audacity in karmic, ffmpeg source to package

OPEN ISSUE: below steps didn't work. removed everything afterwards.

had another steep learning curve to get a simple thing done here.
making audacity work and import audio from a video (mp4) file. it complained about not having ffmpeg.

wish the ubuntu guys would get their act together - if you already have a package in the repository, why do you have to download SOURCE, then COMPILE, then do all these geeky stuff? all the more intimidating for the millions of computer users out there.

my references:

1. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=786095

2. http://daily-hacking.blogspot.com/2009/08/ffmpeg-with-amr-support-on-ubuntu.html

Bluetooth on Karmic

went to this site: http://blueman-project.org/downloads.html

then :
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:blueman/ppa

then:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install blueman

Karmic Upgrade

It's been a while.

Yesterday and today I upgraded 9.04 with 9.10. Yesterday for downloading the packages, and today for the actual upgrade. After rebooting, it couldn't boot up at first.

Turns out the culprit was the AVIRA Guard, that kept some DazukoFS entries in my /etc/fstab.

Commenting those out solved the problem.

Still in ext3, though.

Ubuntu on Low Memory Systems

Tested this exercise on a Xubuntu Alternate CD. According to the Ubuntu documentation, any variant of Ubuntu's alternate CDs will work.

1. Change the mode of installation to "command-line install"
2. Do the routine install.
3. Edit the sources; uncomment the debian packages (partner, restricted)
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
4. Perform update and upgrade (requires Internet connection to download packages); apptocd is another approach, but I haven't tested that.
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude upgrade

At this point, decide if you need a GUI.

Testing AVG on Ubuntu, and learning some scripts

tested the AVG scanner to detect EICAR test virus, passed with flying colors

sample command-line in terminal:
avscan Downloads/*

recursive scan, from the current point down to the Downloads folder.

Also made some 3-liner scripts (and launchers) in my desktop:
scanner:

#!/bin/sh
sudo avscan /media/NANO/*
read -p "Press Enter to continue" nothing

updater:

#!/bin/sh
sudo /usr/lib/AntiVir/avupdate --product=Guard
read -p "Press Enter to continue" nothing

Avira AntiVir on Ubuntu

Avira seems to be better at detecting Windows viruses than ClamAV, as I experienced today scanning the same USB device on 2 machines. Avira (in Windows) spotting 6 worms vs. ClamAv's 1 detection.

So I decided to give Avira in Ubuntu a shot.
System snapshot info:
Ubuntu 9.04
Kernel Linux 2.6.28-15-generic
GNOME 2.26.1

Here's how I got it to work:
1. Download the Linux Avira Antivir installer here: http://www.free-av.de/en/download/download_servers.php
My downloaded copy was antivir_workstation-pers.tar.gz

2. In a terminal window, execute:
tar -xvf antivir_workstation-pers.tar.gz
This created a folder named antivir-workstation-pers-3.0.5-11 in my download folder.

3. Still in the terminal window, cd to the created folder and type:
sudo ./install

4. Follow the prompts (I just based on common sense). Link references:

• Detailed, but a bit old (2006)
• Avira forum thread 1 (2009 - telling that Dazuko is included in the installer already)
  
• Avira forum thread 2 (2009 - just shows the command how to update signatures)
• Avira forum thread 3 (2008 - older, just to see how well the Avira team simplified installation since)

There's no GUI! A minor hassle, though. It will install in the /usr/lib/AntiVir folder.

Terminal commands learned:
To update the engine & signatures:
sudo avupdate --product=Guard
To scan a USB drive:
sudo avscan /media/disk

ClamAV and front-end GUI ClamTK

useful antivirus scanner for making the Ubuntu box a USB virus cleaner device

tested in Ubuntu 9.04
1. download clamav package (& all detected dependencies) using Synaptic
2. download libnet-dns-perl package (& all detected dependencies) using Synaptic
3. download the latest Ubuntu package of clamtk in http://clamtk.sourceforge.net/
4. using a terminal window, navigate to the folder of the downloaded deb package.
5. type sudo dpkg -i {name of downloaded clamtk deb}

Dune + Wine in Ubuntu Jaunty

Trying to play my fave old school circa 1980's game Dune in my Ubuntu box...
wish me luck!

Installing a .tar.gz file

Needed to install IPMSG in my home laptop Ubuntu, and realized that my previous blog wasn't really that descriptive of the steps.

Here are the details after installing the dependencies and the ipmsg tar.gz file.
1. Open a terminal window (Applications - Accessories - Terminal)
2. Go to the folder where the tar.gz is saved (using the cd, dir commands)
3. Then type in the command line: tar zxf {name of tar.gz file} and hit Enter
4. This will create a subfolder named after the tar file. cd to this subfolder.
5. Inside the subfolder, type these series of commands:

./configure
make
sudo make install

If all goes well, you should be able to see your installed application after a restart of the system.

Skype, Firestarter, and port 445

First off, I'm not happy with Skype in my Ubuntu. How our perceptions change with a new OS. I better figure out a way to remove it.

Second, about port 445. Using a firewall in Ubuntu reveals a lot of things that were before hidden but is now cause for earnest concern. By the inherent weakness of Microsoft's security design, hackers use this port to gain access to tens of thousands of computers connected in the Internet.

In my own Firestarter, using Sun's USB Broadband connection, I see a lot of local IP addresses - DHCP-assigned by the Sun ISP - attempting to exploit the 445 port of my computer via the protocol of Windows-DS (directory services).

Hitting a wall...

