One question I often get after new users have become comfortable with their desktop systems, is how to improve the performance speed of Ubuntu Linux. This question is generally asked by those who enjoy tweaking and playing with their systems. While I’m sure there are probably a ton of online tutorials that provide all sorts of speed tweaks and How to’s, one thing I almost always do first it disable the services I don’t need.
Think of it this way… Every running service uses resources, each one I turn off uses less resources. This gives more free resources (memory, CPU usage, etc.) for the system to use. Therefore performance should improve.
If you’re also interested in speeding up your web surfing, making it faster, you may also want to see:
Speed Up Your Internet Connection in Ubuntu Linux - Part 1
Speed Up Your Internet Connection in Ubuntu Linux - Part 2
Speed Up Web Browsing by Caching DNS to Your Hard Drive in Ubuntu.
Speed Up and Improve Web Surfing With an Ubuntu Squid Server.
Suffice it to say, one of the easiest fastest “tweaks” is the turning off of unneeded services. But, which ones are safe to turn off? Which ones should be left on?
Not all Linux boxes are going to have the same services as mine (I’m using Ubuntu Linux), but below is a handy list of what can be turned off for desktop users.
Disabling (or enabling) services can be completed (in Ubuntu Linux) by going to System -> Administration -> Services
I have tried to keep the list below in alphabetical order (so that it’s easier for you to look up a service later). Also, please remember Read the full post…
Just a quick tip I wanted to pass on today. Have you ever had the issue where you want to eject your CD, but it will not eject; no matter how many times you press the eject button? Annoying isn’t it? 
I remember when I first started using Linux, years ago, (my OS was RedHat then), I actually would reboot the system just to get the CD out! Obviously, that’s not too smart.
One of my friends (a brand new user) just ran into this issue. He phoned me because he thought it was a bug. (It’s not). For any new users out there. Here is a quick fix to force the CD to eject: Read the full post…
In an unprecedented move, Microsoft Corp. has acquired all rights to the Ubuntu Linux operating system (OS). The announcement came after numerous series of private negotiation meetings.
Several open source communities have already expressed stunned acceptance of the move that is sure to redefine the role of [Ubuntu] Linux in the consumer market. Or as some have indicated, remove it from the consumer arena altogether!
All parties have been unavailable since the initial announcement, however, the public news release indicated that Read the full post…
Last week we posted a very simple “How to Install VMware in Ubuntu Linux“. That guide used apt-get to access the appropriate repositories. Additionally, it explained a bit about the benefits of VMware for Linux users (or any operating system for that matter). A short pre-installation checklist was also provided, including te URL to obtain your free VMware registration key! If you have not read that post, you might want to look at that one first. 
Again, we’re using Ubuntu Linux 7.10 (Gutsy) to install the VMware server.
Prior to installing from source we’ll need to make sure we have the required package and a patch. You can download them from here…
Download the source: VMware Server 1.0.4
Note: As of this post, VMware Server 1.0.5 is out, however I installed when it was still 1.0.4 and have not yet upgraded. If you use 1.0.5, you might not need the patch.
The first time I did this, I could not compile properly (probably because I did not pay attention to the documentation)?
Here are two posts that helped with the issue: http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-610829.html and http://www.tssci-security.com/archives/2007/10/25/how-to-install-vmware-server-on-ubuntu-710-gutsy-gibbon/
And there’s a patch you can download here: Read the full post…
I just visited the Ubuntu Forums and bumped into a post I found very amusing. It’s from an individual who believes he’s found a vulnerability in dev/null.
“…I first came upon it, when I was writing an email, and I saved the file at the location /dev/null. Upon logging in again, I found that the file has mysteriously vanished. This was very sensitive information, so I even encrypted it. But this seem like a vulnerability in the Linux kernel, that non root users have access to delete and modify /dev/null as it is the only possible explanation for my file disappearing…” Ha ha ha… Of course it’s gone! 
Maybe you’ll all think I’m a bit crazy, but I thought it funny. Maybe I am a bit nuts!
For users no familiar with /dev/null, it Read the full post…
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