So where did Linux come from?

Although programming of the Linux core started in 1991, the design concepts were based on the time-tested UNIX operating system. UNIX was developed at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the late 1960s. The original architects of UNIX, working back when there were few operating systems, wanted to create an operating system that shared data, programs, and resources both efficiently and securely — an ideal that wasn’t available then (and is still sought after now). From there, UNIX evolved into many different versions; its current family tree is so complicated that it looks like a kudzu infestation. In 1991, Linus Torvalds was a computer science student at the University of Helsinki in Finland. He wanted an operating system that was like the UNIX system that he’d grown fond of at the university, but both UNIX and the hardware it ran on were prohibitively expensive. 

A UNIX version called Minix was available for free, but it didn’t quite meet his needs. So, Torvalds studied Minix and then set out to write a new version himself. In his own words (recorded for posterity on the Internet because this was in an early version of an online chat room), his work was “just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like GNU.” Writing an operating system is no small task. Even after six months of hard work, Torvalds had made very little progress toward the general utility of the system. He posted what he had to the Internet — and found that many people shared his interest and curiosity. Before long, some of the brightest minds around the world were contributing to Linus’s project by adding enhancements or fixing bugs (errors in the code).

Top 50 Portable Open Source Apps

If you travel frequently, it can be frustrating to have to use a system that doesn’t have your favorite open source software already installed. Fortunately, many of the most popular open source applications come in portable versions that you can take with you on a USB thumb drive or other portable media.

What makes an application portable? These apps can run from any portable device (a thumb drive, CD, DVD, portable hard drive or other device) without needing to be installed directly on the hard drive of the system you're using. They also don't leave behind any files on the host system, and they don't interfere with other software installed on that system.

For this list, we've compiled some of the best portable open source applications available. Some of these were originally designed by the project owner to be portable. Others are open source applications that have been re-packaged for portability by a third party

Several groups, notably PortableApps.com and winPenPack, have created suites of portable open source applications. Others offer directories with many individual portable apps. Because these collections and directories are so helpful, we put them at the top of our list. Other individual portable applications come next, organized by category.

As always, feel free to mention other portable open source applications in the Comments section below.

Collections/Suites

1) PortableApps.com PortableApps.com is probably the best known suite of open-source apps that you can download and run from a USB drive. The basic suite consists of twelve apps, including portable versions of Firefox, Thunderbird, ClamWin, KeePass, PNotes and others. In addition, the site includes a huge directory of portable versions of other software that integrates with the platform. Operating System: Windows.

2) winPenPack While its not as well-known as PortableApps.com, winPenPack also offers dozens of open source apps in portable versions. You can download the apps individually or you can get the Full or the Essential suite. Operating System: Windows.

3) Democrakey If you're worried (or paranoid) about privacy and censorship, Democrakey bundles together open source applications for secure Web browsing, secure e-mail, secure chat, encryption, file shredding and anti-virus. You can download it to your own USB drive from the link above or purchase a USB drive with Democrakey installed from Democrakey.com. Operating System: Windows.

4) Tor Browser Bundle Like Democrakey, the Tor Browser Bundle packages together several apps that you can use from a thumb drive to protect your privacy while surfing. It includes Tor, Vidalia, Polipo, Firefox, and Torbutton. Operating System: Windows.

Directories

5) Portable Apps Directory In addition to the collection of software included in the standard PortableApps.com suite, the site also lists more than one hundred other apps that have been packaged to work from a thumb drive. Choose from accessibility tools, development tools, games, educational apps, multimedia software, Internet software, office productivity tools, security apps and utilities. Note that while all of the apps on this list are free, not all are open source. Operating System: Windows.

6) OS X Portable Applications This site includes twenty-two free portable applications, many of which are open-source, that can be used on any Mac. The list includes Adium, Audacity, Gimp and more. Operating System: OS X.

7) Pendriveapps.com Pendriveapps.com has an exceptionally large library of portable applications, many of which are open source. It provides reviews and downloads for software in dozens of different categories. Operating System: Various.

8) PortableLinuxApps.org This site offers more than 150 apps that can be downloaded to a USB drive and used from any Linux system running Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) 32-bit, OpenSUSE 11.3 (GNOME) 32-bit , or Fedora 12 (GNOME) 32-bit. Well-known titles on the site include the VLC media player, TrueCrypt encryption software, Pidgin instant messaging, LibreOffice and many others. Operating System: Linux.

