The Linux Alliance

Apple Inc is the World’s Best Enemy

Apple seems to be in a lot of hot water in China. No less than 36 Chinese environmentalist groups have accused Apple of allowing dangerous and unhealthy work conditions in their plants.

January 19, 2011 the IEPA brought a report titled, “The Other Side of Apple” that listed Apple as last – number 30 – behind 29 other tech firms when it comes to the comfort, safety and cleanliness of companies.

Wintek, a factory that pumps out touch-screens for the iPhone and iPad, including many apparatuses for other establishments, had their concerns ignored by Apple. In 2009 plant workers were subjected to n-hexane poisoning, but it wasn’t removed until later when Wintek came under fire, employees went on strike and the company was sued by several employees, who previously had complained to Apple.

Apple Doesn’t Even Know Who Works for Them

Apple won’t even confirm that they get supplies from the company, nor will they take any accountability for the environmental harms related to its products.

Another time Apple was in the news for something so derogatory was in 2010 when Apple was slammed in a report about its response to worker suicides (at Foxconn) being high. The only response brought forth was an email from Apple CEO Steve Jobs that said simply that Foxconn’s suicide rate was below the usual China average, and that they’re keeping an eye on it.

The IEPA said that Apple didn’t bother with responding to desires for more information about some difficult providers; another item in the dirty laundry to be aired. This helped them right to the bottom of that list of 30 mentioned above.

Ma Jung, director of the IEPA, expressed they’d expected Apple to take a leading role as a corporate citizen to step in and take care of these problems. Now they feel it’s quite the opposite, that Apple is a sweat-shop company operating just below expected standards.

Filed Under: Developing Tools Tagged With: Apple, iPhone

Keeping the Computer Workspace Clear

You look down at your desk and all you see is a mess. In fact, you can’t even find the keyboard in the midst of all of the chaos. If this is the case, it is time to take some desperate measures to make sure that as you are working on the computer, the space around you is clear and you have room to get some things done. It might take a little while to get straight, but if you can maintain it, you will have plenty of room to work whenever you need it.

Whether you use a laptop, notebook, or desktop, you need to make sure that it has plenty of room around it. Take away all of the papers that are around it, on top of it, or underneath it. These should either be filed, shredded, or thrown away, depending on what they are. If you don’t have a filing system, this is the time to set on up. It will prevent a clutter workspace in the future and you will always know where everything is located when you need it.

Find a place for all of the cords. You probably have a printer, hard drive, mouse and other items that are attached to your computer in some way by cords. These can get tangled and become a real eyesore. Make sure that each one is connected in the right way, untangle each one and be sure they are laying neatly in a group, ready to use. Many times, a power strip behind the desk can keep things a little more organized.

Keep track of the other things that you may plug into your computer. Do you transfer files from your computer to your phone? To your iPod? To your camera? If so, make sure that each of the cords are clearly labeled and tucked away within the desk drawers. If you don’t use them all the time, keep them put away.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Desk

Benefits of Using the Internet for Businesses

The Internet has really changed the way that businesses conduct business. The constant 24 hours a day, seven days of week nature of the Internet allows businesses to constantly be searching and finding new clients to bring into their clientele. Here is a look at some of the benefits that businesses see when using the Internet.

New Clientele. The diverse nature of the Internet allows companies that would never reach specific people to get their message out there. This means that new people are hearing about new companies and purchasing their products. This is a wonderful feature of the Internet as it means there are constantly new people finding out about your company.

Reputation Management. Through the use of reputation management, companies are able to direct and control how customers view and see their company. This is done through the use of SEO tools that allow companies to push specific sites that might be less than favorable lower down the Google rankings, which means that less people will view them.

Honest Feedback. Companies see a more honest feedback system through the use of the Internet. There is something about placing a screen in front of customers that enables them to say what they feel freely. Feedback can be achieved through the use of survey tools that will develop a customer survey and allow customers to give your company feedback on how they view your company.

Word of Mouth. The Internet really takes word of mouth to a whole new level. Word travels a thousand times faster on the Internet than in real life. This means that word can quickly spread about great companies that are available online. This can be attributed to the use of customer forums, consumer websites, social media outlets and blogs. However, this can also work in reverse and mean that bad feedback spreads rapidly online.

Filed Under: Developing Tools

Linux vs Windows

Paying for an operating system can be expensive. It gets quite costly to buy a single copy of Windows for each computer in your home, not to mention the cost of updating the system.

Using Windows can cost you hundreds of dollars, whereas you can get Linux for free. Because of the low price, places can sell a Linux based computer for a much lower price.

Just because Linux is free doesn’t make it any less of an operating system. In fact, Linux can do many things that Windows can’t. With Linux you can do things such as update everything with one action, update almost everything without a reboot, keep your system secure without the type of software that bugs you and takes up your time, take settings with you, and much more.

