Ubuntu Update

A little more than a year ago, I migrated from Windows to Ubuntu. It began as an experiment to see how Ubuntu/Linux compared to Windows, to see if the sacrifices entailed in using Ubuntu were too much for a user like me, and to see how long I could hold out before I went home to Mother Microsoft.

I made the change at home and at work. But I've got access to Windows machines if and when I need one. And since virtually all my family, colleagues and clients use Windows machines, I frequently have my hands on and inside Windows machines.

Yet, when I have a choice; for Internet (email & web), for writing letters and documents, for doing spreadsheets, etc.; after a year, I choose Ubuntu every time.

Now, I don't feel compelled to justify myself or sell you on Ubuntu. Instead, I'll tell you what I don't like about Ubuntu:

• Open Office is quirky. OO Word Processing fine for a letter, but I wouldn't want to use it to put together a long document with footnotes. I cannot do MS Office macros or VBScripting in Open Office, but I can and am doing text processing in Ubuntu using Perl and regular expressions.
• There's no tax prep software for Linux/Ubuntu. I don't think the online versions work on Linux/Firefox (they don't say).

Note that these are not Ubunu problems per se; they are holes in the apps available to run on Ubuntu. And these "problems" are pretty minor, especially in light of the many benefits (all free) of using Ubuntu/Linux.

Episode 6: Printers

The continuing adventures of one man's attempt to migrate his desktop PC from MS Windows to Ubuntu/Linux.

Setting up my Ubuntu machine to print was a step I was dreading. Over many years I have spent long hours dealing with the myriad of problems that printing spawns. And as my regular readers know, I don't normally approve of printing anyway (see Friends Don't Let Friends Print).

Notwithstanding my dread and hostility, no computer is complete without one or more printers installed and working. There are situations when even I need to print out something.

To date, I've installed 4 different printers on different Ubuntu Edgy machines. These were all network printers. One was an HP LaserJet wired directly to the network. Two were HP OfficeJets shared by Windows PCs, and one was a Samsung laser shared by a Windows PC. One network was a peer-to-peer network and the others were Microsoft Active Directory networks.

So, how hard is it to set printers up on Ubuntu? I am happy to report that it is not hard. In fact, it is so easy that I made it more difficult for myself than I had to because I said to myself, "It can't be that easy."

The information you need to install your specific printer is available on the Internet. Google it. Start with the simplest pathway you can find; resist the impulse to make it difficult.

If you have any trouble, stop. The problem is either a lack of drivers for your model printer (complain to the manufacturer and get another/different printer -- they are cheap) or with you (get another self(?)). The problem is not Ubuntu. So, don't waste time agonizing about the solution. There is an easy one available.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Episode 5: Video

The continuing adventures of one man's attempt to migrate his desktop PC from MS Windows to Ubuntu/Linux.

Fortunately, Ubuntu recognized my video card and automatically installed a driver that worked. So, this episode is not about trying to find a Linux driver for a certain video card. Instead, it is about getting Internet video files to play on my Ubuntu PC. Unfortunately for me, there was plenty of work to do before I was happy with my ability to watch Internet videos.

For licensing as well as philosophical/political reasons, Ubuntu automatically installs only software that is free and unrestricted. It is up to the user to determine what other software he or she wants/needs to install.

When it comes to video, this is not a trival matter, since Internet video comes in many different file formats (mostly proprietary). Some of the software needed to play these files/formats is easy to find and install; some is not. Some web sites serve videos in a Linux-friendly fashion while others do not. What follows is a step-by-step guide (without the false starts and blind alleys) with commentary.

Step 1:

The first step to a robust capability to play videos in Firefox on Ubuntu is to access software sources beyond the free and unrestricted ones that Ubuntu defaults to. From the System menu in the main panel, select Administration/Software Sources. In the window that opens, make sure that all the Internet options are selected in the Ubuntu tab (including multiverse and restricted). Click Close and your machine's cache listing of available Ubuntu applications will update.

Totem is the default Ubuntu application (plugin) in Firefox for playing many multimedia files, including mp3, RealAudio, Windows Audio and Video, Quicktime, and others. But, unless you download and install the codecs for these different file types, you will get a cryptic error ("Totem could not play 'fd://0'.") when you try and play such files.

