Ubuntu:
Mark Richard Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973) is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist and first African in space. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2008, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system.
Debian:
Ian Murdock (born April 28, 1973, in Konstanz, Germany) is the founder of the Debian distribution and Progeny Linux Systems, a commercial Linux company.
Slackware:
Patrick Volkerding (born 1966) is the founder and maintainer of the Slackware operating system. He is the Slackware Benevolent Dictator for Life. Volkerding earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1993.
MEPIS:
Warren Woodford is a computer industry veteran who is perhaps best known as the developer of MEPIS Linux. From 2002 to 2007, Warren focused on developing MEPIS and building MEPIS related cross-platform applications for Linux and Mac OS, and even Microsoft Windows.
Source : WIKIPEDIA
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Debian? Ubuntu? Sidux? Pardus? Mepis? Gentoo? Whoa! Why are these Linux distros so strangely named? Why not name a OS simply – door, room or window? Although, Linux distros have very strange names but it is interesting to know, why they are called so?
1. Debian
Debian was first announced on 16 August 1993, by Ian Murdock. He formed the name “Debian” as a combination of the first name of his girlfriend (later wife, now ex-wife) Debra and his own first name. A nice way to name something. Take note all new Linux ditro makers.
2. Slackware
Slackware is an operating system created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. The name “Slackware” stems from the fact that the distribution started as a private side project with no intended commitment. To prevent it from being taken too seriously at first, Volkerding gave it a humorous name, which stuck even after Slackware became a serious project. The “Slack” in Slackware is a reference to the term “Slack” as used by the Church of the SubGenius. Probaly he could have named it DNDUX (Do Not Disturb).
3. MEPIS
MEPIS distributions are created by Warren Woodford. According to Warren Woodford, the name MEPIS is pronounced like “Memphis”, with the extra letters removed. Basically, it is pronounced “MEP-us” with a short “e” (“meppis”). Originally, the word “MEPIS” didn’t mean anything in particular; it came about by mistake. When Woodford misunderstood a friend over a bad Skype connection, he decided to use the name because it was a simple five-letter word and there were no other companies or products with that name.
4. Mandriva
MandrakeSoft was forced to change its name as a result of losing litigation to the Hearst Corporation over the name Mandrake. The litigation concluded in February 2004, and appeals expired in early 2005. The litigation arose because of Hearst Corporation’s claim to the name “Mandrake”, inspired by the comic Mandrake the Magician; forcing MandrakeSoft to change its name. In 2005, MandrakeSoft acquired the assets of Lycoris, and purchased Conectiva. As a result of the forced name change, the name Mandriva was selected to reflect the combination of MandrakeSoft and Conectiva.
5. Sidux (Edited : See Chris Hildebrandt’s comments below for detailed information)
The name of the distribution sidux is derived from Debian Sid (Sid Phillips character in Toy Story – usually destroys and tortures his sister Hannah’s toys.) and the common use of -ux for Unix derivatives.
So, any more interesting ones you know, please feel free to share with us. If you like the post, please Digg or Stumble it!
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Synaptic? deb? sudo? apt? Damn! I still remember when I first installed Ubuntu (my first encounter with Linux). But God bless Google, Ubuntu Forums, a few other resources and Blogs. Things became easier than I thought. Here, I will be posting a reference about Ubuntu things! And to end with top 5 Ubuntu resources on web for Ubuntu starters.
