[121000020010] |Adding a startup script to be run at bootup
[121000020020] |So you have a script of your own that you want to run at bootup, each time you boot up.
[121000020030] |This will tell you how to do that.
[121000020040] |Write a script. put it in the /etc/init.d/ directory.
[121000020050] |Lets say you called it FOO.
[121000020060] |You then run
[121000020070] |% update-rc.d FOO defaults
[121000020080] |You also have to make the file you created, FOO, executable, using $chmod +x FOO
[121000020090] |You can check out % man update-rc.d for more information.
[121000020100] |It is a Debian utility to install scripts.
[121000020110] |The option “defaults” puts a link to start FOO in run levels 2, 3, 4 and 5. (and puts a link to stop FOO into 0, 1 and 6.)
[121000020120] |Also, to know which runlevel you are in, use the runlevel command.
[121000030010] |Setting a “smarthost” in Postfix
[121000030020] |Since Postfix is the default Mailer used in Ubuntu, and since you may need to set a smarthost to possibly send outgoing mail through the SMTP server on a webserver, or your ISP, here’s how to do that:
[121000030030] |Edit /etc/postfix/main.cf, and add or edit this line: relayhost = your.server.com
[121000030040] |Followed by restarting the postfix service:
[121000030050] |$sudo /etc/init.d/postfix restart
[121000030060] |This might be handy particularly for those who use a combination of Mutt + procmail + fetchmail to read their mail –old style.
[121000050010] |Updating Dynamic IP Address Automatically
[121000050020] |If you have a server running at home, using Ubuntu –file server, webserver, ssh server or the kind –using a service such as zoneedit.com or dyndns.org to provide you with DNS services so that you can access your server using a URL, then you might have to update your DNS record at the service periodically whenever the IP address of your computer changes.
[121000050030] |Experts recommend that you use ddclient, which updates the IP address whenever it changes.
[121000050040] |You can install it from the ubuntu repositories by doing a
[121000050050] |$sudo apt-get install ddclient
[121000050060] |and configure it as neccessary.
[121000050070] |If you can’t find the public IP address, then you can have ddclient check your public IP address from the web by editing /etc/ddclient.conf and making it use the web by saying:
[121000050080] |use = web
[121000060010] |Equivalents of Windows/OSX Software in Ubuntu
[121000060020] |If you don’t know where to look to find the equivalent for your favourite piece of software in Windows or OSX, you can browse this thread, “New to Linux, Need a Program?” at the Ubuntu Forums.
[121000060030] |There is also this classic list of software equivalents, which has been around for quite some time now.
[121000060040] |Happy Switching!
[121000070010] |How to Restore “Open Terminal” –Gnome Changes
[121000070020] |Yes, as promised at inception, Ubuntu is going to include the latest version of Gnome (that will be 2.12) with the next release, Breezy Badger, due out in October.
[121000070030] |This version of Gnome has a couple of notable changes.
[121000070040] |One which will affect Ubuntu users, and one which will not.
[121000070050] |I don’t know how you see it, but I see the removal of “Open Terminal” option from the right click on the nautilus desktop as a heinous move!
[121000070060] |You can install this third party plugin, or get the script to do this once you are on Breezy.
[121000070070] |(Thanks OSNews.com)
[121000070080] |The other change, that does not really impact Ubuntu users is that the new Gnome will ship with a new default theme.
[121000070090] |Clearlooks is the chosen theme.
[121000070100] |I learnt from the admin dashboard of this blog that the creator of this theme has recently started using WordPress –what a coincidence.
[121000070110] |The Dashboard at WP.com rocks!
[121000080010] |Installing Microsoft Fonts
[121000080020] |Even if you use OpenOffice, you might still want all the Microsoft TrueType fonts so that documents created using Word or PowerPoint look as they were supposed to when you open them with OpenOffice.
[121000080030] |Also, with the Microsoft Fonts installed we browsing will be better since the pages will look as the designer originally intended them to.
[121000080040] |Most webpages are designed with Microsoft fonts in mind.
[121000080050] |The stylesheet specify these fonts.
[121000080060] |On Linux, when these specified fonts are not available on your computer, they are replaced with generic equivalents.
[121000080070] |With these fonts installed, you will see the page as it was designed.
[121000080080] |To install the fonts, all you need to do in Ubuntu is to install the msttcorefonts package.
[121000080090] |Instructions for installation are given below.
[121000080100] |The Truetype Microsoft fonts provided by the package include:
[121000080110] |Andale Mono
[121000080120] |Arial Black
[121000080130] |Arial (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
[121000080140] |Comic Sans MS (Bold)
[121000080150] |Courier New (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
[121000080160] |Georgia (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
[121000080170] |Impact
[121000080180] |Times New Roman (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
[121000080190] |Trebuchet (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
[121000080200] |Verdana (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
[121000080210] |Webdings
[121000080220] |Installing Microsoft Truetype fonts on Ubuntu
[121000080230] |You can install the MS core fonts by installing the msttcorefonts package.
[121000080240] |To do this, enable the “Universe” component of the repositories.
[121000080250] |This is done by default in Feisty.
[121000080260] |After you do that, use the following command from the command line:
[121000080270] |$sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts
[121000080280] |This will give you the core fonts, but if there are other TrueType fonts that you want installed, it is as easy as copying the font files to the ~/.fonts/ directory.
[121000080290] |After installing new fonts, you will have to log out and log in again to be able to see and use the new fonts.
[121000080300] |If you want to avoid this, you can regenerate the fonts cache by issuing the following command: $sudo fc-cache -fv
[121000090010] |Invite Jeff Waugh to your US City!
[121000090020] |Jeff Waugh, who works for Canonical and is one of the lead developers of Ubuntu is offering Ubuntu users in the US a great chance to have him speak in their City/University.
[121000090030] |All you have to do is invite him, and catch his eye.
[121000090040] |Below, I have reproduced the text of his announcement.
[121000090050] |Don’t miss out on this wonderful chance to have him speak and promote Ubuntu and GNU/Linux in your local community!
[121000090060] |Announcing… the Badger Badger Badger Tour! https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BadgerBadgerBadgerTour I will be travelling for a month and a half, criss-crossing the northern hemisphere, to bring the world of Ubuntu to your doorstep.
[121000090070] |Expect badgers, mushrooms, schnaaaaaakes, an awful lot of Ubuntu CDs, and a healthy dose of madcap hijinks!
[121000090080] |If you would like to catch up with me during my journey, add your details to the wiki page, or reply to this email.
[121000090090] |Where will I be?
[121000090100] |* Boston for the GNOME Summit
[121000090110] |* London to check out our office
[121000090120] |* Amsterdam for EuroOSCON
[121000090130] |* Milan for Smau e-Academy
[121000090140] |* Montreal for UbuntuBelowZero
[121000090150] |* (US tour surprise –see below!)
[121000090160] |* Mexico City for GULEV
[121000090170] |So… What’s the surprise?
[121000090180] |Well, I’ve left a big gap open in my itinerary for you to fill in!
[121000090190] |It’s kinda like reality TV, but without the TV, and with a lot more airline food.
[121000090200] |Here’s how it works:
[121000090210] |Would you like me to visit your local LUG or Ubuntu LoCo Team?
[121000090220] |If you live in a US city with a major airport, and can arrange a venue and audience on one of these dates, you have the chance to rearrange my itinerary in your favour!
[121000090230] |All you have to do is create a virtual petition of twenty supporters –the more creative the better.
[121000090240] |You could get twenty of your user group members to post their support on a mailing list thread… You could get twenty friends to blog about it… You could put up a photo of your LoCoTeam in a huge Ubuntu circle… Or you could come up with something even cooler!
[121000090250] |* Send your entry to me, Jeff Waugh
[121000090260] |* Submissions close September 30th.
[121000090270] |The first ones in will be the easiest to award –get in quick!
[121000090280] |* Please include a link to your virtual petition, along with your contact details (phone number, in particular) Good luck, Ubunteros!
[121000090290] |- Jeff
[121000100010] |Removing or Editing a Startup Script
[121000100020] |Earlier we saw how to add one of your own scripts to run when you startup the computer with ubuntu on it.
[121000100030] |Now we get to removing startup scripts, or editing them.
[121000100040] |You can install the Debian Runlevel Configuration Tool, rcconf:
[121000100050] |$sudo apt-get install rcconf
[121000100060] |Then you can execute rcconf as the root user:
[121000100070] |$sudo rcconf
[121000100080] |and select/deselect services to start at startup by pressing the spacebar to toggle the “*”s, and then use the Tab key to get to “OK” and press Enter to save the changes.
[121000100090] |I find it useful to turn off those services that I don’t personally need, speeding up the startup process.
[121000100100] |On the other hand, you can also do a:
[121000100110] |$sudo update-rc.d -f remove
[121000100120] |to remove the service or script from the startup scripts.
[121000100130] |This is useful if you want to stop a script, but not a whole daemon, or a script which calls a whole lot of other scripts from starting at startup.
[121000100140] |For example, you can use it to remove the “networking” script from running at startup, if you prefer to setup wireless, or ethernet netoworking after you have logged in.
[121000100150] |This is useful when you have a laptop, like I do.
[121000100160] |Of course, if you think you have made a mistake by removing something, you can always add it right back in. Refer to
[121000100170] |$man update-rc.d
[121000100180] |for more instructions and details on update-rc.d
[121000110010] |Viewing Information About a Package
[121000110020] |Ever heard of a new package, and wanted to know more about the package without doing a websearch? which, I am afraid, is what I used to do ![]()
[121000110030] |Well, the way to do it is to fire up your terminal and type:
[121000110040] |$sudo apt-cache show
[121000110050] |For example, for the “WordPress” package, I get:
[121000110060] |$ apt-cache show wordpress Package: wordpress Priority: optional Section: universe/web Installed-Size: 1392 Maintainer: Gabriel Rodríguez Alberich Architecture: all Version: 1.2.2-1.1 Depends: httpd | apache, php4 | libapache2-mod-php4, php4-mysql, mysql-server (>= 4.0.20-8) Filename: pool/universe/w/wordpress/wordpress_1.2.2-1.1_all.deb Size: 239044 MD5sum: 7dedf42381ea1d34121aa926f40efff3 Description: a semantic personal publishing platform or weblog manager WordPress was born out of a desire for an elegant, well-architected personal publishing system built on PHP and MySQL and licensed under the GPL.
[121000110070] |It is the official successor of b2/cafelog, as b2 development has stopped. .
[121000110080] |WordPress’s features as a weblog include XHTML 1.1 compliant output, support for the Trackback and Pingback standards, visitor’s comments, password-protected posts, multiple authors, importing from other blog applications, posting from e-mail and much more. .
[121000110090] |Homepage: http://wordpress.org Bugs: mailto:ubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com Origin: Ubuntu
[121000120010] |Apropos –Find the Application You Need
[121000120020] |Many a time you know what you want to do, and you remember installing a program that enables you to do it, but you can’t remember the name of the damn application, or the command that gets it started, right?
