RM Jones’ Adventure

Today I’m going to do something a little different than I usually do. I’m going to tell you about a Blog I found that covers a great deal of information that a new Linux user will find not only interesting but very useful. The Blog can be found at http://ubuntusite.com/ and I have subscribed to the RSS feed just so I can keep up on all the hints, tips and great information that Deric provides. I haven’t had time to read every post yet because I want to make sure I don’t miss anything and I’m taking notes like crazy. I just want to say, if you haven’t already guessed, I’m a BIG FAN Deric. Thank You. (more…)

I did something DUMB and I blew my Ubuntu 8.04 graphics and I couldn’t get it back (it only had about a 600 x 400 resolution or something like that). Not nearly high enough to display correctly on my computer. What did I do that was so DUMB, you ask. I did something that I knew better because it had caused the same problem for me before. A couple of times in the past I tried to change the screen size in the “Administrator” mode. Each time it did the same thing. After I had installed and was using Crossover Linux I was having trouble getting my resolution to stay where I wanted it. It kept on resetting to the highest resolution when I started the computer.. So I thought, incorrectly so, that “Maybe This Time It Will Work From The Administrator Mode”. Ya, sure it will. DUMB. Anyway, I blew it and couldn’t get it back. (more…)

In the past I have fought and kicked and screamed and threatened to destroy my poor old computer, Penguin. Just because I couldn’t get my NTFS disk drives configured and have them stay that way. NO MORE will I have that problem. I found “NTFS Configuration Tool” in the Ubuntu / Kubuntu list of programs to install. It is so simple to use it almost makes me cry when I think of all the problems I have had in the past. Here is the long and the short of it.

Start up Synaptic Package Manager and search for “ntfs” you will find “ntfs-config” in the list.

After you install it you will find it in the “System” menu.

Run it, you will be asked for your password, and you will find two choices.

“Enable write support for internal device”

“Enable write support for external device”

That’s all there is to it. It found my disk, set them up and I am now a Very Happy Penguin

That’s all for today. I’ll be back before long with more of the ramblings from a new Linux user.

Have a Great Day.

Bob Jones

Every time I setup Kubuntu I have trouble with Tomboy Notes. Tomboy Notes is a great desktop note utility that not only allows you to keep your pretty little yellow note on the desktop, it allows you to resize the notes on the fly. Tomboy Notes has some of the really nice features. You can link notes together so you can put the title of a note in another note and click on it to bring it up. If you change the title it will update the other automatically. There are a number of really great features like the ability to export your notes as HTML or import notes, timestamps, Evolution Mail integration and much more. This is the only note program that I use. However I have often had problems getting it setup. And now with Kubuntu 8.04 it just plain wouldn’t load.

I have finally figured it out. I’m sure that most of you already know this but for those that don’t, like me, here is what you have to do to get Tomboy Notes to work with Kubuntu Hardy Heron.

1. In K Menu (lower left corner of the desktop) locate Tomboy Notes. Mine is in “Utilities” and that is most likely where yours is.
2. Right click on Tomboy Notes and chose “Edit Item”. You won’t see any change because it opens the edit window behind the menu so just move the cursor off to the side so the menu will close.
3. You should now see the KDE Menu Editor with Tomboy Notes edit area on the right side of the screen.
4. In the “Command” text block delete the “–search” and the space preceding it. You should only have the word “tomboy” left.
5. Go to “File” and click “Save” (or just click the “save” icon on the toolbar.
6. When it’s done saving the changes, close the KDE Menu Editor.
7. That’s all there is to it.
8. Go back to your K Menu and run Tomboy Note. It should now load and work fine.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back before long with more of the ramblings from a new Linux user.

Have a Great Day.

Bob Jones

This is a step by step installation for beginners (like me).

I have been “playing” with Linux off an on for the last two or three years. I put it in, have problems, and take it back out. I don’t like Windows Vista so I am a little more determined this time. I believe that Ubuntu / Kubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” is ready for the average person so I am writing this for the complete beginner. Please remember, there are a lot of ways to do what I am doing here. This is my way. I am a beginner and am making this as much as a record of what worked for me as I am to provide you with information. Please remember, this is what I did to set up my HP Pavilion a1140n computer. It may be a little different for you but probably not much. I wrote this step by step as I was doing the procedures on the computer I was setting up. I hope this helps.

