How to install MySQL Workbench in Ubuntu

Installing MySQL Workbench in Ubuntu is very straightforward, but not always easy to come across.

Hope this quick tutorial helps get the job done without wasting time.

Let us take the most direct approach, using the Terminal to install what we need in order to use MySQL Workbench.

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-workbench -y

The above will ask you to type your (user) password. If you have not used the terminal much, be aware that nothing will appear on screen as you type your password. This is a security measure and it is normal.
When the download and installation of the two packages finish, you will be presented with the following screen:

Enter a password that you will easily remember. You may use your Ubuntu user password if you want, but bear in mind that this will be the root password for the MySQL server; this is a individual service and its password is independent from the rest of your Ubuntu system. So you could use any password you want, just make sure you do not forget it!

Now you can open the Workbench, using the search function of your desktop or by typing mysql-workbench in the Terminal.
Next we need to connect to the MySQL service so we can start using the Workbench. You should see a Local instance under MySQL Connections in the main Workbench initial window.

When you click on the Local instance icon/rectangle, it will ask you for the root password of the MySQL service that you set during the installation.
If you do not want to enter the password every time, just save it to the key chain.

If you want to set up MySQL in other platforms, check the following links:

• MySQL Downloads
• Installing and updating MySQL

And that's all, folks! Happy SQL'ing

Tweaking Ubuntu

I have been playing around with the new LTS version of Ubuntu 16.04 and in my efforts to tweak it to my comfort, did the following:

sudo apt-get install synaptic unity-tweak-tool chromium-browser mc gnome-themes-standard ubuntu-restricted-extras vlc audacious -y

If you're into themes, you may want to have a look at the following resources:

http://www.noobslab.com/p/themes-icons.html
http://lmelinux.net/2016/03/31/adapta-another-beautiful-gtk-theme/
http://lmelinux.net/2016/04/25/apply-adapta-dark-theme-ubuntu-unity/

If you need programming/basic development tools:

sudo apt-get install build-essential default-jdk ruby python python3 geany geany-plugins vim -y

Other Sources:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats
http://askubuntu.com/questions/56446/how-do-i-install-the-ubuntu-restricted-extras-package

April 2015: A great month for Linux!

What can I say. Pigs are flying and monkeys are vivid. (I know, my sense of humour stinks, just trying my best...)

First, Ubuntu 15.04 was released (I prefer the April releases, I always get the feeling that the October ones are rather interim/testing/preview ones, although usable and functional, of course), with the highlight of a MATE desktop official version. It's like Ubuntu going back to its roots. Fast, stable, nice interface but no so over the top as to slow down or require a powerful machine to run well. Kubuntu has never looked and felt better, although I haven't had time to test it more extensively than taking the live DVD for a spin. Ubuntu Gnome has improved a lot and I'm using it at work, only missing more options to tweak it to my heart's content. The included (Gnome) tweak utility is great, but I still wish for more options, like controlling the size of the favourites dock, for example.

Link to Ubuntu Mate 15.04 release announcement

And that's not all! Debian 8!!! Better than ever, but of course still not for beginners. Or maybe for beginners with a lot of spare time and interest in one of the "founding distros" of Linux (the other still active ones being Slackware, Fedora and SuSE IMO.) The highlights of this release for me? Cinnamon and Mate desktops. Live DVDs. Heaven.

Link to Debian 8 "Jessie" release announcement

Happy OS-hacking and keep cheking Distrowatch for all FreeBSD & Linux news!

Unix permissions

I was looking for a nice, simple and straightforward tutorial about unix permissions, and came across these pages:

• http://www.tutorialspoint.com/unix/unix-file-permission.htm
• http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rc/help/faq/permissions.html
• http://www.perlfect.com/articles/chmod.shtml

Gnome 3 Window Buttons

Ah, the polemic, the flame wars... Whatever.

I'm using XFCE, Gnome, and Unity at the moment, while keeping a close eye on KDE (my first and most loved desktop, until they released version 4 (which now looks like it's ready for mass consumption, but I'm still nostalgic about the power and speed of KDE 3) and Gnome 2.

I actually find Gnome 3 nice, but not "tweakable" enough. I hope it won't take too long until it's as customisable as Gnome 2 used to be... Talk about fixing what's not broken and breaking it in the process...

Anyway, what I hate the most about Gnome 3 and its Shell:

1. The (lack of) window buttons: why remove the maximise, minimise, and menu? Doesn't make sense to me...
2. The lack of themes, colour sets, font configuration, etc... customisation and personalisation out of sight.
3. It isn't as light as Gnome 2 (at least it doesn't feel as light and nimble as its predecessor IMO)

So what to do?
Number 3: Use XFCE, LXDE, or Ubuntu 11.04 in Gnome classic mode.
Number 2: Wait until the stuff is available. :(
Number 1: Check this out --

You'll need to install (if you haven't got it yet in your system) gconf-editor first.

Invoke it within the terminal or press the ALT and F2 keys simultaneously, and type gconf-editor at the prompt.

