Installing Oracle Express Edition 10g R2 on Ubuntu / BlankOn

This article is just an English version of another article of mine here. This article will explain briefly how to install Oracle XE 10g R2 on Debian GNU/Linux based distro such as Ubuntu, BlankOn, etc. The easiest way to install Oracle in Ubuntu/BlankOn is using apt-get or Synaptic. But first we have to add a new entry for Oracle repository in /etc/apt/sources.list because Oracle is not included in Ubuntu official repos. Here's the way to do this step by step:

1. Edit repo's configuration in /etc/apt/sources.list using your favorite editor, in this article I use vim so from a terminal run this command:

sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list

and add this line to the end of that file

deb http://oss.oracle.com/debian unstable main non-free

2. Run apt-get to update your repo's index, still from terminal run

sudo apt-get update

3. Install Oracle XE using apt-get

sudo apt-get install oracle-xe oracle-xe-client

4. Now, we have to configure our new Oracle server by issuing this command from a terminal

sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure

At this step we have to answer a few question, just hit enter to use default value.

5. Installation is now finished, we can access Oracle web based interfaced by pointing our browser to http://localhost:8080/apex. Enter 'system' (without quote) as username and your password.

6. If you enter your username and password correctly, you will log in to the administrator page like this

Okay, that's it. Now you have your own Oracle server ready to explore.

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What Feature will be Included in Ubuntu 8.10?

Ubuntu 8.10 code name Intrepid Ibex will be the next release of Ubuntu distibution. It is still in beta version, but many people is waiting for its release for its new features. If you have tried Ubuntu 8.10 alpha or the first beta version, you'll see many improvements and features including in this release. These features will be included in the next Ubuntu 8.10 named Intrepid Ibex final release:

1. Gnome 2.24
This is the latest stable version of Gnome desktop environment. This release brings many improvements i.e tons of bug-fixes and new features. You'll like the new tab support feature of Nautilus file manager, thanks to Christian Neumair for his work on this feature. Next feature that will be the most favorite from this file manager is it's ability to eject removable drives in Places Bar just by clicking an icon lied on the drive.


2. X.Org 7.4
Intrepid will bring us the latest stable version of X.org. This release brings much better support for hot-pluggable input devices such as tablets, keyboards, and mice.


3. Linux kernel 2.6.27
Intrepid comes with Linux kernel 2.6.26 which will provide us with better hardware support and numerous bug-fixes.


4. Enrypted private Directory
Now you can encrypt your Home directory easily with the encrpytfs-utils. But remember that this is a new feature, it was recently promoted to Ubuntu main.


5. Guest session
This new feature will enable a guest session in Intrepid release. You can see this feature in the User Switcher panel applet. This feature works by creating a temporary paswordless user with restricted privileges.


6. Network manager 0.7
The Network Manager now ables to manage 3G connections, multiple devices active at once, PPP and PPPOE connections, devices with static IP configurations, and routing for devices.


7. "Last successful boot" recovery entry
This is a great feature. On each successful boot, Ubuntu 8.10 will retain a copy of your running kernel and make it available from the boot loader as a "Last successful boot" option.


8. DKMS
DKMS is a framework which allows kernel modules to be dynamically built for each kernel on your system in a simplified and organized fashion.


9. Samba 3.2
Samba 3.2 comes with support for cluster file server, encrypted file network, ipv6, and better integration with MS Windows client and server.


10. PAM authentication framework
11. Totem BBC plugin

But you have to be patient, Ubuntu 8.10 will be release on 30th October. Can't wait? Download and try the beta.

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Improve OpenOffice.org Performance

OpenOffice.org is an office suite software for GNU/Linux. Many GNU/Linux distributions include this software by default. We may say that this is the most popular office suite in GNU/Linux distributions. But, many people say that this software is slow, not responsive, and its loading time takes too many times. Maybe it's all right, this is because OpenOffice.org is configured to work in low resource system. If you have a gig of RAM or more, high end processor, the best VGA card, you can tweak this software to improve its performance. This article will show you how to do this tweak. Keep reading.

