Enable Windows 7 Aero Snap in Ubuntu April 11, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, GNU/Linux, graphics, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, tools, Ubuntu, Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 10.10, Ubuntu tips, windows.Tags: Command-line interface, Compiz, CompizConfig Settings Manager, Drag-and-drop, Run command, Ubuntu, Window, Windows 7
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In Windows 7, you can click and drag a window to the left or right edge of the desktop and it will fill half of the screen, or snap a window to the top edge of the desktop and it will be maximized.
In Ubuntu, you can click and drag a window to the left, right or top edge of the desktop to achieve the same result.
In addition to CompizConfig Settings Manager, install WmCtrl if not added:
- go to Applications (or Main Menu) > Accessories > Terminal.
- enter sudo apt-get install wmctrl
- enter password when prompted.
- go To System > Preferences > CompizConfig Settings Manager.
- select “General” from the left panel and click “Commands”.
In Command line 0, 1 and 2, paste the following codes:
Command line 0, paste:
WIDTH=`xdpyinfo | grep ‘dimensions:’ | cut -f 2 -d ‘:’ | cut -f 1 -d ‘x’` && HALF=$(($WIDTH/2)) && wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b add,maximized_vert && wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,0,0,$HALF,-1
Command line 1, paste:
WIDTH=`xdpyinfo | grep ‘dimensions:’ | cut -f 2 -d ‘:’ | cut -f 1 -d ‘x’` && HALF=$(($WIDTH/2)) && wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b add,maximized_vert && wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,$HALF,0,$HALF,-1
Command line 2, paste:
wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b add,maximized_vert,maximized_horz
In the same window, click “Edge Bindings” tab.
Change Run Command 0, 1 and 2 from “None” to “Left”, “Right” and “Top” respectively.
Click “Back” button and select “General Options”, change “Edge Trigger Delay” to about 500. 
Set Aero Glass Effect in Ubuntu April 8, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, Linux Theme, Linux Themes, Linux Tips, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows.Tags: Compiz, Device driver, Gconf-editor, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Software Center, Windows Aero
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In Ubuntu you can set nearly the same aero glass effect to window borders with alpha transparency as available in Windows 7:
- press Alt+F2 to bring up “Run Application” window.
- type gconf-editor into the box, click “Run” to bring up Configuration Editor.
- browse to apps > gwd, look for “metacity_theme_active_opacity” on the right panel.
- change the value in “metacity_theme_active_opacity” from 1 to 0.75 (or smaller such as 0.5 for more transparency).
Then go to System > Preferences > CompizConfig Settings Manager:
- select “Effects” from the left panel.
- tick “Blur Windows” and click the “Close” button. (Note: default values in Blur Windows can be applied.)
Note: If the aero glass effect doesn’t work, check if you have updated your display driver. To check, go to System > Administration > Additional Drivers, activate the recommended graphics driver and restart the system.
Installing YamiPod on Linux: a multi-platform, very versatile iPod Manager March 14, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computadoras, Computers & Internet, converter, GNU/Linux, ipod, iTunes, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, Mac OS X, multiplatform freeware, Multiplatform software, Music, music player, musica, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, tools, windows.Tags: apple, Computer file, Drag-and-drop, free software, Freeware, ipod, iTunes, Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, multi-platform freeware, Playlist
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YamiPod is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod on Linux. It can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation. It also has extra features such as rss news and podcast support, remove duplicates, easy notes editor (with multipage support), songs synchronization, playlists export, a built in music player and much more. It has been translated in 12 languages.
On Linux, the installation is really simple:
- have at least one song on iPod
- copy the libfmodex audio library to /usr/lib (you need root privileges). You’ll find this file in the package you’ve downloaded
- mount your iPod somewhere inside /mnt or /media with read/write access
- make sure you have the df command installed, which is usually part of any standard linux distribution.
To run YamiPod just double-click on YamiPod’s binary.
Using YamiPod is also so simple when you want to Copy Music to iPod: Drag&drop files into the song listbox. You can even drag and drop folders, YamiPod will add all valid music files found in sub folders.
In the window that will appear you’ll be able to assign song information (title,album name, artist…) for each single file or setting them for every file ticking the All checkboxes.
In Playlist tab you can select:
- Destination: select a playlist where to add all dragged songs.
- Lyric filename: how lyric should be named.
- Create playlist from folder: this will add all songs in a folder to a playlist named as the folder. For example if you dragged a folder called Music with 2 subfolders: 70′s and 80′s containing various files. Files in 70′s will be added to a newly created folder called 70′s. Files in the other folder will be added to a playlist called 80′s.
In Advanced tab you can select:
- Auto capital first letter: will titlecase all song tags.
- If duplicated: what to do if song exists on iPod.
- Get song info by path and filename: if your song tags are missing but you named and placed your song following a particular order, you can tell YamiPod to get song tags out of filename a path.
