Scientific Linux 6.5 "Live"

Urs Beyerle has announced the release of "Live" editions of Scientific Linux 6.5, a distribution built from source packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 but enhanced with extra software applications for use in academic and scientific environments: "Scientific Linux 6.5 LiveCD, LiveMiniCD and LiveDVD are officially released. Changes since 6.4: software based on Scientific Linux 6.5; CUPS, Pidgin, Brasero, Qt, Gcalctool, gdisk, LFTP, spice-client, minicom and nc were removed from 'LiveCD' to save disk space. Notes: the live images are based on the Fedora LiveCD tools; if you install LiveCD to hard drive, the installation of the live image is done by Anaconda similar to the normal SL6 installation, all changes done during LiveCD usage are lost; you can install LiveCD on an USB stick with persistent changes using liveusb-creator included in sl-addons." See the full release announcement for further information. Download (SHA256): SL-65-x86_64-LiveDVD.iso (2,564MB, includes GNOME, IceWM, KDE), SL-65-x86_64-LiveCD.iso (698MB, GNOME only), SL-65-x86_64-LiveMiniCD.iso (514MB, IceWM only).

ReactOS 0.3.16

ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system intended to be binary compatible with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows NT versions 5.x and up. Today the project announced the availability of the latest alpha release - version 0.3.16: "The ReactOS project is pleased to announce the release of version 0.3.16. A little under a year has passed since the previous release and a significant amount of progress has been made. Some of them include completion of the CSRSS rewrite and the first stages of a shell32 rewrite. 0.3.16 is a prelude to several new features that will provide a noticeable enhancement to user-visible functionality. A preview can be seen in the form of theme support which can be turned on to demonstrate the Lautus theme. Another user-visible change is a new network card driver for the RTL8139." Here is the brief release announcement. Download (MD5) the installation or live CD image from SourceForge: ReactOS-0.3.16-REL-iso.zip (75.5MB), ReactOS-0.3.16-REL-live.zip (53.1MB).

How to Install ClassicMenu Indicator 0.08 from PPA in Ubuntu 13.10/13.04

ClassicMenu Indicator is a useful application indicator that once installed and executed will show a menu in the top panel of Ubuntu Unity that allows users to easily and quickly access system tools and software without the need to use the Dash menu.

Here is a screenshot of ClassicMenu Indicator under Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander):

ClassicMenu Indicator 0.08 Installation

For PPA installation under Ubuntu 13.10/13.04, enter these commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:diesch/testing 

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install classicmenu-indicator

Use the dash menu to start it:

For other distributions, you can install it manually by entering this sequence of commands:

cd /tmp 

wget http://goo.gl/cVAKtS -O classicmenu-indicator_0.08_all.deb 

sudo dpkg -i --force-depends classicmenu-indicator_0.08_all.deb 

sudo apt-get -f install

Once installed, the application will be added automatically to the list of software that will be started automatically after you log in. If you want to disable it, start the dash menu and open "Startup Applications":

Then disable it:

Endian Firewall 3.0 Beta 2

Endian has announced the availability of the second beta build of Endian Firewall 3.0, a major new version of the Red Hat-based distribution for firewalls and routers: "Hey folks, take a look at the Endian Firewall Community 3.0 BETA 2. The new release includes new features relevant to email security, OpenVPN, logging and reporting module and a number of improvements as well. Features, improvements and bug fixes include: SMTP delivery status notification configuration; connections page for VPN users - frontend and backend; add the option "required" to the multiline validator; HTTP proxy information popup is not shown correctly; YAML traceback in domain routing until first domain route configuration; spam blacklists and whitelists typo in tooltip displayed text...." Here is the brief release announcement, with further details summarised in the release notes. Download: EFW-COMMUNITY-3.0.0-beta2.iso (203MB, MD5).

OpenMandriva Lx 2013.0 RC2

The second and final release candidate for the inaugural stable release of OpenMandriva Lx is now available for download and testing: "And here it comes - a week after RC1, OpenMandriva 2013.0 Lx RC2 is out on schedule. It's been mostly bug fixing and polishing at this stage. Nothing much different from RC1. You'll notice, though, that we've only got one launcher for RC2, KickOff. If you want SimpleWelcome, you can install rosa-launcher, if you want Homerun, you can install homerun and if you want Lancelot, you can install plasma-applet-lancelot. In RC2 we completed the artwork integration. It includes fixing of the plymouth theme, updated GRUB, ksplash, user avatars, and got a brand new screensaver. Additionally, following the results of 'The Flavour of Freedom' wallpaper contest, we've included the winners of the contest into 2013.0. In RC2 you'll find: Linux kernel 3.11.6, KDE 4.11, Firefox 25.0, LibreOffice 4.1.3." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information and screenshots. Download: OpenMandrivaLx-2013.0-rc2.x86_64.iso (1,522MB, MD5).

How to Check 3D Acceleration (FPS) in Ubuntu/Linux Mint

In this guide, we will see some commands needed for checking  3D Acceleration / FPS for both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards under the following distributions:

• Ubuntu 13.10/13.04/12.10/12.04 or older
• Linux Mint 15/14/13 or older

If you have more commands and tools that are not listed here, please mention them below (comment form).

Getting Started

First of all, install this dependency via the terminal:

sudo apt-get install mesa-utils

Before running the commands below, make sure 3D acceleration is enabled or not by entering this command:

/usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p

1. Glxinfo

You can use glxinfo to check 3d acceleration and rendering. Here are some commands you need to run from the terminal:

glxinfo -i | grep render

or

 glxinfo -i | grep direct

or

glxinfo -i | grep openGL

The output returned will give you information about your graphics card (AMD or Nvidia).

2. Glxgears

You can also use glxgears to test 3D Acceleration (FPS). Simply run this command:

glxgears

or

glxgears -info

 3. xvinfo

You can also use "xvinfo" to check information about your video card. You can run it with this command:

xvinfo

4. For owners of AMD (ATI) graphics cards, you can use this command to check your graphical performance:

fglrxinfo

or

fgl_glxgears

5. Glxspheres

To be able to use Glxspheres under Ubuntu/Linux Mint, you need first to install it as follows:

Installation (64-bit)

Via the terminal, issue these commands:

cd /tmp 

wget http://goo.gl/L7rsGZ -O virtualgl_2.3.3_amd64.deb 

sudo dpkg -i --force-depends virtualgl_2.3.3_amd64.deb 

sudo apt-get -f install

Then run it with this command:

/opt/VirtualGL/bin/glxspheres64

 Installation (32-bit)

For 32-bit systems, install Glxspheres with these commands:

cd /tmp 

wget http://goo.gl/O5AyjX -O virtualgl_2.3.3_i386.deb 

sudo dpkg -i --force-depends virtualgl_2.3.3_i386.deb 

sudo apt-get -f install

Then run it with this command:

/opt/VirtualGL/bin/glxspheres