The second alpha of Mandriva Linux 2010.0 was launched last night, on July 31st, by the Mandriva team. The development cycle of Mandriva Linux 2010.0 will continue with a beta release at the end of August, two release candidates scheduled for September and October, and the official public release expected around November, 2009.


Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2 is still not available as a Live CD, the only way for you to test it is to grab the DVD and install it. It is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.

The features of this release are exactly what everyone was expecting, the newly released GNOME 2.27.5 and KDE 4.3 RC3 desktop environments, Linux kernel 2.6.31 RC4, and many more.

Highlights of Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2:
· Linux kernel 2.6.31 RC4;
· KDE 4.3 RC3;
· GNOME 2.27.5;
· Xfce 4.6.1;
· X.org Server 1.6.2;
· OpenOffice.org 3.1.0;
· KOffice 2.0.1;
· Amarok 2.1.1;
· Digikam 1.0 Beta 3;
· Kipi plug-ins 0.5.0;
· KMess 2.0.0;
· Apache 2.2.22;
· PHP 5.3.0;
· Improved Drakxtools;
· Device permission handling changes.

Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Release Schedule:
June 19th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 1
July 31st, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2
August 20th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Beta
September 17th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 RC1
October 8th, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 RC2
November 3rd, 2009 - Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Final release

Download Mandriva Linux 2010.0 Alpha 2 right now from Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here.
Remember that this is an alpha release and it should not be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Mandriva Bug Tracker.

By: Marius Nestor

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Download Threat Analysis and Modeling 3.0 Beta - With support for Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

The Beta milestone of Threat Analysis and Modeling 3.0 is live on the Microsoft Download Center and available for download. The tool is designed to allow business users to perform threat modeling and essentially to streamline application risk management. According to Microsoft, the work poured into version 3.0 is designed, on top of expanding the solution with new features, to enhance performance while reducing costs associated with threat modeling. Threat Analysis and Modeling 3.0 Beta is capable of putting together a threat model after being served with information including business requirements and application architecture, but also to deliver security artifacts on top of pointing out threats.

“TAM v3.0 release is focused on 3 main areas of the tool including: threat modeling methodology; gathering application architecture; and security guidance,” revealed Anil Kumar Venkata Revuru, senior software development engineer for Connected Information Security Group.

Customers running Threat Analysis and Modeling 3.0 Beta will be able to enjoy backward compatibility. Revuru noted that “V3.0 is completely backward compatible with v2.1 threat models. A new plug-in has been added in the import section for users to import v2.1 threat models.” At the same time, the Redmond company has taken the necessary steps to ensure that users are always running the latest version of TAM. In this respect, version 3.0 comes with an Auto Updated Client, designed to inform customers of the latest refreshes available for the threat analysis and modeling tool and to point to the downloads.

Microsoft enumerated the new features specific to version 3: “Azure based CTL store; Visio drawing surface for use cases; Intelligent TFS Sync; automated tool update detection; modified methodology to make threat modeling simpler; Composite Threats and single threat for a call; improved Automatic Threat Generation; v2.1 Import with automated countermeasure mapping; updated countermeasure structure; other minor UI and functionality tweaks.”

Threat Analysis and Modeling 3.0 Beta is available for download here.

By: Marius Oiaga

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Marco Ghirlanda, team leader of ArtistX, announced the immediate availability of version 0.6, now created with the help of Remastersys Live CD creation software. Using the 2.6.27 Linux kernel, ArtistX 0.6 lets you choose between GNOME 2.24 and the recent KDE 4.2 desktop environments and has Compiz Fusion included for a full 3D-effects experience.

Having plenty of space on a DVD, ArtistX 0.6 comes with almost 2500 free multimedia applications designed for all Linux users. This version is based on the latest stable Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) release and features the Ubiquity installer.

The software packages that are included in ArtistX 0.6 are, among many others:
· The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), Inkscape, Nip2, Krita, Cinepaint, Synfig, Rawstudio, Skencil and Hugin for the 2D Graphic suite;
· Blender, Wings3D, K3D, Kpovmodeler and Povray 3.6 for 3D Graphics;
· Cinelerra, Kino, Openmovieeditor, Kdenlive, Pitivi, Avidemux, Devede are some of the video editing tools;
· MPlayer, Helix Player, VideoLAN (VLC media player), Xine, Kaffeine, Kmplayer, LastFM for playing audio and video files;
· PD, Rosegarden, Ardour, TerminatorX, Cecillia/Csound, Gnusound and Mixxx for creating and editing audio files.

About ArtistX
ArtistX Linux Live DVD, an Ubuntu based distribution, transforms a normal computer into a full-featured multimedia production machine. Containing almost all available free audio, video and 2D/3D graphics tools, ArtistX is a good choice for multimedia enthusiasts, professionals and amateurs alike. Being a Live DVD, there is no need to install ArtistX on the hard disk, thus leaving your partitions untouched. All the created files can easily be saved on USB drives and even burned on CDs or DVDs.

Download ArtistX 0.6 right now from here, here.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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The Kubuntu team announced on Saturday (February 21) the second maintenance release of Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron), which is supported with security fixes and maintenance updates until October 2009. Kubuntu 8.04.2 brings to its dedicated users a lot of security updates and corrections (over 200), all with a single goal: to keep Kubuntu 8.04 a stable and reliable Linux distribution!

