December 2012 - Issue 71

- Welcome From The Chief Editor

1. exwintech Passes On ... R.I.P.

2. Graphics Tutorials: Gimp, Part 6

3. Windows Migration: Welcome To Linux. Welcome To PCLinuxOS!

4. Windows Migration: Download, Verify, and Create A LiveCD or USB

5. Forum Foibles: Forum Land

6. Mark's Quick Gimp Tip & Double Take

7. Getting People To Understand The Importance Of Freedom Over Convenience: Why Is It So Hard?

8. Setting Up A Network File System (NFS)

9. Festive Foibler: YouCanToo

10. 2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: Paul's Picks

11. 2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: Meemaw's Picks

12. 2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: ms_meme's Picks

13. A Little WINE Is Good

14. ms_meme's Nook: I'll Be In The Forum For The Holidays

15. Connecting Your Computer To Your TV

16. OMNI: What's Old Is New Again

17. Screenshot Showcase

Disclaimer

Welcome From The Chief Editor

WOW! Where did 2012 go? It doesn’t seem all that long ago that we were welcoming in 2012. Now here we are already preparing for yet another holiday season. In keeping with tradition (well, tradition during my tenure as the magazine’s editor, at least), we once again deliver the annual holiday gift guide. This year, I provide 10 gift suggestions, Meemaw provides 10 more, and ms_meme jumps into the gift suggestion fray with six more of her own.

Among all the hustling shoppers and busy schedules during this time of year, the words “peace on Earth” and “goodwill towards men” are often heard, uttered and bantered about. Maybe I’m a bit naive, coupled with a bit of an utopian view, but wouldn’t it be nice if we heard, uttered and bantered about these terms all throughout the rest of the year? Wouldn’t it be nice if we (meaning all of us) could make those words become reality throughout the year, every year?

As of late 2011 (the latest figures I can find), there are 24 countries directly affected by ongoing wars, with over half (13, to be exact) affected by protracted wars of 10 years or more, and seven of those countries having experienced wars in excess of 30 years – and still counting. I’m sure for those living in these two dozen countries, the terms “peace on Earth” and “goodwill towards men” are just hollow words and a distant, dim dream.

Fueled by the selfish and wanton desires of so-called “power barons” who want to impose their will and their beliefs on others, there will be no “peace on Earth” or “goodwill toward men” during this winter holiday season in at least those two dozen countries. I cannot understand the intense desire some people have to rule over those who are weaker. I cannot understand why some feel the need to limit and oppress their people.

I can easily imagine a world without wars, a world without oppression. I can easily imagine a world where freedom reigns – freedom of thought, freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom to express one’s own mind, freedom to learn, freedom for each individual to live their lives harmoniously. Just like the John Lennon song, “Imagine,” I can imagine all these things, as well as the things expressed in the song.

So, for this holiday season, I’d like to wish each and every one of you not only peace, prosperity, happiness and serenity … but also freedom. If each of us works towards achieving that naive, utopian dream in our own little corner of the world, who knows what may happen. It may even catch on and spread out of control. We should be so lucky. Happy holidays!

exwintech Passes On ... R.I.P.

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

It’s always a sad occasion when a PCLinuxOS forum family member passes on. Exwintech, a.k.a. David Doak of Croydon Park, Sydney, Australia, passed away on November 10, 2012 at 64 years of age, after a short illness. The sad news was broken to the PCLinuxOS forum by Just17 on November 15, 2012. David was 64 years old.

Joining the PCLinuxOS forum on March 29, 2006, exwintech was very well known for his amusing and entertaining raves. If Dave was interested in something, you usually knew because of the passion he exhibited for that topic. Many of Dave’s raves were related to video processing and the various optical media that videos could be burned to. He was especially a fan of trying to get DVD-RAM discs to work properly.

Even in his last post to the PCLinuxOS forum on September 22, 2012, he was making his usual impassioned case against GMO (genetically modified organism) foods.

ms_meme’s caricature of exwintech

Besides being a long time PCLinuxOS user, Dave was an avid photography enthusiast. He frequented several photography forums, as well as the Linux Graphics Users forum. In Dave’s words (from his profile on the Pentax camera forums), he took up photography on his doctor's advice to "get out and about more." One of his last activities was on the Canon Digital Photography forum at photography-on-the.net on November 9, 2012.

Born September 29, 1948, Dave spent 25 years as a semi-truck driver between the Australian states. His truck driving career came to an end when he was knocked off of a loading platform by a forklift trainee, injuring his shoulder. The shoulder injury prevented him from doing any heavy lifting, a requirement for his trucking job.

After that, he turned his computer hobby into a profession by getting certification in computer assembly, followed by certification as an assistant technician. In 1996, he sought and received certification on Win95 and Windows NT 4.0. He followed that up obtaining certifications on Windows 2000 and Windows XP in 2002.

Shortly thereafter, Dave was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and early COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Combined with the previous shoulder injury, the other two chronic conditions were enough to qualify him for a full disability pension.

Dave tried to “get into Linux” with Mandrake 8.x, but didn’t find the success he was looking for until he stumbled across the PCLinuxOS forum. There, he made quick friends with Just17 and Jaydot, among others, all of whom helped guide him along his Linux path. With the help he received in the PCLinuxOS forum, he was using PCLinuxOS “nearly full time in a few weeks,” according to one of Dave’s early posts in the Linux Graphics Users forum.

Mostly due to his interest in photography, Dave was a big fan of the GIMP. From the time Dave discovered PCLinuxOS and took off on his Linux journey, Dave remained a faithful Linux user. He used PCLinuxOS KDE 4.x as his sole operating system, despite not quite having come to terms with the changes that KDE 4.x brought to his favorite Linux desktop. Dave remained forever fond of KDE 3.5, and was hopeful that KDE 5.x would finally see changes that would make KDE feel more comfortable to him.

Dave was an early contributor during the early days of The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Dave even wrote a poem, called “Lament,” which appeared in the May 2007 issue of The PCLinuxOS Magazine. His prose dealt with the then-recent release of Windows Vista, its lackluster sales and folks fleeing Windows for Linux.

Rest in peace, Dave. Your insights, your raves and most of all, the help you gave to others, will be forever missed.

Graphics Tutorials: Gimp, Part 6

by Meemaw

Sometimes you take what you think is the perfect photo, but then you’ll see that if just one little item wasn’t there, the photo would be even better. But, how do you remove an item from a photo?

Removing unwanted objects from your photo may seem a little daunting, but the following method was fairly easy for me. My vacation last summer was riding 4-wheelers in Colorado. We went to one town called St. Elmo. The old buildings were beautiful, but one photo had a traffic sign I wanted to remove. I thought my photo would look much better without it, so I decided to edit it out of this photo rather than cropping it out because I wanted the road in the photo. We are going to do that using the Clone Tool.

Start by opening the image you want to change. You should always make a copy of your original photo and edit the copy, or at least create a copy of your background layer by right clicking on the background in your Layers Panel and selecting “Duplicate”.

Choose the Clone tool stamp from the Tools Panel. In the brushes area, choosing a bigger brush will clone a bigger area. Hold down <CTRL> with the Clone Tool selected, and click anywhere in your image to sample that area. I clicked on the trees just to the side of the sign I want to cover in order to make the result blend in with the background. A plus sign will appear in your area, meaning that you have a “sample area” to use. Feel free to zoom in as necessary on the area you are editing, in order to do a better job.

Now, paint carefully over the item you want to delete. The sample area you grabbed with the clone tool should cover up that item. When you paint, your sample area indicator moves with your cursor and the area you want to change should be painted with the sample area. You should make short strokes and proceed carefully to get the desired effect.

You can change your brush size and hardness by right-clicking in your image. If the sample area doesn’t match the area around one of the items you want to remove, you can always choose another in the same manner. In this photo I had to choose three different samples: one for the background behind the sign, one for the vegetation behind the top of the post, and one for the part of the road behind the bottom of the post. You can see now that the picture looks better without the sign in it.

While this was a minor change, many photos can be “cleaned up” in this manner. In the second of the two photos below, I removed the electric line above and transformer to the left of the building.

What a great tool! With a little practice, you’ll find yourself removing unwanted elements from your images in no time, too.

Windows Migration: Welcome To Linux.

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

So you’ve decided to give Linux a try. Welcome aboard! You’re joining a large and growing community of computer users who have left closed, proprietary operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows) behind. Just like you, they have embraced Linux. Most of them use Linux every day, as their solitary operating system.

What is Linux?

