Web Development

Ultraportable laptops – netbooks such as the Eee PC – are becoming increasingly popular. A computer that’s small enough to live permanently in your bag without giving you backache can be incredibly useful, especially as wireless connectivity and 3G hardware are growing in ubiquity.

Netbooks aren’t just consigned to disposable web surfing, though – they can rely on cloud computing services to provide you with a host of additional functionality. If you’ve never heard of cloud computing before, the idea behind it is that you’re able to store and use your data online, rather than on a local computer. That may sound confusing, but for commonly used examples of online apps that save data to remote servers, you need look no further than Google’s range of apps. The upshot of this is that all you require is an internet connection to have access and control over all your data, regardless of where you are.

How we tested

Our test machine was an Eee PC 701, featuring 4GB of internal storage, 512MB RAM and a 900MHz Celeron processor. Three of the Linux distros we tested (namely, Xandros, EeeXubuntu and Pupeee) are optimised for Eee PCs, but each of these should also run on other netbooks. The fourth distro on test meanwhile, gOS, is the default one installed on Everet netbooks.

As we tested each of the distros here, we were looking at their ease of installation and use, the applications that came pre-installed and what was available in terms of further installs. We also paid close attention to the extent that everything (including the netbook’s sound, wireless and Ethernet) worked directly out of the box.

Xandros

Xandros is the default OS that comes with the Eee PC. On initial bootup, you’re presented with Easy mode – or, roughly translated, ‘My First Desktop’. There are tabs for Work, Internet, Learn, Play and so on, with big buttons for each application. There’s also no start menu and thus no obvious way to get at the terminal, but hitting Ctrl+Alt+T brings one up.

If all you want to do is pull up a web browser and maybe open the odd document, this will just about do, but it’s limited and frustrating if you’re remotely experienced with Linux. More useful is the Advanced Desktop, which is fairly easy to set up; however, you do have to download a non-standard package and make a few config changes. You’ll find the instructions for this on the Eee PC forum, rather than being provided by Xandros.

Xandros has a frustratingly oversimplified Easy mode.

Once you’ve got that running, you’ll find yourself in a KDE-based desktop that looks a lot more familiar. OpenOffice.org is provided, as is Firefox (version 2), Skype and Thunderbird. There’s a painting program, and Gwenview (photo/image viewer software), but no Gimp. Amarok is your music app and the default text editor is Kate, which does the job competently, but it’s an older version. Remote desktop software is also provided by default. Configuration is dealt with through a Control Centre and the menus are well organised.

Everything works without fuss, in particular networking (wired and wireless, including WEP keys) and sound (MP3 and AVI as well as OGG). However, the software doesn’t always seem to be reliable in picking up wireless networks – you sometimes need to specify the network SSID rather than just searching for it, which is a real nuisance when you’re out and about.

Size matters

One issue which cropped up with all of the distros tested is that some app dialogs and screens are too large for small netbook screens (800×600 in the case of the Eee PC). The solution to this problem is to hold down Alt and then use the mouse to drag the window around. We think it’s a shame, though, that more of the dialogs don’t behave like Xandros’s built-in config screen and automatically size themselves to the limited screen space.

A more irritating issue is that Xandros doesn’t seem too bothered about updating its applications. You can install other software from various sites (there’s a lot of information available on the forums and in the wiki, both of which are user-run), but it’s always possible that they might cause conflicts with the pre-installed Xandros software. Unfortunately, the more up to date you are, the more likely it is that there’ll be problems. This is annoying even if you’re using Xandros because it was provided with the machine, rather than having deliberately installed it yourself.

The Xandros Control Centre is well organised, which makes it easy to pick up.

The final problem – and by far the most difficult one to reconcile with – is the use of the unionfs filesystem. In effect, the 4GB hard disk is divided into two partitions: one of these is read-only and contains the factory defaults, the other is your user space, which can be modified. These two partitions live on top of each other (think of it as merging them). This means that if, say, you upgrade Firefox to version 3, you don’t overwrite the existing Firefox in the first partition.

Instead, all of the new data has to go in the user partition, effectively doubling the amount of space taken up and significantly reducing the room available for your data. The advantage is that you can restore the factory default settings in seconds and there’s an option to do this at boot, but it’s not really worth the loss of valuable space. Sure, it’s possible to remove this and replace it with a regular filesystem, but hey, once you’re doing that, you might as well try out another distro, right?

Verdict: Easy to use, but falls down on package availability and due to a memory-guzzling filesystem. 6/10.

Pupeee

The main attractions of Puppy Linux are its small size and suitability for live CD or USB stick booting – both great qualities for a netbook distro. In fact, it even runs well from a USB stick, so if you don’t want to change distros permanently, you can keep it around for occasional use. Pupeee is the Eee PC-specific version of the distro, which should also be suitable for other netbooks. However, Pupeee won’t work on the Eee PC 901, so try its parent distro, Puppy, if you have a 901.

With Pupeee taking up a svelte 131MB, and regular Puppy consuming even less space, this means that you can make the best possible use of the small storage space of your netbook. Another advantage is the distro’s ability to run entirely from RAM, reducing the number of writes required to your solid-state drive and hence extending its life.

Pupeee Linux’s desktop is neat and compact.

Yet despite taking up so little room, Pupeee has plenty of software available by default and a clearly organised menu to find it all. The desktop is pretty plain, but on a small screen that works well.

SeaMonkey is provided for net access – this is an all-in-one web application that covers web browsing, email and newsgroups, IRC, and HTML editing. It’s based on the Mozilla code, saving some space over separate installs of Firefox and Thunderbird.

You also get Skype, which is particularly handy when you’re on the go. The built-in editor is Geany, but Leafpad is also available, and you get AbiWord and a PDF viewer as well. For graphics, MtPaint, Inklite, and GTKSee are onboard, while mulitmedia is handled by XMMS, Gxine, Xine and a couple of CD/DVD ripping and writing tools.

The ROX-Filer file manager is basic, but can still select files, sort and display them in various ways and it contains a bookmarks menu. It’s also worth noting that USB keys aren’t automounted, so you’ll need to make use of the Pmount tool – there’s an icon on the desktop for this. The tool itself is simplistic, but it does the job and you get used to the interface quickly.

But what if you want more software? Well, Puppy uses a PET packaging system: the official packages are what’s available on the live CD (what you get on install) and anyone can create an unofficial package. However, since this isn’t a mainstream distro or system there are significantly fewer packages available than with a Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora-based distro.

Moving away from software, sound works fine out of the box – Pupeee happily plays MP3, AVI video, and OGG files without the need to install any other codecs. However, you do have to open the sound mixer to get the sound up to an audible level.

The Puppeee menu - a whole host of applications and a cute dog face hiding at the bottom.

Clouds on the horizon

Crucially though, we struggled with wireless networking. Pupeee tries to make things easy by presenting you with a “connect” desktop icon, but although the setup worked, we found the interface was a little confusing. Rather than just having a single button to do everything, you have to set up the wireless profile first and then click another button to connect to the DHCP server. We also couldn’t make it work with a WEP-protected network, but the default profile connected well with an open network.

One final note: there’s not a full website with support for Pupeee, so if you need help, you’ll have to go check out the various forums. Puppy Linux does have a decent website, though, and by and large things should work in Pupeee as they do in the parent. But, again, you’d find more support if you opted for a more mainstream distro.

Verdict: This tiny and well-equipped distro unfortunately fell down when it came to WEP wireless configuration. 7/10.

EeeXubuntu

We had some trouble getting EeeXubuntu up and running: the automatic Install To USB Stick function didn’t work properly, so in the end we had to manually copy the files over to the stick and then edit the syslinux.cfg file. After that, it took a couple of minutes to boot.

Once we’d got it working though, we found that EeeXubuntu’s overall desktop experience is very similar to other Ubuntu distros. Since its whole design revolves around being user-friendly and presenting a familiar experience, there’s an unsurprising tang of the Xandros desktop about this Eee PC-tailored distro.

