Linux Mint Mini-PC Coming Soon

It appears that Ubuntu is not the only distro that is going to be preinstalled onto laptops. Linux Mint will now be preinstalled onto PCs as well, due to a partnership they have with CompuLab.

When these PCs sell, the Linux Mint team will get a small percentage of the pie, which is already sorta expected.

Mini Mint PCs

 Two  versions of the ‘MintBox’ will be made available, both based on AMD’s G-series chipset and using the latest release of the Linux Mint OS with MATE as its desktop environment.

 Below is the devices specs:

• AMD CPU up to 1.65GHz dual core
• Dual-head Radeon HD graphics
• 4GB of RAM
• 250GB HDD
• 4x USB ports
• Dual-head DisplayPort
• HDMI
• 2 eSATA ports
• Ethernet
• Wi-Fi
• Ruggedized metal case

This PC is not out yet, so I cannot give an accurate price for it.
Info provided by OMG! Ubuntu!.

Microsoft announces Office 365 for Government

Microsoft is now turning its attention to a less tech-averse Uncle Sam with the introduction of the obviously named Office 365 for Government. According to Microsoft, this rendition of Office 365 places US government data in the soft embrace of the cloud via its own segregated community. Offerings featured with the service include Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online and Office Professional Plus.

No need to voice concerns about some evildoer messing around with government data on the cloud. Microsoft assures that the service supports the "most rigorous global and regional standards," including ISO 27001, SAS70 Type II, EU Safe Harbor and FISMA.

Post your thoughts below if you will.

Poll: What Linux Desktop Environment do you use?

Today, I am going to post a poll asking you what Linux Desktop Environment you are using. If you do not use Linux, or do not know what I am talking about, don't worry. Just don't vote in the poll.

Follow @The_MHazell on Twitter!

Hello everyone, I have some news. I now have a Twitter. Now you can interact with me, and see my sharing my posts online.


Let me now of your thoughts below.

Tim Cook: I want there to be Apple products made in America

Apple CEO Tim Cook was interviewed by AllThingsD's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, and took time to answer the question of whether or not Apple is interested in manufacturing any of its products domestically.  


Despite pointing out that it does source components locally, including glass for the iPhone made in Kentucky as well as CPUs for the iPhone and iPad made in Austin, Texas by Samsung, Cook indicated he "hopes" final assembly could be done in the US. Initially repeating "I want there to be [manufacturing in America]," he closed with "we will do as many of these things as we can do [in America], and you can bet that we'll use our influence to do it."

Be Aware - New spam mail going around imposing as the US Post Office

I was just watching WCNC news (that is my favorite local news station), and it was just now talking about new spam going about, for the first time it is posing as the US Postal Service.

The strain of reported emails says what you might expect. It says that you have a package, that might be far away from your current location, and wants you to go and get it. It says that you have to pay extra for the package staying at the postal location.

Here is when the bad part is -- it wants you to click a link, which most likely carries a virus or some other sort of infection. And did I mention that the email might have very weird characters (weird black spaces between words, etc.)?

The US Postal Service has said that if there is an email sent out from them to you, if any, it will ask you to come to your local location. It will not want you to click on weird links, and it will not ask you for any personal information.

If you think that you have been a victim of this scam, please contact your local law enforcement, and your local news if you want to report it. If you think that you might have been infected with a virus, I suggest you run a virus scan. If you do not have anti virus software, do not want to renew a subscription to a virus vendor, do not want to pay for anti virus software, I personally recommend that you use Microsoft Security Essentials. I personally use this on my PC, as well as my families PC's, and I have never had a problem from it, and never have gotten calls about an infection. I also recommend you run MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware free edition once a month, just in case. DO NOT run both MSE and MalwareBytes' in real time. Run MSE in real time, and run MalwareBytes' as an extra app.

Let me know of your thoughts below.

Discussion: Anyone here use Windows Phone?

Just wondering, but does anyone here in the community use Windows Phone? If so, test about Disqus 2012 and let me know how it goes.

If you do not have Windows Phone, why not test my mobile site with Disqus 2012? I have already confirmed that the iPhone works (not that you can't try anyways ;-), but If any Android user or any other major smartphone platform works, please let me know. I'm testing compatibility of Disqus 2012, it is not already obvious.

Feel free to comment below.

How-To: This Unity News Lens Helps You Find News Fast

In this how to, I'm going to teach you how to install the Unity News Lens, right after I finish explaining what exactly it is.


Every day, we consume a enormous amount of news. You might not realize it, but you do. Knowing what the weather is going to be about is considered news, the latest rumors might even be considered news by some people.


Alot of this news might be "junk news." Celebrity, TV, music, sport etc – or the information equivalent of  ‘broccoli’ – politics, world, business, etc – it remains important to keep ourselves aware of something.