"In all, over 200 updates have been integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates, and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Kubuntu 8.04." - said the Kubuntu team in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Kubuntu 8.04.2:
· The K Desktop Environment was updated to version 3.5.10;
· Kaffeine's codec installation loop bug was fixed;
· KHelpCenter's indexer now works with dash;
· Kopete's latexconvert now works with dash;
· Repaired a dash latexconvert incompatibility;
· Fixed some Kontact crashes, when using GCal;
· The hdparm power management was set to 128 for all hard disks while on battery, and 254 while on AC (please note that the suspend/resume functions still crash this and a complete fix will arrive in the third maintenance release of Hardy Heron);
· Added support CDs with compressed packages, which will allow everyone to upgrade to future release using CDs;
· Updated the MySQL 4.1 packages, which will allow a smooth upgrade from Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake);
· Repaired the checksum recheck, after reset, for Asus Eee PC 1000.

For the complete list of the changes, please check the official release notes.

About Kubuntu
Kubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, and built on top of KDE (K Desktop Environment). Kubuntu can be used on your desktop or server. Among its features we can notice a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd. and hundreds of other companies around the world.

Download Kubuntu 8.04.2 (Hardy Heron) right now from here.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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Slamd64 12.2 Released - Brings important system-wide updates. Fred Emmott announced yesterday the release of version 12.2 of his Linux distribution, Slamd64, a system compatible with both 32- and 64-bit hardware. Its multilib capability enables this distro to have an increased support for both 32-bit software and 64-bit binaries, but without the cluttering of the root directory. The nspluginwrapper viewer is still included in the distribution, making it easy to install and use 32-bit plugins on 64-bit versions of Firefox and Konqueror, which are included in this release.

"Like previous releases of Slamd64, 12.2 provides seamless FHS-compliant 32-bit compatibility, via a multilib system (/lib for 32-bit libraries and /lib64 for 64-bit libraries). [...] nspluginwrapper is still included in c/, allowing you to easily use 32-bit browser plugins (such as Adobe Flash) in the included 64-bit browsers, such as Firefox and Konqueror - given the availability of prerelease 64-bit versions of Adobe Flash Player and Sun's Java Plugin, this will hopefully vanish soon." – said Fred Emmott in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Slamd64 12.2:
· Linux kernel 2.6.27.7
· GCC 4.2.4
· Apache HTTPD 2.2.10 server, with SSL support and PHP 5.2.8
· Updated development tools
· KDE (K Desktop Environment) 3.5.10
· XFCE 4.4.3
· The latest Mozilla Firefox 3.0.5
· Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.19
· Sun's Microsystem Java (JRE and JDK) 6 update 11

Fred Emmott also reminded that the support for Slamd64 11.0 would soon be dropped.

About Slamd64
Slamd64 first appeared in 2004 as an unofficial port to the 64-bit architecture of Slackware Linux. Because of this, almost all packages created for the x86 version of Slackware can be run by Slamd64. The minimum system requirements are: 128 MB of RAM, 100 MB disk space for the text-only install or 3 GB for the full version and a VGA card. 3D graphics are also supported with a recommendation to use NVidia or Intel cards.

Download Slamd64 12.2 right now from here.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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Automatic Wallpaper Changer - Create image playlists with the least effort. BioniX Wallpaper is an advanced desktop wallpaper cycler and wallpaper manager.

Features:
Low memory usage
Can "smart stretch" big images
Can tile/stretch/center an image
Low flicker when changing desktop image
Automatically starts at Windows startup
Interface can be transparent
Possibility to load more external skins
Doesn't mess your system/registry with dirt
It can remember user's settings

The desktop background of the computer may seem of little importance to some but other users pay very much attention to the image set as background of the screen. It either says something about their personality or it is simply an image conveying their state of mind.

Although the process of changing a desktop background is nothing complicated and implies opening a wallpaper with Windows' image viewer and choosing the option from the context menu, there are ways of completely automating it. BioniX Wallpaper Changer is one of the most appreciated wallpaper managers on the Internet and it comes jam-packed with options.

The application has three versions, one for every pocket: the Lite edition is absolutely free, the Extreme version is $14.2 and the Insane edition is $21.4 but you can get a 30% discount for the last two if you use the coupon code Disc30 upon purchasing from the developer's website. All three are differentiated by the number of active features. For a complete list of features for each of the mentioned versions you can check up this link here.

We're going to test the Insane version, which has all the features of the Lite and the Extreme editions and then some. Besides lifetime access to updates, it gives access to over 125 application skins, enables the wallpaper change shortcut, makes available the “lock on folder” feature and supports an unlimited amount of images in the playlist.

From the moment Bionix Wallpaper Changer is launched you can clearly see that the developer did not aim to impress with the aesthetics of the software but with its slew of features and options. Even so, there are a bunch of skins available to change the main application window and make it more pleasantly looking.

One thing needs to be mentioned about BioniX Wallpaper Changer: it is not a regular wallpaper manager as it is capable of handling an entire folder of images and change them according to a user-set time interval. It can shuffle them for a touch of ‘the element of surprise’ or roll them in the exact order they are stored on the hard disk.

