Linux Mint 12 “Lisa”

Linux Mint is the most popular open source operating system. The information comes from the website, Distrowatch Linux distributions. Linux Mint now reached version 12. At the base is Ubuntu and as window manager we have Gnome 3.

It seems natural that Linux Mint exceeded Ubuntu Linux. What has made ​​Ubuntu popular was the friendly way to interact with the user. How did Mint beat Ubuntu? Simple, is based on Ubuntu but makes more things. Moreover, it is even more friendly.

System requirements for Linux Mint 12 "Lisa" are decent:

- x86 processor (Linux Mint 64-bit requires a 64-bit processor. Linux Mint 32-bit works on both 32-bit and 64-bit processors).

- 512 MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage).

- 5 GB of disk space

- Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution

- CD/DVD drive or USB port



Download links and additional information can be found on the official Linux Mint blog.



What do you think about Linux Mint ?

How to mount usb flash drives in linux.

First plug your usb card reader and to make sure your device was detected go to System Tools > Hardware Browser > enter root password and it will display your hardware information then go to > Hard Drives and it should be listed under /dev/sda.

Open your favorite terminal....btw this works in gnome and kde.


[imdeemvp@localhost imdeemvp]$ cd /mnt/ <-as user cd yourself to the mnt folder and become root to create directory
[imdeemvp@localhost mnt]$ su
Password:
[root@localhost mnt]# mkdir usbflash <- this created a directory in the mnt folder

[root@localhost mnt]# ls /mnt/ <-this command listed all my directories the mnt folder
cdrom cdrom1 floppy usbflash

[root@localhost mnt]# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbflash <-this is the command to mount flash card reader

[root@localhost mnt]# ls usbflash <-this listed all the info in my usb flash card and this was the output:
bootex.log dns.bmp games and keys LinuxDocs01.21.04 pc's
dns2.bmp Documents LinuxDistributions_eBay my pics programs

then i just copied this to my home folder and i was done!

[root@localhost mnt]# umount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbflash <-this unmounted my usb flash card
umount: /dev/sda1: not mounted
[root@localhost mnt]# exit
[imdeemvp@localhost mnt]$


THIS ALSO WORKED UNDER Mandrake 9.1, 9.2, and 10 official.

in terminal type as root: gedit /etc/fstab and NOW YOU CAN ADD THIS LINE TO FSTAB to auto mount it:

Code:
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbflash vfat noauto,users,rw,umask=0 0 0


Adding "rw" allows to read and write in the usb flash drive. HAVE FUN!!
UPDATED 11.28.04
Please note that under FC3 it automounts in your desktop. It is plug and play.


VIA

Apple iOS v. Google Android

The Apple iOS, which runs on its iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, has a flaw in how it reads PDF documents that makes it easier to hack. This flaw is exploited by JailbreakMe, a one-click site that makes it easy for anyone without any real tech skills to hack into their own iPhone.

The flaw lets JailbreakMe open up an Apple operating system, and enables the user to load non Apple-approved applications on to an Apple device. JailbreakMe brought the security risk to light, finally causing Apple to release security updates for iOS 4.0.2 for iPhone and iPod touch and iOS 3.2.2 for iPad this week. (By the way, doesn’t this sound a lot like the same security flaw that Adobe learned about in late July?)

But the threat to the iOS is not the operating system itself but in its third-party software, such as the Safari browser, QuickTime, Java, or apps from Adobe. Nonetheless, it’s Apple that bears the responsibility for monitoring security, since it’s made the choice to use the software and package it for users. This is a weird conundrum since Apple believes in the “walled garden” approach to applications. Shouldn’t it be patrolling the garden more?

Android has similar issues, such as an innocuous Jackeey wallpaper application that retrieved personal information from each phone that downloaded its application. Neither JailBreakMe nor Jackeey were hacking into anyone’s phone; however, their code could be used for evil rather than good, which worries most security experts.

So how does Apple’s security for its mobile operating system stack up against that of Google’s Android, the biggest competitor?

