Here’s another great reason to use Linux over Windows. Ksplice Uptrack provides for runtime patching of the Linux kernel without rebooting of the machine. This has great advantages where you need to maintain the security of a server but have limited opportunites to reboot due to SLA’s (Service Level Agreements). Ubuntu Linux was the first supported operating system, other variants are now available too, though often for a fee.
Posts Tagged ‘ubuntu’
Linux kernel updates without reboot
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009Atari 2600 Emulator
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009While it was not technically a personal computer, the Atari 2600 was one of the first pieces of technology that I had experience with in my youth. I’ll likely outline the progression of machines/operating systems in a future post.
I’ve heard about Stella for quite a while, but never had any time to fiddle with it. Recently I found that Ubuntu includes an installer for it and took a chance look. Other versions are available for MacOS and Windows.
I also found a few websites that contain ROM images for the emulator and was playing some of my old games in a matter of minutes.
For those legal types out there… I actually do own the games that I played, in fact, they are currently boxed up in my basement.
References:
Happy Retro Gaming!!!
Free Computer Based VOIP
Monday, February 23rd, 2009I’ve used a variety of computer based VOIP over the years. My current preference in this space is Skype as it’s free for computer-to-computer calls and even allows calls to and from regular phones (at a fee).
Video and text chat are also provided, as is ‘white-boarding’ with additional plugins.
Skype is available for most platforms, even mobile phones… I’ve found that while the Windows beta versions has some additional features, the Linux release is rock-solid.
There are also several hardware based solutions, like Vonage, available to replace your traditional phone service… perhaps we’ll cover that later.
Skype me!
Open Source FTP Client (and Server)
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009At one time, FTP was the only means available to move large files, times have changed but the need still exists, especially for developers like myself.
For years I’ve happily used FileZilla for my FTP needs, the client is available on most platforms. There is also a server available for Windows as most Linux variants already provide FTP.
Happy file transfers!
Open Source Operating Systems
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008I’ve posted a lot of information about the common ‘free’ open-source software that I routinely use, however… I just realized that I missed one of the most important applications you use, the Operating System itself.
While my “day job” relegates me to use Windows products for much of my work, I do a lot of additional work at home and for friends.
Currently I use and highly recommend Ubuntu Linux for most users, it’s got most of the usability features of Microsofr Windows and Apple OS/X, but without all of the additional baggage. It’s updated regularly, with new releases every 6 months and software patches made available almost daily. Updates are as non-intrusive as the Windows Update process, and only a very few ever require a reboot.
To quiet the other Linux users out there, I’ve used a lot of Linux ‘flavors’ in the past… each has had it’s place and may do so again…. this is my opinion for the moment and will likely change again in a few years. 
Here’s the list:
Cheers!