Posts Tagged ‘Linux tips’

Connecting to the Internet thru GPRS / 3G using Linux on a Laptop / Notebook Computer connected to a Mobile Phone (revisited)

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Some people have been asking me if the posting I did in the past entilted: Setting-up IBM Thinkpad X40 Laptop on Ubuntu Linux to connect to the Internet via 3G/GPRS using Nokia N70 works with newer versions of Linux on other laptops / notebook computers and connected to other mobile phone brands / models.

Yes, it still works with the latest versions of Linux and other laptop computers using different mobile phones. Just to share them to those interested, I will make a listing on what devices it worked and will update this posting once I discover new ones:

Laptop / Notebook Computers:

  • IBM Thinkpad X40
  • Toshiba (forgot the model)
  • Macbook Black
  • Asus EEEPC (701)

Mobile Phones:

  • Nokia N70 (I think this will work on other N series)
  • Nokia E71 & E51 (I think this will work on other E series)
  • Sony Ericsson K700i & K610i

I tried all of them both on Globe, Smart and when I was in Laos, the local network named Tigo. Nowadays I usually use Ubuntu but I’m sure it will work in other Linux distros as well. Aside from the set up I used in the posting: Setting-up IBM Thinkpad X40 Laptop on Ubuntu Linux to connect to the Internet via 3G/GPRS using Nokia N70, I also tried them using GPRSEC (a graphic user interface dialler) and wvdial (command line dialler). I will write on how to do them on gprsec and wvdial next time. GTG. Cheers!

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Making wifi (802.11) device work in Ubuntu on MacBook and other laptops with Atheros chipsets

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Several friends have been asking me how I made my wireless device in my MacBook running Ubuntu Linux worked. Others with different brands of laptops have shared also the same problem. I discovered that most of these laptops (MacBook included) have wireless devices with the same Atheros chipsets.

To check if your laptop have Atheros, do:

lspci | grep Wireless

The result:

02:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5418 802.11abgn Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)

will tell you that you have the Atheros chipsets.

So here’s what you need to do to make your wireless work in Ubuntu:

1. First, make sure you have an alternative Internet connection through your wired ethernet port.

2. For Ubuntu (8.04) Hardy, you just need to install linux-restricted-modules and madwifi-tools packages:

sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules madwifi-tools

Prior to Hardy with my laptop installed with Ubuntu (7.10) Gutsy, here’s what I did using Subversion (try this if the first instruction won’t work in Hardy):

- Install Subversion to get the driver source and the needed build tools:

sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion autoconf automake

- Get madwifi using subversion:

svn co http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk madwifi

- Compile and install madwifi driver (module name: ath_pci)

cd madwifi
make
sudo make install-modules

The driver is now installed and will be enabled after the next reboot or can be enabled by:

sudo modprobe ath_pci

I was always having difficulty connecting using network manager, so I installed an alternative: wicd.

1. To install wicd you need to add to your repository (append to /etc/apt/sources.list) the line:
“deb http://apt.wicd.net hardy extras”

You can do this by:

echo “deb http://apt.wicd.net hardy extras” >> /etc/apt/sources.list

2. Update your repository:

sudo apt-get update

3. Install wicd:

sudo apt-get install wicd

Note: this will remove your network manager.

You can then run wicd from the menu -> Applications -> Internet.

References:

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Posted in Hardware, Linux, Linux tips | 5 Comments »

Creating a Personal Repository (esp if your network has a slow or no internet connection)

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

The Ubuntu desktop CD installer due to limited space contains only what is commonly needed in a desktop. No server packages. So if you try to install a server package, it would really look for an internet connection.

The same way with the Server CD installer. It does not contain everything.

I think they tried to balance the practicality, economy and ease of distributing the software by using only the CD media with a capacity of only 800MB. Given the limited space, they have to prioritized what should be included and have the other software available via the internet.

So, if you’re managing a network with several PCs, there will be times that you will need to update them or need something from the repositories in the Internet — when doing installation and your network connection is also slow or if you don’t have an internet connection at all — a suggestion is to create your own local or personal ubuntu repository. In this way, there is no need for all the PCs to access repositories in the Internet and eventually save on that precious bandwidth.

Then install or update from there using apt. Here’s a good reference/howto to create a personal repository:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Personal

But of course you have to download the necessary .deb files first and place them in your repository. Next post, a way (work around) how to do this …..

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Posted in Linux, Linux tips | 2 Comments »

Ubuntu in MacBook: Dual Screen or Connecting to a LCD/Mutimedia Projector

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

To connect my MacBook to an LCD/Multimedia Projector using a vga to mini-DVI adapter connected to the mini-DVI port, I use xrandr. [for more info do a $man 1 xrandr]

First, you need to check on the available resolutions.
With the other screen/monitor or multimedia projector attached to your MacBook do:

$ xrandr -q

(more…)

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Posted in Linux tips, MacBook, Ubuntu | No Comments »

Upgrading from Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04) in MacBook: Screen Resolution – x server does not support the xrandr; problems with dual and extended screen

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

Changing Screen Resolution Problem

After updating from Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04), I noticed the utility for changing the screen resolution (System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution) does not work anymore in Hardy as it did in Gutsy. It gave an error message:

The X Server does not support the XRandR extension. Runtime resolution changes to the display size are not available.