1. Walled Garden v. the Wild Jungle

The biggest problem with Apple’s security is its walled garden philosophy, which relies on the wisdom of Apple approving applications rather than by consensus or the individual user. While many Apple fans say this decreases iOS problems, others say that it actually contributes to them by closing a door on the application after it has gained entrance into the App Store. Apple’s gatekeeping system on its walled garden is also virtually unknown, and it may also prove to give a false sense of security.

The Android Market, on the other hand, resembles a swap meet. The applications are available without restriction, and are monitored and reviewed by users themselves, including analyzing code–something not offered by Apple. While some worry that the free-for-all will be a security risk, at least one security research firm, Lookout, says Android’s applications are less problematic than Apple’s.

2. Pig-in-the-Poke v. the Test-Drive

Another way that app security for the Linux-based Android platform is better is that each application must disclose to the user what part of the device it plans to use and how. Google also publicly talks about operating a “honeypot,” or a computer not hooked up to all parts of its system, which monitors Android applications for malicious programs. Such open discussion is not part of Apple’s corporate climate, users frequently don’t know what they are buying until damage is done–but if they’re lucky, they found out about their vulnerability through JailbreakMe.

3. Freedom v. Establishment

With Google’s new App Inventor, you don’t have to be a software engineer to create an application for the anything-goes Android platform. Not so at Apple. It takes an experienced software developer to create anything on the iOS, and it’s up to the corporate honchos at Apple to approve it. As for security in the “walled garden,” there are no guarantees.

While the iPhone has some important security features, like sophisticated memory protection and a required digitally signed code requirement, security analysts say Android’s protection is stronger because of its source openness and the way it isolates applications which causes less harm to users. While business owners should block or limit access to applications to company machines to protect their data, the Android platform may prove just a little safer. 

Nvidia Graphics Drivers 190.42 for Ubuntu

NVIDIA 190.42 driver is the first official release in the 190.xx Linux driver series. It has been in beta for months with many updates and releases. These new Nvidia 190.42 Linux drivers now supports new hardware, support for OpenGL 3.2, support for configuring the NVIDIA GPU’s fan-speed, configuring the GPU PowerMizer mode etc, The new hardware which is now supported includes:

• GeForce GT 220
• GeForce G102M
• GeForce G210
• GeForce G210M
• GeForce GT 230M
• GeForce GT 240M
• GeForce GTS 250M
• GeForce GTS 260M

Nvidia Graphics Drivers 190.42 for Ubuntu 9.10, 9.04, 8.10, 8.04

Follow the steps below to get your latest Nvidia Drivers 1.90.42 for Ubuntu:

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)

Use the following command to add PPA
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nvidia-vdpau/ppa

For other users, first you need to edit /etc/apt/sources.list file and add the following lines for whatever Ubuntu version you have.

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu intrepid main

Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS (Hardy Heron)

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu hardy main

Now save the file, and exit it.

Update the source list by typing in the following command:
sudo apt-get update

This should get you the latest Nvidia Drivers 1.90.42 for Ubuntu.

Via

Download Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala [ Officially Released ]

After the dust from the Snow Leopard and Windows 7 launch has settled, we have another important OS launch: the new version of one of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu 9.10, is available for download.

Named Karmic Koala, the new Ubuntu – as always – promises to be faster and easier to use, bringing version 2.6.31 of the Linux kernel, latest version of GNOME, and Firefox 3.5. The biggest news, however, is Ubuntu One, a web sync service that gives you 2 GB of online disk space and lets you synchronize notes and contacts, as well as share files between several computers.

Boot time has been significantly reduced, claims Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu); accessibility has been improved (Ubuntu is now translated into 23 languages), and the OS comes packed with open source software, with more available through Software Center. Finally, netbook owners can download and install a version specifically created for them, called the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Check out an overview of Karmic Koala over at the official web page.