In the main screen of the software there is a set of options very similar to the controls of an audio player. These can help you skip to the next or previous image and start/stop the countdown timer, which can be set down to a second but in this mode you will notice a computer drag as the CPU is used pretty intensely.

The main application window contains a drop-down menu that, once unrolled, gives you access to different menus situated in the lower part of the window: Desktop, Enhance and Lock on Folder. The Info tab shows the amount of free space on the drives of the system. Each of them contains options for configuring the wallpaper style, choosing the resampling quality and the contrast, saturation and brightness for the best looks.

Given the tooltips popping up upon mouse hovering over an option and their brief explanation, working with the application should be a cinch. The list of resample filters includes the famous Lanczos and Mitchell filters as well as B-Spline, Hermite and Bell.

The Lock on Folder feature allows you to spin the images in a specific folder automatically every time you start the program. They make for the software playlist and you can add as many pictures as you want after the locking has been enabled because the application will simply count them all.

Playlist view can be enabled from the main application window (top right) and, just like in an audio player, you get to create as many of them as you want and save them on the hard disk. Sort options let you randomize the list or reverse the order of the items.

Configuring BioniX Wallpaper Changer is nothing complicated and allows for setting up the action to be taken at software start (change wallpaper and then close, start the countdown timer or do absolutely nothing). It can also be set up to start with Windows in minimized mode.

The application supports additional interface tweaks besides the various skins available, consisting of changing the opacity and making it transparent.

Additional options relate to the Playlist Editor. Here you can choose the action attributed to the Delete button (removing the file from playlist only or from the hard disk as well) or select the default resample mode.

If the tooltips are popping up too slow, their appearance time can be changed, together with the duration they remain on screen. The place these can be set up is the Icon/Help tab of the Advanced Settings.

A very interesting option present in the Insane version of the software is the system-wide hotkey. This enables you to change the current wallpaper with the next one instantly without calling on complicated menus. You just press a key combination that supersedes all apps on your computer and the desktop background is immediately switched with the next in line. However, you should be careful for the hotkey not to double with a different action in a different piece of software.

BioniX Wallpaper Changer makes for a great wallpaper manager both in terms of options and regarding the ease of use. It may not be the greatest looking application but its looks are irrelevant compared to the discounted price and the set of features it puts on the table. System resources are kept down to a minimum (in our case peak RAM usage was registered at 9MB while CPU was used only when changing the wallpaper) and it can help you create multiple playlists and load them up one at a time, just like in an audio player.

An exciting caboodle is represented by the Tools menu. It gathers options for hiding desktop icons and even the taskbar. These come in handy when combined with a lower wallpaper change delay as you can watch an whole playlist just like a slideshow on the entire monitor screen, without any hindrance from the shortcuts.

One of the biggest drawbacks of BioniX are the looks. The interface and even some of the skins are not in tone with Vista's shiny slick looks, not to mention with the upcoming Windows 7. Also, we noticed that the main application window and the Playlist Editor do not stick together when moved more vigorously.

The Good
BioniX Wallpaper presents an amazing set of options and features dedicated to automating the way your wallpapers change on your desktop. It is extremely easy to use, runs on low computer resources and can give you details on the fill level of the various drives available on the system.

You can select the time interval for the desktop background to be changed and select a specific folder for the application to take the images from. Each image can run as it is or you can tweak the contrast, saturation and brightness to make it more artsy.

The tested version makes available no less than seven resample modes for the wallpapers to show their best.

The Bad
The looks are nothing Bionix should be proud of. Not even some of the skins can do a better job and the Playlist Editor just can't keep stuck to the main application window if the latter is shaken a tad quicker.

The Truth
If the current discounted prices remain ($9.9 for the Extreme edition and 14.9 for the Insane one) I'm sure BioniX will rake a whole lot more adepts. However, even without the discount BioniX makes for a pretty tempting offer.

It works quite well and besides the aforementioned mischiefs there is little to add on the downside. It can start with Windows and run minimized, you can use a system-wide hotkey to immediately change the current wallpaper and it can be set up to take user-specific actions once it is launched.

Try the Lite version for free for as long as you want, compare the features of the other two versions and decide if it is worth the money (hopefully, the coupon code will become a permanent offer). Download BioniX Wallpaper right now from here.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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Paul Sherman, father of the Absolute Linux, announced on January 8th, a new bug fix release of his Slackware-based operating system. Absolute Linux 12.2.1 delivers updated versions for the Pidgin (2.5.2), Samba (3.2.7), the GIMP (2.6.4), WPClipart (7.1), Audacity (1.3.6) applications and the following Mozilla products: Firefox 3.0.5, Thunderbird 2.0.0.19, Seamonkey 1.1.14. Moreover, this point release version of Absolute Linux 12.2 updates the PTP camera auto-mounting feature, the wireless/wired networking manager (wicd 1.5.8) and it also introduces a newer version of the Help System, which is now located on the second disc and works properly. Last but not least, wxPython was updated to version 2.8.9.1 and it replaces the older wxPython and wxGTK packages.

