Is s ue # 10 - Fe bruary 2008

ASUS EEE W ITH XUBUNTU

ful
lcircl
e
TH E IND E PE ND E NT M AGAZ INE FO R TH E UBUNTU CO M M UNITY
INTERVIEW W ITH A M O TU

CO M PILE FRO M SO URCE

INSTALLAND USE TUXPAINT

LINUX M INT
RIP A D VD W ITH ACID RIP

STEP BY STEP INSTALL

LINUX M INT - STEP-BY-STEP
INSTALLO F TH E D ISTRO W H ICH
INCLUD ES CO D ECS BY D EFAULT!
im age : note book re vie w .com

TU X PAINT EEE!
S O GOOD , AN E IGH T YE AR W E R E VIE W TH E AS U S
OLD W ANTS TO R E VIE W IT! E E E R U NNING X U BU NTU
1
F ul
lCircl
e m agazine is not affil
iate d w ith or e ndors e d by CanonicalLtd.
 p.04

Linux M int p.06

ful
lcircl
e
w w w .f u llc i r c le m a g a z i n e .o r g
Com pil
Ins tal
e from Source
land Us e Tuxpaint
Rip a D VD w ith AcidRip
Se rve r Se rie s - Part 2
- ASUS EEE
p.08
p.09
p.11
p.13
p.15
- Indy Gam e D e v. p.19

W h y I W e nt Linux p.23
- Ste ve Kow al
ik p.25
p.27

P.06 p.28
P.08 P.09 p.29
p.30
P.11 P.13
p.32
p.33
Ch e s s Gam e s p.34
P.15 P.34
p.36

Th e article s containe d in th is m agazine are re l e as e d unde r th e Cre ative Com m ons Attribution-By-Sh are Al ik e 3.0
Unporte d l ice ns e . Th is m e ans you can adapt, copy, dis tribute and trans m it th e articl e s but onl y unde r th e fol low ing
conditions : You m us t attribute th e w ork to th e originalauth or in s om e w ay (at l e as t a nam e , e m ailor url ) and to th is
m agazine by nam e ('ful lcircl e m agazine ') and th e URLw w w .ful l
circle m agazine .org (but not attribute th e articl e (s ) in any w ay th at
s ugge s ts th at th e y e ndors e you or your us e of th e w ork ). And If you al te r, trans form , or buil
d upon th is w ork , you m us t dis tribute th e
re s ul
ting w ork unde r th e s am e , s im il ar or a com patibl e l
ice ns e .

2
 ED ITO RIA L

W
el
com e to anoth e r is s ue of . Th is m agazine w as cre ate d us ing :

Th is m onth , w e h ave anoth e r ne w fe ature : e ach m onth , w e w e llbe

printing an inte rvie w w ith a 'M O TU'. Th e s e are th e m e n and w om e n
k now n as th e 'M as te rs of th e Unive rs e '. Sadl
y, it h as noth ing to do
w ith e m baras s ing 80's cartoons , but th e s e good fol k s k e e p our
re pos itorie s up to s cratch and de s e rve to s te p out of th e s h adow s .

Jus t afte r th e ir re l
e as e , I m anage d to s e cure one of th os e e l
us ive
be as ts k now n as th e ASUS EEE PC. Suffice to s ay, it is an am azing Ubuntu is a com pl e te ope rating
pie ce of k it for th e price , and you can re ad m y re vie w of th e EEE s ys te m th at is pe rfe ct for laptops ,
running Xubuntu on page 15. de s k tops and s e rve rs . W h e th e r at
h om e , s ch oolor at w ork Ubuntu
O ne of th e th ings th at al w ays puts pe opl e off Linux is com pil ing contains al lth e appl ications you'l l
e ve r ne e d including w ord
s ource code . Th is m onth (page 8) w e s h ow you h ow e as y it actual ly is . proce s s ing, e m ailappl ication and
I pe rs onally avoide d it lik e th e pl ague untilI re ce ntl y h ad no oth e r w e b brow s e r.
option but to com pil e from s ource . O nce you've re ad th is m onth 's
prim e r on com pil ing s ource , I'lls h ow you, ne xt m onth , h ow I us e d th is You do not pay any
te ch niq ue to ge t m y 6th Ge ne ration iPod Cl as s ic w ork ing pe rfe ctly lice ns ing fe e s . You can dow nl oad,
w ith Am arok . us e and s h are Ubuntu w ith your
frie nds , fam il y, s ch oolor bus ine s s
for abs ol ute ly noth ing.
O nce ins tal l
e d, your s ys te m is re ady-
Editor, FullCircl
e M agazine to-us e w ith a ful ls e t of productivity,
ronnie @ full
circl
e m agazine .org inte rne t, draw ing and graph ics
appl ications , and gam e s .

3
 NEW S Fe e lfre e to e m ailne w s s torie s
to: ne w s @ ful
Ple as e incl
l
circle m agazine .org
ude a s ource URL. De tail
s Em e rge on Ubuntu M obil
e

M icros oft H its Ne w Low

Upon vis iting th e URL-

h ttp://m s dn.m icros oft.com /e ve nts /h e ro/
th e vie w e r is gre e te d w ith a s om e w h at
badl y draw n Le go-type s ce ne :
Click ing on
one of th e
Le go
ch aracte rs
Canonical , th e com pany be h ind Ubuntu,
Source Fource
form all
y adde d Ubuntu M obil e to its
ch aracte rs
product page and m ore ful ly de s cribe d
give s you
its capabilitie s .
m ore on th e ir
back ground: To accom m odate for touch s cre e ns ,
Canonicalre tool e d th e Ubuntu inte rface
to w ork w ith taps and ge s ture s . O ne
pre s s on a button l aunch e s an
appl ication or m e nu, w h il
e s w iping a
finge r on a W e b page pans it, and
s w iping a vide o, ph oto, s ong or
th um bnailpage acts as “ forw ard”
I th ink it m ay be tim e for M icros oft to s tart button.
ignoring th e ir m ark e ting te am ...
h ttp://ne w s .digital
tre nds .com

h ttp://w w w .ubuntu.com /products /m obil

e

4
 NEW S
H ardy Al
ph a 5 Re l
e as e d ins tal land unins tal lUbuntu l ik e any oth e r De l
ladds ne w note book to
Ubuntu l
ine up
W indow s appl ication. It doe s not re q uire a
de dicate d partition, nor doe s it affe ct th e
Anoth e r H ardy H e ron pre -re l e as e is e xis ting bootloade r, ye t us e rs can
avail abl e for te s ting. Al ph a 5 is th e e xpe rie nce a dual -boot s e tup al m os t Us ual l
y, th e
fifth in a s e rie s of s ix m ile s tone CD ide nticalto a ful lins tallation. W ubi w ork s North
im age s th at w il lbe re l e as e d w ith a ph ys icalCD or in s tand-al one m ode , Am e rican
th rough out th e H ardy de ve l opm e nt by dow nl oading an appropriate ISO to ins tal l com pute r
cycl e . Alph a 5 incl ude s s e ve ralne w from . It can be found on th e root of th e CD giants
fe ature s th at are re ady for l arge - as W ubi.e xe . A ful lins tallation w ith in a introduce
s cale te s ting. Pl e as e re fe r to: de dicate d partition is s til lre com m e nde d, th e ir l
ate s t
h ttp://w w w .ubuntu.com /te s ting/h ardy/ but W ubi is a gre at w ay to try Ubuntu for a and gre ate s t products to th e U.S.
al ph a5 fe w days and w e e k s be fore com m itting m ark e t firs t, w ith Europe an
for inform ation on ch ange s in Ubuntu de dicate d dis k re s ource s . afte rth ough t. Not th is tim e . D e llis
and: bringing its l ate s t Ubuntu-pow e re d
h ttps ://w ik i.k ubuntu.org/H ardyH e ron/ h ttp://w w w .ubuntu.com /te s ting/h ardy/al
ph a5 l
aptop, th e Ins piron 1525, to th e
Al ph a5/Kubuntu Europe ans firs t. Am e ricans w il lne e d to
w ait untill ate r in Fe bruary for D e l l's
for ch ange s in Kubuntu. Pre -re l e as e s
ne w e s t Ubuntu Linux com pute r.
of H ardy are *not*e ncourage d for
anyone ne e ding a s table s ys te m or h ttp://w w w .de s k topl
inux.com
anyone w h o is not com fortabl e
running into occas ional , e ve n
fre q ue nt bre ak age . h as a s m al l
te am of de ve l ope rs w h o are
w ork ing on an ope n s ource
h ttps ://w ik i.ubuntu.com /UbuntuW e e k l appl ication w h ich w il lh e lp th os e ,
yNe w s l e tte r lik e us , w h o cre ate publ ications .
W e are al w ays l ook ing for m ore
de ve l ope rs . If you w oul dl ik e to
h el p, pl e as e vis it:
Th e re is a ne w ins tal
lation option for
W indow s us e rs . W ubi all
ow s us e rs to h ttp://de v.ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org

5
 FLAVO R O FTH E M O NTH
W ritte n by Robe rt Cl
ips h am

Th is m onth w e s h ow you h ow to ins tal lLinux M int, an Ubuntu de rivative th at's de s igne d to be e l
e gant, up-to-date and provide a
com fortabl e de s k top e nvironm e nt for th e us e r.

W
h e n you ins e rt th e Linux us ualw ay, s te p is jus t a s um m ary of th e
M int dis k , you are se le cting your options you h ave ch os e n in th e
pre s e nte d w ith th e Linux language and pre vious s te ps . Cl ick finis h , and
M int boot m e nu. Se l e ct 'Start tim e zone , w atch it ins tal l.
Linux M int', th e n w atch th e fol low e d by
be autifuls pl as h s cre e n (be l
ow ). your ch os e n
k e yboard
layout.

Th e ne xt s te p al l
ow s you to
re partition your h ard drive . Be
care fulw h e n s e le cting h ow to W h e n th e
partition. As l ong as you s e l e ct th e ins talle r is
re le vant option, you s h oul d be fine . com pl e te ,
Fol low ing partitioning, you ne e d to click re s tart, and w h e n
se le ct a re alnam e , a us e r nam e , a prom pte d, re m ove th e dis k .
pas s w ord and
a h os tnam e Upon re s tart, l og in to your
O nce M int h as l oade d, you can (righ t). Click ne w M int de s k top. You w il lbe
pl ay around w ith it, or you can go Forw ard and prom pte d to ch oos e a coupl e
dire ctly to th e ins tal
le r. Click th e m ove onto m ore options , s uch as a root
'Ins tal
l' icon on th e de s k top to th e ne xt s te p. pas s w ord and w h e th e r to us e
ins tallM int. Fol l
ow th e on s cre e n th e program 'fortune ' w h e n you
ins tructions to ins tallit in th e Th e final ope n a te rm inal .

