There are a huge number of Linux "distributions" — that is, customized packaging of the various programs that actually make up the Linux kernel along with many other programs designed to run with Linux. <br /> <br /> Oops, there I used the buzz-word "kernel." What's a kernel? You hear the term, occasionally, even with [...]

SimplyMEPIS 3.3 looks like the best alternative so far — reasonable for desktop use and for server use. Updating packages the Debian way (Mepis is a derivative of Debian Linux) is easy. Adding packages (I had to add MySQL and phpMyAdmin) is easy. I’m still working on fine points of my system. Continue reading “Picking [...]

I’ve been checking out the various Linux distributions for a web server project. I already had SuSE 9.0 Professional installed on my in-house Linux box, which I use for development purposes. I added a new hard drive to check out several of the alternatives, and set it up to be able to boot between them. [...]

I’ve been slowly reading the May issue of Computer Power User magazine, also known as CPU Magazine. Imagine my surprise to find multiple articles about Linux in this issue, including a 5-page lead-off article about Linux for WinXP users and a 6-page article about the Xandros distribution. Xandros wants to give the Windows user a [...]

I’ve been playing recently with a copy of the Open Circulation Edition (a.k.a. free) version of Xandros Desktop version 3. Pretty cool system. I’d used Xandros v1 and v1.1 a couple years ago, so I knew to expect a smooth-running, graphical desktop that was an easy transition from Windows. Now, with version 3, Xandros has [...]

Just did the upgrade from 0.7b2 to 0.7. It went so smoothly that I thought I must have done something wrong.<br /> <br /> New rule: If you want an upgrade to go smoothly, backup the mysql database and Serendipity files before hand. If you want an upgrade to crash and burn, don't back up. [...]

I’ve been behind on doing my book review of Open Source Web Development with LAMP, by James Lee and Brent Ware. A couple copies of the book were provided to the Baton Rouge Linux Users Group. One copy is in the library. My review is posted at my website under Book Reviews . Terry

It’s been an interesting evening. I nuked the MySQL installation from SuSE 9.0 on my home Linux box and then installed MySQL, phpMyAdmin and Serendipity. The driving force was Serendipity, which is this blogging software. This is the second shot at this message. For some reason, the first one went into the bit-bucket. Terry