The latest edition of the popular Linux distribution; Ubuntu was released on Thursday. Unfortunately if one wishes to use Amarok as their preferred music player the discovery that installing through Synaptic provides version 2 may come as a disappointment.

For me, I will not upgrade Amarok until the new edition supports an external MySQL database. I access my collection not only from my desktop computer, but also from a laptop in the living room (for playing music through the hi-fi). Having the collection stored within Amarok itself means that I would in effect have two different databases each maintaining their own statistics. Not good.

In addition to that, at present my website has a link to view my music library. This is compiled by accessing the external MySQL database that Amarok 1.4 is using. Therefore if I play a track, and the statistics are updated in Amarok; my website will show those exact same statistics. If I upgrade to Amarok 2 then this feature disappears.

I'm sure there are many that are in a similar situation to me for the reasons above and probably many others. So is the solution to just not upgrade Ubuntu from 8.10 to 9.04? No. There is another way.

A quick search on Google ('Amarok 1.4 Jaunty') reveals a blog which has detailed some very easy instructions for how replace Amarok 2 for Amarok 1.4. I've linked to the blog below, but for ease of reference I have expanded on those instructions here:

(Remember: to make life easy; you can highlight code, move to the terminal window, and then press the middle mouse button to paste and execute it.)

1. Open a terminal window (Gnome: Applications > Accessories > Terminal)

2. Enter the following code:

   sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/amarok.list

3. Add the following text to the newly created text file:

   deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bogdanb/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
   deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/bogdanb/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

4. Press CTRL+X to close the text file (DO NOT close the terminal window). When asked to save changes, press Y.

5. Enter this code into the terminal (as one line):

   sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com / 
   0x1d7e9dd033e89ba781e32a24b9f1c432ae74ae63

6. Update the repository with the new sources, remove the existing copy of Amarok (if it's installed) and install 1.4:

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get remove amarok && sudo apt-get install amarok14

That's all there is to it. I've tested it and it works without fault! Huzzah!

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Tags: ubuntu, linux, amarok, music

At long last Amazon has launched it's MP3 music store in the UK, providing more choice for DRM free music downloading (along with the likes of 7Digital and Play.com).

The new store very kindly provides downloading software which is designed to make downloading albums straightforwarded, and even more kindly they have provided a version of the software for Linux. Unfortunately there is not a native 64-bit version of the software so anyone attemping to do a straight install will come up against an error due to the differences in architecture.

Fortunately, in Ubuntu 8.10 at least, this is very easy to overcome, just by following these simple instructions:

• Download GetLibs (provides libraries for 32-bit software on a 64-bit architecture) from <a href="http://www.boundlesssupremacy.com/Cappy/getlibs/getlibs-all.deb">here</a>, saving it to your desktop

• Double click on the GetLibs icon, on your desktop to launch the installer. Install this package

• Download the Amazon MP3 Downloader installer for Ubuntu 8.10 from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/dmusic/help/amd.html/ref=sv_dmusic_3">here</a>, saving it to your desktop.

• Open a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)

• Move to the Desktop directory:

  cd Desktop

• Attempt an install of the downloader:

  sudo dpkg --install --force-architecture amazonmp3.deb

• The install will show dependency errors. Do not worry about these.

• Run GetLibs on the downloader install, stating Yes if you're prompted to continue at any point:

  sudo getlibs /usr/bin/amazonmp3

• The downloader is now installed, and can be started from the 'Run Application' dialog (ALT+F2) by typing amazonmp3

The first time an album is purchased using Amazon MP3, the browser will ask what application to use to open Amazon's AMZ file. Point the browser to the Amazon Downloader which can be found in /usr/bin/amazonmp3. Tick the box to use this program from now on, and that will be the only time the browser will ask.

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Tags: linux, ubuntu, music

As is pretty well established, I've been a Linux user for a while now and I've come to expect certain things of which one is whilst most things work, somethings can be a right pain in the derriere. Wireless networking has often been cited as a prime example of such headache inducing problems.

So it was with that in mind (and the expectation that laptop computers will cause more problems than desktops) that I set to work over the weekend on installing Ubuntu Linux 8.04 onto a damaged IBM/Lenevo Thinkpad R50e.

This particular laptop has a damaged screen making it pretty much useless as something to use on the lap. The computer itself though was functioning fine. My mission then, was to employ this machine as a living room media computer. For the requirements of such a system it ticks all the boxes - it's small (fits into my TV centre), it's very quiet, it's high spec'd enough to playback HD (720p) video and it's onboard audio is of a suitable standard for my existing audio equipment.

I didn't want to use the supplied OS (Windows XP) not because of a hate of all things Microsoft, but because my Server runs Linux and I find sharing disc space between machines using NFS rather more straight forward and reliable than SAMBA (although I do have the latter available). A Linux OS would play FLAC audio files (the format my CDs are ripped to) out-of-the-box whereas Windows would need extra software; but above all I wanted to use the Amarok music player connected to an existing Amarok MySQL database so that my music stats would be updated.

