The "Linux questions (and other stuff)" thread

[mikedt]

three lines in a terminal ain't hard as i'm used to it. but i can see how people look at it as an OS for geeks only, as it's certainly not as simple as downloading the *.exe and double-clicking.

Yeh that's one reason why I've often recommended to my friends that they try Mint rather than Ubuntu.Because you wouldn't have had to do that with Mint, Skype is already there in the Software Center. With Ubuntu I would have to explain why it can't play MP3s by default, what's this Ogg-Vorbis thing, and that they have to enable and download the "ugly" codecs. Although I believe the original Mpeg software patents have now expired.

 

[nickdalzell]

well installing something as mundane as Skype should be a lot easier than it was. in Windows it was simply downloading the file and double-clicking. in Linux, not so easy. it should have worked but Ubuntu's daggum protection crap prevented me. i had to hack it to make it work in an unapproved method. why it didn't just show up in Software Center is beyond me. i've always had problems installing software outside of it.

Unless Software Center is pulling a Google Play Store and eliminating any 'non compatible' software from the view, to the point of preventing it running until you modify the hell out of it

that's always been my problem. something that should take five seconds takes a half hour in Linux. oh sure, once you get up and going it's great. but something like downloading a file from a website and running it is not that easy.

If it weren't for the Chromebook being stuck in Ubuntuland i'd certainly find some distro that is a lot more like Windows just to simplify things. i am sick of hacking stuff to force installs.

 

[mikedt]

well installing something as mundane as Skype should be a lot easier than it was. in Windows it was simply downloading the file and double-clicking. in Linux, not so easy. it should have worked but Ubuntu's daggum protection crap prevented me. i had to hack it to make it work in an unapproved method. why it didn't just show up in Software Center is beyond me. i've always had problems installing software outside of it.

Unless Software Center is pulling a Google Play Store and eliminating any 'non compatible' software from the view, to the point of preventing it running until you modify the hell out of it

that's always been my problem. something that should take five seconds takes a half hour in Linux. oh sure, once you get up and going it's great. but something like downloading a file from a website and running it is not that easy.

If it weren't for the Chromebook being stuck in Ubuntuland i'd certainly find some distro that is a lot more like Windows just to simplify things. i am sick of hacking stuff to force installs.

Skype not being included with Ubuntu is nothing to do with compatibility. It's purely down to Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical's policy of not included proprietary and non-free software in their distros by default. Skype is included with Linux Mint however, which is what I generally recommend to my non-techy, Windows using friends. The same non-techy people who might ask "What does this Your Norton Antivirus Trial has expired mean?"... seriously.

 

[saptech]

With Linux, you have to add non-free repositories in order to get proprietary software installed.

I'm not sure if Chromebook is 64 bit or not but this explains how to installl 64 bit version of Skype.

Installing Skype

Users of 64-bit Ubuntu, should enable MultiArch if it isn't already enabled by running the command

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386Since Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), Skype is part of the Canonical partner repository. To install Skype add the Canonical Partner Repository. You can do this by running the command

sudo add-apt-repository "deb Index of / $(lsb_release -sc) partner"Then install Skype via the Software-Center or via the Terminal.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install skypeIt is highly recommended to use the package provided in the Canonical partner repository, not the one distributed from the skype website, as the skype website currently points users to the wrong package for 64-bit systems of Ubuntu 11.10 and above.

Sorry if the format doesn't come out clearly, I'm at work and have to reply quickly.

 

[MoodyBlues]

well installing something as mundane as Skype should be a lot easier than it was. in Windows it was simply downloading the file and double-clicking. in Linux, not so easy.

You're right--it's EASIER. I installed Skype via Synaptic. One click, done.

it should have worked but Ubuntu's daggum protection crap prevented me. i had to hack it to make it work in an unapproved method. why it didn't just show up in Software Center is beyond me. i've always had problems installing software outside of it.

I don't use it; I stick with Synaptic. And I NEVER, EVER have problems installing things or having to hack stuff to make them work. I just click, and that's it. (Every once in a while I force myself to apt-get install something at a command line, just so I don't lose the ability to do things the CLI way. )

Unless Software Center is pulling a Google Play Store and eliminating any 'non compatible' software from the view, to the point of preventing it running until you modify the hell out of it

that's always been my problem. something that should take five seconds takes a half hour in Linux. oh sure, once you get up and going it's great. but something like downloading a file from a website and running it is not that easy.

If it weren't for the Chromebook being stuck in Ubuntuland i'd certainly find some distro that is a lot more like Windows just to simplify things. i am sick of hacking stuff to force installs.

