One Click Linux

Gimp 2.6 Cookbook

2011-05-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

Gimp 2.6 Cookbook. Over 50 recipes to
produce amazing graphics with the GIMP.

I've been using graphic photo manipulation software programs for nearly 20 years. After using several, I've come to the conclusion that all of them are quite similar in features, bells, and whistles. The main difference comes in how they carry out the task at hand. That is to say, the menus, tool bars, and commands are laid out differently from program to program. So, migrating from one program to another isn't difficult, it's just that you need to learn (or relearn) the “moves” and menus in order to get the application to respond to your input.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you already know that my graphics application of choice is the Gimp (current version 2.6). The Gimp is a free, open source software application available with the Linux operating system. Gimp is also available for Windows and Mac.

After cutting my teeth on many other software programs on the Windows platform, I moved over to the Gimp when I switched to the Linux operating system. The minor challenge for me, as noted above, was relearning some of the moves in order to get the Gimp to do what I wanted it to do.

This is why I LOVE the Gimp 2.6 Cookbook by Juan Manuel Ferryera so much! How I wish this book was available when I made the switch to Linux and the Gimp! It would have made the transition much easier. A lot of my questions would have been answered in one place rather than spending countless hours on Google trying to track down some of the information I needed.

The Gimp 2.6 Cookbook is a terrific combination of step by step tutorial along with being an introduction to The Gimp and all its features. The book, when followed sequentially, chapter by chapter, gives the user a good foundational understanding in how to use the Gimp. You build your understanding of how to use the program from the ground up.

The challenge in using The Gimp sometimes comes from not having enough good instructional books available to learn the program. It's important to learn the moves, so to speak. Once you know some of the basics, you can build on doing more and more complex projects. The Gimp 2.6 Cookbook - Over 50 recipes to produce amazing graphics with the Gimp does just that! It's a wonderful resource manual to learn the Gimp! I love this book!

Juan starts you with simple tasks, increasing the level of difficulty with each chapter. As the difficulty increases, you're introduced to new tools and methods to accomplish the task. In this way, you learn more about the program. You learn where the tools and filters are located and how to incorporate them into the various tasks.

Juan also encourages the user to experiment. That's where the fun in using Gimp comes into play. Juan recognizes that there are many approaches to achieving the same result. He shows you the most common and fundamental path. By encouraging experimentation, the user can teach themselves new ways to to achieve a desired result. In so doing, the power of the Gimp is really unleashed. It becomes a continual process of uncovering new tools and methods to reveal a new way to edit an image.

Many times, while using this book, I've said to myself, “Oh! So THAT's how you do it!” Which means, I’ve learned a new process from Juan or realized that there's a better way to editing an image than the one I've been using.

The book shows you how to use color, paint tools, cloning, filters, effects, text, fonts, photo manipulation, etc. The Gimp 2.6 Cookbook covers all the bases! It shows you how to achieve professional results, step by step! It gives you a great start and, as you go through each lesson, you can actually have some finished pieces to add to your portfolio.

With the Gimp 2.6 Cookbook,
learn cloning basics to
transform the top photo
into the bottom photo!

Whether your a beginner or seasoned pro, Gimp 2.6 Cookbook is incredibly helpful. Even after 20 years of using graphics editing software, I've learned some new techniques and methods, and gained a new understanding in using Gimp. I know I'll be pulling this book out from time to time as new photo editing/cartooning projects come along.

The Gimp 2.6 cookbook is available from Packt Publishing.

Web Hosting

2011-02-18T10:05:00.004-05:00

Maybe I should start looking for a reliable cheap web hosting company to host my sites in. Some of them have impressive reviews than the more expensive ones.

A New Blog!

2010-07-19T14:34:00.000-04:00

I have a new blog!

It's at:
www.georgetoon.com/blog

I'm now blogging at this new location. The great thing is, this new blog now features George cartoons!

I'll keep OneClickLInux online for archival reference/purposes. But the new Georgetoon blog is where all new material will be posted.

Hope to see you there!

Cleveland Sports

2010-07-09T13:45:00.001-04:00

Cleveland Sports in under ten words.

The drive, the fumble, the shot, the betrayal.

The Drive:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drive

The Fumble:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fumble

The Shot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shot

The Betrayal:
http://wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/sportsarticle.html?feed=208459

2010-06-28T13:17:00.000-04:00

Whoops!

It's been a while since I posted something here. My apologies. I've been taking care of georgetoon.com. And, there are some changes coming. Stay tuned.

Anyhow, here's the announcement (a little late) for the current issue of PCLinuxOS magazine. Once again, I contributed a Double Take cartoon and Gimp Tip.

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine staff is pleased to announce the release of the June 2010 issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine. The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is a product of the PCLinuxOS community, published by volunteers from the community. The magazine is lead by Paul Arnote, Chief Editor, and Andrew Strick, Assistant Editor. The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license, and some rights are reserved.
In the June 2010 issue:
How Can YOU Contribute To PCLinuxOS?
Creating A Local PCLinuxOS Repository
Xfce 4.6.1: An Overview
Xfce 4.6.1: Xfce Settings Manager – Part 1
Xfce 4.6.1: Customize Your Xfce Menu
OpenOffice: An Overview
Ms_meme’s nook: If My Friends Could See Me Now
Computer Languages A to Z: Lisp
Command Line Interface Intro: Part 9
Zip-Player Plays Music Archives: Part 2
Screenshot Showcase
Alternate OS: ReactOS
Game Zone: Warzone 2100
Configuring USB Speakers on KDE 4
and much, much more!
This month’s cover features artwork from Timeth, and literally places Phoenix, the Xfce remaster of PCLinuxOS, in the spotlight.
Download the PDF (15.3 MB)
Visit the HTML Version

2012. Not Worth The Price Of Admission.

2010-03-14T10:05:00.002-04:00

More and more films are using Linux as a platform to produce their special visual effects. I've blogged about this in the past. I don' t know if they used Linux in producing the effects in this film, but it doesn't really matter. Linux or not, avoid this movie!

Ya know when you go into Walmart and they have those big bins of DVDs for only five bucks? Well, give 2012 another three days and it'll be in that bin.

Oh, and Danny Glover plays the president of the United States. Much like the current occupier of that office, he can't save the country. Probably the only accurate part in the movie. Go figure.

Get Linux. Avoid 2012!

Help the Hodges part 2

2010-01-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

The Ebay Auction to Help the Hodges is still in full swing! Please take a moment to bid on some terrific cartoon and animation art and help the Hodges.

Help The Hodges

2010-01-20T15:50:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I'm a cartoonist. I belong to a group called the National Cartoonists Society. It's made up of cartoonists/artists from all areas of this terrific art field. And sometimes, the NCS sends out an "all hands on deck" to help our fellow cartoonists.

Well, that call has gone out and I'd like to share with my blog readers the email I just received.

The NCS Foundation is excited to announce our first major fund raising effort through the use of eBay which launches this coming Thursday, January 21. Many of you, along with our colleagues outside of the NCS, have donated 160 pieces of amazing artwork in a concentrated effort to Help the Hodges.

Tim Hodge is an animation artist having worked on storyboards for Disney and directing Veggie Tales projects. His teenage son Matthew, an A student and a drummer in his Tennessee high school championship marching band, was in an accident involving his car and a train in August of 2009, and has been in a state of a coma ever since. Tim's insurance refused to cover Matthew's long-term recovery, and the financial strain has only added to the emotional strain that the family has been experiencing.

Several NCS members have partnered with the NCSF to make this event happen, but we need YOUR HELP to make it a success. We need the word to get out! If you have a blog, or you frequent chat rooms on the web, please put in a good word that this event is taking place. And please come bid on items, too!

The line-up of artists is incredible! Here are just a few of the over 100 names you'll see in our auctions:

Drew Struzan
Patrick McDonnell
Mort Walker
Nick Parks
Tim Sale
Mike Mignola
Stan Lee
Stephen Silver
Don Bluth
Peter de Sevè
Glen Keane
Bil Keane
Dan Piraro
Gary Kelley
Marc Davis
Frank Thomas
Walt Kelly
Paul Coker, Jr.
Jim Borgman
Charles Schulz

To see the items for sale, we have set up a special website where everything is being posted. New items continue to be added daily. Also, please feel free to use any of the images from our special website to promote this event, along with the graphic that we are attaching that represents Matthew's love for his marching band drums.

http://www.HelpTheHodges.com

Thank you,
The NCS Foundation

To all my blog readers, please take a moment to visit the site, bid on an item on January 21st, and help a family in need.

New System Update

2010-01-19T12:01:00.000-05:00

I ordered that USB/eSATA back up drive from linpc.us. It's pictured above.

The folks at linpc.us are partitioning this 1TB drive as FAT32 on one side and a portion of the drive to be formatted for Linux EXT3.

The reason is, FAT32 cannot read a single file larger than 4 gigabytes. I have a single file that is 9 gigabytes in size on my current system. I need to move this file from my existing system to the new system. FAT32 cannot handle this. But, EXT3 can!

Once again, another great reason to Get Linux!

Motherboards, SATA, eSATA, and USB

2010-01-08T20:38:00.003-05:00

I spoke with Eric Keeler of LinPC.us today. LinPC.us is the online computer company that is building my new PXLinuxOS computer system.

Eric recommended that I go with an ASUS motherboard. Not only does it have extra USB 2.0 ports, but it also has an external SATA port.

eSATA has extremely fast data transfer rates.

However, eSATA requires it's own power source. this is not a poblem as the eSATA drive is not going to be a mobile drive. I stil have an old 80 gig USB 2.0 drive with its own power source stil conected tomyucurrent compuer.

So, for my purposes, I'll be purchasing a new external hard drive that supports both USB 2.0 and eSATA (like the one on sale at amazon.com above).

I'll move files from my current system using the USB interface and plug it into eSATA on the new system.

Once I have all files transferred to the new system, I'll keep the external eSATA drive plugged in for backup.

And of course, PCLinuxOS fully supports the SATA standard.

Get Linux.

My New Linux Box! Ordered!

2010-01-07T13:15:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my company, georgetoon.com, sent a purchase order for a brand new PCLinuxOS computer system! It's a rack system (similar to what I currently run) with space for five swappable hard drives. The case is pictured above.

My system will come with three Hard drives and two DVD burners. I'll also be running an AMD Phenom Quad core processor with 4 gigs of RAM.

PCLinuxOS running KDE 4 is going to be the main OS. I'll also have three other desktop environments installed, Gnome, LXDE, and XFCE.

I plan on running Windows XP via VirtualBox (for Quickbooks). Surprisingly, WinXP runs faster in VirtualBox than on it does on a real hard drive. I guess this is due to not needing all the added apps for anti-virus, etc. which constantly run in the background.

I'll have more information as the delivery date draws near.

Get Linux!

A New Year And A New System.

2010-01-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

A blogger reader named Gary, in the first post of 2010, asked, " Are you using the KDE version?"

He was referring to the desktop environment I use when running PCLinuxOS.

Yes, I'm currently using KDE 3.5. But, the folks at KDE have rolled out version 4.

PCLinuxOS is a "rolling distro." Each new update improves the OS and gives you new functionality and security. PCLinuxOS has evolved and moved all its repositories to support KDE 4.

I can easily update my current system to KDE 4. It's not difficult. But I really like and enjoy using KDE 3.5. Plus I have cartoon panels, strips, etc. that still need to be backed up. once I get all my critical data and art safely backed up, I may upgrade the system to KDE4.

However, for now, I chose to point my current install at a frozen repository supporting KDE 3.5 for both my desktop and laptop systems.

The good news is, I'm in the process of purchasing a new PCLinuxOS computer system. This new system will be running KDE 4.0.

BTW, my laptop is running PCLinuxOS with KDE 3.5, Gnome, LXDE, XFCE, and E17 desktop environments.

So, yes, my main Linux Desktop environment is KDE 3.5. I run KDE 3.5 on my main desktop system and laptop system.

I'll soon to be running KDE 4 on a brand new system! (More later when the system is ordered, built, and delivered.)

Get Linux! (I am. Again.)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

2010 has arrived! Make it the best year ever! Download and install Linux to your desktop or laptop computer! I recommend PCLinuxOS. It's complete, stable, has a terrific group of users on its forum, and is totally free!

Make 2010 the year you said goodbye to Windows' viruses, spam, trojans, spyware, pop-ups, and headaches!

Get Linux!

Linux Is Amazing!

2009-12-03T13:26:00.001-05:00

I got wind of this from the PCLinuxOS forums.

Here's a Linux enthusiast who created a theme for Ubuntu Linux. The theme makes his Ubuntu Linux disro look just like Windows XP! This way, you can sit your family members or friends in front of the system and they'll feel right at home. They'll think they're using Windows! (Except they won't have the BSOD, viruses, or spyware to contend with).

After using it for awhile, you can surprise 'em! Let them know they've really been using Linux all along!

See? Linux is easy!

Get Linux

It's Cyber Monday!

2009-11-30T07:00:00.010-05:00

Today is Cyber Monday! As defined in Wikipedia, "Cyber Monday is a marketing propaganda term that refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday being the busiest day of the year for retail electronic commerce."

Online holiday shoppers are going to be logging on to the various "big box" web sites to try and get a deal on the latest electronic gadget to give as a gift this Christmas.

May I suggest Linux? And specifically, give linpc.us a try.

Linpc.us has terrific prices and builds its systems with PCLinuxOS. I'm running PCLinuxOS and I gotta tell ya, it's a terrific flavor of Linux. It's very stable and very cutting edge! Everything works!

Why give a Windows computer this Christmas when in three months time, you're only going to hear that it's either slowed to a crawl or been infected with a virus?!

Give Linux!

Black Friday. A Better Buy!

2009-11-27T04:00:00.002-05:00

It's Black Friday. One of the biggest shopping days of the Christmas season! But, before you grab that charge card and rush off to buy the latest and greatest in computer hardware, please take a moment to consider the following:

Recently, I started a thread on the PCLinuxOS forum. It was regarding a comment a Facebook friend made about his computer. It seems that his Firefox browser would not launch and he could not send Email. In addition, his primary browser was crashing.

Here are some of the comments forum members posted (some have been edited...read on, you'll know why):

"Not surprised. I saw one that was taken apart at the local computer store. All it was is a few components put together into a case...It was simplicity in itself, even the inside of my custom box looks more complicated. It was getting its screen replaced. That's when I knew, that these are just expensive but flimsy pieces of hardware."

"I guess people really do believe that they will just magically work perfectly forever."

"Problems with drivers is what occurred to me. I'm also curious as to whether the power supply would be up to most add in video cards available now."

"problems in these are extremely common, the previous os had a error that if you tried to move files from a laptop or desktop to a external device and if the device was removed or something happened in the middle of the process, the file was deleted from both devices, vanished. the current update breaks many things on the system that was supposed not to be a problem."

"The software contains continuous unfixed security flaws that are never getting patched promptly enough. Some folks are discovering said flaws and reporting it to the manufacturer on the quiet and end up publicly releasing the specifics of the flaw due to frustration of no fix being available soon enough."

Okay, now what did I edit form these comments? The name of the computer being discussed. Care to guess which computer? Dell? HP? Acer? Sony? Gateway? Lenovo?

