ubuntu tutorials 10 February 2009 14:02

ubuntu tutorials 7 February 2009 05:02

If you use GMail for your mail than this article is for you! CheckGMail is a great little piece of software that connects your desktop to your GMail account and tells you if you have any new mails. CheckGMail stays in the system tray, it's fast and secure.

To install CheckGMail just enter in Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and paste the following command:

sudo apt-get install checkgmail

After installing CheckGMail you can run the application from Applications > Internet > CheckGMail. You will see a configuration screen like this one:


Enter your settings and press ok. Congratulations, you are now done!

ubuntu tutorials 2 February 2009 08:02

In our last tutorial we told you how to install Wine in Ubuntu. This article will tell you how to install your favorite Windows application under Wine.

In this tutorial we will show you how to install WinRAR (popular Windows application that let's you extract .rar and other files).

First let's start by downloading WinRAR from the official website. Press here for a direct download link. Save your file on your Ubuntu desktop.

Go to desktop, right-click on your .exe installation file and select Open with "Wine Windows Program Loader".



You will now see a simple installation window like this one:


Press install. This will install WinRAR.

To run WinRAR go to Applications > Wine > Programs > WinRAR > WinRAR
NOTE: If you can not find WinRAR in your menu, consider running Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and pasting the following code:

killall gnome-panel

This will reset your menues without the need of restarting your computer.

As you can see, installation is simple, enjoy installing more software and don't forget, you can check out appdb.winehq.org to see if your Windows application is running good using Wine.

ubuntu tutorials 2 February 2009 07:02

Wine is the best free application when it comes to running your favorite Windows software in Linux. The name comes from the recursive acronym Wine Is Not an Emulator.
Before trying to install your Windows applications in Wine you should first check the Application Database, from Wine's official website, where you can find a database with most of the Windows software telling you the compatibility between your software and Wine. Application rated with platinum run flawlessly on an out of the box Wine installation.

Official website: winehq.org

How to install wine in Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex
Because Wine is available in the official Ubuntu repositories we will install Wine using the apt-get command in Terminal.
1) Run Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
2) Paste the following command:

sudo apt-get install wine

3) Enter your sudo password
4) Installation should not take more than a couple of minutes
5) Great! You now have Wine installed.

For a tutorial on how to install Windows software under Wine, please check out our tutorial here.

ubuntu tutorials 31 January 2009 11:01

SuperTuxKart is a great racing game with 3D graphics. You can play with up to 4 friends or alone with the PC.You can play in a quick race or in a grand prix mode. Great game, you really need to try it!

Website:
SuperTuxKart

Direct download links (provided by GetDeb.net):
first .deb file
second .deb file

How to install SuperTuxKart:
1) Download both .deb files (from the links above).
2) Run the .deb double-clicking on them (it will open in GDebi Package installer).
3) Play the game, Applications > Games > SuperTuxKart

ubuntu tutorials 30 January 2009 09:01

When you install Ubuntu you will need to manually install the video drivers  because they do not have public sources, this means only the manufacturer of the graphic card knows everything about the piece of software. In order to have 3D acceleration you will need to install those drivers. Don't worry about the installation, it will be easier than you can imagine!



How to install drivers for ATI or nVidia video cards in Ubuntu:
1) Go to System > Administration > Hardware Drivers.



2) You will see a list of drivers, select one and press the Activate button.
3) Ubuntu will now download the driver and install it. Congratulations, you now have the drivers installed and can play games with some good framerates.

ubuntu tutorials 30 January 2009 08:01

I recently wanted to install Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex under Windows 7 (using Wubi) but I quickly got to an end. Well, in Windows 7 you can not install Ubuntu via Wubi the way you do in Windows XP or Vista. If you do so, everything will go fine but when you'll get to the booting menu you will be unable to find your Ubuntu installation.

In order to see Ubuntu in your boot menu you will need to run Wubi in compatibility mode (Run as: Windows Vista):

1) Right-click on wubi.exe and select Properties



2) Go to Compatibility tab and check "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows Vista from the drop-down list.



3) Press Apply and Ok.
4) Run Wubi and continue the installation as usually.