"This is primarily a security update. [...] Also in this release, PTP camera auto-mounting has been updated as well as wicd (wireless and wired networking manager), GIMP has been updated twice since the last release, and the newer version of the help system now works properly and is on CD2. Just a couple other updates and you may also notice that the package for WPClipart-7.1 is online and ready to install onto Absolute (note that the complete package is well over 700 MB)" - said Paul Sherman in the official release announcement.

Absolute Linux is a lightweight modification of the Slackware Linux distribution. It makes maintenance and configuration much easier, and it has common applications installed and configured. Absolute Linux allows you to play audio CDs, DVDs and movies "out of the box," and is easy to configure and use. Highlights of Absolute Linux include:
· icewm/ROX_Filer as a window/file manager combination;
· Time-saving utilities;
· Preconfigured shortcuts/menus;
· Desktop-oriented software;
· Customized installer;
· Manuals, HOWTOs and other useful documentation.

Absolute Linux includes applications such as:
· Pidgin (multi-protocol instant messenger)
· Avidemux (video editor)
· Azureus (P2P client)
· Mozilla Firefox (web browser)
· Mozilla Thunderbird (mail client)
· OpenOffice.org (office suite)
· Scribus (desktop publisher)
· Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF viewer)
· Bibletime (Bible study application)
· Deluge (BitTorrent client)

If you want a fast, lightweight, Slackware-based Linux operating system for your personal computer, you can download Absolute Linux 12.1.1 right now from here and here.

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Patrick Verner announced a few days ago the third maintenance release of Parted Magic 3, a Slackware-based Linux distribution designed to help users with partitioning tasks. Parted Magic 3.3 contains a few new applications, brings improved support for video drivers, adds NFS support, and updates various packages. On top of that, the USB edition of Parted Magic 3.3 was drastically cleaned up (see the following quote for details).

"Files in the USB version have moved. GRUB files are in the /boot/grub folder and syslinux files are in the /boot/syslinux folder. The proper command to boot the USB is 'syslinux -d /boot/syslinux /dev sdXX' for Linux and 'syslinux -ma -d /boot/syslinux X:\' for windows." - said Patrick Verner in the official release announcement.

Changes since Parted Magic 3.2 release include:
· Improved support for video drivers by downgrading the xorg-server package to version 1.4.2;
· Included all the extensions and drivers, such as GLX and DRI, from the standard build;
· udhcpc is no longer used for obtaining DHCP leases;
· NFS daemons will automatically start at boot. To cancel them use the nonfs boot parameter.

The following packages were updated in Parted Magic 3.3:
· NTFS-3G 1.5130
· Udev 135
· GParted 0.4.1
· Busybox 1.13.1
· hdparm 9.3
· XArchiver 0.5.2

The following packages were added in Parted Magic 3.3:
· gFTP 2.0.19
· dhcp 3.0.7
· dhcpcd 2.0.8
· Portmap 6.0
· nfs-utils 1.1.2

Parted Magic is a business-card operating system, based on Slackware Linux, with programs that allow you to partition hard disks with ease. Programs like Partition Image, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, ddrescue, and a good documentation will help you in your partitioning tasks. Parted Magic is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and it can be downloaded right now from here and here.
Source: http://linuxarticle.blogspot.com/

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Clement Lefebvre and the Linux Mint community proudly announced last night, on the official Linux Mint Blog, the final release of Linux Mint 6 (dubbed Felicia), a popular Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu operating system. Linux Mint 6 is a new and important step in the evolution of the Linux Mint OS, it is based on Intrepid Ibex (Ubuntu 8.10), and it includes all the latest technologies, such as Linux kernel 2.6.27, GNOME 2.24 or X.Org 7.4. Why is Linux Mint 6 so important? Because it now offers a new, in-house tool called mint4win, which will allow everyone to install the Linux Mint operating system directly from Microsoft Windows!

"The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 6 “Felicia”. Congratulations and thanks to all the people who contributed to this release, to all the translators, to the upstream developers and projects which made this possible and above all to the development team for their continuous support." - said Clement Lefebvre, developer of Linux Mint, in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Linux Mint 6:
· mint4win allows you to install Linux Mint from the Microsoft Windows operating system;
· mintInstall 5 with a new offline interface, software versions information and support for multiple portals;
· mintUpdate 3 with a revamped GUI, proxy support, updates history;
· mintUpload 2 with support for FTP transfers;
· mintNanny, a useful parental control tool;
· Giver, a LAN (Local Area Network) transfer tool;
· Gufw, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) frontend for the ufw firewall;
· Flegita, an utility for scanners.

On top of that, the Linux Mint team is proud to present the introduction of the Linux Mint Universal Edition, a customized version of Felicia, available as a Live DVD. The Universal Edition contains the following features:
· Installs all the missing audio and video codecs;
· Offers support for English, Italian, German, Spanish, Indonesian, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Hindi, Greek, Urdu, Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, Danish, Filipino, Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Hebrew, Korean, Catalan, Esperanto, Croatian, Serbian and Farsi languages;
· Available as a Live DVD.

What are recommended system requirements? To install Linux Mint 6, you will need minimum 512 MB of RAM (however, the system will work very well with 256 MB of RAM after installation). Be aware that the installation may hang if you have less than 512 MB of RAM. As a solution, you can try to repeat the installation process several times. Also, you must have at least 3 or 4 GB of free hard drive space.

