Linux

We now have Debian Etch 4.0 DVDs at Zyxware. It is available in 4 DVDs. Click here to order your copy of Debian Etch 4.0 DVDs using our Request CD/DVD module. Please note that currently, this facility is available for users in India. Debian Etch 4.0 contains over 18200 packages with about 6500 packages more than the previous one. Debian has got GNOME 2.14 as its default desktop enviornment along with KDE 3.5.5a and Xfce 4.4 as alternatives. The entire system and packages are very stable as it has gone through a rigorous release cycle.

The full set of Ubuntu Repository DVDs (set of 5 DVDs) is now available. You can request for your copy of the Ubuntu Repositories through our RequestCD program. The ubuntu repository DVDs contain the complete set of packages under the main, universe, multiverse and restricted repositories in Ubuntu. Please note that we will mail out the DVDs only within India.

We now have all variants of Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (7.10) with us. Click here to order your copy of Ubuntu DVD or CD using our RequestCD system. You can request the Gutsy Gibbon version of any of the Ubuntu flavors - Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Gobuntu - from Zyxware. Kindly remember that this RequestCD feature is currently only available for users from India.

Ever since HP-Compaq stopped giving Windows XP drivers for their laptops customers across the world have been having a tough time setting up Windows XP and configuring all the devices (See our post on Windows XP drivers for HP-Compaq Presario F733AU). Sometimes these drivers work and sometime they don't. We have been installing Ubuntu on almost all the Laptops that we have been selling and we have not had any problems with Ubuntu so far. Recently we installed Ubuntu on Compaq Presario F733AU Laptop.

As part of our ongoing process to promote Ubuntu and GNU/Linux in general we are happy to announce the launch of our latest offering - Free Ubuntu (or any other flavor of GNU/Linux) installation on your laptop. Yes - that is right. It is going to cost you nothing - nada, nil, nilch. All you have to do is to bring your laptop to our office and leave it with us and have Ubuntu installed on it.

We now have Fedora 8 DVD with us. Click here to order your copy of the Fedora 8 DVD using our RequestCD system. Kindly remember that this RequestCD feature is currently only available for users from India. Fedora 8 has been getting rave reviews from across the GNU/Linux user and developer community. A slew of features focusing on the usability of the system has been incorporated into Fedora 8.

Installing Ubuntu on a fresh system is very easy. It is easy on computers that already have Microsoft Windows XP or Vista already installed provided the hard disk has multiple partitions. Laptops that come with Windows XP or Windows Vista pre-installed has a problem in that they normally have only 1 partition (with a second hidden partition storing recovery data). Windows does not allow you to resize the partition on which you have the operating system. So how do you install Ubuntu in such a situation.

Installation of Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (7.10) almost works out of the box for Compaq C702TU Laptop. It is an 'almost' because there are a few glitches here and there. However it is possible to get the system up and running with very little manual configuration and additional driver installation. Three areas where there are problems are a) Wireless driver support b) Graphics card support. c) Acceleration and speed of touchpad

Ubuntu installation on a system which already has other operating systems is simple. Ubuntu will automatically detect other operating systems already installed on the computer and enable booting into them from the grub boot menu. However if you install Windows on a system which already has Ubuntu installed on a partition other than the partition on to which you install windows then you will inevitably lose the option to boot into the Ubuntu installation. There is a simple way to rectify this issue.

A majority of people still look at Linux as something where you have to type everything in consoles, where view documents in consoles and runs applications from consoles. This was the case several years ago. Not anymore. Desktop Linux has arrived. Almost all the major distros(distributions) come with at least one of the many window managers (the graphical user interface you see as the desktop) available in the OSS marketplace. Each distribution differs from others in one way or other; some for the better while some for the worse.

BSNL is one of the leading broadband providers in India. They have managed to provide blazing fast internet connections at rates affordable to an average middle class Indian. Although they provide top quality connection speeds with very little down time, their technical support leaves a lot to be desired. More so when it comes to configuring connections in Linux. They just mention Linux as "other operating systems" in their help guides. This article covers the configuration of the BSNL Dataone broadband connection over a Dare Global DB108 modem-router on Ubuntu.

Ever since we started our pc sales and services division we have been trying to get a system with 100% linux supported hardware. One of the pieces which had been the stumbling block till now had been the internal modem. We had tried all the internal modems available in the Trivandrum local market and we had failed, ... well not all. We have found the missing link!