The Best Comic Book Readers for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Comic books as a medium seem tailor-made for tablets, even if the timeline doesn’t precisely add up. But there are a surprising amount of comic reading applications meant for old-fashioned desktop machines, too. This stuff comes in handy for gadgets that blur the lines, like the Microsoft Surface, or for someone who’s amassed a large collection of DRM-free comic book files.

MComix: Windows, Linux

If you’re looking for a simple, easy-to-use comic reader with enough features to give you some extra bells and whistles, MComix should probably be your first stop. It’s free and open source, based on the older and now abandoned Comix reader project, regularly updated for Windows and Linux. If it had a macOS version, we might just be able to end this article right here.

The interface has a basic library function, but it’s easier to simply open your files (CBR, CBZ, and PDF, among more pedestrian image formats) directly from your computer’s file explorer. The reading view makes it easy to find your page with thumbnails along the left side, and various fit modes along with a full screen view are handy in both button and hotkey flavors. The reader supports double-page views to best emulate comic reading, and a right-to-left mode for those who prefer manga to western-style comics.

The download comes as a standalone package, so you don’t even need to install anything, though you might want to associate some of the more common comic file types with MComix soon after trying it out.

YACReader: Windows, macOS, Linux

If you live a multi-OS lifestyle and you prefer some cross-platform consistency, YACReader is probably your best bet. It supports all of the common file types and archives, with a focus on building up an extensive and well-organized library of personal comics. The application will automatically fetch tags and issue data from the ComicVine database, and those who are keen on sharing with friends can install the UI-free server version to remotely host comics on iOS.

The application is available on Windows in both installer and portable flavors, plus 64-bit macOS and various Linux distro versions. The interface itself is a bit minimal for my taste, but it quickly disappears if you’re reading in full screen anyway. Sadly, though YACReader plays nice with all three major desktop platforms and can remotely serve files to iOS, there’s no Android client as of yet.

Comicrack: Windows

Though ComicRack comes in Android and iOS flavors, it’s Windows-only on the desktop. Which is weird, because it’s one of the more technical and analytical options out there. The tabbed interface supports reading multiple books at once, and its double-pane main view focuses on the user’s library or standard file browsing more than some of the other programs on this list. But for the comic enthusiast who’s serious about managing a large collection, this could be the best option.

Once you dig into ComicRack, you see it’s a little more forgiving than it appears at first glance, with a double- and triple-column option and a handy all-in-one page view. Double-tapping the F button will switch from standard fullscreen view to a minimalist windowed look—good for reading while you keep an eye on something else on your computer. It also functions as the most feature-rich viewer when used as a pure file manager.

SimpleComic: macOS

SimpleComic uses the fluid, and integrated user interface that was popular with mid-aughts OS X design to create what’s probably the simplest comic reader around. Though it supports all the common archive formats and includes the usual bells and whistles like double-page display and right-to-left reading, it does so with a minimal interface that will make you nostalgic for a Steve Jobs software demo. It’s probably the simplest and best-looking item on this list (with no particular care for libraries or tagging), so it’s a pity that the developer has only released a macOS version.

MangaMeeya: Windows

While you can certainly use MangaMeeya for western comics, it’s designed specifically for Japanese-style manga. This focus extends to more than just the right-to-left default page layout: the image display includes various tools that make black-and-white scans more visible and legible on computer screens, something that isn’t typically a concern for full color graphic novels. That specialization does seem to be a bit of a detriment for those looking for wider image file support or library tools, though—you’ll have to keep your files organized manually in Windows Explorer. On that note, it’s only available for Windows, more’s the pity.

Comic CBR, CBZ Viewer: Chrome

The Chrome Web Store isn’t exactly littered with dedicated comic viewers, but this seems to be the best among a very short field of contenders. The minimal interface can load up CBR or CBZ archive files wither from your personal Google Drive account or on your local machine. The super-simple interface offers one- or two-page views with standard or right-to-left reading, with the fullscreen option controlled by the browser itself. Like many Chrome extensions, this one is supported by advertising, and there’s no way to pay to get rid of the web-based ads. The extension will work on Chrome OS devices and more standard desktops, but with the options laid out above, there’s really no reason to use it on anything but a Chromebook.

