Gutsy Gibbon

Over all I like the 7.10 update. It's added a couple of things I like and I haven't noticed anything that quit working (for me). This was my third update since I've been using Ubuntu so I understood some of the options offered during the update process more. Gutsy fixed a couple of problems I was having with Feisty.

1. Sharing of a printer
2. NTFS partition access
3. Wireless Network Card worked without resorting to a command line.
4. Use of the priority drivers.

Because of the NTFS support it makes a duel boot machine much easier to do. You can keep your data on the NTFS partition and both OSs can see it.

Not having to resort to the command line just to get my wireless network working was nice. If you've read this Blog you will remember that I almost removed Linux from my laptop because of the difficulty of getting wireless to work.

The inclusion of the priority drivers (video, mp3, WMV, etc..) has kept me from having to put Automatix back on either machine. And speaking of this why all the STUPID warnings about using these drivers/codex? They work, they are needed, and they will help Linux grow. I think the way the warnings about their use are presented were intended to SCARE the very users who need them the most away from using them. Ubuntu should have just shown both drivers and let the end user decide WITHOUT THE WARNING. The Warnings reminds me of something Microsoft would do (Genuine Advantage anyone?).

Over the year that I have been using Linux (Ubuntu) I have come to like it and use it on three machine. With every update Ubuntu gets better and better. The problem that Linux has to over come is it's dependence on the command line. The command line needs to become a Power User Feature not the main way to do things. There are still too many tasks that require the command line. If the next release of Ubuntu did nothing other than make GUI's for every command line function it would begin to be an easy replacement for the joke that is Vista.

Gutsy Gibbon Killed my Beryl Install

When I upgraded to Gutsy I told it to overwrite my custom setting so my desktop lost some setting I changed. No big deal, it was my fault and I like the clean look. I noticed that it killed my Beryl Install too but it was running slow on my system anyway and while it was "cute" it was not very practical especially with the performance hit. I did notice that it has a new name now, Compiz Fusion and is built in to Gutsy. I guess I could turn it back on but I don't want to take the performance hit. You need to install the Manager to get it going. Open a TERMINAL WINDOW and type the following:

sudo aptitude install
compizconfig-settings-manager

Since I don't want to turn it back on I haven't tried it but here's a video of it in action if your interested.

Gutsy Gibbon Sharing a Printer

I installed my Laser Jet 1100 printer on my desktop Ubuntu Feisty Fawn install. The printer worked just fine as a local printer under Feisty but I could not share it. I tried but I couldn't figure it out. You can read about those attempts below in past posts. I tried to hit it through the network with my Ubuntu Feisty Laptop and from a MS Vista machine. Neither worked.

Well I've upgraded both the Desktop and the Laptop to Gutsy Gibbon and decided to try to share the printer again. I figured I was in for another fight but when I went to SYSTEM - ADMINISTRATION - PRINTING I was presented with this screen:
I thought I'd take a chance and checked the SHARE PUBLISHED PRINTERS CONNECTED TO THIS SYSTEM block and Clicked the Apply button on the Desktop. I then went to the Gutsy Laptop and checked the SHOW PRINTERS SHARED BY OTHER SYSTEMS box then Clicked the Apply Button. I few seconds pause and my Desktop Gutsy Printer Share appeared in the list of printers on left in the picture on the Gutsy Laptop. I selected the shared printer and was asked if I wanted to make it my default printer. I did then opened OO Writer and printed a test page from the Laptop. It worked. You can see there are other options here when sharing a printer but they are self explanatory.

A couple of notes:
1. I had already installed the printer and had it working locally under Feisty on the Desktop.
2. I had installed and connected the Laptop directly to the printer once under Feisty so the drivers were already on the Laptop too.
3. I had fought with CUPP and tried so many things I've forgotten most the ones I did try under Feisty (I never did get it to work).
4. Under Gutsy all I did was check the blocks and it worked.
5. I will try to get MS Vista to connect to the printer later this week.

Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 Upgrade

It's within a few days of being one year since I've installed Linux (Ubuntu) on one of my machines. When I committed to trying Linux I decided to use nothing but linux for a full 30 days and I layed out a "road map" of things I've wanted to do.

I've stuck with Ubuntu throughout this trial and I've installed it on two machines, a laptop and a desktop. I use both of these machines on a daily basis (I've given the desktop to my wife and she uses it mostly). I've kept both systems updated and upgraded. I started with Dapper Dan, switched to Edgy Elf then upgraded to Feisty Fawn as soon as it was released and today I've upgraded both to Gutsy Gibbon 7.10.

