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Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:57 am
by GregE
Ubuntu Guide provides enough information on using and configuring Ubuntu to make any beginner's head spin. A new guide is published with each update, so is usually complete by the time the corresponding Mint is released.

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Maverick

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 11:22 pm
by vrkalak
Found by another Forum member >> dawgdoc Thought it would be a great addition to this topic.
dawgdoc wrote:I found this article by Cynthia Harvey of Datamation

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/a ... -Sites.htm

"To narrow things done, we focused on sites that provide a lot of links of open source applications – the top places to download open source software.

These sites fall into several categories...."

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:58 am
by mzsade
Vrkalak, I believe you have rightfully carved out your place as “the sage” of this forum, which perhaps was occupied before by Husse and Fred, thank you very much for the useful links, I have found each and every post of yours to be of some use, haven't seen one yet that made for clutter, or was frivolous like mine..where's Fred, that reclusive *** btw, miss him.

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:27 am
by exploder
What happened to Fred?

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:31 am
by Oscar799
Fred hasn't posted since 9th Feb 2011.
I looked at his posting history - he's gone 6 weeks between posts before - hopefully he is fit and well

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:56 am
by exploder
Fred hasn't posted since 9th Feb 2011.
I looked at his posting history - he's gone 6 weeks between posts before - hopefully he is fit and well
Thanks Oscar799, hopefully Fred has just been busy lately.

using squid3 and privoxy for your own PC

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:06 am
by indosupremacy
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=59301
its how to use squid3 and privoxy for your own PC

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:42 pm
by tatsujin79
Kernel Newbies has always been a useful site to me:
http://kernelnewbies.org/

I wouldn't necessarily say its for virgin linux users but there is some great info in there about the kernel.

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:48 pm
by dawgdoc
Two articles I came across this past week, both by the same blogger but on different sites.

Five tips for troubleshooting Linux desktops
Linux 101: Using chmod and chown

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:26 pm
by Robin
Reposted by moderator request: The other thread asked the question:

What is the difference between Debian, Fluxbox, XFCE, etc?



That is a very broad question (But I understand a newbie wouldn't know how so), so let me try to whittle it down a bit. If you're coming to Linux for the first time from Windows or Mac, you're not familiar with the very concept of having different desktops to choose from! The only thing I ever really changed on my Windows desktop was wallpaper and themes. But in Linux, you can choose different window managers and desktop environments.

The two are different things. The window manager controls how the desktop windows are "drawn" by your computer. When we refer to windows in Linux, we don't mean that other operating system by Microsoft, we mean the little boxes that contain the graphics for whatever application you launch. Microsoft did a clever thing by calling their OS "Windows." It sort of suggests that they invented the little things. But in fact, long before there was the Windows operating system, there were windows with borders to separate running applications. Unix and DOS both had windows.

In Linux you can choose between window managers like Icewm, Openbox, Fluxbox, and Xfwm. Openbox is a big favorite because it has a nice "right-click anywhere on the desktop" feature that brings up a whole menu from which you can launch applications, open a terminal, etc. You can even have wallpaper. Many folks with older low-powered machines use only a window manager and no desktop environment at all. Without the extra visual "eye candy" and decorations, computers running only a window manager run very fast! Fluxbox is considered a little less "newbie friendly" than Openbox, but "Mintified," I'm sure that isn't the case with our Fluxbox edition. Google the term "Linux window managers screenshots" to see what can be done with just a bare-bones window manager!

A desktop environment on the other hand includes a window manager but also includes stuff like panels, applets, and applications that are designed to work best in that particular desktop environment. Among desktop environments are KDE, Gnome, Xfce, Enlightenment, and LXDE. Each has it's own special features and applications. The "heavyweight" desktop environments (KDE and Gnome) have all sorts of wonderful features like "plasmoids" and the famous "spinning cube." They're more demanding on resources, but on computers 2 years old or newer, they run plenty fast. Xfce is kinda sorta like "Gnome Lite," if you will. It "feels like" Gnome but offers fewer of the extra fancy features and is designed to work better on modest hardware. LXDE is a very "lightweight" desktop environment - so light in fact that it has been "accused" of being a window manager instead of a full-fledged desktop environment. The look of LXDE reminds alot of people of what "Windows 98" looked like.