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How to Sync Your Android Notifications to Your PC or Mac

If you’re working at your computer and your phone goes off, you can grab it, unlock it, and check the notification, likely throwing off your workflow. Or, you could just sync your notifications to your computer, so they show up right there—which really makes a lot more sense.

Fortunately, this is a pretty simple task thanks to a tool called Pushbullet. Now, I’ll tell you right now: Pushbullet does a lot more than just sync notifications to from your phone to your computer. for now, let’s dig into notification syncing in a bit more detail.

Step One: Install the Pushbullet App and Extension

The first thing you’ll need to do is get Pushbullet going on both your phone and your computer. It’s a free install from the Google Play Store on your phone, so go ahead and grab that now.

On the computer side of things, however, you have a couple of options. Regardless of what platform you’re using (Windows, Linux, Mac, Chrome OS, etc.) you can use the Chrome, Firefox, or Opera extensions for your browser. This should cover everything for most people.

If you’re a Windows user, you can also use the Windows app, which is a standalone application instead of a browser extension. Really, it just incorporates itself into the operating system a bit more.

Either way, it’s your decision on what you do. For this tutorial, however, I’ll be using the Chrome extension since it’s the most universal solution.

Step Two: Set up Pushbullet on the Phone

Once you have it installed, you’ll need to get everything set up. Go ahead and fire it up on your phone.

When you launch it, the first thing you’ll need to do is sign in, which you can do with either your Google or Facebook account. Regardless of which one you choose here, you’ll need to use the same login on your computer (when we get to that part).

Once you’ve signed in, you’ll need to give Pushbullet access to your notifications. Click “Enable” on this first screen, which will redirect you to the Notification Access settings page.

Here, go ahead and slide the toggle (it might be a checkbox instead) to allow Pushbullet access to all notifications. A warning will pop up, letting you know that this will give Pushbullet the ability read all of your notifications. That’s part of the deal here, so if you want to show notifications on your PC, click “Allow.”

This should toss you back into the Pushbullet setup, where you’ll allow it to mirror incoming phone call details—just tap “OK” then approve the following permissions (Phone and Contacts). Done.

The next step will not only allow you to see your text messages, but also reply to them. If you’re into that, tap “Enable,” then allow the SMS permission.

Once you’re finished with the initial set up, you’ll need to actually enable full notification mirroring. To do that, open the menu by sliding in from the left or tapping the three lines in the upper left corner. From there, choose “Notification Mirroring.”

To enable mirroring, slide the first toggle to the on position. If you only want notifications to mirror when you’re on Wi-Fi, go ahead and toggle the second one too. Lastly, if you don’t want to see silent notifications on your computer, you can turn that option off.

Fore more granular control, you can tap the “Choose which apps to enable” option and pick which apps you’ll actually see synced notifications from. That’s cool.

Step Two: Set Up Pushbullet on the Computer

At this point, you should already have the Pushbullet Chrome extension installed, which is what I find to be the easiest way to use the application. Again, if you’re using something different—like the Firefox extension or Windows app, for example—things may look a little bit different. But for the most part, the setup process should be the same.

The extension should show up as a little icon in Chrome’s toolbar. It’s a green circle with a whimsical little bullet in it. Click that. It will prompt you to sign in on Pushbullet.com (which you can also use to interact with Pushbullet’s various options on your phone). Just remember to log in with the same account you used on your phone!

Once that’s done, you’re in. There shouldn’t be any additional setup on the computer. Your notifications should show up as a tooltip-style notification on your computer moving forward.

Step Three: Send a Test Notification and Access Past Notifications

Just to make sure everything is working properly, go ahead and jump back into the Notification Mirroring settings on the phone. The bottom option should read “Send a test notification.” Go ahead and tap that.

A notification should show up on your computer. Boom, you’re done there.

With everything up and running, you can access your non-dismissed notifications in the Pushbullet extension by clicking the “Notifications” tab.

And that’s pretty much all there is to it.

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The 10 Best Free-to-Play Online Shooters

Games are expensive. Want to play the latest headline-grabbing entry from EA or Activision? Be prepared to shell out $60…or $100 for the real version with a name like “Ultimate Edition.” Maybe that’s why so many developers are extending their horizons into the free-to-play arena. Here are ten online multiplayer shooters you can play without spending a dime.

