Warwick Hunter

Fedora 16

2011-11-20T07:01:00.001+10:00

Once again after the installation of a new version of Fedora things have changed.

Grub has become grub2 and the administration of it is different. The first change I had to deal with is the setting of the default boot partition.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Grub2

My Eclipse plugins

2011-06-22T20:20:00.009+10:00

Android  http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse

Groovy  http://dist.springsource.org/release/GRECLIPSE/e3.7

Perforce  http://www.perforce.com/downloads/http/p4-eclipse/install/3.6

From the Eclipse Marketplace

Google plugin

EGit

PyDev

Findbugs

Fedora 15

2011-06-19T08:58:00.002+10:00

I have installed Fedora on my guinea pig machine. Things went pretty smoothly apart from two problems.

1. selinux was stopping openvpn from working. The simple solution is to disable selinux like I usually do.

2. Bluetooth is not enabled and started by default on F15. This seems to be a bug. The steps to enable it require interacting with the new systemctl utility.

systemctl status bluetooth.service
sudo systemctl enable bluetooth.service
sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=265053

C++0x feature support in GCC 4.5

2011-03-08T10:12:00.003+10:00

Here is a description of some nice new features available in C++0x supported by GCC 4.5.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-gcc/index.html?cmp=dw&cpb=dwaix&ct=dwnew&cr=dwnen&ccy=zz&csr=030311

Here are some highlights.

Static assertions:

static_assert(sizeof(int) == 4, "Integer sizes expected to be 4");

New character types

char16_t guaranteed to be able to hold a UTF-16 character
char32_t guaranteed to be able to hold a UTF-32 character

Auto syntax type

auto *num1 = new int(7); // type for num1 it int*
const auto num2 = 3.1415; // type for num2 is double

Initializer lists

// in a variable definition
std::vector doubles = {2.3, 4.511, 1.23, 0.99};

// Initializer list used with new
std::list *d2 = new std::list {1.2, 1.3};

// Initialize a map
std::map = { {“key1”, 1}, {“key2”, 2} };

Flash on 64 bit Fedora 14

2011-02-07T21:52:00.002+10:00

Download: http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/flashplayer10_2_p3_64bit_linux_111710.tar.gz

# tar xzf flashplayer10_2_p3_64bit_linux_111710.tar.gz
# cp libflashplayer.so ~/.mozilla/plugins

Thanks to the Fedora forums:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/archive/index.php/t-256318.html

If tail -f file gives "too many open files"

2011-02-07T16:07:00.002+10:00

If tail -f file gives "too many open files" then add this to your /etc/sysctl.conf

fs.inotify.max_user_watches=16384

Or interactively:

# sysctl -w fs.inotify.max_user_watches=16384

Setup grub as the boot loader in your MBR

2010-06-10T13:48:00.000+10:00

# Boot from CD and choose linux rescue which will mount the system.
# Write to the MBR. Assuming grub.conf is intact, continue with the process. Type "grub" (return) to enter the grub shell.

Tell grub where to find the requisite files. If you know where they are, enter something like:

root (hd0,1)

(hd0,1) means primary controller master, second partition. If you DON'T know where they are, type:

find /boot/grub/stage1

setup (hd0)

This command will install grub on the MBR of the first drive.

# Type quit and reboot. Everything should proceed normally.

In our case, the details were all identical except that we used (hd0,0) in place of (hd0,1) because our /boot was on the first partition of the first drive.

How to put real java on your Linux machine

2010-06-10T13:27:00.000+10:00

Fedora Systems

This set of commands will get rid of the stupid gcj java that is packaged with Fedora and other Linux distros and replace it with the real java from Oracle.

alternatives --config java
alternatives --remove java /usr/lib/jvm/jre-1.4.2-gcj/bin/java
alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/latest/bin/java 1
alternatives --config javac
alternatives --remove javac /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.4.2-gcj/bin/javac
alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac /usr/java/latest/bin/javac 1

Ubuntu

update-java-alternatives -l
update-java-alternatives -s java-6-sun

Building an RPM on Fedora 12 for an older system

2010-06-03T12:15:00.002+10:00

If you are building an RPM on a Fedora 12 system (or later) and you want that RPM to be installed on a system with an older version of rpm, such as an older Fedora or Centos, define these values in your ~/.rpmmacros.