Download theme - Windows 7 into Ubuntu Linux [ Transformation Pack]

Windows 7 Transformation pack for Ubuntu Linux for those users who want to enjoy Windows 7 and want to give fresh look to their Ubuntu Linux. Windows 7 Transformation Pack for Ubuntu transforms Ubuntu into Windows 7 and gives complete new look.

Windows 7 Transformation Pack for Ubuntu

Checkout step by step guide on how to apply Windows 7 transformation pack on Ubuntu.

Download Windows 7 Transformation Pack for Ubuntu.

Source: Redmondpie

Top 9 Twitter Clients for Ubuntu Linux

I rushed to the Synaptic Package Manager hoping to find some Twitter client applications (apps) right away but very unfortunately none were listed there. Then I did a little research and found some good Twitter clients for Linux that work on Ubuntu.

1. Twitux (download)

Twitux is a Twitter client for the Gnome desktop. The program features include view public, friends and mine timeline, send message, automatic login, add friend and system tray icon.

2. gTwitter (download)

gTwitter a simple GTK+ based application for Linux, designed to interact with Twitter web service. Its written using Mono/C# and some of GNOME dependant libraries. GUI is inspired by Mac client Twitterrific.

3. Spaz (download)

Spaz is a Twitter client for users who value free, open-source software, attractive design, and customizability. It is built entirely in XHTML and Javascript and can be styled using a custom CSS styling file. It is built on the Adobe AIR framework so to install it all you need to have is Adobe AIR on Ubuntu (See the end of the post for this tutorial)

4. Twhirl (download)

Twhirl is a desktop twitter client, based on the Adobe AIR platform. It is one of my favorite Twitter clients as it really very easy to use. Scroll down to see how to get this app working using Adobe AIR on Ubuntu.

5. TwitterFox (download)

TwitterFox is a Firefox Extension that displays updates from your friends and lets you update your status. This extension adds a tiny icon on the status bar that notifies you when your friends update their tweets. Also it has a small text input field to update your tweets. As Ubuntu already comes preinstalled with Firefox so installing this Twitter app is as easy as a pie.

6. Twitter Deskbar (download)

Twitter Deskbar is a Twitter app that integrates with the Gnome Deskbar and lets you post status updates right from your desktop. The installation requires you to have Deskbar widget for Gnome. For detailed instructions please use the download link provided.

7. Twitter Terminal

This is basically a hack for posting to Twitter using the Linux Terminal. You will need cURL ( a client for getting files from servers) to post to Twitter through the Terminal which can be installed using the following command:
sudo apt-get install curl

With cURL installed, you can post to Twitter from the terminal window by using the following syntax:
curl -u yourusername:yourpassword -d status="Your Message Here" http://twitter.com/statuses/update.xml

You will receive a response containing the XML coding for your post which acts as a confirmation that your post was submitted.

8. Alert Thingy (download)

Alert Thingy is basically an Adobe AIR app for FriendFeed but also works for Twitter as well. You can get status updates from your friends and can also post live status updates yourself.

9. Mitter ( Download)

Among mitter features are :

• clean interface: simple and easy to use
• supports docking on systray
• nicely integrated with GNOME desktop
• has console client

Bonus for Ubuntu users : mitter is also available from GetDeb.net one-click-install portal

All of these apps work brilliantly on Ubuntu so you are good to go with any one of these.

5 Best Video Players for Linux

I have compiled some of the best free media players for Linux OS to play almost any video, audio formats you will ever need as a Linux user.

VLC Player

VLC media player is a cross-platform open-source multimedia framework, player and server. VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ...) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols. See the full features list. It can also be used as a media converter or a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on networks.

Download VLC Player

Xine

xine is a free multimedia player. It plays back CDs, DVDs, and VCDs. It also decodes multimedia files like AVI, MOV, WMV, and MP3 from local disk drives, and displays multimedia streamed over the Internet. It interprets many of the most common multimedia formats available – and some of the most uncommon formats, too.