Privileges
sudo command – run command as root
sudo -s – open a root shell
sudo -s -u user – open a shell as user
sudo -k – forget sudo passwords
gksudo command – visual sudo dialog (GNOME)
kdesudo command – visual sudo dialog (KDE)
sudo visudo – edit /etc/sudoers
gksudo nautilus – root file manager (GNOME)
kdesudo konqueror – root file manager (KDE)
passwd – change your password
Display
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart – restart X and return to login (GNOME)
sudo /etc/init.d/kdm restart – restart X and return to login (KDE)
sudo dexconf – reset xorg.conf configuration
Ctrl+Alt+Bksp – restart X display if frozen
Ctrl+Alt+FN – switch to tty N
Ctrl+Alt+F7 – switch back to X display
System Services
(Prefix commands with sudo to run)
start service – start job service (Upstart)
stop service – stop job service (Upstart)
status service – check if service is running (Upstart)
/etc/init.d/service start – start service (SysV)
/etc/init.d/service stop – stop service (SysV)
/etc/init.d/service status – check service (SysV)
/etc/init.d/service restart – restart service (SysV)
runlevel – get current runlevel
Package Mangement
(Prefix commands with sudo to run)
apt-get update – refresh available updates
apt-get upgrade – upgrade all packages
apt-get dist-upgrade – upgrade with package
replacements; upgrade Ubuntu version
apt-get install pkg – install pkg
apt-get purge pkg – uninstall pkg
apt-get autoremove – remove obsolete packages
apt-get -f install – try to fix broken packages
dpkg –configure -a – try to fix broken packages
dpkg -i pkg.deb – install file pkg.deb
(file) /etc/apt/sources.list – APT repository list
Network
ifconfig – show network information
iwconfig – show wireless information
sudo iwlist scan – scan for wireless networks
sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart – reset
network for manual configurations
(file) /etc/network/interfaces – manual configuration
ifup interface – bring interface online
ifdown interface – disable interface
Special Packages
linux-headers-generic – latest build headers
ubuntu-desktop – standard Ubuntu environment
kubuntu-desktop – KDE desktop
xubuntu-desktop – XFCE desktop
ubuntu-minimal – core Ubuntu utilities
ubuntu-standard – standard Ubuntu utilities
ubuntu-restricted-extras – non-free, but useful
kubuntu-restricted-extras – KDE of the above
xubuntu-restricted-extras – XFCE of the above
build-essential – packages used to compile programs
linux-image-generic – latest generic kernel image
Applications Name
nautilus – file manager (GNOME)
dolphin – file manager (KDE)
konqueror – web browser (KDE)
kate – text editor (KDE)
gedit – text editor (GNOME)
System
lsb_release -a – get Ubuntu version
uname -r – get kernel version
uname -a – get all kernel information
Top 5 web resoureses for Ubuntu Starters
http://ubuntuforums.org/ (Great, helpful and most responsive community)
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ (A lot of Tips and Tricks)
http://www.gnome-look.org/ (Add a little flavor to Gnome)
http://tombuntu.com/ (Nice Ubuntu Blog)
http://lifehacker.com/ (Not specific to Ubuntu but they have a lot of good Ubuntu articles)
And here is the bonus
http://fosswire.com/ (the source of above information)
Hope, this might help you in your Ubuntu venture. If you like the post, please Digg or Stumble it.
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Many new comers are afraid of that “haunted Terminal”. Why open a console when you can do it via GUI? This article is not against the use of terminal but for noobs (and pros too) these GUI tips may prove more productive. How many times have you thought to “configure the boot menu” or “change mount points” but afraid of it because you have to enter that “Haunted Manson”.
1, 2, 3 are packages and can be installed via Synaptic Package Manager (another helpful GUI for managing packages) and then searching for it.
System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager
1. startupmanager – This is a simple GUI application to manage boot options. Like the default operating system, appearance, password protecting the bootloader, and all the other boot options. After installation it can be found under
System > Administration > StartUp-Manager
2. pysdm – This is a GUI for editing fstab. This utility helps to manage mount point of various drives. Every time we logon the drives are not auto mounted by itself, by this simple utility it can be done very easily.
System > Administration > Storage Device Manager
3. gparted – I think this is a common one. But still its worth mentioning it here. This utility helps you in managing your partitions (formatting, creating, deleting, and much more).