6
 O ne is h igh priority, and h as be e n O th e r th ings to try out w ith
te s te d th orough l y, tw o h as be e n M int incl ude its e xce lle nt m e nu
te s te d s l
igh tl
yl e s s and s o on. You s ys te m , w h ich al l
ow s you to
can ge t a ful ls um m ary by cl ick ing s e arch ite m s and fil te r th e m by
th e 'Pre fe re nce s button' (or s e e th e cate gory – s pe e ding up th e tim e
picture be l ow ). You can ch ange th e it tak e s to find an appl ication;
le ve lof update s your com pute r and its w e b bas e d pack age
ch e ck s for, to al low you to h ave a m anage m e nt s ys te m , al low ing
s upe r s tabl e s ys te m or h ave bl e e ding you to brow s e pack age s onl ine .
e dge pack age s .

A padl ock w illbe dis pl aye d in

th e bottom righ t of your s cre e n,
w h ich you can cl ick to ins tall
update s . Th e M int update r (be l ow )
is inte re s ting, be caus e it us e s a
num be ring s ys te m to s h ow th e
priority/trus tw orth ine s s of
update s .

7
 H O W - TO CO M PILE FRO M SO URCE
W ritte n by Lojjik Braugh l
er

Ubuntu h as a ve ry l arge re pos itory of pack age s . Som e tim e s h ow e ve r, a pack age m ay be unavail abl e or you m igh t ne e d to com pil
e from
s ource . A fe w s im pl
e com m ands to do th is are ne e de d. To com pil e from s ource , us e th e fol
low ing s te ps :

T
o buil d pack age s , you w il
l Th e fol de r you are curre ntl y in
ne e d th e pack age buil d- w ith in th e te rm inalis w h e re it w il
l
e s s e ntial
. Th is can e as il
y be unpack th e arch ive . Now th at you
done w ith : h ave th e arch ive unpack e d, cd to its
m ain dire ctory us ing:
sudo apt-get install build-
essential checkinstall cd /pathhere

O r, if you don't lik e apt-ge t, And type th e fol

low ing:
ins tal
l and
w ith a pack age ./configure
w izard to ins tallth e s ource
m anage r of your ch oice . s im il
ar to w h at is s h ow n above .
Afte rw ards , type :
Now , you w il lne e d to unpack You h ave now com pil e d and
make
th e arch ive w h e re th e s ource is ins tall
e d th e s ource . If you h ave
locate d. To do th is for a tar.gz fil e: Final
ly, type : any probl e m s , you can al w ays
as k for h e lp in UbuntuForum s .org
tar -xvzf example.tar.gz sudo make install or on th e Ubuntu IRC ch anne l .
W h e re is th e If you w is h to com pil
e a D e bian
nam e of th e file . If ins te ad you (.de b) fil
e , type :
h ave a zippe d (.zip) arch ive , do
th e fol l
ow ing: sudo checkinstall
unzip file.zip Th e n it s h oul
d give you a h andy

8
 H O W - TO INSTA LLA ND USE TUX PA INT
W ritte n by Niam h M cCul
lagh , age d 8

Appl
ications > Education > Tux Paint. 'Stam p' button in th e Tool s Pane l
you w il
ls e e th e s tam ps available
to you on th e righ t-s ide pane l.

At th e bottom of th e w indow
th e re are col or buttons . Th is
Col or Pane lis l ik e your paint
pots in re all ife . Unde rne ath
Start 'Synaptic Pack age th e s e col
ors is a h e lpfulTux w h o
M anage r' by ch oos ing Sys te m > give s you tips about us ing e ach
Adm inis tration > Synaptic tool .
Pack age M anage r. You h ave to
type in your pas s w ord to ins tal
l
s oftw are .

Click th e 'Se arch ' button and

s e arch for 'tux paint'. Th e s e arch
Th e w h ite bit in th e ce nte r is th e
re s ults com e up and th e y s h oul d
page w h e re you paint. A bit l ik e
s h ow 'tuxpaint'. To ins tal lyou
pape r or canvas . Th e buttons on th e
s h oul d doubl e -cl
ick on th e w ord
le ft h and s ide (s uch as : paint, s tam p,
'tuxpaint'.
line s ) are your tool s for painting on
Cl ick th e 'Appl
y' button to finis h th e pape r. Th e s e tool s are lik e your
ins tall
ing Tux Paint. pe ncilor paintbrus h in re all ife . Th e
buttons on th e righ t h and s ide are
th e options or s e ttings for th e tool
you cl ick e d on in th e Tool s Pane l . You us e th e 'Ne w ' button on
th e tool
box to cre ate a ne w
Afte r ins tal
lation, you can s tart
For e xam pl
e , if you cl
ick on th e page . Th e O pe n button ope ns
Tux Paint by cl ick ing on

9
th e art gall
e ry w h e re picture s 'Undo' button on th e l
e ft Tool
s Pal
e tte . Th e gre at th ing about TuxPaint
pre vious l
y s ave d are s tore d. Th e is h ow m uch fun it is for k ids but
Save button s ave s a copy of th e at th e s am e tim e us e s m uch of
curre nt picture . th e s am e te rm inol ogy and s k il l
s
Th e 'Stam p' Toolcan be us e d to ne e de d for th e 'h igh -e nd'
: Picture s s ave d in cre ate s tam ps of oth e r picture s onto graph ics program s l ik e GIM P and
TuxPaint are s ave d to your h om e your page . Firs t, cl ick on th e 'Stam p' Ph otos h op. TuxPaint w il lm ak e
fol de r, in a h idde n fol de r nam e d button on th e l e ft s ide Tool
s Pane l. th e trans ition to th e s e
'.tuxpaint'. In orde r to s e e th is Ne xt, ch oos e a s tam p from th e appl ications re lative l y e as y.
h idde n fol de r, you w il lne e d to s tam p gal l
e ry on th e righ t-s ide
ch oos e Vie w > Sh ow H idde n Fil es O ptions Pane l . For m ore s tam ps , cl ick If onl y th e re w as a program to
in your Fil e Brow s e r. I fe e l th e arrow s be l ow th e O ptions Pane l . m ak e k ids th ink s pre ads h e e ts
TuxPaint w oul d be be tte r if th e Th e n, click on th e page to s tick your are fun!
picture s w e re s ave d to a non- s tam p on th e page .
h idde n l ocation for us e in oth e r
appl ications .
Vide o de m ons trations of
To add te xt, you cl ick th e 'Abc Te xt' TuxPaint can be vie w e d on th e
button on th e le ft Tools Pane l , th e n TuxPaint h om e page at:
To be gin painting w ith th e paint cl
ick on th e page and s tart typing. h ttp://w w w .tuxpaint.org/vide os /
brus h , cl ick th e 'Paint' toolin th e
Tool s Pane l . Afte r ch oos ing th e
Paint Tool , th e O ptions buttons on
th e righ t dis pl ay diffe re nt s tyle s of
brus h e s for painting. Afte r
ch oos ing a brus h s tyl e , you
s h oul d cl ick on th e col or you
w oul dl ik e to paint w ith , us ing th e
Col or Pal e tte at th e bottom of th e
w indow . Cl ick and drag on th e
w h ite canvas are a in th e ce ntre to
be gin painting. If you m ak e any
m is tak e s you can al w ays cl ick th e

10
 H O W - TO RIP A D VD W ITH A CID RIP
W ritte n by Jonny M cCul
lagh

I k now ve ry little about com pre s s ing vide o, but I re ce ntl y purch as e d a Fre e com M e diaPlaye r w h ich pl
ugs dire ctl y in to m y te l
e vis ion and
al low s m e to vie w vide o fil
e s and l is te n to m us ic. H ow e ve r, I al
s o w ante d to w atch m y fam ily vide os on m y s h iny ne w m e dia pl aye r. I
h ave rough l y a doze n or s o h om e m ade D VD s and e ach is q uite l arge (3-4 Gb). I w ante d to com pre s s th e s e vide os to cons e rve th e s pace
on m y m e dia pl aye r. To com pre s s th e m , I de cide d to us e .

T
o ins tal lAcidRip, cl ick
Sys te m > Adm inis tration >
Synaptic Pack age M anage r.
From th e Synaptic m e nu bar cl ick ,
on Se ttings > Re pos itorie s and
e ns ure th at th e re is a tick be s ide
th e m ul tive rs e re pos itory
(Softw are re s tricte d by copyrigh t
or le galis s ue s ). Click 'Clos e ' to
clos e th e 'Re pos itorie s ' dial og.
Ne xt, cl ick th e 'Re load' button
on th e Synaptic tool bar to e ns ure
you h ave th e de tail s about al lth e
l
ate s t s oftw are avail able.
button on th e Synaptic tool
bar to from
ins tal
lth e s oftw are .
. Afte r s tarting
, th e m ain w indow is
dis pl aye d as s h ow n in Figure 1
(le ft). Initial ly th e options s e e m
ove rw h e l m ing, but to ge t s tarte d
ins e rt your D VD into th e D VD
tray of your com pute r, th e n cl ick
th e 'Load' button to re trie ve th e
conte nts of your D VD . As s h ow n
be l ow , m y D VD titl e w as
re trie ve d as 'xm as 2005' w ith 6
ch apte rs and th e duration of th e
vide o is jus t ove r 59 m inute s .

