READICTIVE

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal)

2012-07-16T03:13:00.003-07:00

Desktop CD

The desktop CD allows you to try Ubuntu without changing your computer at all, and at your option to install it permanently later. This type of CD is what most people will want to use. You will need at least 384MiB of RAM to install from this CD.

There are two images available, each for a different type of computer:

PC (Intel x86) desktop CD: For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows, as well as newer Apple Macintosh systems based on Intel processors. Choose this if you are at all unsure.
64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop CD: Choose this to take full advantage of computers based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g., Athlon64, Opteron, EM64T Xeon, Core 2). If you have a non-64-bit processor made by AMD, or if you need full support for 32-bit code, use the Intel x86 images instead.

Server install CD

The server install CD allows you to install Ubuntu permanently on a computer for use as a server. It will not install a graphical user interface.

There are two images available, each for a different type of computer:

PC (Intel x86) server install CD: For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows, as well as newer Apple Macintosh systems based on Intel processors. Choose this if you are at all unsure.
64-bit PC (AMD64) server install CD: Choose this to take full advantage of computers based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g., Athlon64, Opteron, EM64T Xeon, Core 2). If you have a non-64-bit processor made by AMD, or if you need full support for 32-bit code, use the Intel x86 images instead.

Alternate install CD

The alternate install CD allows you to perform certain specialist installations of Ubuntu. It provides for the following situations:

setting up automated deployments;
upgrading from older installations without network access;
LVM and/or RAID partitioning;
installs on systems with less than about 256MiB of RAM (although note that low-memory systems may not be able to run a full desktop environment reasonably).

In the event that you encounter a bug using the alternate installer, please file a bug on the debian-installer package.

There are two images available, each for a different type of computer:

PC (Intel x86) alternate install CD: For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows, as well as newer Apple Macintosh systems based on Intel processors. Choose this if you are at all unsure.
64-bit PC (AMD64) alternate install CD: Choose this to take full advantage of computers based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g., Athlon64, Opteron, EM64T Xeon, Core 2). If you have a non-64-bit processor made by AMD, or if you need full support for 32-bit code, use the Intel x86 images instead.

Other information : here

Windows 8 Release Preview

2012-07-09T08:16:00.004-07:00

It's Windows reimagined and reinvented from a solid core of Windows 7 speed and reliability. It's an all-new touch interface. It's a new Windows for new devices. And it's easy to try now—whether you're installing it for the first time, or moving from Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Windows 8 Release Preview Setup will check to see if your PC can run Windows 8 Release Preview and select the right download. Setup also features a compatibility report and upgrade assistance. Make sure your devices are connected to your PC and turned on before you run Setup. Built-in tools for creating an ISO or bootable flash drive are available for some previous versions of Windows (excluding Windows XP and earlier). You can find system requirements and additional information in the FAQ and in the links on this page. Note before you download: Windows 8 Release Preview is prerelease software that may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software.

System Requirements

Windows 8 Release Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Additional requirements to use certain features:

To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.
Internet access (ISP fees might apply)

Get it NOW!!

64-bit (x64) - Download (3.3 GB)

32-bit (x86) - Download (2.5 GB)

Product Key: TK8TP-9JN6P-7X7WW-RFFTV-B7QPF

Pinguy OS 11.04.1

2012-07-08T08:57:00.002-07:00

Pinguy OS an out-of-the-box working operating system for everyone, not just geeks

This OS is for people that have never used Linux before or for people that just want an out-of-the-box working OS without doing all the tweaks and enhancements that everyone seems to do when installing a fresh copy of Ubuntu or other Linux based Distro's.

Pinguy OS (32-Bit)
Download 11.04.1 i686 1.6 GB [ISO]

Pinguy OS (64-Bit)
Download 11.04.1 x86-64 1.7 GB [ISO]

Mac vs. PC gap is the narrowest since '90s

2012-07-08T08:53:00.003-07:00

Aside from the iconic (and sadly discontinued) TV ads, the "I'm a Mac" vs. "I'm a PC" battle has never been a particularly close one, at least in terms of sheer numbers. To put it bluntly, Apple gets creamed.

But a leading tech analyst has put together a graphic showing that the ratio of Windows-based computers to Macs has tightened dramatically and is closer than it has been in a decade and a half.

Analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco has been following the Mac-PC war for years and recently crunched the numbers to show that, in 2011, Microsoft's PC desktops and laptops outsold Apple's Macs by a less-than 20-to-1 ratio.

Which, sure, is still lopsided. But it's the lowest margin since 1996 and is roughly the same as 1985, shortly after the Mac was first released. And it's significantly tighter than in 2004, the PC's high-water mark, when it was outselling Macs by a ratio approaching 60-to-1.

Factor in mobile gadgets like smartphones and tablets, where Apple has so far outshined Microsoft (though the Windows-makers hope to change that with the new Surface tablet) and you've got a playing field that, if not level, is certainly less tilted than it used to be.

The shift, Dediu wrote Wednesday, began in earnest in 2004.

"Although PC volumes continued to grow, they did so more slowly and the Mac grew faster," he said in a blog post. "What coincided with this was the emergence of portable computing. The MacBook became easily differentiable as a "better" laptop. It was not faster, did not have more storage or any key metrics being used to sell PCs. It was just better as an integrated product."

That's been the biggest shift since the mid-90s, Dediu writes, when the success of Windows '95 gave a similar boost to Microsoft. The PC advantage steadily climbed from 1995 to 2004, dipping only once in a 10-year span.

