UNetbootin allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for a variety of Linux distributions from Windows or Linux, without requiring you to burn a CD. You can either let it download one of the many distributions supported out-of-the-box for you, or supply your own Linux .iso file if you’ve already downloaded one or your preferred distribution isn’t on the list.

Requirements

• Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista, or Linux. If you are having trouble with the Linux version, try the Windows version, it usually works better.
• A broadband internet connection to download the distribution’s .iso file (unless you’re using pre-downloaded files)

Features

UNetbootin can create a bootable Live USB drive, or it can make a “frugal install” on your local hard disk if you don’t have a USB drive. It can load distributions by automatically downloading their ISO (CD image) files, or by using existing ISO files, floppy/hard disk images, or kernel/initrd files, for installing other distributions.

unetbootin

The current version has built-in support for automatically downloading and loading the following distributions, though installing other distributions is also supported:

• Ubuntu (and official derivatives)
  • 6.06 LTS
  • 6.10
  • 7.04
  • 7.10
  • 8.04 LTS
  • 8.10
  • 9.04
  • Daily CD Images
• Debian
  • Stable/Etch
  • Testing/Lenny
  • Unstable/Sid
• Linux Mint
  • 3.1
  • 4.0
  • 5-r1
  • 6
• openSUSE
  • 10.2
  • 10.3
  • 11.0
  • 11.1
  • Factory
• Arch Linux
  • 2007.08
• Damn Small Linux
  • 4.4
• SliTaz
  • Stable
  • Cooking
• Puppy Linux
  • 4.00
• gNewSense
  • deltah-2.1
• FreeBSD
  • 6.3
  • 7.0
• NetBSD
  • 4.0

• Fedora
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • Rawhide
• PCLinuxOS
  • 2007
  • 2008
• Sabayon Linux
  • 4-LiteMCE
• Gentoo
  • 2007.0
  • 2008.0
• MEPIS
  • SimplyMEPIS 8
  • AntiX 8
• Zenwalk
  • 5.2
• Slax
  • 6
• Dreamlinux
  • 3.2
• Elive
  • Development
• CentOS
  • 4
  • 5
• Mandriva
  • 2007.1
  • 2008.0
  • 2008.1
• FaunOS
  • 0.5.4
• Frugalware Linux
  • Stable
  • Testing
  • Current
• xPUD
  • 0.8.9

UNetbootin can also be used to load various system utilities, including:

• Parted Magic, a partition manager that can resize, repair, backup, and restore partitions.
• SystemRescueCD, a system repair, backup and recovery tool.
• Super Grub Disk, a boot utility that can restore and repair overwritten and misconfigured GRUB installs or directly boot various operating systems
• Dr.Web Antivirus, F-Secure Rescue CD, and Kaspersky Rescue Disk, which remove malware from Windows installs.
• Backtrack, a utility used for network analysis and penetration testing.
• Ophcrack, a utility which can recover Windows passwords.
• NTPasswd, a utility which can reset Windows passwords and edit the registry.
• Gujin, a graphical bootloader that can also be used to boot various operating systems and media.
• Smart Boot Manager (SBM), which can boot off CD-ROM and floppy drives on computers with a faulty BIOS.
• FreeDOS, which can run BIOS flash and other legacy DOS utilities.

Installation & Screenshots

If you are using Windows, run the file, select a distribution (which will download for you automatically), floppy/hard disk image (an image that you have already downloaded from www.ubuntu.com let’s say), or kernel/initrd to load, select a target drive (USB Drive or Hard Disk), then reboot once and you are done.

If using Linux, make the file executable (using either the command

chmod +x ./unetbootin-linux

or going to Properties->Permissions and checking “Execute”), then start the application, you will be prompted for your password to grant the application administrative rights, then the main dialog will appear, where you select a distribution and install target (USB Drive or Hard Disk), then reboot when prompted.

After rebooting, if you created a Live USB drive by selecting “USB Drive” as your install target, press the appropriate button (usually F1, F2, F12, ESC, or backspace) while your computer is starting up to get to your BIOS boot menu and select USB drive as the startup target; otherwise if there’s no boot selection option, go to the BIOS setup menu and change the startup order to boot USB by default. Otherwise, if you did a “frugal install” by selecting “Hard Disk” as your install target, select the UNetbootin entry from the Windows Boot Menu as the system boots up.