First I think I’ll set up some more of the Preferences. I will be using Ubuntu since that is where I will be installing some of the software from. It doesn’t make any difference actually where I install software from as both Ubuntu and Kubuntu will have access to them. I just like the way that Ubuntu handles the installation of software at this point in the setup process.

1. At this time I won’t be setting up many of the preferences since I don’t plan to use Ubuntu much. I will spend much more time on it later in the Kubuntu desktop. The preferences you setup only apply to the desktop you are using at the time. In other words if you set up everything in Ubuntu the will not be setup in Kubuntu.
2. To start off we go to “System > Preferences > Control Center”. As you seen in part three of this series there are all kinds of settings here. At this time, as an example, I am going to set up the “About Me” preferences so I click on “About Me” right at the top and enter whatever information I want to fill in. While I’m here I will click on the box just to the left of my name at the top of the window and pick out a “face” for my. I like the nice peaceful “Sunset.jpg” so that is what I’ll use. You can use any photo on your computer. Then click “Open” to select the file you want to use. When done click “Close” That’s all there is to it.
3. Have fun setting up your other settings and then we will go on with installing some software.

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This is a step by step installation for beginners (like me).

I have been “playing” with Linux off an on for the last two or three years. I put it in, have problems, and take it back out. I don’t like Windows Vista so I am a little more determined this time. I believe that Ubuntu / Kubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” is ready for the average person so I am writing this for the complete beginner. Please remember, there are a lot of ways to do what I am doing here. This is my way. I am a beginner and am making this as much as a record of what worked for me as I am to provide you with information. Please remember, this is what I did to set up my HP Pavilion a1140n computer. It may be a little different for you but probably not much. I wrote this step by step as I was doing the procedures on the computer I was setting up. I hope this helps.

In the previous post I installed Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and then set up my network and checked my sound. Now we will get on with some of the other steps to get it running the way I want it. This is my desktop computer (or Box as the Linux folks call it) and it is named Penguin of course. I also have a LapTop that is named LapDancer because she sits on my lap of course. Before I get on to setting up Penguin I want to say that if you are setting up a laptop computer you probably want to install the “Ndiswrapper drivers so your wireless will work. To do that just go to “Applications > Add/Remove” and make sure that when that opens that “All available applications” is in the “Show” box. In the “Search” text box enter “ndis” and then when it gets through working select “Windows Wireless Drivers; Ndiswrapper driver installation tool” and “Apply” to set them up. I won’t go into setting up the wireless at this time but it is pretty straight forward. I may come back to it at some later date. (more…)

This is a step by step installation for beginners (like me).

I have been “playing” with Linux off an on for the last two or three years. I put it in, have problems, and take it back out. I don’t like Windows Vista so I am a little more determined this time. I believe that Ubuntu / Kubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” is ready for the average person so I am writing this for the complete beginner. Please remember, there are a lot of ways to do what I am doing here. This is my way. I am a beginner and am making this as much as a record of what worked for me as I am to provide you with information. Please remember, this is what I did to set up my HP Pavilion a1140n computer. It may be a little different for you but probably not much. I wrote this step by step as I was doing the procedures on the computer I was setting up. I hope this helps.

1. OK, I have setup Ubuntu 8.04 and am about to run it the first time. So, first things first. We have to log in.
2. Enter your user name and then your password.
3. You will notice that in Ubuntu the menu bar is at the top of the screen. When I tell you I clicked on (or whatever term I use) “System > Preferences > Screen Resolution” I mean that I went to “System” then to “Preferences” then to “Screen Resolution”. This is the shorthand that I usually use to save time and space.
4. If you have your computer connected to the Internet, and I assume you do, just wait a minute or two and you will see a pop up that says that “Software updates available” and it points to a small orange icon. Click on the icon and in the window that opens click on “Install Updates”. If it doesn’t pop up shortly you can go to “System > Administration > Update Manager” and force it to check for updates. Enter your password and then just sit back and wait while it updates your complete system. Isn’t that just to easy! Ubuntu is GREAT as Tony the Tiger used to say . The Ubuntu download site is pretty busy since the new version has just come out and this may take a while. Today, May 8, 2008, there are 59 updates to install. Ubuntu 8.04 hasn’t been out a month yet. You can see that they are continually working to perfect their software. I highly recommend Ubuntu or Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu with the KDE desktop which I prefer. However, I like to install Ubuntu first and then add Kubuntu since there are a few things I like to do in Ubuntu and I find that it easier to find instructions for Ubuntu than it is for Kubuntu. You can use either to set most things up and they will then both work fine.