Seriously, I just don't experience what you do. I can't even think of anything easier than selecting something in Synaptic and checking its box to install it.

 

[wyndslash]

I'm getting more and more confused

 

[nickdalzell]

can someone tell me how to install Synaptic then? i tried 'sudo apt-get install synaptic' and it did stuff but nothing of the sort is in my application menu. of course, that would be TOO EASY. Linux has ALWAYS been too hard for me for some reason? perhaps it's just not for everyone?

EDIT: well it is installed but looks nothing like Moody's version. in fact it's ten times more cryptic than Software Center. does Linux Mint make it any easier and does it run on a Chromebook? i don't know about you guys and gals but i hate having to do things the hard way. i just want to download stuff and double-click the file and make it install. i shouldn't have to open a terminal and hack the living daylights out of it just to install one lousy program

EDIT 2: well it looks like even Synaptic uses the same repo lists as Software Center which means i would still have had to issue the add apt command either way.

I'm sorry but customization isn't worth the migraines. unless a distro exists for those so used to Windows for twenty years, i'm done with it. about this close to wiping it and getting ChromeOS back

EDIT 3: tried to install mint cinnamon and no go. again, installing is a pain. even Synaptic fails to cooperate, producing a screen telling me it's just not going to happen. even worse than Software Center, at least in the latter program the app never showed up if it won't work. i am so sick of this. just once i want a system that allows simple installs by double-clicking some type of *.exe file.

is it possible to force-install something? i just get the feeling Ubuntu is protecting me from myself. i want all of that 'you can't do this' or 'you held broken packages' stuff turned off. i want to force install everything and remove the uber annoying root password crap. i just want it to do like Windows without being Windows.

EDIT 4: finally! cinnamon installs. but again, AGAIN, have to hack the hell out of it. Synaptic wouldn't do it, kept telling me it's not installable. Software Center never showed it period, and the simple apt-get install cinnamon didn't work. once again i had to hack it, use -f and add apt as per usual, making it take a half hour to do a ten minute task. let's hope putting mint on top makes it easier from now on. because Linux Mint isn't available for Chromebook

 

[mikedt]

Sure you can run Mint on a Chromebook, I don't see why it shouldn't work. Try it live, see what happens. I did read about someone running Mint on a Chromebook Pixel, the issue with that particular laptop, the trackpad wouldn't work so he had to use a mouse, but it might be supported on other Chromebooks, presumably they're using standard Synaptics type trackpads.

A friend of mine is using Mint now. Same one who asked me about the expiring Norton Antivirus Trial, that came with his Windows 7 PC, and expressing disbelief and not understanding that he had to pay to use something that came with the computer.

 

[Dngrsone]

AH! Smartdimmer. Now I can dim and brighten my display at whim. Very fine increments, too.


... and apparently, kdesudo didn't install; once I got that, it looks like the update manager will work as advertised.


Once I find an extra hour or two, I should create a separate thread detailing this whole process, so that I can fix things a bit faster on the next go round.

Here it is, I will post my fixes as I get them.

 

[finickydesert1]

can someone tell me how to install Synaptic then? i tried 'sudo apt-get install synaptic' and it did stuff but nothing of the sort is in my application menu. of course, that would be TOO EASY. Linux has ALWAYS been too hard for me for some reason? perhaps it's just not for everyone?

EDIT: well it is installed but looks nothing like Moody's version. in fact it's ten times more cryptic than Software Center. does Linux Mint make it any easier and does it run on a Chromebook? i don't know about you guys and gals but i hate having to do things the hard way. i just want to download stuff and double-click the file and make it install. i shouldn't have to open a terminal and hack the living daylights out of it just to install one lousy program

EDIT 2: well it looks like even Synaptic uses the same repo lists as Software Center which means i would still have had to issue the add apt command either way.

I'm sorry but customization isn't worth the migraines. unless a distro exists for those so used to Windows for twenty years, i'm done with it. about this close to wiping it and getting ChromeOS back

EDIT 3: tried to install mint cinnamon and no go. again, installing is a pain. even Synaptic fails to cooperate, producing a screen telling me it's just not going to happen. even worse than Software Center, at least in the latter program the app never showed up if it won't work. i am so sick of this. just once i want a system that allows simple installs by double-clicking some type of *.exe file.

is it possible to force-install something? i just get the feeling Ubuntu is protecting me from myself. i want all of that 'you can't do this' or 'you held broken packages' stuff turned off. i want to force install everything and remove the uber annoying root password crap. i just want it to do like Windows without being Windows.

