Here’s what I did to get everything working (on an local web server that is NOT available to the public – To make it a public server, more security issues would have to be addressed):

I want to get some extra multimedia packages:

sudo wget –output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list && sudo apt-get –quiet update && sudo apt-get –yes –quiet –allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get –quiet update

For some reason, the above command did not install the mediabuntu key. When I updated aptitude, it threw some errors, and I noticed that Authentication tab in Software Sources (System >> Administration >> Software Sources) did not list Medibuntu as a trusted software provider.

sudo apt-get –force-yes install app-install-data-medibuntu apport-hooks-medibuntu

gpg –keyserver subkeys.pgp.net –recv 0C5A2783 && gpg –export –armor 0C5A2783 | sudo apt-key add -

sudo aptitude update

Install some packages and codecs:

sudo aptitude install w32codecs libavcodec-extra-52 mencoder mplayer mplayer-gui non-free-codecs aacgain gecko-mediaplayer

Get DVD playback working and some packages:

sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2 libdvdnav4 gxine libxine1-gnome libxine1-plugins libxine1-all-plugins vlc mozilla-plugin-vlc mplayer mplayer-gui

I like the ability to copy music off my CD’s:

sudo aptitude install sound-juicer

Also, RubyRipper:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:aheck/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install rubyripper
sudo aptitude install rubyripper-gtk

A package to enable modification of PDF files:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pdfmod-team/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install pdfmod

A package for editing RAW images as well as a RAW converter and digital photo processing application:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rawtherapee/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install rawtherapee

Get Skype:

sudo aptitude install skype

No video? Try this:

Install v4l2ucp and change the preview program with v4l2ucp to skype instead of mplayer. Start preview, Skype loads, and video works.

Get some more media related packages:

sudo aptitude install devede easytag phatch dia thoggen

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-snapshots
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install handbrake-gtk

Some PDF related packages:

sudo aptitude install pdfshuffler pdfsam pdfchain pdfjam

Torrents:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:transmissionbt/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install transmission

Side note for those with printers:

To get printer available on the network: http://localhost:631
Go to the “Administration” tab, then select “Share printers connected to this system” and “Allow printing from the Internet”

Also… I like the ability to reprint old jobs:

sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

Now add this code:

#Save print jobs, but only save 100 of them
PreserveJobFiles Yes
MaxJobs 100

just underneath this code:

LogLevel warn
MaxLogSize 0
SystemGroup lpadmin
# Allow remote access
Port 631

Get some dev related packages:

sudo aptitude install build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libopencore-amrnb-dev libopencore-amrwb-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora-dev libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore-dev zlib1g-dev

sudo aptitude install quanta gmountiso httrack isomaster

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kilian/trimage
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install trimage

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/ubuntu-font-family
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install ttf-ubuntu-font-family

Install another browser (Chrome) for front-end testing:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install chromium-browser

Let’s get the WordPress Dev environment installed…

Let’s get ffmpeg related installs done:

sudo aptitude install flvtool2 yamdi

Install x264:

cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264.git
cd x264
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall –pkgname=x264 –pkgversion “2:0.`grep X264_BUILD x264.h -m1 |
cut -d’ ‘ -f3`.`git rev-list HEAD | wc -l`+git`git rev-list HEAD -n 1 |
head -c 7`” –backup=no –default –deldoc=yes

Note: To uninstall:

dpkg -r x264

Install LAME:

sudo aptitude remove libmp3lame-dev
sudo aptitude install nasm
cd
wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/lame/lame/3.98.4/lame-3.98.4.tar.gz
tar xzvf lame-3.98.4.tar.gz
cd lame-3.98.4
./configure –enable-nasm –disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall –pkgname=lame-ffmpeg –pkgversion=”3.98.4″ –backup=no –default
–deldoc=yes

Install libvpx (for VP8 video):

cd
git clone git://review.webmproject.org/libvpx.git
cd libvpx
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall –pkgname=libvpx –pkgversion=”`date +%Y%m%d%H%M`-git” –backup=no
–default –deldoc=yes