Like father, like son

The similarities don’t end at the aesthetic and EeeXubuntu comes complete with a set of apps that ape its popular parent distro. Thunderbird, Firefox and Pidgin are all present, while AbiWord and Gnumeric are here for your office applications. There’s no OpenOffice.org unfortunately, but it’s a large piece of software to put by default on a small-capacity machine and if you feel the lack of it then you can always install it yourself from a Ubuntu repository. In addition, there’s also a basic calendar program, Brasero for CD burning and a towering stack of games to work your way through. Unlike Pupeee, you’ll also find that USB keys and SD cards are automounted.

The lightweight Thunar file manager is another part of the package and it works well enough, even with limited resources. We were particularly impressed with its bulk file renaming tool, which can be used independently of the manager itself. Brilliantly, this features a search and replace function, meaning that you can load up a bunch of files with one string in the title and then easily replace that string with a different one. It also supports renaming based on media tags, such as ID3 audio tags, which is handy for managing your media collection.

The Thunar file manager in all of its Norse-inspired glory.

The desktop environment is Xfce and this does broadly the things you’d expect from your desktop. However, we experienced some trouble with the battery-monitor gadget, which kept warning us (erroneously) that there was something wrong with the battery on our test machine.

In terms of accessibility, wireless networking with EeeXubuntu works straight away and it’s complemented by a pleasing Visible Networks interface. We found that connecting to a wireless network with a WEP key was a little fiddly, but we did get it to work eventually. The important points to bear in mind from our struggle are to know the difference between a WEP passphrase and a WEP ASCII key and to note that Shared Key isn’t automatically selected over Open Network when you’re asked for a key, which seems like an oversight.

Visible wireless networks and their statuses are shown by default.

Our network niggles are minor, but out-of-the-box file compatibility is a bigger issue. While OGG files play automatically, you’ll need to download an extra plugin to play MP3 or Xvid (AVI) files. The only multimedia player provided is Totem Movie Player, which can also deal with music files.

A host of options

You can, of course, install any other package available from Ubuntu or Debian, and that’s a lot of software. It’s the natural advantage to using any version of a distro with mainstream support – you have access to what’s been created for the bigger distro. However, in the case of the MP3/Xvid codecs, it’s a nuisance that the plugins aren’t identified, meaning you have to find them online and then use the Synaptic package manager to get them. This is particularly surprising, as you’d expect an Ubuntu distro to provide an option to install them when you try to play an unsupported file, although it’s probably due to licensing issues.

Nowadays, EeeXubuntu is replaced by standard Xubuntu running on a netbook, with various netbook packages added on - you get the same thing in the end, and it’s just as good.

Verdict: It’s Ubuntu on a netbook – it does the job and does it well. 8/10.

gOS

Contrary to popular belief, gOS doesn’t stand for Google OS, but rather for good OS. It is, however, closely linked to Google and Google Apps (it’s also another Ubuntu-based distro in the vein of EeeXubuntu). Aside from the emerald colour palette, gOS heavily resembles Mac OS X, with curved edges, a task bar along the top and a set of slick widgets.

The optic-nerve-pleasing desktop of gOS.

That eye candy comes at a price, and this is the largest of the distros on test. It runs in at a hefty 694MB for the download and 2GB for the installed OS. Bear in mind that this limits the disk space available for your own files. It also takes noticeably longer to boot up than the other distros tested.

The sound works immediately, as is evidenced by the Microsoft-alike boot sound it plays (thankfully, this can be turned off in the config). Rhythmbox is the player installed by default, but as with EeeXubuntu, you can’t play MP3s out of the box. There’s no explanation of why these files are greyed-out when you try to open them within Rhythmbox, but if you use the file browser instead then Totem Movie Player launches – an odd choice for the default MP3 playing app. Helpfully, a dialog also pops up to enable you to download the codecs. Additionally, OGG files work fine from the off, but playing AVI requires you to download a codec. Again, you’re offered the option of downloading this when you open such a file in Totem.

The distro comes with Firefox, Pidgin, and Thunderbird for your web-based activities, but also a link to Google Docs, Google Finance, Google Reader, Picasa and others. Instead of running in your browser, these are run via Prism, a new app from Mozilla that enables you to run web-based apps without all the paraphernalia of a browser. This is an interesting idea, although we found it a little weird to be working in such a plain window! The other notable addition to this pack of software is that Wine is installed by default, enabling you to transparently run Microsoft programs and Notebook is included to go with it.

In terms of everyday software, Gimp, OpenOffice.org, and XSane are packaged together with some games. Vim is installed but not Emacs, and the default graphical text editor is Gedit.

In the details

There’s a set of gadgets that loads at start up: a wireless signal meter, a battery meter, a weather applet, a calendar that can link with Google Calendar and a calculator. We also had an unidentified gadget, which only displayed an error message. This is quite a lot to fit on a small netbook screen, although you can remove any of these applets by right-clicking on them.

Unfortunately, wireless networking on our Eee PC was a no-go. It’s fixable (with a replacement kernel), but an enormous nuisance, especially when compared with our experiences with the other distros. Given that gOS is really intended as a cloud-reliant distro, this seems a really strange omission – it’s not as if the developers are trying to keep the image particularly small. We suspect the issue is that gOS isn’t particularly aimed at our test Eee PC, unlike the other distros we’ve tried out here, so the specific wireless card drivers aren’t built into the kernel. On other netbooks, we gather that gOS networking does work well, and we’ve heard that’s also true for the Eee 901. As we mentioned, installing the most recent kernel solved the problem.

We really liked the idea of a heavily net-based distro, which netbooks are absolutely intended for. However, in practice gOS was pretty sluggish, and you can’t always rely on your wireless connections to be high-speed to compensate, so it’s often frustrating to use on the go. Without the heavy tie-in to the online content (the various Google Apps) working, gOS is relegated to being just an overlarge and slightly slow version of Ubuntu for netbooks. The eye candy’s great, but on a small, low-powered notebook that takes up a lot of processing power as well.

However, this is a great system in a lot of ways and certainly far and away the prettiest of those we tried out. It shows potential for beefier laptops and newer netbooks, too, so keep an eye on this for the future.

Verdict: Fabulous eye-candy and online app integration, but can be sluggish. 6/10.

Our choice: EeeXubuntu

With their dependency on networking and limited hardware, netbooks ask more of their OSes than many modern computers. And from what we’ve tested here, it seems fairly obvious that no one has quite perfected the art of cloud-focused Linux yet.

That said, the best reason to move away from the pre-installed distro on your netbook is if you can garner the advantages of a larger parent OS, enabling you to install plenty of useful upgrades and packages, rather than being restricted to a small subset of netbook-specific apps. Which is why the winning distro, EeeXubuntu, best nails down the essence of what makes a netbook distro change a good idea.

It builds on the foundations of Ubuntu’s popularity. Fundamentally, that success is based on reliability – perfect for netbooks, where you want something that will work straightforwardly and without any fuss. EeeXubuntu provides that in spades and of the distributions reviewed here, it was the one that was the least painful to set up and to use.

It’s fairly predictable, but EeeXubuntu does the job well.

Pupeee very nearly beat it to the top spot: it’s a great, small distro, with a lot packed into it. Unfortunately, the WEP problems meant that it just slipped below EeeXubuntu in the practical usability stakes. It also lacks the range of software that EeeXubuntu has available, even if it can cover the basics well. It’s worth noting that Pupeee can easily be run from a Live USB key so you could combine the advantages of both distros; all you need to do is mount your regular home directory after you’ve booted and saved files there. There’s scope for saving data between sessions in a special Pupeee file and it will automatically pick this file up again the next time you boot.

Meanwhile, gOS has far and away the best eye candy of the distros tested here, and the online integration is great if you’re certain that you’re going to have decent network access. It is, however, a little slow and would need streamlining before we’d use it regularly.

