Ubuntu compatibility devices and Net books

Ubuntu can be installed on net books. (See the official page for laptop and net book compatibility reviews.) At this time the Ubuntu Net book Remix (or equivalent) is preferred to the standard Gnome-based desktop, especially for new users. Ubuntu Net book Remix is provided to several individual net book manufacturers (such as Asus and Acer) to be optimized for that device. (You can contact your specific net book manufacturer for specific details on this product.)

At present so many users wish to install Ubuntu on their Net books. Especially Ubuntu is only available for some models of the Acer brand Pc 's and Net books.

Acer Aspire One

There are several Ubuntu-based and other Linux-based OS's specially customized for the Acer Aspire One. Some of them are:

• DebianAcerOne

• Kuki Linux

• Linux4One

• Lord-Linux

• eeebuntu Netbook Remix is available for this device as well. See the article for the necessary tweaks from official webite

You can know which brands support the Ubuntu from the official Ubuntu website or Documentation.

Screen casting and desktop recording in Ubunut

Sometimes we may be needing to create some screen casts and record some thing on the desktop itself. Then we can do this by getting some tools into the Ubuntu operating system.

FFMPEG with x11grab:

It is one of the best methods to make screen captures and allows a variety of audio and audio visual effects. FFMPEG includes x11grab, a module for screen capture. To do all these things first we need to install it by using the below command:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

RecordMyDesktop :

It is a desktop recording utility and it has both pyGTK and a pyQT4 GUI frontends available in it. Only the Gtk version is available from the repositories (but it works well with KDE/Kubuntu). Now to install it use the below command:

sudo apt-get install gtk-recordmydesktop

Using recordMyDesktop utility with PulseAudio :

If you have not installed Pulse Audio Controls and Volume utility install it, they are useful for monitoring your pulse audio devices. You can install it using the below command:

sudo apt-get install pavucontrol paprefs padevchooser

Now we can change the recordMyDesktop settings so that the capture device is the one you select through pulse audio. See the process mentioned below:

gtk-recordMyDesktop -> Sound Quality (ticked) -> Advanced -> Sound -> Device: pulse

This sets recordMyDesktop to use whichever input devices are selected through pulse audio. If you have several input devices, all of them will be recorded. It's an easy way to mix the inputs.

Istanbul:

This is a desktop recording utility for GNOME desktop. It records the session into a OGG theora video format file. To install it use the below command:

sudo apt-get install istanbul

Xvidcap:

It is a desktop screen capturing utility for Ubuntu. It captures your desktop as a video file. To install it use the following command:

sudo apt-get install xvidcap

We can also use the recorded screen casts to make a presentation using the utilities like Wink, Freeser.

Using USB stick in Ubuntu

3G protocols allow wide area cellular communications that include not only cellphone voice transmission but also integrated broadband internet connections. This can be integrated into a single device, or communications can be received through an EVDO adapter. Examples of 3G radio interfaces include Mobile WiMax, CDMA-2000, TD-CDMA, EDGE, and DECT.

he220r1

he220r1 is a (K)ubuntu driver package for the Huawei e220 USB modem. It has also been found to work with other 3G devices, such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola. See the website for download and installation instructions.

T-Mobile Option 225 (Web'N'Walk) Stick

This website offers a driver optimised for the T-Mobile Web'n'Walk Stick/Option 225.

Virgin Huawei e169

See the Ubuntu forum solution:

sudo gedit /etc/ppp/options

Then find the line that says:

#-chap

and uncomment it (delete #)

-chap

this disables CHAP authentication .

I also had to change the APN to VirginBroadband instead of VirginInternet which was the default, and now it's happy.

Other settings are as follows:

Number *99#

Uname <your virgin username>

PW <your virgin password>

This will let you use your USB Modem stick for surfing the internet.

Sprint

Sprint EVDO cards can be used most easily through KPPP. For instructions, read the Sprint Mobile Broadband Setup Guide from its official website.

Web filtering and parent controls for Ubuntu

Now a days every one from children to old people are using Internet and also the objectionable content in the Internet is also increasing day by day. So in order to let them not see obtain this objectionable content we have to monitor our children all the time but unfortunately it is not possible all the time. So then what we have to do? The only way to do this is to set up parental controls using some utilities in Ubuntu or also we can use some plug-ins for the browsers from their websites.

If you want just to track the usage of the user accounts and the data usage use the Timekpr (Parental controls) utility.

To install use the below command:

sudo apt-get install timekpr

If it keeps updating, remove any prior versions by using the below command:

sudo dpkg --purge timekpr

And then add the timekpr third-party repositories:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nedberg

Then use the below command to install it:

sudo apt-get install timekpr

When prompted which default display manager to use, select "gdm"

Start:

Menu -> System -> Administration -> Timekpr Control Panel

There is also a utility to control the content on our Pc. To do this use this utility.

Web content filtering

DansGuardian is the one which provides web filtering capability, similar to that of NetNanny. It is useful for limiting objectionable content in publicly accessible workstations, or for filtering objectionable content for younger users. It integrates with ClamAV, and uses several criteria for filtering websites (which is difficult to modify). It is used with Tinyproxy (best for individual users) or the Squid proxy (best for a network server).