Install ffmpeg:

cd
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure –enable-gpl –enable-version3 –enable-nonfree –enable-postproc
–enable-libfaac –enable-libopencore-amrnb –enable-libopencore-amrwb
–enable-libtheora –enable-libvorbis –enable-libx264 –enable-libxvid
–enable-x11grab –enable-libmp3lame –enable-libvpx
make
sudo checkinstall –pkgname=ffmpeg –pkgversion “4:SVN-r`LANG=C svn info |
grep Revision | awk ‘{ print $NF }’`” –backup=no –default –deldoc=yes
hash x264 ffmpeg ffplay

Not: To uninstall:

dpkg -r ffmpeg

Finally, let’s install qt-faststart, so that H.264 video can start playing almost immediately:

cd ~/ffmpeg
make tools/qt-faststart
sudo checkinstall –pkgname=qt-faststart –pkgversion “4:SVN-r`svn info | grep Revision |
awk ‘{ print $NF }’`” –backup=no –default –deldoc=yes install -D -m755
tools/qt-faststart /usr/local/bin/qt-faststart

Note: To uninstall:

dpkg -r qt-faststart

We need MySQL for the databases:

sudo aptitude install mysql-server mysql-client libmysqlclient15-dev

Important: Don’t forget to keep a record of your MySQL root user password! If not, phpMyAdmin will not be able to login later!

One quick Firefox tweak. I prefer Firefox tabs to open at the end (like the used to). Here’s the fix:

Open Firefox
In the address bar type:

about:config

In the “Filter” textbox, type:

browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent

Double click “browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent” that you see under “Preference Name” so that the “Value” says “False”.

Sometimes it helps to be able to record any sound piped through your soundcard, cam, etc.:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:osmoma/rec-applet
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install rec-applet

Install the Apache web server:

sudo aptitude install apache2 apache2-doc apache2-mpm-prefork apache2-utils libexpat1 ssl-cert

Let’s edit the hosts file, to make it a bit easier for the web server (Apache) to reliably determine the FQDN – So that it won’t use 127.0.0.1:

sudo gedit /etc/hosts

Here is what my hosts file now looks like:

127.0.0.1    localhost
127.0.1.1    asgard
192.168.1.107    asgard.localdomain

# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1     localhost ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters
ff02::3 ip6-allhosts

Restart Apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Let’s get some of the plugins we’ll need (ffmpeg-php, for example):

sudo aptitude install libapache2-mod-php5 libapache2-mod-ruby libapache2-mod-python php5 php5-common php5-curl php5-dev php5-gd php5-idn php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-mhash php5-ming php5-mysql php5-pspell php5-recode php5-snmp php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl php5-ffmpeg php5-json php5-ps

Enable some mods:

sudo a2ensite defaut-ssl
sudo a2enmod ssl
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo a2enmod include

We’d like to enable the WebDAV feature:

sudo a2enmod dav_fs
sudo a2enmod dav

Restart Apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Let’s get an FTP server working:

sudo aptitude install proftpd ucf menu

Side note: I selected “standalone” for the proftpd installation.

Let’s edit our Apache config (because I noticed that overrides are not working):

sudo gedit /etc/apache2/sites-available/default

Changed it to look like this:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

DocumentRoot /var/www
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride all
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride all
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>

ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
<Directory “/usr/lib/cgi-bin”>
AllowOverride all
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error.log

# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel warn

CustomLog /var/log/apache2/access.log combined

Alias /doc/ “/usr/share/doc/”
<Directory “/usr/share/doc/”>
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride all
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>

</VirtualHost>

Restart apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Warning message?

apache2: Could not reliably determine the server’s fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1 for ServerName
… waiting apache2: Could not reliably determine the server’s fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1 for ServerName

Fix:

sudo gedit /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

The page will be empty, add this:

ServerName localhost

Restart Apache

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Now to install phpMyAdmin:

sudo aptitude install phpmyadmin

(Obviously select “apache2″ as the server).

Don’t forget the password you selected!

