If you have kids going to school you will know these questions:

1. Why can’t you have Microsoft Office ?
2. I can not find ‘xyz’ font on this …. – why ?

I have managed (after some time) to convince my kids that there is no need for having a particular Word Processing Software and they are much better off knowing the concepts of text processing rather than some particular office package. Unfortunately I have had no look convincing many teachers that they should follow a similar principle ….

Since the default Ubuntu repository does not have the current version of VirtualBox (currently 4.1.x) here is the installation procedure via apt-get

echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list
wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.1

To use USB devices on the clients you need to install the Extension Pack from the Oracle Site and install via the File –> Preferences.

I am not generally one for writing blog entries about customer support failures. Thanks to my technical work I have had my fair share of dealing with call queues and help-desk systems over the last 20 years. But compared with my experience with Google AdSense over the last weeks all of these just pale into funny memories. I have never experienced the outright refusal to acknowledge an issue and blanket denial of communications.

Due to a recent absolute Customer Service failure with Google Adsense I have done some research on the alternative to Google Adsense as a content-sensitive mobile and web advertisements.

We are currently reviewing the following services:

• http://www.adbrite.com/
• http://chitika.com
• http://www.admob.com/
• https://pubcenter.microsoft.com/Login
• http://advertisingcentral.yahoo.com/publisher/index
• http://www.clicksor.com/
• http://www.infolinks.com/
• http://adhitz.com/en
• http://buysellads.com/

Once we have some results I will update this post. Please add your comments should you have any (good or bad) experiences with similar services.

Like it or not (personally I am in the second category) Blackboard Collaborate or Elluminate (as it is still more commonly referred to) is something you have a hard time avoiding if you work in online education.

I discovered that I have audio issues on some Ubuntu Linux machines and found the following to fix the issues.

1) Install alsa-aoss

apt-get install alsa-oss

2) Save the Elluminate Java Webstard (.JNLP) file to a local folder – DO NOT OPEN IN BROWSER
3) Launch Elluminate using this command (in the folder you saved the JNLP)

Just some memory aid to help remember how to set up DVB cards in Ubuntu:

apt-get install dvb-apps dvbstream w-scan
w_scan -c AU -X > channels.conf

You can use this channels.conf with a number of TV players (MeTV, MythTV,…) however I prefer the no-nonsense interface of VLC

vlc channels.conf

Here is the example output (for those in Adelaide, South Australia you can just save this into channels.conf):

7 Digital(Seven Network):177500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:1281:1282:1360
7 Digital 1(Seven Network):177500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:1281:1282:1361
7TWO(Seven Network):177500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:1313:1314:1362
7mate(Seven Network):177500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:1329:0:1363
7 Digital(Seven Network):177500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:1281:1282:1364
Nine Digital(Nine Adelaide):191620000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:1105
GO(Nine Adelaide):191620000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:514:652:1106
GEM(Nine Adelaide):191620000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:513:0:1112
ONE(Ten Adelaide):219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:514:0:1617
TEN Digital(Ten Adelaide):219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:1621
ONE(Ten Adelaide):219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:514:0:1623
ELEVEN(Ten Adelaide):219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:516:681:1624
ABC News 24(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:2314:0:592
ABC1(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:593
ABC2 / ABC4(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:2307:2308:594
ABC1(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:595
ABC3(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:2311:2312:596
ABC Dig Music(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:2317:598
ABC Jazz(ABC):226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:2318:599
44 Adelaide(44Adelaide):543500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QPSK:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:100:101:3585
SBS ONE(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:161:81:833
SBS TWO(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:162:83:834
SBS 3(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:161:81:835
SBS 4(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:161:81:836
SBS HD(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:102:103:837
SBS Radio 1(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:201:846
SBS Radio 2(SBS):564500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:202:847
ONE(Ten Adelaide):711500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:514:0:1617
TEN Digital(Ten Adelaide):711500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:512:650:1621
ONE(Ten Adelaide):711500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:514:0:1623
ELEVEN(Ten Adelaide):711500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:516:681:1624
service_id 833:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:161:81:833
service_id 834:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:162:83:834
service_id 835:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:161:81:835
service_id 836:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:161:81:836
service_id 837:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:102:103:837
service_id 846:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:0:201:846
service_id 847:760500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_AUTO:FEC_AUTO:QAM_AUTO:TRANSMISSION_MODE_AUTO:GUARD_INTERVAL_AUTO:HIERARCHY_AUTO:0:202:847

With every new release of Ubuntu I am becoming more resigned to the fact that the effort to revert back to the Ubuntu Classic (Gnome 2) interface is getting harder and sooner or later I will have to bite the bullet and learn to live with the ugly and more cumbersome Unity interface (specially since Gnome 3 seems to be even worse). One of the first issues I found is that there seems to be no easy way to manually add programs to the “Launcher” (as well as to the applications list).

UPDATE: To install on 12.04 (Precise Pangolin) you need a different PPA.

Since sun-java6-jdk has been removed from the default Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) repositories you need to add a PPA repository (unless you want to install by hand)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk sun-java6-plugin

After the recent takeover of Delicious from Yahoo Inc by Avos and the subsequent total screw-up of what was a workable system I have been struggling to export bookmarks from Delicious in XML format (since the API is badly broken). The API export of all bookmarks limits the export to 1000 bookmark entries. Which is fine if you have less than 1000 bookmarks stored. But it makes it impossible (since there is no paging functionality exposed by the API) to export the rest should you have more (and many people would have much more than that).

Just a quick note on how to configure backups of Google Apps email to a local machine.

Install getmail

apt-get install getmail4

create config directory

Create a subdirectory in users home folder (and change permissions)

mkdir .getmail
touch .getmail

create config file

Create a file such as .getmail/username.gmail

[retriever]
type = SimpleIMAPSSLRetriever
server = imap.gmail.com
username = username@domain.tld
password = password
mailboxes = ("[Gmail]/All Mail",)

[destination]
type = Maildir
path = /path/to/storage/directory/

[options]
# print messages about each action (verbose = 2)
# Other options:
# 0 prints only warnings and errors
# 1 prints messages about retrieving and deleting messages only
verbose = 1
message_log = ~/.getmail/gmail.log

create data directories for storage

Create 3 sub-directories in your designated data directory

After recently researching the available software for e-book creation for some of our clients (in the education sector) I came across quite a number of options. However after some further look into the option and trying some I was able narrowed the field down to 2 options that seem to be reasonably user-friendly and matured. The two are using a very different approach and will suit different types of users. One is a native e-book writer which will give better low-level control for the more technical types. The other is a plugin to the popular OpenOffice (or LibreOffice) Office Suites.

The release of the latest Ubuntu Version has been seen by a number of commentators as the most end-user friendly yet and signals another milestone in the readiness of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for more widespread (and business) use.

As a long-term user of a number of different Operating Systems and as SME Owner for the last 15 years I have overseen the gradual replacement of a number of proprietary software solutions with FOSS Alternatives. With the beginning of the new financial year however, we are planning to go another step further and are starting to change our default Operating System to Ubuntu (from MS Windows).