I have scoured the web for a long time in search of a fix to the most annoying bug in Ubuntu, and that is flash content crashing Firefox.  Well, I have run across the solution in the Ubuntu Forums.

psyke83 has been working on this bug fix for a while and many of the cross issues involved with this problem.  He has posted the flash and pulseaudio solution in the forums and I will reprint his 32-bit solution here.

First remove nspluginwrapper if you have it installed:

sudo apt-get remove nspluginwrapper

Remove obsolete packages and config files:

sudo apt-get remove libflashsupport
sudo rm ~/.pulse/* ~/.asoundrc* /etc/asound.conf

Install the necessary packages:

sudo apt-get install padevchooser libao-pulse libasound2-plugins libsdl1.2debian-pulseaudio

Now you need to add psyke83’s PPA source to your repository list:

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Add this to the end of the file:

# PulseAudio Fixes - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5587712
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/psyke83/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/psyke83/ubuntu hardy main

Now do an update and upgrade:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Add some pulseaudio settings:

asoundconf set-pulseaudio
echo “default_driver=pulse” >~/.libao

Go to System -> Preferences -> Sound and make sure all the sound playback entries are set to “Autodetect”.  Now just log out and back in and everything should be good to go after you install the newest flash plugin by entering:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

These were the steps I followed and I haven’t seen the infamous “empty gray boxes” I have grown accustomed to.  Kudos to psyke83 for fixing this issue and I hope this works for you as well!

First, download and install Handbrake from here.  Be sure to choose the Linux Binary.  Open up your file browser and navigate to where you downloaded this file.  Double click on it to extract.  You will now have an executable file called “HandBrakeCLI”.  I like to make this executable system wide, so I move it to “/usr/bin”.  You can do this easily if you open a terminal window and enter: sudo cp /path/to/HandbrakeCLI /usr/bin

By making Handbrake executable system wide you are able to open a terminal and enter “HandBrakeCLI” and convert movies to iPod.  You will have to enter all sorts of parameters and settings to correctly convert and what fun is that?  I have a script that I modified to simplify this.  When you run this script you will be able to name the movie file, where it gets saved at, and the preset (iPod Low-Rez, iPod High-Rez, or AppleTV).  I normally use iPod Low-Rez for my conversions and they look good on my iPod.

Using that terminal window again, enter this:

wget http://uburocks.com/files/handconvert

chmod +x handconvert

sudo cp handconvert /usr/bin

Now you’re all set to start converting DVD movies to iPod format.  You just have to open a terminal and enter “handconvert” and the process starts.  Or you could create a launcher on your desktop to do this by right clicking an empty area and selecting “Create Launcher”.  Choose a name for this program, an icon, and enter “gnome-terminal -x handconvert” as the command.  If you set Handbrake up like this all you have to do is pop in a DVD movie and click on your desktop icon and you’re set.

1. Graphic Card Drivers - Ubuntu just looks and acts terrible on my computer without the correct nVidia driver.  The first thing I have to do after the install is complete is head to System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers and install the latest drivers for my video card.  After the updated driver is installed Ubuntu begs me to reboot, so I reboot the computer and head to step 2.
2. Updates - You will undoubtedly have updates to install (if you’re connected to the internet, that is).  I make sure I have the correct repositories enabled, and either let the Update Manager handle this task or I just do it manually from the command line by entering sudo apt-get update and then entering sudo apt-get upgrade. You may or may not have to reboot your computer again after the updates are over depending on whether your kernel was updated or not.
3. Transfer Files - This is when I start transferring all my personal files and folders over from such devices as portable hard drives, CD’s, thumb drives, etc.  Depending on how much you have to transfer this could take a while.  My music collection, for instance, takes a while to transfer as it is well over 20 gigs worth.  But my music collection is worthless for the moment because I need ….
4. Codecs - I don’t see how much good a personal computer can be if it can’t play music or videos.  Follow the guide here to enable damn near every multimedia format out there.  After this you will be able to play MP3’s, DVD’s, watch videos online, etc.
5. Software - Now I chase after the software I need.  Most of the software you need (or want) can be found in the repositories.  You can use Synaptic to locate and install the programs you’re after.  Other programs will have to be downloaded from the internet or transferred from storage media.  Installing software in Ubuntu is a relatively quick process and you can use the extra time for the next step.
6. Configuration - Now it would be good to set up your Ubuntu system and installed programs with the settings you desire.  Set your default programs, start up programs, email settings, browser settings, etc.  Check your power and sound settings, choose a screensaver, and just make sure everything is just the way you want it.
7. Appearance - This step takes me the longest.  Ubuntu is highly adjustable; you can make it look like just about anything.  Gnome-look.org is a great place to find themes, icons, and wallpapers.  They have so many to choose from and many more are added daily.  You could also consider adding other options like screenlets to your desktop.  And if your computer hardware supports it, don’t forget about enabling desktop effects through Compiz Fusion!

