We have been averaging more than 800 new users per day lately in the Ubuntu Forums. That is astounding!

Woo hoo!

It’s time for another of our whimsical theme weeks in the Ubuntu Forums. This time, it is a tribute to Monty Python. If you have a forums account, come join in the silliness.

I’ll have the Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, baked beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam.

Someone asked me this recently. I don’t have just one answer. I compiled a list of things I thought of and emailed it to my friend…then I thought I would post it here for future reference. Feel free to add to the list! There is also a forums thread on the same topic, that I remembered as I complied my thoughts, so I stole some of the ideas posted there.

1. Upgrade to the newest version legally and without paying money
2. Have the latest version of the operating system run faster than the previous version on the same hardware
3. Easily install and run different graphical interfaces if I don’t like the default setup
4. Install twenty programs with one command
5. Have the system automatically update all my installed programs for me.
6. Install the same copy of my OS (Ubuntu) on multiple computers without worrying about license restrictions or activation keys
7. Give away copies of the operating system and other programs that run on it without breaking any laws, governmental or ethical or moral, because it was all intended to be used this way
8. Have full control over my computer hardware and know that there are no secret back doors in my software, put there by malicious software companies or governments
9. Run without using a virus scanner, adware/spyware protection, and not reboot my computer for months, even when I do keep up with all of the latest security updates
10. Run my computer without needing to defragment my hard drive, ever
11. Try out software, decide I don’t like it, uninstall it, and know that it didn’t leave little bits of stuff in a registry that can build up and slow down my machine
12. Make a major mistake that requires a complete reinstallation and be able to do it in less than an hour, because I put all of my data on a separate partition from the operating system and program files
13. Boot into a desktop with flash and effects as cool as Windows Vista on a three year old computer…in less than 40 seconds, including the time it takes me to type my username and password to login
14. Customize anything I want, legally, including my favorite programs. I can even track down the software developers to ask them questions, contribute ideas, and get involved in the actual design/software writing process if I want to
15. Have 4+ word processor windows open working on papers, listen to music, play with flashy desktop effects, have contact with a largely happy community and have firefox, instant messaging, and email clients all open at the same time, without ever having had to beg someone for a code to make my os work, and without the system running so slow it is useless
16. Use the command “dpkg –get-selections > pkg.list” to make a full, detailed list of all software I have installed, backup my /etc and /home directories on a separate partition, and you are able to recover your system any time, easily
17. Run multiple desktops simultaneously, or even allow multiple users to log in and use the computer simultaneously
18. Resize a hard disk partition without having to delete it and without losing the data on it
19. Use the same hardware for more than 5 years before it really needs to be replaced…I have some hardware that is nearly 10 years old, running Linux, and still useful
20. Browse the web while the OS is being installed!
21. Use almost any hardware and have a driver for it included with the operating system…eliminating the need to scour the internet to find the hardware manufacturer’s website to locate one
22. Get the source code for almost anything, including the OS kernel and most of my applications

I could go on, but that’s long enough.

If you are like me, you have a ton of passwords you have to remember. I have different login names and passwords for bank accounts, forums, blogs, email, and other stuff. How do you deal with it all? How can a person possibly remember them all, especially the ones that only get used once every month or two, or just a couple of times in a year?

One option, that I rejected years ago, is to use the same login and password everywhere. If a person were to choose a good, strong password, this would be secure, but only until any one of the several sites was compromised and the password data stolen. Is that likely? Maybe not, but this seems like an unnecessary and foolish risk to take.

So what to do? I use the same login on a few sites, but some sites have a login specific only to that site. Every site gets a different password. Some people like to use a basic, strong password as a framework, and add to it a suffix or prefix for each site. I just choose something completely different everywhere. This leaves me with the unenviable task of trying to remember all of them…actually, that task is not only unenviable, it is impossible.

Thankfully, I found a cool program called Revelation Password Manager. Revelation is a graphic-based password management program that uses AES encryption for data storage. It is easy to use, intuitive, and aims to be HIG compliant. There is a cool feature where at the click of a mouse Revelation will generate a strong password for you, and I also like the fact that one may copy the data file from one computer to another, or store it on a usb key, and it can be opened on any computer that has Revelation installed.

There are lots of great ways to do this. You could use gpg and encrypt a text file, leaving you able to open it anywhere you had access to gpg. There are other quality programs out there that do the same thing as well. I especially like TrueCrypt for encrypting data. However, every other solution I have used takes me longer and doesn’t have as nice of a feel to me as Revelation. If you are in the market for something like this, check it out and see if it will be a good fit for you as well.

