Geek's Stuff!: Linux

Showing posts with label Linux. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Linux. Show all posts

Play on Linux

"Linux is the world,Linux is freedom... blah blah blah". Everyone has heard such things and we keep hearing them. Even though linux has grown from a mere console to a user friendly interface in a short time frame, lets accept Linux is still in the growing phase. Its gonna take some time before the doors and windows are gonna shut and every house will have a penguin in their computers.

I agree when im talking about linux, initially its not for normal people. Its for science, using sophisticated tools, programming etc... But since the inception of Ubuntu, the attitude towards linux has changed. It has shown the world that linux is for everyone.

One of the most frustrating feature of linux is there are not many games that support the OS. Mostly because the windows has the market of household desktops still under its captivation and most of the games are developed considering windows in mind. I know we get many bundled up games with linux distros, but are they enough? What about the games like Counter strike, Need For Speed etc? Do linux have support for them? This is what i went on to explore... and thats when i stumbled upon this site... PlayonLinux

Its the software that can help you to install games and apps made for windows... Though it internally uses Wine.. it has a list of softwares and games that it supports and guarantee's that it can work on linux... I straight away installed this and yes.. it truly supports few of my favorite games which i was addicted on windows...

I'm yet to explore more on this.. Go ahead explore...PlayonLinux

Cracking the root password III

Long time back I had written about how to change the root user password before on ubuntu

http://bit.ly/mP2x4m

But the method that i had described before is obsolete now... With ubuntu evolving, today that method in my previous post wont work.

I was trying to install windows 7 over the existing ubuntu and as you know the windows bootloader overwrites the boot sector and thus the grub got wiped out. Wanting to fix the grub, i logged in as a live user session after long time. But to my surprise.. i couldn't change the root user password as i mentioned in my previous post. Hence i went searching for the new way to change the root password because without the root password i wont be able to run install grub ...and other commands.

finally i found a more simpler way to crack this and reset the password.

if you run the command below from the terminal

:~$ sudo passwd root

it does the job, it asks for the new password and you can type in the key patterns you want and use it as the root user password. This should work on ubuntu 9.10 and the after flavors.

So you think you've mastered Linux??

Remember, in the movie Matrix, Neo says - "I know Kung Fu" and then Morpheus says - "Show Me"? This is kinda similar. You think you've mastered Linux? Prove it! This post goes as a challenge to all those Linux gurus and others as well. Download and install Suicide Linux and it'll really test your command line skills. Did you know that Bash corrects a wrongly typed command and continues with execution? Well, Suicide Linux is quite cruel in that terms. ANY TIME you make a mistake, ANY spelling, anything at all, this distro considers it as "rm -rf /" (which means kiss your data goodbye! cuz your entire hard disk is getting formatted). Try this distro and see how long you're going to last.

Cracking the Root Password Part II

This is the sequel of my post hacking the ROOT

Here i would like to write about a new technique through which we can hack into the root.
This does not have limits... i mean to say this method can be used even if the grub of any system is locked down...
But both my methods the former one in the previous post and the one that i will present here all need physical access to the system...!!

This method requires the live cd.. preferably Ubuntu... since its simple

Insert the live cd and boot from the cd.

You can choose the option " Try ubuntu without any changes to your system"

- you need not have ubuntu installed on your harddrive.. u just need to boot it live.

let ubuntu boot up normally.... now go to System->Administration-> Users and Groups in the menu bar above.
you will have a "user settings" window poping up

just select root , click on properties and set the password by hand.Finally press ok

( sometimes you will also have to unlock , if you are not able to select root )

Now Shoot open the terminal.type su , it will ask for the password you just created.

Type fdisk -l in the terminal window. This will display the list of partitions on the harddrive. we are looking for a linux partition here.
next my linux drive here is /dev/sda2 or /dev/sda3 you will have to mount the partition. since i have two linux installed on my disk, let me work on my sda2 partition
lets create a folder to mount type mkdir /media/linuxpartition to create a directory.
now type mount /dev/sda2 /media/linuxpartition to mount the partition.
Now lets change the root type chroot /media/linuxpartition for my example here.
now you should have the command prompt symbol changed as shown below
Type passwd and enter the new password, and there you go... you have just changed the password for your linux root.
type reboot to restart the machine and login with your new password.. and enjoy...!!!

Waves of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic koala are out...

Readers, Still the release of the jaunty is in April already the waves of the next release of ubuntu 9.10 code named Karmic Koala.. is scheduled for this october.
Ubuntu is sticking on to its six month release cycle...
With this Karmic Koala the plans are to introduce ubuntu series into cloud computing , the most happening topic today...

And with the desktop... and netbooks plans are to reduce the boot time from 25seconds to much lesser.... and i dont wanna take a guess this time.Also they are planning to improve the theme.. and the boot screen...

well there are lots to come..and lot more in reserve...

more you can read at Mark's post..Karmic Koala

Linux- Overrated?

