Category: Ubuntu

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) on the Eee PC 701

I did it. I wiped Mandriva clean off my computer, backed up my important files, and installed Ubuntu 8.10 beta on my Eee PC, and so far the experience has been wonderful. There were a few bumps along the way, of course: The first time I copied the live CD contents to my bootable USB… Continue reading Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) on the Eee PC 701

How my own stupidity killed my Sansa Clip

So my last MP3 player (the much-lauded but ultimately disappointing Cowon iAudio 7) died because of a manufacturer error (even though Cowon claimed the repair was not under warranty). This time, I killed my MP3 player (my 2 GB Sansa Clip) with my own stupidity. The long story I love Ubuntu, and I keep coming… Continue reading How my own stupidity killed my Sansa Clip

Too many choices? Or not enough information?

I’ve often heard it said that in Linux there is too much choice. There are hundreds of distros (or different Linux versions), and any new user will feel overwhelmed and not know what to choose. I agree with the second part—yes, new users will feel overwhelmed and not know what to do. I was one… Continue reading Too many choices? Or not enough information?

What to do after a failed Windows-to-Linux migration

Did you read an article or blog post hyping up Linux as a cure for all computer problems? Did it give you the impression that Linux is for smart users and Windows is for suckers? Did you think Linux would do everything Windows did… but better? More importantly, after being misled by pro-Linux propaganda, were… Continue reading What to do after a failed Windows-to-Linux migration

The varying degrees of rich

I grew up in one of the wealthiest towns in its state. If you told people you were from my town, they’d call you a “Richie.” Nevertheless, many people in my town identified themselves as “middle-class” or “upper-middle-class” instead of as “upper-class” or “rich.” There were many people in my high school who, when applying… Continue reading The varying degrees of rich

Photorec saves the day again

Every now and then my friends seem to accidentally have their files deleted. You can read here about last year’s incident. This year, another friend, who keeps her photos on one laptop with no backups had some folders mysteriously go empty. I had no idea how they got deleted, but I assured her we could… Continue reading Photorec saves the day again

Installing Adobe Flash 10 Beta in Ubuntu

Some people have found the new version of Adobe’s Flash player to offer greater stability (fewer crashes) in the Ubuntu version of Firefox. Others just like to try cutting edge software. Either way, this is how you install Flash 10 beta in Ubuntu. Probably the easiest way to do it is to download the .deb… Continue reading Installing Adobe Flash 10 Beta in Ubuntu

Make a “browse as root” launcher in Ubuntu

Like Mac OS X, Ubuntu includes by default a privilege escalation system that invokes sudo, which allows certain users (in the admin group) to operate as limited-privileged users for almost all tasks and to temporarily escalate (after a password authentication) to administrative privileges for specific tasks. For more details about sudo, check out the Ubuntu… Continue reading Make a “browse as root” launcher in Ubuntu

Making a custom keyboard shortcut in Ubuntu

Ubuntu uses a graphical interface called Gnome (sometimes you may hear it referred to as a desktop environment), which allows you to easily define keyboard shortcuts for some common commands by going to System > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts. Sometimes, though, you may want to define keyboard shortcuts for custom commands that aren’t available through… Continue reading Making a custom keyboard shortcut in Ubuntu