In their latest release notes, PCLinuxOS claims that Linux kernel 3.2 has superior desktop performance. Kernel 3.2 was also the choice of the latest Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE). Other distros place emphasis on using the very latest kernel available, such as the mainstream versions of Linux Mint, OpenSuse, Fedora, and Ubuntu.
I prefer using the latest kernel, because in my experience with computers, newer is almost always better. The only exception might be Microsoft Windows, which seems to only have gotten worse after their masterpiece, Windows XP.
The latest kernels may have reduced desktop performance by ten percent, but might that not be offset by gains in drivers? I don't know, because other than the neat summaries published by bloggers, I'm at a loss. I can't make heads or tails of the terse and arcane kernel release notes, which often quote code directly, meaning one would have to study the underlying code to determine the benefit (or cost) of all the various changes.
Perhaps it is true that kernel developers favor servers over desktops, and the latest kernels are not optimal for desktops, but if one wishes to use fairly recent hardware, then one must adopt a recent kernel sooner or later. My assumption is that new kernels offer better and more comprehensive support for all kinds of hardware.
Showing posts with label linux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label linux. Show all posts
Monday, April 15, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
How to Update to Ktorrent 4.3.1 in Linux Mint Nadia KDE
Ktorrent's download page gives good though incomplete instructions for installing the latest version of Ktorrent, which has not and I think never will hit Linux Mint 14's or Ubuntu's 12.10 repository. I believe the Ubuntu folks may be reserving Ktorrent 4.3.1 for Ubuntu Raring, for whatever reason, but I didn't let that keep me from trying out the latest version of Ktorrent, which seems to have some worthwhile new features and bug fixes. I sometimes observe unusual delays with my torrents, so I thought it might be helpful to update to the latest version just to reduce the possibility of a bug.
First, I visited Ubuntu's documentation for compiling software here and performed only the first step, which is
Then I loaded Synaptic Package Manager and installed all of the following packages and their dependencies:
Next, I followed the instructions on Ktorrent's download page. Note that the above satisfies all prerequisites (qt, kde, libgmp, qca2 and others left unmentioned) for compiling.
I am now using Ktorrent 4.3.1 with KDE 4.9.5 on Linux Mint Nadia. My configuration file was preserved intact during the upgrade. So far, Ktorrent 4.3.1 works well, although I had to get used to the new tab design, which I think may be better, as it may save a few clicks on occasion.
Why did Canonical not release this new version of Ktorrent to users of earlier and current versions of Ubuntu? By neglecting to backport new versions of software, Canonical provides incentives for users to upgrade to their latest version, 13.04 Raring, which is fast approaching its release date.
First, I visited Ubuntu's documentation for compiling software here and performed only the first step, which is
sudo apt-get install build-essential
Then I loaded Synaptic Package Manager and installed all of the following packages and their dependencies:
The above is quite a long list. Installing consumes about a gigabyte or so in free space, if memory serves me correctly. I let one of the larger downloads run overnight while I was asleep. I discovered these prerequisites through trial-and-error. Whenever the compile failed, or in some cases even if it succeeded, I noted the compiler's complaints and tried to satisfy them through Synaptic Package Manager. It is okay to recompile as many times as one desires until the not-found errors are eliminated.cmakelibqt4-devkdelibs5-devlibgmp-devlibqca2-devlibgcrypt4-devlibboost-devdoxygenlibtag1-devkdepimlibs5-devkde-workspace-dev
Next, I followed the instructions on Ktorrent's download page. Note that the above satisfies all prerequisites (qt, kde, libgmp, qca2 and others left unmentioned) for compiling.
I am now using Ktorrent 4.3.1 with KDE 4.9.5 on Linux Mint Nadia. My configuration file was preserved intact during the upgrade. So far, Ktorrent 4.3.1 works well, although I had to get used to the new tab design, which I think may be better, as it may save a few clicks on occasion.
Update
Ktorrent 4.3.1 is, if anything, faster than the earlier version, and I like the new tab feature. I think I improved performance by disabling DHT and reducing the number of network connections to about 45 or so. In the case of network connections, more is not necessarily better. I also use the uBitTorrent protocol exclusively, not allowing TCP connections, because uBitTorrent protocol plays better with other users on the network. I have not noticed any detrimental impact from excluding TCP connections. I don't know for sure whether my ISP frowns upon torrenting, but I don't want to find out. All my connections require encryption, and I often use KDE's proxy, though not always, because I'm not 100% confident in the proxy being up all the time.Why did Canonical not release this new version of Ktorrent to users of earlier and current versions of Ubuntu? By neglecting to backport new versions of software, Canonical provides incentives for users to upgrade to their latest version, 13.04 Raring, which is fast approaching its release date.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Linux Kernel 3.8 Upgrade Breaks S/PDIF Optical Sound
After researching online, I found this little snippet that explains why my S/PDIF connection is dead silent after upgrading the Linux kernel from 3.5 to 3.8.2. It seems the developers sacrificed S/PDIF audio output to please HDMI users, who are more numerous. I guess you can't please everyone, as the song says. The best alternative I've found is to stop upgrading the kernel at 3.7.10--that's the cliff, after which S/PDIF goes silent. For my part, I'll just hold off on upgrading my htpc until there is a fix that satisfies both S/PDIF and HDMI. Apparently 3.8 isn't quite the thing for my htpc. A silent htpc is about as useful as a rock.
My htpc does not use HDMI, but the motherboard has an HDMI connection. Linux kernel 3.8.x disables S/PDIF. I removed 3.8.x and installed 3.7.10, and it is working fine with S/PDIF.
My htpc does not use HDMI, but the motherboard has an HDMI connection. Linux kernel 3.8.x disables S/PDIF. I removed 3.8.x and installed 3.7.10, and it is working fine with S/PDIF.
Jonesin' for Linux Mint 15
I am seriously jonesin' for the next version of Linux Mint KDE. It's going to be tough for me, I tell you, because I'm going to watch Ubuntu 13.04 be released...yawn...then Linux Mint 15 Mate and Cinnamon...okay, that's nice, but not quite the thing for me...and only about a month later, maybe in the Fall, will Linux Mint 15 KDE roll out. That's the ticket right there. That will be the time to upgrade everything. I hope the long wait is worth it. I'm looking forward to the latest version of KDE.
I had to pass on Open Suse 12.3, because it's just too problematic. I don't think the end user should need a Ph.D. to set up a printer. To me, printing is an elementary function of the operating system. Printing should never, ever be any kind of issue. I also believe that a Linux distribution should access the network from the word "Go." The user should not be required to do anything to set the network up, especially in the case of simple wired networks where there is no wi-fi password to deal with. As far as repositories go, the dvd must cease to be a repository once the OS is installed. These are the three primary reasons that I am opting for an older version of Linux Mint KDE over OpenSuse 12.3 KDE. There are other rough edges with OpenSuse, little things that require the user to learn how to cope with OpenSuse, when the user should instead be focused upon getting things done. An operating system should be unobtrusive and elementary to understand.
I had to pass on Open Suse 12.3, because it's just too problematic. I don't think the end user should need a Ph.D. to set up a printer. To me, printing is an elementary function of the operating system. Printing should never, ever be any kind of issue. I also believe that a Linux distribution should access the network from the word "Go." The user should not be required to do anything to set the network up, especially in the case of simple wired networks where there is no wi-fi password to deal with. As far as repositories go, the dvd must cease to be a repository once the OS is installed. These are the three primary reasons that I am opting for an older version of Linux Mint KDE over OpenSuse 12.3 KDE. There are other rough edges with OpenSuse, little things that require the user to learn how to cope with OpenSuse, when the user should instead be focused upon getting things done. An operating system should be unobtrusive and elementary to understand.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
I Prefer Linux Mint 14 to Open Suse 12.3
In Open Suse 12.3, I spent an hour trying to configure my network printer, got confused by the complicated, convoluted and delay-prone print management dialogs, did not succeed in setting up my printer, and wound up deleting Open Suse from my hard drive. I thought version 12.3 was supposed to bring improvements to print management. What gives?
In Linux Mint 14, which is several months older than Open Suse 12.3, I spent less than a minute configuring my network printer. Perhaps there was a grammatical mistake in the printer dialog, and perhaps the first time I clicked on "Print test page," it didn't print, but who cares--I sure don't--because after one minute and very few mouse clicks, everything just worked.
Linux Mint compares favorably against Windows 7, too. In Windows, the printer did not install automatically. I had to do what I have always done in Windows -- visit the manufacturer's web site, download the drivers, and install them. I had to do the same to configure my modem and install the video driver. Windows takes at least twenty hours to fully configure and install all of the software packages. Linux Mint takes about twenty minutes, tops, although twenty minutes would definitely be the worst case scenario. The point is Linux Mint saves the end user a lot of time and trouble, whereas Microsoft could not give a flipping flapjack about the end user.
Linux Mint is the only operating system that I would feel comfortable recommending to my technologically less sophisticated friends. I know from experience that the end user will not encounter any "gotchas" during the installation and that they will be able to perform the basic tasks one expects from an OS, such as printing. I cannot recommend Windows because it is time-consuming to set up and configure all of the various hardware drivers and software packages, and once they are set up, Windows adds new obstacles by restricting the user from installing the OS on more than one device, which is a very severe restriction, because a simple change of hardware will invalidate a Windows installation. In addition, Windows remains a security hazard due to the way that its software is distributed. There are far too many compromised Windows systems in the wild. I much prefer the Linux method of keeping software on repositories, where educated geeks monitor what is there and keep out malware.
