Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 Has Firefox 6 and Thunderbird 6

The third Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system was made available for   testing by the Ubuntu developers. As usual, we've grabbed a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest  changes in the Ubuntu 11.10 development.

What's new in Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3? Well, Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 is now powered by the latest stable version of Linux kernel 3.0 and the GNOME 3.1.4 desktop environment. The kernel in Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 has the following features:

· Rebase to upstream v3.0 final kernel;
· Enabled Overlayfs;
· Enabled Realtek RTL8192CU/RTL8188CU Wi-Fi driver;
· Enabled support for rt53xx wireless chipset family;
· Enabled Intellimouse mode for Lenovo Zhaoyang E47;
· Numerous config updates.

Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 is now the default email client and Mozilla Firefox 6.0 is the default web browser. Unity menu and launcher integration has also been added for Thunderbird.

Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 under Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3

Mozilla Firefox 6.0 under Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3

Last but not least, a lot of new options for a pleasant desktop experience have been added to the power indicator, such aseasy access to setup your monitor, bluetooth devices, startup applications, printers, USB devices, and system updates.

Ubuntu Software Center got a new "top rated" views feature to all the subcategory pages and the main category page. Moreover, installing individual deb files is a lot faster now.

On October 13th, 2011, Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) will become the fifthteenth release of the Ubuntu operating system. See you again in about one month (September 1st), for the first Beta release of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot).

The Oneiric Ocelot Release Schedule: 
June 2nd, 2011 - Alpha 1 release
July 7th, 2011 - Alpha 2 release
August 4th, 2011 - Alpha 3 release
September 1st, 2011 - Beta 1 release
September 22nd, 2011 - Beta 2 release
October 13th, 2011 - Final release of Ubuntu 11.10

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DotA Guide: Icarus - Phoenix Introduction

DotA is short for Defense of The Ancients, one of the most popular custom made maps for Warcraft III. To give players a better understanding of this complex and sometimes complicated game here is a hero guide.

Icarus the Phoenix was first introduced to DotA as an awesome secret boss in version 6.69. It later became a playable hero in 6.70 and there were really mixed feelings about him. It can be recruited at the Neutral Strength Tavern.

The hero has a great story as you can see next: "Ancient scriptures spoke of seven sacred emanations of light, and of their convergence in great conflict. The collision of these rays upon the mortal realm created a pyre of the highest purity, giving birth to the mythical Phoenix. 

As a manifestation of divine flames, Icarus can discharge either flames of death and destruction,  or of life and healing. The 

concentrated beam of energy that he can emit can incinerate whole armies from across the battlefield. 

Unafraid to utilize his own life-force in order to vanquish his enemies, Icarus can also harness the direct power of the sun to create a stellar explosion."

This hero has slightly more difficult skills, that can be a little hard to master, but once you learn them you're going to dominate the opposition:

• Icarus Dive (Shortkey D) - The Phoenix will dive forward to a fixed targeted direction, dealing 100/150/200/250 damage and disabling any unit it touches for 2/2.5/3.0/3.5 seconds; after which returns to his original position. If Phoenix initiates another skill during the dive, then the Icarus Dive spell ends. Be careful as this spell will cost you 10% of current HP to cast.

• Fire Spirits (Shortkey F) - Using 10% of the current HP, Icarus will create 4 fire spirits that orbit around him. Each of them will grow in power and does (7.5/12.5/17.5/22.5 minimum up to 30/50/70/90 maximum) damage or heal allies. 
• Sun Ray (R) - The Phoenix fires a massive light beam at the cost of 25% of current HP of his own life energy. The ray of light will damage enemies for a percentage of their life: 15/30/45/60 dmg/sec + 6% of target's max life. 
• Supernova (Shortkey V) - Phoenix puts an end to his current life and will be reborn from ashes. The process transforms him into a burning sun that cuts deep into his enemies health (60/80/100 damage/seconds) within 1000 range. The ball of fire can be attacked only by heroes using 5/7/9 attacks; and if it is destroyed, Phoenix dies as well. 

Here are, in my opinion, some luxury items you may want to posses later in the game: Heart of Tarasque, Eye of Skadi, Assult Cuirass, Stygian Desolator, Buriza-do Kyanon.

Overall, Icarus is a fun hero to play, there are so many ways to effectively use his skills and it’s possible to play a lot of different roles: ganker, support, pusher and even tank!

Icarus - Phoenix

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Windows 8 MinWin Evolution from Windows 7

Microsoft has moved onward with its plans to isolate the heart of Windows, and as such MinWin has evolved as the Redmond company made its way from Windows 7 to Windows 8. 

The next major iteration of Windows features in excess of 6,000 references to MinWin, that’s 60 times more than the 100 references sported by Windows 7. (via ITWorld)

For those that don’t know, MinWin came into focus as the software giant was building Windows Vista’s successor. But it appears that the project was yet to mature sufficiently, and this is what’s happening with the advent of Windows 8.

Some have referred to MinWin as the Windows 7 kernel. It’s not. Just as it’s not the kernel of Windows 8 either. Instead, users need to think of MinWin as the bottom most part of both Windows 7 and Windows 8. The core. 

MinWin is the result of intensive Microsoft efforts to create the smallest, standalone, bootable, core of Windows, that’s still usable. There were no dependencies outside of MinWin in Windows 7, and I expect this to also be the case in Windows 8. 

I also think that the Redmond company continued its work to relocate application programming interfaces (APIs) inside the Windows 8 core, in order to have the next generation of MinWin completely isolated from the rest of the operating system. 

At the same time, I think that Microsoft managed to lower the overall size of MinWin in Windows 8, compared to Windows 7 (it was approximately 40 MB, with work being done to get it down to 30 MB, or even as low as 25 MB on disk). 

But despite its very small size, Windows 8 MinWin still packs everything it needs to boot and run independently, such as the Windows NT kernel plus the executive subsystem, the memory manager, networking, file system drivers, etc. 

Since Windows 8 is an operating system designed to go beyond traditional computers, and tailored to next generation form factors, I expect Windows 8 MinWin to play a larger role, especially on devices that feature limited hardware resources. 

It also seems that Windows 8 MinWin will have a role to play in client virtualization, especially in connection to the next version of Hyper-V. Apparently, Microsoft has worked to accommodate scenarios in which Windows 8 MinWin plus Hyper-V vNext will be used much in the same manner as Windows Server Core.

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