Here You Have Virus Email, Regardless that you are most less likely to find filled with malware in the event you’re using Linux rather than Windows, that doesn’t mean that security software ought to be entirely ignored. ClamTK – or KlamAV, determined by the environment through which to utilize – gives your Linux PC with [...]
The quantity of data files which becomes archived each and every year is remarkable, increasing in leaps as data backup technology advances. Archiving all that files is not an straightforward task, as you will find lots of items which could take place, such as data files being removed, missing, damaged, inaccessible as well as formatted. [...]
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Interestingly enough, the official Samsung firmware for several different models is based off the Linux kernel. This opens up a whole world of possibilities, particularly since many users feel that the current firmware is broken. The major problem is that the media player functionality is very basic, and missing key file types needed to make it useful. The obvious question is why do this. Apparently the Samsung TVs have the capability to work as a media player, but from the factory it doesn’t work very well. Luckily the homebrew community has stepped in, and made strides recently in working though some of the encryption related issues. There’s quite a comprehensive list of media types and compatible televisions , but luckily the site is well done and the community is thriving. [via Hackaday ]
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Masen Marshall, pictured above, is not your ordinary Linux user. No, he’s the Ultimate Linux Guru, a title bestowed upon him by his significant contributions to the Linux.com user community. He’s seen here holding a laptop signed by Linux creator Linus Torvalds. All of the stickers and bling you’ve added to your laptop are now decidedly second rate. Linux Foundation Announces 2010 Linux.com Linux Gurus Gurus recognized for contributions to the Linux.com community; Ultimate Guru gets laptop signed by Torvalds SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2010 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced the Top Five 2010 Linux.com Linux Gurus, including the Ultimate Linux Guru who is the Linux.com member who accumulated the most contribution and participation points over the last year. The 2010 Linux.com Linux Gurus are: § Ultimate Linux Guru Masen Marshall (MasenM). Marshall is a full-time systems administrator at a K-12 school district. He also runs a consulting business (http://www.sutoroot.com/) focused on helping small and medium business build Linux infrastructures. As the Ultimate Linux Guru, Marshall has received a fully loaded Linux laptop signed by Linux creator Linus Torvalds. § Linux Guru Kunal P.Bharati (kunal) works at Raw Engineering and teaches Unix to Computer Science students. He is also a moderator for the North Mumbai GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list. § Linux Guru Andrea Benini (ben) has been a systems administrator for nearly 20 years and today holds that title, along with product manager, at Pluriservice. § Linux Guru Matthew Fillpot (mfillpot) is a Reports and Training Specialist at AvisBudget Group and is a Linux.com moderator. Fillpot is also a member of the Tide Water Unix/Linux User Group in Norfolk, Va. § Dennis Wiesmann (Emperor) is a student based in Germany who uses Ubuntu Linux and Linux Mint. The Linux.com Gurus are awarded their status based on points accumulated by contributing to a variety of activities on the site. By providing support and information to Linux users looking for answers, writing articles and blogs, moderating forums and groups, and collaborating with peers (among other activities), Linux.com members are thrust into the community spotlight and receive a unique and highly respected recognition that can advance their careers. The Top Five Gurus will receive invitations to attend this year’s Linux Foundation’s Collaboration Summit where they will participate in the annual Linux.com Planning Meeting. The meeting will focus on ongoing improvements for the important community resource and will provide a forum in which the 2010 Linux.com Community Survey (http://www.linux.com/community/contests-and-polls/surveys/linuxdotcom-community-survey-2010) results can be reviewed. The Collaboration Summit is an invitation only, exclusive event and takes place April 14-16, 2010 in San Francisco. Each of the Top Five Gurus will also receive digital Guru badges to further market their skills to potential employers and demonstrate their status among peers. The Top 50 Linux.com Linux Gurus are showcased here: http://www.linux.com/community/linux-gurus/top-gurus . “In today’s culture of transparency, public contributions are the new resume,” said Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer programs, The Linux Foundation. “These five Gurus have helped Linux users around the globe by sharing their knowledge and being helpful moderators of a popular community-driven site, further increasing their profiles.” The program totals points earned from February 16 through February 15 of each year. More information about the Linux.com Linux Guru program, including “Guru” point values, is available at http://www.linux.com/welcome-community . Popular Linux.com resources include the recently announced Merchandise Store, the Jobs Board and daily tips and tutorials, among others. For more information, please visit http://www.linux.com .
