OpenSource - OpenSource is Better

Drush intro – Drupal

Drush is a command-line shell interface for Drupal. It lets you do almost anything you would do through the Drupal admin interface — enabling modules, clearing caches, running cron, backing up the site — all from the terminal.

Installation

The preferred way to install Drush is via the official PEAR channel, but it can also be installed manually on a shared server.

Backup and restore

archive-dump backs up the codebase, files, and database into a single file:

drush archive-dump

drush archive-restore

Common commands

drush pm-download 
drush pm-enable 
drush pm-disable 
drush cc all
drush cron
drush sql-dump
drush uli

Enjoy!

XBMC 11 (aka Eden) stable release download available

XBMC Media Center (formerly Xbox Media Center) is a free and open source cross-platform media centre and HTPC application. I have been using it for just a few months but I never tried any media centre as good and configurable as this one.

Version 11, codenamed “Eden”, was a significant release. It introduced a new skin engine that made it easier for designers to create custom interfaces. Library management was overhauled — scraping metadata for movies and TV shows became more accurate and faster. Hardware acceleration was improved, making HD playback smoother on a wider range of hardware.

Eden also added support for more audio formats, better UPnP streaming, and an improved add-on system. The PVR (live TV) integration, while still marked as a beta feature, was a promising addition for those looking to replace their set-top box entirely.

If you have a home theatre PC or even just a computer connected to your TV, XBMC turns it into a proper media centre — movies, TV shows, music, pictures, all with a beautiful interface designed for a remote control. It supports almost every file format you can throw at it and runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and even the original Xbox.

Download your free version and give it a try!

Download the free version and give it a try!

Give it a try!

IDE Netbeans 7.0 is out: PHP, Java SE/EE and C/C++

Netbeans 7 is out. I have been using it for PHP, at work as well as at home, for almost two years and I have to say it has become by far my favourite PHP IDE.

The Netbeans IDE started in 1996 for Java. PHP support came with version 6.5 in late 2008. Since then, every release has improved significantly.

What I like about it is that it just works out of the box — the PHP code completion, the debugger integration with Xdebug, the SVN/Git support built right in. You don’t need to piece together half a dozen plugins to get a productive environment.

One of my favourite features is the ability to search across files with Alt+Shift+O. It’s one of those things you don’t appreciate until you try going back to an IDE that doesn’t have it.

Curious about it? Download the version you need from the Netbeans site and give it a try.

Enjoy it!

10 reasons open source is good for business

According to PCWorld, Open Source software is good for business for exactly ten reasons. Here is a summary.

Security — The more people can look at the source code, the more likely bugs are found and fixed.

Quality — Open source software generally gets closest to what users want because those users can help make it so.

Customizability — If you don’t like the way something works, dig into the code and change it yourself.

Freedom — You are not dependent on the vendor’s priorities or timetable. If you want the software to go in a direction the vendor isn’t interested in, you can do it yourself or pay someone to do it.

Flexibility — You decide when and if to upgrade the software.

Interoperability — Open source software often adheres to open standards, making data exchange between applications easier.

Auditability — The application is transparent. Anyone can see what it does behind the scenes.

Support Options — There are communities of developers ready to help for free, as well as private companies offering paid support.

Cost — You can get open source software for free.

Try Before You Buy — Being free, you can always try before committing.

The whole article can be found at PCWorld.

Enjoy

Open Source Multimedia alternatives to common proprietary software

A common problem in the “Open Source World” is finding the right software that does a similar job (even exactly the same if you are lucky) to our favourite proprietary.

I’ve just found a nice list of multimedia alternative software, divided by category, which might help you finding the right one for your needs. There are “replacements” for software like iTunes, Windows Media Player, Nero, Photoshop etc..
Of course the alternatives are not always as powerful as the original ones but, for normal users, most of the time are more than enough.

3D Graphics and Animation
Art of Illusion as a possible alternative to AutoDesk Maya
Blender as a possible alternative to AutoDesk Maya

Audio Players
Songbird as a possible alternative to iTunes
Amarok as a possible alternative to iTunes
Aqualung as a possible alternative to iTunes
aTunes as a possible alternative to iTunes
Jajuk as a possible alternative to iTunes
Jukes as a possible alternative to iTunes
CoolPlayer as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
Zinf as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
Moosic as a possible alternative to iTunes

Audio Recorders and Editors
Audacity as a possible alternative to Sonar X1, Adobe Audition, Sony ACID
Frinika as a possible alternative to Sonar X1, Adobe Audition, Sony ACID
InfraRecorder as a possible alternative to Nero Burning ROM, Roxio Creator
Cdrtools as a possible alternative to Nero Burning ROM, Roxio Creator

Audio Ripping and Conversion
BonkEnc as a possible alternative to Exact Audio Copy, Audio Convertor Studio
CDex as a possible alternative to Exact Audio Copy, Audio Convertor Studio
MMConvert as a possible alternative to Exact Audio Copy, Audio Convertor Studio

