Ubuntu deep brown or superficial?

Offline Ubuntu, no problem

Difficult to imagine what life is like for those who don't have the luxury of an internet connection. For many living in the developing world, the experience of the Internet is mediated through Internet Cafes and less often than not, libraries. Updating an offline Ubuntu installation therefore represents a major challenge. Luckily there are some excellent projects which mitigate the problem.

Keryx is an amazing offline wxWidgets utility that allows users to update their machines whenever they find bandwidth on another computer.

Apt-on-CD is a tool with a graphical interface which allows you to create one or more CDs or DVDs (you choose the type of media) with all of the packages you've downloaded via APT-GET or APTITUDE, creating a removable repository that you can use on other computers

Apt-offline is a recently released terminal utility that promises to speed up development of Keryx. It can also be used as a stand-alone, though slightly more complex solution.

Here is the Debian Administration article

I found this great article on helping Linux users without broadband.

NoNetDebs appears to be another overlooked solution, which popped up via K Mandla's excellent  Tutorial of the Week on UbuntuForums. Here is a link to the tutorial.

Pidgin's proxy unfriendly flight

And there I was thinking it was my proxy service on the blink since I haven't paid my bill for months. Turns out the latest Pidgin update is decidedly proxy unfriendly:

Pidgin 2.6.4 Changes Proxy Behavior Filed under: Miscellaneous, Tools — Julian @ 10:11 pm I use Pidgin for all of my IM functions including Facebook and Skype and I love the application. I especially like the OTR plug-in that allows me to have “private” conversations with my buddies regardless of the underlying protocol being used. I also use the Portable Apps version so that I can “take” my contacts, history, and other settings with me. I recently updated to the 2.6.4 version and after the update completed and I started Pidgin, I was unable to connect to any of my accounts. I use a remote HTTP proxy server to relay my IM connection so that restrictive corporate firewalls don’t block my IM accounts. I opened the debug window and after seeing the “Access Denied” message, I thought that it might be the proxy server itself. After verifying that nothing in the server configuration has changed recently, I started to look at other possibilities. I was able to configure Firefox to use the proxy server successfully, so I started to look at the Pidgin client as the culprit… I did a quick Google search and I found the reason. In the change-log for version 2.6.4 is a line in the libpurple component:

* Don’t send Proxy-Authorization headers to HTTP proxy servers until we’ve received a "407 Proxy Authentication Required" response from the server. (thecrux)

For some reason, the Squid Proxy Server that I use does not send this 407 response back and Pidgin never sends the credentials. So of course the Proxy Server replies with Access Denied since it does not allow unauthenticated users to use it. I’m sure that the developers fix the problem for a good reason, but it is still frustrating that existing working behavior in one version stops working in the next version. Until I can upgrade the Squid server or figure out how to make it send the 407 response, I’ll stay at version 2.6.3…

Thank you Julian, I would never have figured this out if it were not for your enlightening posting on the problem

https://julianscorner.com/

Pidgin's proxy unfriendly flight

And there I was thinking it was my proxy service on the blink since I haven't paid my bill for months. Turns out the latest Pidgin update is decidedly proxy unfriendly:

Pidgin 2.6.4 Changes Proxy Behavior Filed under: Miscellaneous, Tools — Julian @ 10:11 pm I use Pidgin for all of my IM functions including Facebook and Skype and I love the application. I especially like the OTR plug-in that allows me to have “private” conversations with my buddies regardless of the underlying protocol being used. I also use the Portable Apps version so that I can “take” my contacts, history, and other settings with me. I recently updated to the 2.6.4 version and after the update completed and I started Pidgin, I was unable to connect to any of my accounts. I use a remote HTTP proxy server to relay my IM connection so that restrictive corporate firewalls don’t block my IM accounts. I opened the debug window and after seeing the “Access Denied” message, I thought that it might be the proxy server itself. After verifying that nothing in the server configuration has changed recently, I started to look at other possibilities. I was able to configure Firefox to use the proxy server successfully, so I started to look at the Pidgin client as the culprit… I did a quick Google search and I found the reason. In the change-log for version 2.6.4 is a line in the libpurple component:

* Don’t send Proxy-Authorization headers to HTTP proxy servers until we’ve received a "407 Proxy Authentication Required" response from the server. (thecrux)

For some reason, the Squid Proxy Server that I use does not send this 407 response back and Pidgin never sends the credentials. So of course the Proxy Server replies with Access Denied since it does not allow unauthenticated users to use it. I’m sure that the developers fix the problem for a good reason, but it is still frustrating that existing working behavior in one version stops working in the next version. Until I can upgrade the Squid server or figure out how to make it send the 407 response, I’ll stay at version 2.6.3…

Thank you Julian, I would never have figured this out if it were not for your enlightening posting on the problem

https://julianscorner.com/

Can Gopher save the Web?

As novelty goes the WWW cannot be beaten, but for many, the metaphor of interlinked pages that create a "spiders web" of information, now only accessible by the most sophisticated search engines, is a bewildering array of challenges. The least of which is that todays' information society lacks any formal structure. Surfing the rough and diving into uncharted territory only to go down a rabbit hole is all part of the fun, but surely there is a better way?  A way out of the disoganised library whose subject catalogue is designed by a cacophony of disparate view-points and not the uniform logic of librarians. Where then is the meta-catalogue, the civilised index of all the information on the Internet?

One solution is a return to the gopher protocol. At least this would be the starting point on any discussion about developing a better method of accessing information. Imagine what gopher could look like if it were updated with the tango icon set? Can Ubuntu bring a new logic to the gopher protocol?


GOPHER is a network protocol that enables multiple servers to create a single, uniform filesystem that transcends system architecure and operating systems (GOPHERSPACE). With GOPHER, information holds the most value. Since presentation is uniform across GOPHERSPACE, the user does not encounter any challenges in 'learning' a new site. Because of its simplicity and its emphasis on the importance of informational texts, GOPHER is ideal for those who are visually impared

For those who want to see what gopher is all about, you can install gopher in your terminal, or try Forg a new graphical browser for gopher written in python. Forg will let you browse the world-wide gopherspace and handles various types of media, including HTML and video. While the programme still needs a bit of spit and polish, and lacks a proxy option, its good to see some gopher applications being written.

sudo apt-get install forg

Many people think the http protocol has deprecated gopher, but that just isn't true. Where do you think GOPHERs live? underground.

When you build your GOPHERSPACE on SDF, you are contributing to an underground network of systems that still believe in the gopher protocol. There is no commercialism, no banner ads, no spam, no pop-up ads. GOPHER gives you what you want: information and files (in any form) without the silliness of HTML and clumsiness of websites. No HTML development is needed to contribute to GOPHERSPACE.. since sites are uniform, all you need to do is upload or create your files

There are also various plugins for Firefox which turn the browser into a gopher client:

http://gopher.floodgap.com/overbite/

And a jump-off point for the gopher underground.

http://gopher.quux.org:70/

SheepShaver in Ubuntu 9.10

[caption id="attachment_820" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sheepshaver 2.3 in Ubuntu Karmic"][/caption]

This is SheepShaver 2.3.1 running in Karmic.  It was patched and compiled from a 2006 source snapshot. There is slightly newer code available from CVS, but the Linux code is not being maintained and SheepShaver is still not available in the Ubuntu repository. It appears most development of the wonderful PowerPC emulator is being done on OSX and Windows. A forked development would really assist Apple System 9 lovers on Ubuntu. If you want to see what all the fuss is about and wish to  avoid the hassle of compiling, I've uploaded a patched deb here. Be warned, it's the 2.3.1 unstable version.


