Install Chromium in Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid)

Chromium is the open source version of google chrome.

Installing Chromium in Ubuntu 10.04 is a very simple and quick process.  Just run the following three commands in your terminal (Applications/Accessories/Terminal):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

Integrating Chromium into new ubuntu theme:

http://ubuntuguide.net/integrate-chromechromium-to-new-ubuntu-theme-in-ubuntu-10-04

Pithos Segmentation Fault Fix

Pithos crashes with a segmentation fault in Ubuntu 64-bit.

The build queue is apparently backed up right now, so it may take some time before the patched version is released.  To manually fix your installed version, do the following:

1. gksudo gedit /usr/bin/pithos
2. Comment out line 173 (by placing a # character).
3. Save and close the file.

Thanks to Kevin for this fix!

Ubuntu: Why the Buttons Were Moved in 10.04

When Canonical decided to move the close, minimize, and maximize buttons in 10.04 to the left side of the window, Mark Shuttleworth simply said that something very exciting was going to go on the right side.

Now we know what that is.  Window Indicators, or “Windicators” are going to go in their place.

This area will be used similar to the indicators near the clock in ubuntu.  Small buttons will provide volume control per application (using features that pulseaudio already provides), online/offline status, and status messages (such as saving, etc).  This will allow the status bar of many applications to be moved to be removed, and those buttons placed at the top of the window.

Issues?

I have mixed feelings on this.  One part of me celebrates a change like this, with Ubuntu blazing their own path, but another part of me absolutely hates this change.  Most people are intuitively used to clicking in the top right corner to open/maximize/close a window.  Now this fundamental design choice has been changed, which will take some getting used to.

Also, as far as I can tell, this is going to require developers to modify their programs to support this (hopefully I am wrong though).  If Ubuntu is the only distro that does this, how many developers will do this.  What about KDE?

Mark goes into a lot more detail on his blog:

http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/333

Move Window Buttons to Right Side – Ubuntu 10.04

The developers at Canonical decided to move the position of the minimize, maximize, and close buttons in Ubuntu 10.04. For most people like myself this is an unwelcome change. We are used to clicking in the top right to minimize/close windows.

Fortunately changing this back requires running only one line of code:

Open up terminal, or the run application box (Alt-F2), paste the following command in, and run it:

gconftool-2 --set /apps/metacity/general/button_layout --type string menu:minimize,maximize,close

These changes should be instantaneous.

Moving Back to the Left Side:

If you ever want to change this back, all you have to do is run:

gconftool-2 --set /apps/metacity/general/button_layout --type string close,minimize,maximize:

If you are wondering why this has been changed, see this post:
http://www.tuxguides.com/ubuntu-why-the-buttons-were-moved-in-10-04/

Playing Flash Videos in External Player

I have had a lot of issues with flash videos in the past. I have had some difficulties with it crashing in firefox, and I have had issues with full screen support. There are services that let you download and then play the flash video in an external player, but normally I just want to immediately watch it, but be able to watch it in an external player.

There is an easy solution to this. Just load the video in firefox, and then hit pause once it starts playing. Then, open up the terminal, and run the following command:

smplayer /tmp/Flash*

or

vlc /tmp/Flash*

This probably also works for many other video players using similar commands.  I have had success with youtube, and vimeo when using this, but I would assume that it also works with many other video services.  This will not work with encrypted flash videos though.

Using Squid with DDWRT

Squid has several different uses.  It is a proxy for internet connections.  It can be used to speed up the internet by caching commonly used pages/images to speed up page load times, and decrease bandwidth usage.  It can also be used to filter Internet connections (remove ads or block bad webpages) by configuring and adding plugins to it.

In this particular case, I am going to be focusing on how to setup and use Squid with your router running the open source firmware, ddwrt (also confirmed to work on tomato firmware mods).