Now cl ick th e 'Se arch ' button on I h ave m anual l

y am e nde d th e
th e Synaptic tool bar and s e arch 'File nam e ' s e tting from th e
for 'acidrip'. W h e n th e re s ul
ts are de faul t '/h om e /jonny/% T' to
dis playe d, you s h oul d se e '/m e dia/300/% T' s o th at m y
and you can doubl e -click th e re s ulting com pre s s e d vide o w ill
'AcidRip' e ntry to m ark it for Figure 1 (above ): AcidRip Ge ne ralSe ttings be s ave d as xm as 2005.avi on
ins tall
ation. Ne xt cl ick th e 'Appl y' Afte r ins tal
lation, you can s tart th e 300gb drive I m ounte d

11
pre vious l y as /m e dia/300. I h ave
al s o ch ange d th e de faul t value of
700 for 'Fil e s ize ' to 460 s o m y
re s ulting com pre s s e d vide o fil
e al te re d on th e Vide o
w il lbe 460 m e gabyte s (M b).
Afte r ch anging th e fil e s ize ,
click on anoth e r fie l d in th e
w indow (e .g. th e Track Titl e fie ld)
to e ns ure th e ch ange you m ade
tak e s e ffe ct. If you do not do th is ,
your ch ange m ay not be notice d
by AcidRip - a l ittl
e bug I th ink .
Th is 460M b s ize is s uitabl e for
m y one h our vide o w h e re as
700M b w oul d be s uitabl e for a 9 0
m inute vide o.
Figure 2 (above ): AcidRip Vide o Se ttings
At th at point, you w il lw ant to
For advance d us e rs , ope n your Fil e Brow s e r (Pl
ace s >
th e bitrate can be H om e ) and find your ne w l y
com pre s s e d vide o fil
e to e njoy.
tab as s h ow n in Figure 2.
To be gin th e actuale ncoding Th e re are oth e r alte rnative s for
proce s s , cl
ick on th e 'Start' button at ripping D VD s incl uding
th e bottom of th e AcidRip w indow . (be low ) w h ich I found a l ittl
e
Th e m ain AcidRip w indow w il l com pl icate d and ,
dis appe ar and a progre s s w indow w il l w h ich I found a l ittl
e sl ow , but if
appe ar as s h ow n be l ow . you w ant to ge t ripping q uick l y
and e as il y, ce rtainly
pas s e d m y acid te s t.
Afte r e ncoding (above ) h as
re ach e d 100% and finis h e d, you w il
l
be re turne d to th e AcidRip m ain
w indow (s h ow n in Figure 1).
12
 H O W - TO CREATE YO UR O W N
W ritte n by D anie lLam b SERVER - Part 2
Now th e Ubuntu s e rve r ins tal
lation is com pl
e te w e w il
lins tal lXfce de s k top, W e bm in and al
s o s oftw are update s from th e com m and
l
ine as w e l
las w ith th e update m anage r w h ich w illbe buil t into th e Xubuntu de s k top.

A
fte r re booting th e PC afte r
th e ins tall
,l ogin us ing your
ch os e n us e r nam e and
pas s w ord.
Th e firs t ite m to be addre s s e d is
configuring of th e s ource s . W e w il l
re m ove th e CD re pos itory (w h ich
autom atical ly ge ts adde d to th e
s ource s ) and add w e b bas e d
s ource s .
To do th is w e w il lus e nano, m y
pe rs onalfavorite , if you h ave a
pre fe rre d te xt e ditor ple as e us e
th at. Type into th e com m and l ine :
com m and as root. Add a h as h (# ) in Afte r th e update s are finis h e d,
front of th e CD e ntry and re m ove th e re s tart your m ach ine . Log in and
h as h e s from th e front of th e oth e r run th e s am e com m and jus t in
e ntrie s . Afte r com pl
e ting th is s te p cas e th e re are any oth e r update s
pre s s CTRL+ X th e n pre s s 'Y' or type th at w e re m is s e d, al th ough apt
'ye s ' to s ave ch ange s . is unl ik e l
y to m is s any. Afte r th is
is finis h e d, w e is s ue w h at w il
lbe
our l as t com m and for th is th is
is s ue :
Afte r com pl
e ting th is , type :
sudo apt-get install
sudo apt-get update xubuntu-desktop
Th is w il
lupdate th e apt s ource s Ans w e r 'ye s ' to: 'D o you w ant
and apt w il lth e n k now w h at s oftw are to continue '. Go and re ad th e
it can ge t. Now type :

sudo nano sudo apt-get upgrade

/etc/apt/sources.list
You w il lne e d to s uppl
y th e
pas s w ord you s e t as your us e r
pas s w ord as you are running a
To ins tal lth e late s t update s to your
s ys te m . Th is m ay tak e a littl
e w h il
e
de pe nding on h ow m any update s are
ne e de d for your s ys te m , you m igh t
w ant to put th e k e ttl e on now .
13
re s t of th is is s ue , and h ave a nice
cup of te a.
Afte r th is h as com pl
e te d, re boot
your m ach ine . O nce th e m ach ine
h as s tarte d up you w illbe
pre s e nte d w ith th e login
s cre e n.
Log in us ing your pre vious l y
ch os e n us e r nam e and pas s w ord
and you w il lbe pre s e nte d w ith th e
Xubuntu de s k top, you now ne e d
to run th e update s by righ t
click ing on th e orange icon in th e
top righ t h and corne r and cl ick
'Ins tallallupdate s ', th e n s uppl y
your pas s w ord to al l
ow th e
update s to run. Al te rnative ly, you
can pre s s Ctrl + Al
t+ F2 and l ogin
us ing your us e r nam e and
pas s w ord again and run th e
update s from th e com m and l ine .
Afte r th is is finis h e d re s tart your
m ach ine . O nce l ogge d in, ope n
Fire fox and brow s e to
h ttp://w w w .w e bm in.com /(above
righ t) and in th e m e nu on th e l
click 'D e bian Pack age '.
FullCircl e is
l
ook ing for
proof- re ade rs .
Can you s pare a
fe w days e ach m onth to
proof- re ad articl e s for us ?
If you can, pl e as e e m ail:
ch oos e to ope n w ith and ronnie @ fullcircle m agazine .org
click O K. Th e 'Pack age Ins tal le r' w ill for m ore de tails.
th e n ope n and you can s im pl y cl ick
'Ins tallPack age '. Th e pack age or join our IRC ch anne l
:
m anage r w il lals o ins tal
lallth e
ne e de d de pe nde ncie s for W e bm in. log on to irc.fre e node .ne t and
join # full
circl e m agazine
O nce W e bm in h as ins tal
le d, go to: O r, you can vis it via our
h ttps ://l
ocalh os t:10000 and l og in w e bIRC clie nt at
us ing your us e r nam e and pas s w ord. irc.full
circle m agazine .org
W e al s o h ave a forum at:
h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/forum
, dis play.ph p?f=270
e ft,

W h e n th e .de b fil
e h as finis h e d w w w .ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org
dow nl oading, righ t cl ick on it and

14
 REVIEW A SUS EEE PC
W ritte n by Ronnie Tuck e r
A ND X UBUNTU
Im agine a l aptop th at is onl
y jus t l
arge r th an a D VD cas e , tw ice as th ick , runs Linux and w oul
d cos t jus t ove r £200 (~ $400). Fantas y?Not
at all
, it's cal
le d th e ASUS EEE PC.

T
h e firs t th ing I notice d about W h e n you firs t boot th e Ee e
th e m ach ine is th at it is you are pre s e nte d w ith a h e avil y
com pl e te ly s il
e nt. O th e r pe opl e m odifie d ve rs ion of Xandros
us ual ly notice th e s m al ls cre e n firs t. (le ft) w h ich , w h ile e xce ll
e nt for
I'm not Eins te in but if th e s cre e n w as th e ne w us e r, m ak e s th e Ee e
large r, th e n th e e ntire unit w oul d be look too m uch l ik e a ch il
d's toy.
large r. Th e w h ol e point of th e Ee e is Fortunate l y m any ge e k s m ak e
to be s m al l
! Anoth e r th ing pe opl e ligh t w ork and w ays h ave be e n
h ave be e n pointing out is th e s m al l found to re pl ace Xandros w ith
k e yboard. If you h ave big h ands , oth e r Linux dis tributions .

CPU Type : 9 00M H z Inte lCe l e ron th e n it m ay w e l lbe a probl e m , but I

