Ubuntu Customization Guide - Quick Start(discussion)

[raublekick]

excellent, thank you very much!

i'm so glad java is in the repos.

[l33tDad]

Great guide .. One question: how do I install Java 1.4.2_05 instead of 1.5*? If I can get a certain Java app to work on Ubuntu (won't work in Java 1.5*), I might be able to convince the powers that be at work to at least consider killing some windows boxes.

[ubuntu_demon]

Great guide .. One question: how do I install Java 1.4.2_05 instead of 1.5*? If I can get a certain Java app to work on Ubuntu (won't work in Java 1.5*), I might be able to convince the powers that be at work to at least consider killing some windows boxes.
look here : https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RestrictedFormats

[DarthGroznii]

This has not worked for me in trying to install the Java plugin - here are the messages I get -

christian@stilgar:~$ sudo apt-get -f install
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Correcting dependencies...Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
sun-java5-bin sun-java5-jre
Suggested packages:
sun-java5-fonts
Recommended packages:
gsfonts-x11
The following NEW packages will be installed
sun-java5-bin sun-java5-jre
0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 2 not upgraded.
4 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0B/29.5MB of archives.
After unpacking 83.3MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
Preconfiguring packages ...
(Reading database ... 74018 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking sun-java5-jre (from .../sun-java5-jre_1.5.0-06-1_all.deb) ...
sun-dlj-v1-1 license could not be presented
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/sun-java5-jre_1.5.0-06-1_all.deb (--unpack):
subprocess pre-installation script returned error exit status 2
Unpacking sun-java5-bin (from .../sun-java5-bin_1.5.0-06-1_i386.deb) ...
sun-dlj-v1-1 license could not be presented
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/sun-java5-bin_1.5.0-06-1_i386.deb (--unpack):
subprocess pre-installation script returned error exit status 2
Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/sun-java5-jre_1.5.0-06-1_all.deb
/var/cache/apt/archives/sun-java5-bin_1.5.0-06-1_i386.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)


Please advise.

[ubuntu_demon]

This has not worked for me in trying to install the Java plugin - here are the messages I get -

Please advise.

First try this :
$sudo apt-get update
$sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

If you run into crazy problems please start a new thread here :
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=140

Be elaborate and post your errors. Good luck!

(I might go to sleep soon so I hope someone can help you)

[ubuntu_demon]

In the future some if this is more easy. See :

CommonCustomizations - feedback request
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=206535

[Gr4v3]

thank you nice post it works great

[ubuntu_demon]

thank you nice post it works great
thnx!

[ubuntu_demon]

I posted on my blog about this new dapper-commercial repository :
http://ubuntudemon.wordpress.com/2006/07/09/dapper-commercial-repository/

[RRS]

Thanks, just followed your guide in a fresh Dapper install, worked great with no errors reported.

New commercial repository made getting Realplayer much easier then last time.

[ubuntu_demon]

Thanks, just followed your guide in a fresh Dapper install, worked great with no errors reported.


I'm glad to be of help. And thank you for the feedback.


New commercial repository made getting Realplayer much easier then last time.

Yeah it's great if you want realplayer (or opera).

[manicka]

Nice summary of some of the more common customisations offered at ubunutguide.org (http://ubuntuguide.org)

[ubuntu_demon]

Nice summary of some of the more common customisations offered at ubunutguide.org (http://ubuntuguide.org)
Thank you :)

[ubuntu_demon]

I posted about this thread to the digg and to my blog :
http://digg.com/linux_unix/HOWTO_common_customizations_such_as_multimedia_in_ Ubuntu_Dapper
http://ubuntudemon.wordpress.com/2006/07/22/howto-common-customizations-such-as-multimedia-in-ubuntu-dapper/

[ubuntu_demon]

This HOWTO focuses on the most common customizations suitable for average users.

I have a personal preference to use commands in the terminal because :
- the user sees and learns what is happening
- the user can easily choose not to do some parts

My guide now consists of five stages :

FIRST STAGE : making your sources.list ready
SECOND STAGE : installing the software and codecs
THIRD STAGE : proprietary binary videodrivers
FOURTH STAGE : performance tweaks
FIFTH STAGE : reboot

I blogged about this here :
http://ubuntudemon.wordpress.com/2006/08/07/howto-common-customizations-such-as-multimedia-in-ubuntu-dapper-2/

[MacMan]

The focus of this guide is on the most common customizations which are suitable for average users.

Ciao ubuntu_demon,

I got an error while following your guide:
$ sudo apt-get install vlc mplayer
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Package mplayer is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package mplayer has no installation candidate

Same thing with libxine-extracodecs.