In Linux Mint 14, which is several months older than Open Suse 12.3, I spent less than a minute configuring my network printer. Perhaps there was a grammatical mistake in the printer dialog, and perhaps the first time I clicked on "Print test page," it didn't print, but who cares--I sure don't--because after one minute and very few mouse clicks, everything just worked.
Linux Mint compares favorably against Windows 7, too. In Windows, the printer did not install automatically. I had to do what I have always done in Windows -- visit the manufacturer's web site, download the drivers, and install them. I had to do the same to configure my modem and install the video driver. Windows takes at least twenty hours to fully configure and install all of the software packages. Linux Mint takes about twenty minutes, tops, although twenty minutes would definitely be the worst case scenario. The point is Linux Mint saves the end user a lot of time and trouble, whereas Microsoft could not give a flipping flapjack about the end user.
Linux Mint is the only operating system that I would feel comfortable recommending to my technologically less sophisticated friends. I know from experience that the end user will not encounter any "gotchas" during the installation and that they will be able to perform the basic tasks one expects from an OS, such as printing. I cannot recommend Windows because it is time-consuming to set up and configure all of the various hardware drivers and software packages, and once they are set up, Windows adds new obstacles by restricting the user from installing the OS on more than one device, which is a very severe restriction, because a simple change of hardware will invalidate a Windows installation. In addition, Windows remains a security hazard due to the way that its software is distributed. There are far too many compromised Windows systems in the wild. I much prefer the Linux method of keeping software on repositories, where educated geeks monitor what is there and keep out malware.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Little Issues in Open Suse 12.3
In the end, I just couldn't resist OpenSuse 12.3 because it is so freaking beautiful. I just love the wallpaper. That's my rationale for overwriting Linux Mint 14 with OpenSuse 12.3. End of story.
Almost.
Easy Download & Install
Here's what I liked about OpenSuse 12.3--I downloaded it via torrent. That's nice, because it meant that my copy was downloaded verified and without errors, and I didn't have to do an MD5 checksum on a downloaded .ISO. I also like the idea of helping out by uploading some data to others. The torrent for OpenSuse is well-seeded, by the way.
I also like that OpenSuse released a new version ahead of the *buntu family of distros, because that meant I could sample the new KDE and the new kernel without much effort.
OpenSuse did not install the first time I tried it. There was an error, but the medium I used was cheap Rosewill garbage. Rosewill is not known for quality when it comes to DVDs and CDs, so I was not willing to blame OpenSuse for the error. Instead, I clicked on the OpenSuse option to verify the disk, and thirty minutes later OpenSuse determined that the medium was indeed bad. I burned another disk, this time a Verbatim dvd, and my install proceeded without a hitch. The Rosewill dvd now rests at the bottom of my garbage can. I haven't had any Verbatim dvds turn up bad.
Teething Pains
There were a couple of issues with OpenSuse 12.3. In the first place, my wired network was not detected even after reboot. Linux Mint detected it at once, but OpenSuse did not. I had to go into the network configuration and manually set the network to DHCP + zeroconf. DHCP alone would not work. That is a surprising bug for a modern Linux distro, because all the other distros I've tried have detected my network immediately. I don't have anything complicated over here, just plain old wired ethernet leading to a humdrum run-of-the-mill router.
I noticed Amarok was listed twice under the multimedia category in the Applications menu. I know now that one entry occupies a designated slot for "Recording" and one entry occupies a designated slot for "Audio Player," but still, that seemed buggy. I was able to delete the entry for "Recording" to eliminate the apparent duplicate.
I found that I could not uninstall Amarok by right-clicking on it in the Application menu--received an error for my trouble. Instead, I had to go into YAST to uninstall it. Not a big deal, but I don't think the right-click should offer to uninstall, if uninstall won't work.
VLC was not offered on OpenSuse's repositories, but I found VLC on the web and setting up another repository for VLC was fairly painless, after an initial trial-and-error. The instructions for adding a repository are not exactly clear, which led to the failure of my first attempt. Installing VLC took about twenty minutes in all due to the many downloads needed. I should mention that in Linux Mint, VLC is installed from the get-go, saving the end user time. I do not think there is any video player in the Linux world that handles all video and audio formats as well as VLC at this time.
Another issue in OpenSuse 12.3 is that the OS does not remove the install DVD from the repository list by default. That means the user will get an error anytime he opens up the software updater, unless the DVD is still in the drive. I had to go in to the repository editor and delete the dvd from the list of repositories. I suppose that this is by design, to save bandwidth on downloading things that happen to already exist on the dvd. However, the dvd does not get updated and will not have the latest versions, so I wonder how useful it really is to keep the dvd as a repository. In my opinion, the dvd should be removed from the repository list at the end of the installation process.
Another thing I've noticed just typing this blog post in is that a line disappeared on its own from my screen. I have no idea why. A line in the above paragraph simply became invisible until I highlighted it with my mouse, and then it reappeared. That was strange, but it could be a Firefox problem or any number of other things. This problem has continued throughout my post, with lines disappearing seemingly at random. The space occupied by the lines is still there, and the text in the lines is not erased, and I can make the text reappear by highlighting it with my mouse, but it is strange to see them blink in and out like that.
Summary
I intend to continue using OpenSuse 12.3 at least for a while to get a good feel for it and see whether I like it better than Linux Mint after all. So far, I don't feel that OpenSuse has saved me time or effort in comparison to Linux Mint, but I do like the wallpaper much better and certainly an updated version of KDE is nothing to sneeze at. I am interested in the one-click install capability, which OpenSuse has but Linux Mint does not.
Tips & Tricks to Using OpenSuse 12.3
I've decided to use this post as a catch-all journal for my ongoing observations about OpenSuse 12.3. There are many of what I regard as peculiarities, eccentricities, yet it is also true that what is an eccentricity to one fellow will be a reasoned design decision to another. It is also true that every Ubuntu distro in existence has left me cold, and I found numerous eccentricities in them as well. So far, my favorite distro of all remains Linux Mint, and of the various desktop flavors, Linux Mint KDE may be the best--but it does not have the best wallpaper. OpenSuse 12.3 has the best wallpaper. I think that somebody who really understood design worked on that wallpaper.
Military Time, Please
Oddly, OpenSuse places a maze before the user when it comes to changing the format of the time at the lower right of the desktop. There are many dead-ends in this maze, but only one valid GUI path to changing from the AM / PM relic to military, twenty-four time--the time format that computer programmers and scientists use to get work done. After quite a bit of poking around, I found the trick. Right-click on the time, choose "Digital Clock Settings," select Appearance, and then click on the wrench icon, followed by the Date & Time tab. Then you can change the time format to HH:MM:SS. I have had to do this on every Linux distro I've ever installed. I also like for the day of the week, followed by the alphabetic month, one- or two- digit day, and four-digit year to reside below the HH:MM, but this was much easier to accomplish and does not bear explaining.
A New Kernel for OpenSuse 12.3?
One of the first things I did after installing OpenSuse 12.3 was to upgrade the kernel to 3.8.3. Upgrading the kernel is much easier in OpenSuse 12.3 than in a Ubuntu or Linux Mint distro. One simply goes to http://software.opensuse.org/123/en, types in kernel, and then a page with various kernel flavors opens. The number of choices seems bewildering, but I chose kernel-desktop for my desktop, which seemed logical enough. The default version is 3.7.10, but one can click on "Show Other Versions," followed by "Show Unstable Packages," which will pop-up a warning message. Continue, and there are several kernel versions available for one-click installation.
In following through this procedure once again, I did not see kernel 3.8.2 available for OpenSuse 12.3, let alone 3.8.3, which is what I have installed right now. I do not know the explanation for that. Perhaps problems were detected in these kernels, and they were taken down overnight by the admins. Another possibility is that I may have chosen a different branch of the kernel packages. I don't remember. At any rate this information may be helpful to those OpenSuse users that want to try out the latest and greatest Linux kernel.
Update
I sold something on Ebay today, and had to print out postage. OpenSuse wanted to print to a file, which might be useful if the post office accepted postage via email, but alas, the post office is an old-fashioned outfit.
At first, I tried something called Print Management and was presented with what looked like a web page for CUPS. The "Add Printer" option triggered a pop-up asking for my username and password. When I entered these, they were rejected, and all future attempts to add a printer were rejected as well. I don't know why, as I had entered the correct admin name and password for my system. By searching online, I discovered that YAST was required to set up a printer.
I tried the YAST printer utility, but encountered greater complexity than I thought possible for a printer. There were options that I had never heard of with jargon bandied about. The menus seemed complex, and I was not sure which option to choose. I tried to setup a network printer, but OpenSuse could not find my printer on the network, even though Linux Mint and Windows had no difficulty in doing so. Experimenting was punished by lengthy, unexplained delays, sometimes of several minutes, and canceling an ill-chosen option was not always possible, so that more and more time was lost. Eventually I set up my OKI printer only to discover, alas, that it was set up not on the network where it resides but on my parallel port, which is not in use and never will be in use. I did not see any option for removing the non-existent printer, either; it remained there, defiant, ready to accept test pages. Little or no explanation was available for any of the menu options; the set-up "Wizard" must be a fellow of few words. Apparently, I am supposed to already know such terms as "IPP." I spent an hour trying to get OpenSuse to find my network printer, to no avail. The documentation on opensuse.org did not work, and the various dialogs for print management and the lengthy unexplained delays associated with them did not inspire confidence.
Of note, I still have lines of text blinking in and out on my screen as I type this blog post. Lines disappear, only to reappear at random.