Visit Emaculation Forums for assistance

UAE Amiga emulator on Ubuntu Karmic Koala

UAE is the best Amiga emulator we have. Unfortunately the application in the Karmic repos segfaults and is badly maintained. I had to download the source and compile. Like cooking a meal. Works fine, except the sound isn't exactly what it should be. If you want to test it. Here is the link to the deb compiled against Alsa. I might try this exercise again when I have the time, adding the < --with-oss flag> for the OSS open-sound server. Enjoy.

Multi-User Dungeons in Ubuntu

Yes there's always IRC but if you want something a little more counter-cultural, why not try MUD? Multi-User Dungeons are the mainstay of the old-school UNIX BBS. Similar to IRC, the text-based chat & role-play is a lot more entertaining. To log into a MUD you will need to set up a shell account with an online BBS.

There are a number of shell accounts & BBSs available. The telnet BBS guide is a good place to start.

I ssh'ed into the Super Dimension Fortress, a Seattle-based BBS with an evocative name and set-up my account like this:

ssh new@<name-of-the-server>

This took me through a setup in which I was asked to supply a username and password.  I could then login with username@server.

Then using the unix commode programme available from the shell I quickly learnt how to join a room. Sound familier? MUDs are essentially chatrooms, but with a slightly different ethos and character. Some are exceedingly elaborate. I actuallyprefer the good old cyberspace hackers meeting up in text-mode. B&W or Colour, toggle on of off, you choose. To enter the real MUD game using the mud command, I chose a character and became a samurai leprechaun.

My first realisation on returning, was that today's MUD, apart from the game, could make a nice addition to Pidgin, as a plugin. A better nCurses interface would also be cool in terms of development.

Whereas IRC is usually organised around a topic or channel, MUDs are very connected to a sense of place and presence on the Net. You can feel like you live and work in Seattle for instance, by joining SDF which also has a Texas presence.

MUD, considered by many to be some kind of Pre-Mosaic relic,, may have slipt under the radar, but thanks to Ubuntu, the shell is making a come-back. Chatting via a MUD is more anonymous than Facebook, and less of a chore than IRC, which is geared towards rapid communication. MUD is also a lot slower, and laid-back. Give it a try and let us know what you like or dislike.

UPDATE: There are two clients in the repos which one should consider.  PuTTY is an sh client with some excellent options such as proxy. There is also Gnome-MUD, a GTK MUD client.

Karmic Koala Bible

Found this nifty "bible" for Karmic Koala

Ubuntu Karmic makes me happy

Those living on the bleeding edge of computing, ignore this. And those who keep up with the pace of change in Ubuntu, no need to read further. I moved from Hardy to Karmic with a fresh install and can't be any happier. It's a 12 month cycle as opposed to six-months in which two editions, Intrepid Ibex and Jaunty Jackolope have come and gone. Why am I so happy. Well, everything just works, except of course my Sheepshaver Apple emulator.

The notifications for Rythmnbox are great. My low-end iSonix webcam which I bought for R80 works. No need to compile a driver.  I have pidgin doing its thing with cool plugins. Adobe AIR has given me a bunch of great applications like Tweetdeck. Google Chrome flies around, having come of age (no longer alpha). I have a more responsive, faster and slicker system. The change is more than noticeable. Pulseaudio just works (with some caveats). My Lexmark printer now functions after I moved from 64bit hell to the safety of 32bit. All in all, I have a lot to be thankful for with Karmic.

In fact, after installing the 15 channel graphic equaliser, which is still a bit buggy but improves my high fidelity audio and promises to bring a whole new world of audio plugins to the Ubuntu desktop, I must say, I have been transported  into the inner realms of bliss by good karma which is manifesting in the community.

So here are a couple of things Ubuntu still needs to get right.

Open-source wordprocessors and Ubuntu

The thing about wordprocessors is not all wordprocessors are created equal. Some offer just barebones text editing, while others, like the leader MSword, are advanced enough to provide any writer with creature comforts like easy menus, great typography and spell-checkers that actually function on an academic level. Ubuntu Karmic comes with OpenOffice 3 (with docx support) and there is also the linux staple Abiword in the repos.

I was pleasantly surprised to find there are alternatives, like Oxygen Office Professional which is OpenOffice with Debian menus and added features, and NeoWin, which is OpenOffice with OSX menus. Both point towards an evolving ecosystem surrounding the OpenOffice suite which emphasises professional service over nuts and bolts computing. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy that a free and open-source alternative to MSword exists, but I must admit, a desire to possess the same slick interface that MSword 2007 introduced. (Note: Another option is Siag Office, a free office package available on Unix which can be easily ported to Ubuntu. I also found wordgrinder, a console-based word-processor)

Surely it is time for the Ubuntu Community to come up with Human menus for the world's number one open source wordprocessor? I don't mean a new colour scheme. I mean the Human interface, the user aspect of computing which all too often gets lost in the abstractions of computer science and the pretensions of geekdom.

Some fun with wordle

Local bandwidth IRC for ZA

Here's the thing. IRC or Internet Relay Channel is usually associated with chatrooms. It also makes a great Internet Messaging platform. You can set up IM client like Pidgin to message and chat. However IRC in South Africa can be a hassle if you on local bandwidth. Most popular servers are overseas, but there are a number of local options.

1. ZANET

Popular chatroom server, one of the oldest around. Appears to have less "hacker-types" than it used to. A sign that IRC is losing its edge or just going mainstream?

2. SHADOWFIRE

Great place for gaming and edge of the Net attitude.

3. LAGNET

Bit of a mystery. It was set up in 1998 and seems to have been taken over by Indochat and foreign types.

4 MIXIT

Platform of choice for today's youth. Has a pidgin plugin and mobile client.

Google cache of bundublog postings

Here is the search link for google cache of the destroyed bundublog material. Couple of months postings. Not everything is in the cache, but at least its still around. Just looking, I am surprised at the number of references to this blog. Popularity has its downfall, a server which collapsed from wear and tear, or just plain stupidity? Where to from here?

Ubuwiki wishes come true

With all the fuss about bundublog falling over, I didn't have much time to post something important. Out of the blue, I got an email to say some of my wishes on the Ubuwiki wish list had been granted. Talk about ubuntu,. this is an example of community DIY. I really must get a page up for the project which is currently hosted on sourceforge. Maybe this is how it will happen. BTW littlegirl has her own WoaS project called Book-on-a-Stick. You can see her modifications here

Bundublog falls over, hardware destroys data

Hi David

Thanks for the mail:

I received the following message from the host of Bundublog.com - a company
called Midphase in the US -
http://status.midphase.com/2009/11/11/midphase-vps-server-vz104-servic

Their faulty hardware has wiped out everything on the server (including
large chunks of their backups) leaving me with 500+ blogs (including 25 of
my own) and content which has been damaged.

I am trying to see what they can recover in terms of what is in the
database. As soon as they can advise where we are at I can start the
recovery process but I can't upload the original wordpress database until I
know what is on their server.

At the moment I am literally tearing my hair out at this appalling customer
service from them.

