Tag: Operating system
First generation fat PS3s bricked by new 3.21 firmware update
If you've got an old-style bread-bin PlayStation 3 now would be a good time to switch off your internet router. The latest update from Sony's servers is causing nightmares for first generation PS3 owners, bricking their consoles and stopping them…
5 reasons to switch to Linux
Struggling along on your Windows-based PC and considering moving over to Linux?
Here are five reasons why you should make the switch.
1. Lots of free software available
If your PC doesn’t already have a Linux distro (the geek cool name for a particular distributed version of the operating system) installed on it, and you’re a tech-head then you can generally get the Linux operating system itself for free
If you want support and instructions on setting it up you can pay a software company for this.
However, once it’s set up and running, you’ll find a wide variety of useful software packages already available that will let you do pretty much anything you’re likely to want to do.
It’s true that there are more versions of Linux available than of Windows or Mac OS X, but you can find out more about the user-friendly Ubuntu flavour of Linux in Duncan’s How to get all the music and software you want for free and legally talk…
Ten great reasons to switch to OS X
What? Hasn’t the OS X versus Windows debate died out yet?
‘fraid not, and it’s not likely to either.
So, without further ado, here are ten superb reasons why you should switch to Mac OS X.
1. Manage your windows better
No, not that Windows (though it’s worth noting that you can still run Windows applications on a Mac with the right bit of software).
One of the biggest headaches on any computer desktop is the number of application windows you have to manage all the time.
Sure, there’s a minimise feature and you can always close windows you no longer need, but Mac OS X has some very elegant ways of managing the clutter of multiple windows with just a few keystrokes.
There’s Exposé which shows you all the windows you have open and lets you switch easily between them (you can even drag and drop items between windows this way) or alternatively clears everything out of the way so you can see the desktop behind.
Combine this with Spaces which lets you have multiple virtual desktops and you have a very slick window management system that makes it easier to accomplish tasks rather than wrestling with windows.
Sure, Windows can do some of this, but not as well…
Acer Exec confirms Windows 7 release date: 23rd October
“23rd October is the date the Windows 7 will be available” says Bobby Watkins, Acer’s UK MD. The company will be releasing its all-in-one Z5600 PC on that date, and it will come pre-loaded with Windows 7.
Microsoft is still claiming a release date of January 2010, but the company has acknowledged that it’s running ahead of schedule on the follow-up to its poorly-received Vista. Any Vista-based PCs purchased within 30 days prior to 23rd October will be eligible for a free upgrade.
Stay tuned for more news on Acer’s 2009 lineup. We’ll have the full details for you shortly.
(via Pocket-Lint)
How to: Install Ubuntu 9.04 on an Acer Aspire One
Last week, the team behind Ubuntu released version 9.04, which has been named Jaunty Jackalope. It’s a great upgrade on 8.10 Intrepid Ibex, and it’s also the first Ubuntu release to come with a netbook remix.
As I’m the proud owner of the Acer Aspire One netbook, I thought I’d whack Jaunty on and see how it behaves. I’m impressed. The UI is clear and clean (although the default Ubuntu brown clashes rather with my machine’s blue chassis) and everything runs zippily. It’s most definitely an upgrade over the modified Linux distro that the netbook came with, with the only issue that I’ve run into being that you can’t hot-plug media cards into the reader, they need a reboot to work.
Just as a quick caveat, I did all the testing on an 8GB SSD Linux version of an Aspire One, with the prep work on a machine running Windows Vista. I’ve mentioned below some options for those with a mechanical hard drive, but the only thing I can guarantee is that everything below works for me. If you use a different netbook, you should be fine, but this guide is for the Aspire One.
Back up any files you want to keep before you start because this process will wipe your drive, and make sure you’ve got a restore disk for if you run into trouble. For info on how to create one, see the documentation that came with your Aspire One. We take no responsibility for any software or hardware problems you run into as a result of following this, or any other, guide.
What you’ll need
- Right, now that’s over with, let’s get started. Here’s what you’ll need to hand before you start, both software and hardware:
- An Aspire One, or another compatible netbook
- An empty flash drive with a 1GB or greater capacity. I used this 2GB Toshiba drive.