What is Linux Mint? Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up-to-date, 100% free and comfortable Linux desktop distribution based on the very popular Ubuntu operating system. It offers paid commercial support to companies and individuals. Also, free community support is available from the forums and the IRC channel. If you want to give Linux Mint 6 (Felicia) a try, download it right now from here, here (torrent). The Linux Mint Universal Edition can also be downloaded from here.
Source: Linux Articles

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Kris Moore from the PC-BSD development team announced today the immediate availability of the second maintenance release of PC-BSD 7.0 (Fibonacci Edition). "The PC-BSD Team is pleased to announce the availability of PC-BSD 7.0.2, with an updated FreeBSD 7.1-PreRelease under the hood and the latest KDE 4.1.3." - said Kris in the official release announcement.

Therefore, PC-BSD users can upgrade their systems today with the new version, which includes KDE 4.1.3, improved support for NTFS partitions, better desktop performance for owners of Nvidia video cards, enhancements and fixes to HAL, bug fixes to the installation.

Here are the changes since PC-BSD 7.0.1:
· Updated KDE to version 4.1.3;
· Updated HAL to version 0.5.11_8 (fixes an issue when trying to eject a CD/DVD in KDE4, and offers enhanced NTFS-3G support);
· Resolved an issue with the scanner permissions that prevented users to scan;
· Resolved an issue with PBI updates;
· Fixed knotify4 bug, which made the computer hang at shutdown sometimes;
· Better Online Updater utility, which now supports proxy servers and allows the use of TMPDIR;
· The sound-detect script was updated to support various new cards;
· Nvidia cards owners have now a new script (automatically activated on startup), which improves the desktop performance (lag and compositing effects);
· Fixed some empty hard drive installation issues;
· Resolved three System Manager bugs.

How to upgrade? Just apply the update and reboot your PC-BSD system. Remember that it may take 15-25 minutes to complete (depending on your system's specs).

If you want to install PC-BSD, it is recommended to have at least a Pentium 4 or higher CPU (or AMD64 alternatives) with 512 MB of RAM, minimum 12 GB of free hard drive space (either a partition, or an entire disk), a network card, a sound card and a 3D-accelerated video card (Nvidia or Intel).

PC-BSD is a free operating system, based on FreeBSD, created with ease of use in mind. Like any modern system, it allows you to watch movies, listen to your favorite music, work with office documents, and install your favorite applications with a couple of mouse clicks (and a nice setup wizard).
PC-BSD 7.0.2 can be downloaded right now from Here (Link 1), Here (Link 2).
Source: Linux Articles

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Having released Opera 9.5 and Opera 9.6 in 2008, the Norwegian browser maker is now offering the first taste of Opera 10.0. While Microsoft and Mozilla are laboring to hit the Release Candidate stages of Internet Explorer 8 (now at Beta 2) and Firefox 3.1, respectively (now still at Beta 1, and on the verge of Beta 2), Opera is also cooking the next iteration of its browser. The first Alpha development milestone for Opera 10.0 is now available for download.

“It seems like yesterday we released Opera 9.6 and now you can all get your hands on Opera 10.0. Rather than ramble on, here's a quick list of what's new: Presto 2.2 Engine; performance boost; 100/100 and pixel-perfect on the Acid3 test; auto-update; inline spelling checker; Opera Mail improvements, including rich text composition and delete after X days; Widget Improvements on Linux,” revealed Adam Minchinton, Opera Mac developer.

Opera has tweaked and optimized the core of the browser, and has taken Presto up to version 2.2 from 2.1 in Kestrel. In this context, now Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 passes the Acid3 Test for web standard support to perfection, the browser maker claims. At the same time, the evolution of the engine has delivered a new level of performance, not only in terms of speed, but also in regard to how the broser handles CSS, XML printing, and RGBA and HSLA support.

“The long awaited auto-update functionality is here! That's right, Opera will now update itself as new versions are released. And for those of you who want every single snapshot release just enable the 'Download All Snapshots' setting (opera:config#AutoUpdate). Please be aware that if you do so, you will be upgrading to all snapshots - and, as you know: snapshots contain the latest changes, but may also have severe known issues, including crashes and data loss situations. In fact, they may not work at all,” Minchinton added.

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Windows is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5).

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Linux is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5), here (Link 6).

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Mac OS X is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5), here (Link 6).

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MySQL Administrator is a powerful visual administration console that enables you to easily administer your MySQL environment and gain significantly better visibility into how your databases are operating.

MySQL Administrator now integrates database management and maintenance into a seamless, single environment, with an intuitive and clear graphical user interface.

By using MySQL Administrator you will be able to:
- Achieve higher database availability through improved management
- Reduce errors through visual database administration
- Lower database administration costs through improved productivity
- Deliver a more secure environment through easier privilege management

MySQL Administrator enables developers and DBAs to easily perform all the command line operations visually including configuring servers, administering users, and dynamically monitoring database health.

Other common administrative tasks such as monitoring replication status, backup and restore, and viewing logs can also be performed through the MySQL Administrator graphical console.

User Administration in Minutes
Administering users, granting privileges and viewing user privilege information has never been easier! Now you can leverage the full power of MySQL's user management and privilege capabilities to fully protect your MySQL server host using an integrated graphical user administration console.