To install it use the below command:

sudo apt-get install dansguardian tinyproxy

or use this command:

sudo apt-get install dansguardian squid

See these installation instructions from official website for setup details. In brief,

Edit the dansguardian configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/dansguardian/dansguardian.conf

comment out the UNCONFIGURED line:

#UNCONFIGURED

If using tinyproxy instead of Squid, change the proxyport to 8888:

proxyport 8888

Reinstall dansguardian:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall dansguardian

Set your browser to use the localhost:8080 proxy. For example, in Firefox:

Firefox -> Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Network -> Settings

Manual proxy configuration -> HTTP proxy: localhost -> Port: 8080

Apps and Utilities for Ubuntu

Now so many people are using Ubuntu but some of them don't know the applications present and their use in Ubuntu. Now in this article we will discuss about few of them.

Browsers:

Well we have different browsers for Ubuntu and they are Firefox, Opera, Chromium, Google chrome, Midori, and also a text based browser which runs in terminal. The text based browser will let you enter the website very quickly than that of the others, but the only problem is that you won't be able to see any images, flash files, videos e.t.c. but can download any thing from the website you are visiting.

Download Managers:

There are several download managers for Ubuntu.

1. Multi Get:

It is a GTK-based free-standing download manager utility for Ubuntu. You can get it from the website or also through the Terminal by using the below commands in your Terminal.

sudo apt-get install multiget

2. Pan:

Pan is a Gnome-based Usenet reader and nzb binary downloader for Ubuntu. You can install it through the Terminal by using the below commands in the Terminal:

sudo apt-get install pan

3. Kwooty:

Kwooty is a Usenet reader and nzb binary downloader for KDE4. Installation instructions from source or PPA repositories are at the website.

Video conferencing utilities:

There are several Video conferencing utilities for Ubuntu.

1. Ekiga:

Ekiga is a SIP compliant fully functional open source integrated VOIP and videoconferencing program. To install it use the following commands in the Terminal:

sudo apt-get install ekiga

2. Skype :

Skype is a proprietary integrated VOIP and video conferencing program similar to Ekiga. For the instructions to install it please follow the instructions prescribed:

For 64-bit versions of Ubuntu through Terminal:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs lib32asound2 libqt4-core libqt4-gui

Then download and install the current Skype .deb package from the Skype website:

wget -O skype_ubuntu-current_amd64.deb http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-beta-ubuntu-64

sudo dpkg -i skype-ubuntu-current_amd64.deb

sudo rm skype-ubuntu-current_amd64.deb

For 32-bit versions of Ubuntu:

wget -O skype-ubuntu-current_i386.deb http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-beta-ubuntu-32

sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture skype-ubuntu-current_i386.deb

sudo rm skype-ubuntu-current_i386.deb

3. Wengophone:

Wengophone is an integrated VOIP and videoconferencing client available on many platforms. Download and install the older Wengophone Classic version (.deb package):

wget http://download.wengo.com/wengophone/rc/wengophone-0.958m-1.i386.deb

dpkg -i --force-architecture wengophone-0.958m-1.i386.deb

4.Team Viewer:

Team Viewer is a proprietary cross-platform package that enables up to 25 participants to share a desktop for online meetings and also provides a mechanism for users to control a PC remotely.

5. Web Huddle:

Web Huddle is a free, open source Java-based browser client (and server) for web meetings.To install it first install pre-requisites, including Java, JBOSS Application Server, and xvfb.

sudo apt-get sun-java6-jre jbossas4 xvfb

6. Asterisk VOIP PBX system:

Asterisk is an enterprise-grade, free open source PBX and telephony system for VOIP. To install it use the below commands:

sudo apt-get install asterisk

Basics of Ubuntu

Now a days so many people are using Ubuntu operating system on their personal computers but a many of them don't know how to use the commands in the terminal to know so many things about their operating system. In Ubuntu we can perform tasks by using Graphical user interface(GUI), Command line interface(CLI). By using terminal we can perform a lot of tasks through the terminal, but we can do somany tasks with administrator priviliges. So in order to perform action with administrator priviliges we have to type sudo and the action needed to be performed beside it. Here sudo will give us administrator priviliges. We can use gksudo command in the terminal while opening a graphical application. If you want to install a program/ package as fast as possible then we can use the terminal instead of Synaptic manager or Software center, We need to enter the command like this in the terminal:

              sudo apt-get install package

In Linux versions we get text editors, Office programs, photo viewer, Fire fox and many other programs along with the installation of Linux based versions. Latest versions of Ubuntu are released with a gap of six months every time i.e. released on April and October. We can find the version of ubuntu we are using by entering a command in the terminal:

             lsb_release -a

The default desktop environment present in Ubuntu operating system is Unity. It is compatible with GTK platform used by Gnome. And Gnome 3 is the new desktop environment replacing the Unity. We can get it by using the below commands in the terminal:

            sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3

            sudo apt-get update

            sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

            sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

The Hardware requirements for installation of Ubuntu are given here in brief. Ubuntu Precise Pangolin runs with as little as 384 Mb RAM.Netbooks can run Ubuntu Precise Pangolin, which has been optimised for that platform.

The installation takes between 3-4 Gb hard drive space, and 8 - 10 Gb will be needed to run comfortably. (However, at least 25-30 Gb will likely be needed for routine usage.)

If you have an older computer with less memory than this, consider Lubuntu (if 160 Mb RAM or greater), PuppyLinux (if 256 Mb or greater), or DSL (if minimal RAM, limited hard drive space, running from a USBdrive, or running from within another OS). If you want to install Ubuntu along with other OS then you will have to create a separate drive for Ubuntu as the installation requires formatting of complete partition.