Regards,
Marc

This blog has moved

Indlovu has moved to http://indlovu.bundublog.com

Please use the above address.

This is just an archive of previous work.

Can you give me a pirate copy of Ubuntu please?

Bootable Indaba Browser UbuProject

This is just to keep readers in the loop about my plans to create an Ubuntu distro that has a bootable Indaba browser session/cloud based upon Mozilla. Expected savings on CPU and RAM overhead are massive and in line with the WEB 3.0 Wave that Google is creating. Obviously, some of you might ask the question, why not a Google Chrome Project, well all good. You go out and do it. For now, I have not been able to get 64bit Chrome running with any success on my home distro which is Hardy 8.04.
--DRL

PS For you edification, my first sighting of Buddahbuntutonight.

Thoughts on the Google Chrome OS

Google recently announced the launch of their "Chrome OS". The Linux-based desktop has been available for at least a year (codename) but for now Google considers it an "Operating System" and according to their marketing machine it will "eat the PC, destroy Microsoft and make every other OS meaningless". The press love a good story about the world's Number One brand taking on Microsoft.

Will this effect the exponential growth of Ubuntu, the worlds most popular Linux distribution? I think not. More likely, Google Chrome will become just another desktop variant of Ubuntu and it is Ubuntu which is swallowing all other Linux distros, as the original Gnu-Hurd strategy unfurls. As far as real world computing goes, Ubuntu has the better metaphor. The Ubuntu default Gnome desktop however, is far from being the better desktop.  Competition in the Desktop environment has thankfully hotted up over the past months, so users can expect great advances in usability as well as Internet connectivity.

In fact 2009 could turn out to be the Year of the OS and 2010 the Year of the Desktop as Microsoft unveils Windows 7 and Ubuntu Karmic Koala hits the streets, now Google Chrome is also vying for our attention, alongside at least 20 other Linux-based desktops and 250 associated Linux "Operating systems".

Jubuntu = Ubuntu for "Jewish People"

I find the niche marketing of Ubuntu quite ridiculous sometimes. Of course, given the infinitely variable environment of Linux and the freedom of Ubuntu, there's always bound to be somebody who asks the question: "What if Ubuntu was more like ....."

Since there was an Ubuntu CE and an Ubuntu ME, why not an Ubuntu Zion? See the problem? So instead of the logical offering, we get a joke - Jubuntu.

Who is going to use anything so idiotically sounding? Maybe the same people who are touting Bubuntu (the black ubuntu) as if Ubuntu wasn't black to begin with? Okay, okay, I get the joke. I am a Jew after all. No need to Kibbitz about everything.

According to Launchpad, Jubuntu provides "Jewish people (and anyone else) with a light-hearted, welcoming version of Ubuntu with a focus on Jewish culture."

"Emphasis for Jubuntu is placed on cultural aspects of judaism (eating, family, guilt) rather than focusing religious or linguistic aspects of judaism. For example, themes revolving around bagels or "call your mother" reminders, rather than Torah scrolls and Talmudic references."

https://launchpad.net/jubuntu

UPDATE: Stumbled across two "official" looking websites. The first one http://www.jewbuntu.org/ is hilarious and says its just a joke. Second one, http://www.jewbuntu.com/ actually provides a download and has a much better looking logo.

I guess this means there really is a Jewish Deli Edition? An should we hold our thumbs and wait for Kabbalahabuntu with Zohar Code?

Firefox About:Config Hacks

A lifesaver. Most comprehensive posting I've seen on the subject.

http://jamsubuntu.blogspot.com/2008/09/firefox-aboutconfig-hacks.html

You can do the same for Mozilla Thunderbird

edit>preferences>advanced> config editor

In the Config Editor, search for “mailnews.thread_pane_column_unthreads” by typing it in at the top. When you see the preference, change the value from “True” to “False” by double-clicking on it, or by right clicking and changing the value. This will help you keep the threaded view stuck across the different sorting methods.

Clone your Ubuntu machine into abstraction

Work in Progress. This is an exercise. I make no claims as to the efficacy or safety of the advice. In fact, this tutorial is incomplete and should not be used under any circumstances. This is test of the early warning system. I repeat, a test.

Clone your Ubuntu machine into abstraction

This is not the same as backing up. Making a backup of anything in today's age of superfast Internet, quad-core processors and near unlimited storage space is old-fashioned. Trouble is, in the third world, we still have to deal with issues of bandwidth scarcity, lack of resource capacity and so on. Ordinary people can't backup everything, and even if they did, using any number of devices, Time Machine springs to mind, the system fails if your array is stolen, if there is a natural disaster, or if simply you run out of time. Result, no backup.

So there you sit without an exact replica of your machine. Next best thing is to reduce the sum of its parts, its totality into an abstraction, with a series of awkward maneouvres which might result in a recipe for a script which presumably could resurrect your machine from the dead.

If there was an abstraction tool, capable of cloning my machine, I would use it. As of now, there doesn't appear to be suh a device. So here is the beginning of a list of abstractions. Wish I had started out doing this to begin with, with a new installation, but with a bit of reverse engineering, I might end up with an exact replica, a clone of my own machine.

Backup Cycle

1. Backup MBR
Method One

2. Backup Grub

cp /boot/grub/menu.lst ~/new-location/menu.lst

2. Backup Software Sources

cp /etc/apt/sources.list ~/new-location/sources.list

3. Backup Markings File

4. Backup Settings.

5. Output list of installed applications
dpkg --get-selections > apps.txt

Clone Cycle

5. Author a distribution of your setup.

6. Reinstall applications from file list

dpkg --set-selections < apps.txt
dselect update
apt-get dselect-upgrade show

What have I forgotten? If you have any comments, or wish to contribute to this experiment, then please give a shout out, but under no circumstances, do I intend crashing my machine in order to find out if the plan works, at least not for now

My apps

My sources

My MBR

How to get beautiful Mac OSX quality fonts in Ubuntu

This posting from Oh my God, its still breathing, caught my attention. I haven't implemented it yet, not wanting to increase the RAM and CPU overhead on my already strained system. What is the pay-off? If you're typesetting, this could be a lifesaver, if you're just surfing, there is no real need to have every bell and whistle turned on. But nice  knowing it is possible. Also, anybody know what the Hardy Heron defaults are, or how to backup and reinstall the fontconfig safely? Methinks there is a lot more here than meets the eye, and somebody should write a nice fontconfig application -DRL

Smart autocompletion of BASH commands

I have been looking for a way to favourite my commands. Turning on Bash Smart autocompletion is a start. I found this posting at Ubuntu Blog:

The Bash shell has this sweet feature where you can use the TAB key to auto-complete certain things. For example, when I am in my home directory, the following command:

$cd Do[TAB-key]

will automatically yield:
$cd Documents

If you are an absolute novice, like I was, not so long ago, discovering tab completion in the terminal can make you go “Wow!”. Wait till you hear the rest now :)

Though you can use the TAB key to complete the names of files and directories, by default the completion is pretty “dumb”. If you have already typed $cd D you would expect that the tab key would cause only the directory names to be completed, but if I try it on my machine, the tab completion tool uses filenames too.

Now, don’t despair! There is now a smart bash tab completion trick you can use. Smart completion even complete the arguments to commands!!

