Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Q After installing Ubuntu 12.10, then the Nvidia Current “Additional Driver”, I have a shrunken screen with no panel and no launcher.
A (Thanks to RaduStoica on Launchpad) Install linux-headers-generic before installing nvidia-current. Gord adds: the failure to include linux-headers-generic during installation is extremely puzzling.
Q If I wanted to start ubuntu 12.10 from a pen drive, what would be the best size to buy?
A If you are going to use just the pen drive to install Ubuntu, 1 GB is enough. If you are going to run Ubuntu from the pen drive, 4 GB or 8 GB are good. You are limited to 4 GB of “persistent” space, so part of an 8 GB drive will be wasted, but the cost difference is minor.
Q When I try to start Shotwell, nothing happens.
A Try opening a terminal, and enter the command:
shotwell
If there is an error, it should appear. (And it did: “missing library file”. Reinstalling the library file got Shotwell running.)
Q How can I stop my computer from suspending or hibernating while I am running my backup program?
A (Thanks to Paddy Landau) Install Caffeine (https://launchpad.net/~caffeine-developers/+archive/ppa), which turns off sleep mode while programs that you specify are running.
Q Issue 64 of Full Circle Magazine had information about the Wirenet trojan. What should we do about it?
A See http://askubuntu.com/questions/181930/what-to-do-regarding-backdoor-wirenet-1
In short, if you don't have a WIFIADAPT folder, you don't have the trojan. If you create a read-only *file* with that name (in Home), the trojan can not be installed. (Note that the name is all upper-case.)
Q Can I install Microsoft Office 2007 using PlayOnLinux, and have it automatically open for .DOC (and similar) files?
A Yes, see this tutorial: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1940522
Q My computer has multiple hard drives in a RAID setup. Do I still need to do backups?
A Yes, you do! People will delete files and then decide they need them, and RAID provides no protection against this.
Q Just installed Xubuntu 12.10 on my laptop. Is there a way to make the battery applet show the battery percentage or/and the time?
A (Thanks to badhorse in the Ubuntu Forums) Install xfce4-battery-plugin and add the new battery item to your panel.
Q Sometimes VLC plays video fine, but there is no audio.
A Under Audio, there is a “mute” setting – which does not show if it is enabled! Try clicking on it.
Q I've downloaded LibreOffice to install on an older release of Ubuntu that had OpenOffice. I've removed OO. What directory should I extract LibreOffice to?
A Don't extract it, open it with gdebi. (Right-click on the downloaded file.)
Q My graphics card is an nVidia GeForce4 TI4200 with AGP8. I want to have dual mode with my monitor at 1024×768 and the TV at 800×600. I can't find an Nvidia driver for my card which works with the current Ubuntu.
A Your video card was first produced more than 10 years ago. My rule of thumb is that PC technology is good for seven years. (I got a new computer in 1990, then a new computer in 1997, and again in 2004. That one was passed to my wife, and she got a new computer in 2011.)
Q Where can I find some free/cheap Linux stickers? I want to put tux on my netbook.
A (Thanks to QuickSphinx in the Ubuntu Forums) I ended up buying 3 here for 10 bucks: http://tuxstickers.ptaff.ca/step1/?lang=en_CA
It really depends on your location. Google can help. Kudos to System 76.
Q What's the secret for playing iTunes podcasts in Ubuntu?
A To the best of my knowledge, Ubuntu users have no access to the iTunes Music Store. If you want podcasts which are available only through iTunes, you really need to run Windows or an Apple OS.
I use Miro to collect and play podcasts, including podcasts which are available as RSS subscriptions from web sites such as Revision3. There are other options in the Software Centre; Miro certainly is not perfect.
Tips and Techniques
Distro Testing
On average, I have a look at one distro or version of Linux a month. Over time, I've developed a checklist of things to try on my desktop and laptop.
Video: Can I see a graphical interface? (No is a deal breaker!) Is the monitor resolution correct? Can I install a proprietary driver?
Wireless: Does my wireless adapter work?
Audio: Can I hear sound from my earphones and, on my laptop, the speakers? Can I record audio using Audacity?
Media: Can I play MP3s and FLACs? Can I watch Youtube videos? Can I watch DVDs?
Firefox: Can I install extensions to auto-select my choice of resolution for Youtube videos, and to download Youtube videos?
Sharing: Can I access shared folders on other computers on my network? Can I share a local folder for other computers to access?