Now we need to get the databases that were on the old system’s hard drive (only if you need to do something like this). First, make a backup of the current (clean) MySQL:

sudo cp -Rp /var/lib/mysql /home/roger/Downloads/backups-mysql/mysql.backup

Note: To restore…

sudo cp -Rp /home/roger/Downloads/backups-mysql/mysql.backup /var/lib/mysql

I previously zipped, uploaded to an FTP server, and then downloaded the archive to my desktop. Now I want to restore the unzipped databases:

sudo cp -Rp /home/roger/Desktop/MySQL/dirs/mysql /var/lib

Restart MySQl:

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

Sometimes the import of WordPress content (xml files) is over 2MB. Let’s increase this limitation so that we can import larger file:

sudo gedit /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

Find:

upload_max_filesize = 2M

and change to say:

upload_max_filesize = 20M

Save the edited file and restart Apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

I often record screen activity so that clients can see how to do something, or learn about issues of value to them. In particular, it’s most beneficial to be able to use the desktop screen activity, the web cam and the microphone to better explain or demonstrate something. Here’s how I set this up:

sudo aptitude istanbul ubuntu-restricted-extras pavucontrol

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gtk-recordmydesktop
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install gtk-recordmydesktop

sudo aptitude install subtitleeditor

A simple GUI video converter:

sudo aptitude install winff

Note: RecordMyDesktop (Applications >> Sound & Video >> Desktop Recorder) will record in .ogv format. After installing ffmpeg, the conversion to flv becomes a simple command:

ffmpeg -i input_file.ogv -sameq output_file.flv

The above makes very large file sizes. To keep them smaller (and maintain a balance with quality, try the following command):

ffmpeg -i input_file.ogv -ab 256 -vb 400 output_file.flv

The -sameq flag instructs ffmpeg to keep the same quality as the original.

Enable the 3D editing:

sudo aptitude install blender

Need to edit title features in your OpenShot (installed after this) videos?

sudo aptitude install inkscape

Let’s get a simpler video editor:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonoomph/openshot-edge
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install openshot openshot-doc

Ability to transcode into other formats?

sudo aptitude install arista

Back to the server, let’s enable some remote administrative features:

sudo aptitude -y install perl libnet-ssleay-perl openssl libauthen-pam-perl libpam-runtime libio-pty-perl libmd5-perl apt-show-versions libapt-pkg-perl

libmd5-perl seems to be missing?

sudo apt-cache policy libmd5-perl reports the package cannot be found. We’ll have to get it from Debian.

I went to Debian’s FTP: http://ftp.debian.org/pool/main/libm/libmd5-perl/

so the command would be:

wget http://ftp.debian.org/pool/main/libm/libmd5-perl/libmd5-perl_2.03-1_all.deb

Now let’s install that package:

sudo dpkg -i libmd5-perl_2.03-1_all.deb

Let’s look for webmin verions:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/webadmin/files/

1.520 is the most recent as of this post. Therefore we should be able to get it via:

wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/webadmin/webmin/1.520/webmin_1.520_all.deb

Now we can install the package:

sudo dpkg -i webmin_1.520_all.deb

Now access the interface via:

https://<domain_name>:10000/ or https://<ip_address>:10000/

Note: The usr and pwd will be the same as your current credentials.

I sometimes work with PHPmotion, and it (unfortunately) requires that phpshield be installed.

First, we need to learn and confirm some information:

PHP version.
Thread Safety should be disabled.
enable_dl should be on (by default it’s normally off).
The path to the extention directory.
The path to php.ini

You can download and use the following file: phpinfo.php.gz (Just extract the phpinfo/php file, upload it to your web server and then call it in a browser).

