If you mess up your display...

In messing with my display settings, I killed everything. I found two actions helpful in getting it back to normal:
First, I had a screen with no command prompt. To get one, press Ctrl+Alt+F1
Second, to get the interactive display setup, type: sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

Grip Settings

I've recently switched to Grip after having problems with Sound Juicer. I encode to mp3 using lame and VBR settings. To use Grip, download "grip" and "lame" using synaptic. For the settings, I referenced the following pages: Grip Configurations (which list switches used below), Lame switches, a HOWTO from the ubuntu forums (be sure to read the whole thing for the full story), and Musicbrainz FreeDBGateway instructions. With this information, I set up Grip in the following way:
1. Go to the Grip config tab
2. Under the Rip settings, I only changed where the ripped filed were stored. Therefore, I changed the default to: ~/rip/%A/%d/%n.wav
3. Under the Encode settings, I first changed the Encoder to "lame." I then changed the Encoder command-line to: -V 1 --vbr-new %w %m
The first part (-V 1 --vbr-new) contains lame switches which are described in the lame page listed above. Note that the "1" can be changed to whatever you like between 0 and 9. The differences are descirbed here. The second part (%w %m) are grip switches and, according to the HOWTO listed above, should not be changed.
4. I next changed the "Encode file format" line to: ~/music/%A/%d/%t - %A - %d - %n.%x
The first part (~/music), like in the Rip settings, tells it where to store the encoded mp3's. Everything after describes the sub-directories within ~/music and the sonn to be encoded mp3 file name. A description of what these mean can be found by looking at the switches section of the Grip page listed above.
5. Then under the options sub-tab of Encoder settings, I unchecked all references to m3u's as I don't use them.
6. Next, under the ID3 tab, I checked the "Add ID3 tags" box.
7. Next, under the DiscDB tab, I made the default "freedb.freedb.org" my secondary server by simply copy and pasting it from the DBServer line in primary server tab to the same in the secondary server tab. I then changed the DBServer line in the primary server tab to "freedb.musicbrainz.org" All else stayed the same. This is so it checks the Musicbrainz database first. The DBServer line to use was found on the Musicbrainz site listed above.
8. Finally, in the Misc tab, I checked "Do not lowercase filenames" and "Do not change spaces to underscores" This was done for obvious reasons.

Restricted Formats on Feisty

The best thing that I've found about Feisty so far is the grouping of the restricted formats into one file. To get the them, simply download and install the "ubuntu-restricted-extras" packages using synaptic. This will cover the gstreamer plugins, flash, jre, and msttcorefonts. You will still need to get libdvdread3, libdvdcss2, and libxine1-ffmpeg separately for dvd's and mp3's. libdvdcss2 comes from the medibuntu repository. See the instructions here regarding medibuntu. There is a link on the right to the key and the new apt line for feisty is:
deb http://medibuntu.sos-sts.com/repo/ feisty free non-free

Getting Rid of Default Keyring/nm-applet Message

I kept getting a message requesting me to type in my default keyring password for nm-applet whenever I logged into Feisty. To get rid of it, do the following which will log in the keyring password automatically:
1. Make sure the default keyring manager password is the same as the root password. If not, delete default.keyring from you home/.gnome2/keyrings/ directory. When you log into Feisty again, it will prompt you to make a new one. When it does, make it the same as your root login.
2. Download and install libpam-keyring using synaptic.
3. Bring up an editor for /etc/pam.d/gdm. For example, type the following into a terminal: sudo gedit /etc/pam.d/gdm
4. Add the following to the end of the file: @include common-pamkeyring
5. Save the gdm file and exit the editor.

Feisty Guide

Feisty has been released. Therefore, I have updated the Ubuntu Guide link on the side. The Ubuntu Guide site links to previous versions if you need them.

Ubuntu Magazine

Check out the new Ubuntu Magazine (articles listed at the bottom of the wiki page). It's sure to be a useful site for instructions.

DVD Burning Apps

So far, I have been using k9copy for shrinking and ripping and brasero (previously bonfire) for straight ripping, however, there are many others. Plus, k9copy is native to KDE even though it will run on gnome. Therefore, check Assente's list of the "10 Best" linux DVD ripping applications.

Deleting Themes

Here's a good post on how to delete themes. (See the post referring to the "how to install anything" page on how to install themes) Basically, to uninstall a theme such as Mist, run the following command:
sudo rm -R /usr/share/themes/Mist

However, some themes are in your home folder in the .themes directory. So change that in the command above.

Another way is to start nautilus under root by running the following command:
sudo nautilus
Then go to the .themes directory in your home folder or /usr/share/themes/ and delete the appropriate theme folder from there.

