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How to run Opera Mini in Ubuntu
Ever wanted to see whether the fuss over Opera Mini - oft lauded as one of the best mobile web browsers - stacks up? Maybe you just want to see how your mobile site will displays to users on smaller screens.
Either way why not take the ickle-browser for a spin without the need to go anywhere near a mobile phone...?
First up you will need to make sure that you have the Java runtime environment installed. After that all you need are a few other odds n' sods and before you know it Opera Mini will be rocking out on your desktop.
Step one
Download the microemu @ microemu/downloads. This is pure java implementation of the Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME).
Extract the folder. Enter the folder. Right click on the 'microemulator.jar' file inside and give it permission to execute via the Permissions tab. You'll also want to ensure that it will open with Java, so set Java as the default application to open .jar files.
Step two
Next up you'll want to grab Opera Mini. Head over to operamini.com, select the version you wish to try and download both the .jar and .jad files, placing them somewhere memorable.
Step three
Now lets load OperaMini 5.1.
- Open up the emulator by double-clicking on it. You can resize the emulator to any size you wish, just extend as you would any other window.
- Click through to "File > Open MIDlet" choosing the Opera Mini .jad (yes, .jad not .jar) file you previously downloaded.
- "Opera Mini" will now be listed in the apps list. Click on the "Start" button to launch it
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How to Install Compiz 0.9 in Ubuntu
The latest development release of Compiz - version 0.9 - was released earlier this month to much fanfare.
The widely used compositing manager gained a major re-write in C++, added a new developer API, rendering was split into plug-ins and the build system now used is cmake.
It’s this last bit which seems to have thrown many users wishing to install this testing release on their Ubuntu boxes. CMake certainly comes across as a different kettle of fish to those users versed only in the traditional ‘./configure, make, sudo make install’.
Thankfully, friends, the ace Kristopher Ives over @ santiance.com - who's nifty Imgur uploading app we’ve featured before - has bullied out a concise and straight-forward “how-to” for Ubuntu users wishing to install Compiz 0.9 - warts and all.
Check it out at the link below but please be aware that installing this development release is not advised for casual users or those unable to deal with any frell ups incurred as a result.
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How To Install Nvidia Drivers Manually in Ubuntu
Installing Nvidia drivers manually isn’t as big of a deal as it sounds. It’s literally a few button pushes, a round of “Ok”, “Ok”, “Ok” and a reboot. In many respects it's the easiest way to get your graphics card up and running if the Hardware Manager doesn't do it for you.
The following how-to will help guide you through the process in bite-seized chunks. At the end of the tutorial is a "recap" that you may wish to write down before trying.
Why would you want to install Graphics drivers manually?
- Your Nvidia Graphics card fails to be detected by the Ubuntu "Hardware Drivers" application
- You feel you're not getting optimal performance from your hardware
- You want to install a more recent driver version with the latest features and improvements
- You tried a 3rd party application/PPA but it borked your system
3. A license agreement will present itself to you before the download will appear.
Click 'Agree & Download'.
4a. If using Firefox a pop-up will ask you whether you want to 'Save' the file.
Choose save.
4b. If using Google Chrome or Chromium the file will save itself automatically.
Beta Drivers
Beta drivers are in-progress version that come with newer features and enhancements. The trade off, however, being potential new issues and instability.
You can get the latest Nvidia Beta Drivers for Linux by clicking the following link:
- http://www.nvidia.com/Download/betadrivers.aspx
Use the steps above to guide you in downloading the driver. Be sure to choose the Driver with the most recent date next to it and the red 'beta' label.
Installing Nvidia Graphics Drivers In Ubuntu First of all SAVE any work you’re currently doing. You’re only a few button-punches away from rebooting, so you don’t want to lose any important work.
Second of all – make sure you have uninstalled any NVidia drivers currently installed - as well as 3rd party application EnvyNG.
If you installed your drivers via the Hardware Manager use the following commands in a terminal.
- sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
Lastly, make some notes of the steps below – you can’t read it and install at the same time!