[121000120030] |Well then, Apropos is for you!
[121000120040] |Type: $apropos to get a list of applications with the in the short description in their man page.
[121000120050] |Try $apropos ftp for starters, so you get a clue.
[121000130010] |HP to ship Ubuntu PCs and Laptops
[121000130020] |HP’s Sean Owen-Jones also said the company would shortly be releasing desktop and notebook PCs running Ubuntu Linux.
[121000130030] |The NX6110 notebook would be available shortly with Ubuntu and a desktop PC would also be available.
[121000130040] |From …HP to ship Ubuntu PCs, serious about Linux.
[121000130050] |I hope the laptops are cheaper by the amount they would have had to pay to have Windows and other Windows related software on the machine.
[121000130060] |This is great news, especially since if the machines come with Ubuntu pre-installed, all the hardware will work for sure, without problems, or tweaking.
[121000140010] |Setting up iFolder to Share Files
[121000140020] |iFolder is a neat little innovation from the folks at Novell which helps you to share files easily.
[121000140030] |The blurb from their website explains it best:
[121000140040] |iFolder is a file sharing application for Linux, Windows, and Mac.
[121000140050] |Using iFolder workgroup sharing features, you can easily:
[121000140060] |* Share files across multiple computers
[121000140070] |* Share files with other users within your local area network
[121000140080] |Used with an iFolder Enterprise Server, you can:
[121000140090] |* Maintain a backup of your files on a server
[121000140100] |* Share files with other users and computers
[121000140110] |* Restore deleted files from backup
[121000140120] |I can see you itching to try it out already ![]()
So Seb Payne has written up detailed instructions to get an iFolder Server, and the iFolder Clients going.
[121000150010] |When will Ubuntu’s Breezy Badger be Released?
[121000150020] |I guess a lot of folks must be having questions regarding the exact date when Breezy Badger, Ubuntu’s upcoming release will hit the streets (torrents?)
[121000150030] |Fortunately, we have the Breezy Release Schedule to let us know.
[121000150040] |That document is not easy to arrive at from a search engine by searching for the obvious, so I thought it might help to make it more visible.
[121000150050] |The expected release date for breezy is October 13th.
[121000150060] |A lot of things have already been frozen, in preparation for the release.
[121000160010] |Editing pdfs in Ubuntu
[121000160020] |flpsed is a useful app that allows you to edit postscript, and by extension pdf documents in Ubuntu Linux.
[121000160030] |You could use it to add text to existing pdf documents, to fill out forms etc, without using Acrobat Distiller, or its equivalents available for Windows and Macs.
[121000160040] |To quote the author of this tool:
[121000160050] |flpsed is a WYSIWYG pseudo PostScript1 editor.
[121000160060] |“Pseudo”, because you can’t remove or modify existing elements of a document.
[121000160070] |But flpsed lets you add arbitrary text lines to existing PostScript 1 documents.
[121000160080] |Added lines can later be reedited with flpsed.
[121000160090] |Using pdftops, which is part of xpdf one can convert PDF documents to PostScript and also add text to them. flpsed is useful for filling in forms, adding notes etc.
[121000160100] |GsWidget is now part of flpsed. flpsed is released under the GPL.
[121000160110] |Features:
[121000160120] |* Add arbitrary text to existing PostScript documents.
[121000160130] |* Reedit text, that has been added with flpsed.
[121000160140] |* The overall structure of the PostScript document is not modified. flpsed only adds the additional text.
[121000160150] |* Batch processing (no X11 required) to modify tagged text lines that have been entered interactively with flpsed before.
[121000160160] |This is very useful for repeatedly filling in forms.
[121000160170] |* Text lines can be imported from other flpsed-modified documents.
[121000160180] |* Import and export PDF.
[121000160190] |Therefore it can be used as a PDF editor as well.
[121000160200] |It is availabe in the “Universe” component of Ubuntu.
[121000160210] |I hope it is useful for those of you, who, like me, moved from Windows to Ubuntu recently.
[121000160220] |Update: Also check out PDFTK –The PDF ToolKit –uber cool!
[121000170010] |Using Ubuntu to Record TV Shows
[121000170020] |Who need XP with Media Center and all that jazz, when you have good old Open Source?
[121000170030] |Christopher has written up a guide to installing MythTV, and recording TV shows.
[121000170040] |You may not have the same cards as he does, but the guide should help give you an overview of the process.
[121000170050] |If you don’t use the same card as he does, you can always find a guide or instructions to installing and configuring your own card somewhere, or you can ask other ubuntu users at the irc channel, mailing list, or forums.
[121000180010] |Code Snippets –Lots of Goodies
[121000180020] |Peter Cooper has set up this neat website where people can submit and save code snippets so others can reuse them.
[121000180030] |Though not entirely dedicated to linux, or ubuntu, you still can find snippets that will be useful for your day to day needs –depending on what you use your computers for.
[121000180040] |It comes complete with tag love, so check out the Linux tag and the Ubuntu tag for starters.
[121000190010] |Script to Post Terminal Output To Pastebin
[121000190020] |Dennis has a neat little python script called pastebin which can be used to automatically and easily paste the output from your terminal to a pastebin site.
[121000190030] |A pastebin site is a site where users can post just about anything in text for others to look at.
[121000190040] |This is handy when it comes to requesting support at the #ubuntu support channel, for example.
[121000190050] |Suppose someone says “paste the output of lspci” you can use Dennis’ script to do the job for you and point the person to the pasted output from the terminal.
[121000190060] |If you use the neat little pastebin script, then you can redirect the output from the terminal and have it pasted in the pastebin of your choice without having to do the copying and pasting manually.
[121000190070] |Neat!
[121000190080] |Usage: After you install the script, you can use it to a) Paste standard output: For example, to paste the output of lspci, do $ lspci >pastebin
[121000190090] |b) Paste output and error messages: $command >pastebin 2> 1 where “command” is the name of the command for which you want the output and the error messages to be recorded.
[121000190100] |and so on… it can make life a lot easier!
[121000210010] |Feeds for Ubuntu Updates
[121000210020] |Dennis has a list of feeds for the *-updates Ubuntu mailing lists, which basically let you know of security updates and updates to packages for the various releases.
[121000210030] |Grab your feeds here: Ubuntu Security Notices Feed Hoary Updates Feed Warty Updates Feed Breezy Updates Feed
[121000210040] |Subscribe to the above feeds to remain updated of Ubuntu changes via your favorite feed reader.
[121000220010] |Ubuntu at Clemson University
[121000220020] |ubuntu.clemsonlinux.org is beyond cool.
[121000220030] |If you have one of the laptops they support, they even take care of installing things for you.
[121000220040] |They seem to provide support for installing essential scientific research tools like Matlab and Maple.
[121000220050] |It feels great to see the University, or the people who work and study there, to go out of their way to help Linux users, especially Ubuntu users, and making it so much easier to switch.
[121000220060] |Kudos!
[121000230010] |Dapper Drake is Breezy+1
[121000230020] |Mark Shuttleworth has just let it be known that the next version of Ubuntu, after the upcoming Breezy will be known as the “Dapper Drake“.
[121000230030] |That will be version 6.04, hopefully.
[121000230040] |If you hadn’t noticed the version numbers are always Y.MM (Year.Month), so 6.04 should be out in April 2006.
[121000230050] |The community members might refer to the next version after Breezy by saying “Breezy+1″.
[121000230060] |So yes,
[121000230070] |Breezy+1 = Dapper!!
[121000230080] |Warty the Warthog Hoary the Hedgehog Breezy the Badger and now Dapper the Drake
[121000230090] |So do I see you wondering what a “drake” is?
[121000230100] |It is a male duck.
[121000230110] |Here’s some pictures…
[121000230120] |Mark seems to want to add more polish and make this the release to watch out for –the end of two years of work on the part of Ubuntu developers and Canonical.
[121000230130] |I am sure it will be a compelling alternative choice for users when Vista comes out.
[121000240010] |Ubuntu Bug Day –Sep. 17
[121000240020] |September 17th is Ubuntu Bug Day.
[121000240030] |Help out!!
[121000240040] |I reproduce the announcement below:
[121000240050] |Ubuntu Bug Day –Saturday 17th September –#ubuntu-bugs on irc.freenode.net
[121000240060] |These were desperate times for the Badger colony, facing thousand of bugs and critters all around it.
[121000240070] |But suddenly they came from the North, South, East and West.
[121000240080] |Freedom lovers of all kinds, some veterans with many years under their belt, some newbies, low on experience but with energy and very eager to learn.
[121000240090] |They were all united in this one single day to help Badger become the best it can be for its official coming into the free world in October.
[121000240100] |So if you want to join them, please come by the next Ubuntu Bug Day this coming Saturday, the 17th of September, in all timezones.
[121000240110] |This is a great chance to help out, whether you’re a developer or a user.
[121000240120] |We need all the people who can help, whether you’re a bug filer, a bug fixer, or you just want to help keep Bugzilla and Malone tidy.
[121000240130] |Please visit the channel #ubuntu-bugs on freenode IRC for more information and to meet with other participants.
[121000240140] |We hope to see you all on Saturday.
[121000240150] |http://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuBugDay
[121000240160] |(Many thanks to Daniel Robitaille for the writing of this announcement) –Andrew Mitchell
[121000250010] |Limewire Client for Ubuntu
[121000250020] |There are a lot of repeated questions all asking for a Limewire client for ubuntu at the ubuntu-users mailing lists.
[121000250030] |The answer, invariably, is that you should be using gtk-gnutella, which allows you to share files on the limewire, morpheus and a few other networks.
[121000250040] |You can install it using: $sudo apt-get install gtk-gnutella
[121000250050] |You may have to enable apt to use the Universe component of the Ubuntu repository to get the package.
[121000260010] |Flash not displaying text properly on Ubuntu?
[121000260020] |The solution is to install gsfonts-x11 and msttcorefonts by doing: $ sudo apt-get install gsfonts-x11 msttcorefonts
[121000260030] |The former allows the X server to use the Ghostscript fonts to display text on your screen and the latter installs some common, even essential, Microsoft core fonts, like Verdana.
[121000260040] |This should lead to a smooter experience on flash.
[121000260050] |What do you lose by doing this?
[121000260060] |Nothing.
[121000260070] |You lose a little clarity if you don’t install these, so do it ![]()
[121000280010] |Save shell command history effectively
[121000280020] |You should know as a beginning linux user that at the terminal you can press the up arrow to visit the previous commands that you have executed.
[121000280030] |The bash shell by default saves the last 500 commands (or fewer, if there aren’t that many to save), for easy recall.
[121000280040] |However, by default, bash overwrites the history file when you close a session, or a terminal window, saving only those commands that were used in the last session.
[121000280050] |This can be annoying if, for example you have one terminal window open, and then you open another one, and close the new one after a few commands.
[121000280060] |By adding the following line to ~/.bashrc , you can ask bash to append to the history file, thus preventing the overwriting: shopt -s histappend
[121000280070] |I find this pretty useful since I have discovered it.