You'd think it would be any of these and the problems being discussed were ones occuring in Windows.

However, all of us were talking about problems happening with the Apple Mac and the Mac OS!

That's right! My original post had to do with a problem a friend was having with his Mac computer. And I was surprised. Because all I've ever heard is that Apple computers are the most reliable, easiest computes on the face of the planet.

It appears many feel that Macs aren't all they're cracked up to be. And the price tag for a Mac can be staggering!

The other alternative, Windows, isn't much better. If you're not paying a high price for Apple hardware and software, you're paying extra dollars to protect your Windows system from bugs, viruses, and spyware.

Then there's Linux. It's affordable (free), secure, and friendly! Linux will bring your older hardware to life! Linux will run blazingly fast on new computer hardware! Linux has a friendly and helpful community to show you the ropes. Best of all, Linux has tons of free software!

Christmas 2009 finds families pulling in their belts more than usual. Why spend hundreds or thousands on a Windows system or Apple Mac? Both have their own share of headaches.

Get a Linux Computer! Save money and free yourself from overpriced hardware and software!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

2009-11-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

The Google operating system, known as Chrome OS is on it's way. It's open source, utilizes cloud computing, and boots in 7 seconds! Google is working to get it to boot even faster!

And, you guessed it, it's based on Linux!

"Chrome OS itself is built on Linux foundations so many people could find themselves using a version of Linux without knowing it"

A Q&A with ore information can found here.

In the meantime, get Linux.

Speed Up Your Computer For Only 25 Cents!

2009-11-20T07:00:00.006-05:00

"Every time Windows boots up some programs automatically load up at the same time, and many of them are ones that you don't even know are running in the background. Over a short period this number can increase to 30-40 programs, which is enough to slow even the newest of computers"

So goes the pitch of a recent email ad. These folks are trying to sell a product which "makes your computer start up much faster by analyzing your Windows startup sequence and giving it a de-clutter."

It goes on to talk about how revolutionary it is and all the wonderful things it will do for a Windows computer. And the asking price is only $19.99. And, I have to be honest here. When I used Windows, I gobbled up software from this company. They make some outstanding Windows software. I'm not knocking them. I am knocking the fact that you need to have such a program on your Windows system. And another program, and another , and another...to correct all the problems windows has!

Look, if you really want to make sure your computer boots fast and all your programs launch fast, simply get Linux.

For 25 cents, Linux will start fast, run fast, stable, and secure. Linux will do all this and more.

How did I come up with the 25 cent price point? Simply buy a spool of DVD-Rs, download Linux, and burn the ISO to a single disc. One disc from this spool costs 25 cents.

25 cents beats 20 dollars! And with Linux, you'll be free of Windows viruses and malware. AND you won't ever have spend hundreds of dollars for Windows again!

Slow computer problem solved.

Get Linux.

An Amazing Deal For Christmas!

2009-11-17T13:33:00.002-05:00

I receive a variety of emailings from different online retailers. I enjoy getting these email ads and seeing some of the new technology being offered. I especially enjoy receiving email ads from Geeks.com because they have some remarkable deals on computers and electronics. I purchased a refurbished scanner from them for only $65.00! It works wonderfully well! I'm very happy with the purchase. Plus, the scanner is a dream to use with Linux.

Now, check out the latest offer (above) that I received from geeks.com. It's an entire Linux computer system (Refurbished P4 3.2 GHz desktop system with Ubuntu Linux, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers) for only $179.99!!

This system is perfect for a family needing a starter system for the kids or as an extra computer system in the den or kitchen. It's priced so low, it'll make a great Christmas gift! Plus, it's Linux. You'll be free from Windows viruses and malwre and have a ton of free software at your fingertips. and ubuntu Linux is one of the more widely embraced and community supported distors around. Ubuntu is easy to use and easy to get help.

Here's the link.

I spoke with the folks at geeks.com and they told me it's easy to get this deal on their web site! After the computer is added to your shopping cart, at checkout, simply add the code "TC1." The monitor, speakers, mouse, and keyboard will then be added to your order and the price will be reduced.

The offer expires on 11/25/2009. So do a little early Christmas shopping and get a great deal on a nice Linux computer!

Get Linux.

I just Joined Facebook!

2009-11-16T07:00:00.004-05:00

I joined Facebook yesterday. My cartooning friend, Chris Browne (of Hagar the Horrible fame), invited me to view his profile, etc. In order to do this, it was required that I join.

Well, I wanted to see what Chris was up to, so I joined.
(Wanna see me on Facebook? Just click on the Facebook link on the right.)

Now, I've written how you to need to be careful when it comes to surfing around these social networks. The same rules of caution that you use when going through your email should apply.

But, the great thing is, because I run Linux, I need not worry about a Windows virus attacking my system via a social network. Linux is imune to Windows viruses and malware!

I've noticed that a lot of my cartooning friends use Mac, so they have the same kinds of protection from Windows Viruses. But this protection comes with a hefty price tag!

Linux is Free! Simply, download an ISO, burn to disk, test it on your current sytem, and then install. That's it! You'll have a brand new computer up and running in less than 30 minutes!

Linux has a ton of free software, is safe and secure, and doesn't come with a large price tag (Mac pros start at $2499.00! Yow!).

Unless you have money to burn, then just get Linux. (And if you do have money to burn and buy a Mac, snd me the equialent dollars, Mr. Money bags. Do you realize what kind of awesome, powerful Linux system I can get for that money???)

Get Linux.

(Upate - I changed my profile picture from my cartoon George to a pic of me. Still deciding which one works better and is safer from a business standpoint.)

Speed Up Your Computer.

2009-11-12T07:00:00.005-05:00

As many readers of this blog already know, I love radio! I listen to the radio in my studio when I'm at my drawing table or in front of my PCLinuxOS computer. I have an internet radio, so I can dial in stations from all over the country and even around the world.

Lately, I've been hearing the same few radio commercials over and over again for online products that allow users to speed up their PCs and improve its performance. They promise some sort of online diagnostic that will clean up your windows system and unclog whatever is slowing it down.

I have my doubts as to their legitimacy or if they even work. Heck, I'm not sure what the cost is, but I'd guess it's in the $20.00 to $40.00 range. I'd be wary of downloading any kind of program and installing it on my windows system without first doing a lot of research. You could be doing more damage to your system than you are aware.

If you REALLY want to speed up your computer, don't run Windows, run Linux instead!

Like the snail above, Windows is slow. This is because Windows slows down over time due to repeated software installations, fragmentation of the hard drive, and numerous anti-viruses and anti-malware programs running in the background. Not to mention the times when Windows has to update itself due to security problems.

Linux doesn't have any of these headaches. It's immune to Windows viruses so you don't need to run numerous anti-virus programs in the background. A Linux hard drive doesn't have to be defragmented. It handles files and software much more cleanly than Windows.

Linux simply performs better and faster than Windows. And Linux is free. So you don't have to pay a licensing fee to Microsoft, a maintenance fee to an anti-virus software company, or a repair fee to any of these these 'Supe Up my computer" web sites.

Get Linux and always run fast.

I'm Not A Linux Geek. Really.

2009-11-11T07:00:00.008-05:00

The above comic strip is a stereotypical gag dealing with computers and the whiz kids who know how to fix 'em. It's all in fun.

The thing is, folks picture me just like the geeky computer brainiac in the comic. But, really, I'm not a Linux geek. Sure, I run Linux, but I'm not sitting at my computer hammering out hundreds of lines of computer code. I'm not.

When I run Linux, I'm pointing and clicking just like anyone else would do in Windows or Mac. That's it. Linux is that easy to use. No kidding. I'm running Linux at the same level and understanding as I would run Windows or Mac.

Granted, since running Linux, I've learned more about my computer, its hardware, and the way the OS works. But this would be the same if I ran Windows or Mac.

It's like this..with each operating system you're going to have to learn something. How it works, the "moves" around it's desktop and GUI, how to install software, etc.

In addition:

With Windows, you're gonna have to learn about anti-virus software, virus threats, and malware. And you're going to have to shell out some hard earned cash to buy this additional protection.

With Mac, you're going to learn that you're locked in to Apple hardware for sure. Granted, Apple makes the hardware, OS, and software to work seamlessly, but it's gonna cost you. Mac is simply more expensive. Buy a Mac and you'll learn to part with your cash. (If you have the cash, and don't mind, well God bless ya.)

With Linux, all you have to learn is, well, Linux. And the cost is, well, free.

So which of the three would you prefer to learn?

Get Linux.

PCLinuxOS Magazine for November 2009!

2009-11-10T07:00:00.003-05:00

The latest issue of PCLinuxOs Magazine has hit the internet stands! Get your copy today!

This month's issue has lots of great stuff! There's a terrific article on Google Wave and an introduction to Kooka, a KDE software app for scanning with your scanner. Also included is a Double Take cartoon and Gimp Tip from yours truly!

Here's the official announcement:

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine staff is pleased to announce the release of the November 2009 issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine.

In the November 2009 issue:
Scanner Saga: Part 2
Command Line Interface Intro: Part 2
Catch The (Google) Wave
Manually Create A Live USB Flash Stick
Double Take & Mark’s Quick Gimp Tip
Absolute Beginner’s Guide To LaTeX on PCLinuxOS
Flashback: Simple Backups With Grsync
Gadgets & Gear: Silvercrest OM1008 Wireless Mouse
Behind The Scenes: Joble, In His Own Words
Favorite Wallpaper Sites
Ms_meme’s Nook & Forum Foibles
Linux Ads Hit The Airwaves
Ohio Linux Fest 2009: 40 Years Of Unix
Dual Boot Windows 7 & PCLinuxOS
Multimedia Mean Machine: Mencoder
and much, much more!
This month’s cover celebrates the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and was created by Timeth, a member of the PCLinuxOS Beautification Team.
http://pclosmag.com/

Get Linux.

Linux: Secure. Windows 7: Not So Much.

2009-11-09T07:00:00.003-05:00

A recent news article from The Register details how Windows 7 is still vulnerable to virus attacks.

"Out-of-the-box Windows 7 machines are still vulnerable to eight out of ten viruses, according to a test by security firm Sophos.

"The experiment proves that the improved User Account Control (UAC) features built into Windows 7 are not enough and that additional anti-virus protection is still required."

So, when you purchase that new Windows 7 system or buy a new boxed version, you had better make sure you install a third party anti-virus program.

But, if you would simply get Linux and install it on your computer instead of Windows, you'll have a safe and secure system right from the start!

Linux is immune to Windows viruses and malware.

A great way to test your system's security is at the Shield's Up! website. The web site will probe your system and let you know if any ports a open or any other vulnerabilities are exposed.

The above graphic is an actual report from my Linux system. And as the report says, "Very nice."

Get Linux, get secure.

Avoid Social Network Pitfalls. Get Linux!

2009-11-06T07:00:00.002-05:00

I got an email from an old college buddy the other day. He was looking for me up on one of the popular social networking sites.

I explained to him that I don't use these sites. In addition, I pointed out all the viruses that pop up on many of these social networking sites. Viruses like this one, this one and this one. Or how about this user's experience?

Because I use Linux, if I really wanted to open a social networking account, I'd be immune to these viruses. Why? Because these viruses target Windows systems and users. Linux is immune to Windows viruses and malware.

I realize that social networking sites do their diligent best to rid their landscape of such malware, viruses, and phishing scams. However, they can't catch everything. All users need to be vigilant.

If you want to be safer and more secure on a social networking site, simply get Linux. You'll have an easy to use desktop with thousands of free software apps. And you'll be more secure. With Linux, you'll be immune to any Windows virus tht may infect/exploit your favorite social networking site.

Get Linux.

Activation Frustration? Not With Linux!

2009-11-05T07:00:00.008-05:00

Yesterday's blog post illicited this comment from an anonymous reader:

"And don't forget... No product activation!

"I was on my way from New York to Germany. When I arrived in my room, Vista informed me my PC needed activation and would only work for the next day (can't remember the exact message). I don't know what triggered this message, as everything worked fine, and Windows was activated months before. Because I was on a business trip for the next 2 weeks, I could not get my laptop working until I arrived back home. Luckily we were able to transfer my importation documents that evening. What a mess!

"Because of this, I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER MS PRODUCT! "

My nephew had a similar experience with his friend's desktop. Although the laptop had Windows Genuine Advantage and was properly and legally activated, the system locked out the user. He called Microsoft only to get an automated messaging system. When he entered the activation code, he was told that the copy of Windows was not legitimate and the technical assistance recording hung up.

Ridiculous!

Sometimes, you need to be a wizard or magician in order to open Windows and get it to work!

If you want to avoid this kind of hassle, simply get Linux.

With Linux, you'll have a free, open source system that will never ask for an activation code or lock you out. You'll have a wonderful desktop environment with thousands of programs and a welcoming and friendly community of users who will help you get up and running.

And none of those folks is a recording.

Get Linux.

Windows 7 Versus Linux.

2009-11-04T11:36:00.010-05:00

In commenting on one of my previous posts, reader Zaine Ridling said:

"Completely agree with you here. Win7 is a golden opportunity to see that Windows isn't impressive when placed against a mature distro like Mint or openSUSE. I went to a Win7 party, but the host agreed to install copies of Win7, Fedora, openSUSE, and OSX, and then compare them.

"And yes, they were more impressed by how fast and how many programs that were ready to run after spending 15-22 minutes installing Mint and openSUSE. They even liked KDE better than Win7's UI. However, because it didn't run Photoshop -- which only one person used -- they were willing to pay the $320 to stick with Windows.

"Quite telling."

Thanks for the comment, Zaine.

I want to address the one person you mentioned who required Photoshop. Photoshop is certainly an amazing program. One reason (but not the only one) why some folks need PhotoShop is due to CMYK color separation when creating images for print (magazines, newspapers, etc.). Well, the majority of us don't need to use CMYK at the commercial level. Which is why most of us don't plop down $600.00 plus for the commercial version of Photoshop. Most Windows users will purchase Photoshop Elements (or similar) for about $100.00.

Now, I just wanted to make two points to first time readers of this blog and others exploring Linux.

1.) If you really want to run Photoshop, all you need do is purchase and install Crossover or install Wine for free. I've blogged about running Photoshop on Linux before. It works seamlessly and runs quite well.

2.) If you don't need CMYK, The Gimp does everything Photoshop Elements and other non-commercial graphics apps do. And Gimp is FREE! I use The Gimp when creating all my cartoon features with no problems whatsoever. Like the above drawing (taken with a digital camera), I draw my stuff with good old fashioned pen to paper, scan, and then do all my digital editing in Gimp. I don't need CMYK at the moment. If/when I do, I'll use the option as described above.

So, if you really need PhotoShop, you can use it in Linux. I you don't need Photoshop, you can run Gimp for free! It works just like Photoshop and is every bit as powerful.

Get Linux. (not Windows)

Surprise! It's Already Started.

2009-10-27T11:21:00.002-04:00

Blogs and websites are already starting to report the "Windows Upgrade Hell" that many are experiencing when upgrading their systems from Windows Vista to the New Windows 7 operating system.

