CLIcompanion and Cheatsheet

Although U8UNTU eLXR's much vaunted migration to Blogetery.Com appears to have run aground, with the site disappearing off the Bermuda Triangle -- word only now reaches us about the server getting impounded by authorities for copyright violations related to free and open source software -- we can still report about two amazing command line / console apps. Both fit the bill for "wish I had this when I started out" with the new fangled Ubuntu craze featuring. Return to the Command Line by the Open Source Kid.

CLIcompanion




You can get CLIcompanion by running the following command in a Terminal:

bzr branch lp:~duanedesign/+junk/clicompanion

Move the .clicompanion file found in the clicompanion directory into your $HOME. You may need to select View –> Show hidden files (Ctrl +H) to see the .clicompanion file.
After moving the file return to the Terminal and run the following to move into the clicompanion directory:

cd clicompanion/

Start the application with the command:

python clicompanion.0.0.7.py

THANKS okiebuntu

2. Cheatsheet

A console app which pretty much does the same thing, but from the command line.


You can get the cheatsheet code with the command:

bzr branch lp:cheatsheet

then move into the directory
cd cheatsheet/
Make the file executable:
chmod +x cheatsheet.py
Then move it to one of your $PATH directories. You can view these with the command: echo $PATH
I chose /usr/local/bin/ for the next command
Move the file with the command:
sudo cp cheatsheet.py /usr/local/bin/cheat
Then from a Terminal you can view the command usage by running:
cheat --help

FOSS server terminated by law enforcement

IT appears the server which hosted blogetery.com got terminated for copyright infringement over the weekend. That's right, law enforcement officials from an as yet unnamed domain have killed the blogetery server while U8UNTU was migrating.The server owned and operated by BurstNet, the service providers for Blogetery.Com which provides free and paid services to over 75000 blogs, had its plug pulled and was "terminated by request of law enforcement officials, due to material hosted on the server."

"We are limited as to the details we can provide to you, but note that this was a critical matter and the only available option to us was to immediately deactivate the server." said a spokesperson for BurstNet

You can view the correspondence here

Blogetery.Com appear to be contesting the decision, which was "made without consultation or notification", and done supposedly "according to terms in the contract between the ISP and the site".

Speculation remains as to whether or not the server may have been impounded by forensics looking for illegal operating system junkies.

They will have no doubt have a good time sifting through my postings on FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

The blogetery domain went quiet early Saturday morning with thousands of blogs, including this one, getting booted off the map, and only by Wednesday today was there the following a redirect message:

"After being BurstNet customer for 7 months our server was terminated without any notification or explanation.

"We're trying to resolve the situation"

"You can find details in this thread on webhostingtalk forum."


If you are one of the many blog owners left stranded by this summary execution of a local law enforcement demand without reference to international law.. Then U8UNTU eXLR would like to hear from you.

Sip-Communicator - latest Ubuntu sip phone

Sip-communicator promises to be easier, better, and more open than the competition. I've only just installed it but it looks like a winner.

Add this PPA:

deb http://download.sip-communicator.org/deb unstable/

Then go to a terminal and type the following commands:-

apt-get update

apt-get install sip-communicator-keyring

apt-get install sip-communicator

Then go into Applications -> Internet -> SIP Communicator

THANKS: John Lewis

(For more instructions and a better tutorial)

Some extraordinary Ubuntu games

1. Install OpenTTD

[caption id="attachment_1991" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Low resolution, but fun"][/caption]

Found this great free gaming site, which nspired me to install the latest OpenTTD. In other words, the FREE version of Transport Tycoon Deluxe.

OpenTTD is the best of both worlds -- from previous recollections, LinCity was a poor contender next to the more popular & commercial SimCity and my initial reaction was -- you expect me to actually like 4bit colour? OpenTTD seems to have improved on the lot of Unix and Linux freaks who demand better graphics, (retro is only cool if you play Atari) and we can only hope it gets better.

You can either download the new deb from OpenTTD site or use the old one in the Ubuntu repos.