This is a simple outline of the steps I take to make my Ubuntu system “useable”.  If you are quick on the computer this whole process shouldn’t take you longer than a few hours, and the end result of a secure and stable customized Ubuntu system is well worth the effort.

Ubuntu Kung Fu

HeadShotGamer

Ubuntu Alpha Screenshot Tour

It looks like the latest release is coming along quite nicely.

First, I headed to Synaptic to install a LAMP server. This part is very simple in Synaptic; just head to ‘Edit –> Mark Packages By Task –> LAMP server‘. After clicking “OK” and then “Apply” you will have a nice web server setup installed.

The rest of the Ruby install will be from the command line. Open a terminal window and enter:

sudo apt-get install ruby irb ri rdoc ruby1.8-dev libzlib-ruby libyaml-ruby libreadline-ruby libncurses-ruby libcurses-ruby libruby libruby-extras libfcgi-ruby1.8 build-essential libopenssl-ruby libdbm-ruby libdbi-ruby libdbd-sqlite3-ruby sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev libsqlite3-ruby libxml-ruby libxml2-dev

Then you will need to download and install RubyGems. After downloading RubyGems, enter these commands:

tar xvzf rubygems-1.2.0.tgz
cd rubygems-1.2.0
sudo ruby setup.rb

After installing then enter this:

sudo ln -s /usr/bin/gem1.8 /usr/bin/gem

Now install Rails and some Gems:

sudo gem install rails
sudo gem install sqlite3-ruby mongrel capistrano

Imagemagick and RMagick can be a little touchy in Ubuntu. I have found the easiest way to install them is to do this:

sudo apt-get install imagemagick libmagick9-dev
sudo gem install rmagick

If you use mysql like I do, you should probably add the following packages as well:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client libdbd-mysql-ruby libmysqlclient15-dev

This is the simplest and most straight forward way I know to install a Ruby & Rails working environment. I have to give mention to RubyHead and Enrailed for pointing me in the right direction, and this guide is based on their information.

In order to install this card you are going to need the proper firmware and drivers. By entering the following commands in a terminal window, you can have your tuner card functioning in a matter of minutes!

First, get the firmware from here. Be sure to download the HVR file and the ‘extract.sh’ file. Then from the command line, navigate to where you downloaded these files and enter:

chmod a+x extract.sh

./extract.sh

This will extract the firmware and give you notice of a file that you will need to copy to your firmware directory. Copy the file using the ‘sudo‘ preface as you will need administrative privileges to copy any file to that kind of directory.

Next, download the v4l drivers from here. Choose the ‘.gz’ file from the nav menu. After downloading, navigate your way to it’s destination and unpack it:

tar xvzf filename.tar.gz

cd newfile

make

Now you’re just about done. What you will need to do is tell your computer not to load certain conflicting modules. Do this by entering:

sudo rm -rf /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/media/cx88

sudo rm -rf /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/media/saa7134

sudo depmod -a

Now all that’s remaining is to install the v4l drivers. Do that by entering one last command:

sudo make install

By rebooting your computer, the correct drivers should install themselves and you are ready to watch tv on your computer using your favorite tv viewing program.

First off, you need to download and install the package.  If you’re one of the fortunate ones running Ubuntu, this is no problem.  Make sure your repositories are up to date and then enter this command from the command line:

sudo apt-get install mp3gain

That was easy, wasn’t it? Now that you have MP3Gain, try it out on one of your quiet songs.  Again from the command line, enter this command:

mp3gain -r -k quietsong.mp3

After MP3Gain finished with your quiet song, give it a listen and see if the changed settings are to your liking.  If you like the change, try it on another song, and see if the results are still to your liking.  If you do not like the end result, you can always revert the mp3 back to it’s original state by issuing the command:

mp3gain -u quietsong.mp3

If the default settings of MP3Gain are not quite to your liking, you can change the output volume. You can change the gain dB up or down, whichever your prefer. To make your mp3 louder still, enter this command:

mp3gain -r -d 3 reallyquietsong.mp3

Experiment with the gain value until you find what you like. The value doesn’t have to be “3″ as indicated in the command above; it can be any number of values like 1.5, 2, 5, etc.

