opensource Archives - Page 5 of 8

June 15, 2008

How to install *.rpm in Ubuntu / Debian based operating system

There are times when you need to install an application that is only available in *.rpm package in Debian GNU/Linux or Ubuntu operating system. One of the main obstacles is that Debian / Ubuntu are using *.deb based packaging system which is incompatible with RPM.

However you can easily convert RPM package to *.deb and install it afterwards, here’s how to do it :

Install alien, its available in Debian, Ubuntu repository
Convert rpm package using command “sudo alien -k some-binary-package.rpm”
Install it using this command “sudo dpkg -i some-binary-package.deb

That’s all about it! Have fun installing application in your application.

June 15, 2008June 15, 2008

Subscribed to Linux Hater’s Blog : Funny and hillarious blog

After discovering Linux Hater’s blog from Google Reader and Technorati, I decided to subscribe it as it was a funny and hillarious blog. It make fun of people who are using Linux for the wrong reasons (such as trying to act cool) and how some things in Linux are not better than any other operating system.

Other than that, it contains criticism of the Linux community in general, mainly directed towards fanboys and developers, although one can easily surmise that the author himself is a Linux user who has experience in writing applications, and presumably using a Debian-derived Linux distro.

Well I might be wrong, but Linux Haters Blog is a must read if you are a Linux user yourself because it offer insights of the overall of how GNU/Linux operating system compare to other OS and what would make Linux a better OS

June 3, 2008June 3, 2008

ImageMagick thumbnailer scripts for blog

Hey there, I’d like to share my dirt-easy script for creating thumbnail in blog post. The script will scale any image to the width of 456pixels which I find acceptable by most blog theme (actually the limit is around 460-465 pixel, but better be safe).

Why I wrote yet another script for scaling images? because I find blogger.com and WordPress system of uploading images and photo annoys me, and I rather upload my pictures/photos on my own private server and create thumbnails on my own.

I licensed the download under WTFPL , don’t worry its a free software license.

Download : thumbnailer.sh

May 28, 2008May 25, 2008

Enable Network Printer Sharing with Ubuntu Linux computers

Having a shared printer within a computer network is a nice thing to have. Since all computers within the network can access a remote printer to print documents. Maintenance cost is much more cheaper and easier since you only need to service only a single printer within a network.

Here’s how to enable Printer sharing with Ubuntu (or other Linux based computers) through GNOME :

At the computer with the printer

First at the Desktop, go to System->Administration->Printing. A dialog will appear
Go to Server Settings, and check the “Share published printers connected to this system” checkbox
You may, optionally select “Allow users to cancel any job”
Click Apply, and close the dialog

At the client computer(s)

Network Printer Sharing Ubuntu, using Samba

From the Desktop, go to System->Administration->Printing. A dialog will appear
Check “Show shared printers from other systems” checkbox. Click Apply
Repeat the first step, this time click “Refresh Printer Queues” button. You shall see the list of shared printer from the server computer
Repeat this on other computers on the network to share the printer

That is all to it! Now you can print documents across your computer network.

May 11, 2008

Melayubuntu – the best local Ubuntu blog

Today I would proudly write about a fine, if not the best local Ubuntu blog for Malaysian, Melayubuntu. Best of all, its written in Malay !

The website is filled with loads of Ubuntu tips which is useful for Ubuntu users, whether they are new or an old timer. It is the one particular blog which should be worth subscribing for.

May 10, 2008

OpenOffice- Howto Print Multiple Slides (Handout) in One page

There are times when you want to print multiple presentation slides in one page, especially when you are making handouts to give away to your audiences. Here’s how you can do that easily using OpenOffice.org Impress.

First click at the “Handouts” tab.

Printing Multiple slides on a single page in OpenOffice.org

Then you will see the slides arranged on a single page. Typical number of slides is usually between 4-6 on a single page. You can select layouts option to determined the number of slides.

Alternatively, you can change the page layout to to Landspace to give it a “wider” feeling to your handouts. Just right click and select Page Layout.

Finally you can print your handouts by selecting File->Print, and clicking Options at the bottom of the Print Dialog. Select Handouts, and print the documents as usual.

That’s all, hope it will help you in your daily works.