I saw the news item, “Lenovo halts online sales of Linux-based PCs,” and just wondered what the real scoop is.

“Our commitment to Linux has not changed,” said Gorman in an e-mail to Computerworld. “What’s changed is that customers will no longer be able to order Lenovo ThinkPads and ThinkCentres with pre-installed Linux via the lenovo.com Web site.”

Hmmmm. So the spokesman went on to say that Lenovo will no longer be offering pre-installed Linux via its online sales because they weren’t hitting “big enough numbers.” How few does it have to be to make it not worth your effort to supply to consumers?

Is this something to take at face value, or does anyone have any conspiracy theories?

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Chrome hasn’t been out for even a month and already features are starting to creep into the road maps of other browsers.

I have to admit I installed Chrome (in order to create some Techrepublic content for it) and kicked the tires. And even more so I have to admit I was impressed with the beta offering from Google. It had a lot of issues (primarily that of CPU/Memory consumption), but it also had a lot of really great features. One feature, Incognito, really piqued my interest. This browsing mode basically didn’t leave a trace of your browsing. Naturally the computing world latched onto this, and now Firefox is planning on adding a Privacy Mode to the 3.1 release.

What really surprised me about this was when I discovered that Firefox is the last of all the major browsers to have a privacy mode. This took me off guard because, well, this is a feature that speaks to geeks in their native tongue…privacy. So why did it take so long? For a browser that claims to lead the pack on features, how could they overlook something like this? It turns out the privacy mode was supposed to be included in version 3.0 but it just didn’t make the final cut when all was said and done. Safari has enjoyed a privacy mode since as early as June 2007. Chrome followed suit on its beta release in September 2008. Internet explorer will release IE8 beta 2 with a privacy mode. And then along comes Firefox.

I’ve always bragged about how Firefox is always ahead of the curve when it comes to features. But this time it’s behind. Of course that doesn’t mean that the Firefox privacy mode won’t win a game of “anything you can do, I can do better” with the other browsers. In fact, look at the proposed privacy mode features:

• Discard all cookies acquired during the private session.
• Not record sites visited to the browser’s history.
• Not auto-fill passwords, and not prompt the user to save passwords.
• Remove all downloads done during the session from the browser’s download manager.

That list pretty much follows in the tracks of the others. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that says, “Firefox one-upped the competition yet again.”

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But I guess we can’t always expect Firefox to stay ahead of the curve. There are going to be moments when our favorite open source browser gets caught with its proverbial pants down. And I supposed we should just be happy that this feature is finally going to arrive. Now Firefox users won’t have to worry so much when browsing on a public machine…so long as those administering the public browsers allow privacy mode to be active.

Ultimately though I am wondering why Firefox was caught lagging behind with this particular feature. As I said, the dev team wanted this feature in 3.0 but during a meeting on January 23, 2008, they realized there were too many major bugs that had to be dealt with before adding a new feature. This was probably smart. Instead of taking the Microsoft route of tossing in new features before the old features were solid, Firefox opted for the high road.

Of course, in the true open source fashion, there are ways. Take for instance the Stealther extension for Firefox. This extension adds some of the privacy features that the privacy mode will add. And this extension came to life September 29th, 2005. So maybe Firefox wasn’t as far behind as I initially thought. Maybe, just maybe, the whole privacy mode browsing was born (from the other browsers) from this one extension that has been bringing a modicum of privacy to Firefox for nearly three years.

It seems there are a lot of features (in various guises) that can be traced back to earlier open source inspirations. But open source really falls short with PR. The open source community develops something great and either Microsoft or Apple (and now Google) steals it and spins it with their great PR and marketing so it seems as if the open source community is playing catch-up once again.

It is my opinion that the open source community needs a much louder voice. And with this louder voice it needs to do a much better job of patting itself on the back so features like stealth browsing can be credited to the right group or person (in this case, Filip Bozic).

So, is Firefox really playing catch up? Or is this yet another shining example of bigger companies playing “stealth mode” with the truth? Will we ever know?

