Google Chrome flaw

This is just a bit of info about Google Chrome which you might find useful in case you are considering switching browsers. Google Chrome apparently has a flaw which prevents it to download large files. And by large files I mean anything bigger than 25MB. Today, to my utter disappointment and dismay, I discovered that I couldnt download a 26MB .bin file (the installation file of Google Earth).

This is indeed a bug and it has been reported in the Chromium development pages. It has been reported by many users and the worst part some of them got stuck while downloading files which ran into GBs!

So if you're planning to download a really large file (or even a small one apparently), at least anything more than 25MB, use Firefox.

Adobe AIR 64 bit Installation Guide

As you know, its very difficult to run Adobe AIR apps on a 64 bit Linux OS. I have tried numerous methods but none were helpful. Finally I came across this page which has a complete guide to the installation of Adobe AIR on a 64 bit Linux OS. Some of the steps described there can be a bit difficult to understand. So, I'm reproducing the steps alongwith my simplified versions. Save the downloaded files under the /home folder.

1. First up, download the Adobe AIR .bin file. Here's the download link: Download (File size is 13 MB)

2. Download and install these 32 bit libraries: Download

3. Download these files next: libnss3 ; libnspr4

The following are reproduced from the reference page:

You now need to open the packages you just downloaded by running file-roller as root so you can extract them to your /usr/lib32 folder. Begin by extracting the files in libnss, using the following command:

$ sudo file-roller ./libnss3-1d_3.12.0~beta3-0ubuntu1_i386.deb

Double-click the data.tar.gz file. If the data.tar.gz file doesn't automatically open in file-roller, you may be asked which application to open it with. If you are prompted to choose the application, enter file-roller in the Application box and click Open.

In file-roller, locate and select the following files in the ./usr/lib folder:
libnss3.so.1d
libnssutil3.so.1d
libsmime3.so.1d
libssl3.so.1d

Click Extract. Click the top left button in this window. The button's icon is an image of a pencil and paper. If you hover your mouse over the button it will display "Type a file name" in a popup tooltip. Once the button has been clicked, a Location box will appear. Type /usr/lib32 in the Location box and click Extract.

Close all file-roller windows.

Extract the files in libnspr, using the following command:

$ sudo file-roller ./libnspr4-0d_4.7.1~beta2-0ubuntu1_i386.deb

Double-click the data.tar.gz file and open with file-roller and then locate and select the following files in the ./usr/lib folder:
libnspr4.so.0d
libplc4.so.0d
libplds4.so.0d

Follow the same instructions as above (in step 7) to extract the files to the /usr/lib32 folder.
Finally, close file-roller and enter the following commands:

$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib32/libnss3.so.1d /usr/lib32/libnss3.so
$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib32/libssl3.so.1d /usr/lib32/libssl3.so
$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib32/libnspr4.so.0d /usr/lib32/libnspr4.so

[A bit of additional info has been added here]

You are now ready to install Adobe AIR Linux. Type the following command:

$ chmod +x AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
$ sudo ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin

Adobe AIR is now installed on your system.
Just one more step before you start installing and using AIR apps. Enter the following command:

$ sudo cp /usr/lib/libadobecertstore.so /usr/lib32

For Ubuntu 9.04 only (as well as 9.10):

Due to the absence of the lib32nss package, AIR apps are unable to connect to the network. Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit users need the package lib32nss-mdns for DNS resolution in a 32bit application:

$ sudo apt-get install lib32nss-mdns

You're now ready to install and run AIR applications.



[Reference/Source - http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/408/kb408084.html]

Transparency

This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the 'look' of Ubuntu and its panels. And especially since Windows 7 has taken transparency to a whole new level now! :P What if you could make the GNOME panels and the title bars of the windows transparent?

I'm not exactly sure if there's any comprehensive tutorial on transparency yet. That way, you are in luck!

First things first, you'll need Compiz and Ubuntu Tweak to do this. If you have been following my blog, you might have come across the two guided tutorials on the installation of both of them. If, however, you have missed those posts, here's a link to those tutorials (do go through both the posts as you'll need both the softwares installed):

Click here for a complete guide to Compiz installation and setup
and,
Click here for a complete guide to Ubuntu Tweak installation and setup

So, this is how you make your GNOME panel transparent:

Open Compiz (GNOME Menu > Preferences >CompizConfig Settings Manager). This is what you'll see:



Now do you notice that small tab which says "Opacity, Brightness and Saturation"? Click on that tab and it will open with this:



Notice carefully, you can see a "New" button on this window under 'Window specific settings'. This image will help you out:



After you click on "New", type the following exactly as is:

type=dock

and set the Window Value to 70 (change this to suit your needs). This pic will make the scenario clear:



Now coming to the panel window transparency. Open Ubuntu Tweak from GNOME Menu > System Tools > Ubuntu Tweak. Go to the Desktop >Windows option and select the settings as given here (change the values to suit your needs):



Thats it! Say hello to transparency! :)

(For another take on a different type of transparency check out another post on this blog here)

Goodbye GIMP

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, weird as it might sound, Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) might not have GIMP, the awesome image editing software, on its Release CD. For many of us GIMP is the open-source answer to Adobe Photoshop. As expected this has had mixed responses from various Ubuntu users.

Many feel this will help Ubuntu come out of its "nerdy" image and proclaim itself as a more user friendly OS. They feel F-Spot (another image editing software which is also on Ubuntu 9.10, but is very light weight and much easier to use for basic image editing tasks) is more than enough to satisfy the needs of most.

Then there's the other group which feels that GIMP is integral to Ubuntu's success and removing it from the CD edition will do nothing in popularising the OS.

I have mixed feelings about this. GIMP is without a doubt one of my favourite softwares on Ubuntu. And to be frank, if you're into at least into a little bit of blogging or image editing, it is an absolutely essential piece of software. But again, its not that GIMP wont be available to users, its just that one has to download it from the repositories. And on the positive side of it, Ubuntu is indeed going mainstream with the CD now having some of the most user-friendly softwares. (Lets face it, GIMP really isnt for beginners, is it?)

Well everything has its pros and cons. Lets see how things turn out! :)

Wikipedia: GIMP

Official Website of GIMP