lof Ubuntu eXPerience

Migration to WordPress

2008-06-11T15:10:00.001+01:00

I’m migration the blog to WordPress.

In the process I’m changing/fixing:

the overall look of the blog
the post categories
some html related problems/improvements in some posts

I’m also redirecting http://lof-ubuntu-xp.lofspot.net/ from Blogspot to WordPress.

All the posts from the old blog are already migrated.

Please, let me know what you think.

last updated: 11-06-2008

ufw - Ucomplicated Firewall

2008-06-10T15:49:00.007+01:00

I'm starting to play around with ufw (Ucomplicated Firewall), a firewall for Linux.

It's command line based, but simple enough.

I'll update this post as I play along.

Enable/disable ufw

enable

sudo ufw enable

disable

sudo ufw disable

Default policy

mostly open ports

sudo ufw default allow

mostly closed ports

sudo ufw default deny

Add rules syntax

sudo ufw allow|deny [proto *protocol*] [from *address* [port *port*]] [to *address* [port *port*]]

Delete rules syntax

sudo ufw delete *rule type* from *ip address* to any port *port number*

Firewall status

sudo ufw status

Firewall loaded

To                         Action  From
--                         ------  ----
24800:tcp                  ALLOW   100.000.1.1

Examples

sudo ufw allow proto tcp from 100.000.1.1 to any port 24800 sudo ufw delete allow proto tcp from 100.000.1.1 to any port 24800

Removing old kernels from your system

2008-06-05T16:20:00.004+01:00

After a while you're starting to collect kernel versions on your system.

Since Hardy came out, with kernel 2.6.24-16, we had two kernel updates, so, in grub we have now entries to kernels 2.6.24-16, 2.6.24-17 and 2.6.24-18.

We just need one to boot in, and we and the most recent one of course. Still, when deciding to remove an old kernel be aware of possible problems.

Virtualbox for instance, needs a module to the specific kernel you're running. Every time a new kernel is released your Virtualbox setup will not work until your upgrade the said module.
So, if you need to use Virtualbox and you don't yet have the new module, you could just restart into the old kernel.

So, think before you remove old kernels.

Removing old kernels

Check what versions you have installed

sudo dpkg --list | grep linux-image

Output example

ii  linux-image-2.6.24-16-generic                  2.6.24-16.30                                       Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii  linux-image-2.6.24-17-generic                  2.6.24-17.31                                       Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii  linux-image-2.6.24-18-generic                  2.6.24-18.32                                       Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii  linux-image-generic                            2.6.24.18.20                                       Generic Linux kernel image
ii  virtualbox-ose-guest-modules-2.6.24-16-generic 24                                                 virtualbox-ose-guest module for linux-image-
ii  virtualbox-ose-guest-modules-2.6.24-17-generic 24.0.1                                             virtualbox-ose-guest module for linux-image-
ii  virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6.24-16-generic       24                                                 virtualbox-ose module for linux-image-2.6.24
ii  virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6.24-17-generic       24.0.1                                             virtualbox-ose module for linux-image-2.6.24

In this example, only the first 3 rows are candidates to go. Make sure you don't remove the kernel you're using.

uname -r

To remove, for instance 2.6.24-16

sudo apt-get remove linux-image-2.6.24-16-generic

Update your grub list

sudo update-grub

And that is that.

Further reading:

Ubuntu Forums

last updated: 05-06-2008

Syncing Windows Mobile 5/6 with Synce (updated)

2008-06-04T13:10:00.004+01:00

UPDATE 04/06: Sync-engine and create partnership commands changed (Hardy users after system update).
UPDATE 05/06: What to do when you update your kernel (check "Kernel module" bellow).

One of my "to achieve" points was syncing my calendar and contact information from my Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone (Qtek 9100).

After trying for some time, I used a tip from Synce mailing lists. This tip was great for me because the author was also having troubles and started from scratch.

I think my problem was the config.xml file. I believe that if I just followed the instructions from the good folks from Synce, as I first did, but changed the config.xml, as in the mailing list, I wouldn't have needed to clean my system.

So, if you are starting, you probably could skip the "clean your system" part.

I will show how I'm syncing my phone with Evolution using Synce in Ubuntu 8.04.
This is based in Synce wiki and Synce mailing lists.

Note: save this post if you're using Gnome Network Manager, because you'll probably stay without Internet after installing the core libraries. It's very easy to fix though.

Adding repositories

Go to System > Administration > Software Sources
Add the following Third Party software

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/synce/ubuntu hardy main

Close and Reload, as asked, your sources

Kernel module

Unload the current modules:

sudo rmmod rndis_host cdc_ether usbnet

Now we have to delete the old drivers, such that the kernel will not reload them next time:

sudo rm /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/usb/{rndis_host,cdc_ether,usbnet}.ko

Now we have to get and compile the new drivers:

sudo apt-get install usb-rndis-source cdbs sudo module-assistant auto-install usb-rndis

Every time you update your system kernel redo this steps. Everything should be fine again :-)

Core libraries

Get the core libraries

sudo apt-get install odccm librra0-tools librapi2-tools

Connect your device and run

synce-pls

You should see a list of files on your device. If so you have a working connection to your device!

