0 ROCKET 300 POS RECEIPT PRINTER DRIVER DOWNLOAD FOR WINXP/7/VISTA/8.1/10/11

ROCKET300 Thermal / Receipt Printer

Model OCPP 88A (Rocket 300)

Print Printing method Direct thermal printing

Effective printing width 72mm or 64mm

Resolution 203dpi(8 dots/mm)

Printing speed 300mm/High Speed Printing

Printing density 504 dots/line or 576 dots/line

Character set GB18030

Character set GB18030

Memory RAM 8MB, Flash 4MB (if page-mode)

Print font ASCII Font A?12×24

ASCII Font B?9×24

Chinese: 24×24

Character per line Font A-42 lines or 48 lines/Font B-56 lines or 64 lines/Chinese-21 lines or 24 lines

Paper specification Paper width 79.5±0.5mm

Paper roll diameter ?80mm

Paper loading Easy paper loading

Barcodes Barcode type UPC-A, UPC-C, EAN-13, EAN-8, CODE39, ITF, CODEBAR, CODE93, CODE128, Maxicode, QR, GS1, PDF47

Reliability MCBF 6 million lines

Thermal printing head 150 million impulses (150km)

MTBF 360000 hours

Auto cutter 1.5 million cuts

Interface USB, Serial, Ethernet

Paper out detection function / Auto Cutter optional

Emulation ESC/POS/OPOS

Driver WIN98/WIN2000/WINNT/WINXP/OPOS/WIN7/WIN8, Linux, Ubuntu

Power supply DC 24V, 2.5A

Cash drawer Control DC 24V, 1A

Certificate BIS, 3C, CE, FCC, ROHS

Dimension (LxWxH ) 191×140×143mm

Environmen temperature working temperature: 0~45? Storage: -10~50?

humidity

0 ചില സ്പെഷല്‍ ക്ലിക്കുകള്‍.

നാം കമ്പ്യൂട്ടറില്‍ സാധാരണയായി ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന ഇന്പുട്ട് ഔട്പുട്ട് ഉപകരണങ്ങളാണ് കീബോര്‍ഡും മൌസും , എന്നാല്‍ തികച്ചും വ്യത്യസ്തവും ഉപകാരപ്രദവുമായ ചില ഉപകരണങ്ങളെ ഇവിടെ കണ്ടോളൂ:

പെന്‍ മൗസ്:

പെന്‍ മൌസ് എന്നാ പേര്‍ കേള്‍ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ നമുക്ക് തോന്നും ഒരു പെന്‍ പോലെയുള്ള മൗസ് ആയിരിക്കുമെണ്ണ്‍. ഇവിടെ ആദ്യമായി പെന്‍ മൌസിനെ പരിചയപ്പെടാം,
WOW-Pen Traveller എന്ന പെന്‍ മൗസ് വയര്‍ ലെസ്സ് എന്നതിലുപരി ഇതിന്റെത് റീ ചാര്‍ജബില്‍ ബാറ്ററി എന്നത് കൂടിയാന്‍. ഇത് രണ്ടു തരത്ത്തിലുന്റ്റ് ഒന്ന്‍ റേഡിയോ ഫ്രെകുഎന്ക്യിലുമ് രണ്ടാമതെത് ബ്ലുഎടൂതിലും പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കുന്നു. അത് കൂടാതെ ലാസര്‍ പൊയന്റെര്‍ ആണ്‍ ഇതില്‍ ഉപയോഗിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്. നാല് കലരുകളില്‍ ലഭ്യം സില്‍വര്‍, വെള്ള ,നീല, ചുവപ്പ്. കൂടാതെ നിരന്തരമായ ഉപയോകം മൂലം പെന്‍ മൗസ് ഉപയോകം ആയാസ രഹിതമാക്കാന്‍ പ്രത്യേകമായൊരു ആന്റി ബാക്ടേരിഅല് കോട്ടിംഗ് ഉണ്ട്ട്. ഇതിന്റെ എകതെഷ വില 2,800 ഇന്ത്യന്‍ രൂപയാന്‍.

ഡിജിറ്റല്‍ പെന്‍:

പെന്‍ മൗസ് പോലെ വയര്‍ ലെസ്സ് ആണെങ്കിലും, ഇവ കൂടുതലായും വരക്കാനും എഴുതാനുമാണു ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നത്. ചില മോടെലുകളില്‍ ഇന്‍ ബില്‍റ്റ് മെമ്മറി കണ്ടു വരുന്നു.

