Thursday, October 17, 2013

Ubuntu 13.10 Guide


Essential files
It is important to make sure that the system is up-to-date before trying to install new packages.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras xchat gftp vlc wine gimp p7zip-full ntfs-config gparted openjdk-6-jre icedtea-netx icedtea6-plugin kolourpaint4 cheese ktorrent -y
Recommended Games
sudo apt-get install frozen-bubble nexuiz supertuxkart freedink-engine neverball fillets-ng tmw -y
Nvidia - Getting the graphic card to work

There have been some problems with the proprietary nvidia driver, to make it work you should install the following, unless you are using a Optimus enabled card, then use the guide below.
sudo apt-get install linux-source
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current-updates
Nvidia - Getting the graphic card to work (Optimus)

There have been some problems with the nvidia driver for Optimus enabled graphic cards. To get your card up and running you should enable the Canonical Partner repositories and then do the following in the terminal:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia
To test if your intel card is running like it should, then you should install glxgears:
sudo apt-get install mesa-utils
glxgears
And then compare the frames per second of the intel card with with the performance of the bumblebee (nvidia) optirun mode:
optirun glxgears

Recommended applications

Dropbox - It is a cloud storage with 2GB free space. NOTE: It is recommended to install Dropbox through the ubuntu software center to avoid the "connecting..."-bug
Skype - Allows the user to make voice and video calls and chat over the internet, if you have installed the proprietary Nvidia driver, then you might have a segfault error. To fix the error, then you should do the following:

sudo mv /usr/bin/skype /usr/bin/skype-bin
sudo apt-get install gksu
gksu gedit /usr/bin/skype

and then paste the following

#!/bin/sh
export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1
exec skype-bin "$@"

And then fix the perms.

sudo chmod 0755 /usr/bin/skype

Desura - A linux alternative to the windows based Steam client.
I can recommend the open source version called Desurium

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:makson96/desurium-stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install desurium

Steam -  The official steam client is now working nativly on Linux and offers a ton of great games, it is easier to download from the homepage if you don't have a ubuntu account.

DVD codecs

Some DVDs come with landcode restrictions, to make sure you can play all of your DVDs, then you should do the following:

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get --yes --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring

For 32-bit
sudo apt-get install w32codecs libdvdcss2
For 64-bit
sudo apt-get install w64codecs libdvdcss2

Get Netflix

There is not yet a native Netflix client but it might come to the Linux platform sometime soon as they have decided to make the switch from Microsoft Silverlight to HTML5, but till then you can use this solution.
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ehoover/compholio
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install netflix-desktop
Get Texmaker
When installing texmaker, then you will need to install texlive-full as well to get all of the dependencies installed:
sudo apt-get install texlive-full texmaker

 Backspace action in Nautilus

If you want to enable Nautilus backspace action, then you need to open the nautilus accels file

sudo gedit ~/.config/nautilus/accels

and manually add the line at the very end (without ; ), like this:

(gtk_accel_path "/ShellActions/Up" "BackSpace")

Friday, April 26, 2013

Wolfenstein on Ubuntu 13.04





If you are using 64-bit, then it is recommended to install the ia32-libs:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

You can download the game from the terminal using this command:

wget -c http://ftp.games.skynet.be/pub/wolfenstein/et-linux-2.60.x86.run
And then we make the downloaded file executable:

chmod +x et-linux-2.60.x86.run

And we run the file with admin rights

sudo ./et-linux-2.60.x86.run
Now you should see a enemy territory icon in your menu.

Enjoy

If you have sound problems

A lot of Ubuntu users can't get the old classic Wolfenstein ET to work with sound, but I have good news - I know a fix that works every time.