If you happen to use Ubuntu, and use Unity, reading news just got a whole lot easier. Introducing the Unity News Lens.


The News Lens, created by prolific lens developer David Callé, works like any other lens in Unity: you open the Dash, select it, then enter a query. Results are then displayed.

When you click on a story, it is opened with your default browser. By default the lens uses your system language. But that’s not always preferable. If you are wanting to read another language besides your default system language, you have to enter in the syntax.


!fr for French, !sv for Swedish, !ru for Russian, !de for German, etc. A full list can be found at Wikipedia. And example is below.

How to install (the how to segment)
Sadly, the news lens is not available from the Ubuntu Software Center yet. I know, that's sad, but the developer is already working on that.


However, there is a PPA you can add. You can either choose to add it through the software-center, but I prefer using the Terminal. Don't worry, just paste the following lines and you'll be fine. I promise :-).
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:scopes-packagers/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install unity-lens-news


Then, type this in:
sudo apt-get install unity-lens-news


You will have to log out and then log back in to get the news lens in Unity. If you do want to have some other cool lenses, follow this link. Since you have the PPA already added at this point, just copy the name of the lens, then type in sudo in the terminal, and then paste the name. You can also use the software-center, once you have the PPA added. I prefer terminal, because the packages don't always show up in the software-center.


And, what kind of lens would you like to have next? If I can learn how to create one, I will make a lens that you can use to browse articles on Techman's World via the RSS feed that I already have. I can also have a latest comments RSS feed, but that is less important to me.


Also, did you see the Disqus 2012 on Techman's World article yet? I want everyone's feedback on Disqus 2012.

Disqus 2012 on this site

Dear readers,
If you have not noticed yet, you might notice that the comments are not looking as the way they should be. That is because I have enabled Disqus 2012, for a short period of time. The reason -- to see how it is like here. My personal opinion is one thing, but this site is not about me. I'd make my own personal blog for that...which would also be powered by Disqus.

I have had this enabled for only one day, and I have submitted just under 10 bugs with Disqus 2012. Sure, it still has bugs, but is stable enough to have on here for a while. Click here to see my initial post about Disqus 2012.

So, do you want Disqus 2012 on this site? Be sure to post a comment below -- using Disqus 2012 and let me know of your thoughts, and also vote in the poll below. I will use both to decide whether or not to keep Disqus 2012 on here.


Below is some pictures I just took:

Here you can see the embed, currently with no comments. This is the same embed for this article. When you star a discussion, you can share it on twitter and facebook, subscribe to it via RSS, and subscribe to it via email. If you are logged in, you'll also see the My Disqus tab, similar to the current Disqus Dashboard. When you click the gear drop down menu, you have more options, such as logging out, accessing help, and more.

Here, you can see community info. This is the equivalent of the community box from the "classic" Disqus.

If you have questions, drop a line below. And don't forget to vote in the poll, and comment below.

Flame malware snoops on PCs across the Middle East

If you thought that Stuxnet was a very bad Windows virus, this is worse, at least according to the data being collected.



Much ado was made when security experts found Stuxnet wreaking havoc, but it's looking as though the malware was just a prelude to a much more elaborate attack that's plaguing the Middle East. Flame, a backdoor Windows trojan, doesn't just sniff and steal nearby network traffic info -- it uses your computer's hardware against you. The rogue code nabs phone data over Bluetooth, spreads over USB drives and records conversations from the PC's microphone. If that isn't enough to set even the slightly paranoid on edge, it's also so complex that it has to infect a PC in stages; Flame may have been attacking computers since 2010 without being spotted, and researchers at Kaspersky think it may be a decade before they know just how much damage the code can wreak.


No culprit has been pinpointed yet, but a link to the same printer spool vulnerability used by Stuxnet has led researchers to suspect that it may be another instance of a targeted cyberwar attack given that Iran, Syria and a handful of other countries in the region are almost exclusively marked as targets. 


Even if you live in a 'safe' region, I still advise you keep an eye out for anything suspicious.


Update:
Here is some additional info I got from Remove-Malware.com. The writer has a YouTube channel, @mrizos I believe. He has millions of page views at this blog.


Flame is very sophisticated modular malware (or espionageware).   All of it’s modules amount to a whopping 21 MB.   Flame was written in C++ and Lua (Lua is language you don’t see like…ever).  Flame can also morph it’s behavior to slip past traditional Antivirus (it’s able to detect over 100 antivirus applications), this apparently works very well.


Flame Objectives:
Flame is designed to quietly steal information by:

• Logging keystrokes
• Capturing all network traffic on the infected PC
• Uploading documents already on the PC
• Enabling built-in microphones and recording the audio (Everyone Hopes that this doesn't happen)

Another detail is that this malware has been around the net for over 2 years! Isn't that amazing?


