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    full circle magazine #38 contents

    full circleISSUE #38 - May 2010

    REVIEW - UBUNTU 10.04 - LUCID LYNX

    NEW SERIES

    Photoby:TambakotheJaguar(Flickr.com)

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    The articles contained in this magazine are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.This means you can adapt, copy, distribute and transmit the articles but only under the following conditions: You must attributethe work to the original author in some way (at least a name, email or URL) and to this magazine by name ('full circle magazine')

    and the URL www.fullcirclemagazine.org (but not attribute the article(s) in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Ifyou alter, transform, or build upon this work, you must distribute the resulting work under the same, similar or a compatible license.

    full circle

    Browser Blogging p.15

    Virtualization Intro p.12

    Program In Python Pt12 p.07 Ubuntu Games p.33

    Command & Conquer p.05

    Top 5 p.39

    My Story p.18

    Read how one user began withOpenSolaris, and another usercame from Freespire.

    MOTU Interview p.29

    Review - Ubuntu 10.04 p.24 Letters p.31

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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    Welcome to another issue of Full Circle magazine.

    This month sees the start of a new series of articles on virtualization. If you've

    ever wanted to try a new operating system, but without dual booting, or if youjust want to run Windows for that one elusive application then this series is foryou. In this first part, Lucas Westermann will take you through the set up of

    your virtual machine. From next month you get your hands dirty with actually installingan OS.

    Yes, 10.04 was released several months ago, but this month we have a review of it'sgood, and bad, points and the writer has thoughtfully included an extensive list ofapplications which he finds useful, maybe you'll discover a new favourite application.

    I'd like to thank those of you who sent in your Top 5 lists for this issue, while AndrewMin is away, I could only print one but rest assured, the next time Andrew needs sometime off, I'll use the other Top 5 lists.

    Speaking of submissions, remember folks, we're always open to new ideas forarticles, columns and so on. We've no limit to the number of pages in FCM so feel freeto write some articles on whatever you're best at.

    Editor, Full Circle [email protected]

    EDITORIALThis magazine was created using :

    Ubuntu is a complete operatingsystem that is perfect for

    laptops, desktops and servers.Whether at home, school orwork, Ubuntu contains all theapplications you'll ever needincluding word processor, emailapplication and web browser.Ubuntu is and always will be freeof charge. You do not pay anylicensing fees. You candownload, use and share Ubuntuwith your friends, family, schoolor business, for absolutelynothing.

    Once installed, your system isready to use with a full set ofproductivity, internet, drawingand graphics applications, andgames.

    use the new'contents' link to jumpto the contents pagefrom any other page!

    http://creativecommons.org/http://www.openoffice.org/http://www.gimp.org/http://www.scribus.net/mailto:[email protected]
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    NEWS

    Ask The Editor

    Robin Catling has somehowmanaged to convince me(Ronnie) to appear on

    to make itan FCM editorial Q&A, so if youhave a question for me aboutanything FCM, email it to:[email protected]

    Linux wins the SCO vs

    Novell case

    The six-year-long Novell-SCOcase is over - the judge ruledthat Novell did indeed own Unixpatents copyrights which SCOfailed to license properly andtherefore the case is closed.

    Judge Ted Stewart said: "Thejury could have rejected thetestimony of SCO's witnesses

    for a number of reasons,including their lack ofinvolvement in drafting theAPA, the fact that there waslittle testimony on any actualdiscussions concerning thetransfer of copyrights, or thatmany of the witnesses had afinancial interest in thelitigation."

    SCO became little more than asource of lawyers' letters andwas seen by many as the archnemesis to the development ofLinux.

    : theregister.co.uk

    Nvidia Display Driver

    256.35 For Linux

    After manymonths of hardwork, Nvidiafinallyannounced on

    June 22nd the final and stableversion of the 256.xproprietary driver for Nvidiagraphics cards. Nvidia 256.35incorporates lots of fixes and

    improvements, over previousreleases. Unofficial GLXsupport was also added for afew OpenGL extensions, aswell as Thermal Settingsreporting improvements,Compiz fixes, many VDPAUimprovements, and manymore.

    For the complete and detailedchangelog, please check therelease announcement at:http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/linux-display-ia32-256.35-driver-uk.html

    : softpedia.com

    SystemRescueCd 1.5.6

    includes new version of

    GParted

    TheSystemRescueCd developershave issuedthe sixthupdate to the

    1.5.x branch of their Linuxdistribution. Based on theGentoo LiveCD, the

    SystemRescueCd is configuredas a tool kit for administeringor repairing an operatingsystem and recovering dataafter a system crash.Supported file systems includeExt2, Ext3 and Ext4, ReiserFS,XFS, JFS, VFAT, NTFS, ISO9660and Btrfs.

    SystemRescueCd 1.5.6 useseither the 2.6.32.15 Linuxkernel or the 2.6.34 kernel asan alternative and features thelatest major 0.6.0 update tothe GNOME Partition Editorthat adds support for deviceswith sector sizes greater than

    512 bytes and an newalignment option. With GPartedusers can easily create,organise and delete disk

    partitions using a graphicaluser interface (GUI).

    isavailable to download from:http://www.sysresccd.org/Download. A user manual is alsoavailable to download from:http://www.sysresccd.org/Online-Manual-EN

    : h-online.com

    http://www.sysresccd.org/Online-Manual-ENhttp://www.sysresccd.org/Downloadhttp://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/linux-display-ia32-256.35-driver-uk.htmlmailto:[email protected]
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    B

    efore I begin theactual article, I'd liketo mention an email Ireceived from a

    reader. Alexander was kindenough to point out that thereis a GUI tray program calledgstm that does ssh portforwarding. For those of myreaders who prefer GUIalternatives where possible,there you go. It's available inthe universe repository. Also, areader (who, alas, did not

    share his/her name with me -but you know who you are!)pointed out that in Step 7 ofmy FCM#37 C&C article I failedto point out that you need tosubstitute "localhost" with theIP of your server. (Thecommand was "ssh -D 8080lswest@localhost", wherelswest@localhost had to besubstituted withyour_username@IP_ADDRESS_SERVER). Sorry for anyconfusion that may haveresulted.

    This month, I spent quite

    some time re-writing a few

    patches for DWM (DynamicWindow Manager) so that theywould work with the pangopatch, which adds xft font

    support to DWM's statusbar. Indoing so, I learned quite a bitabout diff, and have decided toshare what I learned with you,my readers. If you're askingyourselves why should I knowhow to use diff, since I don'tuse DWM nor generatepatches?, the answer issimply because diff can be

    applied to so many situations.Imagine you are writing ascript, and you want to add tothe script, but require the oldversion for a differentcomputer - instead of creatingand backing up two separatescripts, you can write thescript, create a copy of it, makechanges to the copy, generate

    a .diff file, and back up theoriginal script and the .diff file,and save yourself some work inthe future. Or, if you're helpinga friend, and you can't simplysend them the file you need tocorrect, you can send them a.diff to make the changes.

    There are probably many otheruses (adjusting configurationfiles, and so forth) that Ihaven't thought of yet.

    Diff is installed, by default,

    in most distributions. If it's notpresent in Ubuntu, just install itwith:

    sudo apt-get install diff

    Once it's installed, you're

    pretty much all set. In order to

    generate a .diff file, you needto have two files you want toanalyse. One will be theoriginal (I will refer to it assuch from now on), and theother will be the updated file.

    For simplicity, let's say I

    have a file that contains thefollowing:

    And I want to change this to:

    I'd make the changes I wantin the updated file. I usuallyadd a -patched suffix at the

    end of the filename. Once thechanges are made, and I wantto generate a diff, I will typethe following into my terminalof choice:

    diff -up original updated >articles\list\update.diff

    COMMAND & CONQUER

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    has learned all he knowsfrom repeatedly breaking hissystem, then having no otheroption but to discover how to fixit. You can email Lucas at:[email protected].

    COMMAND & CONQUERReplace original and

    updated with the actual filenames and paths. If you don'twant the diff file to be createdin the current workingdirectory, append a path to thefilename on the other side ofthe >. The > tells the shellto redirect all output intowhatever you pass after thesymbol - in this case, the .difffile. If you want to apply thechanges to another copy of theoriginal file (on a differentcomputer, for example), youwould need to run one of thetwo commands in the foldercontaining the file you wish topatch (they do the same thing):

    patch -p1 < /path/to/.diff

    patch -Np1 -i /path/to/.diff

    Where, of course, youexchange the /path/to/.diffwith the actual path.

    I realize that my exampleisn't really a case where youwould decide to use apatch/.diff file to makechanges, but I chose it for thesake of simplicity. Anotherscenario where diff is useful: ifyou have two files (in my case,

    it's usually configuration files),and you don't know if they'vebeen changed, and if theyhave, what changes you'vemade. To check this, you cansimply run the command:

    diff /path/to/first/file

    /path/to/second/file

    Be sure to actually replacethe paths. The output shouldlook something like this:

    5c5< - Cover useful stuff to do

    with curl, wget, and soforth? And diff?---

    > - Diff (wget and curl nextmonth)

    I'll explain the above line byline. The 5c5 is (I believe) acomparison of lines within thefirst and second files. I'm notcertain of this, but it seems tobe the case. The next linedisplays a line that was

    removed (the symbol.

    As you can see, this is a

    very useful tool for figuring outthe differences between twofiles, especially if they're ratherlong. You can pipe the outputinto more or less for easierreading, or redirect it into atext file. The format will be thesame, as long as you don'tappend any arguments to thediff command.

    Hopefully this introduction

    to diff has helped you realize ascenario in which you couldmake use of it, and willhopefully make life easier foranyone who decides to use it.As always, any questions orcomments can be emailed tome at [email protected]. Besure to include C&C or FCMin the subject line, so that Ireply quickly (and can organizemy emails easily!).