College students, too, are experiencing problems when trying to install the new Windows 7. The problem stems from a Microsoft offer. For a limited time, students can purchase Windows 7 for only $29.00. However, it appears when students download and install the package, it's either corrupt of missing some key files.

I spoke with my nephew Mike (he has a CSI degree and works in the IT field) about installing Windows 7. He was on his way to his local MicroCenter to buy a copy of Windows 7. (He has to keep up with anything and everything new in the computer industry. And yes, he runs Linux) When installing Windows, Linux, etc., Mike always backs up his files, wipes his hard drive, and then does a fresh install.

Ultimately, these folks are going to have to do the same thing. Microsoft recommends this for sure if you're moving from Windows XP to Windows 7.

From the BBC's review:

"If you are aiming to upgrade directly from Windows XP to Windows 7, be aware that Microsoft doesn't recommend it. Not only is it likely to take significantly longer, the directory structure is different between the two and many applications may not work if not run after a "fresh" installation."

So, if you're going to upgrade, why not just upgrade to a better OS? Back up your files, wipe your hard drive, and simply install Linux. You'll be more secure, have thousands of free software titles available, and the price is a lot less than the $200+ that M$ is asking. Heck, Linux is even less expensive that the $29.00 students are paying. Linux is free!

Get Linux.

Windows 7 Launches. Get Linux Instead

2009-10-18T13:14:00.005-04:00

This week, Microsoft attempts to undo all the problems of its Vista operating system debacle by launching a newer version of Windows, now called Windows 7.

Stores like Best Buy are stocking up on Windows 7. They're anticipating crowds of hundreds of thousands to come bursting through their doors scrambling to get this new shiny gem of a Windows OS.

I'm not holding my breath.

Look, don't buy into all the hype. Just get Linux. You'll avoid the crowds and price tag. You'll also avoid Windows viruses, Trojans and spy-ware.

You can download Linux for free, install it on any computer you own, and have access to thousands of terrific software apps.

Plus, Linux has one of the coolest 3D environments around!

Get Linux.

PCLinuxOS Magazine! October Issue!

2009-10-16T12:58:00.000-04:00

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine October 2009 issue released.

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine staff is pleased to announce the release of the October 2009 issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine. The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is a product of the PCLinuxOS community, published by volunteers from the community. The magazine is lead by Paul Arnote, Chief Editor, and Andrew Strick, Assistant Editor. The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license, and some rights are reserved.
In the October 2009 issue:

Phoenix: PCLinuxOS XFCE 2009.4 Released
A User's KDE 4.3 Experience in PCLinuxOS
The Gutsy Geeks Speak Linux
Scanner Saga
Command Line Interface Intro
Scripts-R-Us: GTKDialog
Top Seven Reasons to Use PCLinuxOS Over Window 7
Double Take
Through The Lens: Gimp Basics
System Secrets
Game Zone: Second Life
Gadgets & Gear: SanDisk SansaClip
Ms_meme's Nook & Forum Foibles
and much, much more!

This month's cover celebrates Halloween, and was created by Timeth, a member of the PCLinuxOS Beautificaiton Team.

Click here to download.
Visit the online HTML version

September Issue of PCLinuxOS Magazine!

2009-09-09T07:00:00.015-04:00

The latest issue of PCLinuxOS Magazine is now available! Lots of terrific stuff in this month's issue! Both seasoned and newbie Linux user will enjoy it. Get you copy at:

http://pclosmag.com/index.php/latest-mag (a 6.7 MB download)

The official announcement follows:

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine September 2009 Issue

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine staff is happy to announce the release of the September, 2009 issue. This month's issue includes:
KDE 4.3 vs Windows 7 Comparison
Behind The Scenes: An Interview with Neal Brooks
IRC: The Forgotten Chat Frontier
Through The Lens: Photo Management Software
How To Set up Easy Samba File Sharing
How To Make A Cheap Film Scanner
How To Share A Printer With Windows Without Samba
Video File Format Cllomparison
PCLinuxOS on the Acer Aspire One
Creating Movie Archives with dvd::rip
Computer Languages A to Z: C and C++
Scripts-R-Us: Repo Speed Test
Double Take by Mark Szorady
Forum Foibles
And much, much more!
This month's cover celebrates the "Back To School" time of year, and was created by Timeth, a member of the PCLinuxOS Beautificaiton Team.

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is created monthly for the PCLinuxOS community, by volunteer members of the PCLinuxOS community. The magazine is lead by Paul Arnote, Chief Editor and Andrew Strick, Assistant Editor.

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine is created under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License and by downloading, you acknowledge and accept this license agreement. Download size: 6.7 MB.

You can download the 79-page PDF version of the September 2009 issue of The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine here: http://pclosmag.com/index.php/latest-mag (a 6.7 MB download), or view the online HTML version of the magazine here: http://pclosmag.com/html/enter.html

Speed.

2009-08-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

I drew the above comic strip almost ten years ago. Back then, most folks had phone modems and were dialing into their internet connection. They were crawling along at snail like speeds. It took forever for images, video and other large files to download. I remember having to wait 30 to 40 minutes to update a web page. It took that long to upload images, files and other changes.

Today, with most households clipping along at broadband speeds, the slowest part of the internet connection is sometimes the computer itself. And most of these home system are running Windows. And, over time, Windows gets slower. Windows is susceptible to malware, spyware, pop-ups, etc. all of which slows the performance of the system. These unwanted guests clog memory, run in the background eating up resources and just bog down the system

If you want to improve overall computer system performance, switch to Linux. Linux is immune to Windows malware, spyware and viruses. You won't need an anti-virus program or any other defensive app running in the background blockin potential threats. Linux is immune to those threats. So, Linux is free to use all its resources to run the programs you want to run.

Get a faster system. Get Linux!

Working With Linux.

2009-08-12T07:00:00.016-04:00

I received a really nice comment from a blog reader named yoyo. In my reply I let yoyo know that everything here is fine. I'm not on vacation or sick. I'm just trying to get back up to speed with blogging.

The big news has been my cartoons appearing in PCLinuxOS magazine. The PCLinuxOS community was kind enough to include me in their publication. I contribute a monthly Double Take cartoon and a tip on using Gimp. The column is called "Mark's Gimp Tip."

I'm working on the September issue and have planned for a a neat file download to accompany the column. At least, I'm hoping to get this coordinated. Stay tuned.

It's been a fun and productive project and, of course, all the work is done in Linux. All the page layout is done using Scribus and all the artwork and digital image editing is done in The Gimp.

It's easy!

That's the main concern most folks have when they contemplate switching over to Linux. They wonder if things are going to work the same way as in Windows. The answer is, "Yes!" If you can run Windows, you can run Linux. In fact, in many ways, Linux is even easier to run than Windows. And you won't have to worry about Windows viruses, trojans and spyware. Linux is immune. So say goodbye to the additional cost of Anti-virus software and other programs that are constantly running in the background slowing down your computer's (Windows) performance.

Linux is fast, familiar, friendly, and easy to use.

Get Linux.

Cash For Clunkers.

2009-08-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

There's been some curiosity and a bit of hysteria over the Government's web site which dealers log onto in order to process their "Cash For Clunkers" sales. At the beginning of the process, according to The Glenn Beck Show, by accepting the terms or agreement on the government's web site, the dealer would be turning over all control and ownership of their computer to Uncle Sam.

Now, if this is indeed happening, I'm not sure exactly how the government is accessing a dealer's computer. It may be loading a program that runs in the background and tracks everything on that computer. I don't know. It's purely speculation on my part.

But, I can venture a guess that all the computer systems involved are probably running Windows.

Windows allows users to run at full administrative level. Clicking any kind of agreement or downloading any file could potentially launch a virus or piece of malware.

This is why I run Linux. Linux does not allow users to run at an administrative level unless they specifically give it permission by entering a root (administrator) password. Users run Linux at the "User" level. In order to install software or update the system (from its repository), Linux requires root (administrator) privileges.

So, before you can change anything on a Linux system, you need to be in root.

And, Linux is immune to Windows viruses and malware.

Windows, on the other hand just lets ANYTHING run. Double-clicking an unknown file could bring about disastrous results by installing a virus or spyware.

If you want a safer, more secure system free of viruses and malware, get Linux.

PCLinuxOS Magazine for August 2009!

2009-08-10T07:00:00.005-04:00

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine
August 2009 Issue

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine, which comprises volunteers from the PCLinuxOS community, is proud to announce the release of it's August 2009 edition. This edition continues the magazine crew's commitment to a monthly release schedule for the magazine. The magazine is also pleased to announce that Andrew Strick (Stricktoo) has accepted the position of PCLinuxOS Magazine Assistant Editor.

The magazine is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license and by downloading, you acknowledge and accept this license agreement.

The August 2009 edition includes:

PCLXDE: The PCLinuxOS LXDE 2009 Remaster
Master The Remaster
Repo Spotlight: addlocale and GetOpenOffice
Behind The Scenes: Up Close With Old-Polack
Through The Lens: Scanners With PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS International Community Update
Audio File Formats Comparison
Georgetoon Double Take Cartoon
Mark's Gimp Tip
Wiki Wicket: Setup checkgmail in PCLinuxOS
ms_meme's little nook
Forum Foibles
Using Bookmarks in Konqueror
PCLinuxOS Mascot Competition Winner
And Lots more!

You can download The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine from http://mag.mypclinuxos.com/index.php/latest-mag/6-the-new-pclinuxos-magazine-august-2009-issue.

Back To School With Linux!

2009-08-07T07:00:00.001-04:00

I just received my first back to school notice in my email box. It came from PCMagazine. They're touting "Back to School software." But they also feature a review of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system.

I looked it over and I'm not impressed. You can read the review here. If you currently run Windows XP, well, you'll want to know about "XP Mode." This is virtualization software that allows XP users to run XP legacy software in Windows 7. Problem is, it doesn't work very well.

And other questions about Windows 7 are cropping up. John C. Dvorak's column details some of the backlash.

Despite this, Windows 7 has been shipped to manufacturers and you'll start to see it on computer systems in stores around October. That's not quite in time for back to school, but don't worry. There's an even better back to school solution for you!

Linux! Linux is the perfect computer operating system for back to school! It's free, loaded with a ton of software, immune to Windows viruses and Trojans, and much more stable and secure.

And if you run XP you can run it inside Windows using Vitualbox without any problems! And Windows XP works terrific in Virtualbox! I run it this way when I need to run Intuit's Quickbooks.

Why pay for Windows 7 ( starting price of $120.00 for the bottom rung offering) when you can simply download Linux for free and install it on your desktop or laptop?

During these challenging economic times, it makes sense to dump Windows and go with Linux. Families are on tight budgets. So, there's no need to pay hundreds of dollars for a new back to school computer system when the current system will do.

My guess is, your current home system has slowed down and become clogged with spyware, pop-ups, etc. Your first reaction is to try and scrape up some money and buy a new Windows system. Stop! The problem isn't the hardware, it's a faulty OS called Windows. Download Linux, install it to your computer and you'll have a new system just in time for the school year!

Linux. It's great for school and the entire family!

Get Linux.

Add A Search Engine to Firefox Search Bar

2009-08-06T07:00:00.003-04:00

Here's a quick, easy and terrific Firefox tip I came across while surfing The web with Firefox. Go to the Firefox Add-ons area and get the following Add-on: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3682

It's called, "Add to Search Bar 1.8."

Once installed, you can then add any search engine to the upper right search bar in Firefox. Simply visit the search engine's site, place your mouse in the main search bar area, right click and select, "Add to Search Bar..." The Search Engine will then be added to Firefox's search bar!

This Add-on works for both Firefox in Windows and Linux. So, if you run Windows, make the switch to Firefox. It's more secure and customizable than IE. Then just do yourself a favor and make the switch to Linux. Firefox is the main web browser and, running in Linux, you'll have a safer, more secure internet and computing experience with no threats from Windows viruses and Trojans.

Get Linux!

Tron 1982 Light Cycles

2009-08-05T07:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I talked about the movie Tron and how it really inspired me to get on the computer learning curve. Take a look at the above clip from this 1982 film. This is the Light Cycle sequence. Even by today's visual effects standards, it holds up fairly well. You can easily see how much of an impact this film had on me and others. (You can view an extended version of the clip here.)

Back in 1982, desktop computing was in its infancy and I was becoming interested in using this emerging technology. Tron helped ignite that curiosity. Over the years, the thirst for more and better computer technology took me on a journey using several different operating systems.

I started out using BASIC, then a little bit of MS-DOS, then Windows (3.X, 95, 98, XP, and all its variants). But, as Windows became more and more bloated and prone to virus attacks and security breaches, it became apparent that I needed something else. It only took one or two virus infections to convince me that Windows was no longer the answer.

I had heard about Linux since about the time of its creation. I was always intrigued by it. And I wanted to give it a try.

Well, making the move to Linux was quite easy! You can make the move to Linux, too! Download the ISO, burn it to disk, pop it in your CD/DVD drive, reboot your computer, and run the OS!

If you like it and everything works (audio, video, etc.), simply click on the desktop install icon and in about 15-20 minutes, you'll be running Linux!

It's easy, cutting edge, and well supported by a terrific community.

Get Linux!

Tron.

2009-08-04T07:00:00.006-04:00

Back in 1982, Disney released a groundbreaking movie called Tron. It was the first time (that I can remember) that a film extensively utilized CGI to bring the story to life.

Well, I loved the film. Here was something that upped the ante when it came to special effects and visuals. Up to that time, the only thing audiences saw were the kinds of effects featured in Star Wars and films like it. And while those visuals were quite impressive, the film makers of Tron used every bit of computer technology, film technology, and animation processes available at that time to create a world no one had ever seen before. A world inside a computer. Tron brought to life Light Cycles, Flying disks, and other computer elements. And the final result was stunning! It was cool. The film was a big reason why I embraced the computer. In those early days, I saw the computer as a tool to help me create cartoons and other cartoon content.

Tron's filmmakers were really thinking outside the box.

In the same way, Linux developers and community members are constantly thinking outside the box and improving the OS. Linux offers so much more. Why settle for the same mundane Windows expereince when you can be using Linux? With Linux you can customize the desktop, look, and feel to your own liking. Once you have Linux on your desktop, it's yours. You own it.

You can contribute to Linux in a variety of ways. You can develop code for it, write about it, advocate for it, help others it Linux, etc. You can share Linux with friends and family. Simply burn a Linux disk and pass it on to family, parents, friends, faculty, students...everyone!

Simply explore the many Linux distributions available, pick one, and try it out.

Right now, I'm using PCLinuxOS on my laptop and have just added it to my desktop. It's cutting edge, has all the progams I need, supported by a terrific community and well, everything works!

So, after you get Linux installed on your computer, give the MPlayer Quicktime Plugin a test drive by watching the trailer for the new Tron sequel, Tron Legacy. Or test out how great Flash works in Linux by watching the trailer on YouTube.com. Like Linux, this film is cool raised to a new level!

Tron opens 2010 in Disney Digital 3D. Linux has a cool 3D desktop!

Get Linux.

Lightning Brushes

2009-07-10T07:00:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I posted a friendly reminder about lighting and protecting your computer.

