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Mageia Linux – Full Review and Hands-on

In the late 1990′s, before Ubuntu existed, when Debian was just starting out, and when Fedora was still Red Hat Linux, there were only a handful of major distributions. One of the elite group was Mandrake Linux. Never heard of it? That is probably because about a decade ago Mandrake changed its name to Mandriva. Still none the wiser? Maybe that is because during 2010 parts of Mandriva went bankrupt, but out of the ashes rose Mageia Linux.

The reason for this short history lesson is to show that although Mageia Linux was first released in 2011, which means it is a relative newcomer, its heritage is quite distinguished. Mageia started out as a fork of Mandriva Linux, and Mandriva Linux itself is a fork of Red Hat Linux (way back at version 5.1). As a result of this heritage, Mageia uses the RPM package format.

3 Reasons Why Encryption Is Not as Safe as You May Believe

Encryption is a cozy word. It sounds like you’ve just hired armed guards to stand in front of your doors with instructions to attack anyone who gets within twenty meters of you. What if I told you that the security that you rely on to keep your applications and data safe is nothing more than a lock that will be outdated tomorrow? How about the fact that most service providers don’t even bother to give you transparent information about the way they handle security? There are so many reasons to tread carefully, it’s hard to condense it within any measure of words. That doesn’t mean I won’t try.

Encryption Is Unreliable

The toughest encryption today will be outrun by the weakest encryption of tomorrow. This is an inevitable reality. Of course, you don’t have to worry a whole lot about the level of encryption your service provider gives you as long as it hasn’t been solved. The word “solved” in this context means that a form of encryption has been repeatedly cracked. If your service provider encrypts your data using outdated algorithms, both you and the provider will suffer for that.
Once Government Cracks Something, Hackers Aren’t Far Behind

Graphics/Image Editing open source applications in Linux

There are many open source applications in Linux available for graphic designer or image editing purpose. Some of them, I have mentioned below and I will come with detailed description about them in later articles.

InkScape:
Inkscape is an open source application for graphic designers. It can replace to Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. Actually, Inkscape is a vector graphics editor. Vector graphics means resolution is independent on description of the actual shapes and objects in the image.
Inkscape supports many advanced features like alpha blending, clones, markers, object creation (Paths, Rectangles, 3D boxes, Stars/Polygons, spirals, clones, text), Object Manipulation (moving of object), styling object (fill, stroke fill, opacity), operations on paths, text support, Rendering etc.
You can visit Inkscape

Easily Manage Your Android Device with MoboRobo

There are tons of Android apps that allow you to manage your phone and back up your data to the cloud; however, if you still prefer the old school way of syncing your phone to your computer, then MoboRobo could be a useful app for you.

What Is MoboRobo?

How to Crop Audio Files Using iTunes

Most of us use Preview or Photoshop to crop and edit photo files, but what about audio files? That’s a whole different story. Many people have the difficulty of searching and downloading a good app that can easily crop or trim an audio file. Today I’ll be showing you how to use iTunes to perform this operation. Cropping an audio file is useful if you want to remove extra sound from the beginning/end of an audio file, or it you want a small portion of a sound file to use as a ringtone.

You can also use this technique if you need to divide a lengthy audio file into smaller parts, for whatever reasons whatsoever. So, without any further ado, follow the steps outlined below to use iTunes to crop an audio file:

1. Open your audio file in iTunes by clicking on it. (If you have set another audio app such as VLC, Vox etc. as your default media player, simply right click the file and “Open With -> iTunes”).

Review of Handy Linux – A Distro For The Absolute Beginner

Now that Windows XP is officially unsupported by Microsoft, the need is greater than ever for PC operating systems that can be used on older hardware but without a complex user interface that requires a steep learning curve. Zorin OS is one possible alternative as it uses a theme that should be familiar to Windows XP users. Another XP alternative is Handy Linux. Rather than attempting to mimic XP, Handy Linux offers a very simple user interface which does away with the Start menu and replaces it with a simple window which groups together key applications by type.