Xrandr Problem

Likewise, when I tried xrandr -q on the command line I got the following X BadRequest error:

$ xrandr -q
X Error of failed request: BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation)
Major opcode of failed request: 151 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 6 ()
Serial number of failed request: 9
Current serial number in output stream: 9

(more…)

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Posted in Linux, Linux tips, MacBook, Ubuntu | No Comments »

Upgrading from Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04) in MacBook: The missing “right mouse click / button”

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

In my former post: Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) on a Macbook … Part 1, I mentioned:

“I noticed some of the devices/hardware does not work properly on Ubuntu “out-of-the-box” (default install of Ubuntu 7.10 for intel) like sound volume control, iSight, sound recording through the built-in mic. To some of us who are used to doing “right clicks” on the mouse, we need to have an alternative way of doing it given that all Mac laptops only has one built-in “mouse” button that works as a “left button”.

Well, the website:
How to install Ubuntu on a MacBook
[url: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook] has been useful since following the instructions have made sound (volume control and recording through the built-in mic and iSight (built-in webcam) worked in my MacBook. I also have converted the lower “enter” key to be a “right mouse button.”

While everything continued to work even after upgrading from Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04), I noticed my lower “enter” key doesn’t worked anymore. So, based from the instruction on the above website, I tried to do again:
(more…)

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Posted in Linux, MacBook, Ubuntu | No Comments »

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) on a Macbook … Part 2 (On iSight)

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

To continue from my previous post on the reference site:
How to install Ubuntu on a MacBook
[url: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook]:

I got the iSight working with additional steps (which the site failed to mentioned). After following the instructions from the abovementioned site on iSight:

a. You need to install isight-firmware-tools.

$sudo apt-get install isight-firmware-tools

b. If you have the isight-firmware-tools already installed you need to do a:

$sudo dpkg-reconfgure isight-firmware-tools

to “point” to the location of the firmware you copied from your MacOS installation/partition.

c. You need to install the module uvcvideo:

- Optional step just to remove any old modules and back up any existing uvcvideo.ko:

$sudo modprobe -r uvcvideo

$sudo mv
/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/ubuntu/media/usbvideo/uvcvideo.ko
/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/ubuntu/media/usbvideo/uvcvideo.ko.original

- Update your Ubuntu archive/repository if you haven’t done recently:

$sudo apt-get update

(more…)

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Posted in Hardware, Linux tips, MacBook, Ubuntu | No Comments »

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) on a Macbook … Part 1

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

Just got into playing with a Macbook Black from the office last December 2007. Since I’m more comfortable with Ubuntu Linux (than MacOSX Leopard :-) ), I did a dual boot install using rEFIt [url: http://refit.sourceforge.net/] as a dual (or multiple) boot menu.

I noticed some of the devices/hardware does not work properly on Ubuntu “out-of-the-box” (default install of Ubuntu 7.10 for intel) like sound volume control, iSight, sound recording through the built-in mic. To some of us who are used to doing “right clicks” on the mouse, we need to have an alternative way of doing it given that all Mac laptops only has one built-in “mouse” button that works as a “left button”.

I saw a very good reference at the Ubuntu Community Documentation:
How to install Ubuntu on a MacBook
[url: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook].
The site does not only contains instructions on installing Ubuntu on a Mac but also on making Ubuntu work on the Apple Hardware and some tweaking instructions:
(more…)

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Posted in Hardware, Linux, Linux tips, MacBook, Ubuntu | No Comments »

Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software: A primer for nonprofits

Thursday, October 11th, 2007

“Describes what open source software is and what impact this type of software may have on the nonprofit sector.”

Includes:

* case-studies of nonprofits of various sizes that are using open source software,
* a process for evaluating whether or not open source is right for an organization,
* a live feed of Social Source Commons FOSS toolkits
* and useful resources and information.

Written primarily in non-technical language, the Primer is accessible to a wide audience, including nonprofit managers with little hands-on technical expertise.

Access the primer at http://nosi.net/projects/primer

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Linux Tips: “Less well-known but useful” commands in the “man” command

Monday, September 10th, 2007

Marking / “bookmarking” specific lines where you want to return to later especially for loooong and complicated man pages. Also, execute certain commands while browsing “man” utility without opening another terminal. Saves on keystrokes. Very helpful tips.

Excerpt: The most referenced and most often used command on any Linux distribution is man, which lets users read the manual pages of other commands. Here are a couple of less well-known but useful commands that let you bookmark a position within a man page, and test a command you read from the man page without closing the page.

Read More: Secrets of the man command by Shashank Sharma

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