Installation

For Ubuntu, you can install via the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:colingille/freshlight
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install winusb

For other distro, you can grab the source from the site.

Usage

The usage is simple, but before you start, you need to have either the ISO image or DVD of the Windows installer and a USB drive of minimum 4GB. The USB drive will be formatted during the creation process, so make sure you have backed up all files in the USB drive before proceeding.

1. Launch WinUSB.

2. If you own the ISO image, select the option “From a disk image (iso)” and select the ISO image with the Folder icon. Alternatively, for Windows DVD, check the “From a CD/DVD drive” option.

3. Plug in your USB drive. If it doesn’t show up in the window, click the “Refresh” button. Select the USB drive entry. If you have multiple USB drives inserted, make sure you select the right one.

4. Click Install.

That’s it. Now al you have to do is to sit back and wait. The installation process will take about 15 minutes. Once it is done, you will be able to boot and install Windows using the USB drive.

Enjoy!

WinUSB homepage

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Installation

To install Ubuntu Tweak, simply click here, or type in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

Alternatively, you can search for it in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Running Ubuntu Tweak

To start Ubuntu Tweak, simply click the launcher in the Application list. The first window to greet you is the System and Hardware Information.

From here, you can see the amount of cache used in your system and a “Janitor” button that you can click on to quickly clean the cache and recover the space. In addition, it also shows if your system is up-to-date or requires update.

It is pretty basic in this Overview tab, but don’t be fooled by it. More things to come in the next few tabs.

Ubuntu Tweak’s tweaks

On the “Tweaks” tab, you will find plenty of tweak options. From the Fonts, Sound, Theme, Login Settings to the File Manager, you will be overwhelmed by the number of tweak options it has in one single window.

Some of the useful sections include Miscellaneous where you can enable/disable the menu and button icons, printing, Fast User Switching and even change the mouse scrolling to natural scrolling mode (scroll the mouse wheel up to move down the page, and vice versa).

The Login Settings section allows you to configure the login screen and change the login screen background.

If you are using the Unity desktop, the Unity section is the most important tweaks that you should take note of. In here, you can enable/disable the HUD (a new feature in Ubuntu 12.04) and whether to add a “Show Desktop” icon in the launcher. You can also set the launcher icon size, opacity and whether to autohide when inactive.

In the Workspace section, you can add/remove workspace and even add actions to the screen corners.

Ubuntu Tweak’s Admin

The Admin tab contains all the tweaks relating to maintenance and administrative tasks. You can manage the applications (install/remove), backup your Desktop settings, and if you are experienced enough, create your own quicklist with the QuickLists Editor.

Lastly, the Janitor tab is where you can clean up your system to recover precious storage space and make it runs faster and better.

Conclusion

While most of the tweaks in Ubuntu Tweak are already available in Ubuntu, most of them are scattered everywhere and some are even hidden from the public eyes. Ubuntu Tweak has done a great job in linking them together all in one place and in addition, added extra features to make it the best tweak tool out there. If you need to customize the Unity desktop, this is the one and only tweak tool you ever need.

Ubuntu Tweak

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WinX Blu-ray Decrypter is developed by Digiarty and provides a great solution to decrypt and copy your Blu-ray disc for personal backup.

Like all Digiarty’s software, the Blu-ray Decryter is easy to use. Simply run the application, load your Blu-ray disc, select the destination and click Run. Note that for this software to work, you need to have a Blu-ray ROM to read the Blu-ray disc.

Some features of the Blu-ray Decrypter include:

• Decrypt and clone Blu-ray to hard drive with original video audio quality.
• Support Title Mode copy with selected title and Full Disc backup with entire movie content.
• Decrypt Blu-ray Disc to Blu-ray folder or M2TS video. Transform 3D Blu-ray to 2D video.
• Make Blu-ray copy within 25 minutes or so. Remove all known Blu-ray copy protections.

Here’s what you need to do to obtain the free copy:

1. Go to http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway/ and click the “Get License” button.

2. From the popup window, there is a link for you to download the software and the license key.

3. Install the application and enter the license key on the first run.

That’s it.

Note:
1. This giveaway ends on 25th May 2012

2. The software need to be activated (with the license key) before 27th May 2012.

Download and enjoy!

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Skype-wrapper is a plugin that integrates Skype with Unity. It adds the Skype icon to the messaging menu and quicklist items to the launcher. It also uses the Unity notification style to notify you of incoming calls/messages.

Installation

Open a terminal and type:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:skype-wrapper/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install skype-wrapper

The above commands assume that you have already installed Skype in your system.

Running Skype-wrapper

Once you installed Skype and Skype-wrapper, you will find that there are two instances of Skype in your computer. You need to identify which is which and run only Skype-wrapper, and not Skype.

1. Open Nautilus File Manager and navigate to “usr/share/applications”. Scroll down the application list till you see two Skype icons.

2. To identify which one is which, right click on the Skype icon and select Properties. The one that shows the “skype-wrapper” in the Command field is the one that you want. Drag this icon to the Unity Launcher.

