Linux Articles
I use Linux on a daily basis and absolutely love it. When it gets developed, Ubuntu is twice a year for example, you can always see improvements. That’s not to say there isn’t problems or bugs, there are, but then OS’ are horrendously complex systems. Most of these articles will be a mix of praise for Linux (Ubuntu and Mint usually) or solutions for some Linux problems I’ve bumped into.
Updating Chromium on Debian 6 (Squeeze)
Switching between Ubuntu and Debian machines, you notice the benefits of both system OS’ quite quickly. The first major thing you’ll probably have noticed with Debian 6 (Squeeze) is that its bundled with Chromium. After a bit of use though, you’ll also notice how unstable Chromium is. Lots of web pages freezing up, tabs not [...]
How to upgrade Ubuntu to 12.10 – Quetzal
The Quantal Quetzal release date, 18th October 2012, has been and gone, which means we can all upgrade Ubuntu to version 12.10, whoop! Sadly being super busy with work I’ve only just got round to doing it. Quetzal is largely an update to tackle graphical user interface changes, such as iconography, typography and the menu [...]
Salting passwords – how & why?
Our lives are now run by passwords. We’re forced to remember more passwords everyday it seems. How can developers secure passwords more securely? Why is salting passwords important and how does using salts improve the strength of stored passwords? Consider this; what happens if the online store you run is hacked and all your customers details lifted? Hopefully all [...]
Ubuntu won’t boot without USB stick
As some of you may remember, a few weeka ago I posted an article about installing Ubuntu from USB (If you can’t remember, check it out!), which explained how to get an ISO running on a machine without an optical device. Well it turns out that wasn’t entirely the end of the situation for some… [...]
MCrypt – Securing your Linux files with Twofish Cryptography
With more and more details being stored on computers, it’s getting exponentially more important to keep them safe and secure. From internet banking to Facebook, renewing car tax to ordering presents on Amazon, you have entered a lot of data onto your computer. But how do you keep files of a sensitive nature secure? Could something called [...]
Installing Ubuntu from a USB Stick
Need to install the Ubuntu operating system from a USB device but not sure how? Perhaps you’re installing it on a netbook and don’t have a CD drive. Here’s a short article explaining how to get the ISO on a USB FDD and how to get that all installed on your PC.
RipperX not encoding MP3s
A quick summary article here to help those people (and myself) fix the fact that RipperX doesn’t encode MP3 files natively. The main purpose of installing RipperX on your Linux / Ubuntu system is likely to be the fact you want to create a digital copy of all those shiney CD’s you have laying around. [...]
Howto: Disable the Guest Account in Ubuntu 12.04
Sometimes I’m sure its very useful to have a guest account on your machine, perhaps your partner or friend needs to browse the internet and you’d rather not let them access your account as you’ve got all your code / files / swiss bank accounts open. Alas, for me the guest account is just an [...]
Bug: gedit & apps not being listed in Unity when open
Usually in Ubuntu any open applications show themselves in Unity with an icon and a tiny white arrow. Multiple white arrows donate an application or window opened several times, e.g. the image on the right shows Thunderbird, Skype and Chrome open. Active windows have an additional white arrow on the other side of the icon, [...]
Howto: Make Ubuntu 12.04 Hibernate Successfully
Ubuntu has always had problems getting their system to shutdown successfully into a state of hibernation. There’s never been a single solution that fits all machines or all machines. This article is a combination of resources explaining how to enable hibernation by default, or use TuxOnIce to patch the kernel.