Installing Other Distributions Using UNetbootin

Download and run UNetbootin, then supply it with the appropriate ISO (CD image) file, floppy/hard disk image, or kernel and initrd files when prompted (see screenshot). Check your distribution’s download page to find the appropriate file; if in doubt use the ISO file.

If you’re loading an ISO file or floppy/hard disk image, that’s all that’s required (just press “OK” to start installing); otherwise if you’re manually specifying kernel and initrd files and you’d like to specify special booting options, check the distribution’s boot configuration files (usually after the “kernel” line in either isolinux.cfg, syslinux.cfg, menu.lst, or grub.conf) and supply them on the “Option” line.

And this is how you can install linux from usb. After completing this tutorial you will be able to boot and run linux from a USB drive.

This guide shows you how to map your /home/Music folder in Ubuntu, to your Windows iTunes folder. Doing this means only one folder needs to be maintained and any music program you installed on Ubuntu will load your Windows music library.

The same technique can be used for other folders to accomplish the same thing.

You first need to mount your Windows partition mounted. Next open up terminal and type the following;

cd /home

rm -r Music

ln -s /media/WINDOWSDRIVENAME/Users/USERNAME/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Music/ Music

From this point forward, an application that uses your /home/Music folder, the application will be using your Windows iTunes music folder.

We’ll start from the assumption that you actually installed Version Cue. To use a Version Cue Server, you’ll need to turn it on and configure initial settings. Once you’ve configured initial settings, you can configure additional Version Cue Server settings in the Version Cue preferences and specify advanced server settings (such as enabling SSL) in Version Cue Server Administration.

For a video on setting up the Version Cue server, see Version Cue Video.

1. Do either of the following:

Click Start My Server in the Adobe dialog box or in Adobe Bridge.

Open the Control Panel and double-click Adobe Version Cue CS3 (Windows) or click Adobe Version Cue CS3 in System Preferences (Mac OS), and then click Start.

Version Cue starts Version Cue Server Administration and displays the Initial Configuration window.

2. In the Initial Configuration window, specify a system administrator password in the Password text box.
Note: Be sure to note the password you specify. If you forget the system administrator password, you’ll need to reinstall the Version Cue Server.

3. Specify a name for the server in the Server Name text box.

4. Choose an option from the Server Visibility menu:

To prevent other users in your network from seeing the server, choose Private. Private Version Cue Servers can be accessed only from your local computer.

To make the server visible to other users in your network, choose Visible To Others. (You must configure the server to be visible to grant others access to projects on the server.)

Note: If Version Cue is installed on a Windows computer that uses a firewall and you want to share the server with others, make sure that TCP ports 3703 and 5353 are left open. If you’ve enabled SSL for the Version Cue Server, also leave port 3704 open. If Version Cue CS2 is installed on the same computer, also leave port 50900 open (and 50901 if you’ve enabled SSL).

5. Choose an option from the User Accounts menu:

To enable users to access the server without an existing user account, choose Automatic User Creation. If you select this option, Version Cue creates a new user account without a password when a new user accesses the server.
If you enable automatic user account creation and then subsequently enable LDAP support, LDAP users are automatically imported when they access the server with their LDAP account name. Users imported in this fashion are added to the Everyone group, given a user access level of None, and are not able to log into Version Cue Server Administration. Use this technique to automatically assign LDAP users default access rights to projects on a Version Cue server without having to explicitly import users.

To specify that only named users, defined in Version Cue Server Administration, can access the server, choose Manual User Creation.

6. Click Save & Continue to log in to Version Cue Server Administration and specify advanced server settings.

Set Version Cue Server preferences

You can configure many Version Cue Server settings in Version Cue preferences, such as the amount of RAM available to Version Cue and the location of the Data folder. To configure advanced settings, such as enabling SSL, changing the name of the Version Cue Server, specifying server log options, resetting user locks, or backing up the server, you must use Version Cue Server Administration.