For example, a form-based interface provides a simple method for adding users, assigning passwords and including user profile information. Plus, assigning and revoking global, database, and table/column privileges is as easy as adding and removing privilege items from an available list. Finally, an explorer interface provides a hierarchical view allowing you to easily view user privileges by privilege type.

Single View Dynamic Health Monitoring
Dynamic health monitoring gives you an immediate view into the key indicators of the health of your MySQL environment. Dynamic graphs enable you to easily view percentage of memory usage, connection usage, hit rates, as well as the number of SQL queries on an ongoing basis, as your system runs.

The Disk Health tab gives you an overview of the amount of hard disk space, tablespace, and log files being used. You can also use the visual health monitoring feature to get a hierarchical view into status and server variables such as the number of outstanding connections, number of bytes sent and received by clients, buffer allocations size and more.

Quickly Optimize MySQL
MySQL Administrator now allows you to easily view and setup key parameters so you can quickly optimize the performance of MySQL. Using a graphical forms-based environment, you quickly fine tune general and advanced parameters. For example you can set memory usage parameters and configure server start-up parameters related to the MyISAM and InnoDB table types.

Rapid Disaster Prevention and Recovery
Now you can rapidly create consistent backups and restore data by simply visually selecting the schemas and tables you want to back/restore from your hierarchical data directory. The graphical environment gives you additional visibility into Tabletype, Rows, Data Length, and Update time.

Server Information At-a-Glance
The server information section of MySQL Administrator allows you to quickly view basic information about the server and client. This view gives you immediate visibility into items such as server status, client and server version numbers and IP address, as well as connection information.

View Replication Status
Now you can quickly set up replication to increase the robustness and speed of your MySQL environment. The replication features within MySQL Administrator allow you to easily view the network topology of your replication master and slaves. Plus, the graphical environment provides additional visibility into IP addresses and logfiles.

View Server Logs from a Centralized Administration Environment
Now you can view all the MySQL log files including error logs, binary logs, and InnoDB logs from a single, centralized administration environment so you can diagnose server problems quicker and track database changes.

Service Control
Gain complete control of service creation and overcome the time consuming task of installing and setting up services. Plus, start and stop MySQL servers and view corresponding log messages.

Browse Catalog
Browse your catalog and view corresponding tables with columns, all indices and users with privileges to access selected databases. From here you can monitor and optimize tables.

Cross Platform
MySQL Administrator will initially be available for Microsoft Windows and Linux, and be compatible with MySQL version 4.0 or later.

MySQL Administrator for Windows 5.0 r10 is available for download here (Link 1)
MySQL Administrator for Windows 5.0 r10 is available for download here (Link 2)

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Windows 7 Pre-Beta Build 6801 Leaked and Available for Download - Via torrent websites. The past week, Microsoft delivered the first consistent taste of Windows 7, offering the pre-beta bits of the operating system at the Professional Developers Conference. On October 28, developers attending the event got their hands on a 160 GB drive pre-loaded with various goodies including Windows 7 Build 6801 in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. Subsequently, as it was the case with previous beta or final releases of Windows, the pre-beta bits for Windows 7 Build 6801 were leaked and made available for download via torrent websites.

Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, managed to keep Windows 7 under a translucent veil throughout the development process ahead of PDC2008. However, the conference focused on Windows 7 made the successor of Windows Vista as transparent as possible, as well as “free for all” users with a BitTorrent client. All major torrent hotspots are currently offering downloads of Windows 7 pre-beta build 6801, advertised as untouched.

The pair of Windows 7 pre-beta releases on the original 160 GB drive are: Windows 7 32-bit - 6801.0.080913-2030_Client_en-us_ULTIMATE-ULTIMATE_GB1CFRE_EN_DVD.iso and Windows 7 64-bit - 6801.0.080913-2030_Client_en-us_ULTIMATE-ULTIMATE_GB1CXFRE_EN_DVD.iso. With the pre-beta bits of the next iteration of Windows available outside of Redmond, the software giant promised that the fully fledged Beta of Windows 7 would be delivered early in 2009.

“Windows 7 will offer improved navigation, a new taskbar and a streamlined UI so that common tasks done in Windows are done easier and more quickly. You will be able to share data to all your PCs and devices in your home network or at work. With Windows 7 + Windows Live, you will be able to stay connected to the people that matter to you, and with Internet Explorer 8 you will get a faster, safer, more productive Web experience,” revealed Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management.
Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

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RapidShare CAPTCHA has always been hacked no matter how tough they made it. Usually whenever RapidShare updates their CAPTCHA, it only took a few days for third party download tools to auto recognize it. One of the toughest CAPTCHA was with cats and dogs in them and it took 3-4 weeks to be cracked. A few days after the cats and dogs CAPTCHA has been cracked, RapidShare installed a new CAPTCHA system called TEABAG_3D.

The TEABAG_3D is developed by OCR Research Team and they are a bunch of CAPTCHA hackers too. They claim that after defeating several CAPTCHAs, they decided to make a CAPTCHA which is hard to break. I’ve been in communication with the developers of CryptLoad and jDownloader to keep track of the progress in defeating the latest 3D CAPTCHA in RapidShare. They were in 50% progress and suddenly RapidShare decided to eliminate the captchas to simplify the use of RapidShare’s free services significantly but with a catch that the download speed limit has been limited to 500kilobits per second, that is only 62.5KBps.