A Gnome 3.4 interface gnome-shell can be installed, and a choice (from the Login Manager) of running in Unity or Gnome 3 will then be available:

             sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

A user interface resembling the classic Gnome 2 interface (used in Ubuntu Lucid Lynx and earlier versions) can be installed. (This installs the gnome-shell modules as well.) A choice of running Unity or Gnome as the desktop environment will then be available from the Login Manager.

            sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

You can change Grub settings from Startup Manager, a GUI that is able to manage settings for Grub (Grub Legacy), Grub 2, Usplash, and Splashy. Installation: 

 

            sudo apt-get install startupmanager menu

To run it follow the procedure mentioned:

Menu -> System -> Administration -> Startup Manager

We can update our Ubuntu with the help of terminal in this way:

            sudo apt-get install update-manager-core

            sudo do-release-upgrade

But before performing this backup your system for safety. If some thing goes wrong we can get back opur OS to its normal state. Its better to upgrade your Ubuntu in a serial order.

Software packages and programs are freely available for download at multiple online sites with standardized structures, called repositories. There are repositories officially sanctioned and monitored by the Kubuntu/Ubuntu developer community, while other repositories are independently provided, without official sanction or supervision (and should be used with caution). To add a repository to your Ubuntu type the command below in the terminal:

                sudo add-apt-repository ppa:user/ppa-name

If add-apt-repository is not available on your system, then install it with the package:

                sudo apt-get install python-software-properties

You can also add the repositories from the synaptic manager also. To do it follow the below steps:

Menu -> System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> Settings -> Repositories

To remove a repository use the below command in the terminal:

               sudo apt-add-repository -r ppa:user/repository

Instructions for installing packages from the command-line Terminal:

              sudo apt-get install packagename

Remove packages:

              sudo apt-get remove packagename

To remove all dependencies use:

              sudo apt-get autoremove

Search for packages:

              apt-cache search <keywords>

Update the apt package database after adding/removing repositories:

              sudo apt-get update

To upgrade packages:

              sudo apt-get upgrade

To upgrade the entire distribution :

              sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

We can also install .Deb packges through command-line interface in simple steps.

To install a downloaded Debian (Ubuntu) package (.deb):

             sudo dpkg -i packagename.deb

To remove a Debian (Ubuntu) package (.deb):

             sudo dpkg -r packagename

To reconfigure/Repair an installed Debian (Ubuntu) package (.deb):

             sudo dpkg-reconfigure packagename

Aptitude is a terminal-based package manager that can be used instead of apt-get. Aptitude marks packages that are automatically installed and removes them when no packages depend on them. This makes it easy to remove applications completely. To use Aptitude, replace apt-get with aptitude in the command line.

For an ncurses-based graphical user interface, type :

            sudo aptitude

Repair broken packages

If a package installation fails (which can cause a Package Manager to freeze or become locked), or if a package has unsatisfied dependencies causing a similar condition, then run one (or both) of the following commands from the command-line terminal:

            sudo apt-get install -f

            sudo dpkg --configure -a

Basics of installing packages in Ubuntu

Now we have got the Ubuntu operating system installed on our PC. So now if we want to install packages we can do it from Synaptic package manager but we can also do it from the Terminal too. So let us learn the basics of doing it in this article.

To install packages:

        sudo apt-get install packagename

For example:

        sudo apt-get install mpd sbackup

To remove packages:

        sudo apt-get remove packagename

To remove all dependencies:

        sudo apt-get autoremove

For example:

        sudo apt-get remove mpd sbackup

To search for packages:

        apt-cache search <keywords>

For example:

        apt-cache search Music MP3

        apt-cache search "Text Editor"

To update the apt package database after adding/removing repositories:

        sudo apt-get update

To upgrade packages:

        sudo apt-get upgrade

To upgrade the entire distribution (e.g. from Maverick to Natty):

        sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Now we will learn how to install .deb packages from the Terminal

To install a downloaded Debian (Ubuntu) package (.deb):

       sudo dpkg -i packagename.deb

To remove a Debian (Ubuntu) package (.deb):

       sudo dpkg -r packagename

To reconfigure/Repair an installed Debian (Ubuntu) package (.deb):

       sudo dpkg-reconfigure packagename

Now we have seen installing packages and every thing with the help of apt-get from the Terminal. There is another one which can replace it. That is Aptitude. Aptitude is a terminal-based package manager. It marks the packages that are automatically installed and removes them when no packages depend on them. So this is a best and feature present in Aptitude. So to use this replace apt-get with Aptitude through the terminal. Now let us see how to use it in brief.

         sudo aptitude install packagename

         sudo aptitude remove packagename

         sudo aptitude update

         sudo aptitude upgrade

For an ncurses-based graphical user interface, type:

         sudo aptitude

For more information about using Aptitude use the Aptitude documentation from It's official web site.

Upgrading Ubuntu to newer versions

Now at present when we come to Windows operating system we can't upgrade our older versions to the newest version i.e. Windows 7 to Windows 8. But this problem is not there in Ubuntu, we can simply upgrade our old versions to the new ones. Now let us see how we can do it?

This upgrade process can be done from the Terminal by using the following commands. But before upgrading your system you better back up your system for safety.

         sudo apt-get install update-manager-core

         sudo do-release-upgrade

The above is the most preferred method.