Team Fortress 2: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Valve’s commercial sequel to a beloved Quake mod has become synonymous with team-based first-person shooters. After a decade in active development, Team Fortress 2 is still extremely popular, and the small smattering of initial modes has been expanded to an incredible variety of play styles. Nine classes ooze with Pixar-style personality (if Pixar made R-Rated video games), and the graphics are simple enough that the game can run quite well even on most laptops.

Team Fortress 2 started out as a paid game, but it’s now free and supported by purchases of in-game weapons, cosmetic items, and keys for randomized crates. All items can be earned randomly through playing, or by crafting from other items or trading with players. Sadly, the free-to-play update was not made available to console players, so only PC players get in for free.

Warframe: Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Warframe is a different take on modern shooters, with a third-person perspective and a unique sci-fi art style for characters and environments. Players customize their avatars with different mods for agility, defense, and attack, and collect new weapons and modifications through multiplayer combat or co-op missions versus computer-controlled bots. Warframe is visually striking with an action-oriented movement system and a focus on flexible customizations over rigid classes. It remains popular with frequent content updates.

Players can buy new guns, mods, and other customizations with in-game currency or credits purchased with real money. DLC packs on Steam bundle themed upgrades together.

Unreal Tournament: Windows, macOS, and Linux

The name “Unreal Tournament” should make little bells go off in the head of anyone who remembers the early days of online shooters. The latest release in the long-running series keeps the fast-paced, big-gun FPS deathmatch action, but switches to a free-to-play format. The current version of the game is still in pre-alpha, but it already has a healthy and growing population of players. The game brings new weapons and interesting powers to the arena-based format of the original, while focusing on classic modes like capture the flag and base assault.

The game is in continual development with help from the community, and right now all modes and in-game items are free. After the full release a marketplace for mods and add-ons will help to support its continued upkeep.

Blacklight: Retribution: Windows and PlayStation 4

Fans of modern military shooters will find a lot to like in Blacklight: Retribution. The near-future setting is fodder for some fun weapon and armor designs, but the slower and more precise pace makes this game kin to the likes of Modern Warfare. Most of the included modes are team-based player-versus-player affairs, but those looking for less confrontational action can shoot hordes of zombies in co-op or AI opponents for practice. A short power-up allows players to instantly hone in on objectives and see enemies through walls.

Retribution is quite popular, with an install base at over a million, but its monetization system has been criticized.  Free players have to pay real money for “Z Coins” to unlock special weapons, but a one-time $5 payment for a Prime account can make most items attainable with in-game currency.

Tribes Ascend: Windows Only

The Tribes series is famous for its jetpacks and skis that make rocket-powered matches fast and frantic. Ascend brings it all to gamers for free. The high speed, huge environments, and plentiful vehicles should be familiar territory for Halo fans, and character mods like stealth or jetpacks keep extended matches interesting. It’s not the most visually demanding game, but that means it should be playable on older systems, too.

Weapons and cosmetic items can be purchased with real money or in-game currency. The $10 Ultimate Weapons pack adds a variety of weapons featured in previous DLC packs.

Planetside 2: Windows and PlayStation 4

If you prefer your shooters with a little MMO on the side, this game can throw you into a server with thousands of other players at once. The central conflict in Planetside 2 is persistent: the kills and victories you win for your side will help it defeat the other two game-spanning factions. An RPG-style progression system rewards players who are in it for the long haul, specializing in specific combat roles.

Gameplay upgrades and cosmetic items can be purchased directly with real money, or players can earn experience points and upgrades faster with a $15 per month subscription, very much like a conventional MMO.

Warface: Windows and Xbox 360

Warface is kind of like a blue-blooded aristocrat: it has a slightly ridiculous name, but you can’t argue with the pedigree. It’s developed by Crytek, the same people behind the Crysis and Far Cry series, making it one of the most visually impressive free-to-play games on the market. Far Cry players will feel right at home with the realistic conventional weapons and fluid movement system, including vertical climbs and slides through the small team-based deathmatch arenas. Four classes duke it out in player-versus-player or player-versus-environment modes.

Players and weapons have cosmetic skins. Weapons can be upgraded via attachments, which can be rented or purchased with in-game credits and premium currency bought with real money. There are also experience boosters and permanent paid DLC upgrades available on steam.