Here’s what mine looks like:

PHP version = 5.3.2
Thread Safety = Disabled
enable_dl = Off
Extention directory path = /usr/lib/php5/20090626+lfs
Path to php.ini = /etc/php5/apache2

I need to turn “enable_dl” on:

sudo gedit /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

Find enable_dl Off

and change it to:

enable_dl On

Restart Apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Let’s use root credentials:

sudo su

cd /root

Create a directory to download the phpshield loaders:

mkdir phpshield
cd phpshield

From the URL http://phpshield.com/loaders/ I see that I need the Linux 32-bit version as: ixed4.lin.x86-32.zip

wget http://phpshield.com/loaders/ixed4.lin.x86-32.zip

unzip ixed4.lin.x86-32.zip

Several .lin files will be extracted and we need to copy them to our extension directrory.

the ls command showed me there is a version:

ixed.5.3ts.lin
ixed.5.3.lin

5.3 matches the installed 5.3 version of PHP.

cp ~/phpshield/ixed.5.3.lin /usr/lib/php5/20090626+lfs
cp ~/phpshield/ixed.5.3ts.lin /usr/lib/php5/20090626+lfs

We don’t need to be root anymore:

exit

Now we’ll add these extensions to the PHP configuration:

sudo gedit /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

Under the section that says “Dynamic Extensions”, add the following:

extension=ixed.5.3.lin
extension=ixed.5.3ts.lin

Restart Apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

The phpinfo.php file will now display something like the following:

SourceGuardian Loader Support     enabled
SourceGuardian Loader Version     8.2
SourceGuardian Loader Build Number     0×00000011
phpSHIELD Support     enabled

Some administrative features:

sudo aptitude install mysql-admin
sudo aptitude install phpmyadmin

Oops… FTP access is unable to upload files to/var/www. The fix:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www

Ubuntu Dropbox user?

sudo apt-key adv –keyserver pgp.mit.edu –recv-keys 5044912E
sudo aptitude install nautilus-dropbox

Install VLC 1.1.2:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome-media-player-development/development
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install vlc mozilla-plugin-vlc

Install VLMC:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:falk-t-j/lucid-latest
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install vlmc frei0r-plugins

Install GUVCview:

Online communications & chat:

sudo aptitude install xchat-gnome
sudo aptitude install telepathy-sofiasip telepathy-butterfly telepathy-idle libtelepathy-farsight0 python-tpfarsight

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:telepathy/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade # I suppose “apt-get install empathy” works as well

For me at least, the above pretty much gets the job done. Have anything to add…? Feel free to voice your comments!

Update Aug. 14, 2011:

Install QRencode to create QR codes for mobile users:

sudo aptitude install qrencode

Over the last couple of months, I’ve received more and more of these type of questions. I remember when I first started this blog, I think I was using Ubuntu 7.04 and had just reinstalled Ubuntu 8.04. Today I’m using Ubuntu 10.04, with the following hardware (also changed since I first started using a Linux based OS):

Asus VH242H 23.6 1920×1080 LCD
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Socket AM2 CPU
Kingston 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz
Seagate 750GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G
Shuttle SA76G2 Socket AM2+ Barebone
LG 22X DVDRW SATA
ASUS VH242H 23.6in Wide 1920×1080 5ms LCD Monitor
SB Audigy 2ZS 24-Bit Surround 5.1*
Logitech Quickcam Fusion
Creative Inspire 5200 5.1 Speakers

*The Shuttle board already has integrated sound, but I preferred to use the Audigy soundcard that was on one of my old systems.

While this is by no means the most powerful desktop, it gets the job done for me. Needless to say, the following is a list of applications I use on this hardware. Because I do a lot of web and design work (as well as networking and technical support) the list leans towards such related applications (but I have included some “fun” ones).  Hopefully this resource will help new Ubuntu users. If I missed something you think should be included, please let me know in the comments below, thanks. I worked hard to put this post together, so if you like it, please bookmark it or link to it from your site, or social favourites, and let me know. – Thanks!

Here are the Applications:

OpenShot | apt:openshot | http://www.gimp.org/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install openshot openshot-doc

I use it as a quick way to join video segments together, to create transitions and effects. It also allows me to slice out specific segments of existing video and use them to create a new one. I like it because it’s simple fast and useful.