0 ലിനക്സ്‌ വിന്‍ഡോസില്‍ അഥവാ വിന്‍ഡോസ് ലിനുക്സില്‍

ലിനക്സ്‌ വിന്‍ഡോസില്‍ അഥവാ വിന്‍ഡോസ് ലിനുക്സില്‍
ഇന്ന് ലോകത്താകമാനം ഉപയോകിക്കുന്ന ഒപെരടിംഗ് സിസ്ടമാണ് വിടോസും ലിനക്സും ആയതിനാല്‍ ഇവ രണ്ടിന്റെയും ഗുണങ്ങളും ദോഷങ്ങളും എന്തൊക്കെ എന്ന് ഒന്ന് ടെസ്റ്റ്‌ ചെയ്യാന്‍ എന്താണൊരു വഴി? പലപ്പോഴും ആദ്യമായി ലിനക്സ്‌ ഇന്സ്ടാല്‍ ചെയ്യുന്ന ഇതൊരു വ്യക്തിയും നേരിടുന്ന പ്രശ്നങ്ങളിലോന്നാണ് പാര്ടീഷനിങ്ങും ഫോര്മാടിങ്ങും ഇന്നത്തെ മിക്ക ലിനുക്ഷുമ് ഒരു പരിധി വരെ ഇതില്‍ നിന്നും മാറ്റം വരുത്തി ഈസി ഇന്സ്ടാലെശന്‍ എന്നാ പുതിയ രീതിയിലേക്ക് വന്നിരിക്കുന്നു. ഇനി പറയുന്ന കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ തീരെ കംപുറെരുമായി ബന്ധമില്ലാത്തവര്‍ക്കും ധൈര്യമായി വിന്‍ഡോസ്‌ അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ ലിനക്സ്‌ ഇന്‍സ്റ്റോള്‍ ചെയ്യാം എന്നതാണ് ഒരു പക്ഷെ ഈ ടൂളുകള്‍ ഒരു പ്രാക്ടീസ് ആയി കരുതാം. ആദ്യമായി ഉബുണ്ടു ലിനക്സ്‌ ഇന്‍സ്റ്റോള്‍ ചെയ്യാന്‍ നിങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് അറിയില്ലെങ്കില്‍ അതില്‍ വുബി എന്നാ അപ്ലിക്കേഷന്‍ കണ്ടു പിടിക്കുക എല്ലാ ഉബുണ്ടു ലിനക്സ്‌ സീ.ഡി യിലും ഇത് ഉള്പ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുന്റ്റ്. ഇതില്‍ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്തു റണ്ചെയ്തു ഇന്സല്‍ ചെയ്യേണ്ട ഡ്രൈവും എത്ര മെമ്മറി വേനമുഎന്നും തീരുമാനിച്ചു കഴിഞ്ഞാല്‍ ഒരു യുസര്‍ നെയിം പാസ്വേഡ് ഇവ നല്‍കി ഇന്‍സ്റ്റോള്‍ ചെയ്യുക. കേവലം ഒരു വിന്‍ഡോസ് അപ്ലിക്കേഷന്‍ പോലെ നിങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് ഇന്സടല്ലറേന്‍ കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യാം.
വുബി യുടെ സ്ക്രീന്‍ ഷോട്ട് നോക്കുക.
ഇനി എങ്ങനെ വിന്‍ഡോസില്‍ തന്നെ വിന്‍ഡോസ്‌ ഇന്സ്ടാല്‍ ചെയ്യും?
ഇതിനു വേണ്ടി സണ്‍ മൈക്രോ സിസ്റെംസ് അഥവാ ജാവയുടെ കമ്പനി വെര്‍ച്വല്‍ ബോക്സ് എന്ന സോഫ്റ്റ്‌വെയര്‍ നല്കുന്നുന്റ്റ്. ഇതൊരു ഇല്ലാത്ത കമ്പ്യുട്ടറിന്റെ പ്രതീതി നല്‍കുന്നു ഫലത്തില്‍ ഇവിടെ എന്തും ചെയ്യാം .നിങ്ങളുടെ കമ്പ്യുട്ടറിനു ഒന്നും സംഭവിക്കില്ല.ഈ ടൂള്‍ വിന്ഡോസിലും ലിനക്സിലും ലഭ്യമാണ്.
ആദ്യം ഏത് ഒപെരടിംഗ് സിസ്റ്റം ഇന്‍സ്റ്റോള്‍ ചെയ്യുന്നു എന്ന് തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുക.അതിനായി മെയിന്‍ വിണ്ടോവില്‍ ന്യൂ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക.

