Archives For Linux

Linux related issues, news, tools and resources.

Goodbye Firefox, Hello Google Chrome – Firefox vs Google Chrome on Kubuntu

July 4, 2010 — 16 Comments

Since the inception of Firefox, it has been (more or less) the defacto standard browser for a wide array of corporations, groups and people. It quickly rose to be the dominant browser due to it’s open source nature, it’s speed and it’s ability to properly display a web page. There are plenty of other reasons (like it is/was much more secure than IE6 … no clue how it stacks up to IE8 though), but one of the most important reasons was it’s add-ons/extensions.

The ever benevolent (as benevolent as any rich and powerful US corporation could be … which isn’t much) Google announced, a while back, it’s plans to create a browser. Rumor upon rumor spread and eventually it was actually released. And it did surprisingly well.

As of this writing Google Chrome is up to version 5.0.375.99 in the Beta (or so). It’s based off of the Chromium project which is open source, while Google Chrome isn’t technically 100% open source. Either way, it’s a extremely fast and powerful browser which makes headway each and every month.

Continue Reading...
In #Blog30, Featured, Google, Linux, Ranting, Software, Technology , , , , , , , , , , ,
 permalink

Screencasting in Linux With RecordItNow & PulseAudio

February 2, 2010 — 6 Comments

Screencasting has been a general pain in Linux. No more. The new application RecordItNow solves many screencasting issues and best of all, it really does ‘just’ work. It’s easy to use and it’s free. Here is my first screencast using RecordItNow about screencasting in linux.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

In How-to, Linux, Technology , , , , , ,
 permalink

XBMC 9.11: Camelot Finally Out!

December 26, 2009 — Leave a comment

XBMC 9.11: Camelot Finally Out!XBMC has finally hit it’s latest milestone release: 9.11 Camelot. This release marks a great step forward in the media world. Why? Because this release offers plenty of space to create plugins, skins and plenty more.

If you are using Ubuntu or any variant of it, you will already have the update ready in your repository. Simply update the source list and upgrade. In Kubuntu, KpackageIt should handle it nicely. If you don’t have it installed yet, head over to XBMC’s download page to get it.

Here are some of the highlighted updates in this milestone release:

  • Improved skin framework
  • Better support for multi-monitor displays
  • Updated FFmpeg libraries
  • Added Flash support
  • UPnP support
  • Updated and added a lot of scrapers for music and movie information

There are more changes of course, you can read all about this release at their blog here. Also, don’t forget to head to the skinning page to download our choice of great skins here.  Plugins are also essential so grab some good ones here.

In Linux, Technology , ,
 permalink

Install TweetDeck in Ubuntu Karmic x64 Easily

December 24, 2009 — 2 Comments

Install TweetDeck in Ubuntu Karmic x64 Easily TweetDeck is a favorite Twitter application of many users. Why? Because of it’s grouping features, functionality, customizability, great looks and it runs on just about any major OS.

For us linux users, there is a version which you can pick up from TweetDeck.com. Though, to my dismay, you need to install the Adobe AIR plugin first. This is done rather automatically so it’s not much of a hassle, but it still is rather annoying and I would rather have the ability to install via apt or a .deb file. So in-order to install TweetDeck on Linux you not only need Adobe Air, but also Flash; and we all know how fun that is.

After downloading from the “Download Now” flash button, it will install TweetDeck and launch it if you want. This will work fine. The problem is if you want to start it up by yourself. You might get this error:

Error loading the runtime (libadobecertstore.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)

Even if you find “libadobecertstore.so” on your computer you will still get that error. The reason is simple. TweetDeck is a 32 bit application and if you are using a 64bit Ubuntu, it will use the 32 bit libraries that you installed. From this post on OssRamblings, they describe all the lib32 steps you need to take. But if you’re a regular user of x64 bit Ubuntu you probably have installed a lot those anyway.

So all you probably really need to do is this:

sudo cp /usr/lib/libadobecertstore.so /usr/lib32

And that’s it. This should be done after installing Adobe Air. Also, just for good measure do “sudo ldconfig” to reload the libraries.

In How-to, Linux , , , , ,
 permalink

Automatically Add XBMC To Your Ubuntu Repository List

December 22, 2009 — Leave a comment

Automatically Add XBMC To Your Ubuntu Repository ListA few people been wondering how to easily enable or install XBMC on Ubuntu. It’s rather easy and I have said how to do it before. BUT Ubuntu Karmic makes life a bit easier if the repository used the PPA system.

The old way to add a repository to your source list was to go through the command line or through your favorite gui tool. Through there you had to add the full path to the repository and then add the security key. Now things are simpler:

From the command line you only have to enter this one command and it will take care of everything for you:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

And … that’s it. It will add the correct repository for you and add the security key. Fun! After you add the repo, don’t forget to update:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get -u dist-upgrade

With this you’ll get all the latest and greatest XBMC updates to your front door and no more security issues! Hurray.

edit: You can access information about the team-xbmc ppa here.

edit2: Also more info about PPA’s and XBMC in the PPA’s here at the XBMC forum.

In How-to, Linux , , ,
 permalink

XBMC Beta 2 Now In Kubuntu Karmic Repos!

December 10, 2009 — 1 Comment

XBMC Beta 2 Now In Kubuntu Karmic Repos!Rejoice! The newest latest and greatest version of XBMC is almost out. Their latest release, which hit the repo’s early today morning (for you us in the EU) or late last night for ya’ll back West, is the Beta 2 release.