[121000280080] |You can find a detailed explanation of what I tried to say above, with pictures ![]()
at the Power Shell Usage guide.
[121000280090] |You will also find a lot of other useful tips.
[121000290010] |How to find out the version of Ubuntu installed
[121000290020] |Use the command: $cat /etc/issue
[121000290030] |The file /etc/issue holds the version of Ubuntu installed on your system —Useful command for those who forget (if such a thing is possible), and for those who help or support others, and want to find out what version is installed.
[121000290040] |That’s all for now!
[121000300010] |CD Rom Drive too slow?
[121000300020] |If your CR Rom drive, or the CD-RW drive, or your DVD reader/writer are slower than their stated speeds for reading or writing (burning), then you may not have DMA (Direct Memory Access) enabled on the drive in question.
[121000300030] |DMA allows for faster data access for drives that support it by effectively not using CPU time for data transfer to put it really simply.
[121000300040] |You can check if the cd drive has the option enabled by doing a: $sudo hdparm /dev/hdc
[121000300050] |Where “hdc” stands for the drive in question –change this if it is different on your machine (you can find out by looking in the /etc/fstab file)
[121000300060] |If it says “dma = 0″ in the output of the command, then that means that dma is currently disabled for the drive.
[121000300070] |You can enable it temporarily for the current session till you shutdown the computer by using the command: $sudo hdparm -d1 /dev/hdc
[121000300080] |This will be reset when you reboot.
[121000300090] |You can make the change more permanent by editing the file /etc/hdparm.conf, and adding the following to the end of the file:
[121000300100] |/dev/hdc { dma = on }
[121000300110] |This will turn on dma each time you boot up the computer.
[121000300120] |Also, if you cd/dvd writer provides for some form of buffer under-run protection, you can enable nautilus to use this when it writes to the disc by using the “burnfree” option.
[121000300130] |You can set this option by doing : $gconftool-2 –set –type boolean /apps/nautilus-cd-burner/burnproof true
[121000300140] |Note: Your system BIOS also gets to decide how your drives behave, so check to see if the proper options are enabled in the BIOS upon boot-up.
[121000300150] |There!
[121000300160] |Now you should be able to read/write from optical drives at the best possible speed.
[121000310010] |Skubuntu launched
[121000310020] |Tectonic talks about the launch of skubuntu –an adaptation of Ubuntu for schools.
[121000310030] |Along with artwork, skubuntu also has some tools teachers can use to watch over kids using computers, and a fewe additional software packages of interest to students and educators alike.
[121000310040] |Skubuntu claims to be the difference between what Ubuntu is, and what it should be for schools.
[121000310050] |They stress that it is not the same as Edubuntu.
[121000310060] |Which leaves me wondering why they chose the name Skubuntu –my understanding is that this is the initiative of a lab that installs OSes for schools.
[121000310070] |Already, there is Edubuntu –adding another player in the narrow field might just confuse things a bit more.
[121000310080] |Mark Shuttleworth seems to be involved in Skubuntu too –so Mark, why not have them adapt and use Edubuntu, instead of creating a whole new beast?
[121000320010] |List of last few edited files
[121000320020] |Ever edited quite a few files, and started wondering what files you edited recently?
[121000320030] |Happened to me quite a few times.
[121000320040] |I search on google to find the file to edit to accomplish some purpose, edit it, save it, and get on with my work.
[121000320050] |Later, I find I want to edit it again, and can’t remember the files I edited last.
[121000320060] |To not repeat this in the future, let me make a note for myself: $find -mtime 0
[121000320070] |will list the last ‘n’ files edited.
[121000320080] |$find -mtime 0 | more will page the results.
[121000330010] |How to Upgrade or Install Packages on Boxes without a Fast Internet Connection
[121000330020] |This will be of interest to those of you who want to upgrade, or install new packages on systems which are not connected to a fast enough internet connection, using another machine, which is connected to the internet through a better connection.
[121000330030] |In other words –imagine you have:
[121000330040] |a computer running Ubuntu, but which is not connected to the internet, or is connected to the internet using a dial-up connection.
[121000330050] |access to a Ubuntu system that is connected to the internet using a high speed connection, say a machine on a lan at work
[121000330060] |a removable storage medium, like a zip drive, or a high-capacity usb drive
[121000330070] |You can then upgrade the computer with the slow internet connection using apt-zip :
[121000330080] |Update a non-networked computer using apt and removable media
[121000330090] |These scripts simplify the process of using dselect and apt on a non-networked Debian box, using removable media like ZIP floppies.
[121000330100] |One generates a `fetch’ script (supporting backends such as wget and lftp, in a modular, extensible way) to be run on a host with better connectivity, check space constraints of your removable media, and then install the package on your Debian box.
[121000330110] |Note on current version: space-checking is not done and spanning multiple disks is not yet supported.
[121000330120] |More detailed instructions are available at this apt-zip howto.
[121000350010] |Video of someone watching TV using Ubuntu
[121000350020] |For all the other insomniacs out there, and normal Australians, here is a video of someone watching tv on their Ubuntu box.
[121000350030] |You might learn something from watching it, if you haven’t learnt anything from my earlier post on the subject.
[121000350040] |The video was posted by the guy who blogs at macewan.org.
[121000350050] |The responsibility for bringing it to your notice, however, lies squarely on the shoulders of your’s truly. ![]()
[121000360010] |How to Setup a Server for Hosting Accounts
[121000360020] |The ISP-Server tutorial at Howto Forge explains how to set up a server to offer hosting and services using Ubuntu Linux.
[121000360030] |SSL-enabled Apapche2 server, Postfix (for mail), Bind9 as the nameserver, MySQL, php etc are all covered in this awesome tutorial.
[121000360040] |So go check it out!
[121000360050] |Via feelfree.
[121000370010] |Scripts –Lots of Nautilus Scripts
[121000370020] |Go take a loot at the g-scripts homepage, home of many nautilus scripts.
[121000370030] |A nautilus script is a bash script that when placed in a special nautilus scripts directory will add menu items to the right click menu when you are using the nautilus file manager.
[121000370040] |Useful scripts include a script to add more scripts!
[121000370050] |Seriously, though, you could add scripts that give you a way to open a terminal window from a specific directory in nautilus, to add selected audio files to the playlist queue in xmms, and more.
[121000370060] |Check it out.
[121000370070] |While we are on the subject of scripts, also visit ShellDorado with scores of shell scripts to do all sorts of wacky things at the terminal.
[121000380010] |Order Breezy CDs Now
[121000380020] |The Ubuntu CD shipment website is accepting orders now for the Breezy 5.10 edition of the Ubuntu OS.
[121000380030] |So go ahead and place your order for the CDs now.
[121000380040] |A few days ago, the site was requesting users to check back later since the new version was in the works.
[121000390010] |The Fridge
[121000390020] |Go check out the Ubuntu Family Fridge.
[121000390030] |There is a lot sticking on it already.
[121000390040] |It is supposed to be the place to check for Ubuntu news, you know, the general kind that does not fall into a security notice, or release note or anything else.
[121000390050] |It is updated regularly by the looks of it.
[121000390060] |I really wish they’d make it easy for outsiders like me to post a note on the fridge, too.
[121000390070] |Right now, one has to send an email, and as with other such websites, you bet someone else has sent the same info in a different mail before (and after) you.
[121000390080] |So much effort for so little return, really.
[121000390090] |The fridge is powered by Drupal, and I am sure more than one author (in fact a whole community) can submit articles to a Drupal powered site, and the submissions could be moderated, even.
[121000390100] |The folks at Ubuntu seem to place a premium on security –as is evidenced by the “https” links for the wiki, launchpad and everything else.
[121000390110] |Does using a certificate really improve the security for a wiki –and does it really matter if what I send to the wiki over the internet is not encrypted –I mean, it finally is up there for everyone to see right?
[121000400010] |Does Ubuntu have Package X?
[121000400020] |One of the coolest ways to check if the ubuntu repositories has the package you want is to use the http://packages.ubuntu.com website.
[121000400030] |The main page has a search tool too, but that is not what this post here is about.
[121000400040] |You can type a url like http://packages.ubuntu.com/ to find out details about the package with name .
[121000400050] |In simpler terms, say I wanted to find if WordPress (the thingy used to power this blog) is available for Ubuntu, I would type in:
[121000400060] |http://packages.ubuntu.com/wordpress into my browser, and be taken to a page with information regarding the versions of WordPress found in various releases, complete with version numbers, and the component of the repository in which they can be found (“universe”, for example).
[121000400070] |The results of the search are as follows:
[121000400080] |Package Search Results
[121000400090] |You have searched for packages named wordpress in all distributions, all sections, and all architectures.
[121000400100] |Found 1 matching packages, displaying package 1.
[121000400110] |Package wordpress
[121000400120] |* warty (web): a semantic personal publishing platform or weblog manager [universe] 1.0.2-1: all
[121000400130] |* hoary (web): a semantic personal publishing platform or weblog manager [universe] 1.2.2-1.1: all
[121000400140] |* breezy (web): an award winning weblog manager [universe] 1.5.2-1: all
[121000400150] |Rejoice!
[121000400160] |Addendum: Pascal tells us that, on the freenode servers chat channel #ubuntu, which is the official support and discussion room on IRC for ubuntu, if you type:
[121000400170] |!info app
[121000400180] |Then the bot ubotu will provide you with the same details regard the “app”.
[121000400190] |Thanks, Pascal.
[121000400200] |Technorati Profile
[121000410010] |Shuttleworth Buys Stake in ImpiLinux
[121000410020] |ImpiLinux is a distribution from South Africa.
[121000410030] |ImpiLinux started as a project of the Gauteng Linux Users group in 2001.
[121000410040] |During January 2005 ImpiLinux became a business.
[121000410050] |We have a social business model whereby we give back to the community as much as we can and still deliver a small profit to our investors.
[121000410060] |Tectonic tells us that Mark Shuttleworth’s VC firm –HBD has become a majority stake holder in ImpiLinux’s business, which has a lot to do with the distribution, Linux training and support.
[121000410070] |Mark’s VC firm is totally seperate from Ubuntu Linux.
[121000410080] |I just thought this news might interest some South African readers, and followers of Linux’s growth around the world.
[121000410090] |ImpiLinux should soon start to base it’s distro off of Ubuntu, though that is not the case currently.
[121000410100] |Implications for Ubuntu? –nothing major, I suppose, except maybe more visibility in South Africa.
[121000430010] |WMA to OGG file conversion
[121000430020] |Karl Hegbloom was kind enough to post to the ubuntu-users mailing list wanting to share his script to convert .wma files to .ogg files.
[121000430030] |The conversions needs the mplayer and the oggenc packages to be installed on your system.
[121000430040] |The script is pasted below:
[121000430050] |#!/bin/sh
[121000430060] |# Convert a .wma to an .ogg using ‘mplayer’ and ‘oggenc’.