Connecting to a Network Drive on Startup

This post is mostly drawn from the Ubuntu Starter Guide directions with some modifications and assumes you already have Samba set up (see previous post on file sharing). You also want to set a mount point on your local computer for the shared directory. To do this, pick a name for the folder (I'll choose Storage) and type this into a terminal:
sudo mkdir /media/Storage

Then you want to edit /etc/fstab by adding a line for the network folder as shown below. The formula should be:
(network location) (mount point) (filesystem) (options) (0) (0)

So assuming my shared folder is named Bob and is on my desktop named Ugly, and assuming that the mount point on my local computer is at /media/Storage, then the fstab entry would be as follows:
//ugly-desktop/Bob /media/Storage smbfs defaults,users,dmask=777,fmask=777 0 0

Just some Dilbert

Thanks to the Ubuntu Blog for linking to the linux toons page.








Ubuntu Blog ping

Installing Stuff on Ubuntu

Simon Gray has posted an excellent tutorial on "How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu." It covers everything from synaptic, to the terminal, to compiling and installing a package with source code.

PLF Update

At some point, the PLF site moved so you will need to update the repository location and the key.

The new site (Medibuntu) is located here. So you will need to delete the APT line and key for the old PLF repository and add the new one. The new apt line is:

deb http://medibuntu.sos-sts.com/repo/ edgy free non-free

There are instruction on how to add this new repository on the medibuntu site under Repository Howto, but to add this line for synaptic the non-command line way, go to:
System-->Administration-->Synaptic-->Settings-->Repositories-->Third Party Tab-->Click on Add-->Paste in the apt line from above.

For the key, you can use the instructions on the Medibuntu site or do it my way by right clicking on the site below and choose save link location:
Medibuntu key
Then go System-->Administration-->Synaptic-->Settings-->Repositories-->Authentication Tab-->Click on Import Key File-->Choose the file that you just downloaded.

UPDATE FOR FEISTY: The above is still true for feisty, however, the new apt line is:
deb http://medibuntu.sos-sts.com/repo/ feisty free non-free

Ports

Some random port information:

For your bittorrent client (I like bittornado) and emule client, use a private port between 49152 and 65535. See this wikipedia article. Emule clients like amule typically use 4662 (TCP) and 4673 (UDP) and bittorrent typically uses 6881 as the default but these may be blocked by your ISP. Amule suggests setting your TCP and then assigning the UDP by TCP+3.

Also, when syncing your palm over your home network, you may have to open a port. The port used by palm network sync is 14238.

Good Sites for Installing Ubuntu and Tweaking Gnome

The Linux Journal had an excerpt from Beginning Ubuntu Linux: From Novice to Professional by Keir Thomas(Chapter 10) that has some very good tips on personalizing the desktop regarding things like the panels, themes, and login that might be useful. Another great site for installing ubuntu and making some changes at the start including gnome modifications is the Linux FUD blog. Finally, just for reference there is an ubuntu forum article and a blog entry on the Snippets blog under the ubuntu category with instructions on how to use a custom icon for the main menu.

New or Second Hard Drive on Edgy

The steps for adding a new or second hard drive on Edgy are slightly different because of the new UUID system. The intro stuff is, of course, the same as I stated before for Dapper. Again, install gparted because it makes it easy to see where everything is. So to set up the second hard drive with Edgy, do the following:
1. Decide where you will want to mount your hard drive. This terminology can be confusing. First, your drive has a location such as /dev/hdb1. You then also need a mount point. I decided to to mount the new hard drive in /media/Storage. To do this, type the following in a terminal:
sudo mkdir /media/Storage
You can call your folder within /media whatever you like
2. Find out where the hard drive is located. Use gparted for this. My second hard drive location is dev/hdb1 (your main hard drive is probably hda)
3. We will also need to download two packages using synaptic (acl and eiciel). These will be used later.
4. Find out what your hard drive UUID is. For this, go to the /dev/disk/by-uuid folder. For each "file" you see there, right click and then choose options. Check each one to see which has the "link target" matching your new hard drive. In other words, for me, I was checking to see which one matched hdb1. Once I had the correct one, either write down or copy the name (a string of numbers and letters).
5. Next type the following in a terminal:
sudo gedit /etc/fstab
6. Edit the fstab file by adding the following information at the end (use what is already there for guidance:
(Your hard drive UUID) (Your mount point) (file system type) (options including the acl option) (0) (0)
Mine looks like:
2702b4b2-3225-4f51-9ebe-c04e86e7541g /media/Storage ext3 defaults,acl 0 0
7. Save the file and close it.
8. I next wanted to change the permissions on the new hard drive so that an average user could read, write, and execute the files located on it. To do this, type the following in a terminal:
sudo chmod -R 2777 /media/Storage
(I'm not sure if the sticky bit is needed or not, but it worked and I don't see any harm)
(Substitute /media/Storage with your chosen mount point)
9. Reboot and everything should work.
10. The final step is to make sure all future files and folders created also have read, write, and execute permissions. For this we use the acl and eiciel packages installed above.
11. ACL and Eiciel. Eiciel is the gui for acl. If you right click on your shared folder, you should have a new tab for access controls. (As a side note, if this doesn't work, try running eiciel with the following command and then navigate to your shared folder: gksudo eiciel)
12. Once you are at the shared folder through the acl tab or the command, you want to click the default acl button and also check the default box. You want to make sure that read, write, and execute is checked for everything.
13. The next step is to do the same for all subdirectories. Eiciel does not act recursively so you have to set the default on all subdirectories by again going to those folders and right clicking and choosing the access control tab or by running the above stated command and then again clicking the default acl button and the default check box.
14. You may also want to then read the post of file sharing.