The upgrade to Gutsy was very easy and was done with no problems. There's not much to notice different about Gutsy but that's how an OS upgrade is supposed to be. If I want the UI (User Interface) to look/feel different I'd upgrade or change the UI. With an OS upgrade I expect better compatibility with hardware and tweaks that make things faster and the expansion of the feature sets that can be added (better software).

So with those goals in mind I'll look at Gutsy over the next few days and let you know what I think about it. Then I plan to do a "One Year with Linux" post and compare it with my "One Year with Vista" experience.

So far I have noticed that Gutsy did a better job upgrading my notebook than Edgy. Edgy messed up my wireless card when I upgraded and I had to spend two weeks without it before I finally fixed it. Gutsy got it right on the first boot.

Under Edgy I couldn't get my HP Laser Jet 1100 to work as a shared printer on the desktop machine but Gutsy promises better printer function so I'll try again over the next few days.

Updated The Links

I added a long list of useful Linux/Ubuntu Links to the right side bar. It a combination of different lists I've found while browsing.

Six Months of Linux

It's really been just over seven months now. I started my Linux experiment on November 1, 1996. One of my friends was singing Linux's praises and told me I should try it.

To be honest I had tried Linux before but never did get any use out of it. I think it was SUSE Linux 6 or 7. I couldn't get it to work with my MS Windows network, couldn't get online with it or do anything productive. To be fair I didn't give it a real chance. I installed it, played with it for a few days, then never used it again.

My friend works in the IT field and told me that Linux had changed since I last tried it. He told me that there was a Distro that he liked called Ubuntu. Well I just happen to have a Dell box laying around that needed it's OS reinstalled, so I took a chance.

I decided to give it a try but remembering back to my first Linux experience, I decided to force myself to use it for 30 days no matter what problems I had. My friend was also Blogging and I thought I'd like to try that too so I decided to combine the two idea.

I forced myself to stick with my pledge to use nothing but Linux for 30 days. At first it was hard and I was tempted to cheat but never did. Every time I hit a road block I would research until I found a solution. In the end I solved every problem except one, the VPN to work, and someone has suggested a solution to that one too but I haven't had time to try it.

I thought that when MS Vista came out that it would set a new bar in the OS field and make Linux look out and tired. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Vista is such a poor OS Microsoft is having to force people to take it.

I had planed to reinstall MS Windows on this Dell box at the end of the 30 days but I had gotten used to Linux and started liking it. So seven months later Ubuntu Linux is still on this box and I've updated it from Version 6 to Version 7. I've taken XP off my old laptop and put Linux on. I've made my work laptop a duel boot Linux/XP and I am thinking about removing Vista from my new laptop and making it a duel boot XP/Linux. We will see.

Added a Printer but Can't Share It with Vista

There comes a time when you want to get information from the computer screen to paper. To do this you have to install a printer. I thought I'd have more trouble than I did but it was easy. I had an older HP Laserjet 1100 that uses the parallel port and I wanted to install it locally. I also want to share it so that my Linux Laptop and MS Windows Laptop can use it. Here's what I've done so far;

Add the printer locally;

0. I had to reset my computer and change my BIOS settings under PORTS-->Parallel setting it to the EPP Mode. (I read on-line before I installed the printer and this suggestion showed up in several articles so I made the change before I started).

1. Goto SYSTEM-->Administration-->Printing

2. This will open a new window. Double Click on NEW PRINTER. Next you will be presented with a three step wizard (Add New Print Wizard)

3. Wizard Step 1. Pick either Local/Detected Printer or Networked Printer. I choose Local, then clicked the Forward button.

4. Wizard Step 2. Pick your printer Manufacture and your pinter Model. Ubuntu suggested a Printer Driver for me (ljet4). The list of printers, models, and drivers looks pretty extensive but I'm sure not every modern printer will be full supported but you should be able to find a combo that will get you working. Click Forward

5. Wizard Step 3. Name your printer, give it a "friendly" Description and a Location. The printer name is the important part here since you will have to use it if you Share it on your network. Ubuntu suggested mine be named Laserjet-1100 and that was good to me. I assume that the name is case sensitive like everything else in Linux. Click Apply

If this is the only computer that will use the printer, you are done. You can Right Click on the printer in the SYSTEM-->Administration-->Printing window and change all the default settings and paper handling options for your printer. You can also change your driver setting and printer name.