Configuring Squid:

You are going to need a computer that is either on 24/7 or one that is on whenever you need access to the internet.  I have a server running at my house that is always on, so I decided to use that.  I am running ubuntu on my server, so my instructions will be specific to that, but if you are running a different distribution of Linux, you should be able to easily figure out what what commands you will need to use in order to install and configure squid. Read the rest of this entry »

Virtualbox with USB Support

This guide is specific to ubuntu jaunty (9.04).  It may work on previous version, or other distros, but it is untested.  If you do not need usb support in your copy of virtualbox, you can just install the open source version from the ubuntu package repositories by typing:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-ose

If you need usb support in your virtualbox install (great for hooking up devices that are not compatible with linux), you need to install the proprietary version (also free), and do a few tweaks in order to get it to work.

Installing USB Version:

Make sure the open source version of virtualbox is uninstalled:

sudo apt-get remove virtualbox-ose

First, add the respective line to your /etc/apt/sources.list file according to the current version you are running (for example, add the first line if you are running Jaunty):
Read the rest of this entry »

Ubuntu Backup Software

Backing up files can be useful in case you suffer hard drive issues, but it can also be helpful in case of “messing up” a file, and needing a backup of it.  There are many different backup options available for ubuntu.  Some backup to the internet, where your files exist in “the cloud,” and allow you to easily share the files with others, while other simply allow backing up to another hard drive, directory, or remote computer.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these approaches that I will be detailing as I analyze different peices of software available for backup.

All software packages that I will be mentioning in this post are available for other distributions of linux, but I am mainly going to focus on the installation and configuration for ubuntu.

Dropbox

Dropbox is one of my favorite pieces of software.  In addition to dropbox backing up files, it is also great for sharing files between computers, and friends.  Their software works on Macs, PCs, and Linux operating systems.  In this review, I am going to be focusing on the ubuntu linux operating system.

After you download the software for your computer, and create an account, a folder is created in your home folder (or wherever you chose to put it) labeled dropbox.  This folder initially comes with a few files in it to show you how it works.  There is also a photos folder in here by default (you can delete it) that you can add folders and images to, and then share via the web.  To do this, you place all of the files you want to share into a folder, and then right click on the folder, and select dropbox/copy public gallery link.  You can send this link to any friends, or share it on the web.  Here is an example of one of my dropbox albums that I made:

Read the rest of this entry »

Converting Ext3 to Ext4

The new version of ubuntu brought the option of selecting the ext4 filesystem instead of ext3.  After reading some reviews, I chose to do this on mine, and noticed quite a speed increase (benchmarks: http://www.linuxinsight.com/first_benchmarks_of_the_ext4_file_system.html).

After installing, my root partition was an ext4 partition, but my home partition was not since it was on a separate partition.  I decided to convert my home partition over to ext4 to get all of the benefits that it provides.

WARNING: Do not do this to a root partition unless you know what you are doing.  I have not tested this/looked it up, and I do not know how this will end.  Also, as with all tweaks (especially on a filesystem), there is some danger of messing up your computer.  I am not responsible for anything that happens.  Make sure all of your files are backed up before attempting this.

Converting

Make sure your operating system supports ext4, and if not, apply any relevant patches to the kernel.

Make sure you are using a live cd, or do not have the file system mounted.  Then, unmount the volume that you are converting, and convert it.

Example with /dev/sda1 (run “fdisk -l” to see your filesystems):

umount /dev/sda1
tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/sda1

Read the rest of this entry »

Ubuntu Jaunty Review: part 2

Ubuntu Jaunty was officially released today, and I have decided to write a continuation of my previous post with some fast download mirror links, and a screenshot tour of the install process. Feel free to post any fast download mirrors that you find in the comments section.

Download Mirrors:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/jaunty/ (torrent links recommended)

I have removed my links to the dropbox files that I had because the official mirrors appear to be just as fast now that they have recovered from the initial traffic.

I also went through the install process again, and took some screenshots to show how it went.  The overall process is very similar to previous ubuntu installs.

Part 1