Linux was first intended for (and still thrives on) computers using the Intel x86 microprocessor architecture. Chances are extremely high that you are reading this article on your computer running the Intel x86 microprocessor instruction set. Besides your computer, you’ve probably also used Linux elsewhere in your everyday life, but never realized it. Linux has been ported to run more devices than any other operating system – ever. Today, there are a whole host of things that you use every day that use Linux as the operating system to help them do what they do. Some examples are your television, DVD player, Android smart phones, various GPS units, your car, your eBook Reader, your Android tablet, some smart kitchen appliances, and many other things. We haven’t even begun to make a scratch in listing all of the everyday devices that you use that rely on Linux to make them run.

Started October 5, 1991 when Finnish-born Linux founder Linus Torvalds (pictured above) released the first Linux kernel, Linux is a free Unix-like operating system. Originally started as a project for his master’s degree from the University of Helsinki to create a Unix-like operating system that could run on his 386 computer, Linux today is released under the GNU General Public Software License. This software license allows open access to the computer source code by anyone who wishes to view or modify it. Any changes made to it are also shared with everyone else. To this day, Linus Torvalds remains the man with the final say about the continued development of the Linux kernel, approving or disapproving of changes and additions to the Linux kernel.

This is in stark contrast to the closed development model, as you typically see with proprietary software, where only a few “privileged” individuals can ever see or look at the computer source code. With Linux, an open development model is used. This allows not just a few (or few hundred) eyes to view, contribute and improve on the code, but it allows everyone to view, contribute and improve on the code. You may have heard Linux and GNU programs referred to as “Open Source.” This is what folks are talking about.

Some other terms you may hear kicked around are FOSS (Free, Open Source Software) and FLOSS (Free Linux Open Source Software). They mean essentially the same thing. The one thing you will notice that all of the names, nicknames and acronyms use the term “Open Source” to describe it.

Surrounding the free Linux operating system, a whole ecosystem of free and open source software sprouted up to provide users with the means of performing the various tasks that users typically use a computer for. As a result, most Linux users also use free and open source software applications to accomplish their daily tasks. These include browsing the web, checking email, creating graphics, creating documents, editing and watching videos, listening to music – just about anything you can imagine. Today, Linux forms the backbone of the Internet, since it is the operating system of choice for the enterprise server market. It also powers 90% of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers, including all 10 of the top 10 fastest.

You may have heard talk that Linux is hard, or that Linux is for computer geeks. While that used to be true in the earliest of days about Linux, that is no longer true (as you’re about to find out). While every Linux distribution around (different “versions” of Linux are called “distributions” that are created by a single developer or a team of developers, yet they all use the same Linux core) allows access to the command line (sometimes referred to as the CLI, which stands for Command Line Interface), most modern Linux distributions (also called “distros”) insulate the user from the command line with a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface is commonly referred to as the “desktop environment.”

Each desktop environment (also referred to as DE) offers a variety of features. Some are created with the intent of being lean, mean and fast. Others are created with the intent of providing the most robust and feature-laden computing environment possible. Unlike the situation under Windows, where you are pretty much restricted to using the computer one way and only one way (the way that Microsoft designed it to work), you have a multitude of choices not only in the features of your desktop environment, but in how fast you want your computer to perform.

Some popular desktop environments for Linux include KDE 4 (which PCLinuxOS uses for its main release), LXDE (often described as being similar to Windows 98), Xfce, Gnome, Openbox, and Enlightenment (also referred to as e17). KDE and Gnome are often described as the environments that provide the most features, the most robust computing environment, and the most “eye candy.” Xfce, LXDE, Openbox and Enlightenment are some of the leaner and faster desktop environments.

Your choice of which one to use depends on what you are looking for. If you have older hardware, you may want to look at one of the desktop environments that are leaner and faster. Linux can certainly breath new life into some older hardware. (I still have Pentium III computers that I regularly use, loaded with versions of PCLinuxOS that utilize one of the lighter desktop environments.) If you have newer hardware, with a more modern processor, lots of memory, a high quality video card, etc., you have even more choices. Do you want a desktop environment that provides lots of eye candy, lots of features and a very robust computing environment? Or do you want a desktop that’s lean and fast, freeing processor time and memory for “more important” tasks?

One thing that is nice about Linux is that you can try them all, for free, to see which one is best suited to your computing needs and style. All you have to do is download either a Live CD or Live DVD, burn it to the appropriate optical medium, insert it into your optical drive, and reboot your computer. Once rebooted, you are free to check out the different desktop environments, all without making a single change to your computer.

What Is PCLinuxOS?

PCLinuxOS is a Linux distro, just like Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, Mepis, Knoppix, Debian, Slackware, Arch and about 600 others. Probably the best way to describe PCLinuxOS is to provide a brief history from the founder of PCLinuxOS, Texstar – a.k.a. Bill Reynolds (pictured below).

In the summer of 2003, I became interested in Live CD technology after looking at Knoppix and a fresh distribution from a fellow named Warren, called Mepis. I was interested in helping Warren with Mepis at the time, but I had no clue how to build DEB files. Coming from 5 years of packaging RPMS and not really wanting to learn a new packaging system, I happened to come across a South African fellow by the name of Jaco Greef. He was developing a script called mklivecd and porting it to Mandrake Linux. I, along with Buchanan Milne (Mandrake contributor) and a few others, began working with Jaco to help debug the scripts. I got an idea to make a livecd based on Mandrake Linux 9.2, along with all my customizations, just for fun. I had previously provided an unofficial 3rd party repository for the users of Mandrake for many years, but had since parted ways. Since Mandrake was a trademarked name, myself and others decided to name the Live CD after our news site and forum, pclinuxonline, thus PCLinuxOS.

Preview .3 was my first attempt to make a livecd. I distributed it initially to about 20 people to get their reaction and feedback. Everyone who tested it loved the livecd but there was one thing missing. There wasn't a way to install the thing to the hard drive! srlinuxx from tuxmachines.org came up with a novel way to copy the livecd to the hard drive and posted it on our forums. Jaco utilized this information and inspiration from the Mepis installer and wrote a pyqt script to make the Live CD installable, thus the birth of a new distribution.

On October 24, 2003, PCLinuxOS Preview .4 was released as a fork of Linux Mandrake (Mandriva) 9.2 utilizing mklivecd scripts from Jaco Greef, a multimedia kernel from Thomas Buckland (2.4.22-tmb) and a customized KDE (3.1.4-tex). Preview .5 through .93 were built upon on previous PCLinuxOS releases. After three years of updating one release from the other using the same gcc and glibc core library, we found too many programs would no longer compile or work properly against this aging code base.

In November 2006, we utilized a one time source code snapshot from our friends at Mandriva to pull in an updated glibc/gcc core and associated libraries. We spent the following 6 months rebuilding, debugging, customizing, patching and updating our new code base. We pulled in stuff from our old code base, utilized patches/code from Fedora, Gentoo and Debian just to name a few. This is why you will never see me distro bashing, as it would be hypocritical to do such a thing. We are still dependent in many areas on other distros development processes due to our limited but hard working volunteer development team.

On May 20th, 2007, we felt we had reached a pretty stable base and released PCLinuxOS 2007. It utilized our own kernel from Oclient1, KDE built by MDE developer Ze, updated mklivecd scripts from IKerekes & Ejtr, a heavily patched Control Center, graphics from the PCLinuxOS beautification team, and many application updates from Thac and Neverstopdreaming. Development continues as work is being done for a Minime release and an international DVD. A future release of PCLinuxOS will feature an updated kernel, KDE 4, fresh Xorg server and all the latest applications. All in all it has been a great ride and we have made many friends along the way. Some have gone on to other distributions and many are still here from our first release. As I've always said, we're just enjoying Linux technology and sharing it with friends who might like it too. We hope you have enjoyed the ride as well.

While the above was written a few years ago, PCLinuxOS has continued to thrive and evolve. Shortly thereafter, MiniMe was released. MiniMe represented a barebones KDE installation, with little else than the bare desktop and core Linux OS files. Designed for more advanced users, MiniMe allows users to install only those applications that they want. Even though this distro uses the “rolling release” update method, new Live CDs were released every year (and recently, even more often) so a user wouldn’t have to download a huge number of updates after installing to make sure they had the most up-to-date system available.

In 2009, several developers left PCLinuxOS to start their own distro. While this happens in many other distros, PCLinuxOS hasn’t suffered from it, and is still one of the top distros. In the wake of their departure, others stepped up to fill the vacated developer roles. Several other users stepped up to create the various “flavors” of PCLinuxOS. Today, there several “flavors” of PCLinuxOS available to users, each presenting PCLinuxOS a choice of which desktop environment to use.

To this day, the KDE desktop is still employed in the “main” PCLinuxOS release. However, all of the other desktop versions utilize the exact same Linux core, as well as the same repositories.

Following the rolling release design, improvements are always being made, and things evolve. First Texstar, followed by the PCLinuxOS development team, expanded their focus a bit, and a much-wished-for 64-bit edition of PCLinuxOS has entered into the testing phase. Requiring a rebuild of all of the applications in the repos, the 64-bit repo now has over 8,700 of the 12,000+ applications in the PCLinuxOS 32-bit repo.