I wanted my printer shared on my network So I had to plow on. I've ran into some trouble sharing the printer. I went to SYSTEM-->Administration-->Printing then Single Clicked on my printer (selecting it) and then clicked on Global Settings and checked the Share Printers option in the menu.

I then went to my MS Windows Laptop (running Vista) and tried to add the newly shared linux box printer. I went to START-->Printers-->Add New Printer. I told Vista that it was a Network Printer and it searched for all shared printers on my network. None were found. I figured this would happen so I told Vista that I would manually enter the printer location. I typed //LinuxBoxName/Laserjet-1100 (remember the Name from Wizard Step 3 above?). Vista thought about this for a second, sent out some packets on the network, then asked me for a User Name and Password to connect to this printer. Ok, I figured it wanted my LinuxBox User/Pword. Tried it and it didn't work. I tried the VistaBox User/Pword it didn't work. Remembering how MS windows likes to have DomainName/UserName or ComputerName/UserName, I tried LinuxBox/UserName and LinuxBoxPword , it didn't work !!!

It appears that Vista can see the LinuxBox on the network and can see it's printer but the LinuxBox wants a password to access the printer. I can't figure out how to get Vista to give the LinuxBox that User/Pword. I've read about it online and saw where Linux use a program called CUPS. To access CUPS you start a Browser and type http://localhost:631/printers/Laserjet-1100 as the Address (replace Laserjet-100 with your printer name). I have explored CUPS a little and can even access the CUPS interface from the VistaBox (http://LinuxBoxName:631/printers/Laserjet-1100) but still can't add the LinuxBox Printer to the VistaBox. This is where I'm stuck.

This weekend I will try to add the LinuxBox Printer to the LinuxLaptop and see if it's just a Vista thing.

Installing BERYL on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn

I installed Beryl today and it looks great. Beryl gives your desktop a 3D look and adds tons of eye candy effects to windows moves, opens, closes, etc. The instructions below are not mine but they are ones I followed that got Beryl working on my machine. Here's the original article where I found the Howto. You need to note that the instructions vary with graphic cards. I have an Nvidia graphics card and this script worked for me. I have a 64mb card with 512mbs of system ram on a 2.0 ghz machine. The effects speeds are ok but they are a little choppy. There were some warnings about making your machine unusable if this script (or Beyrl) has problems during installation so use this with care. Read the linked article before you try this.

I've got a new laptop with Vista on it and Beryl puts Vista's effects to shame. Why risk your system? Here's why (some youtube videos of Beryl in action)


INSTRUCTIONS NVIDIA GRAPHIC CARD ONLY

1. Open a terminal. Execute:
sudo echo "Beryl for nVidia installation Ubuntu Feisty 704"

This step will ask for your password and let the rest of the script run without interuptions


2. Copy and paste all the text below into the Terminal in one action.

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup.beryl-script
sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.backup.beryl-script
echo "deb http://ubuntu.beryl-project.org feisty main
deb-src http://ubuntu.beryl-project.org feisty main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
wget http://ubuntu.beryl-project.org/root@lupine.me.uk.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install beryl beryl-manager emerald-themes
sudo nvidia-xconfig --add-argb-glx-visuals
sudo cp /usr/share/applications/beryl-manager.desktop /etc/xdg/autostart/beryl-manager.desktop
cp /usr/share/applications/beryl-manager.desktop ~/Desktop/beryl-manager.desktop
echo -e "Logout now and then press \e[0;31mCTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE\e[0m to restart xorg"
echo "Installation completed !"

3. Logout and then press [CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE] to restart.

Someone Take Out the Trash

While playing around with WINE I got some files stuck in the trash can. I kept getting a "You do not have the permission required to delete" error. After a bit of reading I found the following command line will delete these stuck files.

Open a Terminal window and type:
sudo rm -rf $HOME/.Trash

I learned that you should NOT use the -f switch on whims, it will just remove (delete) whatever you tell it too without any undo or warnings.

BTW rm -r DIRECTORY will delete whole directories from a TERMINAL.

Upgraded from 6.1 to 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)

I upgraded from 6.1 to 7.04 (feisty fawn) last night. Everything went well but kinda slow. I started at 1230 am and didn't finish until 3:45 am. Compared to the initial install of 6.1 this seamed like a long time, but it was mostly flawless. I got a couple of pop-up messages telling me that a few pieces of software were no longer supported and Automatrix told me it was the wrong version now, but nothing I couldn't guess the answer to. I haven't noticed anything yet that is broken but I didn't see that much new either. This is my first Linux upgrade so I don't know what to expect. It said it had a fancier windows interface but when I turned it on it took away my minimize and maximize buttons.