Will We Not Have to Charge Devices in the Future?

When you plug your phone into its charger, you’re probably already so used to it that you don’t realize how much of an inconvenience it is. You require the right kind of cable (although most phone manufacturers are phasing in universal USB charging), the proper milliamperage, and the right cable length. What if I told you that soon we’ll be seeing a future in which we don’t have to tether ourselves to those awful cables that just add more clutter to our rooms? What if that future is happening as we speak? It’s time we talk about ways in which the charger is going to become obsolete!

Heat-Based Charging

Emu App Makes Texting Smarter & Easier

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again at some point, but I love to send text messages. I don’t know what it is about it, but there’s just something fun about sending digital messages and not having to talk on the phone (or use a messenger pigeon) to get a message across. For the most part, texting on my iPhone is a pretty good experience. And, with some of the changes Apple made with iOS 7, it’s smarter than ever. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for improvement. As all of us know by now, there’s usually always room for that.

Emu is a new app available in the app store that promises to make texting smarter and easier at the same time. Just how does it propose to do it? Admittedly, it’s a pretty simple and straightforward idea – they want to make it so you never have to leave the text message to get other information.

Everything You Want to Know About Vines

Vines are a video sharing option that are really catching on in popularity. As time goes by, more and more people are creating them. While some people think you have to be a member of Twitter to create one, that is simply not true. The following is meant to explain everything there is to know about creating Vines and to dispel any confusion.

Humble Beginnings

Microsoft Stops Windows 8.1 Update For Businesses

The other day was a big day for Microsoft users, what with the deadline for Windows XP finally arriving. Then there was the update for Windows 8.1, which was released on the same day. However, Microsoft has stopped the Windows 8.1 update for businesses relying on Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) due to a bug in the software.

http://www.geekyharsha.in/2014/04/microsoft-stops-windows-81-update-for.html

How To Select A Startup Disk In OS X

There may be cases in which you need to boot to a secondary hard drive on your Mac, either to recover a drive, install a new OS or restore some software. Either way, the easiest way to do this on Apple computers is to hold down the “Option” key while booting up your system; however, there may be some constraints.

Selecting a Startup Disk on Macs That Use a Bluetooth Keyboard

On portable Macs, you can start up or reboot your Mac, and simply hold the “Option” key once the screen goes black so that when it reboots it will show you the boot menu. However, this process is a little more specific on Macs that use a Bluetooth keyboard.

http://www.geekyharsha.in/2014/04/how-to-select-startup-disk-in-os-x.html

If you hold down the key before the Bluetooth keyboard and your Mac boots, your system will prevent it from recognizing the key as pressed. Bluetooth keyboards only start up once the boot chimes sound. To ensure that your Mac goes to the boot menu, only press and hold the “Option” key immediately after hearing your Mac boot sound, not before.

http://www.geekyharsha.in/2014/04/5-of-best-security-addons-for.html

Mozilla Thunderbird is one of the best email clients you can install on your devices. What makes it so popular is its huge library of addons that you can install to make it a better email tool. If you are concerned about the security of your emails while using Thunderbird, this list of security addons for Thunderbird should give you peace of mind. What they do is help make your experience with the tool as secure as possible. Here you go:

It’s not the operating system of connoisseurs; rather, it is the masses who follow herd mentality and go with Windows, the OS that we all love to hate, but which we cannot live without nonetheless. Yes, the original software is expensive and there are numerous bugs in each version of the Windows operating system, but we still take to it like a duck to water for various reasons:

    Most OEM choose to install Windows on their PCs and notebooks, and a free pre-installed software is always welcome.
    It is easy enough to operate, even for someone who is new to computers.
    Most software and applications are built for Windows because it is the choice of (or thrust onto) the majority.

