Ubuntu 12.04 Tweak and Hack round up

Since switching from 11.04 to 12.04 (it's really that good that I would switch during beta) I've been applying numerous tweaks which make the experience better for me.

Allow Minimize/Maximize in Unity

A big annoyance of unity is the inability to minimize an application when clicking on the icon in the Unity Panel. This patch will allow you to do it. One thing to be aware of is that if there is an Unity update, you'll likely have to reapply the patch as it will be overwritten (at least it was for me).

"The Patch is only available for Ubuntu 12.04 users, and it’s not supported by Ubuntu.

• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ojno/unity-minimize-on-click
• sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

After installing you will need to log out and back in for the change to become effective."

For the full article, jump to OMG!Ubuntu

Switch Off the Global Menu

This has been a major annoyance for me. If I wanted a 'global menu' I'de buy a Mac.

In the next release of Ubuntu (12.10) this will be optional. In the meantime you can just uninstall it:

sudo apt-get remove indicator-appmenu

Add Virtualbox PPA for Ubuntu 12.04

Webupd8 posted how to install the latest 12.04 virtualbox PPA (currently it's not on their site).

From Webupd8

To add the VirtualBox repository (which now supports Ubuntu 12.04 too) and install the latest VirtualBox 4.1.12 in Ubuntu, use the commands below:

echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list
wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.1




Acer TimelineX Configuration on Ubuntu 12.04

Since I've recently upgraded from 11.04 to 12.04 I thought it would be good to share my experience with other Acer TimelineX 3820tg owners. 

Fixes from the kernel: 

• All of the 'atom bios' video issues appear to be gone
• You'll no longer need to tweak the trackpad

Screen Brightness Configuration

Fix the screen brightness - unless you apply this, you will not be able to increase/decrease brightness on this computer (thus sucking battery life):

• As root navigate to (you can do this by entering "gksu nautilus") and edit : /etc/default/grub
• Change the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_osi=Linux"
• save the file
• and then (in a terminal): sudo update-grub
• reboot 

Radeon blacklisting

First, open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf as root (I always use "gksu nautilus" to open the file manager as root and then navigate there). Once you have opened it with a text editor add the following line add the end:

blacklist radeon

Once you have done that, save the file and close the text editor. When you reboot, the system will no longer try to use the radeon card.

Note: If you plan on using the Radeon card, don't perform the blacklist step. 

Using Switcheroo

You'll need to do this in order to tell your system to use the Intel chipset instead of the radeon (blacklisting is not enough).
Now open /etc/rc.local (still as root) and add the following lines BEFORE 'exit 0'

modprobe radeon
echo OFF > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Again, save the file. Now the radeon module will be re-loaded, vgaswitcheroo will be reenabled and the ATI card will be turned off. Cooler, quieter and better battery life.

Shift Nautilus Back And Forward Buttons To Left In Ubuntu

Addictivetips.com have posted a nice tweak on moving the back/forward button on the newest versions of nautilus delivered in Ubuntu.

to help you understand - here are the before and after screens:

To get started, enable the “Source code” repository by pressing the Super (Windows) key and typing “Source”. Now, open “Software Sources”, check the box before “Source code” and click close. Once done, enter the following commands in Terminal:

mkdir ~/Desktop/nautilus-mod

cd ~/Desktop/nautilus-mod

sudo apt-get update

apt-get source nautilus

sudo apt-get build-dep nautilus

cd ~/Desktop/nautilus-mod/nautilus-3*

gedit src/nautilus-toolbar.c

Scroll down to line 132, or do a “find” for “gtk_toolbar_insert (GTK_TOOLBAR (self->priv->toolbar), item, 0)“, and change the value “0″ to a “2″. This means that you will have to change the original line

GO to addictive tips for the full article. 

Fix touchpad scrolling on Acer 3820tg with patched driver

After reinstalling Natty (botched attempt at moving to Oneiric Unity/Gnome3) I was reconfiguring my system. while looking up the imps mouse fix I found a post on the Ubuntu forums which referred to a synaptic bug with a patched driver.