Download Xine

Totem

Totem is the official movie player of the GNOME desktop environment based on GStreamer. It features a playlist, a full-screen mode, seek and volume controls, as well as keyboard navigation. It comes with added functionality such as: Video thumbnailer for the file manager, Nautilus properties tab, Mozilla (Firefox) plugin to view movies inside your browser (in development), Webcam utility (in development) and more.

Download Totem

Helix Player

The Helix Player is an open source media player for Linux, Solaris, and Symbian based on the Helix DNA Client media engine. More operating system versions are currently in development.

Download Helix Player

Real Player

RealPlayer for Linux allows you to play more video, including popular Windows Media files, RealMedia files and more. Get instant access to your favorite songs or video. Easily create, save, edit and manage different playlists for any event or mood. Updated multi-channel stereo sound allows you to enjoy 5-channel audio plus a dedicated sub-woofer channel for streaming or playback through either your ALSA or OSS sound system. Need to take a break from a live stream? Just click pause. Perfect Play automatically buffers streaming content. So you can pause, rewind and fast-forward through live broadcasts without missing a thing.

Download RealPlayer for Linux

updated:

MPlayer

MPlayer is a movie player which runs on many systems. It plays most MPEG/VOB, AVI, Ogg/OGM, VIVO, ASF/WMA/WMV, QT/MOV/MP4, RealMedia, Matroska, NUT, NuppelVideo, FLI, YUV4MPEG, FILM, RoQ, PVA files, supported by many native, XAnim, and Win32 DLL codecs. You can watch VideoCD, SVCD, DVD, 3ivx, DivX 3/4/5, WMV and even H.264 movies. Another great feature of MPlayer is the wide range of supported output drivers. It works with X11, Xv, DGA, OpenGL, SVGAlib, fbdev, AAlib, DirectFB, but you can use GGI, SDL (and this way all their drivers), VESA (on every VESA compatible card, even without X11!) and some low level card-specific drivers (for Matrox, 3Dfx and ATI), too! Most of them support software or hardware scaling, so you can enjoy movies in fullscreen. MPlayer supports displaying through some hardware MPEG decoder boards, such as the Siemens DVB, DXR2 and DXR3/Hollywood+. MPlayer has an onscreen display (OSD) for status information, nice big antialiased shaded subtitles and visual feedback for keyboard controls. European/ISO 8859-1,2 (Hungarian, English, Czech, etc), Cyrillic and Korean fonts are supported along with 12 subtitle formats (MicroDVD, SubRip, OGM, SubViewer, Sami, VPlayer, RT, SSA, AQTitle, JACOsub, PJS and our own: MPsub). DVD subtitles (SPU streams, VOBsub and Closed Captions) are supported as well.

Download MPlayer

So, what's your favorite media player?

Nero 4.0 for Linux is Now Available

Nero is the most popular disc-burning application to burn CDs, DVDs and now also supporting Blu-ray discs. Today Nero released a new version of their app for Linux users called Nero Linux 4.

Nero Linux 4 brings disc burning, ripping, and copying solution to advanced and beginner Linux users.

For complete beginners, it also features an user-friendly, wizard-style interface providing easy, guided steps for burning audio and data in one go. Features of Nero Linux 4 are:

• Command line client
• Highest-quality and space-saving storage of MP4 audio files through Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)
• ISO 9660 CD/DVD/BD (Joliet support)
• Audio CD (CD-DA)
• CD, DVD, BD
• CD-Text
• CD-Extra support (with advanced settings)
• ISOLINUX Bootable CD/DVD/BD
• Multisession CDs, DVDs, BD Discs
• Layer Jump Recording support
• DVD-Video and miniDVD (from DVD-Video files)
• DVD double layer support
• .nrg/.cue/.iso image import
• Overburning support for CD and DVD
• Ultra-Buffer™ software buffering technology
• Speed tests and simulated burning
• Data verification after burning
• BD defect management (enable/disable) helps to verify sectors for clean burning, and ensures data is burned accurately

According to Nero, Nero Linux 4 is the only application to offer blue laser data burning support, including support for Blu-ray Disc. Grab the trial version of Nero 4.0 for Linux from the link below.