You can also use the update-manager (all editions):

        sudo apt-get install update-manager

        sudo update-manager -d

or you can also use:

        sudo apt-get update

        sudo apt-get upgrade

        sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Now you know how to Upgrade your system but what about the installations you have done in the previous one. Do you need to get them again? I surprisingly say a NO to the question. We can get the installations in the following way:

We just need to mark the packages and services installed on your old system and save the settings ("markings") into a file. Then install the new version of Ubuntu and allow the system to reinstall packages and services using the settings saved in the "markings" file.

NOTE: This must be done before the upgrading.

On the old system:

Open Synaptic Package Manager then open File and Save Markings

Save the markings file to an external medium, such as a USB drive. Backup your system's other important files (e.g. the /home directory) before the installation of the new system.

Then in the freshly-installed new system:

Open Synaptic Package Manager then File and then Read markings and load the file on your USB drive (or other external storage) previously saved. You have to keep in mind that some of the installations may not be compatible in the newer versions of Ubuntu.

If you want to do this from the Terminal follow this process:

        dpkg --get-selections >~/my-packages

This will create a my-packages file in the ~ (home) directory which will be having a list of the packages installed on the old system. It's better to copy this file to a safe place

Proceed with the clean installation. Enable the same repositories that were enabled in the old system.

Now copy the my-packages file to the ~ (/home) folder. Run:

        sudo dpkg --set-selections <my-packages&&sudo apt-get dselect-upgrade

Now the packages you had installed in your old system will be reinstalled in the new version.

Ply mouth, Install Compiz fusion for Ubuntu

Ply mouth spalsh screen is the initial splash screen we see on bootup. Different Plymouth themes can be found by searching for plymouth-theme in a Package Manager. If you like to change it first install it. Then follw the below steps:

sudo update-alternatives --config default.plymouth

sudo update-initramfs -u

Then after this select the theme which ever you want to use.Plymouth does not reliably work with nVidia drivers and during bootup a blank screen may result for several seconds.

Metacity

Metacity is the default desktop compositing manager in Gnome. It is lightweight, streamlined and does not have many configurable options, but has multiple themes available at Gnome Look. 

Compiz Cube

 

Compiz Fusion

Compiz Fusion is available as a separate Windows Manager, to allow advanced desktop effects such as the rotating cube desktop. So many users want to install it into their Ubuntu as it runs faster there. To install it use the below commands in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install compiz compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-fusion-plugins-main compiz-fusion-plugins-extra emerald librsvg2-common

In order to change the Compiz fusion as the window manager do this:

Select Compiz Configuration:

Menu -> System -> Preferences -> CompizConfig Settings Manager

You will need to log out and then log in back to let the effects change.

Fusion Icon

Fusion icon is a tray icon that will allow you to switch between the window manager, decorators e.t.c. This also gives you quick access to Compiz fusion settings manager. To install it use the follwing commands:

sudo apt-get install fusion-icon

To use the Compiz cube you will have to use four desktop environments. If you use only two desktop environments tehn you will get only a plate but not a cube. But you will still be able to rotate the plate. Set the CompizConfig Settings Manager to enable the "Desktop Cube" and "Rotate Cube" and "Viewport Switcher" options. Click on the icon for each to customize settings. Hold down the Ctrl+Alt+Left mouse button and drag the mouse (or touchpad) the direction you want to rotate the cube.

When running Compiz fusion as the Windows Manager, you must change the default number of desktops from within CompizConfig Settings Manger. To set the 4 desktop environments do the follwing:

CompizConfig Settings Manager -> General -> General Options -> Desktop Size -> Horizontal Virtual Size -> 4

Now the Cube will be assigned to one of the desktops and if you rotate it you can change to another desktop environment or check what is happening in that particular desktop environment. You can change the themes of the Compiz cube by installing the Emerald theme engine to Compiz.The Emerald Theme Manager for Compiz Fusion can be installed in this way through the terminal:

sudo apt-get install emerald

gDesklets

gDesklets are similar to Windows widgets and gadgets and provides the information such as weather, system resources, and news primarily for the Gnome desktop. To install it type:

sudo apt-get install gdesklets

Install Ubuntu along with Mac OS

So many people using Mac books may also like to install Ubuntu along with their Mac OS. Here are the steps to do it. Mac OS X has a similar structure to Linux (it is BSD Unix based). Dual-booting Mac OS X and Ubuntu detailed instructions can be found here.

Installing Mac OS X after Ubuntu 

• If you decide to dual boot with OS X, choose ext2 as your partition type during the Ubuntu installation. (For this the Super Grub Disk CD is a useful utility. You can download the Super Grub .iso image file at forjamari.linex.org and burn the image to a CD-ROM.) 

• Once you have installed Ubuntu, edit the Grub start-up list:

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

and add the following lines:

title Mac OS X

root (hd0,0)

makeactive

chainloader +1

Reboot your Mac and go to the terminal in Max OS X (if you have any issues booting, boot from your Mac OS X DVD). Press F8 and enter -s. Enter:

fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0

flag 2 <--note that flag 2 is my Mac partition number two

quit

y

reboot

• If are still unsure whether it is working correctly, use the Super Grub Disk CD and make grub active.