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Using loops, you can take often-used commands that would normally be executed in sequence manually, and have them done automatically. Vincent Danen tells you what you need to know about getting started with loops.

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Creating complex commands on the command-line can be challenging the first time, but is worth the invested effort. One aid that assists in creating complex commands is loops. Using loops, you can take often-used commands that would normally be executed in sequence manually, and have them done automatically. This is perhaps one of the most useful features in command-line usage other than perhaps piping output from one command as input to another, or redirecting output of commands.

The use of loops and if/else statements will be familiar to anyone who has done any kind of programming. And while these loops can be used in shell scripts, they can also be used on the command-line itself. For instance, often I find myself executing the same command over again, but with a slight variation in arguments. Instead of executing the command once, hitting the up arrow when it’s completed, and changing one option, this can be automated to execute any number of commands in a row. It can also take advantage of using the output of other commands as input to constructing the loop.

For example, if you need to execute the same script with a varying argument, you could use:

$ for i in i586 x86_64; do seciurt 2008.1 $i foo.src.rpm; done

This command will call the seciurt script twice, the first time as seciurt 2008.1 i586 foo.src.rpm and the second time as seciurt 2008.1 x86_64 foo.src.rpm. In an instance where two arguments need to be changed in a logical format (i.e., calling seciurt to rebuild a src.rpm file for multiple distributions with the same two supported architectures), you would use:

$ for x in 2008.1 2008.0 2007.1; do for i in i586 x86_64; do seciurt $x $i foo-1.0-${x}.src.rpm; done; done

This calls seciurt six times; the first time would be as seciurt 2008.1 i586 foo-1.0-2008.1.src.rpm and the last time as seciurt 2007.1 x86_64 foo-1.0-2007.1.src.rpm. You will note that the variable $x is used two ways: $x and ${x}. The second is required to be called in that manner because there is no whitespace surrounding it and as such will match foo-1.0- instead of foo-1.0-2007.1.src.rpm, which can be seen by executing the following test:

$ touch foo1foo

$ x=1; ls foo$xfoo

ls: cannot access foo: No such file or directory

$ x=1; ls foo${x}foo

foo1foo

Remembering this “escaping” of variables can make for some very interesting CLI commands. The ability to nest loops within loops can also make things interesting with a little bit of creativity. Finally, you can use the output of other commands as input for the loop:

$ touch 1 2 3

$ for i in $(ls *); do echo $i; done

1

2

3

Here you can see the output of the ls command is used as arguments to the for loop.

Get the PDF version of this tip here.

Vincent Danen is the Security Team Manager for Mandriva and lives in Canada. He has been writing about and developing on Linux for over 10 years.

Delivered each Tuesday, TechRepublic’s free Linux and Open Source newsletter provides tips, articles, and other resources to help you hone your Linux skills. Automatically sign up today!

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Multimedia complications are a well-worn complaint with Linux users who have to figure out which hoops to jump through to get decent sound and video playback for all their movies and music. Ubuntu has made a couple of deals to offset these problems (more accurately, Canonical, Ltd., Ubuntu’s commercial sponsor), particularly for users who download Ubuntu for free, rather than buying the boxed version at BestBuy. The two software vendors are Cyberlink, which provides the DVD player application, and Fluendo, which offers audio codecs for Windows Media formats. Both of these packages will be made available in the Ubuntu store for “one-click” installation, and of course, a price. According to Canonical’s marketing manager, Gerry Carr in NetworkWorld’s report:

“We’re never going to make you pay for anything that is fundamental to the operating system. You do need this to play DVDs. You do need this to play certain types of audio. We are not diametrically opposed to anyone selling software to add on for Ubuntu users. We will be adding additional software to that store as we can. It’s entirely optional. It’s building that ecosystem.”

While I think Canonical is simply doing what it has to do to smooth over the experience for its users, it is unfortunate that once you buy your DVD or your music — I mean, it’s yours — you then have to turn around any pay again for the privilege of actually being able to watch or listen to it the way you want. That’s really annoying; in fact, it seems downright wrong.