Also interesting is that earlier today, I attempted to copy files from a Windows drive to the OpenSuse drive, and after half an hour the GUI was still churning its wheels, with 0 bytes copied. I am not sure what it was doing, and possibly it was not sure either.
I decided this afternoon that I am going to reinstall Linux Mint KDE, because the printing problem in OpenSuse caused dismay. I don't want to have to take a crash course in CUPS or learn a lot of jargon in order to print. Disappearing text was also a concern--I don't want to have lines of text play leprechaun tricks on me. I think I have a greater appreciation now for what Ubuntu brings to the table. It far less likely I will leave the Ubuntu family of distros anytime in the foreseeable future.
Almost.
Easy Download & Install
Here's what I liked about OpenSuse 12.3--I downloaded it via torrent. That's nice, because it meant that my copy was downloaded verified and without errors, and I didn't have to do an MD5 checksum on a downloaded .ISO. I also like the idea of helping out by uploading some data to others. The torrent for OpenSuse is well-seeded, by the way.
I also like that OpenSuse released a new version ahead of the *buntu family of distros, because that meant I could sample the new KDE and the new kernel without much effort.
OpenSuse did not install the first time I tried it. There was an error, but the medium I used was cheap Rosewill garbage. Rosewill is not known for quality when it comes to DVDs and CDs, so I was not willing to blame OpenSuse for the error. Instead, I clicked on the OpenSuse option to verify the disk, and thirty minutes later OpenSuse determined that the medium was indeed bad. I burned another disk, this time a Verbatim dvd, and my install proceeded without a hitch. The Rosewill dvd now rests at the bottom of my garbage can. I haven't had any Verbatim dvds turn up bad.
Teething Pains
There were a couple of issues with OpenSuse 12.3. In the first place, my wired network was not detected even after reboot. Linux Mint detected it at once, but OpenSuse did not. I had to go into the network configuration and manually set the network to DHCP + zeroconf. DHCP alone would not work. That is a surprising bug for a modern Linux distro, because all the other distros I've tried have detected my network immediately. I don't have anything complicated over here, just plain old wired ethernet leading to a humdrum run-of-the-mill router.
I noticed Amarok was listed twice under the multimedia category in the Applications menu. I know now that one entry occupies a designated slot for "Recording" and one entry occupies a designated slot for "Audio Player," but still, that seemed buggy. I was able to delete the entry for "Recording" to eliminate the apparent duplicate.
I found that I could not uninstall Amarok by right-clicking on it in the Application menu--received an error for my trouble. Instead, I had to go into YAST to uninstall it. Not a big deal, but I don't think the right-click should offer to uninstall, if uninstall won't work.
VLC was not offered on OpenSuse's repositories, but I found VLC on the web and setting up another repository for VLC was fairly painless, after an initial trial-and-error. The instructions for adding a repository are not exactly clear, which led to the failure of my first attempt. Installing VLC took about twenty minutes in all due to the many downloads needed. I should mention that in Linux Mint, VLC is installed from the get-go, saving the end user time. I do not think there is any video player in the Linux world that handles all video and audio formats as well as VLC at this time.
Another issue in OpenSuse 12.3 is that the OS does not remove the install DVD from the repository list by default. That means the user will get an error anytime he opens up the software updater, unless the DVD is still in the drive. I had to go in to the repository editor and delete the dvd from the list of repositories. I suppose that this is by design, to save bandwidth on downloading things that happen to already exist on the dvd. However, the dvd does not get updated and will not have the latest versions, so I wonder how useful it really is to keep the dvd as a repository. In my opinion, the dvd should be removed from the repository list at the end of the installation process.
Another thing I've noticed just typing this blog post in is that a line disappeared on its own from my screen. I have no idea why. A line in the above paragraph simply became invisible until I highlighted it with my mouse, and then it reappeared. That was strange, but it could be a Firefox problem or any number of other things. This problem has continued throughout my post, with lines disappearing seemingly at random. The space occupied by the lines is still there, and the text in the lines is not erased, and I can make the text reappear by highlighting it with my mouse, but it is strange to see them blink in and out like that.
Summary
I intend to continue using OpenSuse 12.3 at least for a while to get a good feel for it and see whether I like it better than Linux Mint after all. So far, I don't feel that OpenSuse has saved me time or effort in comparison to Linux Mint, but I do like the wallpaper much better and certainly an updated version of KDE is nothing to sneeze at. I am interested in the one-click install capability, which OpenSuse has but Linux Mint does not.
Tips & Tricks to Using OpenSuse 12.3
I've decided to use this post as a catch-all journal for my ongoing observations about OpenSuse 12.3. There are many of what I regard as peculiarities, eccentricities, yet it is also true that what is an eccentricity to one fellow will be a reasoned design decision to another. It is also true that every Ubuntu distro in existence has left me cold, and I found numerous eccentricities in them as well. So far, my favorite distro of all remains Linux Mint, and of the various desktop flavors, Linux Mint KDE may be the best--but it does not have the best wallpaper. OpenSuse 12.3 has the best wallpaper. I think that somebody who really understood design worked on that wallpaper.
Military Time, Please
Oddly, OpenSuse places a maze before the user when it comes to changing the format of the time at the lower right of the desktop. There are many dead-ends in this maze, but only one valid GUI path to changing from the AM / PM relic to military, twenty-four time--the time format that computer programmers and scientists use to get work done. After quite a bit of poking around, I found the trick. Right-click on the time, choose "Digital Clock Settings," select Appearance, and then click on the wrench icon, followed by the Date & Time tab. Then you can change the time format to HH:MM:SS. I have had to do this on every Linux distro I've ever installed. I also like for the day of the week, followed by the alphabetic month, one- or two- digit day, and four-digit year to reside below the HH:MM, but this was much easier to accomplish and does not bear explaining.
A New Kernel for OpenSuse 12.3?
One of the first things I did after installing OpenSuse 12.3 was to upgrade the kernel to 3.8.3. Upgrading the kernel is much easier in OpenSuse 12.3 than in a Ubuntu or Linux Mint distro. One simply goes to http://software.opensuse.org/123/en, types in kernel, and then a page with various kernel flavors opens. The number of choices seems bewildering, but I chose kernel-desktop for my desktop, which seemed logical enough. The default version is 3.7.10, but one can click on "Show Other Versions," followed by "Show Unstable Packages," which will pop-up a warning message. Continue, and there are several kernel versions available for one-click installation.
In following through this procedure once again, I did not see kernel 3.8.2 available for OpenSuse 12.3, let alone 3.8.3, which is what I have installed right now. I do not know the explanation for that. Perhaps problems were detected in these kernels, and they were taken down overnight by the admins. Another possibility is that I may have chosen a different branch of the kernel packages. I don't remember. At any rate this information may be helpful to those OpenSuse users that want to try out the latest and greatest Linux kernel.
Update
I sold something on Ebay today, and had to print out postage. OpenSuse wanted to print to a file, which might be useful if the post office accepted postage via email, but alas, the post office is an old-fashioned outfit.
At first, I tried something called Print Management and was presented with what looked like a web page for CUPS. The "Add Printer" option triggered a pop-up asking for my username and password. When I entered these, they were rejected, and all future attempts to add a printer were rejected as well. I don't know why, as I had entered the correct admin name and password for my system. By searching online, I discovered that YAST was required to set up a printer.
I tried the YAST printer utility, but encountered greater complexity than I thought possible for a printer. There were options that I had never heard of with jargon bandied about. The menus seemed complex, and I was not sure which option to choose. I tried to setup a network printer, but OpenSuse could not find my printer on the network, even though Linux Mint and Windows had no difficulty in doing so. Experimenting was punished by lengthy, unexplained delays, sometimes of several minutes, and canceling an ill-chosen option was not always possible, so that more and more time was lost. Eventually I set up my OKI printer only to discover, alas, that it was set up not on the network where it resides but on my parallel port, which is not in use and never will be in use. I did not see any option for removing the non-existent printer, either; it remained there, defiant, ready to accept test pages. Little or no explanation was available for any of the menu options; the set-up "Wizard" must be a fellow of few words. Apparently, I am supposed to already know such terms as "IPP." I spent an hour trying to get OpenSuse to find my network printer, to no avail. The documentation on opensuse.org did not work, and the various dialogs for print management and the lengthy unexplained delays associated with them did not inspire confidence.
Of note, I still have lines of text blinking in and out on my screen as I type this blog post. Lines disappear, only to reappear at random.
Also interesting is that earlier today, I attempted to copy files from a Windows drive to the OpenSuse drive, and after half an hour the GUI was still churning its wheels, with 0 bytes copied. I am not sure what it was doing, and possibly it was not sure either.
I decided this afternoon that I am going to reinstall Linux Mint KDE, because the printing problem in OpenSuse caused dismay. I don't want to have to take a crash course in CUPS or learn a lot of jargon in order to print. Disappearing text was also a concern--I don't want to have lines of text play leprechaun tricks on me. I think I have a greater appreciation now for what Ubuntu brings to the table. It far less likely I will leave the Ubuntu family of distros anytime in the foreseeable future.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
On the Fence About OpenSuse 12.3
I've been scouring the net of late for reviews of OpenSuse 12.3, reading every stray article I can get my hands on. I've been rather disappointed by the lack of comparative analysis in all the reviews. It seems that most reviewers are fixated upon the new kernel and new version of KDE--elements that will also be present in the next versions of Ubuntu, Linux Mint and all the other distros, although their releases will have more recent versions, so patience may offer a slight reward. I am most curious about whether OpenSuse presents any advantage over Linux Mint or Ubuntu. If the answer is no, then why should I jump ship for OpenSuse? One thing I will say, however, is that I really like the default wallpaper of OpenSuse 12.3. I think it is the best wallpaper I have ever seen on any operating system in my life. Is that enough for me to give OpenSuse a try? Not quite, but it helps. I'm surely glad that at least one distro grasps the virtue of a dark background, so friendly to the human eye.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Upgrade Linux Mint Nadia to Linux Kernel 3.8.2 (or 3.8.3)
Note that this is an experiment, to be read and followed with caution.