Installing Ubuntu after Mac OS X

• If you get an error message during boot such as HFS+error in the bootloader, you can also use the Super Grub Disk for recovering Linux GRUB and the Windows MBR (Master Boot Record).

• Once you have installed Ubuntu, edit the Grub start-up list:

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

and add the following lines:

title Mac OS X

root (hd0,0)

makeactive

chainloader +1

If you have issues with Mac OSX or Windows in GRUB, try changing the Mac OS X Grub entry change root (hd0,0) to root (hd0,1)

This means you will boot into partition number 1. You can try any partition number until you get it right.

Installing Ubuntu after Mac OS X

• If you get an error message during boot such as HFS+error in the bootloader, you can also use the Super Grub Disk for recovering Linux GRUB and the Windows MBR (Master Boot Record).

• Once you have installed Ubuntu, edit the Grub start-up list:

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

and add the following lines:

title Mac OS X

root (hd0,0)

makeactive

chainloader +1

If you have issues with Mac OSX or Windows in GRUB, try changing the Mac OS X Grub entry change root (hd0,0) to root (hd0,1)

This means you will boot into partition number 1. You can try any partition number until you get it right.

Animated GIF images replacing Videos

From recent years we have been using videos. But now it is apast thing and the latest technique is using GIF(Graphical interchange format) images instead of videos. You may be getting a doubt that how can GIF image replace a video? We can do this in this way. First we have to install some stuff to do this :

sudo apt-get install imagemagick mplayer gtk-recordmydesktop

Then record any video from your desktop or from any where. By entering the above command we will get some stuff from internet, they are image magick, Mplayer, desktop recorder. Then use the desktop recorder to capture a screen cast and save the video file. And then use OGV video, Mplayer to capture the JPEG screen shots and then save the output file. Then enter the below command in the terminal :

mplayer -ao null <video file name> -vo jpeg:outdir=output

Then after this use image magick to convert the output file to animated GIF image by using the below command :

convert output/* output.gif

Then if you want to optimize the output we got then use the below command in the terminal :

convert output.gif -fuzz 10% -layers Optimize optimised.gif

The fuzz factor can be used between 3% to 10% to reduce the image size to a great level.

Or also you can use the below command instead of the above command :

gifsicle -O in.gif -o out.gif

If you want to reduce the size further more decrease the fuzz factor to 3% like this :

convert output.gif -fuzz 3% -layers Optimize finalgif.gif

And then use the below command in the terminal :

ffmpeg -i Untitled_Screencast.webm -loop_output 0 -r 5 -s 320x200 -pix_fmt rgb24 out.gif

And then use the below command in the terminal :

convert output.gif -fuzz 8% -layers Optimize finalgif.gif

That's all you have the animated gif image where there is no need to start it like a video and so we can watch the video like an image file in real time.

Here is an example of of GIF image try it for your own videos you will surely love it.

 

Mac book's task bar in Ubuntu

   Want to have a Mac book like task bar in your Ubuntu operating system. Then try the Cairo dock which works very fine in Ubuntu. Enter the below commands in the terminal to get the Cairo Dock.

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/ppa
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

You can see the Cairo Dock applet in the above image.
And below screen shows you the menu of Cairo dock. You can enter the Menu by right clicking on the Cairo dock and then by selecting Configure. You can change the preferences of Cairo dock in the menu.

Cairo dock also has some effects like sparkles, penguin etc. You can select and change these effects from the menu shown below.

In the above video you can see the sparkling effect which is one of the coolest effect in Cairo dock and along with a penguin. You can change the whole appearance of the Cairo dock very easily without any confusion. Enjoy the Cairo dock in your Ubuntu operating system.

Control start and stop limits of charging a battery in Ubuntu

So many of us think that start and stop of a charging  is impossible to control in any Operating system.
But now we can control the start and stop of charging a battery in Ubuntu. Let us see how to do it.
Run these commands in your terminal to install tp-smapi in your OS.

sudo apt-get install tp-smapi-dkms sudo modprobe tp_smapi

Then write your desired charging thresholds( your own values) to the virtual files in /sys/devices/platform/smapi`:

echo 10 | sudo tee /sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/start_charge_thresh
echo 100 | sudo tee /sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/stop_charge_thresh

In the above commands you can change the values 10 and 100 to any value. The first one will help you to choose at what level charging must start and the second value will let you choose at what level charging must stop.
In this way we can control the charging up of a battery.
GOOD LUCK!

Add infinity conky to Ubuntu through the Terminal

Many Ubuntu users may have got bored of ordinary theme in Ubuntu. Now we can add conky to our Ubuntu to get a new look to it.

To install Conky in Ubuntu/Linux Mint open the terminal and copy the following commands in the Terminal:

    sudo apt-get install conky conky-all

First you have to download Startup script with following commands through Terminal :

    cd && wget -O .start-conky http://goo.gl/6RrEw
    chmod +x .start-conky

Now open Startup Applications and click Add. Then a new Dialog box will open click on Browse. Now press Ctrl+H

• Infinity Conky for Ethernet

To Install Infinity-Conky open Terminal and enter following commands:

    cd && wget -O infinity-noobslab-eth1.zip http://goo.gl/ZiFbd
    unzip infinity-noobslab-eth1.zip && rm infinity-noobslab-eth1.zip

• Infinity Conky for Wifi

To Install Infinity-Conky open Terminal and enter following commands:

    cd && wget -O infinity-noobslab-wlan1.zip http://goo.gl/qkIWg
    unzip infinity-noobslab-wlan1.zip && rm infinity-noobslab-wlan1.zip