Methods of Infection:

• USB Sticks / Drives
• Via LAN (spooler exploit)
• Possibly via hijacked pages

KasperskyLab discovered Flame and now have confirmed over 400 detections of Flame in the Middle east (189 of those in Iran).  No one knows who created Flame, but it’s existence only in the middle East has many people pointing the finger to the US, England and Israel as possible Flame authors.

Angry Birds, Tango, and PES 2012 refuse to install on Windows Phones with 256MB RAM

Microsoft first unveiled its low-cost 256MB of RAM Windows Phone devices at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. Although Microsoft warned parts of Windows Phone would be restricted on handsets with 256MB of RAM, the company said it expected 95 percent of apps would still install and run just fine. Nokia's Lumia 610 has started to ship in Europe and a Windows Phone fan site in Spain has discovered that a number of popular apps refuse to install on the handset.


Skype, Tango, Angry Birds, and PES 2012 all refuse to install at the moment, presenting a RAM warning in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It's too early to say whether the app developers involved will be pushing out updates to support 256MB of RAM devices, but the restrictions on such popular apps appear to signal the first type of hardware fragmentation on Windows Phone. Microsoft may claim that only five percent of apps will have difficulties on 256MB of RAM devices, but if these are popular ones, including Angry Birds and Skype, then the company could find it difficult to market the advantages of such low-cost phones.


I do have some good news though. Nokia's confirmed that Rovio is, indeed, working on an optimized version of Angry Birds for the Lumia 610, though an exact release date is still up in the air.


Feel free to comment below.

Microsoft warns Windows XP costs 5X more than Windows 7 to support

Microsoft has been for a while now trying to convince organizations to upgrade to Windows 7 from XP.  In its latest bid to convince organizations to upgrade from Windows XP, a Microsoft-sponsored report claims that companies end up paying more than five times in support costs by refusing to upgrade to Windows 7.

The report from IDC points to rising annual costs in hardware and software support that ultimately makes the 11-year-old Windows XP a huge time sink for IT staff. While the results obviously sound very self-serving for Microsoft, they could serve as a kick in the pants to organizations that have delayed Windows 7 deployments for too long.

Shockingly, IDC found that 42 percent of the commercial Windows install base is currently running Windows XP. With Microsoft set to kill all support for Windows XP in April 2014, many of those companies will be forced to upgrade within the next few years anyway — there won’t be anymore Windows updates or security fixes, after all.

“The bottom line: IDC’s research finds businesses that migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7 will see significant return on investment over 130 percent over a three-year period,” writes Erwin Visser, a senior director for Windows, in a blog post on Thursday.  “Moreover, Windows 7 gives businesses back hours of user productivity. Additionally, migrating now to Windows 7 will set businesses up well to embrace Windows 8 in the future, as IDC found that all indications at this time are that the move from Windows 7 to Windows 8 will be seamless for applications and non-impactful to existing hardware.”

As a computer person myself, I can probably figure out why organizations have not upgraded to Windows 7 yet. 

1. It costs too much money right now
2. Skipped over Windows Vista, wanting something much more stable. This argument is rather invalid though, because Windows 7 has been proven to be stable by now.
3. Legacy apps. I can accept this argument because some apps can't run under Windows 7, but you can also get Windows XP mode in Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. XP mode is XP in a virtual machine.
4. Hardware is not good enough to run Windows 7. A switch to Linux would be good if that firm can not afford new hardware at the moment.

If you have any more reasons for not upgrading, post a comment below. You can also type your opinion there as well.

OMG! Ubuntu! Down

This is something that I find very odd. The very popular Ubuntu news site OMG UBUNTU is down for some reason. I am getting an error when using multiple browsers to visit the site.


Ah well.


Updates:

1. It appears that the site has been down since 6:45 AM, as this Google+ post explains. I'll continue to monitor the status of this website until it comes back online.
2. It appears to be back up now.
3. The site is back up, but some uses might be experiencing issues trying to search. I have reported the problem, and will get back here to let everyone know when it is working again.

Can Ubuntu replace Windows? A non techie gives her input

I found this post from doctor-techno.com, which is happens to be powered by blogger with the dynamic themes. The original post is here.

Archives: BALLMER THROWS A CHAIR AT "F*ING GOOGLE"

Hmm...I was surfing the net when I found this on one of the forums of The Verge. It is about something Steve Ballmer said back in 2005. This was eye catching to me, so maybe it will do the same with you.

---

A reliable source has passed along a legal document in the ongoing lawsuit between Google and Microsoft over Google’s hiring of Kai-Fu Lee. The document is the “Declaration of Mark Lucovsky” in the case. Lucovsky was a distinguished engineer at Microsoft who defected to Google in November of 2004. His statement makes for some pretty interesting reading, to say the least.


The statement reads in part:

Prior to joining Google, I set up a meeting on or about November 11, 2004 with Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer to discuss my planned departure….At some point in the conversation Mr. Ballmer said: “Just tell me it’s not Google.” I told him it was Google.


