Well I’d just shifted to Fedora couple of days ago, and yesterday I’d applied the latest updates. Later on I thought I’ll explore the system a bit and decided to use the package manager KPackageKit (I’m on KDE). KPackageKit though, was not returning any packages. I thought I might have screwed up KPackgeKit, so I installed the Gnome version of PackageKit. Only then I realized, that something was wrong.

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While exploring Fedora 10 Beta, I found this neat little app called Phone Manager.

The about page of PhoneManager states

Phone Manager is a program created to allow you to control aspects of your mobile phone from your GNOME 2 desktop..

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LiveCDs are a great way to try out (new) Linux distros on your system.

Unfortunately CDs get scratched pretty easily, and can turn into a coaster pretty soon.

With prices of USB pen drives at rock bottom, they’re probably the best way to try out LiveCDs. Generally its not that easy to make a bootable LiveCD using USB pen/flash drives. If you’re a Fedora lover then here’s a very easy way to create a bootable USB pen drive.

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Many people would like to use windows’ softwares in linux and would also like to run games in linux using wine. Many softwares and games work pretty well and are fully functional using wine. However, people may find it difficult to digest the fact that exe icons do not get displayed. If the exe icons could be made visible, then it will reduce the need to search for the exe file and will make linux and wine more user friendly.

This idea is possible in gnome desktop environment. I seriously dont know about how to accomplish this task in KDE. Please visit here and here for complete details

Please comment on the idea and also notify me if anyone knows how to do this in KDE

At the recently held Linux Plumbers’ Conference, 2 Linux developers,  Arjan van de Ven and Auke Kok, demonstrated a Linux system booting in five seconds flat. To demonstrate this, they used an Asus EEE PC using a modified Fedora and modified Moblin. In-fact the bootup was so fast that the they actually had to hold the EEE PC, as the bootup was completed well before the projector could warm up and sync.

To achieve this, they had to look up and identify what was slowing down the system, for this they used a tool, Bootchart, by Ziga Mahkovec, which displays the order of the booting sequence, which modules are taking how much time amongst other details. 

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In my previous posts, I’d mentioned about Canonical’s Ship It program, which sends Ubuntu disc for free to your door step, Fedora’s Free Media program, which ships Fedora media wherever you it shipped. .I’d also mentioned Oracle sending their Oracle Unbreakable Linux for free(though to date I haven’t received them). 

Now, Sun Microsystems joins the list of vendors offering free media. Head over to this page and fill in the form and request for your OpenSolaris CD.
Thanks, Arun aka mixdev

I’d posted previously on How to install Fedora 8 on USB pen drive. Now that Fedora 9 is out, Kevin Purdy over at Lifehacker has post how-to do the same for Fedora 9.

A quick excerpt:

Fedora 9 Linux distribution makes putting a full-fledged desktop on a portable USB thumb drive a three-click affair. Even better, you don’t need Linux installed to create it, you can leave the data on your thumb drive untouched, and any files you create or settings you tweak remain in place the next time you boot up. After the jump, let’s create a fully-functional desktop-to-go using a simple Windows program and a 1GB or larger thumb drive.

Head over to Lifehacker for the complete article.

While having a look around Fedora’s site, I came across the Free Media Program.

Fedora Free Media Program is a volunteer initiative under Fedora Distribution Project that aims to distribute Fedora Media (DVDs) for free to individuals who couldn’t afford to buy or download. Local Fedora Ambassadors or Contributors are invited to participate.

Unlike Canonical which will send you any amount of CDs, Fedora’s Free Media Program’s policy states that they will send only one media per person per release + source media if requested(which IMO is a good thing, you can always get the media copied).

In addition to ordering the media from here you can also join and participate! Yup, If you can take care of burning the DVDs and sending them, and can handle the shipping charges by yourself, then you can also Join in the program.

They also accept donations via PayPal, so if you can afford it, do your bit!

Unlike openSUSE 10.3, Fedora doesnt have the 1-click installers for easy install of codecs ,so you’ll have to rely on Terminal and Yum to get it up and running.

All the below operations require Root privileges, so switch to root first by opening the Terminal and typing

All commands under “code” will have to be entered at the terminal

su root

Step 1. Add Livna repo

wget rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm
rpm -ivh livna-release-8.rpm

Step2. Add the Macromedia Repo

wget linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
rpm -ivh adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

Step 3:  Install Multimedia Applications

yum -y remove totem totem-mozplugin
yum -y install totem-xine totem-xine-mozplugin libdvdcss libdvdread libdvdplay livdvdnav lsdvd xine-lib-extras-nonfree libdvdcss libdvdread libdvdplay flash-plugin libquicktime gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad


Step 4: Install w32Codecs in order to play everything under the Sun.

wget www1.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/mplayer-codecs-20061022-1.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh mplayer-codecs-20061022-1.i386.rpm
wget www1.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/mplayer-codecs-extra-20061022-1.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh mplayer-codecs-extra-20061022-1.i386.rpm

(optional) Install VLC

yum install vlc
yum install python-vlc mozilla-vlc

That’s it! you can use Totem or VLC to play them video/audio files! Have a blast!

Picture this. You’re fascinated by Linux. You always wanted to try it out. Now that you want to try it out, or have tried out the LiveCD but want to know more details, where do you look for? Of course Google and the Internet is always there. But that would require the right set of keywords.

Fear not, my good friend Santosh aka Gigacore has compiled an exhaustive list of Wiki’s, guides and PDF’s which will satiate your appetite & thirst for knowledge.

Some of the  topics include

• Introduction to Linux – A Hands on Guide
• The Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read – an Introduction to Linux for Windows Users
• Getting Started With Fedora
• Fundamentals
• System Administration
• Network Administration
• Shell Scripting

… and many more! So if you’re interested, head over to Teach Me Linux, and you might learn a new thing or two!