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This is a step by step installation for beginners (like me).

I have been “playing” with Linux off an on for the last two or three years. I put it in, have problems, and take it back out. I don’t like Windows Vista so I am a little more determined this time. I believe that Ubuntu / Kubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” is ready for the average person so I am writing this for the complete beginner. Please remember, there are a lot of ways to do what I am doing here. This is my way. I am a beginner and am making this as much as a record of what worked for me as I am to provide you with information. Please remember, this is what I did to set up my HP Pavilion a1140n computer. It may be a little different for you but probably not much. I wrote this step by step as I was doing the procedures on the computer I was setting up. I hope this helps.

1. Do not enter the ” ” when you are told to enter information.
2. Download Ubuntu 8.04 at http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download . You want the “8.04 LTS Desktop Edition”. You can also buy a CD for a small price if you prefer.
3. You now have to burn a CD and this is different from one burner to another. What you want to remember is you want to “Burn an image” not the normal procedure you would do to copy a file to a CD.
4. Make sure you have as much free space on your hard drive as you can get if you are going to duel boot.
5. Open the CD drive door and then turn off the computer.
6. Insert the Ubuntu 8.04 CD into the drive and close the door.
7. Restart the computer.
8. Select your Language.
9. Select “Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer”.
10. Double click on “Install”.
11. Select your language.
12. Using the map (which is kind of touchy) or the drop down list, select your city.
13. Select your Keyboard layout and test it in the box if you want.
14. The partitioner will now start and it takes a short while so be patient.

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It was time for me to try Ubuntu or Kubuntu in my laptop. I wanted to get completely rid of Window in my computers. After a lot of trial and error I decided that I will have to dual boot and keep Windows Vista just to run my GPS software but that is another issue that I will write about sometime in the future. The issue at hand is KDE-4, my likes and dislikes.Since I’m sure that I will install either Ubuntu or Kubuntu as soon as the 8.04 “Hardy Heron” is released I decided this was a good time to see which version I wanted to install when the time came. This time not only is there a Ubuntu and Kubuntu version with all the offshoots, there is also the KDE3 or KDE4 question. As it turns out, that is a major decision, for me at least. The new graphics and other features of KDE4 are great. If you would like to learn more about all the features you can wander on over to KDE Home page and read all about the great new features. It is far beyond this article to cover them all and I couldn’t come close to doing it justice. I will tell you a few of the things that I like and don’t like. I’m relatively new to Linux so don’t be to harsh on me if you disagree. But please feel free to leave a comment and state your opinion.

A few of the things that I like or am sure I will are the new multimedia application and some of the new games, of which I am sure there are many. I will also enjoy the the great new graphics that are available. A lot of this is eye candy but there are some new features and you should check it out for your self on their website. (more…)

In my last post, March 23, 2008, I asked the question “Linux - Is it really for me?”. That post was actually written a few weeks ago and was lost when my Blog went down. Now I have the answer to that question. It is a very firm “YES”. After getting used to it, I really like Linux. I was having to many problems with Windows Vista and I saw no future in continuing to use Windows XP since Microsoft will stop supporting it sometime in the future. From the support (read that “updates” since they never actually provided “Support” for their products unless you paid for it) that they have provided for past versions of Windows I would suspect that a year from now they will discontinue providing updates for XP. Please remember that I am not an experienced Linux user but I have used Windows since Microsoft put out its first version. Therefor my description of Linux is from a new user point of view and the terminology may be not the same as a long time Linux user would use. (more…)

In case some of you may not know what Linux is; Linux is an operating system for computers. It is an up and growing competition for Windows. There are many reasons to use Linux instead of Windows. Just to mention a few; Linux is “FREE” and always will be since it is “open source” software, it is more secure from virus attacks than Windows but as the user base grows that may change and last but not least in this short list, most of the software for Linux is also Free. There are many more reasons to use Linux but this is a start. (more…)