Password protected device

When running synce-pls, if you have the following error, your device is password protected. If so, install SynCE-GNOME or SynCE-KPM to provide a password prompt on device connect.

I didn't try this because my device isn't password protected...

. WARNING **: synce_info_from_odccm: Failed to get a connection for : Not authenticated, you need to call !ProvidePassword with the correct password. pls: Could not find configuration at path '(Default)'

Gnome Network Manager

If you're running Gnome Network Manager you don't have Internet by now because your phone is now the new default network connection.

Follow this and you should be fine:

Check what ethernet device was given to your phone

ifconfig -a | grep 80:00:60:0f:e8:00 | cut -d " " -f 1

In my case is rndis0

Add the next line to /etc/network/interfaces (replace rndis0 with the result from the previous command)

sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces

add iface rndis0 inet dhcp to the file

This will make Gnome Network Manager ignore the interface

Restart your network

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

No devices are connected to odccm

If you get an error that no devices are connected to odccm you should probably blacklist ipaq module:

Add the next line to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

add blacklist ipaq to the file

After that you can remove any currently active ipaq modules

sudo rmmod ipaq

Clean your system

If you have been playing around with Synce without success you may want to clean your system before continuing.
Check this tip for more info.

Check what packages to remove from the result of each of the following

dpkg-query -l *sync* dpkg-query -l *dccm* dpkg-query -l *rra* dpkg-query -l *rapi* dpkg-query -l *multis* dpkg-query -l *opensync*

I then did

sudo apt-get remove libsynce0 multisync-tools opensync-module-python opensync-plugin-evolution opensync-plugin-synce python-opensync synce-kpm synce-sync-engine sudo apt-get remove odccm sudo apt-get remove librra0 librra0-tools sudo apt-get remove librapi2 librapi2-tools sudo apt-get remove multisync-tools sudo apt-get remove libopensync0

Remove your Synce home config folder

rm -rf ~/.synce

Removed the byte compiled file

sudo rm -f /usr/lib/opensync/python-plugins/synce-opensync-plugin-2x.pyc

Syncing with OpenSync (needed packages)

In order to sync your device you need to use OpenSync.

sudo apt-get install odccm librra0-tools librapi2-tools multisync-tools opensync-plugin-kdepim opensync-plugin-synce sudo apt-get install multisync-tools opensync-plugin-evolution opensync-plugin-synce

Sync-engine

Sync-engine must be running in order to sync your phone.

Download the config.xml file needed by sync-engine

cd ~/.synce/ wget http://synce.svn.sf.net/svnroot/synce/trunk/sync-engine/config/config.xml

Now the tip. The current config.xml has the AutoSyncCommand and the Disable commented. Uncommented, leaving it disabled.

You can download my own

cd ~/.synce/ wget http://lofspot.net/synce/config.xml

Start sync-engine

synce-sync-engine

Connect your phone via usb. You shouldn't get any errors.

Create a partnership

You have to create a partnership between device and computer using one of two methods:

Via command line
Using synce-kpm (graphical and recommend)

(1) You can then use the command

synce-create-partnership "Linux desktop" "Contacts,Calendar"

The "Linux desktop" string can be any string of 20 characters or less. The available items for synchronization are:

* Contacts
* Calendar
* Tasks
* Files

When specifying items to sync, they must be separated by commas. You must also surround the list in double quotes and the string must not contain any whitespace.

(2) Or install synce-kpm

sudo apt-get install synce-kpm

Now run synce-kpm

synce-kpm

Go to Partnership manager. You probably have already partnerships created if you ever synced your phone under Windows.

My advice, after playing around is to delete every partnerships you already have and create a new one. I choose to sync Calendar, Contacts and Tasks.

synce-opensync-plugin

Check the list of the available plugins:

msynctool --listplugins

You should have synce-opensync-plugin.

If you don't see the above plugin in the output of msynctool, then download the plugin and copy this file to /usr/lib/opensync/python-plugins.

I already had the plugin.

Create OpenSync group

A group between SynCE and your chosen PIM application must be initiated.

I'm using Evolution (evo2-sync).

msynctool --addgroup synce-sync msynctool --addmember synce-sync synce-opensync-plugin msynctool --addmember synce-sync evo2-sync

Syncing your device (finally)

Start sync-engine and connect your device

synce-sync-engine

Start synce-kpm

synce-kpm

Sync with OpenSync

msynctool --sync synce-sync

This could take some time the first time, so be patient. You can check your progress in synce-kpm.

After the msynctool command ends completely check Evolution :-)

Day to day config

To simplify I created a script to synchronize my phone.

touch sync_smartphone.sh chmod a+x sync_smartphone.sh vi sync_smartphone.sh

Add to the file:

#!/bin/bash
synce-sync-engine &
sleep 20
synce-kpm &
sleep 20
msynctool --sync synce-sync

Now connect your phone, run sync_smartphone.sh and check your progress in synce-kpm graphical UI.