Now navigate to desktop > gnome > shell > windows and change the button_layout key to menu:minimize,maximize,close as shown in the screenshot below:

After you log out and log back in, your windows will have the proper buttons. Of course you could make whatever changes as you see fit. The long description is very useful.

Screenshot taken on openSUSE Edu Li-f-e 12.1, yours may differ. It's a brilliant distro that is enticing me to go back where it all started for me (in terms of Linux addiction): SUSE.

Which 11.10?

Just thought it may be useful to someone... If you're into Linux, you may feel confused with the latest changes in our good old desktops. Gnome 3, Unity, etc.

For what is worth, I'm using Xubuntu 11.10 on my netbook (Asus EeePC 1015PX)
and Ubuntu 11.04 (64 bit version) on my desktop (Phenom II quad-core rig I assembled myself). I love the fact that I can choose Gnome 2 (Ubuntu classic) at login, as shown by this screenshot:

If you have any question, post them on your comments. I'll be glad to answer them, as soon as I have the time.

Sun Java on Ubuntu 11.10

Decided to 'fork' my previous post because since Ubuntu 11.10, Sun/Oracle Java has been removed from Canonical's partner repository. Fortunately, Roberto Ferramosca is providing the appropriate packages in his personal package archive (PPA).

So open your terminal, and let's go:

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

And that's it. Hope it's helpful. Now if you want to ensure Sun's JRE & JDK are the default, type in the terminal:

sudo update-alternatives --config java

and select your preferred alternative from the list. To select a Java compiler, type

sudo update-alternatives --config javac

Now on to the testing. You should get the version numbers of the currently installed and default runtime and compiler by typing (in the terminal):

java -version
javac -version

Ubuntu 11.10 Beta

I'm curious, so I downloaded Ubuntu 11.10 Beta and tested the live CD.

What I can tell you is that Unity keeps getting better (I'm not a big fan, though, I prefer the good old Gnome, xfce and lxde), the interface looks more polished, and improved.

Ubuntu Classic is gone, though. That's what I didn't like. So we'd have to install another desktop if we wanted options. From the terminal (or Synaptic, which isn't on the live CD either, so you'd have to install it, too) try:

sudo apt-get install lxde

Of course lxde there could be replaced by xfce or gnome, lubuntu-desktop, xubuntu-desktop.

Ubuntu 11.04 Unstable?

After using Ubuntu 11.04 for a while, on different PCs (desktop, netbook), I noticed some unexpected behaviours (slowdowns, crashes, screen garbage). This most likely is a problem of proprietary drivers (nVidia, ATI/Radeon) and Compiz (the 3D compositing window manager).

The solution, although not the most popular, is simple: when you log in, select Ubuntu Classic (no effects), and you'll have a fast, responsive and stable Ubuntu Linux system. I'm not fussed about losing the eye candy, and have no problem waiting for the next release (11.10), anyway.

Classic scrollbars in Ubuntu

Thanks to Andrew from Web Upd8, here's a way to disable Ubuntu 11.04's weird scrollbars and revert to the "old" ones. It's a terminal hack, so you need to open it and type the two lines below to make it work. You may or may not have to restart your computer to finalise the changes.

sudo su 

echo "export LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0" > /etc/X11/Xsession.d/80overlayscrollbars

Natty Narwhal's new scrollbar...

Source:
http://www.webupd8.org/2011/04/how-to-disable-overlay-scrollbars-in.html

Firefox 5 Released

Yes, Firefox 5 is out! Download it here, unless you are using Ubuntu 11.04.

If you are a running Natty Narwhal, all you need to do is run the Update Manager, and that's it!


Sources:
Mozilla
Softpedia

Hack your Ubuntu 11.04

Yes, the new Ubuntu is here!

So it's time to tweak it and personalise it, of course.

I'm quite short on time, so I'll be brief. will do what I can to revisit this post and make it more visual and detailed.

This is what I usually do right after I install Ubuntu:

{ Switch the window buttons back to the right hand side }

press ALT+F2 and type gconf-editor
Press Enter and navigate to /apps/metacity/general/button_layout
Change the button_layout to :minimize,maximize,close

More on:
Top Things to do after installing Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal

{ Go back to the classic Ubuntu, with Gnome desktop }

"...logout and then after clicking on your username, select Ubuntu Classic Desktop at the bottom of the login screen." Thanks Scottlinux!

[ Optional ]
In the Terminal, type:

sudo apt-get install mc build-essential gnome-themes gnome-themes-extras gnome-themes-more startupmanager shutter

Flash for 64 bit Linux

Short post. If you're using a Linux distro for the x64 (x86-64) architecture, this page from Adobe Labs has all the info and istructions you need to install it.

I've tried it and works very fast! So far, haven't had any problems with it.

The way I've done it is to extract the libflashplayer.so from the file (i.e. flashplayer10_2_p3_64bit_linux_111710.tar.gz, just right click on it and choose 'Extract here') and then move it to the /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/ folder via the following terminal commands:

cd ~/Downloads
sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/

Of course this is assuming you downloaded the file to your home folder's Downloads folder (the usual case). If you're using Konqueror, you may need to add the Flash plugin by going to Settings>Configure Konqueror>Plugins (last item), then select the Plugins tab, and click on the "Scans for plugins" button.