- The Ubuntu 9.04 netbook remix .IMG file (970MB)
- A disk imager tool, I used Win32 Image Writer.
- Once you’ve got all that together, about 45 minutes to an hour of your time
Preparing the USB disk
First of all, plug your USB drive into whatever computer you’re going to use to copy the install files across with. Probably the one that you’re reading these instructions on. Go into ‘My Computer’ and note what drive letter has been allocated to the USB disk.
Then start up Win32 Disk Imager, and click the “…” button, and navigate to wherever you saved the Ubuntu .IMG file. When you find it, select it and hit okay. Then, under ‘device’, select the drive letter for the USB, and hit ‘write’. Let it do its thing, it should take less than 5 minutes.
Preparing your Aspire One
On your Aspire One, make sure everything that you want to keep is backed up, because part of the process below involves wiping the drive of your netbook. Take off any data you want to keep and store it safely elsewhere.
Then power down the Aspire One and remove anything that’s plugged into it, like SD cards or USB peripherals. Keep the power cable in, though. Plug in the USB drive you’re using for the install, and power on.
Almost immediately, hit F12 when it prompts you to “Select boot order”. From the menu that appears, select the USB drive. It’ll prompt you to pick a language, so select your favourite. Then the USB drive will give you the option to try out Ubuntu without installing. Do that if you like, and when you’re ready to install properly, then reboot and get back to this menu.
The installation process
When you’re ready to take the plunge, hit “Install Ubuntu” on this menu. Give it a minute to load everything into the device’s memory. To start with, the progress bar will move between the left and right sides, but shortly after it’ll start filling up.
Pick a language again. Probably the same one as before, unless you’re feeling a little devil-may-care and you’re in the mood for an install in Suomi. Seriously though, pick English. Then hit ‘forward’ and select a timezone and city. Hit ‘forward’ again.
Pick the right keyboard layout for your machine. Test using the little box at the bottom, and check the ” and @ keys, which are swapped around on American keyboards. If all seems like it’s in order, then hit ‘forward’ again.
Disks and file systems
This is where things get a little tricky. If you finish and it won’t boot, then go back and double-check this section carefully. Now – you have options that depend on what kind of disk you’ve got.
If you have a traditional mechanical hard drive then you can pick between installing Ubuntu alongside your existing operating system or replacing it. If you’d like to do the former, then pick the first option in the list – install alongside an existing operating system, then click forward and skip straight to the next section, ignoring all the stuff about filesystems below.
If you’re using a mechanical drive and you’d like to replace your existing OS entirely, then click the second option – “Use the entire disk”. Make sure that the right disk is selected – not a USB drive or an SD card or anything. Be aware that this option will delete all data on that disk, then hit ‘forward’ and skip straight to the next section.
Lastly, if you have an SSD then you get an even more complex choice. You won’t have room to do anything except installing over the current operating system, so option one is out. However, you have a choice between installing the ext4, ext3 and ext2 filesystems.
Ext4 is known as a ‘journaling’ filesystem. It writes into a ‘journal’ whenever it modifies anything, so it’s much safer if you lose power suddenly and you want your files to be okay. Ext3 is also a ‘journaling’ filesystem but it’s older, so I don’t recommend its use over Ext4.
Ext2 doesn’t do any ‘journaling’ – so it uses far fewer read/writes. As an SSD wears out quicker than a regular hard drive, selecting Ext2 will make things run a smidge faster and increase your drive’s lifetime. As a result, though, files can corrupt if you suddenly lose power on your machine. Even if nothing corrupts, you’ll have to sit through an irritating file check every time you startup if you don’t power down properly.
It’s up to you – select Ext4 for a safer drive that wears out quicker, or Ext2 for a slightly faster drive that’ll last longer, but is more prone to errors if you lose power. If you’d like to read up more on the subject, then head to this forum post, or this wiki entry.
