Mobile phone chip designer Arm has announced an alliance with the makers of the Ubuntu open source software.
You can read the rest of the story at the BBC found here;
BBC Story
TaZMAn
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Girl Who Silenced The World For 5 Minutes
A very powerful message to the U.N. from a 12 year old Vancouver girl.
Nothing I could say would come close to what she said.
TaZMAn
Nothing I could say would come close to what she said.
TaZMAn
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Create Desktop URL Shortcuts With Deskcut
So I have a former Windows user who wants to clutter up their desktop with URL shortcuts. Go figure? LOL!!
They changed over to Ubuntu and have no complaints other then the inability to easily create url shortcuts on their desktop with Firefox.
Well I came across a Firefox plugin that fixed them right up. It's called Deskcut and can be had from here;
Deskcut
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/66
It adds a entry in the right click menu shell that easily allows you to make url shortcuts on the desktop. It even allows you to change how it names the shortcut.
So if you are a url shortcut junkie then this plugin is for you.
Enjoy!
TaZMAn
They changed over to Ubuntu and have no complaints other then the inability to easily create url shortcuts on their desktop with Firefox.
Well I came across a Firefox plugin that fixed them right up. It's called Deskcut and can be had from here;
Deskcut
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/66
It adds a entry in the right click menu shell that easily allows you to make url shortcuts on the desktop. It even allows you to change how it names the shortcut.
So if you are a url shortcut junkie then this plugin is for you.
Enjoy!
TaZMAn
Another New Ubuntu User
I'm still on my 100 person crusade. My goal is to convert at least 100 people over to Ubuntu. Today I didn't add another person to that list. I added a business!!!
A local home center that is owned by my relatives were having major problems with viruses and spyware in XP. More about that later.
My nephew finally had enough. He had heard me talk about Ubuntu numerous times and asked if I could convert them over. Yep! No problem. I'll be down to do it.
And today it happened.
I got there and using my flash drive, I saved their documents. Then I popped in the new Ubuntu Ibex Cd and restarted the computer. Started Ubuntu as a Live Cd and checked out the hardware. Everything was detected and worked. Also to my relief, the printer they use is an HP. Opened up Firefox and went to HP's site to make sure it was supported. Found that it had full support. Good! Now to click the install link and start the process.
The system this was being installed in to is an older Pentium (1 Gig) CPU with 512 megs of Ram and using 32 megs of shared video. Not something that would be conducive to a Vista upgrade. Besides, the idea is to have a system that is immune from spyware and viruses.
The install was painless and took about 30 minutes. Once it was fully installed and I did the customary reboot and remove the Cd I was back up to their newly installed Ubuntu desktop. And I was also starring at the Updater blaring the Updates Available message. 68 of them including a kernel update.
Clicked on it and about 25 minutes later I was restarting the computer due to the kernel update.
Now I have the full system updated and ready to go. I still have some stuff to do. Get their bookmarks into Firefox and test out the printer. Everything works and looks good. Next I install VirtualBox. Huh!??? Why???
Well one of the sites they use to submit orders requires Internet Explorer because it uses ActiveX plugins to handle the login and displaying the catalog.
Talk about a security risk! Why anyone would require ActiveX to handle passwords is beyond me.
I also believe this was one of the backdoors that caused them problems with viruses and spyware.
So I install Virtual Box and XP from the Cd that came with their system.
The PC was a local computer shop build that came with a real XP Cd. But being a custom system presented it's own problems later on. I got XP installed in Virtual Box and got online with it.
Went to HP's web site and grabbed the XP drivers for the printer. Installed them, rebooted the XP and went to test the printer.
What The!.........
No printer is found! Checking around I find that there are no system drivers installed to support the USB for the motherboard.
Motherboard. What make is it? Don't know??? Nothing that identifies it. But from Ubuntu I see the audio drivers are Alsa drivers for an SIS motherboard.
Okay. Time to run some Google searches while I'm kicking myself in the arse for not bringing along my multi-driver Cd's.
Found a likely driver candidate for the USB and popped it in. New Hardware detected.
That's a good sign. Get it installed and now have a USB bus.
It's at this point I need to mention that XP had me very annoyed. Not only did it not have drivers for the USB unlike Ubuntu but everything I installed including the printer driver required a restart!
Got the USB drivers in then had to uninstall and reinstall the printer driver which required 2 more restarts! Grumble.......
Finally I got it up and running. Set up the security in Internet Explorer and shut down XP. Then I took a snapshot of the Virtual Box XP as a way to get back to a clean slate should anything happen.
I then advised them to only use XP and IE for only that site.
That using Firefox in Ubuntu will keep them clean and secure.
