Come get your Linux LiveCD/LiveDVD for $5 or LiveUSB for $15

I've been a member of Fiverr.com for almost two years. This website offers a wide variety of services and goods starting at $5. I recently a new gig that should interest the teckies out there. For those out there who want to try out or install Linux, but don't have decent internet; I can help. If you order this gig, I can create and mail you LiveCD/LiveDVD or LiveUSB. If you don't need this service, please pass it on to someone who might be able to use it. Thanks.

Linux on a iMac G4

Last year, I bought a iMac G4 at a rummage sale. Because it ran Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” and very few programs are available for it, I decided to install Linux. Since the G4 is powered by a PowerPC chip, I had to find a Linux distro with PPC support. Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems getting the display to work. The distros would install, but after reboot the screen would only showed black and yellow lines. Finally, I tried Debian 6 PPC. The thing worked right away. It booted into a usable, albeit slow, desktop. Now, all I need to do is fix the color, which looks like 256 color. Below is a video of a boot. I may upload a better video later.

Another One Bites the Dust

It's amazing how fast companies can come and go. They seem to be going even faster. It seems just like yesterday I was telling you that Pears OS,  a Mac OS X clone based on Linux, was bought by an unknown and closed down. The same has just happened to what was intended to be a spiritual successor to Pear OS. Brenden Gonzalez recently started work on Clementine OS, which had the same goal as Pear OS. Unfortunately, before he could begin work, Brenden was contacted by the still known company that bought Pear OS and threatened with legal action if he did not desist. Whoever is planning to use the Pear OS name is already doing all they can to squash all copiers. Sounds a lot like Apple.

Pear OS dies on the vine, but not for long

Yesterday afternoon, David Tavares (creator of the Pear OS distro) announced he halting development of the OS. From a statement he has released, it appears that Tavares came to an agreement with an unnamed company to hand the distro over to them. Whether money was involved or how much is unknown at this time. The full statement can be found at the end of this post.

Pear OS´ main claim to fame is that it brings the look and feel of Mac OS and iOS to Linux. While other Linux distros, such as Ubuntu, can have the mac OS look and feel it required the installation of multiple themes and applications. Pear OS was one of the few distros that delivered it in one package. Another such distro is elementary OS.

Tavares´ announcement has been met by much outcry and anger. People have suggested that Tavares was pressured by Apple who did not like someone copying their look and feel. Others suggested that Tavares was just creating an excuse to end development. Almost everyone seems to fear that this news means the end of Pear OS in much the same way that Palm bought BeOS only to close down the project.

Several people responded to the announcement by calling for a fork to be created to keep the project alive. Pear OS user Brenden Gonzalez has already begun efforts to create a fork of pear OS, which will be based on Ubuntu 13.04 until 14.04 becomes available. If you are interested in giving Brenden a hand, drop him an email.

Below is the official statement on the Pear OS website.

Pear OS and Pear Cloud are no longer available for download.
 Its future is now in hands of a company who wants to remain anonymous for the moment. The concept has pleased them it and now wants to continue and improve the system for their own products. I can not give a name but it is a very large company well known ...
 I want to thank all users, moderators and other developers who have made Pear OS it is today, that without this adventure would not have been possible.
 I'm going in another direction.
 Pear Cloud users must recover their files on Pear Cloud servers. In 10 days, the files will be deleted and the server will be offline. 
 Another big thank you to all and I hope to return to the scene of open source very quickly.
 Cordially.
 David

We will continue to report on this story as more information comes in.

Update: You can check out the new Clementine OS here.

Transfer Files Securely to Your Android Device with FTP

The first thing that most people do after purchasing a tablet is to fill it with music, videos and such. While iOS devices can be very problematic in that department, Android devices are much easier to handle. The easiest method is to connect your Android device to your PC via USB and copy files using Windows Explorer (or any alternative). Another popular method is an app named AirDroid that allows you to manage your Android device remotely with your web browser. However, I've come across a better method: FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

To start, you need to install an FTP server on your Android tablet. The best one that I have come across so far it called primitive ftpd. You can get it from the F-Droid app catalog, which consists of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Here is the link to primitive ftpd on F-Droid.

Once you have installed primitive ftpd, you'll have to isntall an FTP program on your PC. The best program is FileZilla. Once you get that installed, you can change the username, password and port number in primitive ftpd. (I'd recommend doing this for security reasons.)

To move files, open the primitive ftpd app, press start, log into your tablet with Filezilla and get downloading and uploading.

Let me knowif this  is helpful.

Microsoft announces their next version of Windows

Microsoft's Newest Partner

Microsoft announces their newest partner. (Just kidding!)