Ubuntu Hacks

Ravi writes "I recently got hold of a very nice book on Ubuntu called Ubuntu Hacks co-authored by three authors - Kyle Rankin, Jonathan Oxer and Bill Childers. This is the latest of the hack series of books published by O'Reilly. They have made available a rough cut version of the book online ahead of schedule which was how I got hold of the book but as of now you can also buy the book in print. Put in a nutshell, this book is a collection of around 100 tips and tricks which the authors choose to call hacks, which explain how to accomplish various tasks in Ubuntu Linux. The so called hacks range from down right ordinary to the other end of the spectrum of doing specialised things." Read on for the rest of Ravi's review. Ubuntu Hacks - Tips and Tools for Exploring, Using and Tuning Linux author Jonathan Oxer, Kyle Rankin and Bill Childers pages 447 publisher O'Reilly rating 9 reviewer Ravi ISBN 0-596-52720-9 summary This book contains around a 100 hacks in configuring various aspects of Ubuntu.

The book is divided into 10 chapters each containing a collection of hacks on a particular topic.

In the first chapter titled - Getting Started, the authors explains how to install Ubuntu on a Mac and Windows PC, moving data like mail from windows Outlook express to Ubuntu, setting up a printer and more. This chapter contains a total of 14 hacks. And my favorite hack is the one where the authors explains how to create a customized version of Ubuntu Live CD containing ones favourite applications.

The second chapter dwells on the topics related to customizing the Ubuntu desktop. Here the authors give tips to install Java, customize Ubuntu desktop, install additional window managers, synchronizing ones PDA and Pocket PC, just to name a few. This chapter contains around 27 tips. My favourite one here would be how to create PDF files by using the print command from any application in Ubuntu.

Ubuntu like other main stream GNU/Linux distributions is encumbered by the patent restrictions related to various popular multimedia file formats. The net result is one cannot play multimedia files like mp3, wmv or quick time in a default Ubuntu installation. In the chapter titled "Multimedia", one gets to know how to enable audio and video applications bundled with Ubuntu to play these restricted media files.Topics like CD ripping, playing encrypted DVDs and playing any media formats using the all time popular mplayer are also explained in simple detail. But the one hack which takes the prize is that which explains how to buy songs at the iTunes music store and download the music on Linux.

Laptop users have some advantages as well as disadvantages over people using the desktop. And considering that the number of laptop users are ever increasing, there is a need to explain how to configure and take care of ones laptop running Ubuntu - like prolonging the battery life, configuring the wireless card on the laptop, hibernating, setting up bluetooth connection and so on. The 4th chapter contains around 8 detailed tips which deals with these interesting topics related to a laptop. I really liked the tip explaining how to make ones laptop settings roam with ones network which could be quite useful for people who are always on the move.

Chapter five of this well structured book deals exclusively with configuring and fine tuning X11 - the X Windows System. Here one gets to know how to configure ones mouse the old fashioned way by editing the requisite section in the X configuration file.As an example, the authors elaborate on a special case of configuring a seven button mouse with a tilted scroll wheel to work properly in Ubuntu. This chapter additionally contain a slew of tips to configure different difficult to configure hardware like the touch pad, setting up dual head displays, installing and configuring Nvidia, ATI and Matrox proprietary graphics drivers to work in Ubuntu and more.

The next chapter titled "Package Management" has a collection of tips in managing packages. Over and above explaining how to install, remove and update packages using apt-get, synaptic and Adept, this chapter also contain tips on creating ones own Ubuntu package from source, cache packages locally from source and more. I especially found the hack where the authors explain how to create ones own Ubuntu package repository really informative.

The seventh chapter dwells exclusively on Security. Usually Ubuntu for the desktop comes with all the ports closed by default which makes it relatively secure. But in these times of cheap high speed Internet access when a home network is connected to the Internet at all times, it is always prudent to run a firewall on ones machine. In this chapter, the authors explain how to setup a robust firewall using iptables and firewallbuilder and then manage it from the Ubuntu desktop. But that is not all, there are tips on configuring SUDO to limit permissions to different users where one gets to know how to do it the command line way. But my favourite tip in this chapter is the one which explains how to encrypt the file system to protect important data. This chapter contains a total of six in-depth hacks all related to enhancing the security of the machine running Ubuntu.

Ubuntu developers have always persevered in providing easy to use front-ends for conducting the most common system administration tasks - be it creating additional user accounts or managing the services running on ones machine. But at times the user is forced to do system administration tasks the command line way. In this chapter titled "Administration", the authors explain for instance how to compile a kernel from source the Ubuntu way and also ways of installing multiple copies of one kernel version on the same machine which could be useful for testing purpose. There are tips for taking backups as well as restoring them. I found the hack titled "Rescuing an unbootable system" really useful. This hack is in fact a collection of tips where common rescue scenarios are elaborated. I found this chapter full of very useful tips as varied as ways of synchronizing files between different machines, mounting a remote filesystem and even a tip on creating videos by capturing what is done on the desktop which could be really useful when shared with others while seeking help on a particular error.

