Is s ue #3 - Jul y 2007
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TH E IND E PE ND E NT M AG AZ INE FO R TH E U BU NTU CO M M U NITY
COM PIZ FUSION
COM PIZ + BERYL= EYECANDY OVERLOAD! W E PREVIEW TH E NEW EFFECTS
REVIEW :
JUST H O W W ELL DO ES TH E APPLE M ACBO O K RUN UBUNTU?
H OW TO :
STUNNING DESK TO P LEARN SCRIBUS PART 3 LINUX PH O TO GRAPH Y
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INSTALL:
STEP-BY-STEP INSTALL O F XUBUNTU 7.04 : FEISTY FAW N
ful l circl e m agaz ine is fnot fil iatee d- w#3 ith - or e yndors ul laf circl Jul 2007e d by CanonicalLtd.
ful lcircl e Fl avour of th e M onth - Xubuntu
p.04
H ow -To Stunning Ubuntu De s k top Ubuntu for Ph otograph y Scribus - Part 2
p.07 p.09 p.12
Th is m onth Robe rt s h ow s us a s te p-by-s te p ins tal l ation of Xubuntu 7.04 via th e Al te rnate CD for ol d m ach ine s
Re vie w - Ubuntu on th e M acbook
STEP- BY- STEP INSTALL P.04
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Th ink ing of buying a M acbook ?W onde ring if Ubuntu w ork s on it?W e re ve alal l ...
Pre vie w - Com piz Fus ion
M y Story - A Ye ar w ith Dappe r
p.20 p.22
P.12
P.07
P.09
P.20
Figh ting to l ive w ith Linux afte r ye ars of W indow s us e .
Ubuntu Youth
p.24
Le tte rs
p.25
W e bs ite of th e M onth
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Q& A
M y De s k top & M y PC
Sh ow us your m e an-m ach ine !
p.26 p.28
Th e Top 5
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H ow to Contribute
p.31
Andre w M in pre s e nts h is Top5 m ul tim e dia e ncode rs
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Al lte xt and im age s containe d in th is m agaz ine are re l e as e d unde r th e Cre ative Com m ons Attribution-By-Sh are Al ik e 3.0 Unporte d l ice ns e . Th is m e ans you can adapt, copy, dis tribute and trans m it th e articl e s but onl y unde r th e fol l ow ing conditions : You m us t attribute th e w ork to th e originalauth or in s om e w ay (at l e as t a nam e , e m ailor url ) and to th is m agaz ine by nam e (ful l circl e ) and th e urlw w w .ful l circl e m agaz ine .org (but not attribute th e articl e (s ) in any w ay th at s ugge s ts th at th e y e ndors e you or your us e of th e w ork ). And If you al te r, trans form , or buil d upon th is w ork , you m us t dis tribute th e re s ul ting w ork unde r th e s am e , s im il ar or a com patibl e l ice ns e .
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ED ITO RIA L Wel com e to anoth e r fe ature pack e d is s ue of Ful lCircl e . Th is m onth Robe rt (m rm onday) h as tak e n th e rath e r unus uals te p of giving you an Al te rnate Dis c ins tal l . W h il e not as pre tty as a graph icalins tal lit is an e xce l l e nt w ay to ins tal lUbuntu on th at ol d de s k top m ach ine you're us ing as a footre s t. W e al s o h ave s e ve ralarticl e s on Ubuntu e ye candy. W e te l lyou h ow to ge t s om e w obbl y w indow goodne s s and pre vie w jus t a coupl e of th e ne w e ffe cts th at are in Com piz Fus ion. Com piz w h at?Ye s , th at's righ t, Com piz Fus ion. In cas e you've be e n l iving unde r a rock for th e pas t s e ve ralm onth s : Com piz and Be rylare a coupl e , th e y w e re m arrie d a s h ort w h il e ago but al re ady th e y've give n birth to th e ir firs t ch il d: Com piz Fus ion. You m ay al s o notice th at th e re is no ne w s in th is is s ue . I de cide d to re m ove th e ne w s s e ction s ince w e h ave to add th e ne w s approxim ate l y tw o w e e k s be fore re l e as e s o by th e tim e you ge t your dow nl oad, th e ne w s is ol d and th e n I ge t e m ail s from pe opl e w h o th ink w e purpos e l y us e tw o w e e k ol d ne w s . W h il e traw l ing th e goodne s s th at is th e Ubuntu H e l p s ite (h ttp://h e l p.ubuntu.com ) you m ay notice s om e of our articl e s popping up. Th e Ubuntu Docum e ntation Te am h ave as k e d if w e coul d incl ude s om e of our m ore h e l pfularticl e s in th e Ubuntu Docum e ntation and w e 're de l igh te d to h e l p th e m out in any w ay w e can. Spe ak ing of w h ich : th e y're al w ays l ook ing for vol unte e rs to h e l p e dit th e Docum e ntation s o fe e lfre e to s ign up to Launch Pad and offe r your s e rvice s ! I h ope you e njoy th e m agaz ine and k e e p th os e e m ail s com ing! Al lth e be s t, Ronnie Editor, Ful lCircl e M agaz ine ronnie @ ful l circl e m agazine .org
Th is m agaz ine w as cre ate d us ing :
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FLAVO UR O FTH E M O NTH W ritte n by Robe rt Cl ips h am O ve r th e pas t fe w m onth s , w e h ave s h ow n in th is s e ction h ow s im pl e it is to ins tal lK ubuntu and Ubuntu. You w il lprobabl y h ave notice d h ow s im il ar th e ins tal lproce dure is , w ith rough l y th e s am e options , but w ith a diffe re nt inte rface . Rath e r th an s h ow you th e s am e s te ps again w ith anoth e r inte rface , th is m onth , w e w il ls h ow you w h at you s h oul d do about ol de r com pute rs if you w ant a m ore s tre am l ine d Ubuntu.
Xubuntu is Ubuntu's l igh t w e igh t counte rpart, w h ich us e s l e s s re s ource s , and h as th e s am e functional ity as Ubuntu. It cl aim s it can run w ith as l ittl e as 64M B of RAM and ne e ds onl y 1.5 gigabyte s of h ard drive s pace . I de cide d to pus h th is to th e l im its , and cre ate a virtualm ach ine w ith jus t 64M B of RAM and 3GB of h ard drive s pace . To us e 64M B of RAM , you h ave to us e th e Al te rnate Dis c. Th is re q uire s s l igh tl y m ore e ffort th an us ing a l ive CD, but produce s th e s am e re s ul t.
to th e ne xt s cre e n. Us e th e up/dow n arrow s , w h ich w il lal l ow you s e l e ct your country, to e nabl e th e q uick e s t dow nl oads of update s .
W h e n you pl ace th e dis c in th e drive , it w il lgive you m ore options th an w h e n you us e th e Live CD. Th e option you w ant is “ Ins tal lin te xt m ode .� Pre s s e nte r to be gin ins tal l ation.
If you are us ing s m al lam ounts of RAM , l ik e I am , you w il lre ce ive th is m e s s age , w arning you th at it w il lus e Engl is h for th e ins tal l ation l anguage . Pre s s e nte r to m ove
Th e ins tal l e r w il lth e offe r to de te ct your k e yboard l ayout, w h ich I re com m e nd you do. Se l e ct ye s , th e n fol l ow th e ins tructions , pre s s ing th e k e ys it te l l s you to.
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As you can im agine , partitioning your h ard dis k is h arde r in a non-graph ical ins tal l e r, s o you ne e d to be care fulto sel e ct th e righ t option. As you are us ing an ol d PC, as l ong as you h ave tak e n al l th e im portant data off it, you s h oul d be O K to re m ove W indow s , but if you w oul d l ik e to dualboot you ne e d to tak e m ore care . I h ad no ne e d to be care ful ,so I w e nt for “ Guide d – us e e ntire dis k ”, but you s h oul d ch oos e th e re l e vant option.
O nce your k e yboard l ayout h as be e n de te cte d, it w il las k for w h at e ncoding you w oul dl ik e to us e in th e cons ol e . If you don't k now w h at th is m e ans , th e de faul t is fine . Afte r s e l e cting h ow ch aracte rs s h oul d be e ncode d, you ne e d to s e l e ct th e ch aracte r s e t. Again, th e de faul t is fine , unl e s s you h ave a s pe cific ne e d for m ore col ours on th e cons ol e.
You can al w ays go back , if you de cide th at you pick e d th e w rong option (do th is be fore partitioning!) Th e ne xt s cre e n as k s w h ich dis k you w oul dl ik e to e ras e (if you ch os e th e s am e option as m e ).
Th e ins tal l ation th e n de te cts your h ardw are , to l oad th e corre ct drive rs th e n as k s s om e m ore q ue s tions .
Be fore th e ins tal l e r al l ow s you to m ak e any ch ange s , it confirm s w h at you w ant to do.
It th e n as k s for a h os t nam e (righ t). Th is is th e nam e th e com pute r s h oul d dis pl ay on a ne tw ork , if you h ave one . Ch oos e one th at w il lal l ow you to e as il y ide ntify it e g: m rm ondays -de s k top.
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continue , if you don't w ant to s e t it up.
You s h oul d h ave at l e as t tw o partitions , one for root and one for s w ap. You coul d al s o m ak e one for h om e , but th is is e as ie r to do th rough a GUI. Th e ins tal l e r w il lw rite th e ch ange s to th e dis k , th e n as k h ow it s h oul d s e t up th e s ys te m cl ock . You can ch oos e h ow it doe s it, but it is e as ie s t to jus t go for UTC, and ch ange it l ate r.
It w il lte l l you it is com pl e te , th e n you s h oul d re m ove th e dis k , and re s tart your com pute r.
Th e ne xt th ing th e ins tal l e r as k s , is about us e r accounts . At th e s cre e n, e nte r your ful lnam e , th e n continue to th e ne xt s cre e n. Ch oos e your us e rnam e , th e n your pas s w ord, th e n ve rify it, s o it k now s you h ave e nte re d it corre ctl y.
At th e l ogin s cre e n, e nte r th e de tail s you e nte re d e arl ie r to l og on. You w il lbe l e ft w ith a graph icalus e r inte rface , w h ich is ful l y up to date , and capabl e w ith anyth ing you th row at it.
Th e ins tal l er w il lth e n ins tal lyour ations on re s urre cting your ol d s ys te m , but be w arne d: your input is s til l Congratul PC! H ave fun! ne e de d! Part w ay th rough , it w il las k you to configure th e X Se rve r. You can jus t h it
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H O W - TO W ritte n by M att H oy
SIM PL Y STUNNING UBUNTU D ESK TO P
Th e tim e h as com e for m e to re ve ale xactl y h ow to ach ie ve a s tunning de s k top l ayout from a fre s h Ubuntu ins tal l . It’s not actual l y th at h ard, and you’l lonl y ne e d one pie ce of additionals oftw are .
th e top, and drag your ne w pane lto th e bottom of th e s cre e n. Now , you’l lh ave a back ground im age and th e conte nts of your de s k top, w ith an e m pty bottom pane l . Now , righ t cl ick th at pane l , and ch oos e “ Prope rtie s ”. Ente r th e “ Back ground” tab and ch oos e “ Sol id Col or” now , cl ick th e col or s pe cifie d autom atical l y in orde r to ch ange it, and w h e re you can s pe cify a h e x code in th e “ Col or Nam e :” are a, type /pas te : “ #EFEBE7". Cl ick “ O K ” Th e re s pons e I got w h e n I pos te d th e de s k top in th e im age above w as h uge . Around 10 e m ail s pe r day fl oode d in for w e e k s , as k ing e xactl y h ow I ach ie ve d th at l ook . And, e ve ryone w h o as k e d w as give n a q uick guide I w rote up in a fe w s e conds , or a: “ s orry, I’l lw rite back l ate r” be caus e I w as too bus y.