Let's start by opening OpenOffice.org Writer, this is the word processor of this suite. From the main window, follow the step below.

1. Go to the Tools menu then select Options to open OpenOffice.org Options dialog.
   
2. Now the dialog is opened, we see it is divided in two panel. On the left panel we see options which we can configure, on the rigth panel is the value of an options selected on the left panel.
3. Highlight Memory on the left panel to open its value on the right panel. You need to tweak the default setting to get the best performance. First reduce the Number of steps under Undo to 20 or 30 (less than 100), second increase the amount of memory Use For OpenOffice.org to 128MB, next set Memory per object to 20MB, the last one set The number of objects under Cache for inserted objects to 20, do not forget to check Enable systray Quicstarter under OpenOffice.org Quickstarter.
   
4. Highlight Java on the left panel, uncheck Use a Java runtime environment.
   
5. Click OK button on the Options dialog.
6. Close OpenOffice.org then start it again and feel the new performance.
   

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Two New Compiz Fusion Plugin: Screensaver and Aquarium

There are two new Compiz Fusion Plugin that will be included soon for the future release. These are really cool plugin, it will make your desktop even more beautiful. Here they are:

1. Screensaver

This plugin has two mode. The first one Rotating Cube, this will rotate your desktop in cube form when your computer is idle. And the second Flying Windows, this take your windows and flips and whirl them around.


2. Atlantis Cube Plugin or Aquarium

This plugin puts some fish inside your cube, swimming around. This appears when the cube plugin is enabled and you rotate your cube.

Here is a video about this two new plugin, I hope you enjoy it.

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How to Add Repo Server List in Mandariva

This is a simple guide about how to add a server or mirror to your repository list in Mandriva. I did this using Mandriva 2008.1 but you can implement this guide to the previous version of Mandriva. I will provide this guide in two part, part one using graphical user interface called Rpmdrake and part two using a tool from command line interface that is urpmi. These tools have a same function, you may choose either the first way or the second way.
rpmdrake
Rpmdrake is Mandriva Linux package management tool. You can use this software to add or remove server from your repo list. This software also functions as a tool to install or remove software in your Mandriva. Before you can install software by using rpmdrake you have to add at least one repo server first(generally called media).

To add a media, run rpmdrake from System->Administration->Install & Remove menu. This will open a window titled Software Management.

At this window press Alt+O or click Options menu and select Media Manager.

Here we see that I already have 3 enabled repo that I configured before. Simply click Add button to select a mirror from the list officially provided by Mandriva.

Choose Update sources only at this point, you may also try to choose Full set of sources if you want a full set of sources.

Answer Yes, make sure that your Internet connection is running because this software will contact Mandriva website to get a mirror list. This will take some time, be patient to wait.

Now you have to choose a mirror, try to select the nearest mirror to your location. Continue by pressing OK button. Then downloading process of the index file for your new repo will start, this may take some time. Please wait. When this proses complete, click OK button to finish.

Now you can try to install a new software, simply type teh name of the software you desired in the search bar labeled Find.

urpmi

If you know a mirror nearby your area, but you don't see it in the list from Mandriva. You can try this way to add it manually. Open a terminal from Applications->Tools->Terminal menu, and run this command

urpmi.addmedia main http://kambing.ui.edu/mandriva/official/2008.0/i586/media/main/release with media_info/synthesis.hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia non-free http://kambing.ui.edu/mandriva/official/2008.0/i586/media/non-free/release with media_info/synthesis.hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia contrib http://kambing.ui.edu/mandriva/official/2008.0/i586/media/contrib/release with media_info/synthesis.hdlist.cz

Note that to run this command you need to be a root, by invoking su command in terminal.

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Add Your Blog to Multiple Search Engine Instantly

In order to get highest page rank from Google and the other search engine we need to make sure that our blog is visited and indexed by their webcrawler. But if your blog is a new comer which is published a few days ago, you will find that there is no search engine recognize your new blog. The only way to make your blog recognized by search engine is to submit it manually. But if we take this way, we'll find that we have to submit our blog to many search engine, this could be a trouble.

