Disabling Xv in video players

If you're like me and have an old laptop with an ancient video card you may find Movie Player quitting even with a new installation of Karmic.

All you need to do is disable Xv in your video players and use X11 instead. Its a bug in older GPU drivers causing this.

To do this for each of the main media players:

(helpful howto taken from here(clicky) (http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-513822.html))
GSTREAMER:
For Totem with the gstreamer backend (totem-gstreamer) open a terminal and type gstreamer-properties
Then click the Video tab and under Default Output select X Window System (No Xv) for the plugin. Then restart Totem. This will work for any video application that uses gstreamer as it's video backend.

MPLAYER:
If you use MPlayer (GMplayer) right-click on the screen and select Preferences then select the Video tab and under Available Drivers select X11 (XImage/Shm)
then restart MPlayer. The issue here is that it won't go fullscreen with the video. I suggest using VLC or totem-gstreamer.

XINE:
If you use Xine then go to File -> Configure -> Preferences.
(make sure under experience_level you select Master Of The Known Universe)
You will get a tab at the top for Video. Under driver select xshm. Then restart Xine. This also works if you are using the totem-xine backend. Just run gxine at the terminal and follow the steps.

VLC:
For VLC select Settings -> Preferences then in the bottom-right of the window check the Advanced Options box. Then expand the Video item on the left and select Output modules. Then in the list on the right for Video output module change it to X11 video output. Then restart VLC

Big Brover to the rescue

Definitely my favourite site of the week. Big Brover solved one of the nagging problems I experience  in Karmic - How to remove ppas that are installed via the new quicker method. That's right, they don't end up in ye olde sources.list and need special attention at the command line. Big Brover explains how to install ppa-purge, a utility which will regain control over your system.

http://bigbrovar.aoizora.org/index.php/2010/01/10/how-to-safely-remove-ppa-repository-from-ubuntu

Another post which caught my attention was A for Artha, the awesome offline dictionary for linux which is a great aid for Ubuntu users on low-bandwidth.

Nautilus Reconstructed

There are a number of posts doing the rounds on ways to overhaul or improve the Nautilus file manager:

http://www.design-by-izo.com/2010/02/27/deconstructing-nautilus-and-rebuilding-it-better/

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/01/nautilus-simple-install-ppa-streamlined.html

And for OSX converts moving to Ubuntu. All we really need is Nautilus + Clutterflow.

Needless to say I am extremely excited by the development occuring in Nautilus, even if the approaching Gnome-Shell represents somewhat of a crisis. It will be at least another year before Gnome-Shell is anywhere near the kind of stability required in a maturing distribution like Ubuntu. I therefore encourage people to see Gnome-Shell as another desktop option rather than the solution for gnome and to continue with Nautilus development. I especially like designer Izo's approach to journaling and there are lot of issues such as implementing a common set of mouse gestures across common multimedia applications which would facilitate productivity. Why should one bother saving multimedia files for instance? Why waste time in the file menu when we could be pointing and clicking? Just some of the issues which need common libraries and standards.

Snow leopard lynx vs African carakul lynx

The African caracul lynx has a lot going for it. Raw speed, agility, aerodynamics versus the Canadian lynx, which lacks the speed, but makes up with a fashionable coat and processing power. Which do you prefer Ubuntu with or without the bloatware?

[caption id="attachment_1116" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="Speedy African caracal"]

[/caption]

Snow Leopard Lynx?

Is Ubuntu going grey?

News that the popular Human theme is about to be dropped in Lucid has unleashed a style-war amongst the community. After Another Ubuntu reported Mark Shuttleworth's comments at the recent Ubuntu Openweek:

...we'll have some new styling which is going to be the starting point of another five year view. We've been Human for the last five years and now we're gonna be light oriented.

Speculation began that the replacement would resemble the Elementary theme being touted by designers at OMG!Ubuntu. While Elementary is a knock-em-dead linux style statement, it closely resembles OSX and there are slicker themes like eHomoSapien available.

Ubuntu, whose motto is "Linux for human beings" has on occasion veered off into fashion conscious Orange and devilish Red in order to escape the Big Blue of Microsoft/IBM and other distributions.

Dumping the trademark human theme which in Karmic is chocolate brown might just tear the community apart if it is not done with enough forethought and consultation. Exchanging Brown for Grey could also alienate ardent supporters in the third world, and one can only hope that eHomoSapien makes it past the Elementary level while giving users more default options.The thing about Ubuntu is the OS is instantly recognizable --  as Ubuntu becomes more popular (Ubuntuforums recently gained its 1 millionth member) the tendency to emulate the frontrunner, OSX may just sow confusion and work against us. Will Lucid be Snow Leopard Linux?

The Ubuntu community invariably charts its own path, instead of measuring the OS  against Windows 7 and OSX, we could just take a quantum leap forward with Lucid by catering for the fashion conscious as well as those who believe brown is retro, organic and still cool.

Ubuntu OS is all about putting Africa inside the machine. Finding the missing element in technology or as Brian Eno once said: The trouble with computers, there is not enough Africa in them.

NOTE: a couple of days after writing this post I found this posting on Tech Source from Bohol published the day after my posting

http://www.junauza.com/2010/02/ubuntu-goin-gray-like-mac-os-way.html

If penguins could fly

Love this Linux freedom insert. Somebody should try turning the critters into Ubuntu with shiki colours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDOL7_7DB7k&feature=player_embedded

Karmic U8UNTU CD arrives

The changing face of Ubuntu. Note the latest wording on the inside sleeve.

[caption id="attachment_1097" align="alignleft" width="294" caption="Speedy 9.10 with Orange Tang"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1098" align="alignleft" width="288" caption="Latest version of the Ubuntu four promises?"][/caption]