Archive for the 'Linux' Category

Martin asked:


I’ve been using the Windows 7 beta for a while now, and so far I’ve really liked it. The new Taskbar is a huge improvement over the one that has existed up until this point and is a joy to use. And the various other enhancements all make it easier to do things.

I’ve also been reading a few articles about how Windows 7 will be the best OS ever (not necessarily my opinion), will beat Mac OSX and various flavours of Linux into the ground, and that there will be a wild upgrade from old Windows users.

However, in my opinion, I don’t think that will be the case. Windows 7 does deliver a much better product than Vista, and certainly enhances the ‘Windows Experience’. But if I was still using XP, I would still have the same reservations about upgrading to Windows 7 that I had before (grudgingly) upgrading to Vista.

Before I moved to Vista, and that was only due to buying a new laptop, my old XP machine worked flawlessly. All the programs I used worked without any problems. All the hardware I had worked without any problems. So when I read about all the issues Vista had, and that you had to buy new programs to get them to work, along with the machine spec needed to get Vista running, I decided at the time to stick with what I had. Even when I was looking to buy a new laptop, I seriously considered moving to Ubuntu 8, or getting a ‘barebones’ laptop and re-installing XP.

User still on XP will still be in the same boat as they were when Vista was released. If they want to upgrade to Windows 7, they’ll still need a decent machine spec. They’ll need to check that all their hardware will work with Vista, and that all the programs they use will work with Windows 7. It still won’t be that easy a choice to make. And that’s only referring to the Home users.

Businesses still using Win XP will still have all the same expenses involved in moving to Vista as they would moving to Windows 7. And given the current economic climate, I don’t think they’ll want to be forking out huge amounts just to have the latest OS.

There may also be other reasons apart from cost that mean businesses won’t consider moving, for example, in-house software that won’t work on Vista let alone Windows 7 without huge amounts of development work.

I think all of this means that we won’t see a rush of users upgrading to Windows 7, at least not if they’re using XP at the moment. The best thing to come out of Vista is that a lot of ground work for hardware drivers, and compatibility issues have been resolved. But I don’t think we’ll see the death of old Windows just yet.



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Andrew Weber asked:


Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Articles on all of these features cal be found at

BeginLinux.com

After continued success with Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon, the new Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Linux desktop is sure to make big waves in the Linux distribution pool. As shown in the Ubuntu 8.04 alpha and beta releases, the new Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron release offers many features and enhancements for your desktop including the following and more.

Gnome 2.22 on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron has a full array of improvements including the new GVFS Back-end Nautilus.

Pulse Audio offers cutting edge sound server technology on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron.

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron offers Firefox 3.0 which offers a good collection of new, tested, productive features but is still in beta at the time of this writing.

The Wubi installer allows you to easily install Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron on Windows using an .exe just like any other Windows application.

Along with the new Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron graphic scheme the World Clock Applet is an all around positive for the desktop offering temperature display, location profiles and more.

X.org 7.3 gives Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron users auto-configuration enhancements with the focus placed a minimal configuration file.

Developed by Google during the Summer of Code project and included in the upcoming Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron release, Prefetch will speed up boot-time and common application launching by profiling which files are read in which order and will automatically optimize the order of the data on the hard disk.

A new addition to the Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron application selection is Inkscape, a drawing program that has similar features to popular drawing applications like Illustrator, Freehand, and Corel Draw. Inkscape on Hardy Heron will help complete the graphic design application options on Ubuntu Linux.

Ubuntu 8.04 includes Vinagre which is a useful VNC Client designed for the new GNOME 2.22 desktop.

The Gnome BitTorrent downloader has been replaced by the GTK version of Transmission, a multi-platform BitTorrent client that is light weight and full of features.

Brasero will replace the Serpentine burner on the new Ubuntu desktop. Brasero provides simplicity and a decent set of features

Ubuntu 8.04 includes PolicyKit which is now integrated in the administrative user interface. PolicyKit provides the finest control over permissions while enhancing usability and increasing security.