What is in this glorious Beta 2 release? Well, just like in the Beta 1, it uses (or at least has) their newest theme called “Confluence”. They report that they have fixed around 200 new bugs, a few of which are just some translation fixed and very minor things. But non-the-less 200 in such a short time is great.

Should you upgrade? Oh yes. Why? Because since they started on Beta 1 the XBMC crew as been working tirelessly on bug fixes. Since the release of Beta 2 they have stopped (“frozen” as they call it) any development of new features. So they are no focusing on ironing out the wrinkles.

Update: XBMC 9.11 Camelot FINAL is now out. Read all about it here.

Directly from their page:

As always, head on over to the download page for the latest and greatest. The Ubuntu PPAs will be updated soon. Give it a go, and be sure to submit quality bug reports if you have any issues. Also, please keep great the translations coming!

Be sure to test it out and let them know if anything goes wrong. IF you are using it be aware that it IS beta software (testing stage software) so it can randomly die on you. Though, from my experience so far with Beta 1 and now Beta 2 it is rather darn stable.

So, if you have Ubuntu or any *buntu for that matter, you can get it from the PPA’s. For me, the updated are ‘blocked’ through KPackageIt, so if you have a similar situation just update from the command line by doing:

sudo apt-get -u dist-upgrade

If you don’t have the PPA’s added, you can read about how to add them here: XMBC 9.11 In Ubuntu Karmic Repositories.

One thing I recommend you check out / do … is go get yourself some plugings and extentions installed in XBMC. There are some pretty cool toys to be had. Though, that is also one thing the XBMC people have to fix. The plugin installer ‘thing’ isn’t ready yet. It has a few issues, nothing major. Mostly cosmetic and information issues, but everything will install just fine as long as it’s marked compatible (or the like).

In How-to, Linux , , , , , , ,
 permalink

Dropbox on Kubuntu Karmic 9.10 in KDE! No Nautils needed.

December 6, 2009 — 5 Comments

Dropbox on Kubuntu Karmic 9.10 in KDE! No Nautils needed.Dropbox is a wonderful website. Syncing your file automagically over the net. It even supports the iPhone AND linux. Now how many applications can say that they actually do support all major/popular operating systems?

The dropbox software is rather easy to install in the Linux flavors of Ubuntu (not Kubuntu), Fedora 9 and 10. There is also a source code download button, but we are not interested in that since it required Nautils.

What is Nautils? It’s the Gnome file manager. Kubuntu uses KDE and thus Konqueror and/or Dolphin. Getting it to work for us in KDE is simple.

I got the original tutorial from here. Here are the steps and a few highlights:

  1. Download Dropbox binaries (in tar.gz form).
    1. for x86 users: http://www.getdropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86
    2. for x86_64 users: http://www.getdropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86_64
  2. Extract the downloaded file, at the time of this writing the file name was “dropbox-lnx.x86_64-0.6.571.tar.gz”
    1. To extract from the command line: tar xzf dropbox-lnx.x86_64-0.6.571.tar.gz
  3. The .tar.gz file extracts to a hidden folder named “.dropbox-dist”. So move this file to your $HOME (your home) directory
    1. To move it to your home directory via command line: mv .dropbox-dist ~/
    2. If you use Dolphin or Konq., you won’t be able to see the folder unless you have “view hidden files” enabled.
  4. You need to start the Dropbox daemon for the first time. The dropbox daemon is called “dropboxd”
    1. To start it from the command line: ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
  5. Now we need to add it to our autostart. Two easy ways, command line and System Settings ways.
    1. For command ling way: ln -s ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd ~/.kde/Autostart
    2. Gui way: Kmenu -> System Settings -> Advanced -> Autostart -> Add Script  … and now navigate to ~/.dropbox-dist and select dropboxd

After all is said and done, you’ll have a nice little dropbox tray icon. After starting the Dropbox daemon for the first time, it will allow you to connect to an existing account or create a new one!

Now, no more worries about Nautils. Dropbox will automatically open your default folder viewer (probably Dolphin) when you use it. You can also easily browse to your Dropbox folder using Dolphin, Konqueror or even the command line JUST like as if it were a normal folder. Fun!

Happy Dropbox’ing in KDE. Now if you need a direct to the sign-up page, please use my referral link. This way we both will get extra free space:  https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTMzNzE0NDI5

In How-to, Linux , , , , , , , , , , , ,
 permalink

NVIDIA CUDA SDK Gcc 4.4 Problems Solved in Kubuntu/Ubuntu Jaunty 9.10: “/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lglut” And __signbit/__signbitf/__signbitl/__signbitd “cannot be declared weak”

November 28, 2009 — 7 Comments

Nvidia’s CUDA is a great technology though it’s not without it’s problem. I’m not here to talk about CUDA and it’s up’s and down’s. The issue at hand today is installing the SDK in Kubuntu Jaunty 9.10.

See, the main issues here are that a) Jaunty is rather fresh and tries to use new technology b) Jaunty isn’t exactly the best coded OS out there, they have plenty of ‘quality’ bugs to iron out c) CUDA isn’t made for the latest and greatest, it’s made from stable sources!

Continue Reading...
In How-to, Linux, Programming , , , , , , , , , , , ,
 permalink