Linux Tips

Some of you might face this situation. Ubuntu’s Ubiquity Installer could not detect SATA drive, although  sudo fdisk -l  lists the drive. It even appeared in gparted. It seems that the SATA drive had left over raid configuration information that was telling the installer to skip the drive (as if it was unsupported). In the following tutorial, I will show you how to get Ubuntu to detect the SATA drive, so that you could proceed and install Ubuntu. Read the full post here…

I am sure that this might have happened to you also, when you tried to install a package, and then a message showed "Failed dependencies". Now use apt-rdepends to know the dependencies and their dependencies of a package. When we make a query for dependencies of a package, apt-rdepends searches the APt and return the list of dependencies and the dependencies of each dependent package. insatll Install apt-rdepends $ sudo apt-get install apt-rdepends Lets see the dependencies of vlc $ sudo apt-rdepends vlc vlc Depends: libaa1 (>= 1.4p5) Depends: libc6 (>= 2.8) Depends: libdbus-1-3 (>= 1.0.2) Depends: libfreetype6 (>= 2.2.1) Depends: libfribidi0 (>= 0.19.2) Depends: libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1) Depends: libgl1 Depends: libgl1-mesa-glx Depends: libglib2.0-0 (>= 2.12.0) Depends: libgtk2.0-0 (>= 2.8.0) Depends: libnotify1 (>= 0.4.5) Depends: libnotify1-gtk2.10 Depends: libqtcore4 (>= 4:4.6.1) Depends: libqtgui4 (>= 4:4.6.1) Dep...

IBM has announced the launch of a new Atom-based netbook from Simmtronics that will ship with Lotus collaboration software and the Ubuntu Netbook Remix. The device, which is largely aimed at small businesses in emerging markets, will sell for $190. It is currently available in South Africa and will be expanding to other regions in the future. In an effort to erode Microsoft's dominance on the enterprise desktop, IBM began partnering with Linux distributors to offer integrated Lotus packages in 2008. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has gradually become IBM's primary Linux partner on the desktop. Following the launch of Windows 7 last year, IBM touted the Ubuntu and Lotus combo as an alternative, claiming that companies could save money by adopting it instead of upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft's operating system. "Canonical has a great program for engaging with hardware manufacturers for getting Ubuntu certified and delivered across various platform...

To generate a SSH key pair use the command 'ssh-keygen'. $ ssh-keygen -t dsa This will ask you to enter a file to save the key. The default is '.ssh/id_dsa' in your home directory. Generating public/private dsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (/home/dipin/.ssh/id_dsa):  Press 'Enter' to accept the default. Now it will ask for a passphrase and will ask you to re-enter to confirm. Generating public/private dsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (/home/dipin/.ssh/id_dsa): /tmp/key Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter same passphrase again: Your identification has been saved in /tmp/key. Your public key has been saved in /tmp/key.pub. The key fingerprint is: 8d:f7:d8:d1:b6:ea:c2:a7:a4:fd:ff:6f:95:06:bb:0a dipin@dipinkrishna.info You will get a private key file and a public key file with '.pub' extension.

These are the Requirements specified by Skype on Linux Beta  Hardware requirements 1 Ghz processor or faster. 256 MB RAM. 20 MB free disk space on your hard drive. Microphone and speakers or headset. Internet connection – broadband is best (GPRS is not supported for voice calls). Video card driver with Xv support. Software requirements Qt 4.2.1+ D-Bus 1.0.0 libasound2 1.0.12 PulseAudio 0.9.10+ (optional) PulseAudio 0.9.15+ (optional recommended) Technical details Version 2.1.0.47 Get your Skype for Ubuntu from here Ubuntu 8.04   Ubuntu 8.10+ 32-bit   Ubuntu 8.10+ 64-bit For Ubuntu 9.04 and 9.10 you can use the versions for 8.10. For other Linux distros see  http://www.skype.com/download/skype/linux/choose/

On several situation you will need to find out the version of ubuntu (debian) installed in a system you are using. For that open the command terminal and type: lsb_release -a

In this guide I will show you how to install a LAMP system. LAMP stands for L inux, A pache, M ySQL, P HP. The guide is intended to help those who have very little knowlegde of using Linux. Install Apache To start off we will install Apache. 1. Open up the Terminal ( Applications > Accessories > Terminal ). 2. Copy/Paste the following line of code into Terminal and then press enter: sudo apt-get install apache2 3. The Terminal will then ask you for you're password, type it and then press enter. Testing Apache To make sure everything installed correctly we will now test Apache to ensure it is working properly. 1. Open up any web browser and then enter the following into the web address: http://localhost/ You should see a folder entitled apache2-default/ . Open it and you will see a message saying "It works!" , congrats to you! Install PHP In this part we will install PHP 5. Step 1. Again open up the Terminal ( Applications > Accessories > T...