On to other testy subjects, Ubuntu users and developers have been frothing at the mouth over Mozilla’s EULA, included in the newest build of Firefox, version 3.0.1. The latest word, after both Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth and Mozilla have been trying to smooth the waters, is that “Mozilla has admitted making a mistake and said it will strip the legalese from the browser’s next update,” according to the article in NetworkWorld.

Now if you really want to skip the Firefox controversy, you can download Codeweaver’s CrossOver “Chromium,” a port of Google Chrome, that does not require Windows XP or Vista to run. Google is still working on its version of the Chrome browser for Mac and Linux platforms. The downloadsquad notes:

Although CrossOver Chromium works, please note that this is not intended to be used as a default browser. CodeWeaver’s website even states that this is just “a proof of concept, for fun, and to showcase what Wine can do.”

I doubt that anyone here would really plan to make Chrome, much less Chromium, their default browser quite yet, but if you’re just looking to play around with it, you can download Chromium here.

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Vincent Danen introduces Linux file management alternatives, Gentoo, Krusader, and Midnight Commander. Here are the basics about each if you want to try something different.

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Many Linux users make use of the KDE or GNOME desktop environments and when it comes to file management, they don’t venture beyond using the environment-provided file management tools like Konqueror or Nautilus. Considering this is Linux, there are many other file management tools to choose from, some of which you may find preferable to the “defaults.”

Gentoo file manager

One such file management tool is called Gentoo, not to be confused with the Linux distribution of the same name. Gentoo hasn’t been updated in a few years, but it is still a solid file manager. Some distributions include it, so it is just an apt-get or yum command away; for others that do not include it, all you need to build it from source are the GTK+ development files and libraries. The latter will be installed with any GNOME system. To build from source, it’s a ./configure; make; make install away from usability.

Gentoo is nice in that it is a GTK+-based application with a dual-paned file view, reminiscent of old tools like Total Commander or Norton Commander. It is extremely configurable with a powerful file recognition system that allows you to map what happens when you double-click a file type, select which icons belong to what types of files, etc.

Krusader

For those who prefer using KDE, Krusader is another stellar file management tool. Like Gentoo, it is a dual-paned file management utility that is extremely customizable. The latest beta of Krusader is compatible with KDE4, whereas previous stable versions are written for KDE3. Some of Krusader’s notable features include impressive archive handling, advanced searching, an internal viewer/editor, file content comparisons and directory synchronization. It can also handle remote filesystems by using KIO slaves, which means it can mount SMB or FTP filesystems. Many distributions provide Krusader.

Midnight Commander

Finally, for those who want a file management tool very similar to Norton Commander and that operates on the CLI, Midnight Commander is the best choice. Midnight Commander is available for nearly all Linux distributions; the package may be named mc, which is also the name of the program. MC gives a dual-paned file view, each representing a different directory. When executed in a terminal under X, mouse clicks work, so if MC is your preference but you want to use it in a GUI, it’s still an option. Another nice feature of MC is that it still keeps a command-line open so you can use a combination of directory navigation and CLI commands, made even easier by using the tab key to switch active panes.

These are just three examples of many other file management, or “file commander” type programs available for Linux. Others include Tux Commander, XFE, and Gnome Commander. If the default file management tools don’t quite cut it, or if you prefer the dual-paned filesystem view, give one of these programs a try.

Get the PDF version of this tip here.

Vincent Danen is the Security Team Manager for Mandriva and lives in Canada. He has been writing about and developing on Linux for over 10 years.

Delivered each Tuesday, TechRepublic’s free Linux and Open Source newsletter provides tips, articles, and other resources to help you hone your Linux skills. Automatically sign up today!

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I know, I know…you’re wondering why this is in the open source blog. The reason is simple: I have used open source operating systems for a long, long time now. I have championed against Microsoft for over ten years. But when Techrepublic liked the idea of me writing some Vista content for them, I couldn’t say no. Of course this meant me actually using Vista. So I thought it would be interesting for the open source crowd to get my initial reaction to my explorations with Windows Vista. You know, see how (or if) it stands up to Linux. It was a hard pill to swallow for me. It might be a equally as hard for you. Let’s find out. Shall we?