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    HOW-TO Program In Python - Part 12

    FCM#27-37 - Python Parts 1 - 11

    Dev

    In our last session, welooked at the API fromwunderground, and wrotesome code to grab the

    current conditions. This time,we will be dealing with the

    forecast portion of the API. Ifyou haven't had a chance tolook at the last two installmentsabout XML, and the last onespecifically, you might want toreview them before movingforward.

    Just as there was a webaddress for the currentconditions, there is one for theforecast. Here is the link to the

    forecast XML page:http://api.wunderground.com/auto/wui/geo/ForecastXML/index.xml?query=80013

    As before, you can changethe '80013' to yourCity/Country, City/State, orpostal code. You'll probably getback about 600 lines of XML

    code. You have a root elementof 'forecast', and then four subelements: 'termsofservice','txt_forecast', 'simpleforecast'and 'moon_phase'. We willconcentrate on the'txt_forecast' and'simpleforecast' elements.

    Since we went over the

    usage, main, and if __name__sections last time, I'll leavethose to you to deal with and

    just concentrate on thegoodies that we need for thistime. Since I showed you asnippet f txt_forecast, let'sstart with that.

    Shown below is a very smallportion of the txt_forecast setfor my area.

    After the txt_forecast parentelement, we get the date, anumber element, then anelement that has children of itsown called forecastday whichincludes period, icon, icons,title and something calledfcttext...then it repeats itself.

    The first thing you'll notice isthat under txt_forecast, the

    date isn't a date, but a timevalue. It turns out that this is

    when the forecast wasreleased. The tagshows how many forecaststhere are for the next 24 hour

    period. I can't think of a timethat I've seen this value lessthan 2. For each forecast forthe 24 hour period(), you have aperiod number, multiple iconoptions, a title option (Today,Tonight, Tomorrow), andthe text of a simple forecast.

    This is a quick overview of the

    forecast, usually for the next12 hours.

    3:31 PM MDT2

    1nt_cloudy+TonightMostly cloudy with a 20

    percent chance of thunderstorms in the evening...thenpartly cloudy after midnight. Lows in the mid 40s.Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the south after

    midnight.

    +

    http://api.wunderground.com/auto/wui/geo/ForecastXML/index.xml?query=80013
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    PROGRAM IN PYTHON - PART 12

    Before we start working withour code, we should take a lookat the portion of the xml file which isshown right.

    There is a tag for each day of the forecastperiod, usually 6 days includingthe current day. You have thedate information in variousformats (I personally like the tag), projected highand low temps in bothFahrenheit and Celsius, grosscondition projection, variousicons, a sky icon (sky

    conditions at the reportingstation), and pop whichstands for Probability OfPrecipitation. The tag providessome interesting informationincluding sunset, sunrise, andmoon information.

    Now we'll get into the code.

    Here is the import set:

    from xml.etree importElementTree as ET

    import urllib

    import sys

    import getopt

    Now we need to start ourclass. We will create an __init__routine to setup and clear thevariables that we need, this isshown top right on thefollowing page.

    If you don't care aboutcarrying the ability of bothFahrenheit and Celsius, thenleave out whichever variableset you don't want. I decided tocarry both.

    Next, we'll start our mainretrieval routine to get theforecast data. This is shown

    bottom right on the next page.

    This is pretty much thesame as the current conditionsroutine we worked on last time.

    The only major difference (sofar) is the URL we are using.Now things change. Since wehave multiple children thathave the same tag within the

    parent, we have to make ourparse calls a bit different. Thecode is top left on the followingpage.

    Notice we are using tree.findthis time, and we are using forloops to walk through the data.It's a shame that Python

    1

    12757068259:00 PM MDT9:00 PM MDT on June 04, 20104620101542100251JuneFridayPMMDTAmerica/Denver

    9233

    5814

    Partly Cloudypartlycloudy+

    partlycloudy10

    ...

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    class ForecastInfo:def __init__(self):

    self.forecastText = [] # Today/tonight forecastinformation

    self.Title = [] # Today/tonightself.date = ''self.icon = [] # Icon to use for conditions

    today/tonightself.periods = 0

    self.period = 0#==============================================# Extended forecast information#==============================================self.extIcon = [] # Icon to use for extended

    forecastself.extDay = [] # Day text for this forecast

    ("Monday", "Tuesday" etc)self.extHigh = [] # High Temp. (F)self.extHighC = [] # High Temp. (C)self.extLow = [] # Low Temp. (F)self.extLowC = [] # Low Temp. (C)

    self.extConditions = [] # Conditions textself.extPeriod = [] # Numerical Periodinformation (counter)

    self.extpop = [] # Percent chance OfPrecipitation

    def GetForecastData(self,location):try:

    forecastdata = 'http://api.wunderground.com/auto/wui/geo/ForecastXML/index.xml?query=%s' % locationurllib.socket.setdefaulttimeout(8)usock = urllib.urlopen(forecastdata)tree = ET.parse(usock)usock.close()

    except:print 'ERROR - Forecast - Could not get information from server...'sys.exit(2)

    #=================================# Get the forecast for today and (if available)tonight#=================================fcst = tree.find('.//txt_forecast')

    for f in fcst:if f.tag == 'number':

    self.periods = f.textelif f.tag == 'date':

    self.date = f.textfor subelement in f:

    if subelement.tag == 'period':self.period=int(subelement.text)

    if subelement.tag == 'fcttext':self.forecastText.append(subelement.text)

    elif subelement.tag == 'icon':self.icon.append( subelement.text)

    elif subelement.tag == 'title':self.Title.append(subelement.text)

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    is owner of, a

    consulting company in Aurora,Colorado, and has beenprogramming since 1972. Heenjoys cooking, hiking, music,and spending time with hisfamily.

    PROGRAM IN PYTHON - PART 12doesn't offer a SELECT/CASEcommand set like otherlanguages. The IF/ELIF routine,however, works well, just a bitclunkier. Now we'll break downthe code. We assign thevariable fcst to everythingwithin the tag.

    This gets all the data for thatgroup. We then look for thetags and -since those are simple firstlevel tags - and load that datainto our variables. Now thingsget a bit more difficult. Lookback at our xml responseexample. There are twoinstances of .Under are sub-elements that consist of, , , and . We'llloop through these, and againuse the IF statement to loadthem into our variables.

    Next we need to look at the

    extended forecast data for thenext X number of days. We arebasically using the samemethodology to fill ourvariables; this is shown topright.

    Now we need to create ouroutput routine. As we did last

    time, it will be fairly generic.The code for this is shown onthe right of the following page.

    Again, if you don't want tocarry both Centigrade andFahrenheit information, thenmodify the code to show whatyou want. Finally, we have aDoIt routine:

    defDoIt(self,Location,US,IncludeToday,Output):

    self.GetForecastData(Location)

    self.output(US,IncludeTod

    ay,Output)

    Now we can call the routineas follows:

    forecast = ForecastInfo()

    forecast.DoIt('80013',1,0,0)# Insert your own postal code

    That's about it for this time.

    I'll leave the alert data to you,if you want to go through that.

    Here is the completerunning code:http://pastebin.com/wsSXMXQx

    #=================================# Now get the extended forecast

    #=================================fcst = tree.find('.//simpleforecast')for f in fcst:

    for subelement in f:if subelement.tag == 'period':

    self.extPeriod.append(subelement.text)elif subelement.tag == 'conditions':

    self.extConditions.append(subelement.text)elif subelement.tag == 'icon':

    self.extIcon.append(subelement.text)elif subelement.tag == 'pop':

    self.extpop.append(subelement.text)elif subelement.tag == 'date':

    for child in subelement.getchildren():if child.tag == 'weekday':

    self.extDay.append(child.text)elif subelement.tag == 'high':

    for child in subelement.getchildren():if child.tag == 'fahrenheit':

    self.extHigh.append(child.text)if child.tag == 'celsius':

    self.extHighC.append(child.text)elif subelement.tag == 'low':

    for child in subelement.getchildren():if child.tag == 'fahrenheit':

    self.extLow.append(child.text)if child.tag == 'celsius':

    self.extLowC.append(child.text)

    http://pastebin.com/wsSXMXQx
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    PROGRAM IN PYTHON - PART 12

    Full CirclePodcast

    The is back and better thanever!

    Topics in episode eight include: News - Maverick development Lubuntu interview Gaming - Ed reviews Osmos Feedback...and all the usual hilarity.

    The podcast and show notes are at:http://fullcirclemagazine.org/

    def output(self,US,IncludeToday,Output):# US takes 0,1 or 2# 0 = Centigrade# 1 = Fahrenheit# 2 = both (if available)# Now print it allif Output == 0:

    for c in range(int(self.period)):

    if c 1:print '-------------------------------'

    print 'Forecast for %s' %self.Title[c].lower()

    print 'Forecast = %s' %self.forecastText[c]

    print 'ICON=%s' % self.icon[c]print '-----------------------------------'

    print 'Extended Forecast...'if IncludeToday == 1:

    startRange = 0else:

    startRange = 1for c in range(startRange,6):

    print self.extDay[c]if US == 0: #Centigrade information

    print '\tHigh - %s(C)' %self.extHigh[c]

    print '\tLow - %s(C)' % self.extLow[c]elif US == 1: #Fahrenheit information

    print '\tHigh - %s(F)' %self.extHigh[c]

    print '\tLow - %s(F)' % self.extLow[c]else: #US == 2 both(if available)

    print '\tHigh - %s' % self.extHigh[c]print '\tLow - %s' % self.extLow[c]if int(self.extpop[c]) == 0:

    print '\tConditions - %s.' %self.extConditions[c]

    else:print '\tConditions - %s. %d%% chance

    of precipitation.' %(self.extConditions[c],int(self.extpop[c]))

    http://fullcirclemagazine.org/http://url.fullcirclemagazine.org/88a985
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    HOW-TO Virtualization Introduction

    N/A

    Dev System

    I

    've always been a fan ofvirtualization, since itallows me to play aroundwith various distributions,

    to create configuration files forwindow managers withoutfighting with a semi-functionalin-between stage, and to installoperating systems I wouldn'tnecessarily use in a real-worldscenario in order tounderstand them better. Eventhese days, I have 5 virtualmachines sitting idle on my

    computer. They are Arch Linuxi686, Crunch Bang, Open BSD(64 bit), OpenSolaris 2008.11,and Ubuntu 9.10. In this series,I'll be covering how to installVirtual Box, and configure it foruse with USB devices, andadding/removing virtualmachines. Every month, I'llwrite a how-to for a new

    distribution until I've coveredall the ones I'm comfortablewith (and maybe a few I'mnot). Today, we'll simply bepaving the way for subsequentarticles by setting everythingup properly.