Point(s) of Confusion: An application identified as Movie Player in the Applications/Sound & Video menu is included in the base install of Ubuntu. It is familiarly known and referred to elsewhere in Ubuntu as Totem. Movie Player/Totem is not to be confused with another application called MPlayer, which is an award winning multimedia player that many people use and like. If you install MPlayer, it will appear in the Applications/ Sound & Video menu right below Movie Player. Trying to remember which application is which will be a source of further confusion.

Step 2:

The next step toward achieving a happy ending with Internet video is to download the codecs you need. From the Applications menu on the main panel, select Add/Remove... . Select the two GStreamer plugins ("extra plugins" and "ffmpeg video plugin"), and click OK. Totem will now play Windows Media files successfully. This will solve some of your video problems, but not all of them, unfortunately.

Now we need to get some additional media players to handle situations that Totem cannot handle.

Step 3:

Shockwave Flash is used by many web sites to deliver video, most notably YouTube. The good news is that there is a Flash player that installs easily and works well in Linux/Firefox. More good news is that YouTube makes it very easy to download and install the Flash player.

If you go to YouTube, you will see an icon on the page that looks like a jigsaw puzzle piece, and the words, "Click here to download plugin." Do it and click through the EULA and the Linux Firefox plugin is correctly installed. Hurray!

Step 4:

Real Networks has proprietary audio and video file formats that Totem cannot handle, even with the GStreamer plugins installed. Fortunately there are players that can play these files.

There is a free, unrestricted, open-source Real Media player called Helix. There is also a free but restricted player from Real Networks called RealPlayer 10. I'm not sure what the practical difference is between the two players. I installed RealPlayer 10.

You find it by selecting the Applications menu, Add/Remove... . You can search All for RealPlayer to find the application. You cannot browse the Sound & Video category to find it because it currently is grouped under Graphics applications. With RealPlayer 10 installed, Firefox can play Real Media files, embedded in the browser window. Hurray!

What is CNN thinking!?: If you try to watch a CNN video before loading the Flash player, you get a pop-up message from CNN that you need to upgrade to Windows Media Player 9. WTF!? CNN tests to see if you have the Flash player installed, but not what operating system you are using. It just goes to show that Microsoft-centric websites you visit may unknowingly create unnecessary problems for you. If you install the Flash player and then go back to CNN and try and watch a video, the Flash player loads showing advertising and navigation links, then an error message pops up saying, "Totem could not play 'mms://wmscnn.stream.aol.com.edgestreams.net/..." Turns out that CNN has embedded a Windows Media file in a Flash presentation. That is not elegant, but it is not the problem. The problem is that CNN is using an obscure protocol called Multimedia Messaging Service to stream the Windows Media file. Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standard for telephony messaging systems that allows sending messages that include multimedia objects (images, audio, video, rich text) and not just text as in Short Message Service (SMS). It is mainly deployed in cellular networks along with other messaging systems like SMS, Mobile Instant Messaging and Mobile E-Mail. Totem doesn't know how to handle the MMS protocol. The resolution is to use a different media player; one that has the stuff to handle mms://... .

Step 5:

We are almost home. The next-to-last thing to do is install at least one more all-purpose media player to deal with files the other players cannot handle (e.g., Quicktime files) and/or web sites that are not Linux/Firefox friendly (e.g., CNN). There are candidates that you can choose from.

I have read the reviews, and I have tried several different, capable media players. I went with the VLC Media Player. Select Add/Remove from the Applications menu on the main panel. Click on VLC Media Player. Then click OK. This will install VLC.

Step 6:

After installing VLC, we need to change the file associations in the Firefox browser so that Firefox knows when to use the VLC media player. If you think that you do this using Firefox's Edit/ Preferences/ Manage File Preferences, you are wrong.

You need to load a Firefox extension called MediaPlayerConnectivity (MPC). You can get it by using Firefox's Tools/ Add-ons/ Extensions and click on the Get Extensions link at the bottom of the pop-up window. This will take you to https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/extensions/. Here you want to search for "MediaPlayerConnectivity" to find the download/install page.