To enable smart completion, edit your /etc/bash.bashrc file. Uncomment the following lines, by removing the # in the beginning of the lines:

#if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ]; then
# . /etc/bash_completion
#fi

Now you can use tab completion to power your way through commands.

You can even extend bash smart completion to your own favourite commands by using /etc/bash_completion, the “complete” utility and /etc/bash_completion.d . Explaining the nitty-gritty is beyond me. I refer you to the Debian Administration gurus for more information regarding smarter bash completion.

Thanks Carthik, I do believe this is the solution. First turn on smart autocompletion, check to see if your favourite commands autocomplete, and if not, then create a file containing these commands using the link provided.

UPDATE: Working with history in Bash

Nautilus subversion integration tool and a workbench

Found a cool Nautilus Subversion Integration tool that allows one to execute SVN commands using Gnome scripts.

sudo apt-get install nautilus-actions

Requires Zenity and Subversion.

Link to download the scripts

Also, found the SVN Workbench  from Tigris.org - Open Source Software Engineering Tools

sudo apt-get install python-svn

sudo apt-get install svn-workbench

Also a newer beta version of Nautilussvn which imitates TortoiseSVN on Windows.

Configure Pidgin to do almost anything

This is where I am putting configuration information for Pidgin

Configure for Google

Configure for Yahoo

Configure for Twitter

My one dollar contribution to FSF

It's the principle that matters. And if we can get our banking system to work, then we can make a lot more of a contribution in the future. So, my apologies for the inevitable bank charge but this is a dry run. My first contribution to the FSF -- DRL

Dear David Robert Lewis,

Thank you very much for your donation of $1.00, made on 2009-07-03.

We have successfully processed the payment. No goods or services were received in return for this donation.

The Free Software Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization, so your contribution is tax deductible in the
USA. Our Tax ID is 042-888-848.

Thank you for your support! If you have any questions about this
transaction, please contact us at .

Sincerely,

Deborah Nicholson
Membership Coordinator

Free Software Foundation Phone: (617)542-5942
51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. Fax: (617)542-2652
Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA http://my.fsf.org

Some cool consoles for Ubuntu

After struggling with a number of consoles, all of which claimed to provide the drop-down "Quake" experience, I found Yeah Console, which does exactly what it promises, nothing more, nothing less. I was pleasantly surprised, even though the installation details are not what one could call smooth sailing. If you want to grab the console, you'll have to pop over to this page

While waiting for the release of Guake for Hardy Heron, I came across Tilda, which is another nifty console, that is less of a killer app, than a good excuse to play around with an alternative to the default. Good work people, keep up the pressure on Canonical, to develop even better terminals.

Instructions for setting up YeahConsole

First, it needs to run every time you log in. So, go to System > Preferences > Session, select Startup Programs, click Add, and add a new command, name "YeahConsole", command "yeahconsole". Next, it looks a bit rubbish when you start it up. Here's how bare-bones yeahconsole is: you configure it with X resources. Party like it's 1989! I had to go look up how to do this; for the more tender in years among us, X resources were a sort of central configuration for all your apps, round about the same time that humanity was fighting off sabre-toothed tigers and wondering whether that hot flamey thing in the corner could actually be useful. On Ubuntu, you need to edit (actually, you probably need to create) a file called .Xresources in your home folder*. In that file, you put the configuration for yeahconsole, like this:

yeahconsole*toggleKey: None+F2
yeahconsole*consoleHeight: 20
yeahconsole*aniDelay: 0
yeahconsole*stepSize: 10
yeahconsole*faceName: ProFontWindows:style=Regular
yeahconsole*faceSize: 9

The toggleKey one is the important one: it sets which key you use to summon the terminal. I like F2, myself, but pick whatever. What all this stuff means is documented in the man page (man yeahconsole), apart from which font to use. This is the faceName and faceSize options above, and here you have to delve a bit (I told you this was old-fashioned; I started writing a yeahconsole-properties configuration utility that did all this for you, but couldn't be bothered). In a terminal, run fc-list. This lists all the TrueType fonts that you can use in an xterm. Choose one, and put it in faceName above. Now, simply start yeahconsole for the first time (press Alt+F2, type yeahconsole), and then press F2 (or your key of choice). Pow, a dropdown terminal, like Tilda, but one that won't keep crashing and make you cry. One other thing: if you hit Ctrl-D to log out by mistake, it'll close yeahconsole (tilda did this too), and that's really irritating. To fix this, put the following in a file called bashloop in your home folder:

#!/bin/bash
while true; do bash; done

and change your Startup Programs command above to be yeahconsole -e /home/username/bashloop. Now Ctrl-D won't close yeahconsole.

PageUp and PageDown history search auto completion on the BASH shell

The Electric Toolbox has an excellent tip on enabling your BASH history page up and page down which is a simple task because Ubuntu already contains the definitions in the /etc/inputrc file, just commented out. Thanks for pointing out some of the power behind Ubuntu.

The file looks like this by default:

...
# mappings for "page up" and "page down" to step to the beginning/end
# of the history
"\e[5~": beginning-of-history
"\e[6~": end-of-history

# alternate mappings for "page up" and "page down" to search the history
# "\e[5~": history-search-backward
# "\e[6~": history-search-forward
...

So it's just a matter of commenting out the original definitions for "\e[5~" and "\e[6~" and uncommenting the ones for history-search-backward and history-search-forward like so:


# mappings for "page up" and "page down" to step to the beginning/end
# of the history
# "\e[5~": beginning-of-history
# "\e[6~": end-of-history

# alternate mappings for "page up" and "page down" to search the history
"\e[5~": history-search-backward
"\e[6~": history-search-forward


And that's all there is to it. You need to log out and log in again for the changes to take effect.

The above makes the change global in scope and affects all users on the system.

Please visit Electric Toolbox if you want more information on making changes only for your login.

Fastest PPA fixkey method yet

This is the fastest "safe" fixkey method around, since it does not involve aliasing which strictly speaking should be kept for shortening or modifying commands that you already have in your shell, nor does it update software sources, which can slow down valuable time, especially if you have a lot of them.

1. Create a new file named ‘fixkey’ at '/usr/bin' with your favorite text editor:

sudo gedit /usr/bin/fixkey

Then, paste this code:

#! /bin/bash
echo please input your key
read KEY
apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com $KEY

2. Give the file executable privileges with this command:

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/fixkey

3. Start fixing keys using the command line by typing ‘fixkey’ [wait for prompt] [key]. See example below:

fixkey

please input your key

XXXXXXXXXXX

5. You have just fixed a PPA key via the Linux command line!

Previous threads on this subject can be found here and here.

6. Now to fix the key for the chromium-daily ppa:

fixkey

please input your key


4E5E17B5

For a more inclusive but slower method of updating keys, you might like this script from Dominic Evans, which was first noted here. If you have a lot of keys that need to be updating then I suggest you use it, at least once.


If you like my method, please let me know.

More thoughts on the alias command

The following is taken from the Linux Information Project.

For people accustomed to MS-DOS commands, the following aliases can be defined so that a Unix-like operating system appears to behave more like MS-DOS:

alias dir="ls"
alias copy="cp"
alias rename="mv"
alias md="mkdir"
alias rd="rmdir"
alias del="rm -i"

However, some experienced users of Unix-like systems contend that this may not be a good idea and that it might just make Linux seem more confusing, rather than simpler. Instead, they advocate having Linux users become accustomed to the UNIX terminology right from the start.