    Step 1 Installation

    The first step is, logically, toinstall Virtual Box. This can be

    done in two ways. If you don'tplan on using any USB deviceswith the virtual machines, theOSE (Open Source Edition) willbe fine for you it's availablefrom the repositories. To installit, type this command:

    sudo apt-get installvirtualbox-ose

    If, however, you plan tomake use of features such asRemote Desktop Protocol, USBdevices, and USB over RDP(remote desktop protocol),then you'll need the PersonalUse and Evaluation License(PUEL) binary, which can bedownloaded from here:

    http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

    You can add the repositorythere if you like, and follow theinstructions to install VirtualBox, or if you prefer todownload a .deb file, you can

    download the .deb, and simplydouble-click the package, onceyou download, and it will allowyou to install it, or, if you prefer

    the CLI way, you can install itwith this command:

    sudo dpkg -i/path/to/package/

    Where /path/to/package isreplaced with the actual path,such as ~/Downloads if it's inyour home folder's Downloadsfolder.

    Step 2 - Configure USB

    Support(only required for PUEL edition)

    If you find that USB devicemounting doesn't work for yourinstallation (it should, so try itfirst), give the following a shot:

    Add the following line toyour /etc/fstab file:

    none /proc/bus/usb usbfsauto,busgid=108,busmode=0775,devgid=108,devmode=0664 0 0

    It's important to note that

    VIRTUALIZATION INTRODUCTION

    http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads
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    VIRTUALIZATION INTRODUCTION

    you must change the 108to the ID of the vboxusersgroup on your computer. Tofind it, type the following:

    grep vboxusers /etc/group

    Once you add that line, run

    the following command:

    mount -a

    And you should now be ableto connect USB devices.

    Step 3 Creating a

    Virtual Machine

    This will be the last step wecover today. In this step, I'llcover how to create a VirtualMachine.

    First, you'll want to knowwhat distribution/OS you'reinstalling. For simplicity's sake,I'll assume we're installing

    Ubuntu 9.10, 32bit edition.Once you're ready to begin, hitthe New button in the upperleft-hand corner of the window.

    This will open the New VirtualMachine Wizard. You'll want tohit "next" to skip the Welcomepage, and move on to the

    Name and OS Type pages.Here, you'll type in:

    : Ubuntu 9.10: Linux

    : Ubuntu

    Once you've entered theinformation and hit next, you'llbe staring at a slider,wondering just how much RAMto give your virtual machine.

    These are the general values Iuse:

    384MB(no GUI, with GUI, go with 512MB)

    512MB(with Compiz, go with 768MB)

    768MB

    For this demonstration, I'llstick with the default 512MB.After pressing next, you'll beasked if you want to create anew hard drive, or use an oldone. You'll want to create anew hard drive, so keep the

    default selection and hit nextagain. On the new window,move along to the second page(Hard Disk Storage Type). Hereyou have two options, which I'llbriefly explain:

    (1)

    is a filecontainer that starts at thesmallest possible size, andexpands its physical size asyou install and add things tothe virtual machine. Forexample, if you give it 10GB ofstorage, it'll start at around100kB, and increase to 3GB asyou install something, and soforth. (This is my personalpreference, since it helps mekeep some space free).

    (2) is afile container that sticks to thesize you give it, meaning youwon't run into issues if yourhard drive is full and thedynamic expanding storagecan't expand anymore (unlikelythese daysthough).Instead, ifyou give it10GB, it's a10GB file.

    Choosewhicheverformat you'dlike, and hitnext.

    My hard-drive sizes forvirtual machines are as follows:

    5-8GB(no GUI, with GUI 8-10GB)

    10-12GB 15-20GB

    Therefore, I'll increase thesize of the hard drive to 10GBand hit next, and then finish to

    complete the hard-driveselection. Your Virtual Machineis now set up and ready to go.

    You just need to hit finish oncemore. In case anyone wants tomove ahead and try installingsomething, you need simplyrun the machine and choose anISO/CD from the first runwizard.

    Something to note is that a

    virtual machine will not be asfast as a native application

    (native =running on non-virtualizedhardware).Compiz may ormay not runonce youinstall guestadditions

    (depends on your GPU), and, ofcourse, Virtual Box will eat a lotof RAM, since it allocates theassigned amount to the virtualmachine at the start. (I'm not

    ... a virtual machinewill not be as fast as... non-virtualizedhardware.

    VIRTUALIZATION INTRODUCTION

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    VIRTUALIZATION INTRODUCTION

    sure if the newest version doesthis dynamically or not). Youwill need to either account forthis in advance if you have lessthan 2GB of RAM, or simply runVirtual Box on its own (no otherrunning programs).

    I hope that this opening to

    my Virtualization series wasunderstandable, and that someof you will find it useful. Ifanyone runs into issues, or hasany questions, they can directthem to [email protected].

    Just be sure to put either FCMor Virtualization Series intothe subject line, so that I replyin a timely manner. Stay tunedfor next month's article oninstalling our first Linuxdistribution, and setting upsnapshots to avoid losing asystem.

    has learned all he knowsfrom repeatedly breaking hissystem, then having no otheroption but to discover how to fixit. You can email Lucas at:[email protected].

    Twelve Months of Joy - Looking

    Back

    About six months ago I posted onUbuntu Forums about my first impressions

    of using Ubuntu. This is just an update tothat post.

    My first use of Ubuntu was when Irequested a Live CD of 8.10. My firstimpression of it was "wow!", it wasawesome, and even though I had my fairshare of issues with it the first time aroundI stuck with it and fixed many problemssuch as Flash, Java, sound and Internet

    connection.

    I then just mass installed many, manyprograms to see which ones I liked best,then when Jaunty came out I installed itand found that my sound worked muchbetter and Java and Flash had vastlyimproved. While using Jaunty I testedmany desktop environments, windowmanagers, themes and desktop setups.

    I now use Ubuntu 9.10 with Emerald andCompiz. I am also hosting a project onLaunchPad and regularly participate on theforums, in IRC and on mailing lists. I alsonow run an Ubuntu based server and its

    current uptime is 127 days.

    Sure, I still have a LOT to learn but I'moptimistic about it now. No longer is thereany need for me to download crackedproprietary software, scan for and remove

    hundreds of viruses a day or even spendso much time maintaining andadministering my systems. I now find Ihave time for so much more and I feel thatthis is just the beginning for me.

    No longer do I think, I say,

    In conclusion, Ubuntu has changed mylife, I really mean this too. Not only has itmade my computing activities far moreinteresting and a lot easier, I now enjoy thechallenges it presents me with.

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    HOW-TO Browser Blogging

    For years, I've had myown blog, allowing meto post my thoughts ontopics ranging from

    explaining comic bookminutiae to describing what Idid on my vacations. However,

    how I post to my blog hasvaried over the years. WhileI've used various Firefoxextensions, as well as thedefault posting interface thatBlogger.com offers, my currentchoice for posting to my blog isScribeFire. ScribeFire

    N/A

    Internet

    (http://www.scribefire.com) is aFirefox extension which, wheninstalled, allows posting to ablog from within Firefox, and

    offers an assortment ofblogging options (right).

    Installation

    To install ScribeFire withinFirefox, go to Tools > Add-Ons,then under the Get Add-Onstab, search for ScribeFire inthe text search box. Firefoxshould then display ScribeFirein the results. After clickingAdd to Firefox (and restartingthe browser), ScribeFire will beinstalled. ScribeFire can bedisplayed by selecting thesmall orange icon resembling anotepad that now appears inthe bottom right corner of the

    browser window. The defaulteditor interface will thenappear, as seen in the firstpicture. ScribeFire can also beactivated by right-clicking inFirefox, and selectingScribeFire; several options aredisplayed, including Blog thispage, which offers the ability

    to begin a blog post with thedisplayed page's URL pre-entered.

    ScribeFire's interface

    features five tabs at the leftside: Editor (the defaultinterface), Monetize, Promote,Settings and About.Additionally, several tabs willappear in the right side of theEditor screen: Blog, Entries,Categories and Options.

    Set Up

    Setting up ScribeFire for

    your blog should be simple,thanks to a setup wizard forentering new blogs. To use thewizard, under the Blog tab onthe right side of the defaultEditor tab, select Add, whichwill start the wizard. Follow theinstructions as indicated, which

    BROWSER BLOGGING

    http://www.scribefire.com/
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    BROWSER BLOGGING

    may vary depending on yourblog's needs, its host, and soforth.

    As mentioned above,

    ScribeFire's main tabs arelocated on the left side of theinterface, each with a different

    main feature.