First of all we need to go fetch the file we need, run this command in the terminal:

wget -q -O - http://nullkey.kapsi.fi/et-sdl-sound/et-sdl-sound.gz | gzip -d > et-sdl-sound && chmod a+x et-sdl-sound

then we need to edit the file from the old alsa sound system to our new pulse sound system:

sudo gedit /home/yourusername/et-sdl-sound

Go to line 40 and the change the line from this:

SDL_AUDIODRIVER="alsa"

to this:

SDL_AUDIODRIVER="pulse"

save the file and close and then you need to make a symbol link, so you can play the game:

/home/yourusername//et-sdl-sound


I hope it works for you, enjoy.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Ubuntu 13.04 Guide


Essential files
It is important to make sure that the system is up-to-date before trying to install new packages.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras xchat gftp vlc wine gimp p7zip-full ntfs-config gparted openjdk-6-jre icedtea-netx icedtea6-plugin kolourpaint4 cheese ktorrent -y
Recommended Games
sudo apt-get install frozen-bubble nexuiz supertuxkart freedink-engine neverball fillets-ng tmw -y
Nvidia - Getting the graphic card to work

There have been some problems with the proprietary nvidia driver, to make it work you should install the following, unless you are using a Optimus enabled card, then use the guide below.
sudo apt-get install linux-source
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current-updates
Nvidia - Getting the graphic card to work (Optimus)

There have been some problems with the nvidia driver for Optimus enabled graphic cards. To get your card up and running you should install the following:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia
To test if your intel card is running like it should, then you should install glxgears:
sudo apt-get install mesa-utils
glxgears
And then compare the frames per second of the intel card with with the performance of the bumblebee (nvidia) optirun mode:
optirun glxgears
If glxgears not working
If it is not working then it is most likely due to a bug with the BusID in your bumblebee xorg config file or you have perhaps forgotten to install the mesa-utils.

Open the terminal and write
lspci | grep VGA
You should see something like
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation"
Take a note of the first part as that is your BusID: 02:00.0.

Then add it to your config file:
sudo gedit /etc/bumblebee/xorg.conf.nvidia
Go find  # BusID "PCI:02:00:0 and make the code active by removing the comment symbol, also known as a hashtag: #
and remember to change the BusID so it fits with your card.

Then restart your pc or reload bumblebee and test glxgears again.

Recommended applications

Dropbox - It is a cloud storage with 2GB free space. NOTE: It is recommended to install Dropbox through the ubuntu software center to avoid the "connecting..."-bug
Skype - Allows the user to make voice and video calls and chat over the internet, if you have installed the proprietary Nvidia driver, then you might have a segfault error. To fix the error, then you should do the following:

sudo mv /usr/bin/skype /usr/bin/skype-bin
sudo apt-get install gksu
gksu gedit /usr/bin/skype

and then paste the following

#!/bin/sh
export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1
exec skype-bin "$@"

And then fix the perms.

sudo chmod 0755 /usr/bin/skype

Desura - A linux alternative to the windows based Steam client.
I can recommend the open source version called Desurium

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:makson96/desurium-stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install desurium

Steam -  The official steam client is now working nativly on Linux and offers a ton of great games, it is easier to download from the homepage if you don't have a ubuntu account.

DVD codecs

Some DVDs come with landcode restrictions, to make sure you can play all of your DVDs, then you should do the following:

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get --yes --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring

For 32-bit
sudo apt-get install w32codecs libdvdcss2
For 64-bit
sudo apt-get install w64codecs libdvdcss2

Get Netflix

There is not yet a native Netflix client but it might come to the Linux platform sometime soon as they have decided to make the switch from Microsoft Silverlight to HTML5, but till then you can use this solution.
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ehoover/compholio
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install netflix-desktop
Get Texmaker
When installing texmaker, then you will need to install texlive-full as well to get all of the dependencies installed:
sudo apt-get install texlive-full texmaker

 Backspace action in Nautilus

If you want to enable Nautilus backspace action, then you need to open the nautilus accels file and manually add the line, like this:

sudo gedit ~/.config/nautilus/accels
(gtk_accel_path "/ShellActions/Up" "BackSpace")