Feb

27

Upgrade Ubuntu Firefox to Version 3.6 – Reader Questions

February 27, 2010 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | Leave a Comment
Posted in Q & A - Ubuntu

Erica from Canada asks:

"... I'm using Ubuntu 9.04... the "Check for Updates" in Firefox is grayed out and apt-get does not upgrade Firefox... I'm stuck at 3.0.18, how can I get upgraded?..."

This is an issue, I've encountered before. The newest versions of Firefox are not yet in the repositories, and the "Check for Updates" is disabled on purpose. I tried upgrading Firefox via PPA's on a couple occasions, butthe updates failed and I ended up with broken packages! In my opinion, the following steps might serve as a safer way to upgrade.

In your existing Firefox version (3.0.18), install the following extension manager, named FEBE, in case something happens to your extentions, you'll be able to reinstall them:

FEBE: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2109

Use FEBE to backup your extensions.

Also, just in case something happens to your saved passwords, you can back those up as well with an extension named "Password Exporter": https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2848

Backup up your passwords.

Finally, don't forget to backup your bookmarks in case something goes wrong.

In a Terminal, run the command:

which firefox

You should see this answer displayed:

/usr/bin/firefox

This guide is based on the pathing above. If the steps below are not followed properly, then this will not work! ALWAYS make sure you have BACKUPS of data you do not want to lose, in case something in your system goes terribly wrong.

Now, let's use the Terminal to move into Ubuntu's temporary (working) directory:

cd /tmp

Download  Firefox 3.6 for Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty):
wget "http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-3.6&os=linux&lang=en-US"

(The above is for the North American version, you can change that to meet your needs).

Extract the contents:
tar xvjf firefox-*.bz2

We are going to copy the new version of Firefox to a directory called "firefox-3.6" (instead of "firefox"), this way we can  revert back to the original Firefox 3.0.18 is needed.
Read more

Feb

15

Ubuntu MD5 Hash – Reader Questions

February 15, 2010 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | Leave a Comment
Posted in Q & A - Ubuntu

Nicki from Toronto asks:

"...I've made too many coasters, where is the link to check the MD5 of the Ubuntu iso downloads... Someone told me I should check them before burning, but I can't find them anywhere..."

I have had the same issue untill I bookmarked the page. But for ease of reference to all new users here's the link:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes

I hope it helps some of the readers. Make sure you book mark it! ;)

Feb

11

Google Earth and Chrome – Reader Questions

February 11, 2010 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | Leave a Comment
Posted in Q & A - Ubuntu

Ruud emailed asking, "How do I install Chrome and Google Earth? I've tried using apt-get, but the packages are not found. I am using Ubuntu 8.04"

For Ubuntu 8.04 users, please try the instructions below. (I'm not in front of a Hardy, 8.04, box right now, so please comment below if you find I've made a mistake; and I will correct it - Thanks). If I recall correctly, these packages are not in the "regular" Ubuntu repositories. To get them installed, we can create the appropriate entries in our sources/list, add the GPG keys and then use Aptitude to complete the installation.

For Google Chrome, try the following steps.

Add the chromium-daily PPA to your sources list:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Append the following:

# Chrome Source
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu hardy main

Next add the GPG key with this command:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 4E5E17B5

Update with this command:

sudo aptitude update

Then try to install Chrome withthe following command:

sudo aptitude install chromium-browser

As for Google Earth, I'm sure it's in the Medibuntu repository. Here are the steps:
Read more

Feb

1

Hardware Failures

February 1, 2010 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | Leave a Comment
Posted in Experiences

While perusing through Digg, I found it interesting to note that both the Linux and Windows users have something to say about hardware failure issues. I found it interesting, that regardless of software issues, both groups of "observant" users have come to realize that the hardware quality (read that as "robustness" - is there such a word?) may have declined? The Digg entry pointed to this post: "Computing, Even in Linux, is All About Failure".

It's just an opinion, but it seems to me that todays hardware is pushed to do more, faster, better, and so on. Given that hardware manufacturers are in the business to make money, it makes me wonder if some other facets of our hardware has not suffered somewhere? Sensitivity to power fluctuations, heat, EMI (electromagnetic interference), ESD (static electricity) maybe? Granted, when I started playing with computers, there was no such thing as cell phones, etc. that could effect computer equipment. And that equipment was no where near as powerful (or sensitive) as today's equipment.

