One of the best instant messengers named Pidgin (previously Gaim) released it’s latest version 2.3.0. According to developers' description Pidgin is a multiprotocol IM client and it’s goal is to hide protocols from the user as much as possible (users have to know about individual protocols when they create or modify accounts, but in day-to-day communication and usage, the intent is that users don't have to think about protocols at all).
Pidgin supports the following protocols:
Read full developer’s changelog here and download Pidgin from pidgin.im/download. It’s available as source tarball, as binary packages for Fedora, CentOS/RHEL and other major Linux distributions, plus 2.3.0 version is ready also for Windows users.
Welcome to Linux Screw! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe our RSS feed.
Share This
Recently I came across nice article published at Microsoft’s site Port 25 about how to recover crashed Windows using Linux. It’s rather helpful staff written by Chris Travers (who own Metatron Technology Consulting by the way). Here is an introduction quote from the document:
We have all run into cases where Windows refuses to load for one reason or another. The problem may be a hardware or a software failure, and the problem may seem to be irrecoverable. Yet often Linux can be used to help recover data that otherwise might be lost.
In writing this paper, we generally assume that either a Linux workstation is available to accept recovery information or that a USB drive of sufficient size is available to hold the data. Generally in either case, enough free space should be available to store the entire hard drive as a bit-for-bit file and still have at least 2GB of space free. However, if more space is available, the process of organizing the recovered data is a bit easier. If neither of these is available, the utility of Linux in data recovery will be limited.
Download this document in as pdf format here. You can read interesting comments on their site by clicking at this link.
By the way, Port 25 site is copyrighted by Microsoft under the Microsoft Permissive License that is available here.
Share This
Date: November 22, 2007. Categories:
linux.
Below is the full list of Windows Software equivalents for Linux. If you can suggest better list you're welcome to comment here! 
Continue reading…
Share This
Date: November 21, 2007. Categories:
docs.
GNU GRUB is a boot loader package from the GNU Project. GRUB is the reference implementation of the Multiboot Specification, which allows a user to have several different operating systems on their computer at once, and to choose which one to run when the computer starts. GRUB can be used to select from different kernel images available on a particular operating system’s partitions, as well as to pass boot-time parameters to such kernels.
Here is the Joydeep Bakshi’s GBUB guide that is distibuted under Open Content License and covers the following fields:
- MBR, boot sector, boot loader
- Backup & Restore boot loader
- Grub stage1, stage2, stage3 and relation among them
- Making Grub Floppy
- Making Grub CD
- Making Grub Pen drive
- stage1 and stage2 on different media
- Grub’s device and device.map file
- Grub Rescue
- Super Grub Disk
- Grub’S GUI configuration
- Manual booting with Grub shell
- Disk investigation with Grub
Read full guide here…
More useful links:
GNU GRUB
GNU GRUB FAQ
GNU GRUB Manual 0.97
The list of command line and menu entry commands
GNU GRUB on Wikipedia
Share This
Date: November 20, 2007. Categories:
news.
Really nice news: Mozilla announced Firefox 3 Beta 1 and it’s available for free download now! This is the ninth developer milestone focused on testing the core functionality provided by many (actually MANY) new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 3:
New features and changes in this milestone that require feedback include:
- Improved security features such as: better presentation of website identity and security, malware protection, stricter SSL error pages, anti-virus integration in the download manager, and version checking for insecure plugins.
- Improved ease of use through: better password management, easier add-on installation, new download manager with resumable downloading, full page zoom, animated tab strip, and better integration with Windows Vista and Mac OS X.
- Richer personalization through: one-click bookmarking, smart search bookmark folders, direct typing in location bar searches your history and bookmarks for URLs and page titles, ability to register web applications as protocol handlers, and better customization of download actions for file types.
- Improved platform features such as: new graphics and font rendering architecture, native web page form controls, colour profile management, and offline application support.
- Performance improvements (!!!) such as: better data reliability for user profiles, architectural improvements to speed up page rendering, over 300 memory leak fixes, and a new XPCOM cycle collector to reduce entire classes of leaks.
Useful Links:
Share This
Asterisk is an open source/free software implementation of a telephone private branch exchange (PBX) originally created by Mark Spencer of Digium. The basic Asterisk software includes many features available in proprietary PBX systems: voice mail, conference calling, interactive voice response (phone menus), and automatic call distribution. Asterisk is released under a dual license scheme, the free software license being the GNU General Public License (GPL), the other being a proprietary software license as to allow proprietary/closed and patented code, such as the G.729 codec to work with the system. Asterisk runs on NetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris, although as the native platform, Linux is the most supported of these.
AsteriskNOW is an open source Software Appliance; a customized Linux distribution that includes Asterisk (the leading open source telephony engine and tool kit), the AsteriskGUI, and all other software needed for an Asterisk system. AsteriskNOW is easy to install, and offers flexibility, functionality and features not available in advanced, high-cost proprietary business systems.
As it comes from documentation, installation is as easy as install certain Linux distro:
- Download the AsteriskNOW ISO file, and create a CD image from the file, which is required before installation can begin. The process for burning a CD image will vary depending upon the CD authoring software you are using.
- Insert your newly created AsteriskNOW CD into the CD-ROM drive of the PC.
- Boot from the CD by restarting the PC. A basic AsteriskNOW boot menu with several options will be provided. For the standard graphical installer, simply press <Enter>.
- From here, follow the self-explanatory on-screen prompts to guide you through the installation process.
Useful links: Quick Start Guide, Download Page
Share This
Recent Ideas