Darren Yates
Australian PC User contributing editor
UserOS Home Server – screenshots
Sep 4th
UserOS Home Server - LiveCD boot screen
Based on Xubuntu 8.04, UserOS Home Server 8.04 includes a number of apps to provide the “home server” functions Xubuntu by default lacks.
They include:
* BackupPC – allowing you to use Home Server as a central backup server for all of your home PCs and notebooks.
* VLC – handles the job of streaming videos and music around your home network. It can even transcode videos for low-bandwidth networks.
UserOS Home Server - default desktop
* MythTV – stream digital TV around your home network and even use it to view multiple sub-channels with a single digital TV More >
Why Linux has come of age
Sep 4th
Up until recently, the big-name PC brands have been decidedly reluctant to go with a Linux operating system on their mainstream desktops and notebooks. Dell with its option of Ubuntu on selected models is about as good as it got.
But with netbooks beginning to arrive in Australia and the US by the truckload, the brands have had to look at their costs and even Microsoft’s decision to keep Windows XP Home Edition around specifically for these devices hasn’t done the trick.
Enter various shades of Linux with Asus choosing Xandros, Acer getting cosy with Linpus and Dell sticking to its tried More >
UserOS Home Server 8.04 and digital TV
Sep 3rd
One of the cool features in UserOS Home Server is its ability to stream digital TV around your home network, thanks to the inclusion of MythTV.
While the process works well, MythTV is limited to the number of digital TV tuner cards it supports. In short, you’ll find better support for internal PCI card type tuners than USB dongle types. However, that should change as MythTV continues to evolve.
We tested the MythTV part of UserOS Home Server using a DVICO DVB-T Plus card and it worked flawlessly. We didn’t even have to install any drivers.
UserOS Home Server is based on Xubuntu More >