Drag th e trans pare ncy s l ide r s o it’s above th e “ s par” part of trans pare nt. Now , al te r trans pare ncy to s uit your ne e ds , and cl ick “ Cl os e ” Ste p Tw o Righ t cl ick your ne w , trans pare nt pane l and ch oos e “ Add to Pane l …”
Now , th e tim e h as com e for m e to re ve al e xactl y h ow to ach ie ve th is de s k top l ayout from a fre s h Ubuntu ins tal l . It’s not actual l y th at h ard, and you’l lonl y ne e d one pie ce of additionals oftw are .
Scrol lth rough th e icons th at appe ar in th e popup and cl ick /drag th e m to th e fol l ow ing pl ace s : * “ M ain M e nu” drag out of th e w indow onto th e far l e ft of th e pane l .
Ste p One
* “ W ork s pace Sw itch e r” s h oul d th e n be h ard up agains t th e righ t s ide of th e m ain m e nu (to m ak e it s m al l e r, righ t cl ick th e s w itch e r once it’s on th e pane l , and ch oos e pre fe re nce s . Th e n, m ak e s ure it s ays “ 2 row s ” ins te ad of “ 1 row s ”)
Re m ove th e top pane l , by s im pl y righ t cl ick ing in an e m pty s pace (us ual l y be tw e e n th e “ Sys te m ” m e nu and th e Cl ock on a fre s h ins tal l ) and ch oos ing “ De l e te th is pane l ” on th e m e nu th at appe ars . Now righ t cl ick th e bottom pane l and cl ick “ Ne w Pane l ” s o you ge t an e m pty, fre s h one . So you’l lh ave one e m pty pane l , and one bottom one . De l e te th e bottom one us ing th e s am e m e th od as
* “ W indow Lis t” can th e n be pl ace d h ard up agains t th e righ t e dge of th e W ork s pace Sw itch e r.
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As s ign nam e s if re q uire d, or l e ave as Com pute r and W as te bas k e t (I pre fe r “ Tras h ”) and cl os e th e w indow . H e ad to th e de s k top, and m ove th e ne w icons to w h e re you w is h .
* “ Cl ock ” can go into th e far righ t corne r * “ Vol um e Control ” agains t th e l e ft e dge of th e cl ock * “ Ne tw ork M onitor” agains t th e l e ft e dge of th e vol um e
Ste p Four To m ak e your te rm inalw indow trans pare nt, as s h ow n in th e s cre e n s h ot above , s im pl y ope n a te rm inalw indow “ M e nu/Appl ications > Acce s orie s > Te rm inal ” cl ick “ Edit” and ch oos e “ Curre nt Profil e…”
* “ Notification Are a” agains t th e l e ft e dge of th e Ne tw ork M onitor O nce you’re h appy w ith th e l ayout of th e pane l , righ t cl ick e ve ryth ing you’ve adde d to it and cl ick “ Lock to Pane l ” to pre ve nt accide ntaldragging w h e n cl ick ing.
In th e w indow th at appe ars , cl ick th e “ Effe cts ” tab, and l ook at th e bottom for th e trans pare ncy s l ide r, w h e re you can adjus t th e trans pare ncy to s uit your ne e ds .
Ste p Th re e Now I’m corre ct in th ink ing you’ve got a trans pare nt pane lw ith your icons l aid out oh -s o-w e l l . H ow e ve r, you’re m is s ing “ Tras h ” on th at bottom bar, re m e m be r? And you’l lw ant “ Com pute r” up th e re in th e top corne r too. Now , th e re are e as y w ays of doing th is , and h ard w ays of doing th is . I’l ls h are th e e as ie s t one I k now .
Ste p Five Th at’s it! O nce you’ve ch os e n a s im il ar w al l pape r (th e one in th e s cre e ns h ot above can be found w h e n ins tal l ing K ubuntu, or can be dow nl oade d from h ttp://w w w .fil e h ive .com /fil e s /0119 /s oftgre e n.jpg) your de s k top s h oul dl ook as good as m ine did back th e n.
Dow nl oad and ins tal lth e .de b fil e: h ttp://w w w .ge tde b.ne t/ge tde b.ph p?fil e =gn om e - h ide s e e k _ 0.6.0- 1ge tde b1_ i386.de b O nce you’ve ins tal l e d th e fil e , cl ick your ne w m ain m e nu in th e bottom l e ft corne r, cl ick “ Sys te m Tool s ” and ch oos e “ GNO M E H ide and Se e k ”, an appl ication th at l e ts you configure s om e of th e h idde n s e cre ts in Ubuntu.
Pl e as e l e ave a com m e nt l e tting m e k now h ow you got on, or w h e th e r th is guide hel pe d you. H ope ful l y you s h oul d h ave no probl e m s fol l ow ing th e s e s im pl e ins tructions but if you do, s im pl y m e ntion in a com m e nt w h at e rror/probl e m you’re ge tting to and I’l lge t righ t on to h e l ping you.
Cl ick “ De s k top” in th e l e ft m e nu of th e H ide and Se e k w indow th at ope ns , th e n cl ick th e “ Icons ” tabs . M ak e s ure th e boxe s of “ Com pute r icon vis ibl e on de s k top” and “ W as te bas k e t vis ibl e on de s k top” are tick e d. (W as te bas k e t m ay al s o be cal l e d tras h , de l e te d ite m s , e tc. de pe nding on th e l anguage s e ttings and ve rs ion of your Ubuntu s e tup)
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UBUNTU FO R PH O TO G RA PH Y
H O W - TO W ritte n by Sh ay Ste ph e ns
Th e re is a w e al th of inform ation out th e re about e diting ph otograph s on W indow s and M ac pl atform s , but not s o m uch about Linux. So I h ope to re ctify th at h e re w ith inform ation th at m ay be be ne ficialto th e Linux-bas e d ph otograph e r or th os e s im pl y conte m pl ating a m ove to Linux.
As a w e dding ph otograph e r com ing from al ong and h e avy W indow s back ground, I w as n't ve ry fl ue nt or capabl e w ith Linux w h e n I firs t s tarte d inve s tigating it l as t ye ar. I trie d out a l ot of ve rs ions untilI cam e to Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu w as th e firs t ve rs ion of Linux th at w ork e d on both m y de s k top and l aptop, and th at s e al ed th e de alfor m e . I th e n be gan dualbooting be tw e e n Ubuntu and W indow s XP. And l ittl e by l ittl e , I s tarte d m oving m ore and m ore w ork ove r to Ubuntu untilone day l ate De ce m be r 2006 w h e n I ins tal l eda ne w s ound card in m y de s k top, W indow s de cide d it didn't l ik e th at, and tol dme I h ad to ge t pe rm is s ion from M icros oft to k e e p us ing m y com pute r. W e l lI got tire d of doing th at al lth e tim e , and can't re al l y afford th e unre l iabil ity th is introduce s into m y com pute r, s o I de nie d W indow s ' de m and, and ins te ad back e d up al lm y data be fore th e 3-day s h ut-off date e xpire d. Th e s w itch ove r w as com pl e te , and I h ave not l ook e d back s ince . M y s park l y ne w Linux com pute r now runs a s e m i-diffe re nt l ine up of s oftw are th an it did w ith W indow s : ins te ad of Adobe Bridge for e diting RAW fil e s , I us e Bibbl e Pro 4.9 .5; ins te ad of running Ne ro to burn CD's and DVD's , I us e a program cal l ed K 3b. Th e re are a fe w W indow s -bas e d program s I s til lne e d to run for l ack of be tte r Linux-bas e d al te rnative s . Som e notabl e e xam pl e s are Ph otos h op 7, M e m orie s O nTV, and Star W ars Je di K nigh t II, al lof w h ich I am h appy to re port are w ork ing ve ry w e l lin a program cal l ed W ine . Th e m ak e rs of W ine de s cribe th e
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Bl ack and w h ite im age conve rs ion in Bibbl e Pro
program as a W indow s com patibil ity l aye r th at m ak e s th e W indow s bas e d program you w ant to run th ink it is running in W indow s . W ine s til lis n't at th e 1.0 l e ve lof com pl e te ne s s , but it is cl os e e nough now th at Ph otos h op 7 and m any oth e r W indow s -bas e d program s run ve ry w e l l . Th e firs t tas k for m e w h e n I m ade th e s w itch in ope rating s ys te m s w as to find a RAW e ditor I coul d us e . Righ t now th at e ditor is Bibbl e Pro 4.9 .5 from Bibbl e Labs . It took m e a l ittl e bit of tim e to ge t us e d to th e inte rface and w ays of accom pl is h ing tas k s (com ing from an Adobe back ground), but I h ave be e n ul tim ate l y abl e to do al lm y RAW w ork w ith Bibbl e as e fficie ntl y as I did w ith Adobe Bridge . Th e nice th ing about Bibbl e is th at it runs on W indow s , M ac, and Linux pl atform s s o you re al l y h ave th e m os t fre e dom to us e w h ich e ve r s ys te m you w ant. If you th ink you m ay w ant to s w itch ope rating s ys te m s , you can s tart us ing Bibbl e now on W indow s to #3 - Jul y 2007
ge t fam il iar w ith it, th e n w h e n you m ak e th e s w itch , you are l igh t ye ars ah e ad of th e l e arning curve w h e n you us e Bibbl e in Linux.
ph oto. M any us e rs w il lbe abl e to us e it as is righ t now for al lth e ir ne e ds .
Som e of th e program h igh l igh ts in addition to s tandard RAW e diting are s pot h e al ing and patch ing, Nois e Ninja, l e ns dis tortion corre ction, vigne tte controland B& W conve rs ions . Th e Bibbl e s upport forum s are ve ry hel pfultoo and th e re are various h ow -to's , docum e ntation, and vide os to h e l p out th e ne w com e r to Bibbl e . Don't be s h y about s igning up for th e forum , th e y w il ltre at you w e l l .
If I w e re to try and de s cribe Ligh tZ one in one w ord it w oul d be "organic". It is one of th os e program s th at jus t fe e l s l ik e it is Th e Nois e Ninja capabil ity in Bibbl e is not s o te ch nicaland m e ch aniz e d but l im ite d if you don't h ave a Nois e Ninja m ore anal og, fuz z y and natural . Not in a l ice ns e , but if you do h ave one , or bad w ay m ind you, but m ore in th e s e ns e purch as e th e H om e Standal one ve rs ion, th at th e re s ul ts you ge t h ave m ore of a th e n al lth e fe ature s ope n up for us e . Jus t h and-crafte d l ook and fe e lto th e m as if be aw are to us e Nois e Ninja s paringl y, as you w e re cre ating th e im age s in a it w il lre al l y sl ow th ings dow n if you appl y dark room by h and. Be w are , once you try Nois e Ninja to e ve ry ph oto in th e fol de r th e program you m ay ge t h ook e d by it! you are w ork ing on.
