Minimal Install - Ubuntu 9.10 LXDE on a 256mb RAM Intel Celeron desktop

These are my notes on this install. A working Internet connection is a must, the faster, the better - especially for step 2 with about 100mb+ worth of downloads to do.
I tried several distros based on Ubuntu 10.04 but for some reason, the video always gets borked. And wanting a kernel more recent than Knoppix 6.2, I settled for Ubuntu 9.10 - having a kernel 2.6.31-14 after installation, and a 2.6.31-22 after the post-install update.

1. Followed instructions here BUT only up to the point where you do a reboot (currently step 21).
2. On a terminal window, type the following in sequence:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install xorg xinit gdm lxde network-manager-gnome abiword gnumeric update-manager

Compared to the author's original script, this list of packages is more bare-bone for my specific need, that is, to have a desktop whose primary purpose is to be a router for my Internet access, can do wordprocessing and spreadsheets, can do surfing for non-flash websites like Facebook, no need for multimedia - take away alsa, no need for games...
For a future experiment, if ever, instead of the gdm package - which required a whopping 89mb download - try the slim login manager instead.

3. Reboot the computer.
4. During login, right before entering the password, select LXDE in the session dropdown.
LXDE shaves off about 20mb RAM compared to GNOME

5. Fix the network manager applet so it shows in the LXDE bottom panel.
Type in a terminal window:

gksu leafpad  /etc/xdg/autostart/nm-applet.desktop

Then edit the OnlyShowIn option to be like:

OnlyShowIn=GNOME;XFCE;LXDE

6. Save the file and again reboot. The network manager applet should now appear in the panel.
7. Fix the "device not managed" for the wired network connection.
Again, in a terminal window:

gksu leafpad /etc/network/interfaces

then comment out the two lines under the primary network interface, like so:

#auto eth0
#iface eth0 inet dhcp

8. Install a lightweight browser. This is a toss-up right now, so I installed two browsers.

sudo apt-get install epiphany-browser midori

end of install

9. Configure the shared Internet connection. and yes (!) it works.

If this lasts 1 month of operations, it may seem I finally got the silver bullet.

How to hide photos and videos you are tagged in from the rest of the (Facebook) world

As of today, these settings in Facebook still applies:

Go to Account - Privacy Settings.
Under the section Sharing on Facebook, click on the Customize Settings link.
Scroll down to the section Things other share.
On the setting Photos and videos I'm tagged in, click on the options and choose Custom.
The Custom Privacy pop-up appears.  Change the Make this visible to setting to Only Me.

Ubuntu Network Printing

Setup made for:

( x ) Printer Server - Ubuntu 9.10

( x ) Client desktop - Ubuntu 10.04

On the printer server:

1. Install HPLIP package.  Easy way is to install it via Ubuntu Software Center (from the Applications menu option).

2. Open System -> Administration -> Printing, then click on Server -> Settings.  Make sure to put a check on the setting Publish shared printers connected to this system.

3. Save settings, and on a terminal window, type:

sudo /etc/init.d/cups restart

On the Ubuntu client desktop:
1. Open System -> Administration -> Printing.
2. Click the Add button, then expand the list of Network Printers.
3. Click on Find Network Printer then on the host field, type in the IP address of the printer server.  Click the Find button.
4. Click the Verify button (to see if there will be any errors), and then the Forward button.


On the Windows client desktop:
1. Add a new network printer, and choose connect to a printer on the Internet
Enter in the format:

http://{hostname}:631/printers/{printername}

with hostname = IP address, and printername as the same name of the printer in the printer server.

Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition (UNE)

First, download the Ubuntu UNE file, and prepare the bootable USB that you will be using to install UNE to your netbook PC.  The steps and download link can be found here: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download-netbook

You must also know how to setup your netbook's BIOS so that it will boot from the USB, not your hard disk. If you don't know how, there are a lot of references in the Internet, such as this one.  Try googling "how to boot from a usb"

Second, you must be sure to be connected to the Internet.

Here's a picture of the netbook, with the USB and Internet (blue cable).

1. Start up your netbook, with the UNE usb drive. A few seconds later, if all is well, you should see the Ubuntu splashscreen and its purple wallpaper.

2. On the Welcome screen, click on Install Ubuntu button. It will then setup your clock.

3. Tell Ubuntu where you are by clicking on the map. Then click on the Forward button.

4. On the keyboard layout, I never had to do anything but click the Forward button.

5. On the prepare disk space, I chose the erase and use the entire disk, since I was prepared to completely format the netbook.  This is also the option to pick if you are installing Ubuntu on a new computer.

I worked blind at this point, as the buttons didn't fit on the netbook's tiny 8-inch screen.  I pressed the TAB key about 4 times to get to the invisible Forward button.

6. On the Who are you screen, fill-up the blanks and don't forget your password.  Then click the Forward button.

7.  Finally, ready to install!  Go ahead and click on the Install button.

8. A progress bar will now appear.  This will take a short or long time to complete, depending on your Internet connection's speed. After it completes, click the OK button to restart the computer.

Here's the netbook, after the restart.

Eight steps to install - not bad!

Here's a good place to go next.

Netbook specs:

• Brand -  Blue (made in China)
• CPU - VIA C7-M 1000MHZ
• 1 gigabyte memory
• 40 gigabyte hard disk, 31 gig free space after installation
• 8" LCD screen

Eye-candy on Ubuntu Lucid Lynx

My desktop:

Cool transparent menus:

Lucid apps replaced

Not too happy with some apps that come pre-installed in Lucid.

1. Empathy out, Pidgin in.
2. Evolution out, Thunderbird + Lightning in.
3. gnome-screenshot out, Shutter in.

To remove apps in 1 & 2, I used Ubuntu-tweak.  Nice app, this one.
Helped make it easier to install the following:

1. Pidgin - for Yahoo, MSN messenger
2. Shutter - for getting screenshots
3. VLC - for my music, movies
4. Gimp - for my photo-editing
5. Audacity - for my audio-editing
6. Dia - for my flowcharts, diagrams, Visio-like 
7. Chromium web browser - just for variety, in case I get bored with FireFox

For these, I used Ubuntu's Synaptic Package Manager:
8. Thunderbird 3 - my office email
9. Ubuntu-restricted-extras - for a whole lot of YouTube viewing, Java for Firefox
10. checkgmail  - for my multiple GMail accounts
11. g2ipmsg 

And some manual installations:
12. GoogleEarth from the Medibuntu package, pretty simple double-click on the debian package 
13. Truecrypt - another simple install double-click on the deb package

cool lucid!

Pleasant surprises in Ubuntu 10.04:

These packages are now in the repositories by default, making installation a breeze, via Synaptic Package Manager.

1. Thunderbird 3
2. IPMsg (package name: g2ipmsg)

The latter renders my previous IPMsg posts obsolete with Lucid.