GIMP | apt:gimp | http://www.gimp.org/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install gimp gimp-data-extras

I use this for quick editing (as well as advanced) or to open TIFF, JPG, PNG, PSD files. It is NOT a replacement for Photoshop, but after I got used to the interface, it became easier to use. Main uses (for me), photo editing and enhancement, photo retouching, graphic creation, logo creation, etc. I do not use this application for vector graphics work. There is a plugin registry at http://registry.gimp.org/

Inkscape | apt:inkscape | http://www.inkscape.org/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install inkscape

I use this for vector graphic creation. It is not a replacement for Illustrator, however it’s a great alternative. Main uses (for me), vector editing and manipulation, graphic creation, logo creation, etc. I do not commonly use this application for raster graphics work. Inkscape does provide some tutorials, which greatly help users become familiar with the interface and tools: http://inkscapetutorials.wordpress.com/

Dia | apt:dia | http://projects.gnome.org/dia/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install dia dia-libs dia-common

I use this for Dia to document network layouts in a visual manner. I do this when I create or change a network for my clients. There are all kind of icons (Server, Desktop, Database, Router, etc.) that make it easier for clients to understand their network documentation – Again, they key being that it’s a visible diagram. This application reminds me a lot of Visio, which I used when I worked in a predominately Windows based environment. Personally, I’m not too happy with the interface (same issue with GIMP), but the application gets the job done for me.

Fonty Python | apt:fontypython | https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/fontypython

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install fontypython

In terms of design and graphic work, this application is a gem! All my fonts are stored in one large directory. Fonty Python helps me gather different fonts and structure them into collections, specific to each project. I don’t have to copy fonts, I still leave them in the large directory! If I remember correctly, I think Mac and Windows users have something similar called “Suitcase”? Bottom line, when I’m ready to work on a specific project, I activate the font collection for that project, start up my application and work.

Hugin | apt:hugin | http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install hugin hugin-data

I use this simply to stitch photos together for “panoramic” views. Several tutorials are available at http://hugin.sourceforge.net/tutorials/index.shtml

PDFmod | apt:pdfmod | http://live.gnome.org/PdfMod

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pdfmod-team/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install pdfmod

I use this to edit PDF documents. Reorganize them, add or remove pages, and so on. Very useful when you’re in a pinch!

RawTherapee | apt:rawtherapee | http://www.rawtherapee.com

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rawtherapee/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install rawtherapee

A package for editing RAW images as well as a RAW converter and digital photo processing application. Again, very useful; when a camera is plugged in and the images are in RAW format.

Skype | apt:skype | http://skype.com

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install skype

Video conferencing and calling. One thing I did experience – No video? Try this: Install v4l2ucp and change the preview program via v4l2ucp to skype instead of mplayer. Start preview, Skype loads, and video works.

HandBrake | apt:handbrake-gtk | http://handbrake.fr/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-snapshots
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install handbrake-gtk

Video transcoder / decoder. A handy tool to have when you’re working with video files. One thing I like about it is that it works with almost any media as it uses libavformat to read and libavcodec to decode – And it’s cross-platform!

Transmission | apt:transmission | http://www.transmissionbt.com/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:transmissionbt/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install transmission

A great tool to download Ubuntu or other Open Source related CDs. Select and set the download to run and it just works. Easy!

Chrome | apt:chrome-browser | http://www.chromium.org/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install chromium-browser

I’ll be honest – I don’t like this web browser. Personally I find the interface “old fashioned” in appearance, I find it assumes too much, in terms of what I want to see in a browser, and so on (I’m a Firefox user). However, others may not agree. This is a good alternative browser and it’s also fast.

ISO Master | apt:isomaster | http://www.littlesvr.ca/isomaster/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install isomaster

If you need to update or otherwise edit ISO files, this application will provide the features you need. This means you can add, remove or deleted files from an ISO. Additionally, other formats are also accessible, such as NRG, IMG, etc.

Trimage | apt:trimage | http://trimage.org/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kilian/trimage
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install trimage

I use this to compress image file sizes – Lossless!  It supports PNG and JPG. And again, one feature I like is that it’s cross-platform friendly.