I needed an image for the post, and quickly turned to The Gimp to create it. And it was easy!

I first went to Deviant Art and downloaded lighting brushes for Gimp. You can get those here.

Extract the file and drop it into your /.gimp/brushes folder.

Then, Open Gimp, select the brush tool, scroll down the brush tool menu and select a lighting bolt. Adjust the color and size and click the mouse on your canvass. You've just created a lighting bolt!

Use a dark solid color as a background so the lighting effect stands out. For added effect, I used a dark gradient.

Get Linux, Get Gimp, get creative!

Lightning.

2009-07-09T07:00:00.009-04:00

This is just a friendly reminder. It's summertime (here in the northern hemisphere) and that means thunderstorm season. Remember, when a severe thunder and lighting storm rolls through, unplug your computer equipment, including your cable or DSL connection.

Make sure that EVERYTHING is unplugged! Even though you may have unplugged the computer's power cords, if you leave the cable connection hooked into your system, you're still at risk from a lighting strike....even miles away. Lighting can travel down that wire and zap your computer.

So, when the weather gets bad and lighting flashes, unplug your computer completely. Also, purchase a good quality surge protector or battery backup. Sometimes storms arise when you're not home to unplug.

Get Linux.

The Google OS

2009-07-08T10:33:00.000-04:00

Google has announced, through their official blog, that it will be launching its own operating system in 2010. It's being called "Google Chrome OS" and, you guessed it, is based on Linux.

"Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel."

So, if Linux is good enough for Google, isn't it good enough for you? Why wait until 2010 for Google Chrome OS? Get Linux now!

Another Windows Virus! Had Enough Yet?

2009-07-07T20:39:00.024-04:00

Yesterday, Microsoft issued a warning regarding a malicious virus that affects users of Windows XP running Internet Explorer.

The warning can be found in an article here.

The text is as follows:

"Microsoft Corp. has taken the rare step of warning about a serious computer security vulnerability it hasn't fixed yet. The vulnerability disclosed Monday affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating software. It can allow hackers to remotely take control of victims' machines. The victims don't need to do anything to get infected except visit a Web site that's been hacked. Security experts say criminals have been attacking the vulnerability for nearly a week. Thousands of sites have been hacked to serve up malicious software that exploits the vulnerability. People are drawn to these sites by clicking a link in spam e-mail. The so-called 'zero day' vulnerability disclosed by Microsoft affects a part of its software used to play video.

Microsoft urged vulnerable users to disable the problematic part of its software, which can be done from Microsoft's Web site, while the company works on a 'patch' ó or software fix ó for the problem."

So just by simply visiting a web site, (when using Windows XP and Internet Explorer), you computer system can become infected!

The virus has already hit China.

Windows XP users are being advised to visit this Microsoft Security Advisory (972890) site for more information and links to a workaround.

My advice is to simply pitch Windows and get Linux!

When you run Linux, you won't have to worry about Windows' security flaws, viruses, Trojans and other vulnerabilities. Linux is immune to these Windows problems!

In the meantime, if you're running Windows XP, at least do the following:

1.) Stop running Internet Explorer.

2.) Update your Anti-virus software.

3.) Get Firefox. It's a better, faster, more secure, and more customizable browser.

4.) Don't click on any links in Email spam.

5.) ASAP, Get Linux!

Happy Fourth Of July!

2009-07-04T13:30:00.000-04:00

Have a wonderful 4th of July!
Get Linux!

PCLinuxOS Magazine Scores With Readers!

2009-07-01T11:58:00.001-04:00

The new PCLinuxOS Magazine has been available for only a couple of days and already it's a big hit with readers. I'm told that the magazine has been downloaded over a thousand times on the first day of release!

One member (Far North) on the PCLinuxOS forums wrote, "It's been quite a while since I've read the PCLinux Magazine and physically used PCLOS. However, after reading the July 2009 issue and seeing the forthcoming updates to PCLOS, I'll be back.

"The Magazine was an enjoyable and very interesting read. I'm looking forward now to the August edition and to XFCE and E17 versions of PCLOS.

"Keep up the great work!"

Get your copy by going to the PCLinuxOS Magazine site.

In addition, mirrors are starting to pop up. I'll have links to these posted in the next day or two. Anticipated demand for the magazine is going to be high.

Get Linux.

PCLinuxOS Magazine Now Available!

2009-06-30T13:49:00.013-04:00

The new PCLinuxOS Magazine is now available free for downloading! It's a terrific issue with lots of information, tips, and tricks to get your PCLinuxOS system running it's best.

I've had a chance to take look at the current (July 2009) issue, and it's a chock-filled 45 pages! A few highlights that caught my eye at first glance: There's a very informative article on graphic file formats which is a must read for all artists and photographers. In addition, there's a terrific article on PCLinuxOS and digital photography. For new users, there's a piece on how to utilize the Update Notifier app to help keep your PCLinuxOS system current and up-to-date.

And, the folks at the magazine were kind enough to invite me along as a contributor. Each month, PCLinuxOS Magazine will have a special Linux version of my Double Take cartoon (distributed nationally by Georgetoon.com).

The above image is a thumbnail teaser of the cartoon running in this month's edition. To see the entire cartoon, simply download the magazine at http://www.pclosmag.

The official announcement is as follows:

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine, which comprises volunteers from the PCLinuxOScommunity is proud to announce the release of it's July 2009 edition. This edition brought forth several decisions from the new crew to bring it forth to a monthly release and the selection of a new Chief Editor, Paul Arnote aka parnote.

The magazine is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license and by downloading, you acknowledge and accept this license agreement.

The July 2009 edition includes:

The Phoenix Master

MiniMe 2009, PCLinuxOS 2009.2 and Zen Mini

The Simplest Way to Rip Audio CDs

Community Packaging

Update-notifier

Georgetoon

Using AT&T's Newest 3G Modem with MiniMe and 2009.1

ms_meme's little nook

Through the Lens

Scripts-R-Us

Graphic File Formats Comparison

and more!

Visit http://www.pclosmag.com and download your copy of The New PCLinuxOS Magazine July 2009 Issue now!

So, I hope you'll take a moment to download the magazine. It's terrific! (and looks great, too! ) You'll find it both entertaining and informative. And you'll understand all the more why so many folks are embracing PCLinuxOS as their Operating System of choice.

Get Linux

Congratulations!

2009-06-29T07:00:00.009-04:00

Congratulations!

and thank you for choosing PCLinuxOS. We bring all the power of Linux to your desktop plus our famous "cool-friendly touch" -- we hope it provides complete satisfaction. We highly recommend that you visit PCLinuxOS.com to take full advantage of news, help forums, and access to hundreds of high-quality applications for your PCLinuxOS system.

Forums : Community based help forums have been established to discuss various issues with PCLinuxOS. If you would like to participate in the discussion you will need to register yourself on the PCLinuxOS forum. Please note we do not use your name or email for any marketing purposes.

Projects: MyPCLinuxOS.com is a separate community run site geared toward developing handy tools, documentation, graphics and other things for PCLinuxOS.

PCLinuxOS WIKI: A community based user guide has been established where users can find answers. PCLinuxOS Wiki

Donations: The success of PCLinuxOS is dependent upon monetary donations from you. If you would like to see continued development, please consider making a modest donation to this exciting project. Donations are made through Google Checkout to provide a safe and secure way to send funds.

That's the message that comes up in your browser when it is first launched in PCLinuxOS. And it covers just about everything you'll need to know when you first start using this terrific Linux distribution. It's a road map of sorts as you climb behind the wheel of this new finely tuned sports car.

Believe me, if you want to breath new life into you PC, get PCLinuxOS! If your PC is sluggish and straining and suffers from "Windows-itis", then click on the above road map and get a better operating system!

If you already have PCLinuxOS, then you are to be congratulated!

Get Linux.

Music Slight of Hand.

2009-06-28T11:43:00.003-04:00

I'm continually amazed by Linux and how software rich it is. There are thousands of terrific software applications at your immediate disposal. Simply open up the Linux repository with Synaptic (or similar package manager), search for the application, and click to install. After a few moments, you're using that particular piece of software! There's no fumbling for disks or entering numbers/codes to unlock or verify the application. Click, install. It's that easy!

And you need only be engaged with the Linux community to learn about all this terrific software.

I've always said that the best part of Linux is its community of users. Linux users from all over the globe are always there with a helping hand, tip, trick or tweak to get your system running optimally.

A case in point is this blog. I created it to advocate Linux. In the process of telling the world how wonderful Linux is, I've met many experienced Linux users who have introduced me to Linux software, desktop managers, file managers, etc.

And because of a blog entry the other day, I learned about a terrific little app called AudioKonverter from PCLinuxOS users.

AudioKonverter is a KDE service menu that allows you to convert audio/music files from one format to another. Simply right click on the audio file and convert from MP3 to Ogg or WAV to MP3 or FLAC to M4A, etc. It's that easy! The above screen shot from my PCLinuxOS laptop shows exactly how effortless it is.

So, for instance, if you have an .avi video file of your daughter's piano recital, you can use AudioKonverter to extract the audio portion and save it as an MP3. Load the new file to your MP3 player and listen to it in your car.

And I learned about this terrific app from Linux users, specifically, PCLinuxOS users. You can do the same thing. Just get Linux.

I HIGHLY recommend that you get PCLinuxOS. Download it, burn it to disk, run the Live CD and then install it. You'll be saying goodbye to all the Windows headaches of spyare and viruses. You'll also be saying hello to a stable, secure operating system with thousands of software titles (like AudiKonverter) and a wonderful welcoming community of users.

Get Linux.

PCLinuxOS! Everything Works!

2009-06-27T10:46:00.001-04:00

One of the most biggest challenges with some Linux distributions is getting all the multimedia to work. It's a real disappointment to not have Quicktime movies or Flash video play from popular websites like Apple.com movie trailers or YouTube.com.

The really great thing about PCinuxOS is that everything works! All my multimedia (MP3s, Window Media files, AVIs , DVDs, OGGs, etc.) work right out of the box! If for some unknown reason, I can't get a specific media file to play, it's just a simple matter of downloading the correct codec or data file from the repository. (and the PCLinuxOS community is right there to give a helping hand!)

The above screen shot shows my PCLinuxOS laptop streaming audio from WABCRadio.com. I've sometimes found radio stations' audio streams to be a bit tricky in getting to work in Linux. But not with PCLinuxOS! I simply navigate to the radio's web site, click the link for the stream, and in a few moments, I'm listening to the station!

If you've read this blog before, you'll know that I love radio. I have an internet radio that sits next to my drawing table and I also have an XM radio subscription for my car. XM also allows you to stream the channels from their website. In the past, other Linux distros I've used have failed or stumbled in interpreting the XM radio player or audio steam. But PCLinuxOS (via Firefox) brings the player up and streams all the XM channels with no problems!

Want more multimedia ease of use? Well, as you know, DVDs are incredibly popular with folks of all ages. Without a doubt, one of the first things a person will do when using a new computer system is drop in a DVD to watch the latest Hollywood spectacular. Again, some Linux distros have asked users to jump through a series of hoops in order to get a commercial DVD to play. But with PClinxOS, just drop in the DVD and hit play!

So play DVD movies, listen to MP3s, online audio streams, and other entertainment with no hiccups or glitches. PCLinuxOS handles 'em all! It's so easy, you'll think you're running an Apple Mac (but with out the hefty price tag) or a Windows system ( but without the viruses and pop-ups!)

Get Linux!

PCinuxOS Rolling Along!

2009-06-26T07:00:00.040-04:00

PCLinuxOS is known as a "Rolling Release Distribution." This means that you install PCLinuxOS once and update it when new applications become available from its repository.

The app that helps monitor this is "Update Notifier." The screen shot above shows it in action. You launch it once and it sits in your system tray. Update Notifier periodically checks to see what new software updates are available. It flags you and allows you to make those updates with a couple of clicks of the mouse.

This keeps your PCLinuxOS system up to date and always the latest version! Once you install PCLinuxOS and update it regularly, you won't have to install again in order to get the newest/latest release. You'll have the latest release! It's seamless and updating takes just a few minutes two to three times a week (or whatever frequency the updates occur.)

It's one of the big reasons why I'm such of fan this Linux OS!

Get PCLinuxOS!

What Took You So Long?

2009-06-25T11:10:00.000-04:00

In my last blog post an anonymous reader asked a friendly question in the comments area, "What took you so long? PCLinuxOS isn't exactly a well kept secret..."

How true! I've popped that Live CD of PCLinuxOS in and out of my computer for a few years now. I've known about it and I've played with it, but I've never really gone the final step of installing it...until now. This time around, I gave it a good close look. And I'm so happy I did!

(Yes, that's my PCLinuxOS laptop desktop above.)

What took me so long? Well, for one, I've been using a laptop that already had a very nice Linux distro on it. And my desktop system is a "rack system." This allows me to plug in any number of hard drives with any number of partitions running a variety of Linux distributions. It's a geeky, high tech way of being a kid in a candy store!

So for the past few years, I've been swapping out hard drives on my desktop system, partitioning, and installing a new Linux distribution. With so many Linux distributions to choose from, sometimes a really outstanding one like PCLinuxOS gets lost in the shuffle.

This time around though, I felt I needed something to enliven my laptop. I looked around for a distro that had good wireless support. At times, wireless and Linux can be a tricky thing (especially for new users).

Currently, I run Kiowa Linux on this laptop and wireless support has beeen very good. Seeing that PCLinuxOS is very similar to Kiowa, I decided to give it a try.

Well, after test driving the Live CD, it didn't take long for me to decide to partition the laptop drive and add PCLinuxOS!

And, as I explained in yesterday's post, wireless came right up!

I'm so happy with this Linux distro, I have plans to partition a hard drive on my rack system yet again.

If you have a laptop, give PCLinuxOS a try. It's user friendly, easy to install, and just about holds your hand during the process of getting wireless connected. And it has one of the friendliest and most helpful user commuities around!

So, I'm here to tell YOU, don't make the same mistake I made by letting this gem of an OS get lost in the shuffle. As you investigate Linux, cut to the chase and get PCLinuxOS.

Even better, if you need a new computer, consider one with PCLinuxOS already pre-installed!

Get Linux!

PCLinuxOS! Wow!

2009-06-24T11:13:00.003-04:00

It seems that I blog in fits and starts. I get excited about Linux and, day after day, shout to the world through this blog about how terrific it is! Then deadlines loom and I find myself withdrawing from the bloog and needing to be at my drawing table.

So, my drawing table called and, for the past two months, I've been cartooning and running Georgetoon.com. (If you don't see George or my other comics in your local paper, ask for them!)

But, in between, I've also been running PCLinuxOS 2009.1!

I don't know exactly how it happened. I guess I just wanted to have new OS on my laptop. I was dual booting between Windows XP and Kiowa Linux. While Kiowa Linux gets ready to release its latest and greatest, I decided to try a new Linux distro. And I wanted something similar to the look and feel of Kiowa and Mandriva. Well, that's why I loaded PCLinuxOS. And I'm so glad I did.

PCLinuxOS loaded in a snap, found all my hardware, configured my graphics card, and presented me with a number of wireless drivers to install. I selected the first one and my wireless came right up!