1. CryptLoad
- The interface is in English and configurations is not complicated. Other than downloading from RapidShare, it can also support downloading from many other One-Click hoster such as megaupload, gigasize, depositfiles and etc. Currently CryptLoad can only run on Windows with Microsoft .NET Framework and the next major update version 2 should support Mac OS and Linux as well. Supports automatic updates.
[ Download CryptLoad ]


2. JDownloader
- This tool has not been mentioned here before but I now tell you that this is a really good downloading tool for one-click-hosters website. JDownloader is open source, platform independent and written completely in Java. It simplifies downloading files from One-Click-Hosters like Rapidshare.com or Megaupload.com - not only for users with a premium account but also for users who don’t pay. It offers downloading in multiple parallel streams, captcha recognition, automatically file extraction and much more. Of course, JDownloader is absolutely free of charge. Additionally, many “link encryption” sites are supported - so you just paste the “encrypted” links and JD does the rest. Because it is written in Java, you can run JDownloader on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Support automatic updates. Try it and you’ll love it!
[ Download jDownloader ]


3. CandiSoft Load!
- Load! also has not been mentioned at this blog before. The interface is in German but it shouldn’t be too hard to understand as some words are pretty similar to English. You can always make use of Google Translate to help you translate from German to English. Runs on Windows and supports automatic updates. It also supports other one-click-hosters such as megaupload, netload.in, uploaded.to and etc.
[ Download CandiSoft Load! ]


4. RS Downloader
- This tool has been mentioned at this blog before and the interface is in German. It runs on Windows, supports automatic updates and can only download from RapidShare. Can also automatic decrypt and recognized encrypted rapidshare links using YouCrypt plugin.
[ Download RS Downloader ]


5. Universal Share Downloader (USDownloader)
- USDownloader is another popular and powerful one-click-hoster download manager. It supports a lot of free hosting services, including the most popular ones like RapidShare, MegaUpload or YouSendIt. You can select up to 26 types of languages for the program’s interface and it runs on Windows. When want to do an update on USDownloader, you’ll have to use the server http://usd.cap-cap.ru/ because the one in the list doesn’t work. [ Download USDownloader ]


Source: raymond.cc

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Automate your PC shutdown, power off, log off, lock work station, hibernate, stand by or screen save etc. It can be started without the user having to login to the machine.

With Auto Shutdown Genius, you can automatically shutdown, power off, log off, lock workstation, hibernate, stand by or screen save your computers at schedule date and time, when the computer is idle or when excessive CPU usage.

Auto Shutdown Genius gives you different ways to schedule the shutdown events, such as daily, weekly, only once, the computer idle and CPU usage.

During the shutdown, it can clean up recycle bin, temporary files, IE cache, IE cookies, IE history and recent document list to improve system performance and protect your privacy.

The main program is a windows service. It can be started without the user having to login to the machine and it won't die after the user logs off. This feature is very useful and powerful for server manager and network administrator.

Download: Shutdown Genious 2.2.8 (link 1)

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nLite is a GUI for permanent Windows component removal by your choice. After removal there is an option to make bootable image ready for burning on cd or testing in virtual machines. So that means that with nLite you will be able to have Windows installation cd which on installation doesn't install, or even contain on cd, unwanted components.

Maybe you won't believe it at first but it's not easy to not install what you don't want when it comes to Windows. It involves many setup files to be edited carefully without interfering with basic Windows components.

Download: nLite 1.4.8

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AutoCollage 2008 is a project developed by Microsoft Research Cambridge and made available for download as of September 4, 2008.

The tool is no longer just a research prototype, as it has been made available for purchase via the Microsoft Store (UK) and the Windows Marketplace (US).

At the same time, Microsoft Research Cambridge is offering end users a taste of AutoCollage 2008 via a 30-day downloadable trial version. Designed to enable end users to put together collages of digital photo collections, AutoCollage 2008 is in fact the first example of an incubation project offered to the general public by Microsoft Research Cambridge.

"The most significant feature that differentiates AutoCollage is that it offers exceptionally sophisticated blending technology for photographs, powered by state-of-the-art computer vision techniques," explained Alisson Sol, development manager at Microsoft Research Cambridge. "It’s great that we can give everyone the opportunity to play with and use this compelling technology, and we’re looking forward to seeing what collages they come up with."

According to Microsoft, AutoCollage 2008 does much more than simply blending images into a collage. The tool builds a seamless canvas using the photographs made available while avoiding duplicates and ensuring that no one image comes into focus all by itself. The Redmond company indicated that AutoCollage started along back in 2005 in Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK, in 2005, after which it was moved to the Cambridge Incubation team. Microsoft researchers from China and Redmond collaborated with the Cambridge team on the development process. AutoCollage 2008 is designed to integrate seamlessly with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Download: Microsoft Research AutoCollage 2008 1.0

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Microsoft has made available for download a free synchronization tool tailored to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and to Windows XP Service Pack 3, but also to earlier versions of the two clients such as Vista RTM and XP SP2.