After installing the extension and restarting the browser, the MPC wizard starts (if it doesn't, go to the Tools menu in Foxfire, select MediaPlayerConnectivity/Configure... , then click the Wizard button in the pop-up window). The wizard performs a scan to detect the media players you have installed, and then it lets you set the player associations for several popular file formats. Next, the wizard has you choose between Autoplay and Smartplay. I don't know what the difference is between Autoplay and Smartplay, and I couldn't find any documentation on it. (Documentation on MediaPlayerConnectivity is limited.) I went with the default, which is Smartplay.

Once the wizard is finished, your video setup is complete -- until:

• You find a file type you cannot play or a web site that crashes your browser instead of showing you a video.
• Upgrades come our for Firefox, MPC and the various media players.

Congratulations are in order, I think.

MPC in Action: Assuming you click a link or button in Firefox to view a video, often the link will lead to a web page with the video as an embedded stream in the page. Unless it is a file type like Flash or Real Video, MPC will replace an embedded video stream in the browser with a button in a black screen, like this: If/when you click the button, the player MPC associates with the file type is launched in a pop-up window. For example, if we go to CNN and play a video now, the Flash page loads and instead of the Totem error we got before, now there is simply a button icon as above in (black) embedded player frame. If/when we click the button, the VLC player pops up and plays the video we selected. Yippee! During the configuration of MPC, you can elect to let MPC handle Real Media, Flash and other file types. If you do, then MPC prevents the video from embedding in the host web page and launches the RealPlayer or the Flash player in a pop-up window. This is unnecessary since the RealPlayer and the Flash player work well in Firefox, so I don't let MPC handle Real Media and Flash videos. From the Firefox Tools menu, you can change the configuration of MPC if/when you encounter troubles. Warning: If the browser link or button clicked to play the video leads to a video file instead of a web page with a video stream embedded, quirky things happen. I don't know if this is a flaw in MCP or if it is a result of the (mis)configuration of MPC. For example, when I click on links to different .wmv files, I can get the following results: Totem plays the video, full-screen, in the browser window MPC puts a button like the one above in the middle of a black browser window. Clicking the button plays the video in a VLC pop-up. The browser window goes to black, and the video plays in a VLC pop-up without further ado. I suspect that these behaviors have to do with the Smartplay option selected during setup. In any case, I can live with this.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Episode 3: Sound Idiosyncrasies Abound

The continuing adventures of one man's attempt to migrate his desktop PC from MS Windows to Ubuntu/Linux.

On boot with the USB headset plugged in, there is a drum-tap sound that plays through the speakers when the "username" login screen appears. After logging in, the Ubuntu jingle plays through the headset. Strange...

Putting an audio CD in the CD-RW drive sets an "audio CD" icon on the desktop. Double clicking the icon launches a music player, but I hear the music through the speakers. Damn, the boss will know I'm hardly working, not working hard!

• Checking System/Preferences/Sound reveals that the sound card (SB Live!) is the default sound card. Selecting the USB Headset and rebooting, the CD music plays through the headset. Problem solved.
  
• However, rechecking the System/Preferences/Sound reveals that the sound card (SB Live!) is again the default sound card. I don't know why the music is coming from the headset now when it came from the speakers before.

Controlling the volume in the headset for the CD I am playing is problematic.

• A single click on the "Master" volume control on the Ubuntu panel displays a slider control that does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
  
• This behavior of this Master slider control holds true if I am playing the CD using either Rhythmbox or Sound Juicer.
• In the player window, there is a control that WORKS! It does allow you to increase or decrease the overall volume in the headset.
  
• This behavior of the player volume control holds true if I am playing the CD using either Rhythmbox or Sound Juicer.

But how do I control the balance and tone of the music played by Rhythmbox or Sound Juicer in the headset?

• Trial and error disclosed that a double-click on the Master volume control on the Ubuntu panel launches an "Alsa Mixer" volume control window for the USB headset. Here I can adjust the sound volume. I can also change the balance by "unlocking the channels."
• BTW, somewhere along the trial-and-error line I added the Alsa Mixer to the system using Add/Remove Applications.
  
• I haven't found how to change sound tone yet.

I continue to believe that the issues I am having with sound are related to the sound card driver. Sound Blaster sound cards used by Dell may not be the same as the versions used by other system builders. The card that Dell used in my machine may require a different driver, one that works better than the one that Ubuntu installed for this card!?