[121000430070] |#
[121000430080] |# Public Domain
[121000430090] |set -e
[121000430100] |IN=$1
[121000430110] |shift
[121000430120] |if [ -z "${IN}" ]; then
[121000430130] |IN=-
[121000430140] |WAV=audio.wav
[121000430150] |else
[121000430160] |WAV=$(basename ${IN} .wma).wav
[121000430170] |fi
[121000430180] |mplayer -vc dummy -vo null -ao pcm:waveheader:file=${WAV} ${IN}
[121000430190] |FILEDAT=$(file ${WAV})
[121000430200] |BITS=$(echo ${FILEDAT} | sed -e ‘s/.*\(8\|16\|32\) bit.*/\1/’)
[121000430210] |if echo ${FILEDAT} | grep -q mono; then
[121000430220] |CHANS=1
[121000430230] |else
[121000430240] |CHANS=2
[121000430250] |fi
[121000430260] |oggenc -R 44100 -B ${BITS} -C ${CHANS} ${WAV} >/dev/null
[121000430270] |rm -f ${WAV}
[121000440010] |Better Management of Packages while Uninstalling
[121000440020] |Have you ever noticed how, when you install a required package using apt-get or synaptic, and lot of associated “required” packages such as library packages and documentation packages are also installed due to the dependencies between packages?
[121000440030] |There are some “meta-packages” like kubuntu-desktop, for example, which in and of themselves do not install any files on your system, but have a long list of dependencies, which, together assume a cetain function.
[121000440040] |I installed kubuntu-desktop to try KDE, and later removed it, and was surprised to see that all the dependencies that were installed we not removed!
[121000440050] |That is where this story began.
[121000440060] |What I don’t like is that when I later remove the package I installed earlier, the packages that were installed because they were dpendencies don’t get removed.
[121000440070] |So, when I installed the package, 30 MB was used, say.
[121000440080] |Now after unistalling the package, only 5 MB is freed, since the other 25 MB was used up by the dependencies.
[121000440090] |Over a period of time, this leads to a number of “orphaned” packages remaining on your system.
[121000440100] |The package or application that used this package has long-since been removed, but apt “ignored” removing these dependency packages.
[121000440110] |Now I like my system lean, and more importantly, clean.
[121000440120] |I use debfoster to keep my system clean over a longish period of time.
[121000440130] |Debian uses the main programs apt and dpkg to manage packages.
[121000440140] |These programs do not make a distinction between packages that got installed because some other program happened to need it and packages you really asked for.
[121000440150] |Debfoster will help you get rid of packages (libraries for example) get left behind on your system when the program that required it was removed or upgraded to a version that doesn’t have the dependency.
[121000440160] |In the above, what is said of Debian is also true of Ubuntu.
[121000440170] |Install debfoster, read it’s man page, and take it out on a ride by running it.
[121000440180] |The first time, it will ask you a few questions.
[121000440190] |Later, periodically running it will keep your system clean of aliened packages that are no longer needed.
[121000440200] |If you make a mistake with the answers, you can always edit the file /var/lib/debfosterkeepers which defines the packages you want to remain on your system.
[121000440210] |An alternative to debfoster is aptitude (instead of apt-get) but the catch is that one has to always use aptitude instead of apt-get from the very beginning, and if you like me, realized the orphaned packages problem late, then aptitude won’t work.
[121000440220] |Of course, I should add that besides occupying some space on your hard drive, and a few extra installed applications, the extra orphaned packages cause no harm.
[121000450010] |Mark Shuttleworth on Ubuntu
[121000450020] |Our Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life (sabdfl), Mark Shuttleworth, tries to clear some of the fog around the “Is Ubuntu a Debian derivative or fork?” issue by answering a few questions.
[121000450030] |In fact, the questions include things like why ubuntu’s default theme color is brown, how they came up with “Warty Warthog” as a name, and how they picked the Ubuntu name, even.
[121000450040] |So go ahead and have fun reading Mark’s Why and Whither for Ubuntu.
[121000460010] |Bug #1
[121000460020] |Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace.
[121000460030] |This is a bug, which Ubuntu is designed to fix.
[121000460040] |Ever wondered what the first Ubuntu bug is?
[121000460050] |I like an Operating System with a sense of humor. ![]()
[121000470010] |Memory, Swap Management
[121000470020] |A lot of Linux newbies, myself included are often astonished at the amount (%) of memory used by Linux as opposed to, say, Windows on comparable systems.
[121000470030] |If you look at the System Monitor (Applications -> System Tools -> System Monitor), you can find the amount of memory used by your system.
[121000470040] |If you leave your computer on for a long period (say more than a day) then the memory usage seems to keep going up.
[121000470050] |This is a “good thing”.
[121000470060] |Let me explain why.
[121000470070] |Linux actively uses free available memory to improve your system’s performance.
[121000470080] |Let’s say you have 1 GB of main memory (don’t we all wish!).
[121000470090] |Now, suppose all the programs you are running together require only 200 MB of memory.
[121000470100] |What happens to the other 800 MB of the available memory?
[121000470110] |On a linux system, the memory is used to “cache” data that is used by the CPU.
[121000470120] |The idea behind caching is that it takes longer for your CPU to access data on the hard drive than it does to access data that is present in the main memory.
[121000470130] |So caching using the main memory effectively speeds up the system.
[121000470140] |On a windows system, there is no such optimization, so free memory is wasted as it does not get used.
[121000470150] |Now when an application really needs all the memory that is used for caching, Linux pops out the cached data and makes the required memory available.
[121000470160] |As a last option, if all of the main memory is used up, then the memory you set aside in your swap partition is used too.
[121000470170] |Try the command: $free -m
[121000470180] |to see what your memory usage is.
[121000470190] |The first line of results is fairly obvious.
[121000470200] |The second line tells you what the applications “see”, and should tell you how much memory is actually being used by the applications themselves.
[121000470210] |Another used command is “top” which gives you a look at the memory/cpu usage and other details about the processes that are running on your computer –all at the terminal.
[121000470220] |I much prefer it to the GUI-based System Monitor myself.
[121000470230] |Knowing that all the memory I paid for is being used to the max makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
[121000470240] |For a moment earlier today, I thought there was something wrong, since almost all of my memory was being used, and I was hardly running anything intensive –now I am at ease –there was something wrong earlier, when the memory was not being used by Windows –now I know!!
[121000480010] |Find duplicate copies of files
[121000480020] |fdupes is a command-line program for finding duplicate files within specified directories.
[121000480030] |I have quite a few mp3s and ebooks and I suspected that at least a few of them were copies –you know –as your collection grows by leaps and bounds, thanks to friends, it becomes difficult to individually check each file to see if it is already there on your computer.
[121000480040] |So I started looking for a script that checks for duplicate files in an intelligent fashion.
[121000480050] |I didn’t find the script but I did find fdupes.
[121000480060] |fdupes calculates the md5 hash of the files to compare them, and since each file will have a unique hash, the program identifies duplicates correctly.
[121000480070] |I let it run in the directory which contains my files recursively (which makes it check for duplicates across different directories within the specified directory, and saved the output to a file by doing: $fdupes -r ./stuff >dupes.txt
[121000480080] |Then, deleting the duplicates was as easy as checking dupes.txt and deleting the offending directories. fdupes also can prompt you to delete the duplicates as you go along, but I had way too many files, and wanted to do the deleting at my own pace.
[121000480090] |The deletion function is useful if you are only checking for duplicates in a given directory with a few files in it.
[121000490010] |Watch outputs as they change
[121000490020] |This is another “trick” that might seem trivial to the gurus out there, but is something I discovered recently.
[121000490030] |Use the command watch to regularly update and refresh the output of some command.
[121000490040] |If you want to see the “running output” then watch is the program for you.
[121000490050] |Using it is simple, by default it updates the output once every two seconds.
[121000490060] |So $watch “your-command”
[121000490070] |will update the output of “your-command” every two seconds.
[121000490080] |To make it refresh more frequently, try $watch -n1 “your-command”
[121000490090] |and to make it highlight differences as and when they occur, try the -d option.
[121000490100] |As an example, the command $watch -d -n1 “netstat -t tcp” will show you a list of the IP connections heading out from your computer, and update the output every second.
[121000490110] |It will also highlight new items/changes as they happen.
[121000490120] |Another little gem from teh ubuntu-users mailing list archives!
[121000500010] |Ubuntu –OEM Mode
[121000500020] |An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) installation mode is now available for Ubuntu.
[121000500030] |This will help OEMs (like, say, hp, dell, or even your local computer store) to pre-install Ubuntu on a computer and sell it to you.
[121000500040] |Once you buy the computer, the first time you power up, you will be asked to set your time zone, create a new user and basically customize the computer for your use.
[121000500050] |With the OEM installation mode, it is hoped that more and more vendors will pre-install Ubuntu on the computers they sell.
[121000500060] |As with everything else Ubuntu, the oem installation is free, and one can use a regular install disc to install in the OEM mode.
[121000500070] |Here’s how:
[121000500080] |While the OEM mode is part of Ubuntu 5.10, it is not yet documented in full.
[121000500090] |Fortunately, the basic OEM mode install consists of only 7 steps:
[121000500100] |1. Place the Ubuntu 5.10 Install CD in the CD-ROM Drive and power on the computer.
[121000500110] |2.
[121000500120] |At boot:, type oem and press Enter.
[121000500130] |3.
[121000500140] |The Ubuntu 5.10 installer will run.
[121000500150] |Follow the on-screen instructions to start the installation.
[121000500160] |4.
[121000500170] |Once the installation is complete, you will be informed that Ubuntu 5.10 has been fully installed and the computer is ready for shipping.
[121000500180] |5.
[121000500190] |You can also run a system test to check if the installation of Ubuntu 5.10 OEM mode went smoothly.
[121000500200] |The system test will run the Ubuntu Hardware Database and will check if the hardware is configured correctly.
[121000500210] |6.
[121000500220] |Sell the Computer…Profit! =) (The next step is for the potential buyer…) 7.
[121000500230] |Power on your new Ubuntu-powered computer (or laptop!).
[121000500240] |You will be asked to select your language, keyboard layout, time zone configuration, and create your first user account.
[121000500250] |The first user account created has administrative rights via sudo.
[121000500260] |Since Ubuntu 5.10 is a multi-user system, you can create more user accounts as needed.
[121000500270] |From Jerome.
[121000500280] |For users like you and me, who are used to installing their own OS on their machines, this means little, but this might be good to promote the adoption of Ubuntu.
[121000500290] |Expect to see a lot more computers with Ubuntu pre-installed for sale on ebay, for one!
[121000520010] |Tuning the Filesystem Check at Bootup
[121000520020] |Ubuntu forces drives to be checked once for every 30 times the filesystem is mounted.
[121000520030] |This means that on an average, once every 30 times you bootup your computer, the filesystem integrity is checked.
[121000520040] |This is very reasonable for a desktop, which is seldom rebooted.
[121000520050] |However, for a laptop, this means pain, since you may be planning on making a presentation, and Ubuntu may start a filesystem check just when you hook up your laptop to the projector and bootup!
