UbuntuOne - My Thoughts

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I finally received my invitation to Ubuntu One a few days ago. Since then I've been using it daily, and i have to admit that it's integration with Ubuntu is, as expected, second to none.

This isn't meant to be a critical blow-by-blow account of using Ubuntu One because you pop files in folder, it syncs them to your online storage. What else is there to say, really?

Instead it's just a quick rundown of what Ubuntu One installs and how it works.

Integration

Ubuntu One places a folder in home/username called 'Ubuntu One'. Inside you have "My Files" and "Shared With Me". A shortcut to this folder is placed in your "Places" menu.

 
 

What is new in Firefox 3.5

Just to add to the rest of the seemingly endless blog posts sitting around the web about Firefox's latest (and greatest) release, i too just want to inform you that version 3.5 should be hitting the servers today.


One of the major new features of firefox 3.5 is privat browsing ,in which th browser will not record any of your activities on the internet
but they still have not fixed one of the major problems with firefox and that it is a huge memory horg .


What's else is new? Check out the short video below to discover...

 
 

Opera 10 Adapts Flawlessy into gnome Destop

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Opera 10 will be the next release of the popular browser. The current beta of Opera 10 comes in both QT3 and QT4 .debs for Ubuntu.

Gnome users who have always been put off by Opera's QT interface need worry no-more as QT4 brings with it the ability to "use" the current GTK theme.

Here is Opera 10 under Gnome using my GTK theme 'dust': 

Sexy! (And faster to use than Firefox i hate to say.)

I grabbed mine from the Opera snapshot builds so for those keen to try it out find your suitable flavour of package over @ http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/snapshot-4478/

Tweaks/How To
First off, make sure that you have chosen the 'Opera Standard' theme in the 'Appearance' menu.
Also in the appearance menu - at the bottom, beneath the theme selector - change the 'Colour Scheme' to 'System Colour Scheme'.
 
 

My motivation to do I.T

In many respects had i never discovered Linux i may possibly be a technology-agnostic person or at-least a Microsoft frick .
Part of that is down to the sheer 'tech know-how'  you learn as you use linux – though this is likely less intense than it once was, I'm sure.

Secondly, Linux made me view things differently; it made me view my interactions with my computer differently too. No longer was it just using what was available – such as Windows Media Player for example – but more about what i wanted to use; what kind of software i wanted or needed or would like!

Whilst i was always a bit of a geek in my XP monogamy back a year or so ago (seriously, that's all it's been!); my XP was skinned to look like OS X; i wasn't overly aware nor appreciative of how much work and choice there is out there for end users.

An example being that i now user OpenOffice on ALL my OS's. How many people make do with word-pad or pay for iWorks?

While some may look at it as a case of 'windows does all i need' – which is fair enough – i find that if it wasn't for linux instability at times (or it's every-so-often temper about some .confg file u accidentally nudged or shiz) then I'd likely answer the shout of 'Windows does everything i need' with a 'Yeah, but Linux does it better.'
 
 

Quick And Dirty Linux Facts

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all of those people who have tried Linux, only to find that it was not meeting with their needs and now feels strongly that it is just a complete waste of time? Even worse, some of these folks take their 15 minutes of experience and attempt to paint a picture that desktop Linux is something that it is not? How big of a problem is this? Answer - big. Sadly, I have found that we still live in a world where the following beliefs remain common.

  1. Software compiled - Complete and utter nonsense. Any distro worth using, has its own software package system. Debian based distros such as Ubuntu, allows their users to EASY install software simply by clicking it from sources like GetDeb.net or add/remove in the distro itself.
  2. Lack of drivers for hardware - Again, not true. Actually, despite many people refusing to realize this, today’s desktop Linux distros using modern kernels have better hardware support than the “other guys” out of the box. This is not saying that it is going to run the latest gaming pad designed for Windows, rather that most peripherals will indeed, work just fine in Linux these days. I say this as I use a LOT of peripherals myself.
  3. Linux is too difficult for most people - I would counter that in saying without Windows IT help or Mac Geniuses, setting up any computer is too hard for most people. Managed right, Linux is actually painfully simple to use. The key, is the guy maintaining the distro for the end user….sort of like the PC repair guy.
Users are welcome to hate the themes, desktop environments and even the software. All of that is a legitimate complaint based on aesthetics or legacy needs. But the above data is a fact. I live with all three items each and everyday. I see the proof of them all of the time.

original post http://www.lockergnome.com/linux/2009/04/30/quick-and-dirty-linux-facts/
 
 

how to create a custom linux distro

*Get the packaged you need
sudo apt-get install squahfs-tools mkisofs

*Load the squashfs
sudo modproble squashfs

create a iso image of Dapper CD
* confirm that cdrom is not mounted ,if it is then
sudo umount /cdrom

* dd if /dev/hdc of=/pathtoiso/image.iso
else dd if /dev/cdrom of=/pathtoiso/image.iso

* Create a working directory
mkdir ~/custom

* move the iso to custom
mv /pathtoiso/image.iso ~/custom
cd ~/custom

* mount the image.iso
mkdir mnt
sudo mount -o loop image.iso mnt

* get the contents of iso in to a local dir
mkdir extract
rsync –exclude=/casper/filesystem.squashfs -a mnt/ extract

*Mount squashfs
mkdir squahfs
sudo mount -t squashfs -o loop mnt/casper/filesystem.squashfs squashfs
mkdir tmp
sudo cp -r squashfs/* edit

*Mount the root
sudo chroot edit
mount -t proc none /proc
mount -t sysfs none /sys
export HOME=/root

*Customization
Now you have all the settings ready and you can readily customise by apt-get
for eg, to add mplayer
sudo apt-get install mplayer

*The default backgrounds and splashscreens can be simpley copied .

*Edit LiveCD user
sudo vi edit/usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/casper-bottom/10adduser
sudo vi edit/usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/casper

*Cleanup
rm -rf /tmp/*
umount /proc
umount /sys
exit

chmod +w extraxt/casper/filesystem.manifest
sudo chroot edit dpkg-query -W –showformat=’${Package} ${Version}\n’ > extract/casper/filesystem.manifest
sudo cp extract/casper/filesystem.manifest extract/casper/filesystem.manifest-desktop
sudo sed -ie ‘/ubiquity/d’ extract/casper/filesystem.manifest-desktop
sudo mksquashfs edit extract/casper/filesystem.squashfs
sudo vim extract-cd/README.diskdefines

*Generate new md5sum
sudo -s
rm extract/md5sum.txt
(cd extract && find . -type f -print0 | xargs -0 md5sum > md5sum.txt)
exit

*Create the iso
cd extract
sudo mkisofs -r -V “$IMAGE_NAME” -cache-inodes -J -l -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -o ../custom.iso .

*You can test the cd by
qemu -cdrom custom.iso -boot d

*Burn the iso using k3b or nautilus-cd-burner
or
cdrecord dev=/dev/hdc custom.iso

[tags]ubuntu,customize,livecd,pengufest,glugt[/tags]

original post : http://www.theyagar.com/2006/12/how-to-create-a-custom-ubuntu-distro/