Gigantic: Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

This colorful free-to-play shooter places the action in third person, to better enable its MOBA-style elements. That means that two separate teams in Gigantic duke it out for control of a medium-sized maps, upgrading specific points to spawn creatures or give stat bonuses to the team. Each team has a computer-controlled giant monster that functions as both its home base to be defended and its ultimate attack weapon. If you want to play a shooter with unique character designs, distinct combat roles, and a focus on strategy over pure combat, this is it.

Gigantic uses a MOBA-style payment system: its various heroes are on a rotating trial, and you have to pay with either in-game experience or real money to unlock each one permanently. Cosmetic skins can also be purchased in the same way.

Paladins: Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Paladins is known in the gaming community as “the free-to-play Overwatch.” That might be a bit unfair, but it’s hard to deny that the colorful heroes and team-based shooter gameplay have a lot in common with Blizzard’s smash hit. The characters have distinct powers but separate into broad roles. But in addition to king of the hill, payload, and control point maps, Paladins includes deathmatches, and co-op player-versus-environment modes. The cartoony characters are charming, even when they’re blowing your face off, and a card system adds an element of unpredictability to the multiplayer brawls.

Characters must be unlocked in-game with currency, but a $20 “Founder’s Pack” purchase will unlock all current and future “Champions” and a few other goodies. Additional characters, cosmetics, and cards can be purchased with premium currency. The game is in beta at the moment.

Toxikk: Windows Only

The developers of Toxikk say that it’s designed to hearken back to a simpler time, with small arenas, fast action, big guns, and all the corners cut off. The game looks and moves really well, with maps designed for fast, vertical combat. Unfortunately it’s experiencing something of a player drought at the moment: the public servers available to free players are often empty.

The game’s complete complement of guns, maps, and vehicles are all included in the free version, but a $15 upgrade unlocks the server browser, bot play, player bounties, character customization, mod support, and a map editor. After the upgrade there are no more in-game micropayments.

Honorable Mention: Hawken: Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Hawken isn’t a conventional shooter, since all of the player combat takes place within giant futuristic mechs. But the action is much faster than simulator-style games like Mechwarrior, making it much more of a shooter experience. The small maps (you know, for giant robots) and customizable vehicles and weapons keeps the combat fresh, and the gritty, high-powered graphics should satisfy gamers looking for a visual treat.

The mechs, weapons, cosmetics, and mods can all be purchased with in-game currency, which can be boosted with infusions of real money. Some premium cosmetics can only be bought with real money, but all competitive elements are available to all free players.

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Wall Poster Made with Linux Source Code

Wish to hang your favorite book on your wall?

PosterText is an interesting service where you’ll find beautiful wall posters that are made from text of famous books like Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and other classics.

They use the entire text of the book for the poster image and according to their site, the font sizes are big enough for someone with normal eyesight to read the text without visual aid.

Other than pieces of classical literature, you’ll also find wall posters that are made from the text of constitution of America or the one above that is made using the actual source code of the Linux Kernel. Nice work of art!

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How to Check CPU Speed

Your CPU speed determines how fast your process can perform tasks. CPU speeds matter less than they did in the past, thanks to the advent of multi-core processors. Still, it can be useful to check your CPU speed when purchasing a new program to make sure that your computer can handle it. It's also very useful to know how to check the CPU's true speed when you're overclocking for better performance.

Windows

1. Open the System window. There are several ways that you can open this window quickly.

* Windows 7, Vista, XP - Right-click on Computer/My Computer in the Start menu and select "Properties". In Windows XP, you may need to click the "General" tab after selecting "Properties".

* Windows 8 - Right-click on the Start button and select "System".

* All Versions - Press ⊞ Win+Pause.

2. Find the "Processor" entry. This will be located in the "System" section, beneath the Windows edition.

3. Note the processor speed. Your processor model and speed will be displayed. The speed is measured in gigahertz (GHz). This is the speed of a single core of your processor. If your processor has multiple cores (most modern processors do), each core will be this speed.

* If your processor is overclocked, the actual speed may not be shown here. See the next section for details on finding your actual overclocked speed.

4. Check how many cores your processor has. If you have a multi-core processor, the number of cores will not be displayed in this window. Multiple cores does not necessarily mean the programs will run faster, but it can be a big boost for programs designed for it.