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Sharon Smith asked:


Installing Zenoss on Feisty Ubuntu

1. Install Ubuntu 7.04 Server from an installation CD.

2. Log in as the default user.

3. Install ssh so you can putty (remote terminal) from your desktop:

sudo apt-get install ssh

ifconfig | grep cast (to see what your IP is)

4. Either via SSH or on the box itself, become the root user:

sudo su

[Enter password]

5. Several dependencies are in the ‘universe’ repository, so we’ll need to

modify your sources list (here we’ll use vim as an editor):

vim /etc/apt/sources.list

Find these two lines:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty main restricted

deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty main restricted

And add the ‘universe’ repository:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty main restricted universe

deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty main restricted universe

Save the file and close the editor. Then, back at the command line:

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

6. Now we can install the dependencies. From the command line:

apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client python-dev python2.4-dev

build-essential subversion libmysqlclient15-dev snmpd autoconf

snmp swig python-setuptools sysv-rc-conf bzip2

7. Add the ‘zenoss’ user that will run the application:

adduser zenoss

If security isn’t an issue, use the password ‘zenoss’. Use defaults for

everything else.

8. Zenoss requires some environment variables to be set, so we need to add them

to the ‘zenoss’ user’s bash startup script. Enter the command:

vim /home/zenoss/.bashrc

And add these lines to the end:

export ZENHOME=/usr/local/zenoss

export PYTHONPATH=$ZENHOME/lib/python

export PATH=$ZENHOME/bin:$PATH

Save the file and close the editor.

9. Now we’ll make the directory into which Zenoss will install. Run:

mkdir /usr/local/zenoss

chown zenoss /usr/local/zenoss

10. Feisty Fawn ships with Python 2.5, but certain dependencies of Zenoss are

unable to build properly with this version. Once Zenoss has been installed,

it will run just fine under 2.5, but we’ll need to change the symlink for

the installation. Run:

unlink /usr/bin/python && ln -s /usr/bin/python2.4 /usr/bin/python

11. Now it’s time to install. First, become the zenoss user:

su zenoss

cd

You’re in the zenoss user’s home directory. Download the latest version of

Zenoss here. If you want to use svn to download it, run:

svn co http://dev.zenoss.org/svn/trunk/inst zenoss-install

If you want to use a tarball, download it to this directory and run:

tar xzf zenoss-[X.XX].tar.gz

Replacing the [X.XX] with the version you’ve downloaded.

Now that you’ve got Zenoss, cd to the directory that was just created. All

that’s left to do is:

./install.sh

The installation script will ask you a few questions, then install Zenoss.

If you run into any problems and need to run the installation again, clean

up what’s already been done with:

make clean

12. Once Zenoss has been installed successfully, become root again by typing:

exit

Or hitting Ctrl-D. Set zensocket to setuid:

chown root:zenoss /usr/local/zenoss/bin/zensocket

chmod 04750 /usr/local/zenoss/bin/zensocket

Switch back the Python symlinks:

unlink /usr/bin/python && ln -s /usr/bin/python2.5 /usr/bin/python

And have Zenoss run on system startup:

ln -s /usr/local/zenoss/bin/zenoss /etc/init.d

sysv-rc-conf

Add Zenoss to runlevels 2, 3, 4 and 5. Reboot, and check that Zenoss

started properly with:

/usr/local/zenoss/bin/zenoss status

13. To monitor your Zenoss server, install SNMP agent:

apt-get install snmpd

You need to configure it to allow ‘public’ to read all

OIDs (default is to read very few OIDs):

cp /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf{,.bak}

snmpconf (configure snmpd agent to allow public read)

cp snmpd.conf /etc/snmp/

/etc/init.d/snmpd restart

14. Default ubuntu mail agent (MTA) is exim4, which may need to be

setup if you want email alerts to work with a remote mail server

(mail.mydomain.inc):

dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config

Select default options, except:

mail sent by smarthost; received via SMTP or fetchmail

mail.mydomain.inc

15. To test mail agent, need to install a frontend (MUA - mail) to

exim4:

apt-get install mailutils

mail youremail@yourdomain.inc

(press enter for Cc:, type in subject, press enter)

(type in body of message, then enter)

. (type in single period, then enter, to end composing and email is queued)

mailq (to see if mail is sent or still in queue)

16. For Windows monitoring, install SNMP from add/remove Windows

monitoring components, then install SNMP-Informant:

www.snmp-informant.com - download the free SNMP for Windows.

