PCLinuxOS 2010 is coming!

According to texstar, PCLOS 2010 will be released shortly after KDE4.4 is finalized.  It should include:

 kernel 2.6.32.4, udev, hal, initscripts, plymouth bootsplash, speedboot, xorg, compiz 3D, nvidia/fglrx drivers, ext 4 default file system, KDE 4.4.

Because of the complexity and and heavy user intervention necessary to do a straight upgrade, this release will require a clean install, like 2007 did three years ago.  There will be no ‘Big Update’.

Since KDE 4.4 is scheduled to be released the week of 8 February, that means we could see PCLOS 2010 by the end of the month!  Of course, the official line is always “it will be ready when it’s ready”, so if they run into some significant show-stoppers, it could be delayed.  But Tex and the Gang have been running with the new stuff for several weeks, now, so I crossing my fingers that the showstoppers have already been scrubbed out.

Miguel de Icaza, Microsoft MVP

Microsoft has named Miguel de Icaza as a Microsoft Most Valued Professional.

That sums it all up in a single statement.  Need I say anything more?

How to Destroy the Book

Okay, it’s not strictly about computers, but any geek who isn’t concerned about copyright doesn’t deserve the sobriquet of ‘geek’.

Back in November, Cory Doctorow (you don’t know Cory Doctorow? For shame) delivered a speech to librarians, authors, publishers, educators, and students as part of Canada’s National Reading Summit.

Calling All Dawns

Okay, this one is not about computers, directly.  The only link I can claim is that the composer of this new album also composed the award-winning Baba Yetu for Sid Meier’s Civilization 4.  I was lucky enough to get a pre-release review copy of the album, and was so moved by the music that I wanted to give it a wider audience.

My review is here.

Oh, No! My System Is Infected!!

I was just browsing the web a while ago, when suddenly I got a popup window in the middle of my Firefox browser. It was a standard Vista popup, with the default colors and buttons and stuff, and a very authentic-looking MS Windows security icon, and it was churning through my filesystem doing a security check.

“Checking C:\WINNT\System\….”

The files were whizzing by so fast I couldn’t follow them.  After a minute, it gave me the bad news:  I had 19 viruses infecting my file system and over a hundred malicious entries in my Registry!  What to do? What to do !?

Wait!  I have no Registry.  I have no “C:” drive.  I’m running Linux, KDE4 desktop, with Ozone windows decorations.  If it looks like a Vista window, it can’t possibly be really on my system.  I was actually chuckling from the moment it popped up on my screen.  When it finished, and told me to click ->Here<- to download an updated “anti-virus” product, I just clicked the little X in the corner.  Bye-bye little malware.  I hope you had fun trying to infect a totally alien system!

Why All The ‘How To Install…’ Articles?

As I’ve perused the various Linux news sites and blogs, one thing I notice is all the “How to Install <program X> in Ubuntu” – type articles.  Each time I see one, my first thought is, “don’t people know how to use Synaptic?  Or ‘Add/Remove Programs’ ?”

PCLinuxOS + KDE4.3

I’ve been playing with KDE4 under Kubuntu, and generally liking what I have seen.  But Kubuntu itself has always felt … foreign … to me.  Maybe I’m just getting old and my brain cells are ossifying, but while KDE4 seemed decent, I found myself booting into PCLOS more often, because there, everything “just works”.

Recently, Tex released his current 4.3 implementation to the world.  This weekend, I took the plunge.

Kubuntu – A First Look

Okay, you all probably know I love PCLinuxOS. It has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, my primary OS.  But I’ve been looking at KDE4 for a while, and with KDE4.2.3, it looks about ready to use.  So I cast about for a good KDE4-based distro to play with.

Generally, I haven’t had much use for the *buntu family.  Every time I have tried one of them, it has left me feeling, “Ho, hum. Another average distro.”  I haven’t bothered actually installing one for years.  But Kubuntu 9.04 was highly recommended by an online friend, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

What’s Happening to PCLinuxOS?

The last few months have been … interesting.   Beginning about ten months  ago, Texstar “disappeared”.  He turned over the development of PCLOS 2008/2009 to the Ripper Gang, and didn’t say anything to the community.  A couple months ago, with 2009 almost ready to hit the streets, he popped back up, and delayed the release until he pronounced himself satisfied.

What happened?

How To Upgrade PCLinuxOS 2007 or Minime 2008

I have put together this list of (nearly) fail-proof steps from doing my own updates, as well as the experiences of others on the PCLinuxOS forums. (Especially maddogf16: thanks, guy!)  These steps have not failed yet on a clean 2007/2008 install.  If you are working from a remaster, and/or have done a lot of system tweaking, including adding/removing packages, it might screw you.  I don’t really think it will, but you need to be aware of the possibility.