Download Nero Linux 4

You can download the trial version of Nero Linux 4 from here: Download Nero Linux 4

Download Accelerator for Linux (ubuntu) & Windows - SKDownloader

Download Manager are application which lets you to stop, start and resume your download operation. This is very helpful when you are downloading big files form internet, on slow internet connection or may have frequent disconnections. Download manager aka download accelerators also helps you to speed up downloading process by downloading files in multiple parts simultaneously.

For windows there are several free download manager applications are available but for Linux there are very few. Today we have got Download Accelerator SKDownloader for Linux.

SKDownloader is a free download accelerator for Linux, windows and other platforms. It is java based and has special installers for Linux and Windows.

Features of SKDownloader – Download Accelerator for Linux Ubuntu

1. Downloading the same file in parts simultaneously to maximize speed.

2. Resume Supported.

3. Supports redirection.

4. HTTP and FTP & Proxy support.

5. Scheduling support with Internet Explorer and Firefox integration.

6. Auto updater for both linux and windows* Graphical and Command line versions available with Graphical version having command line interface inbuilt.

7. Easy installers for Linux and Windows.

SKDownloader – Download Accelerator For Linux

Download SKDownloader Download Accelerator for Linux & Windows

Download gOS 3.1 Gadgets (SP1)

gOS is linux operating system designed to run web based application. gOS comes up with a broad range of Google apps on the desktop, including (GMail), Google News, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Products, Meebo, YouTube, and Blogger.

As well as interfaces to Firefox, Facebook, Skype, Wikipedia, Faqly and Box.net. The distribution also includes Open Office, various games, Gimp and Mozilla Thunderbird. gOS 3.1 SP1 is released yesterday and available for download.

gOS 3.1 Gadgets Sp1

Download gOS 3.1 Sp1

Change VLC Player Skin in Ubuntu [How to]

VLC Media Player is a portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. One of the best thing about VLC Media player is that it can play incomplete, unfinished, or damaged video downloads before the files have been fully downloaded.

Another good feature of VLC Player is that you can change its look by applying skins. Follow the post and I will teach you how to make your VLC Player look like Windows Media Player 11.

The very first thing you should do is download the Windows Media Player 11 skin from VLC Player's skin library.

To install this skin on Ubuntu, Hit Alt+F2 which will bring up a dialog box and type this command:

vlc -I skins2

This will bring the player in the right mode to let you install the new skin. Just Right Click on the title bar and select Select Skin → Open Skin and then select the skin file you downloaded. You can also install any other skins the same way you installed this.

Create Ubuntu Live USB With Persistant Storage With uSbuntu Live Creator

You can create a LIVE USB with Ubuntu 8.10 or 9.04 with persistent storage so that the work can be saved on the USB as is not the case in Live CD’s and Live USB.It can create LIVE Bootable USB from Disk Images (ISO), CD, or Download the Distro.It supports Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Mint or CrunchBang.You can also load from the created LIVE USB in Windows with a special portable version of Virtual Box.All the data stored in the usb persistent storage are hidden and the data is stored in a special file called casper-rw.

uSbuntu Live Creator will also create a portable(no installation) version of VirtualBox, that can be launched by running Launch_usb.exe located in the Portable-VirtualBox folder in your USB Drive, so that you can launch ubuntu right in windows.

Features :

• Create bootable USB device from Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Mint or CrunchBang
• Enable persistency of your data
• Launch Ubuntu directly in Windows with a special Portable VirtualBox
• Hides created files on the drive.