I trie d Ubuntu, I trie d Kubuntu.
M obil e am typing th is articl e on th e Ee e
I e ve n trie d Puppy Linux. But
RAM : 512M B D D R2 w ith out difficul ty.
H ard D rive Capacity: 4GB S.S.D
th e y al lh ad one probl e m or
D rive Type : Sol id-State D is k anoth e r. Ubuntu s e e m e d to th ink
Scre e n Size : 7 inch e s th e batte ry w as brok e n and
O pe rating Sys te m : Linux ne ith e r w ire d nor w ire l e s s w oul d
W ire le s s Ne tw ork ing: Ye s 802.11 b/g w ork . Kubuntu l ik e d th e batte ry,
Eth e rne t Control l
e r: Ye s
but again no ne tw ork or w ire l e ss.
USB Ports : Ye s , th re e USB2.0 ports
Batte ry Life : 3.5 H ours s ubje ct to A fe w s cripts w e re re l e as e d
us age w h ich w oul d e ffe ctive l y patch
Approx W e igh t: 0.9 k g (19 6 l bs ) Ubuntu to ge t m os t th ings
D im e ns ions (m m ): 22.5x16.4x2.15- w ork ing, but by th at tim e I h ad
3.5CM dis cove re d th e e xce l le nt
Buil t in W e bcam (0.3 M e ga Pixe l )
Ste re o Spe ak e rs
SD Card Sl ot 15
com m unity at w w w .e e e us e r.com
w h ich h ad cre ate d
w h ich w as , as you can im agine , a
m odifie d Xubuntu ins tal lbut w ith
patch e s appl ie d on ins tal
l. But not
e ve ryth ing w e nt as planne d.
Fol low ing th e ins tructions on
th e e e e Xubuntu page on th e
e e e us e rs .com w ik i I cre ate d a
bootabl e USB s tick w h ich
containe d th e e e e Xubuntu Live
CD . Th e ins tal lw e nt ah e ad as
norm al , I m ade s ure to ch oos e
"M anual "w h e n th e ins tal ler
re ach e d th e partitioning s e ction
s ince w e do not w ant a s w ap
partition on th e Ee e . Th e l e ss
w rite s to th e s ol id s tate drive th e
be tte r, now one probl e m w ith th e
ins tal le r is th at s om e of th e
w indow s are too tal lfor th e s m all
s cre e n. Th e trick is to h ol d dow n
th e Al t k e y w h il
e l e ft click ing
anyw h e re on w indow . Th is l e ts
you m ove th e w indow round and,
if ne e d be , out of th e s cre e n, s o
now I coul d continue and finis h off
th e ins tal l
. CD e ntry to th e /e tc/fs tab fil
From col d boot to l og in s cre e n
w as approxim ate l y th irty s e conds ,
slow e r th an th e de fault Xandros
ins tal l, but w orth it in m y opinion.
Log in to de s k top is al m os t ins tant. I
w as th e n gre e te d w ith th e m e s s age
th at m y batte ry w as pos s ibl y brok e n.
H aving us e d, and ch arge d, th e Ee e
s e ve raltim e s s ince , th e batte ry
m e te r s e e m s to w ork fine , I've no
ide a w h y it dis pl ays th e e rror
m e s s age but it s e e m s to be a fal se
al arm .
Afte r booting I poppe d in a USB
s tick onl y to be gre e te d w ith a
m e s s age s aying th at e e e Xubuntu
cannot m ount th e USB drive . Afte r a
bit of q uick re s e arch , it turns out th at
th e e e e Xubuntu ins tal l
e r s tilladds a
e . Afte r
com m e nting out th e CD l ine it
acce pte d th e USB s tick no probl em.
Ne xt port of cal
lw as th e w ire l
e ss,
16
th is w as a big probl e m w ith
al m os t allLinux dis tro's on th e
Ee e , e ve n Ubuntu ne e ds a patch .
I'm a Kubuntu us e r by day s o
us ing Xubuntu is a bit al ie n to
m e , but afte r l
e ft cl ick ing on th e
ne tw ork ing icon in th e tas k bar
(be low ) m y w ire l
e s s w as
de te cte d, gave it m y W EP code
and I w as off and running!
Th e ne xt bone of conte ntion
w ith th e Ee e is s ound. I pl aye d a
W AVfil e and it w as aw ful !
Crack l edl ik e crazy. Afte r s om e
re s e arch on Ubuntu Forum s I
found a ne at trick . Us ing th e
m e dia pl aye r appl ication in
e e e Xubuntu, turn th e vol um e up
as h igh as it w il lgo. Ne xt ope n a
cons ol e and type :
alsamixer
 In your cons ol e you w il ls e e
s om e s lide rs . M ove th e firs t tw o
slide rs up and dow n (w h il e appl ication, you are s til
pl aying s om e audio) untilyou
h ave a de ce nt vol um e . Now e xit
al s am ixe r. Now type :
sudo alsactl store 0
Th at w il ls ave your s e ttings for
ne xt tim e . It w as n't untill ate r th at
I re al is e d you can add a vol um e
controlpane lto th e tas k bar,
w h ich is s im il ar to th e als am ixe r
s o try adding th e vol um e control
firs t, it m ay s ave you ge tting your
h ands dirty in th e cons ol e . O ne
finalprobl e m w ith e e e Xubuntu
s e e m s to be th e s ound in gam e s . I
found th at e nabl ing th e s ound in
s om e gam e s caus e d th e gam e to
cras h . D is abl ing th e s ound l e ft th e
gam e s ful ly pl ayabl e.
O ne th ing I h ave no re alus e for
on th e Ee e is th e buil t in w e bcam .
But for th e purpos e s of th is
re vie w I did h ave to add a Fe is ty
re pos itory to obtain th e ucvie w
appl ication w h ich is w h at
e e e Xubuntu ne e ds to s tart up th e
w e bcam . Eas y to ins tal lbut not
m uch us e it s e e m s s ince no
m atte r w h e th e r you capture th e
s cre e n yours e l f or by us ing th e
ll
e ft
w ith a bl ank im age . Th is s e e m s to be
a k now n probl e m and I'm s ure th e
boffins w il love rcom e it.
Th e finalth ing to te s t w as th e
function k e ys . To s ave h aving an
e xtra doze n or s o k e ys , s om e doubl e
up. So h ol ding dow n th e Fn k e y and
re turn your Ee e to factory
tapping F3 w il ldul lth e s cre e n, Fn +
de faul t. Suffice to s ay: I w on't be
F4 w illbrigh te n th e s cre e n. Th e s e
ne e ding th e re cove ry dis c. I'm
w ork pe rfe ctly wel lin e e e Xubuntu.
k e e ping e e e Xubuntu ins tal l
e d on
m y Ee e as it h as e ve ryth ing th at
I ne e d ful l
y w ork ing. I'm w riting
th is in Abiw ord (above ), e diting
m y ph otos in GIM P and h ave
Fire fox, Th unde rbird and Pidgin
for m y inte rne t ne e ds .
O ne of th e big fe ature s of
Linux is , of cours e , Com piz
Fus ion. H aving notice d a fe w
m urm e rings of Com piz in th e
Th e Ee e com e s w ith a re cove ry
e e e us e rs forum I de cide d to give
D VD w h ich , ironical l
y, re q uire s
it a try, h aving re ad th rough a
W indow s . But I m anage d to ge t th e
fe w pos ts , s te p one is to ge t
re s cue dis c w ork ing fine in W INE
aigl x w ork ing, th is is done by:
running on m y de s k top Kubuntu
m ach ine . Th e dis c allow s you to sudo apt-get install libgl1-
cre ate a bootabl e USB s tick w ith th e mesa-dri
de faul t Xandros on it to l e t you
17
 Now re s tart X
(Ctrl+ Alt+ Back s pace ) you now
ne e d to ope n th e Synaptic
Pack age M anage r and ins tal l
:
Abs ol ute l y! I can w obbl
e my And ye s , w ith th e appropriate
w indow s and s pin m y cube w ith th e code cs it'l
le ve n pl ay allyour
be s t of th e m ! audio and vide o fil e s!

•com piz-core

•com piz-pl
ugins

•com piz-fus ion-pl

ugins -m ain

•com piz-fus ion-pl

ugins -e xtra

• com pizconfig-s e ttings -

m anage r
If you pre fe r Em e ral d for your
w indow borde rs th e n you can
se le ct it too in Synaptic. Afte r
click ing "Appl y"you w il lh ave
Com piz Fus ion ins tal le d. But on
s uch a l ow s pe c m ach ine , is it
e ve n us abl e?
Th e one pain w ith Com piz on th e
Ee e is th e Com piz Se ttings m anage r.
It is jus t too big for th e s cre e n. By
de faul t Com piz w on't nudge a
w indow out th e top of th e s cre e n, it
doe s n't al w ays w ork w e llw ith th e
Al t+ Cl ick + D rag trick w h ich is a
s h am e . Th e vas t m ajority of th e
e ffe cts w ork w e lland s m ooth l y w h ich
is s urpris ing for, as I s aid, s uch a l ow
s pe c m ach ine .
So w h at e xactl y am I giving five to:
e e e Xubuntu?Th e ASUS EEE?Quite
frank l y I'm giving th e m both five out of
five ! Th e ASUS EEE is an e xce l le nt l
ittl
e
note book . Grante d it doe s l ook a bit
lik e a k ids toy but it is s o h andy th at
you h ave to l ove it. And th e
com m unity th at h as al te re d Xubuntu
to s uit th e EEE al s o de s e rve a round of
appl aus e as w ith out th e m m y EEE
w oul d s til
lh ave th at aw fulch il dis h
look ing O S ins tal le d on it. Now m ay be
th e pe rfe ct tim e to pick up a firs t
ge ne ration EEE as ASUS h as jus t
re ce ntl y announce d l arge r ve rs ions of
th e EEE to be re l e as e d s oon.