Th e Linux ve rs ion is curre ntl y be ing offe re d at no cos t. Th e W indow s and M ac ve rs ions cos t $249 .9 5 for th e ful lve rs ion and $149 .9 5 for th e bas ic ve rs ion.
Th e de ve l opm e nt of Bibbl e is ve ry active and us e fulfe ature s are be ing adde d al l th e tim e . Th e price is affordabl e too, curre ntl y $129 .9 5 for th e Pro ve rs ion and $69 .9 5 for th e Lite ve rs ion. Anoth e r inte re s ting RAW e diting program th at jus t e nte re d m y radar is Ligh tZ one , w h ich h as a ve ry uniq ue inte rface th at com bine s th e ide a of th e z one s ys te m and corre ction l aye rs . It can al s o do s pot h e al ing and cl oning. It is l ack ing a fe w k e y fe ature s for m e , but th e y s ay th e ne xt update or tw o w il ll ik e l y tak e care of th at. Ligh tZ one fe e l s e as y and intuitive to us e once you be com e fam il iar w ith th e tool s th at are avail abl e . Th e inte rface , as you can s e e h as a s im pl e l ayout and doe s n't ge t in th e w ay. And ye t, a ph otograph e r can s tack up a ve ry com pl icate d s e t of adjus tm e nts and corre ctions to e ach
W h e n it com e s to cre ating s l ide s h ow s in Linux, no native Linux appl ications re al l y s tand up and s ay "Us e m e !". So th e one I am us ing righ t now is a W indow s bas e d program cal l e d M e m orie s O nTV 3.1.8 from Code Jam . It h as re ce ntl y s tarte d w ork ing via W ine and I am cre ating s om e ve ry nice s l ide s h ow s w ith it. M e m orie s O nTV is al s o in active de ve l opm e nt, s o it pays to ch e ck th e w e bs ite e ve ry now and again to s e e if th e re are any update s . Bug fixe s and th e occas ionaladde d fe ature find th e ir w ay into m os t update s , th e l ate s t be ing "cl ips h ow s " and "m ul tipl e sl ide s ".
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Th e bas ics of th e program are s im pl e and pre tty s traigh tforw ard. You add th e ph otos you w ant, th e n appl y m us ic and trans itions as de s ire d, th e n re nde r th e vide o. Th e re are a l ot of options and cus tom is ations al l ow e d, s o you can tail or th e s l ide s h ow to be as s im pl e and el e gant as you w ant or as fl as h y and gl itz y as your e ye s can h andl e. M e m orie s O nTV can be purch as e d from th e Code Jam w e bs ite and cos ts $79 .9 9 for th e Pro ve rs ion and $49 .9 9 for th e H om e ve rs ion.
re pl ace m e nt for th e W indow s bas e d Ne ro w h ich w as m y m ain burning appl ication in W indow s . Inte re s tingl y, th e re is a Linux ve rs ion of Ne ro cal l e d Ne roLinux, but it h as n't w ork e d as w e l las K 3b for m e and ce rtainl y doe s n't l ook as nice as K 3b. Ne roLinux l ook s l ik e a th row back to th e s tone -age of com puting (10 ye ars ago!) I k now th at is pe tty, but th e re it is . If you are not as pe tty as I am and w ant to us e Ne roLinux de s pite its front e nd, you can do s o w ith out ch arge if you al re ady h ave a Ne ro l ice nce : jus t e nte r your k e y into Ne roLinux and aw ay you go. If you don't h ave a k e y, you can buy one for $19 .9 9 from th e Ne roLinux w e bpage . I m e ntione d us ing Ph otos h op 7 via W ine . Th e re are Linux al te rnative s to Ph otos h op 7 s uch as Gim p, K rita, e tc, but th e te xt l ayout capabil ity is curre ntl y ve ry prim itive in th os e program s . So w h e n I ne e d to cre ate DVD box art, ph oto book s , e tc, I s til lne e d to re l y on Ph otos h op 7 to ge t it done e fficie ntl y.
You can ge ne rate a dis k im age w ith M e m orie s O nTV and us e K 3b to burn it to a DVD. If you are us ing a s e parate DVD auth oring program , you can h ave M e m orie s O nTV jus t ge ne rate m pg fil es ins te ad. I us e a DVD auth oring program cal l e d 'Q' DVD-Auth or, s o I opt for th e m pg fil e ge ne ration. 'Q' DVD-Auth or is a bit finick y to us e , s o I am not ye t re com m e nding it for ge ne ralus e . Al th ough if you w ant com pl e te controlof th e DVD m e nu s tructure and l ayout, it is your be s t be t and w e l lw orth th e e ffort to l e arn to us e it. K 3b (th e CD/DVD burning program ) jus t re ce ntl y m ade th e 1.0 l e ve l (congratul ations to th e m ) and it is th e onl y Linux burning program th at I k now of th at offe rs data ve rification, s om e th ing I pe rs onal l y can't l ive w ith out. K 3b re al l y is th e be s t Linux bas e d burning program I h ave us e d and h as be e n a gre at
For e ve ryday ph oto e diting, Gim p, K rita, and th e oth e rs do a ve ry good job, and th e upcom ing ve rs ion 2.4 of Gim p w il l h ave a h e al ing brus h and oth e r gre at tool s you m ay be us e d to from Ph otos h op. I am curre ntl y us ing Gim p to batch proce s s m y ful l -s iz e im age s into w e b-s iz e d ve rs ions th at I can upl oad to m y w e bs ite . If you h ave pre vious l y be e n us ing th e s cripting capabil ity of Ph otos h op, you w il le njoy th e abil ity to cre ate s cripting in Gim p too as th e autom ation capabil itie s re al l y s h ine w h e n unde r s cripting control . M ore about th at th ough in a l ate r articl e . Untilth e n, ch e ck out th e Re s ource Re pos itory for l ink s to th e com panie s and products m e ntione d in th is articl e. If you h ave q ue s tions or com m e nts you can s e nd th e m to m e via : h ttp://w w w .s h ays te ph e ns .com /contact.ph p
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H O W - TO W ritte n by Ronnie Tuck e r
PART 3
In th is th ird articl e in th e Scribus s e rie s w e w il ldis cus s form atting te xt and cre ating 'paragraph s tyl es' w h ich w il lal l ow us to form at te xt q uick l y and e as il y at th e cl ick of a m ous e button.
Anyone w h o h as us e d O pe nO ffice e xte ns ive l y w il lk now h ow tim e cons um ing it can be s e l e cting ch unk s of te xt, appl ying bol d, s crol l ing dow n, s e l e cting m ore te xt, m aybe ch anging th e font type , font s iz e and s o on. W ith in Scribus w e can s e t up 'Paragraph Styl e s ' for te xt, for now , th ink of a paragraph s tyl e as jus t be ing a s h ortcut th at w il ldo m os t of th e w ork for you.
Th is w indow al l ow s us to cre ate - and e dit - paragraph s tyl e s th at w e w il lus e in our docum e nt. Cl ick Ne w .
Le t's cre ate a paragraph s tyl e . H e re 's m y docum e nt from l as t m onth .
From th is w indow w e can e dit al lof th e s tyl e s prope rtie s . Eve ryth ing from font s tyl e , dis tance be tw e e n paragraph l ine s , bol d, ital ic, paragraph orie ntation and col our. H ave a pl ay around w ith th e s e ttings to ge t a paragraph s tyl e you l ik e :
Now in th e Scribus m e nu ch oos e Edit > Paragraph Styl es
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O k , I've pick e d a rath e r garis h l ook ing font, orie ntation and col ouring but it's to m ak e it s tand out m ore in th e s cre e ns h ots , you w oul d obvious l y ch oos e s om e th ing a bit m ore pl e as ing on th e e ye ! W ith your s tyl e ch os e n, it's tim e to s ave it. At th e top of th e w indow you'l ls e e a te xt e ntry box th at curre ntl y s ays 'Ne w Styl e' in h e re type a m e aningfulnam e . I'l lcal l m ine 'im portant' and I'l lus e it for im portant te xt. And cl ick O K . And th e re it s h ow s in our l is t of Paragraph Styl es.
You can s e e I h ave a de finite paragraph in th e righ t col um n, s o for th is e xam pl e I w ant to m ak e th at paragraph h ave a diffe re nt s tyl e from th e re s t of th e te xt. Norm al l y I'd h ave to s e l e ct th e bl ock of te xt to al te r th e font type , s iz e and s o on, but not now ! W e h ave a paragraph s tyl e re ady to do al lth e w ork for us . To appl y our s tyl e to our paragraph w e s im pl y doubl e cl ick on our te xt box (to be gin e diting it) and pl ace our fl as h ing curs or w ith in th e paragraph w e w ant to appl y th e s tyl e to. In th e Prope rtie s w indow , cl ick th e Te xt tab. You'l ls e e a dropdow n m e nu titl e d Styl e , cl ick w h e re it s ays No Styl e or on th e dow n arrow and you'l ls e e your paragraph s tyl e.
And cl ick ok to s afe l y cl os e th at w indow . Now th e im portant th ing about Paragraph Styl e s is th at it w ork s on paragraph s . I h ate to s tate th e obvious but as you can s e e in our docum e nt s o far: th e re are no paragraph s . So to add s om e paragraph s I'l le dit th e te xt and add a fe w carriage re turns (Ente r k e y)
Cl ick th e nam e of your paragraph s tyl e and your paragraph w il ls udde nl y tak e on th e prope rtie s of your paragraph s tyl e. You can al s o cl ick once on a col um n and
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appl y a paragraph s tyl e to th e e ntire col um n.
Pl ay around w ith al lth e options in th e Paragraph Styl e s w indow as it m ak e s a big diffe re nce to your l ayout. A l ot of publ ications e ffe ctive l y us e a bl ank l ine afte r e ach l ine of te xt (to m ak e for e as ie r re ading) s o e dit your l ine s pacing to about th e h e igh t of your te xt to ge t th at e ffe ct. Som e publ ications w il lh ave th e ir w ords s pre ad out to cove r th e ful lw idth of th e col um n w h ich can l ook good but can al so failm is e rabl y if your l as t l ine onl y h as th re e s h ort w ords and th e y are s pre ad our acros s a w ide are a s o be care fulw ith th at.
Th e oth e r good th ing about Paragraph Styl e s is th at any ch ange s you m ak e to th e s tyl e is autom atical l y appl ie d to anyw h e re th at s tyl e is appl ie d w ith in your docum e nt! If I do Edit > Paragraph Styl e s , cl ick m y s tyl e nam e and cl ick on th e Edit button and ch ange a fe w th ings :
Paragraph Styl e s are a gre at tim e s ave r and you w il lne e d th e m w ith in your publ ication for various type s of te xt. For e xam pl e : on th is page th at you're re ading now , it h as a paragraph s tyl e for th e s m al l introductory te xt (at th e top of th e page ) and a s tyl e for th e m ain body of th e articl e . Som e page s h ave a s tyl e for th e s m al lcaption te xt unde r ph otograph s . Sim il arl y, to s tandardis e your col ours w ith in th e publ ication you can cre ate Col our Styl e s , but w e 'l ldis cus s th at in Part 4. Cl ick O K to acce pt th os e ch ange s , and cl ick O K to cl os e th e Paragraph Styl es w indow ...