Steps to create a Bootable Ubuntu USB Drive :

• Prepare your USB, ie., Format the drive with FAT32 or FAT partition
• Download and launch the uSbuntu Live Creator and choose a USB key or drive in the list
• Select a ISO file or CD of Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu 8.10 or 9.04
• Choose the size of persistency data.
• Check the options you want
• Click the thunder to start the creation

Next, launch Portable Virtual Box and from the Boot Options you can start Ubuntu in

• Persistent Mode (your data will be persistent)
• Live Mode (all your data will be discarded after reboot)
• Install (to install Ubuntu on your hard drive)
• Integrity Check (check the files on your key)
• Memory Test (can diagnose RAM problems)

The data on your Ubuntu can be backed up by simply copying the “casper-rw file” in your Windows OS.

Downlaod uSbuntu Live Creator

10 Plus Best Free Data Recovery Tools Downloads

If you are a computer professional then you have to be prepared to protect your hard drive data well from unexpected data loss and take back ups. Hard drives corrupt more often now then before. Sometimes we delete data by accident. Sometimes we delete data but we may need that later on. Computer data is not fully deleted from hard drive. It remains in some form for sometime unless you write more data and fill up the space. You can recover that data easily if you have some powerful tool to recover it. Here are some free powerful data recovery tools which I have been using.

Emergency file recovery requires more than the correct tool, though. It requires knowing how file deletion occurs, and what you have to do to maximize the chances of a successful recovery. When a file is deleted from your computer, its contents aren’t immediately destroyed. Windows simply marks the hard drive space as being available for use by changing one character in the file table so that the file entry won’t be displayed in My Computer or a command line DIR command, etc. If you manage to start an undeletion process before Windows uses that part of the hard drive to write a new file, all you have to do is set that flag back to “on,” and you get the file.

Obviously, the sooner you try to restore a file, the more successful you’ll be. But stop a moment and think about the other things that could cause this part of the hard drive to be overwritten. If your hard drive is pretty full, the odds are much greater that Windows will grab your precious unallocated space for its next write. Or, if you defrag the hard drive, you run the risk of unused parts of the drive being overwritten! (This also means that if you are running silent background defrag services, or if you have defrag utilities scheduled to defrag automatically, you might get blindsided — lose your chance at data recovery — if you don’t halt them until you have your deleted file recovered.) Here are some cool softwares to recover deleted data.

Recuva (Windows)

Recuva (pronounced "recover") is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses! Recuva is free for both commercial and personal use. You have to just select disk drive to search lost data. It even retrieves directory structure for lost data.

Download Recuva

Download Recuva (2.99 MB)
Website

TestDisk, Data Recovery (Windows/Mac/Linux)

TestDisk is a powerful free data recovery software! It is designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting a Partition Table). Partition table recovery using TestDisk is really easy.

Features

• Fix partition table, recover deleted partition
• Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup
• Rebuild FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector
• Fix FAT tables
• Rebuild NTFS boot sector
• Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup
• Fix MFT using MFT mirror
• Locate ext2/ext3 Backup SuperBlock
• Undelete files from FAT, NTFS and ext2 filesystem
• Copy files from deleted FAT, NTFS and ext2/ext3 partitions.

TestDisk has features for both novices and experts. For those who know little or nothing about data recovery techniques, TestDisk can be used to collect detailed information about a non-booting drive which can then be sent to a tech for further analysis. Those more familiar with such procedures should find TestDisk a handy tool in performing onsite recovery.

Download TestDisk

Download TestDisk
Website

PhotoRec (Windows/Mac/Linux)

PhotoRec is file data recovery software designed to recover lost files including video, documents and archives from Hard Disks and CDRom and lost pictures (thus, its 'Photo Recovery' name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the filesystem and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even if your media's filesystem has been severely damaged or re-formatted.

PhotoRec is free, this open source multi-platform application is distributed under GNU Public License. PhotoRec is a companion program to TestDisk, an app for recovering lost partitions on a wide variety of filesystems and making non-bootable disks bootable again. For more safety, PhotoRec uses read-only access to handle the drive or memory support you are about to recover lost data from.