The PCLinuxOS Community

When it comes to Linux communities, it’s hard to find one that’s friendlier or more helpful than the PCLinuxOS community. Some Linux communities are less than friendly places, where new users are expected to “pay their dues,” and receive “RTFM” (Read The Freaking Manual … except that “Freaking” isn’t the word they use), “GIYF” (Google Is Your Friend) or “LMGTFY” (Let Me Google That For You) as answers to questions.

Fortunately, not only for new users, but all users, RTFM, GIYF and LMGTFY are not uttered. More often than not, veteran PCLinuxOS users will take the time to actually help a new user (or any user, for that matter), rather than making them “pay their dues” by having to look everything up themselves. It doesn’t matter how many times the question has been asked, it seems that there is always someone who is willing to lend a helping hand.

So what comprises the PCLinuxOS community?

Probably the most common part of that community is the support forums on the PCLinuxOS web site. It is there that PCLinuxOS users from all around the world gather to discuss issues, ideas, problems, solutions, trade barbs, share anecdotes, and otherwise get to know one another while providing help, laughter, a shoulder to cry on, or vent. Through the PCLinuxOS forum, many regular users have bonded and behave more like one big happy family. If you hang out there enough, you will see PCLinuxOS users sharing personal triumphs, hardships, and many other things. When they do, it’s not uncommon to see an outpouring of emotion from the other PCLinuxOS “family” members. It is the PCLinuxOS forum that provides the premiere avenue of support for PCLinuxOS users. It’s users helping users. That is, after all, the Linux way. Just please remember to search the forum before asking your question(s). Chances are pretty good that your question has been asked before, and the replies may provide the answer you are looking for in less time than asking the same question anew.

Another avenue of support in the PCLinuxOS community is the PCLinuxOS IRC channels, using the FreeNode IRC network. If you launch Xchat, the popular IRC client application in PCLinuxOS, you will find the casual chat channel (#PCLinuxOS) and the support channel (#PCLinuxOS-Support) already set up for you. Once there, you can chat (via typed text) with other PCLinuxOS users from around the globe, in real time. There are also channels for discussion of articles that appear in the magazine (#pclosmag) and channels for discussion of PCLinuxOS in various foreign languages (e.g., #pclinuxos-pl is the channel for the discussion of all things dealing with PCLinuxOS, but in the Polish language).

PCLinuxOS also has The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Only one other Linux distro has a monthly magazine dedicated to its users. The PCLinuxOS Magazine is published monthly by a dedicated group of volunteers. Within the magazine, you will find articles of general interest to Linux users, along with articles that are especially of interest to PCLinuxOS users, about PCLinuxOS and the applications that are in its repositories. All of the magazine’s back issues are available free of charge, from the very first issue to the latest issue, and are published as PDF files. Periodically, The PCLinuxOS Magazine will produce “Special Editions” of the magazine to help serve as a reference resource. In the past, the magazine has produced “special editions” for KDE 4, Xfce, LXDE, Openbox, Gnome and Enlightenment desktop environments, as well as “special editions” to help with learning the Linux command line and how to use Scribus (a desktop publishing program that the magazine uses to produce the monthly PDF).

Additionally, there are multiple mailing lists available for PCLinuxOS users to join. Many of the mailing lists have seen their use dwindle lately, as efforts are underway to move most of those discussions into the more open environment of the PCLinuxOS forum, where more PCLinuxOS users can participate.

Summary

As you embark on your Linux journey, rest assured that you are not the first to travel this path. Others have gone before you, and luckily, many of them are ready and willing to lend a helpful hand. With PCLinuxOS, you’ve chosen one of the top 10 Linux distros, and one that works remarkably well and is very stable.

Does this mean that you won’t have problems? Probably not, and that is an unrealistic expectation. You are having to learn a new and different way of performing many common tasks. While many of the skills you learned while running closed-source, proprietary software will transfer smoothly to your Linux experience, you are likely to experience a bump or two in the road along the way. With some things, you will have to learn how to do them differently. You will have to learn the “Linux” way of doing things. But, you don’t have to go it alone.

We – the many users of PCLinuxOS – stand at the ready to help.

Windows Migration: Download, Verify, and Create A LiveCD or USB

by Antonis Komis (agmg)

Introduction

So, you’ve decided to take a step away from Windows and explore the world of Linux, and more specifically, PCLinuxOS. You couldn’t find a better distribution to do that with. PCLinuxOS is a rolling Linux release, well-known for its quality and stability supported by one of the friendliest (if not the friendliest) forums around. Whether you are a novice, intermediate or advanced Windows user, one thing is sure: you are facing something that you have never seen before. A new environment, a new philosophy, a new way of doing things, a new way of life. Not everyone takes to the change in the same way, but don’t worry: we have prepared a series of articles that will help you find your way around. In this specific article, you will find how to get PCLinuxOS and prepare an installation medium (CD, DVD or USB), to try it (yes, you can do that) and, if you like it, install it on your hard disk.

If you want to know more about PCLinuxOS or need further help, you can visit the PCLinuxOS Knowledge Base (http://www.pclinuxoshelp.com), or become a member of the PCLinuxOS forum (http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum), where you will always find people willing to help you with every problem or question you may have.

Enough with the introductory stuff. Let’s begin our journey.

Choosing the right version for you

The main difference between the various PCLinuxOS editions is the Desktop Environment (or DE) they use and the applications that are installed by default. Simply put, the DE is the Graphical User Interface of your system, and it typically consists of windows, icons, panels, toolbars, wallpapers and desktop widgets. It’s like the Desktop you are using in Windows. It gives you the ability to interact with your computer using concepts which are similar to those used in the physical world, such as buttons and windows. Most Desktop Environments include a set of integrated applications and utilities to give you a more complete graphical experience. Unlike Windows, there are many Desktop Environments that you can choose from, depending on your personal needs and tastes and/or your computer capabilities. We will talk about Desktop Environments with more detail in a separate article, but here is a quick reference for your convenience:

KDE Edition: This is the standard edition of PCLinuxOS. It is based on the KDE platform (www.kde.org), which consists of the desktop environment (Plasma Desktop – with different versions for desktops, netbooks or tablets) and a suite of applications based on that platform that integrate to the desktop environment and can literally cover every user's needs.

The default KDE desktop environment.

LXDE Edition: This is a community release using LXDE (www.lxde.org). The "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE)" is an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment. It is the perfect choice for computers with low hardware specifications, such as older computers or netbooks, but it also runs lightning-fast on more modern ones.

The default LXDE desktop environment.

Xfce Edition: This is also a community release based on Xfce (xfce.org). It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly.

The default Xfce desktop environment.

Full Monty Edition: Another community release which is based on the standard KDE edition of PCLinuxOS but sports a special desktop layout and many drivers and applications pre-installed. Full Monty applies a new concept: an activity-focused virtual desktop layout, which is designed to address a typical user’s needs/tasks and make working on the computer straightforward and fun. You can find more info on Full Monty here.

The Full Monty with activity-oriented desktops.

There are also mini editions of PCLinuxOS (with the name “MiniMe”) that are not recommended for new Linux users. These are editions that contain only the core system and some basic applications so a power user can customize them the way he/she prefers.

Ways to get PCLinuxOS

There are two ways to get PCLinuxOS:

1. Download from the Internet.

2. Order a CD/DVD/USB.

We’ll only cover the first option in-depth, here. Ordering a CD/DVD/USB is usually preferred by users that have a slow or no Internet connection at all, or who want to have PCLinuxOS on a professionally created medium. This option costs a small amount of money and is slower, as it takes some time to get the medium shipped to you. If you are interested in this method, you can visit www.osdisc.com for more information.

The main source for downloading the latest PCLinuxOS releases is our official website: www.pclinuxos.com

You just select “Get PCLinuxOS” and you will be provided with two options.

- The first option is to select the version of PCLinuxOS you prefer.

- The second option is to select whether you want to download via the Web (using either the FTP or HTTP protocol) or by using a BitTorrent client.

Downloading from the web (via FTP/HTTP)

If you choose to download from the web, you can use the main PCLinuxOS server, or choose from a list of alternative mirrors for better speed.

There are two files for each version of PCLinuxOS: the ISO file and the md5sum file. You will need both. The ISO file will be used to create the medium from which you will try or install PCLinuxOS. The md5sum file will be used to check the integrity of the ISO file you have downloaded to avoid creating a defective medium. You don’t have to download it, you only need its contents, which can be copied directly from the website.

Downloading using the BitTorrent protocol

BitTorrent provides a fast way of downloading large files by sharing bandwidth. You will need a BitTorrent client to download a torrent file. If you are new to BitTorrent, here's a very nice beginner's guide.