Ne xt m onth w e 'l ll ook at Col our Styl e s . Th is al l ow s us to cre ate a s e t of col ours w h ich w il lbe us e d th rough out th e publ ication. It m e ans w e don't h ave to re m e m be r col our val ue s , a re altim e s ave r!
Voil a! It autom atical l y ch ange s al l ins tance s of th at paragraph s tyl e!
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UBUNTU O N A PPLE M A CBO O K
REVIEW W ritte n by Luca De M arini
In m y l ocalLUG m ail ing l is t, l ate l y, one of m y frie nds as k e d, w ith out w il l ing to produce any fl am e or ins ul t, w h y on e arth do s o m any pe opl e buy a m acbook to ins tal lUbuntu on it. H is q ue s tions w e re , bas ical l y: is th e cos t particul arl y conve nie nt com pare d to oth e rs l aptops ?Doe s it h ave a s upe rior h ardw are ?Is th e h ardw are com patibl e w ith Linux?Le t's bring s om e l igh t into th is dark ne s s of doubts .
Price / Qual ity In is s ue #2 of Ful lCircl e M agaz ine w e re ad th e re vie w by Al an H ood of th e Sys te m 76 Darte r Laptop. I th ink th at th e M acbook can be com pare d dire ctl y to th is product from Sys te m 76, s ince it is a ve ry s im il ar l aptop in dim e ns ions and e ve n in l ook . So, jus t to be gin, both products can be bough t w ith a m inim aland ch e ap configuration or w ith a pow e rfuland e xpe ns ive one . In th e fol l ow ing tabl e w e 'l l com pare th e e ntry l e ve lconfiguration of both s ys te m s . As you can s e e from th e tabl e (ne xt page ), th e M acbook is gre atl y s upe rior in al ot of dras tical l y im portant com pone nts s uch as th e CPU, H ard Dis c, Ram . Th e CPU al one w oul d m ak e th e M acBook w in th is com paris on ch art but it al s o h as doubl e th e H D and Ram and th e s e are re al l y im portant factors w h e n ch oos ing a l aptop (You w il lnot be abl e to upgrade th e CPU in th e future ). Th e s cre e n is anoth e r gre at point of th e M acBook . Eve n if it is of th e s am e s iz e and re s ol ution, th e s cre e n of a M ac is a s upe rior e xpe rie nce any w ay you l ook at it. O nl y s om e m ode l s of Sony Vaio can com pe te w ith th e q ual ity of a M acBook s cre e n, and w e k now th at Appl e com pute rs are inte nde d principal l y for profe s s ionalgraph ic de s igne rs . Th e M acBook h as an inte grate d w e bcam too and th is is a gre at point if you
cons ide r th at w e 're tal k ing about ve ry portabl e l aptops , ofte n us e d for vide o confe re nce s . O n th e oth e r h and, th e Darte r h as tw o im portant advantage s : a PCI Expre s s card s l ot to ins tal l , for e xam pl e , an inte rne t conne ctivity card, and m uch m ore vide o m e m ory. Th e card re ade r is not a big goal , s ince th e re are a l ot of USB card re ade rs around. And in th is vie w of th ings you coul d agre e w ith m e th at e ve n th e PCI Expre s s s l ot, at th e e nd, is not al l th at advantage : you can find al m os t any PCIM CIA card h ardw are in USB ve rs ion too. Th e M acBook doe s not h ave an SVide o out and th is coul d be a bad h andicap if you w oul dl ik e to conne ct it to a te l e vis ion. O f cours e th e re are adapte rs avail abl e onl ine . Anoth e r gre at advantage of th e Darte r is th e opticaldrive : th e e ntry l e ve lve rs ion of th e M acbook onl y h as a CD burne r and DVD re ade r w h il e th e Darte r h as a DVD burne r and th at's not a l ittl e diffe re nce . As a concl us ion w e can s ay th at th e Darte r cos ts too m uch for w h at it is in th e e ntry l e ve lcom paris on ch art. At al m os t th e s am e price , a M acBook is s o m uch fas te r, but it h as no DVD Burne r and th at is re al l y th e onl y bad ne w s . If you w ant to be abl e to burn DVDs you h ave to buy th e M e dium Le ve lM acbook at a Ful lprice of $1,29 9 .00 or $1,19 9 .00 for Stude nts pl us al lth e goodie s s uch as fre e Ipod, fre e printe r and s o on. And re m e m be r th at
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K e y:
Gre e n : th is com pone nt is s upe rior to th e one of th e oth e r com pute r
Re d : th is com pone nt is s e rious l y infe rior com pare d to th e one of th e oth e r com pute r
Bl ack : th is com pone nt is infe rior to th e one of th e oth e r com pute r but th at's not a big is s ue . Bl ue : th e tw o com pone nts are th e s am e , th e re 's no re aldiffe re nce .
Sys te m 76 Darte r Laptop Entry Le ve lm ode l
Appl e M acBook Entry Le ve lm ode l
Proce s s or Spe e d: Ce l e ron M 410 1.46GH z 1M B 533 FSB
Proce s s or Spe e d: 2.0GH z Inte lCore 2 Duo Ram : 1GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM – 2x512
Ram : 512 M B DDR2 667 M H z
H D: 80GB Se rialATA @ 5400 rpm
H D: 40 GB 5400 RPM
O pticalDrive : Com bo Drive (DVD-RO M /CDRW )
O pticalDrive : CD-RW / DVD-RW (DualLaye r)
Dis pl ay: 13.3” W ide s cre e n W XGA (1280X800)
Dis pl ay: 13.3-inch (vie w abl e ) gl os s y W ide s cre e n 1280 x 800 pixe l s
Graph ics : Inte lGM A 9 50 224 M B Inte grate d Graph ics Sound: Inte lH igh De finition Audio
Graph ics : Inte lGM A 9 50 graph ics proce s s or w ith 64M B of DDR2 SDRAM s h are d
W ire l e s s : Inte l802.11 abg & Bl ue tooth
Ne tw ork ing: 10/100(LAN)
Expans ion: PCI Expre s s Card Sl ot (34/54)
Card Re ade r: None
W e bcam : None
Ports : VGA, 2x USB 2.0, M ic In, H e adph one O ut, Fire W ire 139 4B
Ne tw ork ing: 10/100(LAN)
Sound: Inte grate d
Card Re ade r: 4 in 1 Card Re ade r
W ire l e s s : AirPort Extre m e Card & Bl ue tooth
Ports : VGA, 3x USB 2.0, M ic In, H e adph one O ut, Fire W ire 139 4B, S-Vide o
Expans ion: None
Price : $9 9 5.00
W e bcam : Inte grate d
Price : $1,118.00, Stude nts : $9 9 9 .00 w ith a fre e Ipod Nano
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th is M e dium Le ve lve rs ion of th e M acBook is re al l y a m ons te r in pe rform ance and com pone nt q ual ity. Now l e t's com pare th e tw o be s t ve rs ions of both com pute rs , cus tom iz e d to be th e m os t bl e e ding e dge as pos s ibl e. So at th is point th ings ch ange a l ittl e . Th e Darte r h as a s l igh tl y fas te r CPU but h as l e s s RAM and h al f th e h ard drive s pace . For th e re s t of th e com pone nts , e ve ryth ing is th e s am e as in th e Entry Le ve l com paris on ch art e xce pt th at th e M acBook of cours e catch e s up th e Darte r w ith th e DVD duall aye r Burne r. But th e price of th e M acBook com pare d to th e q ual ity and pow e r of th e incl ude d com pone nts is w h at m ak e s th e re al diffe re nce . You can s e e from th is ch art above th at th e re 's at l e as t a $347.00 diffe re nce of price h e re ! Th e M acBook is ch e ape r and m ore pow e rfulin e ve ry com pone nt e xce pt th e CPU (and s om e acce s s orie s ) but th e gam e is n't ove r ye t. Look and De s ign As w e can s e e from th e ph otograph s , th e Darte r h as a s im il ar l ook to th e Appl e M acBook . Both are e l e gant, w ith a w h ite col or and tiny dim e ns ions . If w e l ik e th is k ind of particul ars , th e Darte r h as vis ibl e s pe ak e r w h ich m ay be a nice ch oice or a bad one , de pe nding on your tas te s . W e re ad in th e Darte r Re vie w (in Ful l Circl e M agaz ine Is s ue #2) th at th e gray l e tte ring on th e k e ys is m aybe too l igh t to be corre ctl y us e d. Th is probl e m is not s o e vide nt in th e M acBook s e rie s as th e l e tte ring is gray, but dark e nough to l et you dis tinguis h e ach l e tte r be tte r. As for th e s tyl is h as pe ct of th e M acBook , I gue s s th e re are s om e cooladvantage s s uch as th e l um ine s ce nt Appl e l ogo and th e pul s ing w h ite l igh t w h e n th e com pute r is in s tandby and th is brings us to th e ne xt ch apte r of th is re vie w .
H ardw are Com patibil ity Th e Darte r h as a l ot of h ardw are is s ue s w ith Ubuntu. For s om e com pone nts you'l l ne e d to do s om e h ard w ork to h ave Ubuntu run corre ctl y and s om e oth e r com pone nts jus t w on't w ork . Th e w ors t as pe ct of th e Darte r is th e s us pe nd fe ature not w ork ing in Ubuntu. As I al re ady s aid, w e 're tal k ing about ve ry portabl e l aptops h e re and th e s us pe nd fe ature is re al l y a m us t-h ave in m y opinion. H ow can you corre ctl y us e a l aptop of th is k ind if you cannot jus t cl os e th e m onitor and m ove w ith it going autom atical l y in s l e e p m ode ? Wel l , th e M acbook h as no h ardw are is s ue w ith Ubuntu, but th e re is s om e s l igh t configuration ne e de d. W h e n you ins tal l Ubuntu Fe is ty on a M acBook you notice th at th e re s ol ution is ve ry l ow , th e re 's no w ire l e s s , s us pe nd doe s not w ork and a fe w fire bal l s w il lfal lfrom th e s k y dire ctl y to your h ous e . But th e re is an e as y guide in th e Ubuntu W e bSite : h ttp://h e l p.ubuntu.com /com m unity/M acBook W ith in th e h our you'l lh ave e ve ry s ingl e pie ce of h ardw are w ork ing pe rfe ctl y, incl uding a w onde rfuls us pe nd fe ature (w ith no bug, pe rfe ctl y w ork ing, jus t cl os e th e m onitor l id and Ubuntu w il ls tart sl e e ping, ope n it up again and it w il l im m e diate l y w ak e up, jus t l ik e w ith Appl e O SX), gre at s cre e n re s ol ution, ful lope n s ource w i-fi s upport, bl ue tooth and e ve ryth ing e l s e you'd e ve r ne e d. O ne of th e m os t incre dibl e facts about th e h ardw are of a M acBook is th at e ve ry s ingl e fe ature w il lw ork w ith out th e ne e d of proprie tary drive rs onl y ope n s ource s oftw are ! Th e M acBook is probabl ya l aptop w ith s om e of th e gre ate s t Ubuntu com patibil ity around. You jus t h ave to configure it a l ittl e! Th e M acBook is al s o q uie t, and it ne ve r h e ate d up once w h il e us ing it. So e ve n
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Appl e M acBook Be s t Ve rs ion M ode l
Sys te m 76 Darte r Laptop Be s t Ve rs ion M ode l
Proce s s or Spe e d: 2.0GH z Inte lCore 2 Duo
Proce s s or Spe e d: Core 2 Duo T7600 2.33GH z 4M B 667FSB
Ram : 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM – 2x1GB
Ram : 1.5 GB DDR2 667 M H z
H D: 200GB Se rialATA @ 4200 rpm
H D: 100 GB 5400 RPM
O pticalDrive : Supe rDrive 8x (DVD± R DL/DVD± RW /CD-RW )
O pticalDrive : CD-RW / DVD-RW (DualLaye r)
Dis pl ay: 13.3-inch (vie w abl e ) gl os s y W ide s cre e n 1280 x 800 pixe l s
Dis pl ay: 13.3” W ide s cre e n W XGA (1280X800) Graph ics : Inte lGM A 9 50 224 M B Inte grate d Graph ics
Graph ics : Inte lGM A 9 50 graph ics proce s s or w ith 64M B of DDR2 SDRAM s h are d
Sound: Inte lH igh De finition Audio
Sound: Inte grate d
Ne tw ork ing: 10/100(LAN)
Ne tw ork ing: 10/100(LAN)
W ire l e s s : Inte l802.11 abg & Bl ue tooth
W ire l e s s : AirPort Extre m e Card & Bl ue tooth
Card Re ade r: 4 in 1 Card Re ade r
Card Re ade r: None
Expans ion: PCI Expre s s Card Sl ot (34/54)
Expans ion: None
Ports : VGA, 3x USB 2.0, M ic In, H e adph one O ut, Fire W ire 139 4B, S-Vide o
Ports : VGA, 2x USB 2.0, M ic In, H e adph one O ut, Fire W ire 139 4B
W e bcam : None
W e bcam : Inte grate d
Price : $1,9 02.00
Price : Ful l$1,649 .00, Stude nts : $1,514.00 w ith a fre e Ipod Nano incl ude d.