A virtual machine is a simulated computer-inside-another-computer, allowing one to boot an extra operating system inside the primary environment. The next chapter titled "Virtualization and Emulation" explains the different virtualization and emulation technologies available which allow one to run windows/Dos applications and games in Ubuntu, running Ubuntu inside Windows and so on. Here the authors gives in-depth step-by-step walkthroughs in configuring and running virtualization and emulation technologies such as Xen, VMWare server and Wine which imparts a lot of importance to this chapter.

The final chapter of this excellent book which is also the 10th chapter deals with setting up a small home/office server. Here one gets to know how to install and configure a Ubuntu server from scratch. All the topics like setting up quotas to control disk space usage among users, setting up an SSH server, configuring Apache web server, building an email server, DHCP server, DNS server and so on which are a part and parcel of an office server setup have been given due importance in this chapter.

All the ten chapters combined, there are a total of 100 tips (Oops! hacks) in this unique book which are based on the latest version of Ubuntu - Dapper Drake. What is worth noting is that one is not expected to read the book from cover-to-cover rather, you can flip to the hack you are interested in and carry on from there which makes this book a very good reference for setting up and configuring all things related to Ubuntu. At this point, one might have questions in ones mind whether many of the solutions listed in this book aren't already available on the net in popular Linux/Ubuntu forums. True, with some searching one might be able to get what one is looking for. But if you ask me, it is always nice to have something tangible in ones hands while reading instead of having to stare at the monitor for hours on end. More over, each and every tip in this book has been tested by the authors on the latest version of Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) and is guaranteed to work. In writing this book, it is clear that the authors have put in a lot of hard work in covering all facets of configuring this popular Linux distribution which makes this book a worth while buy.

You can purchase Ubuntu Hacks - Tips and Tools for Exploring, Using and Tuning Linux from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

Dead tree publications

[Afrosheen]

I totally agree with the author in that I like having a real book in my hands when I'm working on something new, difficult, etc. I don't think the value of a book can ever be underestimated.

Re:Dead tree publications

[Rob T Firefly]

Very true. Besides the intangible benefits of having the "real" book, with computer stuff it's always nice to have some hard copy reference material. There will always come a time when the problem you need to fix is keeping you from getting onto the damned Internet to find the fix for your problem.

Re:Dead tree publications

[Anonymous Coward]

I like having a real book in my hands when I'm working on something new, difficult, etc.

Exactly. Nothing better than having a book in your hands to read when taking a shit.

Re:Dead tree publications

[Afrosheen]

Yay, my grammar troll bait caught two! I get a +4 cloak of haste now. Thanks guys!

Re:Dead tree publications

[Anonymous Coward]

I see you already got + 2 Boots of Revisionary Motivation. Unfortunately, I have an Amulet of Divination of Bullshit, and therefore pwned you already.

Re:Dead tree publications

[DittoBox]

I have to agree there. The reason isn't generally about having a hard copy (although it is nice to have when a system goes tits up) but rather that most tech books are written as page-by-page textbooks. This makes them far easier to follow and learn from than a manual. This is because manual's are generally for reference or very brief introductions to whatever you're trying to learn, they rarely help in actually grokking the subject.

Most of the time manual's simply outline what functions foo, bar and baz do seperately rarely giving you 'recipes' for using foo, bar and baz together.

One of the first hacks in the book..

[GonzoTech]

... tells a user how to post information on slashdot pertaining to the book itself. An advertisement hack, which is very similar to the wonderful people who write books on, "How to write a book and make a million dollars from it," collections.

Re:Sick of B&N favoritism

[GonzoTech]

You mean I don't have to go to B&N? THANK GOD!

distro fragmentation

[b17bmbr]

shouldn't most distro hacks be more applicable to any distro, or has linux become too fragmented? every distro has different ways to handle packages, and ubuntu's (synaptic) is a good front end to apt-get. I really like it far better than the rpm methods. however, most "hacks", such as installing LAMP, tuning perforamnce, file sharing, etc., should be mostly the same for all linux distros. I liked the Knoppix hacks from a while ago which was cool in that you could do things like build your own specialty live CD. Things like that are truly hacks. Configuring X or getting DVD's to play in ubuntu are hardly hacks. Ubunut is a great distro and I use it now instead of Fedora or Mandr*.

Re:Sick of B&N favoritism

[NineNine]

Thanks, but I buy locally. I like the few independent bookstores that we have left.

Re:The Linux Flaw

[chrismcdirty]

You act like these types of books/articles don't exist for Windows. Look at digg on any given week. You'll likely see at least one "How to do $x in Windows to speed up $y" or "How to unlock $z in Windows" article.

Re:The Linux Flaw

[Penguin Programmer]

Have you tried Ubuntu? You absolutely do _not_ need any hacks to use it as a normal desktop system. In fact, I would venture to say that it's easier to install and configure than Windows XP is. Of course, most normal users never have to install and configure Windows because it comes with their computers, so maybe that is a moot point. Still, in the 60ish Ubuntu installs I've done (mostly at installfests for average Joe users with laptops), I've had very few Ubuntu installs that didn't detect and configure all the hardware on the machine correctly. Windows XP almost never detects new hardware on a machine correctly. The default Ubuntu setup is very clean and easy to use. It's _different_ from Windows (as it should be - Windows has an ass interface), but not harder to use.