Look at the kernel packages for Ubuntu here. I am going to list the steps I intend to take for upgrading my kernel on a 64-bit Linux Mint system. I assume that if one has a 32-bit system, one would replace the identifier "amd64" with "i386", below.
Based upon the comment by Tom C. here, it seems prudent to remove VirtualBox, which I don't believe I use anyway.
Next begins the task of upgrading the kernel. I have read that proprietary drivers may encounter problems following a kernel upgrade, but I don't believe I am using any on the particular machine I have in mind for this experiment.
Note: the specific commands to upgrade to the next kernel version, 3.8.3, may be found at the end of this post.
As you can see, just a few minor changes to the filenames are required to install a different kernel version. I added this section because I used it and may use it again in the future.
Look at the kernel packages for Ubuntu here. I am going to list the steps I intend to take for upgrading my kernel on a 64-bit Linux Mint system. I assume that if one has a 32-bit system, one would replace the identifier "amd64" with "i386", below.
Based upon the comment by Tom C. here, it seems prudent to remove VirtualBox, which I don't believe I use anyway.
sudo apt-get purge virtualbox virtualbox-guest-utilsI did so and rebooted and all was well.
Next begins the task of upgrading the kernel. I have read that proprietary drivers may encounter problems following a kernel upgrade, but I don't believe I am using any on the particular machine I have in mind for this experiment.
Note: the specific commands to upgrade to the next kernel version, 3.8.3, may be found at the end of this post.
cd /tmpReboot. Assuming the system now boots. . . open a terminal and enter
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.2-raring/linux-headers-3.8.2-030802-generic_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_amd64.deb
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.2-raring/linux-headers-3.8.2-030802_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_all.deb
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.2-raring/linux-image-3.8.2-030802-generic_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_amd64.deb
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.2-raring/linux-image-extra-3.8.2-030802-generic_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.8.2-030802_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.8.2-030802-generic_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-3.8.2-030802-generic_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-extra-3.8.2-030802-generic_3.8.2-030802.201303031906_amd64.deb
uname -rto verify the kernel has been upgraded. I will now follow the above steps and see what happens. I feel ambivalent about the risk. If my OS is borked, then I will simply install the latest version of OpenSuse, 12.3, which was released today, by the way.
Post Scriptum.
After rebooting, all was well. I opened a terminal and typed uname -r and found that the kernel was now 3.8.2. I am using Firefox and Ktorrent without any issues so far. . . however, I do notice that the font on my blog looks correct for the first time in a long time. I don't know why a kernel upgrade would change that, but I'm not complaining.
Post Post Scriptum.
I had good fortune with the kernel upgrade on Linux Mint Nadia KDE. It may be my imagination but I believe Ktorrent is downloading and uploading faster after the kernel upgrade, but I change so many settings on the fly in Ktorrent that I don't know whether to trust my hunch.
I had bad luck upgrading the kernel on Linux Mint Nadia XFCE, in which my system was rendered completely silent. I believe the problem concerned not XFCE but rather the optical S/PDIF audio output of my htpc system. Linux support for optical S/PDIF has always presented difficulty, because I always have had to edit configuration files to get the sound working right. After the kernel upgrade, I did not know how to get the sound configured and did not feel like researching it all over again, so I opened up Synaptic and completely removed all the files associated with the new kernel. Then I rebooted and found myself back at kernel 3.5, with sound working again.
One has to weigh the advantages of a new kernel--minor, insignificant--with the disadvantages--no sound?!
03/18/2013 Update: Upgrading to Linux kernel version 3.8.3
To upgrade to Linux Mint to kernel version 3.8.3. . .As you can see, just a few minor changes to the filenames are required to install a different kernel version. I added this section because I used it and may use it again in the future.
cd /tmp
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-headers-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-headers-3.8.3-030803_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_all.deb
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-image-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb
wget kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.8.3-raring/linux-image-extra-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.8.3-030803_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-extra-3.8.3-030803-generic_3.8.3-030803.201303141650_amd64.deb
03/21/2013 Update: Upgrading to Linux kernel version 3.8.4... Or Not?!
Kernel versions are being released faster than I can keep up with them. I've decided to wait until the last update or EOL of kernel 3.8 and then install that to tide me over until the next version of Linux Mint is released, probably sometime in May 2013.Sunday, January 20, 2013
KDE, Dolphin, K3b, Thunderbird, Kmail, Password Hell, Kate & Jedit
I like many things about KDE 4.9.4. I have not noticed any sluggishness on my 25-watt computer, despite the reputation of KDE for being slow. Other desktops have weird problems that just boggle the mind as to how they made it past the beta stage. For instance, Mate's screensaver activates while watching video. Linux Mint Maya Xfce does not have a keyboard shortcut to open a Terminal--I had to research to figure it out, and then I wrote a tutorial on the subject. But KDE is beautiful, mature and smooth.
Two things brought me to KDE: Dolphin and K3b. Trying those KDE apps out persuaded me that KDE developers know what they are doing. In my opinion, Dolphin and K3b are among the best apps available in the Linux world. They compare well against anything offered in Windows.
The color picker widget in KDE is also excellent and much better than the similar app in Gnome. The Gnome app I used to use frankly confused me, and I am not easy to confuse. I felt as though the developer had gone out of his way to confuse the user. KDE's color picker is intuitive and works almost as well as Color Cop in Windows, but Color Cop I find even more intuitive. I prefer Color Cop's defaulting to hexadecimal color codes rather than (rgb,rgb,rgb) and have not found a way to get KDE's color picker to default to hex.
What I like about KDE is the overall quality of the applications. I think of KDE as Windows as it would be, if it were designed for maximum efficiency rather than to generate value for Microsoft's shareholders.
Some of what reviewers dismiss as KDE's "bells and whistles," I would not be without. For instance, I really like KDE's bouncing ball that provides a visual cue that I have clicked on a launcher. In Xfce, I would often click on Firefox two or three times, thus launching that many instances of the browser, which wasted time. With KDE, I have never clicked on Firefox more than once, because KDE provides that helpful visual cue, which to me is not a "bell and whistle," but a damned useful thing. I am not quite as fond of many other visual effects, possibly because I do not understand their purpose, and at any rate my poor little ATI video processor is not very fast, thanks to ATI's poor support of Linux, so I have disabled many of them. But I do like the bouncing ball. I also like the many widgets that can easily be added to the panel. I doubt whether I have plumbed the depths of that ocean, but there are a lot of widgets available for installation, more than I have time to evaluate. At the moment, I am using the following widgets: cpu temperature, date reminder, magnifying glass, klipper the clipboard tool (which looks simply awesome), the wonderful color picker, and network activity. I am not so sure what the activity manager is for, but I have installed it, so if there is ever any activity going on, I'll know about it.
Among Mate, Xfce, and KDE, I feel that KDE was easier to customize in every way. I like the appearance of the date and time in particular and the pop-up calender, which includes notification about important holidays. In Xfce, I was unable after many attempts to get the month and day of the week to display in a legible format on a dark background along with military time, with the hours and minutes being larger than the date. In KDE, all this was easy. However, if KDE does have a weakness, it is the risk that a novice user might screw something up and forget how to go back to the way things were. I'm not sure whether there is any safeguard for that sort of thing, so I try to be careful in the changes I make. Where operating systems are concerned, I'm an incessant tweaker and perfectionist and like things to be the way that I want them to be, which is why KDE is a match made in Heaven for me.
A possible exception to KDE's quality may be Kmail. My problem with Kmail was that it always asked me for my email account's password, despite my checking the box that said, "Remember password." Kmail would only remember the password until the next time the computer booted, and then if I loaded Kmail and tried to send email, it would ask me once again for my password. I don't know whether the Kmail developers are a paranoid bunch, but I am not quite so paranoid, and after the twentieth occasion of entering my email password, I said, "Enough." That is when I installed Thunderbird. Thunderbird remembers my password. I only entered it once, and that was enough for Thunderbird, which also works very well in other ways. If anything, Thunderbird was easier to set up than Kmail, much easier as a matter of fact because Kmail got my settings wrong for one of my email accounts, and I had to spent about an hour on configuration, compared to two minutes with Thunderbird. Also, Kmail wanted to fiddle with something called Kwallet. I did permit the use of Kwallet, but perhaps I should not have, because I received no apparent benefit from it other than a potential defense from cybercriminals, if they want to go to the trouble to steal my computer and read my emails to see what kind of nonsense I write in my spare time.
What frustrates me the most about Linux in general is the constant nagging and annoyances and wasted time and frustration over passwords. I really think that the best new feature for any Linux distro would be to execute a new concept in system security using something like a USB key or fingerprint for security purposes rather than requiring the poor user to type a cryptic code, which inevitably is going to be written down on a piece of paper next to the computer--thus defeating much of the supposed benefit to the password hell.