th e cool ing s ys te m w ork s nice l y w ith Ubuntu, e ve n w ith Be ryl/ Com piz activate d. And I al w ays h ave Com piz Fus ion activate d. Anoth e r advantage of a M acBook : it can boot Appl e O SX! O SX is , in m y opinion, th e be s t proprie tary O pe rating Sys te m around and it is ne e de d by Arch ite cts l ik e m e to run s om e ne ce s s ary CAD s oftw are (s uch as Arch icad) not avail abl e for Linux
and too s l ow on W indow s . So if you are a profe s s ionalyou m ay w ant to h ave O SX in dualboot w ith Ubuntu. DualBooting is ve ry s im pl e us ing BootCam p (s e e m y Ubuntu Fe is ty on a M ini M ac Guide / Re vie w in Ful l Cricl e M agaz ine Is s ue #2) but you m ay find s om e is s ue if you try advance d configurations , s o I'l lw rite a guide about it, s tay tune d. W h il e booting Ubuntu w ith
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W indow s m ay not m ak e a l ot of s e ns e (e s pe cial l y now th at w e can partial l y virtual iz e 3D h ardw are acce l e ration th ank s to VM GL) it doe s m ak e a l ot of s e ns e booting it w ith O SX (w e can't e ve n corre ctl y virtual iz e O SX ye t). Th e h ard drive is re al l y h uge in al m os t any M acBook ve rs ion, s o, dual booting is s im pl e and conve nie nt!
avail abl e on th e m ark e t (of cours e you can ins tal lany oth e r O pe rating Sys te m s you l ik e s uch as O pe n Sol aris , BSD, e ct., s ince it is an Inte lbas e d com pute r). you'l l h ardl y m is s th e PCM CIA s l ot, be l ie ve m e , w h y w oul d you e ve r ne e d it afte r al l ? And did I m e ntion th at e ve n th e buil t-in w e bcam w ork s fl aw l essl y w ith Ubuntu? You can us e it for e xam pl e w ith Ek iga or w ith Gnom e Ch e e s e (Sim il ar to O SX Ph oto Booth ). I've be e n re al l y pl e as e d w ith th is l aptop and ne ve r found a probl e m w ith it. Don't be s care d about th e dim e ns ions of th e s cre e n: e ve n if it is onl y a 13.5'', th e h igh re s ol ution and pe rfe ct com bination of l igh t, contras t, col ors , re fl e ction pre ve ntion m ak e s it a pe rfe ct w ork s tation and re m e m be r th at you can e as il y conne ct it to an e xte rnalm onitor, if you w ant. A l arge num be r of pe opl e ch oos e a M acBook as th e pe rfe ct h ardw are for Ubuntu, th ink about it, th e price is re al l y w orth th e gain.
Support W e h ave to re m e m be r th at Appl e s upports M acBook s onl y w ith O SX ins tal l e d and doe s not s upport th e ins tal l ation of Ubuntu dire ctl y. So you cannot ph one or e m ailAppl e if you h ave is s ue s w ith Ubuntu in your M acBook ! Th is doe s n't l ook to m e as a big de alth ough and you s h oul dn't be w orrie d about it at al l . In Ubuntu Forum s th e re 's an e ntire cate gory de dicate d to Inte lM ac Us e rs , fil l e d w ith w is e pe opl e re ady and w il l ing to hel p you w ith any q ue s tion! Th is is a re al l y big com m unity s upport advantage . Concl us ions and Rating
Th e M acBook is probabl y th e be s t s ys te m Sum m ary : Th e M acBook is probabl y th e around at th e m om e nt if you w ant to run be s t ch oice for q ual ity / price w ith a l aptop Ubuntu on a l aptop. It is q uie t and ne ve r of th e s e dim e ns ions . Its h ardw are w ork s pe rfe ctl y w ith Ubuntu us ing onl y O pe n ove rh e ats , it is pow e rfuland e ye candy Source driv e rs , e v e n s us pe nd w ork s . It h as e ffe cts s uch as Be rylor Com piz Fus ion an inte grate d w e bcam and can run O SX, w il lw ork pe rfe ctl y w ith no s l ow dow n at al l pl us it is a ve ry robus t and s tyl is h com pute r in any s ituation. Th e com patibil ity w ith and its h ardw are is bl e e ding e dge . Al th ough s us pe nd is s om e th ing th at de s e rve s a th e m iddl e e ntry ve rs ion m ay be th e be s t ch oice for m os t us e rs . s pe cialm e ntion and it is th is th at m ak e s th e M acBook jum p k il om e te rs ah e ad its Advantage s & Gadge ts Price / Qual ity com pe titors and re m e m be r th at e ach pe ace of h ardw are w il lw ork w ith ful lope n s ource drive r s upport! Look & De s ign
Th e price com pare d to th e pow e r and q ual ity of th e h ardw are is th e l ow e s t around and it al s o h as M ac O SX inte grate d w h ich give s you anoth e r gre at ch oice opportunity. It can run Ubuntu, W indow s (any ve rs ion) and M ac O SX, th e w ide s t ch oice of O pe rating Sys te m s
H ardw are Com patibil ity
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Support
O VERALL
5/5
CO M PIZ FUSIO N
PREVIEW W ritte n by Al ex
Firs t, th e re w as Com piz it w as h igh l y s tabl e and am az e d us e rs w ith its w obbl y w indow s . Th e n cam e Be ryl , a fork of Com piz it focus e d it's e fforts on e ffe cts . Now th e tw o h ave joine d force s to give us th e be s t of both w orl ds , th e s tabil ity of Com piz w ith th e e ffe cts of Be ryl . Be h ol d: Com piz Fus ion
Th e Cube Th e cube is a 3D re pre s e ntationalvie w of your de s k top. It m aps out 4 (or m ore ) w ork s pace s onto a h uge 3D obje ct, and al l ow s you to drag your w indow s around it. Th is m ak e s it incre dibl y e as y to m anage s aid w indow s , by h aving you im agine e xactl y w h e re th e y are at. Th e m ind th ink s be tte r in 3D, s o w h y s h oul d your com pute r be any diffe re nt? An e xte ns ion to th is pl ugin, e ve n th ough it is l is te d s e parate l y, is th e cube -rotate pl ugin. It al l ow s you to tak e your cube , and rotate it around and l e t you vie w it from e ve ry angl e and de tail . W ith th e s k y dom e e nabl e d, th is is an am az ing and bre ath tak ing e ffe ct. Not to m e ntion us e fulfor s w itch ing be tw e e n w ork s pace s . O ne of th e cool e s t e ffe ct adde d to Fus ion is th e Re fl e ction. It proje cts an e xact re fl e ction of th e cube onto an im aginary pl ane be l ow . It adds th e th e re al is m of Com piz , and is jus t gre at e ye candy.
Expo Th e Expo Pl ugin is a re m ak e of th e w al l pl ugin from Be ryl . Th e adde d bonus is th at it can be e nabl e d at th e s am e tim e as th e cube , be ing m appe d to m oving th e m ous e into th e uppe r l e ft h and corne r by de faul t. It al l ow s you to drag w indow s around on a ' w al l ' of your de s k tops . It's ve ry us e fulin ge tting a s om e w h at ae rialvie w of al lyour w indow s . Th e re fl e ction pl ugin al s o w ork s wel lw ith it. Som e th ing fun to do is s tart up a m ovie , and at th e s am e tim e w atch a dow nl oad progre s s or w atch for incom ing IM s . Re al l y, anoth e r be autifule ffe ct.
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Fire Paint Fe e ll ik e l e aving your fam il y a m e s s age , but out of s tick y note s or s pace on th e fridge ?Fire Paint is th e pe rfe ct s ol ution. W h o w oul dn't w ant to draw al love r th e ir s cre e n in fire ?Provide s h ours of e nte rtainm e nt.
Al lth e s e th ings toge th e r are jus t a part of w h at m ak e s Com piz Fus ion s o gre at. Th e s e are onl y th e m ain ne w pl ugins , and Fus ion is s til la w ork in progre s s . Al s o, m os t of th e e ffe cts in Com piz Fus ion are anim ate d s o s tatic s cre e ns h ots re al l y don't do th e e ffe cts jus tice . Th e y re al l y do ne e d to be s e e n to be be l ie ve d! If you're inte re s te d in te s ting out Com piz Fus ion and can't w ait for Guts y to com e out, as I coul dn't, h e ad ove r to Ubuntu Forum s . Jus t be aw are th at Com piz Fus ion is s til l be ing w ork e d on, update d al m os t dail y and you w il lat s om e point s e e gl itch e s , but don't be s care d, it is s til lve ry s tabl e. W ith th e m e rge of Com piz and Be ryl , an am az ing ne w product is in th e w ork s . Com piz Fus ion brings w h at's gre at about Be ryl(th e e ffe cts ) and Com piz (s tabil ity), th row s th e m toge th e r, e l im inate s m any of th e probl e m s th at pl ague d th e m , and adds its ow n goodie s . Eve n in th is e arl y s tage of de ve l opm e nt, Com piz Fus ion is m ore s tabl e th an th e De s k top Effe cts incl ude d w ith Ubuntu Fe is ty Faw n. It al s o runs m uch s m ooth e r th an Be ryl , in te s ts up to 15 fram e s pe r s e cond fas te r on m y m ach ine . Th e ne w pl ugins give your de s k top a s m ooth fe e l , and a productive w ork s pace w ith as m any w ork s pace s as re q uire d. Com piz Fus ion is inde e d al lit is h ype d up to be . And, as an adde d bonus : it w il lcom e by de faul t in Ubuntu 7.10, Guts y Gibbon. To q uote M ark Sh uttl e w orth : pre tty is a fe ature .