17. Read the Admin guide at http://www.zenoss.com/download/

For more information, please visit http://www.zenoss.com



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Lavana James asked:


Cape Town is effectively a tale of two cities – the cosmopolitan city centre with its cluster of luxury villas that dot the Atlantic Seaboard and embrace the mountain, and the informal settlements that stretch as far as the eye can see.

Visitors to the Cape are initially struck by the vast areas of ‘shack land’ that spread along both sides of the highways that lead into the city but few venture into these bustling, vibrant settlements - and are much the poorer for it.

Forcibly removed

During colonial rule and at the height of the apartheid regime, black people were forcibly removed from areas close to the city centre in an effort to ‘sanitise’ the region. The existing regime further elected not to build any permanent structures or homes for the people in an effort to discourage further ‘interlopers’ from moving to the city.

But it is these same areas that offer a true glimpse of life for the overwhelming majority in Cape Town and every traveller is encouraged to pay a fleeting visit to these diverse, colourful neighbourhoods of the Mother City.

Langa is the oldest of these settlements and the incongruity of the situation is even more marked as it is relatively close to the CBD and the adjoining waterfront where luxurious marina apartments offer accommodation to the more fortunate.

Established in 1901 when the city was still reeling from the devastation of the Bubonic Plague, local black inhabitants of a farm were considered a health risk and moved away from the more affluent communities to Langa.

People of the ‘Sun’

The inhabitants of this area, literally ‘Sun” in English, were vastly instrumental in the struggle against the apartheid regime and the area and its inhabitants are dedicated to ending the scourge that decimated the lives of millions.

A visit to any township will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of a South African holiday and the lively community lifestyle embraces the concept of ‘Ubuntu’, or ‘togetherness’, where everyone effectively shares whatever they have with the community.

Creative cuisine

Sheep’s heads and pig’s trotters are the favoured cuisine of the township dwellers and chicken’s feet are ‘hot to trot’ fast food for the masses. The streets are full of sounds of joy – children kicking soccer balls or dancing and singing traditional melodies or simply chattering happily with one another.

Shebeens and Spaza shops abound, selling locally produced sorghum beer, milk stout and other ales at half the price, as well as all the other necessities of life. Bead work and finely crafted basketry is available and so too is colourfully dyed fabric - perfect for an entire range of haute couture with a difference!

Although there has been an increase in the number of ‘black diamonds’, or the black middle class, able to afford houses in the more affluent suburbs, many of them have opted to stay in these vibrant communities where the township culture prevails.



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Dan R asked:


With the user-friendly Linux distribution Ubuntu gaining popularity at an astounding rate, you may be considering making the move from Windows to Linux. If you are, then you will have wondered how you will work and play without the applications and games you use every day in Windows.

Windows applications can be run in Linux, just not natively. You have two main options: Emulation and Virtualization. Neither are as effective as dual-booting but I will explain them here and their drawbacks.

Emulation allows you to run Windows applications through a “translation layer” which tricks the applications into thinking they are running on Windows. Although great advances have been made by the WINE Project and commercial offshoot, Cedega, many applications are still unsupported. Support for certain applications may even vary depending on your hardware configuration.

Virtualization takes running Windows applications on Linux a step further and is capable of running an entire Windows (or any other) operating system straight from your Linux desktop. With the free application VirtualBox, you can create a “virtual machine” and install any version of Windows you wish onto it.

A virtual machine is switched on and off exactly like a normal PC, except the entire operating system runs inside a window on your Linux desktop. You may then install any Windows applications you wish into the virtual machine and use them as you normally would.

Running applications natively in Windows, via a virtual machine, is far more reliable than running them through a translation layer, but virtualization has its drawbacks too.

When you run Windows in a virtual machine you are effectively running two operating systems, simultaneously, on one computer. This has obvious performance drawbacks. Although most office-type applications could be run this way, if your office insists on a particular piece of Windows-specific software, performance issues and lack of DirectX support severely hampers game applications.

The only way to successfully run all your Windows applications at their full capacity is to install Windows and Linux as dual-boot operating systems.

Dual-booting is the process of installing two operating systems side-by-side, to be run independently. By this method you will be presented with a menu listing your operating systems when you switch on your computer. this allows you to choose the OS most suitable for the tasks at hand, be it work or gaming.

I personally run Ubuntu 7.04 and Windows XP as a dual-boot system. I mostly use Ubuntu for day-to-day tasks and run Windows XP purely for gaming. This way, dual-booting grants me access to the best features of both operating systems and allows me to use my computer to its full potential.



