Flying back from Seattle this morning, KLM were having problems with our “in-flight entertainment” on our Airbus A330 and had to reboot the system that runs those little TV’s in the backs of passenger chairs. I couldn’t resist taking a picture with my iPhone when I saw the Linux logo… (click to enlarge)
Needless to say, the reboot didn’t get very far and we were without any visuals for the whole trip. It didn’t say what version they were running but those errors were complaining about the ext2 filesystem. We’re on ext4 now so quite an old setup. In the end, I settled for a very good book. If you have time, I recommend you read it: Belching Out The Devil by Mark Thomas.
I’ve had some time this weekend to play around with Ubuntu and update some of my more popular Ubuntu posts. Today, I updated the how to install Compiz post for Jaunty Jackalope. Here’s a screenshot of my beautiful new desktop in 3d mode: (Click the image to enlarge)
If you want to build a similar Ubuntu setup, and you’re starting from scratch, here are the guides and resources you’re going to need to get going:
1) Install Ubuntu with the Ubuntu installation guide
2) Activate “restricted” drivers for NVIDIA or ATI graphics cards Read the full post...
Those of you who read this blog regulary know that I’m really keen on promoting and using the open source operating system, Ubuntu. It’s the most popular Linux flavour for those people considering moving away from Windows, it’s powerful, reliable and, you can make it look really pretty just like this:
I’ve just updated my Ubuntu installation guide for users wishing to install the latest Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope release (9.04) using Wubi (the installer from inside Windows) or, the full installation on a new partition from either a USB stick or a CD. Read the full post...
Boxee is a Linux or MAC based media player capable of playing not only your home media collection but also internet TV channels such as BBC iPlayer. Want to install Boxee into Ubuntu Linux?
Here’s how:
First, register on the Boxee registration page. Choose a username and password and enter a few (very basic details). Boxee requires that you validate your email address, so after you’ve completed the registration form, go check your email inbox. I loved the confirmation email – here’s an extract: Read the full post...
Note from me: Bob Smiley left a fantastic comment on my blog a few days back. The comment was so rich, detailed and lengthy that it justifies a blog post all on its own. So, Bob Smiley summarises the advantages of Ubuntu Linux on SEOgadget.co.uk. Thanks Bob!
The advantages of Linux (Ubuntu in particular) are:
a) It’s free of charge (seriously, you can download and install it for free!)
b) You’re free to do with it as you please (no proprietary / closed source apps, unless you install them yourself.) Read the full post...
I discovered Crunchbang on Lifehacker earlier today and couldn’t resist a quick tour by installing it to a USB drive. Crunchbang is a fast and light flavour of Ubuntu, and, if you’re an advanced Windows user curious about Linux, it’s an ideal entry point to explore the world of super fast Linux distros. See how dark and cool looking it is!
Want to try Crunchbang? Here’s how to install it on a USB drive from Windows Vista:
1) Format your USB stick with a FAT32 partition from Windows. You can get to the format dialogue by opening My Computer and right mouse clicking the removable drive icon. Click “Format” and follow the settings in the image below. You need a minimum 2gb USB stick. Read the full post...
Emerald is a 3D window decorator for compositing window managers such as Compiz in Ubuntu. Emerald has grown into a very complex window decorator for 3D desktops and supports a wide variety of settings and ways to develop your own themes easily. Emerald is a critical component of my current Ubuntu setup and a few folks have asked what they need to do if they want it to run at startup. Here’s how:
Run emerald at Startup Read the full post...