    Editor

    The Editor tab is the defaultinterface. The Editor tab, asshown in the first picture,features a window for enteringthe blog post's text. The tab

    also features a toolbar at thetop, offering, similar to a wordprocessor, tools for basicformatting of text (bold, italics,underlining), as well as addingimages or URLs to the textentered. Tabs at the top leftoffer a choice of rich textediting (the default), HTMLformat editing, or a live

    preview of how the finishedtext will appear on the blog.Other editing options, includingbullets and quotes, are alsoincluded.

    The right side of the Editor

    pane includes the tabs:

    : For adding or deletingblogs to use with ScribeFire.

    : For viewing andediting previous blog postsmade with ScribeFire.

    : To tag blog postswith searchable tags; for

    example, a blog post aboutBugs Bunny cartoons mighthave as tags Looney Tunes,Bugs Bunny, rabbits, andcartoon.

    : A few options forcustomizing the particular post

    BROWSER BLOGGING

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    BROWSER BLOGGINGbeing written, including editingits timestamp, and a fewtracking features for websitessuch as Technorati or delicio.us.

    : The Monetize taboffers settings for those whowish to place advertising

    services on their blog. Thisfeature, however, relies on aplugin from a website namedInLinks.com (whom ScribeFirehas partnered with), and iscompatible only with blogsusing Wordpress.org, Drupal,or MoveableType.

    : The Promote tab(above) offers linking to theblog post using various onlineservices, includingStumbleUpon, delicio.us,

    Technorati, and Facebook.

    : The Settings taboffers various advancedsettings for ScribeFire,including editing the basictemplate for blog posts, someScribeFire display settings, andimport/export functions forblogs.

    : The About tab displaysthe ScribeFire home page,which lists news and version

    update information aboutScribeFire.

    Conclusion

    As you can see, ScribeFireoffers a powerful blogging

    interface from within Firefox.ScribeFire has proven quiteuseful to me, with the ability toright-click within Firefox andblog about a particular viewedpage. While I don't make useof the promotional or monetaryfeatures, these might also beuseful for users looking for aconvenient way to link a blog

    post to Facebook or delicio.us,or to use advertising on theirblog.

    has been anUbuntu user since version 5.04(Hoary). Anthony may bereached at [email protected],and his blog is at:http://adean.blogspot.com.

    Google Chrome

    is also available as aChrome extension via:http://goo.gl/greo

    http://goo.gl/greohttp://adean.blogspot.com/mailto:[email protected]
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    MY STORY

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    in a friend's desktop, but gotthe same result. After that I

    just gave up, which is not inmy nature.

    A few days later, I got a CDof Ubuntu 6.06 from a friend. Ididn't know whether it was the

    newest version or not, but Iwas impressed with the CD asit came from ShipIt. I tried theCD, but obtained the sameresult. I was getting tired now.

    The very next day, I went tothe cyber caf, visited theUbuntu website and found thatthe newest version was 9.04. Itried to download it, but thedownload process started withan extremely slow speed (5kb/s). I didn't wait for thedownload to complete, soinstead I downloaded the PDFdocumentation of Ubuntu 6.06.

    The same night, I startedreading it in the hope that Imight find a solution to my

    problem. I read the features ofUbuntu - how things work,what software is installed, etc. -in the documentation, and gotdesperate and sad that Icouldn't install it in my laptop.

    But the good part was that Iread about ShipIt on that

    Ubuntu CD I got. So, Irequested a free CD of the newversion on the website. A weeklater my same friend gave mean Ubuntu CD which he saidcould be installed insideWindows. It was version 8.10,and it did install inside

    Windows. Then I saw Ubuntufor the first time, a non-Windows OS running on mylaptop. I remember the dateand time well: 31 July 2009,12:47 p.m. At first sight the OSlooked extra-terrestrial, but Ikept on exploring it. The thingthat impressed me a lot wasthat Ubuntu didn't need any

    device drivers for my laptop, incontrast to what I had facedbefore with Windows XP.

    After a week, I was familiarwith Ubuntu. In fact, I wasworking flawlessly at theterminal, did critical system

    modifications such as auto-mounting local hard drives onstart-up, creating a Pagefile,and changing the GRUB bootmenu. I learned these thingsfrom various sources such asthe Ubuntu Pocket Guide,Ubuntu Kung Fu Beta, andUbuntuforums.org. Finally, onefine morning, 21 August 2009,

    the requested CD from ShipItarrived by post. That was ahappy day for me. I installedthe newest version of mybeloved Ubuntu. However, Ifound that one can't make themost out of Ubuntu without adirect Internet connection,

    which wasn't possible for me.But I continued to use it byonly modifying themes viagnome-look, even though itwasn't able to play any of mymedia files.

    Then I started discoveringthe world of Linux. I saw thatLinux comes in a wide varietyof distributions, but,undoubtedly, Ubuntu is theking of Linux distros. I becameacquainted with Ubuntu'schildren: Kubuntu, Xubuntuand Edubuntu. I also came toknow the terms GNOME, KDE,XFCE, etc. I also found themost wonderful thing about

    Ubuntu: Full Circle magazine.In fact, one day I downloadedall its issues and read them inmy free time. This increasedmy knowledge of Ubuntu andLinux to a greater extent,thanks to all the people whoproduce this magazine by theirprecious effort.

    MY STORY

    MY STORY

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    MY STORY

    I

    have been aware of theexistence of Linux as anoperating system since itstarted to appear on PC

    magazine cover discs in the'90s. At that time, Red Hatseemed to be the predominantdistro pushed on cover discs.As a non-technical PC user withacquired skills using Windowsfrom its 3.xx days, I had littleinterest then in installing andlearning a new operatingsystem.

    From about 2002 I started tobecome a little moreadventurous, and, with the helpof a couple of more technicallyminded friends, I started todelve into the world of PCupgrading. I built a PC formyself. At this stage, I becameaware of the cost of Windows

    XP when I had to spend 100for an OEM disc and license.Also, around this time I met aguy at work who actually ranLinux on a laptop he broughtinto work, but it was too relianton command-line interventionsfor me to use.

    By 2006, I was more

    confident with Windows, andcould even do a few things withconfidence in a terminal

    window. Around this time, a PCmagazine I read regularly had abeginner's Linux section thatmentioned this new Linux distrocalled Ubuntu. It said theinstallation process hadbecome quite user friendly. Igot hold of a copy (I can'tremember if this was a coverdisc or if I downloaded the ISOimage from the Web), I ran it inlive mode, and was quiteimpressed. I also experimentedwith the late, lamentedFreespire, which, at that time,was one of the easiest systemsto install. I was so impressedwith Ubuntu that I learned howto install it as a dual-bootsystem, although, at this stage,I was still unclear how to getthings like DVDs, MP3s andother multimedia to worksuccessfully.

    Over the next few months I

    played around with Ubuntu andliked it. With the help of forums,

    I also convinced the ownerof the cyber caf to let me usemy laptop there, so that I couldmake a direct Internetconnection to my computer. Ithen finally got the most fromUbuntu. I felt that I'd become amaster of using Ubuntu andthe Linux command line. I thentried some other faces ofLinux, such as Mint andopenSUSE, but they wereunsatisfactory compared toUbuntu. When I used Compiz, Ifound that Windows can't evenprovide 10% of the graphical

    effects that Ubuntu provides.Safety is, of course, a bigfeature of Linux and Ubuntu -Windows viruses might havebecome confused when I usedUbuntu.

    I have benefited greatlyfrom Ubuntu, which isdeveloped by a community of

    users like me. I heartedly feltthat I can't keep on using ituntil I contribute to Ubuntu insome way. So, I startedsearching for ways tocontribute. I had many optionsfor contributing as I am aprogramming student. I've

    already learned languagessuch as C, C++, JavaScript,HTML, Visual Basic, anddatabases like FoxPro. I'm acreative photographer, so Ialso want to help with the ArtWork.

    I've promoted Ubuntu in ourcircle, and most of my friendsstarted using it. Currently I runWindows 7 RC and Ubuntu9.10. I use Windows only todevelop my projects in VisualBasic and to play games. Ihope we can get the samegaming capabilities intoUbuntu soon. I want to knowabout any good documentationon learning Python and Perl,because I've found that mostof the programs for Ubuntu aredeveloped in these twolanguages. So, fellow readers,please help me with yoursuggestions for learning theseso that I can effectively

    contribute - send them [email protected],

    That was my journey toUbuntu. My experiences haveconvinced me that aLinux/Ubuntu era will occur inthe world of computing.

    MY STORY

    MY STORY

    mailto:[email protected]
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    MY STORY

    and some people I got to knowwho also used it, I was able toget all the stuff like Flash, MP3and DVD playback working,mainly by activation of theMedibuntu repository andinstalling the restricted extraspackages, but there were still a

    few things that I neededWindows for, so I did not makethe break from Windowscompletely.

    In 2008, I was given an oldPC, which I got working, and inwhich I wanted to install areliable, secure operatingsystem. XP was not a choice,for it cost more than the PCwas worth - it was old and withlimited memory. I installedXubuntu on it, and thisbreathed new life into the PC,which subsequently was givenaway on the Freegle network(formally Freecycle) in my localarea. Being at university,during the summer vacation Iwas able to rebuild a numberof PCs with parts from Freegle,and, as I was giving themaway, I again installed avariant of Ubuntu tailored tothe spec of the PC, more oftenthan not Xubuntu. Thatsummer I gave away about 12

    PCs which all had Ubuntu (oran Ubuntu derivative such asMint) on them. I have sincegone on to do quite a fewmore, with the current tallybeing in the mid 20's.

    In May 2009, I realised that I

    was very rarely accessing myXP partition, preferring insteadto boot into Ubuntu. I installedUbuntu as my only system onthe disk. Since that time, Ihave learned about Virtualboxand have installed a virtual XPsystem in Ubuntu, which worksfor me when I occasionallyneed to access an XP system.

