Practical Technology

for practical people.

February 17, 2013
by sjvn01
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Apple’s iOS 6.11 networking failures continue

OK, so here’s the good news. When Apple released iOS 6.11 last week it did fix the problem some European phone users were having with 3G connections. The bad news is that iOS’s other network-related problems persist.

Apple’s iOS 6.11 networking failures continue. More >

February 15, 2013
by sjvn01
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How to install the Steam gaming client on Ubuntu (Gallery)

First things first: While you can run the new Linux Steam gaming client on other versions of Linux besides Ubuntu, for now it’s only supported on Ubuntu.

If you want to try Steam on other Linux distributions, start at Valve’s Steam under Linux page. Good luck!

Moving on, to run Steam games you should be running Ubuntu 12.04 or newer on a dual-core system with 2GBs or more of RAM running at least 2.8GHz. You’ll also need an nVidia GeForce 8500/9600GT or an ATI/AMD Radeon HD 2500/3600 or better graphics and their latest drivers. Finally, you’ll need the newest version of Flash, that’s 11.2 for Linux, and OpenGL 2.1.

In addition, if you’re running a 64-bit Linux distribution, you may need to download some 32-bit libraries during the installation process. At this time, there are no fully native 64-bit version of the Linux Steam client.

That said, if you’ve met all the preconditions, open the Ubuntu Software Center and select Steam.

How to install the Steam gaming client on Ubuntu (Gallery). More >

February 15, 2013
by sjvn01
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Ubuntu smartphone developer preview arrives next week

It’s almost here! Six weeks after Canonical first revealed that they were throwing their Ubuntu Linux hat into the smartphone ring, the company announced that on February 21, they’ll be releasing the Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu.

According to Canonical, “Images and open source code for the Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu will be published on Thursday 21st February, supporting the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones.”

Ubuntu smartphone developer preview arrives next week. More >

February 15, 2013
by sjvn01
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PC gaming comes to Ubuntu Linux with Steam client release

Since the dawn of the Linux penguin there has been one constant user compliant: “Linux won’t run my games!” Those days are now over. Today, February 14th, the Steam gaming client for Ubuntu Linux has arrived.

According to the Canonical blog, “users can now install the Steam Client with a few simple clicks in our Software Center, the fastest and safest way to install thousands of paid and free applications on Ubuntu. Canonical and Valve have worked closely together to make Ubuntu the best performing open platform for gaming and now the ultimate entertainment platform is fully supported.”

PC gaming comes to Ubuntu Linux with Steam client release. More >

February 14, 2013
by sjvn01
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HP bids adieu to WebOS, Windows RT, and says hello to Android

While HP still hasn’t made it official, sources are reporting that HP has decided that at least part of its tablet and smartphone future lies not with Windows or WebOS but with Google’s Android. Who’d thought it!?

Well, I for one did. Look at the facts. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that in the last quarter Apple sold 23-million iPads, while HP—the world’s largest PC maker—sold 15-million PCs. And, who’s catching up with the iPad in a great hurry? According to IDC that would be Android tablets. Since there’s no way in heaven and earth, HP will ever be selling iPads, HP CEO Meg Whitman is hitching HP’s wagon to Android’s ascending star.

HP bids adieu to WebOS, Windows RT, and says hello to Android. More >

February 13, 2013
by sjvn01
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Opera joins Chrome & Safari in using Webkit for Web-browsing

Opera, a Web browser with a small, but loyal, core group of 300-million users, surprised everyone when they moved from its Presto Web rendering engine to the popular open-source Webkit engine. Webkit is best known for being Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari Web engine.

Web engines are what take Web page content such as HTML files, and formatting instructions, for example Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and transform these into the page you see on your screen. They are a Web browser’s heart. For Opera, this is no less than a heart transplant.

Opera joins Chrome & Safari in using Webkit for Web-browsing. More >