* Press ⊞ Win+R to open the Run dialog box.

* Type dxdiag and press ↵ Enter. Click Yes if prompted to check your drivers.

* Find the "Processor" entry in the System tab. If your computer has multiple cores, you'll see the number in parentheses after the speed (e.g. 4 CPUs). This will let you know how many cores you have. Each core runs at approximately the same speed (there will always be very minor variations).

Mac

1. Click the Apple menu and select "About This Mac".

2. Find the "Processor" entry in the "Overview" tab. This will display the advertised speed of your processor. Note that this may not be the speed your CPU is actually running at. this is because your CPU slows itself down when it isn't working hard to save energy and increase its lifespan.

3. Download the Intel Power Gadget. This free utility will monitor your CPU and report the actual operating speed. You can download it for free from here.

* Unzip the file and then double-click the DMG file to install Intel Power Gadget.

4. Download and install Prime95. If you want to see the maximum speed of your processor, you'll need to put a heavy load on the CPU. One of the most popular ways to do this is by using a program called Prime95. You can download it for free from mersenne.org/download/. Unzip the program and then double-click the DMG file to install it. Select "Just Stress Testing" when you start the program.

* Prime95 is designed to calculate prime numbers, and in doing so will max your CPU out.

5. Find your processor speed. The second graph in the gadget will display your processor speeds. The "Package Frq" is your current speed based on what your processor is working on. This will likely be lower than the "Base Frq", which is the advertised speed of the processor.

Linux

1. Open the terminal. Most tools available on Linux don't show the actual speed that the processor is running at. Intel has released a tool called turbostat that you can use to check. You'll need to install it manually through the terminal.

2. Type .uname -r and press ↵ Enter. Note the version number that is displayed (X.XX.XX-XX).

3.  Type apt-get install linux-tools-X.XX.XX-XX linux-cloud-tools-X.XX.XX-XX and press ↵ Enter. Replace X.XX.XX-XX with the version number from the previous step. Enter your admin password if prompted

4. Type modprobe msr and press ↵ Enter. This will install the MSR module that you'll need to run the tool.

5. Open another terminal window and type openssl speed. This will start the OpenSSL speed test, which will push your CPU to the maximum.

6. Return to the first terminal window and type turbostat. Running this will display a variety of readouts about your processor.

7. Look in the .GHz column. Each entry is the actual speed of each core. The TSC column is the speed reported normally. This allows you to see the difference your overclock is making. The speeds will look low if you aren't pushing your CPU with a process.

Windows (Overclocked CPU)

Overclocked CPUs are processors that have had their voltages modified to produce more power. Overclocking is popular among computer enthusiasts, as it allows you to get more bang for your buck, but it can potentially damage your components.

1. Download and install CPU-Z. This is a freeware utility that monitors the components in your computer. It is designed for overclockers, and will report the exact speed that your processors are operating at. You can download it from cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html.

* CPU-Z will not install any adware or toolbars during the setup process.

2.  Run CPU-Z. By default, there will be a shortcut on your desktop to start CPU-Z. You will need to be logged in as an administrator, or have the administrator password in order to run it.

3. Start a CPU-intensive task on your computer. Your processor will automatically slow down when it isn't being used, so the speeds you see in CPU-Z will not show the full speed unless your processor is working hard.

* A quick way to get your CPU maxed-out is to run the Prime95 program. this is a program designed to calculate prime numbers, and is used by many to perform stress tests on a computer. Download Prime95 from mersenne.org/download/, unzip the program files, and select "Just Stress Testing" when you run the program.

4. Check your CPU speed. Your current CPU speed will be displayed in the "Core Speed" field of the [CPU] tab. Expect to see minor fluctuations as your computer processes the Prime95 program.

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Which is the Best Linux Distribution for your Desktop?

Linux today comes in several different flavors or distros as they are known in Linux circles.

Some Linux distributions are light-weight (they’ll run just fine on your old laptop), some are targeted at people who just want to try out Linux without replacing their main OS while other desktop distros (say Ubuntu) include a more comprehensive collection of software applications and also support a wide variety of hardware devices.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT LINUX DISTRO FOR YOUR DESKTOP

Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Xandros, Knoppix, Fedora, openSUSE etc. are just some of the popular Linux distros but you’ll be surprised to know that there exists over 650 active distros in the world according to DistroWatch, a site that tracks the popularity of various Linux distributions.

