My Little Ubuntu Guide

Ok, this has nothing to do with Linux or Ubuntu, but I’m having some crazy ass mice attack my house!

It all began when I was down in my basement/office working the other night. Suddenly I hear a PLUMP on the paneled ceiling above me, then tiny running feat racing around above me. What the hell?

Then they began to multiply, I’d hear a PLUMP over hear and one over there, then running toward each other. I honestly think these tiny bastards are holding some sort of annual Mousolympics up there. I’ll hear them run, then hop hop hop, and BOOM, land.

I’m not totally ok with these rodent sporting events and the muscular mice that attend and partake in them! I’m trying to run a business here!

I’ve owned a few of these really cool live traps for a couple years now, and they work like magic (I don’t like killing the little creatures). So I have them setup in my kitchen and this morning, low and behold, the star athlete was chilling in my trap!

He took a long trip into Chattanooga with me, but apparently he was either exhausted from the night before, or just liked the smell of Starbucks and Pasties…either way he did not want to leave the trap. I literally had to shake it to make him get out and then try to scare him off into the wilderness. What a freak. The mouse, not me ;)

So any suggestions you all may have on how to put a stop to these fur flying events, please let me know (non-killing methods only please).

Comments(3)

Ok folks, I’ve been running Gutsy successfully, somewhat, so far. I’ve gotten Compiz working perfectly to my liking and every other application is flawless. Except of course, Hibernate and Suspend. I’ve tried several techniques to getting it to work to no avail.

There is some talk out there about going back to a previous kernel, etc. I’m not going to do that. To me that defeats the purpose of progress here. I want to figure out how to make things work moving forward, even if it means waiting for the next kernel to come out.

There is a bug report that you can follow along on this issue over here: Bug Report

In the mean time, if any of you run across any other work arounds, leave a comment please! :)

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Ok, I’ve made some progress. As of now I’m running the “official” compiz and it’s working exactly as my hacked version was before. The system seems very stable, all my apps work great.

Only thing still on the agenda to fix is Hibernate/Suspend.

From what I’ve read on the bug report about that issue is they are not fixing it till the next release. I think we can get this working however without having to revert to the old kernel. I’ll continue working on it and keep you all posted.

Until I get a new CD with the Compiz stuff working, here’s a quick and dirty tutorial:

1. Enable all software resources EXCEPT the Trevino ones. To do this, click System > Administration > Software Sources and uncheck the following under the “Third-Party Software” tab:
http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy
http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy (Source Code)

2. Now install compiz and all other “parts”:
sudo apt-get install compiz compiz-bcop compiz-core compiz-fusion-plugins-extra compiz-fusion-plugins-main compiz-gnome compiz-plugins compizconfig-settings-manager emerald libcompizconfig-backend-gconf libcompizconfig0 libdecoration0 libemeraldengine0 python-compizconfig librsvg2-common gnome-compiz-manager libgnome-compiz-manager0-d

3. Now download and unzip the fusion icon:
wget http://www.mylittleubuntuguide.com/files/fusion-icon.tar.gz
tar -zxvf fusion-icon.tar.gz
cd fusion-icon

4. Now we build it:
make
sudo make install

5. Now re-enable the Trevino sources by returning to System > Administration > Software Sources and checking the two “trevino” repositories under Third-Party Software. Close and choose Reload.

6. Now install Emerald Themes:
sudo apt-get install emerald-themes

7. For good measure let’s make sure Emerald is handling the window decorations:
emerald &
Now right click the blue icon that appears in the upper right on your task bar and click “Select Window Decorator” and ensure “Emerald” is checked. If it’s not, check it.

That’s it! Now restart compiz and you can change the settings in System > Preferences > Advanced Desktop Effects Settings

Note: You can get all of your virtual desktops back on the cube by changing the General Options setting in Advanced Desktop Effects Settings, under the tab “Desktop Size”, change the “Horizontal Virtual Size” to your liking.

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I’m trying another approach today to installing Gutsy. I’m upgrading. Perhaps with the latest updates and kernel changes things will go smoother and work this time!

If it works I’m not totally convinced the upgrade option made the difference. I’ll then need to do a fresh install and see what happens. If all goes well (crosses fingers) this will mean a very nice, working, ready to install ISO for Gutsy.

I’ll let you all know tonight.
UPDATE>>>
Okay, so i’ve done the upgrade and, well, it didn’t fix anything automatically :( BUT, I did find a nifty little tool for making custom compiz Fusion sources and I’m going to begin that process tonight. Also, I’ll be working on the Suspend/Hibernate catastrophe.

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Thank you all for your awesome comments and emails! I really appreciate the feedback.

I’ve decided to add more value to my blog. That is what this service is about. Giving you as my readers and the ones benefitting from my work, more options in making your life easier.

While I’ll continue doing what I’ve been doing, I’m adding this service (yeah!). Below are the options I’m adding (note, adding to what I currently do!:))

Personal Help - $19.95/Month
This service is unlimited email support, personal assistance with drivers, errors, etc., working my tail off to get Ubuntu (any version) working on your Dell system. I may add additional configurations over time, but for now, since I’m testing this whole concept out and all, just Dells.

Help & Education - $39.95/Month
I’ll do all that is outlined in Personal Help plus teach you how to do it. In other words, if you can learn it in a month you can cancel and have all you need to figure out future stuff on your own.

Custom CD Every Release - $49.95/Year
You’ll get the latest releases of every CD and DVD that I release for that year. It will be guaranteed to work or I’ll custom build a separate one just for you (Dell systems only).

Ok, so these are the options. If any of them appeal to you, great, I’ll be happy to serve you more fully and readily than I’ve been able to up to this point. To “sign up” for a particular service, just email me personally at john AT jrdw.com and tell me which one you want to subscribe to.

Again, thanks for all of your support and feedback that has helped me make this service a, well sort of, reality!

You all rock!

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Hey all,

I’m thinking of providing a service that would allow you faster fixes to your problems. I just don’t know if it’s something you all would be interested in. If so, email me to let me know at john AT jrdw.com.

Here’s the idea.

For a small fee of $39.95 I’d create a custom install CD specific to your laptop. Every time there’s a new distro released, I would provide you a new CD for that distro for an additional $9.95. I know linux is free and we are all about free stuff! But I wouldn’t be able to justify my time spent on a project of this magnitude without some sort of compensation. (I have to feed my family too).

Anyway, I’m not even going to offer such a service until I get feedback from you, my visitors, as to if this is somthing you would want or pay for.

Thanks!

John

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