After installing it, you will have to install a few extra files.

You  can also use your original Transport Tycoon Deluxe data files (translation: you need to own a Transport Tycoon Deluxe CD) or use the free alternatives:

download OpenGFX, download OpenSFX and download OpenMSX.

Unstuff and move them into your /usr/share/games/openttd/data folder:

sudo mv <file> /usr/share/games/openttd/data

Now comes the interesting part. Once you start up OpenTTD.

Set the  resolution.

If you have a high end card, you might be a tad disappointed, play around a bit.  (Okay its not exactly  high-res utopia compared to Eternalands and Openlife), but it has its charms.

For starters, the ability to download extra modules ( I downloaded the Netherlands and Swiss Alps) which means you can share landscapes. Being open source, this  feature results in a hackers paradise and great place for kids.

If we can coax the developers to embrace a higher resolution: millions of colours as opposed to thousands, we could be on to something.

Considering its open source, I am sure this will happen soon. Better palettes for instance change the tonality of the resulting image landscape.

I rather like watching the end result of a couple of days of gaming. The  sheer complexity of the finished worlds means there could just be a new fad in sharing virtual real estate. Think about it. Do you really want to waste time building a cybertopia? Get the virtual architects out there to create one for you. Test the results -- which are bound to be more like art and less like a geography lesson, for which OpenTTD excels.

2.Install Osmos demo

This is a killer game and the demo has two introductory levels. Wish I had the $10 needed to burn the full version (translates into R80 which for me is two bags of groceries).

Download the latest osmos demo deb

3. Play Wormux

Amazing how some games evolve, from virtually nothing into virtual worlds on their own? Wormux is really looking stunning. Be warned its a 95mb download.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wormux/ppa

4. World of Goo Demo

When I first heard some geeks raving about World of Goo, I searched around the Net which looked like one giant sales pitch. Trawling through some of my RSS  subscriptions via Google Reader, I found a more sober appraisal,  along with the link to the demo.  A free sample which deploys the physics engine of my NVIDIA 8400GS.

Blogetery down, U8UNTU eLXR migration fail.

First it was Bundublog. Barely three months after migrating from Wordpress.com I was back after the Bundublog server went down, taking all my postings with it. Needless to say, the only backups for the period were in the Google cache and management failed to reinstate the blog after backups of the entire site also turned out to be corrupt.

Now the migration to Blogetery.com appears to be going pear-shaped. Just one posting and I am back here trying to figure out what is going on.

[caption id="attachment_1978" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Blogetery MIA"][/caption]

This says it all

According to a number of www test domain sites, blogetery is down, and not just for me. I even ventured out of my living room this afternoon and took the bold step of using an Internet Cafe. Result: blogetery.com for Internet Cafe users on old blue Microsfot XP along with my new blog, MIA.

I am therefore posting a reward for anybody finding it:  Yes a years supply of Free and Open Source Software, (and your mother dresses you funny.)

[caption id="attachment_1988" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="It's not just me."][/caption]

New links

Debian Screenshots - great site which catalogues  debian-based software

Tunesviewer -- listen and watch itunes university podcasts in Ubuntu

Deb-Thumbnailer places a software icon next to deb package.

U8UNTU eLXR has a new home

After some two years at Wordpress.com its time to move on. The lack of revenue-sharing while ads are automatically posted by Wordpress.com next to our content ways heavily on this decision. Not only is Blogetery a less closed system, it has a lot more theme options and plugins as well as a 75% revenue sharing model which makes the platform sustainable as well as financially rewarding content-producers. The days of producing content for free, at least so far as the media platform is concerned, are over. Nevertheless we will continue to produce content on free software and free culture. Readers win, while Advertisers pay in a win-win situation. I am sure you agree.

Readers please click the link below to our new home.

http://u8untu.blogetery.com

While we are renovating, please feel free to submit proposals for a new header/logo.

Regards
David Robert Lewis

U8UNTU eLXR