After the three hour upgrade I was too tired to test it much, but I'll get into it soon and write about it here. I have NOT upgraded the laptop yet because one of my friends has been fighting 7.04's wireless support. I am using the laptop and don't consider it a test bed anymore so as soon as I put feisty fawn through it's paces on the test computer, I'll try it on the laptop.

p.s. I'm still working on the Pocket PC stuff

How to sync your Pocket PC with Ubuntu

I have a Dell Axim Pocket PC and want to connect it to Ubuntu. Well here we go.

Connect your pocket PC to your Ubuntu machine using the serial to USB cable and power on the pocket PC.

Open a terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal).

Load the USB to serial driver by entering the following command in the terminal.

sudo modprobe ipaq

Issue the following command to make sure Ubuntu detects your pocket PC.

dmesg | tail

It showed /dev/ttyUSB0
as the device name. The next step is to install the packages we need. Enter the command as shown below:

sudo apt-get install synce-dccm synce-serial librra0-tools

This command will ask you to enter the IP addresses for your pocket PC, your DNS server etc. Enter the IP address of your router for the DNS server option (where you’ll get a blank field, whereas for other options, you’ll get a default value). It’s usually 192.168.0.1, but then it depends on the router. Leave the defaults for all other IPs.

Once the installation is complete, run the following command to specify the serial port:

sudo synce-serial-config /dev/ttyUSB0

You’ll get a message that

You can now run synce-serial-start to start a serial connection.

Make sure your pocket PC is connected and on. If your pocket PC is setup to sleep after certain minutes, you may have to switch it on again. Now start the dccm daemon.

You can start it in 2 ways.

dccm -d 4 -f

where -d 4 shows debugging is enabled and -f forces the daemon to run in the foreground.

Once you issue the above command, you’ll see the following in the terminal:

dccm[xxxx]: Running in foreground
dccm[xxxx]: Listening for connections on port xxxx

where xxxx stands for some number.

Now open another terminal and issue the following command:

sudo synce-serial-start

This will start the pocket PC synchronization. If you have firewall enabled, then you might see the warning as shown below:

Warning!

You have firewall rules that may prevent SynCE from working properly!
synce-serial-start is now waiting for your device to connect

In that case follow the firewall steps below. If you don’t have a firewall, then go to Continue after Firewall.

Firewall setting:

I user Firestarter as the firewall for front end. If you are using Firestarter, then go to /etc/firestarter/ directory. Change the file permission for user-pre to rw-r—– using the following command:

sudo chmod 640 user-pre

Now edit the file using

sudo gedit user-pre

Enter the following lines in the file:

$IPT -I FORWARD 1 -s 192.168.131.0/24 -d 192.168.131.0/24 -j ACCEPT
$IPT -I OUTPUT 1 -s 192.168.131.0/24 -d 192.168.131.0/24 -j ACCEPT
$IPT -I INPUT 1 -s 192.168.131.0/24 -d 192.168.131.0/24 -j ACCEPT

Save and close the file. Change the file permission back to r–r—– by issuing

sudo chmod 440 user-pre

The above change will work only if you had gone with the default IPs while installing the packages required for syncing.

Restart the computer and open two terminals. Issue the dccm command as given above in one terminal and sudo synce-serial-start on the other terminal. Make sure your Pocket PC is on before you do this.

Continue after firewall:

Once you issue the command sudo synce-serial-start in terminal 2, you’ll see the following messages (or similar messages) in terminal 1 where you issued the dccm command.

dccm[xxxx]: Connection from 192.168.xxx.xxx accepted
info package (88 bytes):
0000: 24 00 00 00 03 00 a3 2b $……+
0008: 11 0a 00 00 00 00 00 00 ……..
0010: 61 05 f3 56 00 00 00 00 a..V….
0018: 24 00 00 00 2c 00 00 00 $…,…
0020: 3e 00 00 00 50 00 50 00 >…P.P.
0028: 43 00 00 00 50 00 6f 00 C…P.o.
0030: 63 00 6b 00 65 00 74 00 c.k.e.t.
0038: 50 00 43 00 00 00 44 00 P.C…D.
0040: 65 00 6c 00 6c 00 20 00 e.l.l…
0048: 41 00 78 00 69 00 6d 00 A.x.i.m.
0050: 20 00 58 00 35 00 00 00 ..X.5…
0058:
dccm[xxxx]: Talking to ‘PPC’, a PocketPC device of type Dell Axim X5

This shows that the system is talking to the pocket PC. The next step is to setup a partnership. You are generally allowed upto 2 partnership. I have setup a partnership with my Windows machine and one more was remaining. I used that for syncing with Ubuntu.