Gmount-iso | apt:gmountiso | https://launchpad.net/gmount-iso

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install gmountiso

Sometimes I don’t want to install a CD. This application allows me to easily mount a CD image.

RecordMyDesktop | apt:gtk-recordmydesktop | http://recordmydesktop.sourceforge.net/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gtk-recordmydesktop
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install gtk-recordmydesktop

Need to create a screencast? This tool does a good job for me. I like that I can record the whole screen, or just one area. The ability to tweak the video and sound quality is also a nice feature. Output files are in .ogv format, but they can be converted to other formats.

DropBox | apt:nautilus-dropbox| http://www.dropbox.com/

Terminal:
sudo apt-key adv –keyserver pgp.mit.edu –recv-keys 5044912E
sudo aptitude install nautilus-dropbox

A great tool for online backup, file sync, and sharing. For me at least, it’s the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. All I have to do is drag and drop files right from my desktop or folder. Also, they have a rewards system to get more space: Automatically sync a folder across computers with Dropbox! Use the following link to receive an extra 250MB for free as I’ll also get extra space too! We both win!

Clonezilla | Download | http://clonezilla.org

While I don’t normally use applications that have no repository (actually this is the only one I made an allowance for). I found this application to be very worthwhile. Why? Once I install Ubuntu and then install all my applications (and configure their settings), I can use Clonezilla to create an image of the disk. This way, if disaster strikes, I can simply restore the image. One caveat – MAKE SURE you have regular backups of all your important files (as you’ll probably not be recreating disk images all of the time). Again there’s no repository (that I’m aware of), but this application is useful.

More applications, etc. will be uploaded when I have extra time. I’ve been very busy on many projects, for the last several months, so it’s good to come back and find a bit of time to blog about Ubuntu related things; something I enjoy!

What applications would you include, what apps do your enjoy, which ones deserve your mention? Feel free to include them in the comments below!

“…I have trouble while installing ffmpeg-php, I downloaded the tar file but while executing the make command, I obtain stop, what to do?…”

Well, it’s been a while since I played with fmpeg-php on Ubuntu 8.04, I’ve since (about a year ago, if I remember correctly) installed a 9.04 based Ubuntu LAMP server. I use that server as a local development server for WordPress based sites, video based sites (as well as traditional xhtml sites), etc.

Without too much further (verbose) discussion, here are the commands I used to get this server up and running (on Ubuntu 9.04). It’s still working today, and is a great WordPress and site development environment!

Install your base 9.04 server as is. DO NOT select LAMP server install.

Then start getting the tools and services you need installed…

Video sites will need the flvtool (Yamdi is a Meta Data injector for flv):

sudo aptitude install flvtool2 yamdi

Of course we’ll need a database:

sudo aptitude install mysql-server mysql-client libmysqlclient15-dev

Now we need a web server:

sudo aptitude install apache2 apache2-doc apache2-mpm-prefork apache2-utils libexpat1 ssl-cert

Let’s get some of the plugins we’ll need (ffmpeg-php, for example):

sudo aptitude install libapache2-mod-php5 libapache2-mod-ruby libapache2-mod-python php5 php5-common php5-curl php5-dev php5-gd php5-idn php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-mhash php5-ming php5-mysql php5-pspell php5-recode php5-snmp php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl php5-ffmpeg php5-json php5-ps

Let’s make sure we enable some mods:

sudo gedit /etc/apache2/mods-available/dir.conf

sudo a2enmod ssl
sudo a2enmod rewrite
# sudo a2enmod suexec
a2enmod include
# sudo a2enmod dav_fs
# sudo a2enmod dav

Save and close dir.conf

Then restart apache2:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

FTP would be nice to install, that way I can work somewhere else and upload the files if I’m not local:

sudo aptitude install proftpd ucf gproftpd
(Install as inetd because we assume only a few connections a day, not high volume, in this scenario, running as inetd will save resources – Remember, this is just for dev work, it’s not a public production server!)

