Stories by Matthew Newton

Seven post-install tips for Ubuntu 7.04

So, you've just installed Ubuntu 7.04, otherwise known as the "Feisty Fawn" release of everyone's favorite (for now) flavor of Linux. You booted the installation disc , looked around the test environment to discover that your hardware was working, and double-clicked the Install icon on the desktop. The Ubuntu installer helped you make room for Linux on your hard drive, and even copied over some of your documents and settings from Windows.

Everyday Linux gripes

As you already know, if I have to sit down in front of a computer, I want it to be running the Gnome desktop on Linux. I've watched it mature from a downright ugly, needlessly complex playground for geeks, to an attractive, simple interface that holds its own against commercial alternatives. And yet, every day I still encounter rough edges that make me think there aren't nearly enough folks out there hacking away at this stuff. I'd like to watch.

Linux developers aim for your desktop

The future of Linux on the desktop is beginning to take shape at LinuxWorld Expo here this week, with developers of desktop environments for both Gnome and KDE lining up support and offering a peek at their visions of the future.

Are the Password's Days Numbered?

In the future, you'll have no need to remember passwords or PIN numbers. That's the vision presented by a handful of companies strutting their stuff in PC Expo's Biometropolis section.

Is Linux Right for You?

Last year was one big coming-out party for Linux. Attended by a buzz worthy of a Microsoft product launch, this Unix-like operating system arrived on the computing scene as the Next Big Thing. Existing Linux companies made plans to go public, new Linux companies sprang up like lemonade stands during a heat wave, and companies that had never heard of the OS stumbled over themselves to adopt a "Linux strategy" (and watch their stocks rise). Major Windows-only computer vendors such as Dell Computer Corp. and IBM Corp. started offering server and desktop equipment with "Linux inside."

Deja.com Boosts Buyers' Guide

Deja.com Inc. greets the online world this week with a new look and a new mission, launching a redesign that positions the site as a buyer's portal.

Tuxtops offers portability for Linux crowd

In a sea of offerings targeted at enterprise and technical customers, one hardware vendor stood apart from the rest at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo this week. Tuxtops, a Santa Clara-based company formed last November, is peddling its own line of notebooks to consumers -- all of them with Red Hat Linux installed.

Tuxtops Offers Portability for the Linux Crowd

In a sea of offerings targeted at enterprise and technical customers, one hardware vendor stood apart from the rest at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo this week. Tuxtops, a Santa Clara-based company formed last November, is peddling its own line of notebooks to consumers -- all of them with Red Hat Inc. Linux installed.

Let a Thousand Linuxes Blossom

Is Linux about to fall into the pit of a zillion different flavors, all at odds with each other?

Hide Your E-Mail Tracks with New Privacy Tool

Despite pro-privacy posturing by vendors and government officials, you have good reason to fear for your anonymity on the Internet. Hackers can easily read e-mail messages, and the servers that push the Internet's bits and bytes log everything--including which Web pages you view. But a new $50 product called Freedom aims to change this, letting you wander the Web anonymously and send e-mail using hard-to-trace pseudonyms. The software's design even prevents its creators at Montreal-based ZeroKnowledge Systems from identifying Freedom users, the vendor claims. In our informal tests, Freedom delivered on many of its promises.