How to convert our computer screen on to a digital electronic whiteboard, under Linux, could not be simpler. Only need a knob for Wii (Nintendo Console), an infrared emitter (such as a remote control), and the software for it (see the " Linux electronic whiteboard "). Download list: Here is the list of available packages and versions for download InstallingFromDebPackage Normal INSTALL: open a terminal: Applications > Accessories > Terminal and type: $ sudo apt-get install libbluetooth3 libc6 libcairomm-1.0-1 libcwiid1 libgcc1 libglademm-2.4-1c2a libglib2.0-0 libglibmm-2.4-1c2a libgtk2.0-0 libgtkmm-2.4-1c2a libsigc++-2.0-0c2a libstdc++6 libx11-6 libxtst6 $ sudo dpkg -i whiteboard_ x.x.x.x.-x xxxxxxxxxxx .deb Replace x.x.x.x.-x xxxxxxxxxxx with the version you downloaded. $ dpkg -l whiteboard Alternately: System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager install these packages: libbluetooth3 libc6 libcairomm-1.0-1 libcwiid1 libgcc1 libglademm-2.4-1c2a lib...

Ubuntu Tweak 0.4.8 is released. It doesn’t seem to have introduced any new features, but it have improved the Third Party Sources. The number of PPA source from launchpad.net is increasing. A lot of new and updated applications have their PPA source, it’s really useful for users. Ubuntu Tweak includes a lot of popular PPA sources to let people to use PPA easily. But there’s one problem, one source may depends on anther, and one may conflicts with another. How do we solve the problem? So in the Ubuntu Tweak 0.4.8, it has been a major improvement . For example, if you want to use the latest version of Midori (A lightweight browser), it depends on the WebKitGtk source. So the new Ubuntu Tweak will notify you about it like this, if you choose “Yes”, both “WebKitGtk” and “Midori” will be enabled. It’s the easiest way to do it, isn’t it? On the other hand, if you disable “WebKitGtk” without disabling “Midori” first, you will get a warning dialog like this. Another warning dialog will show wh...

I found this in the ubuntu documentation. Tasksel is an installation system that is an integral part of the Debian installer; it is also included in Ubuntu. Tasksel groups software packages by tasks and offers an easy way to install all the packages needed for that task. It provides the same functionality as using conventional meta-packages. Tasks List Tasks are defined in .desc files found in /usr/share/tasksel. Debian derivatives can easily add tasks. The default list available in Ubuntu can be viewed with this command-line: $ sudo gedit /usr/share/tasksel/ubuntu-tasks.desc Installation Since Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy) tasksel has been included as part of the base installation. Tasksel is present on all versions of Ubuntu's installer, but previously was not installed on the base system. Usage To run tasksel, at the command line, type $ sudo tasksel the tasksel menu will be shown: Already-installed tasks will have an asterisk beside their name. Select a task by scrolling down and pressing...

Help steps may be help to the users of bsnl wireless phones to connect to the web. Please see the 'Note' it step 6 before starting... 1. Find the product and vendor ids.( You may need to become root). $ lsusb 2. Now load the driver. $ sudo /sbin/modprobe usbserial vendor=0× VVVV product=0× PPPP Where VVVV is the vendor id and PPPP is the product id of your phone. Note: If an error like "usbserial not found" shows up in ubuntu jaunty then please skip this step and do what is said at http://blog.dipinkrishna.info/2009/07/usbserial-not-found-in-ubuntu-jaunty.html and then continue the steps below. 3. Now load the ppp driver $ sudo /sbin/modprobe ppp_generic 4. Check dmesg output $ sudo dmesg I got it as [ 227.271459] /build/buildd/linux-2.6.24/drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.c: USB Serial support registered for generic [ 227.271485] usbserial_generic 2-1:1.0: generic converter detected [ 227.271616] usb 2-1: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB0 [ 227.27...

When you format a hard drive or storage unit, you have different file systems from which we can use, for example, vfat and ntfs for Windows, and swap, ext2 and ext3 for Linux systems. Here, i explain how to format a USB drive using vfat. The reason for using this file system is that it is authorized to work in Windows and Linux. IMPORTANT - The first thing to consider: 1. Remember to be logged in as root user to carry out the formatting, otherwise must use the sudo command to activate access. For my part I'll use the sudo command in this tutorial for easy understanding by novice users. Type: $ fdisk -l It will show all your harddisk partions and usb partitions and their device name. eg: 2. The unit must be dismantled. In most of the distributions can be done by clicking on the secondary drive icon and choose "Unmount the unit." 3. Must be careful to format the drive correctly, but can cause damage to other units such as hard disk for example. As a first step-and-only...

