Off-Hook

Lately I’ve noticed (due to hits on my blog and recurring posts on Ubuntu Forums) that there simply isn’t an easy-to-find guide on Ubuntu Repositories (what’s available and how to update them).

This isn’t meant to be an official tutorial by any means, but it may help those folks who have already installed Ubuntu and are wanting to try a bigger variety of apps. There are excellent how-to guides on the UbuntuLinux site for detailed info on just about anything Ubuntu. See links embedded throughout this post like this one or this other one.

Here’s what I can offer on repositories, though. I’m on Hoary already, so my list of repositories will look a little different from those on Warty. If you’re on Warty, and looking to upgrade some apps (like to Firefox 1.0 or Gaim 1.1.0) without upgrading your distro (aka “backports”), simply add this repository to your /etc/apt/sources.list file:

deb http://backports.ubuntuforums.org/backports warty-backports main universe multiverse restricted

Now here’s my /etc/apt/sources.list (standard Hoary repositories, mostly):

## The following lines pertain to supported packages:
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary main restricted

## The following lines pertain to security updates:
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security main restricted

## Uncomment after release to continue getting updates:
# deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-updates main restricted

## IMPORTANT:
## Software from the following repositories are ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by
## the Ubuntu team, and may not be under a free licence. This means that
## software in these repositories WILL NOT receive any review or updates
## from the Ubuntu security team either. These packages are provided as a
## service to our users and nothing more.

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the ‘universe’ and
## ‘multiverse’ repositories:
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary universe multiverse

## Uncomment the following line to add Java software:
deb http://jrfonseca.dyndns.org/debian/ ./
deb http://ubuntu.tower-net.de/ubuntu warty java

This is taken directly from the Ubuntu wiki, so you can trust it. Warty users will see a very similar list, only it will have “warty” everywhere you see “hoary” here.

You’ll find this list under /etc/apt/sources.list
Just vi into the file, or use emacs to open it, modify and save. Then type “apt-get update” to refresh your list of available apps.

I highly suggest uncommenting (taking out the little # symbols) the universe and multiverse repositories. There’s a TON of good stuff in there and I haven’t installed anything yet that hasn’t played well with my config.

A really great java repository is “deb http://ubuntu.tower-net.de/ubuntu warty java”
Yeah– I know it says warty, but these versions of java work fine on warty or hoary. They are a little harder to find in the list on Synaptic since they are labelled “sun java” instead of just “java.” Of course, you’ll still have to make a link in the mozilla firefox plugins directory back to the appropriate runtime file in the newly-installed java directory after installation. That will work something like this–

$ cd /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/plugins/
$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib/j2se/1.4/jre/plugin/i386/mozilla/libjavaplugin_oji.so

I know from experience that finding the easy way to get java on Ubuntu ain’t easy. I hope this helped a little for those trying so hard to get the answers from a search engine.

I do highly recommend using Synaptic, as well. There is no easier way of shopping for and installing new apps. It makes the whole experience SO EASY!!!

Synaptic makes updating repositories easy, too. Simply click on “Settings,” then “Repositories.” Modify existing or add new to your heart’s content, then Reload for your new list of apps.

The most popular “non-official” ubuntu-related repositories can be found at BreakMyUbuntu in the ubuntulinux.org wiki. These include repositories for restricted non-supported formats like java and multimedia codecs (among other pretty cool apps and libraries). You can see from this post how easy it is to add and remove ubuntu repositories, so give ‘em a try!

One last thing: I HIGHLY advise against using a standard debian repository to install apps on Ubuntu. It can be done, quite easily as a matter of fact, but I can tell you from personal experience that if you accidentally upgrade core applications with apps from that debian repository, you can seriously damage Ubuntu. Best to simply avoid them, altogether. Plenty of great Ubuntu repositories out there, anyways. If you’re having trouble finding what you want from the repositories you have, ask around at ubuntuforums.org.

–References–
Installing Java on Ubuntu
Adding Repositories for Ubuntu

Well, my new Albatron mobo has arrived from Newegg and it appears to have been packaged with the wrong I/O shield (that rectangular knockout that pops into your case with cutouts for the back panel ports of a mobo).

Obviously, I can’t install the mobo safely without that. Of course, I have no intention of installing the mobo onto the case tray before I get my cpu, anyways, but that’s beside the point. The point is– I may have to rma an entire mobo for a backplane. That would kinda bother me. I’ve let a message for Albatron to see if they will simply send me the correct backplane. Seems like such a minor thing, perhaps it will be just that easy.

My buddy got his Gigabyte mobo in from Newegg this week, too. It really is awesome and has some cutting-edge new hardware included. It also sports the same feature-rich, user-friendly bios that mine does. Very, VERY impressive, overall. I would definitely recommend it just as highly as I do mine. Both boards shold be versatile on 64-bit Windows or Linux (both, in our cases).

I certainly hope I can find a way to resolve my I/O shield issue without having to rma the whole thing, but if I must, I must, and so much easier since I haven’t tried to install a cpu on it yet (what a mess THAT would have been)!