KDE's Kate text editor does not support macros. How I miss Notepad++! As for Libre Office, their macro system is a mess. I recorded a macro, but it didn't work. And the fact one would have to navigate through a menu with about five or six clicks just to run a macro makes their macro system of little value to me. I have very simple needs. I press a key, I want multiple keypresses to be produced. I don't want to handle the mouse each time I select a macro. Just keypress, macro. Easy. I don't need a complicated system of storing macros, as LibreOffice tries to foist upon the user. I don't understand all of that. LibreOffice asked me each time I saved my macro whether I wanted to overwrite Main. I don't know what Main is, and I don't care. But the macro did not work, anyway, so LibreOffice is not likely to be used again by me. I'm starting to think that I'm going to need a Windows machine around to get work done.
Update: after a morning searching online, I found a text editor in Linux that supports macros reasonably well--Jedit--and after some poking around, I figured out how to use the keyboard to activate my macro. The only problem with Jedit is that it can't open .doc files correctly, complaining about encoding errors, so I have to open a .doc file first in LIbreOffice, then copy and paste into Jedit, but that's a relatively minor issue. For macro support, I would have put up with a half-hour opening delay. Macros are that important.
Two things brought me to KDE: Dolphin and K3b. Trying those KDE apps out persuaded me that KDE developers know what they are doing. In my opinion, Dolphin and K3b are among the best apps available in the Linux world. They compare well against anything offered in Windows.
The color picker widget in KDE is also excellent and much better than the similar app in Gnome. The Gnome app I used to use frankly confused me, and I am not easy to confuse. I felt as though the developer had gone out of his way to confuse the user. KDE's color picker is intuitive and works almost as well as Color Cop in Windows, but Color Cop I find even more intuitive. I prefer Color Cop's defaulting to hexadecimal color codes rather than (rgb,rgb,rgb) and have not found a way to get KDE's color picker to default to hex.
What I like about KDE is the overall quality of the applications. I think of KDE as Windows as it would be, if it were designed for maximum efficiency rather than to generate value for Microsoft's shareholders.
Some of what reviewers dismiss as KDE's "bells and whistles," I would not be without. For instance, I really like KDE's bouncing ball that provides a visual cue that I have clicked on a launcher. In Xfce, I would often click on Firefox two or three times, thus launching that many instances of the browser, which wasted time. With KDE, I have never clicked on Firefox more than once, because KDE provides that helpful visual cue, which to me is not a "bell and whistle," but a damned useful thing. I am not quite as fond of many other visual effects, possibly because I do not understand their purpose, and at any rate my poor little ATI video processor is not very fast, thanks to ATI's poor support of Linux, so I have disabled many of them. But I do like the bouncing ball. I also like the many widgets that can easily be added to the panel. I doubt whether I have plumbed the depths of that ocean, but there are a lot of widgets available for installation, more than I have time to evaluate. At the moment, I am using the following widgets: cpu temperature, date reminder, magnifying glass, klipper the clipboard tool (which looks simply awesome), the wonderful color picker, and network activity. I am not so sure what the activity manager is for, but I have installed it, so if there is ever any activity going on, I'll know about it.
Among Mate, Xfce, and KDE, I feel that KDE was easier to customize in every way. I like the appearance of the date and time in particular and the pop-up calender, which includes notification about important holidays. In Xfce, I was unable after many attempts to get the month and day of the week to display in a legible format on a dark background along with military time, with the hours and minutes being larger than the date. In KDE, all this was easy. However, if KDE does have a weakness, it is the risk that a novice user might screw something up and forget how to go back to the way things were. I'm not sure whether there is any safeguard for that sort of thing, so I try to be careful in the changes I make. Where operating systems are concerned, I'm an incessant tweaker and perfectionist and like things to be the way that I want them to be, which is why KDE is a match made in Heaven for me.
A possible exception to KDE's quality may be Kmail. My problem with Kmail was that it always asked me for my email account's password, despite my checking the box that said, "Remember password." Kmail would only remember the password until the next time the computer booted, and then if I loaded Kmail and tried to send email, it would ask me once again for my password. I don't know whether the Kmail developers are a paranoid bunch, but I am not quite so paranoid, and after the twentieth occasion of entering my email password, I said, "Enough." That is when I installed Thunderbird. Thunderbird remembers my password. I only entered it once, and that was enough for Thunderbird, which also works very well in other ways. If anything, Thunderbird was easier to set up than Kmail, much easier as a matter of fact because Kmail got my settings wrong for one of my email accounts, and I had to spent about an hour on configuration, compared to two minutes with Thunderbird. Also, Kmail wanted to fiddle with something called Kwallet. I did permit the use of Kwallet, but perhaps I should not have, because I received no apparent benefit from it other than a potential defense from cybercriminals, if they want to go to the trouble to steal my computer and read my emails to see what kind of nonsense I write in my spare time.
What frustrates me the most about Linux in general is the constant nagging and annoyances and wasted time and frustration over passwords. I really think that the best new feature for any Linux distro would be to execute a new concept in system security using something like a USB key or fingerprint for security purposes rather than requiring the poor user to type a cryptic code, which inevitably is going to be written down on a piece of paper next to the computer--thus defeating much of the supposed benefit to the password hell.
KDE's Kate text editor does not support macros. How I miss Notepad++! As for Libre Office, their macro system is a mess. I recorded a macro, but it didn't work. And the fact one would have to navigate through a menu with about five or six clicks just to run a macro makes their macro system of little value to me. I have very simple needs. I press a key, I want multiple keypresses to be produced. I don't want to handle the mouse each time I select a macro. Just keypress, macro. Easy. I don't need a complicated system of storing macros, as LibreOffice tries to foist upon the user. I don't understand all of that. LibreOffice asked me each time I saved my macro whether I wanted to overwrite Main. I don't know what Main is, and I don't care. But the macro did not work, anyway, so LibreOffice is not likely to be used again by me. I'm starting to think that I'm going to need a Windows machine around to get work done.
Update: after a morning searching online, I found a text editor in Linux that supports macros reasonably well--Jedit--and after some poking around, I figured out how to use the keyboard to activate my macro. The only problem with Jedit is that it can't open .doc files correctly, complaining about encoding errors, so I have to open a .doc file first in LIbreOffice, then copy and paste into Jedit, but that's a relatively minor issue. For macro support, I would have put up with a half-hour opening delay. Macros are that important.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
How to Add a Keyboard Shortcut to Open a Terminal in Linux Mint Xfce
Opening a terminal is one of the most frequent activities one does on a
fresh new Linux installation, and even on more mature systems, I do
like to poke around the terminal on occasion to look at this or that.
In Xubuntu 12.10, you can open a terminal via the keyboard shortcut "super-T."
What does the word "Super" mean? "Super" refers to the Windows key found on many keyboards, located between the Ctrl and Alt key and having a Windows flag on it.
In Linux Mint Maya Xfce, this shortcut was removed. If you click on Menu | Settings | Keyboard | Application Shortcuts, you will find that there is no keyboard shortcut for opening a Terminal window.
However, the good news is we can fix Linux Mint Xfce and restore the missing "Open Terminal" shortcut. After doing a bit of research on the web, I found the command for opening a terminal, and it's not xfce4-terminal, but gnome-terminal.
The precise steps are:
In Xubuntu 12.10, you can open a terminal via the keyboard shortcut "super-T."
What does the word "Super" mean? "Super" refers to the Windows key found on many keyboards, located between the Ctrl and Alt key and having a Windows flag on it.
In Linux Mint Maya Xfce, this shortcut was removed. If you click on Menu | Settings | Keyboard | Application Shortcuts, you will find that there is no keyboard shortcut for opening a Terminal window.
However, the good news is we can fix Linux Mint Xfce and restore the missing "Open Terminal" shortcut. After doing a bit of research on the web, I found the command for opening a terminal, and it's not xfce4-terminal, but gnome-terminal.
The precise steps are:
- Click on Menu | Settings | Keyboard | Application Shortcuts
- Click "Add"
- In the command, enter gnome-terminal
- For the shortcut, press Super-T and ok, you're done!
Connecting Linux Shares to a Windows Network
Introduction
This is a basic level tutorial for Linux novices who are wrestling with their new operating system trying to get it to share directories on their Home network instead of serving up "Access Denied" to Windows. I am assuming that your level knowledge is at or near zero here, much like mine was about a week ago.
After a long struggle with usernames, groups and all of that wonderful stuff, I just succeeded in connecting several Linux directories to an existing Windows network so that files can be copied back and forth from Windows. Linux still cannot see the Windows shares, but that will have to be figured out the next time I have a couple days to kill. I am not worried about that part as I do not use the Linux box for much besides htpc.
My computers run Windows XP and have a network already in place that has been working fine for years using DHCP and a router without anything fancy. I consider this the typical home network scenario although many folks these days use wireless routers. I did not change anything on my Windows boxes and you won't either. Note: Due to massive retardation in Windows 7, the following instructions will not suffice for that OS. I was unable to network Linux with Windows 7 after many hours trying.
The only missing link on my network for several days was the Linux box, but now everything is more or less okay.
Keep in mind that Linux is designed from the ground up with security in mind, in fact this is the number one bragging point for Linux for decades, so usability takes a back seat. What I want to do is disable the security as much as possible and make usability the driver in this vehicle.
The following is a very simple and not secure example of smb.conf that will let you access your Linux box from your Windows box via the network. I do not need the heavy security of Linux due to having a hardware firewall in my router and certain other factors. If this is your scenario as well, then read on, otherwise you're in for a long ride, better put your seat belt on and browse another tutorial besides this one.