The job was finished.
Ubuntu install was nothing compared to the hassles I encountered with Virtual Box.
And before anyone screams foul, I will mention right now that I am not an XP newbie. I was an XP junkie and power user. I used to hack the shell and even rebuilt the dll controlling the animation for files being transferred to the trash. My version had a stick figure guy wiping his butt with the paper then put it into the trash bin.
I know my way around XP and had been using it for years.
Today was a triumphant day due to me converting a business over to Ubuntu but was also an eye opening day. I saw Windows in all it's ugliness and all I can say is I'm glad I made the switch from it.
I'm sure they will have a few questions as they get used to Ubuntu but at least they won't be calling about virus problems. And if they do, it will be in the Virtual Box XP and that will be fixed with one or two clicks.
TaZMAn
A local home center that is owned by my relatives were having major problems with viruses and spyware in XP. More about that later.
My nephew finally had enough. He had heard me talk about Ubuntu numerous times and asked if I could convert them over. Yep! No problem. I'll be down to do it.
And today it happened.
I got there and using my flash drive, I saved their documents. Then I popped in the new Ubuntu Ibex Cd and restarted the computer. Started Ubuntu as a Live Cd and checked out the hardware. Everything was detected and worked. Also to my relief, the printer they use is an HP. Opened up Firefox and went to HP's site to make sure it was supported. Found that it had full support. Good! Now to click the install link and start the process.
The system this was being installed in to is an older Pentium (1 Gig) CPU with 512 megs of Ram and using 32 megs of shared video. Not something that would be conducive to a Vista upgrade. Besides, the idea is to have a system that is immune from spyware and viruses.
The install was painless and took about 30 minutes. Once it was fully installed and I did the customary reboot and remove the Cd I was back up to their newly installed Ubuntu desktop. And I was also starring at the Updater blaring the Updates Available message. 68 of them including a kernel update.
Clicked on it and about 25 minutes later I was restarting the computer due to the kernel update.
Now I have the full system updated and ready to go. I still have some stuff to do. Get their bookmarks into Firefox and test out the printer. Everything works and looks good. Next I install VirtualBox. Huh!??? Why???
Well one of the sites they use to submit orders requires Internet Explorer because it uses ActiveX plugins to handle the login and displaying the catalog.
Talk about a security risk! Why anyone would require ActiveX to handle passwords is beyond me.
I also believe this was one of the backdoors that caused them problems with viruses and spyware.
So I install Virtual Box and XP from the Cd that came with their system.
The PC was a local computer shop build that came with a real XP Cd. But being a custom system presented it's own problems later on. I got XP installed in Virtual Box and got online with it.
Went to HP's web site and grabbed the XP drivers for the printer. Installed them, rebooted the XP and went to test the printer.
What The!.........
No printer is found! Checking around I find that there are no system drivers installed to support the USB for the motherboard.
Motherboard. What make is it? Don't know??? Nothing that identifies it. But from Ubuntu I see the audio drivers are Alsa drivers for an SIS motherboard.
Okay. Time to run some Google searches while I'm kicking myself in the arse for not bringing along my multi-driver Cd's.
Found a likely driver candidate for the USB and popped it in. New Hardware detected.
That's a good sign. Get it installed and now have a USB bus.
It's at this point I need to mention that XP had me very annoyed. Not only did it not have drivers for the USB unlike Ubuntu but everything I installed including the printer driver required a restart!
Got the USB drivers in then had to uninstall and reinstall the printer driver which required 2 more restarts! Grumble.......
Finally I got it up and running. Set up the security in Internet Explorer and shut down XP. Then I took a snapshot of the Virtual Box XP as a way to get back to a clean slate should anything happen.
I then advised them to only use XP and IE for only that site.
That using Firefox in Ubuntu will keep them clean and secure.
The job was finished.
Ubuntu install was nothing compared to the hassles I encountered with Virtual Box.
And before anyone screams foul, I will mention right now that I am not an XP newbie. I was an XP junkie and power user. I used to hack the shell and even rebuilt the dll controlling the animation for files being transferred to the trash. My version had a stick figure guy wiping his butt with the paper then put it into the trash bin.
I know my way around XP and had been using it for years.
Today was a triumphant day due to me converting a business over to Ubuntu but was also an eye opening day. I saw Windows in all it's ugliness and all I can say is I'm glad I made the switch from it.
I'm sure they will have a few questions as they get used to Ubuntu but at least they won't be calling about virus problems. And if they do, it will be in the Virtual Box XP and that will be fixed with one or two clicks.