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Arthur Cole asked:


Virtual desktops may soon be too cheap and easily deployed to resist, particularly as cost-cutting takes a firm hold of data centers around the world.

The latest research from IDC indicates that the savings from not having to purchase, provision, maintain and support full-blown PCs for every user is likely to be substantial in the coming years. The company’s latest report “Virtualizing the Desktop Part 2: Client-Hosted Virtualization Leadership Grid,” indicates that 2009 will be the proof-of-concept year for the technology with large-scale deployments in 2010.

Leading developers such as VMware are already claiming to have hit some breakthroughs on a few of the sticker elements of virtual desktop deployment. This week, the company launched the View 3 initiative, aimed at fostering the mass dissemination of virtual desktops across numerous user groups. The company has essentially junked the single-instance DV platforms of the past with a hypervisor-based solution that uses a single base image to clone multiple desktops that can still be custom-tweaked by users.

Meanwhile, IBM wants to show that it can provide a DV platform without help from Microsoft. The company has teamed up with Canonical and Virtual Bridge to provide a Linux-based system that the company says will cost half as much as a comparable Windows solution. The system bundles IBM’s Open Collaboration Client Solution with Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux and VB’s virtual desktop software.

But if you’re looking for rapid deployment, probably the quickest today is the Pano device from a company called Nebulas Solutions Group. The company has developed a 12-by-12-inch box that sits on your desk and provides direct server access for a mouse, keyboard, display, speakers and peripherals. There’s no memory, OS, drivers or moving parts and consumes only 3 percent of the power of a normal desktop. The company claims a 70 percent TCO reduction.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and tough economic times breed cost-effective solutions. Desktop virtualization’s energy-conscious numbers simply will be too great to ignore in the coming year.



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Jack Krosinski asked:


Because of the dreary economic climate, lowering the cost of operation has become that much more important for the majority of SMB’s.  Hundreds of dollars a month can be saved by switching to free alternatives of services that we usually have to pay an arm and a leg for.

I have compiled a quick list of 5 free alternatives to services and software that we, as SMB’s, have been asked to pay for.

Free Word Processing Suite

OpenOffice -  OpenOffice aims to compete with Microsoft Office and emulate its look and feel where suitable. It can read and write most of the file formats found in Microsoft Office, and many other applications; an essential feature of the suite for many users. It is also available in over 80 language versions.

http://www.openoffice.org

Free Computer Operating System

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system. It works both on laptop and desktop computer. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more. Plus there is a huge and free support community.

http://www.ubuntu.com

Free Web Conferencing and Online Meeting

Blabngo.com – Blabngo.com delivers a totally free web meeting solution, without the hassle of registration, and catch 22 limited time offers. Web meetings can be accomplished by a one click process where a user simply creates an instant conference room and shares the room’s link with those who are to be involved in the meeting. File exchange is also possible.

http://www.blabngo.com

Free Image Manipulation Software

GIMP – The go to application if you’re unwilling to shell out big bucks for image manipulation software.

Primarily GIMP is used for photo enhancement. Uses include resizing and cropping photos, altering colors, combining multiple images, removing unwanted image components, and converting between different image formats, as well as creating graphics and logos.

http://www.gimp.org

Free Web Authoring System

Nvu - Nvu is a complete Web Authoring System that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web page editing. Contrary to popular belief the project is still active and being actively developed. Nvu is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

http://net2.com/nvu



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Pranav Bhat asked:


Ubuntu Post installation Introductionz

So, you are reading this because probably you have installed ubuntu right and now you need to know about the system and how it works and how can you optimize the system for better efficiency, for better look and how can you customize it like you can do it in windows! Well, look no further, you can get all those tips right here! Here is a “Beginners guide to ubuntu tips and optimization”.

So, lets learn a few things about ubuntu, that you might want to know as a first time user.

First boot:

When you for the first time boot the ubuntu system, what you see is a boot flash screen which is called a USplash and it covers up what is going on in the background when linux is booting. This screen is introduced so that the users who arent interested in what actually happens in the background, dont really see it.