The extras bonus in all this was the PCLinuxOS forum and community. A really terrific, friendly bunch of folks who are welcoming and ready to help! I had no problems correcting minor issues because i had the help and support of the PCLinuxOS forum.

So, do yourself a favor and buy or download PCLInuxOS 2009.1! I'll be talking about it in the days and weeks to come. If you run the Live CD (or even install) you can follow along!

Get Linux!

Sangean Again!

2009-04-23T00:46:00.002-04:00

The reason why I love Linux so much is due to the commitment and dedication of its community. Linux users and developers are quick to respond to help you through the slightest challenge or problem you might have experienced while familiarizing yourself with this wonderful operating system. The community is always there to help. I've made some wonderful friendships through using Linux. These new Linux friends have introduced me to open source technologies that have enhanced my cartooning and computing experience.

In the same way, the folks at Sangean really stand behind their products! As you may recall, I've blogged about how terrific the Sangean WFR-20 interent radio is! Recently, I had a slight problem with the radio and called the folks at Sangean. They were only too happy to help me out! My radio is fine. Its up and running and streaming music from my Linux Mint computer and allowing me to listen to over 15,000 radio stations from around the globe!

Sangean and Linux. You can't go wrong with either one. Both stand behind their products. If you're looking for a terrific radio (and have a broadband connection), definitely get a Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player!

(Also, you may want to consider the new Sangean WFR-1 WIFI Internet Radio. It's in stores now!)

Likewise, if you need a terrific operating system that folks stand squarely behind, get Linux.

Dear Mr. Obama

2009-04-14T16:00:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is tax day here in the U.S. A lot of Tea Parties are going to take place. People are just plain mad! I'm mad, too! I'm forgoing talking about Linux today to join my fellow citizens and raise my voice in protest to all the wasteful spending our government has been doing. The following comes from Jim Z and sums up the situation far better than anything I could ever write. Bravo, Jim! Please feel free to copy and pass along to others.

Dear Mr. Obama

Dear Mr. Obama,

Tomorrow I will be sending $3000 to the IRS.

Too bad, if I had that money I can think of a lot
of things to do with it.

The guy down the street is a carpenter.
He's been looking for work for a long time.
I was thinking of re-finishing our Kitchen floor.
Looks like I won't be doing that this year.

I also know a guy who does vinyl siding.
I would love to get my house sided,
and $3000 would certainly be a large part of the
cost. But I guess I won't be doing that this year.

I know an electrician who is out of work. I'm
sure he could help me upgrade our electrical
service. Too bad, I won't be doing that this year.

Perhaps I could put the money towards a new car.
I know someone at a dealership that is really in need
of the business.
Oh well, looks like I can't do that this year either.

Instead, I am handing it over to the government so you
can "stimulate" the economy.

Am I missing something here ?

My New Scanner!

2009-04-07T07:00:00.053-04:00

My new (actually refurbished) scanner arrived last week and I've been putting it through the paces here in my studio.

It's an HP Scanjet 8250. It has an automatic document feeder and a flat bed scanning area of 8.5 x 14 inches. This larger scanning area comes in handy because I draw my comic strip 4 inches by 13 inches.

In a previous post, I was looking at modifying the size of my comic strip template and drawing it a bit smaller to accommodate my Umax scanner. I used Scribus to design the template and was all set to go when a Freespire community member pointed out how this HP scanner was at geeks.com for only $65.00. I jumped on the deal!

The scanner is wonderful!   And the really great thing is, Xsane supports it. All I had to do was pull the scanner out of the box, plug in to my USB port on my Linux system, power up, and I was scanning!   No software or drivers to install. Xsane was already in place to handle the scanner. (and Xsane and Kooka both support the ADF feature!)

Here's the neat thing. I've been using a Umax scanner in Linux for the last year or so.   All I did was unplug it, then plug in the HP scanner and Linux did all the rest!   The HP scanner was up and running in an instant!

Each scanner just works in Linux! It's true plug 'n play.

Since I run a rack system, I plugged in windows XP to see how the HP scanner would fare compared to Linux.

30 minutes later, I was still installing drivers and software. I had to restart the system a couple of times, as well.

After finally getting all the necessary software installed (some would not install. I have to check with geeks.com for another disk), the scanner worked nicely.   But, it did take about 30-40 minutes for software and drivers to install.

So, I'm quite happy with my new scanner. It allows me to scan larger pieces so I can continue to draw my George comic strip 4 inches by 13 inches.

And Linux and Xsane support this scanner, so set up was a snap! I plugged in and was scanning in less than 30 seconds!

Get Linux!

April Fool? It's No Joke!

2009-03-31T13:10:00.002-04:00

I was toying with the idea of doing an April Fool's column for tomorrow. I had something planned. It could be viewed as a rather predictable April Fool's joke by some, but others may have fallen for it. But given the current situation with the Conficker Worm, I thought it best to cancel all jokes and pass on the warning.

The Conficker Worm is set to launch tomorrow on April Fools day. And according to the folks at Symantec, " We don’t know the purpose of the Conficker worm."

So, if you're running Windows, please beware and be aware. And I hope you're reading this today (March 31st) and not on April 1st.

Make sure to get a good anti-virus suite, scan your Windows system, and cross your fingers.

(Here's another site with helpful instructions.)

The purpose of this blog has been one of Linux advocacy. Because with Linux, you don't have these Windows virus threats looming over you.

So, if you truly want to be safe, simply get Linux. It won't cost you much (many Linux distributions are free of charge), there's a wonderful community of users to help you along, and you'll have a more stable computing environment with thousands of free, open source software applications.

Get Linux.

My Scanner Adventure Continues.

2009-03-30T07:00:00.042-04:00

The other day, I posted about using Scribus to adjust my comic strip template so I could scan it in one pass on my Umax Scanner. I mentioned how legal size scanners are becoming pretty rare any more.

I related this to my cartoonist friend Adrian Sinnott and he agreed with me. He pointed out that the larger flat bed scanners are not only not as plentiful as they once were, but are becoming quite expensive when compared to standard size flat bed scanners.

So, I was delighted when a Freespire Community Member (Bob3), posted a message about geeks.com having a refurbished HP scanner that scans legal size documents for only $65.00! And, it's supported by Xsane.

I jumped on it! The scanner arrives sometime this week. I'll be posting my experiences once I get it hooked up and running.

Again, this is why I love Linux so much. It's a great operating system and has a wonderful community involved with making it better for all users.

Get Linux.

Scribus and Linux and Comic Strips!

2009-03-28T07:00:00.026-04:00

I've been wrestling with the fact that I'll need a new scanner sooner or later. A cartooning friend Adrian Sinnott gave me a really nice used Umax 2200 scanner and it has worked wonderfully well with Linux! I mean, I just pulled it out of the box, plugged in the power cord, plugged it into my computer's USB port and TA-DAA!! The scanner came alive. No disk to insert, no drivers to install, and no rebooting like you often experience with a Windows machine. all I had to do was make sure that Xsane was installed.

The problem I'm running into, though, is it appears scanner manufacturers aren't making legal size scanners like they once did. (More on this in a future blog! And it's good news!) I had a Microtek scanner that scanned an 8.5 inch by 14 inch area. And, it too, worked wonderfully well in Linux. But, over the years, the calibration and alignment failed and my scans really looked lousy. Which is why I switched to the Umax scanner.

The Umax scanner only scans a slightly larger than letter size area. Approximately 8.5 x 12 inches. Since I draw my comic strip 4 inches by 13 inches, I have to scan both ends of the comic strip and then piece it togehter using gimp. This is not problem as Gimp makes the task quite easy. But, I'm getting a little tired of scanning twice and then digitally stitching. So, I've decided to simply draw my comic strip a bit smaller to accommodate the size of the Umax scanner.

Enter Scribus! Scribus is a terrific open source desktop publishing program that can do any kind of page layout. Scribus has a nice selection of vector drawing tools (rectangles, circles, etc.) I simply design the comic strip using Scribus' drawing tools. I use rectangles to create comic panels, text tools to lay in the title and copyright, and other rectangular drawing tools to create light blue lettering guides.

Then it's a simple matter of inserting paper into my printer and printing out the template. I can adjust the size of the "panels" and print out two templates at a time. I then cut and trim with my paper cutter and viola! A comic strip template all ready to draw the latest George comic strip!

I remember in the "old days," I had to rule up the borders and lettering guides for each and every comic strip.

Now, with Linux and Scribus, I can let my computer do all this boring work. This allows me to do all the fun drawing stuff!

And the best part is, Scrubus and Linux are both free! Free as in "Freedom." Free to use and keep and free to give to others.

Get Linux!

Presto! You're Using Linux!

2009-03-19T07:00:00.034-04:00

The big thing now in laptop and desktop computers is the fast boot. There's a product out there called Presto that installs on your Windows computer and allows you to boot your computer in less than 10 seconds. How is this possible? It's because Presto is Linux!

That's right! And while I think this is a neat development and I applaud Xandros for developing this solution, you can do the same thing without having to get (or pay for) Presto at all.

Simply get Linux, and install it on your Window system. During the installation process, Linux will ask if you want to set up the system as a dual boot. When you do this, Linux will help you partition your Windows hard drive and make room for the Linux installation.

Then, you'll have a dual boot system. When you boot your computer, you'll be given the same kind of menu Presto gives you (see the demo video above). You can select either Windows or Linux. Linux will boot faster. And when you run Linux, you can even access your Windows hard drive and move files back and forth!

Again, I applaud Xandros for developing Presto. It's yet another way to introduce Linux to more folks. And its ease of use is worth the purchase price to some.

So, either way, with Presto or downloading an ISO, you'll be getting Linux.

Get Linux.

Sneaky.

2009-03-10T07:00:00.057-04:00

"Hey, Mark. Can you check my system? I think there's a virus or something on it. My scanning program is coming up." This is usually how the "is my Windows system infected?" conversation begins.

It happened again at the office just today. One of the guys called me over to his Windows system wondering why an anti-virus program has popped up telling him that the system was infected.

I looked things over and did a double take. I couldn't believe that his system was THAT infected with spyware. It turns out that is wasn't. It was a ruse.

It was a browser hijacker. A faked system-scan screen shot was displayed in the browser. It looked exactly like the control panel on his Windows system. A pop up was asking to do a scan. Once clicked, it downloads its payload. It could be infecting your system with a Virus, or simply hijacking it to track your every move (something that gets reported and sold to marketing web sites). Or it just may be installing a program that you simply are not asking for.

The point is, it's being done in an underhanded way.

If you run Linux, this kind of thing doesn't bother your system. Even though you may (or may not) see this kind of thing pop up, Linux is immune from Windows Hijackers.

Linux is secure and stable.

Get Linux and get piece of mind.

Rescuers!

2009-03-08T07:00:00.053-04:00

About 19 years ago, I saw a terrific Disney animated motion picture. It was called The Rescuers Down Under and was a sequel to the original 1977 animated film, The Rescuers.

The Rescuers down Under is noted for two things. It was the first time Disney had ever produced a sequel to an animated film. And, it was the first full length animated film to be entirely colored (ink and paint) and composited in a computer. You could say that The Rescuers Down Under was was a 100% digital feature film!

Disney and Pixar developed CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) system to digitally ink and paint and handle post production. All the hand animated drawings, backgrounds, etc.were digitized and then loaded into the CAPS system. Animated drawings and backgrounds were then painted and combined with camera moves and pans to create a sense of depth and space. The system was able to easily duplicate camera moves identical to of the older analog Multiplane camera. These digital Multiplane camera moves are used extensively. In addition, 3D computer animation (environments and props) were also used throughout the film. The final result is stunning and quite beautiful.

I mention all this because the system is now pretty much a thing of the past. Linux and other software off the shelf easily replaces this technology. But, the CAPS system was light years ahead and really laid the groundwork for the kinds of computer animation tools in production today.

Do yourself a favor and buy The Rescuers Down Under. It's a wonderful film the whole family will enjoy. And if you're a techno-geek like me, you'll certainly appreciate all the computer digital work seen throughout the film.

Get The Rescuers Down Under, then Get Linux.

OSDisc.com

2009-03-07T07:00:00.069-05:00

There are many ways to get Linux. You can purchase a new desktop computer, laptop, or netbook with Linux pre-installed. You can download an .ISO file and burn it to disk. Once you have the disk, you just pop it into your computer and away you go.

Or you can obtain a disk from a Linux disk service. These online Linux disk stores will do all the heavy lifting for you. And for just a couple of bucks, you can have the Linux operating system of your choice delivered to your mailbox!

These Online Linux disk stores ae great! Especially if you want to share Linux with family and friends. You'll get a professional looking disk for a very reasonable price. So, you can purchase multiple disks to give away and spend no more than, say 20 bucks for about 10-20 disks.

One of the best online Linux disk stores I've found is OSDisc.com. I visited their site and contacted them for additional information after coming across them via a Google search. These guys are GREAT! They sent me two Linux disks and it only took a couple of days from date of order to my mailbox!

Many other customers love OSDisc.com, as well. One customer review raves, "Third time ordering from OSDisc.com. No hassle, super fast delivery, great feedback in my email about my order, and no problems so far. It doesn't get better than this. With my slow net connection I get the products faster than I could actually download them plus I don't waste my bandwidth doing it! Oh yeah, another plus for people with OCD. You get bubble wrap envelope too! Give you something to pop while your OS installs. :)"

I agree. I didn't have to waste time downloading and burning. I simply surfed over to OSDisc.com! When my order arrived, I popped the Open Suse Linux disk into my laptop and in a few moments I was running this Linux operating system with the new KDE 4 desktop environment.

OSDisc.com has just about every Linux operating system available. The disks are impressive! They are very professional looking and work on first boot-up. You can select a Linux distribution on CD-ROM or a larger, more feature rich offering on DVD.

So, if you don't have a fast internet connection or don't have the time to download and burn to disk, visit OSDisc.com! They'll help you get Linux!

A Great 3D Desktop Demo Video

2009-03-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

I came across this video on youtube.com. It's a terrific demonstration of Compiz Fusion the 3D desktop environment for Linux.

The video is a couple of years old. Even so, it's pretty amazing what the desktop is capable of. And Compiz has improved greatly.

Compiz also comes standard on Linux Mint. Enjoy the show!

By the way, the song is "Ya Ya" from an album called Early Tapes.

It's an album featuring early Beatles musical work. On this particular album, the Beatles are doing mostly back up for other singers including Tony Sheridan.

Get Linux.

MSWord To OpenOffice And Back Again.

2009-03-05T07:00:00.032-05:00

I've been working on a letter and needed a little bit of input. I called my brother Dave and he said he'd take a look at what I had composed so far.

I sent him the letter as text in the body of an email. Dave copied this text and pasted it into MSWord. He did some editing and then saved the document as an MSWord document. He emailed it back to me.

In the above screen shot, you can see the attachment with the ".doc" extension. When this screen shot was taken, I was in the process of saving the document to my desktop. (I'm using the Thunderbird email program.)

Once I had the document saved, I simply double clicked the file and OpenOffice launched. Because OpenOffice is fully compatible with MSWord, the document opened and displayed exactly as Dave had laid it out. I then added my changes and suggestions and then saved it as a .doc document (MSWord document). Because Dave is running Windows and MSWord, He'll be able to open the document on his end with no problems.