Issue the following command in terminal 2 to establish the partnership:

synce-matchmaker create

You’ll get a message similar to the one shown below if you are able to establish the partnership.

[rra_matchmaker_create_partnership:xxx] Partnership file not found for ID XXXXXXXX
[rra_matchmaker_create_partnership:xxx] Partnership slot 2 is empty on device
Partnership creation succeeded. Using partnership index 2.

Once the partnership is established, then you can issue the following command to list the files in the pocket PC. You’ll get the list of files if the partnership is established.

synce-pls

Archive 5136 Sat 10 Feb 2007 05:04:15 PM CST House materials.psw
Archive 408 Sun 28 Jan 2007 11:10:28 AM CST Note2.pwi
Archive 408 Sun 24 Dec 2006 06:30:38 PM CST Note1.pwi
Directory Mon 31 Dec 2001 06:00:00 PM CST Business/
Directory Mon 31 Dec 2001 06:00:00 PM CST Personal/
Directory Mon 31 Dec 2001 06:00:00 PM CST Templates/

The above list is the list of folders in my pocket PC. Here is the list of command you can use to access the pocket PC files:

synce-pcp - Copy a file

synce-pmkdir - Create a directory

synce-pmv - Move a file

synce-prmdir - Delete a directory.

Once you are done syncing your pocket PC, issue the following command to kill the daemon and then disconnect the pocket PC.

killall -HUP dccm

That’s it. Next we figureout how to do somethinng usefull with this like sync with Evolved

PhotoShop CS2 On Ubuntu Sorta

I own Photoshop CS2 and have it installed on a Windows XP Laptop. This is the only computer I have it on. I don't think I am violating any copy rights as long as I don't run photoshop on the laptop at the same time I run it on the Ubuntu Box.

I've been trying to get Photoshop CS2 to run on Ubuntu. I have had limited success. Here's what I've done so far;

1. I've installed WINE and it's working fine.
2. I copied my entire Adobe Directory from the MS Windows XP Laptop to a Flash Drive (950mbs)(c:\program files\adobe)
3. I've EXPORTED the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Adobe/" Registery Key from the MS Window Machine to a file call adobe.reg (on the windows machine run REGEDIT navigate to the above key, select it, and then chose FILE/EXPORT it will asked for a name I used ADOBE)
4. I copied this new file (adobe.reg) to the flash drive.
5. I copied all the Adobe files from the flash drive (from c:\program files\adobe) to my Ubuntu Box and put them in the home\USERNAME\.wine\dirve_c\Program Files\Adobe\ driecroty
6. I then copied the adobe.reg file to the same directory
7. I then started TERMINAL and navigated to home\USERNAME\.wine\dirve_c\Program Files\Adobe\
8. I then ran wine regedit adobe.reg to import the registry settings into WINE.
9. I then navigated to the home\USERNAME\.wine\dirve_c\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\ directory and ran wine Photoshop.exe command in TERMINAL

It took about 2 to 3 minutes but Photoshop CS2 started but gave an error saying that the serial number or activation code was wrong. (The start time is long. I thought it had locked up)

10. Well I started searching on Google and found several links to instructions to make Photoshop CS2 run on a flash drive (I searched for Portable Photoshop CS2) I followed these instructions and made a working Portable Photoshop CS2. This worked just fine on any MS Windows Machine that I had Administrator Rights on.

11. I created another directory on my Ubuntu Box in the following location home\USERNAME\.wine\dirve_c\Program Files\PS\ I then copied my Portable Photoshop CS2 directory from my flash drive to this new directory on the Ubuntu Box. I navigated to it and run the following command in a TERMINAL wine Portable_Photoshop.exe .

It worked!! Everything was good but the problem I'm having is that if you touch the keyboard you get an error saying "requested library not loaded" or something like it and everything stops. This might be something I've done wrong with my WINE installation.

Oh, Well, it's a start. Anyone who has any suggestions please post them here.