Please, feel free to post a comment or email me at lof-ubuntu-xp [(at)] lofspot.net.

This is just a "this is how I did it" post. I probably won't be able to help you, especially in another distribution/version or phone, still feel free to share your experience.

Further reading:

last updated: 05-06-2008
original post: 21-05-2008

Firefox Guinness World Record

2008-06-01T23:29:00.003+01:00

Help Firefox get the Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours.

All you have to do is download Firefox 3 within the 24 hour after is release.

The launch day will be announced soon, so bookmark this link.

You can also get involved, and spread this record attempt.

last updated: 01-06-2008

NFS file sharing

2008-05-01T17:59:00.003+01:00

Here's how you share files between two Linux machines, using NFS.

Installation

Go to the Synaptic Package Manager
Find nfs-kernel-server and install

Configuration in machine 1 (where the shared folder is)

Define the shares you want to provide

sudo vi /etc/exports

Add your shares to the file

/home/mach1user/Public *(ro,sync)
/home/mach1user/Documents 100.000.00.01(ro,sync)
/home/mach1user/Share 100.000.00.01/20(rw,sync)

Make your changes be known

sudo exportfs -a

Configuration in machine 2 (where the shared folder are going to be accessed)

Create a folder, where the share will be mounted

mkdir /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Public mkdir /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Documents mkdir /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Share

Mount the shares (the IP is from machine 1)

sudo mount 100.000.0.05:/home/mach1user/Public /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Public sudo mount 100.000.0.05:/home/mach1user/Documents /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Documents sudo mount 100.000.0.05:/home/mach1user/Share /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Share

Make the shares available after rebooting

sudo vi /etc/fstab

Add to the file (the IP is from machine 1)

100.000.0.05:/home/mach1user/Public /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Public nfs ro,hard,intr 0 0
100.000.0.05:/home/mach1user/Documents /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Documents nfs ro,hard,intr 0 0
100.000.0.05:/home/mach1user/Share /home/mach2user/HomeNetwork/Share nfs ro,hard,intr 0 0

And that should do it.

Further reading:

last updated: 01-05-2008

Windows under Linux

2008-05-01T16:22:00.004+01:00

Ok, some things I may need to do in Windows (for now).
So I will install a virtual Windows machine using VirtualBox.

Install

Applications > Add/Remove Applications
Show: All available applications
Search: virtualbox
Check VirtualBox OSE and Apply Changes
Run VirtualBox (Applications > System Tools > VirtualBox OSE)

Creating a new Virtual Machine

Click New and follow the instructions (a virtual hard disk is needed, but you'll be easily guided through the installer)
Go to Synaptic Package Manager
Search for virtualbox
Install virtualbox-ose module for your kernel (like linux-image-2.6.24-16-generic)
Install virtualbox-ose-guest module for your kernel (like linux-image-2.6.24-16-generic)
Go to System > Administration > Users and Groups
In Manage Groups find vboxusers, click Properties and add your user to this Group
Logout from Ubuntu
Back to VirtualBox
Go to Settings > CD/DVD-ROM and mount your Windows CD or iso Windows file
Start the Virtual Machine and install Windows
Tip: Click in the VirtualBox window to get the mouse pointer into Windows and click Alt+Ctrl to get the mouse pointer back to Ubuntu
Note: I used Brasero to create a ISO image of Windows XP

Share folders with the Virtual Machine

In the VirtualBox window go to Devices > Install Guest Additions
This will download an iso image file, mounting it in Windows and install Guest Additions for Windows
Shutdown Windows
Go to Settings > Shared Folder and add the folders you want to share
Start Windows and map a Network Drive to:

\\vboxsvr\yoursharedfolder

VirtualBox running modes

Windowed: in this case Windows will be displayed in a window
Fullscreen: in this case Windows will be displayed in full screen
Seemless mode: in this case Windows will be integrated into Gnome

Ubuntu in my desktop (installation)

2008-05-01T02:11:00.034+01:00

Tomorrow is an holiday in Portugal and today it was a nice day to start installing Ubuntu in my Desktop :-)

The first reference for my eXPerience is my own post where I address several important points to check before installing and to achieve.

Running the live cd

So, the first thing was downloading Ubuntu 32 bits, checking the downloaded file hash (look for more info here) and burning the cd.

After booting from the cd is important to check the integrity of the cd. Burning cds also fails.

Hardware to check (during the live cd session)

Sound (check)
Cable network (check) -- been writing in the blog in the live cd session
Graphics (not so good)

I have a 800x600 screen resolution in my 19'' monitor, and the image isn't centered...
I installed EnvyNG using the Synaptic Package Manager (look for envyng-gtk) and just had to run it (Applications > System Tools > EnvyNG), after closing Synaptic (important), choose to "Install he NVIDIA driver (Automatic Hardware Detection)" option.
Note: before installing EnvyNG, in Synaptic, go to Settings > Repositories and in the "Ubuntu Software" tab choose every option. Also, in the "Third-Party Software" tab choose the first option.

