Ubuntu on Me, Myself, and Technology

Latest Pidgin and Firefox repositories for Ubuntu Hardy

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:35:37 +0000

Ubuntu Hardy ships with Pidgin v2.4.1 and Firefox 3.0 Beta5, while the latest Pidgin is v2.4.2 and the latest Firefox is 3.0 RC1. Here are two repositories that would always contain the latest versions of Pidgin and Firefox. Just type “gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list” into the terminal, and add the following to the end of the file.

For Pidgin:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/pidgin-developers/ubuntu hardy main

For Firefox:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/mozillateam/ubuntu hardy main

After adding the lines, just type “sudo apt-get update” and then “sudo apt-get dist-upgrade” in the terminal (apt will give a warning about unauthenticated packages, but its safe to ignore the warning and type “y”). After doing this, you should have the latest versions of both Pidgin and Firefox 🙂

Ubuntu to rename top level directories?!

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:47:55 +0000

Well, i just heard that Ubuntu is trying to rename all the top level directories! The proposed directory structure is:

/bin /system/executables
/boot /system/boot
/dev /system/devices
/etc /system/config
/lib /system/libraries
/home /users
/media /storage
/mnt /storage
/proc /system/processes
/root /users/Administrator
/sbin /system/executables/admin
/tmp /system/temporary
/usr /system/applications

Well, that’s just plain stupid if you ask me.. It will create unnecessary confusion and difference between various linux distributions! I think Ubuntu should strive to be “User Friendly” not “Idiot Friendly”. We dont want another case of the Windows do we? 😉

Latest Pidgin/Rhythmbox repository for Ubuntu

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:52:15 +0000

Here is a repository i use on my gutsy install which always contains the latest builds of Pidgin and Rhythmbox. So no more hunting for debs or compiling sources 😀

Steps to add the repository:

1. Open Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal)

2. Type “gksuÂ gedit /etc/apt/sources.list”

3. Go to the end of the file and add the following onto a new line:

## Latest Pidgin/Rhythmbox
deb http://www.telemail.fi/mlind/ubuntu gutsy main

4. Save the file and close Gedit.

Introducing the Hardy Heron

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:59:17 +0000

From the Ubuntu Developer mailing list:

I am delighted to have the pleasure of announcing the Hardy Heron
(Ubuntu 8.04), the next version of Ubuntu that will succeed Gutsy Gibbon
(Ubuntu 7.10, due for release in October 2007). Not only will the Ubuntu
community continue to do what it does best, produce an easy-to-use,
reliable, free software platform, but this release will proudly wear the
badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates
for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. We look
forward to releasing the Hardy Heron in April 2008.

Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 5!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:03:32 +0000

Tribe 5 just hit the mirrors! Get it while its hot! This release includes a lot of new features like:

Gnome 2.19.90
Graphical Configuration tool for X Server
A new plugin manager for Firefox, which allows to choose readily used plugins such as flash, adblock, beagle plugin etc
A new printing system, with a default PDF printer being installed by default

I once tried Gutsy when it was tribe 2. Lots of things didn’t work, or were buggy at that time, so i went back to feisty then. But now i’ve been using Gutsy since tribe 4 and its been as stable as feisty! So all those people who like to stay on the edge, do try it out, as its completely usable!

Install Pidgin 2.0.0 on Ubuntu Feisty (with all plugins)

Sat, 12 May 2007 22:51:34 +0000

You can easily get the vanilla Pidgin 2.0 .deb (installation file for Ubuntu Feisty).

The only thing i was missing badly were the plugins! I was really used to the libnotify and autoreply plugins. Anyway, so i’ve compiled a .deb here for the Purple Plugin Pack.

Plugins in the Plugin Pack

Edit: Thanks to Karthik, we have 64 bit debs for the plugin pack too!

Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn Released

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:15:27 +0000

Its finally here! And im running it 😀 Due to all the traffic rush, Ubuntu.com is down! On their homepage:

Thank you to everyone who has helped make Ubuntu 7.04 a reality. Thousands of you have helped code, test, translate and promote Ubuntu and everyone can celebrate today’s release.

If you are looking for general information about the Ubuntu project, the main site will be back shortly.

For official mirrors to download, please see the Ubuntu homepage.

Introducing the Gutsy Gibbon

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:12:37 +0000

From the Ubuntu mailing lists:

Folks, allow me to introduce the Gutsy Gibbon, who will be succeeding
the Feisty Fawn as the focus of our development love in a few short
weeks, for release in October 2007.

Hehe.. Funny name i must say.. But then i think about Warty Warthog, Hoary Hedgehog, Breezy Badger, Dapper Drake, Edgy Eft and Feisty Fawn.. Anyway, whatever the name may be, Ubuntu ROCKS!

Ubuntu Feisty 7.04 Beta Released!

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:14:08 +0000

Ubuntu Feisty Beta hits the servers! From Official Announcement:

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 7.04.

Ubuntu 7.04 is the most user-friendly Ubuntu to date and includes a ground-breaking Windows migration assistant, excellent wireless networking support and improved multimedia support.

Ubuntu 7.04 server edition adds support for hardware facilities that speed up the use of virtual machines as well as other improved hardware support, making it an excellent choice as a web, database, file and print server, the fastest growing area of Linux server use.