Finally, the lack of current packages for Xandros and its dependency on an irritating filesystem setup make it the clear loser of the four, although it does have an initial functionality edge over EeeXubuntu and gOS.

Via TuxRadar

At the time of writing, there are three hundred and twenty three distributions being tracked on distrowatch.com. There’s one called Ehad. And another is called Estrella Roja. Many include the letter ‘X’ in their name, and many feature hand-drawn mascots and disparate communities. Not all are Linux-based, and not all are actively development, but the overwhelming majority are. This is the world of choice, and it’s a world made possible by free and open source software.

Choice is the best thing about Linux. Without choice, we may as well use an operating system where the developers make those choices for us. As we’ve covered in the past, anyone can create a Linux distribution. If it is different enough, it will survive, but most disappear without a trace. There is a flip side to all this choice however, and that’s finding the time to find the perfect distribution for you. You really need to try several before setting on the one you prefer, and downloading, installing and testing a Linux distribution takes a lot of time.

The choice is yours

We’re going to look at the most common usage scenarios and make our own recommendations based on our experience. Each scenario gets it own section, starting with casual users such as those new to Linux and migrants from other operating systems. We move on to more advanced users before ending with Linux distributions tailored for one specific task.

We’ve tried each and every one of the distributions listed, and it’s a testament to the breadth and the quality of distributions available that we’ve not had to repeat a single recommendation once. Each distribution we’ve listed is unique, with its own strengths and weaknesses, and represents the best our community has to offer.

What kind of user are you?

Before you embark on a distro adventure, it’s worth giving some thought to the kind of Linux user you are. The answer isn’t as obvious as you might think, and which distribution you do choose will have an effect on that distribution’s future, and indirectly, that of Linux.

You might have a preference for open source-only distributions, for example, or you may prefer proprietary drivers and codecs to be pre-installed. If you’re choosing a Linux distribution for another person, or for a group of people, that decision is going to be even more important. A typical group of office workers are unlikely to have used Linux before, and your choice is going to affect their perception of the operating system. Those first impressions count.

Software not distributions

But there’s only so much mileage you can get from ploughing through distribution lists and trying live CDs. If you’re choosing a distribution for family or friends, it’s the choice of easily accessible software that’s likely to be the governing factor, and not necessarily the distribution’s design or philosophy.

This is made tricky because most people are aware of the names of commercial applications for proprietary operating systems, but not their open source equivalents, and it’s your job to make sure those applications are available. Your target might be a student, for example, and it’s going to be absolutely essential that the applications and resources they require are available from the distribution you choose for them.

There are distributions tailored specifically for students, but these are nothing more than a clever bundle of relevant applications, rather than an overall design that makes a student’s life any easier. In these cases, a student would be better off sticking with mainstream distribution, and making sure there are enough applications available for the tasks they want to achieve.

If your target is disabled, usability might be your biggest concern. Rather than choosing a distribution for accessibility, it makes more sense to choose the best desktop environment and find a distribution that’s most effective at bundling that desktop environment.

If you’re a KDE fan, for example, it’s not going to matter how great the standard Ubuntu desktop is, you’re going to want a KDE-based distribution, and that doesn’t necessarily mean Kubuntu. You may find that Mandriva offers a better solution, and Xfce users may want to try Linux Mint for the same reason.

Over to you

When it comes to your personal experience, you need to make a note of those applications you rely on, and what you find most effective in your typical working environment. If any of those notes resonate with our own conclusions, you’ve found an improvement in your perfect Linux distribution, and you should give it a go.

Finding which distributions work and which don’t is like mapping a sand dune. You don’t see the movement, but this time next year your favourite distro might not be here. For that reason, it’s always worth finding a couple of systems you like, and if the worst happens you can always jump ship.

Casual users

Over the last few years, the common perception that Linux is an operating system for geeks and computing graduates has dimmed somewhat.Users trying Linux for the first time, or switching from more restrictive and costly operating system, are likely to provide a massive growth area for the Linux user base over the next few years, and many distributions that could be considered suitable.

New users need to have access to all the same applications they’re used to, and that includes proprietary tools such as Adobe Flash and contentious codecs such as MP3. Without these simple concessions, users are likely to be less productive and less likely to stay. It also helps if some of the more esoteric features of the Linux desktop, such as virtual desktops, the command line and package management tools are kept under the radar to start with.

Features like these often cause confusion to new users who are mainly looking for an experience that’s similar and compatible with the one they’re used to.

» For newbies: Ubuntu

Despite some recent criticisms, there’s no doubt that Ubuntu is an excellent Linux distribution. It also helps that Ubuntu has become widely recognised in the popular media, sometimes being used synonymously with the term Linux. There’s a good reason why it has garnered all this attention. It sets out to pull Linux into a shape that ordinary computer users can recognise, and doesn’t require any assumed knowledge.

Thanks to an array of official derivatives Ubuntu has become one of the most widely used distros available, but its real strength, and the place where Ubuntu has had the most impact, is in being the most user-friendly Linux desktop available. It takes an uncompromising approach to usability, even if that means risking the wrath of the open source community by including proprietary drivers.

And hardware compatibility in Ubuntu is exceptional. You can install Ubuntu on to most machines without any difficulty, and there’s a good chance your monitor will be optimally configured and your wireless access point will be discovered. This is where many previous new users may have stumbled, and Ubuntu has raised the bar when it comes to hardware compatibility.

Ubuntu is also consistent. Each year, there’s both a vernal and an autumnal release, bound to a single CD that boots into a workable desktop environment, and each release is supported for either three years or four, depending on whether it qualifies as a ‘long term support (LTS)’ version.

If you’re running a server version of an LTS release, you can expect a total of five years of security updates. Keeping your system up to date with these updates is easy, and ensures your system is always protected from the latest security exploits and bugs.

In theory, your installation can also be updated from one release to the next, but we’ve had only limited success with this procedure. The update will work if you’ve kept to the official packages and reconfigured very little of your desktop. But if you opt to install packages from the internet, or from the unsupported Universe and Multiverse package repositories, it’s usually easier to go for a new installation rather than an upgrade.

After you get the installation out of the way, it’s the choice of the default applications that counts. The standards are included - OpenOffice.org and Firefox - and the file management aspects of the default Gnome desktop are very much toned down when compared with Ubuntu’s forerunners. Ubuntu’s configuration panels keep options to a minimum, and the developers spend a great deal of time getting features such as Gnome’s Network Manager running on a standard installation.

The latest release, 9.04, keeps Ubuntu ahead of the curve, adding super-fast booting and usual selection of package upgrades, including OOo 3.0. As has been proven time and time again, the range, diversity and stability of Ubuntu’s packages are outstanding. Put all of this together and Ubuntu becomes the perfect Linux distribution for converting people who would normally pass on the idea of Linux, which is why it’s our newbie distro of choice.

Also consider: Mepis.

» For OS migrants: Linux Mint

There are many computer users that are moving to Linux because they are becoming dissatisfied with the cost and the lack of freedom in proprietary operating systems. Over the last few years, thanks to the graphical frippery introduced into both Apple’s OS 10.5 and Windows Vista, computer desktops have gone through a visual makeover.

And it’s for this reason that eye candy and a fine attention to detail have governed our choice of migrant Linux distribution, and the winner is Linux Mint. Mint is another distribution built on the strong foundations of Ubuntu. It takes the good points, such as the excellent hardware compatibility and easy installation, and performs a facelift on the weakest points, which is the muddy ambience of the Ubuntu desktop.

Usability has been enhanced by removing the top menu bar and replacing the themes and palette of the original distribution with a tub of choco-mint ice cream. But what makes Mint most effective for a recent convert to Linux is its excellent support for codecs. Most music and video will play without any further requirements, and Adobe Flash and Sun’s Java are installed by default.