[121000520060] |Today we will see how to disable (or force) the checking temporarily, and also how to adjust the period and frequency of the check.
[121000520070] |To disable filesystem integrity check for the next bootup, create a file called /fastboot.
[121000520080] |So a $sudo touch /fastboot will disable filesystem check for the next time you bootup.
[121000520090] |Since the /fastboot file is removed during bootup, this will disable filesystem check only once –for the one time you bootup after you create the /fastboot file (which need not have anything in it —hence the touch, which only creates the file) On the contrary to force a filesystem check the next time you bootup, create a file called /forcefsck by doing $sudo touch forcefsck
[121000520100] |Now, on to the more interesting business of how to change the number of bootups between filesystem checks, and modifying the period with which the filesystem is checked.
[121000520110] |The following applies to ext2 and ext3 filesystems.
[121000520120] |tune2fs is an utility that you can use to change both the number of bootups between filesystem checks, and the number of days/weeks/months between filesystem checks.
[121000520130] |For example to have the filesystem checked once every 60 bootups use $sudo tune2fs -c 60
[121000520140] |To have the filesystem check run periodically, say once a week, use $sudo tune2fs -i 1w changing the “w” to “d” or “m” will have the check run once daily and once monthly –you get the idea.
[121000520150] |As always, you can read $man tune2fs for more detailed information and examples.
[121000530010] |Breezy Badger (5.10) Ports and Versions Roundup
[121000530020] |Now that Breezy Badger (version 5.10) is out the door, there are too many things to go searching for, like, where and how to find Kubuntu, Edubuntu, the new architecture ports, the dvd images with both live and install options etc, so let us do a quick roundup of the available options, shall we?
[121000530030] |I have been reading the announcements and the updates, and every other announcement gets me thinking, “Oh cool, so there is a downloadable image for this too.
[121000530040] |So lest we lose track, and have trouble finding stuff, I am going to list all the available CD/DVD images and options related to Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu etc here.
[121000530050] |If you find an CD/DVD image link missing here, please leave a comment, and I will add it in.
[121000530060] |What is new for 5.10 is that Ubuntu has been ported to three new architectures on an experimental basis.
[121000530070] |Also Edubuntu makes it’s debut.
[121000530080] |The developers have also put out a seperate cd image for Ubuntu server installation, which, I expect leaves out the snazzy gui stuff ![]()
.
[121000530090] |There have also been releases of Kubuntu Images.
[121000530100] |Ubuntu Breezy Badger 5.10: What’s New i386, PPC and AMD64 Download Ubuntu Live CDs and Install CDs Download Ubuntu DVD image containing both Live and Install instances
[121000530110] |HP PA-RISC and Intel IA64 Announcement Download CD images here
[121000530120] |SPARC No CD images available:
[121000530130] |Download boot.img for tftpboot and netinstall
[121000530140] |Download Ubuntu mini.iso for CD boot and netinstall
[121000530150] |Kubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger What’s New
[121000530160] |i386, PowerPC, AMD64 Download Live CD, Install CD and DVD images
[121000530170] |Edubuntu Breezy Badger 5.10 Release Announcement
[121000530180] |Download Edubuntu Live, Install CD Download Edubuntu install DVD
[121000530190] |Ubuntu-server Download Install CD for Ubuntu-Server.
[121000550010] |Enabling cupsys Web Admin Interface
[121000550020] |If you are trying to get your printing system going, and search for tips and docs on the web, you will find most of the documentation referring to http://localhost:631 as your cupsys administration interface.
[121000550030] |However, on Ubuntu, this browser-based administrative interface for cupsys is disabled by default.
[121000550040] |Here’s how to enable it:
[121000550050] |Select “System”->”Administration”->”Users and Groups” from the main menu on your desktop.
[121000550060] |Select “Show all users” and/or “Show all groups”.
[121000550070] |Add the user “cupsys” to the group “shadow” in the “groups” tab.
[121000550080] |Restart cupsys by issuing the command: $sudo /etc/init.d/cupsys restart
[121000550090] |IMPORTANT: I don’t know why the web admin interface was disabled in the first place –so please know that it is best to reverse all that you did once by removing the user cupsys from the shadow group,a nd restarting cupsys, once your work with the interface is done.
[121000550100] |If anyone knows why the web-browser interface was disabled in Ubuntu, please let me know –a lot searching and reading changelogs led me nowhere ![]()
[121000560010] |Matt’s Birthday Present
[121000560020] |The release of Breezy Badger coincided with Matt Zimmerman’s Birthday.
[121000560030] |Matt is one of the lead developers of Ubuntu, a Canonical employee, and a real big influence on Ubuntu in general.
[121000560040] |What a way to celebrate one’s birthday!
[121000560050] |Happy Birthday, mdz!
[121000570010] |22x Faster Upgrade
[121000570020] |Use a mirror in your /etc/apt/sources.list file for faster upgrades.
[121000570030] |I went from 28 kbps downloads to 600+kbps downloads by editing my /etc/apt/sources.list to use a mirror instead of the usual ubuntu.com repository.
[121000570040] |Why wait when you can upgrade faster, eh?
[121000570050] |Instead of taking hours to download the updated packages, it took me less than half an hour.
[121000570060] |It is better if the mirror is geographically close to you.
[121000570070] |Choose from the list of mirrors (look under the mirror-mirrors section) and update your sources.list now!
[121000580010] |Words of Encouragement
[121000580020] |Thank you, kind readers, for the multitude of mail you have sent me egging me on, and keeping me smiling.
[121000580030] |I really appreciate the emails you have sent me, including the one that said this blog is too “thin” for people with widescreens.
[121000580040] |My response in that case is that if this were not a wordpress.com blog, I would have used a relative-width theme ![]()
[121000580050] |I know this is a pathetic excuse for not having written anything in the past day.
[121000580060] |My goal was and is to write at least one post a day.
[121000580070] |I have done this so far except for 2, or maybe 3 breaks.
[121000580080] |Right now, life takes an upper hand but things will be back to normal soon enough.
[121000580090] |I decided to start reading email “like a man” –that is –with postfix + fetchmail + procmail + spamassassin + mutt.
[121000580100] |Now that is a whole lot of things to chain together and tweak, and I am having a whale of a time.
[121000580110] |At the end of it all, I will be able to show email who’s boss.
[121000580120] |(Evolution was bossing me around till now –“no, you can’t do that” or “hey! that’s not how it is done, you have to tie your shoelaces this way!” and so on).
[121000580130] |Till that gets done, and till a rsync-over-ssh backup script of mine gets done, things will be just a little slow.
[121000580140] |Most of it is over.
[121000580150] |Don’t you all just LOVE Breezy?
[121000580160] |I loved it so much I decided to reinstall everything from scratch, though it was not neccessary.
[121000580170] |I can do that without disrupting anything since my /home directory is on a different partition.
[121000580180] |Nothing is as exciting as setting up a computer exactly the way you want it!
[121000580190] |Forgive me if I indulge in the excitement of things that are new and shiny!
[121000590010] |List only the directories
[121000590020] |I had a trivial problem today where I had a huge list of files in a directory, and other directories within the directory.
[121000590030] |I was looking for a specific directory and wanted to get the files out of the way.
[121000590040] |I wanted a listing of the directories within the current directory and nothing more.
[121000590050] |Luckily, with a little experimentation I was able to figure out how to do this :
[121000590060] |$ ls -l | grep “^d”
[121000590070] |Neat.
[121000600010] |Backing Up the MBR
[121000600020] |I found myself in the situation of helping a friend reinstall windows on a system which also has Ubuntu on it.
[121000600030] |In other words, it was a dual boot system, and we were both afraid that re-installing Windows will overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) and make it impossible to boot into Ubuntu in the short term.
[121000600040] |So we devised a plan, with a little help from google to backup his MBR before reinstalling windows, and then restoring it after reinstalling windows.
[121000600050] |Create a backup of your MBR by doing a:
[121000600060] |$dd if=/dev/hdx of=MBR-backup bs=512 count=1
[121000600070] |That should read “create a disk dump of the input file, which is /dev/hdx (change to hda, or hdb or sda, depending on where the MBR is on your computer), and save it in the output-file MBR-backup in the directory from where the command is issued.
[121000600080] |Backup the first sector only, while you are at it”.
[121000600090] |Now that is the backup of your MBR.
[121000600100] |Restore it later using:
[121000600110] |$dd if=MBR-backup of=/dev/hdx bs=512 count=1
[121000600120] |Again, change hdx to hda, or hdb or wherever the MBR needs to be restored to.
[121000600130] |You may have to use a live cd to restore the backup since you will be unable to login to Linux after you reinstall Windows.
[121000600140] |As with all other advice, take this with a pinch of salt, and search on google for a solution to your problem, understand the solution and then embark on your mission!
[121000610010] |Fix Sound in Firefox for Flash
[121000610020] |Follow Roel’s instructions here.
[121000610030] |‘Nuff Said…
[121000620010] |Happy Birthday, Ubuntu!!
[121000620020] |It was on October 20th, 2004 that Ubuntu’s Warty (version 4.10) was released.
[121000620030] |A year has gone by pretty quick, and in a year, Ubuntu has grown from strength to strength –to being the most popular distribution at Distrowatch.
[121000620040] |Amazing growth, and amazing grace too.
[121000620050] |So Happy Birthday!!!!, Ubuntu, and congratulations, Mark, and the Ubuntu team –you seem to have a really precocious baby in your hands.
[121000630010] |Nautilus Script to Mount ISO files
[121000630020] |David Carney, subscriber to the ubuntu-users mailing list had shared the following script to enable mounting ISO cd images from within the Nautilus File Manager, by right-clicking on the iso file to be mounted.
[121000630030] |You have to create a /media/ISO directory before you can use the script.
[121000630040] |For more details on how to install scripts for Nautilus, read the How to Install a Script part of the g-scripts faq.
[121000630050] |I quote the entire mounting and unmounting script below:
[121000640010] |Baobab –Graphically Analyze File Trees
[121000640020] |Baobab is cool little tool to analyze disk space usage graphically.
[121000640030] |It displays the space used by directories on your hard drive, so you know what’s eating up all your space.
[121000640040] |It is sort of the like the application called “tree” that’s available for windows.
[121000640050] |Baobabs are large trees, usually found in Africa –so that’s a real nice name for the tool.
[121000640060] |You can, of course install it in Breezy by doing a $sudo apt-get install baobab
[121000650010] |System Sounds and Application Sounds
[121000650020] |Some of the applications that are installed on your system do not use the esd (e-sound daemon, where e = enlightened) driver for outputting audio.
[121000650030] |The result —while you can hear the system beeps, hoots and whistles, you can’t hear the sound from the application you are running.
[121000650040] |If this is the case, then fear not, esddsp will rescue you!
[121000650050] |Install esound-clients the usual way: $sudo apt-get install esound-clients
[121000650060] |and then add a “esddsp” to the command you use to start your application for which you cannot hear sounds yet: $esddsp tuxracer
[121000650070] |The above will re-route the sounds emanating from tuxracer, which is a neat little game, through esd, so you can hear the game sounds and the system sounds.
