years Microsoft has been running around getting companies like Novell, Xandros, Melco and countless others to sign an agreement that Microsoft will not sue them if they decide to sue others for Linux patent infringement. Which has been the success of their FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) campaign against Linux.

Some companies have actually been brave enough however, like Red Hat and Canonical claiming they will never sign a Linux patent agreement with Microsoft. Insisting Linux does not infringe on any patents and challenging Microsoft to show proof which they have not.

So I started thinking. Which for me is usually a dangerous past time, however a serious threat occurred to me when I thought of Google's announced OS titled “Chrome OS” which will be based on Linux.

Will Microsoft actually try to convince Google to sign a Linux patent agreement? Would Google be brave and reject the offer or be too worried about their empires stability to take the chance?

What if they do sign? What would that mean for Linux? Having a company like Google agreeing to a patent deal would surely imply to others that Microsoft has validity in their accusations.

If Google signs an agreement, then watch out Red Hat and Canonical. This will be all the confidence Microsoft needs to go to court and claim Google and these other companies recognize the patent infringement claims that Linux violates.

Then its officially over! We will have two giants running the show. Google and Microsoft.

However lets say Google has no intention of signing any patent agreement with Microsoft. Which we should all hope they don't. What does that mean for Linux and Microsoft.

It means that Microsoft is officially not a bully any longer. That companies are not afraid of them. And if they do try and come after companies on bogus infringement charges. Google has the resources to fight back. Which is something no other companies can actually say or do.

As for the general idea of the Google Chrome OS, I have to say it doesn't really warm me up. Yes I know its based on Linux. However, how many times do we have to learn that its not a very bright idea to let one company control too much. I certainly fear a different breed of computing monopoly is emerging.

Lets try to remember what Albert Einstein said before handing our computing needs over to one company again.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” --Albert Einstein

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Ubuntu Voltron vs Google Chrome OS

by Ronnie Whisler

Some of you may remember the cartoon series Voltron. They featured a team of five young pilots commanding five robot lions, which could be combined to form Voltron. A super machine to protect the common good.

With the announcement of Google's Chrome OS this week many have been wondering what this means for Ubuntu. It goes without saying that Canonical does not have the resources available to it that Google has. Or does it?

Could we be seeing the true genius of Mark Shuttleworth about to unfold in front of us? Lets remember Mark has captured the Linux desktop first, period. If it wasn't for Mark, Google may not have thought Linux on the desktop wasn't feasible. Now they see its viable thanks to Mark and they want a piece of the pie. Sounds like a big company we all know well doesn't it? You do it first and we'll take it from there.

Then comes the worry of the seemingly endless pockets of Google and type of influence they can have on the world coaxing everyone throughout its advertising network to use Chrome OS. Daunting and scary thought isn't it?

But not so fast. Lets not forget about Mark Shuttleworth. I am willing to bet his planning up to this point has been very strategic on just such a possibility unfolding. Everyone keeps talking about how much money Google has. So what! If there is anything that companies have learned by the social networking explosion that we are accustomed to today, is that people with their opinions, enabled by computers and the internet are more powerful than any amount of money that a company may have.

Now lets look at the juggernaut that is Ubuntu. I believe Mark's true genius lies in what I am referring to as “Ubuntu Voltron”. Listed below is what I believe the five Ubuntu lions are.

Ubuntu Users - the last sociable accepted count was somewhere between 8 and 10 million users.

Ubuntu Sites - almost limitless supply of Ubuntu focused sites or recognizing Windows, Mac, Ubuntu

Ubuntu Services - I can't even begin to count how many businesses big & small focus on Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Spinoffs - Distrowatch claims there are 60 Ubuntu spinoffs! Will Google even allow any?

Canonical - Dedication and continuous improvement, delivering on packages and promises of updates.

Mark has done an incredible job getting all the lions in place. Now its up to the Ubuntu community as a whole to combine, embrace and support each other pushing forward with the Ubuntu philosophy: “We are working to ensure that every single piece of software you need is available under a license that gives you those freedoms ”. – part of the Ubuntu philosophy

I'm not sure this is a statement Google is willing to make. They are claiming that all their “software” will be able to run in any web browser on any platform. Its what they don't say that scares me which is will all features of every Google program be available on every browser and every platform.

We may be looking at feature lock in. Instead of vendor lock in. Fine line but worth the worry. I will be watching reMARKable Shuttleworth unite the Ubuntu lions in the next coming months. I will also find out if negative articles about Google Chrome OS hurt your search engine rankings. :)

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2 Minutes for Ubuntu Eye Candy!

by Ronnie Whisler

When taking a look at "CompizConfig Settings Manager" in Ubuntu it can be a little overwhelming when considering all the possible combinations available to us. Often when you set up a couple effects, it seems that you rarely ever see them, or they have to be self induced. Even when we place an effect on a common task we quickly become bored with the same effect happening time and time again.

