Desktop
IBM Lotus Notes 8 Running on SLED Desktop Video
Excellent video from Novell about the Notes 8 Client OCCS architecture and programs running on SLED 10.
Kubuntu KDE4 Remix: An Ubuntu User's View
A long time Ubuntu user tries Kubuntu Linux 8.04 live CD with KDE 4.0 desktop and shares his experience.
Screencast Videos from the upcoming KDE 4.1
Jos Poortvliet has created a couple of cool sceencast videos showing what is coming in KDE 4.1, planned to be released this July. High quality videos are available via torrent, low quality ones from YouTube.
Toshiba will put Cell processors in select 2009 laptops
This is really cool - Toshiba is putting Cell processors into its 2009 laptops. It looks like they’re targeting video decoding similar to what they’re doing with the Cell processor in TVs, but I’m sure some crafty Linux developers will have a lot of fun using it to power 3D graphics. The Toshiba cell chip will only use 4 SPEs vs the 8 used in the PS3 but it should be quite powerful nonetheless. This could be a huge step forward for video editing and it looks like they’re already partnering with Corel (could we see VideoStudio accelerators?).
I’d like to see Toshiba sell a desktop card now…
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/09/toshiba_cell_strategy/
Prevent Windows from Making Copies While Control-Clicking [Annoyances]
You've just finished carefully control-selecting all those files you need to move off your desktop and into a container folder, and then, one hand slip later, you have twice as many to deal with. The...
KDE Twitter (and other goodies) in the Remix
Along with many of my OU colleagues, I have been using Twitter to regularly post my 140 character thoughts and share them with people who follow me. It has become a very popular service, and despite the simple nature of its core service all sorts of innovative add-ons have been dreamt of to enhance its functionality, Twitterholics gives a good sense of what is being developed. Twitter can be updated through its website or an increasing number of clients that are being developed for it. One of these clients is KDE Twitter, which I first saw on a screenshot on the Kubuntu website, but had a bit of trouble it tracking down. KDE Twitter is a Plasmoid, a widget that can be added to the KDE4 desktop.
Event in Baltimore MD: Saving IT Budget with Linux (May 20)
Executive Breakfast with Novell & Mavenspire - Saving IT Budget with Linux
- May 20, 2008 @ Baltimore MD
- Part of the “Maximizing IT Value” Executive Breakfast Series
- Is your IT budget getting tighter? If so, come join us for breakfast and learn how you can leverage enterprise-grade Linux to save costs while maintaining high levels of service and availability. You’ll hear from industry professionals with decades of IT and data center experience—and squeeze in the most important meal of the day while you’re at it. Our experts will share their ideas about how Linux and its complementary solutions can help you stretch your IT budget. We’ll help you learn how to do more (with Linux) for less.
- Registration
- Space is extremely limited
Banshee 1.0 Beta 1 Released
This just in from our friendly Banshee hackers Gabriel Burt and Aaron Bockover (and many others). Banshee is of course our preferred media player at the OPS Americas blog and for good reason!
We have just released Banshee 1.0 Beta 1, aka 0.99.1! This release adds some major features and lots of polish.
- View the release notes
- Banshee 1.0 Beta 1 Source (bz2)
- openSUSE 10.3 users can
- Foresight 2.0 users: Use PackageKit or Conary to install banshee-1
MTP and iPod device support have landed! Both MTP and iPod support album artwork, on-the-fly transcoding (converting between file formats), and video support!
Managing your iPod with RhythmBox & Linux
From the article:
This article shows how you can use an iPod on a Linux desktop with the Rhythmbox audio player. It covers how you can upload MP3 files from your desktop to your iPod and delete files on the iPod. Normally, Apple’s iTunes software is needed to manage an iPod, but iTunes is not available for Linux. Fortunately, there are Linux alternatives such as Rhythmbox that can handle the task.
Uxtheme Patches Windows Vista to Allow Custom Themes [Customization]
Windows Vista only: By default, Windows Vista doesn't allow you to install custom color and window decoration themes, unless they've been specifically reviewed by Microsoft. With a set of Uxtheme...
Managing SLED or SLES machines from Mac OS X
Linux is a “unix-like” operating system while Mac OS X is based on BSD Unix, and as such they are basically cousins 
There are a number of tools that ship with your Mac by default, and others that are included on the installation media that can be used to remotely administer SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Machines from your Mac.
Cairo-Dock Adds Slick, Custom App-Launching to Linux [Featured Linux Download]
Linux only: We're big fans of application dock and launcher Avant Window Navigator around here, but free utility Cairo-Dock makes a strong showing as well, not least for its highly-configurable and...
How to create an external USB bootable Linux hard drive (without dual-boot)
From the article:
The topic of a bootable external USB Linux hard drive (without dual-boot) is an area that is not well documented. A simple Google search shows many articles, blogs and forum posts written on this topic, all of them discuss setting up dual-boot strategies. While I did not specifically test a USB Thumb Drive and did not intend to address this device in this article, I see no reason why this would not work for Thumb Drives as well. This article was written with the goal of defining an alternative to the traditional dual boot concept and keeping each operating system isolated from each other.
Commercial KVM-based Desktop Virtualization Option
From the article:
KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), Linux’s own baked-in virtualization program, has been gaining popularity. Now, Qumranet, the company behind KVM, is releasing a commercial virtual desktop called Solid ICE based on KVM technology.
Solid ICE is designed to run multiple virtual desktops in a KVM on servers. While the servers need to be running Linux 2.6.20 or higher, Solid ICE can be used to deploy Windows or Linux desktops on either thin clients or repurposed PCs.
The servers must run on x86 processors that support virtualization extensions. These include Intel’s VT (Virtualization Technology a.k.a. Vanderpool) and AMD’s AMD-V (a.k.a. Pacifica) technologies.
Scripting for the Desktop with Plasma in KDE 4
Three are three audiences: libplasma, ninjas and myspacers. Whole areas of Plasma library are designed around the eventual use cases for interpreted languages. The new widget programming interface for KDE 4.1 was designed 100% for the foundation of sane interpreted languages API exporting.