Printing: Can I easily use my networked Brother laser printer?
Webcam: Does Cheese work with my webcam?
Camera: Can I transfer pictures from my elderly Canon DSLR and videos from my video camera?
Conky: Can I display the temperatures of various components, and other Conky goodness?
Applets: Can I see the weather for my location? Can I access my Dropbox folders?
Applications: Can I install Google Chrome, the Adobe Reader and Cinelerra from their respective sources?
Stability: Are there any crashes or other anomalies?
Shutdown: Do shutdown and restart work as expected?
So now you're asking, how does Ubuntu 12.10 measure up? I'll look at only the problem areas.
I installed a proprietary video driver (nvidia current) on my desktop computer, but it didn't produce a working system. After rebooting, I decided the fastest solution was to reinstall and avoid the proprietary driver. For 99% of the populace, this would be a deal breaker, and the end of their experiment with Linux. (See the Question above on how this was resolved.) My laptop, with ATI graphics, did not offer a proprietary driver. (Oddly, the “additional drivers” in Software Centre claimed my wireless adapter was not working, but Software Centre was connected using that wireless adapter!)
When I ran my standard Conky script, the system would lock up hard in anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. I'm still trying to track down the problem. It's not just Conky, the system locks up when I have not run Conky. I had one session of more than 20 hours before I did a normal reboot, but I have not been able to repeat it.
For DVD playback, I had to, as expected, follow the instructions found here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats
I downloaded the Adobe Reader, and tried to install it using Software Centre. An error message flashed by much too quickly to read, then Software Centre offered to install the application (again) – with the same result. The Dash offered to run Adobe Reader, but it did not run. When I double-clicked on a PDF, nothing happened. I could right-click on a PDF and select “Document Viewer,” and that worked.
I had one crash of Compiz, which required a restart.
All in all, not too terrible. If that sounds like faint praise, it is. Sorry, I just want to get things done, not spend time debugging problems on my system. One area where I observed an improvement was in transferring pictures from my digital camera; in previous versions, it has been hit and miss. I also liked having it make the wireless connection while I typed in my password.
Here's a pleasant note to end on. When I built my desktop system, more than three years ago, I selected a D-Link DWL-G510 PCI wireless adapter. The result is that I have never needed to connect an Ethernet cable to the computer, the wireless has worked with every distro or version of Linux I have tried.
Do you have suggestions to add to my checklist? Email suggestions/questions to: questions@fullcirclemagazine.org.
This desktop configuration runs on my laptop, home PC, and office PC. As you can see, I love screenlets. I use two Mail Screenlets and two Calendar Screenlets: one is for personal use and the other for work.
Home PC (will soon be transformed into home server): Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5 GHz 8 GB DD2 RAM 2×120 GB, 2×250 GB, 1×1.5 TB HDDs ASUS P5K Premium Motherboard ATI Radeon 5770 Graphics
AnGeLoS
The top panel is Docky and the Cinnamon theme is ICS. The wallpaper should look familiar; it is actually the default wallpaper for Ubuntu 12.10, except that the hue was changed in Gimp. I use Microsoft Office only for compatibility on other computers, but I prefer LibreOffice. I use this laptop as my main computer—some light gaming like Sim Tower and Micropolis, as well as writing and designing for school.
Operating System: 32 bit Linux Mint 13 Maya Cinnamon Icons: Mint-X (Default) Gtk+ Theme: Adwaita Cinnamon Theme: ICS CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz RAM: 2 GB HDD: 200 GB (And shrinking) Computer Model: Fujitsu Lifebook A-Series
Keegan
Been using Linux since 2009 and always exploring what comes out to not tie myself to just one spot.
Desktop: Moomex GTK2.x theme with Faenza-Darkest icons along with Docky. I adjusted the transparency—using Compiz for the panel and Ubuntu tweak for everything else. System Specs: Acer Aspire 5336 packed with Intel Celeron 900 @ 2.20Ghz, 3GB of DDR3, 250GB HDD, and 64MB of Intel GMA4500M graphics (fancy huh?) OS: Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS (Long Term Support) 64-bit “Lucid lynx”
System runs very quick, and is 100% reliable with Linux. My only issue is the backlight bug for these older Intel video chipsets on the laptops, which is why I cannot upgrade. However, 10.04 hasn't failed me yet, so I will stick with it until the machine dies. It's keeping me a very happy camper.
Donald McCulloch