Linux Tips, Tricks, and How-Tos

Install VMware Tools on Ubuntu Edgy With VMware 5.5.3

The VMware Workstation 5.5.3 release notes indicate that it includes “Experimental support for Ubuntu Linux 6.10, 32-bit and 64-bit”, which means that you can install the VMware tools directly on Ubuntu 6.10 ...

Lowell Heddings Nov 24th, 2006

Installing Fluxbox on Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu by default uses the Gnome user interface. Fluxbox is an alternative window manager for Ubuntu that is extremely lightweight and customizable.

Lowell Heddings Nov 22nd, 2006

Install Xfce (Xubuntu) on Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu by default includes the Gnome desktop environment, but it’s easy enough to install another window manager. We’ve already covered installing KDE (Kubuntu) on Ubuntu in a prior article....

Lowell Heddings Nov 22nd, 2006

Install KDE (Kubuntu) on Ubuntu

The Ubuntu default desktop uses the Gnome window manager, which can be a difficult transition for Windows users. The KDE desktop would be a lot more familiar to Windows users, as KDE has something comparable to the start menu...

Lowell Heddings Nov 21st, 2006

Disable AutoPlay of Blank CD or DVD media

Ubuntu will automatically launch a CD burning tool when you insert a blank data cd or dvd. This can sometimes interfere with something else you are doing right at that moment.

Lowell Heddings Nov 10th, 2006

Move a Window Without Clicking the Titlebar in Ubuntu

Ubuntu has a cool feature that lets you click and drag a window by clicking anywhere in the window as long as you are holding down either the Control, Alt, or “Win” key while you are dragging....

Lowell Heddings Nov 9th, 2006

Let Somebody Use Your Computer Without Logging Off in Ubuntu

How many times have you been right in the middle of doing a thousand things on your computer and your friend or significant other wants to use the computer to look something up? You are worried that they are going to close th...

Lowell Heddings Nov 8th, 2006

Allow Remote Control To Your Desktop On Ubuntu

Enabling remote desktop mode is extremely easy on Ubuntu since Dapper. You can allow other users to access your desktop using the VNC Viewer utility that is bundled with Ubuntu, or offered as a free download for Windows....

Lowell Heddings Nov 7th, 2006

How to Add a Program to the Ubuntu Startup List (After Login)

If you are coming from Windows, you are probably familiar wtih adding a shortcut to the Startup folder in the Start menu so that the program will start after you log in.

Lowell Heddings Oct 29th, 2006

Update Ubuntu Repository list using Software Sources GUI Tool

Ubuntu’s software package installation uses a list of repositories that house the various updates and software that you can install. By default, the repository list doesn’t include a lot of the 3rd party tools tha...

Lowell Heddings Oct 27th, 2006

How to Share folders with your Ubuntu Virtual Machine (guest)

VMware Workstation provides a great ability to create shared folders so that your virtual machine can easily access data on your host pc. This saves a lot of time, especially when you are installing software that would otherw...

Lowell Heddings Oct 26th, 2006

How to Access your Box.Net Account from Ubuntu the Easy Way

Box.net offers 1GB of free online storage, accessible from anywhere. I use them to back up important files like ebooks I’ve paid for and don’t want to lose. Which got me thinking… how to access my files dire...

Lowell Heddings Oct 24th, 2006

Enable Copy and Paste from Ubuntu VMware Guest

VMware includes the ability to copy and paste to and from your virtual machine window. To enable this, you will need to install the VMware tools inside your virtual machine.

Lowell Heddings Oct 22nd, 2006

Add "Open with gedit" to the right click menu in Ubuntu

The file browser in Ubuntu provides the ability to run scripts on a selected file. These scripts can be used to do anything from opening a file to zipping or uploading, or anything that you can do from the command line....

Lowell Heddings Oct 20th, 2006

How to Tell What Version of Ubuntu You Are Running

Telling what version of Ubuntu you are running is extremely easy. You would commonly use this command to figure out if you are running Edgy after you upgraded from Dapper.

Lowell Heddings Oct 19th, 2006

Install VMware Tools on Ubuntu Edgy Eft

Update: If you have VMware Workstation version 5.5.3, you will want to follow the updated guide. If you are using version 5.5.2 or below, continue on.

Lowell Heddings Oct 19th, 2006

Check your Disk Usage on Ubuntu from the command line

Ubuntu Linux, like all unix varieties, includes the du command line utility. du stands for Disk Usage, as I’m sure you assumed.

Lowell Heddings Oct 19th, 2006

Check your Disk Usage on Ubuntu with Disk Usage Analyzer

Ubuntu Linux includes a great Disk Usage Analyzer GUI tool that will let you figure out what files and folders are taking up all the space on your hard drive. This is one of those great little tools that should be bundled wi...

Lowell Heddings Oct 19th, 2006

Enable Smooth fonts on Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu Linux has an option for font smoothing that isn’t turned on by default for some strange reason. This makes fonts significantly smoother, enough to be very noticable.

Lowell Heddings Oct 13th, 2006

How to display a list of recent commands in Ubuntu Linux

Linux has a rich command line experience that can sometimes be a little daunting for people switching over from Windows. Displaying the list of recent commands is pretty simple, though:

Lowell Heddings Oct 4th, 2006

Upgrading Ubuntu from Dapper to Edgy with apt-get

Important Note: According to the Ubuntu Help:

Lowell Heddings Oct 3rd, 2006

Upgrading Ubuntu from Dapper to Edgy with Update Manager

Upgrading Ubuntu has gotten simpler over time. The graphical utility makes it a breeze to upgrade to the next version. This HowTo should work for any beta version in the future, but keep in mind that installing beta software ...

Lowell Heddings Oct 3rd, 2006

Make a Backup Copy of your Production WordPress Blog on Ubuntu

You’ve just thought of a great new layout for your blog… but making changes to your blog while visitors are accessing it is generally a bad idea, especially if you are running an ad-supported blog. This How-To sho...

Lowell Heddings Sep 27th, 2006

How to use an ISO image on Ubuntu Linux

Like anything else on linux, it’s easiest to do things from the command line. Open up a terminal window and type in the following commands

Lowell Heddings Sep 25th, 2006

Kill a Process by Process Name from Ubuntu Command Line

There are a number of ways to kill a process if you know the name of the process. Here’s a couple different ways you can accomplish this. We are going to assume that the process we are trying to kill is named irssi...

Lowell Heddings Sep 25th, 2006