Linux - User friendly

The hints in this article mainly contain informations for the GNOME desktop, Debian and SuSE based systems.

Mozilla - Firefox

• Right klick on your icon toolbox and add the following icons via drag and drop:
  • add new tab
  • print
  • ...

• Change the default opening for pictures to your favorate application (e.g. /usr/gnome/bin/eog)

Nautilus

• Search for doc, sxw, png, tif, gif, ... files and assign your favorite application (e.g. /usr/gnome/bin/eog). You can do this by right klicking on them and choose the propertiers dialog to open. In the tab open with you'll find a list with the applications to assign.

• In the program gconf-editor you can alter the behaviour of your desktop (apps->nautilus) or your favorite applications. But be careful what you change.

Acrobat Reader 7 - localized versions

Debian based systems

In the next few lines we do a little bit of terminal miracle. So be ready, open a terminal (konsole in KDE or gnome-terminal in Gnome desktop). Change to the directory where your browser downloads a file.

cd ~/WhereYour/Browser/Downloads

First download a zipped file version

We will build our own debian package.

If you are klicking on the little adobe reader sign at Adobe Website, you will be asked to

Select your version of Linux:

Most people don't realize the little link in the next line

!!! Choose a different version !!!

When you klick on this you can ask for a localized version. Choose your language. Then choose to download your localized linux acrobat reader as a (.tar.gz) file.

Install Ldap2

apt-get install libldap2

Unzip the file

tar xzvf AdobeReader_LOCAL-7.0.0.i386.tar.gz

Do the miracle

Put the next in a terminal:

VER=7.0; SUB_VERSION=8-1.i386; LOCAL=deu

E.g. the german version AdobeReader_deu-7.0.8-1.i386.tar.gz of acrobat reader has the major version 7.0, the the subversion 8-1, and was build to use with an i386 pc.

ACRO_VERSION=${LOCAL}-${VER}.${SUB_VERSION} 
tar zxvf AdobeReader_${ACRO_VERSION}.tar.gz
fakeroot mkdir -p usr/bin usr/local/Adobe/Acrobat${VER}
fakeroot tar -C usr/local/Adobe/Acrobat${VER} -xvf AdobeReader/COMMON.TAR
fakeroot tar -C usr/local/Adobe/Acrobat${VER} -xvf AdobeReader/ILINXR.TAR
fakeroot ln -s /usr/local/Adobe/Acrobat7.0/bin/acroread usr/bin/acroread
fakeroot ln -s /usr/lib/libldap.so.2 usr/local/Adobe/Acrobat7.0/Reader/intellinux/lib/libldap.so
fakeroot ln -s /usr/lib/liblber.so.2 usr/local/Adobe/Acrobat7.0/Reader/intellinux/lib/liblber.so
fakeroot tar zcvf AdobeReader_${ACRO_VERSION}.tgz ./usr
fakeroot alien AdobeReader_${ACRO_VERSION}.tgz 

The last step could take a few minutes. so be patient and get you a cup of coffee.

Taken from Japanese Acrobat Reader .

Cleanup

rm -rf usr rm AdobeReader_LOCAL-7.0.0.tgz rm -rf AdobeReader

Install the debian package

dpkg -i adobereader-deu-7.0.8_1.i386-2_all.deb

RPM packages

Are avaiable at Adobe Website

Multimedia, dvd and restricted codecs

General multimedia support

Ubuntu

A good introduction about related questions you'll find here:

• Restricted Formats

Debian based

For Debian based distributions there are two answers:

• Automatix
• Easy Ubuntu

This solves all problems releated to Windows audiocodecs, DVD playing, Flashplayer and others under debian.

Be aware and read carefully the legal rights notices about multimedia codecs and dvd protections - especially, if you are living in the USA.

SuSE

Please see here: SuSE 10 Multimedia files

Special Problems

Mplayer - DivX support

1. Purge totem (not toem xine) and totem-mozilla (plugins) from your PC. Locate all config files and delete them

locate totem | grep home/$USER | grep -v .desktop

The files should be in the .gconf directory.

2. Install totem-xine.

3. Go to the firefox plugins directory and make symlinks for divx to the mozilla plugins directory:

cd /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/
ln -s /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/mplayerplug-in-dvx.xpt
ln -s /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/mplayerplug-in-dvx.so

4. Switch on divx support in mplayers configuration dialog. Therefore just open a webpage with a quicktime or wmv movie and rightclick it for configuration.

5. Check you configuration on [1] or [2].

CUPS

SuSE 10.1

To enable browsing via the network you have to setup a password for user root: See on you local [file:///usr/share/doc/manual/suselinux-manual_en/manual/sec.p.special.html SuSE Documentation]:

lppasswd -g sys -a CUPS-admin-name

Now you should configure your cups server via yast allowing some network clients to admin the printers.