Advantages

* You don't have to check your download after downloading.

* BitTorrent can continue from a broken download (i.e., resume where it left off).

* Allows slower or intermittent downloads (such as users on dial-up) to do it over many days, or even weeks.

* You help take away the cost of providing download mirrors.

Disadvantages

* You have to configure your firewall to work properly.

* Download speeds are sometimes slower than downloading from the mirrors.

Verify your download

When you have finished downloading from the web, you should take an extra step to verify the file you have downloaded before creating a CD, DVD or USB. By doing this, you will ensure that the medium you will create is not defective, and that it will not lead to a corrupted installation of PCLinuxOS.

A very nice and free Windows utility for checking md5 hashes with an easy to use interface is WinMD5. You can download it from its official website: http://www.winmd5.com

You just select the ISO file you need to verify. The program scans it and displays the current Md5 checksum value. Then, you need the contents of the md5sum file corresponding to the version you downloaded. Just click on its link and you will go to a new page containing something similar to this:

1eeb3575bb9bf23b0be675b47337a841  pclinuxos-kde-2012.08.iso

Copy the first part of this line and paste it inside the program (as the original file MD5 checksum value) and click “Verify”. If everything is fine, you should get a message that the values matched. You are good to go!

Create the installation medium

Now that you have verified the downloaded ISO, you can proceed with creating the medium from which you will try or install PCLinuxOS.

You can use an optical medium (CD or DVD – depending on the edition of PCLinuxOS) or a USB flash drive.

Burning the ISO to a CD or DVD

If you are using Windows 7, then you don’t need any additional program to burn the ISO file to a disk, because Windows 7 natively supports this function. You just right-click on the file and select “Burn disc image” from the menu.

If you are using a Windows version older than Windows 7 (or you don’t like the built-in function), you can find many free programs that can be used for this purpose.

The most well known is ISO Recorder, which can be downloaded here:

http://alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

Another well known program is ImgBurn.

http://www.imgburn.com/

Of course, you may already be using your own disk burning software (commercial or free), so you will decide what is best for you. Regardless of the program you are going to use, you should remember some simple tips:

* Always use quality, brand name disks.

* Always use the lowest possible writing speed.

* Always verify the disk you have created.

Creating a bootable USB

The best way – and probably the easiest way – to create a bootable USB under Windows is to use UNetbootin.

You will find it at its official website: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

In this page you will also find a very helpful visual guide on how to use UNetbootin.

There are also two other nice utilities for creating a bootable USB available on www.pendrivelinux.com

The first one is called Universal USB Installer, and has similar function as UNetbootin mentioned earlier.

The second one is called YUMI and has a unique function: it can create a bootable USB containing more than one Linux distribution. You can use this utility to create a multiboot USB that has all the flavors of PCLinuxOS, boot from it, try them all, and decide which one is best for you.

Using a USB instead of CD or DVD has many advantages:

* A USB drive is usually faster than a CD or a DVD.

* They can be erased and used again (i.e. to try another flavor of PCLinuxOS).

* You can have many different Linux distributions in one single USB drive.

NOTE: You have to make sure that you computer is able to boot from a USB before selecting this method. Most modern desktops and laptops offer this function, but if your computer is older, you should consult your manufacturer’s manual (if it is a branded desktop or a laptop) or your motherboard’s manual (if it is a custom built computer) to see if booting from USB is supported.

How to boot your computer from a CD/DVD/USB.

To make your computer boot from removable media (CD/DVD/USB), you have to change the boot order from your BIOS. BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is software stored in a small chip inside your motherboard. BIOS instructs the computer on how to perform a number of basic functions such as booting and keyboard control, and is also used to identify and configure the hardware in a computer, such as the hard drive(s), CPU, memory, etc.

When you turn on your computer, you see a screen similar to the one below during POST (abbreviated as POST, the Power On Self Test is the initial set of diagnostic tests performed by the computer when powered on):

If you hit the DEL key, you will enter the BIOS setup utility (this key may be different, depending on your BIOS manufacturer).

You need to change the boot order and set the CD/DVD or USB first, so the computer will boot from it. Since every BIOS setup utility is different, the specifics on where the boot options may be located is different but you should look for items with names like Boot Options, Boot Order, Boot etc. Depending on the BIOS, you may have to look in sections such as Advanced BIOS Options or Other Options. Additionally, some computers (mostly laptops) have a special key (usually F12) which you can press just after POST to change the boot sequence without changing settings in the BIOS setup utility. This is what it should look like:

You select the correct device, save your settings and reboot your computer. When the computer reboots it will boot from the device you have selected.

Forum Foibles: Forum Land

MP3                             OGG

Mark's Quick Gimp Tip & Double Take

Find the answers here

Mark Szorady is a nationally syndicated cartoonist with georgetoon.com.

He blogs at georgetoon.com/blog.

Email Mark at georgetoon@gmail.com.

Getting People To Understand The Importance Of Freedom Over Convenience: Why Is It So Hard?

by Kevin Keijzer

I visited something one may call a family reunion today. Even though those who know me are likely aware of the fact that something like that is not really my style. I have nothing against the people personally, so I did my best to be friendly and polite, have some general conversations, and possibly end up getting one or two people interested in leaving the proprietary computing ecosystem and become liberated by GNU/Linux and other free software.

The usual people with whom I have such conversations about the importance of free software, (and more importantly, digital freedom) do not know very much about the subject, but are usually surprisingly willing to listen to what I have to say. Although I've come to believe that the reason for them doing so is more likely due to the fact is that I offer to bring new life to their old computers free of charge, rather than being honestly interested in the potential dangers I try to protect them from. I don't think I'll ever know their true intentions, and I try not to think about it that much; merely to avoid another major disappointment in my life.

Regardless, today I was talking with a relative who does know what he is talking about, and perhaps (or even most likely) knows more about computer-related subjects than I do. But sadly, it did not take very long for me to find out that even though he was well informed about the subject - and wasn't too shy about letting me know about that either - he still reasoned like an average computer user. He told me that he just couldn't care less about how content is presented to him, as long as it "just works". (And we all know that slogan, don't we?)

Even though American corporations like Microsoft and Apple will have full control over everything we do with our (not so very) "personal" computers, and are able to spy on us, steal our personal data, apply censorship to the applications we are allowed to run, add DRM to media content, and lock us into proprietary file formats, it was considered all right by him, as long as working with his computer would take as little effort as possible. So, basically, someone "smarter" than me is still part of the everyday ''OMG this Silverlight movie doesn't work, so GNU/Linux sucks'' crowd. As you can probably imagine, it was one of the most depressing thoughts I had in a long time, finding out that respect for two of the companies in ICT I consider to be the most evil of all time, is even present in this group of users.

Even though he acknowledged some of my very valid reasons to avoid proprietary software like the plague, he still did not consider them to outweigh the convenience of 'not worrying about anything' that proprietary operating systems have to offer. What I would really like to know is why people find convenience and making as little effort as possible so much more important than their own freedom and safety? Why would someone put their privacy and right to control something they own on the line, just so they don't have to think as much? I mean, I would really not feel comfortable running some kind of executable on my machine with root privileges, without having at least have some clue of what it does. Even though I'm not the most talented programmer out there, I can tell whenever something really isn't right. And I trust the social contract that free software has to offer, that other people will warn those who can make a difference, (such as the repository package maintainers), that something in the source code really needs review. Proprietary software offers no such possibility, (other than reverse engineering for years), and is therefore, in my opinion, defective by design, as the Free Software Foundation so accurately describes DRM; one of my other nightmares.

Anyway, back to what I was saying: I find the lack of personal control over pretty much everything we do to be disturbing. I simply do not understand why people don't want to at least try to have as much control as possible over the things they have to deal with in everyday life. I just don't see how someone can be comfortable with CEOs of huge overseas corporations deciding what we may or may not do with our own property. Why would you be fine with the FBI breaking into your house if you copy a DVD that you own for personal use, or install different software on a gaming console that you paid money for? I don't see why anyone in their right mind would agree to an end-user license agreement that explicitly states that even though you went to the store and purchased something, you are still not allowed to do anything the vendor doesn't want you to. Why would you agree that some software vendor is allowed to remove any feature they want to see disappear, even though you may rely on it, and even though you possibly even paid money for it? (Don't make me bring up the PlayStation 3 Other OS function.)

Giving up the ability to control any part of your life, particularly computers and other internet devices, which are an ever-increasing part of everyday life, feels both incredibly stupid and also seriously dangerous to me. A man named George Orwell wrote a book about what could result from that, in case things go really bad. It might be worth a read sometime.