SyncToy 2.0 has been taken out of Beta stage, and the gold version of the code is live as of the end of the past week. Essentially a file management tool, SyncToy 2.0 is designed to permit users to "copy, move, rename, and delete" items between both folders and computers. Liam Cavanagh, senior program manager, Data Replication and Synchronization, revealed that SyncToy 2.0 has as its basis the Microsoft Sync Framework.

The Redmond company is presenting the PowerToy as the right tool to do all the heavy lifting for users when it comes to file synchronization. However, SyncToy is intended only as an enhancement of the Windows operating system and is not supported by the company. In this context, SyncToy has only been tested on a few operating systems, with the focus on Vista and XP, although it is possible that the tool will also integrate with additional platforms including Windows Home Server with Power Pack 1.

Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment, True Folder Sync, Exclusion Filtering Based on Name, Filtering Based on File Attributes, and Unattended Folder Pair Execution are just some of the new additions introduced in version 2.0. Cavanagh revealed that "based on the feedback from the SyncToy Forum and Windows XP Professional Photography web site, the following features were added to this release of SyncToy: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition. Folder creates, renames and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions. File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching. The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden). Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off."

But at the same time, SyncToy 2.0 final will offer users the possibility to share end-point folder pairs (Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints), improved management via the command line interface, a rearchitected synchronization engine, increased reliability, support for encrypted files and for - 64-bit Windows operating systems.

In addition, the tool offers "Sub-folder Exclusion Enhancements: Descendents created under excluded sub-folders are automatically excluded. Usability improvements for the sub-folder exclusion dialog. Folder Pair Metadata Moved: Folder pair metadata removed from MyDocuments to resolve any issues with server-based folder pair re-direction setup. Setup Improvements: Integrated setup with single self-extracting archive file and no extra downloads if you already have .NET Framework 2.0 installed. Enabled silent install for the SyncToy Installer file. And removed combine and subscribe actions," stated Cavanagh.

SyncToy is an easy to use, customizable utility that will help you move, copy, rename and delete files between computers and folders.

There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation.

Download:
SyncToy 2.0 (x32)
SyncToy 2.0 (x64)

Source: softpedia.com

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It's a freeware utility to defrag registry. Quicksys RegDefrag is small, clear and easy. Registry data is constantly being written to and removed during a normal Windows operation. Over time this data becomes fragmented.

What does this software do?
Quicksys RegDefrag optimizes your registry by removing gaps, fragments and wasted space in Windows registry files. The program does not modify any registry entries.

Benefits?
Of course! The defragmentation improves performance and boosts access to the registry.

System Requeriments
* - Pentium 233 MHz
* - 128 MB RAM
* - 1,6 MB of available space
* - Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008

What's new in this version?
Version 2.0
* - Improved new algorithm to defrag registry.
* - Improved HTML report with defrag information.
* - Improved alert about necessary free space to defrag registry.
* - Improved ascending sorting of column at Registry Information.
* - Improved new multi-language system with separate language files.
* - Improved perfomance in Windows x64.
* - Fixed text in Defrag Analysis. Example: changed "/REGISTRY/MACHINE" to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE".
* - Fixed bug in backups. The backups files are stored at default registry folder.
* - Added new option to remove backups at Uninstall.
* - Memory usage optimizations.
* - Added new languages: Italian and Spanish.
* - GUI improvements.
* - Minor bug fixed.

Download : Regdefrag 2.0

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Elive team proudly announced last evening yet another development release of their GNU/Linux Live CD, Elive 1.9.18, which brings a new and improved kernel, better network configurator and many other updates. "This version includes a greatly improved new kernel and a lot of upgraded packages." - said the Elive developers in the official release announcement.

As mentioned, the kernel package has been updated (to version 2.6.26.8), and includes the following improvements:

• Wireless improvements: The kernel now contains all the available wireless drivers, including ath9k from Atheros;
• Apple MacBooks improvements: With the introduction of the ath9k wireless driver, the WEP encryption bug in MacBooks has been solved.

The Net-Connector tool introduced in the 1.9.10 release has finally been finished and it is now working at full capacity. The Net-Connector will help Elive users easily configure their networks (wireless and wired).

Last but not least, the Elive team added new and useful bookmarks for the Mozilla Firefox web browser. For example, you will now find a good list with links and tutorials for The Gimp, and some bookmarks with articles about Elive and the EFL development.

Elive is an operating system created using Debian GNU/Linux as its basis. It offers a lot of eye-candy while keeping the resources consumption very low with the help of the Enlightenment window manager.

Elive Linux sports a large number of applications, ranging from office and Internet related applications, to games and entertainment. With Elive, you can watch movies, listen to your favorite songs or chat with friends. E17, the development version of the Enlightenment window manager that comes with Elive Unstable, is brought to you from CVS, and is updated on a regular basis through Elive's testing repository.

If you want to use Elive, it is recommended you use a computer with minimum 128 of RAM and a 300 MHz CPU. Remember that this is an unstable release and it should not be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only! You can report bugs to Elive's Bug Tracker.
Download Elive 1.9.18 right now from Here.

Source: http://linuxarticle.blogspot.com/

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