With the patched driver the touchpad indicator finally works on my TimelineX 3820tg! Yippeee!

Here's the bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/550625

Here's the link to the driver: http://people.canonical.com/~sforshee/alps-touchpad/psmouse-alps-0.9/psmouse-alps-dkms_0.9_all.deb

An updated driver can be found here: http://people.canonical.com/~sforshee/alps-touchpad/psmouse-alps-0.10/psmouse-alps-dkms_0.10_all.deb
This version appears to be the one that will be added to the 3.3 Linux Kernel.

Hybrid graphics on the 3820tg running Ubuntu 11.04 (natty)

My Acer TimeLineX 3820TG has served me pretty well over the last year.  The only complaint I have against the laptop is the fact that it has "hybrid graphics".

The concept is nice -- you use the full powered Radeon HD5650 w 1gb of ram whenever you want performance (and plugged into power) and the integrated Intel GPU whenever you want power savings.

Unfortunately it doesn't play nice with Linux.  Their are no official drivers to support it.

Some of the issues encountered are:

1. very loud fans
2. laptop runs hot 
3. unpredictable suspend 
4. VERY poor battery life
5. computer freezes at bootup (B[lack]SOD)

To fix these issues you'll have to do some tweaking to the configuration of the system. 

The first thing you will want to do is turn off the Radeon GPU. To be honest, there's no real reason to use it under Linux unless you are doing some heavy 3D gaming.  The Intel chipset is fine for normal 3d acceleration (esp., running HD video, running compiz, etc).

In order to fix issues 1-4 you need to use 'switcheroo' to switch to the chipset you want to use (i.e. the intel chipset). 

Switcheroo and Radeon blacklisting

First, open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf as root (I always use "gksu nautilus" to open the file manager as root and then navigate there). Once you have opened it with a text editor add the following line add the end:

blacklist radeon

Once you have done that, save the file and close the text editor.
Now  open /etc/rc.local (still as root) and add the following lines BEFORE  'exit 0'

modprobe radeon 

 echo OFF > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Again, save the file. Now the radeon module will be re-loaded, vgaswitcheroo will be reenabled and the ATI card will be turned off. Cooler, quieter and better battery life.

This should fix the issues, however, if you continue to have the Black Screen of Death on bootup (i.e., the system freezes on start-up) it's likely the known issue with the 2.6.38 kernel (used in natty).

In order to fix it, you can install the patched linux kernels found on this post:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-ati/+bug/727620/comments/160

you'll need to know if you are running 32bit or 64bit Linux and choose the appropriate files. For me, I've installed the folliwing on my 64bit system (in this order):

1. linux-headers-2.6.38-11_2.6.38-11.48~lp727620v201108261554_all.deb
2. linux-headers-2.6.38-11-generic_2.6.38-11.48~lp727620v201108261554_amd64.deb
3. linux-image-2.6.38-11-generic_2.6.38-11.48~lp727620v201108261554_amd64.deb

I've used both methods described here and it's done me well. Leave your commennts if you wish to add your experience. 

References: 

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-ati/+bug/727620

http://askubuntu.com/questions/39562/radeon-module-boot-problems

[Just] Install Java in Ubuntu

As an end user of Ubuntu (or any other OS for that matter) if I need to install java for an application or because the java plugin in my browser is missing, I don't want to have to choose between 5 different options and then still not have it work exactly.

The reason there are so many types of Java in Linux is that Java istelf is not really open or free. Oracle owns it and they have asserted their intellectual rights to it by suing the pants off of some of the big tech industry players (esp.,  Google). As a result there are other more open options. 

my problem is that these other options don't always work (esp., with proprietary software like Webex).

So if you want to avoid this and just install "Java" enter this line into a terminal:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

For more techy info on this go to the UbuntuGeek website where they can give you info closer to fact than I... I'm only confused by the whole Java thing :)

Ubuntu Gnome Remix - Now you can forget about Unity for now...