While those who disparage Linux might have a point with regard to its appearance or the lack of drivers, they fail to see the larger issue. Linux is a success because it represents an alternative in an environment that is designed to help the powerful eliminate alternatives.

So often, the defense of Linux involves a price argument. More important than the free price is the freedom Linux and other GPL software represent. Lately, I have noticed a lot of bloggers disparaging Linux-based operating systems for all kinds of reasons, from aesthetics to business strategies.
Of these, Linux Hater's blog stood above the rest, and though his criticisms are generally valid, he completely misses the mark. Though we should never avoid holding Linux-based operating systems to the same standards as proprietary platforms, we must recognize that any shortcomings are minor in the context of all of the successes of Linux and open sourcesoftware.
Just check the blog, they make some really valid points.

Reinstall GRUB

Grub, by default, resides in the Master Boot Record(MBR). When you try to install some other boot loader or try to install/reinstall Windows, the grub information in the MBR will be overwritten. So, Grub might have to be reinstalled.

When some/any part of partition information is changed, the grub configuration won’t be automatically notified of it and so, the grub configuration will remain as it is. There maybe many cases in which the partition information maybe changed like when you create an extra partition, which is something trivial and may or may not affect the grub boot loader. However, most of the times, changes in the partition information will result in errors when the grub boot loader is loaded. So, the grub configuration has to be updated and the easiest way is to reinstall Grub.

There are many such cases and in these cases, people tend to treat the effect, more than the cause. By this, I mean people tend to usually reinstall Ubuntu or Fedora or whichever GNU/Linux operating system they are using, through which Grub will be automatically reinstalled. But is it necessary? No, Grub can be reinstalled without reinstalling the entire operating system! In fact, Fedora CD/DVD does offer to reinstall Grub if you choose to upgrade your system. However, I have tried to use that option in many of my friends’ computers and it has never worked! I have no idea why it doesn’t work. So I resort to the easiest fool-proof method I know - COMMANDS @ TERMINAL

COMMANDS TO REINSTALL GRUB:

All you need to do is access the terminal using the installation CD/DVD of your GNU/Linux operating system. Ubuntu installation CD is a live CD and so, when it loads, you can run the terminal from there. Fedora installation CD/DVD offers options through which you will have to choose to upgrade the system using commands(rescue mode).

Once you are at the terminal, you will have to access the ‘grub’ shell to change the grub configuration. So, give this command at the terminal:

$ grub

If it says that you don’t have the permission, in which case you will not have logged in as root(as in Ubuntu), give this command at the terminal:

$ sudo grub

You will get the grub-shell prompt:

grub>

Now, you will have to find out in which partition Grub had been installed before, so that you reinstall in that partition only. Give this command at the terminal:

grub> find /boot/grub/stage1

(returns value)

It returns the number of the partition in which Grub i.e your GNU/Linux had been installed.

e.g.,

grub> find /boot/grub/stage1

(hd0,2)

NOTE:

Sometimes, when Grub has not been installed properly, the file “/boot/grub/stage1″ may not exist. So, the output will be “Error 15: File not found”. In such a case, come out of the grub-shell by pressing “Ctrl+c”. Then, at the shell prompt, give this command at the terminal:

$ fdisk -l

Again, if you are not logged in as root, give this command at the terminal:

$ sudo fdisk -l

The output will list all the partitions and it’s properties, including the file system type.

e.g.,

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/sda1 1 654 5253223+ b W95 FAT32

/dev/sda2 * 655 1962 10506510 7 HPFS/NTFS

/dev/sda3 1963 3924 15759765 83 Linux

The “System” attribute of your GNU/Linux operating system will be “Linux”. So note down that partition number.

e.g., sda3

Since it’s array numbering, sdaN is mapped to (hd0,N-1).

Just (hd0) will be the Master Boot Record(MBR).

sda1 will be (hd0,0) and so on.

So, sda3 will be (hd0,2)

Now, log into the grub-shell prompt again.

Before reinstalling Grub, you will have to notify the partition that your Grub i.e. GNU/Linux is resided in. So, give this command at the terminal:

grub> root (returned value)

e.g.,

grub> root (hd0,2)

Now, reinstall grub in the MBR i.e. the returned value without number part.

e.g., (hd0)

So, give this command at the terminal:

grub> setup (returned value without number part)

e.g.,

grub> setup (hd0)

Exit the grub-shell prompt using “Ctrl+c”.

Exit the shell prompt using “Ctrl+d”.

PS:

You can also reinstall Grub in your GNU/Linux partition, only if this GNU/Linux partition is “primary” and you have another boot loader installed at the MBR(in case of more than one GNU/Linux operating systems) through which you can boot this primary partition. To do that, give this command at the terminal:

grub> setup (returned value)

e.g.,

grub> setup (hd0,2)

Intrepid- Flash Update Problem

I usually run any updates on a my Ubuntu. For the Flash update in Intrepid Ibex I’ve made an exception: each page I opened that contained Flash (and in these days, which doesn’t?) pulled my CPU to 100%. That’s annoying.