Each of the desktop environments has it's own set of applications that work best in their "native" environment. That is called "integration." Xfce applications, for example, are integrated into the Xfce desktop environment, so the experience of applications in their "native" desktop environment will tend to be snappier and more responsive. Most people mix-and-match applications anyway. You can use any application in any desktop environment! But if you have limited space on your hard drive, it's better not to do that, since installing a single KDE application onto a Gnome desktop, for example, may also "pull in" large libraries from the other desktop environment. Here's are some of the applications listed according to the desktop environment they are native to:

CD Burners:
K3B - KDE
Brasero - Gnome
Xfburn - Xfce

File managers:
Konqueror - KDE
Nautilus - Gnome
Thunar - Xfce
PCManFM - LXDE

Music Players:
Amarok - KDE
Rhythmbox - Gnome
Exaile - Xfce
LXMusic - LXDE

These are just a few examples. The KDE file manager also doubles as a nice web browser! Some find it complicated, others love it. Brasero always just makes coasters out of my blank CDs, but both Xfburn and K3B work flawlessly. Other people find that Brasero works best for them. The only way to be sure is to "use what you have," and if it doesn't work or you don't like it, try one of the others. So much choice! It's wonderful, but a bit overwhelming to a newbie. So much of it is a matter of taste and what works on your own machine. It took me a year of trying them all to finally choose a favorite (I'm an Xfce fanboy now - but that could change too)! I chose what works fastest on my hardware yet still offers most of the features I want in a desktop.

Now you see why it's a bigger question than it seems like at first! Sooooo many choices! But don't hurry! Try a few, one every month or two when you feel like exploring, and if you're delighted with what you've got, just keep it! But it's fun to see what the others are like. Many a nicely "pimped out" desktop with wicked special effects has won a few people over from Windows and Mac. And many an aging heap has been saved from a landfill and converted into a screamin' fast machine by a sweet-and-simple, bare-bones window manager! A number of families from the studio where I take dance class have been won over by the mind-bending speed and elegance of a lightweight Xfce mixture on an ancient old dinosaur that was donated for the kids to use.

How to choose?

1. - Look at screenshots from the different DEs and WMs and pick a pretty one!

2. - Consider a "lightweight" if you have an older, low-resource computer that you want to run fast!

3. - Experiment with the different applications from the different DEs and see what works best for you and fits your needs and tastes.

4. - Don't forget to ask your family if you share the computer with them!

Enjoy the ride. It's fun to try them all.

Hope this wasn't too long...

-Robin

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:16 am
by johnny87au
pure win thread! been reading non stop :D

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:52 pm
by vrkalak
Take note, that the LinuxMint Forums, now, have a >

BASH Forum (section) : http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=188
with a Manuals and Guides thread > http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=188&t=77062

Also, visit the Tutorials / How-to section of the Forum : http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=42

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 10:34 pm
by johnny87au
vrkalak wrote:Take note, that the LinuxMint Forums, now, have a >

BASH Forum (section) : http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=188
with a Manuals and Guides thread > http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=188&t=77062

Also, visit the Tutorials / How-to section of the Forum : http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=42
thanks vralak learning bash commands is it mainly for programming or good for day to day use when using linux ??

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:23 pm
by Pilosopong Tasyo
johnny87au wrote:learning bash commands is it mainly for programming or good for day to day use when using linux ??
I'm not vrkalak but I'll answer this one anyway. It's good for both.

o For programming - Bash (and variants) is an interpretative programming language by itself. You can build small applications/utilities entirely out of shell scripts.

o Day-to-day use - If you find yourself running a set of commands on a regular basis, you can store these commands in a script for later use.

