One of the reasons I love Linux is for the community. I recently bought an eee pc. 1st thing I did was switch to advanced mode and I found out how to do this by asking the eee pc community (http://www.eeeuser.com). Next I decided I decided I didn't like KDE so again with the help of the forums I installed gnome. The same went for compiz and a certain black border problem you get when running compiz on the eee pc (that particular problem required the help of both the eeeuser community and the compiz one. So when my WIFI packed up for no apparent reason I felt confident in going to the forums to do battle with the commandline and bios (the whole 9 yards!) only to find that the problem could be fixed by taking out the battery, holding down the power button for 15 seconds and restarting the computer!
Thats why I love Linux. Microsoft and other large companies (including Asus) would have said reinstall this, upgrade that, pay us more. Linux says "this little trick worked for me it might do the same for you"
Special thanks goes to gtisingh of eeeuser.com for getting my WIFI working again!
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Saturday, 3 May 2008
8.04 update
Just a quick update on the issues I was having with emerald and Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. The solution was to download a rather nice GTK 2.x theme instead of mucking around with emerald!
Friday, 2 May 2008
Ubuntu 8.04 upgrade
My next post was going to be about opensource software for university but I recently upgraded my Ubuntu distro from 7.10 Gutsy to 8.04LTS Hardy. The actual process of upgrading was painless and simple but horrifyingly slow!
The installation
Proof I was running 7.10:
The process starts off by going to the Update Manger (system>administration>update manager) and clicking on "upgrade"
It then shows you the release notes:
Before downloading the upgrade tool:
The upgrade tool will configure a couple of things before downloading all the packages
Which in my case took this long:
Not only did I go and make a sandwich but I also watched TV, played Halo 3, fixed some things on one of my websites, ate said sandwich, fell asleep, read 6 chapters of my book... the list goes on. And the moral is this, if your internet connection is as slow as mine... get a free CD from here it's only 6 to 8 weeks for delivery!
Finally the upgrade tool got round to doing some upgrading. This took a far more respectable 45 minutes. The system was then rebooted.
Post install
The first thing I noticed was a much faster boot time. The installation had completely ignored my custom resolution so I was given some horrible stretchy pixels on reaching the desktop. However Hardy handles resolutions better than Gutsy and within a few clicks I had 1360x768 back. In Gutsy it took me a couple of hours and a lot of digging around in xorg.conf to get that resolution.
The second thing I noticed is that I'm now running Firefox 3 beta 5 instead of the trusty Firefox 2.0. It's nice but I'm not sure I like the fact that I wasn't asked whether I wanted it or not, I was going to hold out until it was out of beta.
There was a problem with emerald and 8.04 which I found a temporary fix to. Not sure if its done the trick as the word on the web it that the solution doesn't survive a re-boot but hopefully I can find a more permanent solution.
Other than the odd graphical glitch during the installation the process was smooth and I'm happy with the result. I mean who would expect no glitches whist updating an OS while running it! I'd like to see Microsoft do that!
The installation
Proof I was running 7.10:
The process starts off by going to the Update Manger (system>administration>update manager) and clicking on "upgrade"
It then shows you the release notes:
Before downloading the upgrade tool:
The upgrade tool will configure a couple of things before downloading all the packagesWhich in my case took this long:
Not only did I go and make a sandwich but I also watched TV, played Halo 3, fixed some things on one of my websites, ate said sandwich, fell asleep, read 6 chapters of my book... the list goes on. And the moral is this, if your internet connection is as slow as mine... get a free CD from here it's only 6 to 8 weeks for delivery!Finally the upgrade tool got round to doing some upgrading. This took a far more respectable 45 minutes. The system was then rebooted.
Post install
The first thing I noticed was a much faster boot time. The installation had completely ignored my custom resolution so I was given some horrible stretchy pixels on reaching the desktop. However Hardy handles resolutions better than Gutsy and within a few clicks I had 1360x768 back. In Gutsy it took me a couple of hours and a lot of digging around in xorg.conf to get that resolution.
The second thing I noticed is that I'm now running Firefox 3 beta 5 instead of the trusty Firefox 2.0. It's nice but I'm not sure I like the fact that I wasn't asked whether I wanted it or not, I was going to hold out until it was out of beta.
There was a problem with emerald and 8.04 which I found a temporary fix to. Not sure if its done the trick as the word on the web it that the solution doesn't survive a re-boot but hopefully I can find a more permanent solution.Other than the odd graphical glitch during the installation the process was smooth and I'm happy with the result. I mean who would expect no glitches whist updating an OS while running it! I'd like to see Microsoft do that!
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Be ready for University opensource style!
Part 1: Hardware
With only 5 months left till many students join university the race is on to get organised. And where better to start than with hardware. It would be nigh on impossible for you to get though university without going near a computer. So why leave your open source life at home? You home PC is probably running a Linux Distro or at the least some opensource software so why shouldn't your laptop? So what are the best laptops to buy that either come with Linux or are easy to add Linux to.