If you have the same problem, just search for the flash update in your Update Manager and install it. Right click in the list, select “Uncheck all” and select only the flash update. After a restart of firefox you should be OK.

In my install the Update Manager started complaining that it wanted to do a Partial update. Don’t worry, just click “Close”.

Overall 8.10 is running extremely well. There are a few bugs that are annoying:

NetworkManager forgets the password if you use multiple wireless networks.
The dimming of the screen still doesn’t work right. If I plug in then it will dim to a fixed value, even if I selected it to be at a lower value. And plugging it in will select a higher value.
Suspend and Wakeup works very good on my Sony. But it seems that changing anything during sleep kills the stability. I mean stuff like: unplug, or plug, the AC or attached (yes, or detach) an external monitor. I understand that’s complicated stuff: you wake up and the world has changed. I have that every day.
I still had to do some tweaking to make the external monitor work. What’s good: at least it tried to adjust the Virtual setting in xorg.xonf.
Compiz still can’t handle more then 2048×2048. Is it just me, or is that a bit outdated?

What I miss in the release is the USP, the killer app, … Of course it’s faster, uses less memory, works better with the hardware, but what makes this release special? It should have been the theme, but that is too weak for me.

It’s going to be a good release. Probably it will bring Ubuntu up to the level where XP was after about 7 or 8 years: stable and just working. Let’s hope the next release will take that step extra that pulls it above M$(yea!, M$) and Apple.

Intrepid Ibex vs Windows 7

I’ve downloaded the Windows 7 build 7000 beta, I wonder if it can match Ubuntu’s Performance, usability and feature set.

First the download itself: it took a long time since Microsoft didn’t expect so many people to download the beta..Is that naive or just plain stupid?

But after a full night downloading(yeah!,moreso, because of my internet plan :P) the ISO is in.

I had Vista before and I assume that Windows 7 should run on a machine with at least Vista’s settings: I have created a partition with 16Gb disk, 2Gb memory and 128Mb video memory, 3D enabled. Microsoft promised that Windows 7 would be more resource friendly.

It takes ages before Windows 7 has figured out what hardware the machine contains, but the installation itself runs smoothly. It requires 2 restarts, but thats normal with Windows(:P). After about 50 minutes I’m on a working desktop. But, darn!, Aero doesn’t work, that was to be expected. The install takes about 7Gb (!). So I ended up manually updating the drivers for the system and the video. Another restart required.

Ubuntu clearly wins here. The Ubuntu installation is easier, more logical and much faster.

Going over to the General performance issues. I feel thats its still slow. When I click anything it opens slow, very slow. The Card Deck application took about 50 seconds to open.

I have the feeling that Windows 7, as Vista, depends to much on Aero for the frontend that not being able to run Aero breaks the whole system. Also Windows 7 still starts a lot of services after it has already shown the desktop which causes it to be less responsive in the first minutes. After this is done the system response improves a lot. It’s not as fast as Windows XP , but it’s much better then Vista.

Memory usage after startup is 300Mb, that’s impressive!

Ubuntu is faster. That’s no surprise.

After playing with the monitor settings I managed to kill the resolution of the monitor, it now displays 800×600. So if you want to play with Windows 7: don’t fool around with the screen resolution!

I’m a Gnome addict, I never liked the Windows and KDE interface approach. The new taskbar which an act like a dock is pretty nice. It takes a lot of screen space though, which is a general problem with the Windows 7 visual design. The icon tray is still there, include the bizarre ‘hide icon when not active’ function.

Explorer (the file manager, not the browser) is very much the same as in Vista. The only difference I could find was that the ‘open folder’ triangles fade out when the pane is inactive. What’s strange is that the Folder Settings dialog is still the same as in windows XP, that dialog is 10 years old…

If I look at the default installation only, so no personalisation then Windows 7 is doing quite good. The Ubuntu default config with the awful orange/brown colors and the Gnome default layout is horrible. Windows 7 looks more clean and the start menu is fast and easy to use.

While configuring Windows 7 more to my liking I was reminded of why I prefer Ubuntu: Windows can’t be configured. You can can choose a predefined setup that matches your needs best, but you can’t tweak it completely. Windows is and stays what it is.

When you play around with Ubuntu it enables you to make it exactly as you want it. This takes time and effort, so not everybody will do that. If you stay with the default config I’d say Windows 7 is actually better then Ubuntu, but if you’re ready to think and do some tweaking Ubuntu is so much better than Windows 7.

On the ease of use I would say Ubuntu and Windows 7 are equal. Ubuntu is more configurable, but most people won’t use that, Windows is familiar and that’s working ok. On the visual level I like Ubuntu better (especially with the Shiki Colors scheme!), but that’s mainly taste. Windows 7 looks good, so I’d call this a draw.

