linux (5)

DVB-T and Linux

I have a Freecom dvb-t stick, not good but cheap. For some hours I was trying to make it work in Linux and finally I succeded. Of course the software shipped with the stick is only for Windows.

I managed to make it work under Ubuntu and Arch Linux, but I guess it must not be difficult to do it for other distro.

You need the proper firmware, for freecom stick you can download it from the attatched file, just unzip it and copy it to /lib/firmware/as root.

After that it should be working, now you need an application to use it. Some people like mplayer with some extra tools to scan and change channels.

But for me the easiest way is to use kaffeine, a great player. The only inconvenience is the dependence with some KDE libraries, so if you have not installed this desktop environment you will have to add the dependencies. To install it use your favourite package manager, it depends on the distro you use.

Finally you will be able to tune your dvb-t stick updating the channel list from the "DVB -> Channels" menu. Choose your country/city zone and it will scan all the available channels. Add them to your channel list and enjoy!

Dvb-usb-wt220u-02 dvb-usb-wt220u-02.zip

2009-10-17 18:43 by pichulines (0 comments)

Linux is not the only one

Hurd Logo

Finally Debian anounces a new usable branch with FreeBSD as kernel instead of Linux. This turns Debian in a GNU/kFreeBSD distro, usually known as GNU/Linux.

Some days ago Linus Torvalds said that the kernel is getting fat. Many companies are working to include as many technologies as possible in the kernel, so the design is forgotten sometimes.

If you want to try a different choice, as stable as Linux, but you love the great amount of software available in Debian, you must try this new branch. Alternatively you can also try the FreeBSD distro straight.

I hope the Hurd kernel, the one truly GNU, is soon ready to use in Debian. At the moment we can test it under a developement release.

2009-10-15 21:08 by pichulines (0 comments)

Minimalist Trends

It seems as if the software was getting more and more complex. This means we need more and more powerful hardware. This has been a trend for many years till now, and mainly promoted by Microsoft. Windows Vista, his last operating system is the heaviest ever seen. So annoying that most of the brand new computers fail his performance test.

But people is getting fed up and now many choose light computers such as netbooks. For this hardware Vista is not suitable, that's one of the reasons why Microsoft has been working hard to release his new and thin operating system, Windows 7.

In Linux words, some distros like Ubuntu, Suse or Fedora have followed the Microsoft steps providing a huge set of features which slows down the system. Probably in an attempt to attract users to the Linux desktop.

Fortunately Linux world is not only popular distros and we have a wide range of possibilities. One of them is Arch Linux. A modern, constantly updated and simple distribution. Arch follows the KISS principle offering a reduced set of tools to start to build your customized system.

This is a list of my preferred light applications for Arch:

  • Openbox as window manager.
  • Conky to monitor the system.
  • Tint2 as a task panel.
  • iDesk to define shortcuts to most used apps.
  • Stalonetray as system tray.
  • Brasero as CD/DVD burner.
  • Of course Firefox as web browser.
  • Thunderbird for mail.
  • Gimp for image manipulation.
  • Inkscape for vector graphics.
  • Geany as advanced text editor.
  • PCmanFM for file management.
  • LxTerminal as terminal emulator.
  • Mplayer/SMplayer for media.
  • Transmission to download torrents.
  • Virtualbox for virtualization.
  • Gparted to manage partitions.
  • Openoffice for office stuff.
  • ePDFView, GPicViewer as file viewers.
  • Pidgin for instant messaging.
  • Asunder to rip CDs.

All these are components to have a minimalist destop, fast and reliable. Most of them are enough for a standard user.

2009-10-07 21:28 by pichulines (0 comments)

Fast Boot

Searching about smartbooks, I'm sure I'll talk about them in future posts, the fast boot (also known as instant on) concept comes into my mind.

It's easy to understand, "I want my computer ready in seconds". At the moment I only know a way to get this, talking about a generic computer. This way is called linux.

Severals attempts have been done, most of them with laptops and preferably netbooks. The challenge is to boot in no more than 20 seconds.

Currently, many linux distros are working on this task, new ext4 filesystem eases this aim. The fastest generic distros boot within 20-40 seconds. Other specific distros get ready in 10 seconds or less. Some of them are,

  • HyperSpace: launched by Phoenix, the BIOS company. Surprisingly there is a version that allows dual operating system running at the same time.
  • SplashTop: ASUS is leading this project. Only works with some asus motherboards.
  • xPud: sponsored by Kairo Technologies, a chinese company. As far as I know it is under development.

Usually these distros provide a functional desktop, with most used applications like a browser, media player, instant messenger and so on.

2009-08-17 21:17 by pichulines (0 comments)

OpenMoko turns CloseMoko

Neo phone running openmoko

Well, not exactly. In brief I'll tell about the OpenMoko project and the Neo Freerunner smartphone. The first is an attempt of developing a software stack for smartphones based on linux, since openmoko started some forks or distros have appeared based on it. The second one is a mobile device (nowadays called smartphone) with an open hardware architecture.

Both of them are open projects which means you can know almost everything about them :-) While openmoko is a kit of software tools to develop applications, neo freerunner (the second generation, after neo 1973) is the hardware implementation of reference.

Neo could be understand it as the well known x86 architecture in the mobile world and openmoko is just a sample operating system for it.

Currently, bad news have been published for these two great projects. Although openmoko continues, neo architecture won't. This means that they will continue manufacturing neo phones but they won't improve the architecture specifications, and consequently there won't be new models.

2009-08-06 21:07 by pichulines (0 comments)