OS on Sirius Stuff

Why I hate Ubuntu sometimes - crontab not enabled

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 08:08:08 -0700

I’m trying to set up cron to run jobs for me. I have to go look up the weird syntax but OK. Found it. Everything looks fine but the jobs don’t work. Go on vacation. Come back and try again. Syntax is OK. Everything looks fine but the jobs don’t work. Dig, dig, dig. Find this Unix Crontab - setting up cron jobs using crontab

You can execute crontab if your name appears in the file /usr/lib/cron/cron.allow. If that file does not exist, you can use crontab if your name does not appear in the file /usr/lib/cron/cron.deny.
If only cron.deny exists and is empty, all users can use crontab. If neither file exists, only the root user can use crontab.

Feisty Performance - “Fly Like A Butterfly” Ubuntu

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 07:07:07 -0700

Haven’t implemented all of the things here but this looked promising on speeding up Ubuntu: Feisty Performance - “Fly Like A Butterfly

HowTo Mount NTFS Filesystem Partition Read Write Access

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:06:06 -0700

Found this article on HowTo Mount NTFS Filesystem Partition Read Write Access very helpful as I continue to dig out from under the Feisty Fawn -> Gutsy Gibbon explosion … er, upgrade.

The key thing here is the ability to mount the files so that they’re readable and writeable by an ordinary user. I am in the process of moving photos and music off my second NTFS-formatted drive. I may reformat it as ext3 or I may not but I want to know that I’ve got copies on my first NTFS-formatted drive (which is split with an ext3 partition) and my SimpleShare NFS NAS.

How to create a PDF printer (print to PDF) in Ubuntu

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 06:06:06 -0700

I found printing to a PDF file useful occasionally useful under Windows. Neat to have a way to do it in Ubuntu: 5 steps to create a PDF printer (print to PDF) in Ubuntu

How to change the root password on Ubuntu

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 06:06:06 -0700

This is one of the things I meant to investigate. I know I have a password and can use sudo to do almost anything … but what’s root’s password? How to change the root password on Ubuntu was one of those “duh” moments but I’m glad to have this as a prompt to change the password. You should, too.

Set Gmail as Default Mail Client in Ubuntu

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 06:06:06 -0700

As much as I love Thunderbird with IMAP, I’m finding that I’m making mistakes because of using Linux and Google Reader more and more. I use vim and both it and Google Reader use the vi-style commands of the j key for down, k key for up, etc. I can’t find a way to re-map the keys in Thunderbird to do the same under Linux. Also, using Thunderbird means keeping two addressbooks instead of one.

Pointer to Reviews of Dell computers with Ubuntu Feisty Fawn preinstalled - XPS 410n, E1505n

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 06:06:06 -0700

I’ve been waiting for people to start getting and reviewing their Dell machines with Ubuntu before ordering mine. There’s a nice article on the Ubuntu Forums:Review of Dell XPS 410n with Ubuntu Feisty preinstalled. Also good coverage of the Dell E1505n laptop.

I’m not ready to convert my 4-year-old Inspiron laptop over to Ubuntu because of suspend/hibernate and wireless issues but it sounds better with more modern machines. Maybe if Dell or HP or Lenovo comes out with a backlit LED screen like Apple’s I’ll be ready to switch. Also liked the tips on wireless with Ubuntu here.

Convert Physical Windows Systems Into Virtual Machines To Be Run On A Linux Desktop

Fri, 18 May 2007 05:05:05 -0700

Another article on how to Convert Physical Windows Systems Into Virtual Machines To Be Run On A Linux Desktop

Running a Windows Partition in VMware

Fri, 18 May 2007 05:05:05 -0700

I’m still trying to figure out whether I’m going to try and keep running XP on my laptop or try to run XP under Ubuntu. Big problem with running Ubuntu is that hibernate does not work and I’ve spent several hours on it. Enough time that I’m not willing to spend more without confidence that the time will be well-spent.

I may just wait for Dell or someone else to come out with Ubuntu on their machines officially and then buy one of those. Hopefully WiFi and hibernate will work without the kind of work I’m having to do.