There is a huge difference in the approach that Windows 7 and Ubuntu take the pre installed features here. Windows 7 is an operating system, with everything that an OS needs: kernel, GUI, utilities, even some end user applications like Notepad and Paint.It’s not a fully operation system after installation; you need to install your productivity tools yourself: mail, word processor, spreadsheet, etc. This makes sense: not everybody wants to use what your supplier offers you.

Ubuntu installs a lot more end user applications, it actually comes fully loaded. After installation you can start working. This is easier, but it also forces you to use the preinstalled tools or to deinstall them and install your own preferences.

When it comes to the preinstalled features Ubuntu is a clear winner. Windows delivers near to nothing when it comes to end user applications.

What Windows does deliver a complete stack of OS features. In that section it is a good competitor of Ubuntu. Please mind that I’m looking at this from the standpoint of the end user, and not a system administrator. Windows 7 even includes a decent command line tool, which supports some more Unix oriented commands like ‘ls’ and ‘cat’. A peculiar decision of Microsoft.

Windows 7 has a complete and understandable set of tools to manage the system. Ubuntu tends to get a bit hard to understand for newbies at some points, although this is improving fast.

Windows 7 has sufficient features to call it a good OS, but Ubuntu delivers a much more complete set of features. Ubuntu is the winner here.

Conclusion

Windows 7 is far better then Vista. It’s faster, looks a little better and takes yet another small step towards the future. But. I’ve downloaded 2.44Gb to be able to install a system that contains only an OS. Nothing more, just a kernel, a GUI and some utilities. It takes 7Gb on your harddisk after installation and it can’t run 3D graphics in a slower machine.

I have mixed feelings here. On the one side Windows 7 is really going somewhere, it’s good. But on the other side Ubuntu is so much better when you tweak it a bit. When Canonical would invest some more time in delivering a more tasty off the shelf install then it would easily defeat windows. But they don’t.

There is no winner in this competition. Windows 7 will be the next most used OS, there is no question about that. Ubuntu is trying to compete, but it will never be able to. In the end Ubuntu is a better OS, which a better GUI, but it should show that much better then it does now.

Ubuntu 9.04 [Jaunty Jackalope]- A peek-a-boo!

Screenshot -Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3

Screenshot -Kubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3

Originally scheduled to be released on January 15th, the third alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 (codename Jaunty Jackalope) was uploaded a few hours ago on the official mirrors and. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 9.04 development. To please our readers, starting with this third alpha, we will also list the new features brought by the Kubuntu edition, as well as the screenshot tour.

OK, let's cut to the chase, and tell you what's new in Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3. Finally... the OpenOffice.org 2.4 packages were replaced with the OpenOffice.org 3.0 ones. Actually, the installed version in Alpha 3 is 3.0.1 RC1 . In other "good" news, the EXT4 filesystem was implemented in the Ubiquity installer, but it will not be the default filesystem for Ubuntu 9.04, and it's only available if you choose manual partitioning when installing Ubuntu. Using EXT4 as the default filesystem for an Ubuntu installation will reduce the boot times with 20% or even 30% on some systems. Another interesting thing implemented in the Ubiquity installer is the possibility to choose if you want to encrypt your home folder (see the last screenshot on the fifth row), an option that was already available in the text-mode installer.

Other than that, we've observed a new button on the system notifications, called "Don't show this message again" , a new entry in the Main Menu... System Tools -> File Browser and the brand new redesigned volume control The wallpaper and the theme are unchanged, the GNOME desktop environment has been updated to version 2.25.4 (latest development release), as well as most of its components. Among the applications that were updated in this third alpha of Ubuntu 9.04, we can notice: Pidgin 2.5.3, Brasero 0.9.0, Transmission 1.42, Ekiga 3.0.1, F-Spot 0.5.0.3 and... OpenOffice.org 3.0.1 RC1.

What's new in Kubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3? Well, as the developers said in the release announcement... everything! The third alpha version of Kubuntu 9.04 brings the newly released KDE 4.2 RC desktop environment (see below for screenshots), the latest version of the popular Amarok 2 media player, Quassel as the replacement for Konversation, Digikam 0.10.0 Beta 8, Kipi Plugins 0.2.0 Beta 6 and, last but not least, the developers decided to bring back the Kubuntu documentation. The final version of Kubuntu 9.04 will be powered by the amazing K Desktop Environment 4.2.

Once again, a Live CD is available for everyone who wants to see for themselves what's new in Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3 and Kubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3 , without installing anything on the hard drive. Also, with Alpha 3, the server edition of Ubuntu 9.04 is now offered as a separate download, while images for Ubuntu Studio and Edubuntu are available as well.

Update UBUNTU 8.04 without internet! (!)

Darn!, I want to install ubuntu, but, unfortunately I have not an internet connection..:(

Is that you question?!..

Err!, Worry not..here's a simple solution to your question..And all that you require is a "genuine friend" who has a system with Ubuntu + packages installed on it..

Use a computer where they have installed basic utility packages or where they have updated ubuntu. The packages will be in the folder “/var/cache/apt/archives”. Copy it to a removable disc or write them on to a CD/DVD (which ever makes you happy(!))”