*Notes*

• The Adobe Labs link was updated as the preview of  the 64-bit Adobe Flash Player Square is now available for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows).
• More information is available at this Ubuntu Documentation page (removal of non-64 bit Flash plugins, alternative way of installing it, and such)

Hope this helps.

Ubuntu Linux: Install Sun's Java JDK

If you're using Debian (this works with Ubuntu as well, and may work with other Debian derivatives) and want to install Sun's Java Development Kit, and ensure it is set properly.
First, let's start by opening a terminal. Remember to use su or sudo for admin tasks.

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk -y

You'll be asked to accept the accept the license terms before installing the JDK.
After all is done, type the following to test your JDK:

java -version

javac -version

Many Linux distributions come with other versions of the JRE (runtime environment). If this is the case, use the following terminal commands to choose which want to use as default:

update-alternatives --config java

update-alternatives --config javac

The first line lets you choose a JRE and the second, a compiler (provided more than one alternative is installed).

Notes: You need the nonfree/multiverse repository(-ies) enabled. OR, if you're using Ubuntu 10.04 onwards, the "partner" repository (Sun's/Oracle's Java packages have been moved to partner). Via command line, you may easily do this by pasting the following line in your terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://archive.canonical.com/ maverick partner”
sudo apt-get update

 If you're using Ubuntu 10.10, the word in bold should be maverick; for 10.4, use lucid.

Mousey Terminal

I found an insteresting software package playing with Fedora 12. It may be available for other distriburions as well.

It's called GPM.

According to Wikipedia (short and sweet description), GPM means "general purpose mouse" and it "provides mouse support in Linux virtual consoles. It is included in most Linux distributions."
If you want to know more, this is GPM's official page.

Unbuntu 9.10 Released!

Great news! Ubuntu 9.10 was released at the end of October, and it's the best Ubuntu yet! Try it for free or get more information at:

• http://www.ubuntu.com/
• http://ubuntu.sg/

So far I've tried it and it's looking and working better than ever!

If you have an MSI Wind U100 or similar netbook, you may want to know that the brightness glitch can easily be fixed (at the time of this post) by disabling the 3D desktop effects. At least that worked for me.

Windows 7

Let's start the game all over again...

Microsoft just released its Windows 7 Operating System, so obviously I've started digging for information before making the financial commitment of spending my hard earned money yet again on a Microsoft OS.

What I found out:

• Taking a beating with Windows 7 pricing by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols and
• Windows 7 pricing in Singapore out! by Joe Teh

Vista left me a really bad aftertaste... Paying too much money for software that does not meet essential expectations regarding stability, efficiency, compatibility...

I have tried the Windows 7 Release Candidate, and it is indeed better than Vista, but my position is that Microsoft would almost redeem itself by charging a reasonable price for the upgrade (like Apple, for example), or why not offer it as a service pack?

It's up to you, dear reader, but I just can't part with so much money... again.

I'll be in the Apple Mac OS X camp and eagerly waiting for Ubuntu 9.10, thank you very much.

LXDE and Ubuntu

If you've got Ubuntu (or any derivative) and try LXDE. It has impressed me because of its light footprint in the system (I'm trying it on a netbook), its looks and functionality. The first time I saw LXDE was with Knoppix v6.0, and liked it much.

There's a concise article in Spanish at BolivarLUG with information plus screenshots. Summarising, runs acceptably on a PentiumII (192MB RAM), well on a PentiumIII, and very fast on an AMD Athlon 1.6 (the last two with 512MB RAM).

The only problem, if you have a laptop or connect to a network wirelessly, is that LXDE may not start the Network Manager by default. This solution was tried and tested on Ubuntu 9.04 and worked flawlessly.

You need to use the terminal. Of course ;-)

cd /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE/
sudo nano autostart

All you need to do is add the following line at the end of the file:

@nm-applet

then press CONTROL X, press Y, and ENTER/RETURN. Log out and back on, and you're all set.

(Source)

The only way I've found to add icons to the desktop (don't have much time to play with these things, sorry) is to copy the .desktop file(s) from the /usr/share/applications/ folder (corresponding to the application you want) to your home folder's Desktop folder.

Using the terminal, this would be an example:

cd /usr/share/applications
ls
cp gnome-terminal.desktop ~/Desktop

More information on LXDE at:

• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LXDE LXDE & Ubuntu
• http://www.lxde.org/
• http://screenshots.lxde.org/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LXDE

SDL Basic

Well, it could be useful. That's why I'm posting it, so I don't lose track of it. It's a nice version of BASIC available here.

If you're using Ubuntu, its package name is sdlbasic, so you can install it via Synaptic or the terminal:

sudo apt-get install sdlbasic -y

;-)

A fast and lightweight IDE

My favourite tool for coding (well, together KDE's KATE and Gnome's Text Editor).

It's Geany, a native Linux GTK2 application available to most distributions and ported to Windows as well.

Check its home on the web and download it!