Because I was in a live cd session I didn't restart to see the effect, but everything looks fine in the log so...

Starting the installation now :-)

Ubuntu install Hard Drive Partition Layout

/dev/sdc
...../dev/sdc1 .....ntfs ................................21476 MB (20 GB)
...../dev/sdc2 .....ext3 ...../.........................15360 MB (20 GB)
...../dev/sdc5 .....ext3 ...../home ...............15360 MB (15 GB)
...../dev/sdc6 .....swap ................................2048 MB (2 GB)
...../dev/sdc7 .....ext3 ...../storage/pool .....27719 MB (27 GB)

Post-install: graphics card

After the Ubuntu installation, I restart the computer and choose to boot from Ubuntu in the Grub menu.
I still don't have the graphic card installed, but the image is centered now.

I installed EnvyNG (like in the live cd session) and restarted.

While restarting a NVIDIA splash screen will be displayed, proofing a successful installation.
I now have a normal 1280x1024 screen resolution and some desktop effects are already active.

Also check the System > Administration > NVIDIA X Server Settings. Pretty awesome. Even my monitor is correctly recognized.

Post-install: wireless network card

A warning in the Notification Area told I had a Proprietary Driver to install. I just had to check Enable and the wireless card was installed.

Ridiculous simple...

To Do: try the wireless network...

Post-install: file system

Besides the / and /home partitions, only root have permissions to write in every other partitions. In my case /storage/pool.

So, we have to add permissions to our user:

sudo chown -R youruser:youruser/storage/pool sudo chmod -R 755 /storage/pool

Click here for more info.

Post-install: Multimedia

Reference: Complete Streaming, Multimedia & Video How-to

Repositories

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update

Flash

sudo apt-get purge flashplugin-nonfree gnash gnash-common && sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

Codecs and plugins (it will take quite some time)

sudo apt-get remove icedtea-gcjwebplugin openjdk-6-jre && sudo apt-get install alsa-oss compizconfig-settings-manager faad gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-pitfdll libflashsupport liblame0 sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin unrar w32codecs

Check the reference link, because it as many other things.

Post-install: System > Preferences

List of changed Preferences:

Advanced Desktop Effects Settings (Compiz Settings Manager)
Keyboard (Layout > Layout Options)

Post-install: LAMP Server

To install Apache, MySQL and PHP, check here.

Post-install: Windows Legacy

To install VirtualBox to run Windows, check here.

Post-install: NFS file sharing

To configure two Ubuntu machines to share files using NFS, check here.

Post-install: Syncing Windows Mobile 5/6 with Synce

To sync your phone with Ubuntu, check here.

Post-install: extra software

List of extra installation software installed:

GVim
Firefox Foxmarks add-on (can't live without it)
More Firefox add-ons (BugMeNot, Forecastfox)
Firefox IMDB search-engine
VLC
Gmount-iso
Gmail Notifier
Gnucash
Amarok
Istanbul Desktop Session Recorder
Sysinfo
Conky
Gaupol Subtitle Editor
VirtualBox
Acrobat Reader (choose the .deb installer and double click after the download)
Google Earth (it will download a .bin installation file, run it in the Terminal)
gPHPEdit
Screem HTML/XML Editor
Bluefish Editor
Gnome Partition Editor (gParted)
aspell-pt-pt
Simple Backup
mdf2iso (sudo apt-get install mdf2iso)
nrg2iso (sudo apt-get install nrg2iso)
gFTP

last updated: 21-05-2008

Ubuntu in my desktop (status)

2008-04-29T21:45:00.015+01:00

I'm preparing to install Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" in my desktop machine.

Before starting

Try, using the Ubuntu live-cd, at least graphics, sound and cable network access (done)
Backup important data (done)
Decide the partition layout for all my hard drives (example) (done)
Rethink my home network (IPs, Windows workgroup names...)
Decide between Ubuntu 32 bits and Ubuntu 64 bits for my AMD Athlon 64BIT X2 DUAL-CORE 4200+ SKAM2 2.20 GB
- I've decided to go with Ubuntu 32 bits (done)
- Check if both cores are beeing used (done)

I will be dual-booting (for now) with Windows XP, and in order to release myself from Windows completely, here's a "to achieve" list.
This list doesn't have a significant order of importance.

