Useful BIOS Setup simulator. This is a good learning tool.

BIOS Setup emulator: http://appro.mit.jyu.fi/tools/biossimu/simu.html#. This is a BIOS Setup simulator. This runs as a HTML page and this is a very interesting diversion as well as a learning tool. The computers BIOS or Basic Input Output System is stored on a CMOS chip with the settings stored with the power supplied by a small button … Read more

How to install Google Earth on Linux Mint 14 Nadia with the Google deb package.

I was trying to install the Google Earth 64bit *.deb package on Linux Mint 14 and I had some dependency errors. john@adeptus-mechanicus ~/Downloads $ sudo dpkg -i google-earth-stable_current_amd64.deb [sudo] password for john: Selecting previously unselected package google-earth-stable. (Reading database … 282027 files and directories currently installed.) Unpacking google-earth-stable (from google-earth-stable_current_amd64.deb) … dpkg: dependency problems prevent … Read more

How to install a Debian *.deb file on Ubuntu and other useful Linux tips.

To install a Debian *.deb packages that you have downloaded, use this command. john@adeptus-mechanicus ~/Downloads $ sudo dpkg -i rxvt_2.6.4-14_i386.debjohn@adeptus-mechanicus ~/Downloads $ sudo dpkg -i rxvt_2.6.4-14_i386.deb This will install the Debian package. john@adeptus-mechanicus ~/Downloads $ sudo dpkg -i rxvt_2.6.4-14_i386.deb [sudo] password for john: Selecting previously unselected package rxvt. (Reading database … 281734 files and directories … Read more

How to watch Redbox and Netflix television shows and movies on Ubuntu with Wine.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/01/how-to-watch-lovefilm-redbox-instant-or-netflix-on-ubuntu. This posting on the OMG Ubuntu website explains in detail how to watch Netflix, Lovefilm and Redbox films and television shows with the Ubuntu 12.10 Linux distribution. This involves using a version of Wine to run the necessary software. You would think that this process would be easy on an Ubuntu distribution right now; … Read more

FreeBSD 9.0 ISO interesting and the possibility of using KMS to enjoy a fast UNIX desktop.

I have downloaded the FreeBSD 9.0 CURRENT ISO and I am planning to install that UNIX distribution to get more practice using a UNIX based operating system instead of always using Debian based Linux distributions. I want to try out the Intel KMS patch that is available for the FreeBSD 9.0 and later releases, therefore … Read more

How to install the unstable builds of Gnome Shell 3.7 in Ubuntu 12.10.

The Gnome Shell 3.6 builds are available for Ubuntu 12.10; but if you want to install the unstable builds of Gnome Shell 3.7 to test it out on your computer, then these commands will install it. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3 #The GNOME3 team PPA</code>   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging #The GNOME3 staging PPAsudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3 #The GNOME3 … Read more

How to install the Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu and Linux Mint 14 via the command line easily.

To install Nvidia drivers in Linux Mint, download the drivers and save them to your home directory, then you need to log out of your desktop back to the LightDM log in manager, then press CTRL->ALT->F2 to get to the text console and log in as your user and then type the following command. sudo … Read more

Fedora 19 to replace the MySQL database management system with MariaDB.

The Fedora 19 Linux distribution is planning to move away from the current MySQL database management system and adopting the MariaDB  DBMS instead. Hopefully the Fedora desktop will not be as much of a mess as the Fedora 18 distribution was with Gnome Shell. But adopting a new DBMS is a new change just like … Read more

Windows Powershell not as good as BASH shell and other thoughts.

It is really amazing that the new Windows Powershell is moving Windows Administrators back towards the command-line instead of using the GUI for everything. Powershell has some very good features; but the difficulty I have experienced installing extra cmdlets is very grating indeed. It is better to use the BASH shell, as it is very … Read more

Re-installing the GRUB2 bootloader using a chroot with Linux Mint 14.

The Microsoft Surface tablet due to the implementation of the UEFI Secure Boot is not being very cooperative in terms of allowing the installation of Linux. This could be a very good portable tablet for running Linux on the move but if you can not overcome the limitations of the Secure Boot system then Linux … Read more

Ubuntu Satanic Edition. Send your PC to hell with this awesome theme pack for Ubuntu and Linux Mint.

http://ubuntusatanic.org/installation.php. This is a an awesome theme pack for Ubuntu and Linux Mint that will install a satanic theme for Linux computers. This is well worth a look if you want a nice dark theme for your computer that is a little different to the usual themes from gnome-look.org. More information here: http://ubuntusatanic.org/news/about/. The wallpapers are … Read more

How to install the Linux Mint 13 MATE desktop in Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal.

http://ubuntuportal.com/2012/04/how-to-install-mate-desktop-in-ubuntu-12-04ubuntu-11-10.html. This tutorial explains how to install the MATE desktop on Ubuntu 12.04 and 12.10. This desktop is an amazing desktop if you are familiar with the Gnome 2.32.2 desktop that was used in previous releases of the Ubuntu distribution. As you can see in the shot to the right; this desktop was very good … Read more

How to install and configure the Apache2 web server on Ubuntu 12.10.

The Apache2 web server is a very powerful and useful web server that is used to host websites all around the world. This is available for the Ubuntu 12.10 Linux distribution. To install this; type this command. sudo apt-get install apache2 mysql-server php5sudo apt-get install apache2 mysql-server php5 This command will install the Apache2 and … Read more

How to install the Linux Mint 13 MATE desktop in Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal.

This sequence of commands will install the Linux Mint 13 MATE desktop on Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal. [flynn@flynn-grid-runner Desktop]$ sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu quantal main” [flynn@flynn-grid-runner Desktop]$ sudo apt-get update [flynn@flynn-grid-runner Desktop]$ sudo apt-get install mate-archive-keyring [flynn@flynn-grid-runner Desktop]$ sudo apt-get update [flynn@flynn-grid-runner Desktop]$ sudo apt-get install mate-core [flynn@flynn-grid-runner Desktop]$ sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment This desktop … Read more

How to setup Ubuntu 12.10 in Virtualbox and a look at the desktop interface.

I am currently installing Ubuntu 12.10 in Virtualbox. This latest release of the Ubuntu Linux distribution with the latest version of the Unity desktop and a respin available that includes the Gnome Shell desktop. Once i install the virtualbox guest additions I can test out the Unity desktop and see what new features are available. … Read more

Installing GNU Grub 2.00 on Linux Mint 13 Maya.

The new GNU Grub 2.00 has just been released with all new features and here is how to install it. Firstly, download the tarball from this mailing list post. https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2012-06/msg00093.html. After unpacking the tarball, cd into the folder and type: ./configure –prefix=/usr./configure –prefix=/usr to run the configure script. You will need to install extra libraries … Read more

Using the ubuntu-tweak application on Linux Mint 13 Maya. Tweaking the Unity desktop.

The ubuntu-tweak utility for Ubuntu is also available for Linux Mint 13. This utility allows the user to configure the Unity desktop. I installed the Myunity application on Linux Mint but it would not run as it detected that I was not running the Ubuntu distribution. The Unity desktop supplied for Linux Mint 13 also … Read more