Another neat addition is the Mint-only package installer, which sits alongside Ubuntu’s Synaptic. The Mint installer is better, though, as it embeds screenshot, ratings and and user reviews directly into the package list, turning package installation into an adventure. If you have no other option than to run the original Windows application, the Windows emulation layer, Wine, can be installed with simple wave of the installer’s wand.

All this creates a perfect ‘out-of-the-box’ experience. The launch menu has been configured so that the variety of tools and applications on offer, and the way they’re organised into the menu, should feel very familiar. The default desktop doesn’t include any virtual screens, which can confuse the newcomer, and it’s this refined design and attention to detail that makes Mint the perfect candidate for all Linux converts.

Also consider: PCLinuxOS.

» Family friendly: Qimo

When you want to run Linux on the main family computer, there are two important points to consider. The first is that your chosen distribution needs to be easy to use. Most people want to browse the web, chat on instant messenger, listen to some music and type a few simple documents.

If Linux gets in the way of performing those simple tasks, your family are going to ask for XP back. The second point is that your family’s access to the internet needs to be secure, and you need to have some control over what can and can’t be accessed from the computer.

The first point can be addressed by using a distribution specifically designed for younger people, and the best that we’ve recently come across is called ‘Qimo’. It’s a distribution with a focus on young children, with a friendly oversized desktop and colourful engaging artwork. A small toolbar of educational games sits at the bottom of the screen, and children can use these to quickly launch a selection of open source games and educational resources.

Addressing the second point is a little harder. That’s because content filtering is a tricky and technical subject, and not at all in-line with an open, family friendly distribution. You could take any distribution, for example, and use a carefully configured OpenDNS or DansGuardian server to filter contents to the sites that you don’t want your family to have access to.

But there is a distribution that includes this functionality while at the same time remaining open enough for anyone to use, and that’s Ubuntu Christian Edition. Alongside the Bible study aids is a pre-configuration of DansGuardian that will block most offending sites out of the box. It features a graphical interface with parental controls that changes the local proxy and Firefox configurations as well as keeping a log of what’s been read and when. This is exactly what you need for younger members of your family, and thanks to the Christian Edition being built on Ubuntu, you can easily install any other packages you may require.

Also consider: Ubuntu Christian Edition.

Everyday desktops

People get used to working in a certain way and Linux users are often happy to fight tooth-and-nail for the advantages they’ve found in their own working environments. This is why there’s so much choice in desktop Linux distributions, and why even the smallest distributions enjoy significant community support.

Before you choose the perfect distribution, you need to make a list of what you require from that distribution. Stability might be top of your list, for example. Or you may want to forgo that stability for a distro that bundles cutting-edge features and fresh packages.

The breadth of available packages is also important, as is the update schedule for the distribution, and how often you’re going to have to install the newest version. The 6 months release cycle of Ubuntu and Fedora might be too short, for instance, but the 18 months of Debian might be too long.

» Everyday Linux: Fedora

There are some great aspects to Debian - its packages are very stable, the desktop is fine-tuned and familiar, and the breadth of software available in its repositories is second to none. But there are certain aspect to Debian that we feel Fedora does better.

Firstly, Fedora just looks better, despite being built around the same Gnome desktop as Debian. The astronomical theme that accompanies you while you launch the operating system is carried on to the blue desktop, and there’s a distinct feeling that a lot of love has gone into Fedora’s default theme. Secondly, Fedora manages to include OpenOffice.org 3, while Debian is still a revision behind, and Fedora’s version of Firefox keeps the original branding, rather than the confusing rebranding of all things Mozilla insisted on by the Debian developers.

Both desktops take a hard line against including non-free open source software, and we greatly admire this stance. Both desktops prove that a purely open source desktop is just as functional as a hybrid desktop, even if you do have to make certain compromises. We feel that Debian’s compromise of using the vaguely Adobe Flash-compatible Gnash, though admirable, confuses things slightly.

It’s difficult to tell when you go to YouTube, for instance, that the poor performance isn’t a network problem rather than a Gnash problem. Fedora doesn’t even try, but if you do want to install Adobe’s Flash, you only need to download the RPM and click on this file once. A browser restart later, and you’re ready for YouTube.

You’ll find packages split by category, and installation is easy, with the industry-standard RPM format handles dependencies without difficulty. As you would imagine from a distribution that’s so closely related to Red Hat, updates and patches are taken very seriously. A feature we particularly like is that the update system will inform you about the nature of each update, whether it’s a bugfix, a security update or a feature enhancement. The makes you more inclined to allow the updates to proceed, as well as keeping you on top of what is changing in your system.

As with Red Hat Enterprise and Centos 5.2, Fedora includes some bulletproof security packages. It has a firewall enabled by default, and includes a sensible set of rules that you can enable or disable using a firewall configuration window. If you’re particularly worried about security, SELinux can be enabled to lock down any wayward applications.

For every day desktop use, Fedora can’t be beaten. The choice of software is excellent, and we can’t think of anything that’s missing. Fedora’s stance on freedom is a little painful if you need proprietary drivers or MP3 support, but these issues can be worked around. Both the Gnome and KDE desktops look and feel brilliant, and the performance of our Fedora installation is as good as any other tuned Linux distribution.

It’s also a distribution that will have users of other operating systems looking over your shoulder. Fedora might not be the easiest distribution to use, or the one with the largest package repository, but we feel it represents the very best that open source software has to offer.

Also consider: Debian.

» Business: OpenSUSE

If you’re responsible for choosing a Linux distribution to use in an office environment, there are likely to be a few absolute requirements. The first is the inclusion of an office suite and a standard personal information manager, while the second is going to be good security, with interoperability and professional support also high on the wish list.

OpenSUSE offers all four of these. It’s a distribution that’s very close to the development of OpenOffice.org, and it scales extremely well. If you need professional support and training, you can get it from Novell as well as a number of third-party providers.

At the heart of OpenSUSE 11.1 is the word processor, and Novell does an excellent job of integrating OpenOffice.org into whichever desktop you choose (Gnome and KDE are available). Themes and icons look fantastic, and OOo loads quickly and is configured for compatibility with Microsoft Office documents.

A to-do tasks manager is bundled alongside the office suite, and this can be synchronised with Evolution, the standard email application. Pervasive desktop searching is enabled as standard, and Wine is a click away for running any remaining Windows applications you may need to run from the Linux desktop.

As with most modern Linux desktops, anyone who’s used a computer in the last 10 years should feel right at home. OpenSUSE does particularly well by placing the launch menu in the bottom-left of the screen, and not resorting to the top-bar panel of other Gnome desktops. The menu itself is similar to that of Windows Vista, showing recent documents and network places.

As with Fedora, it’s thanks to a related enterprise version of the distribution (SLES) that there are plenty of vendors willing to supply professional applications to the SUSE desktop. This means you shouldn’t have any problems purchasing commercial Exchange server connectivity, for instance, and an upgrade to SLES is available if you need it. Yast, OpenSUSE’s configuration tool, is a sprawling web of windows, but it does enable the beleaguered system administrator to lock down the system for normal users as well as accomplish tasks like remote administration and security updates.

Also consider: gOS.

» Light and fast: Puppy Linux

After you’ve used the diminutive Puppy Linux OS, you quickly realise that all that graphical frippery that accompanies most Linux distributions doesn’t make you any more productive. They make things slightly easier, and slightly prettier, but the cut-down approach taken by Puppy can be just as functional. It’s a tiny distribution, fitting into a tiny 100MB ISO image. This means it can be installed on any cheap old USB disk and used on an old computer.

But unlike many other lightweight distributions, the Puppy desktop covers almost every task you’ll ever need. Photo editing, document writing, listening to music and watching videos can all be accomplished using a low-fat application listed in the main menu, or from the icon on the desktop.

These applications may not be quite as user-friendly, or quite as capable, but they can accomplish 90% of the tasks most people need. And they’ll do it quickly. There’s even wireless networking support, so you can quickly shoe-horn a laptop into providing a quick Linux fix, or maybe squeeze Puppy alongside a standard install on a netbook computer to give yourself a breath of fresh air once in a while.