%_binary_filedigest_algorithm 1
%_source_filedigest_algorithm 1
%_binary_payload w9.gzdio

This sets the hash algorithm and the payload compression used by RPM to be compatible with older versions of rpm. This avoids the following errors:

error: Failed dependencies:
rpmlib(FileDigests) <= 4.6.0-1 is needed by x
rpmlib(PayloadIsXz) <= 5.2-1 is needed by x

Linux drivers for a Dell 1235CN printer - kudos to Samsung

2010-04-22T22:30:00.003+10:00

I purchased a Dell 1235CN laser multi-function printer, which arrived today. Unfortunately Fedora 12 doesn't know about the printer, so this lead me to the inevitable search for the right drivers.

I found a post by someone who had the same problem. She/he had called Dell support who told her/him that Dell did not support Linux for that printer, but that the printer is actually a rebadged Samsung CLX-3175 printer.

I visited the Samsung web site and was really happy to see that Samsung to a great job of supporting their printers on Windows, Mac and Linux. I was able to download a Linux tarball that contained the necessary drivers wrapped up in an easy to use installer.

http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/print-solutions/print-multifunctions-copiers/colour-multifunction/CLX-3175FN/XSA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=support

After installing the tarball my printer was working.

Thanks to the people at Samsung! Excellent work for your top class Linux support.

VMWare MKS Console Plugin - problem and solution

2010-04-04T15:30:00.002+10:00

While messing around with a beta service from Melbourne IT called vCloud Express, that is based on VMWare, I was frustrated that I could not get the VMWare MKS console plugin to work in Firefox on Fedora 12.

I tracked down a forum post that showed me how to run it from the command line:

~/.mozilla/firefox/.default/extensions/VMwareMKSPlugin\@vmware.com/plugins/viewer

This was very useful because I showed that I was missing a number of old shared libraries on which the VMWare console plugin relies: libexpat.so.0 and libstdc++.so.5.

It was then a simple matter of installing the two RPMS: compat-expat1 and compat-libstdc++-33.

Problems with NetworkManager and DHCP

2009-12-16T17:46:00.002+10:00

I have great troubles with NetworkManager not being able to acquire an IP address via DHCP on my home network. By accident I killed it and it restarted and immediately acquired the address. It seems that this might be some sort of startup ordering problem.

The simple solution for now is to kill and restart NetworkManager and all is well.

How to enable MP3 playback with Amarok on Fedora 12

2009-12-16T17:04:00.002+10:00

Set-up RPM Fusion repository to get the free and non-free components.

http://rpmfusion.org/Configuration

Install gstreamer-plugins-ugly
http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/MP3_on_Fedora_Core

Kubuntu rides again

2009-12-16T15:51:00.002+10:00

After installing Fedora 12 and having another round of sound problems after I thought I had it all working with Fedora 10 and 11 I thought I would try Kubuntu because previously everything just works with Kubuntu.

Well, much to my surprise, Kubuntu also has sound problems. So there was nothing else to do but start digging. After a bit of experimentation I was able to work out that I needed to make PulseAudio the default and tell Pulse to set-up an ALSA compatibility module.

To make Pulse the default create ~/.asoundrc with the following content.

pcm.!default { type pulse }

ctl.!default { type pulse }

Then set-up the correct modules for the pulseaudio daemon in the file /etc/pulse/default.pa

### Load audio drivers statically (it's probably better to not load

### these drivers manually, but instead use module-hal-detect --

### see below -- for doing this automatically)

load-module module-alsa-sink device=hw:0

load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:0

load-module module-alsa-card device_id=0

#load-module module-oss device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input

#load-module module-oss-mmap device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input

#load-module module-null-sink

load-module module-pipe-sink

Dyndns client ddclient config

2009-10-11T12:13:00.002+10:00

Update to my earlier post about using ddclient to support dyndns access.
I generated the config file using the dyndns.org web site https://www.dyndns.com/support/tools/clientconfig.html. The config generated by the web site works nicely.

Audio on Fedora finally working

2009-07-25T09:03:00.002+10:00

After numerous attempts and many wrong turns I finally have audio working on Fedora 10 at work and Fedora 11 here at home.

I use the KDE version and could never get the microphone to record clear audio. I could also never hear audio from any flash movies played within the browser.

Well the key to the puzzle was that I was fiddling with KMix, the KDE audio mixer. This had very little effect. I recently discovered the Pulse Audio Volume Control application and this has solved my problem. By manipulating the audio settings via the Pulse Audio Volume Control I now have perfectly working audio.

/usr/bin/pavucontrol in the pavucontrol RPM.

Cloning a Windows XP partition

2009-04-17T18:18:00.002+10:00

The hard disc in my desktop started to log errors, which is a very scary sign. This means time to get a new disc. I didn't want to face up to re-installing Windows, so cloning the partition is the way to go.