[121000650080] |Thanks for Charles Mauch on the ubuntu-users mailing list for the tip.
[121000660010] |Official Promo Stuff, CD Covers –DIY Marketing
[121000660020] |If you cannot wait to get the latest Breezy CDs, and want to make your own Ubuntu CDs, or if you want to display your love for Ubuntu in a public manner using posters, look no further than the Do-it-yourself Marketing page on the wiki.
[121000660030] |That is the one place to get Ubuntu CD cover sources, CD labels and posters.
[121000660040] |All official, all the time.
[121000680010] |UBZ News
[121000680020] |Sadly, there is very little news from the Ubuntu Below Zero (henceforth UBZ) conference that is currently underway in Montreal, Canada.
[121000680030] |I scoured Technorati and Feedster and came up with two small fish, which is all!!!
[121000680040] |For Dapper+1, I promise I will blog every minute of the conference, provided I can find a way to bankroll the ticket to the conference.
[121000680050] |Some one should seriously report on stuff as it happens –it could be such a great PR exercise.
[121000680060] |Maybe I will add a paypal jar to this blog, and see if I can collect at least 50% of the money for the plane ticket.
[121000680070] |The rest I should be able to muster.
[121000680080] |I’ll be the unofficial reporter/scribe ![]()
[121000680090] |A few UBZ photos are up on Flickr.
[121000680100] |Those laptop Ubuntu stickers –well, I need one!!!.
[121000680110] |So if someone can grab one for me, I will be eternally indebted!
[121000690010] |Screencast with a gstreamer pipeline
[121000690020] |I suppose it should be possible to use all the cool tools that the gstreamer framework has to capture the screen, or an application window, and record sounds concurrently to produce screencasts.
[121000690030] |I thought that someone should have already used the gstreamer pipeline editor to come up with such an app, but I may be wrong, ’cause I cannot find it.
[121000690040] |I even think I read about some gstreamer developer mentioning it once, but a search reveals nothing.
[121000690050] |Too bad the planet-planet software does not save old entries.
[121000690060] |I would have liked to search the Gnome and Gstreamer planets.
[121000690070] |So does anyone know of a gstreamer-powered screencasting tool for Linux?
[121000690080] |A screencast is a multimedia demonstration of an application, or of the entire desktop.
[121000690090] |I already know of vnc2swf and wink.
[121000690100] |The former is a pain to get running, and to use, and the latter is not a native Linux app, and is also not an open-source tool.
[121000700010] |Enabling CPU Frequency Scaling
[121000700020] |I use the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor on my panel to see the speed of my CPU.
[121000700030] |I have a centrino laptop.
[121000700040] |Ubuntu automatically increases the speed (frequency) of my laptop when the demand is more, and manages things very well.
[121000700050] |However, when I am plugged in, I want to run my laptop at the maximum possible frequency at certain times.
[121000700060] |It turns out that the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor can also have the functionality to change the Frequency, by “Governing” the CPU frequency.
[121000700070] |However, by default, on my laptop, left-clicking on the Monitor in the Panel did not give me the option to change the frequency.
[121000700080] |In order to be able to change the operating frequency, your processor should support changing it.
[121000700090] |You can find out if your processor has scaling support by seeing the contents of files in the /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/
[121000700100] |For example, on my system:
[121000700110] |$cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_frequencies gives:
[121000700120] |1300000 1200000 1000000 800000 600000
[121000700130] |Which means that the above frequencies (in Hz) are supported by my CPU. and… $cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_governors gives:
[121000700140] |userspace powersave ondemand conservative performance
[121000700150] |All those are the different “modes” I can operate the CPU at.
[121000700160] |Userspace, for example, regulates the frequency according to demand.
[121000700170] |Performance runs the CPU at max-frequency, etc…
[121000700180] |On the Ubuntu Forums, I read that one can manually change the frequency by executing commands like: $ cpufreq-selector -f 1300000 which will set the frequency to 1.3 GHz.
[121000700190] |Now, I was interested in being able to change the power mode (between the different values listed in the “governors” above, manually by using the Cpu Frequency Panel Monitor.
[121000700200] |I found out from the Forums, again, that changing the permissions of the cpufreq-selector binary by doing a: $sudo chmod +s /usr/bin/cpufreq-selector
[121000700210] |will allow me to acheive this.
[121000700220] |However, I was curious as to why Ubuntu does not, by default, allow me to choose the frequency using the CPU Frequency Panel Monitor, and what the “right” or “correct” way of enabling this is.
[121000700230] |With a little bit of detective work, I found the reason why things are the way they are in Bug #17604 :
[121000700240] |Oh, please, not another setuid root application if we can avoid it.
[121000700250] |Which file does cpufreq-selector need access to to change the CPU speed?
[121000700260] |And why should a normal user be able to change the CPU speed in the first place?
[121000700270] |The automatic CPU speed works well enough for the majority of users, and control freaks can always use sudo to manually set the speed, or deliberately shoot themselves in the foot by making the binary suid root (as explained in README.Debian).
[121000700280] |Anyways, since I really want to “shoot my self in the foot” using my CPU ![]()
, so I read the readme: $cat /usr/share/doc/gnome-applets-data/README.Debian
[121000700290] |and as suggested in it, I did a $ sudo dpkg-reconfigure gnome-applets and answered “Yes” to the question regarding setting the suid of the cpufreq-selector executable.
[121000700300] |Now, by left-clicking on the CPU Frequency Monitor Applet, I can choose the frequency for my processor, and things couldn’t be better!!
[121000700310] |P.S.: A lot of my detective work could have been avoided had I read the README in the first place.
[121000700320] |Stupid me.
[121000710010] |Flickrfs –Browse/Edit Flickr Locally!
[121000710020] |Wow!
[121000710030] |This one’s a killer –Announcing Flickrfs
[121000710040] |Using FUSE, this prject enables you to browse flickr tags and photos on your hard drive.
[121000710050] |It allows you to upload your pictures to Flickr by just creating a directory and copying your photos there.
[121000710060] |What’s even better is that since the filesystem is virtual, the files do not consume space on your harddrive unless you want them to, in which case you copy the files to a different location from the virtual filesystem.
[121000710070] |Too cool for words, really.
[121000710080] |I cannot wait to try this out as a better way to download desktop wallpapers, and to upload all my flickr pictures.
[121000710090] |I will write you a detailed note describing my adventures when I am done, I promise!
[121000720010] |Free Ubuntu Laptop @ Austin, TX
[121000720020] |Rob wants to give away his old laptop with Ubuntu installed on it for free.
[121000720030] |So if you are in Austin, TX, and want a free laptop, though it is old, go pick it up!
[121000720040] |Seriously!
[121000720050] |I’m giving away this laptop just because we have no use for it; maybe it can be of service to someone here on the forums.
[121000720060] |My first experience with Ubuntu was in trying to install it on this old Compaq Armada 4210T. The CD-drive isn’t bootable but thanks to the forums here, I learned about Smart Boot Manager and was able to install.
[121000720070] |It took all night, but it worked great.
[121000750010] |Fixing my Alps Touchpad with the Synaptics Driver
[121000750020] |Ever since I upgraded to Breezy, the touchpad on my laptop has been acting funky.
[121000750030] |Just moving the pointer over a link would click it, some of the time.
[121000750040] |Over the last month or so, I have been using my touchpad with extra care, and so now it is not that big a problem, but yesterday a friend of mine was using the laptop and then I saw that I had to fix this.
[121000750050] |To find out what touchpad you have, do: $cat /proc/bus/input/devices
[121000750060] |I got:
[121000750070] |I: Bus=0011 Vendor=0002 Product=0008 Version=7321 N: Name=”AlpsPS/2 ALPS GlidePoint” P: Phys=isa0060/serio4/input0 H: Handlers=mouse1 event2 ts1 B: EV=f B: KEY=420 0 70000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B: REL=3 B: ABS=1000003
[121000750080] |So I have an Alps Touchpad.
[121000750090] |I went to check if my X.org x-server recognizes this.
[121000750100] |I did a: $cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf to see what I have in the X configuration.
[121000750110] |I got:
[121000750120] |Section “InputDevice” Identifier “Synaptics Touchpad” Driver “synaptics” Option “SendCoreEvents” “true” Option “Device” “/dev/psaux” Option “Protocol” “auto-dev” Option “HorizScrollDelta” “0″ EndSection
[121000750130] |So though I have an Alps touchpad, my computer is configured for a Synaptics touchpad!
[121000750140] |Time to go solution-hunting!
[121000750150] |My hunt ended soon enough.
[121000750160] |I found this forum post describing how to get Alps touchpads working, and set out to edit my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.
[121000750170] |The relevant sections of the xorg.conf file looked as follows after I was done editing:
[121000750180] |Now I have it all!!
[121000750190] |Read /usr/share/doc/xorg-driver-synaptics/README.gz to find out what the parameters I have in my xorg.conf file mean, and what you can change, and how.
[121000750200] |Also, there is a tool synclient that can enable you to try out changed values without restarting.
[121000750210] |To use it you must have the SHMConfig option set to true first.
[121000750220] |There are GUI tools available to change settings.
[121000750230] |For details regarding these, and much more, visit The Synaptics Driver’s homepage
[121000750240] |Note: If you also use a USB mouse, then the event numbers may change depending on if you use your USB mouse or not.
[121000750250] |Read this on how to write a udev rule to fix it.
[121000760010] |Get rid of annoying port numbers at home
[121000760020] |If you, like me, run a server for your own purposes at home, and your ISP like mine blocks port 80, so you cannot access your server webpages using http://example.com, but instead need to use http://example.com:8080 or some other default port, and it is driving you nuts ’cause you have to explain to all you friends that the “:8080″ is required, well, the solution is rinetd.
[121000760030] |$sudo apt-get install rinetd
[121000760040] |then, in /etc/rinetd.conf
[121000760050] |add lines like:
[121000760060] |# bindadress bindport connectaddress connectport 0.0.0.0 80 192.168.0.201 8080
[121000760070] |This will forward all requests to port 80, which is the default port that http:// requests are sent to when made to a domain name, or IP address, to port 8080 on the machine with IP 192.168.0.201
[121000760080] |It works for me, and I am a novice, so if there is something wrong in what I wrote above, please correct me.
[121000760090] |Earlier I had set up apache to serve pages on port 8080 since my ISP seemingly blocks port 80. the 192.168.0.201 part is the locally assigned IP address of the server-computer.
[121000760100] |Any questions about running a server from home that I could address?
[121000760110] |There are a whole bunch of guides out there so I don’t want to write a new one without good reason ![]()
[121000770010] |Easiest Upgrade Path Ever
[121000770020] |Have you used software, or OSes that make you go, “Dumb developers, what were they thinking?”
[121000770030] |Well, turns out that one of the reasons I love Ubuntu is that every once in a while I encounter some tidbit in the mailing lists that makes me go, “Wow!