First Login Screen:

On the right side of the login screen, you will notice the name of the computer, the date and the current time. On the left side there are some very useful options, like reboot, shutdown, suspend, hibernate, change session etc. Ok, it’s time for you to type in your username and password (hit enter after each one). Immediately after you’ve typed your username and password, you’ll notice a splash screen that shows what programs are loading and in a few seconds the splash screen disappears and the Ubuntu desktop appears. That’s the Ubuntu desktop!

Gnome Desktop:

The desktop environment that ubuntu uses is the GNome desktop! If you have a DHCP based network connection (automatic IP address) then you are connected to the Internet as Ubuntu configures DHCP connections automatically and you will notice a notification message in the right-upper part of the screen that says “Software updates available”. Click on the new orange icon (from where the notification message appeared) and a window will appear on the left side of the screen. This window will start to search for updates. Click the Install Updates button, when the search is complete, to install the available updates on your system. Ohh, what’s this? It asks for a password, because this is an administrative task and it’s safer this way; just type your password and hit enter. This program is called Update Manager and you can always find it under System -> Administration menu, but it will always appear when there are new updates. Also, you will notice another notification message that will ask if you want to install proprietary drivers for your graphics card. Just click the Enable option and it will start to download and install the necessary drivers.

Panels and Applets:

et’s learn a few things about the desktop. First things first, you should know that this desktop is called GNOME; as you can see, it’s a little different than Windows, as it has two Panels: one at the bottom and one at the top. But what’s cool about this desktop is that you can always configure it however you want, but we’ll talk about this a little bit later. Both panels have the same options and configurations.

The bottom panel has the Show Desktop button on the left side; in the middle you will see all the current opened windows and on the right you’ll see a trash icon and the Workspace Switcher. Now this is something you didn’t have in Windows (at least not as default), as the Workspace Switcher allows you to have multiple desktops. How does it work? Very simple: on the actual desktop, you have a window (or more) and if you click on the second square (default there are only two desktops, but you can set up to 36 desktops) the window(s) will disappear. Why? Because they are on the first desktop (you can even see them in the first square), and if you click the first square the window(s) will appear again. On the second (empty) desktop you can have other window(s). Come on, try it yourself to see how it works!

The upper panel is a little more complex. It contains on the left side the Main Menu from where you can access all the applications, different system locations (home folder, network places etc) and the system configuration tools. Right after the Main Menu you will see some software icons; these are shortcuts for different applications installed on your computer and you can add there as many as you want with a simple right click on the panel; then click on “Add to Panel” option and when the Add to Panel window appears hit the “Application Launcher” button on the left side and select your favorite applications from the list. On the right side of the upper panel you will see two icons (the network monitor and the sound volume), the date, the clock and a shutdown button from where you can reboot, hibernate, suspend, log out, switch user, lock screen or shutdown the computer.

I think this is enough for today, with respect to the customization of the ubuntu desktop and the next part of this tutorial will include topics like how to install new software on ubuntu linux as well as how to make your desktop cool and funky!

So, please check back later or subscribe to the RSS feeds so that you know when is the next update to this ubuntu tips,tricks and hacks published!



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Catherine Matthew asked:


Out of the box software for your desktop or your internet site has changed so drastically in the last two years that most individuals are not aware of all the trends in the Open Source world. Having worked for Microsoft Corporation for a portion of my career, with stats such as 95% of the world uses Microsoft. I was in for a real eye opener on number of different software packages available in the Open Source world. Earlier, I was lead to believe that the Open Source world is full of unsupported and unreliable software, with no one to call if I need help. My question was, how could this be better than paid commercial software? After all Microsoft employs 70,000 people to get their software working.

I have put together a list of the top ten free tools for any internet professional. The first five are devoted to your desktop and the next five are for your website. If you do not have a website, you could consider getting one up and running with these free tools.

1. Ubuntu: Most people have heard of RedHat Linux as an operating system for your desktop. Many who have tried it seem disillusioned and revert back to Microsoft for its ease and simplicity. Ubuntu has a unique selling proposition which says “Linux for human beings”. You can download this for free and get a powerful operating system for your desktop which is simple and easy to use.

2. Open Office: If you use Microsoft Office and believe that it is required to communicate with other word users around the world, you are right. However when you get a excel spreadsheet or a Microsoft word document which you cannot open, you will need Open Office to rescue you. That is right. Microsoft Office has bugs and when all else fails, you can use Open Office to open your documents. Open Office runs on your Windows platform or on Linux and is as simple as Microsoft Office. The only real difference is that you do not have to pay $500 to get it or pirate it. Open Office is distributed as Open Source and is free to use on your preferred operating system.