And that's how easy it is to use OpenOffice with MSword. There are no compatibility problems.

I'm also sending Dave a link where he can download OpenOffice for free. (You can get it here). This way, he won't even have to bother with MSWord. He can use OpenOffice for Windows. And we can continue to exchange documents in the OpenOffice format (.odt). He on Windows, me on Linux. (and then I'm gonna get him to switch to Linux!)

Get Linux!

A Better Solitaire.

2009-03-04T07:00:00.107-05:00

Remember when you first got a Windows computer? It was probably Windows 98 or 95. Heck, you may even have started with Windows 3.1. Well, once you had the system up and running, one of the first things you probably did was try out a few of the games.

If you were like everyone else, you immediately booted the Windows Solitaire game. It was a nice version. Just one solitaire game. The only customizing you were able to do, as I recall, was the design on the back of the cards. Still, you marvelled at playing a digital version of this solo card game.

Well, you can continue playing Solitaire. But this time around, step up to a better version of Solitaire on Linux. That Solitaire game is Pysol. As it's description states, "PySol is an X11 solitaire game with a number of nice features, including hints, autoplay, unlimited undo, player statistics, demo mode, selectable card set and background graphics, and integrated help. It currently plays over one hundred different games and variants, and has a plug-in architecture which makes adding more easy."

Wow! Over one hundred combinations of Solitaire!

Getting Pysol in Linux is easy. Log into your repository and simply type in "Pysol." The program will come up. Select it, then click "Apply." Pysol will download and install on your Linux system. In a few short minutes, you'll be playing Pysol!

I do need to mention, though the following message on the original Pysol website, "As of 2008 any work on PySol has stopped, and PySol is officially discontinued.

"Fortunately a number of enthusiastic people have continued from where I left off and have created the PySol Fan Club edition. Please contribute all your patches and enhancements to this new project.

"It has been very much fun creating this game, and I hope you will appreciate the result of my efforts. Share and enjoy!"

So, Pysol is still available. I was able to download it from my Linux Mint repository in order to get screen shots for this blog post. And Pysol is continuing as a new project. It appears the new project will take Pysol to a new level of advancement! But, once again, this demonstrates the strength of Linux and open source software. Anyone and everyone can develop, contribute, refine, and lead.

Get Linux.

PDF Virus. Acrobat Needs Plugging And My Sink Needs Unplugging.

2009-03-02T07:00:00.073-05:00

I've been busy trying to unblock the kitchen sink all weekend. It got clogged and now I'm plunging and using a drain clearing product to get things flowing again. This is why I didn't post on Sunday.

I found some information on how to unblock a sink here. I also found a helpful video here.

While I was plunging, bailing water, and doing some research on the internet, I got call from my neighbor. He alerted me to the fact that there's a new virus floating around which affects Adobe Acrobat and Reader (Versions 8.0 and 9.0).

One article states that the security flaw won't be plugged for another month. ("Plugged." There's that reference to my kitchen sink again!)

I thanked him for the information. I also explained that since I'm running Linux, and read all my PDF files with KPDF, It's very unlikely that my system would be infected. Linux is immune from Windows viruses. But still, it's always a good idea to never download a file, PDF or otherwise, from an unknown/untrusted source.

And KPDF is a terrific PDF reader! It's integrated very nicely into the KDE desktop environment. It has a good number of features for searching, adding bookmarks, capturing image shots off the page, , etc. You can capture an image, text, or both right off the page of the PDF by drawing a rectangle around the area and then making your selection for a drop down menu.

KPDF is very easy to use and quite intuitive. It comes pre-installed with most Linux KDE distributions. If KPDF isn't already installed, it can be added from the repository with a couple of clicks of the mouse.

Get KPDF and Get Linux. (And Linux won't get clogged and slow down like my kitchen sink!)

(By the way, if you need cartoons (like the one above) for your newspaper, magazine or newsletter, visit us at georgetoon.com. We have great cartoon features for your web site or print publication.)

Pete Hoffman

2009-02-28T07:00:00.015-05:00

I came home this evening and opened the mail. There was a hand printed note from Pete Hoffman. It simply said, "Dear Mark, Many thanks for your good wishes on my 90th birthday - And my best to you always. Pete Hoffman."

Pete Hoffman turned 90 years old on February 22nd. As a member of the National Cartoonists Society, I've had the great pleasure and honor of meeting some of the world's most talented and well known cartoonists. And Pete Hoffman is one of the greats!

And I've been lucky to "meet and greet" with Pete at various NCS events over the years.

One such event happened back in 2004. Our chapter of the NCS (the Great Lakes Chapter) helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pete's comic strip Jeff Cobb. That's me and Pete in the above picture. I won the original Jeff Cobb comic strip which Pete graciously signed just moments before the picture was snapped.

About a week or so ago, I got an email from fellow cartoonists Craig Boldman and Frank Pauer. They alerted chapter members to Pete's upcoming 90th birthday and asked for cartoons extending our birthday wishes. I sent in the one pictured at left. This is why I got the nice thank you note from Pete.

I save the notes he's sent me over the years. His printing still has that clean, cartoon-like, word-balloon quality. It's a work of art in itself! Pete's stuff is simply amazing. Check out this interview from 2004 and make sure to take a close look at his art. He's a master of pen and brush and ink.

It was a nice surprise to get the thank you note from a guy so talented, so highly regarded by his peers, and one who helped define the cartoon profession. I just thought I'd take a break from all the Linux talk and say once more, "Happy 90th birthday, Pete!"

What Time Is It, Linux?

2009-02-27T07:00:00.038-05:00

Linux has some pretty slick features. These allow you to customize your desktop in so many ways. so much so, that no two Linux desktops will look alike!

for instance, one of the neat things that I like about Linux and the KDE desktop is the mousover effects. Simply by enabling mousover effects, when you pass your mouse over the bottom tool panel icons, information pops up.

If you configure more than one time zone and enable these to be displayed, when you mouse over the time in the lower left of the system tray, a window pops up giving you all the time zones you've configured! As I've mentioned before. I have an internet radio in my studio. when I tune in a station in Sydney, Australia or London, England, all I do is mouseover the time in my system tray. The information pops up and I can see what time it is in that part of the world!

Linux gives you so many ways to manage, display, and get information. And it's these little touches and customizations that make Linux so user friendly. Linux makes computing a more pleasurable and easy experience. Give it a try and customize your own desktop!

Get Linux.

Lights! Camera! Action! Linux!

2009-02-26T07:00:00.026-05:00

Linux comes with a very powerful and complete office suite called OpenOffice. OpenOffice is compatible with Microsoft Office and is also available for all platforms. But the nice thing is already having it pre-installed and ready to run once you install Linux.

Like Linux, OpenOffice is, of course, open source software. And, as such, there is a huge community supporting it in a variety of ways. One way is through the creation of extensions. These extension add functionality, new features or just a simple tweak here and there to your OpenOffice set up. And they're written by OpenOffice users from all over the globe.

I stumbled on one called Screenwright(R) screenplay formatting template by Alan C. Baird (a prizewinning writer). It's a " basic, easy-to-use, free screenplay template for the OpenOffice.org Writer program."

Download it for free, move it into your templates folder of OpenOffice and simply open from the template menu selection when you're in Writer. Follow the format on page and start writing the next Academy Award winning screenplay!

Get OpenOffice.

Get Linux. (then you'll already have OpenOffice.)

KVM Switch Helps in Switch to Linux.

2009-02-25T07:00:00.009-05:00

Let's say you really want to try Linux, but still need to run Windows due to a proprietary software requirement for home or business. And, let's say you don't want to risk partitioning your hard drive and setting up your computer as a dual boot system.

And let's also say you don't want to have to buy a new monitor, mouse or keyboard.

Well, there's another way to get Linux and still have access to your Windows system without touching your Windows hard drive. You can keep your Linux and Windows systems separate but have instant access to each.

It involves installing Linux on a separate computer box and simply hooking your monitor, keyboard, and mouse to both machines. You can then toggle between Windows and Linux.

You can do this quite easily by using a KVM Switch.

The above video shows a KVM Switch in action. By way of a simple keyboard command, the switch brings up either Windows or Linux. And the keyboard and mouse work with either operating system happening to appear on the monitor.

A KVM Switch with Cables is quite affordable costing no more than $20.00 to $30.00.

So, you can now dust off that old computer box, install Linux, and hook it up to your current Windows set up. With a simple touch of the keyboard, you can be running Linux and still have access to Windows. My guess is, once you do something like this, you'll be running Linux a lot more than Windows.

Get Linux.

(My thanks to Matt at Kiowa Linux for the information and inspriation for this blog post.)

A New Linux Netbook?

2009-02-24T07:00:00.056-05:00

It's been pointed out by many that Linux is amazingly adaptable and can be applied and modified to run on a variety of devices.

The word is now that Google's Android, whch runs the new Google Phone, is being modified and applied to run on an Asus EEE PC.

(Another report here and here.)

Android is Linux. So it probably won't take much to get it up and running on an Asus netbook. In fact, it's already, it's being reported that a group of folks have ported Android to run on a Netbook.

There are some exciting things happening in the Linux world for sure. This is greatly due to Linux being open source. Anyone can have Linux and customize it to their specific needs. And the entire Linux community and its users benefit.

Get involved with the cutting edge of computing. Get Linux.

Gimp Tip!

2009-02-23T07:00:00.051-05:00

The Gimp is a terrific graphics editing program! Once you use it, you'll find how powerful it really is. You'll also ask yourself why you ever paid $100.00 (or more) for the graphics program you have on your current Windows set up when Gimp is free for download!

Just about every time I use Gimp it appears I discover yet another neat and helpful feature. The one I came across the other day is the "Document History Dialog." The Document History Dialog takes the "Open Recent" menu selection one step further. The Document History Dialog lists dozens of images that were opened or edited in the past.

Because I use Gimp to assist me in creating all my cartoon features, I'm able to go back a week or two and open up a comic strip or panel I previously worked on.

The dialog can be customized to your own personal preferences. You can enlarge the thumbnail images, view the image previews as a list or grid, enlarge the window size, etc.

You can learn more about Gimp by visiting its web site at www.gimp.org. A complete user's manual is located at:
http://docs.gimp.org/2.4/en/

You can also find a user manual for your specific language and Gimp version at: http://docs.gimp.org.

Even though Gimp is available for Windows, please take a serious look at getting Linux where Gimp is altready pre-installed and ready to use.

Get Linux and get Gimp.

My Newest Favorite Audio Player!

2009-02-22T07:00:00.055-05:00

The great thing about Linux is the vast number of software applications available. All a user need do is log into the repsitory, search for the progam, click, download, and install.

While looking through the Linux Mint repository the other day, I happily stumbled upon a terrific little audio player called Aqualung. It has a simple single window interface, comes with customizable skins, and plays all audio formats. (Check out all the features on their web page!)

I used Linux Mint's "Add-Remove" programs routine (which is a simpler GUI front end for the Adept repository installer) I checked the box next to the program, and then clicked the button marked "Apply Changes."

Aqualung was downloaded and installed to my system in just a couple of minutes.

I then went to my launch menu, selected the Multimedia menu, and Aqualung was listed.

I opened the program, dragged and dropped a Paul McCartney folder to the open window, clicked play, and I was listening to the former Beatle's Unplugged - The Offical Bootleg album!

And because Aqualung is a "Gapless" music player, an album like Unplugged (which is a live performance), plays one song after another without any silent spots or gaps.

Aqualung is easy to use, simple to customize and just a delight to use.

Get Linux, then get Aqualung.

Linux To The Rescue!

2009-02-21T07:00:00.036-05:00

I've talked about Linux being able to rescue your ailing Windows system before. This is accomplished through the use of a Linux Live CD. Simply take the Linux Live CD, pop it into the CD-ROM tray of your Windows system, reboot, and when the disk spins up, it will launch and run Linux. You then can get access to your Windows data files, save important documents and perhaps do some trouble shooting. in the very least, you'll be able to backup important office documents, emails, graphics, etc.

Well, this article, mentions the same thing, but takes it a bit further. The author details the very specific Linux Rescue CD called System Rescue. Its web site describes the Linux distro this way, "SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM for repairing your system and recovering your data after a crash. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk. It contains a lot of system tools (parted, partimage, fstools, ...) and basic tools (editors, midnight commander, network tools). It is very easy to use: just boot the CDROM. The kernel supports most of the important file systems (ext2/ext3/ext4, reiserfs, reiser4, btrfs, xfs, jfs, vfat, ntfs, iso9660), as well as network filesystems (samba and nfs)."

If you're a Windows user then this is definitely worth the read.

If you're a Windows user and have Linux rescue disk, take the next step and get Linux.

(By the way, if you need cartoons (like the one above) for your newspaper, magazine or newsletter, visit us at georgetoon.com. We have great cartoon features for your web site or print publication.)

Find System Info Fast!

2009-02-20T07:00:00.021-05:00

I'm always amazed (and delighted) at how well organized the Linux operating system is. Menus, features, applets, etc. can all be found quite easily. It's very intuitive.

For instance, if you want to find information about your computer system, you can do so in as little as three clicks.

I'm running Linux Mint with the KDE desktop, so all I do is click the launch button, then the System menu, then on the sub menu select "KInfo Center."

A new window is displayed giving me a menu to all my hardware on my computer system. Clicking on any of these links then displays the information for that piece of hardware.

With Linux, it's easy to find files, programs, hardware information, applets, and system information.

Get Linux.

Another IE7 Vulnerability.

2009-02-19T07:00:00.004-05:00

Intenet Explorer 7 is again under attack by hackers.

" US-CERT, the government's cyber security arm, is warning users of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer 7 about a Trend Micro report claiming that cybercriminals are attacking Internet Explorer 7 through a vulnerability disclosed and patched by Microsoft last week."

I'll get straight to the point. Get Linux. If you don't get Linux and continue to run Windows, at least install Firefox on your system and use this as your main browser. You'll have a safer browser that is much more feature rich. And when you see how customizable Firefox is, you'll then get an understanding of how customizable Linux is.

Get the MS target off your back. Get Linux.

Want Windows To Run Faster? Get Linux!

2009-02-18T07:00:00.052-05:00

As many readers of this blog know, I love radio! I have an internet radio and it's marvelous! It's always on when I'm in the studio working on a blog column or drawing my cartoon features.

I mention this because the commercial I hear most often on various radio stations is for online products that will help your Windows PC to run faster. These companies admit that Windows PCs characteristically slow down to a snail's pace over time. This slow down can be caused by several things. It can come from installing certain software programs ("It came as no surprise that antivirus software...created the biggest system drag") saving/rewriting data files, virus infection, spyware, pop-ups, etc.

These online services usually offer a free scan of your system to find out what sort of problem it may be having. Does the hard drive need to be defragged? Does the registry need to be cleaned? Has adware, spyware, or a virus infected your system and thus slowing it down?

Then, after they complete the scan, they sell you a subscription service to keep your Windows system running at it's fastest speeds.

If you install and run Linux on your system, you don't need to subscribe to this kind of service.