To achieve (check the installation eXPerience here)

Internet access using my home network (cable) (achieved)
Internet access using my home network (wireless)
Read and write support from Linux to my Windows partitions (just in case) (achieved)
Read and write support from Windows to my Linux partitions (just in case)
Divx and Xvid playback with subtitle files support (achieved)
Full browser experience (Java, flash...) (achieved)
Microsoft Office 100% support (achieved using a virtual machine)
- it isn't enough .doc support
- as an example, the Excel formats, graphs, etc. should be exactly the same
- it could be done using a virtual machine
Windows XP in a virtual machine (objective - legacy support) (achieved)
Streaming media content (xvid, divx) to my Xbox 360
- the the content must be converted to the right format in real time
- it must add subtitles to the media (for instance .srt separated files)
- in Windows I use TVersity
Print to PDF (achieved)
Have a subtitle editor (achieved)
- a needed feature is to fix the subtitles in order to keep a fixed number of characters for column
- in Windows I use Subtitle Workshop
Software to mount cd image files (like .iso) (achieved)
Recording software (CD and DVD support) (achieved)
Google Earth and Google Notifier (achieved)
Full iPod Touch support (it could be done using a virtual machine)
Full Calendar and Contacts sync support for Qtek 9100 (it could be done using a virtual machine) (achieved)
Apache, PHP and MySQL solution for my home database solution, currently working in Windows (achieved)
Remote Desktop Connection to other machines, including Windows (it could be done using a virtual machine)
Home network (at least shared folders) (achieved)

Other nice stuff I'd like

BIOS upgrades (it could be done using a virtual machine)
System monitor (hard drive free space, cpu, memory, network and temperature)

last updated: 21-05-2008

Apache, PHP and MySQL (updated)

2008-04-28T21:31:00.004+01:00

Ok, setting up Apache, PHP and MySQL is super easy. I used this tip from Ubuntu Forum.
I also want to import my site and database from Windows.

Install

Go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager

Now go to Edit > Mark Packages by Task

Choose LAMP Server (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP server)

In my case, the Ultimate Edition already had this installed :-)
I just updated Apache, MySQL and PHP using System > Administration > Update Manager.

Now I'm going to install PHPMyAdmin (very useful):

Go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager

Find by phpmyadmin

Install

Get database and site from Windows

Ultimate Edition already had this installed as well :-)
I marked it to update though.

Now I need to install my Apache/MySQL/PHP solution I had under Windows.
How difficult (easy) will it be?

Get from Windows the PHP folder mysite

Get from Windows the MySQL database folder mydatabase

In the Terminal (this will open the default Apache site location)

sudo nautilus /var/www

Now copy the mysite folder here

In the Terminal (this will open the default MySQL database location)

sudo nautilus /var/lib/mysql

Now copy the mydatabase folder here

In the Terminal (this will change your admin password)

sudo mysqladmin -u root password NEWPASSWORD
-- NEWPASSWORD must be the same from your Windows config

In your favorite browser type

http://localhost/mysite

Still, there's a problem. The database is read-only. But is easy to fix:

Go to http://localhost/myphpadmin and login as root
Select your database in the left pane
Go to Export
Select the Add DROP TABLE / DROP VIEW option
Click the Go button
Copy the generated script (it includes the insert statements) to your favorite text editor
Add the following to the script, before the first drop table statement, replacing mydatabase with your database name and save the script

USE mydatabase;

Delete the mydatabase folder copied from Windows

sudo rm -R /var/lib/mysql/mydatabase/

In myphpadmin go to the home page (first icon in the left pane)
Create a New Database with the same name from the previous, mydatabase
In myphpadmin go to the Query Window (third icon in the left pane)
In the Query Window go to Import and browse to your script file
Click the Go button and that's it, your database is ready to go

Post Update

After upgrading to Hardy Heron I had to reinstall the LAMP server. After the installation, when I accessed my index.php file, Firefox tried to download it.

I had to link the PHP module files to the mods-enabled Apache directory in order to get it going:

Link the PHP modules do the mods-enabled Apache directory

cd /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/ sudo ln -s ../mods-available/php5.load .sudo ln -s ../mods-available/php5.conf .

Restart Apache

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Clean browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Del in Firefox)

And that was it.

original post: 20-03-2008
last updated: 28-04-2008

Upgrading to Hardy

2008-04-25T00:56:00.009+01:00

And I'm set. I'm now officially running Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

The recommended (and easier) way to upgrade from Ubuntu 7.10 is to use Update Manager. But the servers are clotted (April 25th)...
I tried it two times and it just isn't possible at this moment (yes, I want Hardy).

So I downloaded the alternate version of Ubuntu (check bellow the "Start Download" button).
This version isn't a live cd, and it can be used to upgrade Ubuntu.

I installed (Applications > Add/Remove) Gmount-iso. This way I could use the iso file without having to burn a cd.

To make sure cd image isn't corrupted:

In the Terminal

md5sum ubuntu-8.04-alternate-i386.iso

You should get the correct hash for the iso you're checking

166991d61e7c79a452b604f0d25d07f9 *ubuntu-8.04-alternate-i386.iso

Check the hash values here.

After an hour I got the alternate version of Ubuntu 8.04, mounted the iso file using Gmount-iso and, in the Terminal:

gksu "sh /cdrom/cdromupgrade"

And off we go. Upgrading to 8.04.