If gadget doesn't fit in your screen, then you can change size(minimum_size). Enter Following command to open file in text editor and change size:

    nano ~/.conkyrc

Remap the keys in any key board in Ubuntu

All the Ubuntu users may be thinking of changing the function of the keys in their key boards. Now we can change the functions of the keys and make them function as we want them to. Lets know how to do it? First of all we need to now the function of a particular which we want to change. Now as we know the function of the keys we can proceed on to the concept of changing their functions. First go to the terminal in Ubuntu. Then type the command xev the Terminal and press Enter. Then we will get the terminal like this as shown below:

Here this command tracks the key strokes with which we can change their functions. Now after entering the command we got a window. Now what we need to do is just press the keys which we want to remap. Now for example I want to re-map the PAGE UP key with PAGE DOWN. First we have to press the PAGE UP key. Then we will get the output in the terminal like this as shown below

Pressing Up produces keycode 111, assigned to action Up.

KeyPress event, serial 34, synthetic NO, window 0x3a00001,
root 0xa5, subw 0x0, time 13739005, (165,-16), root(170,32),
state 0x0, keycode 111 (keysym 0xff52, Up), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XFilterEvent returns: False

Here note the key code we obtained in the above output as

keycode 111 (keysym 0xff52, Up)

Pressing Down produces the kyecode 116, which is assigned to the action Down.

KeyPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x3a00001,
root 0xa5, subw 0x0, time 13735531, (165,-16), root(170,32),
state 0x0, keycode 116 (keysym 0xff54, Down), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XFilterEvent returns: False

Here note the key code we obtained in the above output as

keycode 116 (keysym 0xff54, Down)

Type this command in the terminal to change the function of the prescribed key.

xmodmap -e "keycode 111 = Down

In the above command Key code 111 is the code of the PAGE UP key and as we are placing the term as DOWN in the above command the function of the PAGE UP key changes to DOWN.

The input in the command is given like this. We have got the two outputs by pressing the two keys. And we have to observe these lines in the output obtained

state 0x0, keycode 111 (keysym 0xff52, Up), same_screen YES,

and

state 0x0, keycode 116 (keysym 0xff54, Down), same_screen YES,

Key code 111 is for UP and Key code is for DOWN. So now we changed the keycode of UP to DOWN.

Like this we can change the function of other keys also by observing the keycodes and their designations in the lines in the output as shown in the above line in BOLD phase. To get these changes for every session, after issuing the commands above, create a file called .Xmodmap (or any thing), with the following command:

xmodmap -pke > .Xmodmap

Then, create a file called .xinitrc in your home directory, containing just the following line:

xmodmap .Xmodmap

That's all you can use that key to do the function of another key.

How to use microsoft office on Ubuntu?

Want to use microsoft office on Ubuntu
Try PlayOnLinux

The following tutorial works in Ubuntu
Download PlayOnLinux using the commands:

    wget -q "http://deb.playonlinux.com/public.gpg" -O- | sudo apt-key add -
    sudo wget http://deb.playonlinux.com/playonlinux_precise.list -O    
    /etc/apt/sources.list.d/playonlinux.list
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install playonlinux

    Click **Install**.
















Search for the Microsoft Office version you want to install (in our case, it's **MS Office 2010**).

Click **Install**.

















Click **Next**.

















Choose **Other**. I'll assume that you have your MS Office 2010 CD.

Insert your CD and type `/media/cdrom` in the blank space. Replace `cdrom` with the name of the CD. Then click next and MS Office 2010 will be installed!

Although you can install MS Office, I recommend using LibreOffice (which is installed by default).  It's a free Office Suite that is compatible with all your office files.


 

How to test your scientific Calculator?

 Test whether all the keys are perfectly working in your scientific calculator or not like this:

Press all the keys along:
SHIFT+7(CONSTANT)+ON

Cleaning in Ubuntu and Linux Versions

So many Ubuntu users may be facing a lot of performance issues. This might be due to the cached files and also may be because of not doing maintenance of the PC. You can try installing bleachbit from the command-line if installing in the Software Center is not working like this:
Open a Terminal window (press Ctrl+Alt+F2; or press Alt+F2, type gnome-terminal, and press Enter). Then run these two commands (type or paste them in and press Enter):

sudp apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bleachbit

Improve Power Usage / Battery Life In Linux With TLP

Overview

Use this to improve your battery performance and to maintain temperature. So here is how to install and configure TLP:

 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
 sudo apt-get update
 sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw smartmontools ethtool

ThinkPads

 sudo apt-get install tp-smapi-dkms acpi-call-tools tlp tlp-rdw smartmontools ethtool

tlp-rdw – Radio Device Wizard - Need to enable/disable & Power saving (Wifi / Bluetooth )

smartmontools - needed by tlp-stat to display disk drive S.M.A.R.T. data

ethtool - needed to disable wake on lan

tp-smapi-dkms ThinkPad only, tp-smapi is needed for battery charge thresholds and ThinkPad specific status output of tlp-stat

acpi-call-tools ThinkPad only, acpi-call is needed for battery charge thresholds on Sandy Bridge and newer models

