Sample post for theme selection

A theme at last! credits at the bottom.
<code> - shaded, mono-spaced
this is a code block test and
this is the second line for the code block test with a longer ending that would word wrap or what?
<blockquote> - indented, italics

this is a blockquote test and
this is the second line for the blockquote test with a longer ending that would word wrap or what?

<pre> - scrollbars and shaded! only a few themes have this feature.

this is a pre tag test and
this is the second line for the pre tag test with a longer ending and the last of the lot. Word wrapped or scrollbar?

[code] - nice and neat.
[code]what does this do? first line
this is the second line with a long text to emphasize behavior whether word wrap will occur or a scrollbar. [/code]

Executable scripts

Short notes on how to make a script executable:
In the terminal window, startup your editor (e.g. gedit) and open the bash file.
Put this on the first line of the script
#!/bin/bash

for Python scripts, this would be -
#!/usr/bin/python
Save the script.
Still in the terminal window, run this -
chmod +x {name of script}

From Blogger to Wordpress

Didn't think I would need to look for another blog website to put down my travel journal through the Ubuntu forest, but here I am. Why? I noticed lately when I edit my blog posts or do new blogs, the browser freezes and just keeps on saying that it is refreshing the page.

Opening two tabs in my Firefox, one for Wordpress, another for Blogger, the former is noticeably faster to load.  This quirkiness happens in both Firefox and Chrome.

Lastly,  Wordpress allowed me to import all my posts from Blogger!  Very thoughtful feature: Easy migration always sells :-)

Installing RoR in Ubuntu 9.10

In a terminal window, install the necessary packages:

sudo apt-get install ruby build-essential libopenssl-ruby ruby1.8-dev
sudo apt-get install rubygems libsqlite3-dev

then Rails -

sudo gem install rails
sudo gem install sqlite3-ruby

and put the path in bash...

pico .bashrc

at the end of my .bashrc file

export PATH=/var/lib/gems/1.8/bin:$PATH

then update Gems and check the versions -

sudo gem update --system
gem list --local

The output:

*** LOCAL GEMS ***

actionmailer (2.3.5)
actionpack (2.3.5)
activerecord (2.3.5)
activeresource (2.3.5)
activesupport (2.3.5)
rack (1.0.1)
rails (2.3.5)
rake (0.8.7)
sqlite3-ruby (1.2.5)

desktop

here's my desktop after playing around cairo-dock, iconfinder.net, and the wild shine custom theme.

Projector on Ubuntu [solved]

9.10 doesn't come out-of-the-box with an xorg.conf!
Created my own first, taken from the posts of the Ubuntu forums (search tag: no xorg.conf)
Then used this Ubuntu post to set it up somewhat; I used the custom scripts below.
1. Script to turn on VGA:

#!/bin/bash
# ~/Scripts/1024scale.sh
# change display settings to clone mode, 1024x768 pix for VGA (projector) and scales it to the resolution of 1024x600  of the internal display
xrandr --newmode "1024x768" 63.50  1024 1072 1176 1328  768 771 775 798 -hsync +vsync
xrandr --addmode VGA1 1024x768
xrandr --fb 1024x768
xrandr --output VGA1 --mode 1024x768
xrandr --fb 1024x768 --output LVDS1 --mode 1024x768 --scale 1x1 --panning 0x0

2. Script to turn off VGA, and revert my laptop's 1280 x 800 resolution:

#!/bin/bash
# ~/Scripts/1024off.sh
# Sets VGA output to 1024x768 (native resolution for most projectors) and sets internal display to off
xrandr --output VGA1 --off
xrandr --fb 1280x800 --output LVDS1 --mode 1280x800 --auto

Solving my projector VGA output in Ubuntu

9.10 doesn't come out-of-the-box with an xorg.conf!
Created my own first, taken from the posts of the Ubuntu forums (search tag: no xorg.conf)
Then used this how-to to set it up somewhat; I used the custom scripts below.