Here's a little tip for Windows users that will really save them some time. When you are testing your Linux shares in Windows Explorer, remember, all you have to do is click on "My Network Places," click on the window on your right, and keep that window in focus. Then, anytime you make changes over on your Linux box and want to see if you can now access the shares or not, all you have to do is hit F5 for a refresh and Windows will update its network info. Then click on each share to see whether you gain access. No, you do not need to reboot Windows or exit out of Windows Explorer or anything else that wastes time. I learned this through trial and error. Again, I made no changes to Windows or to the router.
After installing Linux Mint for the first time, you need to download Samba in order to network. Either enter the text commands to apt-get if you prefer the command line interface or else use the Package Manager and search for Samba and let it do the installing for you. I prefer the Package Manager myself because it requires just a few clicks and you're done. I like the Package Manager and think it's a great idea and too bad Windows XP didn't have one.
Use the File Manager to browse over to your /etc directory. I can usually find mine by clicking on "File System" in the left area. Next, click on a directory called samba. Once you're in /etc/samba, right-click on smb.conf and choose "Open as Administrator." After entering your password, your text editor, Pluma in Linux Mint, will load and you can modify the file.
Adjust the "server string" and the "user" and "group" to your own scenario. I just made up ones for this example. Your path may be different as well. This is just an example that provides the basic idea. Workgroup is very important. You must go into Windows to find out what your workgroup is called. Click on Start | Control Panel | System | Computer Name. In Windows XP, that is where you find out what your workgroup is, or if you don't have one set, that is where you set it. However, server string and netbios name are different. You can make them up, call them whatever you want. Workgroup must be legit though and exactly match what Windows is looking for. I don't know whether case is important but I would match case too if it were me.
I have found through trial and error that it is a good idea to include "bcast" and "lmhosts" in your "name resolve order." I think including these will allow your Linux box to access your Windows box. If you remove bcast and lmhosts, as I once did as an experiment, then your Windows can find your Linux box but not vice versa. It may be that setting the netbios name is important too, I don't know but I made that change about the same time and now I have two-way sharing, which is what everybody wants.
[global]
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = thelinuxboxofigor
netbios name = igoroystershell
security = share
name resolve order = hosts wins bcast lmhosts
[Downloads]
path = /home/igor/Downloads
force user = igor
force group = thelinuxbox
read only = no
guest ok = yes
available = yes
browsable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
[Music]
path = /media/sda1/music
force user = igor
force group = thelinuxbox
read only = no
guest ok = yes
available = yes
browsable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
You can add additional directories besides just Music and Downloads. Just copy, paste, and modify as needed. Comment out the other stuff because it may interfere with sharing. Remember, Linux is all about the security. In this example security is not our friend. We just want things to work, security can come later.
In addition, you want to make sure your /etc/hosts file looks something like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 thelinuxboxofigor.WORKGROUP
127.0.1.1 thelinuxboxofigor
Note that the above settings not only configure your network. They will also prevent an annoying little error message when you try to sudo anything, that is, run things from the Terminal command line as an administrator.
Also, /etc/hostname should have the name of your box, that is, the word that comes after your username and the ampersand when you open up a Terminal. If you open up a Terminal, you will immediately see what I am talking about.
The next thing to do, maybe the most important, is to set permissions for the directories you wish to share. Make them wide open to everybody with read/write access. Also click on Share permissions and then Windows. It is not enough setting permissions for a directory. You also have to allow permissions for all the parent directories as well or else it won't work, the folders won't permit access on the Network! I didn't realize this was so, but trial and error showed that it was on my network.
Taking these steps will allow easy access to the Linux box without the annoying "Access Denied" errors. Some day I'm going to think about allowing access to the Windows shares from Linux, but for now I am respecting a truce between Linux and me, so that I can evacuate the wounded personnel from the battlefield. Update: I think the above config will permit two-way sharing on the network. Mine is working both ways now. Knock on wood.
Addendum
There may be other files that could use modification for networking but I don't remember any off hand. I modified so many things over the course of my journey, and it all becomes a blur after a while, but hopefully this tutorial will help me remember.
If you are a novice then I would recommend learning about /etc/fstab as it contains some pretty important controls that can effect performance and security, though I doubt whether it effects networking. My fstab looks like this based upon my research:
"noatime" kills the Linux process that keeps track of how much each file is accessed. I don't care about such statistics, although a network admin for a big company might. UUID is better than using labels because it makes the OS more agile in accepting new drives. The last digit at the end of each line controls the priority of each file system to fsck when it is checking for errors. So boot is highest priority at 1, followed by the rest. I have set tmpfs to use a maximum of two gigs of RAM instead of swapping out to /tmp on the hard drive, because Linux does not need that, it has plenty of memory on my box. Don't really see the need for a swapfile in modern times, but Linux is an old OS and grew up in the time when memory was measured in megabytes or even kilobytes--as did I. Based upon my reading over at the wonderful and superb Arch Linux documentation goldmine, I've determined that /tmp, /var/lock, and /var/run can be converted to tmpfs, thus conserving I/O to the hard drive and using memory instead. When one has 4 gigabytes of RAM, one wishes to use it. Whether these mods really affect system responsiveness, I have not determined, but I find it interesting that the latest version of Fedora (18) sets /tmp to be tmpfs by default. Really I do not know why all the other distros don't follow suit.
This is a basic level tutorial for Linux novices who are wrestling with their new operating system trying to get it to share directories on their Home network instead of serving up "Access Denied" to Windows. I am assuming that your level knowledge is at or near zero here, much like mine was about a week ago.
After a long struggle with usernames, groups and all of that wonderful stuff, I just succeeded in connecting several Linux directories to an existing Windows network so that files can be copied back and forth from Windows. Linux still cannot see the Windows shares, but that will have to be figured out the next time I have a couple days to kill. I am not worried about that part as I do not use the Linux box for much besides htpc.
My computers run Windows XP and have a network already in place that has been working fine for years using DHCP and a router without anything fancy. I consider this the typical home network scenario although many folks these days use wireless routers. I did not change anything on my Windows boxes and you won't either. Note: Due to massive retardation in Windows 7, the following instructions will not suffice for that OS. I was unable to network Linux with Windows 7 after many hours trying.
The only missing link on my network for several days was the Linux box, but now everything is more or less okay.
Keep in mind that Linux is designed from the ground up with security in mind, in fact this is the number one bragging point for Linux for decades, so usability takes a back seat. What I want to do is disable the security as much as possible and make usability the driver in this vehicle.
The following is a very simple and not secure example of smb.conf that will let you access your Linux box from your Windows box via the network. I do not need the heavy security of Linux due to having a hardware firewall in my router and certain other factors. If this is your scenario as well, then read on, otherwise you're in for a long ride, better put your seat belt on and browse another tutorial besides this one.
Here's a little tip for Windows users that will really save them some time. When you are testing your Linux shares in Windows Explorer, remember, all you have to do is click on "My Network Places," click on the window on your right, and keep that window in focus. Then, anytime you make changes over on your Linux box and want to see if you can now access the shares or not, all you have to do is hit F5 for a refresh and Windows will update its network info. Then click on each share to see whether you gain access. No, you do not need to reboot Windows or exit out of Windows Explorer or anything else that wastes time. I learned this through trial and error. Again, I made no changes to Windows or to the router.
After installing Linux Mint for the first time, you need to download Samba in order to network. Either enter the text commands to apt-get if you prefer the command line interface or else use the Package Manager and search for Samba and let it do the installing for you. I prefer the Package Manager myself because it requires just a few clicks and you're done. I like the Package Manager and think it's a great idea and too bad Windows XP didn't have one.
Use the File Manager to browse over to your /etc directory. I can usually find mine by clicking on "File System" in the left area. Next, click on a directory called samba. Once you're in /etc/samba, right-click on smb.conf and choose "Open as Administrator." After entering your password, your text editor, Pluma in Linux Mint, will load and you can modify the file.
Adjust the "server string" and the "user" and "group" to your own scenario. I just made up ones for this example. Your path may be different as well. This is just an example that provides the basic idea. Workgroup is very important. You must go into Windows to find out what your workgroup is called. Click on Start | Control Panel | System | Computer Name. In Windows XP, that is where you find out what your workgroup is, or if you don't have one set, that is where you set it. However, server string and netbios name are different. You can make them up, call them whatever you want. Workgroup must be legit though and exactly match what Windows is looking for. I don't know whether case is important but I would match case too if it were me.
I have found through trial and error that it is a good idea to include "bcast" and "lmhosts" in your "name resolve order." I think including these will allow your Linux box to access your Windows box. If you remove bcast and lmhosts, as I once did as an experiment, then your Windows can find your Linux box but not vice versa. It may be that setting the netbios name is important too, I don't know but I made that change about the same time and now I have two-way sharing, which is what everybody wants.
[global]
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = thelinuxboxofigor
netbios name = igoroystershell
security = share
name resolve order = hosts wins bcast lmhosts
[Downloads]
path = /home/igor/Downloads
force user = igor
force group = thelinuxbox
read only = no
guest ok = yes
available = yes
browsable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
[Music]
path = /media/sda1/music
force user = igor
force group = thelinuxbox
read only = no
guest ok = yes
available = yes
browsable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
You can add additional directories besides just Music and Downloads. Just copy, paste, and modify as needed. Comment out the other stuff because it may interfere with sharing. Remember, Linux is all about the security. In this example security is not our friend. We just want things to work, security can come later.
In addition, you want to make sure your /etc/hosts file looks something like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 thelinuxboxofigor.WORKGROUP
127.0.1.1 thelinuxboxofigor
Note that the above settings not only configure your network. They will also prevent an annoying little error message when you try to sudo anything, that is, run things from the Terminal command line as an administrator.