Tips:
Holding SHIFT while dragging will add songs to currently selected playlist. If you’ve selected multiple songs to add you can quickly edit next (previous) song information by pressing ALT+down (up).
System Recovery Tools: a possible cross-platform approach through open source and proprietary solutions February 28, 2011
Posted by galigio in apple, Computers & Internet, free software, free software download, Free Software Magazine, Freeware, freeware blog, Freeware Reviews, freeware tip, freeware tips, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, Mac OS X, repair, Rescue CD, security, Seguridad, Software, Software News, solve boot problem, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows.Tags: cross-platform, data recovery, file recovery, G4L, Ghost for Linux, Hard disk drive, Knoppix, Live CD, Norton Ghost, O&O Disk Rwcovery, recovery tool, SuperDuper, System recovery, UBCD, Ultimate Boot CD, USB flash drive
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The following system recovery tools will be useful to you if you are facing problem of data loss or if your system is simply crashing. It is advisable to burn copies of these tools much before any disaster strikes.
Open Source and Free approach:
G4L aka Ghost for Linux is one of the system recovery tools that is mainly a cloning and hard disk and partition imaging tool. This tool is similar to “Norton Ghost”. The images created are compressed optionally and transferred to a FTP server instead of opting for cloning locally. Ideally, of the several tools described above it is advisable to use the most suitable tool for your needs. The tool that will be most useful during a crisis like a crash or server failure will be a better tool.
The Ultimate Boot CD is one of the system recovery tools which will be very helpful when you want to run CDRom-based diagnostic tools thereby consolidating as many diagnostic tools into one bootable CD as possible. Since you can now boot from USB memory devices a script you can run “Ultimate Boot CD” from USB memory stick and a script on the script on the CD will enable you to boot newer systems from your USB sticks. This is many steps ahead than many of the other recovery tools. Moreover it gives you the flexibility of booting your system with a USB memory stick.
Knoppix is one of the system recovery tools which is essentially a bootable CD with GNU/Linux software. It ensures automatic detection of hardware and supports a wide range of devices like sound cards, most of the graphic cards, USB and SCSI devices and other peripherals. It can be used as an educational CD, a Linux demo or for system recovery purposes. Alternatively it can be used as a commercial platform for software demos. There is no need to install anything on the hard-disk as the CD is capable of storing 2GB of software installed in it. Thus this tool is a truly multi-purpose recovery tool.
Proprietary solutions:
O&O Disk recovery: This software tool scans every portion of your hard-disk, digital camera or memory card for lost files. It is so effective and reliable that it is possible to reconstruct data even when files systems have been destroyed or formatted. More than 350 types of files like music formats, word documents, movie, graphics, Excel workbooks, photo and access databases can be recognized, reconstructed and restored.
SuperDuper is one of the system recovery tools makes recovery effortless as it creates a completely bootable backup effortlessly. The strengths of this software are that it is user-friendly, easy to use with a built-in scheduler that it makes backup automatically. Moreover it performs well independent of the processor that is both on Power PC Macs as well as Intel PCs. It is particularly useful when your software application with the latest update is not working or when your hard drive begins to make noise. It is also very handy when you want to restore a stable copy of your system though you do not want t lose your existing system files or cases like this.
Ubuntu to Windows XP folder sharing February 17, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, linux problem, Linux Tips, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, Ubuntu, Ubuntu tips, windows.Tags: Gedit, Linux, ntfs, Operating system, Shared resource, tweak ubuntu, Ubuntu, Windows XP
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Computer networks are sometimes comprised of various OS and while operating a network made up fully of Ubuntu desktop and server computer systems would definitely be enjoyable, some community environments can consist of both Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows systems working together.
If you want to make an Ubuntu shared folder be accessible to Windows XP, run the NTFS configuration tool on the drive.
Don’t forget that it is advisable to have admin rights to do that modification.
Select application->Accessories->Terminal
then type the following:
sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf
and in the [global] section add the following line:
usershare proprietor only = false
Enabling remote desktop on a VirtualBox Machine February 14, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, OpenSolaris, opensource, OS X, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows.Tags: Command-line interface, Linux, open source, OS X, remote desktop, Remote Desktop Protocol, Solaris, Ubuntu, virtual machine, VirtualBox, vmware, windows
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To enable remote desktop on a VirtualBox machine, you have to follow these steps:
VBoxManage modifyvm MachineName -vrdp
This command enables rdp on the virtual machine
VBoxManage startvm MachineName -type vrdp
It starts virtual machine, listening for rdp request on port 3389 (default port)
rdesktop-vrdp localhost
Connects virtual machine with rdp (You can use rdesktop too).
If you want to change rdp port, use this command:
VBoxManage modifyvm MachineName -vrdpport
Also, enabling authentication for rdp is possible:
VBoxManage modifyvm MachineName -vrdpauthtype null | external | guest
VBoxManage is the command line interface of the VirtualBox.