I have underlined the above paragraph because it seems to me there is quite a bit of conflict within the Linux community about interoperability, not simply between Dos and Linux, or Unix, but between the variants of Linux also known as distributions. At the end of the day, it is the user which suffers.

We all know about code and how some coders like keeping their code secret, while others give their code away for all the world to see. The open-source community has grown precisely on this principle of freedom and openness, but by and large, code is still in the hands of coders, and the needs of individual communities are compromised as a result. Would you really want a world in which the only novels were written by scientists, or the only music was composed by mathematicians?

The reason why Ubuntu is so successful, is not just the easy to understand shell but the personality behind the shell which appears to be benign and the shell wants us to learn along with it, and not simply to install but to compile from source. This does not mean the Ubuntu CLI is the easiest, or best shell, and BASH still suffers from being too mathematical while the Linux support is too clinical for a lot of users. (Some might say, the problem is rather one of syntax and meaning, while others might say the problem is not simply about math but which maths, and not language, but which language?)

Now imagine being able to create different schemas of commands (using aliasing) that might confer unique advantages depending upon the target user? In other words, creating a linguistic or adaptive personality behind the computer that at the end of the day allows the user to remember and grasp the concept behind the command, and therefore to make more use of the power of the command line?

Favourite your top Ubuntu commands and add fixkey

[PLEASE SEE Better PPA Fixkey Method the below is for informational purposes only.]

In Fix Software Sources Bad Behaviour we reported two methods for accomplishing the same task of fixing keys. The first, involved manually entering two lines in a terminal. The second involved one entry. Now there is a third faster method. Aliasing.

ICE20.com describes aliasing in BASH this way:

Many of us use certain commands over and over again, or we have preferred combinations of options which we always give to certain commands. We can create shortcuts to these commands by giving them an alias in our ~/.bashrc file. The format is:

alias new_name='command -options'

There are some examples provided at the above site, but the one we want to create is this:

alias fixkey='sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com'

Which will execute a command string when you type fixkey.

1. All you have to do is backup your ~/.bashrc file

cp .bashrc .bashrc.bak

2. then open it in a text editor

gedit ~/.bashrc

3. Scroll down to the relevant section.

# Alias definitions.
# You may want to put all your additions into a separate file like
# ~/.bash_aliases, instead of adding them here directly.
# See /usr/share/doc/bash-doc/examples in the bash-doc package.

#if [ -f ~/.bash_aliases ]; then
#. ~/.bash_aliases
#fi

4. Uncomment so it looks like this

if [ -f ~/.bash_aliases ]; then
. ~/.bash_aliases
fi

5 Save and exit.

Bash documentation recommends creating a separate file for aliases like this.

6. Create the  ~/.bash_aliases file

gedit ~/.bash_aliases

7. Enter the following code

alias fixkey='sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com'

8. Save and exit.

9. Refresh bash. by either logging out, closing the terminal or entering $ bash

10 To fix an errant key, using fixkey. Open Terminal

fixkey XXXXXXXX

WARNING: I  tried the above first leaving the sudo command out and entering it directly in .bashrc expecting that one should be able to simply sudo fixkey in this instance, but this merely turns up a "command not found" dialogue and so I included sudo  in the command string in order for it to execute. This might not be the case with the .bash_aliases file. Any advice on this would be welcome. please see Better PPA Fixkey Method

NOTE: I don't recommend going off and aliasing everything you do, as you terminal will quickly begin to resemble a unique creature which might bork when you install a new piece of software with the same command structure. (How exactly does this problem of potential commandline scripting conflict get resolved? For example, the above is substantially similar to the following posting at Commandlinefu. Depending on whether your starting point is the 'addition' of a key, or 'fixing' a key after the fact. Of course both fixkey and launchpadkey can coexist) Rather, I suggest we share commands at places like Commandlinefu or Ubuntu Forums and see if there is any agreement within the broader Ubuntu Community at what to do about reducing relatively complex or time-consuming CLI tasks into easy to remember, attractive or familiar commands. In fact creating more human, or themed commands using the aliasing capabilities of bash, could be the next frontier. I imagine the day when we will be sharing and exchanging CLI matrices or schemas as easily as trying on a new hat or pair of shoes. If the shoe fits, wear it, if not, give it away. - DRL


SEE Environment Variables

Customise Ubuwiki and share your files offline

A short while ago we announced the release of Ubuwiki for Africa. The idea is very simple. A lot of us take connectivity for granted. We also fail to take bandwidth considerations into account and the result is known as the Digital Divide. PDF is a great format for sharing books. Ogg-Theora is the open-source format for sharing music. WoaS or Wiki-on-a-Stick is "a wiki living in a self-modifying XHTML file". We want it to become the "MP3 of Data" or in Opensource terms, the Ogg-Theora of Data.

Originally Ubuwiki, essentially a modded WoaS "containing repurposed content" was a forked development of WoaS. The two projects have now combined forces and there are plans to develop the format even further. What we want you to do, is modify Woas or Ubuwiki and to share the modified files with your friends. Create online and offline data-sharing. Encourage users to share information with those who don't have bandwidth. Here is an example of a modification from the official WoaS forum "i use woas with this extention for tabs. i also did some dirty code modifications to use it with ie8 and embedded images. further i did some css modifications."

Zentwitter on Ubuntu

ZenTwitter is an amazing small script which is able to update twitter accounts without the need of having a browser window open all the time. It uses zenity and curl. (note: if you want to just use your terminal for tweeting see this posting)

Installation

Just dump it into your ~/bin directory, open it in the editor of your choice to change the username/password, make it executable (chmod a+x) and add a launcher icon to the panel/menu/desktop of your preferred window manager.

Download: ZenTwitter.tgz

Screenshots

Ubuntu Capistrano

This looks amazing. If you need to set-up a server, Ubuntu Machine has Capistrano recipes that will automate the setups. Now wouldn't it be amazing to see some desktop customisations coming out as Capistrano recipes? In fact I would love to reduce my entire setup to a script, and carry my Ubuntu computer around in my pocket. Or better yet, upload my data, and publish my installation which could then behave like ET and phone home?

Ubuntu International

Setting SVN through Proxy Server

Subversion is a version control system, which allows you to keep old versions of files and directories (usually source code), keep a log of who, when, and why changes occurred, etc., like CVS, RCS or SCCS. Subversion keeps a single copy of the master sources. This copy is called the source ‘‘repository’’; it contains all the information to permit extracting previous versions of those files at any time.

(copied from svn man pages)

To install svn just type this in terminal:

$ sudo apt-get intall subversion

To some setting svn through proxy server:

$ nano ~/.subversion/servers

And add this following lines:

http-proxy-host = your.proxy

http-proxy-port = 8080 #your proxy port

http-proxy-exceptions = localhost #etc

http-proxy-username = your_user

http-proxy-password = your_password

Save the file. Now your SVN will worked through your proxy server.

The other setting can be tweaked manually, just edit servers and config in the ~/.subversion directory

courtesy of Abz Notes http://abz89.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/setting-svn-through-proxy-server/

Can't enable visual effects, looking for compositing?

