Since it was the first real year for the blog (first post dated 6/1/2008), there were a lot of articles on extremely different topics in Linux, open source and the cloud, until it all pretty much focused on GNU/Linux. I also started a podcast, but that’s another story.

So before we start with the 2009 article batch, I thought it would be cool to take a look into the past and comment on the posts that were popular, and some of my personal favorites.

Anti-virus software is dead - use Linux

My first post that got onto Digg. What is weird: even though it was the simplest post and took me only 15 minutes to make the picture and publish the post, it is still the one that got the most Diggs (and comments). I never got to answer the people who were wondering: yes, I used the 6.06 release package in March 2008 because it was an LTS release.

Linux Docks - 5 Mac OS X Docks for Ubuntu and Other Linux Distros

The Dock has become a fairly popular window-management tool. No wonder this post gets so many hits - aside from AWN there is a number of different docks available for the X Window System, some of them don’t even require compositing. This post features 5+1 well-known dock applications.

5 Things YOU Can Do to Help Open Source

Sadly, this post got only 4 comments, although it deserves much more attention. Many people think that they cannot be of great help to open source projects if they aren’t familiar with programming languages. Well, here are a few ways you can contribute to your favorites.

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Desktop Environment

My second attempt at a simple desktop environment guide. I’d like to thank all the commenters for correcting a few mistakes here and there and discussing the topic in-depth. This post also got Dugg, but I wasn’t very satisfied with it. Maybe I’ll make another one this year.

The Big X Window Manager Guide (with Screenshots)

A result of love and devotion, I hope this X Window Manager Guide I put together helped educate new and old Linux users about the variety in this field. I admit I made some mistakes. However, I am still very happy with this article and if you still haven’t read it, now is the time.

Top 5 Awesome Linux Distro Upgrades Coming Out in Second Half of 2008

Long title, isn’t it? Lenny still hasn’t come out, Fedora 10 turned out to be less of a disappointment than 9, Intrepid was a standard Ubuntu and the other 2 featured projects “upgraded” each in their own way.

My Favorite Linux Podcasts

I like listening to podcasts, especially Linux podcasts. They tend to be informative, with good hosts who normally know a great deal more than people using Windows, perhaps due to the versatility and customizability of Linux. This is not a fact, jsut an opinion. I hereby invite you once again to take a look at some of my favorite podcasts in 2008 (sadly, the Linux Action Show moved to Youtube later this year).

Advanced Linux Distributions You Should Try

And last but not least, I wrote a short article about my favorite distributions oriented at the advanced user, namely Arch, Slackware and Gentoo Linux. The article itself is not really informative (I actually stink at writing, as many commenters liked to point out throughout 2008, I promise I’ll get better though), but the discussion in the comments section is one of the best on the site and if you are interested in reading very informative comments about such distributions I recommend you check this post out.

Well, that wraps up 2008! I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and that you will stay subscribed.

Plans for 2009

Personally, I plan to continue posting guides and top-lists about distributions and Linux software. Furthermore, I’m interested in your opinion.

• Is there anything about the blog you would like me to change?
• Anything you would like to see more of?
• What are your favorite Internetling.com articles?

I have been getting requests for different distribution reviews. Tell me in the comments or contact me through the Contact Form. I read every comment and email.

Since it is you, the readers, who made this blog worth writing, before I go get my party on, I want to wish you a Happy New Year.

In 2008, the Internetling has grown slowly, but steadily. Everyday the blog is visited by thousands of people and at the moment it has about 400 RSS subscribers.

Thanks for reading, subscribing and commenting! I read and appreciate every contribution.

Happy 2009!

During my daily feed-skimming I noticed that the people at ZDNet got their hands on the first (and apparently only) beta of the new Vista savior, Windows 7. The review features screenshots and I must say, even though it has not convinced me, Windows 7 is a step forward from Vista, at least as far as the GUI is concerned.  Although, aside from the removal of some annoying Vista bells and whistles and the new Peek and Snap window-management enhancements, it is difficult not to notice the resemblance between Microsoft’s much-touted revamped Aero and the excellent, now 3-years old, KDE 3.5.x.

But the graphical familiarity goes a bit further than Windows 7’s text-less taskbar and Kicker (sans virtual desktops, Microsoft seems to be unaware of the existance this feature), Gadgets and Superkaramba. The window buttons remind me of a (quite polished) Kubuntu KWin theme. And due to the customizability of KDE, Windows may have gotten much farther with hiring their artist to simply do a theme for KDE3 ^^

However, I hope the developers did more than just change the GUI (I flinched when I saw the good ‘ol Windows XP-style install client), because in 2009, Leopard, GNOME and KDE4 still sport a superior user interface.

I’m staying with GNOME. Still, who knows, maybe this will make Windows users easier to convert to a KDE4 or KDE3 desktop on a Linux distro?

Certainly the beauty-queen - but not very unique, is it?

Windows 7

PCLinuxOS, KDE 3.5.x

Kubuntu with KDE 3.5.x

OpenSuse with KDE 4

Lenny was expected to be out in September but there has been a protracted debate going on over whether it should be released with firmware blobs or not.

Debian Lenny

Always when a type of application is missing, there is bound to be a version in development. For difficult and complicated programs, the case is not the same but most of the powerful apps have a steep learning curve and although developers are already working hard on user-friendly alternatives, due to the complicated nature of the software, not many resources are available and the development time is much slower.

In order to attract some interest for certain slow, but extremely important projects I’ve picked out a few attractive apps which could become powerful contributors to the widespread adoption of the Linux desktop. We need to get stable, functional, user-friendly apps out. Linux does have some cool stuff available, but we often forget that a lot of it also depends on the interface.

Let us build a cool desktop! I am aware of the awesomeness that is customization, though many people forget that most desktop users want to simply start working. I love tweaking my Arch system for a whole weekend, it is just that I do not believe your typical grandmother is interested in such stuff. You see, she does not know the difference between tiling and floating window managers and the advantages of using virtual desktops, but she will like a prettier out-of-the-box experience, along with free applications for every task you can think of, which look good, do the job well and are easy to work with.

Jokosher

A garage-band like package, Jokosher can be a great tool for audio production, it just needs more functions.

Update: Mr. Ignorant hasn’t checked the dates last version was released in October 2008. Go Jokosher!

It works fine on most distributions and is good for basic tasks, though there is a lot of work to be done to ensure stability and better functionality. I’d be very sad to see this project die.

KdenLive

Even though the project released a new version of their sexy video editing application, I’m not sure whether they will be able to keep up. More contribution would be needed, since amateur video editing (except for the high-high end) is pretty weak on Linux (thank goodness for Kino and Cinelerra, but they just don’t cut it for the ‘middle market’) and I believe many dev resources and energy are required for such a complicated project to mature.

Gogh

A personal favorite of mine. It is something like an equivalent of OpenCanvas. Along with the linuxwacom project the Gogh project wishes to make the perfect drawing app for tablet users. It is very important for sketching, also it features layers, colour palettes and other basic features. I’d like for Gogh to get more publicity, since it is quite a simple project, but crucial for tablet users to get to know GNU/Linux better.

Are there any special projects that you like and would like to get them featured on the blog? Please write a comment!