    In the Blackpool area of the

    UK where I live there was aLUG, but it had become largelyinactive. However, at thebeginning of this year, the guyrunning it started a drop-in ona Saturday morning, withmixed success. I've started toattend this, and it's begining toattract a small group of userswho are sharing theirexperiences with Linux (mainlyUbuntu or one of itsderivatives). My confidence inmy abilities, and my knowledgeof Ubuntu, have grown, so,while I'm still a beginner, I'm

    starting to realize that I canhelp others. I'm also moreconfident in looking forsolutions to my own problemson the forums, and throughreading more advanced books.I have even taken the leap toediting configuration files in a

    text editor, if only in a smallway. I subscribe to several PCmagazines, one of which isLinux specific, and I continue tolearn.

    As for using Ubuntu, in a

    little over 3 years I haveprobably got to the stage ittook me over 10 years to get towith Windows. I'm writing thisafter a week of installing andshaking a few bugs out ofKarmic on three PCs. Mydesktop (P4(D) 3.4GHz with2GB of RAM), an old ToshibaEquium laptop (1.4GB Celeronwith 2GB of Ram), and my AcerNetbook, all have the standarddesktop version installed with

    the required tweaks formultimedia. So far I love it,although as I'm still firmly32bit, I'm not getting the fullspeed boot up of those withfaster 64-bit PCs, but, hey, youcan't have it all.

    My next task is to graduallyget my partner to accept thatWindows is not the be-all andend-all of the PC world, butthat may take quite a while.

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    MY OPINION What Makes A Digital Messiah?

    E

    xpectations were highin January when a guynamed Steve stood upin San Francisco and

    announced a new digitalmessiah; after almost twoyears of hype and speculation,it seems we'd be satisfied withnothing less. Just one look atthe shiny tablet (cue heavenlychoir), and the punditsdeclared we were in the future.

    Yet less is what we got. This

    is not a review. The reviewstalk endlessly about everythingthe latest i-thing lacks: thescreen isn't OLED, it doesn'tdisplay e-ink, it's heavy, thebattery life isn't so great,there's no stylus, and so on.We wanted the next Wiicontroller, the next point-and-pinch multi-touch screen, the

    next tilty-pointy, GPS-giro-scoped, voice-enabled, low-fat,high-protein lean-mean-grilling-machine.

    What about price points? Doyou get the cheap one withlimited storage and limited

    connectivity, or the expensiveone that still doesn't haveenough storage and needs a3G plug-in to talk to the world

    in joined-up writing? Can youFacebook while in the bath?

    This Steve guy is still goingto sell a few million of them, ifonly because certain sectionsof the developed world areovergrown adolescents with afetish for toys, gadgets and,yes, status symbols of how

    much disposable income theyhave. Steve dismissed thenetbook as just a cheap laptopthat doesn't do much. It's not anew category of devicebetween PC and smart-phone,it's just a cheap laptop. SorryLinux fan-boys, there goes yourbridgehead into the massmarket. The tablet (cue

    heavenly choir) is the thirddevice, Steve just told us so.

    Maybe I've missed the point.Maybe it's not about thedevice. Maybe it's in theservices that make up Steve'stablet (cue heavenly choir).

    The VHS player broughtmovies to people who'dstopped going to movies. Whenthat market peaked, the DVD

    player started it all over again.The Sony Walkman brought usmusic on the move, now theiPod does it better. The Wii isbringing computer games topeople who didn't playcomputer games. The guycalled Steve is out to create anew market from several oldones traditionally called

    publishing. The i-thing hascolour, it has connectivity. Itwill deliver newspapers,magazines, periodicals, andnovels direct to your screen. Itwill bring college textbooks,technical manuals, servicelogbooks, and catalogues. Itwill be more usable than anetbook, more versatile than

    an e-book reader. Think of allthe air-conditioning engineers,realtors, district nurses,roadside mechanics, and lawstudents. If Steve canevangelize the publishers, wecould get our sports pages withstreamed highlight clips of all

    the home-runs, field goals, andKOs. For a premium price.Steve will tell you what that is,since you'll be in his on-line

    store buying all your tunes,apps, papers, and books. Sincethe tablet uses Steve's ownmicrochips you won't be ableto jail-break it without a PhD,and, if you do, the nextsoftware update will re-jail youfaster than Dog the BountyHunter. A unified platform ofhardware and software, and a

    growing mountain of recurringpayments for servicescolourfully rendered. Oh, thehumanity!

    I'm going to commit heresy.The latest i-thing is not thedigital messiah. It's anothermanufactured marvel of siliconand plastic. It's not going to set

    you free or save your soul. Iknow I'm poor, damned andugly. I'll stick with Linux.

    I will give Steve one piece ofadvice. Give the tablet a water-proof cover. A lot of them willget dropped in the bath.

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    http://www.ubuntu-user.com/subscribe-now/
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    REVIEWWritten by Art Schreckengost Ubuntu 10.04 - Lucid Lynx

    F

    or the past week, Ivebeen using the LucidLynx release fromCanonical and, while

    Im the eternal skeptic, I dohave to admit this is oneimpressive OS.

    To save on space, Ill just

    state that the installation is nodifferent than previousincantations. If youre lookingfor something new here, theonly thing youll notice is that

    the previous try or installmenu is missing. In its place isa new menu that uses buttonsinstead of the cursor keys tomake a choice.

    Post installation is the usual

    OS bag of updates that isstandard for Windows, Mac andLinux users. In my case I had

    roughly 350MB of updateswaiting in the wings (actuallylarger than my Windows 7 andOS X Snow Leopard updates). Itis odd that Ubuntu takes 20minutes to install, but theupdates take over an hour todownload. Go figure.

    Is the boot time quicker as

    Canonical claims? Yes, andimpressively so. 9.10 routinelytook 45 seconds to boot, with

    BIOS and POST included, butLynx shaves that by at least 15seconds. From the time I pushthe power button until I have auseable desktop is about 30seconds, tops. Notice I saiduseable versus I can see it butcant use it usually found inWindows. No hourglass ofdelay with Ubuntu.

    Unfortunately, my computer

    BIOS does not allow for QuickBoot, or Im sure I could shaveoff another 10 seconds.

    Once the desktop is visible

    youll notice the brown is gonefor shades of purple. Truth beknown, Ive always changedthis as quickly as possible forsomething with a little morezing, and this time was nodifferent. Change is nice - butdo any of us really keep whatwe get straight from the disc?

    Other than the color change,

    not much to comment on;however, the most evidentchange on the desktop is thepanel indicator for wireless

    connectivity. Instead of theusual ascending bars-of-power,you now have the Apple styleupside down arcs, but thatsnot the only difference.Something else has changed,and its for the better, believeme.

    In past Ubuntu variations

    Ive complained about wirelessconnectivity. It has alwaysbeen haphazard and tended todrop, especially duringextended downloads. Evenworse, it would ask again forthe WEP code I gave it earlier,and would keep asking untilthe signal was located. In manycases, I just found it easier to

    restart and connect that way.Something changed in Lynx.

    This is the same computer Iused Heron, Ibex and Jauntyon, and the same wirelesssystem, too. Lynx never oncedropped a signal, nor has it

    bothered me for a code Idalready given it. It just stayslocked on, even at the outerfringes of the signal.

    Beyond what you can

    physically see on the desktop,a few things have changed.Ubuntu One is not on the mainmenu anymore (its now underPlaces instead of Accessories),but you can also access itthrough Rhythmbox - becausenow you have a music store

    built in, la iTunes. Better yet,if you have an iPod, it will nowconnect easily (even the

    Touch), although swappingmusic is still a chore. Now youcan support Ubuntu bydownloading songs through itsservice, and, if you have a Oneaccount, it will even backupthe songs online for you to use

    later should something happen(or you need to access themvia another computer). Noteven iTunes offers that.

    And what of the bazillion

    codecs you needed in the pastto actually play movies and

    REVIEW - UBUNTU 10.04 - LUCID LYNX

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    REVIEW UBUNTU 10.04 LUCID LYNX

    MP3s? You still dont get thembut at least Lynx will downloadthem for you with a gentlewink, wink, nod, nodreminder as soon as you openRhythmbox (past variationswaited until you actuallyattempted to play the video

    and/or audio offender). Thislast minute reminder upset alot of users, so the change isnice.

    The sad loss for most is

    GIMP. Deleted because somefound it difficult to use, itseasily downloaded andcuriously is not that large of aprogram for what it does. Go tothe repositories and its sittingthere patiently awaiting yourcommand to download.

    The real difference many

    will notice is the moving ofscreen sizing tabs to the leftinstead of right top corner inprograms. I use an Applecomputer otherwise, so this isno great big deal, and itseasily changed if you so desire,but some users have beencomplaining. Why the change?Who knows, but I saw nothingmajor in the change.

    Probably one of the mostnoted, yet minor, changes isthe substitution of Yahoo forGoogle as the Firefox searchengine. Of note, you still getyour choice of 8 or so searchengines by merely using thedrop down box in Firefox.

    Google is still there, but nowits a search engine you haveto search for! By the way, onceyou do go to another searchengine, Firefox stays with ituntil you change again.

    On a curious note, my

    Firefox homepage was set toGoogle. Is this an inside joke?

    You have the main searchengine as Yahoo - but thebrowsers homepage asGoogle? This must be aprogrammers stab at thesystem.

    Ive noticed some reviews

    praising the Ubuntu SoftwareCenter (or Centre if you get theUK version), but I didnt seewhere it was any different from9.10. Maybe Im missingsomething, but I just didnt seemuch of a difference. Ofcourse, Synaptic ProgramManager is still there for thoseof us who prefer to get the

    eclectic mix of programs notoffered via Software Center.Either version is slick and easyto use, as is addingrepositories if you so desire.