File Sharing on Ubuntu

I have a desktop (I'll call my server) that all of my files are on and a laptop with which I need to access the files on my desktop. Both run ubuntu. I decided to share the files over my wireless network using Samba. My method can compromise network security, so you may want to find an alternative way unless you have a firewall in front of your network as I do. To share, do the following to your server computer:
1. Install Samba by installing the following packages on your server computer: samba and smbfs
2. Go to the folder you want to share under Places. Right click the folder and choose "Share folder."
3. In the dialog box that pops up, choose "Share with SMB"
4. In name, choose a share name--it can be anything you want. Leave the comment field blank.
5. Check "Allow browsing folder" if using Dapper or uncheck "read only" if using Edgy.
6. Click "OK"
7. To make sure that all users have read, write, and execute permissions to the files and subfolders in the shared folder, a couple steps have to be taken. First, type the following in a terminal (I will pretend that your shared folder is /home/Bob):
sudo chmod -R 2777 /home/Bob
(I'm not sure if the sticky bit is needed or not, but it worked and I don't see any harm)
8. Second, we need to set the default permissions for any new files or directories within the shared directory. For this, download two things using synaptic: acl and eiciel. Eiciel is the gui for acl. If you right click on your shared folder, you should have a new tab for access controls. (As a side note, if this doesn't work, try running eiciel with the following command and then navigate to your shared folder: gksudo eiciel)
9. Once you are at the shared folder through the acl tab or the command, you want to click the default acl button and also check the default box. You want to make sure that read, write, and execute is checked for everything.
10. The next step is to do the same for all subdirectories. Eiciel does not act recursively so you have to set the default on all subdirectories by again going to those folders and right clicking and choosing the access control tab or by running the above stated command and then again clicking the default acl button and the default check box.
11. Now we must edit the smb.conf file so type the following in a terminal:
sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf
12. Notice that throughout this file there are headings in brackets such as [Global]. Under the [Global] heading, you will see workgroup=MSHOME. Change this if your workgroup is called something else, otherwise, you can leave it as it is.
13. Next, under the ####Authentication#### section, you will see the following:
; security = user
Remove the semi-colon and change it to look like:
security = share
14. At the bottom of the file, you will see a section under a [ ] heading with your shared folder name. Edit it so that it states the following so that all users on other computers can edit the files:
path = /home/Bob
available = yes
browseable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777
15. Save the file and reboot.
16. You can now access these files from your laptop under Places->Network Servers. Find the folder and choose to connect to it.

Update on cups-pdf with Edgy

Edgy, at least on my computer, has made installing the cups-pdf package (allows you to print anything to a pdf) much easier. Just install the cups-pdf package using synaptic. Then go to System-->Administration-->Printing-->Choose New Printer. You should see a new local PDF printer detected so choose it. Then choose the Generic, Postscript Color Printer. Name it whatever you want--I chose PDF-Printer. And then your done. When you print something using the PDF printer, it will place the file in a PDF folder within your home folder.

Sound Juicer for Edgy with VBR

This is what I have found to work best when trying to rip a CD to mp3 using lame with VBR:
This help article is the best for the basics. However, I changed the "GStreamer Pipeline" entry so that it would encode using VBR instead of a constant bitrate. A Fedora forum post gives a couple of entries using VBR at two different qualities. As the fedora site states, more information on the VBR quality can be found at this wiki Hydrogenaudio site. The problem is that this pipeline resulted in tags showing track times that were much too long. For example, the tag showed 20 minutes for a song that was about 4 minutes. So, after some searching, the best I could find was to add "xingmux" and "id3v2mux" at the end. Therefore, the entire pipeline entry should be (all on one line):
audio/x-raw-int,rate=44100,channels=2 ! lame name=enc vbr=4 vbr-quality=2 ! xingmux ! id3v2mux

Wireless Cards with Edgy

My previous post on wireless cards requiring ndiswrapper applies equally to Edgy, however, make sure you have the latest version of ndiswrapper-utils. I had to install the packages listed below before installing the driver. Install these in the order listed:
ndiswrapper-common
ndiswrapper-utils-1.8
ndisgtk

This is the ubuntu page to search and download packages without using synaptic.

Gnome Wallpaper and Themes

Two great sites for gnome themes and wallpaper are gnome-look and art.gnome. For themes, remember that you should look under the GTK 2.x and the Metacity categories. You will need both unless the theme you are looking at bundles both. GTK is for widgets (buttons, apps, etc.) and Metacity is for window borders. Download the file and install using theme preferences. Other good sites for wallpaper are Socksoff, caedes, and Interfacelift.