18
 M Y O PINIO N
W ritte n by D anie lM onte iro
I
n th e pas t ye ars , inde pe nde nt
(indie ) gam e de ve l opm e nt
w e nt from s itting on dark
bas e m e nt, s taring a bl ack and
w h ite s cre e n, fiddl ing cryptic
m e s s age s to de code th e VGA
re gis te rs in orde r to ach ie ve th e
m axim um pe rform ance to s itting
on a dark bas e m e nt w h il e s taring
to gorge ous GNO M E or KD E
s cre e n w h ile tos s ing th e
m axim um pe rform ance from your
GPU w ith no s w e at. (O f cours e ,
s om e of us s til llove th at darn
pre tty bl ack s cre e n)
From th e s e dark age s to curre nt
days , Linux gam e de ve l opm e nt
w e nt from an adve nture to s om e
s e rious play. Th e tool s m ature d
and CG com panie s took Linux
m ore s e rious l y as a de ve l
opm e nt
pl atform .
Th is article inte nds to pre s e nt
th e re ade r w ith s om e good
options on Linux gam e
de ve lopm e nt, w h ile analyzing th e
IND EPEND ENT GA M E
D EVELO PM ENT
re as ons of th is Linux gam e
de ve lopm e nt tak e off.
Picture th is : You h ave a pre tty
cons ole s cre e n on your m ach ine .
W h at are your gam ing options ?
None , you m igh t ans w e r. You coul dn't
be m ore w rong.
Be fore XSe rve rs w e re
com m onpl ace , th e re w e re alre ady a
s truggl ing gam e de ve l opm e nt
com m unity. M os t of th e m cam e from
th e e xis te nt BSD com m unity and s aw
a good pote ntialw ith th at "fas t and
ligh tw e igh t UNIX"th at Linux w as
(today, both Linux and BSD s e e n to
be in th e s am e l e ve l) and th e n w e
got our s h are of cons ol e gam e s , l ik e
dope w ars and oth e r cons ol e cl as s ics .
D e ve loping th e s e gam e s w as m ore
ch al le nging th an pl aying. Th e y didn't
h ave th e tool s avail able w e h ave
today. Th e s e dark age s w oul dn't las t
long.
19
Since th e s tart of th e m ode rn
com puting indus try, UNIX w as
th e de facto s tandard for s e rious
appl ications and be fore th e M ac
tak e -ove r, UNIX w as th e abs ol ute
k ing for com pute r graph ics .
Th e n it cam e . Th e graph ical
re volution for th e UNIX
w ork s tation. Firs t, it w as a
indus try or office th ing th e n,
gradual ly, w e got an XSe rve r
running on our m ach ine s .
But s til
l, coding a gam e in XLib
can l e ad to s uicide . H ow did w e
ge t s uch gre at gam e s l ik e Pl
ane t
Pe nguin Race r and Supe r Tux?
Th e m ain re as on s h oul d be
tw o inve ntions h e re : O pe nGL
and SD L.
O pe nGLope ne d a ne w w orl d
in com pute r graph ics . Be ing
m os tly a Sil
icon Graph ics th ing,
it w as for s ure a UNIX-frie ndl y
th ing. Afte r pas s ing th e h urdle s of
ge tting a X w indow w ith O pe nGL
w e coul d finally ge t our Quak e
afte r a h ard w ork day.
And w h il e O pe nGLdid gre at
th ings for 3D graph ics , It carrie d
unne ce s s ary w e igh t to 2D Gam e
D e ve l
opm e nt. Th e de ve l ope r h ad
tw o options : us e th e
unacce l e rate d but cl os e r to oth e r
2D APIs XLib or to go w ith th e
(s om e tim e s ) acce l
e rate d but
unnaturalO pe nGL;Som e of th e m
ran to GTK and oth e r tool k its , but
m os t got l os t on th is . And th e n
cam e Sam Lantinga to unify our
battl e crie s .
Sam Lantinga h ad to port a
M acintos h e m ul ator to W indow s
and Linux. Coding a graph ical
s ys te m for e ve ry O pe rating
Sys te m s ounds a crazy th ing. And
it is . H e h ad a s im ple but daunting
ide a: w rite an abs traction l aye r,
cal le d SD L, and th e re s t is h is tory.
H e got D oom porte d to SD Lin 3
days !
Now w e can us e SD Lin a h uge
varie ty of pl
atform s , ranging from
m obile de vice s (m ore about th is
be l
ow ), Vide o Gam e Cons ole s , and
l
ots of m ains tre am and obs cure
ope rating s ys te m s .
W ith SD L, de ve lope rs coul d
actual ly go th rough th e "cre ate
w indow for O pe nGL"nove l la in l e ss
th an 10 l ine s of code . And binding
for oth e r l
anguage s s pring e ve ry
m onth or s o. I be t h e didn't s e e th at
com ing.
Th e h e arts of m il lions of
program m e rs (th os e incl ude e ve n
Joh n Carm ack ) w e re touch e d w ith
th is prom is e : "Now w e can w rite our
ow n AAA gam e for al lpl atform s ".
Unfortunate l y, it took a w h il e for th e
ide a to catch on for re al . W h at th e
Java appl e ts re al ly w e re abl e to do
w as a l ittle be low th at. But s til l, as
Sun re l e as e d th e ir JD K for Linux, it
w as q uick l y pos s ibl e to w rite Java
appl e ts on a Linux box and s e e th e m
running on M acs and w indow s boxe s .
Bas ical ly, th is w as a tim e for s m al
l onl y pos s ibl e dow ns ide of th e
arcade cl one s and adve rgam e s . And
for s e ve rals tartups funde d for
adve rgam e s , th e Linux + Java
20
appl e ts w e re th e k il
le r com bo.
M os t of th e te ch nicals taff of
th os e cam e from th os e te ch
ge e k s w h o h ad be e n us ing Linux
s ince col le ge .
But s til
l, th e pre m ie r tim e for
s m ooth Java gam e de ve l opm e nt
w as ye t to com e , and w e w il l
re turn to th is late r.
If m obile is th e nam e of th e
gam e , you're l uck y. M obil
e
de ve lopm e nt unde r UNIX h ave
be e n s trong s ince th e be ginning,
w ith J2M E m os tl y, and now ,
m ore re ce ntl y, w ith Linux M obil
e.
W ith J2M E, th e re are pl e nty of
pos s ibilitie s . Som e are m ore
m ature , l ik e Ne tBe ans and Sun
W TK, and s om e brand ne w , l ik e
Nok ia's W idSe t. Linux is be ing
tak e n s e rious l y by th e big
pl aye rs , as m os t innovations in
te rm s of de s ign com e s from
fre e dom figh te rs , l ik e us . Th e
approach m igh t be th e pl e th ora
of proprie tary protocol s m obil e
ph one s us e to com m unicate w ith
a com pute r th rough th e data
cabl e s . Be s ure to purch as e a
ph one th at s pe ak s "M as s Storage
D e vice "to th e com pute r.
Re ce ntly, w e h ave s e e n s om e
com panie s going w ith Linux for
th e ir m obile O S'e s . W e allgain
w ith th at: th is m obil e Linux is not
th at diffe re nt from our de s k top
m ach ine and m os t SD Ks us e
te ch nol ogie s broadl y avail able . Its
lik e playing w ith your ch il dh ood
frie nd's ch ild.
O ne Com m on point w h e n
de al ing w ith m obil e gam e
de ve l opm e nt is th e us e of Sim pl
D ire ctM e dia Laye r. M os t m obil e putting th e m to do th e ir be s t w e re
dis tros al low SD Lapps to run w ith
privil e ge d s pe e ds . Th e bigge s t
dis tros h e re are : QTopia, from
Trol lte ch (th e guys th at gave us
libq t), EZ X (QTopia bas e d), from
M otorol a (s om e w arnings appl y broadcas t, cre ating s ocialproje cts
h e re , as it doe s nt run native
appl ications righ t out-of-th e -box),
and m os tl y M ae m o (th e one your
h um bl e w rite r is m os t lik e l
y to
code in day-to-day), from Nok ia
and final l
y O pe nM ok o, th at is a
joint e ffort to produce a dis tro for
m obil e ph one s .
Als o w orth e xpe rie nce ), lik e
m e ntioning th at ASUSTEK w ith its
Ubuntu M obil e is to Ee e PC (l e ft) and
be com e a gre at O LPC (th e l as t one
m obil e O S, m ak ing big be ts on
incorporating th e UI e ducational
from M ae m o. Look s gam ing), e ach
ve ry prom is ing. be ing too big to
cove r h e re .
As Linux e vol ve d from th e las t
de cade , w e coul d s top w orrying Now th at you cant w ait m ore
about or de s k top and coul d to ge t your h ands dirty, I w il
l
conce ntrate on producing s h ow you s om e good options for
s om e th ing. Th is is a byproduct of de ve loping your ow n gam e s .
proje cts l ik e Ubuntu, th at aim s to
e bring m ore focus to th e de ve l ope rs ,
e m acs (or your favorite te xt
th e y e xce l.
e ditor) + g+ + : Th ats righ t!
Th e re are al s o s m all
e r e fforts on ch ance s are th at th e e xact
s om e countrie s , l ik e Brazil , to us e m ach ine your are us ing to re ad
Linux as a m e dium of k now l e dge th is te xt is capabl e of gam e
de ve l opm e nt. Al th ough th e
th at cal le d for m ore ave rage -joe - e xpe rie nce can be s om e w h at
frie ndl y de s k tops . Th os e are fe rtil e s partan, its pe rfe ctl y pos s ibl e.
fie l
d for Linux gam ing. Exce pt for a fe w m om e nts I ran
for s om e be tte r tool s , I w e nt th is
Al s o, th e re are oth e r com panie s w ay to de ve l op m y ow n 3D
us ing Linux for note book s (but th is m obil e gam e e ngine
dis tinguis h from m obil e Linux, as (w w w .s f.ne t/proje cts /bzk ).
th e re is a ful lLinux m ach ine
21
 for your option). Ros e Garde n is de ce nt if
w ork s tation are - you can ge t ove r th e JACK
If you're s om e tim e s , nigh tm are , w h e n producing
going for Java, virtual ization m us ic (if you can't us e Ros e
m ak e s ure you can be a viabl e Garde n, jus t invite th at frie nd of
tak e Ne tBe ans , option. yours to pl ay th e ir s ongs , but
as it h ave a m ak e s ure to turn of th e vocal 's
ve ry s trong O ne pie ce of m ic)
m obil e s upport. good advice
D on't forge t m igh t be to us e
your "m obil ity SD L. I can atte s t
pack "for th e th is , as I do W ith s o m any options , you
ch os e n m obile m os t of m y h ave to w onde r w h y are you s til
l
de vice profil e. de ve l opm e nt on re ading th is ins te ad of producing
m y de s k top e nvironm e nt and w h e n I th e ne xt Quak e . Ge t bus y!
If not, you're ge aring tow ards fe e lth e ne e d, I jus t s w itch to th e
Linux m obil e w h ich is good and m obil e SD K (in m y cas e , M ae m o SD K
bad ne w s : unde r Scratch box), re com pil e,
ge ne rate a D e bian ARM pack age and
Th e good: m os t of your e xis te nt
te s t it on de vice (Nok ia N770). Th is
de s k top code w il
lw ork out of th e
can s ave you val uabl e de bugging
box.
tim e .
Th e bad: you w il l
, probabl y (as
m os t m obil e de vice s us e ARM
proce s s ors w h ich are W ith th e arts de partm e nt, th e be s t
incom patibl e w ith our x86 tools (but not th e onl y one s ) are th e
m ach ine s ) ne e d to re com pil e it GIM P and Bl e nde r (above ) for
w ith s om e e s ote ric SD K. And th is graph ics (w ith th e advantage of
w illde pe nd on th e targe t running al s o on W indow s for th at
pl atform . Som e are e as y, s om e goofy frie nd of yours th at s til lus e s
are not. M ak e s ure to al so W indow s ) and Audacity for s ound
re s e arch w h at th e be s t s e ttings (GNU Sound be ing anoth e r viabl e

22
 M Y STO RY W H Y IW ENT LINUX
W ritte n by Joh n J. M ace y

I
'm not a w rite r, but do th ings –
lik e al
lth os e oth e rs out th e re
e .g. run /w ork /pl ay /h ave a
life /us e a com pute r /h ave a
PD A. I don't h ate W indow s , but I
w as frus trate d, and took a ch ance
on Linux be caus e of w h at I
m e ntione d. I took th e pe rs onal
initiative .
th e pe rs onalinitiative . I h ad no Pre s ide nt's ), s tay in contact w ith
budge t, but al w ays as k e d, w h y can't m y s on in Ge rm any, and de al
I do th is , or th at, w ith allth e w ith m y H is panic frie nds . Pl us ,
M icros oft s oftw are th at I bough t, or th row in th e occas ionalFre nch
w as h ande d to m e . O h , I h ave at one ph ras e . Alls pe l lch e ck e d.
tim e h ad one or tw o l arge budge ts .
And, I paid for M icros oft l ice ns e s al
l
ove r th e pl ane t. Th e n th e price k e pt
ge tting h igh e r.

Th e re are a l ot of buzz-w ords M e anw h ile , I s tarte d to ge t

out th e re and one of th os e is
O pe n Source . Th at m e ans Linux
to m e . I took th e pl unge . I w e nt
from SuSE 9 .0 - 10.1, and al lth e
Ubuntu dis tros , th e n s e ttl e d on
Linux M int. Al ltoo ofte n, w h at is
ne ve r m e ntione d, is th e additional
w ord "Com m unity". Join a Linux
Forum w ith your is s ue s -- s ave a
lot of tim e , e ne rgy, e ffort, and
m one y. Ge t invol ve d, it's fre e !
Sim pl y, Linux doe s th ings for
m e th at I al w ays w ante d to do.
O nce you ge t invol ve d, th e e nd
re s ul
t is s im ply am azing. No one
le ad m e by th e h and – but I took
frus trate d. Lots of th ings to do and
pay for out th e re . But, no h e l p.
D e ve loping a bus ine s s be cam e a
probl e m . Joining a Linux Forum w as
am azing. Pe opl e w ith th e s am e
probl e m s th at I h ad gave m e
s olutions . Noticing w h y I s h ifte d to
Linux?
H e re is a gre at e xam pl e of Linux.
I've al w ays l ook e d to Spe llCh e ck m y
e -m ail s in m ultiple language s . Th e
re as on is , I h ave w ork e d
Inte rnational l
y for a good de alof m y
life and al w ays , alw ays w ante d to
s pe llch e ck m y e -m ail s in Am e rican
Engl is h (not th e Que e n's , but th e
Now , as a th ink ing individual ,
go try to find a s ol ution w ith
M icros oft. I'llbe t you can't. M y
s olution: Evol ution (above ). H e y
th at rh ym e s . Can you im agine
afte r h aving de al t w ith th e
large s t, m os t m onopol is tic
s oftw are com pany on th e pl ane t,
m y m ul tiple ph one
conve rs ations w ith th e ir Te ch
Support?I can now s pe l lch e ck

