Dec
1
Faster Internet With an Old Laptop – Revisited
December 1, 2009 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 1 Comment
Posted in Hands On
One of my earlier posts, Faster Internet With an Old Laptop – Ubuntu and Squid, discussed how to install Squid and Webmin on an old laptop. The premise being that having a proxy server on the network helped speed up web browsing (because of the caching capabilities), reduced external bandwidth usage, etc.
In that post, I was careful to install Squid3 first, so that Webmin would use it (in the management interface) instead of the older Squid 2.x; and that the installation would be smoother. One thing I noticed was that webmin was using an older version of squid:
"...I noticed that webmin (for some strange reason) thought squid 2.6 was installed..."
One of our readers (atass) provided a useful comment in that post:
"The reason is that you have also installed squid3 AND 2.6. 2.6 was installed via webmin because it is not configured by default to find squid3
I think you should correct this procedure so that you correctly configure webmin to use squid3 by going to module configuration and changing to squid3 paths. Avoid installing Squid via webmin cause it will install Squid 2.6 regardless if you have squid 3 installed"
So this needed fixing, here are the settings (below) I changed to get Squid3 going. Above all, remember to back up data or settings before changing anything. Read more
Dec
1
Some Things Linux Can Do, That Windows Won’t.
December 1, 2009 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 65 Comments
Posted in Editorials
I had an interesting chat with a friend today, part of which dealt with the differences between Windows and Linux (hence this post). In a nutshell, he was trying to grasp why I really preferred Linux. He wanted to get into the meat and potatoes of the issue - Why Linux?
Funnily, on the spot, I found it easy to surmise all sorts of motivations and reasons as to making Linux (in this case Ubuntu) my primary operating system. In particular much of the discussion revolved around the uses of various operating systems and different ways of doing the same thing in various ones. It occurred to me then to try and verbalize things I could do with Linux, that I could not with Windows. That (for me at least) was a harder task and I didn't come up with as much until I had time to think; on my way home.
I'm sure others could add much more than my thoughts below, needless to say, the following (below) are some things I find I can do in Linux, that I cannot in Windows - that for me at least are very important.
1) Operate a complete operating system for free.
With Linux I can legally download and install a complete operating, without paying money for it, and without it being considered software piracy. While I can appreciate that many people may think they can use illegal torrents to download software (and evidently they do), it's still illegal and puts such individuals at risk from RIAA (and the likes), as well as being in danger of potential criminal charges. I don't have to worry about that. This saves me money, as the last time I checked the cost of Windows 7 Ultimate, it was around $200 CAN.
2) Keep my OS secure without excessive applications.
In Windows, I find I need to run and anti-virus, a firewall, an adware / spyware blocker, and use these tools every day. Personally, I find they consume a lot of resources on my Windows system (slowing it down), that I don't have to do on my Linux system. Sure a firewall is always good to install regardless if the system is Linux or Windows - That's a fair statement! But, my routers have built in firewalls. And, in reality, the Firewall on my Windows system is to stop suspicious software from calling out!
3) Install all my applications for free.
Much the same as installing a Linux OS for free (above), I remember being astonished at the wealth and availability of free software for Linux. In particular was the fact that I did not have to manually download, then install files, rather it was via the use of one simple command (aptitude install <whatever>), that handled everything. I don't need to go to a store to buy software, I don't need to use my credit card to buy it online either. If you're not aware of how much free software is out there, a small view is here: Top 100 of the Best (Useful) OpenSource Applications.
4) Automatically update all my software and the OS.
With Windows, I notice that there are regular updates, patches, security, fixes, etc. to the OS. With Linux, my updates include Read more
Nov
30
Sharing the Same Files Between Two PC’s
November 30, 2009 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 1 Comment
Posted in How To
Here's the scenario:
Box #1: Ubuntu Linux 8.04LTS
Box #2: Windows XP SP3
Box #3: Remote storage (NAS) DLink DNS-321
Linux and Windows both need read and write access to the remote files stored on the DNS-321 backup unit. This way there is only one set of files and directories to manage, that both computers will share. In other words the data stored on the backup unit (NAS) is common to both computers on the network.
Some time ago, I wrote a post on another blog, Saving Your Data When Disaster Strikes, that dealt with the issues of losing data because there were no backups. In that post I mentioned:
"...I also opted to install a proactive solution and purchased a D-Link DNS-321 network storage unit, to which I added two more hard drives again, and had one mirroring all it’s contents to the other. In the event when one of those drives fails - and eventually they will, the second drive in that unit will be a duplicate of the failed drive..."
At that time the solution was great! The only drawback (in the way I approached it) was having to synchronize files across all computers (over the network) and then backup a copy of those files to the remote storage. I played around with quite a few tools, but ended up just using plain old FTP, to send files back and forth. Needless to say, this resulted in unproductive use of my time.
I don't really know what took me so long, but it finally dawned on me (what was I thinking before!?) that a better use would be to have all common files on the remote server (that's the DNS-321 unit). It's a much more efficient to operate, (saves wasting time with synchronization) using it as a fileserver / backup unit. I should point out, that while my solution does revolve around that Dlink unit (because that's what I bought), this solution can use any type of network storage unit (NAS) or networked server. I should also mention, the NAS has two hard drives in it. I configured those drives to operate as RAID 1. This means that one hard drive will mirror the other one. If one hard drive fails, the data can be rebuilt by using the mirror image of the other one.
First, it's important to ensure the NAS is configured to your needs. This means enabling SMB. Why SMB (Samba) and not NSF? Remember, there's a Windows box on the network and it needs access too. If you intent to use Read more
Nov
30
Finding Ubuntu Version – Reader Questions
November 30, 2009 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 2 Comments
Posted in Q & A
George one of our readers emailed to ask:
"... your solution said it was for Ubuntu 8.04, how do I find out what version I'm running?..."
There's a simple, quick way to see what version of Ubuntu Linux you are running. Open a terminal and enter the command:
lsb_release -a
If you're using Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy), your output will look something like below:
roger@ubuntubox:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS
Release: 8.04
Codename: hardy
roger@ubuntubox:~$
For reference, I might add that there are a couple other useful, Read more
Aug
7
Forgotten Password – Reader Questions
August 7, 2009 | By: UbuntuLinuxHelp | 5 Comments
Posted in Q & A
Rhonda, one of our readers asks:
"...I forgot my username and password on my ubuntu/Linux computer. How do I get back on? I have 2 computers just so you understand. One I use windows and the other I use ubuntu. I don't want to throw the computer away so any help would be greatly appreciated..."
I'm assuming this is the username to log into Ubuntu, not the a password for GRUB or the PC itself (that is a password set in the BIOS, which is requested when the PC is turned on).
First off, there's no need to throw the computer away, even if you are unable to garner the username or password; you can reinstall the OS.
The majority (if not all) of the Linux users I personally know, use their name as the username for regular login sessions and root as the username for administrative sessions. Ubuntu however facilitates sudo (or sudo su) via your regular username, if you'd like to perform administrative functions.
To obtain your username, Read more
