Finaly Microsoft opens Hyper-V code to the Linux community

In a very interesting article by Jeffrey Schawartz in Readmondmag.com, has published an interesting news about Microsoft’s decision – “unthinkable” until a few days ago – MS “open” more than 20,000 lines of code to the Linux community under the license GPLv2 (General Public License version 2).

The code, published on Monday, includes three device drivers that will allow any business enterprise or any distribution of Linux community to use this device in a virtual machine within the stack virtualization of Microsoft Hyper-V battery.

This would be the first time Microsoft opened its code to the Linux community, free of any licensing or patent restrictions under the GPLv2 license.

It’s very interesting to see at least a historical opponent to open source as Microsoft, releasing part of its code to the Linux community. Something is definitely changing – which is hopefully for the better.

I wonder what would be the next code that Micorosft will open up as GPLv2 :). Leave your guess in comments.… Read More

How to solve installation problems of VMware Server on Ubuntu

The other day, Andres asked Josep Ros a question about Ubuntu and VMware. Since Josep Ros know absolutely nothing about Ubuntu, they asked Albert Mas for help. As the wise man says, knowing everything is not as important as knowing the phone number of someone who does.

“Hello Josep,

I am having trouble with VMware and Ubuntu and am not able to solve the problem myself. I was able to fix some errors but have come across one that I have no idea how to fix. Can you help me? Thanks in advance.

-Andres Lamelas”


This is what Albert Mas suggested, and it worked:

“I tried, unsuccessfully, to reproduce the error several ways. The problem is that you’re using the latest version of VMware Server, Version 1.07, which does not work with new kernels. We therefore have to use some patches from Version 1.06 that can work with both versions.

Thus, we can do two things:

1. Use the patches that are available on this site:
http://lenrek.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/vmware-server-106-for-linux-kernel-2626x/

2. Install VMware again, following the steps outlined in my blog:
http://www.turkil.net/blog/vmware-server-105-a-ubuntu-804/

in section:

If on the contrary, you have no VMware Server installed and we want to install it on Ubuntu 8.04, you will have to do the following …

Remember that where you put VMware 1.05,Read More

Screencasts with Ubuntu

Ubuntu disappoints again… although I don’t exactly know who is to blame: Ubuntu, the programmers at Wink, or me.

Today, I was preparing some basic tutorials for VMware Player.
So far, the mini-course, if that’s what you want to call it, consists of four parts:

1) Downloading the VMware Player from the VMware website;
2) Creating a virtual machine with easyvmx.com;
3) Mounting an ISO file directly modifying the definition file of the virtual machine, and
4) Obtaining the VMware Tools for Linux from VMware Server.

The truth is that—more than creating a mini-workshop—I wanted to test whether it could perform screencasts in Linux just like it did in Windows.

The answer is NO.

When searching on Google, I found over and over again the same few options for live screen captures: RecordMyDesktop, Istanbul and XVidCap (for a summary, see the article on Linux.com). Because I am used to doing screencasts with Camtasia, I found it very inconvenient that none of these options allowed me to edit captures. Suppose I captured a video in OGG format, or Theora, how would I edit it? Remember, I am VERY new to Linux,but my needs are simple (e.g. cut out pieces of recording where I made mistakes or where progress bars consume too much time; add some titles, and perhaps make notes on the screen).… Read More

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS – Code Name: The Hardy Heron

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (also called the “Hardy Heron” or the “Robust Heron”) is the eighth version of Ubuntu. The stable version was published on April 24, 2008. It follows Ubuntu 7.10, also known as the “Gutsy Gibbon”, and precedes Ubuntu 8.10, the “Intrepid Ibex”.

Ubuntu 8.04 is the second version that has long-term support. It will be supported for 3 years on workstations (until April 2011) and for 5 years on servers (until April 2013).

Which version of Ubuntu is currently installed on your computer?

Get Ubuntu 8.04 LTS – Click here to download Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

To download or order a free copy of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS for workstations on PC computers, go to the download page of Ubuntu. This page gives you the opportunity to:
– immediately download a free CD image of Ubuntu or one of its variations, which you can burn onto a CD-ROM (+ 700 million);

– order a free Ubuntu CD-ROM or one of its variations through the Ship-It service (delivery takes between 3 to 10 weeks), and
– find other ways to get a copy of Ubuntu (e.g. through the press or computer magazines).

The specialized CD images of the different variations of Ubuntu (Alternate CD and CD-ROM installation server) can be downloaded directly from the Ubuntu download server.Read More

VirtualBox: Is it a Necessity or a Gadget?

In recent days, a small software made its way to the little man in Ubuntu os: it is Virtual Box. Many articles have already been written on this subject and I will not dwell on its installation, or configuration. It is simply a virtual machine software as the famous VMware, except that the Virtual Box free although still proprietary software. But no matter, it is important to note that VirtualBox is much more reactive than its competitor while remaining very easy to configure and use. The writing of this note is to demonstrate – with no guarantee – the usefulness of this software under Ubuntu and Linux in general.

A large majority of Ubunters has already installed Wine to emulate (not really emulation, but it is understood better this way) MS Windows on their workstation. We all know that this software is far from perfect, often slower than a real Windows but not always, it helps to use a small range of software, some of which may not work. These are often software games like FPS or MMORPG, some poker rooms, especially Internet Explorer! Yes, IE! It is the most used browser in the world but also one of the least respectful of web standards, then the poor webmasters and CSS experts who need to verify that this browser will not display anything incorrectly over 80% of the world’s computers.… Read More