[SOLVED] Docky issue in Mint/Ubuntu: How to enable compositing?

Having a docky / Avant window navigator (AWN) gives a cool look to the desktop. From the day I started using Linux, I have always preferred to have a docky. My desktop with the AWN docky helps me to access all the common programs I need at one place, plus CPU user in the dock tells me how much CPU I am using at any point in time. Auto-hide feature doesn't shrink my desktop as well.

All in all, I find docky useful. And it's 3D look actually add a mystic charm to the GUI. However, in my recent update of netbook to Xubuntu 12.04 LTS and PC to Linux Mint 13 Mate, I found that I need to enable Compositor to customize the dock.

Now, for this kind of problem, there is a easy way out. Linux Mint uses Metacity and the desktop effect can be rendered by enabling compositing from Desktop Settings. Just check the option for compositing from desktop setting to enable 3D effect in the docky.

For Xubuntu, Go to:
Settings -> Settings Manager -> Window Manager Tweaks ->Compositor-> Enable Display Compositing

This would solve the issue of enabling compositor for the 3D effects in docky.

9th June 2012:
To enable compositor in debian, go to Applications -> System Tools -> Configuration Editor.
In Config Editor, go to Apps -> Metacity -> General and check compositing manager. Restart Docky and that would do the trick.

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Review: Linux Mint 13 "Maya" with Mate 1.2 desktop and Gnome 2

On 16th May, 2012, Clement Lefebvre has announced the availability of the release candidate for Linux Mint 13 - in MATE and Cinnamon flavours: "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 13 RC 'Maya'. Available in two editions, Linux Mint 13 features the choice between a productive, stable and mature MATE 1.2 desktop and the brand new, modern-looking and exciting Cinnamon 1.4. These two desktops are among the best available, they're perfectly integrated within Linux Mint and represent great alternatives to GNOME 2 users. Linux Mint 13 is also an LTS (long-term support) release and it will be supported until April 2017."

Linux Mint 13 release may be quite historic, in a sense when all linux distros, especially Ubuntu, have moved / moving to Gnome 3, Mint comes up with a Gnome 2 mix and LTS, supported till April 2017. Further, Cinnamon edition might take Gnome 3 to a whole new level, offering similar customization as Gnome 2.

Really nothing can exciting than this! Personally, I never liked Gnome 3, as it made my computer a tad bit on the slower side and is not amenable to customization. I was surviving with Xubuntu 12.04, 3 year LTS and Lubuntu 12.04, not an LTS (which again I replaced with Kubuntu 12.04 LTS, 5 year support but a slower distro). Finally Linux Mint 13 LTS came as a savior!

I downloaded and installed the Mate 1.2 desktop release, as its derived from Gnome 2. The old Gnome 2 desktop is back again and I modified it a bit, as in the screenshot below:

It's a slick distro with CPU usage of 8% (without any programs running) and RAM usage of 177 MiB. CPU usage is comparable but RAM usage is slightly higher than Xubuntu or Lubuntu (my earlier post) but Mint is more complete as a package than any of the Ubuntu clans.

Mint is traditionally known to pack the preferred software packages along with the usual ones you get in Ubuntu. VLC player would be there in the DVD, along with Flash support and GIMP. Plus you can access the Ubuntu software center to download all the softwares of your choice.

Firefox is the preferred browser and it has Firefox 12.0 just like the Ubuntu 12.04 release. LibreOffice fills the office software slot along with Thunderbird as the default e-mail client. Thunderbird is very easy to configure with the common e-mail sites like g-mail, etc.

In overall, Linux Mint 13 LTS is a very timely distro and Gnome 2 lovers will definitely be tempted to switch from Ubuntu 11.04 or 11.10. Art-work is absolutely fantastic as you can see in the snapshots below:

Earlier I used Mint very sporadically and shifted back to Ubuntu finally. But with this release Mint has won my heart and from now on, I'll be using it on a regular basis, for sure. Thanks again Mint for bringing Gnome 2 back!

You can download Linux Mint 13 from:
http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=18

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Review: BackBox linux 2.05 - the ethical hacking tool

From distrowatch I found about this Ubuntu derivative and a little bit of research actually tempted me to download and test the distro. I know it won't be a fair review from my side as I am no where even close to ethical hacking business. But, it may interest the readers of this blog - hence, a review.

Look and feel-wise, it is similar to Xubuntu, as both share the XFCE window manager. 

Software repository is almost similar except for the "ethical hacking" part. However, it is based on Ubuntu 11.04, Linux kernel 2.6.38 and Xfce 4.8.0. Xubuntu 11.04 would be the fair comparison for it. 

The most tempting part is the Auditing and servicing part which has cool tools for "Hacking". You can see the tools in the picture below.

On booting from pen-drive, CPU usage is 9% and RAM usage 182 MiB. I am writing this blog from the BackBox only.

It has cool black & blue interface and the OS works really smooth in my system. I hardly feel that it is not actually installed in my system, rather running from a 4 GB pen-drive.

Ethical hacking tool-wise I am not an expert. But given the diagram above, it seems to have it all what hackers actually need. Based on user point of view, it works really smooth with in-built flash support, Sun java installed and typical Xubuntu 11.04 softwares loaded. Truly, a smart distro to use.

However, one concern I have is - from Oct'12 there won't be any support for Ubuntu 11.04 or Natty. So, won't the support for this distro end there as well? Possibly the developers might be able to answer, if they provide continued support for it even after Ubuntu support is over.

You can download the image from:


http://www.backbox.org/downloads

It has both Intel i386 and amd-64 versions. You can download the iso directly if you have fast internet, else you can download via torrent. 

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You can have Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu all in the same computer

Human nature seeks variety. Ubuntu may be the most fascinating of the 4 variants but I like Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu as well - for different reasons. However, if you have installed one, you won't be able to install other overwriting the older one. And a new installation means tons of downloads (Ubuntu first update downloads about 300-400 mb every time) and reinstallation of your favorite softwares like cheese, VLC, etc.

One way to get flavor of all your Ubuntu derivatives is simply installing the desktops of different distros (provided you have about 10 gb of HDD space).

By simply running the following command in the terminal, one can install Kubuntu:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

It will download all the unique softwares along with KDE desktop of Kubuntu.

For Ubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop

I have installed Lubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS over my base installation of Xubuntu 12.04 LTS in my PC and Kubuntu 12.04 LTS in my netbook.

At the start I get options which interface to use and I can choose one of the three as per my mood and purpose. Lubuntu installs with Lubuntu netbook interface as well. Fun isn't it?

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[SOLVED] Problem of Logitech webcams and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

In my PC, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, primarily the Cheese app, was unable to recognize the Logitech webcam attached. In Ubuntu Natty, Cheese worked without any fuss with the same webcam.

However, I found another app which recognizes the Logitech webcam without any problem and manipulation. The app is Guvcview, it captures photos and videos from the webcam and has a very high rating the Ubuntu Software store from the users.

If Cheese is not working for you, you can give a try to Guvcview. Attached is the screenshot from the repository.

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