    Are there any peculiarities

    that need to be worked on? Of

    course, no OS is perfect out ofthe box; however, most I foundhere were minor in nature (butaggravating to work around).

    For example, what

    happened to my touchpadsside scroll? Its gone - eventhough the mouse programtells me its activated. Noamount of tweaking hashelped, and recommendationsfrom the forums have gonenowhere, yet this sametrackpad was working underprevious versions. This is a biggripe Ive seen in forums.

    And then theres the

    problem with Ubuntu One. Itworks when it feels like it, and Icant tell if its because of

    suspect programming or anoverwhelmed system, but itwill often take several minutesto connect (by which time Iveusually forgotten what I meantto do). I have a hunchCanonical got caught off-guardby the demand, so maybe itll

    be fixed quickly.Finally, what happened with

    the shutting down time? Whatused to take 5 seconds nowtakes 15, and I can see noreason why this is happening. I

    just find it curious that Ubuntuhas swapped a quick boot timefor an equally longer shut-down period.

    On a scale of 10, Id

    definitely give this version astrong 9. Im finding it easier touse and maintain than my OSX computer, and my workcomputers with Windows 7could learn a thing or two fromUbuntu.

    REVIEW - UBUNTU 10.04 - LUCID LYNX

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    REVIEW UBUNTU 10.04 LUCID LYNX

    Lucid Lynx (10.04) is thegreatest in a long lineof rather impressiveUbuntu distributions,

    and is probably equipped morethan sufficiently for theaverage user; however, itsalways fun to experiment with

    various programs.

    In no particular order, hereis my listing of favoriteprograms Id recommend tousers.

    . Okay, itsmore a chore than a program,but havent you wonderedwhat the red exclamation pointin the panel indicates? Youd besurprised by the number ofusers Ive met who dont havea clue, even when a simplemouse-over of the panel icongives you a narrative balloonexplaining it.

    . As the namestates, its designed to tweakUbuntu - but it does more thanthis. You can add programs,add repositories, and even getrid of garbage files and kernelsclogging your hard drive. Itcomes standard with Super OS

    but not with base Ubuntu. Itcan be used under KDE or Xfcedesktops, but then you do losesome functions. One majoradvantage of this program isthat its really (really) hard toscrew up Ubuntu if you followthe instructions, unlike some

    other programs that give you anasty disclaimer right beforecrashing your system.

    . Manydont know you can add appsto the top and bottom panelsby right clicking and going toAdd to Panel. My favoritesinclude weather, Force Quit,

    and hardware monitoring apps.Unnerve guest users by addingthe roving eyes that followmouse movements. And youcan enlarge the panels too,which is useful for us oldsterswho cant read like we used to.

    . Dumped for 10.04 asstandard equipment becauseof user complaints aboutdifficulty, it can still be found inthe repositories. If you can finda better Photoshop clone - at$600 less - youd better grab it.Picasa is a close second, andpossibly a little easier to use,but not as feature rich.

    . Firefox is great, but

    it can be poky. But, this highlytweaked version does awaywith the slow browser blues.Add enough add-on featuresand you can reduce theviewing window to a size of a

    postage stamp, but there isprobably no better overallbrowser. Blazingly quick toopen, it often bests Firefox byseveral seconds in theprocessing of tricky web pages.

    . Close second to above.Not quite as twitchy with somewebsites as Swiftfox is, but still

    needs tuning to avoidunintended shutdowns when asite gets slow.

    . For those of uswho cant live without adesktop clock and assorted eyecandy. Better than GoogleGadgets (which can get a littlegoofy), or Google Desktop -

    which gets really memoryintense and somewhatintrusive.

    . Yes, its the samecompany that makes a priceyfull version; however this is thefree version for Linux. Oddly,

    Nero doesnt make a fullversion for Linux that Imaware of - but I could bemistaken. Alternative isBrasero.

    . Free computer tocomputer internet calls. Need Isay more? Chat away with thatperson in China if you sodesire, or aggravate othercomputer users you see online.

    . Got a webcam? Thiswill activate it and add specialeffects if you desire.

    . I usewebmail, and standard emailprograms dont like that. Thesedo the trick. Webmail forFirefox/Swiftfox will do thesame thing for all webmailservices as an add-on to the

    REVIEW - UBUNTU 10.04 - LUCID LYNX

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    browser, but this is for thosetimes when all you need is justthe mail - without theaggravation of opening abrowser.

    . Be truthfuland admit the standard

    desktop is boring. Load thisprogram, and you can set it tochange the desktopbackground every coupleminutes or so. Just dont be toogreedy and add all thebackgrounds available fromUbuntu Art (just loading thosetakes a good hour or so).

    . Wine is not an Emulator,or so the acronym goes. Beenin beta for close to a decadebut whos counting? It worksokay for some Windowsprograms, and is a great optionfor those not wanting to load afull OS-like Windows usingVirtualBox (see below). Play onLinux is the companion versionthat allows some games tooperate in Ubuntu.

    . Suns Linuxgiveaway, its a virtualmachine for users who cantlive without Windows. A little

    dicey with some of theperipherals, but Ill live withthe minor inconvenience in lieuof paying big bucks for otheremulators. If you opt for thisone, go with the Ubuntu Tweakversion as it has more featuresthan the repository version.

    . For those who like

    Quicken but dont feel likerunning it under Wine, this is agood knock-off. GNUCash is aclose second, but a little quirky.Now if I could get the bankdownloads to go directly to theprogram.

    . Great forwatching movies and TV showswithout having to fork over thedough for cable and satellitebills. So what if you have towatch the occasionalcommercial? Works better forme than the other programsfound in the Ubunturepositories. For those in theU.S. who enjoy Archer, Huluoffers it uncut (check it out).

    . Yes, its agame but its also a guiltypleasure. Play it enough, andyoull have Carpal Tunnel

    Syndrome, but what a way togo.

    . Big Brother iswatching, and this proves whatthe paranoids have beensaying for years. Anything I canuse to find Frisbees on the roof

    of a neighbors house isprobably too enticing to turndown. Dumped from standardrepositories and even Ubuntu

    Tweak - so youll have to fishfor it.

    . Replaced by Empathy,I still prefer this version for IMneeds. The original and thebest, even if the developerscant spell.

    . The freeversion is limited - but morethan sufficient for those of uswho aspire to be playwrights.Now if I could just write ascreenplay.

    . Slick music player,really slick. If Rhythmbox didntcome with the Ubuntu MusicService, Id use this one all thetime.

    . For those days youneed a quick word processor -without the frills. Largelyoverlooked, and thats ashame. Quicker to load andrespond than OpenOffice - itoffers just about everythingWord does except the price tag.

    . More

    advanced than most of thesticky note programs, its alittle known gem.

    . Ever wonder whathappened to Lotus? They wentto the free side, but most ofthis failure was from the ill-fated Lotus Smart Suite of thelate 90s in which Lotus issueddiscs with Louts instead ofLotus on the front. For thosewho think the IBM cache isbetter than Open Office, thisprogram gives you a processor,spreadsheet and presentationpackage for $99 less than what

    REVIEW - UBUNTU 10.04 - LUCID LYNX

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    they charged when they wereLouts and, yes, the name isspelled right this time.

    . Need a quickwebsite program that wonttake a 1,000 page book tounderstand? Here it is.

    . Mini AutoCAD

    equivalent that costs about$800 less. Electric is theprogram for electrical CADwork.

    . Whereelse can you get about 75comic strips on a daily basis -without buying a paper? A littleknown program that shouldhave garnered more respect, ithasnt been updated in 5 yearsbut still looks fresh.

    . I cant play the

    drums to save my life but thisprogram goes a long way inhelping. Click here, click there,and then press play, and youmight become a drum virtuoso,too. Harmless time killer.

    . Mind mapping

    utility for those requiringsomething to plot their nextplan on, it should be calledMindless since thats the typeof fun it represents.

    . Not the movie,the program that gives you afoursquare window of Terminalsfor us geeks who cant get

    enough command-line time.

    . Not a program - more anew addition to the UbuntuSoftware Center. You can nowdownload a load of obscurefonts you never knew existed,including one that lookssuspiciously like myundecipherable handwriting.

    . Not a Bible program,but one that cranks outbibliographies like EndNotedoes.

    . Linux is safe andimpervious to Windows viruses -

    but you can still inheritsomething nasty via email.Make sure to download thegraphical interface, too, or itsstrictly a command line option.Firestarter is the firewallequivalent also worthy ofdownloading.

    . Okay, I use theGnome desktop, but some ofthe KDE programs just cant bepassed up. You have to admirecreators coming up with namesthat start with a K - andkeeping a straight face at thesame time. Widely overlooked

    by Gnome users, many ofthese programs are astoundingin their own right. UnderGnome most will work.Although its not a program,one other item that should bein the possession of anyUbuntu user is Keir Thomassbook, . Sure,its a goofy title - made all thegoofier by the inclusion of akitten on the front cover - butthe included tips range fromsilly to hardcore tweaks - withnothing but raw, usefulinformation in between. In myopinion, the best Ubuntu book

    out there.And, finally, the

    button. Havent seen this yet?Truthfully, I havent either, butIm still waiting for that toshow. Sure would make life a

    whole lot easier, even if thedownload did take a day or twoto finish.

    As for honorable mentions,how about the 1,000 or socalculators you can find in therepositories that will computeanything short of future timeevents? And dont forget the

    dozen or so video and musicplayers that can play musicvariations I never knewexisted, or the hundred metricto American or American tometric conversion programs. Ofcourse, you also have theprograms to create your ownUbuntu and/or programs discs,and even one to create USBdrives containing your favoriteUbuntu flavor.

    And how about..

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    MOTU INTERVIEW Andres Rodriguez

    : 24

    :Miami, FL.