The Revelation website has a series of screenshots for those interested and the program is available in the Ubuntu repositories, so installation is a piece of cake for Ubuntu users. Just install the “revelation” package using apt-get, aptitude, Synaptic, or whatever your favorite method is, and then look in the Applications->Accessories menu (if you are using Gnome as your desktop) for the Revelation Password Manager entry. Simple.

I’ve been using the ATI fglrx driver from the Gutsy repos, and it works pretty well. What I don’t like about them is that to use Compiz, I have to use XGL.. Now, this is easy enough to do in Gutsy, just apt-get install xserver-xgl and restart. However, xgl slows things down significantly, so I would prefer to use aiglx, as can be done with the free/open ATI driver.

In November, ATI/AMD released a new fglrx driver that supported aiglx, but all the reports I heard said it was still a bit buggy…so I waited.

If I can find time soon, I will test out the newest driver that was just released on December 19th. In the meanwhile, if you get a chance to play with it before I do, please write a quick comment here and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Every once in a while in the Ubuntu Forums I get a private message from a user, or we find a reported post, or someone posts something like this in a thread. The following is a direct quote, with some things removed to obscure the specific user and thread. No other editing was done.

i would like to report that a user on this forum has offended me very much by using bad language. I know last time this happened and i emailed you guys you did nothing. I am sick of being offended and nothing is ever done about it.

he said the P word in *link* .

I am very religious and the bible says this word is not right to use. please make sure he does not offend me or my beliefs again.

Okay, where do I start?

Here’s my main problem: I’m really tired of people saying they want everyone to follow their system of belief or personal philosophy of life (all software must be free or else…join my religion or else…etc.) and then threatening the staff because we don’t allow those demands to be made. Seriously, guys (and it almost always is a male…), if you want people to follow your way of life, all you have to do is show us how and why it is better by being a better person than the people around you. If you want people to follow you, lead by example with respect, with kindness, and yes, with good and logical arguments that do not demean those who disagree with you, but rather show a better option than what they are presenting.

Okay, I’m done with my tirade (full version here). I feel better now.

My main computer is a laptop. It has a built in ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card. There’s nothing I can do about that. For the most part it works well. I am using the fglrx driver from the Ubuntu repos (8.37.6). Using metacity they work quite well and I can play my favorite games when I have a few minutes to spare. I especially enjoy Sauerbraten.

I wanted to play around with compiz, but the version of the fglrx driver that I am using does not support aiglx. I know the newest driver is supposed to do so, but I’ve been following the reports in the forums and I’m not yet convinced. Without any other recourse, I installed xgl, also from the Ubuntu repos. This was quick and easy. One reboot and all was set up. Compiz and all the flashy effects are working perfectly.

Here’s where the problem comes in. Some of my 3D games are fine, Planet Penguin Racer for example. Sauerbraten, however, is giving me problems. Shaders don’t work, the monsters don’t appear (but they still can kill!). It seems that this game is not compatible with xgl, because if I remove that, all is fine.

I’m running out of ideas…I don’t want to choose between using compiz and wobbly windows, or being able to play the occasional game. Hmm.

Scylla and Charybdis anyone?

Yeah, it isn’t practical at all, but it is beautiful! This Steampunk creation may be old news to some. Even so, it is just too beautiful and creative, I had to mention it…especially once I noticed the OS in the picture.

Link to site, go check out all the pics!

We have all seen internet trolls. Some are more creative than others. Some are funny, others are mean. All of them are detrimental to community. I had an experience this week with a troll in the Ubuntu Forums that reminded me of an old thread that I had written. The definitive guide to Trolls was something I wrote in May 2006, partly tongue-in-cheek, partly to instruct forums users on what not to do in the forums, and partly to have something to point to when confronted with trolling.

Now, before I get comments reminding me of this fact, I will state clearly that the derivation of the term “to troll” revolves around fishing. There is a way to catch fish that involves pulling a lure behind a boat as you pass through the water, in the hopes of catching a fish that sees the lure and bites. This is the traditional definition of the verb “to troll.” One may also troll for complements, “Do you think this hairstyle looks good on me?” and one may troll for arguments, “Are you always this rude?” Trolling involves attempting to get someone or something to take the bait, to bite, to respond in a predetermined manner for your benefit (and not necessarily theirs, although the motive need not be sinister).

