How to: Linux’s Gmail Notifier for Google Apps

*Warning* This is going to require some command line knowledge and editing source files! This is a dirty fix; Let me know how to make it better!

Gmail Notifier is a Linux alternative for the notifier program released by Google, it is written in Python and provides an attractive and simple way to check for new mail messages.

Gmail Notifier works with Google Apps accounts but when you try to access your inbox it goes to the gmail website and not your domain’s URL.

For those that don’t have Gmail Notifier installed you can find more information about it and install/download it at their website. For the lazy Linix users (you Ubuntu users), you can find it in the package manager (Applications -> Add/Remove…), go to apt:gmail-notify in a web browser, or run the following in the command line:

sudo apt-get install gmail-notify

After installation of gmail-notify run the following in the command line:

cd /usr/lib/gmail-notify
sudo gedit notifier.py

I used gedit to modify my file but you are free to use whatever text editor you like.

Next find the following code:

def gotourl( self, wg=None):
        print "----------"
        print "launching browser "+self.options['browserpath']+" http://mail.google.com/"
        os.system(self.options['browserpath']+" http://mail.google.com/ &")

Replace it with

def gotourl( self, wg=None):
        print "----------"
        print "launching browser "+self.options['browserpath']+" https://mail.google.com/a/SITE.COM"
        os.system(self.options['browserpath']+" https://mail.google.com/a/SITE.COM &")

And that is all you need to do! Restart gmail-notify and the changes should be made. Now if only Gmail Notifier included this by default and let you manage multiple accounts at the same time.

Viewing Your Linux Partition in Windows

If you are using Windows XP or Vista and have Linux you may be wondering where your Linux partition is. Most likely it is not showing up in My Computer. This is because most Linux partitions are formated in Ext2/3. Windows does not recognize this type of file system. If you have a floppy/thumb drive that is formatted in this way, it too will not show up.

The solution is FS-Driver. Installation is very simple. Download then run the executable in Windows. The set-up menu (above) should look very similar to your operating system’s own partition manager. Select your partition and drive letter and then you will see your Linux drive in My Computer. I suggest that if you have a separate partition for /home that you just use that.

PeerGuardian For Linux = MoBlock and mobloquer

If you download files with Windows XP or Vista most likely you use PeerGuardian 2 from Phoenix Labs to protect yourself. PeerGuardian blocks IPs making it the safest and easiest way to protect your privacy on P2P. If you are using Linux, however, you can’t use PG2; instead use MoBlock.

To download MoBlock install the deb package.

Add source files (System -> Administration -> Software Sources -> Add…)

deb http://moblock-deb.sourceforge.net/debian gutsy main
deb-src http://moblock-deb.sourceforge.net/debian gutsy main

Then in the command line run:

gpg –keyserver wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net –recv 9072870B
gpg –export –armor 9072870B | sudo apt-key add –

double dashes above except at apt-key add-

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install moblock-nfq

Restart and there you have it; MoBlock is installed. MoBlock can be run and tested in the command line.

• moblock-control start – inserts iptables rules and starts MoBlock
• moblock-control stop – deletes iptables rules and stops MoBlock
• moblock-control restart – restarts MoBlock
• moblock-control reload – rebuilds the blocklist and reloads MoBlock
• moblock-control update – updates the blocklists and reloads MoBlock
• moblock-control status – gives the iptables settings and the status of the MoBlock daemon
• moblock-control test – simple test to check if MoBlock is working

If your internet is down stop MoBlock and do one of the following:

If you have Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 download the latest version of mobloquer. mobloquer is a GUI for MoBlock that works in Debian lenny and sid and Ubuntu gutsy and hardy (As seen in screenshot above). You should download this even if your internet works just for ease of access. Extract.

tar -xvf mobloquer-xx.tar.gz
cd mobloquer
qmake-qt4make
sudo make install

You may have to install qmake-qt4. If you do just run the line the command line give you.

