Mount Internal Partitions on Boot

"I'm so [lazy]" - Nirvana

Linux is a nice safe place to work. But in my years of working in Windows I just got in the habit of ALWAYS keeping my data on a separate partition from my operating system, so I have a safe Data partition that would be nice to not have to mount every time I boot up in Ubuntu. I found a nice step-by-step tutorial to do exactly this. Basically you just add a small program called "NTFS Configuration Tool", and then follow the simple instructions. If you want more details, the instructions are very easy to follow.

Chromium & Flash

“The gleam of chrome is as irresistible to a man as the word "sale" is to a woman” - Anonymous

Firefox...nope...does not cut it in my opinion. Too much overhead. Too slow. Plugins crash. I like Chrome, and no matter how hard I try...Firefox just isn't the same. But now Chromium seems to be stable enough, so here are some instructions to install it on Ubuntu Jaunty (9.04) in slightly more comprehensible terms:

1. Add the repository
a. System > Administration > Software Sources
b. Click on the "Third Party Software" tab
c. To add the repository, Click "Add" and copy:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

d. Click "Add Source"
e. Open Applications > Accessories > Terminal
f. To enter the key, copy (Ctrl+C) & paste in Terminal (Ctrl+Shift+V)

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 4E5E17B5

g. Go back to the "Software Sources" window and click "Close" and then "Reload" in the pop-up

2. Install Chromium
a. To update the source list, in the Terminal window type

sudo aptitude update

b. The install the themes by typing

sudo aptitude install chromium-browser

3. Install Flash
a. In Terminal navigate to the Chromium plugins folder by typing

cd /usr/lib/chromium-browser/plugins

b. Link the flash plugin

sudo ln -s ../../flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so

4. Create a fully functional shortcut - right now if you click on Applications > Internet > Chromium Web Browser the application will open, but flash won't load/work, this is why this last step is necessary.
a. Drag the Icon from Applications > Internet > Chromium Web Browser to the top panel
b. Right-click on the new panel icon and select "Properties"
c. In the "Command" text-box add the following at the end

--enable-plugins

d. Click "Close"

Now you should be able to open a fully functional version of Chromium from the panel!

P.S. Though it is slightly more advanced, you can also enable plugins on the menu launcher for Chromium. System > Preferences > Main Menu under Menus select Internet, under Items select Chromium, then select Properties and follow 4c & 4d.

Pimp my Ubuntu!

"We know you like cars so we put a car in your car so you can drive while you drive." - Xzibit

My dear wife is "open to using Linux"...mostly because Windows just commited suicide, and she was lucky enough to already have Ubuntu Jaunty (9.04) already on her machine. She likes the way mine looks, so the first thing she wants is some cool backgrounds and themes. The best I have found are from François Vogelweith.



Unfortunately, beyond the instructions being in French, for a complete newbie they are not the easiest thing to follow. So here is a way to install all the themes anyone should be able to follow:

1. Add the repository
a. System > Administration > Software Sources
b. Click on the "Third Party Software" tab
c. To add the repository, Click "Add" and copy:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bisigi/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

d. Click "Add Source"
e. Open Applications > Accessories > Terminal
f. To enter the key, copy (Ctrl+C) & paste in Terminal (Ctrl+Shift+V)

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0x1781bd45c4c3275a34bb6aec6e871c4a881574de

g. Go back to the "Software Sources" window and click "Close" and then "Reload" in the pop-up

2. Install the Themes
a. To update the source list, in the Terminal window type

sudo aptitude update

b. The install the themes by typing

sudo aptitude install zgegblog-themes

To check out your new stuff, just right-click on your desktop and click "Change Desktop Background", you now should have 10 new themes and backgrounds to choose from!