Category: Uncategorized

Lirc and Volume

digitaleagle Mythbuntu, sound, Uncategorized Leave a comment

We have been having trouble with the remote not being able to control the volume on our Mythbuntu installation.  I just came across the pulseaudio-module-lirc package —

sudo apt-get install pulseaudio-module-lirc

My mute button didn’t work, so I tried adding the lirc configuration as explained in this thread.  It didn’t work.  The volume up and down did work though before I added that configuration.  The only thing I didn’t like was that it didn’t show the visual volume display on the screen.

On a side note, I found another application that looked interesting from this post: gizmod.  Actually, even though the post says they don’t have deb packages, I found one already in the repositories!

Another handy program is unclutter:

sudo apt-get install unclutter

It hides the mouse cursor so that you don’t see it in front of the videos you are watching.  I found it here, and here is another post about it.

Hulu with MythTV

digitaleagle Hulu, Mythbuntu, Uncategorized Leave a comment

We found some of the old shows on Hulu, and we have really been enjoying them: Bewitched, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, etc.  Since we don’t have cable, this works great for us.  It’s like a new kind of TV!

On top of that, I found out that I could install the Hulu application on my MythTV box.

I downloaded it from here:

Hulu Desktop (Linux)

And, I followed these directions:

Mythbuntu Wiki: Hulu Desktop in Mythbuntu

dualscreen-mouse-utils

digitaleagle Troubleshooting, Uncategorized Leave a comment

I ran across this tool a while ago, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to try it out.  It is called dualscreen-mouse-utils, and the thing that I want to use it for is to create a way to switch between my monitors with a remote control button. Here are some links to start with:

So, my first attempt was to download the compressed file, extract it, and try to compile.  I got a slew of errors, the first of which, was:

mouse-wrapscreen.c:63:22: error: X11/Xlib.h: No such file or directory

I did a little research and found this post:

It said to install this package:

sudo apt-get install xlibs-dev

But, the package didn’t exist.  I received this error:

E: Package xlibs-dev has no installation candidate

A quick search revealed this package that did install successfully:

sudo apt-get install libx11-dev

Then, it compiled cleanly with the “make” command.

I just tested it and it worked!  Next step is to setup a script to make it do a couple more things and add that to my lirc configuration.  I’ll save that for another post!

Great Link: Backup Programs List

digitaleagle Great Links, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Before upgrading my laptop to Ubuntu 10.04, I wanted to backup my data.  I found this list of backup utilities:

TechRepublic: 10 outstanding Linux backup utilities

I chose to install sbackup, but it didn’t work so hot for me.  It kicked off the process to start backing up, and I liked the interface the way I could choose what I wanted backed up.  But, what I didn’t like is that the process ran in the background, and I couldn’t see any status of the backup or confirm that it was running.  I thought for sure that I chose the destination as my external drive, but it began backing up to /var/backup instead, and it filled up my drive.

Once I found and deleted that backup, I ended up just using a GUI front-end to rsync.  I think it was the grsync one.  If you do a search for “rsync” in synaptic, you will see a number of options.

Adding Custom Emblems to Your Folder Icons

digitaleagle Hacking, How To, Uncategorized Leave a comment

I have a work folder under my Home folder that I store all of my work-related documents.  I wanted to put my work’s logo on the folder to make it stand out.

I found a great thread with some tips.  Basically, I downloaded a graphic from the company website with the logo on it.  I used Gimp to crop and resize it.  Then, I saved it to the folder: $HOME/.icons/hicolor/48×48/emblems (I had to create the .icons directory).  Finally, when I right clicked on the folder and viewed the property, my new icon was in the list of emblems.

Feature Request: Refresh on Network Manager

digitaleagle Networking, Uncategorized Leave a comment

I have been long wanting a refresh button on the Network Manager.  Apparently, I am not the only one who has thought that:

Ubuntu Brainstorm: Idea #17725: “Scan wireless networks” option in NetworkManager

Gnome Bugzilla: Bug 498887 – Refresh wireless network list

Here is the big argument against:

Bryan Clark: Refresh in reactive displays

So, here is the situation — I am working at home connected to my home router.  I pick up my laptop and leave it on while I drive to work.  When I get to work, it still shows my home wireless network in the list.  Then, at lunch, I pick up my laptop and take it to a restaurant that supports WiFi.  Again, it is does not recognize the restaurant’s network.  From what I read, it could take up to 6 minutes to rescan and see the new networks in those situations.

The solution might be to speed up the scan frequency so I don’t have to wait so long upon arriving at a new location.  But, from what I read, that might have power management implications.  If you scan too frequently it will never go into power saving mode?  I don’t know, but for one thing, why can’t I control the scan frequency?

On the other hand, if I had an option to rescan, I could tell it when to scan without having it scan needlessly too frequently.  Why should it scan every 15 seconds when I am at a restaurant that doesn’t have WiFi?  When my battery was dying and only lasted 20 minutes, I wanted every ounce of power I could get!  I understand making things automatic for the user, but sometimes it is better to let the user decide.  The laptop will never know when I change locations like that unless maybe you add a GPS device to it.

Just my thoughts; can I have my refresh button?

Shutter Bug: Can’t edit

digitaleagle Troubleshooting, Uncategorized 5 Comments

I just upgraded to Lucid (Ubuntu 10.04), and I reinstalled Shutter.  I had found it not too long ago, and it does a great job with screenshots.  One of my favorite features is the way you can edit the screenshots and draw circles to point out things in the shot.  It’s great for documentation.

Problem is, in Ubuntu 10.04, the Edit button is disabled.  I found this bug post: Editing disabled in Ubuntu Lucid.

Solution: install the package: libgoo-canvas-perl

It was that easy, and now it is working like a charm!