Also, /etc/hostname should have the name of your box, that is, the word that comes after your username and the ampersand when you open up a Terminal. If you open up a Terminal, you will immediately see what I am talking about.
The next thing to do, maybe the most important, is to set permissions for the directories you wish to share. Make them wide open to everybody with read/write access. Also click on Share permissions and then Windows. It is not enough setting permissions for a directory. You also have to allow permissions for all the parent directories as well or else it won't work, the folders won't permit access on the Network! I didn't realize this was so, but trial and error showed that it was on my network.
Taking these steps will allow easy access to the Linux box without the annoying "Access Denied" errors. Some day I'm going to think about allowing access to the Windows shares from Linux, but for now I am respecting a truce between Linux and me, so that I can evacuate the wounded personnel from the battlefield. Update: I think the above config will permit two-way sharing on the network. Mine is working both ways now. Knock on wood.
Addendum
There may be other files that could use modification for networking but I don't remember any off hand. I modified so many things over the course of my journey, and it all becomes a blur after a while, but hopefully this tutorial will help me remember.
If you are a novice then I would recommend learning about /etc/fstab as it contains some pretty important controls that can effect performance and security, though I doubt whether it effects networking. My fstab looks like this based upon my research:
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
#
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=blah-de-blah / ext4 errors=remount-ro,noatime 0 1
# /home was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=blah-de-blah /home ext4 defaults,noatime 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=blah-de-blah none swap sw 0 0
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid,size=2G,noatime,mode=1777 0 0
tmpfs /var/lock tmpfs nodev,nosuid,size=128M,noatime,mode=1777 0 0
tmpfs /var/run tmpfs nodev,nosuid,size=512M,noatime,mode=1777 0 0
"noatime" kills the Linux process that keeps track of how much each file is accessed. I don't care about such statistics, although a network admin for a big company might. UUID is better than using labels because it makes the OS more agile in accepting new drives. The last digit at the end of each line controls the priority of each file system to fsck when it is checking for errors. So boot is highest priority at 1, followed by the rest. I have set tmpfs to use a maximum of two gigs of RAM instead of swapping out to /tmp on the hard drive, because Linux does not need that, it has plenty of memory on my box. Don't really see the need for a swapfile in modern times, but Linux is an old OS and grew up in the time when memory was measured in megabytes or even kilobytes--as did I. Based upon my reading over at the wonderful and superb Arch Linux documentation goldmine, I've determined that /tmp, /var/lock, and /var/run can be converted to tmpfs, thus conserving I/O to the hard drive and using memory instead. When one has 4 gigabytes of RAM, one wishes to use it. Whether these mods really affect system responsiveness, I have not determined, but I find it interesting that the latest version of Fedora (18) sets /tmp to be tmpfs by default. Really I do not know why all the other distros don't follow suit.
How to Change the Pictures Folder in Mate-Screensaver's Slideshow
mate-screensaver's GUI doesn't permit changes to the pictures folder option for the slideshow. This can present a small problem for some of us who have our pictures located in other places.
To change the Pictures folder in mate-screensaver, open a Terminal and enter:
sudo pluma /usr/share/applications/screensavers/personal-slideshow.desktop
Scroll down to the end of the file. Change the line that says:
Exec=/usr/lib/mate-screensaver/slideshow --location=/home/Pictures
to instead indicate your desired pictures folder. On my rig, it was:
Exec=/usr/lib/mate-screensaver/slideshow --location=/media/sda1/pix
Then click save. Go to Control Center | Preferences | Screensaver and you should see the Pictures Folder option. Click on it and presto, you should see a picture displayed in the preview.
Important: to disable mate-screensaver while watching videos, refer to this thread.
How to Launch a Slideshow in Linux Mate
Linux Mint Mate makes it easy to initiate a screensaver slideshow. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and select Create a Launcher. Use this command for the Launcher:
mate-screensaver-command -a
When you want to activate the screensaver/slideshow, simply click on the launcher.
If you're curious, open a terminal and see what else mate-screensaver-command can do. Enter:
mate-screensaver-command --help
I would like for it to have the ability to change the timed delay between images. Currently, the delay is preset to 20 seconds. I would like to set it to 60. However, I don't see a method of doing this other than via the time parameter in mate-screensaver-command, and I have not been able to get that parameter to work.
mate-screensaver-command -a
When you want to activate the screensaver/slideshow, simply click on the launcher.
If you're curious, open a terminal and see what else mate-screensaver-command can do. Enter:
mate-screensaver-command --help
I would like for it to have the ability to change the timed delay between images. Currently, the delay is preset to 20 seconds. I would like to set it to 60. However, I don't see a method of doing this other than via the time parameter in mate-screensaver-command, and I have not been able to get that parameter to work.
When Xfce Desktop Icons Disappear
Xfce has a problem from time to time where all the icons on the desktop disappear. This will happen if you try to delete tens of thousands of files, get tired of waiting after a couple hours, and restart the computer. In that case, you can log back in to a perfectly blank desktop without your icons.
The preferred way to delete tens of thousands of files is to use the command line; the GUI likes to crash all the time.
The optimal fix for the disappearing icons in Xfce is to enter xfdesktop at the command line. Then hit Ctrl-C and exit. Your desktop icons should be restored.
If it doesn't work: you must trick Xfce to let you have your icons back. Go to Settings -> Desktop and change the background of the desktop to something different--a different wallpaper. Then enter xfdesktop at the command line.
The preferred way to delete tens of thousands of files is to use the command line; the GUI likes to crash all the time.
The optimal fix for the disappearing icons in Xfce is to enter xfdesktop at the command line. Then hit Ctrl-C and exit. Your desktop icons should be restored.
If it doesn't work: you must trick Xfce to let you have your icons back. Go to Settings -> Desktop and change the background of the desktop to something different--a different wallpaper. Then enter xfdesktop at the command line.
Fix the Helvetica Font Error in Xscreensaver Glslideshow
The Problem: Xscreensaver displays an error message in both Ubuntu and Linux Mint when running Glslideshow, because a missing font is referenced in the glslideshow hack. The error message is "unable to load font "-*-helvetica-medium-r-normal-*-180-*", using "fixed". Helvetica is a copyrighted font, and Adobe is the copyright holder. You can buy the font, or you can modify glslideshow's source, or you can try a workaround.
The Solution: This is only a workaround instead of a proper solution, such as fixing and recompiling the source code, but it is easy and won't take but five minutes. We can get rid of the error message, if not the error itself. The error will still arise, but we don't need to see it anymore.
Open your file manager. Navigate to your home directory and turn on the option to view hidden files. Edit the hidden file, .xscreensaver, (~/.xscreensaver) as root. If the file does not exist, you may create it. You must edit the file as root in order to modify the file.
Change the option:
captureStderr: True
to
captureStderr: False
Although it may not be necessary, I also changed
overlayStderr: True
to
overlayStderr: False
I suggest also changing the option Font from Helvetica to: *-medium-r-*-140-*-m-*, although by itself this will not eliminate the initial error message displayed on the first picture. The problem lies in a hardcoded reference to Helvetica found within glslideshow's source code. With a hex editor, one could fix glslideshow's binary for good, changing helvetica to a font that is installed on Ubuntu and its derivatives, but that's dodgy, as a future update would wipe out the change.
While you're editing your xscreensaver file, examine the ImageDirectory option and change it to whichever directory you intend to store your slideshow pictures. Some of the other options are self-explanatory. The mysterious "nice" option just refers to Xscreensaver's priority in comparison to other programs. The default, ten, is low but higher will make it even lower. I left that one alone.
When you're done playing around with the options, save the file and exit.
Now let's edit two more files, found in /etc/X11/app-defaults: XScreenSaver and XScreenSaver-gl. It may not be necessary to change the Stderr options in these files, because according to the comments, the config file in your Home directory takes precedence. I went ahead and changed the options anyway just to be sure that the error message would not display everytime I ran the slideshow. I also changed all references to Helvetica with some other font. "*-medium-r-*-140-*-m-*" should work for this purpose.
The end result is a cleaner slideshow experience without that error message popping up everytime the screensaver activates.
The Solution: This is only a workaround instead of a proper solution, such as fixing and recompiling the source code, but it is easy and won't take but five minutes. We can get rid of the error message, if not the error itself. The error will still arise, but we don't need to see it anymore.
Open your file manager. Navigate to your home directory and turn on the option to view hidden files. Edit the hidden file, .xscreensaver, (~/.xscreensaver) as root. If the file does not exist, you may create it. You must edit the file as root in order to modify the file.
Change the option:
captureStderr: True
to
captureStderr: False
Although it may not be necessary, I also changed
overlayStderr: True
to
overlayStderr: False
I suggest also changing the option Font from Helvetica to: *-medium-r-*-140-*-m-*, although by itself this will not eliminate the initial error message displayed on the first picture. The problem lies in a hardcoded reference to Helvetica found within glslideshow's source code. With a hex editor, one could fix glslideshow's binary for good, changing helvetica to a font that is installed on Ubuntu and its derivatives, but that's dodgy, as a future update would wipe out the change.
While you're editing your xscreensaver file, examine the ImageDirectory option and change it to whichever directory you intend to store your slideshow pictures. Some of the other options are self-explanatory. The mysterious "nice" option just refers to Xscreensaver's priority in comparison to other programs. The default, ten, is low but higher will make it even lower. I left that one alone.
When you're done playing around with the options, save the file and exit.