Apol ogie s for th e m is s ing Col in W ats on inte rvie w , it'l lbe in #4, h one s t! K e e p th os e q ue s tions com ing! Ne xt m onth s inte rvie w e e w il lbe none oth e r th an Col in W ats on, Ins tal l e r Te am Le ade r, Ubuntu Com m unity CouncilM e m be r and Line M anage r for h al f th e dis tro te am ! Pl e as e e m ailyour q ue s tions for Col in to: q ue s tions @ ful l circl e m agazine .org
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M Y STO RY
A YEA R W ITH D A PPER D RA K E
W ritte n by Ste ve Th om ps on
I firs t be gan us ing PCs on an ol d Am s trad PC1640 DO S 3 and 640k m e m ory, 30M B H D and a H e rcul e s gre e n s cre e n graph ics card. Crappy k it, I agre e , but it gave m e a tas te for PC's and I w e nt on to buil d m y firs t 386, 486, P100, P166, Ce l e ron 400 and curre nt W indow s box Ce l e ron 2.4H Z s itting ne xt to a l ove l y 3.06GH Z Ce l e ron Dappe r m ach ine .
Wel l , h e re 's m y s tory, I th ink th e firs t Dis tro I e ve r trie d w as Re d H at, dunno w h ich ve rs ion, but it w as about 12 pl us ye ars ago, as m y firs t s on h ad not ye t arrive d on th e s ce ne . It ins tal l e d w ith a com m and-l ine inte rface as I re cal l-- not ve ry frie ndl y. I dabbl e d w ith it on an ol d Ce l e ron 233 for a fe w m onth s e ve ntual l y giving up as I coul dn't ge t it to s e e any of m y h ardw are . M y ne xt atte m pt w as O pe n Cal de ra (W h at e ve r h appe ne d to th e m ?). Th is w as a w onde rfulIns tal l e r; you coul d pl ay Te tris w h il e ins tal l ing! It ins tal l ed pre tty w e l l , s e e ing m os t h ardw are , but it h ad a re ccurring probl e m of al lth e dis tros I trie d in th e 9 0's ... K DE w ork e d gre at, but w h e n I q uit th e gui w h e n s h utting dow n, or for oth e r re as ons , th e com m and-l ine total l y corrupte d on th e s cre e n, and coul dn't be re ad. You coul d s til ltype com m ands , and th e y w oul d run, but noth ing inte l l igibl e in th e te rm inal . Th is put an e nd to m y Linux e nde avours for s e ve ralye ars , as a ne w baby m ade s uch de m ands upon m e , th at s l e e p w as a m ore im portant is s ue th an crack ing th e te ch nical itie s of O pe n Cal de ra! M y s e cond bite of th e Linux ch e rry w as th e Live dis tro Sl ax, a re al l y nice Linux w h ich w as re l e as e d as a Live CD onl y, but a l ot of th e guys us ing it (incl uding m e ) w e re ve ry k e e n to do a h ard dis k ins tal l . M aybe I s h oul d add at th is point th at I h ave w ork e d in EducationalIT Support for 14 ye ars now and at m y l as t job, w h e n I w as on th e H e l p De s k , th e re
w as a l ot of tim e in front of a PC w h e n I w as n't doing m uch , and it w as a gre at e xcus e to pl ay w ith a Linux Live CD! I fiddl e d w ith Sl ax for about 18 m onth s on an ol d 733 Ce l e ron I h ad l ibe rate d from a dus ty s tore cupboard into th e s h ining l igh t of a Linux ins tal l . I h ad it running Pan for Em ailand Ne w s groups , a ve ry nice l ittl e program , ve ry s im il ar to Forte 's Age nt w h ich I h ad run in W indow s s ince W indow s 3.11. Th e bigge s t probl e m I h ad on th e Sl ax box w as m y s h are d Inte rne t conne ction, w h ich I w as s h aring a dial up on th rough a s w itch box, but I w as us ing Anal ogX's proxy program to s h are th e conne ction w ith m y s on's W indow s 3.11 m ach ine . Th is caus e d nigh tm are s as Pan didn't at al ll ik e us ing a proxy. Afte r pl aying w ith m any l ive CDs , I dow nl oade d Dappe r, and re al is ing it w as n't a l ive CD, I s tuck it in m y office draw e r and forgot about it for a coupl e of m onth s . Finding m ys e l f w ith s om e tim e on m y h ands one w e e k e nd, I de cide d to ins tal lDappe r to an ol d 1.1 GH z AM D Duron I h ad k ick ing around afte r upgrading m y s on to a fas te r m ach ine . W ow ! I w as im pre s s e d! Al lth e h ardw are w as de te cte d, incl uding s ound and vide o, and e ve n th e Inte rne t cam e s traigh t on courte s y of m y w ire d route r. Th at w as it, I h ad th e bug again big-tim e ! I s pe nt a l ot of m y s pare tim e from th is m om e nt on tw e ak ing m y l ittl e Dappe r O ne Gig to m y h e arts conte nt. Afte r about four m onth s I de cide d it w as pe rfe ct apart from one
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th ing – M ore pow e r Scottie ! Ye p, th at's righ t, I de cide d to buil d a de dicate d brandne w Linux Dappe r m ach ine and s o I did. I'm w riting th is s tory on it now . It's got a rath e r ch e apo As rock m oth e rboard £34.00 or s o, 3.06 Gh z Ce l e ron – nice , h al f a gig m e m ory, 250M B h ard dis k , Aope n DVD RO M and Pione e r DVD w rite r. Vide o is an O nboard Inte l82865 as th e rubbis h As rock m oth e rboard w ont tak e any AGP vide o card I h ave trie d – jus t w on't boot up. I've be e n trying to us e th e Dappe r m ach ine for e ve ryth ing I did on W indow s , and for th e m ain part, I th ink I've s ucce e de d. Vide o conve rs ion & VCD auth oring is be tte r th an W indow s appl ications al l ow e d; I al w ays got s om e drifting in th e s ync be tw e e n vide o and s ound in Tm pe gENC and Ne ro. H as n't be e n a probl e m in Avide m ux & K 3b. Th e re w e re s om e initialprobl e m s w ith fl as h pl aye r in Fire fox as I h ad both th e Dappe r Re po ins tal land a m anual l y ins tal l edl ate s t ve rs ion from M oz il l a, it s e e m e d to w ant to ins tal lfl as h pl aye r to th e Dappe r ins tal lrath e r th an m ine . I al so got an unre s ol ve d probl e m w ith Java in Fire fox – and w h e n I did s om e force d upgrade s of Java runtim e l ibrarie s , it k il l ed one of m y favourite program s –
De m ocracy TV. Th at took s om e s e rious tw e ak ing and re q ue s ts to th e Ubuntu forum s to fix! I'm s til ltrying to ge t m y h e ad around us ing Cron to s ch e dul e program s to run on a s ch e dul e . Various pe opl e h as s ugge s te d th ings to try, but th e s ch e dul e s ne ve r k ick off. I'm th ink ing of th ing l ik e De m ocracyTV and Ice podde r for al lm y Podcas ts . W indow s s ch e dul e r is SO m uch e as ie r – don't ne e d a brain to us e it, jus t a cl ock ! Ubuntu's (and oth e r dis tros ') bigge s t fail ing is s ound e diting. Afte r us ing Adobe Audition I found th e Linux e q uival e nts w e ak to s ay th e l e as t. Audacity is a bas ic e ditor of audio fil es, but is l igh t-ye ars be h ind Audition. I us e M oz il l a Th unde rbird for e m ailon both W indow s and Dappe r, s o no com pl aints th e re . I us e Fire fox in both , occas ional l y al ong w ith O pe ra. Be e p M e dia pl aye r for m p3s , K torre nt for a nice s ch e dul e abl e torre nt app, K ge t for us e w ith Fl as h got cove rs m y cl oning of m y W indow s program Ge trigh t and final l y Vide o Lan Pl aye r for al lm y vide o form at pl aying. So th at about s um s it up s o far for m e . If onl y th e y coul d m ak e cron a bit e as ie r to us e and w rite a re al l y good audio e ditor, I coul d th row m y W indow s XP dis k into th e gam e s box al ong w ith al lth e PS1 dis cs !
Ubuntu is a com m unity-de ve l ope d ope rating s ys te m th at is pe rfe ct for l aptops , de s k tops and s e rve rs . W h e th e r you us e it at h om e , at s ch oolor at w ork , Ubuntu contains al lth e appl ications you'l le ve r ne e d, from w ord proce s s ing and e m ailappl ications to w e b s e rve r s oftw are and program m ing tool s. Ubuntu is and al w ays w il lbe fre e of ch arge . You do not pay any l ice ns ing fe e s . You can dow nl oad, us e and s h are Ubuntu w ith your frie nds , fam il y, s ch oolor bus ine s s for abs ol ute l y noth ing.
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UBUNTU YO UTH W ritte n by Sam ue lBarre tt Th e future of O pe n Source is in th e Young Pe opl e of today; th at's w h y th is corne r of th e m agaz ine is for young pe opl e or s im pl y th os e w h o are young at h e art.
Th e day th e m us ic die d... Or did it?
Onl ine /Subs cription M us ic Se rvice s O nce you h ave your M P3 Pl aye r w ork ing in Linux, you obvious l y w ant to trans fe r s om e m us ic to it; you s h oul dn't h ave any probl e m s if you w oul d onl yl ik e to trans fe r m us ic track s from your CD's to your M P3 Pl aye r but if you w ant to dow nl oad your m us ic you w il lne e d to find a com patibl e m us ic s e rvice .
Lis te ning to your m us ic or trans fe rring it to your M P3 pl aye r in Linux h as ne ve r be e n e as y. Th e l ack of s upport for th ings l ik e drive rs for your M P3 pl aye r or s ubs cription s e rvice s o you can dow nl oad your favourite m us ic h as put m any pe opl e off us ing Linux, but i w oul dl ik e to tak e a fe w m inute s of your tim e to s h ow you th e al te rnative s avail abl e and th e progre s s th at is be ing m ade in th e com m unity. M P3 Pl aye r Com patibil ity M any M P3 pl aye rs w ork fine and ide ntify as a M as s Storage De vice ; th e s e incl ude m os t of th e iPods and s om e ch e ape r M P3 pl aye rs , but m ode l s l ik e Cre ative , Sam s ung, De l land iRive r us e a protocol cal l e d M TP (M e dia Trans fe r Protocol ) w h ich re q uire s l ibm tp to be ins tal l e d for your M P3 pl aye r to be re cognis e d. Som e M P3 pl aye rs w h ich re q uire l ibm tp: Cre ative Z e n Portabl e M e dia Ce nte rCre ative Z e n M icroPh oto Cre ative Z e n Vis ion Cre ative Z e n Vis ion:M Cre ative Z e n Sl e e k Ph oto Cre ative Z e n Xtra (M TP m ode ) Cre ative Z e n M icro (M TP m ode ) Cre ative Z e n Touch (M TP m ode ) Cre ative Z e n Sl e e k (M TP m ode ) De l lPock e t DJ Sam s ung YH - and YP- M TP pl aye rs
Se rvice s l ik e iTune s , Naps te r, and Virgin Digitalare n't com patibl e w ith Linux, and e ve n if th e y w e re , due to th e DRM e ncryption th e s e com panie s us e you w oul d not be abl e to pl ay th e m us ic dow nl oade d on your Ubuntu m ach ine . Now , ne w com panie s are s tarting to e m e rge w h ich s upport Linux and are DRM e ncryption-fre e th e m os t w e l l -k now n is e M us ic. e M us ic offe rs DRM -fre e m us ic for ÂŁ8.9 9 a m onth for 30 dow nl oads but m any of th e artis ts avail abl e to dow nl oad are not m ains tre am . Anoth e r s e rvice (avail abl e onl y to th e US) and s upport Linux is Rh aps ody. Rh aps ody offe rs unl im ite d m us ic dow nl oads for a m onth l y s ubs cription fe e but th e dow nl oads are DRM -e ncrypte d s o can onl y be us e d on your M P3 pl aye r th e n pl aye d th rough your M P3 pl aye r. M us ic in Linux h as continue d to im prove ove r th e l as t coupl e of ye ars ; as m ore com panie s adopt th e Linux pl atform , w e s h oul d s e e m ore com patibl e M P3 pl aye rs and m ore m us ic s ubs cription dow nl oad s e rvice s .