If you do not have Debian lenny and sid and Ubuntu gutsy and hardy you will have to edit your config file which is located at /etc/moblock/moblock.conf to open ports and enable IPs.

Linux Music Player War

There are a wide variety of free music players out there for Linux. Some of the most popular ones for Ubuntu Gutsy are Rhythmbox Music Player, Amarok, Banshee Music Player, and Exaile Music Player. All of these players are in Add/Remove (Applications -> Add/Remove…) and are ranked very high. We will also review Songbird; to install go to their website and extract files, then click on the songbird executable. If that does not work you can always try the Ubuntu community way, however, it is a little outdated.

Rhythmbox is already installed on Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 so it is no wonder that it is on the top of the list for music players in Add/Remove…. It has a simplistic way of organizing your music; it has three categories that reflect each other – artists, album, and track. Rhythmbox has four radio stations preset when you install it. You can add more station easily but most other music players have an extensive amount of stations or has the option of getting stations from SHOUTcast or another type of software. The podcast section in Rhythmbox is very easy to use. It is very easy to download and update all feeds but it lacks options like ‘Download current’, ‘Only keep the 5 most latest’, as seen in the ever popular iTunes. Sadly, Rythmbox can only handle audio podcasts so you can not view some of the most popular podcasts such as Ask a Ninja which are only available in video format. Rhythmbox also has a pretty big list of plugins. Without most of the plugins, Rhytmbox would not be able to compete against most of the other music players. There are two store options in Rhythmbox plugins – Magnatune and Jamendo. Magnatune is great because CDs start at $5 and 50% of the price goes directly to the artist! You can either download the files or buy a physical CD. The only bad thing about Magnatune is that it has less than 300 artists and 9,000 songs, but they give you a free song everyday. Jamendo is where artists allow everyone to download and share their music. It’s free, legal and unlimited. They have about 6,500 artists and 60,000 albums. Both music services allow you to preview the song before you buy/download. Rhtymbox’s notification blends in with your system theme quite nicely but does not pop up when a song changes etc;. Also, you can not close Rhytmbox and have the music still playing in your system tray like most of it’s competitors.
Overall Rhytmbox has a clean feel. It is made for those wanting organized music.

Amarok is built for KDE but it still works on Gnome machines (sorta). While updating my music, I encountered a fatal error; apparently Amarok cannot handle .wav files? It also can not handle video files for podcasts. It will play the audio from the video so it is not a total let down. There are a billion things you can configure in Amarok; shortcut keys, appearance and color (green in screenshots), toolbar, and even the engine it uses. Another cool thing Amarok gives you is information on what you are playing in the sidebar. Amarok is connected to Magnatune so you can buy music (for more on that read above). It also has an extensive radio list and easy to use album art manager. It’s notify feature is extremely nice as it is in the system tray. When you quit if fades the song, too.
Amarok is a great music player, but it is better suited for KDE. It is extremely customizable.

Banshee has the best options for podcasts but not the best support; it doesn’t play video. One great feature I like is what it does with Last.fm – it recommends what artists you will like depending on what you listen too. Banshee has a slim list (22) of radio stations though. It does have CD options so you do not have to use Sound Juicer CD extractor. Banshee can also be run in the system tray and it looks good while doing it.
Sadly, Banshee does not have many features, but when they do incorporate a feature it is done right.

Exaile is based on Amarok but built in/for GTK+ (Gnome). I personally do not like how it organizes files, but I am sure it is easy to get used too. It puts the play/pause items at the bottom like Amarok. Exaile has AWN support via plugin; Exaile has a butt-load of plugins with a total of 24+. It has video podcast support too, but it does not show the entire feed, just the latest ten. Exaile is very big on playlists; something that is different than all of the other players and can be difficult to get used to. The tabs add up very quickly. On the plus side, you can change multiple tracks information. On my computer, Exaile crashed multiple times, but you might have better luck than I. It also appears as if Exaile can not be closed to the system tray; it has a mini-mode plugin though. There is no store in Exaile but it does connect to Shoutcast radio or any other radio streams. If you can get used to the different way of organization Exaile is simple and a great player.