TaZMAn
Friday, November 7, 2008
Multiboot Linux Cd And Automake Script Download
I have been asked numerous times about providing download links to some of my multiboot disks I have made. Unfortunately, they are all over 4 gigs as they contain 8 or more distros on them and my upload speeds make that type of upload almost impossible.
So I put together a small multiboot Cd that will provide you with Damn Small Linux, Puppy Linux and Memtest.
The total size is 136 megs and is split into 2 rar files (Using the script in my previous post) and is available via the 2 Rapidshare links.
MultiCd Part 1 75 Megs
http://rapidshare.com/files/161640669/multicd.iso-Split_RAR-75Megabyte_s_.part1.rar
MultiCd Part 2 61 Megs
http://rapidshare.com/files/161640671/multicd.iso-Split_RAR-75Megabyte_s_.part2.rar
Not only do you have a small Iso file but it contains 2 fully functional Linux systems and a utility to test your Ram! Also, both are very small and fast and will work on older, slower systems with minimal Ram and hardware.
It will also help you to see how a multiboot Cd is made although I have a confession to make.
Every other multiboot disk I have ever made was created by me from scratch. I did all the tedious editting and creating both the loader and menu.
But then I found a forum post that has a script to make multiboot disks.
It supports many distros and even a WinPE compilation.
There is a slight bug however that doesn't seem to affect the final Iso.
It has to do with the genisoimage version 1.1.6
I get an error that it expected a certain value but gets a different value.
No matter. I leave it run and it usually finishes with a working Iso.
But I have had the occasional tests where the script failed after getting that error.
It is a known bug when dealing with genisoimage version 1.1.6
If you use an older version you have no problems.
I must express the fact that the genisoimage bug is not due to itself but rather the way scripts are trying to use genisoimage.
Another con of this script is that it allows a limited choice of Linux distros.
The creator of the script has done a remarkable job of adding many distros but there are some good ones missing.
Also, because many distros use the same kernel you have to be careful of which versions you add into your compilation.
Examples would be Damn Small Linux and Knoppix. They both use the Knoppix kernel. Because the kernel of each Distro needs to be in the root path of the Cd and they are named the same you can't use both on a Cd unless you do custom editting of the files needed to boot up a renamed kernel.
But other then that it does a good job of creating multiboot Iso's.
The forum post can be found here;
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=718016
And the script file can be found on this page;
http://multicd.tuxfamily.org/
I strongly suggest you read all the pages in the forum post and the page at tuxfamily to understand how this script is used.
Enjoy!!
TaZMAn
P.S. I hope a few thank you's are in order.
So I put together a small multiboot Cd that will provide you with Damn Small Linux, Puppy Linux and Memtest.
The total size is 136 megs and is split into 2 rar files (Using the script in my previous post) and is available via the 2 Rapidshare links.
MultiCd Part 1 75 Megs
http://rapidshare.com/files/161640669/multicd.iso-Split_RAR-75Megabyte_s_.part1.rar
MultiCd Part 2 61 Megs
http://rapidshare.com/files/161640671/multicd.iso-Split_RAR-75Megabyte_s_.part2.rar
Not only do you have a small Iso file but it contains 2 fully functional Linux systems and a utility to test your Ram! Also, both are very small and fast and will work on older, slower systems with minimal Ram and hardware.
It will also help you to see how a multiboot Cd is made although I have a confession to make.
Every other multiboot disk I have ever made was created by me from scratch. I did all the tedious editting and creating both the loader and menu.
But then I found a forum post that has a script to make multiboot disks.
It supports many distros and even a WinPE compilation.
There is a slight bug however that doesn't seem to affect the final Iso.
It has to do with the genisoimage version 1.1.6
I get an error that it expected a certain value but gets a different value.
No matter. I leave it run and it usually finishes with a working Iso.
But I have had the occasional tests where the script failed after getting that error.
It is a known bug when dealing with genisoimage version 1.1.6
If you use an older version you have no problems.
I must express the fact that the genisoimage bug is not due to itself but rather the way scripts are trying to use genisoimage.
Another con of this script is that it allows a limited choice of Linux distros.
The creator of the script has done a remarkable job of adding many distros but there are some good ones missing.
Also, because many distros use the same kernel you have to be careful of which versions you add into your compilation.
Examples would be Damn Small Linux and Knoppix. They both use the Knoppix kernel. Because the kernel of each Distro needs to be in the root path of the Cd and they are named the same you can't use both on a Cd unless you do custom editting of the files needed to boot up a renamed kernel.
But other then that it does a good job of creating multiboot Iso's.
The forum post can be found here;
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=718016
And the script file can be found on this page;
http://multicd.tuxfamily.org/
I strongly suggest you read all the pages in the forum post and the page at tuxfamily to understand how this script is used.