ഇവിടെ ഒരു സെറ്റപ്പ് വിസാദ് ലഭിക്കും ഇവിടെയാണ് നാം ഇന്സ്ടല്ലറേന്‍ വേണ്ട കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ തീരുമാനിക്കുന്നത്. വിശദമായ വിവരങ്ങള്‍ ഈ സോഫ്ത്വരിന്റെ കൂടെ ഉണ്ട്. ഇത് വിന്‍ഡോസ് 95 മുതല്‍ വിന്‍ഡോസ് 7 വരെയും ഇന്‍സ്റ്റോള്‍ ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഉപയോഗിക്കാം. വിവിധ ലിനക്സ്‌ ഒപെരടിന്‍ സിസ്റെങ്ങളും സപ്പോര്‍ട്ട് ചെയ്യുന്നു .
കൂടുതല്‍ വിവരങ്ങള്‍ http://www.virtualbox.org എന്ന വെബ്‌ സൈറ്റില്‍ ലഭ്യമാന്നു.
ഇന്‍സ്റ്റോള്‍ ചെയ്യാന്‍ http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/3.2.10/VirtualBox-3.2.10-66523-Win.exe എന്ന ലിങ്കില്‍ നിന്നും ഡൌണ്‍ലോഡ് ചെയ്യുക. ലിനുക്ഷിനു വേണ്ടി അതതു ലിനുക്സിന്റെ രേപോസിടരിയില്‍ ലഭ്യമാണ്.

0 SKINPUT

Devices with significant computational power and capabilities can now be easily carried on our bodies. However, their small size typically leads to limited interaction space (e.g., diminutive screens, buttons, and jog wheels) and consequently diminishes their usability and functionality. Since we cannot simply make buttons and screens larger without losing the primary benefit of small size, we consider alternative approaches that enhance interactions with small mobile systems.

One option is to opportunistically appropriate surface area from the environment for interactive purposes. For example, Scratch Input is technique that allows a small mobile device to turn tables on which it rests into a gestural finger input canvas. However, tables are not always present, and in a mobile context, users are unlikely to want to carry appropriated surfaces with them (at this point, one might as well just have a larger device). However, there is one surface that has been previous overlooked as an input canvas, and one that happens to always travel with us: our skin.

Appropriating the human body as an input device is appealing not only because we have roughly two square meters of external surface area, but also because much of it is easily accessible by our hands (e.g., arms, upper legs, torso). Furthermore, proprioception (our sense of how our body is configured in three-dimensional space) allows us to accurately interact with our bodies in an eyes-free manner. For example, we can readily flick each of our fingers, touch the tip of our nose, and clap our hands together without visual assistance. Few external input devices can claim this accurate, eyes-free input characteristic and provide such a large interaction area.

In the paper linked below, we present our research on Skinput – a method that allows the body to be appropriated for finger input using a novel, non-invasive, wearable bio-acoustic sensor.

2 15 Hot New Technologies That Will Change Everything

15 Hot New Technologies That Will Change Everything

The Next Big thing? The memristor, a microscopic component that can "remember" electrical states even when turned off. It's expected to be far cheaper and faster than flash storage. A theoretical concept since 1971, it has now been built in labs and is already starting to revolutionize everything we know about computing, possibly making flash memory, RAM, and even hard drives obsolete within a decade.

The memristor is just one of the incredible technological advances sending shock waves through the world of computing. Other innovations in the works are more down-to-earth, but they also carry watershed significance. From the technologies that finally make paperless offices a reality to those that deliver wireless power, these advances should make your humble PC a far different beast come the turn of the decade.

In the following sections, we outline the basics of 15 upcoming technologies, with predictions on what may come of them. Some are breathing down our necks; some advances are still just out of reach. And all have to be reckoned with.