EDIT: Never mind, I've found what was wrong: I didn't enable the multiverse repositories... Shame on me. :-(

Ciao.
--
Mac

[SeaRox]

Great thread! I wish I would have read this one before I used EasyUbuntu and had to fix a few things.

[ubuntu_demon]

Great thread! I wish I would have read this one before I used EasyUbuntu and had to fix a few things.
Thanks :).

[eKlipSe]

Hi all, well i downloaded 'Easy Ubuntu', and i can see flash video on the web now. i can also play videos on Google and You Tube - however i dont get any sound with them ? On MySpace i can't get the videos to play there.

Can anyone help me out and tell me what else i need. i didnt install all the 'Easy Ubuntu' packets ... i just checked the ones i thought i would need for video playback on the internet. ThanX riK ... : ) i'm really new at this.

[ubuntu_demon]

Hi all, well i downloaded 'Easy Ubuntu', and i can see flash video on the web now. i can also play videos on Google and You Tube - however i dont get any sound with them ? On MySpace i can't get the videos to play there.

Can anyone help me out and tell me what else i need. i didnt install all the 'Easy Ubuntu' packets ... i just checked the ones i thought i would need for video playback on the internet. ThanX riK ... : ) i'm really new at this.

You should choose yourself whether you want to remove Easy Ubuntu and follow my guide. phase 1 and phase 2 (are important for multimedia)

If you have followed my guide and you are still experiencing problems with sound in firefox first try to log out (gnome) and then log back in again. I will elaborate in my guide. Let me know if you have problems.

I have a personal preference to use commands in the terminal because :
- the user sees and learns what is happening
- the user can easily choose not to do some parts

You might also go to the Easy Ubuntu forum section to see whether they can help you.

Easy Ubuntu
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=86

[SeaRox]

Thanks. It worked great for me. It even fixed some problems that were created when I used EasyUbuntu.=D>

[ubuntu_demon]

Thanks. It worked great for me. It even fixed some problems that were created when I used EasyUbuntu.=D>
Great. I'm glad it helped you. Suggestions are welcome :).

[dvader]

ubuntu_demon


right kernel is something everyone should do, install linux-686


Before making this modification , I would to know if it will cause any problems with my current system??


I have a 1.7 celleron CPU and have already installed the nVidia driver(NV18 [GeForce4 MX 4000 AGP 8x] (rev c1)) and the xgl graphics display and would not wish to mess it up


Any suggestions on how to proceed with the 686 kernek

Dvader

[ubuntu_demon]

ubuntu_demon


right kernel is something everyone should do, install linux-686


Before making this modification , I would to know if it will cause any problems with my current system??


I have a 1.7 celleron CPU and have already installed the nVidia driver(NV18 [GeForce4 MX 4000 AGP 8x] (rev c1)) and the xgl graphics display and would not wish to mess it up


Any suggestions on how to proceed with the 686 kernek

Dvader
You can still boot the old (current) kernel in case of problems(it becomes a grub entry).

[marcus12]

Thank you so much! I just started running ubuntu (with xfce since I am running it on older hardware), but I was really dreading having to find and install codecs since I wanted to be able to see my movies and music on this machine. This made it much easier, thanks again. :D

[ubuntu_demon]

Thank you so much! I just started running ubuntu (with xfce since I am running it on older hardware), but I was really dreading having to find and install codecs since I wanted to be able to see my movies and music on this machine. This made it much easier, thanks again. :D
your welcome :)

[crag277]

I may be wrong, but if you install a new kernel, then install a new VGA driver, then reboot into the new kernel, won't it just use the regular VSEA driver? Then you'd have to install proprietary drivers again in the new kernel.

So maybe one more reboot should be added to the guide.

Otherwise, excellent work! This will save new users hours of scouring the forums for a specific solution.

[ubuntu_demon]

I may be wrong, but if you install a new kernel, then install a new VGA driver, then reboot into the new kernel, won't it just use the regular VSEA driver? Then you'd have to install proprietary drivers again in the new kernel.

So maybe one more reboot should be added to the guide.


AFAIK there is no problem. I have tried it. If someone experiences another result please let me know.


Otherwise, excellent work! This will save new users hours of scouring the forums for a specific solution.

thank you very much!

[noumaan]

My guide now consists of five stages :

FIRST STAGE : making your sources.list ready
SECOND STAGE : installing the software and codecs

I would say that it is better to add a suggestion or a new step.

Planning the customization.

which could save a lot of time.

[ubuntu_demon]

I would say that it is better to add a suggestion or a new step.