Went home somewhat dejected tonight after failing to install samba in my minimal install.
Perhaps the clue lies somewhere with a missing package - nautilus-share ?

from an ubuntu forum post.

OR probably this package: system-config-samba
from this post.

need to check my packages tomorrow or Friday -
1) to create a package list file
"dpkg --get-selections > installed-software"

How to rebuild your packages from a previous install? Got this from the forum, too.

better to check this out, too. ubuntu forum post on low memory systems.

the Actual minimal install

1. Install the minimal CD, using default settings - post #1
2. Install the prescribed packages:

sudo apt-get -y install gnome-core gdm network-manager-gnome fast-user-switch-applet \
human-theme x11-xserver-utils tangerine-icon-theme gnome-themes-ubuntu ubuntu-artwork \
jockey-gtk gnome-screensaver gnome-utils

then restart.

3. Enable the Network manager - post #65
"... remove (or comment) the options below "primary network interface" in /etc/network/interfaces"; you must get the ethernet card's MAC address via ifconfig -a in a terminal window.

then restart again.

4. Packages installed:
- epiphany-browser (via Synaptic)
- hplip (HP printer drivers) : got this from the HP HPLIP link, downloaded and used the installer

The hplip installer also detected and auto-installed missing packages, notably build-essential.

Minimal Install of Ubuntu 9.04

going into a deeper relationship with Ubuntu... since last week, I had tried different distros (e.g. Arch Linux, Mepis) in the office, looking for a leaner linux. To the credit of Ubuntu, it was the only one, in my opinion, that didn't require too much struggle from my newbie perspective.

the minimal CD of Ubuntu vs. Arch Linux - the former wins... for now.

these are my notes for a minimal installation - a good application can be for old desktops with low (e.g. 256mb) memory that you can use as a print server.

links:

1. ubuntu forum how-to by TheShiv
2. minimal cd for Ubuntu - Jaunty, Intrepid, etc.

TheShiv also posted a very comprehensive write-up how to create your own local repositories at post # 43 and installing Skype at post #53.

Another contributor for the same thread provided a link how to install the lightweight windows manager FluxBox for the minimal install at post # 23.

Installing VLC and learning about PPA along the way

Missing my favorite media player, I google'd and found out that there is a VLC for Ubuntu.

The catch is this: it isn't a default package available out-of-the-box in Jaunty.

So here are the steps, basically:

1. Add the VLC packages in Ubuntu's software sources


2. Tell Ubuntu to authenticate the VLC's PPA


3. Update Synaptic and install VLC

These are the packages to install:

• 
  

  vlc

  
  


• 
  

  vlc-plugin-esd

  
  


• 
  

  mozilla-plugin-vlc

  
  

My references:

• VLC packages and PPA


• How-to reference

Ubuntu 9.04 in my dual-boot - 1, and IPMsg :-)

Yesterday I took a bigger step. I installed Ubuntu in another partition in my office laptop, not merely as a virtual guest.

So far, so good.

After doing the initial, fresh-install updates (via Update Manager):

1. Installed gnome IPMSG, our inter-office internal messaging client. This was a pleasant experience :) - thanks to blogger necramirez for this excellent reference.

Links for the how-to, I found here (http://blog.necramirez.info/2008/07/installing-gnome2-ipmessenger.html). This worked for me without problems.
You have to install the dependencies first, as follows:

• libxml-parser-perl
• libgnomeui-dev
• libpanel-applet2-dev
• gettext
• intltool

After that, get the gnome IPMSG here (http://www.ipmsg.org/index.html.en).
The link I followed is the one under Unix, titled GNOME2 IP Messenger by T.Kato (2008/10/27).
It might have a newer version by the time you visit the site.

I followed the instructions how to unpack/make/run and soon after I got IPmsg working smoothly.

2. Now, my adventure continues. I'm planning to install NetBeans. First off, install the Java packages.

My reference is in the Ubuntu forums, on the thread titled "Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy (Ubuntu 9.04)" - thanks to contributor TrakerJon
Here's the piece on java:
Install the latest Sun Java JRE
sudo apt-get install gsfonts-x11 java-common odbcinst1debian1 sun-java6-bin sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin unixodbc

Installed firewall in my jaunty

This is the link I used to make firestarter run everytime I log in my Ubuntu 9.04 (jaunty jackalope)

The configuration:
1. Laptop with the ff. connections:

• ppp0 - huawei e160 usb modem of Sun Cellular,
• eth1 - laptop's built-in wifi
• shared internet connection, dhcp server (c/o Firestarter)
  

2. Windows laptop, also on wifi, able to access the Internet via laptop1

The problem: kept running into Firestarter error message - cannot start firewall - when I turn on DHCP for eth1

The solution:

• Manual IP address/subnet assigned to laptop1's eth1
• Reinstalled the dhcp3-server package (in synaptic package manager)

Using Sun Cellular USB modem Huawei e160 with Ubuntu 9.04

Previous blog post below NOT NEEDED for Ubuntu 9.04 - as most of what I needed to work already did work without additional packages needing to be installed :-)

Here are some notes to this experiment.

Running Ubuntu 9.04 (32-bit) as a virtual guest (using virtualbox 2.2.4).

References:
1. Review-Ninja's blog
2. Saliya's blog

Download sites for packages needed:
1. usb_modeswitch
2. wvdialer (thanks to GeorgeVita)

Notes:
1. No need to download or install the libusb, as it is available in the CD installer of Ubuntu 9.04

Chronicles

Windows 7 Release Candidate works in my VirtualBox, 512mb allocated memory.

It also works in the Blue subnotebook (8.9" LCD).