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In addition to Desktop environments there are window managers that are separate programs that manage the windows and interface that you use. The reason you would explore the option of a different window manager is that it will use much less resources than the GNOME or KDE Desktop. However, less resources in terms of RAM and CPU means more basic features. In initial testing in similar settings for each these are the results. It is very clear that GNOME uses considerably more resources than any of the alternative window managers.

1. SMPlayer SMPlayer is a fully featured video player built using the Qt 4 libraries. It basically plays anything, including DVDs and ISO images, but it skipped the menus when reading DVD ISOs. It's complete and it offers plenty configuration options, including for subtitles and the interface itself, allowing to choose the icon set and the style used. You can also configure the language SMPlayer uses for its interface, including English, Romanian, Polish, German and many other. I was impressed to see translations are pretty much complete.

This tutorial shows how to configure Zimbra Collaboration Server (ZCS) and Samba to act as a primary domain controller (PDC) that uses LDAP as a centralized database for authenticating users on Linux and Windows desktops.

A business version of Micro-Star International's (MSI) Wind mini-desktop PC should be available in Asia and Europe in July, as products are already in mass production, a company representative said Monday.

One of the perennial jibes about open source is that it never innovates. This conveniently forgets that the World Wide Web was released as free software (Tim Berners-Lee contemplated using the GNU GPL before he decided to release it into the public domain). Despite the ludicrousness of the accusation, it is nonetheless always good to have further counterexamples.

You've seen it too - a recent Linux convert, used to clicking on executable files to install software, is often shocked to discover that Linux distributions use dedicated package managers to install and remove applications. But with a large number of distributions and philosophies, which is the best tool on the market? And how do they differ in terms of usability and convenience? If you are a new Linux user then our article explaining the various package management options is a must-read. In the news section, openSUSE developers defend their inclusion of KDE 4 into the recently released openSUSE 11.0, Mandriva cancels the first alpha release of version 2009 due to problems with X.Org, Debian completes the security infrastructure for the upcoming release of Debian "Lenny", and Ubuntu unveils the first developers' build of the new MID edition for mobile Internet devices. Also in this issue: a link to an interview with Zenwalk's Jean-Philippe Guillemin, a review of the upcoming Acer Aspire One and a round-up of rescue live CDs based on Linux. All this and more in this week's DistroWatch Weekly - happy reading!

Many people don't realize the wealth of applications that are available for Linux. I am asked all the time about X and/or Y application on Windows and whether there's an equivalent on Linux. Most of the time the answer is yes. The arena of finance is no exception. Plenty of outstanding financial applications are available for the Linux operating system. From personal finance to business finance, there is an application for nearly every need. Let's take a look at the top Linux financial applications.

LXer Feature: 30-Jun-2008

In this installment, I will cite an example of automated email code designed for another purpose. Nonetheless, I see it is a critical step to confirm the validity of the form's input. Moreover, unless and until I have received the expected human confirmation, that input is left in limbo [1.]. This is another means to prevent spurious, but uncaught data inputs. Thus, this limited human energy expenditure is a high return investment.

Using Awk to do incremental, or cumulative, addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, etc.

OK, I’ve now tried KDE 4.1. I’d been assured that it would be better than KDE 4.0x. It is. That’s the good news. The bad news is that I still find KDE 4.1 to be inferior to KDE 3.5x. KDE’s developers believe that KDE 4.1 “can fully replace KDE 3 for end users.” I don’t see it.

chrooting is a very important skill that any *nix administrator must know. It's essentially what allows one to repair an existing Linux environment by entering it from another environment, and is useful for doing tasks such as reinstalling a bootloader, or repairing a broken kernel.

Good news for all hackers. NETGEAR launches Open Source edition of wireless-G router enabling Linux developers, geeks, hackers and enthusiasts to create Firmware for specialized applications

My colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols recently wrote a piece on his fine Practical Technology blog called Dear Microsoft, Thanks for the help, Linux in which he argues that Microsoftâ??s ill-timed decision to cut off easy access to XP tomorrow (June 30th) combined with its announcement it would be releasing the next version of Windows in January, 2010 effectively lends a death blow to Vista and creates a huge opportunity for desktop Linux.

LXer Feature: 29-Jun-2008

In this week's Roundup we have a OLPC XO-1 spotted in a red enclosure and a possibly faked demo of XP an a OLPC as well, The MPAA says "We Don't Need No Stinking Evidence!", Linux developers petition for open Linux kernel drivers, No Vista Inside for Intel, Dear Microsoft, thanks for the help, Linux, Battle of the Titans - Mandriva vs openSUSE: The Rematch and Ten sticking points for new Ubuntu users.

The business of standardizing compression formats for audio and video files on the Internet is largely dominated by the big companies -- Adobe, Microsoft, etc. Some in the open source community are fighting vendor lock-in by creating superior formats. Now, if only users would adopt them.

Social networks are peppering the Internet with Facebook-like interactive features. Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is fast becoming the defacto programming tool for Web developers. But by itself, Ajax is a daunting challenge that requires demanding coding skills. Ajax toolkits offer Web developers a shortcut method to build in the convenient and useful features that visitors of Web 2.0 sites have come to expect. However, the toolkit concept is nothing new to programming. What's newer is the proliferation of Java-based toolkits to feed the social network phenomenon.

This will be a concise report regarding, the spamming of web forms by commercially driven criminal enterprises. I am forced to make this short, because my knowledge is second hand and incomplete. I have been consulting with an associate, who has been trying to counter a deluge of spam that is being thrown both into his and into his client's email. We are not in agreement as the probable path; I think it is through the form each time whereas he suspects a single pass followed by cloning the resultant emails. However, I have no access to the email or the internals of the site. He just wants the problem solved with minimum effort. Therefore, it is possible his answers are not accurate; I simply cannot be certain.

This tutorial shows how you can set up an OpenSUSE 11 desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.

The cheap device is more user friendly than others because it may be used with multiple fingers. It is even possible for multiple persons at a time to work on a single screen.

Simple bash script to use pod2html to create a one-stop reference page for all available POD documentation from your installed Perl distribution.