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LETTERS Eve ry m onth w e l ik e to publ is h s om e of th e e m ail s w e re ce ive . If you w oul dl ik e to s ubm it a l e tte r for publ ication, e ve n if it's a com pl im e nt or com pl aint, pl e as e e m ailit to: l e tte rs @ ful l circl e m agaz ine .org. PLEASE NOTE: s om e l e tte rs m ay be e dite d for s pace re as ons .
Bril l iant e ffort to put out a m ag l ik e th is for *buntu us e rs . M y com pany are curre ntl y toying w ith -- and m os tl y w il l-- port to l inux in th e com ing days . No re as on not to. M y th ough ts on re ce nt e ve nts :
Th ank you for m ak ing th e m agaz ine one page w ide s o th at page s can e as il y be m agnifie s up to ful ls cre e n w idth . Sure is al ot e as ie r to re ad. H ad a ve ry h ard tim e w ith l as t is s ue , e ve n w ith bifocal s.
Pate nt is s ue s : M SFT and Am e rica pus h too h ard to ge t pe opl e to toe th e l ine . O uts ide of th e USA, th e re are no s oftw are pate nts appl icabl e . So al lth e h igh l y paid attorne ys in th e w orl d can't s h ak e a s tick at you for anyth ing s oftw are -re l ate d. I th ink *buntu and Linux ne e ds to m ove be yond th e contine nt and into As ia and Europe . Eve n th ough de ve l opm e nt m igh t h appe n th e re , m os t pote ntialus e rs are h e re . So h ow can w e m ove th e core of th is m ove m e nt h e re ?To India or Ch ina?
Linux is h ard e nough for an ol d-tim e r w ith out h aving to s q uint to re ad! Boyd S.
Bl oatw are : I th ink it's am az ing th at a ful l O S w ith s o m any be l l s and w h is tl e s can fit onto a s ingl e CD. I al s o th ink it's frus trating for a ne w bie to do a "s udo aptge t" for de pe nde ncie s /progam s e ve rytim e . A DVD h as 4.7 GB of s pace . It's a fairl y craz y ide a, but pre tty m uch e ve ry de pe nde ncy and program th at a us e r m igh t w ant w il lfit into a DVD. Be s ide s , th e Sh ipIt program is for pe opl e w ith l ack of bandw idth . Afte r I ge t a CD, update s and de pe nde ncie s can't tak e anoth e r 200 M B of dow nl oad. If th at's th e cas e , m igh t as w e l ls h ip a bl oate d DVD ins te ad, w ith 70% of th e *buntu unive rs e pre ins tal l e d. V C K arth ic
To m y k now l e dge th e nvidia-gl x-ne w drive r, w h ich is ins tal l e d for Ge Force 8800 us e rs , w h e n th e y e nabl e de s k top e ffe cts in Ubuntu 7.04, doe s n't w ork w ith th is card at al land th e ins tal l ation atte m pt l e ave s th e us e r at th e com m and l ine at th e firs t re s tart of X. Th is h as be e n re porte d by num e rous pe opl e in bug re ports . Th e nVidia drive r th at is avail abl e on th e nVidia w e b s ite doe s not h ave th is probl e m but is m ore difficul t to ins tal l . Th e caus e for th e probl e m is appare ntl y k now n, but for s om e re as on no fix for th e bug h as be e n re l e as e d. I agre e th at th is w oul d be w orth an articl e in your m agaz ine . It invol ve s an im portant and popul ar pie ce of h ardw are , and th e caus e of th e bug s e e m s to be k now n and is (to m y unde rs tanding) re l ative l y s im pl e. Th e re al s o s e e m s to be no inform ation com ing th rough about w h e th e r th e bug is going to be fixe d at al l . K ind re gards and th ank s for a gre at m agaz ine ! Ari Torh am o
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Q& A W ritte n by Robe rt Cl ips h am If you h ave an Ubuntu re l ate d q ue s tion w h ich ne e ds ans w e ring, e m ailit to us h e re at q ue s tions @ ful l circl e m agazine .org, and w e 'l lpas s th e m to Robe rt for ans w e ring in a future is s ue . Pl e as e incl ude as m uch inform ation as you can about your probl em.
Q: I buil t a ne w PC re ce ntl y, and de cide d to us e Ubuntu as m y prim ary ope rating s ys te m .I h ave re al is e d th at th e re are a fe w th ings th at I can't do unde r Ubuntu ye t, s o de cide d I w oul d ins tal lW indow s .Is it pos s ibl e to ins tal lW indow s afte r Ubuntu? A: Abs ol ute l y, but it is e as ie r to ins tal lW indow s firs t, as W indow s ove rw rite s Ubuntu's GRUB, s o you w on't be abl e to boot into Linux. You can re partition your h ard drive , and ins tal lW indow s on th e ne w partition. O nce you h ave done th at you w il lne e d to re ins tal lGRUB by booting a Live CD. You can find a guide for ins tal l ing W indow s afte r Ubuntu at: h ttps ://h e l p.ubuntu.com /com m unity/Re cove ringUbuntuAfte rIns tal l ingW indow s h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph p?t=49 1201 Q: H ow can I add m e nu icons to th e Appl ications m e nu? A: Sim pl y go to Sys te m > Pre fe re nce s > M e nu Layout, and ch oos e your options . h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph p?t=49 3047 Q: H ow can I ins tal lW ine , s o I can run W indow s appl ications ? A: Sim pl y fol l ow th e ins tructions at: h ttps ://h e l p.ubuntu.com /com m unity/W ine , w h ich e xpl ain ful l y h ow to ins tal lW ine . h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph p?t=49 3050 Q: I ge t th e e rror "Softw are Inde x is Brok e n.Im pos s ibl e to ins tal lor re m ove any s oftw are " w h e n trying to ins tal lprogram s .H ow can I s ol ve th is ? A: O pe n a te rm inal(Appl ications > Acce s s orie s > Te rm inal ) and type : s udo apt-ge t ins tal l-f h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph p?t=49 3107
Q: M y l aptop's touch - pad is ve ry jitte ry in Ubuntu, but I don't h ave th at probl e m in W indow s .H ow can I s ol ve th is ? A: Go to Sys te m > Pre fe re nce s > M ous e , and s e l e ct th e m otion tab. Th e options you ne e d are in th e re . h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph p?t=49 29 84
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W EBSITE O FTH E M O NTH W ritte n by Danie lCoh e n Th e aim of th is s e ction is to find de ce nt and re l ative l y unk now n w e bs ite s th at w il lh e l p you w ith your dail y Ubuntu ne e ds (and ge ne ralcurios ity). I w il ls um up th e good and th e bad points of th e w e bs ite , and -- w ith any l uck -- th e w e bs ite ow ne r w il lre ad th e articl e and th e n re ctify any probl e m s m e ntione d!
Eve ry vide o on th e s ite com e s in four fl avours – Ubuntu (ogg/Th e ora), M ac (m ov), W indow s (avi) and YouTube (Fl as h ). W h il e I'm s ure th at al lyou Ubuntu us e rs h ave s upport for al lth re e code cs , it e ns ure s th at M ac and W indow s us e rs can pl ay th e vide o native l y w ith out any e xtra s e t-up or h aving to w atch a l ow q ual ity YouTube Fl as h vide o, al th ough it's nice to h ave th at as a l as t re s ort.
Ubuntu Cl ips - w w w .UbuntuCl ips .org
Ins te ad of tak ing a one -w ay approach , th e de ve l ope rs of th e s ite h ave m ade a re q ue s t form w h ich al l ow s pe opl e to re q ue s t tutorial s of ce rtain actions in Ubuntu. W h e th e r th e s e are actual l y e ve r m ade , I don't k now , but I h ope th e y are tak e n into account w h e n m ak ing ne w vide os . You can al s o s ubm it cl ips , w h ich are q ual ity ch e ck e d, th e n put on to th e s ite .
Th is s ite grabbe d m y inte re s t s traigh t aw ay w ith its rath e r ne at ide a: vide o tutorial s for Ubuntu. Ve ry h andy for th os e tim e s w h e n you are tol d on th e Ubuntu IRC ch anne l(or forum s ) to do th is and th at, w h e n re al l y you don't k now w h at th e y are tal k ing about or cannot find a particul ar option or button. Afte r s e arch ing th e w e bs ite for s e ve ral m om e nts , I found a fe w m ore vide o orie ntate d w e bs ite s for tutorial s , but none of th e s e oth e r s ite s s e e m e d to h ave th e pol is h th at Ubuntu Cl ips h as .
H ow e ve r, th e w e bs ite is m is s ing s om e bas ic fe ature s w h ich w oul d m ak e it a m ore com pl e te s ite . Th e re is now h e re to l e ave com m e nts . Th e re is al s o th e incl us ion of a captch a box for l ogging in w h ich is a bit annoying. Final l y, if you l ook th rough th e tutorial s , you w il lnotice th at m any of th e m are on rath e r m undane and bas ic s ubje cts . W h il e th is w e bs ite is , at th e m om e nt, ge are d tow ards ne w us e rs , it coul d s tart to h ave m ore advance d tutorial s s oon.
It h as a s im pl e l ayout but w ith out l ook ing ugl y, it's cl e ar and th e navigation is intuitive (al th ough pe rh aps a l ittl e l ess w h ite w oul dn't h urt). Be caus e of th is m inim al is t approach , th e s ite is ve ry re s pons ive and doe s n't h ave you s itting round w aiting for page s to l oad. Th e tutorial s are h e l pful l y s orte d into diffe re nt cate gorie s w h ich m ak e s finding and dis cove ring e as ie r, al ong w ith a pl ace to find th e l ate s t and gre ate s t vide os .
Th os e probl e m s do not outw e igh th e m any pos itive s th at th is s ite h as . M any ne w us e rs w oul dl ove to h ave vis ualh e l p and th at is w h e re th is s ite com e s in m os t hel pful . I jus t h ope it w il lcontinue to grow .