Determining the perfect Linux distribution that will meet your requirements can therefore be a difficult task so here’s a handy guide that lists different scenarios and the Linux distros that will be the most appropriate for each of them.

1. FOR PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT TO TRY LINUX OUT

Live CD distributions like Knoppix boot directly from the CD-ROM so you can try out Linux without you having to install anything on your computer. The user can run many different software applications and he may also save documents / files created during a Live CD session to persistent storage like a hard disk or a flash drive.

A Linux Live CD can also be used in situations when your windows has crashed and you want to save your existing data on another media before reinstalling windows. The only problem is that such distributions tend to run slower than fully installed Linux distributions.

If you aren’t too happy with the speed of a Live CD, you can use a Wubi to install the Ubuntu Linux distro on your Windows desktop. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu on your computer just like any Windows application. As compared to other Linux distributions, Ubuntu has got a fixed release cycle and support period and a wealth of both official and user contributed online documentation.

There’s another interesting option as well – you may install Linux in a virtual environment and run it alongside other Windows /Mac applications. Virtualization software like Virtual PC (Microsoft), Virtual Box (Sun) or VMare can be easily used for this purpose. Just download the Linux ISO (or use the Linux installer CD if you have one) and follow the wizard to set up your new Linux virtual machine.

2. FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO LINUX

Among the GNU/Linux desktop distributions, Linux Mint provides an ease of use and elegance not seen in other distributions. Linux Mint is is based on Ubuntu (which itself is based on Debian) so users have a large collection of software programs and packages to choose from. If something works for Ubuntu or Debian, it’ll probably work on Linux Mint as well.

Linux Mint CD comes with a utility called mint4win that will let you install Linux on your Windows computer on other partition without touching any of your existing setup. The performance won’t be that great but you can easily uninstall Linux from your Windows PC using the Add/Remove applications tool within Windows.

Ubuntu (Desktop edition) is also a great choice for Linux users who are beginners. It supports a wide-variety of hardware devices, has a standard release cycle (every six months) and, if you don’t have a great Internet connection, you can ask Ubuntu to ship you installation DVDs for free anywhere in the world.

OpenSUSE (Novell) and Fedora (Red Hat) are other popular Linux distros for the desktop that are both free and user-friendly.

Among the commercial distros, Xandros Home Edition is perhaps the most useful Linux desktop operating system for newbies. Xandros includes CodeWeavers CrossOver so you can easily run Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and many other Windows applications inside Xandros.

3. FOR INSTALLING LINUX ON OLD COMPUTERS

Puppy Linux is a Live CD distribution that has a small installer and will run just fine on computers with RAM as little as 64 MB. Puppy Linux can boot from several media including USB flash drives, CD or a zip drive. Puppy Linux will run totally in RAM so make sure you save the modified personal files to a disk else you’ll lose the changes when the system shuts down.

Xubuntu, a variant of Ubuntu is also a possibility. Xubuntu uses xfce, a desktop environment that uses less system resources than GNOME that comes with the Ubuntu distribution. Xubuntu versions are released twice a year, coinciding with Ubuntu releases.

antiX is another good choice for old computers – it should run on systems that were considered slow when Windows 98 was released (like the Pentium II series). Damn Small Linux and Zenwalk are other variations that have minimal hardware requirements.

4. FOR USING LINUX AT WORK

Redhat Enterprise Linux and and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (formerly known as Novell Linux Desktop) are the front runners in the business category of Linux distros. Traditionally though, Redhat has concentrated more on the server market than the desktop market. Xandros Desktop is another choice except that Xandros is a small company and most business organizations would prefer to deal with large stable vendors.

Red Hat Enterprise Server, SUSE Enterprise and Ubuntu Server are possible contenders for deploying Linux on server machines. Some factors that go in favor of Red Hat are extensive security updates schedule (7 years), large number of new packages included in the distro and a strong training and certification program which is very useful for organizations that do not have in house skills.

5. LINUX FOR NETBOOK COMPUTERS

Netbooks are like your regular notebook computers but with small screens, they consume less power but also have less powerful hardware. Linux distros that are suitable for running on netbooks include Ubuntu Netbook, Moblin and Jolicloud.