You can make these settings with GUI: Settings -> Remote Display -> Enable VRDP Server
If you want to use your virtual machine with vrdp only, you can use this command simply:
VBoxHeadless -startvm MachineName
Note: RDP server is not included in Open Source Edition of the VirtualBox. If you want to use this feature, you have to use closed-source edition.
Ubuntu to Windows XP folder sharing January 20, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, multiplatform website copier, multiplatform freeware, Multiplatform software, software for Linux, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows.Tags: ntfs, Operating system, Samba, Shared resource, Terminal, Ubuntu, Windows XP
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Computer networks are sometimes comprised of various methods, and while operating a network made up fully of Ubuntu desktop and server computer systems would definitely be enjoyable, some community environments must consist of both Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows systems working collectively in harmony.
When making an Ubuntu shared folder that was created with NTFS be accessible to Windows XP steps. Run the NTFS configuration tool on the drive.
It is advisable have admin rights to do that modification.
Select: Application –> Accessories –>Terminal
then type the following:
sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf
In the [global] section, add the following line:
usershare proprietor only = false
Get Kindle for PC to Ubuntu (if you really don’t like Calibre) January 10, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, free software, Free Software Magazine, Freeware, freeware blog, Freeware Reviews, freeware tip, freeware tips, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows, Wine, wine linux.Tags: Amazon Kindle, Calibre, E-book, Gnome, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Ubuntu, wine, Wine HQ
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Amazon’s Kindle a popular portable e-book reader device, lately made Kindle for PC application that allows you to download and have books on your computer rather than having a portable e-book reader device. There’s only Kindle Windows version but the nice thing is you can have this application in Linux.
This is tested in Ubuntu 9 running Gnome. You can use different version of Linux, but first you must have Wine HQ installed to you computer. Then download the EXE file of Kindle for PC application in Amazon.
Install this with Wine HQ software loader and proceed to the normal installation, the same thing that you do in Windows environment.
Note:
- At your first run you won’t see anything at all
- Configure Wine first and add Kindle for PC as an application and make it run in Windows 98 mode
- If it won’t work, change to other mode
- When it opens successfully you have to input you Amazon email add and password to register the software.
But, please, don’t forget that if you prefer open source software, you can directly use Calibre, a powerful free software we posted a while ago.
LibreOffice vs. OpenOffice! What’s the difference? January 6, 2011
Posted by galigio in Computadoras, Computers & Internet, cross-platform, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, multiplatform freeware, Multiplatform software, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows.Tags: LibreOffice, Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Office, Office suite, open source, OpenOffice.org, productivity platform
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Since the end of September 2010, a group of German OpenOffice volunteers left definitively the project to join the The Document Foundation and develop a fork version of the famous free productivity platform now controlled by Oracle. After 
just few months we have LibreOffice: a (more or less) new cross-platform productivity software based on OpenOffice version 3.3 beta. We compared both the free suites and apparently we did not notice particular differences in features and tools. Also the graphic interface is similar between the two platforms and the buttons position is the same. At the moment LibreOffice supports less languages in its Linux and MAC OS X versions and it is not compatible with Solaris based PCs. Both the productivity platforms are able to use the OpenOffice extension library. Consequently, it is clear that it’s too early to notice relevant technical differences between the two competitors but, for sure, something will show off in the next versions. In fact LibreOffice has been created to guarantee a vendor independent office suite which can be developed with no copyright software chunks. The goal is prestigious and we can only say, Good Luck LibreOffice! 
Remote Control your Ubuntu December 27, 2010
Posted by galigio in Computers & Internet, GNU/Linux, Linux, Linux & OpenSource, Privacy, remote control, Tech, Technology, Technology and Software, Technology News, Tecnologia, windows.Tags: Gnome, Remote control, remote desktop, Virtual Network Computing, VNC, windows
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Managing the Remote Desktop on Ubuntu is quite easy. You can allow users to access your desktop with VNC Viewer utility that is included in Ubuntu pack and can be downloaded for free also in Windows PCs. The Remote Desktop feature is very useful but follow, at least, one important safety tip: when your desktop remote control is enabled, the only defense against attacks is your firewall and it must be properly installed and configured correctly. In any case, do not forget that Remote Desktop still represents a first level security risk.
To tune up the Remote Desktop just follow these simple steps:
- go to System > Preference > Remote Desktop on the Gnome top menu:
- check the first two check boxes for remote to be enabled.
- if you want to connect your PC through the web and a “Your desktop is only reachable over the local network” notice appears, please do not forget to forward Port 5900 to the IP you see a line below in the menu
- in the Security section, when selecting the “You must confirm each access to this machine” check box, you will be needed to be at the computer to allow the other person to access your desktop. If you are trying to remote access one of your own computer, you would want to uncheck this box
- do not forget that the password check box should always be checked and you should enter a real secure password You will be prompted for this password when you try to log on
- for a better safety be sure that an icon will be displayed on the Ubuntu upper bar when someone is connected