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:03 pm
by MALsPa
johnny87au wrote:learning bash commands is it mainly for programming or good for day to day use when using linux ??
Very good for day-to-day use. If you become familiar with BASH, it's like having another set of tools to work with, and many times it seems that the command line tool is the best tool for the job. A lot of people get along fine without it, but I wouldn't want to, even if I don't use it every day.

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:21 am
by vrkalak
Even though, this Thread is 'Sticky-ed' ... it's falling behind ... :( ... Time to add some new stuffs to it.

About the *box variations of Window Managers / Shells

Fluxbox and Openbox are both, based off of Blackbox.

What is BlackboxWM? -- http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/AboutBlackbox

Blackbox/Fluxbox Forums -- http://lostinthebox.com
BoxShots -- http://www.boxshots.org/

BlackboxWiki -- http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/
Fluxbox Wiki -- http://fluxbox-wiki.org/index.php?title=Fluxbox-wiki
HackedBox -- http://fluxbox-wiki.org/index.php?title=Fluxbox-wiki
Openbox -- http://openbox.org

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:44 pm
by FreeImposter
Google Nixie Pixel. She's got her own site, and she's also involved in a few others. Pretty smart gal with a lot of helpful tips and tricks, and easy on the eyes. :wink:

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:19 pm
by vrkalak
More "Conky" Stuff

For Conky to do the intricate 'eye-candy' stuff ... you need to install different Conky stuff.

The default Conky and Conky-All apps from the Synaptic Package Manager can not do it - although good - it is quite basic.

You may need additional Apps, like Conky-Lua or Conky-Colors

Main Conky website > http://conky.sourceforge.net/
Official Conky Blog > http://blog.conky.be/
Conky Wiki site > http://wiki.conky.be/index.php?title=Conky_Wiki
Conky-Pitstop site > http://conky.pitstop.free.fr/wiki/index ... =Main_Page
Crunchbang Forum's famous Conky thread > http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/topic ... ky-thread/
Arch/Linux Conky Wiki > https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Conky
Ubuntu-Geeks Conky Wiki > http://www.ubuntugeek.com/conky-a-light ... stems.html
DeviantArt's Conky-Artists Group > http://conky-artists-group.deviantart.com/

Both the Crunchbang/Linux and Arch/Linux Forums and Wiki pages have the best Conky threads around.

Using Conky is not as hard, as you might think . . . hope, one of these helps.

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:00 pm
by vrkalak
.
Found a great link, that "explains" What a Window Manager is.
How they each work, with a link on where to 'download' every Linux: Windows Manager out there.

http://www.linuxlinks.com/Software/Window_Managers/

Have fun and enjoy. :D

*seems I have been neglecting this thread, as of late.

Re: Linux: Tricks of the Trade -- tips from our members

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:24 pm
by everready
http://www.noobslab.com I found this site as a suggestion when looking for installation instructions. Today it was a springboard for installing Firefox Aurora 13..

http://www.noobslab.com/2012/02/install ... speed.html

I'm new to all of this "sudo" "apt-get" commands so this was a perfect opportunity to sharpen my skills "green pea skills" after entering this command..

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/firefox-aurora
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get firefox

The Terminal loaded everything just fine then everything came to a halt so i "re-entered the code" the Terminal took off after entering my password, then everything stopped again saying "complete" Well it wasn't complete it just sat there so i entered more code.

"sudo apt-get install aurora" the terminal took off once more only this time it ended by saying 4 files failed to upgrade. By this time seeing things were at least moving forward i continued by entering another command. "sudo apt-get upgrade aurora"

At last, it looked like maybe I'd reached the end when the terminal said "restart all instances of Firefox or there will be problems. I restarted Firefox and the icon in the panel now had the Aurora globe..

If this doesn't belong here or if its not considered a tip maybe a Moderator could move it or? :?

Thanks..
everready