You Can Switch to Linux! - willsmith - Maximum PC

Fri, 18 May 2007 05:05:05 -0700

Apparently it’s Ubuntu day for me. Wondering if you can switch to Linux? Here’s a nice article on how to do so. Published in Maximum PC magazine, it’s clear and current with Feisty Fawn, released just less than a month ago. Good stuff.

Linux Audio Players Compared

Sat, 05 May 2007 05:05:05 -0700

Really liked this article. Linux Audio Players, Tested and Graded. I’m working my way through the Linux equivalents of Windows apps. I’ve used iTunes under Windows because it would talk easily to my iPod.

I tried Rhythmbox but it was out immediately. I want to keep my songs on a network-attached storage drive. Basically, the SimpleShare is a hard drive with an ethernet port. I don’t expect it to be as vulnerable to attacks as Windows XP. I don’t have to punch holes in its firewall that might allow people to get control of my Linux box or my wife’s Mac. Rhythmbox wants import all my music to one local location. No.

What’s With the Ubuntu Version Number Scheme?

Tue, 01 May 2007 05:05:05 -0700

One thing that was kind of exasperating about Ubuntu was the (weird( version numbers. The successor to 6.06 was 6.10? The next version was 7.04? Huh?

Fortunately, somebody finally blogged about this: What’s With the Ubuntu Version Number Scheme? – Johnny’s Thoughts

No big secret: the first number is the year and the second is the month. So 7.04 translates as 2007 and April or month 04.

Now I can sleep at night.

Would you pay to have less crapware on your new Windows box?

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 01:01:01 -0700

What’s crapware or craplets? Ars Technica says:

Just what are craplets? It’s a cute nickname for all of the software an OEM installs on your new Windows PC before it arrives on your doorstep.

In $60 to keep crapware off of a Windows PC? Ken Fisher talks about how much it OEMs - Original Equipment Manufacturers, like Dell or Hewlett-Packard - might want to sell you a machine that’s not loaded with limited and trial versions of software. Because people aren’t likely willing to pay anything extra, Microsoft can fume but not do anything about it.

How to shrink images in Windows XP without additional tools.

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:11:11 -0700

This is an easy way to convert images (photos or pictures) in Windows XP using the paint.exe program from Microsoft itself.

It takes 3 steps per picture, so it’s not the fastest way to do this. But they’re really easy steps. But it also means that you don’t have to download any additional tools. That’s good if you’re concerned about viruses. Or maybe you’re using somebody else’s computer and you don’t want to download something onto their machine.

Library use of Linux workstations

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 04:04:04 -0700

Ran across a reference to libraries using Open Source programs like Linux and Open Office. Neat.

Useful, the program that the library uses, sounds neat but it has the lame “we won’t tell you the price” approach typical of many companies. At least Fonality sort of tells you a price.

I really like the idea of locked-down Linux running sessions with keyboard and monitor rather than individual machines. One machine to maintain per location, hopefully. Have another couple of machines at the central library for relatively immediate replacement if a machine melts down.

Windows XP How to move your My Documents

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 04:04:04 -0700

I’ve been looking at re-arranging the partitions on my Sony VAIO desktop. They gave me a 15GB C: and a 100GB D: and even with installing everything I could to D:, it was still getting tighter and tighter. Looked at some fairly scary Linux-based partition shrinking software. Problem is that all of my partitions are NTFS, not the older FAT file system. Nothing (easy( and free that I could find would downsize D: and then increase C:

Microsoft, I don't want macros

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 03:03:03 -0700

I downloaded something written in Word for my wife, who’s a Mac user, and printed it for her. Now, every time I open Microsoft Word, I get an unintelligble message about

“The function you are attempting to run contains macros or content that requires macro language support. When this software was installed you (or your administrator) chose not to install support for macros or controls.”

OK. What function that I am trying to run? Where is it? Microsoft.com is totally unhelpful. In searching Google, I ran across a pretty good screech about Microsoft’s Scripting Addiction