To make an mp3 a little quieter, just enter a negative number in the command above, like this:

mp3gain -r -d -2 loudsong.mp3

If the default values in MP3Gain work for you, or if you tweaked around and find an output you like, you can even adjust your entire mp3 collection by issuing this command:

find . -name *mp3 -exec mp3gain -a -k {} \;

If you have a large music collection, this could take a while so you might want to go find something else to do while this is processing.  More information regarding MP3Gain can be found at the following sites:

• Linux.com
• Realgage Freemedia

(This is a reprint of a post I did on another blog)

After launching Totem by going to Applications –> Sound & Video –> Movie Player, go to your Plugins menu.

Check the “YouTube browser” plugin and then “Close”.

Now, click on your playlist menu in Totem and choose “YouTube”.

In the search box you can search for any YouTube video you want to see and the search results will be listed in a window.  Related videos will also be listed in a tabbed over window.

There is a way to enable the new Hi-Res YouTube video playback, and that will be covered in a future post.

Let’s begin by going to Applications –>Accessories –>Passwords and Encryption Keys.  You will be presented with the main screen.

If this is your first time with this, you will need to create a new encryption key of your own.  To do this, click on “New”

To encrypt files you will need to choose the PGP key option and then click on “Continue”.

To make this key unique and your own, fill out your name and email address.  Additional options like the key type and key bit can also be modified.  The default settings will provide you with very good encryption so you need not change these values unless you have additional needs for more security.

Now you have the option of entering a password for your key.  I highly recommend you to do this.  The password you enter is very important; your encrypted files will be as strong as your password!

Now that all the information has been entered, sit back and watch the new PGP encryption key being generated.  This will usually take a minute or two to finish.  Once it is complete, you will be able to encrypt any file you choose.

By right-clicking on the file you wish to encrypt, the menu will come up with the option “Encrypt”.  Clicking on “Encrypt” will bring up the following menu where you choose which PGP key to use for this encryption.

Choose which key to use for encryption (if you have more than one) and then click “OK”.

There!  Your newly encrypted file will have the same file name as before but with the .pgp extension.  The original file is not deleted by default, so for security purposes you should delete the original and keep the encrypted file.

When you want to access your encrypted files simply double click on the encrypted file and the decrypting menu will pop up and prompt you for the encryption password.  After entering the correct password, the unencrypted original file will appear in your file browser.

First, you need to install ettercap.  From the command line type in this:

Before running ettercap you will need to modify the config file to allow for SSL access. Some other guides state to edit the file located at /usr/local/etc/etter.conf but my config file was not located there.  I found mine at /etc/etter.conf.  You have to uncomment the two iptables lines about iptables in the .conf file to allow for SSL access.  So locate these two lines:

#redir_command_on = “iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i %iface -p tcp –dport %port -j REDIRECT –to-port %rport”

#redir_command_off = “iptables -t nat -D PREROUTING -i %iface -p tcp –dport %port -j REDIRECT –to-port %rport”

Remove the “#” before each line and save the edited file.  Then go to Applications –> System Tools –> ettercap and follow this mini-guide to “sniff” your local network for usernames and passwords.

Go to Sniff –> Unified sniffing

Choose your network interface (eth0, wlan0, etc.)

Press CTRL+s to scan the network for hosts

Go to Mitm –> Arp poisoning

After selecting arp poisoning, then check the box “Sniff remote connections“

Finally, select Start –> Start sniffing to start the sniffing for usernames and passwords

This works out quite nicely if you have everything set up right.  I have tried this out and can confirm that it does indeed sniff out usernames and passwords.  When someone on your local network goes to a website where they need to log in to gain entry, such as Yahoo Mail, then immediately after they log in to the site, the website url, username and password will be listed in the ettercap terminal.  Pretty cool, huh?

Just to be on the safe side I will just say that this guide is for informational purposes only; it is not my intention to have anyone read this and head off to a local coffee shop and try to hack everyone’s accounts!