3. Click on the icon to launch Skype. A popup will appear to prompt you to grant access to the skype-wrapper app. Check “Remember this selection” and click “Yes”.

Once it is authorized, you should see the Skype entry in the messaging menu and any incoming notification will follow the Unity style.

Right clicking the Skype icon on the launcher also show the quicklist items. You can View Incoming Message and Add Contacts.

Skype-wrapper also comes with a Settings option that allows you to configure its behavior. From the dash, search for skype-wrapper and you should see the “Skype-Wrapper Settings” app. In the Settings, you can configure the events to show notification and whether the file transfer progress should appear in the launcher.

Removing Skype icon from the systray

After the unity integration, there is one thing left that you need to get rid of. If you can’t stand the green Skype icon that didn’t go well with the Unity theme, you can remove it by uninstalling the “sni-qt” package. Note that a few other application, such as Dropbox, depend on the “sni-qt” package to display icon in the systray, and removing this package will affect these apps as well. Here’s what you need to do:

sudo apt-get remove sni-qt

The next time you launch Skype-wrapper, the green Skype icon won’t be around anymore.

Uninstalling Skype-wrapper

To completely remove Skype-wrapper from your computer, first open up your Skype option and go to “Public API” (the last option in the left sidebar). Select “Skype4Py” and click Remove.

Next, uninstall skype-wrapper from your computer:

sudo apt-get autoremove skype-wrapper

That’s it.

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Geary is a simple and lightweight email client that supports email threading (some call it conversation mode). It is still in the early development stage, but it does show plenty of potential to become a great email client.

Being a simple and lightweight app, Geary has trimmed most, if not all, of the fat found in many other email clients. It is pretty simple in interface and features, and yes, it is also lacking some important functions like integrating with address book and connect to multiple email accounts.

Installation

Here’s the command to install Geary in ubuntu-based distro:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yorba/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install geary

Running Geary

The first time you run Geary, it will prompt you to setup your email account. There are three options in the “Service” dropdown: Gmail, Yahoo and Other. If you have enabled IMAP in Gmail and Yahoo, all you need to do is to enter your username and password and it will do the rest. For the “Others” option, you will have to configure the IMAP settings manually.

Once your account is authenticated, you should see your mails appearing in the main window.

The interface is pretty minimal. There are three columns that show the folders, email list and actual email content respectively.

At the top is a row of toolbar that allows you to reply, forward, compose and archive your emails and that are about all you have for Geary.

The best thing about Geary is the threaded conversation that makes the interface more compact and each email message easier to follow. The thread count is displayed in the email list and the conversation is threaded, just like the way Gmail does.

There are also several other Gmail-like style, like the labels, starred, archive etc.

When it comes to composing email, it is pretty basic and lacking at the same time. You can compose in rich-text format, but you won’t be able to attach any file to the email. It doesn’t integrate with your contacts as well, so you have to manually type in the email address of the recipients. I wonder how many people actually remember all the email address of their friends.

Removal of email account

As of this post, there is no easy way for you to remove the email account you have setup in Geary. The only way I can come up with is to go to the “~/.local/share/geary/” folder and remove the folder with your email address. This will effectively remove the email account in Geary.

Conclusion

The advantage of Geary lies in its simplicity. Being a lightweight application with Gmail-like interface (labels, starred, threaded conversation) makes it easy and pleasant to use, but the lacking of several features such as contacts support and file attachment etc have severely crippled the app. Noting that this is still a product in its early development stage, hopefully these important and necessary features will be integrated into the app. By then, it could become the default Gmail desktop app, much like the way Sparrow does for Mac.

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1. Use the “Save-as” tool in your office suite

I am not sure about all the office suite, but for Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice and LibreOffice, they allow you to save your document as a HTML file. And yes, all your data will be converted to HTML format too.

To do this, you just have to go to “File -> Save as” and select HTML web document from the list. The naming convention might vary for different office suite.

Once you have exported it, you can edit the HTML document or open with a browser to view it.

2. Google Docs

What if you don’t have office suite on your PC and you don’t have permission to install software on your system? Here’s a simple walk-around: use Google Docs (or Google Drive)

1. Upload your spreadsheet document to Google Docs.

2. Go to “File -> Download As” and select “HTML”. It will probably open your current spreadsheet in a new tab, in webpage format. All you have to do is to right click your mouse and select “View Source”. Copy all the source code.

3. Paste the HTML source code to a text editor and save it with a .html extension.

3. Using a web service – Tableizer

If you prefer a more manual method, you can make use of a web service to convert your spreadsheet to HTML document.

1. Go to Tableizer.

2. Copy the data in your spreadsheet document and paste it in the input field. Click “Tableize it”.

That’s it. It will generate the HTML table code as well as a preview of how it looks like on the Web. You can simply copy and paste the HTML code to your Web document.

I have tested Tableizer with several documents and it works well with most of them. For some instances, it has difficulties interpreting a carriage return within cells. Your result may vary.