The use of the term to define online behavior goes back to the early days of Usenet newsgroups, and perhaps even predating that in bulletin board systems (BBSs). Let’s be honest. It is more fun to use the term in a modified manner, with a slightly twisted definition, while retaining the original meaning as well. I like it when the image of an ugly, mythical beast is conjured up because of the term “troll.”

The English language is fun that way. One may “troll” a forum, trying to get a response, and suddenly the verb becomes a noun through an accidental correlation between two words that are spelled exactly the same, but have vastly different meanings. Suddenly the person who committed the act of trolling has become an internet troll.

In the context of an online forum, to troll means to post something specifically provocative in the hopes of stirring up controversy. On occasion this can be considered a good thing, like Braveheart riding to the conference of the nobles to “pick a fight” in the hopes of obtaining a positive outcome for a noble cause. That is sometimes what forums trolls seem to think they are doing. Almost all of the time, actions done with this motive will achieve the exact opposite of their intended goal and they only serve to create an atmosphere that is harsh, argumentative, and unwelcoming. In the Ubuntu Forums, trolling can get a person banned permanently, and for very good reason. The overwhelming majority of the time trolling is witnessed, it is done for less honorable reasons.

To keep this short, if you are interested in a sometimes humorous description of internet trolls, including some very specific descriptions of certain types like the “Affected Profundity Troll” and “The Holy Misroller,” please check out this forum thread. I think you will enjoy it.

As you will recall from my earlier blog entry, I have been having fun with Conky, a lightweight system monitor that displays output to your desktop. Since I have upgraded to Gutsy, and therefore the latest repo version of Conky (1.4.7), I have had the opportunity to play with some newly available wireless variables. These were first pointed out to me by Mike, to whom I give credit and thanks.

The new wireless variables make it easier than ever to have specific data output relating to your wireless ethernet adapter. Here is how I have modified my previous setup…see the earlier post for the full details on how I am using Conky.

First, the new display.

Second, the updated configuration file. Generally this is called .conkyrc and placed in your /home. I’ll include the entire file so that readers don’t have to cut and paste information from two blog entries to get my full setup. The important bit with the wireless changes is under the heading Wireless Networking, near the bottom. Enjoy!