Songbird is more than just a beautiful music player; it has the backbone of a Firefox. This means you can play video (youtube) and audio files on the web in Songbird. Songbird is podcast ready which includes video support (File -> New Subscription…). It however boshes the names pretty bad (it takes the exact file name). It also puts all of your podcasts into your library. Some may like this feature, but when I put my music on shuffle it also plays the videos. It doesn’t have podcast options either. Songbird does not have an official store, but it does have access to the web so it is not that big of a deal (Amazon store). This is yet another player in which all of the plugins (or at least most of them) should be downloaded. If you do not like the dark theme you can download a lighter theme; or you can create your own. There is an Ubuntu theme but I don’t like it. Songbird does not have a radio section but since it has the internet built in it doesn’t matter. Songbird cannot be closed to the system tray but it has a mini player and song notification plugin. The next version of Songbird should be very good and actually feel completely right out of the box, and I hope it will be in Add/Remove… for Hardy. Songbird is a beautiful media player with access to the web; with the web it can do anything.

Out of all these music players I like Songbird and Exaile the best. This is because I am very into video podcasts but since this is a review of MUSIC players, I would think most people would like Banshee or Rhythmbox. If you are using KDE, Amarok is the best bet for you. If you haven’t tried KDE, I suggest you do; it is free just like Gnome and is available in Kubuntu.

If the sound is not playing for any of these players go to System -> Sound -> Device Tab -> Sound Events -> Sound Playback -> Autodetect.

Wacom Tablet in Ubuntu

For most graphic designers a tablet is a must. One of the best tablet makers out there is Wacom. Due to the myth about Linux not having drivers support for everyday necessities, designers have steered clear of Linux. However, Wacom now supports the open source movement.

The process is not that difficult but you will have to use the command line and edit files. First download the official, latest, stable version of the driver. Extract.

cd linuxwacom
sudo ./configure
make
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

The last two lines helped open up the xorg file. Edit the xorg file so it looks somewhat like this.

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “wacom”
Identifier “stylus”
Option “Device” “/dev/ttyS0” #SERIAL ONLY

Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom” #USB ONLY
Option “Type” “stylus”
Option “USB” “on” #USB ONLY

Option “ForceDevice” “ISDV4” #Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “wacom”
Identifier “eraser”

Option “Device” “/dev/ttyS0” #SERIAL ONLY
Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom” #USB ONLY
Option “Type” “eraser”

Option “USB” “on” #USB ONLY
Option “ForceDevice” “ISDV4” #Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”

Driver “wacom”
Identifier “cursor”
Option “Device” “/dev/ttyS0” #SERIAL ONLY
Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom” #USB ONLY

Option “Type” “cursor”
Option “Mode” “relative”
Option “USB” “on” #USB ONLY

Option “ForceDevice” “ISDV4” #Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

If you have a Intuos3 or Cintiq 21UX add this.

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “wacom”
Identifier “pad”
Option “Device” “/dev/ttyS0” #SERIAL ONLY

Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom” #USB ONLY
Option “Type” “pad”
Option “USB” “on” #USB ONLY

EndSection

Section “ServerLayout”
Identifier “Default Layout”
Screen “Default Screen”
InputDevice “Generic Keyboard”
InputDevice “Configured Mouse”
InputDevice “stylus” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “eraser” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “cursor” “SendCoreEvents” #For non-LCD tablets only
InputDevice “pad” #For Intuos3/Cintiq 21UX/Graphire4 tablets. It should NOT send core event
EndSection

For pressure sensitivity add this line to the Stylus section.

Option “PressCurve” “50,0,100,50”

Now to use your tablet in Gimp you have change some things around in gimp.