Audio Player

9) Songbird Similar to iTunes, Songbird helps you organize your music collection, and it plays your audio files. It's also available in a mobile version for Android. Operating System: Windows.

Backup

10) Create Synchronicity When zipped, this extremely lightweight backup utility occupies just 180KB. It offers a simple, very intuitive interface and fast performance. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

Browsers

11)Firefox Portable Any PC you use will likely have a browser installed, but if you bring your own browser with you, you can also get access to your bookmarks, passwords and customization settings. Firefox portable is included in the PortableApps.com Suite or you can download it separately from the link above. Operating System: Windows.

12) X-Chromium If you prefer Google's browser, this app is based on the same open source project that is the basis for Chrome. It also allows you to carry your bookmarks and personalization preferences with you. Operating System: Windows.

13) Qt Web Browser Based on Nokia's Qt framework and Apple's WebKit rendering engine, this browser was designed to be lightweight, secure and portable. It's just 6MB, and it offers a highly customizable interface and a long list of privacy-protection features. Operating System: Linux, OS X.

Compresson Tools

14) PeaZip This helpful archiving tool can create 7 different file types and extracts 129 different file types. It offers encryption and the ability to create self-extracting files, and it comes in a portable version. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

15) Unrar Extract and Recover If you need to extract a lot of RAR archive files and you're not exactly sure what all the passwords are, this tool can help. It "handles password-protected, multi-part and encrypted archives with ease," and it requires no installation. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

Developer Tools

16) GVim Portable This project packages the vim text editor so that you can use it from a thumb drive on any Windows system. Vim is an updated version of the vi text editor for Unix. Operating System: Windows.

17) ATPad This Notepad replacement includes a number of features for developers, like a tabbed interface, line numbering, word wrapping, text coloring and more. It's won a number of awards. Operating System: Windows.

18) Notepad++ Like the regular version of Notepad++, this portable version features a tabbed interface, syntax highlighting, auto-completion, macros, and more. Supported programming languages include C, C++, HTML, ASP, Java, Pascal and CSS. Operating System: Windows.

File Manager

19) TuxCommander This Linux-only file manager requires no installation, so it's completely portable. It offers a tabbed, two-panel graphic interface and support for files larger than 4GB. Operating System: Linux.

Games

20) Big Solitaires 3D Portable This collection includes 40 different popular solitaire card games, including Forty Thieves, FreeCell, Golf, Klondike, Russian, Scarab, Spider, Yukon and others. Choose one of the built-in deck images or load one of your own. Operating System: Windows.

21) PokerTH Portable This classic Texas Hold 'Em style poker game lets you play against up to ten networked or computer-generated players. It offers an attractive and highly customizable interface. Operating System: Windows.

22) Battle for Wesnoth Portable This popular open source turn-based fantasy strategy game offers a range of different sagas to play or you can create one of your own. Both single- and multiple-player options are available. Operating System: Windows.

23) T^3 Portable Play Tetris in 3D! It's simple, familiar and fun. Operating System: Windows.

24) WinBoard Portable Play the standard chess game you know or one of the variants like xiangqi (Chinese chess), shogi (Japanese chess), Makruk, Losers Chess, Crazyhouse, Chess960 and Capabanca Chess. You can play on your own or connect to other players on the Internet. Operating System: Windows.

25) Get Sudoku Portable Stumped by a Sudoku puzzle? Enter the values you know into this app and it will help you keep track of the possible answers for all of the other boxes. Operating System: Windows.

Graphics

26) Gimp Portable Similar to Photoshop, Gimp offers professional-quality photo editing tools. You can use it as a painting program, to re-touch photos and more. Operating System: Windows.

27) Inkscape Portable Inkscape offers professional-quality vector graphics editing, similar to CorelDraw or Illustrator. The features are advanced, but the interface is still relatively easy to use. Operating System: Windows.

Instant Messaging

28) Miranda This lightweight IM client fits easily on a USB drive (or even on an old-school floppy disk). It supports AIM, Facebook, Gadu-Gadu, IAX, ICQ, IRC, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo, and other networks. Operating System : Windows.v

Note Taking

29) The Guide This tool lets you organize your notes in a hierarchical, tree-based format. It's similar to a mind mapper, but not as complex. Operating System: Windows.