---

Configuration

Removing default Ubuntu cpu frequency config

 sudo update-rc.d -f ondemand remove 

TLP Developer

( This is only needed if the user decides to change the default governor. If a user issues the command without changing the TLP setting too, he ends up with "perfomance", which is quite bad for battery life.), Apply to section 3.) Processor and Frequency Scaling

The main config file of TLP is at /etc/default/tlp

  sudo gedit /etc/default/tlp

---

Parameters

1. Parameters ending on _AC are effective with the power supply connected
2. Parameters ending on _BAT are effective when running on battery
3. Parameters containing blanks must be enclosed in double quotes like this: ""
4. Some parameters are inactive by default; remove the leading '#' to activate

---

0.) General

TLP_ENABLE=1

Set to 0 to disable TLP (Reboot needed), It should be enabled so leave the default value

1.) File System

     DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_AC=0
     DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_BAT=2 

DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_BAT=2 = You can either leave the default value (2) or you can edit it as 5, By default Ubuntu uses 5, its up to you, read the gives below help

 cat /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/laptop-mode

This controls how agressive the system is at trying to avoid writing to disk. The longer the disk is idle, the more power you can save.

This is only active on battery power, and it restores these values to kernel defaults when on AC power.

Defaults 5, which enables laptop mode and forces the system to wait 5 seconds whenever something asks to write to disk to flush out as much data as we can.

2.) Dirty page values

 MAX_LOST_WORK_SECS_ON_AC=15
 MAX_LOST_WORK_SECS_ON_BAT=60 

Leave the default value

Defaults 60, which means that the kernel will not start forcing process to write out file information that has been changed but not saved until 60% of usable system memory is filled with dirty information.

3.) Processor and Frequency Scaling

 CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC=ondemand
 CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=powersave

Remove the hash and edit it as conservative.

Its up to you what you want, you can also use ON_BAT=powersave

Select a cpu frequency scaling governor: ondemand/powersave/performance/conservative

Governor ??

The governor decides what frequency should be used.

Module Description:

ondemand        Dynamically switch between CPU(s) available if at 95% cpu load

performance     Run the cpu at max frequency

conservative    Dynamically switch between CPU(s) available if at 75% load

powersave       Run the cpu at the minimum frequency

TLP Developer

To use "conservative" over "powersave – especially on AC – should not be a general recommendation but only an option for hardware that produces excessive heat or fan noise.

4.) Min/Max frequency

 #CPU_SCALING_MIN_FREQ_ON_AC=0
 #CPU_SCALING_MAX_FREQ_ON_AC=0
 #CPU_SCALING_MIN_FREQ_ON_BAT=0
 #CPU_SCALING_MAX_FREQ_ON_BAT=0

Set the min/max frequency available for the scaling governor. Possible values strongly depend on your cpu. For available frequencies see tlp-stat output, Section "+++ Processor".

Hint: Parameters are disabled by default, remove the leading # to enable them, otherwise kernel default values are used.

5.) Turbo Boost

 CPU_BOOST_ON_AC=1
 CPU_BOOST_ON_BAT=0

Set the cpu "turbo boost" feature: 0=disable / 1=allow ,Requires an Intel Core i processor and kernel 3.7 or later.

Important: This may conflict with your distribution's governor settings, A value of 1 does not activate boosting, it just allows it

6.) Cpu Cores/Hyper-Threads

 SCHED_POWERSAVE_ON_AC=0
 SCHED_POWERSAVE_ON_BAT=1

Minimize number of used cpu cores/hyper-threads under light load conditions

7.) Kernel

 NMI_WATCHDOG=0

Activate kernel NMI watchdog timer (0 = disabled/save power, 1=enabled). A value of 1 is relevant for kernel debugging only.

8.) Hard disk advanced power management level

 DISK_APM_LEVEL_ON_AC="254 254"
 DISK_APM_LEVEL_ON_BAT="128 128"

Set the "Advanced Power Management Level". Possible values range between 1 and 255:

1 – max power saving / minimum performance 

Important: this setting may lead to increased disk drive wear and tear because of excessive read-write head unloading (recognizable from the clicking noises)

128 – compromise between power saving and wear (TLP standard setting on battery)

192 – prevents excessive head unloading of some HDDs

254 – minimum power saving / max performance (TLP standard setting on ac)

255 – disable APM (not supported by some disk models)

Different values for multiple disks are separated with blanks.

9.) Disk I/O Scheduler

 #DISK_IOSCHED="cfq cfq"

Select io scheduler for the disk devices: noop/deadline/cfq (Default: cfq) Separate values for multiple devices with spaces.

noop is often the best choice for memory-backed block devices (e.g. ramdisks) and other non-rotational media (flash) where trying to reschedule I/O is a waste of resources

deadline is a lightweight scheduler which tries to put a hard limit on latency

cfq tries to maintain system-wide fairness of I/O bandwidth

10.) SATA aggressive link power management (ALPM):

min_power/medium_power/max_performance

 SATA_LINKPWR_ON_AC=max_performance
 SATA_LINKPWR_ON_BAT=min_power

ALPM Aggressive Link Power Management (ALPM) is a mechanism where a SATA AHCI controller can put the SATA link that connects to the disk into a very low power mode during periods of zero I/O activity and into an active power state when work needs to be done. Tests show that this can save around 0.5-1.5 Watts of power on a typical system. ( For more check " Sources and additional help " )

11.) PCI Express Active State Power Management (PCIe ASPM):

( default/performance/powersave )

Hint: needs kernel boot option pcie_aspm=force on some machines

 PCIE_ASPM_ON_AC=performance
 PCIE_ASPM_ON_BAT=powersave

12.) Radeon graphics clock speed

(profile method): low/mid/high/auto/default

auto = mid on BAT, high on AC; default = use hardware defaults (Kernel >= 2.6.35 only, not with fglrx driver!)