EDIT 4: finally! cinnamon installs. but again, AGAIN, have to hack the hell out of it. Synaptic wouldn't do it, kept telling me it's not installable. Software Center never showed it period, and the simple apt-get install cinnamon didn't work. once again i had to hack it, use -f and add apt as per usual, making it take a half hour to do a ten minute task. let's hope putting mint on top makes it easier from now on. because Linux Mint isn't available for Chromebook

Have you tried manjaro linux?

 

[nickdalzell]

Chromebooks are extremely limited in what they can run thanks to Google's proprietary BIOS. right now it's stuck in Ubuntu land and no sign of a way out. it would require some script that can run. as it is currently there is no ability to boot ChromeOS or anything BUT ubuntu even though i know ChromeOS is still in there. so i doubt i can even initiate an install without that terminal script.

Yet another infuriating bug. Chrome in Ubuntu has a word wrap glitch. getting another migraine from the constant side-to-side scrolling just reading posts

EDIT: well after getting Cinnamon in there, and disabling those annoying Linux-variants of User Account Control (password prompts) it's much better . what makes Mint that different from regular old Ubuntu then? i know Linux is just the kernel behind it all but other than the DE what is it? would tacking on the Mint things be enough?

Brightness keys still no worky though. it appears to have auto brightness since it seems to adjust on its own now. so where oh where is that ambient light sensor hiding?

 

[mikedt]

Yet another infuriating bug. Chrome in Ubuntu has a word wrap glitch. getting another migraine from the constant side-to-side scrolling just reading posts

Chrome or Chromium? It's actually Chromium that comes with Ubuntu. The only time I've found it does horizontal scrolling on sites such as AF, is when it's running in a low resolution, like 800x600. Can you post a screen-shot? I normally use Firefox myself.

 

[nickdalzell]

a screenshot in Linux. good luck.

Here's the glitch



It's most definitely Chrome, not Chromium

 

[palmtree5]

Chrome or Chromium? It's actually Chromium that comes with Ubuntu. The only time I've found it does horizontal scrolling on sites such as AF, is when it's running in a low resolution, like 800x600. Can you post a screen-shot? I normally use Firefox myself.

You can get Chrome though

 

[mikedt]

EDIT: well after getting Cinnamon in there, and disabling those annoying Linux-variants of User Account Control (password prompts) it's much better . what makes Mint that different from regular old Ubuntu then? i know Linux is just the kernel behind it all but other than the DE what is it? would tacking on the Mint things be enough?

I think the main difference is that Mint includes the proprietary and non-free stuff as standard, like Skype, Adobe Flash and patented codecs. Mint is based on Ubuntu, and it uses the Ubuntu repos.

Although there is a version of Mint... "A version without multimedia support. For magazines, companies and distributors in the USA, Japan and countries where the legislation allows patents to apply to software and distribution of restricted technologies may require the acquisition of 3rd party licenses." ...which is probably the same things that Ubuntu and many other distros omit by default, and you have to specifically enable them.

I've never tacked Mint things on. I've always installed it direct from a Mint ISO, and never has any problems. Although TBH I can't comment myself about how well it's going to work and be supported on a Chromebook. I run it on a Lenovo laptop.

 

[nickdalzell]

well without a CD drive and a Chromebook, and believe me i Googled to my ends here, but only find how-tos involving Ubuntu which is specifically titled 'ChrUbuntu' the Chromebook variant. there are no howtos except for the Pixel (think the Mac of Chromebooks!) and am not sure how complicated that would be to work successfully for the C7. either way i'm stuck with only one distro available, so i have to tack it all on. there is no chromebook specific install of Mint. at least, no such install exists where it can be done in dev mode from ChromeOS like ChrUbuntu.

Is it so much to ask for the benefits and security of Linux (and the freedom) but with the ease of use and ability to double click a file downloaded online and install apps like in Windows? heck even my MacBook can install from downloaded files. i never need to use some package manager to do the job. but i assure you, double clicking a *.deb file won't work. it will just give me an error telling me it can't do it.

Closest distro i know that accomplishes that idea is PearOS, a MacOS clone done up with Linux, and a very good and convincing one i might add, but not available for Chromebook.

 

[mikedt]

well without a CD drive and a Chromebook, and believe me i Googled to my ends here, but only find how-tos involving Ubuntu which is specifically titled 'ChrUbuntu' the Chromebook variant. there are no howtos except for the Pixel (think the Mac of Chromebooks!) and am not sure how complicated that would be to work successfully for the C7. either way i'm stuck with only one distro available, so i have to tack it all on. there is no chromebook specific install of Mint. at least, no such install exists where it can be done in dev mode from ChromeOS like ChrUbuntu.