Once you’ve decided, click option three – “specify partitions manually”. Don’t be scared by the word ‘advanced’, if you understood what I just said, then you’ll be fine. You should have two drives in front of you, one big one marked “ext2”, and one smaller one marked “swap”.
Double-click the big “ext2” drive, and an ‘edit partition’ box should pop up. Select from the “Use as:” drop-down either “Ext2 file system” or “Ext4 file system”, depending on which you want (see above). Then tick the box marked ‘Format the partition’ and then select “/” as the mount point. Hit okay, then forward. That wasn’t too bad now, was it?
If you’ve got no idea what drive you’ve got, then just click the middle option – “Use the entire disk”.
Progress bars
Tough bit over. Type in your name, a username (all lowercase, please), a password and name of the computer. Choose whether you want it to prompt you for your password every time you start up or not. Then hit ‘forward’.
It’ll show you a summary screen for what it’s about to do. Scan it quickly and make sure it’s about to do what you’re expecting it to, then take a deep breath and hit ‘forward’.
Progress bars should appear. Go make a cup of tea. It took me about 20 minutes to install to an SSD, or it’ll be slightly longer for a mechanical drive. When it’s complete, choose the restart option, and remove the USB disk when it tells you to. The system will then reset.
Complete!
Voila! Your installation is complete. You’ll find that Ubuntu boots a tiny bit slower than the default Linux OS, but it’ll be a bit faster than Windows. It’s slower than the default OS because it’s so full of good stuff.
Click around a bit – the left column shows categories of programs. The middle pane shows the programs that are in each category – click one to start it. Lastly, the right-hand pane will show you storage locations. Click one to load it.
Have a little fiddle around in the settings, too. There’s plenty of customisable stuff. Change the colour scheme away from the brown if you like, or turn off ‘tap-to-click’ on the trackpad. If you’d like to edit the menus, you can do that by clicking “Main Menu” in “Preferences”.
Congratulations on your Linux install! No command line shenanigans at all. Wasn’t it easy? Tell us how happy you are on Twitter by messaging @techdigest.
MWC 2009: Windows Mobile 6.5 unveiled by Microsoft in Barcelona
Late last week, in a small office near Holborn, Microsoft showed Tech Digest Windows Mobile 6.5, and shared its vision for smartphones that the company hopes will combat Apple’s growing appetite for the sector.
At the opening of Mobile World Congress today in Barcelona, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the company’s new mobile OS to the world. The new features are split 50:50 between interface and usability.
Let’s talk usability first. Microsoft’s stated goal with Windows Mobile is to make things take fewer clicks to do. Instead of clicking five times from a locked handset to reading your email, the company wants to minimise the hassle.
The next version of Windows Mobile will feature a brand new home screen, lock screen and a fresh look to the interface that echoes Vista and Windows 7. The home screen looks remarkably Zune-y, which is unsurprising given the praise heaped upon Microsoft’s MP3 player’s interface, and the recent integration of the Zune team into Windows Mobile.
The phone-is-locked screen will now allow you to unlock straight to specific applications, allowing you to move from a locked phone straight to email, text messages, voicemail, calendar and missed calls with one movement.
The look and feel of the software has been upgraded too. There’s more colour scattered around, and the scroll bars match the feel of the desktop version of the OS, rather than echoing Windows 3.1 as they did previously.
Lastly there’s a redesigned start menu – instead of a drop-down list, you now get a honeycomb of different applications. Microsoft claims that a series of hexagons makes the best use of the space, but I rather suspect that the redesign is more about making the product more visually distinct – something that Windows Mobile has always struggled with.
So how about new features? Well, there’s the previously-talked about “Skymarket”, which is now called Windows Marketplace. That will bring the 20,000 applications developed for Windows Mobile into one central place to better combat Apple’s App Store.
Microsoft told Tech Digest that it won’t exercise as much editorial control over the contents of its app store. Applications that aren’t permitted in Apples store because they compete with things that Apple itself is trying to do, like browsers, will be welcomed with open arms into Windows Marketplace. Microsoft says that the bar for entry will be based on the quality of the code, not the content.
