Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2012 was full of events. These were both happy and not-so-nice events in our lives.
But it goes. New year, 2013 is coming.
I wish to you, my readers, all the best!

Stay tuned to my blog, and I am sure you will get a lot of useful information here.

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

See you in 2013!

The Best New Features of Ubuntu 12.10

Ubuntu, the most popular Linux distro for desktop users, moves to the cloud with the new Ubuntu 12.10, codenamed Quantal Quetzal.

The world of computing is changing rapidly. We're moving to a cloud based, multi-device computing world, and Ubuntu has evolved accordingly. The latest 12.10 version of Ubuntu includes several improvements over the last stable release, 12.04, and also includes a bunch of new features bound to please both desktop and server users.

Although Ubuntu 12.10 is very similar to the last Ubuntu release, 12.04, it has several improvements on the desktop version, including bug fixes and a few new features. Some of the major changes include:

An Overview of Operating Systems

An operating system, also known simply as OS, comprises of a set of software applications that facilitate computer hardware resources and offers general services for computing applications. An OS plays an important role within the system software in an entire computer setup. Applications mostly need a compatible OS to work properly. We use them all the time, sometimes without realizing it, so lets explore the different types of Operating Systems and some of the most popular ones on the market.

Pre-order your personal copy of the newest version of Fedora 18

With the coming release of next version of Fedora 18 just few weeks away, many of you already looking for downloading of your own ISO image of the system.

But many of you are not so lucky, and will need to wait longer, because you can not or do not want to create their own CDs with operating system images.

Here we are to help!

You can pre-order your own copy of Fedora 18 (GNOME, KDE, Xfce or LXDE versions) right now. It means that CD or DVD with your favourite OS will be burnt to you as early as possible, and dispatched on the 15th of January 2013, or soon after. Dispatched to anywhere in the world.
How you can get the CD? Go to http://buylinuxcds.co.uk site, purchase the Fedora CD from there, and in the PayPal comments state that you want version 18. If you want KDE, LXDE or Xfce versions, this is also possible. That's easy.

To help you even further, here is a mini-shop which you can use straight away. It supports PayPal checkout, similar to Buy Linux CDs site.

UK (2.00 GBP): Fedora 18 pre-order (UK) Variation GNOME3 KDE Xfce LXDE

USA (6.50 USD):

Fedora 18 pre-order (USA)
Variation GNOME3 KDE Xfce LXDE

Other countries (4.50 GBP):

Fedora 18 pre-order (Other countries)
Variation GNOME3 KDE Xfce LXDE

How to Change CPU Affinity of CPU Intensive Multithreaded Applications (Ubuntu)

When you use CPU intensive, multithreaded software tools on your multicore-processor such as 'pigz' or 'pbzip2' (for example), the OS loses its responsiveness (more or less) and it will slow down other running tasks, and it is something that should be expected too.

Changing CPU affinity using Htop - example

However, when running such applications while performing your other daily computer related tasks, the degraded OS responsiveness can become an issue. For instance, the movement of the mouse might not be that smooth any more, or if you click on another application, then it won't be opened as fast as before etc.

Tools like 'pbzip2' lets you manually change the threads to be used, before the execution, so you can free-up a CPU core or two, thus improving the OS's responsiveness. But sometimes, I forget do that, plus, not all multithreaded tools let you change the number of threads to be used either.

Now as most knows, in these occasions, the feature called CPU affinity comes in handy, as it lets us bind a process in a way, that it will be executed by using only a certain number of CPU cores (supports changing the CPU cores that should be used even after the process is running from the background).

Oracle Linux on your home or small office server?

This year Oracle announced the release of its own free GNU licensed operating system: Oracle Linux. The Oracle Linux OS is heavily based on Fedora Core with the applications of Red Hat Enterprise Linux bundled in. This is essentially a move from Oracle to grab some of the market base of Red Hat since they are now offering pretty much the same Red Hat application features now for free.

We already know how Linux can perform very well in the enterprise, where big data and IPv6 intersect, but have you ever considered running Linux at home? Or, maybe, in your small office?

Now that Oracle Linux is offering so many great application features for free, I think a strong case could be made for running Oracle Linux on your own home or office network.

Let’s look at a couple reasons why you may want to explore this option.

Should I Reuse or Recycle My Old Computer?

The decision to reuse or recycle an old desktop computer takes some consideration, but letting an old PC turn to electronic waste should never be an alternative.

Electronic waste is becoming a serious global problem. By the end of the 20th century, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had already called attention to the heaps of computers, monitors, laptops, printers, scanners, keyboards, cell phones, and other consumer electronic devices rapidly piling up in landfills.

Electronic waste poses plenty of challenges to the environment; from the presence of hazardous substances and heavy metals that seep down into the subsoil, thereby polluting ecosystems, to the ethical issue of failing to recycle a or reuse components that can serve other purposes.