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Episode 2: Sound

The continuing adventures of migrating from MS Windows to Ubuntu Linux. After a few days of using Ubuntu on my office desktop PC, after installing a few apps and browser plugins, I've got some issues with sounds.

With Windows, the opening "jingle" came out of the speakers when the machine booted, and various sounds played when different things happened. With Windows, if I plugged in my USB headset, no sounds went to the speakers. They went to the headset instead. When I unplugged my headset, sounds played on the speakers again. And this worked even if I plugged and unplugged my headset with the computer running. Windows figured it out. But not Ubuntu.

Here's the good news. Ubuntu successfully identified the make and model number of both my sound card and my USB headset. The issues I am having are probably driver related problems. So, you may not have the same experience I am having, if you have different hardware.

• Without the headset plugged in, I do not hear the opening jingle when the machine boots. But, otherwise the sounds work fine, coming out of the speakers.
• One thing I discovered through trial and error is that I didn't hear any sounds from the speakers until I had the volume control on the speakers turned up loud AND the Ubuntu sound widget volume turned up also.
  

• With the headset, I do hear the opening boot-up jingle and all the sounds through the headset and not the speakers.
  
• Except, there is a sound application called Gtick (a metronome) that I installed that only plays through the speakers and not the headset. In fact, I can run Gtick and hear it ticking over the speakers and run Rhythmbox (music player) and hear it playing music at the same time only in the headset. Weird.
  
• Booting the computer without the headset plugged in and then plugging in the headset results in message popping up telling a new audio playback device has been detected. I can click a link in this message and go to Sound Preferences, where I see that the headset is now listed as the "Default sound card." However, all the sounds keep coming out of the speakers. Only if I reboot with the headset plugged in does the headset work.

Sound issues are a bit of a nuisance, since I now have to reboot whenever I want to listen to something over the headset. However, this is not so bad that is going to drive me away from Ubuntu.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Bye, Ma!

Episode 1

This is a story of leaving home. I am saying good-bye to Ma Microsoft on my desktop, installing Ubuntu on my PC instead of Windows.

What fate awaits me as I struggle to adjust to life without Ma? Will I be able to cope without Microsoft Office? Will I be able to see my Exchange emailbox? Will I be able to use file and print sharing services on the network? Or will I give up in frustration, turn away from Ubuntu and go back to Windows?

Over the years, I have installed different distros of Linux on different PCs. These PCs then went into service as a firewall/router, a database server, a file server, and a web server. These were all command-line or non-GUI (graphical user interface) instances of Linux.

Last year, I installed Debian with KDE and Gnome GUI interfaces on an old laptop. I use the laptop to make presentations. It is a great attention grabber to show a non-Windows desktop to business audiences accustomed to Windows and the occasional Mac desktops. Talk about tech cred!

Recently, the 86-year-old patriarch of my family, AKA Grandpa, complained that his computer was running slow. His computer was a 9-year-old, Windows 98 machine with a 366 Mhz processor and 64 megs of RAM. My brother donated a 3-year-old machine that was recently retired from service, and I loaded Ubuntu on it for Grandpa. He's made the transition to his new setup like a champ! So, I figure if he can do it, I can too.

Ubuntu has greatly simplified the installation of Linux. Gone are all the questions about the refresh rate of your monitor, the chipset of your graphics card, the size and number of your swap disk and other questions that left me scratching my head when I installed Linux in the past. It detected all my hardware, and it got and installed the right drivers. Amazing!

Tips & Tricks: When I moved my PC from the bench where I did the install to my desktop, I discovered that the Linksys USB WiFi adapter I planned to use did not work. There is no Linux driver for it. I didn't want to use the Window's driver with ndiswrapper -- too much work for a cheap piece of hardware, so I swapped the USB adapter for the Linksys "Wireless Gaming Adapter" my son uses with his XBOX. This Wireless Gaming Adapter is a bridge device that requires no drivers. Problem solved. FYI, the 802.11-b version of the Wireless Gaming Adapter sells for less than $20 on Ebay.

In future episodes I will let you know how the migration from Windows to Ubuntu is going. Will I be able to survive or will I come running home to Ma with my tail between my legs? Stay tuned.

Only free software was used in the creation, storage and delivery of this message.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.