At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office. Mr. Ballmer then said: “Fucking Eric Schmidt is a fucking pussy. I’m going to fucking bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I’m going to fucking kill Google.” ….

Thereafter, Mr. Ballmer resumed trying to persuade me to stay….Among other things, Mr. Ballmer told me that “Google’s not a real company. It’s a house of cards.”

---

Shortly thereafter that news broke, it went viral.

FCC clears Sprint to run CDMA, 4G LTE on 800MHz iDEN airwaves

The FCC has just tweaked the rules around the ESMR (Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio) spectrum to let Sprint, and the considerably more regional SouthernLINC Wireless, run their CDMA voice calls and LTE data on the 800MHz band they're currently using for their soon-to-end iDEN networks. In practice, the extra frequency access should be a tremendous help to at least Sprint, which hasn't had the low-level, indoors-friendly airspace that AT&T and Verizon enjoy with their 700MHz networks.


But don't get to happy, you'll have to buy a 800MHz phone to use this spectrum. On top of that, you'll have to also wait until 2014 when the switch on this extra LTE.

Sony Xperia Play will not receive Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade

I have some real bad news for all of you Xperia Play owners. Sony's Xperia Play phone will not be updating to Android version 4.0, also known as "Ice Cream Sandwich," as noted on a recent product blog entry. Sony cites consistency and stability in its decision to withhold the phone from the list of devices receiving the upgrade, which was initially planned to release at the end of May/early June.


Sony explained that "after extensive in house testing with our developer teams and working with our partners, we have concluded that a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich."


Its decision appears bolstered by feedback from advanced users and game developers that used a beta ROM of the Android version on their Xperia Play devices.

Poll: What graphics system/card brand do you use?

To wrap up this Friday, I decided to do a poll. What is it about -- read the title.


So you are welcome to comment below under this post, as no one really get to see PollDaddy comments. Disqus is better, trust me.


So, what card to you use?

How To: Add Disqus comments to your mobile template via HTML editing

If you are like me, you have a blog that is powered by Blogger. Sure, you can use WordPress.com, but it is harder to use, and you can't add JavaScript and plugins like Disqus.

By default, Blogger has its own native comment system. It has gotten better, but still lacking in core features.

So like me, I installed Disqus here. That is why you see Disqus here instead of Blogger Comments.

But you have one issue - getting Disqus to work in your mobile template.

Well in this Techman's World How-To, I'm going to guide you through it through images and text.

The first thing to know is if you installed Disqus. In this case I'm assuming you used the Blogger widget.

1. Go to the Blogger Dashboard
2. Select your blog(s)
3. Select Template from the options menu along the left.
4. Click on edit HTML under the "Live on Blog" thumbnail image.
5. Confirm the warning about HTML
6. Click the tick at the top to expand widgets
7. Press CTRL + F
8. Type in "Disqus" NOTE: If you have another Disqus widget, you might get to that first. Make sure you please you placed your Disqus widget at the very bottom right corner in the layout tab first. If you have another widget, the Disqus embed widget should be the very last one anyways.
9. Add a mobile='yes' after locked='false'
10. Save Template (thanks to Jim Hirshfield in the comments for the heads up)

Here is some images below.

System76 Releases Gazelle Professional Series 7, professional parts in tow

System76 has been recently redesigning their laptops, and their desktops. Happening about 2 days ago is the release of the Gazelle Professional 7. This laptop has the same screen size as the Pangolin Performance, but that is just about where the comparison parts. Sure, the Pangolin Performance can have the same amount of RAM and have some of the other parts that this laptop has, this powerful notebook features only 3rd generation Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU's. This also feature Intel HD Graphics 4000, better than the consumer standard 3000. Why not an NVIDIA -- because there is no noticeable difference unless you put in higher NVIDIA cards, which would make this laptop even more expensive. Would be nice if you could have an option to put in a NVIDIA instead of using the Intel Graphics. 


Lets look at what System76 says on its website as of May 24, at the time of this posting:

Now lets look at the photos currently on the System76 website:

To go to the configuration page, click here. To go to the laptop's main page, click here.

Update: I know that a few of you are wondering why you are not getting better graphics options, but I have an answer. A System76 spokesperson noted Nvidia chips are unavailable on the company’s laptops “due to architectural changes to nVidia’s Optimus technology” that make them impossible to support on Ubuntu, but System76 hopes the support situation will improve in time for Ubuntu 13.04. The spokesperson added that System76 also plans to evaluate AMD 7000 GPUs for future laptops. In any case, I suspect Intel graphics will work well enough for most people, and have the additional benefit of pretty rock-solid Linux support.

PSN scheduled maintenance tomorrow, some apps to be down

The PlayStation Network is undergoing scheduled maintenance on Thursday, May 24, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. PDT.


The PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home may not be accessible during this time, but online play and other apps such as Netflix and Amazon Instant will run as normal, provided you've signed into the network at least five days prior to Thursday.


There is no word if you can sign in during the maintenance, so sign in now and keep your PS3 on if you want to game online...just in case.

Microsoft details Windows 8's pre-boot world, helps you skip the F8 F8 F8 routine

Microsoft has been going into very exacting detail as to how Windows 8 works, but one area it hasn't explored much is what happens before you even see the Start screen.


As user experience manager Chris Clark notes, the days of mashing F8 repeatedly to reach a pre-boot configuration are (mostly) over: you can invoke it either through an "advanced startup" in settings, through Start menu shortcuts or, if your PC is truly sick, let it show automatically.


On systems blessed with UEFI instead of an aging BIOS, you'll get a lot more to tinker with as well, including going straight to the command prompt, recovering from a system image or booting from external storage. The emphasis on choosing your environment before you hit the power button is virtually necessary. A Windows 8 PC with a solid-state drive leaves just a 200-millisecond slice of time for any user input, and Microsoft would rather not have users caught in an infinite loop of restarting their systems as they unsuccessfully try to boot from USB drives.


For more info, check out the source below.


Source: MSDN Blogs

Diablo III becomes fastest-selling PC game ever, deluge of broken PC mice likely to follow

Blizzard can vouch that Diablo III has set a new record for the fastest-selling PC game to date: at 3.5 million copies trading hands through Battle.net downloads or retailers in the first 24 hours, and 6.3 million after a week, that's a whole lot of people battling the biggest of Prime Evils in a very short time.


 Blizzard-obsessed South Korea is accounting for even more activity, where over 39 percent of play at local gaming houses can be pinned on the action RPG, and the tally doesn't even include the 1.2 million bonus copies coming through a World of Warcraft annual pass promo. Before console gamers start packing up their PlayStations and Xboxes in symbolic resignation, D3 isn't the record-setter for the most copies of any game sold in one day -- that distinction goes to Modern Warfare 3's 6.5 million copies spread across multiple platforms.


Does anyone even play Diablo? I loved the first game.

New page added: Software

Hello readers.

Today I have another minor site change to put into effect. You won't be noticing anything visually, but you will know if you know a certain link.

The link http://techmansworld.blogspot.com/p/software.html now is just a dedicated software page. Since I couldn't get Disqus to embed on another page besides the home page, I used the manual JavaScript embed code. You can comment there just as normal.

So for now on, my software is going to be on that page, at least for the time being. The link on the welcome bar is going to say, so I don't have to use that tab bar that looks terrible in my opinion. I could use CSS, but I'll work on that in free time, as I'm sure I can make that....better...

So let me know of what you think by either going to that page or commenting here.

And thanks again to all who love and visit Techman's World.

Update:
As fellow commenter Gary Rumain has mentioned, you will have to put the URL on as techmansworld.blogspot.com/ncr so Google does not add your country code top level domain (ccTLD), as this affects your ability to see comments, as Disqus sees the page different if it has for example a .com.au instead of a .com like my blog really is -- a .com domain since it was registered in the United States.

I'll also add this to the software page as well. Thanks Gary Rumain for this heads up.

A great tool for installing packages for Ubuntu

If you use Ubuntu 12.04, you know that you open local .deb packages in the Ubuntu Software Center. Well if you use 10.04, you had another tool you can use...GDebi package installer.


GDebi is a very lightweight package installer. It opens within 5 seconds, if not faster. You do not have to open the Ubuntu Software Center, which takes longer to load, and is rather slow. Not to say that Ubuntu Software Center doesn't do the job, it does, but this is a faster alternative.


So here is some screenshots that I took when I was in Ubuntu, which I finally installed via a partition instead of a virtual disk file in Windows. Due to that, Ubuntu is safe from Windows, is faster because it used EXT4 (With NTFS it has a high risk of getting fragmented very quickly).

Here is GDebi open with no packages selected. You can't really do nothing with no package selected. If you are wondering where the menu is, you have to hover where the app name is at bar at the top of the screen (unity-2d-panel if you are wondering what process that is, because I am running Unity 2D due to my hardware).

Here I have selected the Google Chrome package (google-chrome-stable for those who are wondering). Since it is already installed, it says that I can download the package again, reinstall it, or remove it. If  nothing is installed yet, you will just see a Install Package button

If you are interested in getting this, you can install two ways. You can either get it through a terminal command, or install via the Ubuntu Software Center.


If you are choosing the terminal method, type in the following code:
sudo apt-get install gdebi


If you choose to use the Ubuntu Software Center, click on the logo that looks like a shopping bag on your launcher, or search for it in the dash by clicking the Ubuntu logo at the top left, then typing in "software center". Once the Software Center is open, click the search box at the top right if it is not already selected, then type in "gdebi". It should be the first option. Select it, then click install.