There’s also a new version of Internet Explorer – IE Mobile 6. This will feature increased performance and better rendering of desktop-sized pages. Microsoft says that having one of the oldest browsers on the market means that they’ve learnt a lot about how to make a browser. I think it’ll be interesting to see how it compares with Fennec and Opera.
Lastly, Microsoft’s unveiled a service called “My Phone” that will act as a cloud backup of your contacts, photos, calendar items, mail and documents. It may launch sooner than the main OS, and grant a rather measly 200MB of data initially.
It’ll be free, but Microsoft suggested that more storage might be available at a price, for syncing music collections and the like. Needless to say, you’ll need to decide for yourself whether your data package is adequate for syncing photos and music, but anyone should be able to sync contacts and other text-based data.
The handset where we saw all this in action – an HTC Touch Pro, not a slow phone – crawled in the demonstration, so it looks like Microsoft still has a lot of optimisation to do before Windows Mobile 6.5 is ready for primetime. The OS is due in Q4 2009, so there’s still time, but let’s hope that Microsoft applies some of its learnings from Vista to Windows Mobile, and doesn’t release a product that’s too weighty for its own good.
Microsoft extends availability of Windows 7 beta
Did you have trouble picking up the Windows 7 beta over the weekend? I sure did. I didn’t manage to get my hands on it till last night, when I finally got it burnt to DVD and installed on a spare laptop.
In light of the massive demand, Microsoft has wisely decided to drop the 2.5 million downloads limit, and is instead letting you download it as many times as you want within the next two weeks – until the 24th January. Every time you download, you’ll be given a CD key.
As a result of not getting my hands on the OS till last night, I’m still formulating my first thoughts. So far, though, I like what I’ve seen very much. It’s very responsive, and usable. It seems to fix almost everything people didn’t like about Vista and improve a bunch of other features, too. Full thoughts later in the week.
Get Windows 7 (via Lifehacker)
Related posts: Windows 7 public beta available NOW | Windows 7 hits public beta on Friday – here’s how to give it a try
Windows 7 public beta available NOW
Thought you might like a heads-up that the Windows 7 beta is available for download right now. I’m pleasantly surprised, I was expecting more like sometime this evening. Of course, you can’t get near the download page right now, because it’s so busy. Don’t worry, within an hour, it’ll be all over Bittorrent.
A quick recap, for those of you who didn’t see this post. Windows 7 is Microsoft’s new OS, and they’re looking at a release somewhere in the second half of this year. This is a public beta, which means that it’s unsupported. If it screws up your PC, then you’ve got to fix it, so unless you’re happy mucking about with PC innards, don’t install it.
Download Windows 7 Beta (via Ars Technica)
Related posts: CES 2009: Windows 7 hits public beta on Friday – here’s how to give it a try | Merry Christmas extremely bored men – Windows 7 beta hits the torrent sites
CES 2009: Palm's new Web OS in detail
Previously known as “Nova”, Palm has just rechristened and launched its new OS “Web OS”. It’s an amazingly dreary name for a concept that could reshape how we use our mobile mobiles. The bottom line is that Palm is bending head-over-heels to make their platform easy for developers – so easy that they reckon anyone who knows HTML, CSS and XML will be able to write an app.
The UI is very iPhone-like. You flick the display to scroll around, and there’s various gestures that you can use, too. Everything’s managed with a ‘cards’ metaphor, where you see a deck that can be rotated with a finger and shuffled. The biggest feature, though, is something called “Synergy”.
CES 2009: Windows 7 hits public beta on Friday – here's how to give it a try
As of this Friday – the 9th January, Microsoft is going to release a beta version of its new operating system – Windows 7 – to the first 2.5 million people to download it. The new OS is eagerly anticipated, which Microsoft must be pleased about, given that Vista has been a PR disaster.
Windows 7 promises a tonne of improvements to Windows’ basic functionality. It’s quicker, less bloated and more secure than Windows Vista – which suffered from bloat and compatibility issues on release. Although it’s dramatically improved since, many users are refusing to upgrade from XP, and Microsoft continues to trickle users away to OS X.