Enjoy!!
TaZMAn
P.S. I hope a few thank you's are in order.
Create Split Archives and Files Using A GUI
I came to Linux after using Windows for years and during that time I became spoiled using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for almost all the software.
Winrar was one of those programs that I used to create split archives.
But when I started using Linux I found that archiving files into split rar files required me to open the terminal and type in the commands to arrive at the final solution.
But no more! That has changed with the help of a small script that creates a GUI and makes archiving and splitting files an easy process.
I know. I can hear the comments. Use File Roller or use the free 7zip.
Using either of these requires the use of the command line to create split archives.
I can also use the Windows version of 7zip in Wine which will create split files but using Wine is not the objective here. I'm trying to use software that is native to Linux and this script fits the bill.
The actual script download is found in an Ubuntu forum link that can be found here;
Ubuntu Forum
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=556756
This will require you to sign up for free as a member.
But if you don't want to sign up I'm providing the actual tar.gz file links to Rapidshare.
There are 2 versions and both come with updaters.
One is the standard interface and the other contains a modified interface.
Both tar.gz files are about 3k each.
Download links;
Standard GUI
http://rapidshare.com/files/161620313/mkrar_and_updater-PACKAGE_VERSION_2.1.tar.gz
Modified GUI
http://rapidshare.com/files/161620314/mkrar_and_updater-PACKAGE_VERSION_2.1_MODIFIED_INTERFACE.tar.gz
All I did was extract the tar.gz files to a folder. Then I opened the folder and clicked on the mkrar.sh file. It asked me what to do and I chose the Run option.
The GUI opened up and I was easily able to create several split files.
What you can do is integrate this into your menu as a software option or even include it into your right click shell just like you do with the Nautilus Scripts.
Also, you will see a file named mkrarupdater.sh
Running this file will check for any updates to this script.
There doesn't seem to be any bugs with this script but I haven't tried out all the options so if you do find any bugs you can contact the maker.
Enjoy!
TaZMAn
Winrar was one of those programs that I used to create split archives.
But when I started using Linux I found that archiving files into split rar files required me to open the terminal and type in the commands to arrive at the final solution.
But no more! That has changed with the help of a small script that creates a GUI and makes archiving and splitting files an easy process.
I know. I can hear the comments. Use File Roller or use the free 7zip.
Using either of these requires the use of the command line to create split archives.
I can also use the Windows version of 7zip in Wine which will create split files but using Wine is not the objective here. I'm trying to use software that is native to Linux and this script fits the bill.
The actual script download is found in an Ubuntu forum link that can be found here;
Ubuntu Forum
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=556756
This will require you to sign up for free as a member.
But if you don't want to sign up I'm providing the actual tar.gz file links to Rapidshare.
There are 2 versions and both come with updaters.
One is the standard interface and the other contains a modified interface.
Both tar.gz files are about 3k each.
Download links;
Standard GUI
http://rapidshare.com/files/161620313/mkrar_and_updater-PACKAGE_VERSION_2.1.tar.gz
Modified GUI
http://rapidshare.com/files/161620314/mkrar_and_updater-PACKAGE_VERSION_2.1_MODIFIED_INTERFACE.tar.gz
All I did was extract the tar.gz files to a folder. Then I opened the folder and clicked on the mkrar.sh file. It asked me what to do and I chose the Run option.
The GUI opened up and I was easily able to create several split files.
What you can do is integrate this into your menu as a software option or even include it into your right click shell just like you do with the Nautilus Scripts.
Also, you will see a file named mkrarupdater.sh
Running this file will check for any updates to this script.
There doesn't seem to be any bugs with this script but I haven't tried out all the options so if you do find any bugs you can contact the maker.
Enjoy!
TaZMAn
Monday, November 3, 2008
Poll: Hardy Heron and Nvidia Drivers
Still using Gutsy because of previous problems with Hardy and the Nvidia driver.
Since then, Hardy has updated many of their files and kernels. I also have upgraded to a pci-e x16 video card.
So I have to ask this question of the visitors to my blog;
Do you use Hardy with a Nvidia card and have you been able to get the proper resolutions with it?
Feel free to leave your comments below and to help others, maybe a short description of how you solved any problems.
Thanks!
TaZMAn
Since then, Hardy has updated many of their files and kernels. I also have upgraded to a pci-e x16 video card.
So I have to ask this question of the visitors to my blog;
Do you use Hardy with a Nvidia card and have you been able to get the proper resolutions with it?
Feel free to leave your comments below and to help others, maybe a short description of how you solved any problems.
Thanks!
TaZMAn
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