Edgy Repos

I recently downloaded and installed a daily build of Ubuntu Edgy Eft, so I can keep informed of its development, test and try out new features, and inform of any bugs encountered. Here is a few tips you may find useful in getting a basic install of Edgy started.

You need to ensure the correct repositories are listed in the /etc/apt/sources.list file. My install only included the security repos which I edited as below;

$ sudo vi /etc/apt/sourses.list

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security main
# deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security main
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security universe
# deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy universe

Network Issues
I also encountered some network issues. The network configuration GUI interface, System>Administration>Networking, was deviod of any setting information, however the bash command ifconfig confirmed the ethernet port was setup.



$ ifconfig

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
inet addr:xx.xx.xx.15 Bcast:xx.xx.xx.255 Mask:255.xx.xx.xx
inet6 addr: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:167517 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:111091 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
RX bytes:244521123 (233.1 MiB) TX bytes:8510005 (8.1 MiB)
Base address:0xe800 Memory:fbfe0000-fc000000

I checked the DNS addresses in /etc/resolv.conf

$ sudo vi /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 208.67.222.222 # openDNS
nameserver 208.67.220.220 # openDNS


OpenOffice won't upgrade
Having resolved the above and running a dist-upgrade I encountered the following error;

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Failed
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
openoffice.org-l10n-en-gb: Conflicts: openoffice.org-core (>= 2.0.3) but 2.0.3-3ubuntu3 is to be installed
openoffice.org-l10n-en-za: Conflicts: openoffice.org-core (>= 2.0.3) but 2.0.3-3ubuntu3 is to be installed
E: Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.

The following forced removal and install of the openoffice.org and related packages was recommended on the Edgy forum here

$ sudo apt-get -f remove openoffice.org* oooqs-kde python-uno
$ sudo apt-get install openoffice.org python-uno

Next I performed the repos update and then dist-upgrade :)

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Back from LugRadio Live 2006 Event

Literally just got back from LugRadio Live event in Wolverhampton. What a action packed weekend! These guys rock! Met some familar faces and some new.

First I gotta thank Sheepeatingtaz for giving us a lift from Goole to Wolverhampton, also Chris and his father for giving us a lift from Hull to Goole.

I'm pretty knackered from the event, especially as I didn't sleep for 36 hours before going, and having only a few hours of broken sleep on the floor of Sheepeatingtaz's room. I was gonna be roughing it in a sleeping bag in a park close by, but the heavens opened up and poured down just as we left the event.

Need sleep, must sleep, sleep, sleeeeeeep.

Edgy Eft Knot 1

The development downloads of Ubuntu Edgy Eft is available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/. Each progressive development issue will be known as a "Knot", which is the position assumed by newt's during copulation. There is also a discussion forum for Edgy Eft development which can be found here.

I downloaded Knot 1 image ealier today and burnt it to CD. Been a development distro I initially tried to install as a virtual machine using VMServer, but the initial burn had errors due to a dodgy disc and hence wouldn't install. Having re-burnt the CD I installed it again via VMServer, here is a screenshot of it booting. I wasn't able to perform a docked install in VMServer, so I decided to install it on a spare 10 gig hard drive partition. This method proved more successful, except that it hasn't detected my ethernet card, which a few other people on the forum have discovered. I'm hoping to resolve this next week after getting some tips from the Ubuntu developers attending the LugRadio Live event this weekend.

Safer, Faster, Smarter - OpenDNS

There is a new free (as in beer) DNS service provided by OpenDNS, which is safer, faster and smarter than your existing DNS. The service provides safety by blocking phishing sites that attempt to steal your personal information and displays a "blocked" page. In addition they also boast about their size of cache, which increases speed. The service is also smarter by correcting common typo/spelling mistakes in the address bar.

"Not to brag, but OpenDNS caches are really big."

I've altered my DNS settings from my existing ISP DNS addresses to their respective OpenDNS IP addresses; primary 208.67.222.222, secondary 208.67.220.220 and tested them by visiting http://welcome.opendns.com which confirms whether you are using their service.

Urban Exploring Triangle Valley

Yesterday, Alan, Spike & Daisy took me on an urban exploration to an area known as Triangle Valley (GoogleEarth co-rds - Lat:53°44'54.23"N, Long:0°23'31.21"W). I gotta admit, way back in my youth I used to go urban exploring but haven't done so since. I really enjoyed the trek. The day was extremely hot, plenty of blue sky and brilliant sunshine, with a warm zephyr.

The area sits in the middle of some service railtracks, totally overgrown and secluded. To get there we cut through some waste ground which used to be alloments, and found some red currant, black currant, rasberry bushes and later found some cherry tree's all ripe, so we sampled the delights of nature by having ourselves a fruit medley, yummy!

Reaching Triangle Valley we found a nice tranquil spot to sat down to chillout and cracked open some beers (we was responsible and didn't leave our trash). Spike went off on his own exploration, brought back a stick (btw Spike is a dog). The vandal even ripped off a branch from a dead bush lol

A fun day! :)

I'll (Hopefully) Be Going To LugRadio Live 2006

That time of the year is fast approaching for LugRadio Live 2006. I'll hopefully be going if I can sort out transport as funds are pretty tight. Accomadation isn't going to be much of an issue as I'll take my sleeping bag and get some kip in the park which is real close by, and judging by GoogleEarth it looks a nice spot :)

Wibbly Wobbly Windows (aka XGL) on SuSE 10.1

Here's how I got XGL working on SuSE 10.1 running Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 with minimum fuss;

With Yast2 make sure the following are installed on your system;
kernel-sources, gcc, make, xgl, compiz, cairo (libsvg, libsvg-cairo)

Download the appropriate proprietary Nvidia drivers from www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html
Install the downloaded driver by running from shell (logout or kill your X session);

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-8762-pkg1.run

Once the driver is installed, configure X.org to load the driver with the following;

sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia

Assuming all of the above went smoothly launch X and you should now have an XGL environment running with wibbly wobbly windows etc...

Once installed, the settings for XGL can be found through the menu system
Desktop > Control Centre > Desktop Effects Settings

have fun :)