Note: If you have used Macros or formula in your spreadsheet, they might not translate well in the HTML format.

What other ways do you use to convert your spreadsheet to HTML?

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Sun JDK vs OpenJDK

In the past, Sun JDK was the default java package in Ubuntu. After Sun Microsystem was acquired by Oracle in 2010, Ubuntu (and various distros) switched the java package to the fully open-source OpenJDK as the SUN JDK no longer contain codes that are fully open-sourced.

OpenJDK is community-built and is (almost) 100% similar to the SUN JDK. You can easily install OpenJDK in Ubuntu via the Ubuntu Software Center, by clicking here or running the command:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

Personally, other than some minor font rendering issue with OpenJDK, I have not experience any major problem with OpenJDK. That could also because I don’t use many java-based apps in the first place. However, if you have a specific java-based app that don’t run well in OpenJDK, you can switch to the SUN JDK instead. Here is how you do it:

The hard way

This method requires you to install SUN JDK 7 manually. It is a good way for you to learn the trick.

1. Download the SUN JDK 7 here to your home folder.

2. Extract the tar file.

3. Move the extracted file to the “/usr/lib/jvm/” folder:

sudo mv jdk1.7.0_04 /usr/lib/jvm/

4. Install SUN JDK 7 in your system:

sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac /usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.7.0_04/bin/javac 1
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.7.0_04/bin/java 1

5. Set the environment variables:

sudo update-alternatives --config javac
sudo update-alternatives --config java

You will see an option like the screenshot below:

Enter the option that corresponds to the SUN JDK package. Press Enter.

That’s it.

To test your java:

java -version

You should see something like this:

The easy way

If you don’t want to manually install the SUN JDK, you can do it via a PPA. Since there is no official PPA for SUN JDK, you will have to grab a custom PPA that comes with the java package. Note that custom PPAs might add extra software sources to the repository, and cause your system to be bloated or even have conflicts with other apps. So bear in mind the risk involved.

There are several PPAs out there that come with SUN JDK, one that you can use is “webupd8team/java”

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer

This should install SUN JDK 7 in your system.

Run Java applet in Browsers (Firefox, Chrome etc)

Even after you have installed the java package, you will find that the java applet in your browser won’t run. If you are using the OpenJDK, here is another package that you need to install:

sudo apt-get install icedtea-7-plugin

For Oracle java, run the commands:

mkdir ~/.mozilla/plugins
ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.7.0_04/jre/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so ~/.mozilla/plugins

If you are using a 64-bit system, remember to change the “i386″ to “amd64“.

Once install, restart your browser. The java applet should run now. To test if Java is working in your browser, go to http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp. If installed correctly, you should see a “Your java is working” message.

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	Free Storage Space	Pricing per month (US$)	Desktop client	Mobile Support	File Sharing	Unique Selling Point
Dropbox	2GB, free referrals upgrade up to 18GB	$9.99 for 50GB $19.99 for 100GB	Windows Mac Linux	Android iOS Blackberry	Yes	Support almost every platforms, sync seamlessly
Skydrive	7GB. Existing users can have free upgrade to 25GB for a limited time	$13/year for $20GB $32/year for 65GB $65/year for 100GB	Windows Mac	WP 7 iOS	Yes	A generous amount of storage space to start with and great integration with Windows OS and devices
Google Drive	5GB	$2.49 for 25GB $4.99 for 100GB $7.99 for 16TB	Windows Mac Linux (coming soon)	Android iOS (coming soon)	Yes	Great integration between Google Docs, Gmail, and Picasa. Cheap and affordable storage space upgrade
Ubuntu One	5GB	$2.99 for every 20GB	Linux Windows	Android iOS	Yes	The native sync client for Ubuntu and supports music and contact sync
iCloud	5GB	$20/year for 10GB $40/year for 20GB $100/year for 50GB	Requires iTunes, for Windows and Mac only	iOS	No	Integrate seamlessly with iOS device and Mac.
Amazon Cloud Drive	5GB	$20/year for 20GB $50/year for 50GB $100/year for 100GB $200/year for 200GB $500/year for 500GB $1000/year for 1TB	Windows Mac (only a upload/download client, not a sync client)	No sync client for mobile (yet). Mp3 saved in the Cloud drive can be played with the Amazon MP3 Android app	No	Music purchased from Amazon will be saved to the cloud drive for free, without affecting the storage status
SpiderOak	2GB	$10/month per 100GB increment	Windows Mac Linux	Android iOS	Yes	Encrypted online backup
SugarSync	5GB	$4.99 for 30GB $9.99 for 60GB $14.99 for 100GB	Windows Mac	Android iOS Blackberry Symbian	Yes	Able to sync any folders on your computer
Box	5GB. Android users and Apps email holder can upgrade to 50GB	$9.99 for 25GB $19.99 for 50GB	Windows & Mac version only for business and enterprise user	Android iOS Blackberry	Yes	Good focus on business side
Wuala	5GB	$39/year for 20GB $79/year for 50GB $129/year for 100GB	Windows Mac Linux	Android iOS	Yes	Wuala encrypts the data on your computer before it is uploaded. During the upload, your data is split up into many different pieces and stored in multiple places to make certain that you never lose a single file.
iDriveSync	5GB	$4.95 for unlimited sync storage	Windows Mac	Android iOS	Yes	Data are encrypted at the data center

The Analysis

If you are looking for a cross-platform compatible storage service, Dropbox is the one to go. It is the easiest to use and supports the most number of OS and platforms.

