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I’ve been using Ubuntu 8.10 since it’s release and so far so good.  It’s a great OS and everything is running smoothly.  And since I’m a true geek, that does not make me happy.  OpenOffice 3.0 did not make the Ibex cut, but I wanted it anyway.  And what better way to screw up your Ubuntu install than to remove OOo 2.4 and upgrade to OOo 3.0.

The actual install is very easy.  It just invovles downloading the .deb file from OpenOffice, extract it and run the .deb file with dpkg.  I found an excellent tutorial  over at Tombuntu.com that walks you through the install.  It even walks you through removing the old Office programs.  This was very simple to do and everything worked fine.  The only thing I have to do is to handle all the file associations.

I finished downloading a file that was in rar format.  I browsed to the directory that the file was located in.  I then right-clicked on Open with “Archive Manager” as I always did with previous versions of Ubuntu.  I was then greeted with a lovely error message stating that it was an unknown file format.  Well whatever should I do?

I immediately went to Ubuntu forums to search for an answer.  It turns out that I needed to install RAR to make it work.  So go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager.  Do a search for RAR, and mark for install by clicking on the box.  Click Apply then input your sudo password and away you go.  You will now be able to unrar RAR files.

Just some stuff I thought you would like to check out:

• TeamXBox’s reviews their Elite Xbox.

• Never used IRC? Well check out this beginners guide.

• Turn a NES into a dedicated arcade emulator.

• Ubuntu vs. Vista! Who will win? Read this review to find out.

Today I decided that I needed to run uTorrent on Ubuntu.  I know that there are other Bit Torrent program that run natively on Linux (or Ubuntu), but I am really comfortable with uTorrent.   So in order to do that I needed WINE.  From the WINE website:  Wine is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X and Unix.  So how do you do that you ask?  Well I haven’t a clue, but I know how to find the answer. Read more…

Since I’ve upgraded to Ubuntu 7.04,Ive had problems with fonts in Firefox on certain pages.  I’ve had this problem with previous versions of Ubuntu and would always forget the solution. Each upgrade (I usually do a clean install, I usually screw around with my pc too much to safely upgrade. Or so I think.)  I would tinker with Firefox’s font settings, to no avail.

Well, the solution is very easy. It turns out I needed Microsoft True Type Core Fonts (msttcorefonts package) installed. Installing the fonts is very easy with Ubuntu. You can do it from Synaptec Package Manager. This is how I did it: (I’ll put it step by step)

• Click on System > Administration > Synaptec Package Manager
• Type in your password
• Search for msttcorefonts
• Select the package and click on Apply
• The package will now install

After it’s done, restart Firefox and the fonts should look fine.

Or as a user on Ubuntu Forums put it:  “He he he, or you could just type “sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts” and hit enter. ”.

As a good Geek, I try to keep up with current events. I get most of my news from Fox News or CNN. I did have one problem with Fox News, I couldn’t view the videos with Ubuntu (I am using Edgy Eft). Well that is until now. I stumbled across a fix on Ubuntu Forums, and now I am happily viewing the videos on Fox News.

Anyway, on to the fix. First you need to install the Greasemonkey addon for Firefox. You will need to restart Firefox for the add on to take start working. Then you need to add the FoxNews Friendly Video script. Just click the link on the top right hand side stating install this script.

And that’s it. Cruise on over to Fox News and enjoy the videos!

It appears that Ubuntu’s Breezy Badger is going the way of the Dodo! On April 13th it will go End Of Life and there will be no more updates. It seems like just yesterday I was running this on one of my PC’s. I am now running Edgy Eft 6.10 as my main PC at home and it’s an awesome Operating System. I highly recommend it. Anyway, here is the info I got from the Ubuntu newsletter:

0n October 13th, 2005, Breezy Badger (5.10), the third Ubuntu release
was announced. On Friday April 13th 2007, it will reach its
end-of-life and at that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer
include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 5.10.

Breezy Landmarks:
* Edubuntu was first implemented – http://www.edubuntu.org/
* Ubuntu for servers
* OEM installer support
* Graphical startup process with progress bar (USplash)
* Add/remove menu

If you are still running Breezy, it is recommended to upgrade to
Dapper Drake (6.06 LTS, Long Term Support release). From Dapper, you
can then upgrade to Edgy Eft (6.10, current stable release). Read the
full announcement
here:https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2007-March/000099.html

So, bye bye, Breezy, and welcome Feisty!

I found this on Digg.  I would be interested to see if this works.  I have a Phillips DVD player that plays XVID file perfectly, and CDs are cheaper that DVDs.  It is a simplified script to create a Backup of your DVDs to avi files using xvid codec. Tested on Ubuntu Dapper and Edgy.  Check it out here.

While you aren’t allowed to view the documentation yet, you can now go directly to the download page for herd 4. Enjoy!

Get it here.

Well, that’s a slogan I just threw out the the Ubuntu community.  I came up with the idea and really liked it.  I think it’s short, to the point, and catchy.  You can check out my post over at Ubuntuforums.org.   Also, check out my crude GIMP skillz.  I made an attempt at the logo and posted the pic to the forums.

If you want to clean your ubuntu machine you need to follow these simple steps to remove all unnecessary junk files.

read more | digg story

I found a cool How-To while browsing Ubuntuforums.org the other day. It’s a how-to for setting up Continuum, a great game from back in the day. Any pc running Ubuntu will have not problems running this game. It’s a mutliplayer Asteriod / Space war style game, and it’s a blast to play. If your looking to kill some time definitly check out this game.

Continuum How-To.

Having problems installing something on your new Ubuntu operating system? This guide will help you understand!

read more | digg story

I found a new Beryl theme to try on my Ubuntu box (my main PC at home ). It’s called Superhuman and is designed to go with the default Ubuntu look. I think it looks very nice and I am happy with it. I think it’s a keeper. Check it out at the Beryl Forums. If you have Ubuntu and are running Beryl give it a shot. I’m sure you’ll like it.

Also, give Ubuntu a try. It’s an awesome Linux distro. Plus it has such a great community behind it. It’s so easy to use. No viruses to worry about, no BSOD’s. It just works.

Well, I was bored tonight and figured I haven’t screwed up my PC in awhile. So I decided to install Beryl. I think I did this because I want an OSX Dock (I don’t know, it just looks cool ok ). So I went to trusty old Ubuntuforums.org, and found a quick guide. I found this thread which dealt with Intel Video cards and Beryl (a plus since my pc has an Intel card).

I already had the Intel driver working, so I went straight to the Beryl install. I have to admit, it was very easy. Five minutes later I had Beryl installed. Very Cool. I did have to stop the Wobbly Windows, I just hated that. I felt like I was drunk (probably was but who cares).

Now I’m heading over to Gnome-Look to find a cool theme. Anyone have any cool ideas for themes? Let me know. After that I think I’m installing Kiba-dock.