System > Administration > Partition Editor
4. root mode launcher – Enter the GOD MODE but do not miss-use it. This is not a package. A application launcher can be added in order to open nautilus in root mode. Just right click on top panel
Add to Panel > Custom Application Launcher
Name : root
Command : gksudo nautilus
5. Adding script on right click menu – I have already written a article about it at Top 10 Nautilus Scripts.
5+1. And the (5+1)th tip does not require any installation. Just use you middle mouse button (scroll button) for copy/paste action. No need to press ctrl+c/v or shift+ctrl+c/v (in Terminal) just use your middle mouse button.
Hope these tips may prove helpful to all the new users (sorry for “noob”). If any experienced user benefits then its a plus. If you like the post, please Stumble it!
Image Credits: ~crash2744
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None of it are my creations, taken form http://www.gnome-look.org/. Thats the fun of using Linux – Sharing. If you like the post, please Stumble it!
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Nautilus has sparse right-click menu, with these scripts you will be able to get some handy actions. No additional dependency is required for the scripts to run. Here is the list of top 10 nautilus which is highly recommended.
1. root-terminal-here
2. root-nautilus-here
3. Hide or Show Hidden Files
4. Set image as Wallpaper
5. Covert to jpeg / Convert to png
6. lowercase/uppercase
7. Show MD5 Sum
8. Search Here
9. Font Installer
10. Set exec / Set read-only / Unexec
All the Scripts are self explanatory needless to state, What they do?
Installation instructions:
Open nautilus and press ctrl+h to show hidden files or check View > Show Hidden Files then navigate to (diesel being the user-name replace it with yours)
/home/diesel/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts
Download and copy the nautilus-scripts to above directory
Extract the zip file there
And you will have Scripts menu in your right-click menu. If you cannot see the scripts there check whether the scripts are executable by
Right Click > Properties > Permissions and Check Execute or in terminal chmod +x filename
Hope these scripts may prove handy for you. Stumble it if you like the post.
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With the beta release of Adobe Air for linux, you can use your favourite Adobe Applications applications. Although only few linux distro have been supported but I was able to run it on Ubuntu 8.04 without any fuss.
Download the installer:
After the download move to the folder:
cd Desktop
Set the file to be executable:
chmod +x adobeair_linux_b1_091508.bin
To run it:
./adobeair_linux_b1_091508.bin
After the install, it can found under (may require a boot for it to appear):
Applications->Other
To install any air application, download the .air and double click to install. The release quality is definitely below Beta standards. Install it only if you need certain air application (Twirl in my case).
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[Ubuntu] VLC has released the 0.9.2 version but in Ubuntu repository the version is still 0.8.x. If you are not afraid of trying non-Ubuntu repository (does not contain signed key) you can update your VLC to its latest release 0.9.2. And if you take my word, its worth it. The 0.9.2 version underdevelopment for last 2 years has got major fixes and new features.
Goto System > Administration > Software Sources > Third-Party Software and add:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/c-korn/ubuntu hardy main
And then update your apt cache
sudo apt-get update
And then to remove the old version, type:
sudo apt-get remove vlc vlc-nox
sudo apt-get autoremove
and then to install the new version do
sudo apt-get install vlc-nox vlc
Note: Install required libraries required for mp3 encoding from medibuntu repository. After installing, please remove the “deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/c-korn/ubuntu hardy main” from the repository list.
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newwave
curves
nsa
hack
turbolence (ya i know it is spelled wrong)
Installation
- Download gnome-screensaver
(right click and save link as) - Open nautilus in sudo by running “gksudo nautilus” in console
- Unpack files to /usr/share/gnome-screensaver/
- Open gconf-editor (Alt+F2, type ‘gconf-editor’ and press enter) change the entry apps/gnome-screensaver/lock_dialog_theme from ‘default’ to ‘newwave’ or ‘curves’ or ‘nsa’ or ‘hack’ or ‘turbolence’
- To add you logo open “System>Preferences>About Me” and add a logo there
Keep checkin in for next post in the series.
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Special Mention
Slackware’s new logo – quite innovative (look carefully to understand it)