After taking a closer look at the "Animations" panel located inside "CompizConfig Settings Manager". I took a close look at the “Window Match” string and compiled my own string to include as many “Window Match” keywords as possible.

What I ended up with was an Ubuntu box that is visually appealing to the end user while interacting with normal everyday routines. It does not slow down your machine at all and you get to enjoy many beautiful effects that compiz has to offer without fiddling with settings or self inducing the effect.

Below is what I did.

First make sure you have "CompizConfig Settings Manager" installed. This can be done through "Synaptic Package Manager" or a number of other ways.

Then go to the "System" Menu and "Preferences" and select "Compiz Settings Manager". Once open find "Animations".

After clicking on "Animations" delete every entry located under "Open Effect Duration Window Match".

Then click on "New".

Select "Random" for the "Open Effect". Set whatever "Duration" you wish (I set mine at 300). Then in the "Window Match" text box enter the line below.

(type=Normal | Dialog | ModalDialog | Utility | Unknown | Menu | PopupMenu | DropdownMenu | Tooltip | Notification)

Click "Close" and make sure all the effects you want active are checked.

Repeat the above steps on each tab remaining where possible. (Close,Minimize,Shade,Focus)

When your done close this program and you should have a desktop that is showing off many effects while performing common tasks without slowing down your computer!

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Review of New Wave Theme

by Ronnie Whisler

First lets start off by saying that I'm not a giant theme and customization guy. I do tweak the GUI a little bit here and there but I leave most of it up to the theme creator.

I have been reading quite a bit of hype about the themes Dust and Darkroom. Especially the theme Dust as of late. I have tried both of these themes and both are arguably a simple yet elegant formal side of Ubuntu. However I have always found both themes to be too dark and seemingly not complete. In other words lots of things in both themes to me seem mix matched.

So the past week I really gave the New Wave Theme a run and honestly I'm not sure why this theme isn't all the talk. If lots of people are looking for a simple, elegant, formal and clean theme this is it. This theme is not too bright nor too dark. And the colors chosen for highlights of menus, buttons, drop downs, etc etc has been carefully picked to blend perfectly with the over all Ubuntu theme.

My only complaint so far is the menu bar text should be in a different color other than black. However this is not true for all programs. Programs like the gimp do have white text menus but others like firefox doesn't. See below picture.

Other than this minor cosmetic flaw the theme is very elegant and more complete than darkroom or dust. One thing I like very much is not everything is dark. However if you like dark menus the New Wave Theme didn't forget about you either. Simply click on customize and select New Wave dark menus under the control tab. See picture below.

I've noticed the New Wave dark menu does have white text in the menu bar. If they can make that happen on the original New Wave theme then I believe this theme should be considered for future Ubuntu releases.

Got a review of your own? Want to post it here? Click here and let us know!

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Vista + Greed = Ubuntu

by Ronnie Whisler

Microsoft truly continues to amaze me. Over the years Microsoft has definitely been able to make my jaw drop at most of its brash business moves let alone some of its quarterly earnings. But Microsoft being Microsoft still continues to defy all logic because “hey they're just that rich”.

Over the past few years I've noticed a few greed based decisions that have lead many people away from Windows and move to Ubuntu. Case in point. A few years back after I had past the age that I wanted and / or had the need to steal software, I owned a Windows XP machine (gasp) with a legitimate copy of Windows XP on it. And who knows why but I found myself one day facing a reinstall of Windows and grabbed the disc and nothing. The disc was scratched! So I gave Microsoft a call to see what they could do. The answer was they could sell me another copy of XP. After a half an hour of deliberating I told them that I didn't need them anyway or ever again for that matter I would install Linux. Needless to say I had never truly ran Linux as my primary OS nor knew much about it at the time. They wouldn't budge and told me well good luck with that Linux thing.

That was all I needed from a giant (don't care about their users) just money company. To actually taunt me with the idea that I was too dumb to use Linux. Or that “they” were only smart enough to make computers dumb enough for me to use. So I was out to prove two things. That I wasn't dumb and they weren't smart and found out in the process that Linux is truly incredible. Thanks for helping me find this computing pot of gold Microsoft. Your greed continues to shine strong today. We see this example when you purchase a laptop or desktop with Windows Vista loaded and it doesn't come with a reinstall CD.