To me, a computer is not just a tool that makes my life easier. It's also a potentially harmful factor for my personal life, my privacy and even my safety, if I don't use it with care. It may take a bit more time to run as much free software as possible, (even though the generally made assumptions are blown completely out of proportion), but it does seem worth the effort if I can prevent all kinds of bad things from happening. Why would I stand back and hope for the best? Why would I just wait until something came to bite me in the neck big time, and not just do something about it? The only reasons that I can think of are that I wouldn't be aware of all the things I just said, or that I wasn't capable of changing them myself. And that's my exact point here: for the guy I'm referring to, neither was the case. He both knew about all of this, and was most likely capable of freeing himself from it, but he still chose not to, because it would take some of his time, his effort, and his ability to view Silverlight movies.

I'm not judging him, I'm not saying he's stupid, and I really think that everyone has every right to do whatever they please. But I do think that it's a shame. I feel like he's letting himself down. I mean, if you really know a lot about a certain subject, and you like doing it, whatever it may be, why wouldn't you try everything you can to help it move forward and keep it safe, clean, and accessible for everyone? Why wouldn't you stand up and join the idealists and make a change, rather than be part of the general population which just does as ordered, and never gets anywhere? Why would you choose your own convenience over doing the right thing, and making the world a better place?

I just honestly believe that the world would be a better place without proprietary software. In my opinion, commercial ownership of non-tangible things has a negative impact on every aspect it touches. It holds back innovation; it threatens fair competition; it drives up the prices; it decreases the development rate, the safety, the flexibility, the efficiency and the overall quality.

I just don't think that viewing things from the commercial side is always the best thing to do. Of course, Microsoft and Apple have become filthy rich by what they've done, but have they done right? Have they created products that have helped humanity move forward? Maybe, but at what cost? How safe are we now compared to 40 years ago? How much control do we have over our lives compared to 40 years ago? Those things have only become much worse, as many things have become completely dependent on computers nowadays. Almost everybody is forced to use Microsoft Windows at work, for instance, no matter how badly they try to avoid it. I have to jump through quite a few hoops in order to stay completely free of Microsoft and Apple products. But, to me that's worth it, because I really believe that doing business with them is very harmful to myself, my family, and the computer technology in general. Any penny given to either one of those companies is one too many.

Then again, I don't think that I should be having to do all this. And if more people would agree with me and act upon it, none of us would. But unless more people stand up for their rights, things will never change. And that's what bothers me the most. What have we become? Why are we all such sheep nowadays? People used to protest against everything; universal suffrage, women’s rights, gay rights, abortion, the Vietnam war, nuclear plants, you name it. But now, on a subject that involves and threatens billions of people, we do nothing. No one seems to care. No one seems to even think about it. No one even takes the time.

Kevin Keijzer is a free software advocate and GNU/Linux user who lives in Ridderkerk, Netherlands. His stated goal is to persuade as many people as possible into ditching their proprietary software, in favor of free and open source software. You can frequently find posts expressing his advocacy on Google

Setting Up A Network File System (NFS)

by youcantoo

Requirements:

We are going to assume that you have a fully updated version of PCLinuxOS installed and updated.

In addition, you need the following files:

unionfs-tools-1.4-1pclos2007

nfs-utils-clients-1.2.3-3pclos2011

nfs-utils-1.2.3-3pclos2011

libnfsidmap0-0.23-2pclos2010

You can check your system to see if the NFS files are already installed.

Open a console window and enter the following command:

rpm -qa | grep nfs

If they are there, you should see something like this:

[dwmoar@localhost ~]$ rpm -qa | grep nfs

unionfs-tools-1.4-1pclos2007

nfs-utils-clients-1.2.3-3pclos2011

nfs-utils-1.2.3-3pclos2011

libnfsidmap0-0.23-2pclos2010

[dwmoar@localhost ~]$

If you have the files already  installed, good. If not open Synaptic and install the missing files.

Setting up NSF

Open PCC (PCLinuxOS Control Center).

Select "Network Sharing," and then select "Share Drives and Directories using NFS."

Now we want to add the directory(s) we want to share, and with whom we want to share with. So click on "ADD," and you should see a window like this:

Now add the directory that you are wanting to share. In my example, it is home/dwmoar/Pictures.

Now click ok and you should see something like this.

Now click "OK" again and you should be returned back to the main PCC screen.

Select "Network and Internet” and then under others select "Hosts definitions"

Now click on add. You should be greeted with the following dialog box.

We need to add the ip address of each and every machine that you wish to share files with. In my case, I want to share with my laptop, so I would enter the following information.

Enter your ip address and the alias name or domain of machine that you want to share information with. When you have entered the information, press OK. You will be returned to the Hosts Definitions screen. At the bottom of the list, you should see the new machine that you have added.

NOTE: the above step MUST BE done for each and every machine that you want to share information with.

When you have finished, add the machines you want, then press OK. You will then be back to the main PCC screen.

Now select "Local Disks" and then select "Share your hard disk partitions"

The screen will will show three options. We will use the default selection, "Allow all users." Click OK.

You will now see the “Share your hard disk partitions” screen. Again, we will select the default.

Once more, click OK. We will be returned to the main PCC screen.

Once again, click on "Network Sharing," and this time select "Access NFS shared drives and directories.” You then will see the “Access NFS shared drive and directories" screen. At this point, it will be empty.

Click on "Search servers" button. Be patient, as this might take a little time. When it has found all your NFS devices, it will display them, as in my example.

You can see more information on your NFS device by clicking on the name or the ip address.

You can specify where you want the NFS directory to be mounted on the local machine by clicking on the "Mount Point" button at the bottom of the window.

In my case, I am going to select the default directory of "/mnt/Pictures"

The NFS folder is not mounted yet. At this point, you must click the "Mount" button at the bottom of the screen. Note that the icon next to the mount point will change from a lightning bolt to a connected plug once mounted

Once everything is to your liking, press the "Done" button at the bottom of the screen. If you want the NFS to be mounted automatically each time you start your machine, you will need to make sure that you save the information to the fstab. Click "YES."

Once again, you will be returned to the main PCC screen. Now, click on the "Share drive and directories using NFS." If all goes well, you should see a dialog box saying "Starting the NFS-server," and after a few seconds, you should see something like this:

Congratulations! You should now have a NFS share working on your system.

As in my example the NFS share was set for the mount point "/mnt/Pictures". If I browse to the folder "/mnt/Pictures", I should see all my pictures[a].

Festive Foibler: YouCanToo

2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: Paul's Picks

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

During this time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the holiday gift giving experience. Hopefully, you’ll be on the receiving end. So what about your favorite PCLinuxOS user that you may want to buy holiday gifts for?

Once again, it’s time for the annual PCLinuxOS Magazine Holiday Gift Guide. This year, three of us – ms_meme, Meemaw and I – are going to give you some holiday gift suggestions that any PCLinuxOS user would enjoy. Meemaw and I are going to pick out 10 gift suggestions. Coupled with ms_meme’s six gift suggestions, this will give you a total of 26 suggestions to pick from.

So, without any further adieu, here are my holiday gift suggestions for the 2012 holiday season. The items listed below were available at the time that this article was written, and the quoted prices were current at that time, as well. Prices are subject to change over the weeks before the holidays.

OCZ Onyx Series OCZSSD2-1ONX32G 2.5" 32GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) – Newegg.com, $49.99

From personal experience, aside from having plenty of RAM and a fast processor, there’s not much else that will improve the performance of your PCLinuxOS system than the addition of a solid state drive (SSD). As you may recall, I installed this very drive in my new desktop computer build that I wrote about in the February 2012 issue of The PCLinuxOS Magazine. I used the entire drive as my / directory. As a result, my boot time is around 10 - 12 seconds.

Believe me when I tell you that there is nothing special you need to do to prepare a SSD for use. All I did was format it with the ext4 file system, and I installed PCLinuxOS. (My /home directory is on one of four partitions on a 2 TiB conventional SATA II hard drive). It literally was that simple. It has been an outstanding performer ever since.

ICY DOCK MB990SP-B Dual Bay 2.5" to 3.5" SATA/IDE SSD & Hard Drive Bracket / Adapter – Newegg.com, $12.99

Of course, if you’re going to try to insert a 2.5” SSD into a desktop, you’ll need a hard drive adapter to fit it securely into a 3.5” space. That’s where the ICY DOCK adapter comes in. Sure, there are other adapters that are cheaper, but the price of this is very reasonable, and it makes the insertion of that 2.5” SSD into a 3.5” hard drive space a cinch. In fact, you can place two 2.5” drives into the space used by one 3.5” hard drive.

Installation is easy. The 2.5” drive clips into either the upper or lower caddy. Then, you simply press the lever on the right side, slide it into the 3.5” drive bay, and release the lever. The pins on the side of the adapter lock it into place. No screws. No tools. No hassles.