With Windows Update, you are only updating a few things. With Linux, every piece of software is automatically updated. The only thing you have to reboot to update with Linux is your kernel. With Windows, you are required to reboot for many things.

with Linux you can take your settings with you. All your settings are in one location, where Windows has your settings in several locations.

when using Linux you can customize your desktop to almost any limit. There are so many possibilities when it comes to customization. This tends to be an aspect many people like. Compared to Windows, this is a large plus, because with Windows you are basically stuck with a small choice of themes.

Linux is much more easy to understand than Windows. With Windows, everything is inside the computer and you need someone from a Windows team to fix any problem you have. With Linux you can spot the issues by looking at the system log, and you can often fix them yourself.

Although both operating systems have their good points, we can find better things about Linux. The price is not the only good thing.

Filed Under: Operating Systems Tagged With: Linux, Microsoft Windows

Linux: Why a Penguin?

If you’ve ever heard of Linux and seen their mascot, you might wonder “Why a penguin?” A penguin may not seem like a likely mascot for a computer operating system, but it catches a lot of people’s attention and leads many people to ask that very question. “Why a penguin?”

Linus Torvalds selected the image of the penguin, which they named Tux, as the image that he relates to the operating system. Larry Ewing, who has allowed this image to be used to promote Linux, was the designer of Tux.

Linus is known to be an expert on penguins. The image that he is attempting to portray with Tux is a slightly overweight penguin that is stuffed with herring, he says. (He also says that if you can’t bear imagining an animal eating too much herring just imagine chocolate instead) Tux is meant to look somewhat like a beanbag. Contrary to the purpose of the image, many people believe Tux is just too fat to hold himself up. The idea, though, is that he ate too much. The entire image is supposed to be humorous and imaginative.

Linus says that some people don’t think that a fat penguin really shows the grace of Linux. He goes on to say that obviously no one has ever had a penguin charging at them at 100 miles per hour. Then he says, “They’d be more careful if they had”.

The picture in everyone’s mind is sure to be different, but with the picture of a violent penguin in mind, the new picture painted is somewhat of a fat penguin charging at you, ready to barf up herring before he gets to you. We’re not quite sure what this is supposed to mean in regards to Linux, but the penguin caught your attention and leads us all to wonder, “Why a penguin?”

Filed Under: Linux Community Tagged With: Linux

Linux: It’s Free!

When deciding on an operating system for your computer many people go with Windows or another popular one everyone has heard of. Windows is obviously one of the most common operating systems. People usually pick Windows or other popular operating systems because they have heard of them and everyone uses them. Just because these operating systems are popular, it does not necessarily make them the best.

These popular operating systems can be expensive. If you have several computers you may be required to buy a license for each separate computer.

Believe it or not there are operating systems out there completely free and Linux is one of them. Linux systems can be installed on any computer without it costing anything. Whereas, Microsoft licenses are expensive and you often have to renew your license.

Don’t let the price fool you though. Linux comes with great features aside from the cost. There is great security that comes with Linux, which is said to be stronger than Windows. This could be because Linux isn’t as popular, so it is not targeted as much.

Linux gives you freedom to choose things such as many varieties of desktop look and feel. You also get freedom of software choices when doing certain things. The software on Linux is full of features not found on Windows.

Linux is also great for old computers you hardly use. You can install Linux and use it as a backup. Plus the old computers have no problem installing Linux, where you might find it difficult to install Windows into these old computers.

Linux is great if you’re limited on money, which the majority of us are. You don’t have to hassle with keeping up licenses and paying for them. Don’t think that because it’s free it isn’t good. The price isn’t the only good thing about Linux.

Filed Under: Linux Community Tagged With: Linux, Microsoft, Operating system

Great points about Linux

When looking for an operating system for your computer you might first think of Windows because it’s the most popular. You may not have even heard of the other operating systems out there. Windows has good points, but there are so many more with great points about them too. Just because Windows is popular doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best.

If you are searching for an operating system, you might consider Linux. Aside from the fact that Linux is completely free, there are more great points about the operating system. The system provides freedom, security, along with great features.

For one, there is more freedom to be found in Linux than Windows. You have a better variety of desktop themes than you do for windows. It can get annoying to only have a few choices, but with Linux you have more variety than other operating systems you will find.

One of the greatest features about Linux is the security. Perhaps Linux has great security because it is less targeted than other operating systems. The system has been around since the early 90′s and has managed to stay free of large viruses. Plus you don’t have to spend the extra money for virus protection.

There are also pluses in the software and hardware areas of using the system. Linux tends to have better features than Windows and are easier to use. Linux is also easier to use on old computers. If you have an old computer you may want to install Linux on that computer so that you have a backup computer.