Move your downloaded Nvidia driver into your home folder. Just the home folder. Not into any other folder.
- Press 'CTRL+ALT+F1'
- You will need to login with your user-name and password
- Type the following: 'sudo service gdm stop' (Minus apostrophes')
- Press return/enter
- Type: 'sudo sh ./NV'
- Press the tab button tol auto-complete the rest of the name.
- Hit return/enter
During the following process you will want to agree (that’s press ‘Ok’, yes, sure, why not, etc) to the following things
- License Agreement
Now, I'm pretty certain that you'll want to agree to this - you can't complete installation without doing so. Press the left-arrow key so 'Yes' is highlighted. Press Enter.
You may be prompted with a dialogue informing you that
- "There appears to be a driver already installed"
If you get this, agree by selecting 'Yes'. The current driver will be uninstalled and then replaced with the new one.
The kernel module is then built and the driver installed.
- "replace current xorg.profile"
MAKE SURE you agree to it updating your xorg.profile. If you don’t then you’ll be greeted with a low-graphics, blinking bash-shell nightmare!
Finishing Up
You'll be returned to the "command line" whereby you need simply type- sudo reboot
to restart your machine.
Recap 1: Download driver from the Nvidia driver site 2: Press ALt+F1 and stop GDM 3: Run driver package 4: Follow installer's instructions, allowing it to replace your xorg.conf. 5: Restart
Kernel Updates (Or "My Graphics Don't Work Since I Updated") The driver you have installed manually is purposely built against the kernel version you have at the time. As such any kernel updates you install will result in your 3-D graphics driver no longer working. Kernels updates aren't incredibly frequent but it certainly helps if you pay attention to what you install via the update manager. The solution to the kernel update "issue" is simple.
- Reinstall your driver again after a kernel update
- Install the script below to do it for you - automatically!
Automatically Re-Install Nvidia Driver After Kernel Updates It's probably worth doing this after you've installed your driver, so that it doesn't slip your mind! Make sure your Nvidia driver is sat in your home folder. Then run the following commands, replacing 'nvidia-driver-name' with the name of your driver: -
(Tip: Renaming your driver to just "nvidia-driver' may save you time)
- sudo mv nvidia-driver-name-here.run /usr/src
- sudo ln -s /usr/src/nvidia-driver-name.run /usr/src/nvidia-driver
- Download the following script, placing it in your Home folder:
- http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1115768/update-nvidia
- sudo mkdir -p /etc/kernel/postinst.d
- sudo install update-nvidia /etc/kernel/postinst.d
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10 Useful Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala
You’ve installed Ubuntu 9.10, now what? Here are my top 10 tips for getting a fresh install feeling your own…
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Install The Single-Windowed Gimp Preview in Ubuntu [How-to]
You will also need to remove any exising Gimp install before installing this.
PPA:
- https://launchpad.net/~matthaeus123/+archive/mrw-gimp-svn
Got Git?
First step is to ensure you have git installed, as we will be building Gimp 2.8 from source via a GIT repository.
- sudo apt-get install git-core
Open a terminal and issue: -
- git clone git://git.gnome.org/gimp
Other dependencies
Gimp 2.8 also requires gegl 0.1.0 and babl 0.1.0. You can download these via the links below and install them using the usual ./configure && make && sudo make install method.
B u i l d
We now want to build this source so navigate into the newly created 'gimp' folder in your Home directory by using:
- cd gimp
- ./configure
- make
- sudo make install
Enable Single Window Mode
The spiffy single window mode isn't enabled by default, so to see what all the fuss is about turn it on via the 'Windows' menu in Gimp.
You'll find that this updated version of Gimp also comes with a few new features, too! Including tabs to navigate between open projects: -
And the ability to edit text directly on an image (no more pop-up toolbox!): -
Despite this only being an initial early build of what will become The Gimp 2.8 it's an exciting glimpse into the evolution of the premier image editor on Linux.