Assume that the media name is Pen_Drive

Now, give this command in the terminal of that system which is updated(i.e from the place where you intend to copy the packages.
sudo cp -R /var/cache/apt/archives /media/Pen_Drive

Once the copy process is complete.

Unmount the removable device..and then insert this device in you computer..

and follow it up with these commands on the terminal:

cd /media/Pen_Drive/archives sudo cp -R * /var/cache/apt/archives

Now, if you want to install all the packages that is on your removeable device, then, type this command:

sudo dpkg -i *

However, if you want to install just selected packages, give this command:

sudo apt-get update

Then, go to Synaptic Package Manager and install the packages you want.

Rescue a "crashed linux" without re-installing...

"Whilst attempting to boot Fedora from the NTLoader, I recieve the following "message': "GRUB _" (The underscore represents a blinking cursor thing)...

Is that you QUESTION?!!
If Yes,
Then with the grub cursor flashing it sounds like the system can't find grub you might want to do a reload of Fedora .. But DONT DO THAT!, Fixing is is much easier than what meets the eye..:)

You could actually try duel booting using XP boot manager (My Preference. I don't like third party boot managers.)

Run the command
dd if=/dev/hda5 of=boot.lnx bs=512 count=1

If hda5 is Not your boot partition, change it as appropriate. Type: df then determine which hda# is associated with your /boot partition. A file named boot.lnx should now have been created in the root's home directory or where ever you told it to be. Do an ls -l boot.lnx to confirm this.

Mount your pendrive drive use the command mcopy boot.lnx J: Or if your internet is up and running email it to yourself.
Now reboot and go to Windows XP.
J: Copy boot.lnx C:\ (It will land it in C:\ root.)
Double click your boot.ini file and add one line at the end it should read c:\boot.lnx="Fedora 7".
Then save it.
When you reboot your XP boot manager will come up when you chose Fedora it jumps to the Grub Boot manager on your second drive.
Reboot to Fedora and Enjoy!

Mac OS X Dashboard style on Ubuntu 8.04

KDE 4, Windows, and Mac OS all have some sort of desktop widgets. Your Ubuntu desktop can also, using Screenlets. This post will guide you through installing and using Screenlets on Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04.

Compiz’s Widget Layer plugin can be used with Screenlets to achieve an effect similar to the dashboard in Mac OS X. Your Screenlets will only be visible by activating a view that dims the desktop and displays the Screenlets on top of everything else.

In the Appearance Preferences dialog (System->Preferences->Appearance), open the Visual Effects tab and switch to the Custom effects level. If this option is not available, you need to install CompizConfig Settings Manager (CCSM) first:
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Now, open CCSM by clicking the Preferences button. Find the Widget Layer plugin and select the box to turn it on.

For all the Screenlets you want on the Widget Layer, open their right-click menus and select Window->Widget. The Screenlet will disappear from your desktop. Press the default Widget Layer key, F9, to dim the desktop and display your widgets.

Installation

Installing Screenlets
You can keep up-to-date with the latest version of Screenlets by installing it through the repository.

Open your sources.list file to add the repository:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Add this line to the end of the file (for Ubuntu 7.10):
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/gilir/ubuntu gutsy main universe

Add this line to the end of the file (for Ubuntu 8.04):
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/gilir/ubuntu hardy main universe

Save and close the text editor. Run this command to update apt:
sudo apt-get update

Install the Screenlets package:
sudo apt-get install screenlets

The package python-feedparser may also be required if it is not already installed:
sudo apt-get install python-feedparser

If starting the Screenlets Manager nags you that Gtkmozembed needs to be installed, some Screenlets may not work. Run this command to fix it:
sudo apt-get install python-gnome2-extras

XBMC- Media beyond the ultimatum!

XBMC, recursive acronym for “XBMC Media Center“, is an award winning free and open source software media-player and entertainment hub for all your digital media.

Multi-platform, Internationalized, and Localized

XBMC is a cross-platform software available for Linux, Mac OS X (Leopard, Tiger, and Apple TV), Microsoft Windows operating-system, as well as the original Xbox game-console. With translations to over 30 languages for a worldwide audience. All versions of course completely free of any adware or spyware.

XBMC for Linux
XBMC for Mac
XBMC for Windows
XBMC for Xbox
XBMC Live

XBMC menu

Community

Over 50 developers have contributed to XBMC, and over 100 translators have worked to expand its reach. XBMC was created by created by a group of like minded back in 2003. XBMC Community Forum today have over 30,000 registered members, nad XBMC had already an estimated userbase of over one million daily end-users when it was only running on the the Xbox platform, and now that XBMC runs nativly on several other platforms as well we estimate that that the userbase have growed exponentionally.

User-friendliness that is Next To Godliness

XBMC is easy to install and setup, and its many beautiful custom user interfaces offers simple very intuitive navigation which are very convenient and flexible, adding to great price verses performance ratio when installed on cheap hardware to this best in class software. With and experience surpases all retail media center systems.