A CD drive? I got three laptops here, only one of them has a CD drive, and that's my white Apple Macbook with an OS X Snow Leopard disc. I always boot and install from a USB stick.

Is it so much to ask for the benefits and security of Linux (and the freedom) but with the ease of use and ability to double click a file downloaded online and install apps like in Windows? heck even my MacBook can install from downloaded files. i never need to use some package manager to do the job. but i assure you, double clicking a *.deb file won't work. it will just give me an error telling me it can't do it.

Closest distro i know that accomplishes that idea is PearOS, a MacOS clone done up with Linux, and a very good and convincing one i might add, but not available for Chromebook.

Thing is I still don't know too much about Chromebooks and how they might differ from a regular laptop, only what I've read about them. Like you have to use this special "ChrUbuntu" distro, it won't boot anything else? I saw them on sale in the UK, but had no intention of buying one, basically because the usefulness of Chrome OS will be very limited in China.

 

[nickdalzell]

yeah, there is a special script you run from ChromeOS's dev mode console. it basically does the partitioning and installing as if it were a network install. everything is automatic. the catch is that only one distro is currently available, the Chromebook variant of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS colliquially termed 'ChrUbuntu'. it installs out of box with a limited set of apps (including Chrome, Firefox, Flash, LibreOffice, and Unity as the default UI) and is set to autologin as 'Chrubuntu User' with the password being 'user'

Chromebooks have a UEFI BIOS a lot like a Win8 machine, which makes it impossible to boot off the card reader, so Unetbootin images are a no-go, and i read that the Chromebook BIOS does not support initrd. What really makes this distro 'ChrUbuntu' is that it uses ChromeOS's kernel and such, instead of the Ubuntu kernel.img.

You're basically loading a very rudimentary VM at the basic level, and Ubuntu loads after. you're technically still in ChromeOS but Ubuntu is running full-screen from some kind of VM.

 

[mikedt]

a screenshot in Linux. good luck.

Here's the glitch



It's most definitely Chrome, not Chromium

I've seen that when there's a large image in a thread. There's a couple of large screen-shot images that Moody posted earlier in this thread, but they should scale down once the page is fully loaded, with no more sideways scrolling and it word wraps correctly. There's a note on the images "This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image."...and if you do view them full-size, any text does go off sideways and you have to scroll horizontally to read it.

 

[nickdalzell]

that little 'view as full size' bar never shows for me. as such, i have never clicked upon it. you're correct though that only some threads have this glitch. but it is infuriating and no setting i am aware of fixes it.

 

[MoodyBlues]

a screenshot in Linux. good luck.

What on earth? I've used KSnapshot forever, with its own shortcut keys I assigned. But my HP dv7 laptop doesn't even need THAT much effort to run it--I just press the laptop's [prt sc] button and, voila!, snapshot taken and great options to proceed (like saving the images with auto-incrementing file names).

I literally cannot recall NOT being able to easily take screenshots...

 

[nickdalzell]

a few posts late Moody

BTW do you know how to turn off those user authentication things that pop up when i install software? i hate UAC and want all of that 'protect me from myself' disabled. i want to make all forms of security and protection go away. i find it infuriating. i managed to keep them from coming up when i use sudo in a terminal but it keeps happening when i install/update stuff.

in a nutshell, when i install something from whatever repo i choose in whatever app i use to choose it in, i don't want to keep being asked for my root password. i tried to make a blank password but the 'go' button was greyed out. it was annoying in Windows Vista and it's even more annoying in Linux

 

[MoodyBlues]

that little 'view as full size' bar never shows for me. as such, i have never clicked upon it. you're correct though that only some threads have this glitch. but it is infuriating and no setting i am aware of fixes it.

Have you tried your Android Forums Control Panel? Under Thread Display Options you can fiddle with the size of images. I have mine set, on my HP laptop, at 800x600. Once I get to it on my tiny little Chromebook, that'll be a lot smaller.

 

[nickdalzell]

there are no 'thread display options' in my User CP.

Once more i'll say this never happens in Windows or Mac

 

[MoodyBlues]

there are no 'thread display options' in my User CP.

Really? Under Settings & Options | Edit Options, it's not there?

Once more i'll say this never happens in Windows or Mac

Or on Linux--at least for me.

Too bad we're at almost opposite ends of the country. I'd love to sit down with you and see what happens, why things are so difficult and need to be hacked, and so on. And I'm not being facetious or sarcastic. I'd really like to see what's happening and then figure out why.

We have diametrically opposite experiences. There must be an explanation!