top 10 Ubuntu Games

Ubuntu 10.10/11.04 or any other Linux Based systems(such as – Open Suse, Linux Mint, Fedora etc.) has been lagging behind the windows when it comes to Games support. There are mainly two reasons that Linux based os isn’t the favorite platform of Gamers- First,Most of the commercial games are released just for Windows Platform; second the graphics card performance(probably due to the fact that Graphics Card Manufacturers do not release the appropriate drivers for Linux Platform,by the way if they releases proprietary(Closed Source) drivers then there is much possibility of compatibility issues with Linux based operating system).

The time has changed now,Linux based OS like Ubuntu is now becoming the favorite choice for gaming; mostly,due to availability of a large collection of open source and free games. Some commercial games developers has also concentrated on Ubuntu as their target platform. Nvidia Graphics card provides good performance on Ubuntu.

Top 10 Ubuntu Games – at a Glance

# 0 : Open Arena

Open Arena is an open source (and free) multiplayer FPS (First Person Shooter) game based on ioquake3 fork of the id tech 3 engine. it is the free version of quake III arena and it can stand alone so Quake III Arena is not required to play this game.

Download and installation instructions

If you are using Ubuntu 10.04/10.10 then download open arena deb and open with ‘Ubuntu Software Center’ (or open with ‘gdebi Package Manager’ in older versions of Ubuntu)to install. Visit the official wiki  page of Open Arena- Installation Detailsfor other Linux Distributions.

# 1 : Torcs

Torcs is a 3D Racing Car Simulation Game based on OpenGL. it is available free for all platforms e.g Linux based OS(e.g Ubuntu 10.04/10.10/11.04),Windows,Mac OS X,BSD; available as an open source software.it has more than 50 cars,20 tracks and 50 opponents available for racing with lot of other features that brings reality during simulation.

Install Torcs on Ubuntu 10.04/10.10/11.04

>> Download the debian package – download torcs debian package

>> Open the *.deb with Ubuntu Software Center ; then click  on install.

# 2 : Urban Terror

Urban Terror is a free multiplayer and multi-platform FPS(First Person Shooter) game similar to Quake I

20 Linux System Monitoring Tools

20 Linux  System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know

Need to monitor Linux server performance? Try these built-in command and a few add-on tools. Most Linux distributions are equipped with tons of monitoring. These tools provide metrics which can be used to get information about system activities. You can use these tools to find the possible causes of a performance problem. The commands discussed below are some of the most basic commands when it comes to system analysis and debugging server issues such as:

1. Finding out bottlenecks.
2. Disk (storage) bottlenecks.
3. CPU and memory bottlenecks.
4. Network bottlenecks.

#1: top - Process Activity Command

The top program provides a dynamic real-time view of a running system i.e. actual process activity. By default, it displays the most CPU-intensive tasks running on the server and updates the list every five seconds.

Commonly Used Hot Keys

The top command provides several useful hot keys:

Hot Key	Usage
t	Displays summary information off and on.
m	Displays memory information off and on.
A	Sorts the display by top consumers of various system resources. Useful for quick identification of performance-hungry tasks on a system.
f	Enters an interactive configuration screen for top. Helpful for setting up top for a specific task.
o	Enables you to interactively select the ordering within top.
r	Issues renice command.
k	Issues kill command.
z	Turn on or off color/mono

#2: vmstat - System Activity, Hardware and System Information

The command vmstat reports information about processes, memory, paging, block IO, traps, and cpu activity.


# vmstat 3
Sample Outputs:

Ubuntu Software Centre 5.0 Designs Hint At Great Things to Come…

The Canonical design team are currently hard at work designing, testing, evaluating new layouts for the Ubuntu Software Centre version 5.0.

Their work so far has resulted in three highly impressive mock-ups of Ubuntu Software Store interfaces heavily featuring an aggregated set of features that are par-the-course for Application Stores across various platforms.

Revamp begins

Canonical’s Matthew Paul Thomas writing on the 2nd of June said: -

“…my design colleague Calum Pringle and I have been working on revising the design of Ubuntu Software Center. The objective is to make USC more interesting and attractive, both to Ubuntu users and to application developers.

For the competitor analysis, we looked at the Android Market, Mac and iPad App Stores, Blackberry App World, Bodega, and Chrome Web Store.

There are a few common elements we have noticed that we don’t have currently. Regardless of the final layout, it would be helpful to start thinking about how we might implement each of these.”

