openSUSE 12.1 Milestone 3 is Available for Download!

In the past it was called SUSE Linux (which was based on the awesome Slackware) but then Novel, just like RedHat, decided to create a "community driven" version of the GNU/Linux distribution and later called it openSUSE. This Germany based distribution has been around for a while and is one of the most popular one among the GNU/Linux geeks since it has a complete set of tools of its own (Yast control center for instance) and easy to use + when properly configured, it is a very solid OS.

Although it's a bit "heavy" for my taste but for those of you who loves it then you must be aware of the upcoming openSUSE 12.1 release (will be released in 2011/11/11). And in preparation for that they've already released two milestone releases and yesterday they officially announced the availability of the milestone 3!.

The openSUSE developers do take their time and unlike with many other major distributions who releases a new version within 6 months ... openSUSE on the other hand takes her time and do a lot of testing and if I'm not mistaken they release a new version around 10-12 months cycle which in my opinion makes sense.

Gnome Shell in openSUSE 11.4...

Anyhow, this milestone release brings some major improvements and new version of popular applications such as...

*. Mozilla Firefox 5.

*. The Free email client, Thunderbird 5.0 (has major improvements, faster start up times, etc).

*. Kernel 3.0 rc 7 (well there's nothing new in Kernel 3.0... it's just playing with the numbers :P).

*. Libreoffice 3.3.3.1 (although we do have the Libreoffice 3.4... but they've decided to go with the 3.3x series instead).

*. Tomboy 1.7.1 (the popular note taking awesome app for the Gnome desktop).

Although these are just the main ones to mention but this release do bring a lot of bug fixes and version updates to a lot of both Gnome and Qt/KDE desktop related apps as usual too. The openSUSE 12.1 is nowhere near the final release since according to their roadmap page they do have a lot of work to do but if you like you can contribute by downloading it, testing and reporting feedback by using this milestone 3 release nonetheless.

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How to Install Flegita (Gnome Scan Front-end) in Ubuntu Linux ?

Although I guess the overall scanner software API is a highly complicated process yet if your scanner is supported by the GNU/Linux operating system, then both Gnome and the Qt written KDE desktops come with their own tools/frameworks to let you easily scan a document and save it into the HDD nonetheless.

In the past the Gnome desktop depended heavily on the Xsane "framework" but after seeing some of its "limitations" they decided to start build something from scratch which they later called Gnome Scan.

Now as far as I understand, Gnome Scan is a not a software application but only a framework. Thus just like with Xsane, any developer can use these frameworks/libraries and create a GUI of their own easily since the hard work of figuring out how to "deal" with the scanner it self, etc is taken care by the library.

In that sense, if you're looking for a graphical front-end that uses the never and better Gnome scan library then you should try the one called Flegita which is also a part of the official Gnome Scan project.


Main features...

*. By following the Gnome UI design rules... it has an over simplified GUI which is pretty much newbie friendly :D.

I don't have a scanner so some features and configuration settings are missing in the screenshot, sorry about that dudes :/...

*. Lets you scan and save the files into different formats such as PDF or images (PNG).

*. Rotate, change dpi, change size , etc.

*. Change the image quality (1-9).

*. Load documents directly from HDD or any other sources. 

*. Has a separate GIMP plug-in as well.

*. Automatic color enhancement ...

are just the main features to mention. You can install Flegita 0.6.2 (current version) in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 using the below command in your Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install flegita

You can install the gimp-plug-in using the below command if you need.

sudo apt-get install flegita-gimp

That's it. In the Unity desktop search by using its name or in Gnome classic desktop, you can launch it via the "Graphics" sub menu as well.

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How to Install Thunderbird 6.0 (beta) in Ubuntu Linux 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04?

Thunderbird, the free and one of the most popular email clients in the world will also receive rapid updates (new versions) in a much quicker cycle simultaneously with the Firefox Web browser which is obviously "inspired" by the Google Chrome, after seeing its success, I guess.

The current version of the Thunderbird email client is 5.0 which brought some major changes (Mozilla Gecko 5 engine), faster start up times, etc and was introduced very recently. But, even though the next upcoming version 6.0 is still at beta stage but thanks to the Ubuntu Mozilla team we can already install the 6.0 beta version in Ubuntu quite easily nonetheless. 

Since it's still in the beta stage there's nothing much to say about it but according to their release note page, it brings few new features such as ...

*. Added the support for Windows 7 Jump list support (which is very similar to the application menu indicator in Ubuntu) ... so you can access some of the main options of Thunderbird from the task-bar while minimized.

*. Few MS Outlook e-mail importing issues fixed.