File-> Preferences-> Input Devices-> “Configure Extended Input Devices”.
Under “Device” you will have 3 settings: Cursor, Eraser and Stylus. Set them from “Disabled” to “Screen”.

Now you should have pressure sensitivity in Gimp. *Hooray!* Just a side note, each input device (stylus,cursor,eraser) has a completely different set of attributes in Gimp, and in theory, you can even assign a unique serial number to different pens to get even more granularity. You will experience this when you try to use your eraser for the first time. Rather than selecting the eraser tool, you get the rectangle selection tool instead. This is by design, believe it or not. Gimp does not care that its an eraser, just that it’s not the pen you were just using. If you choose the eraser tool now, it will remember that for the next time you try to use it. On the plus side, you can set the eraser to be anything, including the Airbrush tool or Clone tool.

If you have any trouble check out the Ubuntu forums and the Wacom Help Page.

Installing a new GTK+ Engine in Ubuntu

The default GTK+ engine for Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 is great but some users want more. There are many great engines out there but in this tutorial will tell you how to install Aurora.

Download and Extract files. In the command line type:
cd …/aurora-1.3
./configure ––prefix=/usr
./config -enable-animation
make
sudo make install

–prefix=/usr is two double dashes, WordPress screws up the layout. two of these: –

Then in the Theme Manager (System -> Preferance -> Appearance) Drag the gtkrc_themes.tar.bz folder to install the themes. It will atuomatically install the three themes.

If you get an error like this during this process

configure: error: GTK+-2.10 is required to compile aurora

Run sudo apt-get install libgtk2.0-dev in the command line.

To install more themes, GTK+ Engines, icons, or login screens visit art.gnome.org or gnome-look.org

Please share which GTK+ Engine you enjoy the most or screenshots. I know many people will say that clearlooks is the best.

Play/Rip DVDs in Ubuntu

Right out of the box Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 does not play encrypted DVDs. All most all of my favorite DVDs are encrypted by the big bad cooperations. It is hard to rip these DVDs if you can’t read them to begin with. This guide will not tell you how to Rip DVDs, it is just linkage to being able to play them on Gutsy. I will write a guide for ripping later.

This is a very easy fix, but you have to choose which way you want to fix this.

The official way is much easier and makes much more sense but Limulus’ idea is also good.

I encourage you to test these out so you can start watching quality movies. Enjoy!

Creating Keyboard Shortcuts in Gutsy

There are a few ways to create custom keyboard shortcuts in Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 but I found the following way the easiest. This guide will explain how to make gnome-do, a launchy and Microsoft/Vista/Instant Search type tool, a keyboard shortcut at Alt+Space.

Install Advanced Desktop Effects Settings (ccsm) in Add/Remove…(Applications -> Add/Remove…). Restart.

Run Settings Manager (System -> Preferences -> Advanced Desktop Effects Settings). Click on General Options (General -> General Options). Click the Commands tab. Type your command. For example type gnome-do at Run Command Line 0.

Click Actions tab. Expand Commands. Under key, t your command line number, click disabled and press your shortcut. For example press Alt and space to make a shortcut that runs on Alt+space.

Enjoy!

Connecting to the Internet on Gutsy

This little guide will tell you how to enable the firmware for Broadcom 43xx chipsets when you get the following error message in Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10.

The software source for the package bcm43xx-fwcutter is not enabled.

In order to do this you will need to have a computer with internet. If you don’t have a computer with internet go to your local library and put the files on a flash drive. If you are lucky enough to plug your computer in via wire do that.

All you have to do is download bcm43xx-fwcutter. It is a deb package so it is a graphical install. Install it. Restart computer.

Download bcm43xx(wl_apsta).

Next go to restricted drivers (System -> Administation – > Restricted Drivers Manager) and click enable. A diolage box should pop up telling you to specify a location of firmware. Point to bcm43xx(wl_apsta). Restart.

And there you have it! No command line necessary. Wasn’t that easy?