Planning the customization.

which could save a lot of time.
Thnx. I will add something like this.

[K.Mandla]

Fantastic work. I don't know how this escaped me for so long, but I can't wait to get home and try some of it out. Thanks!

[ubuntu_demon]

Fantastic work. I don't know how this escaped me for so long, but I can't wait to get home and try some of it out. Thanks!
no problem :)

suggestions are very welcome

[Eddieduce]

Hey, Ub's, is it possible to use Wine to run webpages with Shockwave video as embeded web pages? I'm trying to find a work around for having no Linux Ubuntu compatible ShockWave Player and for viewing/hearing video within a web page withough having to worry about the plugin. Please read NOTE.

NOTE: I am NOT looking for Flash, I already have it.

I have already checked with Adobe but there is still no version that will work with Ubuntu!*

It also seems that the request petition has not been making that big of an impact with Adobe since I have heard no news about a compatible version for Ubuntu even though there are several thousand people signed up.

*there is a X86 bit version but I doubt that can be tweaked.

--Ed

[ubuntu_demon]

Hey, Ub's, is it possible to use Wine to run webpages with Shockwave video as embeded web pages? I'm trying to find a work around for having no Linux Ubuntu compatible ShockWave Player and for viewing/hearing video within a web page withough having to worry about the plugin. Please read NOTE.

NOTE: I am NOT looking for Flash, I already have it.

I have already checked with Adobe but there is still no version that will work with Ubuntu!*

It also seems that the request petition has not been making that big of an impact with Adobe since I have heard no news about a compatible version for Ubuntu even though there are several thousand people signed up.

*there is a X86 bit version but I doubt that can be tweaked.

--Ed
You can use wine to install windows firefox. AFAIK you can install (almost?) every plugin/player for it. I haven't tried myself.

By the way x86 is what you should use for a desktop (instead of 64 bit) unless you are running on a ppc processor.

[waydaws]

This is a bit off-topic, but I'm curious about the use of aptitude instead of apt-get. What are it's advantages?

[3rdalbum]

It keeps track of dependancies pulled in by your programs. So when you install mozilla-thunderbird through aptitude, it keeps track of which dependancies it has pulled in. If you decide to use aptitude to uninstall mozilla-thunderbird, aptitude checks if its dependancies are in use by anything else, and if not it also removes them.

Apt-get doesn't do that stuff.

[sakathor]

thx for the guide, excellent work. Wish I'd found it earlier ;)

[FyreBrand]

Ubuntu Demon, it's a very nice guide. I like that it's precise and thorough.

I would like to mention that Google offers a debian repository for Picasa. I have tried F-Spot and digiKam, but like Picasa. I thought I would share that repository for those who choose to use this application. I don't know if it rates being in your guide, but it's nicer than installing locally.

# Google Picasa for Linux repository
deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free

[ubuntu_demon]

Ubuntu Demon, it's a very nice guide. I like that it's precise and thorough.

I would like to mention that Google offers a debian repository for Picasa. I have tried F-Spot and digiKam, but like Picasa. I thought I would share that repository for those who choose to use this application. I don't know if it rates being in your guide, but it's nicer than installing locally.

# Google Picasa for Linux repository
deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free
thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I will include it (because f-spot is nice and improving) but maybe if multiple people request it.

keep the suggestions coming! :)

[dolphinsonar]

Is there a free software alternative to JAVA? Sun makes OpenOffice, so they can't be all bad, but I am trying to be an Ubuntu fundamentalist here...

[ubuntu_demon]

Is there a free software alternative to JAVA? Sun makes OpenOffice, so they can't be all bad, but I am trying to be an Ubuntu fundamentalist here...
GIJ
GNU Interpreter for Java
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Interpreter_for_Java

gij is Ubuntu's java default and it sits in the package 'gij'. Here's how to set what's used :
$sudo update-alternatives --config java

if you want to compile java :

GCJ
GNU Compiler for Java
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gcj

[jcrnan]

I think the guide is very good. I always use it for quick reference for setting up pc's after a fresh ubuntu install. But do you plan on updating it for edgy?

[ubuntu_demon]

I think the guide is very good. I always use it for quick reference for setting up pc's after a fresh ubuntu install. But do you plan on updating it for edgy?
Yeah I plan on writing one for Edgy around Edgy's release.

[FyreBrand]

Yeah I plan on writing one for Edgy around Edgy's release.
Thanks. I use your list as well. It's quite nice and I can just go down the list so I don't forget anything. I guess I could copy it to a file and use the list that way but I like to check it in case there are any changes.