I want phpMyAdmin. Please give me a GUI to create databases and users / permissions, etc.:

sudo aptitude install phpmyadmin

Test server… Overrides are not working. Let’s edit the config:

sudo gedit /etc/apache2/sites-available/default

Ah ha! Default for AllowOverride is set as: none, should be set to: all

File now looks like this:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

DocumentRoot /var/www
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride all
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride all
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>

ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /var/www/cgi-bin/
<Directory “/var/www/cgi-bin”>
AllowOverride all
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error.log

# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel warn

CustomLog /var/log/apache2/access.log combined

Alias /doc/ “/usr/share/doc/”
<Directory “/usr/share/doc/”>
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride all
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>

</VirtualHost>

Okay, we’ll have to reload Apache for the changes to take effect:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

I’m getting a prompt that there is mail in the root mailbox, is there an easy way (for me) to quickly read it:

sudo aptitude install alpine

I want to read the message(s), I need to be root to do this:

sudo su

Start Apline and read messages:

alpine

Drop out of “root” after I’ve read messages and closed Alpine:

exit

Let’s get Ruby:

sudo aptitude install ruby ri rdoc libmysql-ruby ruby1.8-dev irb1.8 libdbd-mysql-perl libdbi-perl libmysql-ruby1.8 libmysqlclient15off libnet-daemon-perl libplrpc-perl libreadline-ruby1.8 libruby1.8 rdoc1.8 ri1.8 ruby1.8 irb libopenssl-ruby libopenssl-ruby1.8 libhtml-template-perl

…and do an upgrade…

sudo aptitude safe-upgrade

Create needed links:

sudo ln -s /usr/bin/gem1.8 /usr/local/bin/gem
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/ruby1.8 /usr/local/bin/ruby
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/rdoc1.8 /usr/local/bin/rdoc
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/ri1.8 /usr/local/bin/ri
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/irb1.8 /usr/local/bin/irb

Time for a Rails:

sudo gem install rails

Oops… access problems, maybe my default (I goofed in a couple edits)…

sudo gedit /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default

File now reads as:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

DocumentRoot /var/www
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride all
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride all
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>

ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /var/www/cgi-bin/
<Directory “/var/www/cgi-bin”>
AllowOverride all
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error.log

# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel warn

CustomLog /var/log/apache2/access.log combined

Alias /doc/ “/usr/share/doc/”
<Directory “/usr/share/doc/”>
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride all
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>

</VirtualHost>

Reload httpd:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Installed a WordPress site, and it’s working. nice!

Granted, the above is a fast rundown, I didn’t get into too much details (as this could easily extend to several pages worth of information). Above all, everyone’s server environment has different needs and tweaks – Experiment, have fun!

“…I am having trouble viewing my menu bar that usually appears across the top of my screen. The volume control used to be here and now I don’t get volume at all. How do I get the menu bar to reappear?…”

1) Try this command in Terminal:

metacity –replace

2) If the above command did not work, try the following:

“Menu bars” are called “Panels”. Try right clicking on the bottom panel and selecting “add new panel” (that’s the wording, if memory serves me correctly). Drag the new blank panel to the top. Then add the applets you want to that panel.

The applets you want might be:

Quit applet at the right
Volume control to left
Network monitor to left
Notification area and then user switcher.
On the left side of the panel, add the Menu bar applet.

I hope this helps!

Note: An afterthought, maybe it’s an issue with Compiz or with your system hibernation? If so, try the command: killall gnome-panel and see if that (restarts and) restores the visibility of your panel?

“…Just upgraded to 10.04, so am having to log in each time the computer suspends/screen locks. I am the only one with physical access to this computer, so prefer to configure so that password is *not* required to bring the screen back up after suspend. How do I configure this change? Have been unable to find answer on this site or via GoogleLinux…”

I never turn passwords off as this poses a potential security risk. You may be the only one using your PC, but I’ll bet that you surf the Internet? If so, turning the password requirement off is almost like hanging a “help yourself” sign on your PC. Because, (unless I’m mistaken?) no password would be required to install things on your PC, leaving sites you visit the potential to install good and “bad” things on your PC.