Linux is immune to Windows viruses, adware, and spyware. Linux also doesn't need to be defragged. And because Linux doesn't have to bother with an anti-virus program running in the background constantly scanning the system for vulnerabilities (like Windows), it simply has more resources to run faster!

Do you want a faster running computer system? Get Linux!

Microsoft Prestidigitation?

2009-02-17T07:00:00.043-05:00

Microsoft may be trying a little misdirection. Just as magician will have the audience look up his sleeve to show them there is nothing there, a split second later, using sleight of hand, he's pulling a rabbit from his hat.

Of course, while everyone was looking at the magician's sleeve, he was loading the rabbit into his hat where no one could see.

Here's where the MS misdirection takes place. I just got an email from PC Magazine. They've picked up a on a rumor regarding Windows 7.

"The next generation of Windows is coming and one of the rumors around the coffee bar is that Microsoft could offer a free upgrade to all Vista users. Essentially this would write off Vista as an unfortunate mistake and encourage all XP users out there to get on board with the next generation."

Microsoft just might be saying, "Look, here's Vista!" And the very next moment pulling out Windows 7 saying, "Ta-Daa!!! Windows 7! Vista? Where? We didn't see Vista! It must have disappeared!"

Whether this is rumor is true or not, only time will tell.

But, don't get caught up in all the shuffling of MS Windows operating systems. Simply get Linux. Then you'll have a cutting edge, secure, stable, and feature rich operating system that is yours to keep and share.

Get Linux.

Scribus Helps Georgetoon.com!

2009-02-16T07:00:00.028-05:00

In selling my cartoon features to newspapers, I need to have a sample of my artwork at the ready. Using Scribus, I was able to easily put together a two page flyer and save it as a PDF. Scribus has PDF output built in!

Creating my sample flyer in Scribus was easy! I simply dropped in some sample comics, added text, and then selected "File - Export - Save As PDF." Scribus then took care of the rest!

A new window came up and I selected all my output options. I was able to select to embed fonts, control the resolution, output as color or grayscale, add security, etc. A few moments later my PDF file for Georgetoon.com was created. All I had to do was add the file to my web site, link, and upload. (In an earlier blog post I detailed how I used Kompozer to create my web site.)

Linux has all the tools for you right from the start! Once you install Linux, you can build a web site, edit artwork, create desktop publications, create/edit word documents and spreadsheets, and so much more! There are thousands of software apps available that can make you productive in just about anything you need to do.

Linux is freely available. Download it, run the Live CD and see how it can help you in your studio of home office.

Get Linux!

Linux. Great Previews!

2009-02-15T07:00:00.023-05:00

I'm using Linux more and more for creating my cartoon art. The really nice feature is the thumbnail preview. I can have any number of different files on my desktop or in a folder (image files, OpenOffice files, text files, movie files, etc.).

When I use the icon view, I get a small thumbnail of what the file is. If the file in question is a comic panel or comic strip, that image is right there in the thumbnail. When I pass my mouse over the file icon, the thumbnail jumps to life. A larger window opens giving me a preview of the image and all file information.

The same thing happens for video files, text files, etc. A video file will give me a snapshot of the first frame. A text file of PDF file will give me an image of the page and the text on it. An audio file will even play simply by placing the mouse over it!

It's a real time save. All I have to do is place my mouse on the icon and see the image of the file, its size, physical dimensions, when it was created or modified, etc.

In my humble opinion, Linux makes file management so much easier than Windows XP! Once you use it, you'll never go back to Windows. And, from time to time, when you do have to use Windows, you'll miss Linux and KDE and it's file management.

Get organized. Get Linux.

Linux Screencast!

2009-02-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I talked about LinuxTube and how this site features some outstanding videos of Linux desktops in action.

How do they capture these Linux desktops on video in first place? Well, there are a few different programs which video-capture every move of your Linux system's desktop. The first is XVidCap. I didn't use this one, so I cannot comment on how it performs. The second is KRecordMyDesktop. This was very easy to use and quite straightforward in setting up and initializing. But it lacked a few features I really wanted.

The third program is the one I really enjoyed using. It's called Istanbul. Istanbul allows you to capture the entire desktop, a portion of the desktop, or individual windows. It also allows you to reduce the size of the video frame by 1/4 or 1/2.

In the screencast example I've posted above, I'm used Istanbul and set it to capture a section of my desktop. I also reduced the video frame size by 1/2. Istanbul was easy to install. I simply went up to the Linux Mint repository and typed in Istanbul. The program came up in the listing, I toggled it for download and installation and a few minutes later, I was able to create the video you see.

(In the screencast example above, I'm using the multiple panes mode in Konqueror to move files. I talked about this feature in this blog post.)

If you'd like to see more information on these Linux video capture programs, check out this video on LinuxTube.

Get Linux. Then get Istanbul and show the world your Linux desktop!

The Power Of LinuxTube!

2009-02-13T07:00:00.025-05:00

You've heard of YouTube. Well, there's a YouTube like website devoted to Linux! It's called LinuxTube. Folks have been posting and broadcasting videos of their Linux desktops.

Here's a recent example. It's a Mandriva 2008 system doing some amazing things and utilizing its 3D desktop abilities.

LinuxTube is a great site to explore and watch some really slick Linux systems at work. It gives you a great look at jut how powerful and versatile Linux really is. And if you run Vista, you can compare Compiz (the Linux 3D desktop) to Aero.

And yes, there are a lot of Linux videos on YouTube. But LinuxTube gives you channels for each Linux distribution. So, if you want to see videos of only Ubuntu Linux, you can go directly to that channel. It's a real time saver and will certainly help you make a decision of which distro to try. You can view the Linux distro in action before you download the ISO file!

So give Linuxtube a look. Then, get Linux!

Get George!

2009-02-12T07:00:00.024-05:00

As many of you know, I'm a cartoonist. I draw a comic strip called George. It's distributed via the georgetoon.com syndicate.

George originally appeared in The Lantern when I was a college student at The Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes!) Several years after I graduated, George was picked up by King Features and syndicated to about 1600 weekly newspapers. After King, I moved George to DBR Media. DBR syndicated George for almost 8 years. And now, George is being syndicated by georgetoon.com.

The point is, over the years, I've drawn a lot of original comic strips. And,every once in a while, I part with some of this original art.

So, would you like an original George comic strip? It's easy. Simply email me a Linux question. It can be about anything to do with Linux. "What's your favorite Linux program?" " How many Linux distros do you run?" "Which Linux community forum has been the most helpful to you?" Ask me anything about Linux. If I use it on this blog, I'll mail you an original George comic strip. No kidding.

Email me a question.
(Make sure to include your name and snailmail address. )

Get Linux.

Need A Word? Linux Has A Dictionary!

2009-02-11T07:00:00.057-05:00

Ever need a word or need to find the correct spelling of a word? Well, if you run Linux, you have a terrific dictionary right at your fingertips! It's called KDict and is part of the KDE desktop. This is a little app you can place right on any of the panels you run on your Linux system.

It's easy to add. You can add to an existing panel or create a new panel. In this example, I've create a new panel atop the main panel. Right click and select "Add Applet to Panel." A new window opens giving you a list of applets you can add. Click on "Dictionary" and then click the lower right hand button, "Add to Panel."

The applet is added. Now, simply type in a word in the form field and hit the return button. KDict brings up a new window with the word, definition, usage, thesaurus entry, etc. If you need the correct spelling of a word, enter the letters/word as close to the spelling as possible. KDict will bring up a series of suggestions.

Kdict is a terrific little app to have and a real time saver if you do a lot of writing (or blogging). I keep KDict on my home and office systems. It's on a small panel that I slide in and out when I need it.

KDict is one more reson to get Linux.

Linux. Less Than 25 Cents!

2009-02-10T07:00:00.104-05:00

How much does Linux cost? Well, It's free to download. You can visit any number of Linux sites and download the operating system for free. Once you have the ISO file downloaded, you simply need to burn it to disk.

If you purchase a 700MB 100 Pack Spindle of CD-Rs, the cost will be approximately $24.00. One disk is around 24 cents. So, for less than a quarter, you can own Linux!

During these hard economic times, I'm sure there are families out there wrestling with Windows computer problems. Money is tight. They can't afford a new computer right now. And they're probably looking at a repair bill of upwards of a couple of hundred dollars to, in some cases, simply remove a virus or other infection from the hard drive. And there is no guarantee that their Windows system won't become infected again.

By downloading Linux, burning to disk, and installing on their crippled Windows system, they would be avoiding a large repair bill and giving new life to their computer system. And avoiding Windows viruses and infections for good!

Get Linux.

(By the way, you can also visit ubuntu.com and request Linux on disk for free! The disk is free and shipping is FREE!)

Linux Or Windows? Do Your Homework.

2009-02-09T07:00:00.066-05:00

I get a a lot of terrific comments on this blog. One visitor, colonelcrayon, left a comment regarding the security issues with Windows and Linux.   He said, "As I've already commented multiple times, security is almost entirely up to the user. A competent user is never in danger."

This got me to thinking. I think he has a point. If a computer user sits down and does their homework, they decrease their chances of Windows getting infected. This means having to do some research, of course. A user really needs to find out which anti-virus software works best on Windows. They also have to learn about how best to avoid infecting their system.   A windows user should also be vigilant. They should make sure to monitor news sites and blogs to see if any new virus is out their threatening Windows. (And there are a lot of viruses targeting Windows systems.)

If a Windows user takes the time to learn all this and makes sure their anti-virus subscription is paid and up-to-date, and learns about the inner workings of their OS, they should have a fairly secure system. And in the process, they'll learn more about the operating system and how to troubleshoot it should something go wrong. The more a user knows, the less likely they'll be returning the computer to the store where it was purchased. They'll be better able, themselves, to correct any problems that might arise.

Or, they can just use all this time and effort and simply learn Linux. Learn the Linux operating system, how it works, and how much more secure it is. Sure, a new Linux user should still learn about virus threats. But they'll have the added peace of mind in knowing that Windows viruses don't affect Linux systems.

So, sit down, and do your homework. You can learn a lot about Windows, how to tweak it, and how to make it more secure. But just know that, as a Windows user, you'll still be under threat of attack by viruses, spyware and malware. And once one security hole in Windows is plugged, another always seems to pop up.

However, if you sit down and do your homework and learn how to use Linux, you'll have a more secure system which cannot be attacked by Windows viruses. AND you will have learned a bit more about computing. This knowledge liberates you from Windows. You won't be dependent on Microsoft. (Plus, when you switch, you'll save money in the long run).

Either way, a well informed and educated computer user will know how to overcome problems.

However, the choice is yours. Learn more about Windows, but still have the target on your back.   Learn about Linux with the target taken off.

Get Linux.

(By the way, if you need cartoons (like the one above) for your newspaper, magazine or newsletter, visit us at georgetoon.com.   We have great cartoon features for your web site or print publication.)

IE For Linux?

2009-02-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

I recently came across a blog post where the author is proposing the idea of Microsoft releasing a version of Internet Explorer for Linux. His reasoning is that a Linux version of IE would help Microsoft's bottom line and also give Linux users Internet Explorer, something they seem to want.

Frankly, I disagree. Even when running Windows, I avoid using IE. I much more prefer running the Firefox browser.   It's more secure and much more customizable then IE (IMHO).

There may be the odd few times when a Linux user may need Internet Explorer.   My experience has been that, once in a blue moon, a web site is specifically designed to be used primarily with IE. For these times, I have two options which have been discussed in this blog. They are worth reviewing.

First, a Linux user can easily install Wine and then install IE. Wine allows for certain Windows program to be installed directly in Linux . And these programs don't rely on needing Windows. Wine installs and runs the program in Linux as if it were being run in Windows natively. You can also go with the commercial version of Wine known as Crossover by Codeweavers. This is what I run and it's a brilliant product!    Crossover is offered at an affordable price and allows me to run a few Windows programs in Linux that I sometimes need (MSMoney, MSWorks, IE). The above screen shot is Internet Explorer running Linux through the help of Crossover. I highly recommend Crossover.

Secondly, a Linux user can install a virtual machine software package for free from their distro's repository. I run Virtualbox. Virtualbox enables me to install Windows in a virtual environment (see screen shot at left). I can then run the entire Windows operating system, including Internet Explorer and any other software program I chose to install. And I've found that Windows actually runs faster in this virtual environment!

So there you have it. Use Firefox (in Linux or Windows) and get Crossover or virtualbox for running Specific Windows programs Like IE. Why wait for Microsoft to develop IE for Linux? You can have it in Linux now if you really need it. But you'll soon discover Firefox to be a better browser.).

Get Linux!

Katapult Your Programs!

2009-02-07T07:00:00.104-05:00

The thing I love about Linux is the number of really terrific programs it has. There are thousands! And some are really unique and just plain slick! One such program is Katapult! Katapult is a program launcher. Simply by running Katapult in the system tray, you can call it up by double clicking its icon or by the keyboard command of "alt" and the space bar. Then simply type the name of the program you want to launch. Katapult starts to brings up each program alphabetically. When you find the program you want, hit enter and Katapult launches it! This is a real time saver. You don't have to scroll through the start menu and hunt around for the program. Just Katapult it open!

This is the distinct advantage Linux has over Windows. Instead of a few hundred employees (at a company like Microsoft or Adobe) creating new software applications, the Linux world has thousands of users and advocates creating and improving software. The open source model and tye GPL gives EVERYONE the right to build and modify the code. (It also gives everyone the ability to look at the code and troubleshoot). Teams of community members all over the world come together and contribute their know-how efforts to existing spoftware projects. They also create their own projects. In the end, the Linux and Open Source communities benefit. And this success can be continually built upon and improved.

Do you want an operating sytem tht is stable secure and come swith thousands of proven cutting edge software applications? Then Get Linux!

Bill Gates' Demonstration.

2009-02-06T07:00:00.004-05:00

Bill Gates recently addressed an elite technology conference. While attempting to make a point about malaria, he unleashed a swarm of mosquitos on the crowd saying, ""Malaria is spread by mosquitoes...I brought some. Here I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected."

Well, Mr. Gates should know about spreading infections. His Windows operating system can be easily infected with viruses, Trojans and malware.

If you want to be immune from Windows infections, get Linux. Linux is immune to Windows viruses, spy ware, malware and Trojans.

Get Linux.

Calling All Future Cartoonists!

2009-02-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

OneClickLinux.com is primarily a blog about all things Linux. Sure, I mix it up a bit and talk about how I use Linux in creating my cartoons, comic strips, and comic panels. But every once in a while I like to take a break form the Linux talk and mention something related to cartooning or personal pursuits.

A call is going out to students from colleges, universities, art schools and trade schools to submit their work in the 2009 Toon Award Exhibition.

As their flyer explains, "You are invited to display your work in the 2009 student Toon Award exhibit at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, Iowa. This event will give college and art school students interested m cartooning the opportunity to showcase their cartoon talents in several categories to professional cartoonists, other students, and the public as well. Each category will be recognized with three awards and the best of show receiving the 2009 Toon Award.

"Along with the opening reception and award dinner, there will be workshops, speakers, professional cartoon exhibits and opportunities to visit and share your cartoon work with professionals in almost all areas of cartooning. A brochure is enclosed with all the information you need to know to participate in the 2009 Toon Award exhibit. You need not be present to win a Toon Award. All weekend activities are FREE to participating students. Please call if you need any additional information.

