I’ve owned couple of mobile phones now, all in increasing number of features. But the one thing that remained common amongst all of them, was the ability to use a tethered Internet connection in both Windows and Linux. Until I got the iPhone, that is. With the iPhone, I could no longer use the iPhone as a modem in Linux. Not anymore.

I was recently researching about claims that Ubuntu could sync with the iPhone, even the non-jailbroken ones. I was a little skeptical about this. What I found was libimobiledevice, and the iPhone Ethernet driver for Linux. I’ll write on libimobiledevice at a later day.

More @ techie-buzz

I’ve jsut about had it with NetworkManager. Everytime I update my system I have to bite my nails wondering whether the update will break my wireless. I’ve posted earlier about my problems with NetworkManager and on howto fix it, there’s the best way to fix it: get rid of it.

Yeah, get rid of NetworkManager, install Wicd.

Here’s how:

[...]

Debian and other debian-based distros like Ubuntu have, by default, has the root account disabled as a security measure.(thanks to Subbu and PICCORO for the clarification)

To re-enable the root account, just open the command prompt, and type

sudo passwd root

You’ll get the following set of messages:

sathya@sathya-laptop:~$ sudo passwd root
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully
sathya@sathya-laptop:~$

To disable root access, just type

sudo passwd -l root

If you’re weary of using the command line(you shoudn’t ) then there’s another way:
Just head over to System > Administration > Login Window > Security > and check mark the box beside Allow local system administrator login.

DISCLAIMER: Christof Baumann mentions in this post as to why you shouldn’t fiddle with the root account:

Be aware of locking the root account if you once activated it. I activated the root account and skipped the %admin ALL=(ALL) ALL line int /etc/sudoers file because i thought i wouldn’t need it anymore. Then i disabled the root account without thinking and now had no chance to start programs with root rights. Luckily i could restore it using a knoppix live cd. Be aware of changing settings concerning the root account.

Also, read this article in Ubuntu Wiki as to why sudo is preferred over standard root account.

PS: Just incase you guys are wondering why I’ve posted this basic info so late, well I’m just getting the hang of Ubuntu.

The Debian project is pleased to announce the second update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustment to serious problems.

Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away 4.0 CDs or DVDs but only to update against ftp.debian.org after an installation, in order to incorporate those late changes.

Those who frequently install updates from security.debian.org won’t have to update many packages and most updates from security.debian.org are included in this update.

New CD and DVD images containing updated packages and the regular installation media accompanied with the package archive respectively will be available soon at the regular locations.

Upgrading to this revision online is usually done by pointing the aptitude (or apt) package tool (see the sources.list(5) manual page) to one of Debian’s many FTP or HTTP mirrors. A comprehensive list of mirrors is available at:

www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist

Debian-Installer Update

The installer has been updated to use and support the updated kernels included in this release. This change causes old netboot and floppy images to stop working; updated versions are available from the regular locations.

Other changes include stability improvements in specific situations, improved serial console support when configuring grub, and added support for SGI O2 machines with 300MHz RM5200SC (Nevada) CPUs (mips).

Technorati Tags: linux, opensource, debian, etch

One of the most common complaints about Linux is that users are unable to play common media files such as mp3′s etc. This is mainly due to Copyright Restrictions, which prohibit bundling of the required codecs. The following steps indicate how to get those mp3s of yours blasting:

For *buntu Users:

Well it pretty simple, All you’ve to do it click on Add/Remove Programs and choose “Ubuntu Restricted Extras”. The snapshot below indicates the package under Kubuntu Feisty Fawn.

For Debian users:

Have a look at this post

For OpenSUSE users:

First, get the Restricted Format 1-click installer. Here’s the links:

• For KDE Users
• For GNOME users

This will enable you to have:

• Flash
• Java
• Latest Amarok (with MP3 Support) for KDE, or Helix-Banshee for GNOME users
• Encrypted DVD (libdvdcss)
• Extra xine codecs, for MPEG-4 etc. (libxine1)
• K3b with MP3 Support (k3b-codecs)
• Win 32 Codecs (w32codec-all)

..as well as the option of installing many more applications (select Advanced mode at the screen), including:

• Opera
• KMPlayer
• Kplayer
• MPlayer
• Azureus
• VLC
• Codeine
• ..and more

If you skipped installing VLC, then fear not! Install VLC via the 1-Click installer! Here’s the link.

That’s it!

For Fedora users

All the below operations require Root privileges, so switch to root first by opening the Terminal and typing

su root

Step 1. Add Livna repo

wget rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm
rpm -ivh livna-release-8.rpm

Step2. Add the Macromedia Repo

wget http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
rpm -ivh adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

Step 3:  Install Multimedia Applications

yum -y remove totem totem-mozplugin
yum -y install totem-xine totem-xine-mozplugin libdvdcss libdvdread libdvdplay livdvdnav lsdvd xine-lib-extras-nonfree libdvdcss libdvdread libdvdplay flash-plugin libquicktime gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad

Step 4: Install w32Codecs in order to play everything under the Sun.


wget www1.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/mplayer-codecs-20061022-1.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh mplayer-codecs-20061022-1.i386.rpm
wget www1.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/mplayer-codecs-extra-20061022-1.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh mplayer-codecs-extra-20061022-1.i386.rpm

(optional) Install VLC

yum install vlc
yum install python-vlc mozilla-vlc