1. Script to turn on VGA:

#!/bin/bash
# ~/Scripts/1024scale.sh
# change display settings to clone mode, 1024x768 pix for VGA (projector) and scales it to the resolution of 1024x600  of the internal display
xrandr --newmode "1024x768" 63.50  1024 1072 1176 1328  768 771 775 798 -hsync +vsync
xrandr --addmode VGA1 1024x768
xrandr --fb 1024x768
xrandr --output VGA1 --mode 1024x768
xrandr --fb 1024x768 --output LVDS1 --mode 1024x768 --scale 1x1 --panning 0x0

2. Script to turn off VGA, and revert my laptop's 1280 x 800 resolution:

#!/bin/bash
# ~/Scripts/1024off.sh
# Sets VGA output to 1024x768 (native resolution for most projectors) and sets internal display to off
xrandr --output VGA1 --off
xrandr --fb 1280x800 --output LVDS1 --mode 1280x800 --auto

Virtualbox 3.1 in Karmic

Ubuntu Karmic uses the OSE (open source edition) of Virtualbox, which I didn't particularly like because of the limitations - no USB support, for one.

Resource site: http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

I downloaded the full package from the Virtualbox site here.

Then added to the end of my sources.list file the deb reference:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

at the end of the file -

deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian karmic non-free

and ran this in the terminal:

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/sun_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

checked if I needed dkms package (to ensure that the VBox kernel gets updated when the Linux kernel is)

sudo apt-get install dkms

and finally the VirtualBox package itself:

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-3.1

Ruby on Rails installation

Used this Ubuntu resource but simplified:
Open a terminal window and type in these:
sudo aptitude install ruby build-essential libopenssl-ruby ruby1.8-dev
then skipped apache, and other of the web servers - as I was going to use Webrick, the default web server that comes bundled with Ruby.
Install Gems and SQLLite...
sudo apt-get install rubygems libsqlite3-dev
and now Rails ...
sudo gem install rails
sudo gem install sqlite3-ruby
and put the path in bash...
pico .bashrc
at the end of my .bashrc file
export PATH=/var/lib/gems/1.8/bin:$PATH
then update Gems...
sudo gem update --system
Post-install validation:
Check my gems installed...
gem list --local
The output:

*** LOCAL GEMS ***

actionmailer (2.3.5)
actionpack (2.3.5)
activerecord (2.3.5)
activeresource (2.3.5)
activesupport (2.3.5)
rack (1.0.1)
rails (2.3.5)
rake (0.8.7)
sqlite3-ruby (1.2.5)

Back in Ubuntu (still Karmic)

I'm back in Ubuntu after nearly a month in Linux Mint, loving it, then saddened by the loss of sound and inability to use the LCD out, then finally deciding to what-the-heck it all and reformatted my hard disk.

Steps:
1. Do fresh install from the Live CD
2. Perform ALL detected package updates
3. Removed Evolution (from Ubuntu Software Center)
4. Removed Empathy (from USC)
5. Installed Pidgin (from USC)
6. Installed Thunderbird 3.0.3 (downloaded from Mozilla)
- it's a tar.bz2 file, untar in a user-created folder
- create a launcher pointing to the thunderbird file
7. Install the Lightning add-on
8. Create my office profile in Thunderbird, complete with the POP & SMTP settings
9. Copy my backup profile folder to the new profile folder
10. Install Flash in my Firefox from here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/Flash
11. Install VLC, making sure multiverse repositories (in Synaptic) are checked. Also used this URL for reference: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-ubuntu.html
I didn't go the path of the PPA (as my older post advised); instead just picked the VLC package in Synaptic.

YES! I GOT SOUND! - 13 March 2010 1313h

12. Reinstall IPMsg using my old posts as reference.

Now on to Ruby on Rails...

Plustek OpticSlim Plus M12 in Ubuntu Karmic Netbook remix

1. Install SANE package (or is it XSANE)?
2. Downloaded the scanner's firmware file from the link in this URL: http://gkall.hobby.nl/gt6816-07b3-0412.html

that was it!

Installing Smartbro USB modem in Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix

Here are the steps I did to successfully install Smartbro in Ubuntu Karmic Netbook edition:
1. Found a PPA from a Linux user, updated my software sources and got his key, beginning with this link: http://www.greenhughes.com/content/zte-mf627-easy-way
2. Smartbro worked but not all the time.
3. Found another link, this time in the Ubuntu Forums. post #8 here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1065934

this was the turning point: change usb.product_id from 0015 to 0031

and learning the significance of using lsusb in the Terminal Window.