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Ubuntu Linux
I was a complete beginner when I began playing around with Ubuntu Linux about 22 months ago. I started with Version 6.06.1 (Dapper Drake) and recently migrated to the newest version, Hardy Heron 8.04. It's installed on an old computer and running on my home network. I also run Compiz Fusion. Compiz is eye candy for Linux and offers a variety of desktop themes, some of which are as nice as the Vista Aero theme or anything Apple is doing. Compiz is built into Ubuntu, starting with the latest 7.10 release. I've upgraded that "old" computer a bit since I first threw it together. Linux does not require state of the art processors and a gob of ram. I believe Ubuntu will run just fine with 128 MB. I've added another hard drive because I've ripped my entire collection of CD's and serve music from my Linux box to my home network. I find myself using my Linux machine most of the time now. Anyway, the specs of my Ubuntu computer are as follows:
Ubuntu Brainstorm Brainstorm is a new site where everyone can submit and vote on ideas for Ubuntu. It's inspired by Dell's Ideastorm. By default, you see the ideas submitted by the community sorted by popularity. Each idea is accompanied by arrows so you can vote it up or down (you have to log in first). You can only click once per idea. So this is an easy way to submit ideas and see what people are really wanting. Arctic Pro64 Cooler a Real Winner I've owned a lot of coolers and heat sinks over the years and the Arctic Pro I purchased for this system has to be the best, bar none! It's large, has a 92mm fan that runs very quietly and it does the damned job. Keeps things cool. Not hard to install, no need to remove the motherboard. I'm not the habit of shilling anyone's products but this is a good one. If you are in the market for a fan/heat sink, check this line out. Network Printer Set-Up I had trouble setting up my HP 5P network printer that runs on a HP Jetdirect 300X print server. I was able to fix this with the help of some folks on the Ubuntu Users Forum. I'm running Ubuntu 8.04. To start with, under "Printing" I checked "detect LAN printers" and then add new printer. Then I selected UNIX printers LPD. The host is the fixed address of my printer 192.168.1.XXX, for queue name I entered the name of my print server, HP Jetdirect 300X. I then selected my HP printer in the next dialogue box, then applied. Works perfectly! Broken Xorg - Ubuntu Gutsy and earlier I've managed to break my xserver-xorg a couple of times through upgrades from Ubuntu and while installing Nvidia's drivers for my video card. Here's the fix. After getting the warning about broken xorg, answer yes or ok until you get to the password line. Enter your password and then type: sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg You'll be presented with a variety of screens that are fairly self explanatory. Answer the questions with a yes or no or with the particulars about your system. If you use a Nvidia video card and have previously downloaded Nvidia's drivers for your card, then your driver is "nvidia". If you use the drivers from the Ubuntu repositories, use "nv". Finish all screens until you're back in command prompt, reboot and all should be well. Ubuntu Tweak - Ubuntu Gutsy and earlier Ubuntu Tweak is an
application designed to make configuring Ubuntu easier for
everyone. It provides many useful desktop and system options that
the default desktop environment doesn't. At present, It is only
designed for the Ubuntu GNOME Desktop. It is similar to the Windows
Tweak IU program but presently doesn't offer as many options. It is
worth downloading and using.
OpenDNS OpenDNS is a service providing free, fast name servers. By default, most users are using the name server of their ISP. These name servers can be slow. I wholeheartedly recommended using OpenDNS to speed up your internet. Not just for Linux but for any operating system. The service also provides phishing blocking. Complete installation instructions provided at OpenDNS. There is one problem with OpenDNS that has now been rectified. When I enabled OpenDNS in my router, my Linux computer (at least mine running Ubuntu 6.10) was no longer be able to connect to my home network. So, here's how I fixed this. First, I changed a line in my smb.conf file which is part of Samba. name resolve order=bcast I also added the address of my router to my hosts file. Everything has been working just fine since. No Network Multimedia Streaming with Ubuntu Edgy Eft For some unknown reason, the default installation of Ubuntu 6.10 prevents the streaming of network multimedia files. The previous release, Dapper Drake did not have this problem. At any rate, here's the fix for Edgy Eft. This will enable streaming using Totem. It doesn't work with XMMS. Edit the smb-module.conf file in folder /etc/gnome-vfs-2.0/modules From: smb: [daemon] libsmb To: smb: libsmb Stop and then restart Samba and you're good to go. Using the Latest Non-Repo Nvidia Video Driver with Beryl NOTE: Beryl and Compiz have merged and Beryl no longer exists as Beryl If you decide to use a newer nvidia driver than the one that you get with the Ubuntu repositories, you may find that your Beryl display no longer shows controls on active windows. If you run or upgrade to a nvidia 6 series or newer card you likely need to install a new driver. If you find you have this problem, you'll need to do two things. Both involve modifying your xorg.conf file. The file is located at /etc/X11/xorg.conf From a terminal window type; sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf Make sure you first make a back-up! When the file opens, check to make sure that your default screen depth is 24. Secondly, you'll need to add these 2 lines to the screen section; Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals"
"True" Save the file and restart your computer. Beryl should be functioning correctly once again. I hesitate to recommend Automatix anymore. There may be other issues other than the one described above and, with the release of Ubuntu 7.10, it really isn't even needed anymore. (at least with Ubuntu) Want to Play Online Poker in Linux? The best software I've found is Poker Stars. It's runs great. It installs and runs with Wine. You'll need to have Wine installed on your system. In Ubuntu, Wine is available through the Add/Remove Software applet or Synaptic. |
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