When iPhones, iPads and other mobile devices are factored in, Microsoft's advantage sits at about 2-to-1, Dediu said, and the two could break even within the next two years.

It's unclear how much he factored in Windows 8, Microsoft's new operating system that will run on both PCs and portable devices with the goal of marrying them together into a seamless computing experience. But Dediu says that Microsoft's evaporating lead could be bad news for the software company.

"The consequences are dire for Microsoft," he wrote. "The wiping out of any platform advantage around Windows will render it vulnerable to direct competition. This is not something it had to worry about before.

"Windows will have to compete not only for users, but for developer talent, investment by enterprises and the implicit goodwill it has had for more than a decade."

source: CNN

Internet blackout for Monday

2012-07-08T08:39:00.004-07:00

Hundreds of thousands of Internet users whose computers are infected with a particularly nasty virus will be unable to access the Web starting on Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will shut down Internet servers that it temporarily set up to support those affected by malicious software, called DNSChanger. Turning off those servers will knock all those still infected offline.

Over the past five years, a group of six Estonian cybercriminals infected about 4 million computers around the world with DNSChanger. The malware redirected infected users' Web searches to spoofed sites with malicious advertisements.

In November 2011, the FBI and some overseas partners arrested those responsible, commandeered their servers, and attempted to warn those affected to get rid of the virus.

The FBI did not immediately take down the rogue servers, as infected computers would have lost Internet access, an FBI spokesman said.

To remedy the problem, the FBI had the nonprofit Internet Systems Consortium set up temporary servers. That way, computer owners would have time to get rid of their malware.

The servers were supposed to be shut down in March, but hundreds of thousands remained infected. Nearly 304,000 computers worldwide (about 70,000 in the United States) still had the virus in mid-June, according to the FBI's latest report. That's a large number, but it's a very small subset of the 1.6 billion PCs worldwide, of which an estimated 339 million are in the United States.

Still, the FBI decided to give people even more time to check for the malware, extending the deadline until July. The agency now says the time has come to cut the cord, and the emergency servers will be shut down on Monday.

Though the FBI tried to send notifications to those infected, it could not identify all of them, a spokesman said.

To help the users still infected, the agency laid out a step-by-step plan on how to check to see if your computer has the virus.

How did this all happen?

The servers the cybercriminals set up redirected search traffic to their own rogue servers, bypassing Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Bing or other search engines' servers. Users would be shown fake search results that sent them to spoofed websites with manipulated online ads.
Because of the Internet ...

For example, when a user searched for Netflix (NFLX) and clicked on the fake search result, he or she would instead be redirected to an unrelated website called "BudgetMatch." If a user searched for ESPN and clicked through, DNSChanger would replace Dr. Pepper (DPS, Fortune 500) 10 ads on ESPN's website with an ad for a timeshare business.

The fraudsters made $14 million through those illegal ads, the FBI said.

The malware also prevented users from updating their operating systems or anti-virus software, which may have detected the virus.

Facebook and Google joined the awareness efforts by alerting users whose devices appear to be infected. Both sites display warnings and provide links to help get rid of the malware.

source: CNN

aLinux 14.0

2012-07-08T08:35:00.001-07:00

Inspiring Operating System replaces Windows 7, Vista, XP and Mac OS X. (Are you tired of slow internet browsing), nasty viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits, dialers, spyware, and malware?. If so, make an intelligent move and get a newbie friendly free Linux Operating System today.

Info: Release Announcement

DOWNLOAD YOUR aLINUX
CD-R ISO (629 Mb)

ReactOS 0.3.14

2012-07-08T08:11:00.003-07:00

ReactOS® is an effort to create a Free Software replacement for Microsoft Windows® that is compatible with existing hardware and software!

ReactOS 0.3.14 is still in under heavy development (alpha stage) and is not ready for everyday use.

You can help the ReactOS project by word-of-mouth advertising, donating money to the ReactOS Foundation or by spending time on the ReactOS project and contributing in one of various ways (submitting a patch, helping translation, posting in the community forum, etc.).

What is ReactOS?

ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system based on the Windows NT architecture, providing support for existing applications and drivers, and an alternative to the current dominant consumer and server operating systems.

Download:

InstalationCD [.zip] - 51MB

LiveCD [.zip] - 40MB

Info: ReactOS

CentOS 5.8

2012-07-08T08:08:00.001-07:00

Release: March 2012

The CentOS team is pleased to announce the availability of CentOS 5.8. Major changes in CentOS 5.8 compared to CentOS 5.7 include:

Several updates to hardware drivers in the kernel
Upgrades to Firefox 10.x and Thunderbird 10.x

Links:
Distro Release Announcement |
Documentation: CentOS 5

Release Notes: CentOS
Download: i386 | x86_64

Zorin OS 5 Educational

2012-07-08T08:05:00.001-07:00

Artyom Zorin has announced the release of Zorin OS 5 "Educational", an Ubuntu-based distribution for schools: "The Zorin OS team is proud to release Zorin OS 5 Educational, the educational version of our operating system designed for Windows users. This new version of Zorin OS Educational is based on Zorin OS 5 Core and uses the GNOME Classic 2.32 desktop environment. Zorin OS 5 Educational includes dozens of educational programs for primary, secondary and tertiary education students. We have included new features, such as an installer welcome video, a new theme and updated artwork, simplified application names, updated software and many program changes to improve the user experience. We have also included our other exclusive programs such as the Zorin Look Changer and Internet Browser Manager."

Download ISO 1,6GB
Download ISO Lite 1,1GB
Source Info: Zorin