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As a full time systems administrator, I can tell you without equivocation that IT is hard. There are lots of little problems that occur. Operating systems are fragile. Automation is great, but requires constant vigilance. So I approach things like the ClearBOX with much skepticism. An all-in-one IT solution sounds too good to be true, and it very likely is. I’m sure it offers some great features, and in the right environment it can be a good purchase. But there is no holy grail to unified IT services, because every environment is different, and the only constant is change. The hardware specs on the ClearBOX look adequate enough for most small businesses with simple IT needs: System Restore (In Development) Bypass 2 LED Indicator Bypass 1 LED Indicator G2 Bypass Segment 1 with 2 1Gb Ethernet Ports G2 Bypass Segment 2 with 2 1Gb Ethernet Ports 2 1Gb Ethernet Ports Dual USB 2.0 Ports RJ45 System Console connector Hard Drive Active LED Power LED Reset Button 128
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While I doubt you can run Freecell on this thing let alone view YouTube videos, if you’re looking for an uber-small laptop that you can mess around with Linux on, you might want to look at this red hot eCost deal. This is called the Augen E-Go 533 Netbook and it has a 7-inch screen and runs Windows CE (??). Here are the specs: 7″ color LCD screen displays everything in vivid detail. Windows CE 5.0 operating system. 2 GB data storage Windows-compatible software for e-mail, and creating and editing spreadsheets and word-processing documents. 2 standard USB ports; 1 mini USB port let you connect devices like an MP3 player. Ethernet port for home networking to another PC. SD memory card slot for downloading photos or music to your netbook (card not included). Headphone jack and microphone jack. 2 built-in speakers and 1 internal microphone. Rechargeable battery life is 3 1/2 hours. Includes 9-volt adapter and cord. 8.5″ L x 5.5″ W x 1.5″ H
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Hello John Biggs – I would like to be the CrunchGear intern. At 28 years of age I’d probably be the oldest, creepiest intern that CrunchGear has ever hired. That being said, I don’t look a day past 26. I should also tell you that I’m taller than most people so I would be good at seeing over smaller, scrawnier geeks at trade shows. Although since I’m so old, I’d probably get tired at around noon. Those words began the e-mail I sent on May 31st, 2007, in response to a post titled Desperately Seeking CrunchGear Intern . I ended the e-mail by saying, “Thanks for your time and I’ll be floored if I hear back from you…” And I was floored. I was truly floored. Up until that point, gadget blogs were a read-only affair for me. I was on the outside looking in, thinking how insanely wonderful it’d be to write about gadgets for a living. My dream job–absolutely, 100% my dream job. Little did I know it’d turn into a nightmare. Just kidding. It has been, continues to be, and will always be a dream job for me. I can honestly tell you that there hasn’t been a single day I’ve woken up and wished I didn’t have to go to work. I hope that’s come through in my 4,036 posts here. In that spirit, I want to make it clear that I’m not leaving for any reason other than having perpetual, ever-present, non-STD-related ants in my pants. I made it almost three years at CrunchGear, which is longer than I’ve made it anywhere else. I truly loved my time here. Those of you who have been reading CrunchGear for a while may recall that one of my favorite games in the whole wide world is SimCity 3000. I look at my work here as a city I’ve been building for a while. It’s big, it’s sprawling, and I’ve used up every tile of space. It’s beautiful and I love it, but it’s time to start working on a new city. My CrunchGear city isn’t perfect by any means, but I’ll hopefully use what I’ve learned here to build another great city. I’ll be joining fellow CrunchGear alumnus Peter Ha over at Techland , where I’ve been doing weekly video reviews for a while. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, the timing seemed right, and I can promise you that what I’ll be doing over there won’t be all that different from what I’ve been doing here. There will be more videos, more weird “what is this doing on a gadget blog?” types of posts, and more bright blue instead of bright orange. I can’t thank the readers here or my fellow writers enough. Words couldn’t possibly express how grateful I am to be doing what I’m doing but, as a writer, I should probably try. To the readers: I love you guys. You’ve made me a much better writer. You’ve taught me the importance of thorough research, the importance of trying to keep straight-up news posts non-biased, and the importance of keeping my videos short and entertaining. I’m sure there are a few of you who may be happy to see me go but I hope there are more of you who have felt like you’ve gotten your money’s worth from me. Readers are absolutely the lifeblood of any good site and I tried to keep that idea at the forefront of my mind during my time here. To the writers: You guys are hands down the best crew I’ve ever worked with. It takes a special kind of crazy to work here—long hours, frozen budgets, stolen coverage, miles upon miles of trade shows, exploding live blogs, worn out keyboards, and wondering if what you do for a living really makes an actual difference in the grand scheme of things. I can tell you that what you do does, indeed, matter because I still remember what it was like to be a reader. And a big, big, big thanks to John for turning me from a reader into a writer. I’m going to miss this place terribly, but I’m excited for what’s next. Thanks for the memories, everyone. I’ll leave you, if you don’t mind, with some of my firsts and favorites: Firsts! First post ever: WiiWare: New Indie Wii Shop Channel Games in 2008 First scuffle I got into with a reader, who it turns out owned the site I was bad-mouthing: Old Crap-Ass Phones That Cost Way Too Much First big-boy interview: Interview With Acer President Gianfranco Lanci First post that made me truly skeptical of PR and marketing: Who Else Got Burned By An ‘End Of Summer’ Promise? First on-camera video review: Samsung Juke review First live podcast: Live CrunchGear podcast today at 1:00 PM, Eastern Favorites! Recommendation Rescinded: Comcast’s TiVo interface How come nobody told me about the Dallas airport? Review: Keychain Breathalyzer + Flashlight All About Linux 2008: Great Moments in Linux History Line for Boston Apple Store stretches four city blocks Video Review: Flip Mino digital camcorder Two Boston-area magicians involved in bar brawl, each sustains massive loss of hit points Sweater Friends Real Bigfoot carcass to be shown this Friday…or not Review: Penguin Home Soda Maker CrunchFail: Doug and Greg crash and burn at Rock Band challenge Blogger frustrated with iMovie, sees man on Segway Review: Health Energy Potion Video Review: Snuggie Blanket Smittens: World’s dumbest mittens Video Review: Batter Blaster pancakes in a can Simpsons ‘Comic Book Guy’ apparently selling lawn darts now MIT’s EurekaFest showcases high school students’ problem-solving prototypes Review: WristOffice mobile device holder An open letter to the creator of the pretzel dog Breath-based glucose sensor developed (and why it may never make it to market) Ah, good times. Thanks again for the memories, CrunchGear. Don’t be a stranger.
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The Linux.com store is open for business! Nice looking shirts, hats, and onesies are available for Linux users of all ages. Also available are mugs for the all-important coffee, and stickers. All proceeds benefit the Linux Foundation’s various programs. All revenue generated from the Linux.com Store will go directly towards Linux Foundation activities, events and strategic initiatives. The Linux Foundation uses funds from a variety of revenue streams to support the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and to sustain important services such as technical events; travel grants for open source community members; a vendor-neutral forum for projects such as MeeGo; and free training resources direct from the kernel community; among others. There’s also a t-shirt design contest underway! The Linux.com community will select the winning entry, and the winner will get a free trip to LinuxCon!
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The Linux.com store is open for business! Nice looking shirts, hats, and onesies are available for Linux users of all ages. Also available are mugs for the all-important coffee, and stickers. All proceeds benefit the Linux Foundation’s various programs. All revenue generated from the Linux.com Store will go directly towards Linux Foundation activities, events and strategic initiatives. The Linux Foundation uses funds from a variety of revenue streams to support the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and to sustain important services such as technical events; travel grants for open source community members; a vendor-neutral forum for projects such as MeeGo; and free training resources direct from the kernel community; among others. There’s also a t-shirt design contest underway! The Linux.com community will select the winning entry, and the winner will get a free trip to LinuxCon!