If you need plenty of storage space and are looking for a cheap and affordable storage provider, you can consider either SkyDrive or Google Drive. For up to 65GB, SkyDrive has the lowest price per GB. When the storage space go up to and above 100GB, Google Drive is the cheapest. However, on the mobile side, you don’t expect Microsoft to come up with an Android app for SkyDrive and Google might not be so keen to create a WP7 app for its GDrive too. If you need to have mobile access, this is something you need to consider as well.

iCloud is the obvious choice for iOS users since it is deeply integrated into the OS. It may not be the cheapest choice though, but with all Apple stuff, it just works.

Amazon Cloud Drive is really useful if you are a regular Amazon customer, particularly if you buy MP3 and eBooks often. I have a feeling that Google will merge its Drive and Music services together in the future, but as of now, Amazon has really done a good job linking your digital download and the cloud storage together.

Being a Ubuntu user, I really like the way that Ubuntu One is integrated into the system. The syncing and restoration is seamless that I can reformat my PC and still have my settings and configuration intact the next time I boot up my PC.

Wuala and SpiderOak are good if you are paranoid about the confidentiality of your files in the cloud. Both services are cross-platform compatible and encrypt your data by default. Wuala offers more storage space for free (5GB) but if you need more than 100GB of space, SpiderOak is slightly more affordable.

Which storage provider is your favorite?

Image credit: By wwarby

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1. Incognito This

Incognito This is a useful addon that allows you to seamlessly switch open tabs to Incognito windows with a click of the icon.

1. Install the extension here.

2. In your Chrome, go to the “Manage Extensions” page and scroll down till you see “Incognito This”.

3. Click the arrow icon on the left to expand it. At the end of the description, check the box “Enable in Incognito” (the same steps apply for the rest of the addons mentioned below).

4. That’s it. At any website or tab that you wish to make incognito, simply click the Incognito This icon and it will move the current tab to a new Incognito window. You can do the same thing in the Incognito mode too, switching a tab to the normal mode.

Incognito This also comes with several useful customization options. You can get it to close tab on switch, clear tab and page history, and add a shortcut to make the switch, either with the shortcut key “Ctrl + B” or via the context menu. One cool setting is that you can specify a keyword in the URL so it will automatically switch to Incognito mode upon detecting the URL. For example, you can specify “maketecheasier” as the keyword and everytime you open a MTE page, it will auto-switch the tab to Incognito mode.

2. Incognito Button

If you are looking for a no-frill option to switch tab to Incognito mode, Incognito button could be what you are looking for. There are no options to configure. Once installed, it just works.

One thing though, it works one way only (Normal to Incognito mode) and you can’t switch it back from Incognito mode.

3. Incognito Regex

Instead of manually clicking an icon to switch to Incognito mode, Incognito Regex allows you to automate the process by entering a list of URL (regex based) that should be opened in Incognito mode. When you load a URL in the normal mode and it matches the regular expression in the list, it will be moved to a Incognito window automatically.

4. Incognito Search

As the name implies, this addon allows you to do a Google search in the Incognito mode. There is no option to configure. While browsing on any site, you can highlight the word/sentences/phrases that you want to search, right click on the mouse and select “Search Google Incognito for”

Incognito Search

5. Go Invisible

Go Invisible is similar to the Incognito Button as stated above, but it has an additional feature of being able to move all the tabs in the normal mode to a Incognito mode. This allows you to quickly switch from one mode to another.

Conclusion

The above mentioned extensions are only few of the many Incognito extension in the Chrome store. What other extensions do you use to manage your private browsing session?

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Note: This article assumes that the VPN you are connecting to is using a PPTP protocol. If you need a L2TP connection, the instruction below won’t work.

1. In your Ubuntu desktop, go to “System Settings -> Network”

2. At the Network window, click the “+” button at the left bottom corner.

3. When prompted, select VPN for the interface dropdown. Click “Create”.

4. Select “PPTP” for the VPN connection type (in most cases, you should only have one option). Click “Create”.

5. Give this VPN connection a name and enter the connection detail.

For some VPN connection, you might need to select the appropriate authentication method. In this case, click the “Advanced” button and check/uncheck the authentication method required for your VPN. Most of the time, you will have to disable the MSCHAP authentication and enable the “Use Point-to-Point encryption (MPPE)” optioni and select 128-bit security, but this could vary with each VPN connection.

Finally, click Ok and then Save to close out the previous window.

