After you download any Linux distro from the internet, you have to burn it to a DVD, CD or a number of CDs to install it. You generally only use each CD/DVD once so What a wastage of disks! But with a little trick you can install any Linux directly from the hard disk without burning a single CD or DVD.

Over time K3b got its reputation as one of the most powerful burning applications not only for KDE, but for Linux in general. This short guide will list several easy steps you need to follow in order to compile and install K3b from source.

The first public step towards the release of Fedora 17, code-named Beefy Miracle, was taken yesterday with the release of Fedora 17 alpha.

Fedora fans are encouraged to download, install and report bugs to the Fedora QA team. From the test installation of this alpha release that I have made, bug hunters will be very busy. I know I will be.

To install E17, you need to download a DVD, dualarch Live CD, or a network-based CD ISO installation image. They, and not the Live CD images, gives you the opportunity to select what desktop environment to install. At some point during the installation process, you will get to the step shown in the image below. To install an E17 desktop, you need to choose the Other Graphical Desktops.

Another howto by me concerning encryption. However this one will be pretty intense on graphics. I have a step-by-step guide on how to do a manual full encryption of the system. Due to a bug current in the ubuntu installation, you cannot encrypt the swap partition directly during the manual install. The install will just hang.

Continuing with our look into OpenSuSE, we examine YaST. One of the best things going for OpenSuSE (and SuSE as well) is their take on the tried and true “control panal” YaST. YaST is, quite literally, a one-stop-shop for configuring Linux.

The openSUSE Build Service generates .ymp files from now on, which can be used with Benjamin Weber’s One Click Install YaST Module.

This module takes care that all required repositories get used for installation and installs a predefined set of packages. You need no root permissions just to browse the content of a .ymp file.

I am describing here a method to install Linux without using a DVD ROM or CD Drive; I have checked it myself. There are many ways to do so. You can install Linux by 1) booting from the network; 2) having an ISO image on your hard disk; 3) booting from USB; 4) installing a linux system from scratch by building your own.

Smoothwall Express is an internet firewall, which allows you to protect your network, as well as providing NAT functionality. It is ease to use and configurable via a web-based GUI. This open source firewall distribution requires absolutely no knowledge of Linux to install or use. This workshop shows the installation and basic configuration of the current release Smoothwall Express 3.0.