TP-LINK TL-WDR3500 N600 Wireless Dual Band Router IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n – Newegg.com, $50.99

Most anyone who spends any amount of time on the internet (and who doesn’t, these days?) would love to be able to get “things” done faster and better (again, who wouldn’t?). Recent advances in wireless network speeds may have made your favorite PCLinuxOS user’s wireless router slow, inefficient and practically obsolete. While their current router may be keeping up with low-level networking tasks, it is most likely showing its age when it comes to its ability to stream high definition video feeds.

With today’s wide range of devices that connect to the internet – PCs, tablets, E-Book readers, smart phones, BluRay players, etc. – and with such things as high definition video feeds (YouTube, Hulu, Vumu, Netflix, etc.) becoming increasingly viewed in the home, it may be time to upgrade your wireless router to one that is more capable of meeting those increasing demands on your wireless signal.

This router is not only affordably priced, but it also provides a 802.11n 600 Mb/s wireless connection that is more than capable of streaming 1080p high definition video. With a new router, your favorite PCLinuxOS user may be able to “cut the cord” with the local cable television company, and save some serious money by streaming all of his/her favorite shows.

Nikon Coolpix L26 Black 16.1 MP 5X Optical Zoom Wide Angle Digital Camera – Newegg.com, $85.94

When it comes to a point and shoot digital camera – in fact, when it comes to any camera – it’s hard to beat the high quality glass that Nikkor lenses are made from. Of course, to get to use Nikkor lenses, you have to use Nikon camera.

It’s no secret that I (in what seems like a distant former life) used to be a professional newspaper photographer. Even back then, Nikon had the reputation of having the best “glass” (slang term we used for lenses) around. In fact, the difference was so remarkable that I could look at black and white negatives and tell you if it was shot with a Nikon (I still can, by the way).

This camera comes packed with excellent features: a 5x optical zoom (with an additional 4x digital zoom … focal length of optics is 4.6 mm to 23 mm, a 35 mm camera equivalent of from a 26 mm wide angle lens to a 130 mm moderate telephoto lens), 16.1 Megapixel resolution, a 3” LCD screen, an image stabilization system (for helping eliminate camera shake), recording HD movies in 720p resolution, 19 special “scene” modes, uses readily available SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, and uses only two AA batteries as its power source.

The latter feature is a HUGE benefit, in my opinion. For a while, camera manufacturers were drifting towards using standard size batteries to power their camera. Now, the pendulum is swinging back the other way, towards using proprietary Li-ion batteries. Let’s say you’re out in the middle of nowhere – biking or hiking – and your batteries start to fail. With a Li-ion battery, you have to be somewhere near another power source to recharge your proprietary battery. Don’t think for a second that you can just go buy another one (remember, you’re out in the middle of nowhere). Even if you could, that proprietary battery will probably cost you $50 or more – and most likely not have a full charge.

Yet, since this camera uses standard AA batteries, not only can you carry spares, you can buy more when you get back to even the most remote outpost. Also, you can use rechargeable Li-ion or NiMH AA batteries, to further reduce your battery costs. I use NiMH rechargeable batteries, and carry along several alkaline AA batteries as backup spares. When I buy a camera, my first choice is to always to buy cameras that use readily available standard size batteries.

Dolica WT-1003 Floor Standing Monopod – Newegg.com, $19.99

I know … when you think about ways to stabilize your camera and minimize camera movement – especially at slow shutter speeds – most people immediately think of a tripod. Take a word of advice from a former professional photographer (me). Tripods aren’t always the answer, nor are they the only answer. Often times, a tripod is just plain impractical. You can’t set them up on the sidelines of an American football game, for example. Or, if you’re on a cruise ship and trying to shoot pictures at slow shutter speeds, a tripod transmits the ship’s vibrations up three legs, effectively amplifying those vibrations. Meanwhile, a monopod transmits less of those vibrations to your camera, through its single leg.

You will be amazed at how well a monopod helps to stabilize your camera (especially if you’ve never used one before). Plus, a monopod is much smaller, lighter and less bulky to carry than a tripod. As an added benefit, it can also be used as a walking stick, if you’re hiking.

Simply thread the screw on the top of the monopod into your camera’s tripod socket (by turning the monopod). This aluminum monopod, fully collapsed, is only 21.3” in length. Yet, when fully extended, it reaches a height of 67” (5’ 7”). It also comes with a carrying pouch, complete with a shoulder strap.

SpillNot No-Spill Mug Holder – ThinkGeek.com, $13.99

We know how many PCLinuxOS users just LOVE their coffee. Isn’t is just a crime when the cup is so full that we spill drops of that precious black gold? With the SpillNot No-Spill Mug Holder, you can say goodbye to crying over spilled coffee.

Simply place your full cup of coffee (or other beverage) on the platform of the mug holder. Then, carry it about with the strap. When you walk, you create horizontal force, causing the side of the cup to press against the liquid, which then rises up and over the edge of the cup. The flexible loop handle of SpillNot cannot deliver a lateral acceleration to the saucer or the cup. As the handle moves horizontally, the saucer and cup swing up slightly in the opposite direction, balancing everything out so the liquid stays in the cup.

Because of this – ruled by the laws of physics – you can even swing the mug holder, complete with a full mug of your favorite beverage, over your head in a circular pattern and never spill one precious drop.

Root Beer Brewing Kit – ThinkGeek.com, $26.99

Set your favorite PCLinuxOS user up with a kit that allows them to brew their own beer … root beer, that is. Unlike the heavily carbonated stuff you buy in the grocery store, this root beer is more reminiscent of the smooth, creamy root beer of days past.

This kit contains all the ingredients (except for the two different kinds of sugar, which you need to provide) to make two one gallon batches of home brewed root beer. Once bottled, it is ready to be consumed three days later. Just note that this homemade brew, due to the carbonation process, will contain trace amounts of alcohol: approximately ½ of 1% alcohol by volume.

Luminglass – ThinkGeek.com, $39.99

Now, you can own your very own Luminglass Lightning Storm disc, exactly like the one first seen in the “Star Trek: First Contact” movie. Makes a perfect gift for any PCLinuxOS Trekker. Plug it in, and watch as lighting mysteriously dances inside a disk of glass that's less than a quarter-inch thick! Create everything from a delicate tapestry of spider webs, to a powerful lightning storm! Luminglass also features a sound-responsive mode which, when used with your voice or music, creates a pulsating rhythm of light that will dazzle the senses. AC adapter included, and it is wall-mountable.

Large PCLinuxOS Mug – PCLinuxOS Store on CafePress.com, $15.99

What self-respecting PCLinuxOS user wouldn’t want to have this large, premium mug to drink their favorite coffee or tea from? Made from ceramic, this mug has a whopping 15 ounce (444 ml) capacity, and measures 4.5 inches tall and 3.25 inches in diameter. The mug is microwave and dishwasher safe. Plus, it has been officially approved by Neal ManBear.

PCLinuxOS Sticker – PCLinuxOS Store on CafePress.com, $3.99 each

Help your favorite PCLinuxOS user show their pride for their amazing choice in operating systems! Get them this sticker that proudly proclaims them a PCLinuxOS user, and helps them spread the word about PCLinuxOS.

Cover up that Dell or HP emblem on that laptop lid. Place one on the bumper or in the back window of your car. Measuring 3 x 5 inches, the sticker is available either in a rectangular or oval.

2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: Meemaw's Picks

by Meemaw

Wow! December, and the holidays are almost here!

We all have friends and families with large assortments of likes and dislikes. As a result, shopping for many of us is most challenging. However, I have found several interesting gifts for a wide range of people. If you are having trouble picking out something for a friend or relative, maybe one of these will be the right gift.

Just as parnote said in his gift list, the items listed below were available at the time that this article was written, and the quoted prices were current at that time, as well. Prices are subject to change over the weeks before the holidays.

I used to get a catalog from a company called Bits and Pieces. While I don’t get a catalog any more, the company does have a website. I loved looking at the jigsaw puzzles, game books  and brain teasers, and bought a few things. They have quite a few interesting items.

Mini Desk Vacuum      $ 14.99

Most of us just use ‘canned air’ to clean out our keyboards, but this will reach more areas and suck the dirt out rather than blowing it in farther. Needs 2 AA batteries.

3D Jigsaw Puzzle - Neuschwanstein Castle          $ 9.99

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy jigsaw puzzles. This one is a little different as it makes a large 3D model of the building rather than just a photo. These used to be more expensive and now seem to be on sale.

Relaxing Star Projector     $ 19.99

Not only does this project a star simulation on your walls and ceiling, it also plays a variety of nature sounds to relax you.   Needs 3 AA batteries.

Time Pyramid        $ 19.99

This is a cool clock! The hour and minute sections rotate so it looks different all the time. The site says it is a perfect pyramid every four hours.

Weather Station Keychain   $ 14.99

This gadget features the time, a weather forecast display with temperature and humidity, a compass, an alarm clock with snooze, calendar with date, day and year, and even a flashlight. It attaches to your belt with a carabiner. Needs 2 button-type batteries.

