Linux Format forums

XBMC for Debian Wheezy

Dutch_Master — Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:24 am

Author: Dutch_Master

Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:24 am

So far, the latest XBMC is not available as a package outside Ubuntu. I've created a script that installs XBMC from source on a minimal Wheezy system.

Prerequisites:

At least a minimal Wheezy system, newer may or may not work
Working internet connection
Add the contrib and non-free sections for the standard Debian repo's, as well as the multi-media repo from Marrilat: http://www.deb-multimedia.org/

When that's done, fetch the script here Next, rename the script from .txt to .sh then make it executable with chmod +x Prior to running the script, check and tweak it to suit your system. Once satisfied all's well, run the script.

What it does:
First, it prepares your system to install and build XBMC by installing the required dependencies. Next, it fetches the latest version from the Git repo, then compiles a required library as the supplied version is too old. Then it configures the xbmc source and starts compiling, the actual build process. Lastly, it gives you a clue on how to start xbmc.

I've tested the script in a virtual machine and it works. The script isn't fail-safe, you may brick your machine! (OK, maybe not that bad, but it can do serious damage to your data!) Use at your own risk!

Thoughts, suggestions and success reports welcome

PS: it does not install any graphical interface, it's your desicion to use Gnome3, KDE4, XFCE or any other desktop manager...

Mint won't automount USB devices - solution

wyliecoyoteuk — Wed Jan 02, 2013 7:46 pm

Author: wyliecoyoteuk

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 7:46 pm

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations for solving your problem!

Quick guide to apt-key

northumbrian1 — Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:49 am

Author: northumbrian1

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:49 am

Very good! I have many of these type of commands, many of whom came via Fosswire or from Linux Format itself in the form of its (now Out-of-print) "A Beginner's Guide To Linux." which I dutifully printed out and sheathed in plastic pages to refer back to when I needed them. Although Ubuntu has changed via its new Desktop (Unity), the basic construct, beneath the surface still exists, that is, its Debian/Ubuntu derivation. I also have quite a few books relating to the administration of Red-Hat type Linux as I have a Laptop with Fuduntu on it which is originally derived from Fedora - which I like, too! Northumrian1

Multidisk and multiboot

tweetiepooh — Sat Sep 29, 2012 3:38 pm

Author: tweetiepooh

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 3:38 pm

Here is how I set up my PC with 2 hard disks.

Disk1 = software and O/S
Disk2 = data

1)Set BIOS to boot from disk 1 and install Windows. Leave room for Linux.
2)Create partitions on disk 2 for data. I use NTFS for some so I can share easily with Linux
3)Set BIOS to boot from disk 2
4)Install Linux to partitions on disk 1 but install boot loader to MBR on disk 2 (with OpenSuse this is the default)
5)Mount shared data areas in Linux. I create groups for say music and photos, group own the data areas and make group writeable. (e.g. members of photo group can write to the /Photos mount)

Now on booting the system will boot from disk 2 and I get multiboot menu booting to Linux or Windows. If something should go wrong I can switch BIOS to boot from disk 1 and go straight to Windows. I do this if I need to apply patches to Windows with lots of reboots.

Mapping Windows Network drive

greg.d — Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:23 pm

Author: greg.d

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:23 pm

Can you do something like:

smb://192.168.1.1/media or whatever within the file manager (nautilus)?

If that works then I would think that to get it to mount each time at login you would need to edit fstab possibly...

Touch screens and Linux

Dutch_Master — Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:29 pm

Author: Dutch_Master

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:29 pm

For a time now I have a touch screen. And in the beginning I struggled to get it working. Nowadays, it's quite easy. First, examine your system. Your kernel should be at least 2.6.34:

Code:

uname -r

If it isn't update your system or install a new kernel, compiling it from scratch. Sources are at the kernel.org website. Grab the latest stable version (3.x.x). If you use a kernel from your distro, install the kernel sources corresponding to your kernel. Either way, it needs some special attention during configuration, more on that later.

Next, look up your touch screen in the list here, to see if it's supported:
http://lii-enac.fr/en/architecture/linux-input/multitouch-devices.html
If the field is green, you're in luck. I was lucky The driver for my device (Quanta) was included into the kernel from version 2.6.34.

For the kernel to know what to do with the input it gets from the driver, it needs some rules. Quoting from an Ubuntu Forum thread on it:

Quote:

Create a file /etc/udev/rules.d/99-touch.rules with the following content

Code:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0408", ATTRS{idProduct}=="3000", SYMLINK+="usb/quanta_touch"
SUBSYSTEM=="input", KERNEL=="event*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0408", ATTRS{idProduct}=="3000", SYMLINK+="input/quanta_touch"

This is for the quanta driver I have, your rules should reflect the device you use. The lsusb command gives you the vendor and product ID's to use in the rules.

Now it's time to revisit the configuration of the (new) kernel. Go to "Device Drivers" -> "HID Devices" -> "Special HID drivers" -> "Quanta Optical Touch panels" and enter "M" into the field. Again, this is for my Quanta screen, your particular device may be noted there too, just look around for it. Have your driver compile as a module too. If you have installed this new kernel already, there's no need to compile it all over, it just needs the modules rebuilding:

Code:

make modules && make modules_install

Let it finish. Note that if you haven't installed the kernel yet, you need to issue the full install command:

Code:

make && make install && make modules && make modules_install

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so insert the new module into the kernel:

Code:

modprobe hid-quanta

Obviously replace the driver name with the correct one for your hardware. Now try moving the cursor with your finger on the screen

Mind that if you use the proprietary nVidia driver you'd need to re-install it before rebooting. Otherwise the X-server will crash on the next boot (yeah, that's experience )

Best of luck!