    :RoAkSoAx.

    How long have you used Linux,and what was your first distro?

    Ive been using Linux on a dailybasis for almost three yearsnow, but I started with Red Hat7.1 in 2001.

    How long have you been usingUbuntu?

    Ive been using Ubuntu since2005, just a few days afterHoary was released, but itwasnt until version 6.10 that Istarted using it on a daily basis.

    When did you get involved withthe MOTU team, and how?

    Well, I always wanted to getinvolved with open source, andI found Ubuntu a great place tostart. I actually started readingthe Developer Documentationreleased with 6.06, but nevergot the time to actually commitmyself to it due to work andstudies. Mostly because its noteasy to get started in opensource in a third world countrylike Peru, where everything ispretty much M$ oriented.

    Anyways, when NicolasValcarcel (nxvl) became aMOTU, I just said I want tobecome a MOTU too, and Irequested a Mentorship for theIntrepid development cycle.

    However, I was unable to finishit due to personal reasons. So itwasnt till the Karmicdevelopment cycle that I prettymuch put all my spare timeinto it. I restarted myMentorship, but with ivoks thistime, and now you see me here.

    What helped you learnpackaging and how Ubuntuteams work?

    What I believe helped me learnpackaging was my desire to doit, and the willingness to putmy hands on packaging, but ofcourse all of that was driven bythe documentation, mymentors, and all the peoplethat reviewed my packagesand helped me along the way.Something that I was told, andyou all might know, is that youwill always learn somethingnew while being a MOTU.

    Whats your favourite part ofworking with the MOTU?

    My favourite part is that nomatter who you are, what you

    do, where you're at, and whattime it is, someone will bethere to help you, and that youcan learn so much from otherpeople. I also find it amusing towork in such a distributedenvironment.

    Any advice for people wantingto help out MOTU?

    Yes. If you really have thedesire to help and become aMOTU, just commit to it,because if you do, youllalways find the time to helpout. Read the documentationand always ask questions;dont get disappointed ifpeople are not around toanswer them. You might makea lot of mistakes, but you mustbe willing to learn from themand listen to what others haveto say! And well, just practice,practice, and continue topractice!

    Are you involved with any localLinux/Ubuntu groups?

    Yes. My involvement with LUGsstarted with AQPGLUG, which isthe group from my home town.

    Then, I got involved with theUbuntu LoCo Team, where Imnow one of the CouncilMembers. Right now, since I donot live in Peru any more, Im

    MOTU INTERVIEW

    http://behindmotu.wordpress.com/
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    on my search for a new LUG toget involved with here at FIU.

    What are you going to focus onin Karmic and Karmic+1?

    My focus for Karmic will be theSponsorship Queue and

    bugfixes. For Karmic+1 it willbe the Server Team and the

    Ubuntu HA team, now that Ihave more experience.However I would really like toget involved with the Security

    Team (because Ive alwayswanted to be a SecurityExpert), and with the Desktop

    Team (because I use it every

    day and it just feels right tocontribute to it).

    What do you do in your otherspare time?

    Well, the past few months(between May and July), Ipretty much spent all my sparetime in the MOTU mentorship

    process. The past 3 weeks Ihavent had much spare time.

    However, I like to hang outwith friends, watch movies,play video games and playsoccer and tennis.

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    LETTERS [email protected] NOTE: some letters may be edited for space reasons.Window Buttons

    In a recent issue of FullCircle, in the Q&A section,you gave a method ofmoving the window

    buttons back to the right side.Although this is the methodmost commonly referenced toaccomplish this, it may createtrouble down the road. Thebuttons were moved to the leftto make way for a new featureon the right side called window

    indicators or "windicators":http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/333.

    If you make the change ingconf you may break this newfunction. The "right way" tomove the buttons back is toselect an older theme, likeHuman, that has the buttons

    on the right side and thenchange all its defaults to theRadiance or Ambiance choices.

    Then just save it with a newname. This way you get theAmbiance or Radiance themebut with the buttons on theright side and you have not

    potentially broken theupcoming new feature.

    Installed Packages

    With reference tothe question onpage 28 ofFCM#37:

    .

    It may be of interest to notethat the actual package nameis often unknown or onlypartially known. For example, Ihave Amarok installed but it'snot the current version, Ireinstalled an earlier version(v1.4) as I found it workedbetter for me. Now, anAptitude search for Amarok

    tells me it's not installed as myversion is called Amarok14.However, if you search forAmarok? then I do get thehoped for answer.

    Readers may also bedirected towards the excellent

    utility, Synaptic, where asearch for Amarok doesproduce the requiredinformation in the resultswindow, showing me that

    Amarok (v2.2) isn't installedbut Amarok14 is.

    I find the Q&A veryinformative, many thanks.

    Alternate CD

    Ihave an NEC Pll 366 PCwith 512MB of RAM. I havecome the point that ifthere was no Alternative

    CD available I could not loadthis machine with Ubuntu usingthe Live CD that I downloadregardless of the version ofLinux.

    I just installed Ubuntu 10.04on this machine with noproblems using the AlternativeCD. I use this older machinebecause it has an 80 gig HD init and I use it as a second placeto backup important

    information. I use Giver totransfer the files via Wi-Fi tothis computer.

    I read the article on Lubuntu

    and I thought I would give it atry so I downloaded the ISOand burnt it to a CD. The firstthing I noticed was that it didget to the Live CD desktop, andit got there rather quickly. I didnot find a system monitor, but Ifound a system tool thatreported memory. Thisreported about 360 megs ofmemory in use and about 142megs free. The tool alsoreported I had only 502 megsof memory in the machine. Inow have a decision to make.Do I load Lubuntu or do I stickwith the Ubuntu 10.04 that isin the computer now andrunning just fine.

    Thank you Ubuntu forcontinuing to makingAlternative CD of your newreleases and keeping thiscomputer alive with Ubuntu. Ihope the Linux communitydoes not ever forget about

    LETTERS

    http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/333mailto:[email protected]
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    these older machines that stillhave life in them and keepcreating low memory usageinstall CDs such as AlternativeDisks.

    Tiling Windows

    The mention of usingPyTyle in other windowmanagers confusedme, since then you

    mention using it with GNOME.GNOME's not a window

    manager though. Are yousaying you can use PyTyle withMetacity? Additionally,Xmonad can be used with fulldesktop environments likeGNOME or KDE, if you don'twant a minimalist xmobar. I'veused KDE+Xmonad for over ayear and was onGNOME+Xmonad for about 6

    months before that.

    Lucas says:

    .

    Screen Rotation

    Reading the FCM#37Q&A, it seems thatthe answer to thelaptop upside-down

    screen question was overlycomplicated, at least if theuser is using Lucid (andKarmic, I believe; possibly evenearlier). It is far simpler to goto System > Preferences >Monitors, and set the screenrotation there. I believe it is

    also possible to use the GUItool provided with theproprietary NVIDIA drivers, ifthose are in use. The xrandrcommands used will also workwithout needing to edit

    xorg.conf. In addition,xorg.conf is not even usedanymore by default in Lucid(and possibly earlier).

    Keep up the good work onFull Circle!

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    UBUNTU GAMES

    GAME NEWS

    After the success

    of the Humble Indie Bundle,, and

    are now opensource!

    Afew weeks ago,Wolfire Games maderipples across the net

    about their HumbleIndie Bundle, allowing you topay what you want for 5 indiegames! This issue sees thestart of a 4-part series toreview each game. I havealready reviewed World of Gooin Issue 24.

    Lugaru is a unique game,

    but also sounds slightly odd.You play as a rabbit, with aninja-like fighting style. Very

    strange idea for the game, butwhen you play it, it's verycool indeed. Turner is therebel rabbit you play throughthe story and challengemissions. He has an excellentarray of moves you can use todefeat your enemies: fromkicks and punches to usingweapons such as knives and

    swords. Turner is also veryagile, being able to jump greatheights and lengths, as well assprint.

    Lugaru features two game

    modes. The first is a storymode focusing on Turner'sefforts to find those responsiblefor slaughtering his village. The

    story takes place over severalmissions, which are all verysimilar: kill every rabbit andwolf on that mission to moveon. The story itself is nothingspecial; you won't missanything from skipping it, butthe story is told through many

    differentscenes. Themissions dovary location -from snowy

    mountains tovast deserts toforests. Thechallenge modeworks the sameway as themissions: kill allthe enemies.However, in thismode, you arescored and timed. It isimportant to complete thechallenge as quickly aspossible, and pull off specialattack moves to get the higherscores. This mode does bring alot of replay value, as you tryto beat your score. It would benice to see an online leader

    board, to see how well you aredoing compared to the rest ofthe world.

    The gameplay is excellent,

    one of the best third-persongames I have played forgameplay. The controls are

    very fluid. Moving your camerawith the mouse and controlling

    Turner with the keyboard worksvery well. I have alwayscomplained that third-persongames do not work well on aPC, but Wolfire seems to havegot it right. Controlling Turner isincredible fun. You will starteach mission by getting intoposition for your first attack.

    You could sneak in stealthy, orcharge in. Jumping is verysmooth, and it is incredible funwhen launching yourself greatdistances. The fighting is themost crucial part of the game,

    UBUNTU GAMES

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    Ed Hewitt

    but, sadly, it's a bit hit or miss.You are able to pull off greatmoves with Turner: karatekicks, drop kicks, and deadlyknife fights. It all looks great asyou watch Turner and yourenemy taking chunks out ofeach other, with very nice

    blood effects (not suitable forchildren).

