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Thunderbird mail link opening new browser instance

A Pipe and a Keyboard Posted on July 19, 2018 by RichardJuly 19, 2018

For a while I have been having an irritating problem where I would click on a link in Thunderbird and instead of opening in a Tab (which I wanted) it would open a new blank browser.

Some time ago I wrote about a similar problem but this time that solution didn’t work.

After much searching and head scratching I found the solution….

Open the Menu editor.

(Right-click Menu -> Configure… -> Select Menu tab -> Click on “Open the menu editor”)

Select your browser entry ( click Internet to find the list)

Click on Properties, and in the pop-up screen that opens add ” %u” at the end of the command as shown –

Launcher Properties

This will work for Firefox or Waterfox.

Click OK and the job is done.

 

 

Posted in Linux, Tech stuff | Leave a reply

Linux for the complete beginner

A Pipe and a Keyboard Posted on June 20, 2018 by RichardJune 20, 2018

Linux has a bad reputation in some quarters.  A lot of people believe it is all command line stuff, very technical and only for geeks.

Things have progressed and Linux can be installed and used by virtually anyone with minimal knowledge of computers.  This post is a very brief introduction for an absolute newcomer.

–oOo–

I am assuming you have installed Linux (and preferably Mint!).

If not then installation is relatively simple.  Download the version of your choice from one of the Linux Mint repositories.  There are dozens of these but one example is http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/stable/  Select the version you want (32 or 64 bit, depending on your machine) and the version you want (my preference is Cinnamon but that’s just my thing).  Burn the file to DVD (or USB), insert the DVD and reboot.

The only sticky area is possibly setting up the hard disk to accommodate the Linux system.  There is a very old tutorial I wrote here back in 2011 but the principle is still the same.

Right, so you have booted into Linux.  Where to go from there?

The first thing you’ll notice is that the overall layout is vaguely similar to Windows.  You have your Task Bar along the bottom containing a few icons and a couple of icons on the desktop.  However, when you select Menu (equivalent to “Start”) you’ll see the first major difference.  In Windows, the pop-up gives a rather messy display of the installed programmes apparently thrown in at random (!).  Linux lists its programmes according to usage, so Internet will gave access to your browser and mail client, Accessories will have a list of, well….. accessories and so on.

At this stage you are ready to go.  You can browse the Internet, send and receive mail, create and edit documents and all the rest.  Basically you can do all the simple stuff.

What is Root?

One thing to note about Linux is that it is very keen on permissions.  When you installed it, you were granted rights as Administrator.  However quite a few actions require you to use the rights of “Root”.  Root is very powerful as it gives unquestioned access to everything in the operating system and is therefore very dangerous to use.  Never log in as Root unless you have a death-wish.  However there are times when you need access to the operating system such as when you are updating programmes, installing them or making changes to the system itself.  If you are doing that from the desktop, you will simply be asked for your password.  This is nothing to be worried about – essentially it’s just making sure you want to do that task and will temporarily grant you Root privileges.  The password is the same as your user password you entered when installing.

Sudo

Sometimes you need to do something in the Terminal (equivalent to the DOS Command box in Windows).  If the command involves something involving the system it will fail with a warning “Permission denied”.  Rather than switching user, you simply put the word “sudo” before your command.  You will then be prompted for your password (which incidentally won’t appear on the screen either as text or asterisks) and the command will run.  Sudo essentially grants you full privileges on a very temporary basis.

Layout

The fie browser in Linux should be familiar to anyone who has used Windows.  However, the way Linux is installed is considerably different to the Windows layout.

For a start, there are no letters attached to the drives (no more C:/ !).  If you look at the root of the system (where all files are stored) which you’ll find on the file browser marked as “File System” you will find a long list of folders such as “bin” “boot” “cdrom” and so on.  All of these are part of the Linux system and to do anything with any of the contents requires Root permissions.  Playing around with anything there is dangerous and can make the whole Linux inoperable.

There is one exception to the above and that’s the folder “/home”.  That contains all your files within your own folder.  You can do what you like with those!  Each user will have his or her files stored in their own folder under “/home/username“.

Windows has a nasty habit of scattering files all over the place.  Your files are usually kept in  a sub-folder of c:/user, but your settings can be virtually anywhere, such as “Program Files”, “ProgramData” or worst of all the Registry.  Linux on the other hand stores all that information in your Home partition/folder.

One thing to note is that Linux can span different partitions or even drives without any problems.  So in theory you could have all your Root Linux files on one drive and your Home on the second drive.  It makes no difference to Linux.  In my link near the top I mention partitions, and how I like to put all the system files on one partition and Home on another.  That way I can format the Linux partition while leaving all my own files intact.  Try doing that under Windows?  (Don’t!!)

Files

One major difference between Windows and Linux is case sensitivity.  Windows is case insensitive but Linux is case sensitive.  In Windows “MyFile.txt” is the same as “myfile.txt” but in Linux they can be two different files.  This can cause confusion when it tells you that “Myfile.txt” doesn’t exist when you know for a fact that it does (but with a different case in the filename).

Software

The time will come where you will need software that doesn’t come bundled with the original DVD.  The first port of call is the Software Manager.  This is basically a one stop shop where you can pick and choose which programmes to install.  You get a description of the programme, a screenshot, reviews and an Install button.  It is that easy.  No licences, no questions, no reboots, it just installs quietly in the background and sets itself up.  It really is that simple.

If you want to search the Net for software that isn’t listed in the Software Manager feel free.  Be aware though that you should only use software from reputable sources.  When downloading you are usually given a choice of file types.  The best choice is usually a .deb fie as that can be opened directly by the software installer.  Do NOT chose .exe files as they are for Windows and will not work in Linux.