After some time the upgrade was complete and I rebooted the machine. Check bellow the aftermath:

Several packages were marked to removal at the beginning of the upgrade. My Ubuntu 7.10 installation came from Ubuntu Ultimate Edition. I think that's one of the reasons. I gave it a little look and kept going. If something is missing I will install it later.
The installer asked 3 ou 4 times about replacing configuration files, like smb.conf. It allowed to see the differences between the current file and the new one, and I could choose to keep or replace the files. I backed up the ones I wanted and replaced them all.
Restarted.
After the restart the Update Manager wanted to do a partial upgrade. It seems the alternate cd didn't cover all packages. More packages where marked for removal.
After the successful partial upgrade, I'm did another one.
I then restarted again.
I ran the Update Manager manually and check for updated and there aren't none. I was finished. It was a long run.

Issues

Issue 1: I was missing some software I wanted to get back. Just went do Applications > Add/Remove and that was it.

gVim (installed)
vlc player (installed)
VirtualBox kernel driver (to install)
LAMP Server (installed - check the link for details)

Issue 2: All my preferences seems to be ok, except the mouse pointer speed (System > Preferences > Mouse). (solved)
Issue 3: in Places > Network I see my Workgroup, but no computers (in this case a Windows machine). Still the Windows machine is accessing Linux shared folders (that I had to share again). (to solve)

If I use directly the IP I have no problems, but even in Places > Connect to Server I'm having no luck.
To pass this "problem" I created a Launcher (Location) in the Desktop to the machine (smb://100.000.0.0/).

Issue 4: The version of Firefox that came with Ubuntu is the 3.0 beta 5. Unfortunately some of my favorite add-ons aren't supported (just yet), so I'm gonna have to install Firefox 2.0 (to do).
Issue 5: The time server (ntp) I had defined was gone. I had it again. (solved)

ntp02.oal.ul.pt

Issue 6: I had some custom code in grub. I have to check it out tomorrow. (to check)
Issue 7: Check if VirtualBox is running. (to check)

last updated: 25-04-2008

Hardy is out

2008-04-24T19:36:00.004+01:00

Here it his. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, codename Hardy Heron, is out.

This is the second Long Time Support (LTS) release from Ubuntu and it will be supported for 3 years (instead of the normal 18 months).

For those who don't want to install a new OS every 6 to 18 months this is a great chance to do a fresh install and keep your desktop up and running, with full support, for a long time.

If you have Ubuntu 7.10 it's easy to upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04. Basically you just need to update your system using Update Manager (check the list of links bellow).

Check your Ubuntu version:

lsb_release -a

I will upgrade my laptop and will be back soon will feedback.

Meanwhile here's some useful links:

Ubuntu Release Notes

Upgrading Ubuntu from 7.10 to 8.04 LTS

Ubuntu Forum announcement (with more links)

last updated: 24-04-2008

Firefox Tip: Opening Search results in a new tab

2008-04-21T19:11:00.005+01:00

Here's a useful tip to always open your Firefox search results in a new tab:

In the address bar type about:config

Look for browser.search.openintab

Double click the False value (in the Value column) to change it to True

Now try to search something in your favorite search engine

PS: this works in every OS (at least Linux and Windows).

last updated: 22-04-2008

Conky

2008-04-21T18:31:00.012+01:00

Conky is an application that posts system monitoring info onto your Desktop. It is very light-weighted and very cool to play with.

Steps to install

In the Terminal

install conky

sudo apt-get install conky

get a configuration example file (check a nicer one bellow)

zcat /usr/share/doc/conky/examples/conkyrc.sample.gz > ~/.conkyrc

Run conky in the Terminal

To have conky automatically start when you boot Ubuntu, do the following:

create a script to run conky (vi conky_start.sh), with the following

#!/bin/bash sleep 20 && conky

make sure the script is executable

chmod a+x conky_start.sh

try it

conky_start.sh

Go to System > Preferences > Sessions and add a new Startup Program with:

Name: conky

Command: /home/your_user/your_script_folder/conky_start.sh

Comment: Start conky

Restart

To change the way conky displays information for you, you need to change the .conkyrc file in your home folder (Ctrl+H in Nautilus if you don't see it).

Here's a good configuration file to start, shared in Ubuntu Forums:

# UBUNTU-CONKY
# A comprehensive conky script, configured for use on
# Ubuntu / Debian Gnome, without the need for any external scripts.
#
# Based on conky-jc and the default .conkyrc.
# INCLUDES:
# - tail of /var/log/messages
# - netstat connections to your computer
#
# -- Pengo (conky@pengo.us)
#

# Create own window instead of using desktop (required in nautilus)
own_window yes
own_window_type override
own_window_transparent yes
own_window_hints undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager

# Use double buffering (reduces flicker, may not work for everyone)
double_buffer yes

# fiddle with window
use_spacer yes
use_xft no

# Update interval in seconds
update_interval 3.0

# Minimum size of text area
# minimum_size 250 5

# Draw shades?
draw_shades no

# Text stuff
draw_outline no # amplifies text if yes
draw_borders no
font arial
uppercase no # set to yes if you want all text to be in uppercase

# Stippled borders?
stippled_borders 3

# border margins
border_margin 9

# border width
border_width 10

# Default colors and also border colors, grey90 == #e5e5e5
default_color grey

own_window_colour brown
own_window_transparent yes

# Text alignment, other possible values are commented
#alignment top_left
alignment top_right
#alignment bottom_left
#alignment bottom_right

