Friendly Tech Ninja

Howto: Use Ubuntu One to Sync Tomboy Notes Cross-platform

Jonathan — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:22:18 +0000

It was recently brought back to my attention by one of the FTN readers that you could sync your Tomboy notes cross-platform using Ubuntu One without actually having the Ubuntu One client installed, pretty handy seeing as a client does not exist on Windows and Mac. None the less this is the best way to sync your notes along with always having access to them via the web interface.

Note: If you don't have an Ubuntu One account already sign up here it's free.

Step 1
Launch Tomboy and open the Preferences under the Edit menu.

Step 2
Navigate to the Synchronisation tab and change the Service to "Tomboy Web" and the server will automatically be set to https://one.ubuntu.com/notes/.

Step 3
Now click Connect to Server, this will launch your web browser and you'll be prompted to log into your Ubuntu One account, do so.

Step 4
Once you've logged in with your Ubuntu One details, you'll be asked to "confirm computer access". What this is basically doing is linking your computer to your Ubuntu One account to sync your notes. Give the computer a name and click "add this computer"

Step 5
You'll be shown the following message:
"Tomboy Web Authorization Successful"..."Please return to the Tomboy Preferences window and press Save to start synchronizing."

Click Save back on the tomboy client and it will start syncing your notes up to the cloud.

Note: You don't need Ubuntu One installed to use the syncing, hence this process works cross-platform.

If you want more details on using Ubuntu Ones web interface for managing your notes, go here.

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Howto: Use Dropbox to Sync Tomboy Notes on Ubuntu 10.04

Jonathan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:20:06 +0000

Ubuntu by default comes with Ubuntu One, which is basically a Dropbox clone with a few cool additions. Ubuntu One has got some great desktop integration syncing which I really like, but unfortunately like most people I don't just work in an Ubuntu environment, so Ubuntu One just doesn't suite my needs. I want something that will sync all my files, Tomboy notes etc... cross-platform. So I've been using a feature in Tomboy that allows local folder syncing, which can take advantage of Dropbox's own syncing abilities. Basically what we're going to do is have Tomboy sync to a local folder which is located in the Dropbox folder.

Step 1
Navigate to your Dropbox/ folder and create a new folder called Tomboy.

Note: Remember you actually need Dropbox for this to work.

Step 2
Launch the Tomboy application from Applications->Accessories and then right click on the Tomboy icon in the system tray, click on Preferences.

Step 3
Navigate to the Synchronization tab and make the server Local Folder and the folder path the Tomboy folder we created in Step 1.

Step 4
Check the automatically sync box and adjust the time, I've got mine set to 5 mins, save and exit.

Your done! Now you can have access to your tomboy notes on all your systems.

Note: Tomboy is cross-platform as is Dropbox and I've tested this between Windows and Ubuntu and it works great!

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Howto: Discover software alternatives that run on Linux

fred — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:44:45 +0000

Whenever people think about switching to Linux, they wonder if all the applications they are used to work with will be available on their new system. Although not all software companies release versions of their applications for Linux, often there is a very good alternative available that performs at least as well.

Surf to alternativeto.net and learn what you can use instead of the application you use to have on your older system. Who knows, maybe you'll even find a fresh new approach to the task at hand that will boost your productivity!

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Howto: Subscribe to TV and Radio shows using Miro on Ubuntu

fred — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:22:33 +0000

Some on-line content such as radio or TV shows gets updated with new shows on a regular basis. Miro is a very handy piece of software that allows you to keep track of your favorite shows, and get the latest episode, every time it is released. All you have to do is subscribe to those shows, so the content can be automatically and conveniently downloaded to your hard-drive, ready to be enjoyed whenever you want. This way you get to choose what to watch (or listen to), and when to do so. Pretty much like having your customized TV / Radio Network.

Step 1
The installation is pretty straightforward. If you're using Lucid Lynx, all you have to do is go to Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center, search for Miro and proceed with installing it. Once installed, you'll find it under Applications -> Sound & Video.

Step 2
The first thing to do after running Miro is to subscribe to some content. Miro divides this into 'Video' and 'Audio'. An example of video would be Euronews 'No Comment', and The New York Times Front Page an example of an audio program (also called Podcast). To add No Comment as a show, copy their link, and inside Miro go to Sidebar -> Add feed (on the top menu). Paste the link, select video, and you're good to go!

Step 3
Next thing is to download some episodes from that show. The show will appear on the left sidebar, and clicking on it will reveal the available episodes for download. Choose those that interest you and once they're downloaded, they will show under Video, on top.

Note: The same procedure applies for Audio. Try it out with the NYTimes Front Page feed!

Step 4
Now that you have successfully subscribed to some shows, you can manage their download behavior. The 'Auto Download' menu on top allows you to get all the episodes, hand-pick those you want, or simply have Miro grab the freshest ones every time they come out. This way they'll sit quietly on you Hard-drive waiting to be watched by you.

Finally, peruse the Miro guide (sidebar, on top) and explore some shows that might interest you. Here is a list of some of my favorites.

Audio
Thinking Allowed.
Guardian Daily.
The Monocle Weekly.

Video
Democracy Now! (I got introduced to Miro by these nice folks)
Bleed.
Global Pulse.

Share those you've learned to love on the comment section. I'll lay down some more advanced Miro tips and tricks on a future post.

