Practical Technology

for practical people.

April 26, 2012
by sjvn01
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Ubuntu 12.04 arrives and it’s great

The wait is over. The final version of Canonical’s Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin is out. To download your copy of this popular Linux distribution head to the Ubuntu download page. If you’re already using the last version, Ubuntu 11.10 you can now upgrade automatically upgrade to 12.04 with Update Manager. If you need more help with your upgrade see the Upgrade from Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.04 LTS page.

LTS, you ask? That stands for long term support. This is the Ubuntu version that will be supported for five years, through April 2017. If you have a business, and you’ve been thinking about using Ubuntu on your desktops or servers, this is the version you want.

Ubuntu 12.04 arrives and it’s great. More >

April 25, 2012
by sjvn01
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Red Hat and SUSE join IBM in new Linux system, Canonical opts out

Over a year in the making IBM has just unveiled its new IBM PowerLinux Systems and Solutions. This new series of Linux-specific POWER7 processor-based hardware comes with a choice of either Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server . It’s designed for analyzing Big Data, managing industry-specific applications and delivering open source infrastructure services for the mid market and above. Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, opted out of offering its Linux on this new server family though.

Red Hat and SUSE join IBM in new Linux system, Canonical opts out. More >

April 25, 2012
by sjvn01
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The 16 Linux Shell Commands Every Desktop Linux User Should Know

Some people still have a silly notion that to use Linux you must know Linux shell commands and syntax like the back of your hand. What nonsense! With any modern Linux desktop distribution, you no more need to use Linux commands like ps, grep, or ls than you need to use DOS commands in Windows today.

Except, of course, just as in Windows, every now and then it is helpful to use the good, old ASCII command-line instructions.

Mind you, 99% of the time desktop Linux users are fine with Linux desktops such as Cinnamon, GNOME, Unity, or KDE. For system administrators, it’s a bit different. Linux sysadmins use shell commands all the time.

But, once every blue moon, its handy to know some Linux command basics, so here’s what you need to know.

The 16 Linux Shell Commands Every Desktop Linux User Should Know. More >

April 24, 2012
by sjvn01
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Hands on with Google Drive (Review)

It took Google long enough. We’ve been hearing rumors for years that Google was going to release personal cloud storage, the Google Drive. Well, wait no more, the Google Drive is here. But, it’s much more than just that. It’s a nearly seamless integration of free and cheap storage with Google Docs.

To install Google Drive as a local client—ala the Dropbox model where the cloud drive appears in your operating system’s file manager as just another directory—you need to have either a Mac or Windows system. Mind you, Google Drive also will work just fine with Linux… but only from your Google Drive Web page. I’m not happy about that.

To get the program, or to use it on the Web, you’ll need to have a Google account. With Google’s recent privacy changes, not everyone will want to do that. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Google’s new policy. But , as Zack Whittaker points out, nothing on anyone’s cloud drive should be regarded as being all that private when push comes to shove.

If you’re OK with all that, the first step is to go to the Google Drive Start page.

Hands on with Google Drive (Review). More >

April 24, 2012
by sjvn01
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Free storage for you: Google Drive to arrive today

The rumors were true. Google’s personal cloud-based storage service, Google Drive, has been released today with 5GB of free storage. It includes both free and commercial versions. The minimum free service will include 5GBs of free storage, and you’ll be able to buy additional space for up to, brace yourself, 16 terabytes  of storage.

In addition, Google Docs’ available storage for your documents has moved up within the last twelve hours from 1GB of storage to 5GBs. You can see if you have this additional storage for yourself by going to your Google Docs setting page. You’ll see about half-way down the page a listing for storage. This seems to be, for the moment, only available if you’re using the English language version of Google Docs.

Gerwin Sturm, an Austrian developer and Web designer, spotted the Google Drive smoking gun on a French Google Web site this morning: a prematurely released Google Drive announcement.

This early French-language posting, which appears to have been an early draft, is no longer available on the Google site, is from Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Google Chrome & Apps. In it he states: “Today we launch Google Drive, a centralized space where you can create, share, collaborate and store all your documents. You establish a budget with your staff that you develop a presentation with a working group or hosting a seminar, you can now do it in Drive. Download and access all your documents, videos, photos, Google Docs, PDF, etc.”

So, this is more than just a Dropbox replacement. Far, far more.

Free storage for you: Google Drive to arrive today More >