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Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a loquacious orator. I’ve never written an impassioned speech. I’m just a part-time tech blogger. But today I must do my best to motivate — nay, to inspire — you, the tech-savvy population of the Internet, to bring all of your design and engineering and user experience skills to bear on the problem of the modern era. Set aside your silly USB gadgets, and forget the Linux-vs-Windows debate. We need to concentrate on an issue that affects us all. Yes, I’m talking about the public restroom. The Situation I wrote in the summer of 1999 about my dislike for public toilets . It’s been a decade since I wrote that. In that time, my Palm III has been replaced by a Treo 650, then a Treo 700, then a Palm Centro, and finally an iPhone. In that time, hybrid cars have become commonplace on the streets of America. Wikipedia launched and collected more than 14 million articles. People of all technical ability now regularly pay their bills online. You can do video conferencing for free from your desktop computer! Advances have been made in every conceivable industry, and yet the public toilet is largely unchanged from what it was before the turn of the millennium. This cannot stand. Please bear in mind that I don’t spend much time in women’s restrooms, so my rage may be myopic. Ladies, if your toilet experience is superior to men’s, I beg your patience. I suspect, however, that everyone could benefit from a few simple modifications to the status quo of public toilets. As I observed in my 1999 complaint, public toilets are one of the most dehumanizing experiences of modern life, and yet we continue to make and use public toilets in the same way. Little privacy, poor sanitation, and a complete stripping away of personal dignity. In no other aspect of our lives do we put up with such a deprivation of basic civility. The building in which I spend most of my working day is only four years old, but already the bathrooms are filthy, and they only get worse as time progresses. I was depressed to see, during my trip to the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, that the gorgeous new multi-million dollar buildings were equipped with entirely ordinary public toilets. The school wasn’t even fully opened yet and already the restrooms were unpleasant to look at, let alone use. I have identified a few common problems with public toilets, and I beg your indulgence as I list what are probably your own top complaints. Faucets There are two kinds of sink faucets in use in public restrooms: manual and automatic. The manual faucets are no fun to use, because the handles get covered in soapy water from the previous user, who may or may not have been thorough in washing their hands. Even if there are no germs, it’s just not comfortable to grip a soapy faucet handle. Automatic faucets are a great idea, but almost always fail in execution. The sensors are usually not sensitive enough, so users end up waving their hands around for some time under the faucet waiting for water to start flowing. Sometimes the neck of the faucet is too close to the basin, causing the user to touch the grimy basin itself. Or the neck is too high, causing water to splash unnecessarily out of the basin and onto the user’s pants. Surely there’s some elegant solution to the problem of hand washing in a public bathroom? There has to be some cost effective way to make an automatic faucet that allows one to clean their hands without making more of a mess. Soap The dispensation of soap in public bathrooms is another area just waiting for a great solution. Current dispensing technology, like faucets, is either manual or automatic. Manual dispensers suffer from many of the problems of manual faucets: they get covered in sticky, soapy water that no one wants to touch, and therefore fewer people wash their hands. Clearly this is not an acceptable solution. Automatic soap dispensers aren’t much better, though. They either don’t work, dispense too little product, or dispense too much product. Another problem with soap dispensers is their placement within the bathroom. Sometimes they’re over the sink, sometimes they’re off to the side. I can’t begin to count the number of automatic soap dispensers placed to the side of a sink that simply dispense their product all over the counter top, creating a huge goopy mess. As a clear cost-savings mechanism, there’s usually one soap dispenser placed between two sinks, causing users to wait their turn when the bathroom is busy. Hand Drying Just like soap dispensers, the mechanism for drying one’s hand is almost always poorly situated. Most often there’s a paper towel dispenser on a wall next to or opposite the sink. This causes the user to turn from the sink, dripping water all over the floor, and then make the dispensing lever all wet and yucky as they press it to get some towels. Assuming, of course, that the dispenser actually has product in it! Automatic hand dryers that blow air are no better in this situation, as the water is simply blown off the user’s hands and onto the floor. While I was in Japan, I marveled at the automatic hand dryers there. Each one had either a small shelf under it to collect waste water, or was a vertical clamshell design in which the user placed their whole hand, making the surrounding area much cleaner and drier. Of course, moving from the sink to the dryer still caused water to drip from