The company I work for has offered a training seminar called “True Colors” for years now. It’s designed to help you understand yourself a little better so you make wise career choices, as well as assist in understanding how to better associate with others you have to work with. It’s been very effective over the years and has often been useful in identifying potential managers, engineers, analysts, etc. It’s also been useful in strengthening business relationships.

A good friend of mine recently found 2 of these tests online that are quick and easy to take. I’ve already noticed that it is possible to score differently on the 2 tests, so you must keep in mind that the tests are not 100% accurate. No personality test is. However, it’s interesting to discover that you can fall into one sociological category while having characteristics of many different categories. Check ‘em out, it’s fun.

Test 1
Test 2

Thought this was pretty interesting. Tim Riley works in Australia and has recently set up a computer lab at Pembroke School in Adelaide, South Australia to run exclusively on Ubuntu Linux. This lab is used primarily by students years 8 to 10.

A later blog entry at 88 MPH seems to echo Pembroke’s success–

wara, a teacher at Grant High School (another South Australian school) writes about their success switching to Ubuntu for a computer recycling project: “[Ubuntu] is just the bees knees for a computer that will be used for basic office and student type tasks. It installs very very easily and comes with Open Office and Gimp already installed. Our learning curve suddenly seems manageable again.”

Sidenote– Is that a nice classroom or what? Do we have ANY schools that nice here?

If you use Ubuntu, or are thinking of trying this Linux distro, you gotta check out the forums. These forums have been an incredible source of friendly, useful information, no matter what I’ve run into.

Just recently, those of us using Hoary experienced a little hiccup with the repositories. If you’re using this latest version and got all sort of errors when trying to update using apt-get command-line or Synaptic, DO NOT FRET! It was a temporary ubuntu server problem that has already been resolved. Hey– Hoary won’t be official until April… What do you expect from cutting edge? It’s still better than most development releases.

Also– Bluefish, an EXCELLENT little HTML editor, has been added to the Ubuntu repositories (finally), as well as Graveman, an awesome cd burner utility. If you use Ubuntu, you gotta have these 2 apps!

You may have noticed, as well, that adding launchers to the drop-down menus isn’t “easy” anymore. No worries there, either. Those launchers are located in your /usr/share/applications/ directory. Open it in nautilus (browser style). Look familiar? Anyways– All you have to do to move these launchers around or add new launchers to submenus is move it into this directory, open it with vi or emacs, and edit the launcher’s “category” to match one already in the desired submenu. If you’re missing the nice little graphic to go with the launcher, you can edit that here, too.

If you’re looking to customize the pointer, or install a new pointer theme, but you’re dissappointed that it isn’t as easy in gnome as it is in kde– just apt-get install gcursor. With this nice little app, adding and changing pointer themes is actually EASIER in gnome than it is in kde. However, If you’d just prefer kde, the hoary repositories now include “kubuntu,” meaning kde-ubuntu.

Well– I’ve sung the praises enough for now. If you’ve been on the fence, try ubuntu, or download the live cd to try it without installing. You may be surprised just how easy it can be, especially with such awesome support (someone is ALWAYS on the forums ready with answers, and there’s a LONG “how-to” section).

Refund is in today. I can afford a nice component. I’m going for the motherboard– a sweet Albatron Socket 754 (Athlon 64 cpu) with sata raid, on-board 8-channel audio, bios backup, overclocking options, 6 pci slots, and too much more to mention. I’ve been looking at this series of mobos for about a year now. The mobos have incredible reviews and outperform even the market leaders in overclocking options and accessories. Factor in that it’s $40 less than it’s closest competitor and… well, you see why I’ve got my eye on it.

Anyways– I’ve updated my list with it regularly for about a year and it’s never been out-of-stock… until today. What kind of luck is that? So now I’m on “auto-notify.” Neither Newegg (the ONLY place to buy hardware online) nor Zipzoomfly (formerly “googlegear”) had it in stock, so now I wait.

Ok. I’ve waited about a year, I think I can handle another week or two. In the meantime, I’ll warm up mounts for it. It’s still the mobo for me!

As opposed to “At the Movies,” of course. We’ve been watching a few new dvd releases and can report that there are some really good movies out there just waiting for you to rent/buy!

One of these is King Arthur. A very interesting twist on the old legend. The writers wanted to create a new story based on what little historical reference could be found about a REAL Arthur. The extras on the dvd go into detail regarding this– It’s REALLY worth watching. Some of the legendary fictional characters remain, of course, such as Merlin (though he is no “wizard”), Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad (indentured warriors under Arthur’s command), and of course, Guinevere. This is a brand new story with a taste of historical realism. No magic swords, no conjuring wizards, no holy grail… Just a really good tale of courage, honor and devotion. Check it out– You won’t be disappointed!

Another great dvd worth mentioning is Bend It Like Beckham. An excellent movie revealing Indian culture in England and how perseverance can bring 2 cultures together. Lots of laughs, but a GREAT story, too. Good soundtrack, as well. You’ll end up buying this one.

The Core and Timeline are more than worthy of mention, too. A couple of great movies with newer actors. Check these out– Not all good movies do well at the box office. These should have been blockbusters.

Sick of tv? Watch a movie.