Ubuntu Linux - Split Thread

[MilesAhead]

I was under the mistaken impression that linux was becoming more user friendly

It is, relative to Linux of old that is. Meaning you may not have to purchase 2 or 3 "Running Linux" type manuals to get XWindows running anymore. I suffered/learned a lot with Slackware distros in the past.

But even the new "easy to install and use" distros can burn you.
For grins I recently installed Ubuntu on my older PC. I didn't notice anything to shout about over say some versions of Mandrake that I tried. One thing I found very annoying was the installer didn't provide an easy way to undo the installation. I had to rummage around and find an old Win98 bootable image to restore the MBR. Not very friendly AFATG.

[anonymez]

I even searched add/remove applications, but nothing shows up in a search.

For applications that don't create a menu entry automatically, create one by right-clicking the menu and selecting Edit Menu

errors, failed to open device. what does all that mean?

If the app works fine, they're nothing to worry about, many apps spit out errors, you just don't see them till they're run from the terminal.

One thing I found very annoying was the installer didn't provide an easy way to undo the installation

That's true, a little know-how is needed for uninstallation. This makes it a little easier.

[katzdvd]

Well, I don't know about a Guinea Pig, wouldn't that be a Gnome Pig?


In all fairness though, I think it is a good thing (linux), although maybe not in everyone's case or application. I am looking at it from a home user standpoint, interested mainly in security, ease of use of course, & maybe the best part, free!

And not to forget all the free apps as well.
From my experience with pc's & OS's in general, there is a learning curve to any, mixed in with a few hurdles along the way.

I would say part of my problem is the lack of knowledge with cli, & also, not knowing what exactly to search for in terms of resolving issues.

As anony stated, there is a ton of help on the ubuntu forums, there must be a thousand active users at any one time, & maybe a hundred mods!
When I posted a few questions there, I couldn't keep up with all the responses!

Time will tell, if I stay as enthused about it, but I am happy with it so far, in spite of the issues covered in this thread. I have yet to try to run any burning/editing apps, for example, so you may see future posts on that!

One last thought, Chewy. Your location is the millennium falcon, so you should be used to dealing with cantankerous things?

[katzdvd]

anony - what do I do about shockwave/flash files? Need to install - from where?

[anonymez]

Run Synaptic, search for mozilla plugins, should be in there.

[katzdvd]

I did that previously, found gnash, klash, libflash, vlc. No adobe shockwave. I tried this yesterday, & couldn't get to work right, probably my lack of understanding

[anonymez]

It's in there; just checked, it's called flashplugin-nonfree. Either install through Synaptic or just run:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

[anonymez]

Just realized you're using 64-bit. It won't be in Synaptic then; slightly harder flash installtion is one of the few "drawbacks" for x64 users. Download the plugin to the desktop, bring up a terminal, run these commands:

cd ~/Desktop
tar -xzvf install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
sudo mv -f ~/Desktop/install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib32/firefox32/plugins
sudo mv -f ~/Desktop/install_flash_player_9_linux/flashplayer.xpt /usr/lib32/firefox32/plugins

[katzdvd]

This is what I got. BTW, is there a keyboard shortcut to bring up a term. window?

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Package flashplugin-nonfree is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package flashplugin-nonfree has no installation candidate

[anonymez]

BTW, is there a keyboard shortcut to bring up a term. window?

If running beryl with my settings imported, hit Tilde (the button to the left of "1" and above "Tab").

[katzdvd]

I goofed? File is downloaded to the desktop.

tr@tr-desktop:~$ cd ~/Desktop
tr@tr-desktop:~/Desktop$ tar -xzvf install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
install_flash_player_9_linux/
install_flash_player_9_linux/Readme.txt
install_flash_player_9_linux/flashplayer-installer
install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so
install_flash_player_9_linux/flashplayer.xpt
tr@tr-desktop:~/Desktop$ sudo mv -f ~/Desktop/install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib32/firefox32/plugins
Password:
mv: cannot move `/home/tr/Desktop/install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so' to `/usr/lib32/firefox32/plugins': No such file or directory
tr@tr-desktop:~/Desktop$

[katzdvd]

If running beryl with my settings imported, hit Tilde (the button to the left of "1" and above "T

I don't know about this; I was playing around with different emerald themes, chose another.

I have since reloaded your setting, but the other theme that I set it to still remains, & I can't get the Tilde to open the term.

[anonymez]

OK looks like the plugins are 32bit while the browser is 64bit (and why the commands didn't work). You'll need to install the 32-bit Firefox, then the 32-bit plugins.

To automate the process, download this script, extract, check the readme for instructions.

[anonymez]

but the other theme that I set it to still remains, & I can't get the Tilde to open the term.

The theme manager is separate from Beryl, the themes are not copied over. Sure you are running Beryl?

[katzdvd]

I ran the script, installed FF & plugins. After completion, the last window was a license agreement, I thought it was finished? There were no more buttons or prompts...

Anyway, after that, I closed the term. went to a site, no flash display,

Sure you are running Beryl?

Yep. cube is working, stretch windows, transparent bar at top, etc.

I tried different key combinations (shift-tilde, alt-tilde, etc.) hoping I would get lucky!

P.S. - Chewy, you may want to stop following this thread!