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M Y D ESK TO P W ritte n by Al ex Th is is your ch ance to s h ow th e w orl d your fancy de s k top or PC. Pl e as e e m ailyour s cre e ns h ots and ph otos to: m is c@ ful l circl e m agazine .org. Pl e as e incl ude a brie f paragraph of te xt about your de s k top, your PC's s pe cifications or any oth e r inte re s ting tidbits about your de s k top or PC. I'm us ing th e Em e ral d w indow s m anage r (Be ryl ), w ith th e 'Sol id State M odifie d' th e m e . It's avail abl e in th e e m e ral d-th e m e s pack age . O th e r th an th at, I h ave n't gotte n into w idge ts ye t, but afte r re ading ful l circl e is s ue #2, I m igh t try s om e out l ate r th is week.
I us e GNO M E, but I s e t m y tas k bars to h ave an opacity of around 60% , w ith a bl ack fil l -in. O th e r th an th at, it's jus t s tandard s e ttings . I'm s til lfairl y ne w to Linux, h aving be e n us ing Ubuntu for about th re e to four m onth s w ith W indow s as a dual -boot option, but I'm pre tty convince d th at once Guts y com e s out I'l lbe re form atting. Re ce ntl y I h ave n't h ad to s w itch to W indow s at al l . M y favourite tas k bar m ini-program s are s ys te m m onitor, w h e re I h ave m y CPU, Ne tw ork , and Dis k Us age graph s , and th e w e ath e r for m y are a.
M Y PC W ritte n by M ark Pipk in M y PC h as be e n th rough a l ot of ch ange s ove r th e ye ars . As al w ays th ough , it ne ve r h as e nough pow e r to s uit m y ne e ds . M aybe an upgrade s oon w il lh e l p, but for now h e re it is :
Inte lP4 2.4GH z 768M B RAM nVidia 6600 w / 256M B RAM (7) 4" cas e fans (4 of w h ich h ave l igh ts ) s da1 = 160gb m ount / s db1 = 160gb - m ount /h om e DVD- RW 19 " W ide s cre e n 1440x9 00
I try to buil d a m ach ine th at w il ll as t m e aw h il e . Th is com pute r us e d to h ave an AM D 1400 w ith a Soyo Dragon Pl us M B. Th e proce s s or ran for four ye ars th e n ove rh e ate d from th e fan be ing put on back w ards . So I h ad to ch ange it l as t ye ar. I s til l h ave th e proce s s or and RAM from th e ol d s e tup but afte r a fe w h ours of running it w oul d re boot.
I've be e n running Ubuntu s ince 6.10. I don't pl an to go back to W indow s . I e njoy th e pow e r th at Linux al l ow s m e to h ave and I h ave m uch e njoye d th e com m unity th at is be h ind th e Ubuntu proje ct. I'm in th e proce s s of ge tting a M yth TV s e rve r up and running. I us e th at w oode n be nch w h e n w ork ing on s om e one e l s e 's com pute r. Th is pre ve nts m e from h aving to unh ook m y ow n s e tup to w ork on s om e one e l s e 's .
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TO P5 M UL TIM ED IA ENCO D ERS W ritte n by Andre w M in Each m onth , Andre w w il lbring you a Top5 l is t of obs cure gam e s , appl ications or w h ate ve r e l s e th at h e can s cratch from th e de pth s of th e Inte rne t! If you h ave ide as for l is ts , pl e as e e m ailth e m to us h e re at: m is c@ ful l circl e m agazine .org and w e 'l lpas s your ide as on to Andre w .
M Encode r H om e page : h ttp://w w w .m pl aye rh q .h u/ M Encode r h as l ong be e n th e k ing of m ul tim e dia e ncode rs . W ith good re as on. It can conve rt a h os t of audio and vide o form ats , incl uding (S)VCD, DVD, M PEG, W indow s M e dia (ASF/W M V/W M A), Quick Tim e (QT/M O V/M P4), Re alM e dia (RA/RM ), O gg, DV and AVI. Th e re is a ful ll is t of s upporte d code cs at h ttp://w w w .m pl aye rh q .h u/DO CS/code cs -s tatus .h tm l . H ow e ve r, th e re is a s m al l probl e m : M Encode r is re al l y unintuitive . In orde r to us e it e ffe ctive l y, you h ave to re ad th rough th e l onge s t pie ce of non-fiction in h is tory (th e M Encode r m anual ). Since m os t pe opl e don't w ant to do th is , m any GUIs to M Encode r h ave be e n cre ate d (incl uding s e ve ralon th is l is t). M Encode r can be ins tal l e d in al lve rs ions of Ubuntu from Bre e z y to Guts y w ith th e pack age m e ncode r in th e m ul tive rs e re pos itorie s . You m ay al s o w ant to re ad th e Ge ntoo W ik i's guide to conve rting w ith M e ncode r at h ttp://ge ntoo-w ik i.com /H O W TO _ M e ncode r_ Introduction_ Guide
s oundK onve rte r H om e page : h ttp://w w w .k de apps .org/conte nt/s h ow .ph p?conte nt=29 024 It m igh t onl y be abl e to conve rt audio fil es, but w h at a job s oundK onve rte r doe s ! Util iz ing a w ide varie ty of e ngine s , s oundK onve rte r s upports O gg, M PEG audio, AAC, 3GP, FLAC, APE, Re alM e dia, W AVE and m uch m ore . It al s o incl ude s a CD rippe r, an Am arok s cript, re pl ay gain and tags for tons of form ats . s oundK onve rte r can be found in th e unive rs e re pos itorie s for Dappe r, and th e m ul tive rs e re pos itorie s for Edgy, Fe is ty and Guts y unde r th e pack age s oundk onve rte r. Th e re 's al s o a .de b pack age at th e h om e page .
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K Vide oEncode r H om e page : h ttp://w w w .k de apps .org/conte nt/s h ow .ph p?conte nt=31385
K Vide oEncode r is a s im pl e K DE GUI for th e M Encode r and Trans code te rm inalprogram s . But don't l e t th e s im pl icity foolyou into th ink ing th is is a w e ak program . Far from it: it can im port AVI, M PEG, W indow s M e dia, Re alM e dia and Quick Tim e , and e xport DivX, M PEG, M JPEG, W indow s M e dia and Xvid. It can al s o rip audio or vide o from s tre am s and DVDs (us ing l s dvd). K Vide oEncode r is n't avail abl e from th e Ubuntu re pos itorie s . H ow e ve r, th e K DE-Look .org us e r furum aro h as cre ate d an Edgy pack age w ith Ch e ck ins tal l(in m y inform alte s tings , it al s o w ork e d on Fe is ty). You can ge t it at h ttp://w w w .k de apps .org/conte nt/s h ow .ph p/K Vide oEncode r+ for+ K ubuntu+ Edgy?conte nt=58538. Unfortunate l y, it doe s n't tak e care of de pe nde ncie s . You'l lne e d to ins tal lM Encode r (s e e M Encode r above for m ore ), Trans code (in th e m ul tive rs e re pos itorie s as trans code ), l s dvd (in th e m ul tive rs e re pos itorie s as l s dvd), th e K DE l ibrarie s , and th e Qt l ibrarie s m anual l y (th e l as t tw o are ins tal l ed by de faul t in K ubuntu).
W ink i th e Rippe r H om e page : h ttp://w w w .w ink i-th e -rippe r.de /
Th is one ge ts th e priz e for th e m os t biz arre nam e im aginabl e (I'm s til lnot s ure w h at “ W ink i� is ). But don't l e t th at foolyou: W ink i is n't a ch il dre n's toy. It w il ltak e DVDs , VCDs or a w ide range of vide o form ats and conve rt th e m into DVDs , VCDs , SVCDs , AVIs , M P4s or M atros k as . It w il le ve n q ue ry th e IM DB for inform ation about th e fil e . It's al s o one of th e m os t intuitive program s I've e ve r s e e n (us ing a w iz ard-l ik e approach ). You can ins tal lW ink i in one of tw o w ays : you can add th e W ink i APT re pos itory (h ttp://w w w .w ink i-th e -rippe r.de /ope ne ngine /cm s /w e bs ite .ph p?id=/de / inde x/dow nl oad.h tm ), th e n ins tal lth e w ink i pack age us ing a pack age m anage r: al te rnative l y, you can dow nl oad th e .de b dire ctl y from h ttp://w w w .w ink i-th e -rippe r.de /ope ne ngine /cm s / w e bs ite .ph p?id=/de /inde x/de bian_ pack age s .h tm (s crol ldow n to find th e Ubuntu pack age s ).
W inFF H om e page : h ttp://biggm att.com /w inff/ W inFF is a pow e rfulGUI for FFm pe g (th e s is te r proje ct of M Encode r). Both novice s and e xpe rts w il lfe e lat h om e w ith th is . Not onl y can th e m os t ine xpe rie nce d us e rs conve rt th e 3gp, DVD, (S)VCD, FLV, H .264, iPod, M P3, M PEG vide o, Quick Tim e , W AVE, W indow s M e dia, and Xvid form ats w ith e as e , but e xpe rie nce d us e rs can al s o ch ange th e bit rate , fram e rate , s iz e , as pe ct ratio, and e ve n add FFm pe g param ate rs . Contrary to its nam e , W inFF is a cros s -pl atform tool . Ubuntu us e rs can dow nl oad th e Fre e Pas cal s ource or us e th e De bian pack age provide d at th e h om e page (note th at s om e pe opl e advis e agains t us ing De bian pack age s in Ubuntu, th ough I pe rs onal l y h ave us e d it s ucce s s ful l y).
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H O W TO CO NTRIBUTE W e are al w ays l ook ing for ne w articl e s to incl ude in ful lcircl e. For articl e guide l ine s , ide as , and for is s ue trans l ation, pl e as e s e e our w ik i: h ttp://w ik i.ubuntu.com /UbuntuM agazine Pl e as e e m ailyour articl e s to: articl e s @ ful l circl e m agazine .org
If you w oul dl ik e to s ubm it ne w s , e m ailit to: ne w s @ ful l circl e m agazine .org Se nd your com m e nts or Linux e xpe rie nce s to: l e tte rs @ ful l circl e m agazine .org H ardw are /s oftw are re vie w s s h oul d be s e nt to: re vie w s @ ful l circl e m agazine .org Que s tions for future inte rvie w s s h oul d go to: q ue s tions @ ful l circl e m agazine .org Lis ts and de s k top/PC ph otos s h oul d be e m ail e d to: m is c@ ful l circl e m agazine .org If you h ave q ue s tions , you can vis it our forum : w w w .ful l circl e m agazine .org
Inform ation Editor Ronnie Tuck e r
W e bm as te r Rob K e rfia
Com m s M anage r Robe rt Cl ips h am
M e e tings Contributors ' m e e tings : Saturday 4th , 11th , 18th and 25th Augus t @ 1600 UTC Ge ne ralm e e ting (al lw e l com e ): Saturday 11th Augus t @ 1700 UTC M e e tings tak e pl ace in th e IRC ch anne l#ful l circl e m agazine , w h ich is on th e irc.fre e node .ne t s e rve r. O r you can us e our w e bIRC page w h ich w il lal l ow you to inte ract w ith th e IRC ch anne lfrom w ith in your w e b brow s e r.
De adl ine for Is s ue #4 is Sunday 12th Augus t. Proje cte d re l e as e date for is s ue #4 is Friday 31s t Augus t.
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