Ubuntu Netbook requires an Intel Atom processor. If you already have a Ubuntu installer, you can install the desktop version of Ubuntu on your netbook, change the default repository to point to Ubuntu Network Editor repository and then install the relevant packages.

Jolicloud is suitable for running on low-powered computers that don’t have enough memory or storage space. The interface of Jolicloud is gorgeous and different from all other Linux distros. It is based on Ubuntu so any app that works with Ubuntu will run on Jolicloud as well. You may install Jolicloud alongside your Windows OS or download the ISO to install Jolicloud on a separate partition.

Moblin, another Linux distro from netbooks, was initially a project of Intel but is now part of the Linux Foundation. You can run Mobile from a live USB image or you install the OS on to the netbook. Going forward, Moblin and Maemo* merged into MeeGo and are available for download.

[*] Maemo is Debian Linux based software platform from Nokia.

6. FOR POWER USERS WHO WANT CONTROL

Arch Linux is a recommended distro for power (experienced) users as it allows them to create a customized Linux installation built from the ground up. It does not have a graphical install interface.

Once the Arch Linux installation is done, there is no post-install account creation or login manager screen. Instead, there is a screen full of configuration files that have to be tweaked to suit the network and system configuration. This allows the user to tailor the system from the ground up as compared to a ‘user-friendly’ distro where one would get a standard set of packages and will have to remove the ones that are not needed.

Slackware is another distro that deserves mention in this context. As compared to Arch Linux, Slackware Linux provides more stable packages and is thus more conservative. However, Arch Linux provides a more usable package management system that takes care of dependencies.

Slackware third party packagers on the other hand, have to ensure that everything is included in the package or available for download from the same web page. It is the oldest surviving Linux distribution. Since Slackware philosophy is to use vanilla packages, it tends to run faster than other distros.

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How to Install Linux on your Windows Computer

Are you a Windows user who is curious to try Linux (Ubuntu in particular) because you have heard so many good things about the OS from your geek friends?

There are two ways to use Linux on a Windows computer. You can either install the full Linux OS alongside Windows, or if you are just starting with Linux for the first time, the other easy option is that you run Linux virtually with making any change to your existing Windows setup.

The former option will offer the best performance because all your system resources will be available to Linux but the latter option is absolutely risk-free and therefore recommended for novice users. You’ll be able to test drive Linux but without changing a single file on your Windows computer.

RUNNING LINUX WITH WINDOWS – YOUR OPTIONS

Let’s look at some of the easiest ways to use Linux on a Windows computer. Linux is available in multiple flavors (your friends may call them Linux distros) but here, let’s focus on the desktop edition of Ubuntu, perhaps the most popular and actively developed Linux distribution.

A: TEST-DRIVE LINUX ONLINE AS A WEB APP

Perhaps the easiest way to try Linux on your Windows Desktop is inside your web browser. Go to edubuntu.org, fill that simple form and within a minute, you’ll have the full version of Ubuntu Linux running on your desktop inside a Java applet.

There’s absolutely no need to download or install anything on your computer and a single session can last up to two hours. You get access to all the features that are available in the standard desktop edition of Ubuntu Linux including the ability to download and install new packages from the Linux repository.

B: RUN LINUX FROM A USB STICK OR A CD

The most popular option to test-drive Linux on Windows is a LiveCD. Though it says “CD,” you can also use a USB Flash Drive as a LiveCD (without having to burn a CD).

To get started, download the latest version of Ubuntu to your desktop. This is an ISO file (also known as a CD image) that is around 650 MB in size. If you don’t have a great Internet connection, you can always borrow the Ubuntu CD from a friend (yes, its perfectly legal) or order a readymade live CD from OSDisc.com.

Once you have Ubuntu ISO image file, grab an empty USB disk and use UNetbootin to quickly turn that USB drive into a bootable Ubuntu disk for Ubuntu without having to burn a CD. Insert the bootable USB flash drive into your Windows computer and reboot. If this doesn’t work, go to the BIOS boot menu and change the boot sequence.

You should see an option at the boot menu that says “Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer” – choose that and you are good to go. Once inside Linux, you can install new programs, create files and everything else that you normally do at a computer though your changes won’t be written to the disk.

The Ubuntu portal has more details on creating and troubleshooting a LiveCD.