This stumped me. Low-budget computer with a fairly decent motherboard that has onboard graphics and I can't get the most basic compositing on my Ubuntu Hardy? Surely there is a solution that doesn't cost money? Well, if you need a compositing window manager in order to enable such things as the AWN dock and you can't enable Visual Effects in Preferences > Appearance, don't give up hope.

Metacity (Gnome's default window manager) can do compositing, though it's turned off by default. Hit alt-f2 and type "gconf-editor" and ENTER to launch the GConf editor. Under Apps > Metacity > General, put a check next to Compositing Manager and close the application.

You should find that you screen rebuilds and you can now activate AWN without having to buy a graphics card.

NOTE: In researching this, I found an alternative compositor or tool named xcompmgr which apparently provides basic compositing support and gcompmgr which is a GUI frontend. If anyone has tried comparing the two options, I would be interested in hearing from you. Metacity vs Xcomp Manager (xcompmgr)

ASCII art in Ubuntu

888          8 8                       8    8 8                 w
 8  8d8b. .d88 8 .d8b. Yb  dP 8   8    8    8 88b. 8   8 8d8b. w8ww 8   8
 8  8P Y8 8  8 8 8' .8  YbdP  8b d8    8b..d8 8  8 8b d8 8P Y8  8   8b d8
888 8   8 `Y88 8 `Y8P'   YP   `Y8P8    `Y88P' 88P' `Y8P8 8   8  Y8P `Y8P8

There are two ASCII art viewers in the repostory. Aview and Cacaview. Both are CLI programmes, so you have to open a terminal. Exploring the world of ASCII art is very 1999, but the retro-adventure is well worth the time and effort. You'll also find the venerable Lynx Browser, which is an ASCII browser for paper-thin net browsing, and a whole bunch of tools for generating ASCII images which could do with a brush up.

Try Cacafire a port of AALib's aafire which displays burning ASCII art flames or the Cacademo. Wish there was an easier method for creating ASCII video. I can't help thinking that there are lot of places which haven't been explored in the world of Alphanumerics and ASCII art is about to enjoy a resurgence as a design statement.

If you want to cut to the chase, Jerome Desmoulins website has an online ASCII art generator.

Or even better Sporkforge.com

Install figlet if you want an easy way to create ASCII "figs" on the command line.

sudo apt-get install figlet
figlet <text>

None of the above would be possible without the Ubuntu Forum discussion on the subject

31 Ubuntu HOWTOS from SayLinux

31 of the 130 Ubuntu HOWTOS from Say Linux

1. Unzip or Unrar Many Files at Once in Linux


2. Track MySQL Queries with mysqlsniffer on Ubuntu


3. Set Gmail as Default Mail Client in Ubuntu


4. Fix "Password required" Error When Using Unrar in Ubuntu


5. Add the Trash Can Icon to Your Ubuntu Desktop


6. Hide Removable Drive Icons from Your Ubuntu Desktop


7. Assign Custom Shortcut Keys on Ubuntu Linux


8. Monitor Your Website in Real-Time with Apachetop


9. Reinstall Ubuntu Grub Bootloader After Windows Wipes it Out


10. Display Number of Processors on Linux


11. Delete Files Older Than x Days on Linux


12. Upgrading Ubuntu From Edgy to Feisty (6.10 to 7.04)


13. Save 15 Keystrokes - Use Ctrl+Enter to Complete URL


14. Installing Rainlendar2 on Ubuntu


15. Install Samba Server on Ubuntu


16. Share Ubuntu Home Directories using Samba


17. Create a Samba User on Ubuntu


18. Set Windows as Default OS when Dual Booting Ubuntu


19. Change your Network Card MAC Address on Ubuntu


20. Install MySQL Server 5 on Ubuntu


21. Install MySQL Server 4.1 on Ubuntu


22. Install Subversion with Web Access on Ubuntu


23. Change the GRUB Menu Timeout on Ubuntu


24. Show the GRUB Menu by Default on Ubuntu


25. How to Customize Your Ubuntu Kernel


26. Enable Remote Desktop (VNC) on Kubuntu


27. Disable the System Beep on Ubuntu Edgy


28. Disable the Login Sound on Ubuntu


29. Install TrueCrypt on Ubuntu Edgy


30. Keyboard Shortcuts for Bash ( Command Shell for Ubuntu, Debian, Suse, Redhat, Linux, etc)


31. See What Updated Packages Are Available from Ubuntu Command Line

Rest available from Saylinux.com

Everything Ubuntu brings custom search engine

Stumbled across Everything Ubuntu quite by accident. The site appears to have been launched within the past two months and features a customised Google search engine as its main feature plus a handy page of very cool apps. Thanks to Everything Ubuntu, I found Digikam and Aptana. Now wouldn't it be amazing if we had a visual universe of Ubuntu apps to feast our eyes on? A great interface so you can just point and click, before you decide what you want to apt-get from the repos, and install?

[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="Great start to building a truly customised Ubuntu search"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_472" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="We love them, and want more!"][/caption]

Mark Shuttleworth turned into comic book character

[caption id="attachment_465" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="Everybody Loves Eric Raymond, is an irreverent often bizarre take on  Linux. This is the fourth time Mark Shuttleworth has appeared in the cartoon which has all the sensibilities of a television soapie and even less humour."][/caption]

HOWTO Resolve 32-Bit Dependencies on 64-Bit Ubuntu with getlibs

This is taken from Slack-Tux, Lazy Penguin, and is a HOWTO  by Chris Olstrom, thanks Chris.

One of the more irritating aspects of running a 64-bit distribution is that there are still a large number of applications that are not compiled as native 64-bit binaries. This leads to dependence on 32-bit libraries, and managing these 32-bit dependencies can be a nightmare. There is no shortage of users who have introduced more problems than they have solved by forcing the installation of 32-bit libraries.

Cappy has released a handy script to detect and install libraries and other dependencies for 32-bit applications on 64-bit Ubuntu GNU/Linux. Handy things it can do include fetching missing libraries either by name, and figuring out which ones are needed when presented with a given binary.

Note: This script makes use of the Debian package management system, and is unlikely to function properly on distributions that are not Debian-based.

Installing getlibs

Installation couldn’t be simpler. Download getlibs, and double-click the .deb package. If you download getlibs via Firefox, you should get an ‘Open with gdebi’ option or something equivalent. To install via commandline, try:


$ wget http://www.boundlesssupremacy.com/Cappy/getlibs/getlibs-all.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i getlibs-all.deb


Installing Libraries with getlibs

Usage is pretty straightforward. If you know the name of the library you need, you can feed it to getlibs, and it should fetch it.

$ sudo getlibs -l libogg.so.0 libSDL-1.2.so.0
Matched library libogg.so.0 to libogg0
Matched library libSDL-1.2.so.0 to libsdl1.2debian-all
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
libogg0 is already the newest version.
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libsdl1.2debian-all
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 213kB of archives.
After unpacking 20.5kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?


Alternatively, provide getlibs with the location of a given binary, and it should figure out what is missing (if anything) and install it. For example, say the binary for Second Life was located at /opt/32/secondlife/secondlife.bin:


$ sudo getlibs /opt/32/secondlife/secondlife.bin


At which point it should match any libraries that are not currently installed and fetch them, assuming they are available (see above for output example).