Sometimes, in the graphical mode, we want to have full access to our system without using sudo or su. To enter the graphics mode in Ubuntu as root, you must do the following: If you have not yet set a password for the root user should do so now by typing in a terminal and running: $ sudo passwd root The system asks for the password you entered in the installation, then you must enter the new root password and confirm. Now you must use the command in the terminal and enter your root password. In GNOME you go to the menu System -> Administration -> login window . On the Security tab , mark Enable root user can log in and accept GDM. KDE is a bit more cumbersome. If you use KDM, open up the folder /etc/kde3/kdm. When you reach the file or folder search file kdmrc. Click the right mouse button on kdmrc ,and select " Edit as root ". Look for the line that say AllowRootLogin = false and change false to true . Save changes and quit.

Some people, after installing Ubuntu Linux, see the decision of the startup screen (boot GUI) is not appropriate for the resolution of the monitor set in the system. Here I'll show you a way to correct the usplash resolution to match the set in the system. 1. Open a terminal and type: sudo gedit /etc/usplash.conf The sudo command will ask for your password so you can edit the file with administrator permissions. Usplash.conf to open the file you'll see something like this: # Configuration file Usplash # These parameters will only apply after running update-initramfs. Xres = 640 Yres = 480 Or maybe just: # Configuration file Usplash # These parameters will only apply after running update-initramfs. 2. Sets Xres and Yres the resolution you want, for example 1024 × 768. # Configuration file Usplash # These parameters will only apply after running update-initramfs. Xres = 1024 Yres = 768 And save your changes. 3. Now you must update your initramfs for the cha...

Returning to the controversy over whether or not to add Mono by default in Linux distributions, as a message to the lists of ubuntu reads: "A common concern about Mono is the position of patents, mainly due to the creator of the C # language and the partners of the ECMA standards. The Ubuntu project is taken seriously patents and Ubuntu Technical Board is in charge of the allegations of violation of patents. If a holder of rights claims that it infringed a patent on the code distribution, the Technical Board will review the complaint. The Ubuntu Technical Board has not received declarations of breaches on the Mono stack, and is not aware of have been received by other similar projects. It is a common practice in the industry of software patenting as a protection against litigation, rather than with the intention of litigating. Thus, the mere existence of a patent without an allegation of infringement is not reason enough to ensure the exclusion of the Ubuntu projec...

"Grub2" is a replacement for grub, which has been claiming to be the replacement for it for some years. Switching to "grub2" would bring support for newer systems, internationalisation, updates and bug fixes etc. So it's clear we would like to switch the default bootloader to grub2...lets try "install and test grub2". Testing grub2 If you are running Jaunty Jackalope or later, grub2 can be installed in parallel with, and as a chainloaded sub-bootloader of, your existing grub installation. This allows you to boot actually with grub and then select grub2 from the menu. Then you can confirm grub2 works correctly before electing to switch to it formally. Note: If you do this from Jaunty YOUR MACHINE WILL NOT BOOT. Read the instructions about changing "root" to "uuid" below. Though it is unlikely you will have any issues it is always recommend taking precautions before attempting a bootloader update. It is recommended that you have an up...

Release of version 2.26.2 of GNOME was announced on May 20. This is the second update to GNOME 2.26. It contains some important bug arrangements that directly affect our users, updates the documentation and also a large number of updated translations. We thank all contributors who have worked hard to deliver these changes in time. Hope this helps people to feel better in the daily use of their computers! The next stable version of GNOME is GNOME 2.26.3, which will be ready on July 1. Meanwhile, the GNOME community is actively working on the GNOME unstable branch that will become GNOME 2.28 in September 2009.

It is confirmed: Ubuntu can run Android applications. As advanced a few days ago, has confirmed that Canonical is working on developing an environment that will allow the execution of native Android application in Ubuntu. This is confirmed by what was only a rumor a few days ago to Ubuntu and open up new possibilities, most interesting, since Android is expected to soon become a reference platform for mobile devices. The advantages of using this environment and its applications in Ubuntu is very good news. This project is in its infancy and not yet available, but hope to "open" soon, and thus accelerate their development through the work of the community. Read more here...

You may encounter a blank screen after boot in ubuntu. This will be due to some update of certain packages. Follow these steps to correct the problem. 1. Select recovery mode from the boot menu. 2. Select login as root from the menu in recovery mode. 3. Type this at the prompt # sudo apt-get remove xorg-driver-fglrx # sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg 4. Exit # exit 5. Now select Resume normal boot from the menu. Every thing should be OK by now. Please comment about your experience.

The launch of Amarok 2.1, five months after its previous version 2.0 was announced , the all-free multimedia player developed primarily for the KDE desktop. In addition to an updated look, some of the improvements in this new version include: Improvements in play lists : More and better filters to create them, but the biggest change is in the very form of lists, where we see only the name of the song. Context View : Amarok Context Browser lets us have all the information about a certain song or artist when you are playing this music, and now this interface allows for greater customization. Bookmarks : It is a very useful feature for those who use podcasts or audio books. Amarok saves them automatically to the audio track Amarok URLs : The idea is to combine services with other podcasts or songs in order to link directly to Amarok and share those links with ease. Last.fm : More and better integration with a service that has become sadly fee but still has millions of followers. Installin...