23
in four l
anguage s at th e s am e
tim e .
H e y, w e h ave al lbe e n th e re ,
done th at, and h ave th e T-Sh irt.
C'm on guys – ge t w ith th e
program , it's a s m al lw orl d afte r
al l. W as n't th at once a big h it
s ong from a D is ne y fil m ?I trul y com pl
th ink th at M icros oft h as be com e
too – w h at w oul d th e righ t w ord
be h e re ?Pe rh aps too s om e th ing
or oth e r. I don't w ant to be at
th e m up, but th e s h ift cam e to m e
a w h ile back . I h ad ide as in m ind,
and w ante d to do s om e th ing.
Linux, and al lth os e th ous ands ,
and th ous ands of appl ications ,
gave m e th e s ol utions .
Th e y don't callit a PC –
Pe rs onalCom puting -- w ith out a
re as on. I h ave a PC. It is now al
l Buy anoth e r appl
O pe n Source .
Ne xt, I h ate d h aving to buy all
th os e additionalprogram s /
appl ications s o th at I can cre ate a
.pdf, burn a CD , D VD , l e t al
one
h ave a good O ffice Suite of
program s . Th at's not counting
going on th e s e arch for a good
s e cure brow s e r, virus s canne r,
fire w all, running dis k de fragm e nte rs , around e ve ryone can do it and
ch e ck ing on virii, adw are , s pyw are , s ave th e m s e l
ve s a good de alof
m al w are , root k its . O h , and th e e ve r tim e , e ffort and frus tration
popul ar M icros oft update s . A Linux de al ing w ith out M icros oft. Non-
D is tribution give s it to you al lfor fre e ! frus trating = Linux.
Firs t th ings firs t – O pe nO ffice . I'm k now n as “ Adl e r” in about
Th e re are h ate rs out th e re th at 3 – 4,000 pos ts . Adl e r m e ans
ain about Exce ls pre ads h e e t “ Eagl e ” in Ge rm an, w h ich I
conve rs ions , but I've ofte n e nough s pe ak fl ue ntl
y. But, w e al ls pe ak
be e n s tuck w ith Exce l– as an Linux – gl obally.
appl ication its e lf. If s om e one can't
conve rt a W ord .doc, th e y ne ve r h ad De l lh as s tarte d s h ipping th e ir
th e s ligh te s t cl
ue w h at th e y w e re D e s k tops , and Note book s w ith
doing in th e firs t pl ace . Linux ins tal le d ins te ad of
M icros oft. Noticing a l arge r l
e ve l
Eve r trie d talk ing to M icros oft of frus tration?Go Linux, go!
about trying to do s om e th ing w ith
O utl ook lik e trying to do a m as s e - Cons ide r m e a citize n of th e
m ailto s e nd th e l ate s t ne w s l
e tte r to w orld – th e O pe n Source w orl d,
clie nts ?You can do th at w ith M ail th at is . W e l
ik e to ge t th ings
M e rge in W ord, but not w ith O utl ook . done , and can do it ours e l ve s . I
ication, pl us k e e p do it w ith Linux M int Cas s andra .
ge tting h it w ith s e curity w arnings ,
and update s . I'd be com e m y ow n As k th e ne xt tim e th at you buy
M icros oft Sys te m Engine e r! a PC from D e l l, IBM , CO M PAQ,
H P, SO NY, Tos h iba, e tc. if th e y
M y ne w e s t frie nd is th e O pe n s h ip th e ir s ys te m s w ith Linux
Source Com m unity. Funny w ord and not M icros oft.
th e re . Lots of gre at s upport. M y oth e r
frie nd is Googl e.Al ong tim e ago,
pe opl e w e re s tuck w ith is s ue s , but
now w e can do a “ Googl e ” . Th is tim e
24
 M O TU INTERVIEW
Tak e n from
Be h ind M O TU is a s ite w h ich fe ature s inte rvie w s w ith th os e w h o are k now n as 'M as te r’s of th e Unive rs e ' (M O TU). Th e y are th e vol
arm y of pack age m aintaine rs th at l
Age : 26
Location: Sydne y, Aus tral
ia
IRC Nick : s te ve nk
I s tarte d us ing Linux in l ate
Nove m be r, 19 9 8, and s tarte d w ith
an ins tal lof Re dH at 5.0 th at I l ate r
upgrade d al lth e w ay until6.2,
untilI h e ard about re ports of
Re dH at 7.0 (w h ich w as in RC at
th e tim e ) be ing ve ry bad, e ve n for
a Re dH at .0 re l e as e , and de cide d
STEVE K O W A LIK
unte e r
ook afte r th e Unive rs e and M ul tive rs e s oftw are re pos itorie s .
to s w itch to D e bian, and ins tal
led
Slink (2.1).
I w illalw ays h ave a s oft s pot
for xringd, s ince it’s th e firs t
pack age I m aintaine d in D e bian.
Als o: q uodlibe t and crack -attack
I de cide d to final lylook at Ubuntu
jus t afte r Bre e zy w as re l e as e d. I’
d
k e pt a vague e ye on it, be ing a
D e bian D e ve l ope r, but didn’ t pay
m uch notice . Afte r Bre e zy cam e out, Th e com m unity — w h e n I firs t
I dow nl oade d a Live CD , and gave it joine d # ubuntu-m otu, I w as
a try. And l ik e d it s o m uch th at I le ft col l
are d by tw o re gul
ars and s e t
it running on m y m ach ine for tw o to w ork afte r a l
ittl
e bit of a ch at.
days , at w h ich point I th ough t I
s h oul d ins tal lit. But th e re alans w e r is jus t
th at, th e w onde rfuland cl ue ful
pe opl e out th e re th at, l
ik e m e ,
are w ork ing to m ak e Unive rs e in
Ubuntu be tte r.
I be cam e a M O TU on January th e
16th , 2006. I th ink I h ad be e n
w ork ing on Ubuntu for about tw o
m onth s at th at point. Jum p in, th e w ate r’ s fine . If
you’re inte re s te d in h e lping out,
25
th e re are ple nty of pe opl e w h o are de faul t Gnom e s e ttings don’ t ge t
h appy to ans w e r your q ue s tions m y w ay, s o I don’ t ch ange th e m .
on th e m ailing l is t or # ubuntu- A bunch of te rm inal s in tabs ,
m otu IRC ch anne l . I am e m pl oye d as a de ve l
ope r, s o Fire fox, W ande rl
us t/Th unde rbird
to re l
ax afte r a long day at w ork , I for re ading m ail, and Quod Libe t
w ork on Ubuntu. I gue s s th at doe s n’ t playing m us ic on th e oth e r
ans w e r your q ue s tion. w ork s pace .

I’l
lre ad a book , lis te n to m us ic, or As you can s e e from th e ph oto
Quite diffe re nt — D e bian is ve ry pl
ay crack -attack , or W oW . (be l ow ), I’m a big fan of th e
ce nte re d around th e ide a of “ H e re m e ntal ity th at a m e s s y de s k is a
is one guy, and th e pack age s h e s ign of a s ane m ind. Sound
look s afte r. If you ne e d to do s ys te m , m ach ine , l
aptop, l ots of
anyth ing, fil e a bug, and w ait for M y s cre e ns h ot is ve ry boring - th e
pape r - al lfairly norm al .
h im .” Ubuntu on th e oth e r h and is
a s m allte am of pe opl e w ork ing
toge th e r to s olve probl e m s in
Unive rs e . W e m ay h ave pe opl e
th at ‘m aintain’a pack age in
Ubuntu, but onl y be caus e th e y
k now it be tte r, or h ave a
re lations h ip w ith ups tre am .

At th is point, m y only pl an is
ge tting a be tte r about w indow in
place , one th at doe s n’
t us e ye lp.

— it’
s q uite fun to appl
y th is to
random pack age s .

26
 UBUNTU W O M EN
W ritte n by Em m a Jane H ogbin

T
h e ch al l
e nge w ith ch ange is In th is docum e nt
k now ing w h e re to s tart. In w e outl ine w h at
th is five -part s e rie s w e w il
l th e Ubuntu
look at th e proce s s of h ow th e com m unity w il l
Ubuntu W om e n te am is m ak ing look l ik e in th e
ch ange h appe n. Topics w il l future . In e ach
include : goals e tting, action ite m s , part of th e vis ion
are as of re s pons ibil ity, e val uation w e are trying to
and vol unte e r re te ntion. incl ude a
m e as urabl e goal .
Th e firs t s te p in accom pl is h ing For e xam pl e unde r
ch ange is to h ave a vis ion of th e th e Rol e M ode l s
future . To cre ate th is vis ion: as k s e ction w e h ave
your group w h at th e future w il l incl ude d th e goal
look l ik e . Al
l ow e ach pe rs on to to h ave , “ at l e as t
s h ape th e vis ion th e y h ave for th e th re e vis ibl y active
group — h aving e ach voice w om e n in al lcore
re pre s e nte d w il lh e l
p to k e e p s tate m e nts w h ich de s cribe th e ide al Ubuntu proje cts .”
vol unte e rs m otivate d. Incl ude as future for your com m unity or proje ct. Th e re are no tim e l ine s w ith in
m any de tail s as pos s ible to Pos t th e l is t of goal
s on your proje ct th is docum e nt. You can s e e th e
de s cribe your dre am for th e W e b s ite for e ve ryone to re ad. Ide al l
y draft ve rs ion of our Road M ap at:
future . Encourage cre ative th is docum e nt w il lbe in a h ttp://w ik i.ubuntu-
th ink ing. com m unity-e ditabl e form at, s uch as w om e n.org/RoadM ap
a W ik i, s o th at no one pe rs on
From th is vis ion pul lout a l is t of control s th e vis ion for th e group. Ge t s tarte d on your l is t of
th ings th at are diffe re nt from dre am s and ch e ck back ne xt
w h at is h appe ning today. Th e s e Th e Ubuntu W om e n te am s tarte d m onth for th e ne xt s te p in
w illbe your goal s . Goals are broad th is proce s s by cre ating a Road M ap. m ak ing ch ange h appe n.