There are dozens of apps available from the the desktop quick links and the launch menu, and there’s even space for a few games. And because the installation is so small, and the desktop has such modest memory requirements, everything loads almost immediately and is a joy to use. It certainly makes you wonder what all those processor cycles are doing in KDE and Gnome.

While you might enjoy the refinement and eye candy in those desktops, there’s very little you can’t do with Puppy Linux. This is primarily thanks to its use of JWM - Joe’s Window Manager, which is the same window manager used by other lightweight distributions such as Damn Small Linux. Even if you don’t make Puppy your main distribution, it’s the perfect distro for a USB stick install, or to keep handy on an emergency boot disc.

Also consider: Damn Small Linux.

Power users

You can spot a power user by the amount of system configurations they make. It’s the difference between accepting a default, pre-built distribution, adding packages and re-installing with a new release, and building your own working environment that takes you through successive distribution upgrades. Power users know what they need, and they know how to get it.

System administrators, for example, will need a specific suite of tools to help them do their job, and they’ll need those tools without any of the distractions that normally accompany a modern Linux distribution. Programmers and coders will need a fast and streamlined system that provides all the development libraries they need, and keeps them up to date. And if you’re going to use Linux as a server, stability and security are the two main factors determining what you should use.

» Sysadmin: Arch Linux

In the 21st century, there can’t be many Linux distributions left that drop the user into a command line prompt rather than a Gnome or KDE graphical login screen. But this is the approach taken by Arch Linux, a distribution that’s unashamedly built for reconfigurability and gaining geek credentials. It’s a distro for experienced Linux users who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty.

That’s because you’re not going to get a workable configuration out of Arch without editing configuration files and adding the packages you need by hand. This is a good thing, especially for system administrators, as it means that Arch features none of the distractions you’d find on a standard distribution. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with the command line either. Thanks to an exceptional package repository, you can quickly build exactly the system you need - even if that means installing KDE 4.2.

Arch doesn’t make any assumptions about what packages you might want to install. Logging into live CD-based system, you’re invited to run the install script from a specific directory, and installing Arch is like stepping back into 1999. It feels a little like playing an interactive adventure game, and you need to be proficient at both Linux and the command line to make sense of most options.

The base install is a frugal 160MB file that becomes a 390MB installation after you’ve been through the download and configuration process. An optional FTP-based installer is tiny, and offers all the base packages through an FTP server. This is a great option if you need to install Arch on several machines at once, but either way, after installation you’re still going to need to construct your own working environment.

That includes manually partitioning your drive and assigning those partitions to points on your filesystem, configuring the network interface and selecting which standard packages to install, as well as editing the Grub boot menu and making sure it’s placed on your disk’s MBR.

The default installation includes no X Window System package, so while the command-line is supremely capable, most users will want to install a graphical environment of some sort. This brings us to the best thing about Arch, and the reason why it’s so suitable as an administrators - a tool called Pacman. Rather than being an insanely addictive gobbling game, Pacman is Arch’s package manager, and was developed by the the creator of Arch Linux.

Pacman can resolve dependencies automatically, and install packages with a single command. You can install just about anything using just a few key strokes. X is a single line away, as are both Gnome and KDE, and any number of other window managers, and another command will keep all packages synchronised with those on the server, updating those that are necessary.

From the solid foundation of Arch’s base installation, you can build an administrator’s toolkit that will only include the applications and the tools for your working environment. This will save system resources on the machine, and your mental resources when you need to get a job done quickly. Arch includes all the packages you’ll ever need, especially when it comes to useful command line tools you’ll find more effective at system administration.

Also consider: Slackware.

» Coder: Mandriva

Finding a distro to fit your programming requirements is one of the toughest challenges for a Linux user. That’s because there are so many ways to code. Developing websites using PHP and MySQL might be a task suited to a server-orientated distribution, for example.

If you prefer scripting languages like Perl or Python you’re better off using your standard desktop, as these languages are now so common that any one distribution is as good as another, while professional developers using an IDE like JBuilder will find that Red Hat Enterprise Linux is often the only distribution supported by the vendor.

If you favour development for one desktop over another, it obviously makes sense to choose a distribution that caters specifically for that desktop. Pre-release versions of Ubuntu and Kubuntu are typically excellent at adding the latest untested releases into their working branches, and you can always upgrade from one version to the next.

This might be the best way to get hold of what could soon be considered the best integrated development environment on a Linux platform: the just-released Qt Creator application (you can read our Qt Creator here), which is part of the new LGPL Qt 4.5. It can be downloaded and installed on a Linux desktop without too much difficulty, but there’s no doubt that new distributions will start to include Qt Creator packages by default.

In the past, distributions like Gentoo have been a good choice for software developers. As part of the installation, the user builds everything from the source code, and as a result, the header files and development libraries required for programming are already installed on the system. But Gentoo has had a couple of turbulent years, and this means that now isn’t the ideal time to embark on an adventure with Gentoo.

Instead, you need to find a distribution that makes getting hold of those development libraries as easy as possible. Which is why we’ve gone for Mandriva. Not only does it include a working development environment from the first boot, the development libraries themselves are easy to find and install through the package manager. Gnome, KDE and Xfce developers are well catered for, and the distribution includes Java.

Also consider: Gentoo.

» Server: CentOS

Linux is one of the best choices of operating system when it comes to running a server, and it’s use in this field is a runaway success. But not all Linuxes are built equally. Applications and packages running on desktop-based distributions don’t have the same level of scrutiny you find with a distribution built for a server room, which in many cases won’t even include a desktop environment in an effort to reduce potential problems.

For this reason, large-scale, commercially driven distributions sold with comprehensive support packages - such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) - are the ideal solution for businesses that can afford the support packages and are large enough to benefit from them. But thanks to the nature of open source, those paid-for distributions need to release the source code to their binary packages.

And that means anyone can pick up the source code and build themselves an enterprise-ready distribution. That’s exactly what the CentOS project does. It takes the source code from each RHEL release, and builds this into a freely redistributable Linux distribution that aims to be 100% binary compatible with the RHEL release.

That means you can install and use commercial packages designed for RHEL, but it also means you get the same high level of security and integrity that Red Hat’s direct customers enjoy. This makes CentOS the perfect choice of operating system for running a server on a restrictive budget.

Like RHEL, CentOS is based on a Gnome desktop, and includes access to many of the same applications, servers and utilities you can find with any standard distribution. If you’ve used a recent Fedora release, you’ll feel right at home. Security features include an excellent firewall and SELinux, a policy enforcement mechanism that prevents wayward applications from ever causing security problems, even if they do happen to be compromised or broken. There are also plenty of updates, and there’s a large community who are willing to help. If you ever do need professional-level support, the transition from CentOS to RHEL is seamless.

Also consider: Ubuntu Server Edition.

Lifestyle

When a distribution needs to be very specific, it will only attract a specific group of users with a specific requirement. If that requirement is too narrow, it’s likely that the distribution won’t be of much use to other people without the same interest.

Music production is a good example. Audio processing on the Linux platform requires several kernel modifications that can compromise its usefulness as a general desktop. These modifications are required to keep the system responsive and audio latency low, but they can add to the CPU overhead of your system, and in some cases, make it unstable. They benefit from specifically tailored Linux distributions, as can gamers or anybody with specific needs. The way distributions can be remixed and re-spun like this means that whatever trends emerge, Linux will be able to adapt and quickly take advantage.

» Music Production: 64 Studio

Open source software development has created some of the best music production software available. The only real difference between this software and the commercial packages available for OS X and Windows is that open source music software can be harder to install and use. The main problem is something called audio latency. This is the delay between a sound entering your computer (or being generated in software), and the time it takes for the sound to appear in your headphones or speakers.