Download PhotoRec

Download PhotoRec
Website

Restoration(Windows)

Restoration is a tiny, no-frills, portable recovery tool. You can use it in all versions of Windows and Windows file systems. Restoration is a freeware program by Brian Kato that restores deleted files no longer in the Recycle Bin. The good news is that it works on Windows 9x versions and also on Windows NT, 2000, and XP — even in NTFS! It can fit neatly on a floppy (if any nerd out there using floppies yet!), since it is only 406 KB in size (and the Windows 2000/XP version is less than half that size), but you can also run it from your hard drive.

Download Restoration

Download Restoration (180 kb)
Website

Undelete Plus (Windows)

Accidentally deleting a file from your computer, flash disk, camera, or the like does not mean it is lost forever. Software doesn’t destroy files when it deletes, it simply marks the space the file was using as being available for re-use. If nothing has needed that space since the deletion, the data is still there and the file can be recovered.

UndeletePlus is powerful software that can quickly scan a computer or storage medium for deleted files and restore them on command. It works with computers, flash drives, cameras, and other forms of data storage. Simply scan the device, select the files you want to recover, and click a button to restore the information or picture you thought was lost forever.

Undelete Plus is not a free software but here you can download its free portable version from below.

Download Undelete Plus

Download Undelete Plus (615 KB)
Website

DiskDigger (windows)

DiskDigger is a utility for recovering deleted or formatted files from any storage media connected to your computer, including all types of memory cards, USB drives and internal or external hard drives. The program thoroughly searches the file system for traces of files as well as deleted files and allows you to preview many of them as they are found. You can limit the search to certain file types and also specify the sector range of the disk to scan.

Download DiskDigger

Download DiskDigger (665 KB)

EASEUS Deleted File Recovery (windows)

EASEUS Deleted File Recovery enables you to recover files that have been accidentally deleted, even after they have been emptied from the recycle bin or were deleted directly from another program. An easy to use 3-step wizard interface guides you through the process of selecting the drive to be scanned and lets you preview and select the files to be recovered. The program supports thumbnail previews for common image formats and hex or text previews for other data types. EASEUS Deleted File Recovery works with FAT 12, FAT 16, FAT 32 and NTFS file systems on your local hard drives, portable devices and memory cards.

Download EASEUS Deleted File Recovery

Download EASEUS Deleted File Recovery (5.91 MB)

ICE ECC Data Recovery (windows)

ICE ECC is a file verification and repair tool that enables you to protect your important files against digital corruption using Reed-Solomon codes. The program is not intended as a main backup solution, but rather as a backup for your backup - it can be included on CDs or DVDs before you store your data, allowing you to recover data that has become corrupt due to age of the media or scratches. You can protect selected files or entire folders by simply selecting them and having the program generate an ECC file. If you ever need to verify whether the data has been modified or corrupted, just select the appropriate .ECC file and load it into ICE ECC, which will then analyze the files and can recover any corrupted data.

Download ICE ECC

Download ICE ECC (685 KB)

Pandora Recovery (windows)

Pandora Recovery enables you to recover accidentally deleted files from NTFS formatted drives, even if they have been emptied from the recycle bin. The program offers a quick scan for recently deleted files and a more time consuming surface scan that attempts to find all deleted files. The scan results provide a detailed list of files that were found along with a preview of the file content and an estimated chance of recovery. You can also search for files based on their name, type, size and other criteria.

Download Pandora Recovery

Download Pandora Recovery (3.05 MB)

Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery (windows)

Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery is an easy to use data recovery tool for the recovery of accidentally delete image files on removable media disks (Compact Flash, SmartMedia, Memory Sticks etc.). The interface is very easy to use, just select the device that contains the images that need to be recovered and specify the folder to save the images to. Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery works with images that have been deleted or formatted by the camera. Supported formats are TIFF, Exif, JPEG and GIF. We tested it successfully with a freshly camera formatted 1GB Flash card and were able to recover all images.

Download Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery

Download Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery (597 KB)

PC Inspector Smart Recovery (windows)

PC Inspector Smart Recovery is a data recovery program for Flash Card, Smart Media, SONY Memory Stick, IBM Micro Drive, Multimedia Card, Secure Digital Card(SD) or any other data device for digital cameras. It enables you to recover accidentally deleted or formatted pictures, videos or sound files from the selected media. The program also offers a mode that enables you to check the media for errors.