1st up is the Asus EEE Pc this laptop steals the show on portability and price. Prices start at £219 for the 4G Surf model which features a 4GB SSD (Solid State Disk) and 7 inch screen but no webcam. More expensive models have a webcam, larger SSD and a larger screen. The laptop comes with a modified version of the Xandros distro which has a very simple user interface but a one line command to teminal will give you a full IceWM desktop. All the normal free software is included such as firefox, openoffice and skype along with a number of educational programs and a webcam capture program.
If you don't like the eee pc's small keyboard and screen but don't want to spend a lot more then you might consider Dells offerings on Ubuntu based PCs. For an extra £80 you can have a 15.4" widescreen, full sized keyboard, 80GB hard drive and an 8xDVD+/-RW drive. This set-up comes with Ubuntu 7.10 pre-installed meaning that all the hardware works! You can customise your laptop easily with Dell's "Build your system" erm... system meaning you can add bluetooth, a 2MP webcam more ram etc. really easily.
If you don't like buying something opensource from a giant like Dell or would like to spend a bit more on you laptop then one make has always been synonymous with laptops and Linux is the Thinkpad originally made by IBM the franchise is now owned by Lenovo. Now apparently they sell the Thinkpad T61 with Suse pre-installed but I've just spent the last hour trying to find the option for this but to no avail. In frustration I have now submitted feedback asking whether they still support Suse and if so where the option is. According to Linux format magazine they picked up a thinkpad for £425 with Suse included.
I'll update this post if and when Lenovo get back to me!
Update: Well Lenovo never did get back to me so at this point your best bet for a laptop with Linux pre-installed on it is going to be the Eee PC or Dell.
With only 5 months left till many students join university the race is on to get organised. And where better to start than with hardware. It would be nigh on impossible for you to get though university without going near a computer. So why leave your open source life at home? You home PC is probably running a Linux Distro or at the least some opensource software so why shouldn't your laptop? So what are the best laptops to buy that either come with Linux or are easy to add Linux to.
1st up is the Asus EEE Pc this laptop steals the show on portability and price. Prices start at £219 for the 4G Surf model which features a 4GB SSD (Solid State Disk) and 7 inch screen but no webcam. More expensive models have a webcam, larger SSD and a larger screen. The laptop comes with a modified version of the Xandros distro which has a very simple user interface but a one line command to teminal will give you a full IceWM desktop. All the normal free software is included such as firefox, openoffice and skype along with a number of educational programs and a webcam capture program.
If you don't like the eee pc's small keyboard and screen but don't want to spend a lot more then you might consider Dells offerings on Ubuntu based PCs. For an extra £80 you can have a 15.4" widescreen, full sized keyboard, 80GB hard drive and an 8xDVD+/-RW drive. This set-up comes with Ubuntu 7.10 pre-installed meaning that all the hardware works! You can customise your laptop easily with Dell's "Build your system" erm... system meaning you can add bluetooth, a 2MP webcam more ram etc. really easily.
If you don't like buying something opensource from a giant like Dell or would like to spend a bit more on you laptop then one make has always been synonymous with laptops and Linux is the Thinkpad originally made by IBM the franchise is now owned by Lenovo. Now apparently they sell the Thinkpad T61 with Suse pre-installed but I've just spent the last hour trying to find the option for this but to no avail. In frustration I have now submitted feedback asking whether they still support Suse and if so where the option is. According to Linux format magazine they picked up a thinkpad for £425 with Suse included.
I'll update this post if and when Lenovo get back to me!
Update: Well Lenovo never did get back to me so at this point your best bet for a laptop with Linux pre-installed on it is going to be the Eee PC or Dell.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Time for change
I haven't posted for a while because I'm very happy with my desktop. Until recently, when I found myself yearning for a dock, of all things. I have objectdock plus installed on my Vista partition and I used to use it a lot.
So being Linux I knew that someone will have made something similar for our OS. The two main docks are Kiba dock and AWN. I plumped for AWN as Kiba seems hugely difficult to install.
The installation only took 10 minutes and involved nothing more complicated than tapping a few commands into terminal.
And the result of fiddling with terminal for a bit is a hugely functional dock which even supports my last.fm account!
So being Linux I knew that someone will have made something similar for our OS. The two main docks are Kiba dock and AWN. I plumped for AWN as Kiba seems hugely difficult to install.
The installation only took 10 minutes and involved nothing more complicated than tapping a few commands into terminal.
And the result of fiddling with terminal for a bit is a hugely functional dock which even supports my last.fm account!
Saturday, 9 February 2008
A gamer huh? Well you won't want linux then!
For years Linux was for geeks. But no longer, the installation process is easy (on some distros it is easier than windows) and the GUI (graphical user interface) is simple to use and easy to understand.
But still people pick Windows. One reason for this is proprietary software like iTunes but one market we're missing out on is the gaming market. Windows still rules supreme among gamers but the truth is that Linux is the ONLY operating system that can use the latest hardware to its full potential. In 2007 Linux Format Magazine built a astronomically powerful gaming rig and ran Linux on it without a single hiccup, but aside from Planet Penguin Racer there are very few 3d games for Linux. Until now...
