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Posts Tagged ‘Ubuntu’

Ubuntu Software Center to get electronic books and magazines

October 28th, 2011

Ubuntu features the Ubuntu Software Center that aims to be a simpler way of installing applications that the traditional repository system. While the tradition repository system is still what is used in the background, the Ubuntu Software Center improves the experience by hiding unnecessary details of a hierarchy of dependencies.

Just a few versions back the Software Center added support for commercial applications making it a Linux app store of sorts, since then the collection of software (applications and games) has be steadily increasing. In parallel, Canonical also features a music store as part of Ubuntu One that allows you to download DRM-free music and sync it across all your computers.

Now Canonical has announced that eBooks and eMagazines are also going to be available for purchase on the Ubuntu Software Center. Through a partnership with Pearson Technology Group and Linux New Media Canonical will offer a collection of high-quality PDF versions of a number of books and magazines.

VP Business Development at Canonical, Steve George says in the release: “Through this innovative partnership we are adding eBooks and magazines to the wide range of applications currently available in the Ubuntu Software Center, creating a fantastic revenue opportunity for Ubuntu developers and content creators.”

Officials from Pearson Technology Group and Linux New Media also commented on this partnership:

Paul Boger, Vice President and Publisher, Pearson Technology Group: “We’re excited to be one of the first publishers to add our books to the Ubuntu Software Center. This partnership will bring our content to a wider audience of people, and create a central repository for users who want to learn about Ubuntu.”

Brian Osborn, CEO, Linux New Media: “Publishing our magazine titles through the Ubuntu Software Center provides us with a new way to serve our readers globally. By providing our titles electronically, users can gain immediate access to the content they seek and enjoy it on any number of devices, wherever they are.”

Source:http://www.thinkdigit.com/Features/Ubuntu-Software-Center-to-get-electronic-books_7811.html

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Posted in Software News

Tags: Software Ubuntu

Update Software in Ubuntu

September 19th, 2011

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Making the best use of your operating system traditionally involves being aware of the all of the tools and applications that are included, how new software can be installed and removed and generally taking full advantage of what is on offer. However, it isn’t always as simple as that, especially in open source operating systems such as Ubuntu.

This Linux distro is one of the most user-friendly of them all, and even offers to manage your system updates for you!

Whether you want to install a full upgrade to the next version of Ubuntu or simply make sure that everything is running as smoothly as it should be, the Ubuntu Update Manager tool can be used to great effect to make this possible.

If the Ubuntu Update Manager doesn’t launch on its own (something that can be configured as described below) then it can be found via System > Administration.

Configuring Ubuntu Update Manager
When you first see the Update Manager open, it will check for updates (if your computer is connected to the Internet) and list what is available. You might not want all of those updates, however, just as you might not want Update Manager to automatically check for updates.

To adjust this behavior you should click the Settings… button and enter the administrator password when prompted to check through the list of configuration options. Under the section labeled Automatic Updates you are able to toggle on and off the Check for updates option, as well as specify how often the checks should be made.

You can even instruct Ubuntu to download updates without notifying you. This could be risky in some cases and lead to a failed installation if the download is a full Ubuntu update, so the Download all updates in the background option isn’t recommended.

Applying an Update in Ubuntu
The first thing to do when running Update Manager is to click the Check button. This will recheck the available updates and sources for the data to be downloaded to check that you’re not viewing a cached version of a previous update.

Next, browse through the list. It could be just a few items or it could be over 200, depending on how long it is since you last updated. Using the Description of update link you can expand into viewing details of the update, its purpose and type. Often these are security updates, so you might prefer to use the Install security updates without confirmation option in the Settings screen to deal with these.

If you prefer to avoid installing particular updates, you can do so by clearing the checkbox against the item in the list. This is particularly useful if the download is a full update and you’re using an older computer. Before any type of update process you should always backup vital data, of course, and when your updates are chosen and you’re ready to proceed, simply select Install Updates to start downloading and installing!

Source:http://www.devicemag.com/2011/09/17/update-software-in-ubuntu/

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Posted in Software News

Tags: Linux Software Ubuntu

Ubuntu software updates becoming a daily phenomenon

November 29th, 2010

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According to a report last week in the Register, Ubuntu (News – Alert) is moving away from its established six-month-cycle and potentially to a future where software updates land on a daily basis.

Traditionally, this popular Linux based operating system has been going through two updates in a year. Last month, version 10.10, code named Maverick Meerkat, was released and the next version 11.04, dubbed Natty Narwhal, is due for release in April 2011. But, going forward, such updates will become a daily phenomenon, according to the developer.

“In an internet-oriented world, we need to be able to release something every day,” said Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth.

Shuttleworth said during an Ubuntu 10.10 conference call last month that a move to daily updates would help the popular Linux distribution keep pace with an increasingly complex software and platform ecosystem as Ubuntu goes on more devices and syncs up Android (News – Alert) and iPhones, the Register wrote.

It’s not just Ubuntu that’s updated every six months but also modules and code from the other areas of the open-source world that make up an Ubuntu release, Shuttleworth said.

To clarify some of the remarks made by Shuttleworth, Ubuntu engineering director Rick Spencer posted some comments on his blog. In a post on his blog, Spencer said, “Ubuntu is not changing to a rolling release. We are confident that our customers, partners, and the FLOSS ecosystem are well served by our current release cadence. What the article was probably referring to was the possibility of making it easier for developers to use cutting edge versions of certain software packages on Ubuntu. This is a wide-ranging project that we will continue to pursue through our normal planning processes.”

He supported the idea of making it easier for developers to use daily updates of software that they care about, and may be even have them discover this capability through the software center. But, Spencer added, “In his view having a stable six month release with the option to stay cutting edge on certain packages did not constitute a rolling release.”

Source:http://it.tmcnet.com/topics/it/articles/121684-ubuntu-software-updates-becoming-daily-phenomenon.htm