By: Dennis dEntremont
So, you want to use an alternative operating system. What’s next?

First, you need to decide what you want to do with it. Are you going to use it for all of your daily computing needs or is it going to be installed on a second computer just to be played around with? Is there name brand software you absolutely need or can you make do with lesser known alternatives?

The reason we ask these questions is simple. Not all software can be found on every alternative. Let’s take for example, Dreamweaver. If you are in to web development and require Dreamweaver (for what ever reason) you will soon realize that it does not run on anything but Windows. On the other hand, if you can manage with an alternative to Dreamweaver you can most likely find one for just about any operating system.

Since we are on the topic of software we might as well be honest. There are quite a lot of operating systems that will run on just about any hardware but if you really want an alternative to Windows but need the same level of functionality, you will probably want to go with a flavor of Linux. Linux has a much larger software base than most other Windows alternatives and probably has better support. I won’t get into Linux here as there are too many flavors and variations.

Last but not least. What are you willing to put up with? When using alternatives you must be patient. There are very nice people out there who put a lot of work into these operating systems without any payment. Sometimes it takes a while to get a new version of a piece of software ported over to your operating system. Let’s take for example eComStation. New versions of Firefox and Thunderbird are usually ported over but it can often take a while after the Windows and Linux versions are released.

Although this may sound scary, using an alternative operating system can be very fun and rewarding. Many people spend many hours creating these operating systems as a hobby or some as a full-time job. If you find and OS you like please don’t hesitate to send an email the official website telling them how much you like it.

Here are a few names of operating systems that you may or may not have seen:

1. eComStation (the successor to IBM?s OS/2)

2. ZetaOS (formerly BeOS)

3. SkyOS

4. Linux (many flavors)

5. ReactOS

6. AmigaOS

7. and many more.

Dennis dEntremont

Author Bio

Dennis d’Entremont is the owner and operator of Alternative OS News and Nerfd.biz – Online Software Store

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By: Anjali Goswami
A gadget can be called as an appliance or a device that has a specific function. It can also be called as a small and technical entity that is very useful. Life is full of complexities and with the growing competition in each and every field; all the persons have become very busy. These small objects are very much useful in reducing the complexities and make life very easy. It saves a lot of time as they have a particular function. In this competitive world, man cannot live without these gadgets. Sometimes, these objects are also called as gizmos (a device that is very useful for a particular job).

 

In software companies, the gadgets are often referred as the computer programs that do not needs any particular application prior to their launch. These can work in any environment. In software engineering, the word gadget was first used by the AmigaOS developers in 1985. In 2008, this term got substituted by the word widget. A widget is a control element that is used in the graphical user interface.

 

There are innumerable gadgets that are making life very easy. One of the most important ones is the Microsoft gadgets. These gadgets are single-function and light weight applications that are often called as software widgets. These can be hosted on a web page and also can be used with the Microsoft windows. Microsoft says that these gadgets can run on different environments.

 

The Microsoft gadgets can be further classified as web, sidebar and sideshow gadgets that can serve various purposes. Hence, we can say that with the advancements in technology, life is becoming easier and simpler.

 

For more information on Gadgets and the benefits of Gadgets please visit the mentioned website

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By: Raymond J. Brighton
If like me, you find yourself juggling multiple messenger applications to keep your friends, family and colleagues happy you will be glad to hear about Pidgin.  Formally known as Gaim, Pidgin is an open-source messaging program that allows the simultaneous use of multiple instant messenger services through one application.

Available as a free of charge download from www.pidgin.im, this small program supports 17 networks including favourites AOL, MSN and Yahoo as well some lesser known ones such as Jabber and Gadu-Gadu.  Additional chat clients such as Skype and the Facebook Chat tool can be added through the use of freely available third party plugins which are easily located on the Pidgin site.

Once installed, simply select the type of account you want to add (for example a Google Talk account) along with your user name and password.  Any of your contacts from that account that are currently online will automatically appear in the buddies list and you can begin chatting straight away.  Not only does this offer the distinct advantage that you don’t need to switch between several applications if you have contact with friends on multiple networks but it also cuts down on the resource requirements of having multiple chat services running on one machine.

Along with being cross compatible with different networks, the Pidgin application is also available for many different Operating Systems; as well as the obvious Windows version, the developers have provided support for Solaris, SkyOS, Qtopia, UNIX, Linux and even the AmigaOS.

All the standard features you would come to expect such as contact organiser, custom smileys, file transfers and group chats are present.  The only slight criticism that I would have is that it doesn’t support video and voice chat however my assumption is that these protocols are difficult to integrate in to an application that has been designed to be compatible with dozens of networks and half a dozen different Operating Systems.  Hopefully this lack of functionality will be addressed in future releases.

Pidgin is completely customisable; the preferences dialog box provides an area where you can define every conceivable option including the interface, sounds, network connection, chat logging and your default availability status.  In terms of appearance you can also change the font type, size and colour, formatting along with installing new themes which change the appearance of smileys and status icons.  An additional option to install themes in order to change the actual user interface would be welcome as the default interface may be a little dull and unintuitive for some users.

<a href=”http://sonypspgocenter.com/index.html”><strong>Sony PSP Go Center</strong></a> contains over 300,000 Downloads making it the Biggest Database for the PSP/PSP Go!

<a href=”http://sonypspgocenter.com/index.html”><strong>Sony PSP Go Center</strong></a> is complete database where you can find the newest and your favorite Games, Movies, Music, Software and much more!

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Amiga Revival Imminent – The X1000

Innovates with fully customisable processors.

The Amiga home computer is set to enjoy an exciting comeback, reports are out that a new iteration of the popular machine is in the works, twenty five years after Commodore launched the A1000.

Known as the AmigaOne X1000, the PowerPC computer will feature a custom motherboard called ‘Nemo’ and a new innovation for tech-heads – fully customisable processors, allowing coders to dedicate resources according to software needs. It will run AmigaOS 4.

Announced by A-eon, the X1000 was shrouded in mystery when a website appeared providing hints to an Amiga revival. Clues were slowly trickled out to tease the inevitable reveal, including a replication of the classic black and red ‘Software Failure’ screen.

For Amiga fans, this news is like music to the ears. Ever since Commodore filed for bankruptcy in 1994, there has been several failed attempts to pick up the slack as ownership of Commodore’s assets were sold to different companies.

The Commodore brand name itself has changed hands several times, with the recent Commodore Gaming company formed to re-release old C64 games on Wii’s Virtual Console and launch a brand of gaming PCs. The Amiga operating system now belongs to Belgium Company Hyperion Entertainment following a four-way lawsuit, which concluded last year.

A-eon’s approach marks the first step towards reviving the Amiga as i

“For custom hardware control from robotics to theatrical lighting, for hobbyist creativity, for hardware hacking and for a multitude of applications we haven’t even imagined yet, the X1000 is a dream platform – and therein lies another meaning of ‘X’, the unknown. It is you, not us, who will define the future.”

Stig-Arne Kristoffersen has a background as civil engineer and geoscientist. He has worked mainly within the oil and gas industry from the mid 1980s. He has written a few fictional novels as well as being the author of some professional litterature within oil and gas sector, he act as a writer to various web sites.

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