*. Now has the ability to check whether it's the default e-mail client in GNU/Linux environment (pity actually... I mean, Mozilla is a GNU/GPL licensed application/community yet it took them this long to arrive at this).

As usual this beta release includes few bug fixes and few other GUI improvements and enhancements as well.

You can install Thunderbird 6.0 beta in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the dedicated PPA channel. So as usual, just open your Terminal window and enter the below commands.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/thunderbird-next

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install thunderbird

But remember this is still in its beta stage so if you're concerned about the best possible level of security in your email client software, then you'd better off with the version 5 instead. Enjoy!.

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Ubuntu 10.04.3 Lucid Lynx LTS is Released!

Not just Ubuntu Linux but many other GNU/Linux distributions these days have a very "short" release cycle. After every 6 months or so the developers make sure to release a whole new version (including the Kernel, desktop and the other applications, etc). This for many users may be "cool" but personally, I think it's a bit annoying.

I mean anyone can always "choose" not to upgrade but then you'd feel a bit left along since others boasting about how cool their new OS version looks, etc which is very tempting ;-). So I don't know about ya all but even though sometimes I totally don't need but I find myself forcing to install the latest Ubuntu release as soon as it hits the downloads.

On the other hand if you run Ubuntu on a Server or even on a desktop where you'd love to have a more stable, secure environment then rather than installing/upgrading the whole OS every 6 months which is a irritating + may make your previously secure network a bit buggy (if the "new versions" did have few bugs, etc) then luckily Ubuntu Linux has a dedicated release/version that's known as LTS or Long Term Support.

LTS basically is a separate Ubuntu version that's unlike the other type is released every 2 years + you'll get 3 years of support (meaning updates, etc) or 5 years for the Ubuntu Server edition which I think is more than enough for having a stable but updated software packages in your OS.

The LTS version do under go a lot of testing for stability and security before releasing thus you may not see the most newest version of the packages available as with the 6-months cycle release edition. But since the aim is to enhance the stability and the security, this is understandable.

Anyhow the latest news is that the Ubuntu LTS team has just released the 10.04.3 version. This as usual brings a lot of bug fixes to the Kernel and to individual applications rather than features. Few GRUB related and Ubiquity related bugs, a huge list of Kernel bug fixes and individuals applications such as Brasero/Firefox/Compiz/GDM, etc are also listed in this official 10.04.3 LTS release log page. In addition to that, the official Ubuntu 10.04 LTS LiveCD is also updated with the above bug-fixed packages. So from now on whenever you download the 10.04 LTS version you'll be getting the 10.04.3. 

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How to Install Wine in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04?

Wine is a very powerful + a popular software emulator for GNU/Linux that basically lets you run your MS Windows applications in GNU/Linux. Although we do have paid tools such as CrossOver for instance but Wine is a completely free, opensource application which supports a huge list of programs that are designed to run in MS Windows platform.

This can be a very handy utility because say that you switched to GNU/Linux from MS Windows recently and wanting to run the MS office productivity suite in GNU/Linux, then Wine will most probably be able to "rescue" you :). Although I said it's an emulator but Wine is a bit different kind of emulator according to their FAQ page because unlike many other apps, it does not perform any CPU (virtual machines API such as Virtualbox for instance) emulation which results in a performance penalty since a CPU simulation is one of the most complicated process of a software emulator. So it does not create a full virtual environment but act as an app that emulates a compatibility layer in other words.

Therefore not only we can MS Windows apps with Wine but sometimes it can run the same application with even better efficiency than in MS Windows too!. In the past there was only 32-bit support but now Wine also supports 64-bit CPU instructions as well.

"I love MS Windo$#, Shi*... I'm wasted :/..."

It also supports Directx 9.0c at this time which has been there for a while now to be honest, although the 10 and 11 aren't supported yet but it runs a lot of Games in GNU/Linux just fine. But remember, it cannot run all the applications but supports a big list of apps nonetheless (which is growing with each release of course).

You can install Wine for Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the two methods. You can either choose to install the official stable version or the latest but unstable (beta) version which gives you a little taste of the latest features.

You can install Wine 1.2 stable version (the version number may change according to the updated stable release, you can always find the current Stable version from this WineHQ page and then check whether it's available in the official PPA page and then replace the "1.2" as appropriate) by using the below commands in your Terminal window.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install wine1.2

If you want to install the Wine 1.3 beta (development) release in Ubuntu Linux, then use the below command instead of the above one.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install wine1.3

Once installed, whenever you want to run a ".exe" file in Ubuntu, just right-click on it and you'll see a new menu called "Wine Windows Program Loader" ... you know how to do the rest :D. 

Yep... that should do it. Come on! lets get drunk! and do something weird ;-).

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How to Install "Nautilus Open Terminal" Plugin in Ubuntu 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04?