6. Lastly, click Save. You should be able to connect to this VPN by clicking the wireless icon at the system tray.

Done.

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Why Hibernate is disabled by default in Ubuntu 12.04?

Some of you who are used to the Hibernate feature in Ubuntu might be asking “why is this missing in Ubuntu 12.04?”

The reason behind this is because Ubuntu’s Hibernate feature has always not been working well in many computers. For new hardware models, the Hibernate feature often don’t work by default. In some instances, the Hibernate feature will even lead to data loss. The rationale behind the removal of the Hibernate button is:

For Ubuntu to present a Suspend function that doesn’t work is unprofessional, and presenting a Hibernate function that doesn’t work (and destroys data by never waking up) is even worse.

After much discussion and debating, the final decision is to disable Hibernate by default on all computers, unless the computer is on a whitelist. The whitelist will include all “Ubuntu Certified” computers that have been tested and proven to work with the Hibernate feature. So if you are not seeing the Hibernate button, most probably your PC is not “Ubuntu Certified”.

Where to access the Hibernate feature?

Currently, the Hibernate feature is only available in the “Power -> When power is critically low” settings. You can get your laptop to go into Hibernate mode when your batter power is critically low.

How to get back the Hibernate feature?

If you are not sure if your PC supports the Hibernate feature, open a terminal and type pm-hibernate. If your PC succeed in going to Hibernate mode and you have no problem waking it up, your PC supports the Hibernate feature. You can then proceed to the next step to restore the Hibernate option.

In the terminal and open the following file:

sudo nano /etc/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/com.ubuntu.desktop.pkla

Add the following:

[Re-enable hibernate by default]
Identity=unix-user:*
Action=org.freedesktop.upower.hibernate
ResultActive=yes

Save (Ctrl + o) and exit (Ctrl + x).

Restart the PC. The Hibernate option should return now.

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1. Download and install the SopCast Android app from the SopCast website. You will need to enable the “Allow installation of non-market apps” option before you can install the apk.

2. Once installed, open the SopCast app. The first screen will prompt you to sign in. If you have a device ID or a user account, you can sign in with your username and password. If not, just select the option “Sign in as anonymous”.

3. Choose the “Default Server”.

4. That’s it. You have the full list of TV channels to choose from.

Simply tap on your favorite channel to watch the streaming. The streaming speed will depend on your Internet connection and the number of peers streaming.

Other than watching online TV, you can also use it as a media player to watch the video that you stored locally. In addition, if you have the URL to the streaming server, you can also add custom URL to the app.

Lastly, sit back and enjoy!

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Notice that the video doesn’t take up full width of the content container?

Notice that the video doesn’t scale when you resize the browser and it went out of the content container and break the theme?

To fix this, we need to make use of a script – FitVids – that will turn your embedded video into a full-width responsive object and automatically scale as you resize the browser.

Personally, I have integrated the FitVids script directly into the theme to reduce the server overhead, but for those who are not experienced in coding, there is a plugin that can do it for you: FitVids for WordPress.

1. Install and activate the FitVids for WordPress plugin.

2. Go to “Appearance -> FitVids”.

3. If you are absolutely sure that the jQuery script (of version 1.6 and above) is already included in your theme, leave the “Add jQuery” field blank. If not, check the box beside “Add jQuery”.

4. The “jQuery selector” field is a bit tricky because it can be different for each site. For most instance, you can just enter the word “body” (without the quote) in the input field and it should work. However, if you want to micro-target a specific container with video, you can place the id/class of the container in this field, for example: “#video-container“, “#content“, “.entry-content” etc.

Note: The “#” and “.” in front of the text represent the “id” and the “class” in CSS respectively.

5. Now, check out the post with an embedded video. You should see something like this:

The video now take up full width of the content container

It auto-scale as you resize the browser.

Conclusion

FitVids is an easy to use script to convert your embedded video into a responsive object. Try it out and let us know if this is useful to you.

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1. Decide whether to install from scratch or upgrade your existing version

In my past experience, upgrading an existing version of Ubuntu to the latest version always left a bad taste in the mouth. Downloads are slow, upgrade took forever and the completed product always break things here and there. This is worst if you are two or more versions behind as the transition from GTK 2.x (11.04 and below) to GTK 3.x (12.04) would undoubtedly break some of your applications and settings. However, I have read news that the upgrading process in Ubuntu Precise is much smoother and less things are breaking, so it might worth a try.

My advise is: if you are using a much older version of Ubuntu (11.04 and below), it is good to reformat your PC and install from scratch. This will rid your system of any old and useless files, applications and settings. On the other hand, if you are inexperienced with PC formatting, don’t wish to spend the extra time and effort to install from scratch and don’t mind things breaking (the breaking could be minimal if you are upgrading from 11.10), upgrading using the Upgrade Manager is your best bet.

2. Backup, backup and backup

No matter what, you should always backup your system. In case the upgrade fails and you have to re-install from scratch, you still can recover your files from the backup.