Superb Format and Codec support

XBMC supports a very complete spectrum of of audio and video multimedia file formats and codecs right out-of-the-box, and include features such as playlist playback, audio visualizations, picture viewing, slideshows, and weather forecast functions, RSS feed scroller on your home screen, together with a ever expanding array of community driven third-party add-ons and plugins.

Endless playback capabilities for All Types of Media

XBMC can play most audio and video file formats as well as display images at resolutions up to 1080p and over from virtually any source, including your local harddrive, CD/DVDs, USB flash drives, the Internet, and network shares, upscaling any lower resolutions videos to the maximum of your displays capability. XBMC can also playback DVD-Video movies with menus from ISO/IMG-images on-the-fly, even when they are in an RAR or ZIP archive. For music playback XBMC offers gapless playback, crossfading, cue sheet, replay gain amplification, advanced smart playlists, and chapter support.

XBMC can download or stream Internet video and audio streams, and play Internet radio stations (such as Podcasts and SHOUTcast), and listen to your favorites and discover new music with free, streaming music from Last.fm, among others.

XBMC of course handles all common digital picture formats with the options of panning/zooming, and slideshow with “Ken Burns Effect“. XBMC also handles CBZ and CBR comic book archive files, this feature lets you view/read, browse and zoom the pictures of comics pages these contain without uncompressing them first.

Online Powered Media Management

XBMC has a database driven video and music library view modes which help organize and filter all of your media straight out-of-the-box in. The video library allow you to easily browse your video content by things like; genre, title, year, actors, and directors, as well as carry our extensive searches on casts and related information. Similarly, XBMC’s music library allows the organization of your music collection by information stored in your music file ID meta tags, like title, artist, album, genre and popularity, as well as having access to powerful search and Smart Playlists features, helping you find exactly what you want in a fast and simple way.

Album and Cover Art

XBMC takes full advantage of broadband Internet connection if available, Artwork is automatically fetched for posters, artwork, fanart, synopsis and reviews on movies, plot, cast and episode information for TV shows, also album covers and artist information for music.

Extendable and Flexible Add-ons

XBMC features a Python Scripts Engine and WindowXML application framework (a XML-based widget toolkit for creating a GUI for widgets) in a similar fashion to Apple Mac OS X Dashboard Widgets and Microsoft Gadgets in Windows Sidebar. Python widget scripts allow normal users to add-on ‘extensions’ with new functionality to XBMC themselves, using the easy to learn Python scripting language, without the need for knowledge of any complex programming languages or the inner workings of XBMC. Current plugins and scripts include a multitude of added functions like Internet TV and radio streams, podcasts, movie-trailer browsers, and cinema guides, e-mail clients, instant messaging, train-timetables, peer-to-peer file-sharing downloaders, IRC, also casual games (sometimes also referred to as mini-games or party-games) such as Tetris, Snake, Space Invaders, Sudoku, and much more.

Fully Skinnable and Customizable Interface

XBMC is noted and highly regarded as having a very flexible GUI toolkit and robust framework for its GUI, (now also proven by the fact that several other software projects have copied it). Users can create their own skins, or choose one of the many already available skins. XBMC uses a standard XML base, making theme-skinning and personal customization very accessible to everyone. Users themselves can create their own skin (or simply modify an existing skin) and share it with others via public websites dedicated for XBMC skins trading. Colors, controls, navigation, positioning of elements, animation, even adding additional functionality can be achieved with a skin. “Project Mayhem” is the official skin from Team-XBMC; which is now in its third version, commonly know as “PM3″. Many third-party skins exist and while many are of original and unique designs, a few skins are almost exact replicas of other multimedia software, with skins clones of Apple TV and Front Row, Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition (MCE), MediaPortal, Meedio/MeediOS, HDeeTV, Kaleidescape, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and others. Each skin provides a totally different and unique user experience, all showing just how flexible XBMC’s skinning engine really is.

FOSS (Free Open Source Software)

XBMC Media Center software is distributed as open source under the GNU General Public License, (with a few sub-libraries licensed under the LGPL), and as a non-profit project XBMC is run and developed by volunteers in their spare-time without any monetary gain. Team-XBMC encourage anyone to contribute to the project, submit their own source code patches for new features and functions, improve existing ones, or fix any bugs in XBMC that you might find.

Technical Summary

XBMC is written in the C++ program language (and some Assembly code), XBMC uses the SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) multimedia framework and OpenGL for graphics rendering the Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows based operating-system platforms, and the Xbox version of XBMC uses Microsoft DirectX multimedia framework and Direct3D for graphics rendering, (as the Xbox does not support OpenGL).

Installation
Open System->Administration->Software Sources and select the Third Party Software tab. Add the following software source:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc-intrepid/ubuntu intrepid main

Close Software Sources and when prompted, choose to reload the repositories.