A case in point, the only reason why I have limited hardware issues (it really is the only reason), is that I operate my hardware in cooler environments (and air clean it regularly). Yet I still have had hardware failures. Also as a very lose guide, hard drives tend to fail (on average) after a few hundred  operating hours. It differs between manufactures, but there's a bit more understanding on Wikipedia's "Hard disk failure" post, there they also refer to the "Bathtub Curve" (an engineering aspect that describes decreasing, increasing and constant failure rates). Always make sure you have a backup of your backup (redundancy).

Side note: For those that don't know me, I've been playing with computer's since the early days, (to consumers at least) of the 1970's

Case in point, I paid almost $300 for a high end cooling case on one box (and it works great - the sides even, always feel cold when in use). My servers (those on my LAN) operate in an ambient air temperature currently averaging at 16°C (in the summer they are moved and average 20°C).

On the boxes in my work area they average 22°C and I even use an external fan on them to remove radiant heat away from the fan intakes on those boxes, when the temperature goes up. Remember if the fans on your computer exhaust warm air, and then suck it back in, your PC is getting virtually zero cooling!

Granted, this has given me an environment with a lower failure rate than most, and still the odd time I loose a drive, optical drive, power supply (or network card), etc.

What a lot of people don't realize, I think, is that static (ESD) we do not feel, can still damage components. A case in point for obvious ESD, last winter I was moving one computer, I reached to pick the box up and felt a static jolt. Because it was the case of the unit, I didn't think it would have been an issue (I'd gotten away with that before). It was an issue, the network card got pooched. Another time I reached for the USB drive and pulled it out, no static or anything was felt, but the moment I touched it, my hard drive failed (because of static) and I could hear the speakers make a brief noise (and the USB drive was dead).

Finally, I've come across this again, and again, and again, avoid using a cell phone near your PC. Granted it's not medical equipment, but the cell still radiates a relatively strong field (EMI) which can interfere with PC components. Given that today's  hardware is becoming increasing specialized, it has to do more, store more, be faster, use less energy, etc., it's much, much more sensitive as a result. You can in some circumstances, actually cause a data read and write error if the EMI field interferes with that operation - which over period of several errors (or one big one) can eventually "pooch" data or a file system.

Speaking of ESD... Commonly a static charge (like you get walking across a carpet) is about  the 10000V - 13000V range. That sounds very high, but remember that the amperage is super low. It's the amperage that causes us (terminal at times) harm, not the voltage.

In winter, when humidity is low and it's warm (from the heater or furnace) static shocks (ESD) hurt more (we feel that a lot). But it terms of our hardware and how we are able to feel ESD, charges below about 4000v are not felt. You can handle your hardware and never feel any ESD, but still have damaged components from low ESD voltages. Components can be damaged voltages as low as Read more

Jan

15

Building a Business Network Using Ubuntu – Introduction

January 15, 2010 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 6 Comments
Posted in How to...

                                                              

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Building a Business Network Using Ubuntu

This post begins the first (an introduction) in a series of several posts, discussing the benefits that Ubuntu Linux provides to business owners. Naturally, by default, I'll be touching on several open source applications and server packages throughout the series. Hopefully I can also dispel some of the myth and uncertainty, for business owners who have never used Ubuntu before.

The idea for this series was borne out of the excessive questions from clients in my work life. Some have made the switch to Ubuntu, many are interested and some don't know enough, because they've never tried working with a Linux based operating system like Ubuntu.

The two Ubuntu versions I used (in my own business as well as suggest to clients) are:

Ubuntu Server Edition.
The server edition is where various business related packages are installed. Such as print servers, web servers, billing systems, firewalls, and so on.

Ubuntu Desktop Edition.
The desktop edition (also used on laptops) is where various applications are installed and used to access the resources on the server.

Note: The newest Ubuntu version "Lucid" 10.04 is scheduled for release in April of 2010 and will be an LTS ("Long Term Support") version. At which time, I'd suggest this as the version to use.

For business owners not familiar with Ubuntu, please check Read more


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