Insert your password for the terminal or the software center, then you are good to go. You have now installed GDebi.


How to make .deb packages open with GDebi by default
If you want to make GDebi open packages by default, instead of the Software Center, then follow these steps:

1. Right Click on may package
2. Select properties
3. Navigate to opens with
4. select GDebi
5. Choose set as default at the bottom of the window

And now you are set. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any further questions or comments, post in the comments below.

If you want to know how you uninstall, you can either go to the Software Center, search for GDebi again, then select uninstall, or run sudo apt-get remove gdebi from a terminal.

U.S. Cellular adds Samsung mobile hotspot to its 4G LTE lineup

Starting today, Samsung's SCH-LC11 mobile hotspot will be available on the regional carrier's site with some sweet, limited time promotional pricing in tow: a mere $50 for subscribers residing in one of the operator's designated 4G coverage areas. For everyone else hunkered down in plain 'ol 3G territory, it'll ring in at $200 -- that's after a $50 mail-in rebate and required two-year contract.


So, if you're a fan of deals and like to keep your plethora of portable gadgetry always connected, click the source link below and order yourself one.


Source: U.S. Cellular

Apple breaks ground on second solar farm for North Carolina data center

Last February, Apple came clean about its efforts to clean up the environment, detailing intentions to make its Maiden, NC data facility a greener place. That site, already home to one solar farm, is now set to host a second 20 megawatt photovoltaic array spanning 100 acres, a one-two power punch that'll jointly generate 84 million kWh annually. Combined with the company's in-development biofuel cell plant, scheduled for opening later this year, that theoretic yield should hit the 124 million kWh mark -- an amount sufficient to power nearly 11,000 households -- providing 60 percent of the center's electric demands.


Despite the pretty impressive numbers, that is still not enough power to keep the train moving. So for that very necessary, leftover 40 percent, the house that Jobs built plans to purchase similar clean energy from outside local sources. 


When all is finally up and running smoothly, the southern facility will earn the distinction of "most environmentally sound data center ever built." Or, at least until another well-heeled competitor comes along to contest that title. 


Now that's friendly competition everybody can get behind.

Facebook IPO is official: $38 per share, on sale tomorrow under ticker symbol 'FB'

In the news lately, and a few short months ago, Facebook announced it was going to go public. A few months ago they filed the papers, and now they are set for tomorrow, which brings the first day of Facebook stock.


A few days ago, the share price was going to be $28, but a few days ago it was raised.


Facebook stock trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol "FB," with the outfit offering 180,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and selling stockholders offering 241,233,615 shares of Class A common stock. Closing of the offering is expected to occur on May 22nd, subject to "customary closing conditions."


So if you are looking to invest in Facebook, don't loose your head. Investing in facebook might not be the best bet, just check this this.


I wish all the best should you choose to invest in Facebook.

Linux How To: Make Chrome Use Native Notifications in Ubuntu/GNOME Shell

If you use any web-apps or websites in Chrome that provide notification pop-ups on your desktop then you’ll know how out of place they look in Ubuntu.


For although Chrome’s notification ‘toasts’ are consistent across all three major operating systems – that is they look and behave the same on Windows, Mac and Linux – they are, unlike, say, Windows, where there is no unified notification system, at odds with the way Ubuntu users are used to seeing their new e-mail, chat or tweet alerts.


For example, here is a Chrome notification on the Ubuntu desktop as it looks by default:

And here’s the same notification from Chrome but delivered using Ubuntu’s native notification system:

Looks better, right? Well you can get all this in just one extension.


Download

The extension, called ‘Linux Native Notifications’, supports GNOME-Shell desktop notifications as well as those used by Unity, and should work on ubuntu 11.10 onwards.


It’s a fork of the now-defunct Chromify-OSD extension by developer Tualatrix Chou.


UPDATE: I am getting some reports that this might not be working with some versions of Chrome/Chromium. If this is not working for you, please update your browser via your favorite package manager, or use the update manager. If you are still having the problem, then reinstall the extension. If you are still having problems, then report in the comments below. I can pass this along to a forum where it can be fixed.

BREAKING - Verizon CFO says grandfathered unlimited plans on the way out

Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo shattered many a hopes and dreams today speaking at the J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference. During his address, Shammo indicated that customers who have been grandfathered in to the unlimited data plan may soon find themselves pushed into tiered territory, with the debut of the carrier's shared data plans. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said, clarifying that, "a lot of our 3G base is on unlimited... [and] when they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share."


With many customers clinging desperately to their truly unlimited usage in the shift to LTE, such a move would ruffle more than a few feathers. It's not clear if this will affect customers who have already made the leap to LTE devices or if it will be limited to customers migrating from 3G phones after a particular cut off date.