The need-to-know-hacks-to-use-Linux argument no longer holds. It was completely valid when I started using Linux (circa 1998), but today it is 100% myth.

Re:The Linux Flaw

[amide_one]

In other words, "there's lots of cool stuff you can do if you know how, but it's not always immediately obvious how". So... you want it spelled out for you or what? Except... wait... that's just what's already been done in this book. Except... wait... apparently the simple fact that this book is potentially useful is "what's wrong with Linux". Linux should make it blindingly obvious how to handle the "special case of configuring a seven button mouse with a tilted scroll wheel to work properly". (Does Windows, yet?)

I haven't seen the book but I've used (K)ubuntu and most of the stuff sounds like information that's already pretty freely available -- for instance, "know how to enable audio and video applications bundled with Ubuntu to play these restricted media files" turns out to be covered very nicely on the Ubuntu support wiki. Dunno how much extra this book adds to that info, but the wiki already includes the "takes the prize" tip on how to get stuff from iTMS.

In other words -- don't complain that people are working hard to make it much easier for "non-techy" users to do "oridinary" tasks (like spelling).

Re:The Linux Flaw

[FinchWorld]

Unless theres a piece of hardware that doesn't work out of the box.

Re:The Linux Flaw

[Braino420]

What about the Microsoft hacks? And yes, most of those books talk about "getting updated",installing drivers, web browsing and changing themes. Oh ya, there is even something included in there that isn't in the Ubuntu one: controlling spyware.
I think I've just been trolled.

Use ubuntuforums.org

[Bleeblah]

These sound like basic HOWTOs to me, instead of hacks. And if you need Ubuntu HOWTOs, look no further than www.ubuntuforums.org.

Ubuntu Hacks... thanks for the review!

[WildBill1941]

Thanks for the positive review of Ubuntu Hacks. As one of its authors, I'm very pleased to see that the book is well received so far. We geared the book for the Dapper Drake release, and doing that was no easy feat as it was a moving target the whole time. We'd write a hack, and then we'd have to continually revise things as the code changed and new features got rolled in. I believe I rewrote the Java hack at least three times, thanks to the fact that Sun relaxed their licensing.

At any rate; I'm very pleased to see that the book is well accepted. Thanks again for the good review. I'd like to add that we're going to continue to update things at the http://www.ubuntuhacks.com/ blog - there's no real content there at the moment, but as we think of new things or there are new developments in the Ubuntu world we'll keep that site up to date.

- Bill

Re:One..

[gardyloo]

Seriously though, who writes like that anymore?

People that write correctly, that's who.

      Ahem. People WHO write correctly, that's who.

Re:Not to be too pedantic about it, but...

[Cal Paterson]

Well, at least you got to plug your blog either way. Thank god for that.

I mean, if I hadn't discovered you blog (which is automatically linked as part of your user comment header, by the way; hows that for redundancy?) with it's gnome tips, funny pictures and flash animations (that obviously won't work on any real linux-users machine) I would have been seriously intellectually impoverished.

Either way, I think the word I'm looking for is thankyou.

Re:One..

[jimmyfergus]

Actually, it's completely appropriate. It seems you, like the British aristocracy, don't understand how to use it. They say "one" when they mean a specific person, usually themselves, too, or at least they used to. In your post, "Such as one did", is nonsense.

It's sad that such useful usage has become passe, usually inappropriately replaced with 'you'. The aforementioned royalty and their hangers-on probably had a lot to do with its fall from grace.

Think about it - to express, for instance, that people should generally be polite, people now usually say "you should be polite", which strictly speaking arrogantly excludes the speaker. Much better to say "one should be polite" ...it's more polite ;).

But then, sadly, ignorant people think you are affected.

Re:Ok. You Piqued My Interest.

[mindtriggerz]

DVD Jon has a program called Sharp(#) Musique that allows you to buy from the iTMS in Linux, and without DRM too. Unfortionatly, if you've used iTunes v6 it does not work for purchasing. However, there is a 3rd party patch floating arround that fixes this. #Musique is availible from http://nanocrew.net/

Re:Not to be too pedantic about it, but...

[caudron]

Well, at least you got to plug your blog either way.

If my blog interests you, perhaps you'd also like to sign up for my Tom.DigitalElite.Com newsletter.

I also have Tom.DigitalElite.Com coffee mugs and t-shirts for the serious fan.

For the more sedate sophisticate such as yourself, I offer a Tom.DigitalElite.Com roasted java bean blend---smooth, satisfying, and oh so mmmmm, just like my blog.

At my blog, you'll find that sarcasm is but one of the many services I provide free of charge.

Act now, I'll throw in a free Tom.DigitalElite.Com "Lonely Fornication" baseball cap.

Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/

Re:One..

[gardyloo]

Imagine what Chaucer or Shakespeare would think should he happen to find himself in modern company.

    They would both think "RTFM".