 #RADEON_POWER_PROFILE_ON_AC=high
 #RADEON_POWER_PROFILE_ON_BAT=low

13.) WiFi power saving mode

1=disable/5=enable

(Linux 2.6.32 and later, some adapters only!)

 WIFI_PWR_ON_AC=1
 WIFI_PWR_ON_BAT=5

14.) Disable wake on lan

Y = Yes , N = No

 WOL_DISABLE=Y

15.) Audio power saving for Intel HDA

Enable audio power saving for Intel HDA, AC97 devices (timeout in secs). A value of 0 disables / >=1 enables power save.

 SOUND_POWER_SAVE=1

Disable controller too (HDA only): Y/N

 SOUND_POWER_SAVE_CONTROLLER=Y

16.) Power off optical drive in UltraBay >> (ThinkPads only)

Set to 1 to power off optical drive in UltraBay (ThinkPads only), when running on battery. A value of 0 disables this Feature (Default). Drive can be powered on again by releasing (and reinserting) the eject lever or by pressing the disc eject button on newer models. Note: an UltraBay hard disk is never powered off.

  BAY_POWEROFF_ON_BAT=1

Optical drive device to power off (default sr0)

 BAY_DEVICE="sr0"

17.) Runtime Power Management for pci(e) bus devices

  RUNTIME_PM_ON_AC=on
  RUNTIME_PM_ON_BAT=auto

Runtime PM for all pci(e) bus devices

 RUNTIME_PM_ALL=1

Runtime PM for all pci(e) bus devices: 0=disable / 1=enable, Warning: experimental option, could cause system instabilities

Some times my usb mouse dongle didn't work when i plug it in usb 3 port, work fine when i plug it in usb 2 port, and all my usb 3 devices are working properly no issue.

18.) Usb autosuspend

Set to 0 to disable/1 to enable usb autosuspend feature

 USB_AUTOSUSPEND=1

19.) System Start and Shutdown

 RESTORE_DEVICE_STATE_ON_STARTUP=0

Restores radio device state (builtin bluetooth, wifi, wwan) from previous shutdown on system startup:

0 – disable, 1 – enable

 DEVICES_TO_DISABLE_ON_STARTUP="bluetooth wifi wwan" 

Disables builtin radio devices upon system start:

bluetooth
wifi – Wireless LAN
wwan – Wireless Wide Area Network (UMTS)

Multiple devices are separated with blanks.

I have an error that my Blue tooth device is not Disabled on start up, so if you face this problem just do the following config

 sudo nano /etc/rc.local 

And add the following line before exit 0

 rfkill block bluetooth

Save & Exit & Reboot

---

Working with TLP

After installation TLP will be automatically activated upon system start.

To start it immediately without reboot or to apply changed settings use:

  sudo tlp start

Use the tlp-stat terminal command to check if TLP is working properly

 sudo tlp-stat

Check You system temperature

 sudo tlp-stat -t

Show battery information only:

 sudo tlp-stat -b
 sudo tlp-stat --battery 

Show configuration only:

tlp-stat -c
tlp-stat --config

Show radio devices switch state only:

tlp-stat -r
tlp-stat --rfkill

Show temperatures and fan speed only:

tlp-stat -t 

Apply Battery Settings (ignoring the actual power source):

sudo tlp bat

Apply AC Settings (ignoring the actual power source):

sudo tlp ac

You can check Which I/O you are using.

 sudo tlp-stat  # Check the section +++ Storage Devices

---

Trace Mode

To examine suspected problems in TLP more closely, activate trace mode in /etc/default/tlp:

 TLP_DEBUG="lock nm path pm rf run sysfs udev usb" 

Add above mentioned line in the end /etc/default/tlp , The accumulated trace data may be read at any time with

 tlp-stat -T 

Or

 grep "tlp" /var/log/debug 

In case the trace output is missing, you have to modify your rsyslogd configuration. Create the file/etc/rsyslog.d/90-debug.conf containing

 *.=debug;\
 auth,authpriv.none;\
 news.none;mail.none -/var/log/debug

And restart the daemon

 sudo /etc/init.d/rsyslog restart 

---

Sources and additional help

There is very good support at TLP Website

Useful Config Link 1

TLP Settings

ALPM

---

Optional tweaks

---

Tweak your CPU frequency with indicator-cpufreq

Installation

indicator-cpufreq will help you change your CPU frequency on the go:

 sudo apt-get install indicator-cpufreq 

Go to Dash > search for Startup > edit indicator-cpufreq add -f or copy paste the following command:

 indicator-cpufreq -f 

With the indicator you will be able to monitor your current CPU frequency & can change CPU frequency

Changing CPU frequency

Click on indicator

---

PowerSavingTweaks for Intel Graphics

Configuration

 sudo nano /etc/default/grub

change:

 GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" 

to:

 GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash i915.lvds_downclock=1 drm.vblankoffdelay=1"

and run:

 sudo update-grub

Then Reboot to apply the changes. You won't need other tweaks as they are already added by defaults.