Access Version Cue Server preferences

1. Do one of the following to access Version Cue preferences:

Open the Control Panel and double-click Adobe Version Cue CS3 (Windows) or click Adobe Version Cue CS3 in System Preferences (Mac OS).

In Windows, double-click the Version Cue icon  in the system tray at the lower-right of the screen.

In Mac OS, click the Version Cue icon  in the menu bar at the top of the screen, and choose Version Cue CS3 Preferences from the menu.
Note: The Version Cue icon is hidden by default. To make it visible, select Show Version Cue CS3 Tray Icon (Windows) or Show Version Cue CS3 Status In Menu Bar (Mac OS) in Version Cue Server preferences.

2. Click the Settings tab in the Adobe Version Cue CS3 dialog box.

Make the Version Cue Server visible

1. To grant others access to shared Version Cue projects on the server, choose Visible To Others from the Server Visibility menu. To hide the Version Cue Server from other users, choose Private.

Note: If Version Cue is installed on a Windows computer that uses a firewall and you want to share the server with others, make sure that TCP ports 3703 and 5353 are left open. If you’ve enabled SSL for the Version Cue Server, also leave port 3704 open. If Version Cue CS2 is installed on the same computer, also leave port 50900 open (and 50901 if you’ve enabled SSL). For instructions, see Windows Help.

2. Click Apply.

Specify a workgroup size

1. From the Workgroup Size menu, choose the number of people who use the Version Cue Server on a typical day. This setting controls how the Version Cue Server handles the potential load.

2. Click Apply.

Keep the Version Cue icon visible

1. Select Show Version Cue CS3 Tray Icon (Windows) or Show Version Cue CS3 Status in Menu Bar (Mac OS) to keep the Version Cue icon visible.

2. Click Apply.

Turn Version Cue on when the computer starts

1. Select Turn Version Cue CS3 On When The Computer Starts.

2. Click Apply.

Connect to remote servers

Note: You can perform this task only if you have access to the full Version Cue feature set. See Accessing Version Cue features.

When you need to work on Version Cue projects that are located on a different subnet, you can use the IP address of the computer to access the remote Version Cue Server, as long as it is configured to be visible to other users. Version Cue Servers within your subnet that are configured to be visible are visible automatically.

1. Do one of the following:

In Acrobat, Flash, Illustrator, InCopy, InDesign, or Photoshop, choose File > Open. If you’re using the OS Dialog box, click Use Adobe Dialog. Click Version Cue in the Favorites panel, and choose Connect To Server from the Tools menu or Connect To from the Project Tools (Acrobat) menu .

In Bridge, choose Tools > Version Cue > Connect To Server.

2. In the Connect To Server dialog box, type the IP or DNS address and port of the Version Cue Server (for example, http://153.32.235.230). If you’re connecting to a server that is on the same system as a Version Cue CS2 workspace, append the port number 50900 to the end of the Version Cue URL (for example, http://153.32.235.230:50900).
Display the Version Cue Server Administration login page to identify the Version Cue URLs that remote users and WebDAV applications need to access the server. Alternatively, view the URLs in the Inspector in Bridge.

3. Click OK.

A shortcut to the remote server is automatically included in your list of available Version Cue Servers.

Connect to a Version Cue Server using WebDAV

Adobe recommends managing non‑Adobe files with Adobe Bridge. However, if you’re collaborating with other users who don’t have access to Adobe Bridge, they can use the Version Cue WebDAV Server URL to access projects on a Version Cue Server.

You can access a Version Cue Server by using a WebDAV-enabled application, such as a Microsoft Office application. In Windows, specify a project on a Version Cue Server as a network place by specifying the project’s WebDAV URL. In Mac OS, specify the project’s WebDAV URL by using the Connect To Server Command from the Finder. Before attempting to connect, refer to your application’s documentation on using its WebDAV features.
Enter the Version Cue WebDAV URL, the port number (3703, or 50900 if you’re connecting to a server that is running on the same system as a Version Cue CS2 workspace), webdav, and the project name. For example: http://153.32.235.230:3703/webdav/ project_name

It’s a breeze to install VLC in Windows, and fortunately VLC has now been included in the repositories and is a breeze to install in Ubuntu as well.

