Update Multiple Computers With a Cd Or DVD

Apt On Cd is handy utility that I had used during the Dapper and Feisty days.
As you update your computer, the packages you download are stored in the /var/cache/apt/archives
folder. They stay there as a sort of backup and if you reinstall a package.
This helps keep the strain off the repository server.

Apt On Cd takes advantage of the stored packages and creates an Iso file with configuration files that you can burn to a Cd or DVD then place it in another Ubuntu computer that needs updating.
Think of it as a portable repository.

This utility is perfect for multi computer users that have a slow internet connection or no connection at all on the other computers. It also makes updating the other computers faster as you no longer have to re-download the updates then install them.

Apt On Cd is available through the repositories. Open Synaptic Package Manager and do a search for aptoncd
Or you can get it from their website found here;
AptOnCD
http://aptoncd.sourceforge.net/

Windows Users Read This;

If you have a Windows system, I won't let you out of the loop.
There's a software app that grabs all the updates from the Microsoft server and creates an exe file that allows you to run it on other Windows computers of the same distro. It also lets you choose during the update process which updates you want to install.
And it has add-on products like Flash and Shockwave plus many tweaks.
You can get more info about it here;

AutoPatcher
http://www.autopatcher.com/

Enjoy!

TaZMAn

Shoutcast Bug In Streamtuner

So last week I fired up Streamtuner. It's been awhile since I have used it to listen to online music now that I have been using Songbird, so I was a bit upset when I couldn't get any listings for the Shoutcast feed.
At first I thought there was a glitch with their server but after a few days of checking it, I found it was still not working.
So I went digging.

Turns out that Shoutcast changed their website. The old Streamtuner plug-in doesn't work with the new design. What needed to be done was to fire up a hex editor and update the plug-in. But not an update that would use their new site feed. Nope! That would require a full rewrite of the plug-in code.

What I did was to find the Shoutcast address in the plug-in and change it to the new address that points to the old site that Shoutcast is maintaining.

Here's what you need to do in order to fix the Shoutcast plug-in.
Fire up your favorite hex editor and use it to open up the shoutcast.so plug-in found in usr/lib/streamtuner/plugins.
Now search for the two instances of www.shoutcast.com and replace them with 205.188.234.120 making sure you keep the spacing sane.
Now save it back into your folder.
Open up Streamtuner and go to the Shoutcast tab. You should now see your listings. If your don't just click on the Reload button.

For those of you who are saying that you don't know how to use a hex editor, no worries.
Here is a link to the patched shoutcast plug-in.
Download Plugin

Copy the plug-in, go to usr/lib/streamtuner/plugins folder. Open it as Root. Delete the existing shoutcast.so file and paste this patched file in to the folder.
Now open up Streamtuner, go to the Shoutcast tab and your listings should show up.

This is only a quick fix as it doesn't allow Streamtuner to access the new Shoutcast site and categories. Streamtuner itself needs to be fixed. I believe the original designer quit the project several years ago as there haven't been any updated versions. But I do believe there are some people maintaining it and hopefully they will release a newer 'fixed' version.

Update!!!

Thanks to Ernie for this easy fix that offers more functionality.

An alternative solution can be to edit your hosts file (/etc/hosts) and add the following line:
205.188.234.120 www.shoutcast.com
That overrides the shoutcast.com ip address provided by the DNS. It fixes the issue and you can access the webpage from the browser too.

Thanks again Ernie!


Enjoy!

TaZMAn