Latest Articles - 2/12/2012

Latest Articles from TheLinuxGeek.com

2/12/2012

No Netflix for Linux

Back when Netflix only rented DVD's I thought it was cool to get DVD's in the mail. However, the coolness whore off quick and I found better and quicker ways to get my content. About a year ago I looked at Netflix again because of their streaming service. I had read the rumors that Netflix was coming to Linux eventually and the idea of being able to legally stream movies and TV shows with no hassle perked my interest. So being a Linux user I dealt with the same BS all Linux users have had to deal with. Mostly trying to run Netflix in a Windows VM. It worked but it was a hassle. I was holding out for the native client that was rumored as being in development hoping that it would not take much longer. Read More

Linux permissions explained

Linux based systems are the most secure operating systems in existence. one of the reason for this is the way they handle permissions. Permissions are rules that describe what can be done with a file and by who. Permissions are also one of the biggest mysteries to many new users as well as the cause of many problems. Working with permissions is not difficult, its honestly quite easy once you understand the basics behind why it works the way it does. Read More

Its just the way it is

Being an open source software user sometimes I forget what other people have to go though. When we want something we just download it, install it and start playing with it. Theres no running to Wall-Mart or Newegg and forking over a large amount of money for a disk. Then spending an hour entering license numbers and confirming blood types for each user, just to end up calling support because the DRM has some bug that will not allow us to use our last name in the registration / activation form. We simply see something we like and use it, some of us even like it so much we decide to get involved and volunteer our time to improve it for others. Read More

openSUSE wants to see your desktop

In a move to make openSUSE even better the art team for openSUSE are compiling information related to how people are customizing their desktops. They want to use the information they collect to design future openSUSE releases.

Andres Silva, in a blog posting explained, "It is not a matter of "I like KDE or Gnome better than others," but rather it is a way for our team to understand how much we tweak and change our desktop environments to meet our needs." You can post your screenshot and description of modifications in the openSUSE wiki. You are also welcome to create and post mockups of features that you would like to see. Who knows, maybe your idea will become part of the next release of openSUSE. Read More

Automatically sign out root account

I typically walk away from my computer and get side tracked doing something else. I have more then once came back just to see a terminal window open still signed in as root. To make matters worse I use a plasma widget called plasmacon that embeds a terminal window in to my desktop. There is a very easy solution to this problem. Read More

If Linux was popular would there be more viruses

I have heard the comment many times that if Linux was as popular as Windows it would have just as many viruses. While I do agree it would have more I do not agree it would be to the same extent. Currently windows has approximately 60,000 viruses compared to Linux having around 40. I have heard a few estimates so I do not know how accurate those numbers are but the scale is tipped that far. So do these numbers reflect the fact that Linux is not as popular as windows. I don't think so and heres why. Read More