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Build a Web Developer PC and Enable Most Media Playback Using Ubuntu Linux
March 16, 2009 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 11 Comments
Posted in Applications, How to..., Linux Projects - Hands On
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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For those of you who follow my other blog, you'll know that my last Windows PC had a major failure again. You can read some of the specifics in the "When Disaster Strikes - Again" post. At that point I decided to install Ubuntu (effectively removing Windows based PC's from the network).
In some ways I was bothered about this. Why? I work best with Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Dreamweaver, WinSCP, Flash and so on. I felt like I was going to lose all the productivity these applications provided. I enjoy being able to double click media and play it automatically, same goes with DVD movies, etc. In Linux, I've often encountered problems with media playback as the media usually includes restricted formats, MP3 for example. On the developer/designer side, I was not looking forward (nor do I have time) to a steep learning curve.
This post (hopefully) will show the desktop user how to enable all the restricted media playbacks (movie DVD, music MP3, etc.)
It will also show web developers and designers some of the issues, applications and work arounds - Or at least the current state of them.
First off, let's deal with the media issues. I built this PC using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS 64Bit (Hardy). I did try installing 8.10 64Bit but found that the network cards did not properly work. After much investigation, I also discovered out that I would benefit best using a release with LTS "Long Term Support", as apparently there was better hardware support - So I'm waiting for 9.04 (still in alpha 6 release as of this post).
One of my favourite tools is aptitude. I used to prefer apt-get, however I found out that aptitude does a better job in removing applications. Aptitude will also remove the dependencies when a package is removed. apt-get will not do that (and I don't think synaptic will either - someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I almost always use aptitude, this way my system (and hard drive space) is keep cleaner whenever I use aptitude to remove packages.
In order to install some of the applications and enable some of the media formats, we'll need to edit your sources.list file. You can use nano, gedit, etc. An example terminal command is below:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
The above command will open a window with the gedit application containing your sources.list file. MAKE SURE that you have no mistakes (syntax or otherwise) in the file. If you do, you'll get an error message when using aptitude and will have to edit the file. Therefore, make a BACKUP of the /etc/apt/sources.list file that you can later revert back to BEFORE editing it.
Below is a copy of my sources.list file - As you may see, I've added some addresses (sources) to it:
# Main and Restricted
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security main restricted
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main restricted
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security main restricted
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main restricted
# Universe
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy universe
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security universe
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy universe
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security universe
# Multiverse
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy multiverse
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security multiverse
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy multiverse
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security multiverse
# Canonical
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ hardy partner
# Medibuntu
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free
deb-src http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free
# Third Parties
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian hardy non-free
If you have a repository in your sources.list file (that I do not, remember to make sure that you include it!
A couple things about the above edit:
I use ca. within the URL because I'm in Canada. Change the ca. to whatever your country is. Also, Ubuntu Linux 8.04 is called "Hardy", if you are using 8.10 "Intrepid" (or earlier versions) then change "Hardy" to the name of your distribution.
As seen above, we added the mediabuntu repository source, but we still have to add the public key. If we don't we'll get a message from aptitude that indicates the source cannot be verified. Here's how to add the public key via terminal commands:
Download the key:
wget http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg
Add the key:
sudo apt-key add medibuntu-key.gpg
Now let's make sure that we update the repositories with this command:
sudo aptitude update
And then let's upgrade everything:
aptitude full-upgrade
The above command can also be issued as aptitude dist-upgrade (the old name - which still works).
***Warning***
This command will attempt to upgrade packages. It is aggressive with solving dependency problems. It will install and remove packages until all dependencies are satisfied. Because of this, it is possible that undesirable things may happen to your system and/or application. Therefore you should be careful when using it! Back up FIRST.
Now we're ready to start installing some media playback and file sharing capabilities. Particularly:
- Multimedia Codecs.
- DVD playback.
- Java plugin.
- DVD (and CD) burning.
- Some Compilers.
- File/Printer sharing.
All the following commands are using aptitude via terminal commands.