# Gap between borders of screen and text
gap_x 10
gap_y 10

# stuff after 'TEXT' will be formatted on screen

TEXT
$color
${color orange}SYSTEM ${hr 2}$color
$nodename $sysname $kernel on $machine

${color orange}CPU ${hr 2}$color
${freq}MHz   Load: ${loadavg}   Temp: ${acpitemp}
$cpubar
${cpugraph 000000 ffffff}
NAME             PID       CPU%      MEM%
${top name 1} ${top pid 1}   ${top cpu 1}    ${top mem 1}
${top name 2} ${top pid 2}   ${top cpu 2}    ${top mem 2}
${top name 3} ${top pid 3}   ${top cpu 3}    ${top mem 3}
${top name 4} ${top pid 4}   ${top cpu 4}    ${top mem 4}

${color orange}MEMORY / DISK ${hr 2}$color
RAM:   $memperc%   ${membar 6}$color
Swap:  $swapperc%   ${swapbar 6}$color

Root:  ${fs_free_perc /}%   ${fs_bar 6 /}$color
hda1:  ${fs_free_perc /media/hda1}%   ${fs_bar 6 /media/hda1}$color
hdb3:  ${fs_free_perc /media/hdb3}%   ${fs_bar 6 /media/hdb3}

${color orange}NETWORK (${addr eth0}) ${hr 2}$color
Down: $color${downspeed eth0} k/s ${alignr}Up: ${upspeed eth0} k/s
${downspeedgraph eth0 25,140 000000 ff0000} ${alignr}${upspeedgraph eth0
25,140 000000 00ff00}$color
Total: ${totaldown eth0} ${alignr}Total: ${totalup eth0}
Inbound: ${tcp_portmon 1 32767 count} Outbound: ${tcp_portmon 32768
61000 count}${alignr}Total: ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 count}

${color orange}LOGGING ${hr 2}$color
${execi 30 tail -n3 /var/log/messages | fold -w50}

${color orange}FORTUNE ${hr 2}$color
${execi 120 fortune -s | fold -w50}

Tips

Look for the free space file systems conf and change it to display your own filesystems

home: ${fs_free_perc /home}% ${fs_bar 6 /home}$color

Check to see if your using eth0 as your network interface

${color orange}NETWORK (${addr eth0}) ${hr 2}$color

The comments in the configuration file are very useful to get you started in your own conky setup

Check the variables and config file settings available

Flickering problem

If your have a flickering problem with conky add Load "dbe", to your X11 configuration file. It should look like this:

sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
EndSection

Firefox Widgets

2008-04-17T21:58:00.005+01:00

Firefox widgets (buttons, radio buttons, drop down menus, text fields and checkboxes) in Ubuntu don't look so good. I don't like it. And I'm not the only one.
So, we can change the images and CSS code for the widgets so Firefox will look really nice :)

Here's a tip from Ubuntu Forums:

Steps to make Firefox widgets look good:

Download the Firefox Widget Installer

available at the end of the first post (direct link)

Run the installer

unpack the archive and run the graphic_installer
install in the Firefox directory (default is /usr/lib/firefox)

Make this the default look, even when Firefox is updated

to make the default look

sudo dpkg-divert --add /usr/lib/firefox/res/forms.css

to undo the previous

sudo dpkg-divert --remove /usr/lib/firefox/res/forms.css

Before

After

Further reading:

Firefox Widgets, a Tip from Ubuntu Forums

last updated: 17-04-2008

Elisa Media Center

2008-04-15T21:03:00.008+01:00

Today I was talking with a friend of mine about Media Centers. A little by change I found a great Open Source solution.

It's called Elisa.

Here's a little demo:

I had to try it. It is super simple to install.

It all happens in the Terminal:

First import the GPG key

wget http://elisa.fluendo.com/packages/philn.asc -O - | sudo apt-key add -

Then add the Elisa package source to your sources list

open sources.list with your favorite text editor

sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list

add the source (this one is to Gutsy Gibbon)

deb http://elisa.fluendo.com/packages gutsy main

Now all it's left to do is update apt-get and install Elisa

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install elisa

Elisa is installed by default under Applications > Sound & Video > Elisa Media Center.

Without any configuration Elisa saw all the Music, Pictures and Videos I have in my Home Folder. It also loaded the subtitles file corresponding to an avi file. Just great.

In the Videos folder I add a link to a video folder in another file system and I could navigate in Elisa to that location.

This is Elisa 0.3.5. I can't wait for new updates.

Further reading:

Elisa Home Page

Elisa Debian packages

last updated: 15-04-2008

Error while starting Ubuntu

2008-04-05T16:45:00.009+01:00

Yesterday, when I was starting up my Ubuntu machine, the screen went white and I had to manually turn off the laptop.
When I started it again the file system checkup (fsck) started. I got a lot of yes or no questions about fixing several problems. Near the end fsck aborted and I was left in the terminal to try and fix the problem.
I rebooted the system, but there was a X server error and it went to the terminal again.

