How to Shutdown and Reboot Linux PC automatically

A quick tip on how to shutdown your GNU Linux computer automatically,

Suppose you need your Linux pc to shutdown automatically at certain time, you can use this command line :

shutdown -hP 23:55

which instructs your box to power down at exactly 11:55 pm. The ‘h’ parameter instructs the program to halt the computer (init runlevel 6) and ‘P’ instructs it to power off the pc.

Note: You can also add an optional message and 20 seconds shutdown delay,

shutdown -hP 23:55 -t 20 Going to power down, let's call it a day

the delay is useful for you to finish off whatever you’re doing before the pc powers down.

Why do I use this command ?
Recently the doctor diagnose me with low blood pressure and advised me to sleep early and to eat more stuff that contains iron. So by using this command I can limit my online pc time, and let me sleep early.

I’ll show you how to shutdown your computer using countdown timer.

Here’s an example how you can shutdown your pc in one hour with 30 second delay between final warning and the actual shutdown.

shutdown -hP -t 30 60 Please save your work, the lab is going to be closed soon

you can use this command to reboot your computer too,

shutdown -r

Note that you need to have root access in order to use this command. That’s all for now, enjoy the holiday

[tags]shutdown,bash,linux,command line, gnu/linux, debian[/tags]

Remaster and Customize Ubuntu Linux LiveCD with Reconstructor

reconstructor

Reconstructor is an application that can create a customized Linux LiveCD distribution based on Ubuntu. Reconstructor allows you to do extensive customization by changing the splash screen, boot screen, sounds effect, wallpaper, softwares and various other settings.

You can easily build a personalised LiveCD by including softwares that does not normally come with Ubuntu distributions. For example, Reconstructor can give you the power of creating ‘Media-centric LiveCD’ with proprietary codecs that can play various media formats or a LiveCD that concentrates on a specific purpose or functionality like Games or Desktop Publishing, complete with topic-related applications.

You can easily create CD for presentational purposes by rebranding Ubuntu splash screen and logo to your liking. If your company involved in Open Source Business and would like to distribute your presentation material in various format (documents, video files, audio files) then It is nice to have a fully customized LiveCD handy with your company logo and theme.

Reconstructor is an open source software written in python, you can find support for Reconstructor from ##reconstructor at irc.freenode.net

You can download Reconstructor at : http://reconstructor.aperantis.com

[tags]ubuntu,livecd,reconstructor,linux,edgy eft, linux mint[/tags]

Linux Mint 2.1 – Bea has been released

Linux Mint project has made its latest release, 2.1 ‘Bea’ available right before Christmas.

Linux Mint is a distribution based on the latest release of Ubuntu Linux with extra non-free component such as multimedia codecs (for playing real,quicktime, mp3, windows media videos and flash plugins).

The latest release includes OpenOffice 2.1 and new artwork, replacing the one taken from Ubuntu Edgy Eft.

Additionally, Linux Mint also includes mintWifi, which help users connect to wireless network for the first time without having to rely on initial internet connection (to download drivers/howto/cabextract/etc).

Who Should use Linux Mint?

Linux Mint is ideal for those who want to use an easy Linux desktop operating system that can play proprietary multimedia files out from the box (aac,mp3,real media, 3gp, quicktime) without much hassle.

The current release Linux Mint is derived from Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft and is compatible with Edgy Eft repositories.

[tags]ubuntu,edgy eft,linux,debian,mint,open source[/tags]

Winefish – GTK+ based LaTeX Editor for Linux

Winefish is a GTK+ LaTeX editor intended for experienced users. Unlike Lyx, Winefish emphasis on preparing documents using purely LaTeX input without bloated features offered by competing applications. Winefish is also useful to those who are just started to learn LaTeX command.

In keeping with LaTeX theme of wanting users to concentrate on writing the actual document instead of their looks, Winefish has no preview or WYSIWYG feature.

LaTeX is handy for preparing professionally written documents, it features autocompletion support, autotext, syntax highlighting, custom search and replace pattern support, shortcuts and function reference browser for LaTeX packages. Additionally LaTeX also feature spell checker and template support for quick template generators.

All these features make Winefish is preferable for newbies and experience users in preparing professionally looking documents using LaTeX.

Where can I get Winefish
Winefish is available from Ubuntu, Fedora Core and OpenSUSE repositories or it can be downloaded from its project website : http://winefish.berlios.de/

[tags]latex,tex,winefish,lyx,linux,ubuntu[/tags]

Howto Convert FLV (Youtube, Google Video) files to AVI in Linux

This howto will show you the shortest way to convert flv (flash video) files to AVI using open source mencoder. To perform the conversion, you just need to type :

mencoder -oac copy -ovc lavc -o video.avi video.flv

What is FLV files?
FLV (flash video files) is a format for delivering video through the internet, it is currently being use by the popular Youtube video sharing service and Google Video. It is possible to obtain this file by using other open source tools such as youtube-dl or from an online youtube downloader VideoDL.org

You can convert the FLV files into other format too. In order to do that, make sure you have all the necessary codecs to perform the conversion. If you’re in doubt, install w32codecs, add this line in your repository to enable w32codecs installation (assuming you use Ubuntu Edgy Eft).


deb http://packages.freecontrib.org/ubuntu/plf/ edgy free non-free
deb-src http://packages.freecontrib.org/ubuntu/plf/ edgy free non-free

Now you can use Linux as to do your video encoding stuff without much hassle.
[source]

[tags]linux, mencoder,flv,youtube,ubuntu,flash,encoding,ripping[/tags]

INSERT : Linux Security and Rescue LiveCD

I’ve tried a compact and useful Linux Rescue LiveCD based on Knoppix. INSERT combine the functionality of network analysis and rescue application in a single LiveCD.

As a rescue LiveCD, INSERT support various filesystem including ext2,ext3,reiserfs,reiser4, jfs, xfs,vfat,ntfs (read write via ntfs-3g), minix,udf,hfs,hpfs,ufs,smbfs,nfs,sshfs and afs. INSERT also supports testdisk and photorec file recovery tool which I’ve reviewed previously.

As for network analysis and security part, INSERT include tcpdump, nmap, ethtool, ettercap, sendip, netcat,wipe, chkrootkit and rkhunter. Refer to INSERT LiveCD website for a complete list of applications

INSERT is compact (59MB) , and it fit straight into business card CD making it portable enough to put in your wallet. Although it lacks end user desktop application, I find INSERT is more useful than Damn Small Linux mainly because it supports more option for connecting to the internet.

Furthermore, I felt having DSL in my wallet isn’t as useful as having INSERT which have an array of recovery tools ready to use when my something happen to my GNU/Linux installations. And for that reason, I’ve ditched DSL from my wallet and replace it with INSERT :p

Download INSERT from : http://insert.cd

[tags]security,livecd,rescuecd,knoppix,security,linux,damnsmalllinux[/tags]