Wubi – unofficial Ubuntu installer for Windows

I’d wager that there are a huge number of Windows users who would probably be quite happy with Ubuntu Linux as their day-in day-out OS of choice. If only there were an easy way to try Ubuntu out on your windows machine without breaking anything, repartitioning or dealing with the diminished performance of a Live CD.

You’re in luck. Wubi takes the hassle out of installing Ubuntu on a loopback file system located on your Windows partition, while making it bootable just like a real-deal Ubuntu install. In fact, it _is_ a real-deal Ubuntu install, albeit in a slightly unconventional manner. If you go glassy eyed at the word “loopback”, don’t worry.. it’s just a fancy way of saying that your whole Ubuntu install is self-contained and stored in a single large file on your Windows drive.

source [downloadsquad]

Find Linux equivalents to Windows software

The Linux Equivalent Project lists Linux alternatives to dozens of popular Windows applications, from Adobe Photoshop to ZoneAlarm.

The idea here is to show potential Linux adopters that making the switch doesn’t necessarily mean saying goodbye to their favorite software. You can use Scribus in place of PageMaker, Quanta Plus in place of FrontPage and so on. Needless to say, the site includes links to all the “equivalents” so you can check ’em out directly–and encourages you to submit your own.

If you’ve been tempted to try Linux but concerned about insufficient software, this site can really open your eyes (as it did mine). There are a lot more equivalents out there than I thought! Thanks, Yusri! — Rick Broida

The Linux Equivalent Project

 

source [lifehacker.com]

Putting Damn Small Linux (DSL) on USB Pendrive

This walkthrough illustrates how to install Damn Small Linux (DSL) to a USB stick from within Windows. Damn Small Linus is perfect for smaller USB drives.

You’ll need the following:

• 64MB or larger USB Stick
• Damn Small Linux
• HP USB tool (for formatting the stick)
• Syslinux V2.11

The Process:

1. Download the HP USB tool and format your stick with the tool using the Fat or Fat32 option.
2. Download the dsl-embedded.zip
3. Extract the files from dsl-embedded.zip to your USB stick.
4. Download and extract syslinux.zip to a directory on your computer.
5. Run the command prompt in windows (start/run/cmd) and CD to the syslinux directory. Once there simply type syslinux.exe F: (F: being the example drive letter of the USB stick in this system)
6. Reboot your PC, go into your system BIOS and set your boot order to boot from any selectable USB device. (example USBZIP or USB_HDD)
7. Save your BIOS settings. On the next reboot, you should have a sucessful launch of Damn Small Linux from USB.

Enjoy!

source [pendrivelinux]

Linux XP

Linux XP is a Linux distro that aims to make computing better with the muscle and security of Linux, but tries to look like Windows so it is easier for Windows users to get used to it. The international English edition just launched, but it was initially the most popular distro in Russia. It is based on Fedora Core and really does mimic Windows XP’s look and functionality well. Linux XP is also “tightly integrated” with Microsoft technologies, such as Active Directory, remote Windows server login, read/write FAT16/32 and read NTFS file-systems. Microsoft VPN can also be used with Linux XP, can your Red Hat do that? nVidia and ATI graphics drivers also play nice with Linux XP as well, with good support for OpenGL. Linux XP has an easy update feature and add-on installer to help Linux noobs get started and expand their crispy new Linux XP systems. It is an interesting distro that looks strangely familiar.

Control Panel on Linux XP.

Linux XP desktop (in Russian)

 

source [downloadsquad]

Run Linux from inside Windows; it’s easy and free

If you’re like me, you’ve wanted to learn more about Linux for a long time, but never seem to find the time to do so. Maybe you’ve only got one (relatively modern) machine available to you, and thanksshutting down Windows to boot into Linux is a time commitment you just don’t want to make. The obvious solution for some time has been a platform virtualization tool like VMWare; we’ve even shown how to do it for free using VMWare previously here. However there’s an even easier way now. DSL, which stands for Damn Small Linux, offers a distribution package that is intended to be run from a host operating system, and it can even be loaded from a memory stick! This is a great way to learn Linux, but All About Linux offers even more compelling reasons that you might like to have DSL with you on a memory stick at all times:

1. Suppose you are visiting a Cyber Cafe for checking your mail and you are concerned about your privacy. By using Damn Small Linux on a USB key drive, you can circumvent the problem because all the cookies, browsing history and passwords you use are stored in your USB key and not in the host computer.
2. Your files will not be affected by viruses and worms that are residing in the host computer because you are using Linux on top of the resident OS.
3. For a person more comfortable in working in Linux, DSL is godsend because now he can work independent of the environment of the host computer.
4. Where ever you may go, you can take a working OS with you and you’re saved from being at the mercy of the applications residing in the computers you are using.

[via Paul Thurrot]