Nevertheless, have you tried the following commands in a terminal?

sudo visudo
%admin ALL=(ALL) ALL
%admin ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

I’d suggest a better way to go is to enable the Automatic Login feature for Ubuntu. You can do it this way (using the GUI):

System -> Administration -> Login Window
Enter your root password at the prompt.
Select the “Security” tab.
Check on “Enable Automatic Login”.
Use the dropdown menu to select your username.
Click the “Close” button and you’re done.

I hope this helps you!

“…I downloaded the new .deb package from Opera… and I want to uninstall it because it will not load any web pages, making me crazy… how to I uninstall it?”

I’m assuming it was a .deb package that you downloaded directly from the Opera web site. (As a side note, I had the same issue with Opera, in that it refused to load web pages on a local web server – I also removed Opera).

To uninstall any .deb package, use the following syntax:

sudo dpkg -r <name of package>

So… to remove an Opera .deb installation, the command is:

sudo dpkg -r opera

Don’t forget to remove the hidden .opera directory inside your home directory! Doing so will give you a “clean” start if you want to reinstall Opera.

I hope this helps.

“… 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.

Copy the executable to /usr/lib/:

sudo cp -r firefox /usr/lib/firefox-3.6

Move the older version (3.0.18) to “firefox.old”:
(This way you can revert back to it if needed)

sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox /usr/bin/firefox.old

Create the links to the correct verion of Firefox will run:

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/firefox-3.6/firefox /usr/bin/firefox-3.6
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/firefox-3.6 /usr/bin/firefox

Now open Firefox and you should be running version 3.6. If not, then some of the steps above were not followed (or Firefox was not in “/usr/bin/firefox”).

If you ever need to revert back to your older version of Firefox, you can run the commands below in a Terminal:

Backup the existing:
sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox /usr/bin/firefox.bak

Now restore the older version:
sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox.old /usr/bin/firefox

You should notice that your settings, bookmarks, passwords are all intact (as they are stored in your user profile – /home/<username>/.mozilla). We backed them up just in case there was an issue.

I hope this helps!

“…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! ;)

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:

Add the Medibuntu source:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Append the following:

# Medibuntu Source
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free
deb-src http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free

Next add the GPG key with this command:

wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add

Update with this command:

sudo aptitude update

Now try this install command:

sudo aptitude install googleearth-4.3

Have any suggestions, changes or know another way to do this? Feel free to say so, in the commonts section below.

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 400 volts!

Often, the component appears fine, but days, weeks, even months later, your computer may freeze up or start exhibiting strange symptoms. Damaged motherboards, memory, hard drives, etc. are generally easier to diagnose if they failed right after after you install it (“DOA”). Unfortunately low voltage ESD can also cause latent damage, by destroying a few microscopic parts out of the millions in a computer’s tiny circuitry. That is virtually almost impossible to diagnose, for us! And… the damage may not cause problems for a long time.

Hard drives are susceptible to being damaged by too much heat, excessive (or strong) vibrations, high humidity, EMI, ESD, RF (any strong microwave or other strong transmission). With an RF source, the amount of energy received falls quickly as the distance from that source increases, depending on the frequency, and the energy output of the source. Cell phones are not high output devices, but shouldn’t really operated to close anything that they could effect. (That’s one reason why hospitals require cell phones to be turned off).

So, remember to take all this into account to safeguard your hardware. Not forgetting to wear your tin foil hat, in front of your monitor, under a blanket, with the lights out…

On a serious note though, the biggest causes of hardware failure I’ve seen both personally and professionally are:

Heat
Dust & Dirt
Static Discharge

Heat being the all out #1 issue in my experience!!!

Why am I writing this post? Because I’m getting a lot of “help me” phone calls and email messages (it happens about this time every year) reporting PC problems, that are found to relate to some piece of hardware failing (or already failed). I hope the above information and advice will help some of you avoid “feeling the pain” of loosing some or all of your data.

Have something to add? Be heard! Please, feel free to add your comments below…