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When I write about Debian and Ubuntu, I have focused mostly on the inefficiency of the separate teams.

In this article by Prabhakar Chaganti and Rich Helms, authors of MySQL Admin Cookbook, we will discuss the following: * Exporting data to a simple CSV file * Exporting data to a custom file format * Importing data from a simple CSV file * Importing data from custom file formats

So I bought my dad a new MP3 player. His iPod was from 2005 so it was time for a new one. Almost all of Dad's music files are .flac or .wav. The iPod played them thanks to rockbox. This one does not. And my dad is more like the average user, so I wrote a little program to help him. Well, program, more like a ffmpeg wrapper with Zenity. But it works and he thinks its easier than opening a terminal and executing a script in a folder. (which I disagree). So here is EasyConverter v0.3a, a nice GUI for something simple.

This guide explains how to set up WebDAV with Apache2 on an OpenSUSE 11.2 server. WebDAV stands for Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning and is a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol that allow users to directly edit files on the Apache server so that they do not need to be downloaded/uploaded via http://FTP. Of course, WebDAV can also be used to upload and download files.

Ever since the Opera team started working on the new Opera 10.50 / 10.51, there were no .deb or .rpm packages but this finally changed and you can now install Opera 10.50/10.51 in Debian (and derivates like Ubuntu, etc.), Fedora, openSUSE and so on using .deb and .rpm packages.

The KOffice team is happy to announce the first beta of the upcoming 2.2 release of KOffice. This release brings back Kexi, the data management application similar to MS Access. The new beta also offers many new features and improvements, for example improved support for Microsoft file formats with the addition of import filters for MS OOXML, and bug fixes.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a popular and time-honored method of transferring files to and from a remote network site. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and uses separate control and data connections between the client and server applications. The FTP client connects to the FTP server, and enables the user to send and retrieves files from that server.

Novell’s board rejected an unsolicited $2 billion takeover bid from Elliott Associates, a hedge fund that wants to swallow SUSE Linux and Novell’s other core products. Novell’s rejection of the bid, announced March 20, answers some questions but raises others on the eve of BrainShare, the company’s big customer and partner event in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now the twist: Novell’s board essentially wrote an open letter to other potential suitors.

GoAhead Software Moves to Open Source Business Model. GoAhead® Software today announces that it is shifting its business model and technology strategy from its proprietary SAFfire product to an open source software model. Simultaneous with the move to open source, GoAhead is announcing the acquisition of Avantellis from Emerson Network Power. These two significant moves combine to create a new overall strategic direction for GoAhead.

This guide explains how you can run virtual machines with Sun VirtualBox 3.1.x on a headless Mandriva 2010.0 server. Normally you use the VirtualBox GUI to manage your virtual machines, but a server does not have a desktop environment. Fortunately, VirtualBox comes with a tool called VBoxHeadless that allows you to connect to the virtual machines over a remote desktop connection, so there's no need for the VirtualBox GUI.

Two days ago, I ran through a long needed image update to the OpenSolaris 2010.03 preview. I was updating through the pkg update manager from build 129 to build 134. So when I say, it was much needed, I wasn’t kidding. Anyway, after over 1 GBytes of updates was completed, a new boot environment (BE) was created with the native ZFS snapshot feature and I shut down the PC for the night. The next day I turned the PC on into the latest boot environment to find that my gnome-terminal was giving me problems.

When SSL is used with Apache via the mod_ssl module, it will create an encrypted RSA file which has two components a private file which is kept secure on the server and a public file which is placed in the Certificate file and is thus used by users when they connect to the server. Users will be able to communicate securely then using the encryption that results in this kind of communication. New standards are requiring a 2048-bit key instead of the older 1024-bit key.

Although OpenOffice.org Writer and AbiWord top the list of open source software for those who write for work or fun, they are not the be-all-and-end-all of writing tools. In fact, there are quite a few other nifty applications that can help you to collect ideas, manage notes, edit documents, and even improve your writing.

Ubuntu, love it or hate it, is quite possibly the most popular Linux distribution around. With an emphasis on community and making the operating system accessible to as many people as possible, it’s easy to see why it’s number one. In fact, I’ve been a strong supporter of Ubuntu since its beginning, beta testing just about every release and I submitted a ton of bug reports to help make it as awesome as it could be. Though my relationship with Ubuntu has often been strained due to Canonical not always putting the interests of the users in direct focus, I’ve always stood behind it. Unfortunately, Ubuntu and I must part ways, as well as any community involvement I once had with it. What strained this relationship? Read on for a first hand account.

In this, our final instalment, we will look at the screen terminal multiplexing program. What the heck is a "terminal multiplexing program?" I'm glad you asked. Now that we have installed a bunch of interactive applications on our workstations and SSH to allow remote access, we have a slight problem. Is it reasonable for an interactive program (like mutt) monopolize our terminal session? Isn't Linux multi-tasking? On the graphical desktop, we can have many applications running at once and, by moving the mouse, we can switch from application to application. Of course, on the console, we can switch virtual terminals to provide multiple sessions and if we are using SSH, remotely accessing our workstation from a graphical desktop, we can open multiple terminal windows.

Canonical has announced the availability of the first Ubuntu 10.04 beta release. The new version of Ubuntu, codenamed Lucid Lynx, is scheduled to arrive in April. It will be a long-term support (LTS) release, which means that updates will be available for three years on the desktop and five years on servers. Although the Ubuntu developers have largely focused on boosting stability for this release, they have also added a number of noteworthy new features and applications. One of the most visible changes is the introduction of a new theme—a change that is part of a broader rebranding initiative that aims to update Ubuntu's visual identity.

The annual DrupalCon conference is coming up, April 19th to 21st at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Drupal, of course, is the increasingly popular open source content management system founded by Dries Buytaert, and OStatic itself runs on the platform. There will be many movers and shakers from the Drupal world at the conference, including representatives from The Commerce Guys, which helps companies and organizations deliver useful Drupal-based e-commerce sites and solutions. In advance of the conference, we caught up with Ryan Szrama, a developer with The Commerce Guys, and the original developer of Ubercart, an open source e-commerce package. Here are some of his thoughts on where Drupal-based commerce is headed.

A week ago we reported on open-source GPU offloading, which allowed multiple GPUs from different vendors that were backed by open-source graphics drivers to offload the 3D rendering work to a secondary GPU and then to pass the rendered result back to the primary GPU driving the display. This open-source work referred to as PRIME was based on NVIDIA's Optimus Technology. This work was done by David Airlie just as a proof of concept and he doesn't intend to get the work completed and shipped in the upstream packages, but is hoping to hand off this task to someone else.

According to this press release, Marvell is announcing the $99 Moby Tablet for Education. You've seen my video of Marvell's 4.3? Tablet prototype shown at CES based on the Marvell Armada 600 processor. The Moby tablet is based on the same Armada 600 platform but comes with a larger screen (probably 10?).

Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Kubuntu and so on are getting lots of attention but it seems everybody is forgetting about Xubuntu so I decided to make a screenshot tour of Xubuntu. I never used XFCE so my notes are from the point of view of someone used to Gnome (so I'll underline the difference between XFCE and Gnome too - or Ubuntu and Xubuntu if you want).