There are several things that you will need to backup:

Files and documents

Needless to say, you should always backup your important files and documents. One good way is to back them up to the cloud, using either Dropbox, Ubuntu One or Box. When combined, the 3 cloud storage services give you a whopping 57GB of storage space to use, which should be sufficient for most users. Alternatively, you can also use the built in backup manager – Deja Dup to backup your system. That will require you to use an external hard drive or partition.

PPAs

Most of us don’t just use the default applications in Ubuntu. Most of the time, we will install new applications using third-party PPAs. To save you the trouble from sourcing these PPA again after re-installing, you can backup your list of PPAs and restore them after the re-install.

There are two main places where your PPAs are kept. If you are using the add-apt-repository command or the Software Sources to add your repository, they are kept at the “/etc/apt/sources.list.d” folder. To backup this folder, you can use the command:

tar -cvzf myppas.tar.gz /etc/apt/sources.list.d/

This will create a tar file in your home folder. You can then move this tar file to your backup drive or Dropbox.

To restore, place the tar file in the Home folder and use the command:

sudo tar -xvzf myppas.tar.gz
sudo apt-get update

If you have added your PPAs manually, they are most likely to reside in the “/etc/apt/sources.list” file. To backup this file, use the following command:

cp /etc/apt/sources.list /your-backup-folder/

Replace the “your-backup-folder” with the actual filepath to your backup folder.

To restore,

cat /your-backup-folder/sources.list >> /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-get update

That’s it.

Note: You will most probably have duplicate or obsolete PPA in the list after the restoration. You might want to use “sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list” to remove the unwanted PPAs (follow by “Ctrl + o” to save and “Ctrl + x” to exit) before you run the “sudo apt-get update” command.

Backup config files

The config files are one thing that many people overlooked while backing up their systems. Failing to backup the config files won’t break your system, but you will have to manually configure the settings for each app again.

In Gnome, the config files are usually stored in the “/.local/share” and “/.config” folders, but some apps could have their own config folders like “/.gnome2″, “/.VirtualBox”,”/.Thunderbird”,”/.wine” etc.

One good way to backup your config files is to setup your UbuntuOne account and sync these config folders. On your next install, UbuntuOne will automatically restore your config files to their rightful locations.

3. Test out with a Live CD first

This isn’t necessary all the time, but if you have some old applications that are critical to your business and you are not sure if they are supported in Precise, you can download the ISO file and test it with a Live CD or in Virtualbox. You can proceed to install after you have verified that it can fulfill your needs. In addition, for new user who are planning to switch to Ubuntu, testing with the LiveCD is the best way to find out if you really like the distro and whether you should switch from your existing OS.

Conclusion

It never hurt to be careful. While you are eager to jump onto the bandwagon and upgrade to the latest version, doing a little bit of housekeeping and backing up could save you tons of trouble later on.

What other precautions do you take before you upgrade your system?

Image credit: by BotheredByBees

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If you have not been active in the blogosphere these few days, the biggest news is the launch of the SkyDrive desktop app and the Google Drive. We are not going to discuss Google Drive today. For SkyDrive, the deal is that your original 25GB storage space (if you are already a SkyDrive user) is reduced to 7GB if you currently have less than 4GB of files in the account. To get more storage space, you will have to fork out money and pay for it. However, for a limited time, Microsoft allows you to upgrade your 7GB storage space to 25GB for… FREE. Here is how you do it. Grab it while it lasts!

1. Go to SkyDrive Live and login to your MSN account.

2. On the left pane, click the “Manage Storage” link.

3. Under the Storage Plans, you should see a “Free Upgrade” link. Click on it.

That’s it. Your SkyDrive storage space should return to 25GB now.

At the same time, do download the SkyDrive app for Windows or Mac too. It allows you to sync and access your SkyDrive folder directly from your desktop, much like the Dropbox-way.

via MSNBC

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1. CentOS

CentOS is a community built distro based on the source code of RedHat Enterprise Linux (REHL). It is also the most popular distro for web server as of now. The benefit of using CentOS is that it is stable and seldom crashes. If you have some packages that only work with REHL, chances are you can get them to work in CentOS as well. Being the most popular distro, it also has the benefit of great support, either from their community forum, or anywhere on the Web.

Unlike most distro that has a 1 -2 years release cycle, CentOS took a (very) long time to release a new version (CentOS 5 was released in 2007, and it was only till Dec 2011 that CentOS 6 was released). The benefit of this is that once you get your server up and running, it will be in good shape for a long time without having to regularly upgrade to a newer version. In addition, it has a very long term support for all its release (CentOS-4 has 7 years of enterprise lifetime), so you know your server is in good hands for long term to come.

As for the cons, you might have difficulties running newer packages and making use of the latest technologies. If you are looking at cutting edge technology, CentOS is not for you.

2. Debian

If you are from a Debian background, then a Debian server would make a great alternative to CentOS. In terms of administration, both are similar, except that Debian uses “apt-get” and “.deb” while CentOS uses “yum” and “rpm”.