Some of these ideas include: -

• Top rated applications
• Context-specific recommendations
• Top Rated
• Most Popular
• Preview videos
• Multiple screenshots
• Custom artwork for application screens

He continues: “For layout ideas, we’ve considered metaphors like a convenience store, supermarket, department store, vending machine, museum, art gallery, and even a sushi bar. “

These latter analogies play heavily in this current spate of designs. current mock-up designs, particularly in this ‘notice board’ one: -

Before you get too excited by the shiny shiny bling bling the mock-ups above are still subject to change, refinement, evaluation, user feedback and not all features shown will appear in Ubuntu 11.10.

But what you can get excited about is that the Ubuntu Software Centre – arguably one of Ubuntu’s strongest assets – is finally getting the level of design attention is so desperately needed.

Should you choose 32-bit or 64-bit Linux?

A common question that pops up from time to time is whether someone who has a 64-bit CPU (such as an AMD64 or an Intel EM64T) should download a 64-bit or 32-bit Linux distribution. Since these processors are capable of running either one at full native speeds, what are the advantages and disadvantages to both? Here I hope to address some common issues.

Speed - Without a scientific set of benchmarks this one is really hard to measure. Some people think one distribution "feels" faster than another while others disagree. Suffice to say that no one has yet to prove scientifically that the 64-bit versions of Linux available today are significantly faster in performance than their 32-bit counterparts. Most "64-bit" versions of software are actually just recompiled versions of the 32-bit code, with no optimization that would take advantage of the new features these chips offer and perhaps boost performance. If you're looking to use 64-bit because you think it will be a major improvement in speed, I would reconsider.

Compatibility - Not all software runs on 64-bit Linux. Although there have been 64-bit native Linux distributions for several years (a year before Microsoft Windows XP64, but I digress), the software community has yet to fully embrace the technology. As of the time this post was written, there is no 64-bit version of the Macromedia Flash Plug-in for your web browser, for instance. WINE and the Java VM have been known to cause problems on some 64-bit installations as well. Not all hardware has 64-bit drivers yet. The two major display card manufacturers (ATI and Nvidia) do have X86_64 versions of their drivers, but they are sadly the exception rather than the norm.

RAM - If you plan on using a machine that has more than 4GB of RAM, you'll need to use the 64-bit version of your distribution because 32-bit operating systems are only able to handle up to 4GB, maximum*. There's just not enough memory addresses for more. This is usually not a problem for desktop users, but it might be a concern for servers or high-end workstations. 

The "coolness" factor - As Apple Computer has proven in recent years, there's an awful lot people will do just because something looks or feels "cool". This is perhaps the one reason why some people choose to run 64-bit Linux: it's a neat idea. To some people the idea of running a 64-bit native** operating system on their 64-bit CPU is just too cool to pass up. These people understand the drawbacks to running a bleeding-edge system and accept the extra work involved. If this describes you, more power to you.

So which should I choose? (29 July 2008) Over the last 2 years since I wrote this thread, a lot of progress has been made and I believe at this point that 64-bit Linux distributions are pretty much identical in performance and features as their 32-bit counterparts. I say "pretty much" because there's still no native Flash player. There are ways around that. I've not had issues with Java in 64-bit in recent months, so progress was made there too.

That being said, the point I make in the beginning still stands: although 64-bit Linux distributions are now by and large on-par with their 32-bit brethren, they do not yet surpass them in performance. You're not running at as much of a deficit with 64-bit two years later, but you still don't quite have an advantage either. Now, I think, rather than strongly suggesting 32-bit I could say either will work, but neither has any significant advantage over the other. It's more a matter of personal preference.

* NOTE: The 32-bit Linux kernel can be recompiled to handle up to 64GB of RAM if you're particularly concerned about staying 32-bit. 

** NOTE: Although 64-bit Linux distributions do include a natively-compiled Linux kernel and several natively-compiled key applications, not every package in a 64-bit Linux distribution is 64-bit. The 32-bit library files and many 32-bit applications still exist and are used on a regular basis, so the idea that a 64-bit distribution is "native" is really a misnomer.

compare Linux and UNIX

 What is the difference between Linux and UNIX operating systems?

UNIX is copyrighted name only big companies are allowed to use the UNIX copyright and name, so IBM AIX and Sun Solaris and HP-UX all are UNIX operating systems. The Open Group holds the UNIX trademark in trust for the industry, and manages the UNIX trademark licensing program.

Most UNIX systems are commercial in nature.