Cue Eve online... Eve online is a space based MMORPG (massive multiplayer online roleplaying game) It allows players to explore a giant universe of possibilities and it currently has 200,000 players all of whom play in the same universe, no sharding (where you are put on different servers). The game is as infinitely complex as real life, you can be a merchant, soldier, explorer or any number of other things. And the best bit is, it runs on Linux as well as Mac and PC. The installation was easy, you install the package from http://www.eve-online.com which then downloads and installs the game client:
Then you go back on the site and register for a 14 day free account, just so you can decide if you like it or not, then your ready to start playing. In ubuntu Eve automatically placed itself in the applications menu under games. Click this and up comes the game client, just log in with the account you just created and make your 1st character (you can have 3):
A space game running in space!
But still people pick Windows. One reason for this is proprietary software like iTunes but one market we're missing out on is the gaming market. Windows still rules supreme among gamers but the truth is that Linux is the ONLY operating system that can use the latest hardware to its full potential. In 2007 Linux Format Magazine built a astronomically powerful gaming rig and ran Linux on it without a single hiccup, but aside from Planet Penguin Racer there are very few 3d games for Linux. Until now...
Cue Eve online... Eve online is a space based MMORPG (massive multiplayer online roleplaying game) It allows players to explore a giant universe of possibilities and it currently has 200,000 players all of whom play in the same universe, no sharding (where you are put on different servers). The game is as infinitely complex as real life, you can be a merchant, soldier, explorer or any number of other things. And the best bit is, it runs on Linux as well as Mac and PC. The installation was easy, you install the package from http://www.eve-online.com which then downloads and installs the game client:
Then you go back on the site and register for a 14 day free account, just so you can decide if you like it or not, then your ready to start playing. In ubuntu Eve automatically placed itself in the applications menu under games. Click this and up comes the game client, just log in with the account you just created and make your 1st character (you can have 3):
A space game running in space!Saturday, 26 January 2008
One Step Beyond!
OK, the only reason I still have Vista on my hard drive is because I own an iPod and because Apple in its infinite wisdom decided to make the entire device proprietary. As a result I have to run iTunes in order to get music onto my iPod.
Now there are a few possibilities when it come to running iTunes on Linux. The first would be for apple to make a version of iTunes for Linux, an idea that went up in flames when Apple went with DRM (Linux is far too open source). The second possibility is WINE (standing for Wine Is Not an Emulator) this program creates a windows compatibility layer between Linux and the program you are trying to run.
The program works a treat on most old programs, yeh OLD programs, this is fine if, like me, you learned web design, animation and image manipulation on Studio MX but if you need some of the newer iterations your stuffed! At one point the WINE team got iTunes working, but Apple are bringing out updates for the software so often that it wouldn't be viable for the team to try and keep up. If you have an old iPod (pre this generation, I think) then this option might be good for you.
I, however, went out and bought an iPod Touch the newest of the new. An iPod which wont run on any previous incarnations of iTunes. So whats my solution? VirtualBox.
VirtualBox is free Virtualization software which allows you to run an OS from inside an OS. This means I can run a full blown copy of XP inside Linux! At the moment of writing this I've still got some tweaking to do (such as install iTunes and figure why everything is running so slow!) but I'll get some screenshots up in a few hours.
UPDATE: I spent hours trying to get it working but only ended up in a frustrated mess of linux and windows command lines! So I've given up! I'll wait for WINE to support iTunes 7.whatever! In the mean time iTunes is still a reason to keep a windows partition :-(
Compiz Fusion + Windows!
Boring... I hate waiting!
Now there are a few possibilities when it come to running iTunes on Linux. The first would be for apple to make a version of iTunes for Linux, an idea that went up in flames when Apple went with DRM (Linux is far too open source). The second possibility is WINE (standing for Wine Is Not an Emulator) this program creates a windows compatibility layer between Linux and the program you are trying to run.
The program works a treat on most old programs, yeh OLD programs, this is fine if, like me, you learned web design, animation and image manipulation on Studio MX but if you need some of the newer iterations your stuffed! At one point the WINE team got iTunes working, but Apple are bringing out updates for the software so often that it wouldn't be viable for the team to try and keep up. If you have an old iPod (pre this generation, I think) then this option might be good for you.
I, however, went out and bought an iPod Touch the newest of the new. An iPod which wont run on any previous incarnations of iTunes. So whats my solution? VirtualBox.
VirtualBox is free Virtualization software which allows you to run an OS from inside an OS. This means I can run a full blown copy of XP inside Linux! At the moment of writing this I've still got some tweaking to do (such as install iTunes and figure why everything is running so slow!) but I'll get some screenshots up in a few hours.
UPDATE: I spent hours trying to get it working but only ended up in a frustrated mess of linux and windows command lines! So I've given up! I'll wait for WINE to support iTunes 7.whatever! In the mean time iTunes is still a reason to keep a windows partition :-(
Compiz Fusion + Windows!
Boring... I hate waiting!
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