    Now onto the bad: Most ofthe time, the combat is hardand not very fluid. You will be

    running and jumping aroundyour enemy trying to get in ashot. When you do manage toget a shot in, it's likely to beblocked, which seems tohappen too often. It gets moreirritating when both you andthe enemy are scrambling for

    the knife that got knocked outof your hand when you werehit. If that's not enough, it'slikely that the enemy will runoff to alert others of yourattack. When the fighting

    works, it works very well, butmost of the time it does not.Usually the best tactic is tosneak around and take themout in one blow, one by one.

    The graphics are nice and

    well presented, but very

    outdated by today's standards.It is very scalable; you shouldbe able to run Lugaru on manydifferent computers, even witha basic 3D card. The sound issolid - with a good soundtrackand sound effects duringfighting.

    Lugaru is an enjoyable

    fighting game with plenty todo. The controls and leveldesign are excellent, but thegame's biggest letdown is thefighting mechanics. It'sdefinitely worth a play, butexpect a tough fight.

    L

    ugaru is a cross-platformgame, with a simple Linuxinstaller. There is a free demo,but to buy the full game it is$20.

    Score: 7/10

    : Great controls Very scalable Plenty to do

    : Poor fighting mechanics Would be nice to have an

    online leader board

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    Q&A [email protected] include as much information as you can about your problem.

    QBefore I upgrade mywife's computer Iwould like to be ableto list out all her

    applications. Is there an easyway to do this?

    AYes, openAccessories/Terminaland enter thiscommand:

    dpkg --get-selections "*" >Desktop/applications

    The text file "applications"will appear on the Desktop,containing a complete list of allthe packages installed usingUbuntu tools. It will not includeanything you have downloadedfrom web sites.

    You might also want to

    check out Remastersys, whichlets you create an ISO with allyour applications. If it fits, youcan burn it to a DVD, or youcan use USB Startup DiskCreator to put everything on aflash drive of the appropriatesize. The ISO contains only the

    applications, no data -- whichmeans you might have torecreate any custom settingsagain.

    QI have just installedUbuntu 10.04. Nowwhat?

    Ahttp://blog.thesilentnumber.me/2010/04/ubuntu-1004-post-install-

    guide-what-to.html

    QHow do I use a dial-up Internetconnection withUbuntu?

    A

    Sadly, it is a longprocess, told inseveral places. Mysuggestion is to

    Google:

    dial-up redux ubuntuforums

    The first result might takeyou to the fourth page of thethread; click on "first" and startreading. You will probably alsowant to read the content of a

    linked thread, where the link is"wvdial offline installation".

    QI'm getting a Grub 1.5

    Error 21 afterinstalling Ubuntu onan external hard

    drive. This problem occurswhen I reboot my XP machinewithout the external hard driveplugged in, if I plugged in theexternal hard drive where Iinstalled Ubuntu, then I am ok,I can choose Ubuntu or XP.

    I tried to edit the boot.ini bychanging the 2 to 1, that doesnot help. Any help would beappreciated!

    A

    (by ) Thatmeans that youinstalled Grub to yourinternal drive rather

    than your external.

    If you want to fix it, youshould first put grub on theexternal drive, then putWindows' bootloader back onthe internal drive.

    To do this, boot Ubuntu andopen a terminal, type "mount"and the first line of outputshould look something like this:

    /dev/sda1 on / type ext4(rw,errors=remount-ro)

    the /dev/sda1 in that examplemeans that Ubuntu is on thefirst harddrive (sda) and on thefirst partition (1). Yours maysay "/dev/sdb1" instead, sinceyou are on the external drive.

    Now, type "sudo grub-install/dev/sda" where /dev/sda is thehard drive that you need to putgrub on. In my example, Iwould need to use /dev/sda(not /dev/sda1 - /dev/sda1 isthe partition, not the drive),because that's the hard drivewith my Ubuntu installation. Ifyou saw "/dev/sdb1 on /" aftertyping "mount", then you willneed to use "/dev/sdb" instead.

    This command will require yourpassword. Note that when youare typing, you don't see anycharacters, but your passwordis indeed being entered.

    Q & A

    http://blog.thesilentnumber.me/2010/04/ubuntu-1004-post-install-guide-what-to.htmlmailto:[email protected]
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    Once that's done, you can

    restore the Windowsbootloader with a Windowsrecovery disk. Have a look herefor instructions:http://www.techzonez.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3975.html

    QI used to run Ubuntu9.10 Karmic 32-bit.

    Yesterday, I made theswitch to 64-bit.

    Everything works perfectly,except the only game I like toplay: Dofus.

    I got it to install, but when Iclick the launcher I am gettingthis error:

    Failed to execute childprocess"/home/mike/ankama/Dofus/share/UpLauncher" (Permissiondenied)

    A(by )

    Sounds like you needto give yourselfexecute permission

    for that file. Try this in aterminal:

    sudo chmod u+x/home/mike/ankama/Dofus/share/UpLauncher

    QMy Toshiba laptop

    overheats when itworks hard, since thefan never comes on.

    A(Thanks to

    in the Ubuntu Forums)Here is what works forme. Toshiba L500,

    64bit Ubuntu 10.04

    sudo apt-get install sensors-applet

    sudo sensors-detect

    Next: answer yes toeverything. Exit then restart.

    sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

    then change

    GRUB_CMLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

    to read

    ..."quiet splash

    acpi_osi=Linux"Next:

    sudo update-grub

    to update /boot/grub/grub.cfg.Exit then restart computer.

    Future ReleasesMost of the time, there is a

    "current stable release" ofUbuntu, and there is also someversion of the next release. Forexample, as of July, 2010, thecurrent stable release of

    Ubuntu is 10.04, Lucid Lynx --but you can download andinstall a test version of Ubuntu10.10, Maverick Meerkat.Future releases go throughseveral stages: Alpha, which islike the frame of a housebefore the walls go up, Beta,where we have walls, but youuse a ladder to reach thebasement, and ReleaseCandidate, where the house isalmost ready to move in -- butthe paint's not dry.

    The purpose of making

    future versions available is sothat people can find the bugsand report them! Do not installa future release and entrust

    your most valuable files to it;it's made to be broken. Sure, itmight have later versions ofsome applications than whatyou get in the current stablerelease, but you can't dependon them.

    If you read a lot ofmessages in the UbuntuForums, you will see a fewtales of woe: "I installed (afuture version of Ubuntu) andenjoyed using the new versionof (some application), and put(several dozen hours) intocreating (something) using theapplication, and then it

    disappeared! How can I get itback? The answer is, "sorry, it'sgone."

    For Ubuntu to move forward,

    people must try future releasesand report the bugs, but don'tgo down that road unless youunderstand that everythingyou do might disappear.

    http://www.techzonez.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3975.html
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    MY DESKTOP

    This is my desktop with the '65 Mustang as my desktopwallpaper, the Cairo dock, and Linux Mint 8. Lots of customicons too!

    All running on a Gateway 2x Pent 4 CPUs at 3.0, with 1.5 ofRAM.

    Never had a better running computer. Note the

    magazine folders on the desktop (podcast too!). Keep up thegood work! It's been the best two years of computer usage.No more Microsoft!

    [email protected]

    My setup is an homage to my diverse computing heritage.I'm using a custom-made Amiga OS theme pack for mywindows, an AWN dock, and an overall dark theme. I'vealways said Ubuntu is about choice, so I've included theLinux Mint repos in my system, and use the Mint menuexclusively. I use Miro and a UPnP to stream media contentto my PS3 and my HDTV. This is something I would neverbe able to do with Windows.

    Ubuntu 9.10 with Linux Mint 8 Repos addedIntel Core 2 Duo 6700 (2.66GHz)2GB RAMATI Radeon X1600300GB HD

    MY DESKTOP

    mailto:[email protected]
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    The icons are the famous hidroxigen, and the japanese clockon the table is a Screenlet. Between the hands there's aconky with the forecast script that shows the weather. Andthe dock is the wonderful Cairo Dock. It seems difficult butactually is really easy to do. I like to modify and createdesktops, but always consider their usability. A GUI that isbeautiful but complicated isn't useful, and has lost the pointof the Desktop.

    With this Desktop I won the amateur contest for the best

    desktop of the month on the Ubuntu Italian forum. I havealso done a guide for doing a desktop like this.

    Specifications: CPU: Intel Pentium Dual E2140 @ 1.6GHz ;Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT silent; 2GB of RAM.

    This is my simple but effective desktop.

    I combined some elements from Windows and Mac. Forexample, the panel is Windows 7 style and so are theborders of my windows. I use docky with the Mac style; mycursor theme is also Mac style.

    My icons are from the Gnome step into freedom theme, and Iuse Google gadgets and gdesklets. All this runs on KarmicKoala on a Compaq Presario C700 with 120GB of hard disk

    and 1GB of RAM. And it's perfect for me.

    TOP 5

    http://www.uielinux.org/guide-e-tutorial/8-tips-a-tricks/202-creare-un-bel-desktop.html
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    TOP 5

    Google Chromehttp://www.google.com/chrome

    This browser is fast. It's fast to start, fast to load pages, andfairly stable. After using Firefox as my primary browser for acouple of years, I'm surprised at the overall speed of Chrome.I'm also a heavy user of Google services and tools, sointegration with many things Google has been an attractiveaspect of this browser as well.

    To Install: Visit http://www.google.com/chrome, and click thedownload button. Select the version of Chrome that bestmatches your computer, then double-click the file to installthe .deb.

    GnomeDohttp://do.davebsd.com/

    This is the one piece of software that I use most often, butnotice the least. As a launcher, GnomeDo is fast, accurate,beautiful, and reliable (most of the time).

    To Install: Find " " in Synaptic Package Manager andinstall it from there.

    Favourite Applications

    TOP 5 - FAVOURITE APPLICATIONS

    http://www.google.com/chromehttp://do.davebsd.com/http://www.google.com/chrome
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    Dropboxhttps://www.dropbox.com/Dropbox