As a web developer, I usually don't have to configure the server and concentrate on programming, so coming back to Linux after a while is always a strange experience.

 

I tried to configure Apache and mySQL on a standard Debian etch installation and then gave up when I heard about XAMPP which ran quite well out of the box. Did it again today on a fresh Debian 5.0. When /opt/lampp is installed and running, you can of course then get rid of other Apache, FTP, SQL versions.

 

I was wondering what else is there to do to optimize Debian for maximum xampp performance, like

- uninstalling unneeded packages and services

- configuring startup in text mode only

- any settings in xampp components?

- maybe some settings of "nice" to give xampp higher priority?

- anything else?

According to a Novel-sponsored IDC survey, Linux seems to be gaining popularity among businesses implementing servers, and it has a bright outlook for both server and desktop installations in the coming future. On the other hand, netbooks have seen less and less default OEM installations of Linux. Windows now has over 90 percent of netbook sales, quashing any hopes of an open source revolution in the form of netbooks. Android, however, may be able to change things.

 

full story > http://osnews.com/story/21160/Linux_Up_in_..._to_the_Rescue_

The GNOME team has released GNOME 2.26, the latest release in the 2.x release branch. As everyone knows, GNOME is a multi-platform open source desktop environment. The 2.26 release continues GNOME's policy of incremental updates to a stable base, and as such, it comes packed with a boatload of new features.

 

GNOME 2.26 includes the Brasero CD/DVD burning tool as the default burning application. Even though GNOME already supported burning capabilities, Brasero brings new features to GNOME such as audio track preview, track splitting, volume normalisation, full multisession support, integrity checks, a cover editor, and support for multiple burning backends. Note that the previous method of burning is still part of GNOME.

 

Work on GNOME's mail and groupware suite, Evolution , has focussed on users migrating from Windows. Evolution now supports importing Outlook .pst files, as well as support for Microsoft Exchange's MAPI protocol. This makes GNOME much more suited to work with Exchange servers.

 

more > http://osnews.com/story/21157/GNOME_2_26_Released

My shift key does not work. Stopped working last night. If you're wondering how I got the caps in here I have to hit the capslock button every time. However, I cannot use anything that pertains to the shift key, it started last night. every time i hit the shift key the cursor disappears and no characters appear when i hit the keyboard.....any help would be greatly appreciated......

i need some help last night my shift key stopped working. it is not that the keys are broken. the cursor disappears when i press the shift key and i cannot capitalize anything or use any of the secondary features, any help will be greatly appreciated.

If your site stores its sensitive data in a MySQL database, you will most definitely want to backup that information so that it can be restored in case of any disaster (we all have been there).

 

There are several ways to backup MySQL data. In this article we

I joined Skype using Windows XP where it worked ok. I have now installed Skype on Fedora 10 which opens the account, takes calls and plays sound but doesn't produce a webcam picture. (Creative Live! Cam which works ok in Fedora's Cheese Webcam Booth) When I open Options/video in Skype and click on Test picture the Skype program disappears leaving just the log-in screen. Can anyone advise me how to fix this?

Cheers, GM

I am new to Linux, I have Ubuntu, Is there an addin that can be used to locate wireless networks? And configure them?

After two years, the relatively popular PCLinuxOS distribution has finally put out a new major release, imaginatively called PCLinuxOS 2009.1. PCLinuxOS is a release originally based on Mandrake (now Mandriva), but which has taken on a life of its own. The distribution has one selling point (for some, at least) few other popular distributions have: it eschews KDE4 (for now).

 

This new release comes with all the bits and pieces you expect from a modern Linux distribution: Linux kernel 2.6.26.8.tex3, KDE 3.5.10, OpenOffice.org 3.0, Firefox 3.0.7, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, Ktorrent, Frostwire, Amarok, Flash, Java JRE, Compiz-Fusion 3D, and loads of other stuff. The pclos-gnome team has also put out its 2009.1 release, which is essentially the same except for the inclusion of GNOME 2.24.3.

 

It's interesting to note the KDE version included: KDE 3.5.10. PCLinuxOS is a KDE-centric distribution, so why aren't they focussing on the latest and greatest in KDE land? The team explains: "We decided to use KDE 3.5.10 as our default desktop as we could not achieve a similar functionality from KDE4."

 

more > http://www.osnews.com/story/21128/PCLinuxO...ed_Eschews_KDE4

I have just acquired a terratec aureon dual usb plug-in sound card which works ok in windows xp but gives no sound in Linux Fedora 10. The instructions say the driver is in the Fedora Core. Should Fedora be able to recognise and deal with the card or do I need to activate the driver in some way?