Another site for fun gifts is Computer Gear. They have t-shirts, toys and gadgets.

Big Bang Theory T-Shirt  $ 21.00 - $ 23.00

I love the television show, Big Bang Theory. You can get bobble-head dolls and several t-shirts. If you watch the show you know this is the flow chart that Sheldon drew to outline a method for making new friends.

LED Snowflakes    $ 49.99 on sale

This Snowflakes LED Light Set is a decoration some people might not have. They mount to surfaces with suction cups or hung on the tree, change color from blue to white and back, and can turn on automatically after being programmed. Each one needs one button-type battery.

Another site I visit is Land’s End. Besides clothing, this site has a number of other products.

Double Canvas Wine Tote   $ 25.00

If you like wine or are looking for something to give someone who does, this is a good-looking tote which holds two bottles. You can order it with “Mine” and “Yours” as shown above, or with “White” & “Red”, “His” & “Hers” or “Mine” & “Mine.” Made from sturdy canvas.

Polartec Fleece Throw      Land’s End.com  $ 29.50

This is a 72” x 50” Polartec fleece throw that comes in several colors, and, for a little extra, can be personalized with the monogram of your choice.

LEGO Imperial Shuttle Kit    Newegg.com  $ 27.38

My grandson loves Legos! Newegg has a bunch of kits for sale, and your youngster has a variety of things he or she can build. The set above is for a Star Wars Imperial Shuttle. After it is built, the wings are moveable.

I hope your gift hunt is fun and successful!

2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: ms_meme's Picks

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A Little WINE Is Good

by Jared Steer (Jalbindi)

A long time ago, on a computer far, far away, I used to use Windows XP. There, I said it. I’m not proud of the fact, and I really hate touching those computers. But, that’s life. Changing to Linux was a breath of fresh air for me. Personally, I don’t use Windows-based software much. There are a few programs I have to use which are only developed for Windows, and I can’t change that. However, what I can change is the way in which I use those programs. For some time, I would dual-boot, which kinda seemed ok. I mean, it really was just a make-do option, because I was afraid of what might happen to my computer if I were to get rid of Windows completely, and venture into the Linux realm where something might go wrong. And then what? No customer support for me there... Which, to be honest, I wouldn’t have used with Windows, anyway. So, I never understood why I was getting bent out of shape.

I came across a piece of “Software”  during my ventures into Linux that had caught my interest. It is called WINE, an acronym for Wine Is Not an Emulator. At its core, it’s an API layer that enables a Windows environment to exist, self-contained within the Linux distro, without the user needing to install a full version of the Windows OS. It eliminates the need for installing  VMWare, or any other virtual machine software, such as VirtualBox or Qemu. To my surprise, some of the Windows software I initially ran on WINE worked pretty well, and without much trouble. Could this be the solution? Well, yes and no. At the time, I could run some things, but not others. WINE was at version 1.2 stable release and 1.3 development release. So I jumped onto the development bandwagon, rolled my sleeves up and decided to help as a Super Maintainer in the App Database (AppDB for short). And, there I’ve been ever since. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I ditched Windows years ago, and have a fully fledged Linux all-in-one desktop system running PCLInuxOS!

WINE in general

As part of my commitment to help shape the world around me and convince people that Linux is the only choice for them. I try and help them to understand what WINE can and can’t do. WINE can run popular software. If you want to play World of Warcraft or Command and Conquer 3, then there’s a fairly good chance you can do that without much hitch. This, of course, all depends on the repositories you use. A lot of distros will always have the stable release version, (1.4 as of this date), which has come a long way from the 1.2 version I began with. (And don’t get me started about WINE on OSX, which is way behind the times). However, it won’t run everything.

The software that is the most popular are PC video games and programs that use a lot of computer resources, such as CPU, memory and graphics rendering. MMORPGs are pretty popular, too. EVE Online and World of Warcraft are pretty popular games for people to play in WINE. If you want to venture into more DRM territory, Steam in WINE is also a stable running piece of software. For me, I try and avoid them. (Maybe not EVE, but who wouldn’t want to fly around in space!).

To help you understand the various color charts that appear in the AppDB, I will help you by listing them. It is important for you to understand what they represent, because it gives you a good gauge on how far the development of that software is in WINE, and whether or not you should refrain from installing a program in WINE for a bit longer.

Variety is the spice of WINE

To help you understand the development of software, the AppDB has a series of designations which guide you into knowing how well it will work. These are:

Platinum

Platinum marked software means that when you install the software in WINE, it will work flawlessly out-of-the-box. Whatever you expect the software to do in Windows, it will do in WINE. These are the best to run because you know you’ll not have any problems either in the stable or development release.

Gold

Gold marked software means that you can install the software in WINE and it will work the way it is intended to, but you may have to configure WINE first. The configurations can vary. Sometimes it’s a simple thing like typing out a command for WINE to run the software in a certain way. Sometimes it’s a little more complex. The end result, if you follow the guidelines, should give you the desired output.

Silver

My favorite, when I’m in the mood, because it means I get to troubleshoot! Silver marked software means you can install the software, but there will be minor issues involved. Typically, in my experience, it can involve DLL files, pathway problems, or additional configuration. Maybe even configuration of WINE in regards to ALSA and graphics. A lot of users just want their software to run, and understandably so. Unfortunately, software in this category might not be so easy to develop. But it is getting there!

Bronze

My second favorite, because the software might install, but chances are it won’t render graphics properly, or won’t render fonts, or even render fonts in the right color. It might be missing a bunch of stuff that the program would normally need to work. The software might also run a lot slower than it ought to. (More on that later).

Garbage

Basically... it’s a trash program. The program won’t install, or it might install and not run properly, or it might not render anything. It may contain so many bugs it’s impossible to run it any way you want. Usually, bug reports are made to try and resolve these issues, because we don’t want software to be trash.  But, sometimes it might be a piece of software nobody has submitted into the AppDB.

Word of Caution

A few words of caution should be applied here. WINE will not run software with the same frames per second as it would natively on Windows. That’s because WINE isn’t Windows: it’s an API layer that allows Windows software to run. So if you’re after a fast paced First Person Shooter, you might find yourself moving slower than other players.

WINE is also susceptible to malware. Remember, you are running Windows software. If it’s an .exe extension and it’s from a dodgy website, the chances are it’s a trojan or virus. That means you can infect WINE with it and cause untold problems for yourself. So my advice is, unless it’s from a website you absolutely know and trust, use physical mediums such as CDs or DVDs to install the software, because you can be relatively sure the software is free of such things.

WINE also doesn’t work the same way in every distro. For example, a distro with lower security features might not find it difficult running certain software that would otherwise require a firewall. Other distros might have WINE pre-installed in such a way that it causes certain problems for software that should otherwise work ok. This is normal, and there are workarounds for it, which leads me to...

WINE in PCLinuxOS

As part of my tenure with the PCLinuxOS community I will be writing articles relating to the woes you have using WINE. The version of WINE in the PCLOS repository is the 1.4 stable release. I will work with that release to help troubleshoot some common problems you might face, and highlight some tips you can remember to arm yourself in using WINE. I will also highlight certain software on the AppDB that works flawlessly, that you might enjoy, and some of the risks with some of the software that is used in WINE.

ms_meme's Nook: I'll Be In The Forum For The Holidays

MP3                 OGG

Connecting Your Computer To Your TV

by rm

According to the Financial Times, “US broadcast networks are suffering a precipitous drop in television ratings” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/549b10da-2c1f-11e2-8582-00144feabdc0.html). Interestingly, the same report says that the reason for this is not that people are watching less TV. What is happening is that people are “viewing shows via digital recorders, on-demand videos and online streaming to computers and mobile devices”. Are you part of this trend yet?

Connecting your computer to the TV has many advantages. For example, if you have a collection of DVD movies, you can back them up to the computer to preserve them and enjoy them anytime you want, without even having to get up and insert the media every time. You can also browse the Internet from the comfort of your couch. You can enjoy video streaming from sites such as Youtube[a], Hulu, etc., which has the added benefit of allowing you to enjoy much better content than what is normally available on the TV networks. For example, there are some excellent documentaries available through Hulu.com that you can watch at any time, for free. Also, there are some very informative websites providing news about important current events, sometimes from angles that network news programs rarely, or never, present. One thing I like to do when having friends over is to set AmaroK or Clementine to play some pleasant music and display my photography collection through digiKam as a continuous full screen slide show that people can turn to from time to time. This creates conversation opportunities, but allows the gathering to switch away their attention in other directions at any time. Nice, eh?