In the webcast, the following quote was caught:

"LTE is our anchor point for data share. So, as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go on to the data share plan. And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving everyone into a tiered structure data share plan." 

Well it does not get clearer than that. Post your opinion below.

Upcoming Mozilla Marketplace lacks Linux support; open-source fix in the works

Back in March, Mozilla outlined plans to further integrate web apps into Firefox to complement its upcoming Marketplace. And while the web store will launch with Windows and OS X compatibility, the browser has -- at least for the time being -- snubbed Linux.


If you know anything about Linux distros, you'll know that most use Firefox as the default web browser. Communities behind these distros are not pleased at all.


Though Mozilla execs have expressed their desire to add Linux support eventually, community contributors are already working on a patch to add compatibility for GNOME desktop.

Linux How To: Install MATE Desktop Environment on Ubuntu

If you were a die hard GNOME 2 user, you might not want to hear that it is now considered old, and is not supported anymore by the GNOME team. Well If you want to keep using something similar, then I recommend you use the MATE desktop environment.


MATE is a fork of GNOME 2. It still retains the look and feel of GNOME 2, and also has the same core.


Lately, a new version of MATE has been released. MATE 1.2 is available now for grabs, and I am going to do an how to for people who want to install MATE.


Below is some improvements for MATE 1.2.

• Numerous Bug Fixes
• All conflicts with GNOME were fixed
• All configuration files were moved to ~/.config/mate
• An undo/redo feature was added in  Caja
• Libmate's mate-open command is now faster to open applications
• Mate settings daemon now supports Pulse Audo and GStreamer backends
• New applications: mozo (alacarte fork), python-caja, caja-gksu, caja-image-converter
• Mate themes were renamed to avoid conflicts with GNOME
• A new MATE wallpaper was added
• MATE now features its own icon

Install on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Although, MATE was introduced by Linux Mint, Ubuntu users can install it on their distributions including the newest version Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin. Please run the following commands to install MATE 1.2 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin.


Open a terminal by clicking the Ubuntu button on the top left in Unity, and typing in "Terminal" the one with the ">" in a green color is the one you should select. If you are using GNOME 2, go to Applications >> Accessories >> Terminal.

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu precise main"

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mate-archive-keyring

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mate-core (This installs base packages)

sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment (This installs additional packages

If you are running another Linux distro besides Ubuntu, then refer to the MATE install instructions.

Now all you have to so is logout, click the button to the top right of your name, and select MATE. Login, and you should be in the MATE desktop environment now. If you are not, go over the steps above to reinstalling.

UDS-Q Summary: Bye-Bye Unity 2D, Hello GNOME-Shell Spin

Here is the end of another Ubuntu Developer Summit. The next one is set 6 months later.



Five days, 40 hours, lots of beer, frivolity and discussion have lead to a set of potential plans for the Ubuntu 12.10 release.


Due to the nature of development not everything intended to happen will. But, pessimism aside, the following list of proposals do all on the to-do list…


Desktop

• A ‘system compositor’ will be used to generate flicker-free boot and seamless transitions from boot screen to login screen. The login screen will sport a smooth transition to the desktop.
• LightDM (the login screen system) will be implemented as the lock-screen, thus adding visual and behavioural consistency to the desktop.
• Unity 2D is likely to be dropped. Unity 3D will be made capable of running on lower-end hardware via ‘Gallium3D llvmpipe’.
• The HUD will sport additional features, including the ability to ‘wrap around dialogs and toolbars’.

GNOME

• Ubuntu GNOME fans will be excited by word of a potential vanilla GNOME Ubuntu spin (i.e. a “GNOME-BUNTU/GNOME-Shell Remix”).
• Elsewhere, GNOME 3.6 will be used as the base of Ubuntu 12.10.

Apps, Settings and Installer

• Ubuntu’s Ubiquity installer will be ‘beefed up’ to provide all of the features offered by the ‘alternate installer’, resulting in the latter being dropped as a download option.
• The installer will also see the Windows settings migration assistant feature removed. The team conclude that it is too untested and buggy to remain in place.
• LibreOffice will – finally – ship with AppMenu support out of the box, making it fully HUD accessible.
• Jockey, Ubuntu’s current 3rd party driver installer, will be replaced with a ’better version integrated with System Settings’.

Technical Stuff

• Ubuntu 12.10 will use Linux kernel version 3.5, with 3.6 support after its release.
• Python 3 will ship on the CD by default, meaning various default apps and utilities will be rewritten to take advantage of this.
• Boot speeds and application start up speeds will be improved.

So how do you like this list? Does it look promising? Voice (or really, type) your opinion in the comment thread.

