In need of a helpin' hand?

I've been using Ubuntu now for some time now..as u can see from my previous posts.
and helped ..(counting.........) 2 people get Ubuntu installed on their PCs, got 1 person to migrate to Ubuntu and helped solve a couple of problems(no contributions to forums yet), I'd to like to take this further.
I'm no GOD when it comes to installing Ubuntu, but I'm pretty sure, I can get a machine dual booted (since, generally people here use Windozzze) or get a clean Ubuntu install on the system without any data losses. I've typically worked with Intel platforms. However, I should be able to handle AMD also.
So, if you or your friends are planning to install/migrate to Ubuntu, ,leave a comment here with your/his/her e-mail id; I'd be only happy to assist............. free of cost :)

And...................


A Merry Christmas
and
A Happy New Year to every one

Gnome tips and tricks

Have you switched from Windows to Linux? Well, I did quite some time back and found Ubuntu to my liking and have been using it as my desktop for some time now.
Like many people who did the same, I wanted some Windoze functionality for my linux desktop too.
For example look at the picture 1 here:

A very familiar thing for windows to create a word document or an excel sheet. But Gnome, did not have the same by default. Not to worry, changing this is very very simple and that configurability is what I love about Linux and particularly about Ubuntu.

Create the following files with the same names in the ~username/Templates directory, where username is your current user name
1. An openoffice.org Word processor document with the name "New Word Document"
2. AN openoffice.org Spreadsheet document with the name "New Spread Sheet"
3. An openoffice.org Presentation document with the name "New Presentation"

and Valla right click on the Desktop or any other directory. Your right click should show something similar to picture here



And hey, as you can see from the frame on the right (if you see this before Oct 30), Ubuntu Intrepid is scheduled to be released on 30th October and the release candidate is already available for download from here

/etc/apt/sources.list screwed up?

I've modified my Hardy's /etc/apt/sources.list badly adding/removing anything that I "thought" I could play around with and is now all mucked up! I have a backup of all my changes, but choosing from a bunch of backups seems to be a pain and you have to maintain all the backed-up files!
What is the easiest way to get Hardy's default /etc/apt/sources.list ?
Make sure you have a backup of the current /etc/apt/sources.list (no.not another backup!,but that is the best option) and remove the /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo touch /etc/apt/sources.list
Open system->Administration->Software Sources and check all the boxes under "Ubuntu Software" and "Updates" tabs! and voila you have the default /etc/apt/sources.list; how clever of Ubuntu!
I however, choose only what I need from the "Updates" tab.
Shamelessly, posted this information from:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=739119
:)

Ubuntu and Virtual Box

Well, I'm back now with the latest Ubuntu Hardy!

I was looking for Virtualization for Linux and came across this.
My "uname -r" shows: 2.6.24-19-generic
Hardy comes with Virtual Box packages and can be installed using Synaptic (no compilation required!)
Packages to select for installation:
1. virtualbox-ose
2. virtualbox-ose-modules-generic

virtualbox-ose-moduels-generic pulls in virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6.24-19-generic automatically.
Do not install virtualbox-ose-modules for any other particular kernel version and might break your system; (Mine ended up breaking my sound modules! )

This will install the Virtual box and the UI is quite intuitive. However, a couple of configuration steps are necessary before you are able to start Virtualbox
Here is a detailed description of steps for Virtualbox configuration;
Look for following Networking and later sections:
However, the document suggests the networking steps need to be re-run every time the host system re-boots, but, Hardy seems to remember the settings and did not need the re-configuration after the re-boot
Now, I can experiment more with a virtual machine!
Also look for Kakku's post on compressing the "vdi" image!