Let's start with the codecs:
sudo aptitude install ubuntu-restricted-extras && sudo aptitude install w64codecs
For 32 Bit users, use substitute this codec command: sudo aptitude install w32codecs
Don't forget to install the restricted extras:
sudo aptitude install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Now let's get that DVD movie playing capability working:
sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2 && sudo aptitude install libdvdnav4 && sudo aptitude install gxine && sudo aptitude install libxine-main1 && sudo aptitude install libxine-extracodecs && sudo aptitude install libxine-ffmpeg && sudo aptitude install vlc && sudo aptitude install mplayer
And some DVD/CD burning software. I prefer K3B - But you can substitute any other one you prefer:
sudo aptitude install k3b
Let's enable compiling:
sudo aptitude install build-essential
(If you want documentation, install it too: sudo aptitude install manpages-dev glibc-doc).
Let's install a couple extra things like NFS (Network File Sharing), NTP (Network Time Protocol) and NIS (Network Information System) like so:
sudo aptitude install nfs-common && sudo aptitude install ntp && sudo aptitude install nis
Were pretty much done with the multimedia, but there are a couple application related things we're going to install:
Flash player for Firefox can be obtained from Adobe by downloading the .deb version (Adobe Flash Player version 10.0.22.87 as of this post). This will allow you to save a file called "install_flash_player_10_linux.deb". Simply double click the file to begin installation.
While we're working with Firefox, let's turn it into a web developer tool with the following extensions:
Installing the Web Developer Toolbar, allows for the inclusion of some productive tools, such as:
- Editing CSS.
- Disabling CSS.
- Outlining images or finding broken ones.
- Displaying ID and Class details.
- View response headers.
- Edit HTML.
- Outline tables, elements, etc.
- And tons more!
Let's also install Firebug so that you can edit, monitor and debug various web site scripting.
The use of MeasureIt helps in that you use it to obtain width and height form any element you draw in your browser screen. It's like a drag and stop (width/height) ruler.
When developing or editing files displayed in my browser screen, I often copy and paste content. Unfortunately, Firefox will also copy the formating that's been applied to the text. The extension, Copy Plain Text fixes this for me, now I get exactly what I want - Text only.
I do like using Shutter to capture full web page screen shots, so here's how we install it according to the Shutter web site like this:
Include the repository and key:
wget -q http://shutter-project.org/shutter-ppa.key -O- | sudo apt-key add -
The above is for the stable releases. For more installation information or other methods you can visit Shutter Downloads.
In terms of development tools, many of them have already been listed in our Top 100 of the Best (Useful) OpenSource Applications post. However, there are a few that I'd particularly mention below.
Blender, Gimp and Inkspace. I'm not suggesting that Gimp or Inkspace are substitutes for Photoshop or Illustrator, rather they are an option. While they can produce the same resulting artwork, I find they require a steeper learning curve. Particularly steep in that the keyboard shortcuts are different, the names of many of the interface tools are different and/or they function in a different way. I've found several site with some great tutorials for both Gimp and Inkscape, however I don't have the time (or motivation) to learn new applications. In my personal opinion, the GIMP interface is a horrid mess, but that is probably because I am used to the Photoshop interface. I think GIMP would be adopted much more readily if they improved the interface to be more intuitive and similar to Photoshop - But that's simply what I think, I'm not the GIMP expert here.
One tool I use to enable continued use of Photoshop, etc. is VirtualBox. VirtualBox provides a virtual environment in which I can install a Windows based environment and any applications I wish (including Flash, etc.) - Hopefully Adobe will soon release Linux versions of their software as I think it is a huge market for them to tap into. After I've configured that environment, I can take a snapshot. If the virtual Windows installation or applications ever fail or become corrupted, I can simply restore the snapshot to bring the environment back to a working state - Voilà a quick 2 minute fix instead of reinstalling everything. Also, the virtual environment facilitates an optional shared directory on the host OS (that's the Ubuntu Linux installation), so that I can access and store input and output files. If the virtually installed OS crashes, I still have that data within the Linux host installation.
To install VirtualBox, please follow the guide posted here: Installing VirtualBox 2.0.0 On Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop. Or use sudo aptitude install virtualbox as the repository is already in your sources.list file (above).
