Ubuntu Linux

I just stumbled on this site, it is a promotional site devoted to Ubuntu, you might be thinking, "well yet another Ubuntu site" but I think this one deserves a visit, it does not have how-tos, or such kind of info, it is mainly promotional, it has some information about Ubuntu's, Flexibility, Speed, Simplicity, Appearance, Stability, Freedom, Security and Community, which are the columns where Ubuntu rests.

As a matter of fact, I made myself that question more than a few times, but never took the time to try to find an answer, because Ubuntu is a relatively new Distro, it comes from Debian when Mark Shuttleworth, who was part of the Debian project decided that Debian was not focused on the final user as it should, and made its own distribution.

Well, I have found an article which touches some facts about why is Ubuntu so popular today, and we have to say that, in less time than RedHat, Suse, or Debian.

If you have more than one PC using Debian or Ubuntu, you know that upgrading them makes most of the time download the same files more than once, and that is not good for your bandwidth.

I usually forward my requests to my Squid (in my office) and to my Personal proxy Polipo at home, it works, but apt-cacher may be a better approach as the way it decides if a file stays or is erased from the cache is more appropriate for .deb package than in Squid or Polipo, as they are optimized for web surfing.

Well, after that introduction, lets go to the interesting part of the post.

The replacement for Dapper Drake 6.06, is going to be released today, Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, I has grown real fast ported from the also very popular Debian, is one of the most important candidates to be a replacement for Microsoft products, specially in the Desktop arena.

There are six different runlevels in Linux, there could be more than six, but for compatibility reasons six are the default.

I have used RedHat and Debian based Linux, more specifically Fedora and Ubuntu and Debian itself, I have noticed that there is a difference in the runlevels on this different Linux distributions.

Well but first let's define the runlevels:

Runlevels in Linux are seven and they are:

- 0 = halt
- 1 = single user
- 2 = CLI, multi-user, no net
- 3 = CLI, multi-user, networked
- 4 = open
- 5 = GUI, multi-user, networked
- 6 = reboot

Ubuntu by default has no root password, and you can also configure Debian in that way if you choose the advanced installation option, and decide not to use the root password.

But what to do if later you need the root user? well you just need to assign a password to the root user and then you will be able to switch to root user.

sudo passwd

Type a good strong password twice, and you are done.

su -

Type the root password and voila! you are logged as root, you know you have to be carefull on what you do being root right?

I always prefer to use the package manager instead of compiling from sources, mmh maybe compiling is more creates more efficient programs, than using binaries, but in that case, we better use Gentoo or Sabayon, but if we are using Debian/Ubuntu, or Centos/Fedora, I still think is better to use binaries.

If you want to keep always the latest available copy of Skype on your computer, not having to check the skype home page every time, you may want to use the skype repository for Debian, which also works for Ubuntu, Check this How to

First add this line to your /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/debian/ stable non-free

which can be done with this command:

sudo echo "deb http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/debian/ stable non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

We the Linux users, are always interacting with Windows users, and one of the most difficult part of that interaction is the exchange of documents, that they create and edit mostly with Microsoft Office, and we use Open Office, and I think that even if they use OpenOffice, they will have access to the system's fonts, so, we need MS fonts installed in our Linux Operating System, in order to look at the documents in the same way they are looking at it.

With AptOnCd you can backup and restore your .deb packages and store them in a CD or DVD or just in an ISO image in your USB Drive.

aptoncd, will help you still be able to use apt, aptitude or synaptic even, with no, or poor Internet conection.

Ubuntu as a Debian derivative has in Tasksel a great tool, from where you can easily install some applications

Tasksel, is a tool that comes from Debian, and it was not first included in Ubuntu by default, but since Feisty I think it is included by default, if it is not installed in your Ubuntu version you can install it running:

sudo apt-get install tasksel

Would you like this view to your Ubuntu Linux?

If your answer is yes, the solution is quite simple.

just enter this command.

sudo apt-get install ubuntustudio-look

You will also have the sounds of Ubuntu studio, (the default Ubuntu sounds will be removed)

In few more days we will have Ubuntu Hardy Heron Alpha 1 released, this is the LTS (Long Term Support) version of Ubuntu (One of the major Linux distros) since 6.06 Dapper Drake.

Long Term Support releases are intended to be stable releases, for those who need a really stable OS either because they do not like to be experimenting or just because they need the OS for server applications.

So on November 29th we will have Alpha 1 ready and on April 24th 2008 the final release is scheduled.

I have found this post about giving an Ubuntu CD as Christmas gift, I think is a nice idea, (and free hehe).

Ubuntu Ultimate is a modified version of Ubuntu, Gnarly Gnome is its latest version available and it is based on Feisty Fawn but with lots of applications pre-loaded.

Extracted from its page this are some of its applications.

Enviroments

• KDE
• Gnome
• XFCE
• WindowMaker
• Enlightenment
• Sawfish

And what is maybe the best of all for some game adicts Ultimate Ubuntu (Gnarly Gnome) come with all these games.

Finally,

After days or better said months of waiting Gutsy Gibbon is released, by the moment I am upgrading my Gutsy Beta to the recently released stable version.

Features

Some of its better features:

I like that on Firefox now is really easy to install applications, like Flash, Java, Video plugins check here

In only six more days Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon will be officially launched in its stable version.

It will be downloadable through different mirrors all around the world given its popularity, if you do not have enough bandwidth or if your Internet connection is not as stable, you can ask for the free CDs that Canonical support. And there is no need to wait until Gutsy Gibbon is released!, yes it can be pre-ordered.

So ask for it at Shipit, and start enjoying this new version of Ubuntu.

For Distros with lots of Kernel upgrades Like Ubuntu Gutsy now that it is still in Beta, it is annoying to start every day your PC and see that your grub list keep growing and growing.

Clean this unused kernel images is not only good for haven a cleaner grub menu, but also to gain disk space, as all those kernel images uses a lot of space in your disk.

For today September 27th was announced the Beta Release of Gutsy Gibbon, as you can see on the Schedule.

Hardy Heron is going to be the new LTS (Long Term Support) Ubuntu version.

It will come after Gutsy Gibbon, which is still in Beta version, and will be release this October, and it is specifically this October when the Schedule of Hardy Heron Starts.

Here is its Calendar

October 2007

October 25th - Toolchain Uploaded

November 2007

November 1st - Development Summit

November 8th - Canonical AllHands

November 22nd - Specifications must be finalized, Translations exported from LP

November 29th - Alpha 1