Ubuntu Tips:

Disclaimer

I currently use Ubuntu 10.04 on my personal PC. I like it so I thought I would document some of the things I did to customized it.

The following instructions can be used to quickly customize your copy of Ubuntu 10.04. They worked for me, however, your mileage may vary. Use this information at your own risk.

Slow Internet ip6 issues

Newer versions of Ubuntu have ip6 enabled by default. Normaly this is a good thing, however, if you have an older home router that is not ip6 compatible, dns resolution can be extremely slow.

To fix this use the command "sudo gedit /etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf" and append the following lines at the end.

#Add OpenDNS servers
prepend domain-name-servers 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220;

This will insure that ubuntu uses the ip6 compatible OpenDNS dns servers first. Of course, you can substitute any ip6 compatible dns server ip address's you wish.

Some other free ip6 compatible DNS services:

Service provider: Google
8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

Service provider: dnsadvantage
156.154.70.1
156.154.71.1

Service provider: Level 3 Communications
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3

Service provider: Time Warner Telecomm
64.129.67.102
64.129.67.103

Multi-media Support in Ubuntu. Click link to install.

For DVD playback support, install libdvdcss2 as follows:

Open a terminal and type

          sudo apt-get install build-essential

press the enter key.

Then type

          sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

press enter again

The "restrictions" being discussed apply to distributors of the software, not the users. The vast majority of computers manufactured in the world came with an OEM license to Microsoft Windows. The license is transferred if and when the CPU is transferred (i.e., the license follows the CPU). Consequently, computers that originally had Windows 98 2nd Ed. and greater already come with a license. That license permits the owners' use of Microsoft technologies available to the licensed version of Windows. The codecs, DVD decoders, and other "restricted" technologies are available on Microsoft Media Player 9 and above, which Microsoft distributes for free to holders of licenses to Windows 98 2d Ed and later. Therefore, you may legally load Windows codecs and decoders (including for DVDs) on your computer if it has a license to Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP, or MS Vista. (The short version: The odds are virtually nil of Microsoft winning a lawsuit against someone who has a computer which has ever had a legal copy of Windows in the last 9 years.)

With respect to DVD and the CSS: If you purchased a DVD produced by the studio or its licensee, the studio has given you a license to sell, rent, or use the DVD, usually for private home use. As long as you are using the DVD under the terms described on or in the DVD and are not making a copy or reproduction of the DVD, you have no reason to fear. Having a descrambler on your computer is not itself illegal if you are using it for the intended purposes (i.e., to watch the DVD). After all, the signal has to get descrambled for you to watch the movie.

If you are selling a computer with a DVD drive, you also need not fear. The drive has on it the DVD logo from the DVD because the maker of the DVD drive has a license from the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation. That license means that the player/drive is in full compliance with the DVD Format Book. Assuming the manufacturer didn't bootleg the logo, you can install and resell the device in confidence. That's why the logo licensing procedure was developed.

Now, if you decided to reengineer CD drives (or any drive without the DVD logo) so it could descramble and copy DVDs, and you were selling them or using them for non-private use, you'd probably have a problem. But if you're going to go to that trouble, it'd be cheaper and easier just to get the license.

Happy Trails,
Loye Young, JD
Univ. of Texas School of Law '88

How to add icons for Computer, Home and Trash to your GNOME desktop.

Open a terminal session.

Type "gconf-editor"

Mouse click on apps,nautilus then desktop.

Mouse click to add a check mark in the box beside computer_icon_visible, home_icon_visible, and trash_icon_visible.