Linux is a UNIX Clone

But if you consider Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) standards then Linux can be considered as UNIX. To quote from Official Linux kernel README file:

Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance.

However, "Open Group" do not approve of the construction "Unix-like", and consider it misuse of their UNIX trademark.

Linux Is Just a Kernel

Linux is just a kernel. All Linux distributions includes GUI system + GNU utilities (such as cp, mv, ls,date, bash etc) + installation & management tools + GNU c/c++ Compilers + Editors (vi) + and various applications (such as OpenOffice, Firefox). However, most UNIX operating systems are considered as a complete operating system as everything come from a single source or vendor.

As I said earlier Linux is just a kernel and Linux distribution makes it complete usable operating systems by adding various applications. Most UNIX operating systems comes with A-Z programs such as editor, compilers etc. For example HP-UX or Solaris comes with A-Z programs.

License and cost

Linux is Free (as in beer [freedom]). You can download it from the Internet or redistribute it under GNU licenses. You will see the best community support for Linux. Most UNIX like operating systems are not free (but this is changing fast, for example OpenSolaris UNIX). However, some Linux distributions such as Redhat / Novell provides additional Linux support, consultancy, bug fixing, and training for additional fees.

User-Friendly

Linux is considered as most user friendly UNIX like operating systems. It makes it easy to install sound card, flash players, and other desktop goodies. However, Apple OS X is most popular UNIX operating system for desktop usage.

Security Firewall Software

Linux comes with open source netfilter/iptables based firewall tool to protect your server and desktop from the crackers and hackers. UNIX operating systems comes with its own firewall product (for example Solaris UNIX comes with ipfilter based firewall) or you need to purchase a 3rd party software such as Checkpoint UNIX firewall.

Backup and Recovery Software

UNIX and Linux comes with different set of tools for backing up data to tape and other backup media. However, both of them share some common tools such as tar, dump/restore, and cpio etc.

File Systems

• Linux by default supports and use ext3 or ext4 file systems.
• UNIX comes with various file systems such as jfs, gpfs (AIX), jfs, gpfs (HP-UX), jfs, gpfs (Solaris).

System Administration Tools

1. UNIX comes with its own tools such as SAM on HP-UX.
2. Suse Linux comes with Yast
3. Redhat Linux comes with its own gui tools called redhat-config-*.

However, editing text config file and typing commands are most popular options for sys admin work under UNIX and Linux.

System Startup Scripts

Almost every version of UNIX and Linux comes with system initialization script but they are located in different directories:

1. HP-UX - /sbin/init.d
2. AIX - /etc/rc.d/init.d
3. Linux - /etc/init.d

End User Perspective

The differences are not that big for the average end user. They will use the same shell (e.g. bash or ksh) and other development tools such as Perl or Eclipse development tool.

System Administrator Perspective

Again, the differences are not that big for the system administrator. However, you may notice various differences while performing the following operations:

1. Software installation procedure
2. Hardware device names
3. Various admin commands or utilities
4. Software RAID devices and mirroring
5. Logical volume management
6. Package management
7. Patch management

UNIX Operating System Names

A few popular names:

1. HP-UX
2. IBM AIX
3. Sun Solairs
4. Mac OS X
5. IRIX

Linux Distribution (Operating System) Names

A few popular names:

1. Redhat Enterprise Linux
2. Fedora Linux
3. Debian Linux
4. Suse Enterprise Linux
5. Ubuntu Linux

Common Things Between Linux & UNIX

Both share many common applications such as:

1. GUI, file, and windows managers (KDE, Gnome)
2. Shells (ksh, csh, bash)
3. Various office applications such as OpenOffice.org
4. Development tools (perl, php, python, GNU c/c++ compilers)
5. Posix interface

A Sample UNIX Desktop Screenshot

Fig.01: UNIX Desktop - IRIX 6.5 Desktop

A Sample Linux Desktop Screenshot

Fig.02: Linux KDE desktop environment

UNIX and Linux Hardware

Commercial UNIX hardware has more advanced initial boot options such as:

• Decide how to boot
• Check system health
• Set hardware parameters etc

The BIOS that is standard in PCs which is used by Linux has few, of these features. UNIX hardware or servers are pretty expensive as compare to Linux server systems.

Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop Customization Guide

At the request of our readers we have decided to revive our usual desktop customization tutorial for the Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system, because of Unity!

Many of you hate Unity, therefore this step-by-step tutorial was created for the Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system and it will teach you how to change the looks of your Linux desktop into an eye-candy, practical, simple and modern workstation. 