So it was with keen determination that I downloaded and ran the latest LiveCD on said laptop and straight away things worked. The LiveCD booted without so much as a whimper and at that point everything seemed fine. The wireless adaptor was detecting nearby networks including my own, I had widescreen resolution on my television and I could hear audio. Result!

Not wanting to get my hopes up though, I told myself to stay skeptical until the final install was complete. The 6 installation steps went by uneventfully although I did get concerned when the partitioner appeared to hang but it was just taking it's time. 30 minutes later, the system restarted without the LiveCD and Ubuntu loaded up. Again happy as a happy thing.

So now came the real testing. Wireless network - connected first time. Internet access - connected first time. NFS shares - mounted first time. Amarok - installed, accessing the database and playing tunes first time. Playing HD video - codecs installed and the video playing full screen first time.

I even tested a few of the laptops special keys: the volume keys (up/down/mute) all functioned, and brightness worked fine. I didn't notice any effect of the external screen button (Fn+F7) though and I haven't yet tested the zoom (Fn+Space), wireless (Fn+F5) or other special keys but only because I have no need for them. I should probably also note that I haven't tested battery life since I'm running without it (no need for a battery if it's staying plugged in).

I really could not be happier. With the exception of mounting drives using fstab, no terminal access was needed. Although I used it for software installation, Synaptic would have worked just as well.

I now have a tidy media computer controlled by VNC (on a fully working Windows laptop) running on my TV allowing me to listen to music all day long (as evidenced in my last.fm profile from yesterday), watch stored videos, stream radio stations across the net, use the BBC's catchup service; the iPlayer, and view photographs on a large screen.

Yes, I fully realise that there are hundreds of different laptop and desktop computers out there, and that there are problems on many when installing Linux. This example however shows how good and simple it can be given the right hardware. This is what Ubuntu, Linux in general and the computer industry should strive for.

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Tags: ubuntu, linux, computers

The Linux command line makes the task of making a DVD-Video compliant disc fairly straight forward when one knows how, but finding straight forward instructions on the internet isn't always so simple. So after searching through various sites I've come up with my own guide.

1. Create a folder on a hard disc with ample storage space (15GB should be plenty for one 4.7GB DVD). Make sure this is easily accessible from the command prompt (keep the name short for ease of typing). For this example, I'm going to place a folder on the desktop called "dvd".

2. Copy the video files that you wish to place on the DVD into this new folder.

3. If you haven't already, call up the Terminal (Applications - Accessories - Terminal in Ubuntu).

4. Ensure tovid, mencoder and dvdauthor are both installed

   sudo apt-get install tovid mencoder dvdauthor

5. Navigate to the new folder containing your videos

   cd ~/Desktop/dvd

6. Use tovid to convert videos to DVD compliant MPG files

   tovid -noask -dvd -in myvideo.avi -out myvideo.mpg

   
   Repeat this for each video file

7. Use dvdauthor to convert the newly created MPG files to DVD format files

   dvdauthor -o DVD/ -t myvideo.mpg

   
   Repeat this for each video file. Each file will become a title on the DVD.

8. Run the following command to create the titles:

   dvdauthor -o DVD/ -T

9. Create an ISO of the DVD, ready to be burnt to disc:

   mkisofs -dvd-video -v -o DVD.iso DVD

10. A file called DVD.iso will now be found in the folder created earlier. Use a CD/DVD burning package such as K3B or Brasero to burn this image to a disc.

11. The DVD should now be playable on a standalone player

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Tags: ubuntu, linux, computers, dvd


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I spent a little while searching for instructions on how to setup the beta version of Adobe Flash 10 on Ubuntu. Now I've found them, I'm putting them here for easy reference.

Note that these instructions are for the beta version of the latest Flash player. It may have some bugs or do something unexpected. Don't blame me for anything going wrong.

1. Download the flashplayer file from the link below. Ensure it is saved to your desktop.

2. Make sure the file is called flashplayer10_install_linux.tar.gz. If it's not, rename it. If you don't want to rename the file, then ensure the commands below reflect the correct file name.

3. Open the terminal

4. Copy and paste the following commands

cd ~/Desktop
tar -xzvf flashplayer10_install_linux.tar.gz install_flash_player_10_linux
sudo mv -f ~/Desktop/install_flash_player_10_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/
sudo apt-get install -y nspluginwrapper
sudo nspluginwrapper -i /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/libflashplayer.so
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/

Restart Firefox

Flash should now be installed and working

This has been tested on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron 64-bit. I don't know how well it works on other versions, or if it does at all.

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Tags: ubuntu, linux, flash

This month marks one year since I decided to move from Windows to Linux on my main computer, and I thought it might be good to write a follow up on how I'm getting along.

Well the fact that I'm writing this follow-up, is proof in itself that I'm quite happy. As of now I'm running Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon on my main computer, and Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft on my server. So that's two out of three machines now running Linux. The only computer not converted is Kate's laptop which still runs Windows XP Home (slowly). I'm trying to persuade her to at least give it a go, but so far she's having none of it.