Linux may not be the most popular operating system, but it has many good points about it. It has great security, great features, easy to use, and very cheep. Why wouldn’t you go with Linux when you can get it 100% for free?

Filed Under: Linux Community Tagged With: Linux, Operating system

Linus Torvalds Biography

Linus Torvalds is a Finnish software engineer, known for his development of Linux. He became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and is now the project’s coordinator.

Born in Helsinki, Finland, on December 28, 1969, Linus Torvalds is the son of Anna and Nils Torvalds. He was named after Linus Pauling, who was one of the greatest chemists of all time. He had a happy childhood, despite his parents’ divorce, and lived with his mother and grandparents. It was in his early years that he began to enjoy computers. After his grandfather bought a computer, Torvalds became bored with the programs and began creating his own.

From 1988 to 1996 Torvalds attended the University of Helsinki and graduated with a master’s degree in computer science. After his first year of study he joined the Finnish army, which interrupted his studies. He spent 11 months in officer training to fulfill the madatory military service of Finland. He holds the rank of second lieutenant. He then resumed his studies in 1990.

It was in 1987 that Torvalds bought his own personal computer. His search for a better computer system failed. Torvalds then decided to create his own operating system from scratch, thus the birth of Linux. Linux was based off of MINIX and UNIX. The name comes from what he called Linus’ MINIX. He planned to call it Freax which was a combination of free,freak and MINIX, but it kept it’s name Linux.

Torvalds began working in California from February 1997 through June 2003. After moving to the Open Source Development Labs, which merged with the Free Standard Group, these two groups became the Linux Foundation, where he continues to work. Torvalds and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, where ironically Linus Pauling, whom Torvalds was named after, had lived his life, in June 2004.

Torvalds personal mascot is a penguin named Tux, which has been adopted as the Linux mascot.

Filed Under: Linux Community Tagged With: Linus Torvalds, Linux, Linux kernel

Linux is a Great Option for Many Computer Users

: Image via CrunchBase

Most people who have a computer use the Windows operating system, but some people choose other options like Linux or UNIX. People who have a lot of computer experience, like programmers and IT people, generally use these operating systems since they aren’t as user-friendly as Windows is. That doesn’t mean that Linux shouldn’t be used, though, because it can some things that Windows can’t. If you’re really into computers and you’re more interested in programming and similar activities, Linux can definitely be the way to go. Even if you’re not sure if you want to use it, it’s worth doing some research on.

Talk to friends or family members who use it, or check with colleagues in order to see if they use it and like it. Before you decide to switch to it, you’ll want to be clear about what it can and can’t do, and you’ll want to see if it will fit in with the things you use a computer for. If you’re just using the Internet to look for Los Angeles apartments, find a good restaurant or look at pictures of the place you’re going on vacation, Windows will be all you need.

As more people learn more about computers, though, they’re finding that they can do other things with them. Even the small, home computer that most people use will do more than they generally do on it. With Linux, you’ll have more options – and some people have enough memory on their computer and a large-enough hard drive in order to have more than one operating system on it. That way you can have both Windows and Linux on your computer and use whichever one is best for what you’re going to be doing. It’s one of the most logical ways to use Linux and get all of its benefits.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Linux, Microsoft Windows, Operating system

Great Aspects of Linux

You may have heard of the operating system Linux and it’s incredibly low price. That’s right, it’s free! People tend to go with more popular operating systems, either because they’ve heard of them or it is what came with their computer. Some people also think that because Linux is free it won’t have as great of features. While people are spending too much money on certain operating systems, they could be saving money with Linux. Not only is it free, but there are also several things Linux can do that you won’t find with other operating systems.

One thing that tends to be popular with Linux customers is the freedom that they have. With Linux, you have the ability to customize your desktop in a variety of ways. Linux hardly limits you to the possibilities you have when it comes to customization, while other operating systems will limit your ability to customize. This way, your desktop is just how you want it.

Linux is much easier to understand. When using other operating systems you have no idea what is inside your computer. With Linux you are able to see the system logs. Due to this, when you have a problem, it makes it much easier to fix the problem yourself.

With expensive operating systems, people tend to break the law by pirating software. Either you break the law, or spend thousands of dollars on an operating system. With Linux you don’t have to worry about pirating or breaking the law because its all free.

Linux tends to have more security than other systems do. This could be due to the system not being as popular, so people don’t target Linux. Whatever the reason, Linux has been found to be more secure.

Linux has other positive aspect about it besides its price and customization. Don’t let the big companies fool you, though. Just because Linux is free does not mean it is a bad operating system.

Filed Under: Linux Community Tagged With: Linux, Linux distribution, Operating system