Facebook proposes more transparent privacy policy, wants to know what you think of it

Last year, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner's Office did an audit of Facebook's data usage approach, and determined that, while Facebook's doing a decent job, further details should be provided to us all. Well, the social network's recently responded by creating a Terms and Policies Hub to make its myriad policies easy to find. Additionally, it's adding new examples and explanations to its Data Use Policy about how the 'book employs cookies on its site, while also shedding some light on how our info's used for advertising and improving site operations. There's also a detailed description of the Activity Log tool that lets you see every bit of info you've entrusted to Mr. Zuckerberg, so you can better manage your pictures and wall posts.


The changes are not set stone yet, because Facebook wants to know how you like them. 


Head on over to Facebook's Site Governance page to peruse the changes and provide feedback at your leisure, or tune into a live Q&A session with Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan next Monday (May 14th) at noon ET.


Source: Facebook


Update: And here is poll.

Ubuntu 12.10 Daily Images Go Live

Looking for some more Ubuntu fun after upgrading to 12.04 LTS? Well here is something to feed you. Daily (Pre-Alpha) builds of Ubuntu 12.10 have now went live.


If you want to pick up the usual -- 32 bit, 64 bit, 64 bit-mac, and PowerPC images, click here or follow the link below.


Ubuntu 12.10 Daily Builds

Poll: What version of desktop Windows are you running?

Here is another poll, this time it is for Windows users. The last one was for Linux.


Here is the poll below. Comment below (not via the poll if that is possible), and vote if you like.

OpenOffice 3.4 Released

First off, do you know what OpenOffice is? OpenOffice is an office suite that was used by many until The Document Foundation took its source code and forked it into what is now the mainly used open source office suite Libreoffice, to give OpenOffice a "brighter future". Which was a polite way of saying “getting bugs fixed and features added faster”.


Although LibreOffice may have forked off from it and picked up developers and innovation by the bucket load, the faithful old brand, now under the direction of Apache Software Foundation, has seen its first release since January 2011.


This new release of OpenOffice doesn't contain anything game changing, but does have some improved features, faster startup times, and a new color picker.

• Faster startup times
• Improved ODF Encryption
• Various minor additions to Calc
• Support for SVGs in all apps
• New look color picker

For the full release log, go here.

Looking Forward

Apache OpenOffice has announced initial aims for future releases. These include adding ‘new features and improvements from the upcoming IBM Lotus Symphony contribution’, ‘additional native languages’ and ‘enhanced accessibility, usability and performance improvements’.

If you want to get the latest OpenOffice, then click here. Choose your platform under one of the listed languages, then click download.

Oh, and if you have LibreOffice already installed, then remove it to get this. It is not recommended you run both office suites on the same machine.

Kubuntu Likely To Retain Name Despite New Sponsor

Kubuntu is likely to retain its name, the lead developer Jonathan Riddell has said at Ubuntu Developer Summit.



It had been rumoured that legal issues with ownership of the trademark would force Kubuntu and its new financial backer Blue Systems to choose a new name for the project.


But Canonical, Riddell says, have expressed no issue with the team continuing to use the trademark under a new sponsor.


Canonical dropped financial funding of Kubuntu earlier this year. KDE company Blue Systems stepped in, assuring users that they have ‘no plans’ to change anything.



“They [Canonical] are very happy to have extra sponsors …working within the Ubuntu ecosystem.”


“The negotiations are not yet 100%”, David Wonderly, also present, added, ”[But] from the way everything seemed to go yesterday on the Canonical side they more than happy to not just work with us and for us but to to do everything they can to help us out too.”


Would changing Kubuntu's name be a good thing? By divorcing themselves so cleanly from the “Ubuntu” brandmark they would certainly lose the instant recognition, and traffic, that the ‘ubuntu’ suffix brings. All official Ubuntu spins use this ‘ubuntu’ suffix – Xubuntu, Lubuntu & Edubuntu – and it makes them instantly recognisable as being official community spins.


If they did change their name, that would be all...just a name change. It will continue being developed by the same people, with the same goals, being based upon Ubuntu, and built using Ubuntu/Canonical resources.


So what do you think?

Apple's iOS 5.1.1 update for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone: fixes AirPlay and network bugs....and Jailbroken already

Have you inserted your iDevice into iTunes yet? Well now you should, because there is a update out now, that aims to fix a few issues.


Apple has just let loose iOS 5.1.1, a seemingly minor point update that actually promises to fix quite a few substantial quirks. Coming two months to the day after the iOS 5.1 software update, the extra 0.0.1 is said to improve reliability of the HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut, address bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks and solve a few issues that were affecting AirPlay video playback "in some circumstances." There's also improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List, and Apple has purportedly fixed an issue where 'Unable to purchase' alert could be displayed after successful purchase.


So let me know in the comments on how the update went...that is if you have an iDevice.


And also, it has already been jailbroken. Remember though, if you jailbreak, you most likely void your warranty, and all of it is on you.


Below is a small release log:

iOS 5.1.1

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
• Fixes an issue where 'Unable to purchase' alert could be displayed after successful purchase

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222