Category Archives: Computers

Synching with folders outside of /dropbox

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This could probably be summed up in a few words (the words being “use symlinks”).

Basically, what I wanted to do was to sync several folders outside my dropbox folder (for various reasons). The solution was to create a shortcut in the folder I wanted to sync, and then moving the link to my dropbox folder.  This can be done of the command line by typing something like:

ln -s /home/folder/to/sync /home/andy/dropbox/synched_folder

This could be used in all sorts of ways, some of which I may blog about over the next couple of weeks.

More productivity

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This afternoon I did a bit more work on our home server (the one I built from bits of my old dead PC).

It’s now running:

  • A full installation of Mediawiki, with a few extensions, which Steph is using a lot right now.
  • A streamable repository of Creative Commons licensed music so that any computer in our house can stream a selection of new and interesting music. This works nicely with Rhythmbox and iTunes (I’ve not tested anything Windows based yet).
  • A local access only mailsever (built around dovecot with a squirrelmail front end), which grabs a copy of all my incoming mail and archives it locally. This means I now have an extra level of backup in case I encounter more problems with my externally hosted mail.

All of this is controlled from webmin, so my main laptop is able to configure everything without me actually having to sit in front of the server. This is good, because the server is noisy enough to consider banishing it to the spare room.

Using wcid instead of NetworkManager on Ubuntu 8.10

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This post came about due to an issue with NetworkManager connecting to our wpa-enterprise authenticated network at work, but demonstrates that there is more than one choice when it comes to almost everything on Linux. It’s not too fiddly, and I’ll hopefully have a rebuild of Ubuntu incorporating these changes within 24 hours.

First off, you need to add a line to your sources list, by issuing the following command:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Add the following line at the bottom of the file:

deb http://apt.wicd.net intrepid extras

Then press ctrl+o to save and then ctrl+x to quit and then issue the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install wcid

This will download wcid (a network management tool that doesn’t suffer issues connecting to enterprise level networks), uninstall NetworkManager and then install wcid. At some point in this process you will lose network connectivity, but this is fine.

To make wcid start at boot, go to System > Preferences > Sessions and add a new item to startup. The path for the application is:

/opt/wicd/tray.py

Reboot, and you should find that wcid adds an applet similar to nm-applet which will allow you to view available networks, and connect and configure them. I’ve tested this with my EeePC 701 and an Acer Aspire One (both running Ubuntu 8.10), and it is known to work (with a bit of tweaking) on Fedora 10 as well.

Renovations

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So far this weekend I have:

  • Built a webserver out of the useable parts from my dead PC (and the case of another less powerful machine).
  • Set up webmin on all my Linux machines and built a webmin cluster.
  • Copied 10gb of music (the stuff I actually listen to) onto my new laptop.
  • Rebuilt my old PC (OS and config files) as a VM on my laptop.

So all in all a busy weekend.

New laptop

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On Sunday I finally got round to replacing my dead desktop computer. As planned, I ditched the idea of buying another desktop, and decided to get something that would replace both the dead PC and my slowly dying 5 year old laptop. I ended up with a Sony Vaio laptop that is far more powerful than both computers put together, and which pretty much caters for all my computing needs (with my EeePC still very much in use for lunchtime browsing and computing on the move).

OS-wise I’ve stuck with Ubuntu, with a 50gb Vista partition because I promised myself I would learn Vista this year. So far I’ve been in Ubuntu 95% of the time at least, but it is good to know that if I need to test a bit of Windows software then I can do it without bugging Steph.

Going from 768mb of Ram to 3Gb feels quite liberating, and this is actually the first computer I’ve owned with a DVD burner. I think I might have to do something creative at some point.

How to make a totally up to date bootable USB version of Ubuntu

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I’ve written these instructions (371.6 KB PDF) for work, but think they might be useful in all sorts of other situations.

Basically it boils down to:

  1. Use Ubuntu Customization Kit to update all the packages in Ubuntu and add/remove packages as required.
  2. Use the USB creating tool in Ubuntu 8.10 to transfer your newly created iso to USB.

On my USB I’ve also added several portable apps, so as to ensure I’ve got everything I need for remote support of misbehaving Windows PCs.

Of course, you could just make the USB version first and then customise it using the free space on the USB, but this method allows you to remove software before transfering it to USB, which makes it useful for smaller devices (and for the sort of customised image you might want to install to a netbook).

Debian to the rescue (again)

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The PPC version of Debian Testing seems to solve all the problems I’ve been having with my iBook.

It’s also the only Gnome based Linux Distro I can use for more than 5 minutes without changing the theme and wallpaper.

It might only be a backup laptop, but with my luck recently it’s better to be prepared.

Introducing aaahh-records – home of free and charming music

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I’ve just stumbled upon this net label, whilst trying to determine which year the Wind Whistles album was actually released in (the answer being 2007 and 2008 in different places).

The label has so far only released three albums, but two of them happen to already be on my list of favourite freely available music for this year, which makes me think I’m likely to like anything they put out.

Window shopping for a new PC

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If I was buying a new PC, I think I’d get it from EfficientPC. 8Gb of memory and 3Tb of storage for under £700, or more realistically some decent PCs that blow anything I use now out of the water for around £300 means it would actually be possible to buy a new PC for less than the amount of money I have left in my bank account at the end of the month.

Not that I’m going to buy one, I just like to price things up every now and again.