27
 UBUNTU YO UTH
W ritte n by Andre w from w w w .Te e ns O nLinux.org
Ch ance s are th at if you are
re ading th is , you are a s tude nt,
w h ich m e ans th at e ve ry w e e k day
you com e h om e w ith at l e as t an
h our's w orth of h om e w ork .
Unfortunate l y, at th e tim e of
w riting, th e re doe s not ye t e xis t a
h om e w ork s ol ve r in th e Ubuntu
re pos itorie s .
Th e re are , h ow e ve r a fe w
program s th at I us e on a re gul ar
bas is to h e l
p m e w ith m y ow n
h om e w ork . In th is article I w il
llis t
a fe w apps th at jus t m igh t h e l p
you as you go about your s tudie s .
- Probabl y th e be s t
cal cul ator th e re is . It is e as y to
us e , but it al s o h as advance d
fe ature s s uch as trigonom e tric,
logarith m ic, and e xpone ntial
functions . CLI junk ie s m ay l ik e bc,
w h ich is e s s e ntialAbak us , but
ol de r and w ith no GUI. To ge t
abak us , ins tal lth e 'abak us '
pack age . bc com e s pre ins tal led
on Ubuntu.
Th e future of O pe n Source is in th e Young Pe opl e of today;th at's
w h y th is corne r of th e m agazine is for young pe ople or s im pl
th os e w h o are young at h e art.
- I w as n't going to incl ude
an office s uite in th is , but KO ffice is
uniq ue . It com e s w ith th e KO ffice
W ork s pace , w h e re you can cre ate
anyth ing - s pre ads h e e ts ,
pre s e ntations , graph ics - al lfrom one
m ain w indow !
Al lyour docum e nts are on nice
littl
e tabs at th e bottom of th e
s cre e n. So if you h ave a big proje ct
com ing up, you can be w ork ing on
th e pape r on one tab, m ak ing a ch art
on anoth e r and cre ating a s l ide s h ow
on anoth e r tab! It al s o incl
ude s a
28
y
fancy "Function Editor"for th os e
of you in advance d m ath s .
- Th at's righ t. An IRC
clie nt. Fre e node is probabl ymy
te ch s upport for l ife . Th e re are
th ous ands of s m art pe opl e on
IRC e ve ry day, m any of th e m
w illing to h e l
p h is ne igh bor. Jus t
m ak e s ure th at w h e n you as k ,
as k once and w ait for an ans w e r.
Al s o be s ure to as k in th e righ t
pl ace , don't go to # # pyth on
as k ing h ow th e Fre nch
Re vol ution affe cte d th e re s t of
Europe ! And pl e as e , for th e l ove
of al lth at is good, ne ve r s pe ak
in 1337 5p3@ k (l e e t s pe ak ). It's
annoying, incons ide rate , and no
one w il lw ant to h e l p you.
I h ope you find th e s e
program s as us e fulas I do. If you
h ave any m ore s ugge s tions for
apps th at are us e fulin an
acade m ic s e tting, ple as e provide
fe e dback ! W e love to h e ar from
you!
 SO UND BITES
W ritte n by M atth e w Ros s i
H e re are s om e th ings you m ay h e ar on th e ne xt e pis ode of th e
podcas t. If you h ave an ide a or w ant to tak e part th e n e m ailour
h os t, M atth e w Ros s i, at podcas t@ ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org

O
n Fe b 2, 2008 I atte nde d Adm inis trators Guil d h os te d at th e
th e linux.conf.au ope n day of Aus tral ia, M yth TV Unive rs ity of
at th e Unive rs ity of and W ik im e dia Tas m ania in
Me l bourne in m y native Aus tral ia. am ong oth e rs . Th e re H obart, s o I
Th e ope n day w as a fitting w ay to w e re oth e r appe alto al l
cap off a s ucce s s fulconfe re nce inte re s ting de m os Linux ne rds out
w e e k w h ich include d various tal ks s uch as th e ope n th e re : l
e t's all
ranging from M icrok e rne l s to s ource dance m at, m arch dow n
Rock e ts . I didn't h ave th e privil e ge Fre ts on Fire , th e XO South to th e
of going to th e actualconfe re nce laptop, th e As us EEE Is l
and State ne xt
lik e m any oth e rs , but if you are PC, and to cap it off; January!
lik e m e and w ant to h ave a l ook at us ing Se cond Life as a pow e r s w itch
w h at w as dis cus s e d, th e re are to any de vice incorporate d w ith And don't forge t! Ful lCircl e
s e ve ralvide os w h ich can be found Infrare d te ch nol ogy (th e y us e d a fan Podcas t # 1 w il lbe com ing out
onl ine [1] to de m ons trate , but th e h ack coul d s oon. If you are avail able to
be us e d to controlth e fl ow of any com e onto th e s h ow as a
Th e O pe n D ay s aw a l
ot of Linux pow e r s ource ). pane l is t, pl e as e e m ailm e at
dis tributions and corporate podcas t@ ful lcircle m agazine .org.
re pre s e ntation from I w as als o give n a l
ot You ne e d Sk ype to participate .
th e lik e s of Ubuntu, of fre e bie s s uch as a Th e re cording is q uite l aid back ,
Fe dora/Re d H at, Googl e Note book , a not too ge e k y, and is (w e h ope )
Ge ntoo, Ce ntO S, SAGE pe n, m agne ts , e njoyabl e . Your contribution w il l
H P, and Googl e. s tick e rs and e ve n a be gre atl y appre ciate d.
Th e re w as "Cabl e M anage m e nt
re pre s e ntation from Sys te m ". I re ally [1]-
th e Linux Us e rs of e njoye d th e O pe n D ay. ftp://m irror.inte rnode .on.ne t/pub/
Victoria, th e Ne xt ye ar th e annual linux.conf.au/2008/
Sys te m confe re nce w il lbe

29
 LETTERS Eve ry m onth w e l
s ubm it a l
ik e to publ
e tte r for publ
is h s om e of th e e m ail
ication, com pl
s w e re ce ive . If you w oul
im e nt or com pl aint, pl e as e e m ailit to:
dl ik e to

le tte rs @ ful l
circl e m agazine .org. PLEASE NOTE: s om e l e tte rs m ay be e dite d for s pace re as ons .

I
h ave jus t s tarte d pl aying w ith LETTER OF TH E M ONTH W rite r of Le tte r of th e M onth w ins
tw o m e talUbuntu cas e badge s !
Ubuntu, al th ough W indow s s til l
pays m y bil ls , I jus t dis cove re d
and I'm e njoying it. I re ad your articl e
Th e h ints and tips w il lcom e in about CNR in Ful l •m ixing of de pe ncie s from Ubuntu
ve ry h andy, th e picture s are cool Circl e M agazine is s ue and CNR re po.
8 and I re al l
y dis agre e
too. • no com m e nt th at furth e r pack age s
w ith your concl us ion. I
w il
lbe ins tal
le d.
h ave te s te d CNR
W oul d it be pos s ible to add
m ys e lf and th e re w e re • no pos s ibil
ity do unins tallas
s om e k ind of dire ct dow nl oad l
ink s o m any is s ue s and de pe nde ncy ins tal
le d pack age s from
for e ach is s ue or m aybe an ftp bugs th at I re al l
y w oul d give onl y one s tar CNR.
link ?H aving to ope n e ach is s ue in out of five . And th is s tar w oul d onl y be for
• no ch e ck for oth e r running pack age
a brow s e r is a bit te dious . th e ide a its e l
f.
m anage rs , apt-ins tal lw il
lfailw ith a
CNR coul d be th e future of pack age w rong m e s s age .
I'm h aving a probl e m printing ins tal
lation but curre ntl y it's s o buggy th at
• doe s not l ock pack age m anage m e nt
th e is s ue s , m y printe r tak e s you coul dn't us e it prope rl y w ith anoth e r
s ys te m afte r s tart.
fore ve r to print. I al s o notice d th at pack ack ing s ys te m . H e re are s om e
be fore printing, Acrobat re ade r probl e m s: • no pos s ibility to s top an ins tal
lation,
you can cl os e th e ins tal
lw indow w ith
'flatte ns "th e page s . Any •pack age ins tal lation w ith out root
th e "X"button but it s til lruns in
s ugge s tions ? pas s w ord (pos s ible s e curity ris k ).
back ground.
•not us abl
e w ith out th e Inte rne t (it m us t
• no re us e of pack age s al re ady s tore d
dow nl
oad a de b from th e CNR re po).
in /var/cach e /cnr/clie nt/pool .
• no ch e ck for pre vious l y ins tall
ed
Ed: So I re al l
y coul d not unde rs tand your
s oftw are from Ubuntu (w il love rw rite any
te s t or agre e w ith your concl us ion.
pack age , e ve n if ne w e r), update -m anage r
of Ubuntu w il lre port th at th e re are ne w e r
pack age s and ove rw rite th e ol d from CNR.

30
F K
irs t of al lth ank s for a gre at ubuntu bundl e s a pack age
m agazine . I jus t re ad th e cal le d gtk -q t-e ngine by de faul
t
ne w s s e ction of is s ue 9 . In (re : GNO M E apps in KD E4). .

th e articl e 'Linux D e ve l opm e nt
M ore Lik e SocialNe tw ork Says
Torval ds ' th e re is th e ve ry
unfortunate s e nte nce : ".. w h o h as
w ritte n approxim ate l y 2% of th e
Linux code s ince cre ating th e
ope rating s ys te m in 19 9 0"
Now Linus Torval ds h as not
cre ate d an ope rating s ys te m , h e
m ade th e k e rne lfor it, and th e
k e rne lis th e one th at is nam e d
Th is pack age e ns ure s th at GTK+
appl ications l ook l ik e Qt applications
on KD E. As th is e ngine is w ritte n for
Qt 3.x, it s e e m s to not w ork for Qt 4
w h ich KD E 4 us e s .
Ed:
. ge ne rate d pos ts cript. You cannot
D
e ar Editor and e ne m y of
al lth ings printe d.
D id you actual ly h ave a l ook at
th e ge ne rate d PD F and cons ide r
printing as a l ice nce -pe rm itte d
action by re ade rs ?Try it in
Acrobat Re ade r 8 and e njoy
be ing unabl e to pos tproce s s th e
s cale or rotate it prope rl y.

Linux. I k now th at you guys h ave
a s ource for th is articl e , but you
s tillh ave to be criticalof th e
conte nt to avoid pas s ing on
e rrone ous inform ation l ik e th is in
th e future .
Ed:
I
jus t re ad th e l
ate s t is s ue and as a
h appy O pe nTTD us e r I coul dn't Furth e rm ore , m any of th e URLs
h el p but notice th at th e h ave e m be dde d s pace s . Try
ins tal lation m e th od can be e ve n copying th e m - m ore ofte n th an
e as ie r by us ing AutoPack age . not, you'l lfind th e URLpl us a
O pe nTTD is one th e program s us ing sle w of blank s adde d in arbitrary
AutoPack age and it is th e e as ie s t place s .
w ay to ins tal lO pe nTTD in m y opinion
- it e ve n dow nl oads th e data fil es
autom atical ly. You can find
AutoPack age h e re : Ed:
h ttp://w w w .autopack age .org

Ed:
.

31
 Q& A If you h ave an Ubuntu re l
at q ue s tions @ ful
lcircl
ate d q ue s tion w h ich ne e ds ans w e ring, e m ailit to us h e re
e m agazine .org, and w e 'l lpas s th e m to Robe rt for ans w e ring in
W ritte n by Robe rt Cl
ips h am
a future is s ue . Pl
e as e incl ude as m uch inform ation as you can about your probl em.