Installation
To begin with I didn’t have to do any installation. I wish I would have but I knew how finicky Vista was with hardware, so I wound up having to purchase a new laptop. This was the first strike against Vista. Why? Because I knew, with 100 percent assurance, that I could download the latest, greatest version of Linux and get it up and running (with full-blown 3D desktop and everything the Aero desktop has to offer) on any machine I have. With Vista - it’s a crap shoot. Unless you have hardware with that magical sticker that says that the machine is certified for Vista, you just never know.

And of course this brings up one of the many really nasty points about purchasing a machine with a Windows operating system - you rarely get an install disk. Why is that? I paid the “tax.” I bought the machine with an operating system on it. And we all know that Windows likes to be re-installed every so often. But without that disk - no dice. Fortunately I could create a “back up” disk so I could re-install the OS should it need…but only on that laptop. Oh but wait - this is Microsoft so I can only install the OS on one machine anyway. So much for that gripe.

First boot
Then after I unpacked the laptop it was time for the first boot. There was a small part of me that so badly wanted to toss in my Mandriva 2008 CD and forget the whole Vista experiment. But I behaved and let it boot.

During the boot process I couldn’t believe how much I had to go through to get to the desktop. When I first powered up the laptop I thought I was watching a full installation going on. It took nearly 30 minutes to get to the point where I could start agreeing to every possible EULA I could imagine. And after all of those agreements, I finally reached the initial setup. The final setup was mostly just the standard username/password/timezone information.

Once the setup was complete I was greeted with a screen asking me if I was interested in peeking at the typical “free trials” that always seem to accompany any Windows operating system. I really hate this part of Windows. Why is it they seem to think ANYONE wants any AOL product these days? Why not offer something like Hotmail or any other product owned by Microsoft. These products just take up space, annoy the users, and ultimately wind up being deleted from the system. You never see a Linux operating system with annoying free trials of worthless software.

Getting to work
Finally. The desktop is loaded and I can get to work. The first order of business is to install Firefox, OpenOffice, and The Gimp. I may be using a Windows operating system, but that doesn’t mean I have to use Office, Explorer, and some proprietary graphics application. The installation of these applications brought about the next really annoying issue with Vista. Being a long-time open source software user I am accustomed to having to give the root password in order to install software. But just giving permission to continue to perform an installation does nothing more than annoy the user. What good does it do? I click on the OpenOffice install icon and then I have to give Vista permission to install OpenOffice? Didn’t I just do that by clicking the OpenOffice install icon? Seriously…what is the purpose of this? There is no safety with this system. It’s not like you have to enter an administrator password - you just say “sure Vista, you can go ahead with this installation.” So of course, after too many instances of having to allow the UAC (User Access Controls) to do what I had already told the system to do, I decided to disable this control. It didn’t really take me long to figure this out (doing a search in Explorer for “user” finds the configuration setting) and, once I had it disabled, I was able to do a bit more work with a little less hassle.

With the UAC out of my way, Vista just seemed like yet another Windows operating system. I was limited with my configuration options; I couldn’t control sub-systems the way I can with Linux, and Aero is seriously limited to what it could do. The former two points I expected (Windows is very limiting in user control). The latter point really surprised me though. Microsoft had proclaimed Vista’s Aero to be the next level of user interface. Really? Some half-attempt at transparency and a bit of a reconfiguration of the Start Menu? Seriously? No. I think the next level of user interface is what I am currently working with - Compiz. And besides, Linux has been doing transparency for over five years (remember AfterStep 1.6?)! So where is the innovation? I can understand that the standard Windows user would look at Aero and ooh and ahh because that’s how Microsoft works the public opinion - they steal ideas and make everyone think they where the originators (Can anyone say “Mouse”?).

Now, at this point I started having good feelings about the Vista Media Center. It’s pretty simple to use. But very quickly the lack of options and customizations really hit me. There are a few Linux versions of the media center, and with each version, they can be customized in nearly any way you want. With the Vista Media Center customizations/optimizations are very limited. Typical Microsoft micro-management.