Over @ Justinstories, there a piece on a new Ubuntu Project (Ubuntu Gnome Remix) which will focus on builds of Ubuntu for user wishing to stick with pure Gnome environment (and still retain the benefits of Ubuntu).
From the article:

Rejoice people as a new ubuntu remix has been started. The project plans to release future versions of ubuntu with vanilla gnome instead of unity. The project is in its very early incubation period. The repository is currently being setup to hold the packages. The current plans include to release a cd .iso on the same date of the ‘controversial’ natty release. This version will include gnome 3.0 instead of gnome 2.32. The fallback mode may be available at a later date.

The project already have a launchpad page and a website setup. Find details on their respective pages and if you are interested and if you can please join the team and lend a helping hand.

PS: The website says the project is being remixed by the team at teampr0xy and surprise! surprise!, the project is not approved or sponsored by ubuntu, canonical or gnome in anyway.



The roadmap
"Supernatural" 0.0.X alpha proof-of-concept release family:


Initial demonstration, with only the minimum parts to make things somewhat work. Scope will only include a main metapackage and gnome-session, and all other parts will be direct from the GNOME3 ppa. Not intended for production machines.

"Supernatural" 0.0.1 first release 4/9/2011
"Cosmic" 0.0.2 bugfix release 4/12/2011

"Raise Your Weapon" 0.1.X Beta release family:

More practical, usable, stable, and complete system. Available both as a cd .iso and upgrade metapackage.

"Raise Your Weapon" 0.1.0 beta 4/20/2011
"Watch it Burn" 0.1.1 bugfix 4/23/2011

"Made of Awesome" 1.0.X Natty full release:

Will include full, stable versions of both GNOME classic and 3. Will include custom branding.

"Made of Awesome" 1.0.0 full 4/28/2011
bugfix 1.0.1 5/01/2011
And more to come...

Android Apps for Ubuntu Users

If your a fan of Ubuntu as well as Android there are a few apps you may be interested in. Here's a couple i'm playing around with right now....

Ubuntu Pocket Reference Ubuntu Pocket Reference is a handy guide to the most useful Ubuntu commands. This app serves as a quick reference guide to the most popular and most useful Ubuntu/Linux commands. Includes useful commands for display, networking, firewalls, system services, and more.

Though the main page fonts are WAY TOO BIG, the command references are actually quite useful. Highly recommended for newcomers to Ubuntu as well as intermediate users.

Ubuntu Countdown 

Keep an eye on the days remaining before the new release of Ubuntu!

Keep an eye on the days remaining before the new Ubuntu release!

Features:
* Two square widgets (1x1 and 2x2)
* Ability to set a custom date
* Built with an eye on battery consumption (widget refresh at most twice a day)
* Light and Dark themes
* Good-looking (thanks to Martín Césare)
* /!\ Changing days left on midnight GMT+0 (approximately)

OK, if you really want to show your true colors (dark geek), then this is what you want. 

Ubuntu for beginners

Just a link today from IT world.
Ubuntu Linux for beginners: Tips for getting started | ITworld

The easiest way to try Ubuntu is to just buy a laptop or PC that already has Ubuntu installed on it. Dell, system76, and ZaReason are all reputable computer vendors who have shipped Ubuntu equipment for years. You won't go wrong with any of these vendors.

If you're not in the market for a new PC, it's easy to give Ubuntu a try on your existing PC. Indeed, you won't have to change a thing on your computer to try it.

First, you'll need to download a copy of the latest version of Ubuntu. Today, that's Ubuntu 10.10. You might be tempted to try a newer version. Don't give in to temptation. The alpha and beta releases of any Linux system are for expert users, not someone who's trying Linux for the first time.

The fastest way to get a copy is to download it from the Ubuntu download page. Not sure which version to get? Just go for the 32-bit. Even if your machine can support a 64-bit operating system, the 32-bit edition will still run just fine on your PC.