Turn Photos and Videos into GIFs with PicGIF for Mac

Have you seen the small GIF videos on social networking sites and want to make your own with your photos and videos? It’s a job made much easier with the app PicGIF Lite. Trying it out, I was able to make an animated GIF in less than five minutes start to finish, and you can too!
Importing

What’s New in Ubuntu’s 14.04 Official Derivatives

Along with the slew of package updates and the move to Linux kernel 3.13, one of the key features of Ubuntu 14.04 (dubbed Trusty Tahr) is that is it marked as a Long Term Support (LTS) Release. This means that 14.04 will receive free security updates until 2019. The current LTS release, Ubuntu 12.04, will still get updates until 2017. This is great for businesses and organizations that want a stable platform without the headache and costs of upgrading every six months.

But what about the official derivatives of Ubuntu like Ubuntu GNOME, Kubuntu, Lubuntu and Xubuntu? What is new for this release and will they offer Long Term Support?

The good news is that 14.04 is shaping up to be an extraordinary LTS release. For the first time, all of the official Ubuntu flavors will have LTS status. Not all of them will offer five year support, but as a minimum, they will all offer at least three years of support. Three years means that users can install 14.04 and know that an upgrade won’t be needed until the next LTS release (16.04) has been made and is firmly established.

Ubuntu GNOME

The GNOME-based variant of Ubuntu will ship with GNOME 3.10 which was released last September. GNOME 3.10 included changes like a reworked system status area, which gives a more focused overview of your system, and a collection of new applications, including Maps, Notes, Music and Photos. GNOME 3.12 was recently just released; however, it was published too late to be part of Ubuntu GNOME 14.04. For those who want/need GNOME 3.12 on top of 14.04, the Ubuntu GNOME team have a PPA with the latest GNOME builds.

Tips to Effectively Manage WiFi Networks In OS X

There is a really good chance that on your Mac, the WiFi management section is the area you access most frequently. This is particularly true if you travel regularly and need to connect to different WiFi networks at different locations.

You might find yourself switching between different WiFi networks, to use the one with the most signal strength. You might also face various WiFi connectivity problems, in which your system connects to a network with less signal strength than another one in the nearby vicinity.

Here are some useful tips for you on how to effectively manage WiFi networks in OS X.

How to Use FTP from the Linux Command Line

The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program lets you transfer files from one computer to another, over the internet or a LAN. It comes built in with Linux operating systems. It is based on the client-server architecture. In general, the command lets you interact with files on a remote server. With it, you can copy files, rename and delete them and much more!
Connecting to a Remote Server with FTP

How To Convert Files from Linux/Unix Format to Windows and vice versa

If you’ve ever transferred a text file from a UNIX based system to a Windows system directly, you know that when you open the text file on the Windows system, it is usually not displayed correctly. Windows based text reader programs (like Notepad) may not be able to display the text. In most cases, when you open the text file, all the words get displayed on a single giant line, without any breaks. This is because there is a slight difference in the way a text document is written (and read) on Windows and UNIX.

What Facebook’s Purchase of Oculus VR Means for Virtual Reality’s Future

Oculus was set to be a brave pioneer in the world of virtual reality, a technology that was on its way back thanks to a massive interest in developers and manufacturers in making the experience of gaming as immersive as possible. Then something happened. Mark Zuckerberg thought it would be a nice idea to buy the company that got everyone excited. The announcement upset many hard-core gamers and shook the world of virtual reality. Understandably, many people (perhaps yourself included) have many questions about what Facebook plans to do with a technology primarily developed for gaming.

Why The Purchase?
If there’s one thing a social network like Facebook cannot do, it is to lose relevance in any way whatsoever. Doing so would be fatal and send it in the same direction MySpace went. At this moment, Facebook is losing the younger crowd to other social networks like Instagram (which it bought) and Twitter (which it’s imitating with hashtags, even though Twitter is on the way to removing them). Snapchat is probably Facebook’s biggest indirect competitor, with teenagers flocking towards it as they favor a network that allows them to communicate via selfies.
All of this is perhaps motivating Facebook to purchase Oculus. It’s trying to stay on the fray, and it might have some very big plans with the Oculus VR device.

What Does Facebook Want to Do with Oculus?