Everything that you use or save on a computer is stored as a file on disk drives of some sort. Programs are stored as files. Other types of information, such as word processing files, spreadsheets, and photographs, are stored as files, too. In fact, Linux organizes every resource (except network connections) as a file. All of these resources together are considered a file system.

Linux interacts with all devices as if they are files. For instance, your hard drive is viewed as the file /dev/hda or /dev/hdb. Each file is actually the IDE interface of the first and second hard drive, respectively.

Directory rules

Files are stored inside directories. Directories are actually files themselves whose sole purpose is to allow files to be logically organized.

Linux directories are like Windows folders.

There's no requirement that any particular files have to be located in any particular directories. However, all Linux computers adhere to conventions that provide these general organization rules:

Directories can contain directories. There is no practical limit to the number of directories within directories.

• A directory that contains another directory is called the parent.

• The directory inside a directory is the child of the parent.

• The slash (/) character separates directories.

Microsoft Windows uses backslashes (\), rather than forward slashes (/), to separate directories.

• The root directory is the home location of all other directories.

• Root is designated by the first slash in any directory list. For instance, if you want to see the contents of the etcetera directory, where configuration files are stored, you type the command ls /etc at the command prompt. Using the slash character tells the command to look in the root directory for the etc directory. (Linux's root directory is equivalent to the Windows C:\ drive.)

• A path is a list of one or more directories. You specify a path when describing where to find a file or directory. For instance, the path to the file containing this chapter on my computer is /home/paul/doc/ulfd. Each directory — home, paul, doc, ulfd — is part of the path; the first slash (/) is the root directory.

Common directories

In the future, if and when you start to perform more Linux administration, it's useful to know what and where some of the common Linux directories are. The following list introduces the location and purpose of some of the common Linux directories; all of the directories are created and populated by default when you install Ubuntu (or run Ubuntu from a live CD-ROM):

• /boot Linux kernels and their supporting files. After you install Linux, you'll find the Linux kernel saved in /boot.

• /dev Device files. Physical devices are represented as files by the Linux kernel. The kernel reads and writes to devices through files contained in this directory. So is your hard drive, and if you have a printer or a USB memory disk connected to your computer, for example, you'll find a corresponding device file in this directory.

• /etc System configuration files. Files in this directory allow your computer to automatically use networking, printers, and other devices when they've been configured.

• /home User account directories. Your user account home directory, created during the installation process. For instance, if you created a user account called heidi during the Ubuntu installation, that account will have a home directory /home/heidi created for it.

• /proc A pseudo directory. This directory is not physically located on any disk drive but is a view into the Linux kernel itself. Linux allows you to view certain internal data structures, and in some cases, control them via files found here.

It isn't necessary to use the /proc file system unless you're performing very advanced system administration tasks. Ubuntu makes the everyday management of Ubuntu very easy by providing utilities that make it unnecessary to use the /proc file system.

• /tmp Temporary files that can be deleted after you've used them. For instance, there are many files that Linux creates to manage or facilitate running utilities and applications that are stored temporarily in this directory.

• /usr Additional directories that store system and application programs, libraries, and supporting files.

Libraries are small pieces of software — called subroutines or functions in programming speak — that perform simple, common tasks and are shared by multiple programs and applications. Programmers use libraries when writing an application so they don't have to "reinvent the wheel" every time they need to perform some common task; for instance, a Web browser and e-mail client application and word processor all use the same library function to read and write files on a Linux file system.

• /usr/bin User applications and utility programs. /usr/bin contains applications like the Firefox Web browser and Evolution e-mail/calendar, and utilities like the ls command. Most applications and utilities are stored here by default.

• /usr/sbin System applications and utility programs. /usr/sbin is similar to /usr/bin/, but it stores applications and utilities used for system administration. /usr/sbin is not accessible by users unless they use sudo to gain superuser privilege.

• /usr/local Third-party or user-supplied applications, utility programs, configuration files, databases, and so on. You typically use this directory structure to store applications and utilities that aren't part of the Ubuntu installation. For instance, if you download a beta version of Firefox, you should install it in /usr/local/bin so as not to overwrite the production version found in /usr/bin — and also to reduce confusion about what version resides where.

• /var Files that vary with time. This directory contains files that the operating system creates, deletes, reads, and writes to. For instance, when you print a document, a temporary file holding the formatted text gets written to the /var/spool directory. It's deleted when the print job finishes.

For instance, when you print a document, Linux creates an output file to send to the printer — but first it stores, temporarily, the output in /var/spool/lp. After the document is printed, Linux deletes the temporary file.

Differences between Linux and Windows

Linux files and directories are similar to Windows files and folders, but there are a few differences:

• Linux uses different names — forward slashes, backward ones, — but the concept is the same.

• The Linux root directory / is replaced by a drive symbol, such as the common C:\ drive.

• You also have to explicitly mount a file system to use it in Linux. Linux must mount a file system before it can start using the file system.