Now let's edit two more files, found in /etc/X11/app-defaults: XScreenSaver and XScreenSaver-gl. It may not be necessary to change the Stderr options in these files, because according to the comments, the config file in your Home directory takes precedence. I went ahead and changed the options anyway just to be sure that the error message would not display everytime I ran the slideshow. I also changed all references to Helvetica with some other font. "*-medium-r-*-140-*-m-*" should work for this purpose.
The end result is a cleaner slideshow experience without that error message popping up everytime the screensaver activates.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Run Screensaver & Music Player from Thunar's File Manager
In my opinion, a screensaver begins and ends with a slideshow featuring beautiful specimens from the realms of art and imagination, nature, and science. I will never understand why so many people opt for alternative solutions such as using a non-slideshow screensaver (called a "visualizer") from within a media player. Configure the screensaver within the operating system but once, and it will function with and without the media player. Pictures appealing to one's personal taste may be obtained quite easily by anyone with Internet access, patience, and storage space. So why use anything else in a screensaver--ever?
When I play music on my media player, I want the desktop to display my slideshow. I do not want VLC to run a tacky visualizer. And I want to use nothing within VLC, but instead the regular desktop screensaver-slideshow, which can be easily deactivated by moving the mouse or pressing any key and which I have configured to my own preferences.
The following custom command, when selected in Thunar, passes selected files and folders to VLC and then, after a five second pause, activates the screensaver. I don't see any reason why this technique would not work in other Linux desktop environments, but I haven't tested it, so I will say, caveat emptor. My own desktop environment is Xfce running on Linux Mint Maya. I have VLC and xscreensaver installed and working, although the logic below could be adapted for other media players and other screensavers.
In Xfce's File Manager, Thunar, click Edit | Configure Custom Actions, and then choose the + icon to add a new one. For the name of the action, let's type "Play in VLC & Run Screensaver," and for the command, "/bin/vlcs.sh %F", which loads a shell script while passing a variable consisting of selected files and folders. Executing a script is indeed necessary, because Thunar seems to not permit multiple commands in a custom action. Perhaps in gnome or kde, the story may be different--experiment and see whether this is so. Of course one would rather not have to create a new batch file just to execute two or three commands.
The shell script, which I call /bin/vlcs.sh, consists of just two lines:
VLC and the sleep command execute at the same time. The sleep command waits for five seconds. Only after the sleep command has finished do I want the screensaver to activate and display my slideshow. I find the delay helpful, because without it, the screensaver executes with such alacrity that my hand cannot remove itself from the mouse fast enough to avoid deactivating the screensaver. Besides, I like to observe VLC's playlist for a moment before it runs. Many a time during testing, I passed an invalid variable to VLC, and it got stuck in an endless loop trying to load invalid file names, which is not very intelligent, to say the least. I tried to add some audits of the variable inside the script, but I cannot add any if...then commands to the batch, otherwise it won't work at all from within Thunar in Xubuntu 12.10. The batch must remain primitive for reasons that are unclear to me. I am sure the solution is something simple that the experts have neglected to mention because they feel it is obvious. At any rate, I was pleased to set this up, because it saves me a step during dinner parties.
When I play music on my media player, I want the desktop to display my slideshow. I do not want VLC to run a tacky visualizer. And I want to use nothing within VLC, but instead the regular desktop screensaver-slideshow, which can be easily deactivated by moving the mouse or pressing any key and which I have configured to my own preferences.
The following custom command, when selected in Thunar, passes selected files and folders to VLC and then, after a five second pause, activates the screensaver. I don't see any reason why this technique would not work in other Linux desktop environments, but I haven't tested it, so I will say, caveat emptor. My own desktop environment is Xfce running on Linux Mint Maya. I have VLC and xscreensaver installed and working, although the logic below could be adapted for other media players and other screensavers.
In Xfce's File Manager, Thunar, click Edit | Configure Custom Actions, and then choose the + icon to add a new one. For the name of the action, let's type "Play in VLC & Run Screensaver," and for the command, "/bin/vlcs.sh %F", which loads a shell script while passing a variable consisting of selected files and folders. Executing a script is indeed necessary, because Thunar seems to not permit multiple commands in a custom action. Perhaps in gnome or kde, the story may be different--experiment and see whether this is so. Of course one would rather not have to create a new batch file just to execute two or three commands.
The shell script, which I call /bin/vlcs.sh, consists of just two lines:
#!bin/shName this Linux shell script "vlcs.sh", place it in the /bin folder, and set the execute bit using "chmod a+x /bin/vlcs.sh" so that all may execute it. I'm not a big security buff, but if you are, then set the security however you like it, just so that it can execute from the File Manager.
vlc "$1" & sleep 5 && xscreensaver-command -activate
VLC and the sleep command execute at the same time. The sleep command waits for five seconds. Only after the sleep command has finished do I want the screensaver to activate and display my slideshow. I find the delay helpful, because without it, the screensaver executes with such alacrity that my hand cannot remove itself from the mouse fast enough to avoid deactivating the screensaver. Besides, I like to observe VLC's playlist for a moment before it runs. Many a time during testing, I passed an invalid variable to VLC, and it got stuck in an endless loop trying to load invalid file names, which is not very intelligent, to say the least. I tried to add some audits of the variable inside the script, but I cannot add any if...then commands to the batch, otherwise it won't work at all from within Thunar in Xubuntu 12.10. The batch must remain primitive for reasons that are unclear to me. I am sure the solution is something simple that the experts have neglected to mention because they feel it is obvious. At any rate, I was pleased to set this up, because it saves me a step during dinner parties.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Ubetatest
Hm. I don't like the sound of this. Canonical is committing errors in judgment. They need money, so while asking for donations, they intend to spy on their users in order to earn money from Amazon, which has ethical problems of its own. Well, perhaps I will not be using anything Ubuntu-related after 2012.
Out of curiosity, I installed both Xubuntu 12.10 and Linux Mint 13 Xfce, and Linux Mint Xfce is better, easier to use, despite being based upon older code (ubuntu 12.04). Xubuntu 12.10 is unstable, makes crash reports all the time, and the updates that Ubuntu releases don't fix the problems. I send crash reports, and Ubuntu ignores them, and instead issues updates for things that are irrelevant to me.
Xubuntu also is difficult to customize. Last night, I spent an hour trying to install new themes in the ~\.themes directory, because the default themes in Xubuntu are all unpleasantly bright. Xubuntu basically offers the user one theme and one theme only, a bright white background that will burn the eyes of any heavy user. This one theme has twenty different names, so it may appear there are twenty themes, but they are similar. Xubuntu does not offer even one theme with a dark background. Not so with Linux Mint Xfce, which at least offers dusk, a true dark background. I tried for an hour last night to install some new ones, but the archive manager crashed repeatedly. Even when I succeeded in extracting the themes into the .themes directory, after rebooting, they did not appear in the Appearances list of styles. In the end, I gave up. My solution will be to remove Xubuntu at some future point in time. I require a distro that does not require hours and hours of research and experimentation in order to change the background.
I'm glad there are options for Linux users. I'm definitely going to stick with Linux Mint for the time being while keeping an eye on other distros such as OpenSuse, which doesn't rely upon anything *buntu. I hope that Linux Mint finds a way to wean itself from Ubuntu, because I think Canonical has strayed into error and its usefulness may be coming to an end.
Out of curiosity, I installed both Xubuntu 12.10 and Linux Mint 13 Xfce, and Linux Mint Xfce is better, easier to use, despite being based upon older code (ubuntu 12.04). Xubuntu 12.10 is unstable, makes crash reports all the time, and the updates that Ubuntu releases don't fix the problems. I send crash reports, and Ubuntu ignores them, and instead issues updates for things that are irrelevant to me.
Xubuntu also is difficult to customize. Last night, I spent an hour trying to install new themes in the ~\.themes directory, because the default themes in Xubuntu are all unpleasantly bright. Xubuntu basically offers the user one theme and one theme only, a bright white background that will burn the eyes of any heavy user. This one theme has twenty different names, so it may appear there are twenty themes, but they are similar. Xubuntu does not offer even one theme with a dark background. Not so with Linux Mint Xfce, which at least offers dusk, a true dark background. I tried for an hour last night to install some new ones, but the archive manager crashed repeatedly. Even when I succeeded in extracting the themes into the .themes directory, after rebooting, they did not appear in the Appearances list of styles. In the end, I gave up. My solution will be to remove Xubuntu at some future point in time. I require a distro that does not require hours and hours of research and experimentation in order to change the background.
I'm glad there are options for Linux users. I'm definitely going to stick with Linux Mint for the time being while keeping an eye on other distros such as OpenSuse, which doesn't rely upon anything *buntu. I hope that Linux Mint finds a way to wean itself from Ubuntu, because I think Canonical has strayed into error and its usefulness may be coming to an end.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
VLC Answers All Multimedia Needs in Linux
I dabbled in various music players in Xubuntu--Exaile, Rhythmbox, Banshee, and Audacious--but they all threw up errors or else didn't play quite right in my Xubuntu 12.10 install. In the end I decided to try VLC for playing music, and it plays music just as well as it does video. So there is no actual need for a separate music player in Linux. VLC answers all needs. I can even run xscreensaver while VLC plays music files. VLC apparently is smart enough to stop the screensaver from running while playing video, but it won't interfere if the user launches the screensaver.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Xubuntu is Faster
I just timed Xubuntu, and it boots in < 25 seconds on my machine. That's about 5 seconds faster than Linux Mint Mate. I guess I just needed to get Xubuntu configured in my usual style. Xubuntu is definitely faster at start-up, no doubt about it. Windows XP takes over a minute to boot, by comparison.
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