Ebuyer HQ

OggCamp 10

As a developer at Ebuyer I make extensive use of Ubuntu. As regular readers will know this is a free and open source, Linux based operating system.

There is a huge community surrounding Ubuntu which develops features, fixes bugs and provides support to new and existing users.

The Samsung N130 Netbook

There has been a lot of interest recently in small Netbook PCs. To the untrained eye they look like small laptops that have had the DVD drive removed and the scroll pad and keyboard shrunk. Netbooks generally start at about 7″ screen width and can go up to about 14″.  They usually have an Intel Atom processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM. This all sounds a bit puny compared to the processing muscle available in most desktops, but for the vast majority of computing requirements, it is more than adequate.

So, you’ve taken delivery of your shiny new Acer Aspire Revo computer. You’ve got it all hooked up, and you’ve had the obligatory 10 games of “Tux”, but what you really want to do is set it up as a HTPC so you can play all of your HD content and wow your friends…

Having worked with Linux for a number of years now, I know how daunting the config can be, especially when it comes to multimedia, so I’ve put together the following guide to show the ‘easy’ way to get it all set up.

3 Linux Flavours

As you may already be aware, Linux is an Open Source operating system which is made available under the GPL. Being Open Source means that the underlying source code for the software is freely available for use and modification.

In the current economic climate a lot of us are looking at how best to cut costs both in business and in our personal lives, and reducing our outlay for computer software has to be given some serious consideration. Replacing commercial operating systems with the freely available Linux is becoming increasingly common, even amongst the not so geeky, however the main question being asked frequently is “which flavour of Linux should I be using, and why?”.