one’s hands, so while the Japanese are on the right track, they still have considerable room for improvement. Personally, I prefer using a paper towel to dry my hands. I’m very conscious of the amount of towel I use, and try to maximize my drying with the minimum amount of towel. It pains me to see other people in the bathroom use huge reams of paper towels to dry their hands. They don’t even try to dry first, and then use more if they need it: they simply pull out fifteen paper towels and wad them up into a giant ball. But human behavior is not the point of this call to arms, so let’s side aside sloth and selfishness for a later discussion. Automatic paper towel dispensers hardly ever work. They’re too slow to respond when a user waves their hand past the sensor, assuming of course that the sensor can be found. With no clear standard design, and poor instructional markings, users are left to wave their hands over, under, and in front of dispensers until something happens. Obviously this results in water droplets splashing all around. The worst design I’ve seen — and I’ve seen it entirely too many times — is an automatic paper towel dispenser placed above or immediately adjacent to a sink. This seems at first blush like the right idea: minimize the amount of water that can be splashed around, make it easy for the user to wash and then dry their hands, and minimize the number of surfaces the user needs to touch. Unfortunately, this configuration almost always results in a never-ending stream of paper towels being dispensed directly into the sink, creating an even worse mess. Of course, the issue of paper waste also needs to be dealt with. Most trashcans in public restrooms are either too small for the volume of paper waste generated, or they’re not emptied often enough (or both!), resulting in lots of crumpled paper towels scattered on the floor around the trashcan. Flushing Urinal flushing technology seems mostly adequate, though urinal design itself could use some work. I suspect this largely my own problem, as a taller-than-average guy. For most men, I suspect the urinals work well enough for them. The flushing mechanism in stalls, though, needs a lot of work. Again, we have manual and automatic flushing. Manual flushing relies on the good behavior of the user, which is an unfortunate mistake. Automatic flushing, though, suffers from a number of design problems. The intent is well-meaning: a sensor behind the user detects when they move away and the flushing occurs automatically. In my experience, the sensor triggers as soon as I stand up, resulting in an inefficient and wasteful premature flush: I haven’t even wiped yet! When I’m done, I need to manually flush again by pressing a tiny little button embedded on a plate above the toilet. Why is the button behind me? Why do I need to turn around multiple times in the tiny stall? Wouldn’t it be better to have the flush button in front of me? And for that matter, why doesn’t the automatic flush mechanism trigger when the stall door is opened? This would, in my opinion, minimize a lot of wasteful flushing. Comfort As I complained in my 1999 screed, public toilets provide almost no comfort. They’re almost an afterthought in the building design process. The most architecturally stunning, human-friendly buildings of the common era have drab, semi-functional public toilets. Why is this? Why can’t we spend even a little extra money to provide privacy and comfort? I admit I have a shy bladder. I have a hard time urinating if I’m standing next to someone else. This is my own cross to bear, and I’m not asking for the world to change to accommodate me. But with just a little effort, we could all enjoy more privacy and comfort while attending to nature. Think about it: if you go camping, do you stand right next to your buddies while you all relieve yourselves? No, you spread out a bit to enjoy some privacy. Why then do we bunch men up in a row to take care of nature within the city limits? Utility Let’s face it: we use bathrooms because we have to. Why, then, is every public bathroom built exactly the same way, regardless of the kind of traffic that goes through the building? I’m thinking particularly of airports, train stations, and the like: people have luggage with them, but there’s almost no accommodation for this fact in any airport public bathroom. Heaven forbid you’re traveling alone with a bag of any size and need to use the toilet. At the urinal, your bag will stick out into the narrow aisle behind you, causing navigation problems for everyone. Or, your roller case will stand next to you, likely blocking an adjacent urinal. If you’re in the stall, best of luck! There’s barely any room for a human being, let along a human being with a bag. The Future In today’s world, we all cringe in disgust when we hear about how human waste was dealt with in centuries past. It is my hope — indeed, my vision — that future generations will cringe in disgust when they hear about the public toilets of the twenty first century. With your help, friends, we can make this vision a reality. I need your help, though. I need you to set aside your USB gadgets and your fanciful past times, and to apply your skills to this very real problem. Engineers, industrial designers, architects, user experience experts, efficiency experts, and every day people all need to pitch in to work together to resolve the problem of the public toilet!
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