Getting this latency as low as possible is the key to a finely tuned recording system, and it’s what most music-based Linux distributions spend most of the time getting right. And the distribution that gets this more right than the competition is 64 Studio.

64 Studio provides a complete audio production environment, as well as all the kernel and system tweaks to optimise your hardware. It has been designed to create a professional setup that’s capable of recording, mixing and mastering many simultaneous tracks of audio.

Installation is straightforward, but you don’t get any help after you first see the mostly blank Gnome desktop. Fortunately, 64 Studio has already configured the trickiest part of the system, and that’s the Jack audio layer that’s already running in the background. Jack is the reason why Linux audio is so powerful, but it’s also half the reason why it appears so complicated.

Jack sits between your audio driver and any Jack-compatible music applications. It handles audio routing and could be considered analogous with a large, infinitely expandable mixing console. Jack can be a complete pain to get running, but if you click on the launch menu and select ‘Jack Control’ from the Sound & Video menu, the small window that appears will include the word ‘Active’ in its pretend LCD status panel. That means that Jack is working, and you can look at the current connections by clicking on the ‘Connect’ button.

The Sound & Video menu is crammed full synths, an oscilloscope, guitar and studio effects, an audio sampler, a turntable emulator and several methods for monitoring audio. But the two most important entries are Rosegarden and Ardour. These are the open source equivalents of Cubase and Pro Tools in the commercial world, and they’re both exceptional applications for composing and recording music.

Rosegarden is great for working with MIDI and composition with real and virtual synthesizers, while Ardour lacks the MIDI support but allows for multi-track recording, mixing and mastering, making it a better choice for recording a band or a podcast, for example. When you’ve created your masterpiece, maximise its sound and volume using the Jamin application, trim the final audio files using the Audacity wave editor, and drop the resulting WAV files it creates into the Gnome CD Master application from the Sound & Video menu.

All of these applications are part of the default 64 Studio desktop, and you can see that this distribution covers everything from the recording, and sound generation part of a project, through the editing and mastering to the final CD burning. We can’t think of any other system that provides anywhere near the same amount of functionality for the zero cost.

Also consider: Ubuntu Studio.

» Gamers: Live.linux-gamers

If you live for gaming, Linux isn’t the best choice of platform. Most of the major releases don’t offer Linux versions, and there’s little third-party hardware support for controllers. But most of us love playing games, and switching to Linux doesn’t mean you have to abandon this wonderful time waster. From first-rate first-person shooters to brain games and real-time strategy, there’s an open source game for every mindset.

Many of these games are free, but there are also a few independent games developers releasing some excellent paid-for titles. See our World of Goo review and look some titles from Introversion for some idea of what’s out there.

Most distributions will include a few games in a standard installation, and most will let you install any number of other games using the package manager. But most games are quite large, and you’ll find your hard drive quickly filling up. We’ve found that the best solution is to boot into a live distribution specifically tailored for games, and the best we’ve come across is called Live.linux-gamers.net. It contains a DVD’s worth of data and includes almost anything worth playing, along with the proprietary graphics cards drivers to ensure maximum performance from your hardware.

Our favourite titles include Termulous and Nexuiz, which are FPSes built in the style of Quake III Arena. Astro-Menace is our favourite shooter, and Neverball seems to improve on the timeless gameplay from Marble Madness. Strategists will enjoy Glest and Bos Wars, and there really is something for everyone. If you really must have the latest games releases on your Linux desktop, then there is another option - or rather two.

There are two companies that sell a commercial version of Wine, the Windows compatibility layer, specifically tweaked for running the latest Windows games. These two applications are called CrossOver Games and Cedega, and both claim to run titles such as Spore, World of Warcraft and many Steam titles. Packages are available for most popular distributions, and in our experience they work quite well.

Even without those commercial alternatives, you may find that a vanilla Wine installation works well for older games, as its compatibility has been going from strength to strength thanks to the company behind CrossOver farming its fixes back into the main development tree.

Also consider: Ultimate Edition.

» Multimedia: Mythbuntu

We’ve written about MythTV before, such as our guide to MythTV for people who want to get started with Mythbuntu. It can play your music and movies, as well as letting you browse your photos and the internet. It can be a pain to install, and it requires complete control of a machine. But Mythbuntu, a heavily customised version of Ubuntu, goes a long way to making this as easy as possible. It features its own installation routine, and a customised configuration tool that steps you through the difficult MythTV configuration.

The end result is that you have a working system within an hour or so, rather than the weekend of work it would have taken before Mythbuntu. The installation includes everything you need to get started, and bundles the most common MythTV plugins for media playback. You can even use the installation disc as a live CD in a spare machine, turning it into a MythTV client on the network for ad-hoc TV and movie watching. Even without a MythTV system on the network, you can still use the disc for basic multimedia playback, as it operates as a standard Ubuntu disc with a few additional packages.

An alternative to Mythbuntu is LinuxMCE, which attempts to provide for Linux what the Multimedia edition of Windows has done for Microsoft - a standard and visible platform for connecting to a television and music system. LinuxMCE has the advantage of not being built on MythTV, immediately halving its complexity.

Using custom-built and standalone open source packages, LinuxMCE looks much better on the average television. The GUI is accelerated through OpenGL, and there are transitions between each playback mode. It all looks much better than Mythbuntu. But the reason why we can’t fully recommend this distribution is that updates have been quiet, and while a new beta was released at the end of last year, it’s unclear when a new version might appear.

Until then, we think it’s easier to stick with Mythbuntu if you’re after a multimedia distribution for your home entertainment system. But if you want a slick user interface without the hassle of configuring MythTV, LinuxMCE is worth a look.

Also consider: LinuxMCE.

Cuba recently launched its own answer to Windows this week, or, in the bigger picture, what the Cubans are calling “US Hegemony.” Nova, the new open source OS being offered by the Cuban government, is being made to boot out US-based Microsoft products.

 

The government of Cuba, following in a round-about way the footsteps of Russia and China, wishes to oust Microsoft products for several reasons, the most prominent of those being that Microsoft is US-based and they therefore fear that US security agencies have access to Microsoft code, also that, due to the embargo by the US, Microsoft software is hard to come by legally and difficult to update.

Hector Rodriguez, dean of the School of Free Software at the University of Information Sciences in Cuba, said that several government ministries as well as the universities have switched to the Linux platform, but there has been some struggle with other government sectors that are worried that the operating system will not be compatible with necessary and unique software.

He also said that he expects half of the computers on the island to be running Nova within five years, as well as:

Also:

The Cuban people apparently need independence from Microsoft and the world at large, and just what Rodriguez means by “soveriegnty…” well, using one’s creativity, that could mean anything from having a superior system to Windows to taking over the world by nuclear force; I’m personally rooting for the former.

As a journalist I need to explore sections of the internet world and find out what works and what doesn’t. Such investigations bring up new information that many aren’t familiar with; on this occasion I interviewed one of my business associates who had some good news?�

Over one year there is a saving of $840 on your website hosting costs.

Richard Martin is an experienced businessman and is attempting to focus on bringing some of his ‘offline businesses’ onto the internet. The cost in doing so has restricted his progress, but in conversation, he told me of new technology that many are missing out on?�

?� He said, “First and foremost I am guilty?� I know doubt have followed the same path as many are doing now. I have gradually grown from one website to over 10. Without knowing too much about the internet I foolishly hosted every new website either on a different hosting provider or with another account on the current provider and paid separately for each account.

So perhaps if I was paying $8 per month x 10 = $80, I paid this for some 18 months as I thought it was a necessary procedure. Until I understood how hosting providers work.

I worked with one hosting provider from my early days in 2001 and would have suggested them to everyone as I thought they were excellent. Good customer service, pretty much reliable and my websites were seen on the internet. No qualms, no problems and no hesitations.

Everything was hunky dory and I accepted the $80 per month for all my sites. Then when I read more I found that you can now find hosting providers that allow multiple websites in one account. Today most multiple providers suggest 10 websites for one monthly fee. Yet even better news is that because of competition some hosting providers allow unlimited websites. Initially their costing was that little bit higher, but even that has come down to compete with the mainstream providers.