Debian has a long release cycle as well, though not as long as CentOS. Being a community distro, new versions of Debian are released only when the community regards them as ready for public. The benefit of this is that each stable release is indeed, stable. Debian doesn’t come with a server or desktop edition. There is only one image for you to download and install. The default will work as the server edition. Install a desktop manager and it becomes the desktop edition.

3. Ubuntu

The most popular Linux distro for the desktop has recently become a favorite for many web administrators, mainly because they are very familiar with it. Yes, if you are familiar with Ubuntu, you might want to go with Ubuntu server because everything from adding package sources, installing packages to finding support is at your fingertips.

Ubuntu releases a new version every six months and its Long Term Support release (for server) is every 5 years. This gives you a good choice of using either the LTS for stability or the latest release for cutting edge technology.

4. OpenSUSE

Even though OpenSUSE (not SUSE Linux Enterprise Server) is relatively unknown in the server arena and few people will recommend it as the first choice for web server, there has been a good demand for it and many web hosts have already offered OpenSUSE in their library of images.

OpenSUSE is the free and community version of SUSE, which provides enterprise Linux, much like what RedHat is doing with its RHEL. OpenSUSE uses the RPM package, but that doesn’t mean it is fully compatible with RedHat or Fedora’s package, do this is something that you should take note of.

Personally, I have not used OpenSUSE as a server before, so I do not know how it performs. However, I did seen articles claiming that OpenSUSE (as a server) is faster and more stable than CentOS. I am not sure of its validity, but if you are experienced and comfortable in using OpenSUSE, you can definitely use it for you web server.

Others

Other distros not mentioned above include Fedora, ArchLinux and Gentoo and the premium ones include RedHat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Enterprise Linux. Personally I would not recommend Fedora, ArchLinux and Gentoo. Fedora is too cutting edge for me, while Arch Linux and Gentoo require plenty of configuration, making them hard to maintain. If you can afford the cash and need professional support, RHEL and SEL are few of the best out there.

Conclusion

There is no absolute best or worst distro for server usage. Most of them are similar and all have their own pros and cons. If you are administering your own server, the most important factor is the ease of use and that depends on your usage experience and familiarity with the distro. The rule of thumb is, choose the distro that you are most comfortable with and have the most experience in. It will give you less trouble while administering it.

Which is your favorite Linux distro for web server?

Image credit: 3d rendering of a server room with black servers by BigStockPhoto

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Linux basics

During the installation of Linux, it will prompt you to create an user account and set your own password. Once the installation is completed and the system rebooted, you will be prompted to login to the user account that you have previously created. Once you are in this user environment, you are your own administrator and you can run applications and customize the desktop to your own liking. This is pretty much the same as in Windows and Mac. You also have your own personal Home folder where you can add/remove any folder to and from it. That is pretty much everything you can do. Outside of your Home folder (i.e, the root folder), you will find that most (if not, all) of the file systems are not accessible to you.

While you can access and read the files in those folders, you won’t be able to make changes to them. The reason is because you don’t have sufficient permission.

User Permission

The user permission feature is one security feature that protects Linux users. With your administrator account, you are given permission to manage everything within your Home folder (and the external partition or hard drive that you have mounted). Outside of that, you will need root permission to make changes to the system file, including installing and uninstalling applications. The separation of the administrator account and the root account makes sure that you don’t mess up your system unnecessary and makes it harder for hacker/virus/malware to get into your root system.

Note: Unlike Windows, being the administrator of your own user account doesn’t mean you have root access to the system. You can’t just install/uninstall applications just by double-clicking on the the installer. In Linux, you will have to enter your password to elevate your user account before you can install/uninstall an app. This also means that things don’t get installed unless you give explicit permission to.

The existence of “sudo” and “su” is to allow you to gain root access so you can become the true administrator of your own system.

SU

“su” stands for “superuser” and allows you to login as root and do whatever you want with the system. It can be run with the command:

su

and it requires you to enter the password of the root account. In some distro, particularly Ubuntu, the root password is not set during installation. This makes it practically impossible to login as root (using “su”) since it cannot be authenticated.

If you really need to use the “su” command to get root access, you can change the root password by using the command:

sudo passwd root

By default, “su” logs you in as root in your own user environment. To change the user environment to root, use the command:

su -

Other usage of “su” include:

• Switching to another user who is not the superuser

su <username>

• Switching to another user and use that user environment

su - <username>

As can be seen, using the “su” command gives you great power to administer and modify your system, and if unchecked (or if you are inexperienced), it could be destructive to your system.

Note: As much as possible, do not to use “su” to administer your system.

SUDO

“sudo” stands for “superuser do” and it allows you to elevate your current user account to have root privilege temporarily. This is different from “su”. With “sudo”, you are still using your user account, but with root privilege, whereas in “su”, you are logged in to the root account. In addition, the root privilege in “sudo” is only valid for a short period of time. Once it expires, you have to enter your password again to regain root privilege.