• Memristor: A Groundbreaking New Circuit
• 32-Core CPUs From Intel and AMD
• Nehalem and Swift Chips Spell the End of Stand-Alone Graphics Boards
• USB 3.0 Speeds Up Performance on External Devices
• Wireless Power Transmission
• 64-Bit Computing Allows for More RAM
• Windows 7: It's Inevitable
• Google's Desktop OS
• Gesture-Based Remote Control
• Radical Simplification Hits the TV Business
• Curtains for DRM
• Use Any Phone on Any Wireless Network
• Your Fingers Do Even More Walking
• Cell Phones Are the New Paper
• Where You At? Ask Your Phone, Not Your Friend
• 25 Years of Predictions
  

[Article Courtesy:PCWORLD.com, image:masternewmedia.org]

0 iSIM For iPHONE

iSIM For iPHONE

One-click backup of your contacts to your iPhone's SIM card. Easy transfer of your existing phone numbers into your new iPhone. This SIM phonebook allows you to directly make calls from nunbers on the SIM card. And it lets you move them back and forth between iPhone and SIM card.

Ever wonderered how you can get your phonenumbers from your old cellphone directly onto your brand new iPhone? You can't. Unless you use iSIM for iPhone. This software allows you to easily move all your contacts to your iPhone without having to use Outlook or the Mac Addressbook. Just pop-in your old SIM card and click 'All to Phone'. A minute later, you can take out your old card, slide in the new one, and you're ready to go, all numbers are stored in the iPhone's contact list. Also ideal for people who have bought unlocked phones, because you can use your existing SIM card and make calls from the phonebook.

Attention: only for first generation, jailbroken iPhones,firmware version 1.0.0 to 1.1.4. Not for iPhone 3G. Your iPhone needs to be 'jailbroken' to install software and, equiped with Installer App. Try before you buy.

To get the software, start Installer on your iPhone, press Sources, then Edit, then Add. Next, type http://tinyurl.com/3544mp

3 Windows 7 look for ubuntu 9.04

New Look For Linux
I have downloaded a python based menu application its name gnomenu,i have no need of installing extra packages to my Ubuntu 9.04 (jaunty jackalope) its really looking like windows 7...
i am giving some screen shots:




USE LINUX BE A LINUXIAN!
links to Download this File:http://windows7news.com/2009/05/26/vistar7-windows-7-transformation-pack-for-ubuntu-904/

0 FIREWALL

A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications. It is a device or set of devices which is configured to permit or deny computer based application upon a set of rules and other criteria.
Firewalls can be implemented in either hardware or software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.
There are several types of firewall techniques:
1.Packet filter: Packet filtering inspects each packet passing through the network and accepts or rejects it based on user-defined rules. Although difficult to configure, it is fairly effective and mostly transparent to its users. It is susceptible to IP spoofing.
2.Application gateway: Applies security mechanisms to specific applications, such as FTP and Telnet servers. This is very effective, but can impose a performance degradation.
3.Circuit-level gateway: Applies security mechanisms when a TCP or UDP connection is established. Once the connection has been made, packets can flow between the hosts without further checking.
4.Proxy server: Intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network. The proxy server effectively hides the true network addresses.

source:wikipedia.org

0 Famous Linux Distros

Introduction

The Microsoft Windows operating system is developed and released by a single company. It comes with a minimal set of applications (a calculator, a few games, some networking tools, an Internet browser.. etc). Other software can be obtained by users from various sources and installed on the operating system.

GNU/Linux is different. A GNU/Linux operating system is made of a Linux kernel, a set of GNU tools, an installation program, a package management system and a lot of other software components. Because all these components are free to use and to distribute, anybody can assemble and configure them according to their needs and create their very own GNU/Linux operating system. Since 1993, a lot of people and companies have been distributing Linux operating systems. These distributions made it easy for people to get and to install a working GNU/Linux system on their personal computer.

At first only a few distributions were available. Nowadays there are so many, that it would be pointless to compare all of them. The website http://www.distrowatch.com lists more than 350 active distributions and reports new releases almost every day. Of course, some distributions are quite similar, although some others are very different to each others. Depending on your needs you'll prefer some more than others.