Linux has gotten very good at hiding such processes. For instance, plug your USB flash memory device into your Ubuntu computer, and you'll see a window showing its contents in a few seconds. Ubuntu detected and mounted the device without intervention.

Source of Information : Ubuntu Linux For Dummies

Using the Research feature, you can translate single words or short phrases by using bilingual dictionaries or translate your entire document by using Web-based machine translation services. To translate text, you may also need to satisfy the operating system requirements for specific languages.

Machine translation is helpful for conveying the basic subject matter of the content and for confirming whether the content is relevant to you. For important or sensitive documents, human translation is recommended, because machine translation may not preserve the full meaning and tone of the text.This provided Outlook Support to using outlook with Excel.

Follows the Steps ..

1. On the Review tab, click Translate.
2. If this is the first time you have used translation services, click OK to install the bilingual dictionaries and enable the translation service through the Research task pane.
3. To change the languages that are used for translation, in the Research task pane, under Translation, select the languages that you want to translate from and to. For example, to translate English to French, click English (U.S.) in the From list and French (France) in the To list.

Note To customize which resources are used for translation, click Translation options, and then select the look-up options that you want.

4. Do one of the following:
• To translate a specific word, press ALT and click a word. The results appear in the Research task pane under Translation.
• To translate a short phrase, select the words, press ALT and click the selection. The results appear in the Research task pane under Translation.
• To translate a word or phrase, type the word or phrase in the Search for box, and then click Start Searching .

Other than being one of the most sought after software today, Microsoft is indirectly commanding is to operate according to their wants. This obviously stems from the fact that most people today would be wise to use a Windows Vista since Windows XP will no longer be in the market if you need to reformat or buy a new PC.

But it gets better. Along with this notion comes the understanding the your PC has to be the latest in the market. Banking on the old ones may get you into problems such as slower computing and eventually banging your head on the wall because your PC is so slow. We all know that people want speed when they work or use their PC and apparently if you put both these developments together, you need to be wise in spending and buying your next computer station.

For most it may seem unfair. Being forced to upgrade your hardware and software is something that not all people can easily do. For one thing, thanks to the contribution of the economic crisis, any average consumer would want to save as much as possible.

In short, computer upgrades are common for companies or people who are techie. But if you talk about the average consumer, this is really a problem. There is an alternative however. You can always look for the fly by night vendor and ask if they have a Windows XP in stock. If not, well, you just have to deal with current trends as dictated by Microsoft and the technology market.

Centod Descriptions:

Centod Anti-Spyware 2008 is the latest counterfeit anti-spyware software that creates hassles for computer users around the world. It is believed that Centod Anti-Spyware is a clonze of the notorious Zinaps Antivirus. Just like most fake antispywares, it issues misleading and exaggerated issues. Centod usually installed itself onto your PC without your permission, through Vundo Trojan, Virus or fake software. Centod will display fake system alerts or fake security alerts to trick user to buy the paid version of Centod, in order to remove the potential and reported problems. Not only does it cause your machine to slow down dramatically, it would also put your privacy and data in risk.

Download SpyHunter* Spyware Detection Utility.

Manual Removal Instructions:

Stop Centod Processes:
(Learn how to do this)
Centod.exe

Find and Delete these Centod Files:
(Learn how to do this)
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Centod\settings.ini
%UserProfile%\Application Data\Centod\Centod.exe
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Centod\Uninstall Centod Anti-Spyware.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Centod\Centod Anti-Spyware.lnk

Remove Centod Registry Values:
(Learn how to do this)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run Centod
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\”Centod” = “C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Centod7\Centod.exe /MIN”

Download SpyHunter* Spyware Detection Utility.

You can also download the free version of Avira Antivir to remove the spyware (update)

You can also download Kaspersky antivirus, Kaspersky Anti-Virus Products

You can also download the free version of Avira Antivir to remove the spyware (update)

These days, we all know that computers bear the brunt of being always powered on for one reason or another. Among the reasons include:

1. Uninterrupted Downloading
2. Timid Power on and Power off by Users
3. User forget to turn them off

In this time and age, it would be best to take into consideration the fact that we need to conserve electricity and by all means, computers make use of it. While to most, the cost of leaving it on is something that they can afford, the real issue here would be the computer life and of course the energy resources which we are really eating up a lot as of late.

Awareness of the energy conservation efforts through the proper use of computers and maintaining them is something we need to attend to. People today could care less but the fact of the matter is, we can add that extra effort that will benefit us the most. Heat levels in your computer can just be imagined. Remember that one issue inside CPUs today is cooling and leaving them on with auxiliary fans to do the ventilation and cooling habits is something that you should really address as well.

If we want to make use of a PC that will last longer then perhaps it would wise to consider giving them some rest periods. This is not enforceable. All I am saying is that computers needs some respite as well even for an hour. Also, save on energy since the savings you can get from these efforts can turn out to be enough savings for future needs such as a computer upgrade once new ones hit the market.