So what do you need to set this up? Well, it depends on what you want to accomplish. If, for example, all you want is to use your TV as a monitor, likely all you need is a TV with a VGA input port. Most modern TVs have one. You could use standard computer speakers with this setup, or run an audio cable from your computer’s audio card to the TV's auxiliary audio port. I am sure many people can go this very simple route. Unfortunately, this type of setup is likely not going to maximize the quality of video or sound that your computer is able to generate.

Modern TV’s are able to display HD quality video in different resolutions, 1080p being the golden standard at the moment. That resolution is higher than what standard DVD movies are able to deliver. You would need to buy Blu-ray movies if you wanted to see them at 1080p resolution. And of course you would need to have a Blu-ray drive to be able to play them (unless you are able to RIP them with another computer to a high resolution file first). Additionally, you would need to have a graphics card that is able to output 1080p resolution, the appropriate computer drivers for it, and a connection between the computer and the TV that delivers the full 1080p resolution. If any of those steps is missing you will not be able to enjoy full resolution video.

Sound quality can also be a big factor in your enjoyment of certain media. Most movies these days come with high quality Dolby 5.1 sound. To explain this in simple terms, think of the difference between stereo sound and monaural sound. If you have ever listened to stereo music using a set of headphones you likely noticed that some sounds are only heard (or are more prominent) in one side of the headphones, while other sounds appear to be coming only from the other side. Well, with a 5.1 sound system you will have sounds coming from 5 different speakers, giving you a 3D sound sensation, plus incredible, earthquake level, base. To achieve high quality sound from your computer, as with the video, you need to have the full 5.1 quality through the full path, from the sound card, drivers, etc., all the way to the speakers.

Back of editor’s TV.

To make matters worse, you are probably going to want other devices connected to the TV as well. For example, you may have a VCR (yes, some of us still have them), a DVD player, a Blu-ray player, a cable TV connection, and who knows what else. And believe me, trying to connect and disconnect each device whenever you want to switch from one to the other is going to get old fast. Because of that, many people opt to have a “receiver”. A receiver is a device that is able to receive audio and video connections from different devices and route the output appropriately. Of course, there are many types of receivers at different price points. Make sure that you get one with the right number and type of inputs that you want to send to it. I got an Onkyo receiver and have been very pleased with it. A great website to go to for information on this subject is http://www.avsforum.com/. Also, while I am at it, a great place to get cables at good prices is http://www.monoprice.com/. Avoid the temptation to just go to RadioShack. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ok, we are almost done. If your modem/router is not located on the living room, you may want to add a WiFi network card to your PC. The faster your Internet connection, the better your streaming video experience will be. And, finally, a very important piece is a good wireless keyboard mouse device. The one I have is called “IOGEAR Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel” and I have been very happy with it.

Now, what does all this have to do with Linux and PCLinuxOS in particular? Well, that just happens to be the OS I have chosen for my TV connected PC. Of course you can use just about any operating system to connect your PC to your TV/Sound system, but I have found that PCLinuxOS offers me a few advantages. First of all, PCLinuxOS has all the drivers I need to run my hardware. For example, I am able to take advantage of the high quality Digital Audio Output of my sound card almost out of the box. The only configuration I had to do was to go into “Configure Your Desktop”, go to the Hardware section and select “Multimedia”. Once there I selected the Phonon icon. This allows you to select the Audio device you want to use to output sound for each category of application. For some reason (probably for compatibility sake) the default device was the Analog device. Since I am using the optical (digital) output of my sound card, I had to check the “Show advanced devices” checkbox to be able to see the Digital Audio Output listed. Once that was done, I made sure this was the output used for the Music, Video, and Games categories of the Audio Playback section. After restarting KDE, I was able to enjoy beautifully crisp digital audio from my 5.1 setup.

One thing that is really nice with PCLinuxOS, besides the easy hardware configuration, is the plethora of great multimedia software available on its repositories. For example, I have found dvdrip to be the nicest/easiest way to get good quality backups of my DVD collection. Getting dvdrip going with another distro that I like to use proved to be quite a challenge, and that is a strong reason for me having chosen to stay with PCLinuxOS for this machine, in spite of not yet having a 64 bit release.

And finally, one feature of KDE that makes it ideal for a living room PC is the Zoom desktop effect. This effect allows one to temporarily enlarge the items being displayed by pressing a couple of keyboard keys (Win and +). This is very useful for reading small text on any application or on any part of the screen. To return to normal size just use the Win key and the “0” key. Very, very useful.

Inside of a HTPC. Image from Wikimedia.

By the way, don't think you need a supercomputer to accomplish this. I purchased my computer refurbished a couple of years ago. It originally had Windows Vista as the OS. That didn't last long. But it came with a decent integrated High Definition Audio sound card, a decent NVIDIA graphics card with DVI outputs (I just bought a $2 DVI to HDMI adapter from monoprice), and a few other nice specs, all for $402.78. I have a feeling that today one can do even better than that. In other words, it doesn't take much to get your PC home theater ready. For a true home theater experience, the most expensive parts are going to be the speakers and the receiver. Of course if you want one of those huge TVs on the market now, that will cost you dearly as well, but you do not really need one that big for an average size living room. But, make sure you do your research first before buying any of those parts. Hint: Bose is likely not what you will want to get.

Of course, there is a lot more that can be said about what you can do with a PC connected to your TV/Home theater. I just hope that if you have been thinking about what it would take to hook up your computer to your TV, this little write-up proves to be of help to you

OMNI: What's Old Is New Again

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

Back in October, 1978, a new magazine was launched, delivering a mix of articles covering science fact and science fiction. It contained, among other things, writings from Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, two of the all time great authors in the science fiction genre. By providing a healthy dose of science discussion and science fiction entertainment to tantalize our creative neurons, OMNI magazine quickly became a hit.

OMNI magazine was originally launched by Kathy Keeton, the long time companion and subsequent wife of Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse magazine. Guccione also served as the editor and design consultant for OMNI. Keeton described the first issue as, “an original if not controversial mixture of science fact, fiction, fantasy and the paranormal.”

Sadly, OMNI’s print edition ended with the Winter 1995 issue. An online version of the magazine continued until 1998. During its run, OMNI also featured stories from such prominent writers as Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson, and George R.R. Martin. OMNI targeted “educated but non-technical” readers, riding a wave of new science magazines.

Recently, the Internet Archive released all 205 items in the OMNI collection – including the “Best Of OMNI” collections of science fiction – for free download for all internet users. You can view the collection online, or you can download each issue as either a PDF, EPUB or Kindle MOBI files.

Once again, you can recapture the joy of reading the contents of OMNI, but now within the newer, digital realm of your computer or ebook reader. If you’ve never read OMNI, then you’re in for a treat as you discover this gem for the first time. Whatever the case, it’s there and available. All you have to do is download it.

Screenshot Showcase

Crow 11/20/12 LXDE

agmg 11/01/12 KDE4

cstrike77 11/01/12 kde4

Ferdes-Fides 11/04/12 lxde

Meemaw 11/21/12 Xfce

RobNJ 11/10/12 kde4

YouCanToo 11/01/12 kde4

ferry_th 11/15/12 kde4

parnote 11/11/12 kde4

krigga 11/05/12 kde4

Disclaimer

1. All the contents of the NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine are only for general information and/or use. Such contents do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any decision. Any specific advice or replies to queries in any part of the magazine is/are the personal opinion of such experts/consultants/persons and are not subscribed to by the NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine.

2. The information in the NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is provided on an "AS IS" basis, and all warranties, expressed or implied of any kind, regarding any matter pertaining to any information, advice or replies are disclaimed and excluded.

3. The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine and its associates shall not be liable, at any time for damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of any kind) arising in contract, tort or otherwise from the use of or inability to use the magazine, or any of its contents, or from any action taken (or refrained from being taken) as a result of using the magazine or any such contents or for any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to, alteration of, or use of information contained on the magazine.

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A majority of sections in the magazine contain materials submitted by users. The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine accepts no responsibility for the content, accuracy, and conformity to applicable laws of such material.

Entire Agreement

These terms constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter.

Table of Contents

Graphics Tutorials: Gimp, Part 6

Welcome From The Chief Editor

exwintech Passes On ... R.I.P.

Graphics Tutorials: Gimp, Part 6

Windows Migration: Welcome To Linux. Welcome To PCLinuxOS!

Windows Migration: Download, Verify, and Create A LiveCD or USB

Forum Foibles: Forum Land

Mark's Quick Gimp Tip & Double Take

Getting People To Understand The Importance Of Freedom Over Convenience: Why Is

Setting Up A Network File System (NFS)

Festive Foibler: YouCanToo

2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: Paul's Picks

2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: Meemaw's Picks

2012 Annual Holiday Gift Guide: ms_meme's Picks

A Little WINE Is Good

ms_meme's Nook: I'll Be In The Forum For The Holidays

Connecting Your Computer To Your TV

OMNI: What's Old Is New Again

Screenshot Showcase

Disclaimer

Find the answers here