After you Install Ubuntu You Should...

1. Update your fresh Ubuntu installation using the Update  Manager

2. Open the  Ubuntu Update Software Center and install the following programs:  Chromium, Gimp, Xiphos Bible Study Guide,  and whatever other software you fancy.

3. Go to the Bisigi Project page and install Bisigi Themes Package.  These are just cooler than the  default Ubuntu Themes.

4. You may also want to install Ubuntu's Restricted Extras if that floats your boat.

Unity Lacking in Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Remix

I decided to do away with Ubuntu 10.10 on my Acer Aspire AO-532H Netbook and re-install the Ubuntu LTS 10.04.  The main reason is because of Unity.   There is no way to configure the darn thing, and it takes up way too much desktop space.  There should at least be an Auto-hide feature, but even that is lacking.  Mark Shuttleworth has said that Autohide for Unity may be coming for Ubuntu 11.04, but for now this version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix is painful to use.  Windows 7 Starter has a better desktop layout.

It is scary to think that Unity is going to run on Ubuntu Desktop when 11.04 is released.  Touch screen devices will dominate the market at some point, and someday Unity will be the goto choice to run on a desktop.  It's just that someday has not arrived for me yet.

Easy Upgrade to Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat on Acer Aspire One AO532-2326

Yesterday I took the plunge and upgraded may Acer Aspire One Netbook, which is the AO532-2326 model to Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.   I used the update manager to perform the upgrade and every thing went  fine.  The new Unity desktop is really sharp compared to the desktop that came with Ubuntu Linux 10.04.

The upgrade went fine by opening a terminal and running update-manager -d.

The mousepad  still does not quite work right.  The mouse stays active while you type, causing inadvertent mouse clicks while typing.  To get around this I use the Function-F7 key to enable and disable the mouse whenever I am typing in a window. I do not have this problem if I use the Windows 7 OS that is also installed on this netbook.

Another small change is that you may want to use the new Ubuntu fonts that come with Maverick Meerkat.    These can be enabled in the desktop appearances section.

Covert a Business from Linux to Windows

I love to read stories about how small businesses convert to Linux from Windows. There are many paths to follow when converting Linux but there is always one common thread. The first is to take it slow and have the patience to work with individual users to make sure that they become more comfortable with working with the new operating system. In addition, if it is a business that make heavy use of applications, you should always try to find the open source equivalent of those applications to run within Windows first.  This will  make users comfortable with the open source applications before the big switch.

Here is a link to an interesting article about the conversion of Windows to Linux. Hey, and they are using Ubuntu too!

Ubuntu Suspends Acer 532H Netbook When Battery Powered -- A Fix

One problem I have come across when running a Acer 532H netbook on battery  power is that it will suddenly hang and go into suspend or hibernate mode.  It seemed to have occurred once the computer started to to get warm and the fan was about to change speeds.

There is a simple fix for this problem.  You simply should update the BIOS.  This will fix the suspend of hang problem on your Acer 532H netbook when running Ubuntu on Battery. As of BIOS v1.25 the hang problem does not occur.

If you left a Windows 7 partition on your machine then all you need to do is boot into Windows and  go to the Acer Support website and select your netbook model.  Windows 7 has a built installer that will flash the BIOS for you.

If you do not have a Window 7 partition, then you can head over this how-to flash your BIOS in Ubuntu post on the Ubuntu Forums.

Fix for the Acer 532H Touchpad and Scrollbar in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

I came across a fix for the vertical scrollbar on the touchpad for my Acer 532H laptop in Lucid Lynx Ubuntu Remix. With a vanilla install of Lucid Lynx it does not work properly.  The vertical scrollbar allows you slide your finger up and down to move your web page up or down.


I found the fix on the Ubuntu Forums. Here are the steps to activate the change permanently on your Acer Laptop.  It involves adding a line to a file in the /etc/modprobe.d directory.

1. Open a terminal and open up the editor by  typing:  sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/psmouse.conf   and add this line to the file:

options psmouse proto=imps


2. Then select  File  -- > Save  (saving the file in gedit)

Note that the psmouse.conf file does not exist and you are creating a new file in the /etc/modprobe.d directory.

Then Reboot.  The fix should be in place when your netbook is re-booted, as the psmouse.conf file will be read into the kernel when it restarts.