All distributions include the Linux kernel developed by Linus Torvalds and the GNU tools developed by Richard Stallman but they don't necessarily use their latest versions. Some distributions even make their own changes to the kernel. Distributions usually differ in the choice of software applications they offer, in the way these software applications are configured and in the way they are installed and upgraded. Distributions also differ in many aspects such as their philosophy towards proprietary software, their priorities between ease of use and efficiency or between stability and latest technology. In fact, every distribution is different and this means you have more than 350 ways to run GNU/Linux!

Of course some distributions are more popular than others. This article is dedicated to the 10 most famous and popular: Debian, Slackware, Fedora, Mandriva, Suse, Ubuntu, Knoppix, Gentoo, Mepis and Xandros.

1.Debian

Debian is one of the oldest GNU/Linux distributions. It was created in 1993 by Ian Murdock who named it after the combination of his own name and the one of his then-girlfriend (now wife) Debra. The Debian project is non-commercial and gathers more than a thousand developers throughout the world. A strict organization and clear guidelines made its releases famous for their stability and reliability. The project is very ambitious and supports more than 15,000 packages on 11 architectures: m68k, SPARC, Alpha, PowerPC, x86, IA-64, PA-RISC, MIPS (big and little endian), ARM and S/390. AMD64 is also supported although it is not officially included in the distribution. Debian is known for its strong adherence to the Unix and free software philosophies, its stability and its huge community. It is also very well documented and translated in many languages. Its software package management is extremely powerful and was adopted by many other distributions. Although it is meant to be a general-purpose distribution, the quality of its releases made Debian a distribution of choice for servers.

Debian provides three branches: "Stable" which corresponds to the latest release, "Unstable", which is in perpetual evolution and "Testing" which represents the next release to-be. Although it is possible to use "Testing" and to stay up to date, a lot of people are unhappy with the slow release cycle, which makes the "Stable" branch quickly outdated. For this reason Debian is seen as a serious and stable distribution but not as a cutting-edge and reactive one. This "outdated" reputation combined with the absence of graphical installation or configuration tools made Debian look hard to use and slow to evolve. When it comes to desktop, a lot of people prefer fast release cycle, eye-candy configuration tools, graphical installers and ease of use.. and this is not what Debian is.

Official website: http://www.debian.org

Pros: Open-Source philosophy, non-commercial project, strong community, huge selection of packages and supported architectures, one of the best package management, excellent documentation, extremely stable and well-tested releases, modular, fast.

Cons: Slow release cycle, text-based installer, lack of configuration ടൂള്‍സ്


2.Slackware

Founded in 1992 by Patrick Volkerding, Slackware is the oldest surviving GNU/Linux distribution. It is very secure, stable and it is often recommended for server installations. The package management is minimal and doesn't deal with dependencies, the installer and configuration tools are text-based and almost everything is done through configuration files. Slackware doesn't offer graphical frontends nor eye-candy configuration tools. When Patrick was asked why Slackware releases do not have code names, he simply replied that there was no need. In fact the distribution focuses on stability and is well known for being bug-free. System administrators usually say that Slackware is the most Unix-Like GNU/Linux distribution. Most packages are used in their pristine form without any Slackware made improvements. Slackware is usually not recommended to novice users although it is easy to configure and probably one of the most formative distributions. What a user learns while configuring Slackware usually applies to any distribution. Rather than using distribution-specific configuration tools, the user has to modify settings in configuration files and so he has to learn about Linux internals which are common to all distributions. For these reason the Slackware distribution is usually used by system administrators, eager to learn novice users or simply Slackware fans :)

Official website: http://www.slackware.com

Pros: Stability, security, strong adherence to Unix principles, speed and performance.

Cons: Minimal package management, infrequent releases, limited hardware detection.

3.Fedora

One of the best known Linux company in the world is Red Hat, founded in 1995 by Bob Young and Marc Ewing. In 2003, Red Hat decided to focus on business and stopped releasing its public distribution. The company chose to sponsor a community driven project called Fedora. Red Hat Linux 9 was the last version in the Red Hat product line and was replaced by Fedora Core. This distribution is quite unique and mixes leading edge features and conservatism. The result is a stable and secure system with frequent releases and up to date packages which suits both server and desktop installations. The package management is based on RPM, invented by Red Hat, and it is enhanced by a set of tools like Yum, which bring additional features similar to the Debian package management. Because of its close relationship with Red Hat this distribution is very popular among companies. Efforts were also made to make it attractive to the public and Fedora is full of graphical configuration and administration tools. The installation is also graphical and special attention was put to the look and feel of the distribution. As a result Fedora is a popular choice for both desktop and servers among Linux users.