So?� Now I’m smiling all the way to the bank as my $80 per month has been reduced to just $7.95, for ALL of my websites. Isn’t competition a beautiful thing?� All my websites are hosted with a reliable hosting provider.

If you are using links between your sites then using one hosting provider may affect their linking strength, but when you’re saving money that out weighs this benefit.

Beyond all the money saving possibilities this particular hosting provider claims to be totally ‘green’ and works of the power of the sun and wind. Not only am I getting a good deal, am I also being green…”

Apart from saving you loads of money these providers also offer Free Domains, Free Software, Massive Web space, Emails, Blogs & More.

May I say Richard was rather enthusiastic about this conversation as his budget would remain at $80 for servicing his websites, but the remaining $72 would be spent on traffic improvements. I could see he was pleased.

So Richard which is the Hosting Provider you are referring to? Richard said, “Go to this link:http://www.globaltop5.com/web-hosting.html

I hope this information is helpful.

About the Author

Mr. P. Booker Senior Internet Advisor and Journalist This week?�s topic relates to this website: Web Hosting

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[Via Internet Articles At Isnare.com]

The Benefits of Professional Web Hosting

Here is where I will explain to you the benefits of professional web hosting. The web hosting marketplace is extremely competitive where web hosting providers fight for survival, but ultimately in the long run, only the real web hosting professionals survive. This is a fact. And here are eight benefits of professional web hosting:

Benefit #1: A professional web host is usually 100% dedicated *Only* to web hosting. That is their sole business interest and the professionals will be focused strictly on this service. This ensures that the service will be high quality when a company can solely focus on supplying web hosting.

Benefit #2: Professionals always keep up with the latest in the web hosting industry. The web hosting technology is rapidly changing almost everyday. And If your web hosting provider supports you with the latest technology, you have an edge over your competitors by incorporating the best features.

Benefit #3: Professionals will never oversell disk space or bandwidth. Most of the web hosting plans have gone unlimited, so its a moot point. Unlimited Web Hosting is the way of the future. Web Hosting professionals cannot be interested in the short term gains. They have to focus long-term. Web Hosting Professionals offer reliable and quality service and pride themselves on great customer service.

Benefit #4: When it comes to technical support no one can beat a true professional with a technology background. Most web hosting companies provide you with 24/7 support and usually include phone and email. In addition, most web hosts provide an online knowledgebase, forum, faqs, etc….

Benefit #5: Professional hosts have web hosting plans tailored to suit everyone’s requirements. They understand the needs of their clients better than the average person. They keeping coming up with fresh new plans and features and also focus on an aggressive price point with many promotions during the calendar year. The more choice made available to you, the better. Some web hosts even go to the extent of providing customised plans for the individual.

Benefit #6: Usually a professional web host will have been in the hosting world for some time with many years of experience. And this could prove vital and useful if you need expert help in resolving technical issues. Experience always comes in hand during a crisis.

Benefit #7: Reasonable pricing. A price which balances properly with the features and facilities offered is a key benefit while dealing with professionals. In a competitive marketplace with several web hosting providers competing for your business, you will get great value for your money. If you end up paying a high cost for relatively low quality service, well then there are many services out there that will cater to your web hosting needs.

Benefit #8: Associating with a professional also gives you a professional image even if you are a newcomer to this business. Run your website as a business because you are judged by the company you keep and your professional image. It also inspires you to maintain similar attitude towards your customers.

So keep the above benefits in mind, and remember if you benefit, your business or website will run more efficiently.

About the Author

Russell Blanc manages an online resource and web hosting portal at http://www.iwebhostingplans.com

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[Via Internet Articles At Isnare.com]

Nearly everyone has heard of rumors pertaining to taking online surveys for cash at one time or another. While some rumors are true, others are just plain stupid and you need to avoid these like the plague.

When you want to take online surveys for cash, there are bound to be rumors and objections that you will come up against when deciding on this type of structure for making money online. There are many different examples coming up that you have already heard and even some that you may not have. Either way, most of the rumors pertaining to this type of cash enterprise need to be addressed to separate fact from fiction in this case of myth versus truth. Here we go with the 4 rumors NOT to be believed.

Rumor Number 1: You Can?�t Make Money Doing This Type Of Thing!

One of the easiest ways to make certain that you will not take online surveys for cash is to listen to this vicious rumor and opinion. There is no truth to this particular rumor, as it has been proved beyond doubt that you can indeed make money with this type of process. It just takes time, that is all. Time and a bit of patience that some of us sometimes don?�t have in our ?�I want it now?� world.

Rumor Number 2: These Companies Are All Rip Off Artists!

Another nasty rumor about taking online surveys for cash is that all companies that offer this service rip off people, especially their panelists. While there are those that are of ill repute, the majority of these companies are legitimate. Here is a way that you can check for this. Most companies have a link to or are members of the Better Business Bureau. You will be able to get information from them about their reliability. Those that don?�t have that, you better watch out for those!

Rumor Number 3: They Don?�t Pay You Enough Per Survey

Looking at some online surveys for cash, I could see where that little rumor would rear its ugly head. The payout sometimes is a bit small, but they do compensate you for your time spent. Another version of this rumor is that all they give you are crappy gifts, not money. In some cases, that could be true to certain people?�s viewpoint. However, some people are happy with gift cards that allow you to purchase things from online stores. That is where that nasty little bug came from. Sounds like a case of sour grapes to me. But I digress.

Rumor Number 4: These Are A Waste Of Time.

Online surveys for cash will sometimes be misconstrued as a time waster. Don?�t let that get to you. Most people who say that are jealous, but can?�t see the forest for the trees and may be uncertain as to how to make money doing these little gems. Sometimes these people really don?�t understand how you can make money doing this, so take that with a grain of salt. They don?�t understand this or this process.

About the Author

Having heard all the rumors and scuttlebutt about taking Online Survey For Cash, why don?�t you check out this web page for more information about these things by going to http://www.goodinternetmoney.com/Make-Money-Taking-Survey.php?

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[Via Internet Articles At Isnare.com]

Since the inception of ecard technology in 1995, there has been tremendous growth in the number of birthday ecards being sent via the Internet.

The greeting card business has undergone drastic changes with the explosion of birthday ecards. Millions of these cards are sent through emails every month. Perhaps the one main factor in the explosion of this business is the ease with which you can send and receive a birthday greeting. You don?�t have to limit yourself to simply sending an ordinary email message to say ?�Happy Birthday?�. You can choose animated graphics, music and sound to accompany your birthday greeting and personalize both the card and the message to match the recipient.

There are numerous online sites offering a staggering range of birthday ecards and even Valentines ecards (http://www.care2.com/send/catvalentine1.html) to choose from. The only requirements are that you have an Internet connection and an email address and that the person to whom you wish to send the birthday greeting has an email address.

Once you find the provider and the ecard you want, the provider will take charge of sending the card for you. Once the recipient receives the email containing the card, there is a link for that person to use to open the card. The provider will also include a link to the site so that person can get started sending ecards to friends and family for birthdays and other occasions.

You don?�t have to worry that your birthday ecard will arrive after the date has passed. The ecards are delivered instantly and there are some sites on which you can select the delivery date, which means you can search for the perfect card in advance and make sure it will be delivered on the date of the birthday.

Most of the free sites for these cards only allow you to add a personalized message on top of the page containing the graphics or within the graphics themselves. If you want the recipient to hear a personalized message being read, it is very likely you will have to pay for using this type of service. However, the cost is minimal compared to the convenience of not having to shop for a card and send it by regular mail.

Birthday ecards (http://www.care2.com/send/birthday_cards.html) are available in foreign languages as well. If you have a friend living in another country where the official language is not English, or if the person?�s native language is not English, you will really make this person?�s day by sending a birthday card in his/her mother tongue.