NOTE: For a guide on how to install Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex using Wubi in Windows please go to our tutorial.

ubuntu tutorials 29 January 2009 06:01

The main difference between Ubuntu and Kubuntu is the graphical environment (Ubuntu uses Gnome as default, while Kubuntu uses KDE). Having two operating systems installed will ruin the fun because you will need to restart and so on, but the good part about those graphical environments is that you can have both of them installed and choose which one to use, while running only one operating system.

If you are using Ubuntu and wonder how to KDE looks like you can easily install it (using the tutorial at the bottom of the page).

NOTE: This method will install some open-source software which automatically comes with KDE/Gnome, this means you might end having two applications for the same task. (Example: 2 browsers, 2 instant messenger applications). But no problem! You can always use your Gnome applications in KDE and vice-versa and you can always remove applications from your system if you don't like them.

Screenshots:

With all those being said, let's begin our installation:
Enter the Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and type the following command:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

After running the command, you will be asked for a password (the sudo password, enter it!) and after this, a yes or no question, type Y and press enter to continue.
Ubuntu will download your files, it will take a couple of minutes:



After installation finishes, log out of your Ubuntu session. On the login screen you will see the options button, press it and chose Select session:



Select KDE and press Change session:



Ubuntu will now use the KDE graphical interface:


After everything is loaded you will be done:


To uninstall kubuntu-desktop package go to Synaptic Package Manager and remove the package called kubuntu-desktop.

ubuntu tutorials 24 January 2009 12:01

1. How to install software in Ubuntu?
When they hear about Linux, most of the people are running away because they heard that horror story which says that installing software in Linux is a nightmare. This is not true!

You can install new software from Synaptic Package Manager (System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager). It will ask you for your password before running it. Use the search function on top of the Window to search your program, most of the time you will find it. Check the box near the package name and press the Apply button.

The second way is by getting yourself a .deb file (those are some executable files which automatically install your piece of software). Open those files with GDebi Package Installer and press on the Install Package button. It will ask you for a password and after this it will let you install your program.

The third way is by compiling your program which is difficult for bigginers, most of the time instructions are found in the .tar.gz file.

2. Ubuntu always asks for root password, what is this?
This is maybe one of the best things you are not aware of. This password is there in order to protect you and your system. You will be asked for this password everytime you are going to access some system files or you want to install/remove things.

Do you think it's worthless? It's not, think about it: if a virus wants to automatically run and destroy your system, you will be asked for a password, of course you will not enter it and the virus will not run. The good part? There are no viruses in the Ubuntu world.

3. What is sudo?
The sudo keyword is used in Terminal (the place where you type commands and make modifications to your system without GUI). Using sudo you can run commands as the root (administrator) of the system, this will prevent you doing some bad things on your PC.

4. What is Terminal?
Terminal might also sound as a nightmare for newcommers, but I must tell you that you have no reason to be afraid of. This tool allows you to run commands in order to make changes to your system. You can make a lot of things using terminal such as installing programs, uninstalling programs, updating your system and even updating your Twitter account. This tool will become your friend.
Most of the online help will include commands that you can simply copy-paste into Terminal.
You can run Terminal from Applications > Accessories > Terminal

5. How to exit a crashing application?
I must tell you something, when it comes to closing crashed applications, in Ubuntu is very easy, compared with your Ctrl+Alt+Delete alternative in Windows. In order to close your crashed application just go to Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and type xkill, a skull pointer will appear on the screen, press on the crashed application and it will imediatly close.

ubuntu tutorials 24 January 2009 07:01

Opera is a well known browser for Windows users. It's in the top leading browsers from around the world competing with Firefox at browsing speed.
Opera's key features include: tab browsing, mouse gestures and built-in phishing protection.

Here is how to get Opera in Ubuntu:
1) Go to http://www.opera.com/browser/download/
2) Chose your version and your downloading mirror
3) Press the button "Download opera"

You can also press this link for a Facebook.com mirror to Opera's .deb installation file.

After downloading the .deb file you can run it using GDebi Package Installer

Run Opera from Applications > Internet > Opera