# set to yes if you want Conky to be forked in the background background no cpu_avg_samples 2 net_avg_samples 2 out_to_console no # Use double buffering (reduces flicker, may not work for everyone) double_buffer yes # Create own window instead of using desktop (required in nautilus) own_window yes own_window_type override own_window_transparent yes own_window_hints undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager #own_window no #own_window_transparent no # Use Xft? use_xft yes # Xft font when Xft is enabled xftfont Liberation Mono Italic:size=8 uppercase no # Text alpha when using Xft xftalpha 0.8 # Update interval in seconds update_interval 1 # Draw shades? draw_shades no # Draw outlines? draw_outline no # Draw borders around text draw_borders no # Stippled borders? stippled_borders 10 # border margins border_margin 4 # border width border_width 1 # Text alignment, other possible values are commented #minimum_size 10 10 gap_x 13 gap_y 45 #alignment top_left alignment top_right #alignment bottom_left #alignment bottom_right # Add spaces to keep things from moving about?  This only affects certain objects. use_spacer yes # Subtract file system buffers from used memory? no_buffers yes # ideas that I didn't want to lose # ${time %a  %b  %d}${alignr -25}${time %k:%M} TEXT ${alignc}${color #D6CACA}$sysname kernel $kernel ${alignc}${color #D6CACA}${exec cat /etc/issue.net} on $machine host $nodename ${color #D6CACA}${execi 1000 cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep 'model name' | sed -e 's/model name.*: //'} ${color #c9d6d6} ${freq_dyn}Mhz ${color #D6CACA}Current CPU usage & temp:${color #c9d6d6}  ${cpu}%${color #D6CACA}, ${color #c9d6d6}${acpitemp}C ${color #D6CACA}/${color #c9d6d6} ${acpitempf}F ${color #D6CACA}Plug/battery status:${color #c9d6d6}  $acpiacadapter, $battery ${color #D6CACA}Load average:${color #c9d6d6}   $loadavg ${color #D6CACA}CPU usage         ${alignr}PID     CPU%   MEM% ${color #c9d6d6} ${top name 1}${alignr}${top pid 1}   ${top cpu 1}   ${top mem 1} ${color #c9d6d6} ${top name 2}${alignr}${top pid 2}   ${top cpu 2}   ${top mem 2} ${color #c9d6d6} ${top name 3}${alignr}${top pid 3}   ${top cpu 3}   ${top mem 3} ${color #D6CACA}Mem usage ${color #c9d6d6} ${top_mem name 1}${alignr}${top_mem pid 1}   ${top_mem cpu 1}   ${top_mem mem 1} ${color #c9d6d6} ${top_mem name 2}${alignr}${top_mem pid 2}   ${top_mem cpu 2}   ${top_mem mem 2} ${color #c9d6d6} ${top_mem name 3}${alignr}${top_mem pid 3}   ${top_mem cpu 3}   ${top_mem mem 3} ${color #D6CACA}RAM Usage:${color #c9d6d6} $mem/$memmax - $memperc% $membar ${color #D6CACA}Swap Usage:${color #c9d6d6} $swap/$swapmax - $swapperc% ${swapbar} ${color #D6CACA}Processes:${color #c9d6d6} $processes  ${color #D6CACA}Running:${color #c9d6d6} $running_processes ${color #D6CACA} ${color #D6CACA}Hard disks:   / ${color #c9d6d6}${fs_used /}/${fs_size /} ${fs_bar /}   ${color #D6CACA}/home ${color #c9d6d6}${fs_used /home}/${fs_size /home} ${fs_bar /home}   ${color #D6CACA}hdd temp: ${color #c9d6d6}${execi 300 nc localhost 7634 | cut -c22-23 ;} C ${color #D6CACA}Wireless Networking:   ${color #D6CACA}ESSID: ${color #c9d6d6}${wireless_essid eth1}  ${color #D6CACA}AP: ${color #c9d6d6}${wireless_ap eth1}   ${color #D6CACA}${exec iwconfig eth1 | grep "Frequency" | cut -c 25-45}   ${color #D6CACA}Mode: ${color #c9d6d6}${wireless_mode eth1}  ${color #D6CACA}Bitrate: ${color #c9d6d6}${wireless_bitrate eth1}   ${color #D6CACA}Local IP ${color #c9d6d6}${addr eth1}  ${color #D6CACA}Link Quality: ${color #c9d6d6}${wireless_link_qual_perc eth1}   ${color #D6CACA}total download: ${color #c9d6d6}${totaldown eth1}   ${color #D6CACA}total upload: ${color #c9d6d6}${totalup eth1}   ${color #D6CACA}download speed: ${color #c9d6d6}${downspeed eth1} k/s${color #c9d6d6} ${color #D6CACA}   upload speed: ${color #c9d6d6}${upspeed eth1} k/s   ${color #c9d6d6}${downspeedgraph eth1 15,150 ff0000 0000ff} $alignr${color #c9d6d6}${upspeedgraph eth1 15,150 0000ff ff0000} ${color #D6CACA}Wired Networking:   ${color #D6CACA}Local IP ${color #c9d6d6}${addr eth0} ${color #D6CACA}   ${color #D6CACA}total download: ${color #c9d6d6}${totaldown eth0}   ${color #D6CACA}total upload: ${color #c9d6d6}${totalup eth0}   ${color #D6CACA}download speed: ${color #c9d6d6}${downspeed eth0} k/s${color #c9d6d6} ${color #D6CACA}   upload speed: ${color #c9d6d6}${upspeed eth0} k/s   ${color #c9d6d6}${downspeedgraph eth0 15,150 ff0000 0000ff} $alignr${color #c9d6d6}${upspeedgraph eth0 15,150 0000ff ff0000} ${color #D6CACA}Public IP ${color #c9d6d6}${execi 3605 curl 'http://www.whatismyip.org'} ${color #D6CACA}Port(s) / Connections: ${color #D6CACA}Inbound: ${color #c9d6d6}${tcp_portmon 1 32767 count}  ${color #D6CACA}Outbound: ${color #c9d6d6}${tcp_portmon 32768 61000 count}  ${color #D6CACA}Total: ${color #c9d6d6}${tcp_portmon 1 65535 count} ${color #D6CACA}Outbound Connection ${alignr} Remote Service/Port${color #c9d6d6}  ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rhost 0} ${alignr} ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rservice 0}  ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rhost 1} ${alignr} ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rservice 1}  ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rhost 2} ${alignr} ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rservice 2}  ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rhost 3} ${alignr} ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rservice 3}  ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rhost 4} ${alignr} ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rservice 4}  ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rhost 5} ${alignr} ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 rservice 5}