[121000770040] |These guys have common sense, and make things so much more intuitive and simple.”
[121000770050] |For example, consider upgrading from Hoary to Breezy.
[121000770060] |You have a Breezy CD with you.
[121000770070] |Traditionally one would think that there would be some editing of the sources.list to use the cd-rom as a repository, followed by the upgrading itself, but here’s the surprise, with Ubuntu, you don’t have to run in circles: All you have to do is to just pop in the Breezy cd when your Hoary computer is running.
[121000770080] |The Update Manager will detect that the cd you popped in corresponds to a newer version of Ubuntu and then ask you if you want to upgrade to Breezy!!
[121000770090] |Some of the things with Ubuntu are so simple that you don’t think of them straight up –Being a linux OS you don’t expect things to be so simple, yet they are.
[121000770100] |I have to constantly remind myself that the Ubuntu developers are folks with loads of common sense, and they want to build a system that’s as simple as possible (and no simpler).
[121000790010] |IRC chat from behind a firewall
[121000790020] |Stuck at school/work behind a firewall which does not allow you to chat on IRC (Internet Relay Chat)?
[121000790030] |That happens to me all the time.
[121000790040] |But now, I still can chat at #ubuntu or wherever else I want on IRC networks, by using ssh port forwarding.
[121000790050] |Essentials for doing this are: 1.
[121000790060] |A login at some ssh server —You can set up an ssh server at home, or use one provided by your hosting provider, or a geeky friend.
[121000790070] |Now, to forward port 6667, which is the port used for connecting to IRC chat networks, you should execute the following command:
[121000790080] |ssh -L 6667:irc.freenode.net:6667 example.com -p 8888 -l username
[121000790090] |That commands reads in English as follows: Open an ssh connection to example.com (replace with your ssh server URL), on port 8888 (replace with whatever port your ssh server uses, if it is the default port then leave out the “-p 8888″ part), as the user “username” (the -l is a “minus ell”), forward the local port 6667 to the port 6667 on irc.freenode.net.
[121000790100] |Now, fire up Xchat to connect to the IRC network, and then type “/server localhost” as it tries to connect.
[121000790110] |Cool, now you can connect to the IRC network even though youa re behind a firewall.
[121000790120] |![]()
Digg This!
[121000800010] |How to Backup Evolution
[121000800020] |From an old mailing list gem, I got the right method to back up your Evolution (mail + calendar + contacts) data the right way:
[121000800030] |Step 1: Shutdown evolution and gconftool-2: $cd $tar -cvzf evolution-backup.tar.gz .evolution .gconf/apps/evolution .gnome2_private/Evolution
[121000800090] |Now the file evolution-backup.tar.gz is the backup you want.
[121000800100] |You can move the data over to another Ubuntu computer if you like, and just un-tar the archive while in your /home/username/ directory to restore it.
[121000800110] |To restore, use: ![]()
[121000830010] |Very Useful Blog
[121000830020] |If you like reading the articles at this blog, then you most certainly will love reading All about Linux.
[121000830030] |A daily read for me, in any case, and the author seems to have to started using Ubuntu recently.
[121000840010] |Ubuntu for Tots
[121000840020] |This should serve as a quick guide for parents who want to ease their children into using Linux from a very young age.
[121000840030] |Some of the tips here may even help your kids have fun while using the computer ![]()
[121000840040] |1) Try Edubuntu for your children.
[121000840050] |2) Read the Kids Linux Article for more pointers.
[121000840060] |3) For educational software, that kids will enjoy using, check out gcompris.
[121000840070] |Useful for ages 2 –10.
[121000840080] |I had been out shopping with a friend for Holiday gifts for tots, and most of the educational toys are so expensive, which got me started on looking for cheaper, and better alternatives.
[121000840090] |Hope this helps you some.
[121000850010] |Capture and Post Screenshots to a Website, Instantly
[121000850020] |The following script is from Linux Desktop hacks and allows you store screenshots locally as well as publish them to a web page.
[121000850030] |This is really useful to show people instantly what you see on your screen.
[121000850040] |It also automatically generates a thumbnail.
[121000850050] |You can change the delay before the snap, the quality, the size of the thumbnail and, if you want, have it loop –that is, take a new screenshot every n seconds.
[121000850060] |To use this script you need scrot (you can apt-get install scrot).
[121000850070] |You also need perl (check if you have it by doing $perl -v) and you need the perl Net::Ftp extension.
[121000850080] |Then you have to save the script (as, say scrpost.pl), and make it executable (chmod +x scrpost.pl) You install scrot and then make a bash script like this, save it as a perl script and execute it with, for example, ./screenshot.pl:
[121000850090] |#!/usr/bin/perl -w use Net::FTP; #start ftp
[121000860010] |Setting up a physical security camera
[121000860020] |I found a write up at aelf.co.uk regarding how the author chains together a few useful applications to use a Logitech webcam to physically monitor a room.
[121000860030] |In case of a break-in or unusual activity, he has it set up to upload webcam images to an ftp server, and has tips about how to create a short video using the cam shots.
[121000860040] |Amazing!
[121000860050] |The principle is simple –a webcam connected to the machine is monitored by a piece of software.
[121000860060] |If activity is detected in the picture, a video (or set of photos) is recorded and uploaded to an external server.
[121000860070] |The idea being if there is ever a break in, I will be alerted immediately and hopefully have photgraphic evidence to show the police.
[121000860080] |I managed to get all this working, and added a couple of other little useful features.
[121000860090] |This post is pretty much a guide for me later if I need to recreate it.
[121000860100] |From Adding home security features to my Ubuntu machine.
[121000860110] |Perhaps there will come a day when I find the motivation to set something similar up in my own room.
[121000860120] |Till then, this will serve as a bookmark for other users who want to do the same.
[121000870010] |Network Manager –Effortlessly switch networks
[121000870020] |When I started using Ubuntu about a year ago, my biggest complaint was that I wasn’t able to change the networks, or choose between various wired/wireless networks effortlessly and efficiently.
[121000870030] |Various alternatives were explored, until I found Network Manager.
[121000870040] |There are plans to include a modified version of the network manager in the next release of Ubuntu, but until then, you can make use of it to make daily life simpler.
[121000870050] |So what does Network Manager do?
[121000870060] |Simply put, it manages your network interfaces for you.
[121000870070] |If you are plugged a Ethernet cable into your computer, it activates the LAN connection.
[121000870080] |When you unplug the cable, it looks for a wireless network and joins it.
[121000870090] |It also keep track of the wireless passwords so you don’t have to enter them time and again.
[121000870100] |In their own words,
[121000870110] |A laptop user should never need to use the command line or configuration files to manage their network; it should “Just Work” as automatically as possible and intrude as little as possible into the user’s workflow.
[121000870120] |NetworkManager attempts to make networking invisible.
[121000870130] |When moving into areas you’ve been before, NetworkManager automatically connects to the last network the user chose to connect to.
[121000870140] |Likewise, when back at the desk, NetworkManager will switch to the faster, more reliable wired network connection.
[121000870150] |The applet sits in your panel, and clicking on it will allow you to choose from the various options, prompting you for a password if the network requires it.
[121000870160] |The following screenshot should explain it better:
[121000870170] |You can install Network Manager following the instructions at the wiki.
[121000870180] |I personally find that I have to use the $nm-applet --sm-disable instruction to start nm-applet.
[121000870190] |You may face problems if you run a local DNS server on your network.
[121000870200] |If this is the case, then the .deb package for network manager without the BIND9 requirement should come in handy.
[121000870210] |Happy browsing!
[121000880010] |Instructions to Install MythTV
[121000880020] |Long time readers (pun intended) might recall me posting a link to a myth-tv howto.
[121000880030] |Well, there’s one more of the same kind.
[121000880040] |This newly updated guide to getting myth-tv running at home should help you get to watching and recording TV shows in no time 45 minutes or so, give or take.
[121000880050] |This next one is for an AMD64 computer.
[121000890010] |Script to Rename a Folder of Pictures
[121000890020] |Todd Slater posted a link to his script to rename pictures in a folder using the exif data stored in the photo.
[121000890030] |This will work for photos taken with a a digital camera, and you can rename all photos in a folder using a name, like “xmas”, the date, and then sequential numbers.
[121000890040] |Try the script —the comments on top of the script should tell you how to use it.
[121000900010] |Ubuntu to Kubuntu + Keeping the Menus Clean
[121000900020] |So you have Ubuntu installed and want to try out Kubuntu instead?
[121000900030] |Easily Done!
[121000900040] |Install the “kubuntu-desktop” meta-package, and you will have the option to log in to a KDE session the next time you boot up (Choose KDE from among the session options, before you enter the username and password in the graphical login screen)
[121000900050] |You can install kubuntu-desktop by seraching for it in Synaptic, or simpler still, using the command: $sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
[121000900060] |kubuntu-desktop is an architected collection of carefully selected KDE applications that creates a unique “desktop” experience, much like Ubuntu –it has one software utility for each function, again, like Ubuntu.
[121000900070] |So installing kubuntu-desktop will not give you all the KDE utilities, just like installing Ubuntu did not give you all the Gnome applications.
[121000900080] |There is another meta-package called “KDE” which, when installed will give you a different set of software.
[121000900090] |So if, after installing kubuntu-desktop, you find some of your favorite KDE apps missing, install the entire KDE suite, by installing the kde metapackage.
[121000900100] |I find this unneccassary, as kubuntu-desktop provides me with the minimal set of tools to get my work done.
[121000900110] |If I need something extra, like, kile, that very useful LaTeX editor, then I just install kile.
[121000900120] |Less baggage, better trip!
[121000900130] |If you already knew all that was written above, and are beginning to think that it was a waste of time reading so far, fear not!
[121000900140] |I have a tip (not my original idea) that will make it worth your time.
[121000900150] |The biggest annoyance for me, with having both gnome and KDE installed is that some KDE apps show up in the Gnome menus and some Gnome apps show up in the KDE menus.
[121000900160] |While this is not a “bad” thing, I would rather do without this.
[121000900170] |To prevent KDE apps from showing up in Gnome menus and vice-versa, do the following before you install kubuntu-desktop :
[121000900180] |(you can also create a small cleaner.sh script witht he following and run it as root) $ sudo -s -H #cd /usr/share/applications #for i in *.desktop; do \ # if ! grep -q ^OnlyShowIn= $i; then \ # echo ‘OnlyShowIn=GNOME;’ >>$i \ # fi #done
[121000900190] |Now, after installing kubuntu-desktop do:
[121000900200] |$cd /usr/share/applications/kde $sudo -s -H #for i in *.desktop; do # if ! grep -q ^OnlyShowIn= $i; then # echo ‘OnlyShowIn=KDE;’ >>$i # fi #done
[121000900210] |What we did above was to tell the Gnome apps to only show in the gnome menus, and later, the KDE apps to only show in KDE menus.