Updating

On the right hand end of your taskbar you should see a little shield icon.  Normally this shield will have a green tick on it.  If however it displays a red X it means there is one or more updates available.  Clicking on the shield will bring up a new Update window, displaying the software that needs to be updated.  All that is required is to click on “Install Updates” and to enter your password.

Unlike Windows, updates are nothing to dread.  There are no constant calls to reboot the machine or little queries (“Do you really mean to do this”!).  Updates in Linux tend to be very fast and unobtrusive and only on the rarest occasions will they suggest a reboot.  They will just download the files in the background and install them without any hints or prompts.

Posted in Linux | Leave a reply

Installing a free VPN in Linux

A Pipe and a Keyboard Posted on June 14, 2018 by RichardJune 14, 2018

I recently thought I would try installing VPN (Virtual Private Network) on my machine.

This is generally used by people who want to mask their true location as it allocates an IP address in another country.

I had no particular reason apart from the challenge and the curiosity.

Most of the searches gave results on how to connect to premium services and I wasn’t going to pay for something just for an experiment.  Eventually I found a simple solution that uses OpenVPN (a free service).  I’m putting here just for my own future reference because I had a hard job finding it!

sudo apt install golang-go openvpn git
git clone https://github.com/adtac/autovpn
cd autovpn
go build autovpn.go
sudo install autovpn /usr/local/bin/

That should do the job!

To enable VPN open a terminal and launch –

./autovpn/autovpn CA

Note that the CA is a country code (in this case Canada).  You can try other country codes or even leave out that code altogether but I found that CA was the most reliable.

It will prompt for your password and search for a server.  Once it announces “Initialization Sequence Completed” then you are connected.

Not also that the terminal must not be closed during the session.  Just minimise it.

If the connection doesn’t work, go back to the terminal and CTRL+C.  That will offer the choice of stopping the service or trying another server.

Just as a side note, according to whatsmyip.com I’m currently located in Montreal……. 😉

Posted in General | 1 Reply

Linux Mint 19 Tara

A Pipe and a Keyboard Posted on June 11, 2018 by RichardJune 11, 2018

It’s been over 200 days since this site was updated.  I think that’s more an indicator if the reliability of Linux than anything else.

Last Friday week I downloaded Mint 19 Cinnamon Beta.  It hadn’t been officially announced but the ISOs were up on the server so I downloaded a copy.

Initially I thought of testing it in a VirtualBox but then decided I would grab some space on my hard disk and do a triple boot (Windows, Mint 18.3 and Mint 19).  I expected some minor problems, considering this was an early Beta, but there were none.

The first thing I noticed was the artwork.  There is a lot more of it!  But then I started messing around with it and found quite a few differences.  Some little niggly faults have been ironed out, Google Earth runs without any tweaks (I tend to use GE as a benchmark as it is usually quite problematic) and there were some additions.  Also I got the distinct impression that 19 is a lot faster than its predecessor, but not having any benchmark tests I don’t have any figures on that.

Possibly the most noticeable addition is Timeshift.  I would describe this as a cross between Windows Restore and Backup.  It takes a copy of everything on its list, whether that is the root software, the Home partition or whatever you fancy and does this on a predetermined regularity.

Frankly I was so impressed with 19 that I decided that it was more than good enough to become my primary OS.  This did lead to some problems as my test partition I had created was considerably smaller that the old working one so I decided to do a ton of resizing and moving of partitions.  (I wrote a light-hearted account of that process on my other site).   Apart from the moving and resizing I also created a small partition specifically for Timeshift, to keep the backup files is a separate area in case of disaster.

So far I cannot find a single fault with 19.

I’m a happy camper.

Posted in Linux | 2 Replies

Stylish

A Pipe and a Keyboard Posted on November 19, 2017 by RichardDecember 20, 2017

One of the greatest irritants (for me) on the Internet is the site that somehow thinks it is being trendy when it uses pale text on a white background.

Generally when I come across such a site I get out of it fast unless the information is important in which case I struggle on and curse the designers.

I use ManageWP to manage (!) several web sites.  As this is a tool I use very frequently, the contrast is important, particularly such information as how many sites require updates.  However, they are sadly being ‘trendy’ and feel obliged to display such information in light grey on a white background:

Grey text on white

Now apparently there is little I can do about this short of complaining to the crowd who run the site.

But then there is Stylish.

Basically Stylish allows you to apply CSS styles to any or all of the sites you visit.  Naturally it only applies on my browser so it entirely a personal preference thing.  Unfortunately (for some) it requires a fairly good knowledge of CSS and how to discover which selectors on a web page you want to modify, but there are a load of styles already to download for the most popular sites if you so wish.

I applied the following snippet of code to my ManageWP Stylish:

@namespace url(https://www.w3.org/1111/xhtml);
@-moz-document domain("orion.managewp.com") {}
body {
color: black !important;
}
.dashboard {
color: black !important;
}
span.filter-count.badge {
color: black !important;
}
.custom-checkbox {
border: 1px solid #999 !important;
}

This is applied automatically to the web page and this is the result:

Black text on white

There was also a problem with my WordPress editing pages which I have been trying to solve for some time.  It was the same sort of problem – writing or editing text in the Post Editor was difficult as the text appeared grey on a white background.  It took me a long time to realise that it wasn’t the font colour that was the problem but actually the font itself.  Once I had worked that out, I thought about changing the font face on all the sites I edit but that would have been tedious, so I just applied a modification using Stylish.

body#tinymce.wp-editor,
.wp-editor-container textarea.wp-editor-area {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
}

Now any site that I edit will have a nice clear font.

Text samples

Click to enlarge

It’s a handy little gizmo!

Incidentally, this is not a sponsored post – I just thought it might be of some help….

 

Posted in General, Tech stuff | 2 Replies

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