Category Archives: Linux

How to get microphone to work un Ubuntu 9.04

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

I finally got the microphone input on my Acer Veriton X270 to work un Ubuntu 9.04. The trick is to uninstall PulseAudio and use ALSA only. It even works in Skype.

Posted in hardware, Linux | 1 Comment

Running Ubuntu Linux on Acer Veriton X270

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

I recently brought an Acer Veriton X270. Ubuntu Linux 8.04 works well except for sound. Basic stereo sound output works, but sound input (microphone) and some advanced 3D and surround sound does not work. The front headphone jack does not … Continue reading →

Posted in hardware, Linux | 2 Comments

Things you might want to change in Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) desktop, part 2

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

After installing Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) desktop, there are some things you might want to change. This article focus on user configuration (mostly editing dot files in your home directory) and do not require superuser access. Some of this changes requires … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 1 Comment

How to setup PPTP VPN in Linux

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

1. Create a file /etc/ppp/peers/name: pty “pptp host –nolaunchpppd” name username remotename PPTP require-mppe-128 file /etc/ppp/options.pptp ipparam name 2. Add this line to the file /etc/ppp/chap-secrets: username PPTP password * 3. Create a file /etc/ppp/ip-up.d/tunnel #!/bin/sh if [ “${PPP_IPPARAM}” = … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 2 Comments

Things you might want to change in Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) desktop, part 1

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

After installing Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) desktop, there are some things you might want to change. This article focus on system configuration (mostly editing in /etc) and requires superuser access (using sudo). Some of this changes requires reboot to take effect. … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 2 Comments

How to use mousewheel in GNU Screen

Posted on January 11, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

GNU Screen has support for scrollback, but by default you have to use awkward keys to use it. I would like to be able to use Shift-PageUp, Shift-PageDown and the mousewheel to scroll, just like you can do in xterm. … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 8 Comments

How to use Ctrl-Tab in GNU Screen

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Mikael Ståldal

GNU Screen allows you to open several sub-windows within one terminal window. By default, you switch between them using Ctrl-A followed by n or p. I think this is a bit clumsy, I would like to switch with Ctrl-Tab and … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 2 Comments

Packages you might want to remove from Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) desktop

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Mikael Ståldal

When you install Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) desktop, you get a lot of packages installed by default. Most users will never use many of these packages, so you end up with a lot of unnecessary packages. Most of these packages are … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 5 Comments

Linux with / mounted read-only

Posted on July 26, 2008 by Mikael Ståldal

(This post has been edited since it was first published.) I wondered why you usually mount / (the root file system) read-write in Linux and decided to do some experiments to find out if it is possible to have it … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | 14 Comments

Why can only root listen to ports below 1024?

Posted on October 31, 2007 by Mikael Ståldal

(This article has been edited since it’s first publication.) In Linux, and other UNIX-like systems, you have to be root (have superuser privileges) in order to listen to TCP or UDP ports below 1024 (the well-known ports). This port 1024 … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux, security | 27 Comments