Office Productivity

30) LibreOffice Portable This fork of the OpenOffice.org suite allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, drawings and more that are compatible with Microsoft Word and other office productivity software. Note that this is a larger portable application – 382-582MB. Operating System: Windows.

31) AbiWord Portable If you only need a word processor, AbiWord gives you a more lightweight alternative to a full office productivity suite. It's just 15 MB installed, and it supports Word, WordPerfect and OpenOffice.org file formats. Operating System: Windows.

32) X-OOo4Kids OpenOffice.org for Kids offers a simplified version of OpenOffice.org designed to be used by those aged 7-12. The advantage of this version, even if you're not a kid, is that it loads and runs very quickly and requires very little space on your portable drive. Operating System: Windows.

Operating System

33) Damn Small Linux Just 50MB, Damn Small Linux (DSL) was designed to boot from a USB drive or a business card CD. It's based in part on Debian code and includes applications like Firefox, XMMS, Ted, XPDF and a surprising number of others. Operating System: Linux.

PDF Reader

34) Sumatra PDF This lightweight PDF reader requires just one file, so it's easy to run from a USB drive. It's very fast, thanks in part to a minimalist design with only the most necessary features. Operating System: Windows.

Personal Finance Manager

35) YAPBAM Short for "Yet Another Bank Account Manager," YAPBAM is a simple financial management program that can run from a USB drive. Key features include import and export capabilities, budgeting, alerts and more. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

Screenwriting

36) Portable Celtx Celtx makes it easier to format text so that it meets the standards for screenwriting submissions. This version runs from thumb drives and other portable devices. Operating System: Windows.

Security

37) TrueCrypt Downloaded more than 14 million times, TrueCrypt can protect your entire hard drive or thumb drive. Check the documentation area of the website for information on how to use portable mode. Operating System: Windows.

38) Portable PGP This Java-based encryption tool lets you encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify text and files. It's easy to use and very lightweight. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

39) Portable KeePass KeePass stores all of your passwords in an encrypted database so that you only have to remember one master password. The portable version lets you take your passwords with you wherever you go. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

40) ClamWin Portable Take your anti-virus protection with you, with ClamWin Portable. Note that this app doesn't provide real-time scanning or a scheduled system scan capability – you'll need to select files to be scanned manually. Operating System: Windows.

Server Software

41) EasyPHP If you're a PHP developer, you can use EasyPHP to set up a WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL and PHP) server on a thumb drive. It also includes de-bugging and development tools like PhpMyAdmin and Xdebug. Operating System: Windows.

42) Z-WAMP Another option for creating a portable WAMP stack, Z-WAMP aims to be lightweight and easy to install. Additional applications included in the package include Adminer, MongoDB Admin, MemCached, SQLite, eAccelerator, and Alternative PHP Cache (APC). Operating System: Windows.

Sticky Notes

43) PNotes Bring your virtual sticky notes with you with PNotes. This app requires no installation and includes features like spoken notes, scheduling, password protection and encryption. Operating System: Windows.

Time Tracking

44) Rachota Just 609 KB, this portable time tracking app offers an intuitive interface and plenty of reporting features. It's Java-based, so it will work on just about any system. Operating System: OS Independent.

To Do List

45) Task Coach This portable scheduling tool gives you the ability to break large tasks into smaller sub-tasks and mark them off when completed. It's also compatible with Outlook and Thunderbird—allowing you to drag and drop tasks from one app to the other. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

Utilities

46) BleachBit Portable Take this app with you to protect your privacy when using someone else's PC. It cleans up your cache, temporary files, cookies and Internet history, and it includes a shredder to eliminate all traces of erased files. Operating System: Windows.

47) Portable Keyboard Layout If you learned a different keyboard layout or want to try an alternative to the QWERTY keyboard to prevent carpal tunnel and repetitive motion injury, this app is for you. Just plug it into your system and it will transform your keyboard into the one you've set up on your thumb drive. Operating System: Windows.