Audio Mixing/DJ Tools
Mixere as a possible alternative to Traktor Scratch, Scratch Live
Mixxx as a possible alternative to Traktor Scratch, Scratch Live

File Sharing Clients
BitTorrent as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
Ares Galaxy as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
Shareaza P2P as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
BitTornado as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
ABC (Yet Another BitTorrent Client) as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
ANts P2P as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
DC++ as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
eMule/eMule Plus as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez
Mute as a possible alternative to BearShare, Kazaa, Warez

Graphics Editors
Dia as a possible alternative to Visio Professional
Gimp as a possible alternative to Photoshop
Inkscape as a possible alternative to Illustrator, CorelDraw
Paint.Net as a possible alternative to Photoshop

Multimedia Players
VLC Media Player as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
Mplayer as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
XBMC Media Center as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
Media Player Classic Home Cinema as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
xine as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player
MediaPortal as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player

Multimedia Library Management
Data Crow as a possible alternative to MediaMan

Music Composition
DrumTrack as a possible alternative to DrumCore
Hydrogen as a possible alternative to DrumCore
Linux MultiMedia Studio as a possible alternative to FL Studio

Video Editing
Cinelerra as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere
OpenShot Video Editor as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
Avidemux as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere
Kdenlive as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
CineFX as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
Movica as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
VirtualDub as a possible alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
LiVES as a possible alternative to Resolume Avenue 3, AVMixer

Video File Conversion
DVDx as a possible alternative to Zamzar
DVD Flick as a possible alternative to Zamzar
FFDShow as a possible alternative to Zamzar

Video Player
Miro as a possible alternative to Windows Media Player

Enjoy it!

Linux patch to boost Desktop performance

I have been using Linux (Ubuntu is my favourite distribution) for a few years now. I really like it, actually I love it. ;-) Sometimes though I notice that some software is not as fast as its Windows equivalent.

A common culprit was the kernel scheduler. The Linux kernel offers several I/O and CPU schedulers, each tuned for different workloads. The default in many distributions was the Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) for CPU and CFQ for I/O — both excellent for servers but not always ideal for desktop interactivity.

The Con Kolivas “BFS” scheduler (Brain Fuck Scheduler) was a popular alternative for desktops. It was designed with a simpler algorithm that prioritised interactive responsiveness over throughput scaling. Many users reported a noticeably snappier desktop after switching.

You could test it without recompiling the kernel by passing boot parameters in GRUB. For the I/O scheduler, adding elevator=deadline or elevator=noop to the kernel command line could improve desktop responsiveness on certain hardware. The deadline scheduler, for example, tries to minimise latency for individual requests rather than maximising total throughput.

Your mileage will vary depending on your hardware and workload, but it was worth experimenting if you felt your desktop could be snappier.

Full article: Linux patch able to boost desktop performance.

Give it a try and see if it works for you! :-)

Android vs iPhone

Let me begin by saying that I don’t own any of those phones, so I’m not going into a technical comparison. But knowing I’m an Open Source fan, you should immediately understand which side I am leaning towards. :-)

You might think: “he hasn’t tried any of them and he wants to tell me which one is better! How is that?!?” Well, as I said, I’m not going to tell you which one is better technically but I can tell you which one is better philosophically.

Here are the key points I think matter:

Open Source — Developers and manufacturers are free to implement and change Android in any way they like, which opens up the platform to tons of new ideas and innovations.

Fully Hackable — You can do whatever you want with it. It’s your phone. Try hacking the iPhone. There is nothing you can do unless Apple wanted you to do it.

Dozens of Phones to Choose From — The iPhone is a beautiful piece of hardware, but what if you want a QWERTY keyboard? Or something bigger? Or smaller? Or cheaper? With the iPhone you’re stuck with just the iPhone. With Android there are dozens of options.

Never will a software be perfect, but we should never renounce to freedom and choice. That’s what open source is about. And Android, being open source, wins on that front.

That is it! :-)

10 Greatest Open Source Software of 2009

Open Source software was becoming more and more popular in 2009, even though many of these applications were still little known. According to PCWorld, here are ten of the greatest.

Firefox — The open source browser that challenged Internet Explorer and changed the web.

Chromium — The open source project behind Google Chrome. Fast, clean, and constantly evolving.

OpenOffice.org — The free office suite that could read and write Microsoft Office files.

VLC Media Player — Plays almost anything you throw at it, no codec packs needed.

GIMP — The GNU Image Manipulation Program. Not quite Photoshop but incredibly powerful for a free tool.

Apache — The web server that powered most of the internet.

MySQL — The database behind countless websites and applications.

PHP — The scripting language that made dynamic websites easy.

Linux — The kernel that runs everything from phones to supercomputers.

WordPress — Started as a blogging platform, grew into a CMS that now powers a significant portion of the web.

Check out the original article on PCWorld for the full list with descriptions.

Enjoy!