Nautilus is the default file manager for the Gnome desktop which inherits a lot of "being simple" type attitudes. Even though in the past it did use to come with some useful features in the past but depending on the GNU/Linux distribution some of these features may not be visible.

But luckily most of these "dropped" features are actually additional features that Nautilus offers via its plug-in API thus using or installing the appropriate plug-in we can easily get those "missing" features nonetheless.

In that sense, as said some GNU/Linux distros do include it but concerning recent versions of Ubuntu Linux... there is a certain (rather very useful as well) feature that basically lets you open the Gnome Terminal emulation window in any folder as easily as right-clicking on the folder. This how ever is not installed by default in the Nautilus version that comes in the Ubuntu OS.

This is a very useful feature to have because let's say that you downloaded a .deb archive package to a certain location in your HDD and to install it you had to change to that directory in the Terminal window... then sometimes (especially if the folder name contains a lot of numbers/versions, different types of characters, etc which is boring and hard to type and time consuming, etc) having installed this plug-in makes doing things much more easier!.

It's called "Nautilus  Open Terminal". Since Ubuntu has this as a pre-build package in their repositories, you can easily install nautilus open terminal plug-in in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 (may also work in other older versions) by using the below command.

sudo apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal

To apply it system wide you'll have to restart Nautilus. To do that, again open your GNU/Linux terminal and enter the below command.

nautilus -q

After than you can open the Gnome Terminal emulation window in Ubuntu in any given folder (should also work in Unity) as easy as right clicking and choosing "Open in Terminal" which is very handy as mentioned before. Enjoy!.

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How to Install Virtualbox 4.1 in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04?

Virtualbox without a doubt is one of the best cross-platfor virtualization software available. Although usually a virtulization application runs under different operating systems but there are few that only support (installs) a single operating system. Virtualbox in that sense can be run in GNU/Linux, MS Windows and Mac OSX, really easy to customize thanks to the awesome GUI implementations + most importantly, it's completely free of charge as well.

Although it was called "non-free" in the past since it wasn't an opensource app back then, but now since Oracle (Sun Microsystems actually) decided to make its source-code available under the GNU-GPL license... this has become one of the favorites of the GNU/Linux Geeks ;-).

Virtulization software in general usually releases new version a bit frequent than many other kinds of software since stability and a higher level of security is a must for a "virtualized-environment" thus there's always "space" for bug fixes (yikes) and improvements in general.  

What the! ;-)...

As a result Oracle also releases new versions quite frequently which usually means bug fixes rather than "features" but few hours ago they've released Virtualbox 4.1 which brings some major changes to the overall application such as...

*. Enhanced virtual disks creating wizard.

*. A totally new wizard for copying virtual disks.

*. Aspect ration related bug fix (only concerning MS Windows and Mac OSX).

*. A new and experimental Windows display driver model that eliminates the need to installing the Guest drivers in Safe Mode + supports the Aero interface (including Direct 3D of course) as well.

*. New network driver model (open-architecture) which separately distributable virtual network implementations.

*. With VboxManage now an experimental SATA hot-plug is available... are just the major ones to mention.

But the 4.1 version do come with a lot of bug fixes as usual too. You can install Virtualbox 4.1 in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.04 and 10.10 by using main two methods.

Note: If you have installed Virtualbox before, then please remove it first. This may not be necessary... but  in most cases having a fresh-install is the best way to go ;-). To remove Virtualbox use the below command.

sudo apt-get purge virtualbox

The first method I think is the easiest since all you gotta do is just download the pre-built ".deb" packages from Oracle themselves and once the downloading is complete, just double click on it and follow the on-screen instructions. So... if you use,

Ubuntu 11.04 - Then get the 32-bit from here and 64-bit version from here.

Ubuntu 10.10 - Then get the 32-bit from here and 64-bit from here.

Ubuntu 10.04 - Then get the 32-bit from here and 64-bit version from here.


If you're a bit of a old-school geek, you can also install Virtualbox 4.1 using the command-line by using the below steps if you like as well.

1. First you'll have to enter the Virtualbox repository into the Ubuntu Linux OS.

Open your Terminal and enter the below commands.

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

This should open the gedit (text editor for Gnome desktop) with "source.list" file opened and ...

If you use Ubuntu Linux 11.04, then enter the below text into the "sources.list" file.

deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian natty contrib

If you use Ubuntu 10.10 then use the below one instead.

deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian maverick contrib non-free

If you use Ubuntu 10.04 then you'll have to use the below one. 

deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian lucid contrib non-free

Then as said before, if you have already installed a previous of Virtualbox, then remove it and then afterwards use the below commands.

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.1

That's it dudes...enjoy!.

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