C: RUN LINUX IN A VIRTUAL MACHINE

The term virtualization may sound very geeky but in simple English, all it means is that you can another OS over an existing OS. For instance, you can run Windows on a Mac or you may install Linux on a Windows 7 machine using virtualization software.

To get started, download and install the free VMware Player on your Windows desktop. Then download the VMware image for Ubuntu and extract the zip file. Now double-click the Ubuntu.vmx file that you just extracted and the Linux virtual machine will load inside the VMWare Player. Simple!

Technically, Linux will be the “guest” operating system while “Windows” will be considered the host OS. And other than VMware, you may also VirtualBox to run Linux inside windows. The VirtualBox installer and the Ubuntu Linux images for VirtualBox for can be downloaded for free from oracle.com.

D: INSTALL LINUX LIKE A WINDOWS SOFTWARE

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could install Linux like a native Windows app – something like Microsoft Office? For instance, if you have Office running on Windows, you can always uninstall the software later without affecting any other Windows programs or system settings.

Meet Wubi – short for Windows-based UBuntu Installer – a tiny utility that will help you install Ubuntu Linux alongside any other Windows application. Run the installer, choose a password for your Linux environment and the software does the rest.

It will download the necessary Linux ISO from the Internet and will install it on your machine. Alternatively, if you have previously download the ISO, you can just place the .iso file in the same folder as Wubi and it will pick it up.

Now the next time you restart / reboot your computer, it will offer you a choice of Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows. This is a real Linux installation and thus the overall performance should be good as well. If you ever want to uninstall Linux, simple boot into Windows, go to the Add-Remove problems and uninstall Wubi.

E: RUN LINUX INSIDE THE WEB BROWSER

If you are just starting to learn Linux and are looking for an easy way to practice the various Linux commands, check out the very-impressive JSLinux project.

This is an emulator that lets you use Linux inside your web browser. You may write shells scripts using Sed and Awk, master regular expressions, play around with popular text editors like Vi and Emacs, look up man pages of various Linux command and much more – all inside your browser.

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How to Check the Last Reboot Time on a Server

This article will teach you how to check the last reboot time on a Linux or UNIX server (this will also work for Mac OSX). This can be useful for many things.

Steps

1. Open up a command line interface.

2. Type in "uptime" (without the quotes) and hit enter.

3. Read the output. A sample one: 22:26:32 up 53 min, 2 users, load average: 0.22, 0.23, 0.28 This means that it has been 53 minutes since the last reboot.

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Print Files on Linux Remotely using Dropbox

The idea is that you create a shell script to monitor a local Dropbox folder. As soon as a new file is added to that folder from a remote computer (or mobile phone), the script will send the file to the attached printer. Once the the printing job is completed, the file is removed from the incoming queue.

You only have to setup a cron job against this script such that it runs after every ‘n’ seconds (or minutes).

#!/bin/bash

export PrintQueue="/root/Dropbox/PrintQueue";

IFS=$'\n'

for PrintFile in $(/bin/ls -1 ${PrintQueue})

do

    lpr -r ${PrintQueue}/${PrintFile};

done

To initiate a print job, simply add some files to the PrintQueue Folder in Dropbox from either a remote computer or upload them via your mobile phone. Within seconds, the script will start printing the files to your local printer.

If you have multiple printers attached to Linux computer, use the – p parameter to specify the printer name.

Also, if you are on Ubuntu, you may use “sudo apt-get install gnome-schedule” (Gnome Schedule) to setup a scheduled task for the script with recurrence set to “every minute.”

DROPBOX PRINTING WITH LINUX DECODED

Here’s an annotated version of the script, courtesy Kurt again, that will help you easily understand how the script works:

#!/bin/bash — Specific bash directly since its feature set and behaviors are consistent everywhere

export PrintQueue — It’s necessary to ‘export’ in order for the environment variable to show up in the later $() subshell

IFS=$’\n’ — By default, spaces will wreak havoc with the ‘for / in’ loop. Resetting the field separator handily works around that

/bin/ls -1 — Directly use /bin/ls to bypass the common color-enabling aliases. Use -1 to force all files into one column. There’s no need to search for the beginning of the file name using this

lpr -r — The -r option deletes the file after it successfully prints. This is better than doing an ‘rm’ later since it only does the delete on a successful print.

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