The easy way to install VLC is to use Synaptic.  Fire up Synaptic and click Search and type VLC.

When you are prompted to install additional packages select  Mark.

Alternatively, you can install VLC from the command line.  Open Terminal and type;

sudo apt-get update

and then

sudo apt-get install vlc vlc-plugin-esd mozilla-plugin-vlc

Foxmarks has been offering a synchronization solution for quite a while, now with password synchronization included their service, Foxmarks has entered the big leagues.

Foxmarks works by taking your Firefox personal data, encrypting it with a 256bit encryption algorithm using a PIN-code that only you will know and then uploading the content to the Foxmark server. 

Once you setup Foxmarks on another Firefox client, you will be prompted whether to merge the bookmarks and passwords, use the server data, or use the client data. It then keeps track of changes in the clients and synchronizes them with the server. The server also acts as a backup of your browser data in case you have a system crash.

You can download Foxmarks.com on their website.

The Azure solution has been designed to help developers deploy web-based services centred around Visual Studio quickly and easily by not having to worry about the infrastructure costs or overhead that are typically associated with application delivery.

Once a you are ready to deploy you can select how many nodes you want to use in the Microsoft cloud of computing power, you reserve a those nodes and pay for just those node.  As your web service becomes more popular, you can log in to the management web site and increase the node count with just a few clicks.
Windows Azure pricing is based on how much storage, bandwidth and computing time an application uses.

Visit the Windows Azure Community Technology Preview

Read the Microsoft Press Release

The Microsoft service is playing catch up to the Amazon.com service that has been around for quite some time, called Elastic Computing Cloud (Amazon EC2).

The major difference that pushes Amazon.com’s solution ahead of Microsoft is the fact that it is no based on one solution.   With just a few clicks you can deploy a Linux, OS X or a Windows solution with prebuilt images. 

Amazon’s solution is priced according to how much storage (cheap), bandwidth (not as cheap) and computing time (relatively cheap).
To use Amazon EC2, you simply:

• Create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) containing your applications, libraries, data and associated configuration settings. Or use pre-configured, templated images to get up and running immediately.
• Upload the AMI into Amazon S3. Amazon EC2 provides tools that make storing the AMI simple. Amazon S3 provides a safe, reliable and fast repository to store your images.
• Use Amazon EC2 web service to configure security and network access.
• Choose which instance type(s) and operating system you want, then start, terminate, and monitor as many instances of your AMI as needed, using the web service APIs or the variety of management tools provided.
• Determine whether you want to run in multiple locations, utilize static IP endpoints, or attach persistent block storage to your instances.
• Pay only for the resources that you actually consume, like instance-hours or data transfer.

You can read more about Amazon EC2 here.

Here is the disclaimer;

We have nothing to do with these sites, this information is provided solely as a service to our readers, and do not condone downloading of any copyrighted material, files, etc.

• Mininova
• ThePirateBay
• BiteNova
• Bitsoup
• Demonoid.com
• Torrentspy.com
• Torrentreactor

The .SFV file is just a checksum file.  What that means is that it verifies the integrity of the archive and repairs it if it is possible.
SFV compression is just a RAR file.

If you already don’t have it, download WinRAR from here.  Install the program.

Right click on the .001 file and select Open With – and then Select WinRAR (You may have to browse for the executable which is located at C:Program FilesWinRARWinRAR.exe.

You should now see the files in the archive.  You can just highlight them and click Extract or extract all to a destination.

Launch Thunderbird and go to Tools – Account Settings.

In Account Settings select Composition and Addressing.  Change the drop down box to "Start my reply above the quote".  Here you can also choose where your signature will display on the message as well.  When you done click OK then go back to the original message.

That is all there is to it!  This new behaviour is saved and will be the default from now on.

• Close down Firefox completely: At the top of the Firefox window, click the File menu, and select the Exit menu item.  Close down Firefox completely: On the menu bar, click the Firefox menu, and select the Quit Firefox menu item.  Close down Firefox completely: At the top of the Firefox window, click the File menu, and select the Quit menu item.
• In Windows, click Start, open the All Programs list, and navigate to the Mozilla Firefox folder. In the Mozilla Firefox folder, select Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode).