(this Howto was correct using Debian Stable and a 3.1.3 kernel, YMMV!)

Security with updated Linux

stuart_c — Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:06 pm

Author: stuart_c

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:06 pm

Hello Richard,

Sorry I have not been around here to update the thread for such a long time and also if my last post was perhaps ambiguous.

RichardKweskin wrote:

stuart_c wrote:

I actually decided to hang fire with OpenSUSE. That just seemed like a starting point given that the earlier versions were mentioned, I had some SUSE literature and that was the top recommendation from that link I posted on the other thread. Lightness, however, is indeed the main criteria with my current spec's.

Stuart.

Hello again

Ok. Which version of OpenSUSE are you using?

Richard

What I actually meant was since downloading OpenSUSE was my preferred option prior to consulting yourself and others and lighter distros such as Lubuntu have subsequently been recommended, I actually abandoned that idea at that stage, not least because I didn't have the disk space to install it fully and to "try" that distro by running it live requires more RAM than I have on any of my current PC's.

The only distro I'm aware of which I could have tried running live with 256mb is 'Puppy Linux' and I was advised at any early stage that this was unlikely to be supported by Adobe Air and therefore the official BBC s/w.

With regards to your original post, I have since picked up a 'Sling Box', (network television receiver), with which I will need to have a completely different PC of Pentium 4 class and an installation of Win2K+ on it, so I could no longer reasonably expect one Linux distro to run all my s/w of choice.

So I am now at the stage of reviewing my hardware, which would be the time to factor in a Linux distro. If Lubuntu could boot any of my PC's from an external HDD, I shall still consider this.

What I now need to find out is:

How do you know what s/w supports which distros?

If indeed the Linux distro is to be used for online banking, what is the further cost of installing Bitdefender on a single PC under Linux?

What role does "sandboxing" play in internet security and is this performed most effectively by the OS, the security s/w, the browser, or more than one of the above?

I am very grateful for your contributions since I last posted and will continue to be should you think of anything further.

Thanks again,

Stuart.

top tip for when the linux never crashes.

Alex01UK — Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:06 am

Author: Alex01UK

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:06 am

nelz wrote:

Why do you need a realtime kernel for Facebook?

I donut. I need a realtime kernel for instant sound response for my work. I use the desquetop also, prefer to have one system for everything.

Set up your Raspberry Pi like a pro

Bazza — Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:18 pm

Author: Bazza

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:18 pm

I ain't got mine yet! ;o(

About 5 weeks away, what, I could swim the Atlantic in that time...

Anyhow thanks for the pointer and no doubt I will use it...

As for /dev/ttyUSBx easy-peasy to solve...

Configuring TightVNC server on lubuntu

zzzooo — Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:42 am

Author: zzzooo

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:42 am

Jonathanwri73 wrote:

5. vi (or nano) xtstartup and then:
- Comment out the last line of the file which should be /etc/X11/Xsession
- Add the following line as the last line of the file
/usr/bin/lxsession -s Lubuntu -e LXDE

The following line also works if you have all the Lubuntu packages installed (I'm using Ubuntu 12.04):

Code:

/usr/bin/startlubuntu

In case it helps anyone, here's my complete xstartup file:

Code:

#!/bin/sh

xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1

# Start an LXDE session.
/usr/bin/startlubuntu

This gives me a nice desktop with LXDE and a fully populated menu, panel, etc.

Bitdefender revisted

RichardKweskin — Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:26 pm

Author: RichardKweskin

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:26 pm

Hello Stuart

May I invite you to continue this new topic in security using updated Linux? See you there.

Richard

Add Bitdefender to live linux (not a remaster or pesistence)

RichardKweskin — Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:49 pm

Author: RichardKweskin

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:49 pm

In the above post the quick reference in Trick 1, press Ctrl+Alt+F1
does not in itself eliminate the graphical environment from the memory. It is just the first step to get to a virtual console outside so that a command like

sudo stop gdm
or
sudo stop kdm
or
sudo stop lightdm
or
sudo stop lxdm

will close it. Check with Ctrl+Alt+F7

Richard

Rescatux

wyliecoyoteuk — Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:32 am

Author: wyliecoyoteuk

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:32 am

Rescatux, Brilliant package.
Yesterday, trying to install a new monitor on my media pc, tripped over a lead, oops, power removed from PC, boot up to recovery mode, kernel panic.
Booted Rescatux CD, minutes later, all is well!

ogg to mp3

Ram — Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:40 am

Author: Ram

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:40 am

Think this should be moved to the Tips section...

CLI on KDE win!

Bruno — Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:53 pm

Author: Bruno

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:53 pm

Hi all,

Forgive me if this is well known but I thought I would share something I recently discovered and it is in the spirit of Jon's CLI guide in the current issue. I accidentally fat-fingered a function key whilst in a Dolphin window on KDE and what popped up at the bottom of the window? A terminal session. How cool is that? It's F4 if you want to try it out.

I do most of my computing in a GUI but sometimes I find the CLI does things better, for example checking md5sums. OK, it's not a major chore or hold-up to launch konsole but I was none-the-less impressed. You even get dropped into the same directory Dolphin is in. As Graham said in episode 20 of the tux radar podcast, KDE is awesome.