Sources

• http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=474790

Google Gears on Ubuntu 64bit

64bit is often poopooed by developers who wish it would simply go away, since it adds another dimension of complexity to the development process. Consequently you are bound to see posts that tell you 64bit support is not available. I found Issue335 at Code.Google.Com

James Duncan writes "I have been enticed to install Gears by the offline support in Gmail, Google Reader and Wordpress, but was unable to easily find a current build to install. To save people trawling through the net, I have listed the builds available here."

"The files are linked as XPI files, so a simple click on the links below should bring up the install dialogue. I will update this post as new versions come out."

gears-linux-x86_64-opt-05210.xpi (Current as of 18/05/09)
gears-linux-opt-05110.xpi (2/Feb/09)
gears-linux-opt-0.4.9.0.xpi (27/Jul/08)
gears-linux-opt-0.3.25.0.xpi (18/Jun/08)
gears-linux-opt-0.3.8.0.xpi (07/Mar/08)

OpenOffice.org 3.1 For Hardy, Intrepid, Jaunty

Want OpenOffice.org 3.1 for Hardy, Intrepid, or Jaunty? Open a terminal window and follow these quick steps.

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/PPA_OpenOffice.org.list

Copy and paste the following deb lines:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openoffice-pkgs/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/openoffice-pkgs/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

Follow the rest of the instructions
from Rebel Zero

http://www.rebelzero.com/ubuntu/openofficeorg-31-for-hardy-intrepid-jaunty/136#more-136

64 bit dev Chrome for Ubuntu Linux released

Mashable reports a Google Chrome release for Linux, and its a deb for Ubuntu in 32 and 64 bit. Here is the direct link to the 64bit download.

" Well the wait is finally over. Sort of. The search giant has released a buggy, crash-prone development version of Chrome for Mac and Linux (download it here if you dare). Of course, most eager users will probably be very confused by the “DON’T DOWNLOAD THEM” warning Google added to this Chrome release.

In a blog post today, Google stated that they are releasing this version so that developers can play with the release, provide Google with bug reports, and help them solve issues. Google specifically stated the following:

“In order to get more feedback from developers, we have early developer channel versions of Google ChromeGoogle Chrome reviews for Mac OS X and Linux, but whatever you do, please DON’T DOWNLOAD THEM! Unless of course you are a developer or take great pleasure in incomplete, unpredictable, and potentially crashing software.

How incomplete? So incomplete that, among other things , you won’t yet be able to view YouTube videos, change your privacy settings, set your default search provider, or even print.”

Fix software sources bad behaviour

Every now and then you will run into the problem of not having the correct keys for the software sources that you enter into Synaptic. A lot of the time, this is because nobody bothered to give them to you, or you just haven't figured out how to request them using gpg.

This is what the error looks like:

W: GPG error: http://ppa.launchpad.net hardy Release:
The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key
is not available: NO_PUBKEY EF4186FE247510B

Fixing this is simple. Open a terminal and replace the word KEY in both lines with the key you want to get (for example, EF4186FE247510BE). Do this for each key.

Code:

gpg --keyserver hkp://subkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys KEY
gpg --export --armor KEY | sudo apt-key add -

Then

Code:

sudo apt-get update

Works like magic. Thank you to Michy99 from Ubuntu Forums for pointing this out. I also found a method for querying keyservers and adding keys from the index the long way. The tutorial is at RebelZero.Com and it is probably more security conscious than the above method.

UPDATE: I found a one line method for rectifying the problem. A lot faster than either of the above methods.

Allaun recommends using the NO_PUBKEY value (e.g. C5E6A5ED249AD24C) to add the key with the following command.

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com C5E6A5ED249AD24C

Gaybuntu released

Freedom means infinite customisation and the Ubuntu community has been quick to cater to diversity with specialised distros for all manner of niche markets. So it was only a matter of time before Gaybuntu, or unofficial "GLBT Linux" came along. Produced by Gaylinux, yes Gaylinux does sound better, GLBT Ubuntu can be downloaded  from http://gaylinux.googlepages.com/home



"This is the first gay linux testing release based on the very stable release of Ubuntu Jaunty and Linux Mint. I hope you find the operating system pleasant to use as we strive as a community to make it a beautiful, simple linux experience.  Please tell me what you like or don't like,  and I will take your consideration seriously.


For ease of use I removed compiz for it was interfering with some video overlay, and open office. I replaced open office with abiword and gnumeric. I also added frozen bubble and made some nice backgrounds for aislriot card game. There is an increase in performance as a result. I created a purple theme just for GBLT Linux and added some nice backgrounds," says the maintainer Bret Colin

Good Luck Bret.

Cool app of the week

Wallpaper Tray is one of those cool apps that just does its thing without needing much assistance. It adds functionality to the desktop by allowing one to automatically change wallpaper on startup or at timed intervals. While this kind of thing is not new, this is by far the best applet I have found in this category. It sits nicely in the toolbar where you can configure it by right clicking. It will also show which wallpaper is selected and is an easy way to change wallpaper when needed. The only quibble I have is that it doesn't appear to have the ability to set different wallpapers for different desktops, which would have been nice. Nevertheless, a good piece of work from dark project studios. Oh, and before I forget, there is a great set of free darkwave wallpapers if you're looking to add some mystery on the desktop.

sudo apt-get install wallpaper-tray

http://www.darkproject.com/

Meditating Koala

[caption id="attachment_409" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Even better karma"][/caption]

Its nice to see the Ubuntu community getting creative in the run-up to Karmic Koala. After the rather dull Jackalope we could be in for a treat.

posters/wallpapers are available on the Ubuntu Wiki

[caption id="attachment_407" align="alignleft" width="297" caption="Ubuntu has good Karma"][/caption]

Nelson Mandela explains concept of Ubuntu

I'm posting this because some users don't get it. Before Ubuntu was an operating system, it was a way of life. It still is for a lot of people and the OS merely encapsulates the vision and dream of a world in which we share a common humanity and express ourselves through community, sharing, and freedom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Experience_ubuntu.ogg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_%28philosophy%29

Wouldn't it be nice if this video was actually hosted here? Videopress is Wordpress' new upgrade feature only  costs 59.97 credits per year. If you would like to assist Indlovu by helping us to upgrade, please let us know and we can figure out an exchange.

Is Ubuntu Appcentre end of the road for FOSS?

[caption id="attachment_373" align="alignleft" width="230" caption="Is this the future of Ubuntu?"][/caption]

THERE appears to be a good deal of talk surrounding Canonical plans for an Appcentre that would double as an Appstore. Yes, that's right, it would seem the clamour from the commercial side of the developer community, those who do things in real-world terms that involve money, is rising.

Nelson Mandela's principle number 1 which has driven development until now, could end-up being sidelined in the process. Instead of freeing us, Ubuntu could end up putting users in jail -- Will Ubuntu become a Robben Island of free software? Will free and open access  in an unrestricted and unrestrained fashion be discontinued, in favour of Alcatraz? The new super-Appcentre being touted by developers might just destroy Ubuntu and FOSS as we know it, as  if Canonical dumps Synaptic in favour of an Apple-inspired Appstore.