With “sudo”, you can do pretty much the same stuff as “su”. To use it, you just have to add “sudo” in front of all root commands, for example:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

• In some instances, if you really need to login as root, instead of using “su”, it is better to use:

sudo -i

to start a root shell. This allows you to login as root with your own user password.

• You can also login as another user

sudo -i -u <username>

Conclusion

This is a basic introductory article to “sudo” and “su”. If you are a newbie, it is advisable to keep your hands off “su” and use “sudo” if required. For basic users, using “sudo” for most root commands suffice. For over 6 years of using Linux, I have not come across an instance where I need to use “su” or “sudo -i”.

For administering server, some will argue that you need to be root all the time to carry out maintenance and perform any other task. This may be true, but in my personal experience, if you install “sudo”, create a new user and add this user to the sudo group, you can do pretty much everything with the limited user account and sudo command. In fact, I would think this is a more secure way of administering your server. Tell me if I am wrong.

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Make Tech Easier is a popular technology blog that provides free computer tutorials, tips, tricks and software reviews. We cover topics relating to Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, WordPress and all Web stuff.

If you are seriously obsessed with your computer and have tons of computer tips and tricks up your sleeves or you are always surfing the Web to look for cool useful software and eagerly share with your friends when you found one, then you are the one we are looking for.

Positions:

1. Windows writer

As a Windows writer, you need to be proficient in the Windows OS and are expected to come up with tips, tricks, fixes, registry hacks, command line or simple tweaks to make things easier and faster to use.

• You need to be a full-time Windows user and a Windows enthusiast.
• You need to be always in the loop on Windows news and update, particularly in the development of Windows 8
• You need be proficient in Windows, including registry hacks, command line and the inside-out of Windows OS

2. Mac Writer

As a Mac writer, you need to be proficient in Max OS X and are expected to come up with tips, tricks, fixes, command line tweaks, automator scripts, software alternative to make the system better and easier to use.

• You need to be a full-time Mac user and a Mac enthusiast.
• You need to be always in the loop on Mac news, update, tips, tricks and free useful software to get things done easier and faster.
• Good knowledge of the command line tweaks and automator script is preferable.

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As a WordPress writer, we require you to have more knowledge than just installing and activating plugins/themes. You need to have coding knowledge (you don’t need to be a developer, but are capable enough to hack and modify the code) and know inside-out of WordPress. Topics that you’ll be covering for WordPress include WP techniques, efficiency tips, how-to hacks, templates modification, plugins, resources etc.

4. Web App Writer

As a Web app writer, you need to be proficient with either Firefox and/or Google Chrome and have a knack for discovering and trying out new apps or services on the Web.

Other Conditions

In addition, you also need to be

• able to come up with 1-3 articles per week.
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Write to us at “writers [at] maketecheasier.com“, with the subject “Writer Application”. Do not send us your resume. Include in the mail:

1. the position you are applying for.
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Note:
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1. Download, extract and place the simple-press folder in the “wp-content -> Plugins” folder. In the dashboard, go to the Plugins section and activate the simple-press plugin.

2. Once you have activated the plugin, go to the Forum section and click “Perform Installation”.

The installation will create a “sp-resources” folder under the “wp-content” directory. This is the forum-specific folder and all the configurations files, custom plugins and themes will be placed in this folder. It will also create the necessary database table to hold the forum data. Lastly, it will create a “Forum” page where you can view all the forum activities. Once it is installed, you can go to http://yousite.com/forum and view the forum in action. This is how it looks like with the twentyeleven theme:

3. On the Forum section, there are tons of things you can configure, from Groups, SEO settings, Moderators, Users, Users permission, Maintenance to install custom plugins and themes. If you have experience in administering a forum, you will not have problems handling these options. For those who have never handle a forum, there are also “Help” buttons on each section so you can easily click to view the instructions for configuring the options.

4. The forum has a “default” theme. You can download new themes from the SimplePress site (only 3 basic themes are free). To install the theme, first place the theme in the “wp-content -> sp-resources -> forum-themes” folder. Next, in the WordPress dashboard, go to “Forum -> Themes” and select the new theme.

Conclusion

As can be seen above, it is very easy to integrate a forum into your WordPress site. With a few clicks, you can get a forum up and running. I have tried bbPress previously and found that it requires more configuration than SimplePress. For that, I really appreciate what SimplePress has done to make the whole setting up process a breeze. On the other hand, bbPress has better support and there are tons of plugins (free and useful) that you can use. And if you are a developer, it is much easier to modify bbPress code than SimplePress since it is more similar to the WordPress structure. SimplePress is free to download and use, but there is absolutely no support for the public. You will need to sign up as a member (with a subscription fee) to receive support, access the documentation and download custom plugins and themes. One thing though, you won’t be able to view what custom plugins and themes they have until you have signed up as a member. I am not sure how many of you will sign up for a membership before you know what they have to offer, but for sure, they won’t get my business based on the non-existent information on their site.

What do you think?

SimplePress

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