Jeffrey Stone

If you have not checked out VirtualBox you need to. This app is awesome. Its is basically a free version of VmWare. I am currently using it to run WinXP as a Virtual Machine on my Ubuntu laptop. If you need a solution for a Virtual Machine I suggest checking it out.

If you are running Ubuntu (especially if you are running 8.04), save yourself some headache, and download the deb file straight from Sun. There is something up with the version in the apt-get repositories and lots of chatter in the Ubuntu forum about just getting it directly from VirtualBox. Besure to add yourself to the virtualbox group after install or you will need to sudo the app. 

But it works like a champ. There is also a version for Windows for all of you still running Windows a your primary desktop. That way you can try out some versions of Linux without having to configure a dual boot setup or pay for VmWare.

virtualbox_1.6.4-33808_Ubuntu_hardy_i386.deb

Ok, by default Ubuntu supports the Radeon 9000 out of the box. But this is 2D support only. If you just want a basic laptop, that should be fine. But I have heard from some people that they want the the super cool video in Ubuntu 8.04 on the Dell D600 and getting it is a pain. I actually found it to be relatively easy. Everything you need is already there. You just need to update your xorg.conf file with the right information.

First off, there is a couple of things to consider. If you are following this for the D600, you should be good as far as hardware compatibility. However the AIGLX wont work with the following chipsets: HD 4xxxx or RV770 based cards. The second thing to consider is if you have already installed the fglrx driver, you will need to remove it. To do that run:

$ sudo apt-get remove ---purge xorg-driver-fglrx

Before you make any changes you should create a backup of your current configuration file.

$ sudo cp -p /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old

To save you from having to type out the changes to the xorg.conf file, I have posted mine so you can download it.

My xorg.conf

Fell free to download it and use it. After updating your configuration file you will want reload your desktop manager. After that, feel free to check out Compiz for desktop effects that rival Microsoft’s Areo.

At work I administer for an iSeries midrange mainframe. Basically I use a 5250 Emulator to interface with the iSeries. IBM has released a version of iSeries Access for Linux, but stay away. For fedora users, you may find it hard to get the dependencies you need to make it work as some of the packages have been removed as of Fedora 4 (I believe). Using it isn’t much better. I found it bulky and cumbersome. But no worries, I did find a great alternative.

TN5250 is an free 5250 emulator, and it is lightweight and easy to use. Better still, you will most likely find it via yum or apt-get.

So skip IBM iSeries Access and go with TN5250. You will be glad you did.

Using the Cisco VPN Client and trying to get it installed on your Linux box? I suggest looking at VPNC.

This small app rocks!

Its super easy to install, and in fact, Fedora and Ubuntu have it in their repositories making it even easier. Just use your favorite package manager to install it.

No need to get a login to Cisco’s website and download the Cisco VPN Client. VPNC works just fine.

Ok, so I have moved recently grabbed a copy of Ubuntu 8.04 and installed it on my Dell D600, getting rid of the last Windows install I owned.It was pretty easy. If you haven’t tried Ubuntu I suggest you do. I was a Slackware man up until Ubuntu jumped on the scene, and I have to admit, they are making the Linux desktop really easy to migrate to.The install process is fairly straight forward and only takes about 30 mins or less to complete. The default install comes with things like OpenOffice and Firefox. Everything a basic Pc/Laptop needs.The biggest question I had was my Broadcom Wireless card in the D600. I just enabled the Broadcom B43 Wireless Driver via System > Administration > Hardware Drivers and viola. I was able to see the wireless networks around my house.

There is a bug however, that causes the card to connect to access points at 1 MB/s.To fix just run the following:

jeff@ubuntu $ sudo iwconfig wlan0 54M

Other than that, everything else was installed by default and is working out of the box.If you are new to Ubuntu visit Ubuntuguide.org for info on adding your favorite programs and those cannot live with things like video and audio codecs.