Why could this be a trouble? Do you know that search engine in this term is not limited just to Google and Yahoo, because there is tens to hundreds search engine out ther. Take a look at this list:

• www.google.com
• www.searchengine.com
• www.infotiger.com
• www.scrubtheweb.com
• www.searchuk.com
• www.entireweb.com
• www.maxpromo.com
• www.aesop.com
• www.whatuseek.com
• www.splatsearch.com
• www.walhello.com
• www.acoon.de
• www.szukacz.pl
• www.daypop.com
• www.fybersearch.com
• www.biveroo.de
• www.infoseek.co.jp
• www.yandex.ru
• www.amfibi.com
• www.bigfinder.com
• www.metawebsearch.com
• www.jayde.com
• www.cipinet.com
• www.infotiger.com
• www.websquash.com
• www.Search-o-rama.com
• www.unasked.com
• www.uk.abacho.com
• www.mixcat.com

You see that? We don't want to do this in such a way, we need an instant way in one click to submit our blog to multiple search engine. The simplest way to do this is just submit your blog to mypagerank.net. This site provides a service that will add your blog to multiple search engine instantly. To get this service you need an account, sign up freely in their site. Next check your email to verify your account, then sign in to your new account. The final step, submit your blog to multiple search engine instantly. Easy right?

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Howto: Install Real Player 11 Gold on Mandriva 2008.1

If you are a GNU/Linux lover especially Mandriva, you should have met problem whenever you want to play real media files. These files have extension *.rm or *.rmvb. Why this is happened? The answer is simple, just because the codec for this kind of file is copy righted. That's why many GNU/Linux distro never include the codec needed to play this kind of file (some countries regard this as a law break). Fortunately, real.com also provide a real player GNU/Linux platform. This article will guide you how to install Real Player 11 Gold on Mandriva 2008.1. Keep reading.

First thing first, download the player here. You may use any download manager to speed up your download, one thing to remember is where did you save this file (you'll need this later). After downloading the player, open a terminal from Applications -> Tools -> Terminal menu, then navigate to the directory where you save the player installer (in this example Desktop directory inside my home directory).

$ cd Desktop

Now you have to make the installer executable by giving it an execute permission. Just invoke this command from terminal

$ chmod +x RealPlayer11GOLD.bin

OK, we are ready to start the installation, but remember that you need a root privilege to do this. If you don't , you may ask your administrator to give you an access by using sudo command. To start the installation, run this command on your terminal

$ suPassword:

Enter the root password at this prompt, if you enter the correct password you'll see that the $ now become #, means you're a root (God of GNU/Linux system). Start the installation

# ./RealPlayer11GOLD.bin

This command will bring you a welcome dialog, just press Enter to continue to the next step. You'll be asked some question in this step.
The first question is about the destination directory for installation, hit Enter if you agree with the default directory that is /opt/real/RealPlayer.
Next step will ask for your confirmation about your choice in the previous step. Just hit enter to continue or write P then hit enter to go back to the previous step.
You have to wait the installation finish, if you see an error message at this step just ignore it.

Having finish the installation, you may run your real player from Applications->Sound & Video->RealPlayer 11 menu. The first time you run this application you need to set some configuration.
Nothing special in this dialog, just press Next button to continue to the next dialog.
This is the Release Notes for Linux, read this carefully then press Next button to continue.
You have to agree this License Agreement by ticking the Accept selection button, then simply press Next button to continue.
This application need to test you Internet connection, if you have an Internet connection press Next button otherwise press Skip button. In this case I choose to press Next button.
Click Perform Test to test your internet connection.
Here is the result, I have an available bandwidth in the DSL/Cable (256 Kbps) range. That's why I have an option to update my RealPlayer by clicking Update button.
That's all, the intallation is now complete. Click Finish button to open your newly installed RealPlayer 11.
Happy watching...

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