Cool highway to freedom ubuntu poster

This amazing poster by Hannes Pasqualini was released as an open source file which anybody can print. It  has now been rereleased and is an example of the ingenuity and frontier spirit that can be found on the Ubuntu forums. Unfortunately, as Ubuntu becomes more mainstream, so too the issues which are tackled. The result is that  Ubuntu is starting to lose some of its uniqueness and is in danger of turning into Microsoft Windows. Instead of focusing on pie-in-the-sky ideas like cloud computing, Ubuntu should rather make an effort to produce amazing software, taking some of the code-base which is already in Linux and making this more user-friendly. Then it will stand a chance of beating Microsoft. The highway to freedom is open, but what we do with it, will determine our future, and the future of coming generations. What will you leave behind for those who come after you? What will they find when they surf the Internet? Download the source file and print yourself a copy. Distribute it, or translate it into your home language. Here is the link to the original posting.

Ubuntu books

[caption id="attachment_335" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="Ubuntu spawns an industry"][/caption]

In the interest of fairness, openness and access to information I publish the following link where you can download PDFs of the above books. Please support the publishers by buying the original print editions. It is way nicer to have one in your hand, but for those who live in the third world, the economics does not make any sense.

Shareyard Forum

Ubuntu men tattooed by Linux

Some Ubuntu humans choose to take things a robot step further. Not for everybody or  the faint-hearted, tattoos are a what could be considered, a more permanent expression of ones admiration for or devotion to the Ubuntu way of life. Consider this a sub-culture or branch of the original fork or as one earthling put it:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tattoo
sudo: command not found

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="South African Ubuntu fan, Denham Coote"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="Ubuntu human Chris Powell has his backwards?"][/caption]

Hello Kitty Ubuntu theme

[caption id="attachment_318" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Hello Kitty meets Ubuntu"][/caption]

Download Hello Kitty Ubuntu theme

Coolest applet ever.

Workrave assists in the prevention and recovery of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Not only is it a simple gadget that nests in the toolbar,  but it also provides an attractive post-Jane Fonda avatar who guides you with some amazing exercises which you can do in front of your monitor. You can set the work intervals and I can't recommend this applet highly enough. It not only relieves boredom but revives ones body, thereby preventing RSI. The wisdom path of Indlovu is surely working.

[caption id="attachment_314" align="alignleft" width="424" caption="Time for coffee break"][/caption]

sudo apt-get install workrave

Ubuntu not Pokemon

Licensed under CC Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Generic by xkcd.com

Ubuntu women

Ubuntu is not just for geeks. It is for humans, and that includes women too. If you're not offended by gender issues and the occasional sexist joke,  then take a look at the way people are learning to express themselves  in the Ubuntu Community. I think these images are positive,  life-affirming and not in the least way degrading.

[caption id="attachment_294" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Ubuntu women from Ubuntu China"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="Ubuntu taking over the world"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_296" align="alignleft" width="321" caption="Setting fire to Windows"][/caption]

Funny manuals in Ubuntu

Ubuntu has a dearth of easter eggs, but every now an then one pops along. I first came across the "man baby" on an Indian blog sometime in 2008 with no reference to the funny man pages. Trawling the Internet in search of Ubuntu, I found it again at www.junauza.com but with the software references in tact. I republish the posting  here for your pleasure. Thank you junauza.

Are you feeling a little down lately? Why not open a Linux terminal and read some man pages. Well, not those man pages that can sometimes make our head spin. I'm talking about the funny man pages that will make you laugh out loud.

But first, you have to install the 'funny-manpages' package via Synaptic Package Manager (assuming you are using Ubuntu).

Just look for 'funny-manpages':

Keeping Ubuntu organic

Ubuntu, the human face of linux is supposed to be organic, right? Well folks, by the looks of things it would seem Mark Shuttleworth is caving into pressure from the anti-brown mob and the next release could end up being green or blue.

No kidding. Eucalyptus is like green bamboo.  But here is a reason why sticking to the organic look and feel makes sound marketing sense. Ubuntu is an African philosophy. Attaching Nelson Mandela's principle number 1 to the Linux kernel has made Ubuntu Linux the world's number 1 Linux distribution. Why dump Madiba in favour of some digital lager lout?

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="425" caption="Christ on the Desktop"][/caption]

There are bound to be trials and tribulations, tests of the audacity of hope which has lead to an African distro going where no other distros have gone before.

Is Ubuntu Satanic version taking over?

I'm posting this to make a point about the difference between matt and gloss and high-gloss.  Ever since the unofficial Ubuntu Satanic Version debacle, created in response to the unofficial Christian and Muslim editions, there has been a trend towards increasing the amount of red used in the distribution (as opposed to orange) and the creep of what I call shiny-stuff syndrome.

The appeal of the matt Gnome environment is precisely the fact that it is not glossy KDE.  Yes, I know there is a bit of gloss in some of the Gnome themes available, but you know what happens when you go all shiny? First it's gloss, then ultragloss, then transparency and before you know it, matt disappears completely. So an appeal to developers. Please keep the matt finishes for those who like their gloss turned off.

As for that horrible Jaunty logon screen, straight out of Satanic version. I vote it gets bumped in favour of a more human approach to logo design. Anything except the oh so predictable 3D logo above and its near cousin, the "fat" logo below which is now in Jaunty.

Also, for those you haven't noticed the shift in themes. Yellow seems like it is turning into Gold. Orange is becoming Red, and Red is becoming Black, and so the trend would appear to be away from the muted tones of the "human face of linux" along with the messianic, organic environmentalism of the "Christian Edition" which has now cornered the market on fresh brown, towards just plain ugly. Should the Satan-influenced gamers be let in charge? Not.

I say we  snatch Ubuntu away from the Devi before its too latel and keep some of that cool Christ brown organic for ourselves. More later.

[caption id="attachment_268" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Unofficial Satanic Version logo"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_269" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Unofficial Satanic Version logon"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Jaunty  displaying similar characteristics as  Satanic Edition"][/caption]

Ubuntu wallpapers

There are two sites where you can go to if you want to find wallpapers for the best Linux distribution in the world. Ubuntu Art-Work and Wallpaper Linux.

Wallpaper Linux has a good collection.

[caption id="attachment_241" align="alignleft" width="120" caption="Ubuntu sunshine"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_242" align="aligncenter" width="120" caption="Penguin Ubuntu"][/caption]

Cool Ubuntu application

Shutter is a cool feature-filled screenshot tool that demonstrates what is going right in the Ubuntu world (and what is going wrong). While one cannot fault shutter and its simple and effective functionality, the application was basically a gtk front-end for scrot, until poor scrot got dropped altogether in favour of a new back-end.

sudo apt-get install shutter

I can hear the stifled laughter as reviewers remark on the long linguistic journey from the locker-room to the desktop only to be dumped in favour of advanced features that include plugins.  Yes,  Shutter (formerly gscrot) is a new-wave of power-linux application building on the incremental progress being made in the wider developer community, hey, it even got things right in the Ubuntu menu department by correctly filing itself under accessories (much to our delight) but here's the thing. Shutter deserves not just accolades, and its new name, but could also do with a personality.

Is there anyway out of this development conundrum that isn't simply finding better names and features for applications? Mozilla Labs personas for example add customisation to the satisfactory and comfortable interface we know as Firefox. Surely the same can be done for so many applications in Ubuntu that suffer from weird names and a general lack of personality?

[caption id="attachment_231" align="alignleft" width="255" caption="Firefox with Groovy Blue persona. Screenshot taken using shutter."][/caption]

Ubuntu is about sharing and community. It is also about freedom, individuality and choices.

http://shutter-project.org/