Ok, at this moment I was scared. A lot of data I didn't wanna lose.

I logged to my desktop machine and went to Ubuntu Forums.

Here's what I did, and yes, I'm posting from Ubuntu:

I started by unmounting all my file systems:

sudo umount /dev/sda1 sudo umount /dev/sda5 sudo umount /dev/sda6 sudo umount /dev/sda7

Then I run a filesystem check, like this:

sudo e2fsck -C0 -p -f -v /dev/hda1 sudo e2fsck -C0 -p -f -v /dev/hda5 sudo e2fsck -C0 -p -f -v /dev/hda6 sudo e2fsck -C0 -p -f -v /dev/hda7

And that was it :-)

I rebooted and all was ok.

Further reading:

last updated: 05-04-2008

Sharing Files with Windows

2008-03-21T15:15:00.001Z

For sharing files with Windows you just have to follow this steps:

Got to System > Administration > Shared Folders

in the Shared Folders tab add the folders you wish to share

in the General Properties tab type the Workgroup of your Network (as in Windows)

In the Terminal add yourself as a Samba user:

sudo smbpasswd -a yourusername

That's it. You can now access your shared folder using you Linux user.

Further reading:

Ubuntu Forum post

Ubuntu Documentation

Automatix

2008-03-20T17:51:00.001Z

Now a great piece of software to help you install a bunch of stuff: Automatix

I started with an update (Automatix already installed) using Update Manager.

I then installed:

Codecs and Plugins

MPlayer Plugin for Firefox
Ubuntu Restricted Extras and Multimedia Codecs
W32-DVD Codecs

Email Clients

CheckGmail

Miscellaneous

Extra Fonts
Nautilus Scripts (open as root option)

Office

Acrobat Reader
Google Earth

Check for other useful software yourself :-)

Desktop customization

2008-03-20T17:21:00.002Z

So far I only changed the clock type to 24 hour.

Administration tasks

2008-03-20T17:02:00.001Z

So far I've pass through:

System > Administration >

BootUp-Manager: I disabled "Common files for NVIDIA video cards" (ATI on my laptop) and "Bluetooth services". Something to investigate a little more though.
Login Window: Changed the Theme to "Human" and disabled the login screen sound
Network: Already manually configured my IP
Time and Date: I like to keep my OS clock using a NTP server (ntp02.oal.ul.pt)

Changing preferences

2008-03-20T16:41:00.001Z

So far I've changed:

System > Preferences >

Appearance: I don't really like the default Ultimate Edition theme, so I chose the Human theme and changed the Background
Keyboard: I had the EuroSign to the E key
Keyboard Shortcuts: Now the "Windows key" shows the panel menu (it's the Start Menu in Windows) and the "Menu key" activates the window menu (right mouse button)
Mouse: I never liked the "Tap to Click" option
Power Management: Changed some timeout options and had the Notification icon always on
Screensaver
Sessions: I disable the Bluetooth Manager
Sound: I like it quiet

Hardware: first impression

2008-03-20T16:28:00.003Z

Uppon first boot all my hardware seems to be working, including my graphics card, the mute sound button and even the SD Card Reader (this one doesn't work out of the box in Windows).

So far I only had to manually config my wired connection (I have DHCP turned off) and restart the network service.

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Partition Map

2008-03-20T16:13:00.002Z

First thing to decide is how will I partition my hard drive.

/dev/sda
...../dev/sda1 .....ext3 ...../ ...........10240 MB
...../dev/sda5 .....ext3 ...../home ....10240 MB
...../dev/sda6 .....ext3 ...../data .....58547 MB
...../dev/sda7 .....swap .................1028 MB

I used some useful resources to decide:

Ubuntu Ultimate Edition

2008-03-20T16:06:00.001Z

I chose Ubuntu Ultime Edition, based on Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibson because it added a lot of useful software and configuration out of the box.
Having tried it on my laptop I saw everything I needed to get me started, from hardware to software, was already there. So I backup all my data and started my eXPerience.

PS: I had Windows XP Professional Edition installed...

[ Starting ]

2008-03-20T15:54:00.004Z

This blog is intended to log my latest experience in Linux.
Through the years I have tried out several distributions such as Red Hat (and later Fedora), Suse, Mandrake (now Mandriva) and the Portuguese Caixa Mágica.

There were always something that drove me back to Windows and as the years passed the free time started to be insufficient to allow me dive right into it.

I recently decided to format my laptop and install Ubuntu. I started by dual booting it with Windows to try it out first, but soon (in the same day actually) the eXPerience begun.
My desktop machine will be next.

This blog will help me (and perhaps others) in future installations and to document my favorite software and tips.

There will probably be others posts about other subjects. News, funny stuff and maybe even some crude blogging.

I will organize the blog using labels as an index to the several subjects. Each post can have zero or more labels. The index is bound to change.

Some posts will be edited through time instead of adding new posts with the same subject. If I need to add some new info about configuring network setting, the original post will probably be edited.

last updated: 17-04-2008