How to know Linux Operating system name and version?

Apply the following command in a Terminal

sudo su

lsb_release -a


I got the following message,

Distributor ID:    Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 10.10
Release:    10.10
Codename:    maverick

Installing Microsoft Fonts in Ubuntu

You can install your favorite fonts available in Microsoft Office in Ubuntu.
Popular fonts from MS Office are

• Andale Mono
• Arial Black
• Arial (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Comic Sans MS (Bold)
• Courier New (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Georgia (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Impact
• Times New Roman (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Trebuchet (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Verdana (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Webdings

Installation

Open a Terminal from Applications > Accessories

Execute the following commands,

sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

sudo fc-cache -fv

Startupmanager

Very useful tool controlling your Ubuntu startup behavior.

Installation

apt-get install startupmanager

You can launch Startupmanager from Administration Menu.

Ubuntu 11.04: how to switch from Unity to Gnome

You can easily switch to Gnome from new Unity Desktop.

Select Ubuntu Classic from

System > Administration > Login Screen

Ubuntu 11.04 released

Install HP Deskjet 1050 All-in-one J410 printer in Ubuntu 10.04

Uninstall your existing drivers

sudo apt-get remove --purge hplip hplip-gui
sudo apt-get update

Download driver from here

Installation

Execute the following commands,

chmod 777 hplip-3.11.3a.run

./hplip-3.11.3a.run

The process will ask about installation type.
Select the install type automatic.

After installation run the following command,

sudo hp-setup

Note: Ubuntu 11.04 and higher versions can automatically detect the printer. No need to install any hp setup to configure the printer. Check Administration > printing to see your printer.

How to install Firefox 4 in Ubuntu 10.04 and 10.10

Open a Terminal from Applications > Accessories
And execute the following commands,

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox-4.0

You can see Firefox 4 appeared in Applications > Internet > Minefield 4.0

How to install Gyachi in Ubuntu 10.04 / 10.10

Gyachi is a messenger tool equivalent to Yahoo Messenger.
Yahoo Messenger has no Linux version.
Gyachi can install in Ubuntu and can work like Yahoo Messenger.


Installation
Open Application > Accessories > Terminal and apply following commands,

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:adilson/experimental
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gyachi

You can open Gyachi from Applications > Internet 

How to install Webmin in Ubuntu

Webmin is a web based GUI for system administration.
It give you a comprehensive system configuration tool for Linux.
Following functions can be done with Webmin in Linux;

Network configuration
System backup
Database management
Web server
CPAN
Daemons
Bandwidth monitoring
Password changing
Mail server etc.

You can see standard modules in Webmin

Installation

Download Webmin package from here
Choose .deb package for Ubuntu and Debian Linux.

Double click on the package. It will download dependencies from Internet.

Open any of the  following address in your browser after completing the installation process.

https://localhost:10000

https://127.0.1.1:10000

Use your  Linux user name and password for login to webmin.

Login screen

Home Page of Webmin

You can execute many Linux related jobs without using commands with the help of Webmin.

Debian Squeeze released

After two years waiting Debian version 6.0 released last week.
The code name of the project is Squeeze.
The name of the version borrowed from the name of characters in the film "Toy Story". Debian web site is redesigned with the release of new version.

Home page is www.debian.org

Ardour: Digital audio workstation

Here is another audio editor equivalent to audacity.

Main features according to Aurdour developers are:

• Unlimited audio tracks and buses
• Non-destructive, non-linear editing with unlimited undo
• Anything-to-anywhere signal routing
• Unlimited pre- and post-fader plugins
• 32 bit floating point audio path
• Automatic track delay compensation
• Sample accurate automation
• Standard file formats (BWF, WAV, WAV64, AIFF, CAF & more ...)
• Full AudioUnit plugin support on OS X
• More than 200 LADSPA & LV2 plugins freely available
• Support for Windows VST plugins available
• MIDI CC control with 1 click
• Level 2 MIDI Machine Control
• MIDI Timecode (MTC) Master or Slave
• Full integration with all JACK applications
• Video-synced playback, pull up/pull down

Home page: www.ardour.org

How to split big files?

You can split big files into pieces for various purposes.
Install RAR compression utility,

apt-get install rar

Now you can start splitting files.
Right click on folder or files to be split in to pieces. and select Compress option.
Select .rar from compression format.

 

Select Other Options.

You can enter the size of each pieces.
Its possible to give password to protect the files.

How to Read Manoramaonline.com in Ubuntu

You have to install font  to read the content from www.manoramaonline.com.

Download the font from here 
Double click on the font Manorama.ttf
Font viewer will open and Click on Install button.

Open www.manoramaonline.com in Firefox browser.
Now you can view the content in Malayalam script.

Shutter: a feature rich screenshot tool

Shutter is an advanced screen shot taking tool. You can take screen shot of customised snaps of objects in your desktop. You can select particular area or windows of applications visible in Linux Desktop.

Shutter package is available in Ubuntu software repository.
You install shutter either using command Terminal or Synaptic Manager.

Home page of shutter is http://shutter-project.org/

How to add new icon themes for your desktop

If you are not satisfied with existing icon themes available in your default desktop, you can add more beautiful icon themes from Gnome-Look.org

Follow the steps,

Download icon sets from gnome-look.org

Unzip the content and put in .icons folder in your home.

.icons folder is a hidden folder. To see the folder, open file manager View > Show Hidden FIles  

Right Click Desktop and open 'Change Desktop Background' option.

Select Theme  > Customise > Icons

You can find the icon set you put in the .icon folder.
Select it and close the window.