3. GIMP: Most people are familiar with or have worked with Adobe Photoshop. When it comes to working with advanced graphics features like layers, transparency or to work with Adobe file formats, GIMP works just as well. GIMP works on most operating systems and provides an alternate powerful interface for editing and changing graphic files, logos or custom animations.

4. Free Mind: When it comes to organizing your thoughts along the likes of Leonardo de Vince used mind maps. There are many visual mind mapping tools out there, some with a 30 day trial. Try different ones, if you want the best there is in the market, it is an Open Source software called Free Mind. This software is simple to create and organize. You can publish these mind maps on the web with a few clicks.

5. DB Designer: If you have a database of any sort Microsoft Access, MySQL or Oracle, you will need to review the table structure to create reports or infer from the data you have. If you have worked extensively with database you may be familiar with ER/Win. You can reverse engineer a database and analyze its table structure with DB Designer for free. Reverse engineering a database is similar to getting a map for a city. Without a map you would be lost and have no way to get to your destination. DB Designer makes this possible for free.

6. Cam Studio: If you want to create an educational video of how to operate your website for users, here is an extremely simple tool with which you can record your voice while recording your screen in a video format for the web.

7. Wordpress: The quickest way to create a website with some content that you can easily publish is through a blog. Creating a blog is easy if you use Wordpress. You can install and have it up and running in a few clicks. You can easily add some Adsense advertising to your content and earn an extra income from the clicks of users.

8. phpESP: You will need a survey tool to get feedback from your users or to get a 360 feedback on yourself from your peers. You can try out many trial options or cut to the chase by selecting php ESP, a free tool. Installation is not as simple; however there are tons of help and instructions on the web about how to install it.

9. Sugar CRM: The best customer relationship management tool of all time is not Goldmine, Salesforce or any other Microsoft CRM solution. This will be apparent once you get a Sugar CRM installation up and running. You can manage your customer database and your marketing campaigns easily with this tool. There are lots of features in this tool. Make sure you go through all the help files and online tutorials to maximize your benefits from this powerful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.

10. Language translation tool: If you have a web site, why not use the automatic language translation to get your website translated to 10 other languages. Translation may not be perfect; however it is getting better every day with newer technologies. You can multiply your web content by ten fold and increase your reach with this free tool. Installation is simple and takes just a few clicks.

So think twice next time you fork out hundreds of dollars for your next software purchase. If you really want to spend money, why not help the homeless or the less fortunate instead or support the Open Source community.



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Manu Vikram Singh asked:


With the fast evolving and ever-changing world of technology, notebooks were thought to be a revolution but the demand for faster, cheaper and efficient technology gave birth to Netbooks. Netbooks are smaller cousins of notebooks. They are meant for only internet-based services like web browsing and e-mailing, etc. They are lightweight, compact and easy to carry netbooks are very small and energy-efficient laptops.

The netbooks have further reduced the size of the computers. Pioneered by ASUS the first netbook was pushed in the market in 2007. The model name was Asus Eee PC. The netbooks have a smaller display screen of 7″-10″ size. The netbooks have a smaller keyboard but no optical disk drive. Other hardware configuration includes 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD, advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI).

Netbooks are developed to consume lesser power and have a longer battery life in this energy-deprived world. They can provide internet connectivity virtually from anywhere. The material used in making these netbooks is very light which makes them even lighter than the traditional laptops and combined with a sleek design they take work on the move to the next level.

The netbooks come preloaded with Ubuntu Linux but the users can also install Microsoft Windows XP home edition. The Microsoft Office applications run very well thus a major target of these netbooks are the business executives who don’t have time for plunging deeper into the more sophisticated notebooks. They are actually looking for something simple to carry out their daily work.

Comparing the prices of traditional laptops with the new netbooks, Netbooks are a much economical option. As a normal laptop with a premium configuration will come for well above $1000 however, a netbook with some basic configuration is available only for $350. Although there have been trade-offs in the size, hardware and some applications but on the front of rugged operation, mobility and performance netbooks score heavily. With time, netbooks are bound to improve. They are a very good option for students, businesspersons and executives.



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