48) Folder Menu This handy tool makes it easier to jump to your favorite files and folders. It works with Windows Explorer, open/save dialog boxes, or the command prompt. Operating System: Windows.

49) Appetizer Appetizer is a dock-style application launcher for Windows (2000, XP or Vista). It supports the PortableApps.com file format, so it will automatically detect any other portable apps you have on your thumb drive and include them on the dock. Operating System: Windows.

Vulnerability Assessment

50) BackTrack Linux The "most widely adopted penetration testing framework in existence," BackTrack includes a complete Linux distribution with an up-to-date set of tools for penetration testing. Easy instructions for downloading it to a USB drive are included on the site. Operating System: Linux.

(Reference : http://itmanagement.earthweb.com)

The naming of parts: Time for “Linux Inside”?

by Glyn Moody

Names matter in free software. Just think of the number of electrons that have been spilt arguing over whether it's “Linux” or “GNU/Linux”.

The naming of parts came up when I interviewed Linus back in 1996. I had asked him about his relations with Richard Stallman, and this is what Linus said:

I've had some, not very much. At first he wasn't too interested, because Linux was so PC-centric – just two years ago, it didn't run on anything else. And I suspect Richard really dislikes PCs. So he wasn't really interested in that sense. Lately, when it's become obvious how portable it is and how well it works on other architectures too, I think Richard in that sense looks at Linux in a different light.

One problem we've had, well, problem, kind of clash of personalities, is that Linux has gotten so much press and GNU has gotten so little. So for Richard, he's not pragmatic, he really has this idealistic world-view, he'd really like the system to be called GNU/Linux or something like this. Personally I don't think GNU Linux flies as a name, it should be catchy.

But is “Linux” catchy? The fact that few people have heard of it outside the rather specialised world of free software suggests not. Indeed, far more people have probably come across “Ubuntu”, which has taken on the role of the public face of GNU/Linux to a certain extent. That's good, in the sense that it has done valuable work promoting free software to the general public; but it's also unfortunate in that it has pushed the “Linux” name even further into the background.

Some might ask why that is even a problem. After all, does it really matter what the kernel is called? I'd argue yes, for the slightly counter-intuitive reason that Linux is becoming so successful, particularly in two areas: mobile phones and embedded systems.

The rise and rise of Android has made that particularly name a household word – well, in more affluent countries at least, although once cheap Android-based phones start appearing it will become a global brand. Embedded systems, by contrast, often run Linux without anyone being aware of the fact: one of its strengths is that it doesn't crash, so there are no tell-tale Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) to announce its presence to the world. Instead, it just carries on working reliably and invisibly.

The problem, then, is the fact that Linux can be powering more and more of the digital devices that fill our lives and also be behind the international success that is Android, and yet few outside the computer world are aware of the connection.

Imagine, now, a situation where all these growing successes were perceived as part of a single, larger movement: the rise of Linux, and with it the spread of free software. Once people start to realise that many of their most beloved and faithful gadgets have at their heart the same software, they might begin to look a little differently on this “Linux” thing; they might, for example, begin to seek it out in other devices...maybe even on the desktop.

That is, if we could make people aware of just how widely used Linux is in smartphones and consumer electronics, say, it might even kickstart the use of free software in other domains.

So, the question becomes: how might we do this?

The idea of some kind of “Linux Inside” campaign has been raised before, but the situation is rather different now, largely thanks to Android smartphones. These are probably the first mass-market devices running Linux that people in the street are passionate about; this offers a unique opportunity to tap into that goodwill and transfer some of it to Linux.

To do that, we need a neutral organisation to oversee the project – the Linux Foundation is the obvious candidate – not least because Linus is an employee. As well as being widely respected among the open source community, it already has many of the leading companies that use Linux in their products as members. More recently, it has become more active in the embedded sector, which could be invaluable in gaining support for the idea here too.

Those same companies could help fund advertising campaigns to raise people's awareness of “Linux Inside” or whatever brand were chosen. As well as the efficiency of banding together to promote something for their mutual benefit, there's also the fact that they have – and ought to feel – a moral obligation to support something that they use for free. A few judicious remarks by Linus along those lines ought to work wonders, since it would be a PR disaster for major companies to be seen snubbing his polite request for help in this way.