In other words, to pimp your Ubuntu 11.04 desktop and change its looks:

from this	to this

Things you need to get started:

1. Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system (Desktop Edition);
2. Cairo-Dock;
3. Divergence IV - "A New Hope" GTK2 Theme;
4. AwOken Icon Theme;
5. An amazing wallpaper!

Step 1 - Removing Unity

You will have to log out of your current Unity session by using the shutdown button at the right, choosing the "Log Out" option.

After that, at the login screen, all you have to do is to click on your user name and choose the "Ubuntu Classic" option from the Sessions drop down box...

Make sure the "Ubuntu classic" entry is selected correctly and type in your password to log back in. Voila, Unity is gone!

Step 2 - Cleaning the desktop

Right click on the bottom panel and select the "Delete This Panel" option...

In order to make the upper panel transparent, right click on it and select "Properties"...

On the "Background" tab select the "Solid color" option and drag the Style slide to "Transparent"...

Click the "Close" button and the panel will be transparent!

Step 3 - Installing Cairo-Dock

Install Cairo-Dock by using Ubuntu Software Center (Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center)...

...search and install Cairo-Dock...

Enter your password when asked...

Wait for the installation process to finish...

That's it! Cairo-Dock is now installed. Close Ubuntu Software Center and proceed to the next step to configure Cairo-Dock.

Step 4 - Configuring Cairo-Dock

Configuring Cairo-Dock is a matter of choice and taste. You can right click on an empty space on the dock and choose "Cairo-Dock -> Configure"...

From here you can add new themes, new plugins, change the effects and how the dock looks.

Step 5 - Install the Divergence IV - "A New Hope" GTK2 theme

We've selected the second best GTK2 theme for this tutorial. Download it from the link at the beginning of the tutorial and follow the instructions below to install it:

- Extract the .zip file to a folder
- Double click "install.sh" and select "Run"
- Follow the prompts to configure it.

Your desktop should look like this...

Editor's note: To open the customization tool go to System -> Preferences -> A New Hope Config.

Step 6 - Install the AwOken icon theme

We've also selected the second best icons theme for this tutorial. Hit the ALT+F2 key combination and paste the following commands, one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alecive/antigone

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install awoken-icon-theme

Editor's note: A terminal window will be opened for each command. It will close automatically at the end of each command.

To configure the AwOken icon theme, hit ALT+F2, paste and run the following command...

awoken-icon-theme-customization

...and follow the instructions provided!

Step 7 - Final touches

Add that nice wallpaper you've dreamed about (right click on your desktop -> Change Desktop Background)... and voila, your Ubuntu desktop has been pimped 

Dreamlinux 2.2 MULTIMEDIA EDITION review

WHAT IS DREAMLINUX? • Dreamlinux is a free, modern and modular GNU/Linux system. It can be run directly from a CD/DVD/USBStick and optionally be installed to a HDD, including IDE, SCSI, SATA, PATA and USB drives. • Dreamlinux comes with a selection of the best applications designed to meet most of your daily needs. • Dreamlinux is based on the venerable Debian Operating System. This means it takes advantage of Debian's best features and adds its own modern development tools, system scripts and applications. • Dreamlinux Desktop Edition 3.5 comes with XFCE Desktop Environment as default. However, nothing prevents anyone from using other desktop environments, thanks to Dreamlinux's modular architecture. For example, you'll find Gnome Desktop Environment available as an XFCE replacement. Shortly, we will make LXDE, TDE and Fluxbox available as well. Multimedia resources • Dreamlinux comes with all the codecs and media players needed for a good multimedia experience.

FLASH INSTALLDreamlinux installs in any portables devices, USB flash cards, SDDs or HDDs USB.  By using our new "Dream On A Pen" philosophy you can boot your Dreamlinux on any computer that is able to boot from a pen-drive. Besides, once running from a pen-drive, you will be able to keep your data safe inside it. All you need to do is create folders to store your data, music, videos, you name it. They not only will be accessible inside your Dreamlinux pen-drive Operating System, they can be read in any other computer running any Linux distro. Hold on, we haven't finished yet! Thanks to our exclusive Flexiboost Technology you can download additional modules full of applications and simply drag them inside the pen-drive, without the need to reinstall. The applications will show immediately in the menu, what extends dramatically the power and usefulness of Dreamlinux. To know what modules are currently available check the box "Additional Application' s Modules".