Howto: Install Dropbox on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

Jonathan — Sun, 02 May 2010 07:33:48 +0000

If you're like me and just can't switch over to Ubuntu One because they don't have a cross-platform client quite yet, Dropbox is still the king of easy folder synchronisation.

Step 1
Go to www.dropbox.com/downloading and download the appropriate .deb file.

Note: If you don't have a dropbox account sign-up for one here

Note: If you're not sure which one to download, you'll notice just above the download links they recommend which one you should download.

Step 2
Once downloaded, locate the file and double click it. You'll be presented with a package installer, just follow the on screen prompts.

Step 3
Another window will pop up, again just follow the prompts. This will restart nautilus for you.

Step 4
Go to Applications->Internet->Dropbox from your menu. This will start the final stage of this installation, click OK, wait for it to download and install the daemon.

Step 5
All you've got to do now is to put in your Dropbox account details (assuming you have an account) and follow the rest of the prompts and you're done.

Enjoy stupidly easy file syncing, cross-platform!

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Howto: Install Skype on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

Jonathan — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:49:06 +0000

This is exactly the same process of installing it on the previous version, straignt forward, works great.

Note: Due to a recent update, you can now install Skype via the Ubuntu Software Centre, just do a search for it. You can also install it via the command line with the following: sudo apt-get install skype

Step 1
Go to www.skype.com/download and get the appropriate 8.10+ version for you (32/64-bit).

Step 2
Launch the Skype install .deb file (just double click it) and follow the on screen prompts.

Note: If you have a dependency error or the installer fails, install a missing dependency using the following: sudo apt-get install libqt4-dbus
Step 3
Launch Skype from Applications->Internet menu and press either Ctrl+O or press the Skype symbol at the bottom of the window to open the options menu.

In the menu you'll see a option to Choose style: change that too "Desktop Settings or GTK+". Then apply the changes and next time you open Skype it'll be using you native theme.

Note: I'd advise doing a Test Call to make sure everything is working okay. I found that sometimes Ubuntu by default mutes your mic so if you go into your sound preferences under System->Preferences->Sound and then go to te Input tab you should make sure that the mute box in unchecked.

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Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 Released

Jonathan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:05:17 +0000

Beta 1 is finally out after being postponed. I'd recommend you download the torrent version for the fastest download experience, check out the download page here.

What changes would you like to see in Beta 2 if it's not already been changed in this release? (I'm sure a lot of people are going to say, "buttons")

I'd like to see Rythmbox get support for Audiobooks and have better Podcast functionality. If they fixed that and then in 10.10 added a Podcast directory which you could browse and subscribe to Podcasts (like Miro), it would complement the UbuntuOne Music Store perfectly.

I would also like to see ATI get their arse in gear and support the new X version, but I'd be surprised if that'll happen before 10.04 is released. However that isn't really in the Ubuntu developers hands, the current workaround is to use the open source driver -ati driver.

Please leave a comment bellow and tell me what you'd like to see in Beta 2? or 10.10?

Howto: Fix Spotify sound problems on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

Jonathan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:30:22 +0000

After installing Spotify on my Ubuntu 9.10 system I found that I was having some sound issues, popping, cracking and sound crashes. I'll walk you through my settings and point you to the Spotify FAQ for the suggested settings (they didn't work for me, but they could for you) So here we go...

Step 1

Go to "Applications"->"Wine"->"Wine Configure" and go to the "Audio" tab, it takes a moment to load up. The settings that I found worked well for me was as follows:

Uncheck "ALSA Driver" box Check "EsounD Driver" box

Hit Apply, OK and then "Test Sound" and if you can hear the sound clearly try running Spotify again and see if that fixes your sound problems, worked great for me haven't had any problems since.

Note: If that didn't work for you can try the Spotify suggested configuration here.

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Howto: Install Spotify on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

Jonathan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:22:17 +0000

I finally got around to trying Spotify, unfortunately they don't have a Linux native application so we'll be running the Windows version under Wine. The install process is very straight forward and most people have had it work straight out of the box however I had some sound problems which you can see here.

Step 1

If you don't have wine installed open up the "Ubuntu Software Centre" in the "Applications" menu and do a search for wine and install it from there.

Alternatively you can just open up a Terminal window and run the following command:

sudo apt-get install wine

Step 2

Once that's done you'll need to download and install Spotify, download it here.

Find the download and just double click it and you'll be greeted with a very basic installer, follow the on screen prompts.

That's pretty much it, everything should be working fine. You'll have the Spotify application launch under "Wine" in the "Applications" menu. Enjoy 100% free and legal music streaming!

Note: If you're having some sound problems with Spoitfy I've written another piece with my configuration, it's easy to do and has been working perfectly for me, check it out here.

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Howto: Install TweetDeck on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

Jonathan — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:41:32 +0000

This is one of the best social networking application I've found out there, not only is it functional and stylish, but it's cross-platform as it's an Adobe Air application and it's really easy to install!

Note: If you don't have Adobe Air installed please follow this guide first and then return to here.

Step 1
Go to tweetdeck.com and click the yellow download button.

Step 2
It'll take a second to prompt you to install click yes and it'll then take a few more seconds to open up an Adobe Air window asking you if you'd like to install this application. Press Install, Continue and then Agree.

Step 3
The application should open automatically after it's finished installing and you can just type in your Twitter, Facebook etc...

It's optional to sign up for a TweetDeck account, but I hope you enjoy this great application! You'll also notice that you have a TweetDeck launcher on your desktop (which you can remove if you like) and it's also under the Applications->Accessories menu.

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