What a wonderful greed based decision for Ubuntu. I don't know how many computers I got to put Ubuntu on because Vista and the user got itself so unusable. The customer had no reinstall CD and certainly didn't want to buy another copy from Microsoft or want to even buy XP for it because they just bought the computer not to long ago. And Vista being horrible has only fueled the fire.

Lets also speak about something known but not talked about because its taboo. Lets face it, like it or not people steal software especially OS's. Some out of need but most out of curiosity. Now I'm not promoting piracy but if Microsoft had not made it so difficult to steal Windows I'm sure hundreds of thousands of people would have never tried Linux.

That being said there are hundreds of thousands of computers that are in somebodies closet or basement that is older but not useless that will now end up with a copy of Ubuntu on it instead of a stolen copy of Windows. Not to mention all the third world countries that can not afford Windows and used to just steal it.

I hate to tell you something Microsoft but I believe your greed is eating away at your market share. Its not just because Ubuntu or Linux are free. Because the Mac OS isn't free and its been gaining even more market share lately as well.

Its because you keep dipping into our wallets ever which way you can. You make computers cost more initially. You make computers cost more later. You don't make it easier for your users because you snuff out innovative but competing companies. You hurt the industry, you hurt yourself and you hurt us with your greed and quest for power. Be ashamed, be very ashamed.

Today I am rescuing another older computer that Windows is broke on with Ubuntu. Thanks Microsoft.

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Does Ubuntu have the “Guts” to beat Apple?

by Ronnie Whisler

Recently I've been thinking about the comments made a while back by Mark Shuttleworth that he wants to push the linux interface to be on par with Apple's Mac OS X. This statement made me relive an old thought that maybe the great Steve Jobs picked the wrong open source guts to put a proprietary GUI on.

Apples strategy was brilliant, take the benefits of an open source operating system and wrap Apples legendary, beautiful, ease of use proprietary GUI on top of it. But is having a BSD looters style license keeping it from obtaining the growth or popularity that GNU/Linux has and continues to enjoy since the GPL license style is much more give and receive.

Its made me wonder quite often if Apples OS X is destined to wither away due to its license style because it doesn't benefit everyone. Where as Ubuntu's GNU/Linux guts will continue to develop and flourish due to its GPL licensing.

I believe we have all witnessed in a relatively short amount a time the evolution to open source systems. First was the proprietary approach to software development that helped get it all started and was the only way that made sense at the time. Second was Apple morphed approach by embracing both philosophies of open source OS development and proprietary user interface... and the last step is still evolving which is the polishing and mastering of the user interface on a GNU/Linux system.

So far Ubuntu has shown the most promise in not only delivering on its commitment of scheduled updates and releases. But has also shown that Linux is now ready to say “hello” to the world the same as Apples Macintosh did in 1984.

The similarities between to two charismatic leaders of both Apple and Ubuntu to me symbolize a passing of the torch so to speak.

Apple still has much to teach us all. And I feel eventually will become a Sony like company. Ubuntu has a long way to go, but the bang its had in its short life has been very promising and exciting.

I have been using Ubuntu as my main OS for over three years now and I can honestly say that this is the only operating system needed for 90% of the population. We all want to believe we need exotic stuff when it comes to computing. When in actuality we browse the web, check email, write documents, burn stuff, listen to music and watch movies.

We used to have to pay to enjoy this type of computing. Those days are over. Ask yourself would you go back to paying for long distance phone calls when you have all these free options available?

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BlueCurve Theme on Ubuntu Intrepid

by Ronnie Whisler

The past couple days I've been interested in the fastest gtk-engine-theme available to load on my Ubuntu box. I just simply didn't want fast but as elegant as I could get. My search did not have to go far after discovering a couple articles and speed tests that still had BlueCurve theme engine as the fastest and by far the most elegant considering the speed increase.

So I began looking to get the "real" bluecurve installed on my Ubuntu box. The easiest way to do this is also the best way to do it. This is how I did it.

First I downloaded the redhat-artwork package from Redhat. Then I installed alien through synaptic. Next I opened the terminal and went to the directory in which I downloaded the file. After that I typed "sudo alien -i redhat-artwork*" (without the quotes) in the terminal and entered my password when prompted.

When it was finished I doubled clicked on the new .deb package it created using alien and installed with gdebi package manager.

Once installed I went to System-Preferences-Appearances and selected the BlueCurve Theme. I then clicked on customize and selected the following.

• controls = bluecurve
• windowborder = bluecurveclassic
• icons= tango
• pointer = bluecurve

I have found this theme to be incredibly fast, stable, easy to use and elegant.

You can base your own decisions or customize your own speed vs elegance theme using the graph below.

Derived from gianvito

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