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an (un)happy medium

jimi adams — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:35:53 +0000

As seen here (via KD), a quite dramatic and clear example of when the mean isn’t sufficient for telling the whole story is arising over at Amazon in the rankings of Going Rogue. Not surprising, i know. But still.

Say hello to "Explore Ubuntu"!

Arnab Das — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:21:24 +0000

This blog is being moved to www.exploreubuntu.wordpress.com

Dont worry, the current Thoughts N’ Dreams will not be deleted! However new posts as well as all previous and current posts of this blog can be found in Explore Ubuntu.

So head over to the new Explore Ubuntu and start exploring Ubuntu like never before!

Install WINE

Arnab Das — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:58:25 +0000

Wine (Microsoft Windows Compatibility layer) is one of the most loved softwares on Ubuntu. What it does is allows you to run Windows files on Ubuntu. Say you want to play a game which doesnt have a Linux counterpart, or say a software whose windows versions are popular, what do you do? Simple, install Wine and play the game exactly as you would on Windows!

So how do you install Wine? Well thankfully its in the Ubuntu repositories.

First up go to Ubuntu Software Center and type “Wine”, you’ll get the following search results:

Next select the Wine beta option (its better to select beta since it has loads of bug fixes compared to the stable version, ironically! ) as shown in the previous pic and install it:

Thats it! Now whenever you come across a .exe file or any Windows supported file, just right click on it and select the option to open the file with Wine. It will then run exactly as it would on Windows.

Extra Tips:

Here’s some really useful info. Wine actually modifies your Firefox tahoma font and unfortunately that will make all your firefox fonts look really really weird! Eg. bold fonts would look like regular fonts etc. There’s a way to undo the damage without affecting Wine at all. What you need to do is go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. From there, search “ttf-tahoma-replacement” in the search bar. It will obviously be installed on your system (considering you’ve already installed Wine).

So what you do is basically select the package and mark for complete removal of it (just the “ttf-tahoma-replacement” package, nothing else). Click on “Apply” to remove the pack.

And once you have removed the font pack, your synaptic should look like this once you search for “ttf-tahoma-replacement” again in the search bar (the pack should be deactivated/unselected):

I had to figure this thing out by myself. I havent found any other tutorial which explains this Firefox font problem solution.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed finding it out! Check out for more such cool tutorials here or go through the “Ubuntu” category on this blog.

Install WINE

Arnab Das — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:58:25 +0000

So how do you install Wine? Well thankfully its in the Ubuntu repositories.

First up go to Ubuntu Software Center and type “Wine”, you’ll get the following search results:

Next select the Wine beta option (its better to select beta since it has loads of bug fixes compared to the stable version, ironically! ) as shown in the previous pic and install it:

Extra Tips:

Here’s some really useful info. Wine actually modifies your Firefox tahoma font and unfortunately that will make all your firefox fonts look really really weird! Eg. bold fonts would look like regular fonts etc. There’s a way to undo the damage without affecting Wine at all. What you need to do is go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. From there, search “ttf-tahoma-replacement” in the search bar. It will obviously be installed on your system (considering you’ve already installed Wine).

So what you do is basically select the package and mark for complete removal of it (just the “ttf-tahoma-replacement” package, nothing else). Click on “Apply” to remove the pack.

And once you have removed the font pack, your synaptic should look like this once you search for “ttf-tahoma-replacement” again in the search bar (the pack should be deactivated/unselected):

I had to figure this thing out by myself. I havent found any other tutorial which explains this Firefox font problem solution.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed finding it out! Check out for more such cool tutorials here or go through the “Ubuntu” category on this blog.

Install Ubuntu

Arnab Das — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:06:28 +0000

This the tutorial for the installation perhaps the most user-friendly Linux OS in history, Ubuntu!

To get Ubuntu click here. Download the .iso file, and burn it to a CD/DVD.

One more thing, the installation instructions here are for Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala release), currently the latest version.

Step 1: BIOS Changes – Make sure your first boot device is set to your CD/DVD ROM. Save your settings and exit BIOS.

Step 2: When you boot, this is the first screen you will get:

Step 3: Select your language and then select the “Install Ubuntu” option and press enter.

The images below are in sequence of the screens you will see. You will enter your details as per your preference and click on “Forward” after that.

Select your language and click “Forward” (image below).

Ubuntu will now configure the installation. (Nothing for you do here)

You will have to select your region here (basically where you’re from) and click “Forward”. Image given below:

Select your keyboard layout (best keep it to the default one as shown here if you’re not sure).

If you want to install Ubuntu on your hard drive as the only OS, then click on the first option “Erase and use the entire disk” as shown here. (If you want to set partitions, click on the “Specify Partitions Manually (advanced)”and set your partition size and specification) Its better to select the first option as shown here if you’re not sure.

Enter your name and username, password etc. If you dont want Ubuntu to ask you for passwords everytime you boot, select the “Log in automatically”

Click on Install. And wait… (as some weirdos say “Patience is a virtue” )

The installation progress bar, will stay on your screen for 10-15 mins. Patience is a virtue, remember?

After the installation is over/the bar reaches 100%, you will get this image on your screen. Click on “Restart Now”:

As directed simply remove the CD from the tray and press Enter.

Ubuntu will now restart and you will see the following screens:

And the really cool “Loading” bar (technically called the “Usplash screen”)

And then finally you get the Ubuntu desktop:

Thats it! Congrats on your new Ubuntu!