"Hope to see you and your cartoons April 24, 2009, at the student Toon Awards in Okoboji, Iowa. For motel reservations, please visit www.discoverokoboji.com."

Again, all the details and entry information can be found at www.toon-ed.com.

So break out your pencils and pens and good luck!

And don't forget to get Linux!

A New Kiowa Linux On The Way!

2009-02-04T07:00:00.038-05:00

I just received an email from Matt Portner regarding the release of the latest version of Kiowa Linux! As you know, I LOVE this Linux distro! It really pulls in all the best the Linux and Open source worlds have to offer. Kiowa has latest and greatest stable releases of desktop environments, software apps and Linux itself.

Check out what Kiowa Linux has in store for us:

"Mark,

"Kiowa Linux final KDE 4 edition soon to be released featuring KDE 4.1 sleek stylish NEW look for Kiowa. A new Kiowa kernel with a much larger supported hardware list... Improved wifi and mini pc support... Improved support for ATI and NVidia drivers as well as easier installation and uninstall routines. An improved Kiowa installer that is easier to use and more complete. We are migrating from Apt to Yum for package management in this release. Along with Yum, we are releasing with KPackagekit, a more advanced DBUS driven package manager GUI to replace Synaptic. The reason for this move is to improve software installation/integration that is less resource intensive.

"Open Office 3, Gimp 2.6 and much much more."

I run Kiowa Linux on my laptop and it's a solid, sble and secure Linux distro. it's easy to use and has a real frinedly and welcoming feel to it. Once this new version of Kiowa is released, I'll be installing it on my laptop and my desktop!

I'll have more reports and updates on Kiowa Linux as they approach launch time and when I get it installed and up and running on my systems.

Get Linux.

Need To Fix Your PC?

2009-02-03T07:00:00.059-05:00

On my way home each evening, I drive past a large billboard that has an advertisement for a business that fixes PCs. This particular company will come right to your house and fix your PC on site. Then there are the PC repair companies that will fix your PC through the internet. They connect directly to your PC and repair it online, so to speak.

Then, of course, there are the big box stores that wl take your PC, keep it for a week, correct whatever may be wrong with it, and get it back to you with a hefty repair charge. And, if you're lucky, all your data will be intact. (always make sure to back up your files before having your PC worked on). Sometimes, it requires more than one visit to fix the problem. This means you'll need to have deep pockets.

In each case, the PC being worked on is usually a Windows PC. Windows has either been infected by a virus or malware. It may also have slowed down due to hard drive fragmentation.

When you switch to Linux, all these problems disappear. You won't have to take your PC in for repair due to it being infected by a Window virus. Linux is immune to Windows viruses, malware, and spyware. Linux also does not need to be defragmented. So, it doesn't slow down like a Windows PC. Plus, because you don't need anti-virus software like in Windows, Linux runs faster. It doesn't have to waste resources processing virus scan, malware, or anti-spyware programs running in the background.

Want a faster, more secure, more stable computer? Want a computer that won't get infected? Want a computer that won't need to be constantly repaired because of viruses, malware, etc.?

Then get Linux!

Klipper A Cut Above The Competition!

2009-02-02T07:00:00.004-05:00

When you use a Windows system, you can copy and paste from one document to another. Or you can copy text from your browser and paste it into a text document. But Windows XP only allows you to copy an paste one string of text at a time. (I don't run Vista, so I can't say if it's the same as XP).

When you copy a new piece of information, the old piece is erased. Usually, the way around this is to download and install a third party program to store all these clippings on your clipboard. These programs can be free, but you may also have to buy them. It depends on the features offered, etc. And if a Windows clipboard program is free of charge, you have to wonder if there's a catch. Is anything else is being installed on your windows system? Is a piece of ad ware or spy ware being installed to track your movements on the web?

With Linux and the KDE desktop, you get a clipboard program/manager called Klipper already built in! Klipper is like having a supercharged clipboard! You can configure it to save a few pieces of text or up to over 2000! (I have mine set for 25).

Klipper is terrific app to have. Anything you come across on the web or in any document can be copied and stored in Klipper. From just a couple of words to an entire paragraph!

And Klipper comes already installed in Linux! It's an app you'll use over and over again!

Once again, Linux wins hands down over Windows!

Get Linux and get a better, pre-installed clipboard manager.

Google Glitch? Run Linux!

2009-02-01T07:00:00.040-05:00

Google had a glitch the other day. When folks, worldwide, used Google to do a search, the web sites that came up in the search engine results were all labelled as being harmful. It was a bogus warning.

Still, when you see a warning, you have to take it seriously. This is why I run Linux. Most of the nasty stuff out there that harms your computer is designed for Windows systems. Linux is immune to Windows viruses, spy ware, Trojans, and ad ware.

(Regardless of the operating system you use, you still need to be vigilant in staying away form harmful web sites. And you should always be careful when downloading programs, attachments, and other things, especially if you do not know the sender. Treat all these as being potentially harmful to your computer...they may contain a virus. It's a good rule of thumb and a good habit to keep. )

But believe me, when you run Linux, you IMMENSELY increase your chances of being virus free and more secure on the web.

Get Linux.

(By the way, if you need cartoons (like the one above) for your newspaper, magazine or newsletter, visit us at georgetoon.com. We have great cartoon features for your web site or print publication. And yes, in the above comic strip, I'm referring to Windows.:))

I'm a Linux!

2009-01-31T07:00:00.009-05:00

Get out your video camera and tell the world why "you're a Linux!" It's a contest for the best video showing why "you're a Linux" (much like Microsoft's "I'm a PC" ad campaign.) It's sponsored by The Linux Foundation. You can see entries here and enter here.

As the site explains, "If you've been alive and aware of mass media over the last twelve months, you've probably seen television commercials from Apple and Microsoft touting their operating system. From Apple's ubiquitous "I'm a Mac" to Jerry Seinfeld to Microsoft's "I'm a PC" retort, operating system commercials have been flooding the airways. Except one OS has been notably absent – Linux. While the Linux Foundation would love to spend millions promoting Linux on TV, it's simply not our style (or in our budget). Even more importantly, Linux isn't a top-down, commercially controlled operating system. It's a grassroots product of mass collaboration. That's why we're sponsoring a community contest to create a Linux video that showcases just what Linux means to those who use it, and hopefully inspires many to try it.
The winner will receive a free trip to Tokyo, Japan to participate in the Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium in October 2009. The winning video will also be unveiled at the Linux Foundation's Collaboration Summit in San Francisco on April 8, 2009."

So, get out your video camera and good luck!

Get Linux.

(By the way, if you need cartoons (like the one above) for your newspaper, magazine or newsletter, visit us at georgetoon.com. We have great cartoon features for your web site or print publication.)

You Bought Windows. Do You Own It?

2009-01-30T07:00:00.095-05:00

No. You don't own Windows. It's that simple. You may think you own Windows, but in reality, you've only purchased a license to use it.

All you need do is read the EULA (End User License Agreement) that Microsoft issues with each copy of Windows.

This site has a terrific breakdown of this EULA in plain English. Just compare the legal language with the "Plain English" translation. It's an eye opener for sure.

One part of the MS EULA I recommend you read is section 1.1. Section 1.1 states, "Installation and use. You may install, use, access, display and run one copy of the Software on a single computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device ("Workstation Computer"). The Software may not be used by more than one processor at any one time on any single Workstation Computer." (emphasis is mine).

This section means you're allowed to install and use Windows on one computer. If you install your licensed copy of Windows on a second or third computer, you're in violation of the EULA.

Why have big Brother Microsoft looking over your shoulder restricting your use of their operating system?

Get Linux and get rid of the MS EULA!

Linux uses the GPL (Gnu General Public License). The GPL has four foundatonal priciples as stated on its web site:

"The Foundations of the GPL

Nobody should be restricted by the software they use. There are four freedoms that every user should have:

the freedom to use the software for any purpose,
the freedom to change the software to suit your needs,
the freedom to share the software with your friends and neighbors, and
the freedom to share the changes you make.

When a program offers users all of these freedoms, we call it free software."

In short, it gives you the freedom to own and use Linux and give (or sell) Linux to others. There's no activation code to enter. You won't have anyone looking over your shoulder. Your copy of Linux won't be de-activated because you installed it on more than one computer system in your home or office.

Linux and the GPL give you REAL freedom to use your computer. This is why community centers, schools, churches and other organization around the globe are switching to Linux. They can install Linux on as many systems as they own without breaking any laws or licensing agreements.

So can you.

Get Linux.

A Perfect Day for Linux!

2009-01-29T07:00:00.058-05:00

At the time of this writing (Wednesday, January 28, 2009), Ohioans are finally seeing the end of a huge snowstorm. The wintry blast rolled through the state last night and into this evening.

The storm stretched from the east coast out into the plains states. Schools, offices, churches, and community organizations either closed for the day or cancelled meetings. It was a perfect day to stay inside and not have to fight the elements (as some of us had to do). I was one of the brave souls who had to get to the office today. But had work been called off, I know what I would have been doing today. I would have been visiting the various Linux distribution sites and downloading their Linux offerings. Having these distros as a Live CD allows me to test drive their Linux OS and see what kinds of inmprovements or new features they may have added.

I'm happy with what I'm using now (Linux Mint and Freespire). But, there's always the possibility I'll purchase a new computer. Knowing what's available in Linux will make setting up a new system all that easier.

And you should, too! Take the opportunity to try Linux when you have a "Snow Day." So, the next "Snow Day" that rolls around, make it a "Linux Snow Day." Download the Linux .iso file, burn it to disk, and pop it into your system. Your computer won't be affected, because Linux will run directly off the disk. And if you choose to install, it can be done right from the Linux Live CD's desktop!

Here's just a few sites to get your started.

www.ubuntu.com
www.kubuntu.org
www.linuxmint.com
www.mandriva.com
www.freespire.org

So, the next time Old Man Winter calls, take the opportunity to try Linux. On a cold snowy day, you'll be surprised how cool Linux is.

Get Linux.

Kompozer Composes Web Sites!

2009-01-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

If you read this blog a couple of days ago, you were given a link to my web site where my cartoon work is being syndicated by georgetoon.com.

I needed to get a web site up and running. I wanted to do so without having to boot into Windows and rely on MS FrontPage, Dreamweaver, or some other high priced software product. Although these products are good, I'm always between computers at the office and here at the studio. Windows and Linux at the office, and Linux here at the home studio (with Windows running on Virtualbox). I wanted to have some compatibility between the different operating systems.

I decided to use Kompozer. Kompozer is a free open source web building software program available for Linux, Windows and Mac.

The Kompozer web site states, "KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding."

Kompozer is easy to use and the best part...it costs nothing. And I can work on my web site regardless of which OS I'm running. All I need is the program and my files. In fact, I can also edit and publish the web site online in real time. So, I don't even have to have the files with me. I simply log on to the web site's host, open the pages in Kompozer, and start editng.

Kompozer is fairly straight forward and there's a ton of information on the web to help you get started. There's also a very helpful Kompozer user forum where I found a terrific group of frinedly users. thee folks really gave me a great deal of help when I first started using the program.

As a result, Georgetoon.com was built and published to the web in just a few hours.

Kompozer does have alot of power and control over your HTML pages. It also supports CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Another nice touch is absolute positioning of blocks of text and images. So, you can move web page elements around and build things in layers much like a desktop publishing program.

If you're looking for an alternative to all the high priced web building software programs, Kompozer will fit the bill. And because it's created and backed by the open source community, it's only going to get better.

Get Linux.

More Gimp Photo Fun!

2009-01-27T07:00:00.002-05:00

I love The Gimp! I use it all the time. The more I use it, the more familiar I become with its interface and the easier it becomes to use. I know "all the moves", so to speak. And anything is possible. So I decided to show you one more example.

Remember the photo of Walt Disney I use on my desktop? Well, I decided that Walt's jacket and tie needed a tune up.

It was easy to do with Gimp. You simply select the jacket area (I used the path select tool), copy this to a new layer, and fill in with whatever color you wish. Then change the mode of this new layer to grain merge or overlay (experiment), and turn down the opacity a bit. And bingo! Walt is wearing a new colored jacket and tie!

so why spend hundreds of dollars for Photoshop or similar software when Gimp is free with Linux? (Gimp is also available for Windows and Mac).

Get Linux and Get Gimp.

One Click Linux

Gimp 2.6 Cookbook

Web Hosting

A New Blog!

Cleveland Sports

2012. Not Worth The Price Of Admission.

Help the Hodges part 2

Help The Hodges

New System Update

Motherboards, SATA, eSATA, and USB

My New Linux Box! Ordered!

A New Year And A New System.

Happy New Year!

Linux Is Amazing!

It's Cyber Monday!

Black Friday. A Better Buy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Speed Up Your Computer For Only 25 Cents!

An Amazing Deal For Christmas!

I just Joined Facebook!

Speed Up Your Computer.

I'm Not A Linux Geek. Really.

PCLinuxOS Magazine for November 2009!

Linux: Secure. Windows 7: Not So Much.

Avoid Social Network Pitfalls. Get Linux!

Activation Frustration? Not With Linux!

Windows 7 Versus Linux.

Surprise! It's Already Started.

Windows 7 Launches. Get Linux Instead

PCLinuxOS Magazine! October Issue!

The NEW PCLinuxOS Magazine October 2009 issue released.

September Issue of PCLinuxOS Magazine!

The latest issue of PCLinuxOS Magazine is now available! Lots of terrific stuff in this month's issue! Both seasoned and newbie Linux user will enjoy it. Get you copy at:

http://pclosmag.com/index.php/latest-mag (a 6.7 MB download)

The official announcement follows:

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine September 2009 Issue

Speed.

Working With Linux.

Cash For Clunkers.

PCLinuxOS Magazine for August 2009!

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine August 2009 Issue

Back To School With Linux!

Add A Search Engine to Firefox Search Bar

Tron 1982 Light Cycles

Tron.

Lightning Brushes

Lightning.

The Google OS

Another Windows Virus! Had Enough Yet?

Happy Fourth Of July!

PCLinuxOS Magazine Scores With Readers!

PCLinuxOS Magazine Now Available!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Music Slight of Hand.

PCLinuxOS! Everything Works!

PCinuxOS Rolling Along!

What Took You So Long?

PCLinuxOS! Wow!

Sangean Again!

Dear Mr. Obama

Dear Mr. Obama

My New Scanner!

April Fool? It's No Joke!

My Scanner Adventure Continues.

Scribus and Linux and Comic Strips!

Presto! You're Using Linux!

Sneaky.

Rescuers!

OSDisc.com

A Great 3D Desktop Demo Video

MSWord To OpenOffice And Back Again.

A Better Solitaire.

PDF Virus. Acrobat Needs Plugging And My Sink Needs Unplugging.

Pete Hoffman

What Time Is It, Linux?

Lights! Camera! Action! Linux!

KVM Switch Helps in Switch to Linux.

A New Linux Netbook?

Gimp Tip!

The New PCLinuxOS Magazine
August 2009 Issue