As web development is no longer simple HTML pages, but rather full multimedia, below are more of the development tools I'd suggest exploring:
- Bluefish Editor - Script editor - apt:bluefish
- Meld Diff Viewer - apt:meld
- Ardour - Audio editor - apt:ardour
- Audacity - Audio editor - apt:audacity
- Avidmux -Video editor - apt:avidmux
- Kino -Video editor - apt:kino
- Gftp - FTP client - apt:gftp
- Kompozer - Script editor - apt:kompozer
- puTTY - SSH client - apt:putty
The above applications are all available via aptitude or getdeb.net or by clicking the "apt" links above.
Finally, in order to have fonts consistent with Windows (and other) users, we may want to install some of the Windows based fonts like this:
sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts
This will install the True Type Fonts (TTF).
Now simply update the shared font directories with this command:
sudo fc-cache -f -v
If you'd like CTF (Clear Type Fonts) the How to Install TTF and CTF Fonts in Ubuntu post will help you with that.
This just about covers most everything. These further resources can help you:
Converting MP3s to Ogg-Vorbis.
Playing Blu-Ray and HD DVD Video.
If you think I've missed anything or you've an idea, feel free to comment about it! - cheers! :)
Related posts:
- Building a Web Developer / Designer PC Using Ubuntu Linux – Revisited
- Installing an Ubuntu Linux Hardy 8.04 LAMP and FFMpeg Server With a GUI – Installation of OpenSSH.
- Google Earth and Chrome – Reader Questions
- 10 Things to do After Installing Ubuntu Linux
- Installing an Ubuntu Linux Hardy 8.04 LAMP and FFMpeg Server With a GUI – LAMP installation with cgi-bin
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teo constant... (2)
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Hello, I am having trouble installing ffmpeg on ubuntu 8.04. This is the message:
Err http://br.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-security/main libavutil1d 3:0.cvs20070307-5ubuntu7.3
403 Forbidden [IP: 200.236.31.1 80]
Err http://br.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-security/main libavcodec1d 3:0.cvs20070307-5ubuntu7.3
403 Forbidden [IP: 200.236.31.1 80]
Err http://br.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-security/main libavformat1d 3:0.cvs20070307-5ubuntu7.3
403 Forbidden [IP: 200.236.31.1 80]
Err http://br.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-security/main libpostproc1d 3:0.cvs20070307-5ubuntu7.3
403 Forbidden [IP: 200.236.31.1 80]
How can resolve this?
thanks!
@Rodrigo R. Apolinário – The URL is wrong. The “/ubuntu” directory is missing.
For example, where you have:
http://br.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-security/main
It should be something like:
http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security main restricted
Let me know if this helps! :)
This is my source.lista. It is here that there is something wrong?
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 8.04.1 _Hardy Heron_ - Release i386 (20080712)]/ hardy main restricted# See http://help.ubuntu.com/communi.....gradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy main restricteddeb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy main restricted
## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the## distribution.
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-updates main restricted
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-updates main restricted
## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## universe WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu security
## team.
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy universe
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy universe
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-updates universe
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-updates universe
## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy multiverse
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy multiverse
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-updates multiverse
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-updates multiverse
## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports'## repository.
## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
# deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
# deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's## 'partner' repository. This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is
## offered by Canonical and the respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu
## users.
# deb http://archive.canonical.com/u.....buntu hardy partner
# deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/u.....buntu hardy partner
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-security main restricteddeb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-security main restricted
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-security universe
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-security universe
deb http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-security multiverse
deb-src http://br.archive.ubuntu.com/u.....buntu/ hardy-security multiverse
@Rodrigo R. Apolinário – Seems then as if the repository server itself is denying access?
I manually surfed to your repository (in Firefox) and downloaded the Packages.gz inside http://br.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-security/main. And found the floowing informattion for ffmpeg in it:
As you can see, the maintainers are: ubuntu-motu@lists.ubuntu.com and pkg-multimedia-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org
I sent the following email:
Hopefully they will be kind enough to give us a bit of extra help! :)
@Rodrigo R. Apolinário
More ideas:
1) Have you updated your kernel. Maybe after that the ffmpeg install might work?
2) Better, I remember a couple years ago I had trouble with this. One way I fixed it was to edit the sources list using Ubuntu (not gedit, nano, vi, etc.), then things started working.
Go to System / Administration /Software Sources (it will ask you to enter your password)
Now click the “Third-Party Software” tab. Do you see “http://packages.medibuntu.org…” there?