Install XBMC from the package xbmc (click the link to install), or by running the command below in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install xbmc

Optionally you can also install:

additional skins
sudo apt-get install xbmc-skin-*
support for remote controls
sudo apt-get install xbmc-eventclients-*
a scripting example
sudo apt-get install xbmc-scripts-example

Starting and Running XBMC
All that is left now is to start XBMC. You can start XMBC by going to Applications->Sounds & Video->XBMC Media Center.

Compiz Earth

Compiz 0.7.6 comes with new plugins that allow you do quite a lot. The best of the lot is getting the earth out of your desktop.
Check the video below--
"Awesome!" would perhaps be just an euphemism!

Click here to view the video

To install Compiz 0.7.6 just add the following repository

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/compiz/ubuntu hardy main

Mount ISO images without burning..:)

Some times you want to use iSO images without burning them.If you don’t want to waste your CD’s/DVD’s here is the simple possible solutions using these tips you can mount and unmount ISO images without burning them.

I know two possible solutions

1) Using Nautilus Scripts

2) Using kernel loop module

Now we will see each one in detailed

Using Nautilus Scripts

I am taking this tip from http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=87369&page=3 first you need to download two scripts for mount iso images download from www.debianadmin.com/images/iso/mount.sh and to unmount iso images download from www.debianadmin.com/images/iso/mount.sh

Once you have these two scripts you need to change the permissions using the following commands

sudo chmod +x /home/username/mount.sh

sudo chmod +x /home/username/unmount.sh

Now you need to copy them nautilus scripts

sudo mv /home/username/mount.sh ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/

sudo mv /home/username/unmount.sh ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/

That’s it now you are ready for mounting and unmounting your ISO images.

Animate your Ubuntu!

Have some spare CPU cycles to burn? Using a utility called XWinWrap you can use screensavers, videos, and other applications as your desktop wallpaper.

One drawback is that you will not be able to use desktop icons with XWinWrap due to a limitation in Nautilus. Compiz desktop effects are not required, but a fairly powerful computer if you don’t want reduced performance.

Animated Wallpaper

Install XWinWrap
XWinWrap is not available in the Ubuntu repositories, but an easily installable DEB package is available. Download and extract the zip archive, and then install the DEB package from the i386 or x86_64 folder depending on your CPU type.

XWinWrap only works properly for me once I’ve disabled desktop icons. Do so with the following command:
gconftool-2 -s '/apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop' --type bool false

Run this if you want to undo and enable desktop icons again:
gconftool-2 -s '/apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop' --type bool true

Using XWinWrap
Now you’re ready to run XWinWrap commands to create an animated wallpaper effect. You can start XWinWrap from a terminal or from the Run Application dialog (F2). To exit XWinWrap from the terminal, just press Ctrl-C. To exit XWinWrap when it’s started from the Run Application dialog, run the command below:
killall xwinwrap

While trying out different effects, remember to exit XWinWrap before starting it again.

Animated Wallpaper - Screensavers
This command will start the glmatrix Matrix screensaver as your wallpaper:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID

Here a few other screensavers you can run as wallpaper for a neat effect:

Tunnel:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/atunnel -window-id WID
Toasters:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/flyingtoasters -window-id WID
Plasma (slow speed):
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/plasma -window-id WID -x 30 -s 1

Animated Wallpaper - Video
Using the MPlayer video player, you can use any video with XWinWrap.

Install MPlayer from the package mplayer (click the link to install), or by running the command below in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install mplayer

This XWinWrap command will loop play the video file video.ogg:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- mplayer -wid WID -quiet -loop 0 video.ogg

Once you’ve found an effect you like, you can add the command to the startup programs in System->Preferences->Sessions to load it when you log in.

Animate you Ubuntu!

Have some spare CPU cycles to burn? Using a utility called XWinWrap you can use screensavers, videos, and other applications as your desktop wallpaper.

One drawback is that you will not be able to use desktop icons with XWinWrap due to a limitation in Nautilus. Compiz desktop effects are not required, but a fairly powerful computer if you don’t want reduced performance.

Animated Wallpaper

Install XWinWrap
XWinWrap is not available in the Ubuntu repositories, but an easily installable DEB package is available. Download and extract the zip archive, and then install the DEB package from the i386 or x86_64 folder depending on your CPU type.

XWinWrap only works properly for me once I’ve disabled desktop icons. Do so with the following command:
gconftool-2 -s '/apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop' --type bool false

Run this if you want to undo and enable desktop icons again:
gconftool-2 -s '/apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop' --type bool true

Using XWinWrap
Now you’re ready to run XWinWrap commands to create an animated wallpaper effect. You can start XWinWrap from a terminal or from the Run Application dialog (F2). To exit XWinWrap from the terminal, just press Ctrl-C. To exit XWinWrap when it’s started from the Run Application dialog, run the command below:
killall xwinwrap

While trying out different effects, remember to exit XWinWrap before starting it again.