Back in January 2007, I wrote about how I had previously tried various Linux distributions without a great deal of success. I'd always come up against some sort of hurdle and since I'd used a dual boot system, I'd then gone straight back to Windows. I mentioned that instead of trying things like that again, I would instead cut the Microsoft operating system out completely and purely run Linux meaning I would have to learn and solve problems.

That plan of attack really did seem to be the best one. I did come up with problems, the first being wireless networking but I did have glitches with new graphics cards, installing and partitioning new hard drives and general configuration when things didn't go quite right. For the most part I solved these with the help of the internet, and in specific, the Ubuntu forums and wiki pages. However, I don't currently use a wireless network with my main machines (the router is in the same room so there's no point) and that has simplified configuration somewhat. I certainly cannot vouch for any improvements that may have been made with wireless connectivity simply because I haven't tried it.

So over the past 12 months, I have learnt the basics of the Linux operating system and Ubuntu in particular. I have managed to use the command line (and now favour it for some operations such as quick software installation), use the NFS file sharing system, learn the structure of the file system and access permissions and understand how to add new software from repositories, DEB and RPM files and even in some cases, compile software from source. I feel though, that after 1 year, I have only just scratched the surface.

I could still learn to program, and make improvements to the system such as bug fixes. I could learn to recompile the kernal and customise it to my system. If I wanted to aim big, I could even start my own distribution (but I think that's going a little bit too far - at least for the medium term).

A lot of people who don't use Linux or who maybe have tried it and given up, like I have in the past, will simply write-off the operating system. I think that after a year of using it, with no plans to switch back to Windows, I can safely say that Linux does have problems but then again so does every other operating system. Linux is not Windows or Mac OS X and therefore requires time and learning in order to overcome any difficulties. It has a different way of working and people should not expect it to mimic their previous system exactly.

I would still maintain also, that Ubuntu is a good starting point. It's polished and works well. Assuming the hardware is compatible, it should work pretty much out of the box and it includes some nice visual effects which will please those coming from Windows Vista.

I still try other distros from time to time. Sabayon was nice and worked generally well although I couldn't get my Lightscribe software to work with it. I've heard good things about PCLinuxOS but to my eye it looks like it's trying to imitate to look and feel of Windows too much with it's KDE desktop and very blue theme. OpenSUSE I couldn't get to install. I liked Debian a lot, but there was something that I couldn't get too function (I forget what).

For anyone wishing to give Linux a try, download and burn a live CD (Ubuntu, Sabayon and PCLinuxOS all have live CD functionality) and boot from that. This will allow you to try it out (albeit slowly) without affecting your current system.

Anyway, here's to the next year of Linux for me. Hopefully I'll learn twice as much!

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Tags: linux

For a little while now, I've been intrigued by the offerings of DRM free music through Apple's iTunes music store. I understand that a lot of independent offerings have been made available as well as some major label music albeit not a lot. However, as my computer systems run Linux and have no option to boot into Windows, I haven't had the opportunity to check it out.

It seems to be a pretty daft situation really. iTunes is available for Mac OS X, obvious since it's Apple's system. It's also available for Windows - it has to be since Microsoft dominates the PC OS market. However, Linux is left out. One might ask why that's daft since Linux users are in a minority, but Linux is improving all the time and with distributions such as Ubuntu (and its derivatives), PC Linux OS and Sabayon; it's getting very easy to use "out of the box".

This can only mean that the number of Linux users will continue to grow and as a result of that, the number of people unable to use Apple's music store also increases. This could impact the sales of iPods due to the (mistaken) belief that iTunes is an essential requirement to owning the leading digital music player.

As it stands at the moment, my digital music downloads come from eMusic, Audio Lunchbox and 7Digital. All of these provide DRM free music in the MP3 format but a vast majority of the 7Digital catalogue is off-limits to me due to major labels insisting on DRM in their files which comes in the form of protected WMA files. Now I know there is little chance of these files being playable on Linux systems due to the format belonging to Microsoft and them requiring a royalty for the ability to decode WMA files.

So there is an opportunity here for Apple. One where the company can provide the only solution to purchasing DRM protected music on Linux based systems. Considering OS X is UNIX based, a port from their Mac version of iTunes to a Linux version shouldn't be too difficult.

Unfortunately, at the present time their does not seem to be much hope that a port will happen. Their is a petition available to sign on the internet that has just shy of 11600 signatures, but I doubt that's really enough.

So their are only three other options available. One is to have a dual boot computer with both Windows and Linux available, but I don't see that as an ideal solution. Second is to try to use iTunes with WINE under Linux. Version 7.3 of iTunes does install in the latest version of WINE but it runs incredibly slowly to the point where it's not really usable, however hopefully it will improve with later versions of WINE. The third option is to forget it and continue taking my business to the stores I currently use.

At the moment, I'm going to continue with the third option. I do like the stores I currently use and have little intention of dropping them completely even if iTunes does make it to Linux. It just seems a missed opportunity by Apple not providing a version of the leading digital music store that myself and many others like me would be willing to run and spend money through.

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Tags: linux, opinion