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Another issue. I wanted to make sure the laptop always connected to my wireless network by default. I failed to check that option when I first set up the connection on the laptop and had a LOT of trouble figuring out how to make it so (without having to delete the wireless connection and start over). Again, with Linux this is simple.

The verdict
I can’t say I hate Vista. I can say that, in comparison to the open source operating system that I use day in and day out, Vista pales in comparison. Vista can not do nearly the things Ubuntu or Mandriva (or SuSE, or PCLinuxOS, etc.) can do. And, at least from my perspective, the various forms of Linux can do all of these things much easier and much more efficiently.

My point is this: It seems that everyone assumes that the Windows operating system is the most user-friendly available. I think they are wrong. I think that Microsoft has actually managed to “dumb down” the operating system (in Vista at least) to the point where very little makes sense. Very basic tasks should be obvious. They are not. Obvious locations for certain tools are no longer valid. Administration that should be quick and easy is time consuming and confusing (at times).

If you think about it like this: Microsoft has basically created a new distribution of Windows. And migrating from one distribution (XP) to another (Vista) isn’t as easy as it should be. Now migrating from, say, Ubuntu to Mandriva is simple. In either Ubuntu or Mandriva everything makes sense. And, in the case of Ubuntu/Mandriva you’re migrating to an entirely different package management system…and it still makes sense. But migrating from one Windows distro to another becomes a task even administrators don’t want to undertake.

I interviewed a head teacher at a local school that offers classes in various Windows topics (from MS Office to administrator-level SQL to programming) and he said they can’t find anyone to teach and no one who wants to learn Vista. So they are sticking with XP. When I told him I had to pick up a Vista-ready laptop his first question was if I had already installed another operating system over Vista. I said “no;” he winced and apologized.

I’m not so quick to get rid of Vista. I find it challenging and I like a good challenge. But I will say that I find this Windows distribution (Vista) not nearly as user-friendly as most of the modern Linux distributions. Not only are the Linux desktops easier to use they are far more flexible and easier to administer. And yes, as soon as I no longer have a need for Vista, that Sony Vaio will sport Mandriva.

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Xandros says it will move the Freespire Linux distribution that it acquired from Linspire to Debian’s forthcoming Lenny release.
- Xandros officials say they will release a new version of Freespire that will be based on Debian’s forthcoming Lenny release, expected this fall.
The decision to base Freespire on the Debian Linux distribution
comes only a month after Xandros acquired Linspire, the developer of
Freespire. Freespi…

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Motorola has started a public preview of development tools for unreleased Linux mobile phones. The free Eclipse-based tools will help Linux developers create, test and certify native applications for the newest Motorola handsets.
- Motorola has released a quot;public preview quot; of the first-ever native
development tools for unreleased models of its Linux-based
mobile phones.
MotoDev Studio for Linux 0.3 is a freely downloadable, Eclipse-based tool suite
aimed at helping third-party and community Linux developers create…

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Canonical, maker of the Ubuntu Linux Distribution, has joined the Linux Foundation. Canonical has advanced Linux on both the desktop and server and should be a good fit for the Linux Foundation, dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux. Canonical supports several other open-source projects including Bazaar, Storm and Upstart, and by joining, it should be able to support and benefit from other Linux community members in the Linux Foundation, including IBM, Novell, Oracle, Intel, Red Hat and VMware.
- Canonical, maintainer of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has joined the Linux
Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of
Linux.
By joining, Canonical can both contribute to and benefit from the foundation
that features many of the Linux community’s leading comp…

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Microsoft and Novell expand their interoperability partnership with Microsoft buying up to $100 million in SUSE Linux certificates. The partnership helps enable SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Windows Server to work together in the datacenter. Moreover, the companies will continue to work collaboratively on virtualization, systems management, directory and identity federation, document format compatibility, accessibility technology, and the Moonlight multimedia framework.
- Microsoft and Novell have announced an incremental investment in their partnership to promote interoperability between the SUSE Linux platform and Windows, with Microsoft pledging to purchase up to $100 million in certificates that customers can redeem for support.
The goal of the Microsoft/Novell …

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