Official website: http://fedora.redhat.com

Pros: Widely used, good support, innovation, good-looking desktop, configuration tools.

Cons: Not as stable as Debian or Slackware for server use, not as easy and up to date as Suse or Mandrake for desktop use. Fedora is truly a general-purpose distribution.


4.Mandriva

Originally called Mandrake and created by Gael Duval in 1998, Mandriva is based on Red Hat. It uses a RPM-based package management, which is enhanced with a tool called urpmi. Mandriva became famous and popular since its first release thanks to an efficient and powerful graphical installer, which is still considered the best nowadays. The default Gnome desktop environment used in Red Hat was replaced in favor of KDE and some good looking configuration tools were added. Also, Mandriva tends to include new versions of software applications as soon as possible and to stay up to date as much as possible, relying on the users to report bugs a posteriori. As a result, Mandriva is highly up-to-date and even though some of its releases are buggy it remains the best distribution for people who are new to Linux or people who find it acceptable to experience some crashes if this means benefiting from the latest versions of applications.

Official website: http://www.mandriva.com

Pros: Highly up-to-date, easy to use, good looking desktop, good community support.

Cons: Unstable, releases are initially reserved to mandrivaClub members and then made public after several weeks.

5.Suse

Since its creation, Suse has always been seen as a distribution of choice for desktop installations. It benefits from a powerful installer and configuration tool called YaST. Professional attention is made to detail, the default KDE desktop environment, the boot process, everything is tailored to make Suse pleasant to the eyes and a serious choice for professional desktops. In 2003, Novell acquired the company and made ISOs of Suse releases freely available on the Internet. Novell also opened the development to public participation and released YaST under the General Public License. Since the launch of OpenSuse, the distribution is now completely free. Suse is stable, polished and pleasant to use. It is probably one of the best desktop solutions.

Official website: http://www.suse.com , http://www.opensuse.org

Pros: Up-to-date, easy to use, good looking, stable.

Cons: Speed and performance.
6.Ubuntu

In 2004 a distribution which was never heard of before, quickly became the most popular and famous of all distributions: Ubuntu. Based on the "Unstable" branch of Debian, Ubuntu features a fast release cycle, up to date and numerous packages, fast download mirrors, great documentation and even free shipment of CDs. Even though the installer is text-based and the configuration tools are not as good looking or integrated as those found in Fedora, Suse or Mandriva, this distribution quickly became the most used for desktop use. Ubuntu was created by Mark Shuttleworth and is distributed by his company Canonical Ltd. It is not clear whether or not Ubuntu is profitable to Canonical Ltd, but according to the multi-millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, this is not the main priority nor purpose of the distribution. Instead, Ubuntu aims to be an innovative and dynamic general purpose distribution which tackles issues that were not addressed by other distributions. Since its creation, Ubuntu has been the most popular GNU/Linux distribution and every single release is better than the previous one.

Official website: http://www.ubuntu.com

Pros: Great community of users and developers, great documentation, up to date packages, fast release cycle.

Cons: The business model doesn't seem to be viable.
7.Knoppix

Created in 2003 by Klaus Knopper, Knoppix is a live-CD distribution, which means the user can run it directly from the CD without having to install it on the hard drive. Thanks to an efficient compression mechanism, the Knoppix CD features a huge selection of software. Knoppix also provides a great automatic hardware detection, which is far better than those of other distributions. The CD can be used as a recovery or administration tool, as a Linux demonstration, as a hardware test tool or even as a full GNU/Linux desktop distribution since it is possible to install it on the hard drive once booted from the CD. Releases are frequent and packages, based on Debian's "Unstable" branch are quite up-to-date.

Official website: http://www.knoppix.com

Pros: Live-CD, excellent hardware detection, good and up to date package selection.

Cons: Slow if run from the CD.
8.Gentoo

Created in 2002 by Daniel Robbins, Gentoo comes from the idea of adding the FreeBSD autobuild feature, "ports" into GNU/Linux. Gentoo is a source-distribution, which means that its packages are not binary but source packages. Each package is meant to be compiled on the user's computer in order to get the best performance and speed out of the resulting compiled binary software. Because repositories use source-packages, they are also very quick to get new software releases as soon as they come out. This results in a very fast and highly up-to-date distribution. The package management is also very efficient and easy to use. On the other hand, the installation of the system and of big packages can be very long and tedious, even with a fast processor.