Q Q w h ich is righ t for your s e t up. An

im portant s te p no m atte r w h ich
you do, is to back up your

A A
/e tc/X11/xorg.conf by doing:
Ye s it is . You can us e an If you m us t h ave th e
appl ication cal led W YSIW YG e ditor, is sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf
'Scre e nl e ts ' w h ich can be availabl e in th e re pos itorie s , /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup
dow nl oade d from and s h oul d do e ve ryth ing you ne e d.
h ttp://dow nl oads .s ource forge .ne t/s If it is not for you, you coul d try in a te rm inal
.
cre e nl e ts (ge t th e .de b fil e ). For a , w h ich al s o h as a
h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph
lis t of re q uire m e nts , s e e W YSIW YG e ditor pl us th ous ands of p?t=221174
h ttp://w w w .s cre e nl e ts .org/inde x.ph oth e r pow e rfulfe ature s and is q uite
p/FAQ. s im ilar to D re am w e ave r. For s yntax

Q
h igh l igh ting te xt e ditors s e e gEdit
(Ubuntu) and Kate (Kubuntu).

Q
Q A
Th e program you w ant is

A
Th e ne xt long te rm s e rvice cal led . It is
re l
e as e of Ubuntu w il lbe avail able th rough th e

A
8.04 H ardy H e ron, due for unive rs e re pos itorie s . For a guide
To s e t up m ul tipl
e m onitors on
re l
e as e in Aprilth is ye ar. Note to configure it, s e e th e l ink be l
ow .
Ubuntu, l ook at th e th re ad
th at Kubuntu 8.04 w il lNO T be an be l
ow . As th e re are s e ve ral h ttp://ubuntuforum s .org/s h ow th re ad.ph
LTS. w ays of doing it (de pe nding on your p?t=205865
graph ics card e tc), you'l lne e d to s e e

32
 M Y D ESK TO P
Your ch ance to s h ow th e w orl d your de s k top or PC. Em ailyour s cre e ns h ots and
ph otos to: m is c@ fullcircle m agazine .org and incl ude a brie f paragraph about your
de s k top, your PC's s pe cs and any oth e r inte re s ting tidbits about your s e tup.

A
t th e m om e nt I am us ing Ubuntu 7.10 w ith an
Inte lPe ntium dual -core 1.8GH z, 1GB RAM ,
256M B Inte lGM A 9 50 and a 160GB H D D .

In m y ins tallI us e Com piz Fus ion. I h ave a

I
pe rs onal ize d de s k top cre ate d by ins talling w ante d to le arn Linux th is s um m e r and I h ad h e ard
"M ac4Lin_GTK_Aq ua_v0.3"and th e icon pack age th at Ubuntu w as e xce lle nt. I als o ch os e Ubuntu
"nuove TX.2.2"and th e font UnD otum (al lare be caus e th e CD w as e as y to ge t.
avail abl e at w w w .gnom e -l ook .org). To s uppl e m e nt it, I
ins tall
e d "Avant W indow Navigator"(AW N), s om e th ing Since th e n I h ave be e n us ing th is s ys te m . M os tl
yI
s im il
ar to O bje ctD ock on W indow s . I find noth ing us e it to program and it h as al w ays w ork e d w e l l
. I al
so
w rong w ith th e de faul t Ubuntu w al lpape r s o I h ave us e Ubuntu Studio. If you l ook at m y de s k top you w il l
not ch ange d it. th e n unde rs tand h ow e xcite d I am !

33
 TO P5 CH ESS GA M ES Your m onth l

for a l
is t, pl
yl is t of Linux gam e s or appl

e as e e m ail: m is c@ ful
lcircl
ications
from th e de pth s of th e Inte rne t. If you h ave an ide a
e m agazine .org
W ritte n by Andre w M in

H om e page : h ttp://k nigh ts .s ource forge .ne t/ H om e page : h ttp://brutal

ch e s s .s ource forge .ne t/

An ol dis h (but s til l BrutalCh e s s is a ve ry

w onde rful ) program , Knigh ts cool3D ch e s s gam e .
is probabl y th e m os t ful ly Al th ough it h as al m os t
fe ature d of al lof th e no configuration
program s l is te d. Be gun back options , th is pow e rful
in 2001, Knigh ts s ports a SD Lgam e runs on both
nice KD E inte rface w ith W indow s and Linux and
s upport for additional(30+ ) is probabl y th e be s t
th e m e s . You can pl ay s ingl e look ing ch e s s gam e on
pl aye r agains t al m os t allth e th is lis t. Board panning
ch e s s e ngine s avail abl e for (us ing th e righ t m ous e button), re fl e ctions , and
Linux (incl uding BabyCh e s s , s h adow s are al la part of th is s tunningl y be autiful
Cil ian, Crafty, D e e p Sje ng, Fail e , GNUCh e s s , ch e s s gam e . Now if onl y th e de ve l
ope rs w oul d add
Knigh tCap, Pe pito, Ph al anx, Sje ng, and Yace ), or FICS s upport, BrutalCh e s s w oul d be IM H O com pl e te
pl ay onl ine at th e FICS, th e Inte rne t Ch e s s Cl ub, (unfortunate l y, it l
ook s l ik e BrutalCh e s s is curre ntl y
th e Gl obalCh e s s Se rve r, or Ch e s s .ne t. Th e re 's al
so de ad).
advance d fe ature s s uch as printing notation.
To ins tal
lBrutalCh e s s , jus t ge t th e
To ins tal
lKnigh ts , s im pl
y grab th e pack age from th e unive rs e re pos itory.
pack age in th e unive rs e re pos itory.

34
 poue tCh e s s

H om e page :
h ttp://w w w .dre am ch e s s .org/
Anoth e r gam e m ore focus e d on l ook s
th an pow e r, D re am Ch e s s is an O pe nGL
gam e th at is s l igh tl y m ore advance d
th an BrutalCh e s s . It incl ude s both s ingl
e a pow e rfulinte rface to th e Fail
and (l ocal ) m ultipl aye r gam e type s , and
w h at m ak e s it e ve n be tte r th an Brutal
Ch e s s is th at you can configure th e AI
le ve l(th e D re am e r e ngine , al th ough you
can add oth e r e ngine s ). D re am ch e s s
and Knigh ts are al s o th e only gam e s
th at le t you s ave and l oad.
You can ge t th e officialpack age
(dre am ch e s s ) from th e unive rs e
re pos itory. Unfortunate l y, al th ough th e
late s t ve rs ion of D re am Ch e s s is 0.2, th e
ve rs ion in th e re pos itory is 0.1. Luck il y,
Ge tD e b.ne t h as th e ne w e r ve rs ion. Ge t
it at
h ttp://w w w .ge tde b.ne t/app/D re am Ch e s s .
H om e page :
h ttp://poue tch e s s .s ource forge .ne t/
Anoth e r re s ource h ungry 3D ch e s s gam e ,
poue tCh e s s (buil t w ith SD Land O pe nGL) is
e ch e s s
e ngine . It's got AI configuration (ranging
from "Ne w bie "to "I'm Kas parov"and us ing
th e Fail e e ngine ), Engl is h and Fre nch
language s , and m ul tipl aye r (local ly). Lik e
BrutalCh e s s , it al so l e ts you pan th e board
w ith your righ t m ous e button. It's not
e xtre m e l y pow e rfuland you s h oul dn't
e xpe ct a l ot of cus tom ization, but if you
dis lik e d D re am Ch e s s or BrutalCh e s s ,
poue tCh e s s is a good al te rnative .
To ins tal
lpoue tCh e s s , us e th e
pack age from th e unive rs e re pos itory.
H om e page :
h ttp://w w w .be rgo.e ng.br/e board/
If you're s ick of al lth os e fancy 3D
gam e s th at don't do m uch be s ide s pl ay
agains t one AI oppone nt, give e board a
try. Al th ough th e graph ics are onl y 2D ,
it w ork s w ith FICS (and any oth e r FICS-
com pl iant s e rve r), h as m ul tipl
aye r
(ove r th e inte rne t!), incl ude s PGN
s aving s upport, and w ork s out of th e
box w ith th e GNU Ch e s s , Crafty, and
Sje ng e ngine s (and w ork s w ith oth e rs
w ith a l ittle tink e ring). And for pow e r
us e rs , it h as a nice cons ol e to w ork
w ith .
To ins tal
le board us e th e
pack age in th e unive rs e re pos .

35
 H O W TO CO NTRIBUTE
Ful
lCircl
e Te am
W e are al w ays l
ook ing for ne w article s to include in Ful lCircl
e . For articl
e guide l
ine s ,
ide as , and for is s ue trans l
ation, pl
e as e s e e our w ik i:
h ttp://w ik i.ubuntu.com /UbuntuM agazine - Ronnie Tuck e r
ronnie @ full
circl
e m agazine .org
Pl
e as e e m ailyour articl
e s to: articl
e s @ ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org
- Rob Ke rfia
adm in@ ful
lcircle m agazine .org
If you w oul dl ik e to s ubm it ne w s , e m ailit to: - Robe rt Cl
ips h am
ne w s @ ful
lcircl e m agazine .org m rm onday@ full
circl
e m agazine .org
H AVE YOUR SAY - M atth e w Ros s i
Se nd your com m e nts or Linux e xpe rie nce s to:
podcas t@ ful
lcircl e m agazine .org
l
e tte rs @ ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org If you w ant to h ave your s ay in h ow
Ful lCircl
e de ve lops , ple as e atte nd our
H ardw are /s oftw are re vie w s s h oul
d be s e nt to: m onth ly IRC m e e ting. Sam ue lBarratt
re vie w s @ ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org Robe rt Clips h am
You can find our ne xt Age nda at: D anie lCoh e n
Que s tions for future inte rvie w s s h oul
d go to: Ph il
ipp H öh n
q ue s tions @ ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org h ttp://url
.ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org/f2ba08
Andre w M in
W e w ant th e input of you, th e re ade r, Vid Aye r
Lis ts and de s k top/PC ph otos s h oul
d be to h e l
p us m ak e de cis ions th at affe ct
e m aile d to: th e m agazine .
D avid D am pie r Andre w M in
m is c@ ful l
circle m agazine .org
Ne xt ge ne ral
, al
lw e l
com e , m e e ting: Ryan H artlage M atth e w H ol
de r
. D avid M aino
If you h ave q ue s tions , you can vis it our forum :
w w w .ful
lcircl
e m agazine .org M e e tings tak e pl ace in th e IRC ch anne l
, w h ich is on th e
And our th ank s go out to
irc.fre e node .ne t s e rve r. O r you can us e
, th e
our w e bIRC page w h ich is at
and th e m any trans l
ation
h ttp://irc.ful
lcircle m agazine .org and it
Sunday 02nd M arch . te am s around th e w orl
d.
w illal low you to inte ract w ith our IRC
ch anne lfrom w ith in your w e b brow s e r.
Friday 28th M arch .

36