[121000910010] |Rescue Data from Failing Partition
[121000910020] |If you have a hard disk drive, or a drive partition that is failing, or if you want to copy data from one partition to another (don’t we all, at some time or the other?), then ddrescue comes to the rescue!
[121000910030] |In case parts of the partition you are trying to rescue data from are corrupt, then ddrescue (unlike dd) skips over it and gets out all the data that is uncorrupted!
[121000910040] |Install ddrescue using $sudo apt-get install ddrescue
[121000910050] |Make sure you have a partition with more disk space that the entire partition you are trying to retrieve data from.
[121000910060] |Yes, that includes occupied AND free space on the partition you are trying to retrieve data from.
[121000910070] |Rescue data using: $dd_rescue /dev/hda1 /some/dir/drive-backup.img Where you might have to replace /dev/hda1 with the partition you are trying to rescue data from, and /some/dir/ should have more free space than the entire /dev/hda1 partition.
[121000910080] |This creates a drive image.
[121000910090] |You can mount it as a loop device.
[121000910100] |Do the following to do just that:
[121000910110] |sudo touch /dev/loop1 sudo losetup /dev/loop1 /some/dir/drive-backup.img –If you get an ioctl error, run “$sudo modprobe loop”, and run the prior command again sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/loop1 /media/drive-backup (replace ext3 with the filesystem type of your old partition)
[121000910120] |Now you can browse /dev/loop1 and copy out all your data.
[121000910130] |If you use an external USB drive to backup the image to, you can take the image with you ![]()
[121000910140] |Thanks are due to Dan Martin who posted this at the ubuntu-users mailing list a few weeks ago.
[121000920010] |Booting in to the command prompt
[121000920020] |Recently, I switched to using multiple monitors at work.
[121000920030] |At home, however, I have only the laptop screen.
[121000920040] |I did not want the GUI login (GDM/KDM) to come up on boot.
[121000920050] |I wanted to be able to change the xorg.conf file before starting X, depending on whether I was at home or at work.
[121000920060] |I found a reversible way to disable booting into the graphical display.
[121000920070] |To disable graphical login (to log into the command prompt) do:
[121000920080] |$echo "false" | sudo tee /etc/X11/default-display-manager
[121000920090] |The next time you reboot, you will find yourself staring at the command prompt.
[121000920100] |To enable it again, do:
[121000920110] |$echo "/usr/bin/gdm" | sudo tee /etc/X11/default-display-manager Note: replace gdm in the above with kdm if you use kde’s display manager, or xdm, if, for some reason you use that.
[121000920120] |Hat tip to Peter Garrett on the ubuntu-users list.
[121000930010] |How to use your Linux Machine as an Alarm
[121000930020] |You probably leave your computer on all the time.
[121000930030] |(Linux users keep it up longer, right?)
[121000930040] |So instead of wasting more electricity by using an alarm clock to wake you up, why not put your desktop to work as a personal alarm?
[121000930050] |Like the Task Scheduler in Windows computers, it is really, really simple to have your Linux system do things at specified times in the future.
[121000930060] |This article will guide you through the process of using your desktop as a musical alarm.
[121000930070] |Note: If you prefer player X and I use player Y in the examples below, you can easily substitute X for Y.
[121000930080] |Use Kalarm:
[121000930090] |Kalarm is the KDE alarm tool, which can, besides paying sounds, display a text file, or execute commands at specific times in the future.
[121000930100] |Even if you are an Ubuntu user (Gnome) you still can install and use kalarm.
[121000930110] |The name of the package to install is, unsurprisingly, “kalarm”!
[121000930120] |Use the Xmms-Alarm plugin:
[121000930130] |Xmms is the famous winamp-lookalike minimal music player for Linux.
[121000930140] |Install the package “xmms-alarm” and then you can use Xmms as an alarm.
[121000930150] |Downside: you will have to keep xmms running all night.
[121000930160] |No biggie?
[121000930170] |Alright then, you are all set.
[121000930180] |Click on the image above to see how to get to the point where you can set the preferences.
[121000930190] |(Right click on the Xmms window and Choose Options->Preferences->General Plugins)
[121000930200] |Using Xmms and “at”:
[121000930210] |Start XMMS and start playing songs.
[121000930220] |Adjust the volume to what you want to wake up to.
[121000930230] |Push the stop button, then type: $echo xmms -p | at 7:00
[121000930240] |The “at” command line utility will make sure xmms starts playing at 7 AM the next day to wake you up.
[121000930250] |Read $man at to find out more about “at”, which can do just about anything “at” a particular time.
[121000930260] |Use “sleep” and “at” :
[121000930270] |$sleep 8h &&xmms /path/to/mp3file.mp3
[121000930280] |This will open the mp3file.mp3 file with xmms after exactly 8 hours.
[121000930290] |Use cron, mplayer, and a few other usual suspects:
[121000930300] |More details at The Cron-Mp3 alarm clock writeup.
[121000930310] |So , pick your poison potion!!!
[121000930320] |Finally, if music doesn’t wake you up, the following sure will: $sleep 8h &&cat /dev/urandom >/dev/dsp
[121000930330] |Thanks to all the ubuntu-users subscribers for writing in great suggestion, a few months ago.
[121000940010] |Multiple Graphical Users Logged in at the Same Time
[121000940020] |There are several ways to share the same desktop between family members.
[121000940030] |But it gets tricky when you have, say a graphical program running that has to keep running, and your sister wants to use the computer.
[121000940040] |In this situation, it is useful to have more than one graphical session running.
[121000940050] |Your work will continue uniterrupted even as your sister can use the desktop.
[121000940060] |Update: Andreas (in the comments) has a simpler method:
[121000940070] |but i don’t get the point why gdmflexiserver should be necessary. and you dont need kde to do this ![]()
[121000940080] |menu -> lock screen -> switch user -> enter user name (it even can be the same, and you’ll be able to start a second session) -> enter passwort -> e voila, you have a second desktop running. if you now switch back by pressing ctrl+alt+f7 you are asked for your user password, since you locked the screen to switch user.
[121000940090] |I love this!
[121000940100] |One couldn’t ask for a better readership! ![]()
[121000940110] |The simplest way of doing this is by starting gdmflexiserver $gdmflexiserver
[121000940120] |This will start a new graphical server which you can switch to by using Ctrl+Alt+F8.
[121000940130] |You can return to your own graphical session using Ctrl+Alt+F7.
[121000940140] |You can create more such sessions –you get the idea.
[121000940150] |Ideally, FUSA should be in Ubuntu already –but since it is not, you can install it and use it.
[121000940160] |Being beta software, it might be buggy, and I’d rather just do this using gdmflexiserver –but if you are adventurous, please do try out FUSA —it is a lot easier to use, as the website will tell you.
[121000950010] |Can’t fix bugs…
[121000950020] |…but can create bug reports!
[121000950030] |Even as I write this, I am upgrading the workstation at work (which is primarily a print/file server) to Dapper Drake.
[121000950040] |I hope I can be of some help in finding bugs, if not fixing them.
[121000950050] |I primarily use my laptop at work too –the desktop by the side is for those odd occassions when I don’t lug my laptop to work.
[121000950060] |I use it to browse and read news and mail too.
[121000950070] |Given that I don’t depend on it too much, I thought it would be nice if I could keep with Dapper Drake.
[121000950080] |What does this mean to you, dear reader?
[121000950090] |It means you might see the occasional Dapper screenshot, and the occasional usability bug.
[121000950100] |By bringing inconsistencies to light (in the form of bug reports and postings) I hope I will be contributing in some small way to a better world drake.
[121000970010] |Make sudo/gksudo remember passwords
[121000970020] |I use sudo and gksudo quite often.
[121000970030] |Now, if you use sudo in a terminal window, then you only have to enter the password the first time.
[121000970040] |But what if you have more than one terminal window, and try to use a sudo command in all of them?
[121000970050] |You will be prompted for your password the first time you use sudo in each terminal window.
[121000970060] |The same applies for gksudo.
[121000970070] |This makes sense for a computer that is acting as a server.
[121000970080] |If you are logged in from multiple locations, and you enter the password for sudo in your current location, all the other locations are still “safe” since the person using the other terminals will still have to enter the password to use sudo.
[121000970090] |But when it comes to desktop use, this behaviour can be an annoyance.
[121000970100] |I hate being prompted again and again for the sudo password (and the graphical gksudo password).
[121000970110] |For me, on my laptop, I want the sudo password to be “shared” between the different terminal windows, and with gksudo.
[121000970120] |It would be nice if the timestamp on the password was “global” to all terminals, and all the “gksudo” menu entries.
[121000970130] |I ensure this by changing the following line in /etc/sudoers: Defaults !lecture,tty_tickets,!fqdn
[121000970140] |to Defaults !lecture,!tty_tickets,!fqdn
[121000970150] |Here, tty_tickets refers to “terminal tickets”, and I just changed it from using one ticket per terminal, to a common ticket, globally.
[121000970160] |Again, this is not recommended for server installs, but may make life a little easier for average Joe Desktop Users.
[121000980010] |Share Your Tip
[121000980020] |So you know something that is super-cool?
[121000980030] |Does a little trick go a long way to making life easier with Ubuntu?
[121000980040] |Do you rule the command line?
[121000980050] |What is the most useful and/or neat tip you would have to share with a newbie to Ubuntu?
[121000980060] |Write in to ubuntonista@gmail.com, or leave me a comment here.
[121000980070] |If it has not been written up, and passes a bogon filter, it will be published here, and credited to you.
[121000980080] |With a pagerank of 8/10, a link from the front page of this blog might just come in handy!
[121000980090] |I know that sounds lame, but what else could a poor author offer you?
[121000990010] |Tilde (backup file) cleanup
[121000990020] |In response to my request for tips from users, a few have written in with their favourite tips.
[121000990030] |I will be posting them here, in the order received, one or more per day.
[121000990040] |First, Clifton Snyder has a tip to share with everyone.
[121000990050] |Several text editors these days –Emacs, jEdit, et al –leave behind pesky tilde-files after you’ve edited/saved them.
[121000990060] |This can lead to a cluttered mess of extraneous backup files in different directories. (.bashrc~, .bash_profile~, .fluxbox/menu~, etc.).
[121000990070] |Thus, one of the smallest –but most useful –snippets that I use is the following alias:
[121000990080] |alias emacs-clean='find . -name "*~" -exec rm {} \; -or -name ".*~" -exec rm {} \;'
[121000990090] |This will find all files in $PWD and below that have a tilde (~) appended to them and send them to The Great Bit-Bucket Beyond.
[121000990100] |I have the following to add: An alias is something you add to your ~/.bashrc file.
[121000990110] |Once you add that line to your .bashrc file, typing “emacs-clean” on the command line will execute the action.
[121000990120] |The tilde files are automatic backup files of the last version created by the text editors.
[121000990130] |You can turn off this automatic creation by editing the preferences of the text editor you use.
[121000990140] |If you don’t want an alias, and just want to run this once (or every once in a while), execute the following command: $find . -name "*~" -exec rm {} \; -or -name ".*~" -exec rm {} \;