Official website: http://www.gentoo.org

Pros: Highly up-to-date, very fast, good documentation.

Cons: Long and tedious installation, can be unstable.
9.Mepis

Created in 2003 by Warren Woodford, Mepis is a mix between Debian "Unstable" and Knoppix. It is a live-CD which, once booted, features a graphical installation program. Users can simply boot on the CD, try the distribution, and if they like it.. run the graphical installation program. Also, the distribution chose a different path regarding the use of proprietary software, arguing that the user's comfort was more important than the adherence to open-source philosophy. By default, Mepis includes NVIDIA drivers, Flash and Java plugins, Java runtime, multimedia codecs, and other non-free software. The hardware automatic detection is very good and even detects some winmodems. In-house configuration utilities are also provided.

Official website: http://www.mepis.com

Pros: Installable Live-CD, pre-configured with latest plugins and codecs.

Cons: Not yet well-established, poor adherence to open-source principles.
10.Xandros

In 2001 Xandros acquired Corel Linux. The distribution was based on Debian and aimed at making it easy for novice users to use GNU/Linux. Nowadays Xandros Desktop is the most user-friendly distribution on the market and is recommended to first time Linux users. In its Deluxe edition Xandros Desktop also includes a NTFS resizing tool and a Windows compatibility layer called CrossOver, which makes it possible to run some Windows applications.

Official website: http://www.xandros.com

Pros: Designed for beginners, easy to use, very stable.

Cons: Small package selection, includes proprietary components, only free for personal use.
Conclusion

People often ask "so which distribution is right for me?". The answer is very simple: "It depends!". It depends on your needs, it depends on your experience, on your philosophy or your tastes. It depends on a lot of things, and even if you found the one you preferred among these 10 majors distributions, don't forget that there are about 340 other distributions available, which could potentially suit your needs. If you're ready for the adventure, go and explore. Read reviews, try as many as you can and make your own mind. Otherwise, if you just need something good without the hassle, stick to these 10 major distributions. If you're running a server, consider Debian or Slackware. If you want to install Linux on your home computer for desktop use, consider them all. If you're new to Linux you could try Xandros, Mepis, Suse or Mandriva. Different people have different tastes and this is exactly why GNU/Linux comes in so many flavors...

0 Freespire Linux

Freespire is a community-driven Linux distribution which is composed mostly of free/open source software, while providing users the choice of including proprietary software including multimedia codecs, device drivers and application software.

Freespire is originally derived from Linspire. Freespire 1.0 is based on Debian, while Freespire 2.0 is based on Ubuntu. Linspire was bought by Xandros, who decided to switch back to Debian for future Freespire releases.

History

In August 2005, a distribution Live CD based on Linspire's source pools named Freespire hit the web by accident. This distribution was created by Andrew Betts and was not produced or released by Linspire Inc. Freespire was confused by some users to be an actual product from Linspire, and at the request of Linspire the distribution adopted a development codename Squiggle and began looking for a new name. Linspire then, on the back of the generated publicity, offered users a "free Linspire" (purchase price discounted to $0) by using the coupon code "Freespire" until September 9, 2005. Squiggle OS is no longer in active development.

On April 24, 2006, Linspire announced its own project named "Freespire". The new Freespire distribution was announced by then Linspire President and former CEO Kevin Carmony. This follows to the model of Fedora being supported by Red Hat and the community since 2003. Novell had also started a similar community project by the name of openSUSE for its SUSE Linux product line in the second half of 2005.

Xandros acquired Linspire/Freespire in the Summer of 2008. Xandros plans on keeping Freespire as a community developed distribution similar to that of OpenSUSE and Fedora for their respective commercial distributions.

0 CGI: Common Gateway Interface

CGI: Common Gateway Interface

An HTTP server is often used as a gateway to a legacy information system; for example, an existing body of documents or an existing database application. The Common Gateway Interface is an agreement between HTTP server implementors about how to integrate such gateway scripts and programs.

It is typically used in conjunction with HTML forms to build database applications.

See also: WWW and OOP for more on building distributed applications on the web.