Download PC Inspector Smart Recovery

Download PC Inspector Smart Recovery (5.34 MB)

If you ask me. Recuva is the best.

How to install Skype on Ubuntu

If you’re interested in running Skype on Ubuntu then follow these steps.

From the Ubuntu System menu select:
Administration –> Synaptic Package Manager

Inside Synaptic Package Manager select the Tools –> Repositories menu option. Make sure all the checkboxes are checked. Then close the Synaptic Package Manager.

Next you need to add the Medibuntu repository. Full details about this repository, including installation instructions, can be found on the Medibuntu home page.

To install Medibuntu you need to run a Terminal window session. From the Ubuntu Applications –> Accessories menu select Terminal

Assuming you’re running Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn you need to enter the following into a command window. If you’re using an earlier version of Ubuntu then refer to the Medibuntu home page for installation instructions.

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update

sudo aptitude install skype

That’s it!

Skype should now be available from the Applications –> Internet menu.

Download Damn Small linux- 50 mb

I’ve been using linux from 3 years and most of the time Ubuntu or Kubuntu 2 months with suse because of its killer GUI. Today i found an incredible distro of linux which is only 50mb small and its free plus its open source its called ‘Damn Small Linux‘ There are a couple of benefits in using linux the key ones are its secure, most of them are free, they attracts geeks because of more vast developing features This distro is too small that you can take it any where with you on any media possible boots.

DSL (Damn Small Linux) is really having a lot of kool options more than it sounds and compared to its small size, you run it directly from usb drive, cd or dvd or you can install it on hard disk and it will then turn into a Debian base OS and the developer if DSL says you can run DSL on Intel 486DX with 16 mb Ram thats amazing i mean that was a slooooooooooooooooooow machine (my father had it so i know well) compared to current era.

DSL can be really helpful for a couple of reasons, it can be good for a business man having presentations and need his own personalized interface where he can show things well, a lot helpful as a backup OS when you lost your primary OS and want to backup files now what should you do grab an old usb even 128mb would do the job and make a backup OS as DSL and keep it for bad times or just a CD or we say mini CD’s will be good for this purpose. you can also install further packages to make things according to you basic packages are already install with the download package including firefox and basic media files audio and video, e-mail client, pdf reader, word processor, file anager image software and many more head over to this page for more packages information.

According to DSL website:

Boot from a business card CD as a live linux distribution (LiveCD)

Boot from a USB pen drive

Boot from within a host operating system (that’s right, it can run *inside* Windows)

Run very nicely from an IDE Compact Flash drive via a method we call “frugal install”

Transform into a Debian OS with a traditional hard drive install

Run light enough to power a 486DX with 16MB of Ram

Run fully in RAM with as little as 128MB (you will be amazed at how fast your computer can be!)

Modularly grow — DSL is highly extendable without the need to customize

Download Damn Small Linux

Wifi Radar For Linux to Manage and Detect Wireless connections

Wifi Radar is a free small utility for Linux which help you find wifi connections near you and give you option to automatically connect to network and overview signal strength. You can create new profiles and set connection priority if a network is inaccessible you’ll automatically be connected to other network you specified.

Wifi Radar’s interface is pretty simple and its very usable utility because nothing like this comes by default in Linux so for people using laptops and wifi this free piece of software is a must have.

How to Install:

Installing from source:

Download and untar the latest “Official Tarball” or do an anonymous checkout from SVN (See the “Download” box on the left).

Move into the wifi-radar source directory.

Type “sudo make install“.
(or “sudo make install sysconfdir=/etc/wifi-radar“)

2. Usage Instructions

To do a quick scan and connect to any available profile:

sudo wifi-radar -d

To show the UI and manage profiles:

sudo wifi-radar

Wifi Radar Official Page