Animated Wallpaper - Screensavers
This command will start the glmatrix Matrix screensaver as your wallpaper:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/glmatrix -root -window-id WID

Here a few other screensavers you can run as wallpaper for a neat effect:

Tunnel:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/atunnel -window-id WID
Toasters:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/flyingtoasters -window-id WID
Plasma (slow speed):
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- /usr/lib/xscreensaver/plasma -window-id WID -x 30 -s 1

Animated Wallpaper - Video
Using the MPlayer video player, you can use any video with XWinWrap.

Install MPlayer from the package mplayer (click the link to install), or by running the command below in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install mplayer

This XWinWrap command will loop play the video file video.ogg:
xwinwrap -ov -fs -- mplayer -wid WID -quiet -loop 0 video.ogg

Once you’ve found an effect you like, you can add the command to the startup programs in System->Preferences->Sessions to load it when you log in.

Intrepid Ibex- The Views and their Re-Views!

One of the first things you would notice after booting into Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop , is the new improved Human theme which has got a tinge of Orange. Status bar,Buttons glow and few icons have been changed and made more friendly looking. Ubuntu 8.10 also includes a brand new theme "Dark Room".

with "Dark Room" theme applied

However , with "Dark Room" theme I noticed I was unable to read text in Menu Bar sometimes.

Improved Shutdown dialog box

Ubuntu 8.10 includes the latest stable version of Gnome - Gnome 2.24 . Gnome 2.24 is an extremely polished desktop environment and includes a host of feature addition. Nautilus the default File Manager in Gnome , now supports like Mozilla Firefox , Tab Browsing allowing you to browse number of different directory location inside a single nautilus window in separate tabs. Also Nautilus now supports encrypted private directory.

Furthermore , Ubuntu 8.10 includes improved Network Management tool allowing you to easily configure your DSL , Wireless , Wired , VPN etc networks.

Multiple tabs in Nautilus, also note new eject icons infront of mountable drives and encrypted folders

Gui tool for Managing Network connection

Ubuntu 8.10 supports "Guest Login" allowing anyone to log into Ubuntu machine without having an account ,however only catch is Guest users will not get access to any file of other users or be able to create files for security reason. This is especially useful where a single computer is used by a number of users , and you dont want others to peek into your files.

Hardware support has definitely improved with version of Ubuntu 8.10 , everything from Network Card , Bluetooth to Sound Card worked out of box on my cranky old Lenovo y410 laptop, In fact prior to version 8.10 I had hell lot of trouble configuring my sound card properly and even then headphone jack never worked properly. Inclusion of Alsa-1.0.17 in Ubuntu has definitely improved audio hardware support.Also there is improved support for NVidia graphics chipset/card. Proprietary drives can be easily downloaded and installed onto the system from (System -> Administration -> Hard Ware Drivers ). One reason why HardWare support is better in Ubuntu 8.10 is Ubuntu 8.10 is based on Linux kernel 2.6.27 which has significantly better hardware support.

Also , I am not sure whether it's me only or other people have also noticed that Intrepid Ibex runs a lot faster compared to earlier version of Ubuntu - "Hardy Heron" everything opens in a jiffy.

On the Software side , File-Roller now supports ALZ, RZIP, CAB, TAR.7Z file types , Ubuntu 8.10 includes updated version of X.Org - X.Org 7.4 which includes new much helpful failsafe X to diagnose cases where X Server fails to start. Ubuntu 8.10 also includes updated Samba 3.2 for browsing Windows Share on a network.

However , Ubuntu 8.10 includes older version of Open Office even though Stable 3.0 Version of Open Office is out. Though it will not be difficult for someone to update Open Office from repositories on a new Ubuntu 8.10 system.

Conclusion : Overall Ubuntu 8.10 is a well polished desktop Linux distribution , though not radically different from earlier version 8.04 of Ubuntu. Features like Tabbed Browsing in Nautilus , Encrypted Folders , better Hardware support ,being faster etc are reason compelling enough to Upgrade to the latest offering from Ubuntu team.

Re-installing grub; After "Windows wipes out Fedora"

"I reinstalled my Windows XP and my grub was fully erased in my Windows’ MBR. I could not boot my Fedora 8 anymore."

Is that your question?!

This could be of big help to you. Just follow the simple instructions below.

Insert your Fedora 8 installer (CD1) and set your boot sequence to your CD.

When the CD is loaded, choose “Rescue installed system” from the menu.

Wait for it to be loaded and follow the wizard.

In the command, check first the name of your partitions,

fdisk -l

It says something like sda, sda1, sda2/hda, hda1, …

In my system, my Windows is installed on my first partition which is the sda.

Change the current directory to /mnt/systimage with a root privilege.

chroot /mnt/sysimage

Install grub to your MBR’s location device, which is the Windows partition

/sbin/grub-install /dev/sda

Perfect! Restart your system and set the boot to your hard drive. It will show you the menu listed your Windows and your Linux.

If these steps will not work, repeat again because this really works.

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