Posts tagged ubuntu

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala: Fix Video Tearing with Compiz & Nvidia Geforce GTS 250

I am using Ubuntu 9.10 but steps should be similar for other distributions too.

Video Tearing with Compiz

Ubuntu’s NVidia drivers are okay for this card. I tried playing 1080p video and it works well if you don’t have compiz turned on. When compiz is on, the video tearing is noticeable. This is what I did to solve it:

  1. In CompizConfig Settings Manager (installable via Ubuntu Software Cemter), go to General Options > Display Settings. Set Refresh Rate to 60 and check “Sync to VBlank.”
  2. Enable “Sync to VBlank” under nvidia-settings. To do this, go to System > Administration > NVIDIA X Server Settings. Then, choose OpenGL Settings, and check the “Sync to VBlank” box.

This stopped the tearing I guess, but the 1080p became very choppy, probably because the driver is old. Once I installed the latest drivers, the problem was no more.

Update NVidia Drivers

The drivers in the Ubuntu repositories are almost always old. To install the latest version, go to the NVidia site and download the latest version. As of Feb. 22, 2010, the latest version is 190.53. Set the .run as executable by right clicking the file > Properties > Permissions and then checking “Allowing executing file as program.”

Before installing, close X by typing into a terminal:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

Then run the installer:

sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-190.53-pkg2.run

Choose “Yes” for every dialog.

After installation, start X again:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

And the new drivers should be loaded.

How To Set Up a Samba Server in Ubuntu

Samba

So you have a Linux desktop or server and want to share files and/or printers to your Windows PCs or Macs. Luckily, all three operating systems support SMB so let’s use that. With Samba you can share files and printers on your home network and protect your shares with a username and password.

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Installing eeebuntu 1.0 on an Asus Eee PC 701SD

eeebuntu 1.0

A friend lent me her Eee PC for a few days so I can replace the default Xandros with Ubuntu. Because this install isn’t for me, I’d like to make this setup the least painful as possible to use. After much experimenting with booting without a disc and fiddling with the tiny hardware, I have found the way to install a pretty good setup. In this noob-friendly guide I will walk you through how to install a distribution of eeebuntu and set it up so that all hardware works (more or less).

Before we start let’s take a look at the specs of the Asus Eee PC 701SD:

900MHz Intel Celeron-M
512MB DDR2 RAM
8GB Solid State Drive
Intel GMA 900 Graphics
Realtek Wifi
Attansic LAN

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Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex Experience on a Macbook 2,1

intrepidibexwall

Fresh out of the oven, I test the latest offering from Canonical, Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex, on my Macbook 2,1. Currently, I dedicate 32GB of my hard drive to Windows with Boot Camp. Because Wubi for some reason does not work in boot camp, and Disk Utility was being rather wonky, I will sacrifice my whole hard drive to test this release.

Macbook2,1 Specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz
1GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz (2x 512MB)
120 GB Hitachi Hard Drive
HL-DT-ST DVDRW  GSA-S10N (LG DVD Drive)
Intel GMA 950 Graphics
Atheros Wi-Fi
Intel HD Audio
Apple Bluetooth

Additional Hardware:

Samsung SyncMaster 225BW External Monitor

This experiment aims to determine the level of hardware compatibility of Ubuntu on the 2nd generation Macbook and not necessarily provide a general review. I will also make comparisons of this release with my Hardy Heron experience post.

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How to SSH into Ubuntu

SSH (Secure Shell) allows you to connect to another computer. When you SSH into a Ubuntu box, it is almost the same as if you were to sit in front of that computer’s terminal. SSH also supports file transfers so it is useful if you want to connect to, say, a LAMP server remotely.

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Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Experience on a Macbook 2,1

This post is not a review of Ubuntu 8.04 per-se but it will describe the compatibility and performance of the operating system with my 2nd generation Macbook.

Macbook2,1 Specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz
1GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz (2x 512MB)
120 GB Hitachi Hard Drive
HL-DT-ST DVDRW  GSA-S10N (LG DVD Drive)
Intel GMA 950 Graphics
Atheros Wi-Fi
Intel HD Audio
Apple Bluetooth

Note that this is my personal experience with Ubuntu 8.04 on my Macbook. YMMV.

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Lighting up LAMP in Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron

This guide will help newbies set up a fully working LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server using on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. Doing do will allow you to use various PHP applications such as the popular phpBB forums and Wordpress blog in addition to the basic HTML pages and files. I write this based on an “out of the box” Ubuntu.

Let’s begin…

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