You can also choose birthday ecards that have a special significance related to a country of origin, such as one that contains the symbols of that country. This shows the recipient that even though you are sending the card through email you did take the time to search for the perfect birthday card.

Choose character traits that match the personality of the recipient of the birthday ecard you want to send. These cards often do not have a personalized message, but the graphics of the character displayed on the ecard says more than you could ever express in words.

You don`t have to pop out to buy a card on your lunch break or make sure you get to the post office in time for it to arrive on the day of the birthday. You can search at any time of the day or night from your own computer and find exactly what you want when you use birthday ecards. The disadvantage is that the recipient will not be able to save the ecard to his/her computer to show your thoughtfulness to others.

About the Author

Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in entertainment, leisure, and internet marketing. For a great variety of Valentines ecards and birthday ecards, please visit http://www.care2.com/.

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Windows hosting makes use of Microsoft?�s Windows software for the web hosting server for your websites and give you environment to run ASP ASP dot net sort of web application with power of windows server environment. Microsoft Windows and Linux are the two most widely used web hosting platforms all over the world. In comparison to Linux hosting, Windows hosting allows a better user friendly interface with Microsoft?�s own products and services. Windows hosting supports all the popular windows web services used in web development, allowing an individual to make a website or web application in the language of one?�s preference.

Sometime new webmasters get confused that which one web hosting to choose from the variety of two choices available in market such as Windows Hosting & Linux Hosting for such users I highly recommend Windows Hosting to choose reason being is this that web hosting providers today in market most of they are offering PHP and MySQL sort of Linux server features in their web hosting plans of Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 server. As they install PHP and MySQL as a add-on on their server thus in this manner you get a few most important features of Linux servers also within your same package of windows hosting without paying extra for Linux web hosting package.

Using Windows Hosting is more users friendly and carries more benefits that are the reason why it is so widely used these days. Each operating system has its own unique features, and this brings their own advantages and disadvantages. Linux platforms do not offer support for the dot NET technologies, which includes ASP dot net. If you have already built a website using Microsoft dot NET technologies then you may know the benefits of using this service, UNIX is an open source which means that the operating system does not include any charges. If you are planning to design a website with Microsoft FrontPage or a web application using Active Server Pages (ASP) or any of the Microsoft application then Windows hosting is the solution that you should go for.

It is said that Windows hosting are often slower than UNIX hosting in performance but it proves a very cost effective choice from using hardware efficiently whereas Linux hosting is incredibly efficient and gives you some of the cheap hosting options available but does not support applications like ASP or ASP dot Net applications which use windows platform to run.

These web hosts can also be used as data center space and inter connectivity service for the Internet as web hosting is done in a safe and secure manner with a number of anti spam filtering your data is always in secure hands or rather you can say on secure servers. Customers get a quick account setup and they can easily administer there hosting account with the control panel provided by the hosting provider which is a traditional way of the control panel. Sometime those websites which are hosted on shared server experience some problems than from those websites which are placed on a dedicated web server as the result of higher volumes of traffic cannot be controlled or managed by these types of servers.

About the Author

Anand is a web developer for Web Hosting India & Web Hosting in India visit: http://hosting.b4uindia.com/

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Viral marketing is definitely a powerful Internet phenomenon. However, it can be harnessed to help you make money with AdSense in at least three unique ways.

Most people who have more than a passing knowledge of Web 2.0 technology understand the magic of viral marketing very well. What they may not know, however, is how to harness that immense power in order to make money with AdSense. Here are some suggestions.

Use Your Email

One of the cleverest uses of viral marketing has always been the Hotmail example. Users of the free email service had messages asking recipients to sign up for accounts at hotmail. As a result, their sign-up message would be spread to millions and millions of people all around the world. The result was an increase in registered hotmail users and indisputable proof that viral marketing could be a powerful too.

If you want to make money with AdSense, you can do something similar. Create some type of site that requires registration and use this for your AdSense ads. For example, you might have people register to receive something for free, such as a newsletter subscription or a free ebook. Mention the site in the signature of every one of your emails. When people go to register, they will be on the same page as your AdSense ads. That?�s one way to make money with AdSense.

Use YouTube

YouTube has become one of the biggest phenomena to hit the Internet ever. It?�s also a great tool for viral marketing because those great videos can be spread and shared with millions of people quickly and easily. Plus, most people don?�t consider receiving a YouTube link to be spam (since they are normally sent by people who know them) so it?�s more likely to be viewed than other types of links.

To make money with AdSense this way, create a fun and creative video that is going to capture the attention of your audience but which may also be relevant to whatever your site is about. Put the spot on YouTube and incorporate your URL into the clip with a message such as ?�To see more?� or ?�For more information on this clip.?�

Use Your Friends

Social networking has also really taken off in recent years. If you want to make money with AdSense, you can use this trend to your benefit as well. Most social networking sites have a way of compiling your friends. While some of these people may be legitimate acquaintances, the rest probably are not.

Put together some type of email message that would be appealing to a large number of the friends. Maybe the email could direct them to a fun site full of quizzes or movie trivia. Then you have that material on your website along with your AdSense ads. As a result, your site gets more traffic and many of those visitors will be likely to click on the ads to earn you revenue.

Other Tips

No matter which of the viral marketing idea you use above to make money with AdSense, be sure to test it carefully first to make sure it will work as you desire.

About the Author

You can start using viral marketing to Make Money With Adsense today by visiting this website at http://www.goodinternetmoney.com/Learn-How-To-Make-Money-With-Joel-Comm-Adsense-Secrets-4-0.php to learn more.

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There?�s been a shift in consumer buying patterns over the last several months when it comes to internet shopping. Several e-retailers are beginning to see people shopping online for more ?�everyday?� items ?� this as opposed to the standard Web fare of music downloads, specialty items, auction items, gifts, etc.

The logical extension of this shift is that the amount of goods and services purchased via the internet is going to grow. In the last two months of 2007 retail spending online using a credit card ?� aided by the holiday shopping season — topped the $25 billion mark.

All of this points to the absolute necessity of anyone with a Web store offering its customers credit card services if they want to compete in the virtual marketplace in the months and years ahead.

The merchant services companies, who provide the avenue for e-retailers to accept credit card payments, have done their part by making the process more streamlined than ever. Most of the major companies now have a simple online application that Web merchants can fill out in the same amount of time it takes to secure a domain name. And some applicants can have their card processing services operative with 24 hours of acceptance.

And while consumers do have concerns about the security of online transactions, at the same time they have a growing discomfort when it comes to dealing with a Web-based retail entity that doesn?�t not give them the option to pay buy credit card. Their typical reaction is that there must be something ?�wrong?� with any e-store that doesn?�t offer the option of charge cards, whether they plan to use their plastic or not.

Plus, many want the buyer-protection packages that come with a majority of credit card purchases. This takes the anxiety out of online shopping ?� that is, the unease they feel because they are paying for something they won?�t actually have in hand until days after the purchase.

Another factor that should spur e-stores toward offering credit card services is the next generation of young adult professional consumers. Commonly referred to as Generation Y, most of these consumers are in college right now but are already facile with the use of shopping via the ?�net and using a credit card.

The logical extension is that as they transition out of college and into the workforce ?� with the accompanying increase in their disposable income ?� they will continue to use the internet as a shopping venue, only with increased buying power and a more comprehensive shopping list. This maturing of their buying habits and abilities will, as a group, continue to grow as they move up during their professional life spans. Not to mention the generations that will follow.

The cumulative conclusion is that the consumer use of credit cards to handle their online shopping is only going to increase, as will their desire to shop for more mainstream fare. As such, e-business owners that want to profitably ride this wave need to make sure their merchant services needs are taken care of today.

About the Author

Jim Osterman is a Web content developer with http://www.CardAccept.com. http://CardAccept.com offers a host of credit card services for Web-based companies wanting to offer the convenience of merchant services.

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