desktop
Your Server – The Boot Process
Dec 9th
You want to isolate all your server features into background process. You don’t want any server features to be dependent on graphical or client side applications. I previously had my mail server dependent on the client side filtering capabilities of Thunderbird. This was a no no because it required me to maintain a desktop session. This was not optimal because during the day the desktop session was swapped to the hard drive and this caused substantial system lag when coming back to use the desktop. Now with VBoxTool, the web server is automatically booted with the host system, and all functions on the server are consolidated to background processes; there is no more dependency on client side filtering. The MythTV server also boots with the host, and the first screen the host encounters is the GDM login. Now the system is secure. Passwords are required to enter the system as a user.
Personal Cloud Computing From Your Own Server – EyeOS
Oct 25th
EyeOS
EyeOS is a fully functional personal cloud desktop. Install it on your server, with or without mysql database support. The software supports flat file storage, so basically drag and drop the package, set a couple of file and folder permissions, walk through the administrator panel and your good to go with your own personal cloud computer. Best of all you are not paying any subscription fees. If you host your own server, there you go, and if you rent space, there you go too. In your browser remove the status bar from the bottom; which is most likely in the view tab. Then hit maximize and viola a fullscreen desktop anywhere you have a web browser. Frankly it works just fine for most things. Clearly its not going to run Windows applications, or Linux apps for that matter, but you can do the basics. Word processing, spreadheets and all that office goodness. FTP, and a web browser so you don’t have to leave your cloud desktop to search the net. I think the idea of a cload computer is excellent. Functionality is the most important thing, and it still feels like a desktop in your web browser is missing a couple of things. In time maybe the browser based desktop experience may feel more seamless, which hopefully is the primary goal of such projects.
Rock Your Desktop – Ubuntu, Windows, MAC, MythTV – Compiz Tweak Fest
Jul 7th
Step 1 is to enlarge your desktop to have a couple of viewports. I figured I’ll go through it step by step including the easy ones. Here comes a few posts/howtos with screenies.
Open the Ubuntu preferences menu
If you do not have the compiz config control panel install it with: sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager In the control panel select the general options button.
The general options button in the compiz config control panel
In this panel select the desktop size tab.
the desktop size tab in the compiz config control panel
Three, four, five viewports. The sky is the limit. Obviously this is all dependent on a properly install video driver. You need adequate hardware being a powerful NVIDIA or ATI/AMD video card or embedded chipset. I recommend installing the up to date drivers, but it is easiest to just select your corresponding driver from the hardware drivers configuration menu.
The ubuntu hardware drivers control panel
In this control panel you can install the automatically detect drivers for your video hardware.
Select various hardware drivers
Automatically Switch Your Desktop Wallpaper
Aug 29th
I have my desktop wallpaper switching every minute. I think its cool, you may not, but this is how you can do it. Ubuntu repos have the wallpaper-tray app. Install with: sudo apt-get install wallpaper-tray Run on boot with a startup session. Viola.
Trash Icon on Desktop – Gnome
Aug 22nd
Using gconf-editor navigate to applications – nautilus – desktop. There are a couple of icons you can select to show on the desktop including “computer”, “home”, and “trash”.