Boot the old Windows system
Defrag the partition
Run chkdsk to check and fix any errors
Run regedit and delete the values in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices, otherwise XP is confused when it boots on the new partition
Shutdown and reboot from the gparted live CD
Select the old XP partition and select Copy from the context menu
Select the empty space on the new disc and Paste, this can take hours
Select the new partition and choose Manage Flags from the context menu, select boot
Shutdown
Change the new disc so that it is the first disc on the SATA and then boot the machine

Thanks to the people at gparted for a great tool and Michael Dominok for the XP tips.

Getting rid of NetworkManager

2009-04-05T14:08:00.002+10:00

NetworkManager failed to get a DHCP connect more than 50% of the time. One solution that seems to work is to get rid of NetworkManager and go back to the way it worked under Fedora 8.

1. Disable NetworkManager

# chkconfig NetworkManager off
# service NetworkManager stop

2. Change the eth0 interface so it is not managed by NetworkManager by deselecting "Controlled by Network Manager" in the properties of the eth0 interface in the system network config

# system-config-network

3. Reboot and test

Attaching an Anrdoid phone to Fedora 10

2009-03-10T13:17:00.006+10:00

The file /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules must contain:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb",SYSFS{idVendor}=="0bb4",SYMLINK+="android_adb",MODE="0666"

After that execute:

# udevcontrol reload_rules

Then attach your device. You should be able to see it reported by the command

# $ANDROID_HOME/tools/adb devices

Thunderbird URL handlers

2009-03-10T08:35:00.001+10:00

Even on a KDE system Thunderbird relies on the definition of URL handlers contained within gconf. To edit these look in $HOME/.gconf or install the RPM gconf-editor and edit away.

2008-09-28T11:27:00.003+10:00

A recent Fedora 9 auto update broke networking and keyboard input to the X login screen. This pushed me to reinstall Kubuntu again. Fortunately after a few days another Fedora auto update fixed the problems.

I now have been able to get audio working with skype on Kubuntu. Here are the snapshots of the required settings, so I don't forget them again.

OpenSuse 11.0 installed

2008-06-21T14:03:00.003+10:00

Installed OpenSuse 11.0 over the top of the 10.3 installation. This is a much more slick version of OpenSuse. Installation and setup were very easy and flawless. KDE4 looks better on OpenSuse than it does on Fedora 9 for some reason.

Setup of OpenSuse complete

2008-06-14T17:04:00.002+10:00

Setup of OpenSuse is now complete. It wasn't nearly as slick or easy as Fedora or Kubuntu. I had to run extra config utilities after installation to get X to start with my very mainstream video card. Eclipse crashes immediately, I will have to investigate.

OpenSuse 10.3

2008-06-12T22:45:00.000+10:00

OpenSuse 10.3 has taken the place of Kubuntu as my experimental Linux. I installed from DVD. It took a bit of fiddling with the Yast configuration tool to get it to support my video card and monitor so that X would work. After that a bit more fiddling with the config to enable the network. It's odd that the network isn't enabled at installation time.

Give up on Kubuntu

2008-06-12T19:52:00.000+10:00

Kubuntu works nicely, but I really have to give up on it. It is just a bit too different from my usual Fedora/Redhat environment. A few strange differences in the behaviour of bash when driven from my makefiles isn't comforting.

Dyndns client ddclient config

2008-05-10T10:38:00.000+10:00

Installed ddclient to support dyndns access. Config changes required to /etc/ddclient.conf

protocol=dyndns2
use=web, web=checkip.dyndns.com/, web-skip='IP Address'

Hardy Heron

2008-04-26T11:35:00.000+10:00

Downloaded the Kubuntu Hardy Heron release candidate. The installation went smoothly. Funnily enough firefox wasn't available at first, then a few days later the 3.0b5 appeared on the apt-get repositories.

The usual hassle with no mp3 support in Amarok was solved with:
# sudo apt-get install kubuntu-restricted-extras

I installed Skype and after a bit of fiddling with the right kmix audio settings got the audio to work. This version also includes video and my Logitech quick cam works straight away! This is the first time video has worked for me on Linux.

I had to manually install the symlink to get java support in firefox working in the /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins directory. This may have been because I installed java before firefox (I can't remember).

Introduction

2007-03-12T18:43:00.001+10:00

Downloaded Fedora Core 7 ISO.

Attempted to do an upgrade of my Fedora Core 6 installation.
That was a bad idea. It messed up the setup and wouldn't start
X. A fresh install solved the problem.