Of course, for the thousands of smaller manufacturers that use Linux in their consumer devices, that may not be such a convincing argument for them to contribute money to the campaign. But, at the very least, it's in their own interests to stick some “Linux Inside” logo on their boxes – after all, it lets them tap into the generic marketing that would be going on around it, as well as allowing them to claim that the software in their otherwise somewhat anonymous products was “official” (provided, of course, that they made available all their source code....).

In a way, the idea behind “Linux Inside” or equivalent is the same as one of the key advantages of open source: that by collaborating and pooling resources, more can be achieved than by working separately. At the moment, the marketing around devices using Linux is fragmented, each manufacturer pushing a proprietary brand that reveals nothing about its underlying connection to Linux. By creating a strong umbrella brand alongside them, manufacturers would be helping the Linux ecosystem of which they form part – and hence helping themselves.

(Reference - http://www.h-online.com)

Linux patent suit ruled against Google

A Texas jury has ruled against Google in a suit that alleged some of its use of open source Linux code amounted to patent infringement, something that could have big implications for other companies using Linux technology and other open source systems. In the verdict, delivered last week, the jury decided that Google should pay US$5 million for the infringement.

The suit was filed in June 2009 by a firm called Bedrock Computer Technologies, which also named the likes of Yahoo, MySpace, Amazon, PayPal, Match.com and AOL as defendants in the suit. Bedrock, as was reported when the suit was filed, was founded by a prominent patent reform advocate (the corporation has been accused of being a patent troll) and filed suit against the defendants in question for violation of Patent 5,893,120, detailing "methods and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing technique with external chaining and on-the-fly removal of expired data".

Since it's the Linux kernel itself, the core of the open source operating system, this could have implications well beyond Google--and even beyond the other defendants in the case, for whom court decisions have not yet been determined.

"Google can easily afford US$5 million if it has to, but this patent infringement case has major implications for the IT industry in general and for Linux in particular," patent and IP activist Florian Mueller wrote on his blog. "The plaintiff identified a portion of the Linux kernel as part of the 'Accused Instrumentalities.' Many companies using Linux have already been required by the patent holder to pay royalties, and many more will now, based on this jury verdict, elect to pay."

A potentially contested turf: the Android mobile operating system, which is Linux-based and continues to grow fast, evolving into many different mutations of a mobile (and now tablet) software architecture.

Mueller points out that not only did Google attempt to declare the patent invalid, but so did Linux software maker Red Hat, which counts several of its clients among the defendants.

"Google will continue to defend against attacks like this one on the open source community," a spokesperson for the company said. "The recent explosion in patent litigation is turning the world's information highway into a toll road, forcing companies to spend millions and millions of dollars defending old, questionable patent claims, and wasting resources that would be much better spent investing in new technologies for users and creating jobs."

(Reference : http://www.zdnetasia.com)

Pengumuman Kursus di OSCC (Mac - April 2010)

Sukacita ingin dimaklumkan bahawa berikut adalah kursus yang dibuka untuk sesi pendaftaran di OSCC :

1. PHP Programming & MySQL Database (Basic) (22 - 24 Mac 2010)
2. Using MyMeeting (30 Mac 2010)
3. Linux Fundamental (30 - 31 Mac 2010)
4. Using MySpamGuard (1 April 2010)
5. Linux System Administration (12 - 14 April 2010)
6. Using MyMeeting (13 April 2010)
7. Introduction to CMS with Joomla! (19 - 21 April 2010)
8. Using MySurfGuard (19 April 2010)
9. Certified Linux Administration 01 (26 - 30 April 2010)

Sila rujuk laman web OSCC (http://www.oscc.org.my) untuk pendaftaran dan maklumat selanjutnya. Keutamaan diberikan kepada kakitangan kerajaan bergred F dan mempunyai asas sistem linux. Sekiranya anda berminat untuk menerima pengumuman kursus dari masa ke semasa sila daftar melalui oscc-training@lists.oscc.org.my di laman web
http://lists.oscc.org.my. Sekian.

Mariatul Shima Abu Hassan Asari
Penyelaras Latihan
OSCC MAMPU
3rd Floor, Enterprise Building 3,
Persiaran APEC
63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor.
Tel : 03-8319 1200
Fax : 03-8319 3206

http://opensource.mampu.gov.my/