Go to your Terminal and run:

/path/to/firefox/firefox -safe-mode

• Firefox should start up with a Firefox Safe Mode dialog.

Note: You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode by clicking Start, selecting Run (or use the Start Search box in Windows Vista) and then entering the following in the text field:

firefox -safe-mode

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, press the button Continue in Safe Mode.
If the problem persists in Safe Mode, your problem is not being caused by an extension or theme. It could be caused by a plugin – plugins are not disabled in Safe Mode. Check out the section below titled troubleshooting plugins.
If the problem is not present in Safe Mode:

• One of your Firefox configuration files may be corrupt. Reset your toolbars and controls to see if that solves your problem.
• The theme you’re using or one of your extensions could be the causing the problem. Continue with this article to troubleshoot.

If you have been using a new theme, switch to the default theme and restart Firefox to see if the theme was causing the problem.

• Click on the Tools menu, and select Add-ons. The Add-ons window will appear.
• In the Add-ons window, click the Themes icon.
• Select the default theme, then click the Use Theme button, to make Firefox switch to that theme.
• Close Firefox, then start it up again.

When Firefox restarts, the default theme is in use. If the problem goes away, your theme was causing the problem.

Troubleshooting plugins
If you are having problems with pages that use plugins (such as Flash, Windows Media Player, Java, and more) to display content, you may need to check to see whether a plugin is causing the problem.
Common problems caused by plugins include:

• Crashing or Hanging
• Images or multimedia items do not load
• Problems downloading

Determining If A Plugin Is The Problem

You can selectively disable plugins while Firefox is running. If you suspect a certain plugin, disable it first, then test for your problem. If you don’t know which plugin to disable:

• Open the Add-ons Window by clicking the Tools menu and selecting Add-ons.
• In the Add-ons window, select the Plugins panel.
• Select a plugin in the list and then click its Disable button. Repeat this step for each plugin in the list. You do not need to restart Firefox for the changes to take effect.
• Test for your problem. If it does not occur, go back to the Add-ons window and re-enable plugins one-by-one with the Enable button until you find which one causes your problem to occur.

If you find that disabling a plugin fixes your problem, continue following the steps in this article.

Updating or re-installing your plugins

Many problems with plugins can be solved by updating to the latest version of the plugin. You may need to uninstall and then reinstall the new version of the plugin that causes problems.
If updating to the newest version of the plugin or reinstalling it does not fix the problem, you can leave it disabled.

Manually uninstalling a plugin

If you can’t use an uninstaller program to remove a plugin, you can remove it manually:

• In the Location bar, type about:config, and press EnterReturn.
• The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear. Click I’ll be careful, I promise!, to continue to the about:config page.
• Search for the preference: plugin.expose_full_path.
• Double-click on the plugin.expose_full_path preference in the list to change the value to true.
• Enter about:plugins into the Location bar to display the About Plugins page.
• Each entry in the About Plugins page will have "File name:" followed by a path. Use Windows Explorer to navigateNavigate to the folder shown for the plugin you want to remove.
• Rename the file to something other than its normal name – e.g. npswf32 becomes Xnpswf32

The plugin will be removed.

Re-initializing the plugins database

In some cases, you may not be able to install or re-install a plugin. Re-initializing the plugins database may fix this problem:

• From the menu at the top of the Firefox windowbar, select FileFirefox and then select the ExitQuit FirefoxQuit menu item.
• Open your Firefox profile folder.
• Delete the pluginreg.dat file.
• Open Firefox
• In the Location bar type about:plugins and press EnterReturn, to bring up the Firefox plugins list.

If you are still having issues with Firefox after you have gone through all these steps, I regret to inform you that your computer is screwed or you have a supermagnet somewhere near it.  The issue you are most likely experiencing at this point is not a Firefox issue but may be spyware, adware or OS related.  Do a full spyware scan of your computer and failing that, a reinstall of your OS.