On the “Ubuntu Software” Tab, do you see all check boxes selected and the “Download from” as selecting a server from your country?
If not, make the appropriate changes (make sure you have backups!!!). After changing and selecting the “Close” button, you’ll see a pop-up that gives the option to “Reload” – Click that “Reload” button.
3) I have heard that substituting ftp:// in place of http:// has helped some people – But I am not sure if that would work in this case. I assume it would not hurt to try.
4) Have you tried the command “sudo apt-get clean”
5) Try using the main repository instead of the one from your country, or try one from another country. When you do that do you still get the same error?
6) Are you running through a proxy server? If so, that could be interfering. Try removing reference to it form /etc/apt/apt.conf You can do this by looking for the code:
Acquire::HTTP::Proxy "false";and changing it to say:
Acquire::::Proxy "false";These are some ideas, hopefully one of them will work for you?
A detail. You searched the repository what i am using it and described what it works with amd64 architecture.
The computer what I use is intel64. This may be the problem?
Thank you for your willingness to help me.
I am not expert in these matters. I am beginner.
But I follow your last guidance to describe what I did:
1) answer: How do I do this?
2) Now click the “Third-Party Software” tab. Do you see “http://packages.medibuntu.org…” there?
Answer: There is no “http://packages.medibuntu.org. There http://archive.canonical.com/u.....buntu
On the “Ubuntu Software” Tab, do you see all check boxes selected and the “Download from” as selecting a server from your country?
answer: all boxes are marked, and the server is selected in the country.
3) I have heard that substituting ftp:// in place of http:// has helped some people – But I am not sure if that would work in this case. I assume it would not hurt to try.
answer: where can I change this?
4)) Have you tried the command “sudo apt-get clean”
Response: This command clears what?
5) Try using the main repository instead of the one from your country, or try one from another country. When you do that do you still get the same error?
answer: I tried all and has not changed anything.
6) Are you running through a proxy server? If so, that could be interfering. Try removing reference to it form /etc/apt/apt.conf You can do this by looking for the code:
Acquire::HTTP::Proxy "false";and changing it to say:
Acquire::::Proxy "false";answer: I do not know to say about it.
———–
Thank you again!
@Rodrigo R. Apolinário – No. 64bit is the same, so that is not the issue.
I did get a response to our email from Romain Beauxis of Ubuntu Lists, see it below:
One thing I find interesting is that I just did a search on Google about this issue: http://www.google.ca/search?hl.....#038;meta= and I do see a lot of issues listed. There is also a fair bit in various Ubuntu forums about this too. As such I don’t think the issue is necessarily as “clear” as Mr. Beauxis try’s to imply.
@Rodrigo R. Apolinário – You indicated in that you’ve tried every repository and are being denied from all of them. If that is the case, then in all likelihood, the issue might be with your ISP? After all, one could perhaps envison a repository being temporarily unavailable for a time – Not all of them.
To answer your questions…
1) Upgrading the kernel on Ubuntu Hardy (8.04) can be done using the commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-image
But if you’re still denied access to the repositories, this will not work. Also, MAKE SURE you have BACKUPS of any data that you do NOT WANT TO LOSE, in the event of issues such as breaking your OS.
2) You’re not seeing medibuntu in the repository list because it was not added. Please read the post – Reading it will tell you how to add mediabuntu to your sources.list
3) Read the post. – It has the instructions on how to edit your sources.list. (ALWAYS make a BACKUP of your sources.list when editing, that way you can still restore the original file).
4)
sudo apt-get clean, cleans (removes) the local archive of downloaded files.5) The beginning of this comment response answers #5 – Is your IP address coming from a blacklisted range? Is your IP address being filtered through some kind of ISP proxy? If possible, try using the IP range of a completely different network from school, work, etc.
6) See answer to #5
I hope some of this helps you! :)
[...] Build a Web Developer PC and Enable Most Media Playback Using Ubuntu Linux [...]
[...] almost any desktop media format (mov, mpg, avi, wmv, mp3 and so on). I wrote a detailed post: “Build a Web Developer PC and Enable Most Media Playback Using Ubuntu Linux”, which provides a bit more of an in depth explanation of the above command (including editing the [...]