Installing XMMS on Ubuntu 8.04

After Gentoo and Slackware, now is the time for Ubuntu removing XMMS packages from their repo. How SAD! And for those who still want XMMS installed in their Ubuntu, here is the tip.

This this is originally written by Sartek and modified by me

Update your packages list

sudo apt-get update

Now install build-essential

sudo apt-get install build-essential

Alright, now we need to install the XMMS’s dependencies

sudo apt-get install autotools-dev automake1.9 libtool gettext libasound2-dev libaudiofile-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libglib1.2-dev libgtk1.2-dev libesd0-dev libice-dev libmikmod2-dev libogg-dev libsm-dev libvorbis-dev libxxf86vm-dev libxml-dev libssl-dev

Now create a working directory and change into that directory

mkdir ~/build
cd ~/build

Download XMMS sources:

wget http://xmms.org/files/1.2.x/xmms-1.2.11.tar.gz

Extract the file and enter the extracted directory

tar xvf xmms-1.2.11.tar.gz
cd xmms-1.2.11/

Run configure with –prefix=/usr

./configure --prefix=/usr

In my case (Intel Pentium Core Duo), I’ve enable CFLAGS options for processor optimization

CFLAGS="-march=prescott -O2 -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer" ./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-gnutls=yes

You can simply use the command without the CFLAGS above, or if you want to optimize the pidgin to suit your processor, you can refer to Safe_Cflags page (Gentoo.. uhukk..)

Now compile it and install it

make
sudo make install

Now lets create the shortcut in your Gnome Menu

Right click on your Gnome Menu, and click on Edit Menu and follow these pictures:

Finish! now just simply remove your build (working) directory

cd ~
rm -dfr ~/build

Haih… Event XMMS is not in the repo… seriously Ubuntu 8.04 is a mistake!

Optimize your Internet connection (TCP) and maximize your bandwidth in Linux

Simply modify your sysctl file and poof!

sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf

copy and past the following code at the last line on your sysctl file

# increase TCP max buffer size setable using setsockopt()
net.core.rmem_max = 16777216
net.core.wmem_max = 16777216
 
# increase Linux autotuning TCP buffer limits
# min, default, and max number of bytes to use
# set max to at least 4MB, or higher if you use very high BDP paths
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 16777216
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 16777216
 
# don't cache ssthresh from previous connection
net.ipv4.tcp_no_metrics_save = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_moderate_rcvbuf = 1
 
# recommended to increase this for 1000 BT or higher
net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 2500
 
# for 10 GigE, use this, uncomment below
# net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 30000
# Turn off timestamps if you're on a gigabit or very busy network
# Having it off is one less thing the IP stack needs to work on
#net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 0
# disable tcp selective acknowledgements.
net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 0
 
#enable window scaling
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1

tada… now run the following command

sudo sysctl -p

Windows Mobile 5/6 Synchronization on Linux

“ActiveSync is a synchronisation program developed by Microsoft. It allows a mobile device to be synchronized with either a desktop PC, or a server running Microsoft Exchange Server, PostPath Email and Collaboration Server, Kerio MailServer, Zimbra or Z-Push.” (Wikipedia, 2008)

But how to synchronize your Windows Mobile device in Linux? The solution for ActiveSync alternative on Linux is SynCE. The purpose of the SynCE project is to provide a means of communication with a Windows Mobile device from a computer running Linux, *BSD or other unixes using USB or Bluetooth. One can then use one’s computer to browse files, install applications and synchronize contacts, calendar and tasks with their PIM application of choice.

Lets setup it on our machine. This tutorial is working on Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy).

First add SynCE repository to your sources.list

echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/synce/ubuntu hardy main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/synce/ubuntu hardy main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list

Now update your packages list

sudo apt-get update

As i mention before, Ubuntu 8.04 is a mistake. Ubuntu generic kernel might have some problems with USB driver. So here is the solution. First unload the old module

sudo rmmod rndis_host cdc_ether usbnet

Now, remove it

sudo rm /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/usb/{rndis_host,cdc_ether,usbnet}.ko

Compile the new USB driver: usb-rndis-source and cdbs

sudo apt-get install usb-rndis-source cdbs
sudo module-assistant auto-install usb-rndis

Fixed! Now back to SynCE story… We need to install several libraries which are odccm, librra0-tools and librapi2-tools

sudo apt-get install odccm librra0-tools librapi2-tools

Now connect your device and run the following command

synce-pls

IF you can see the lisft of files on your device, your device is successfully connected to your Linux machine.

BUT if it returns you the following error message, you need to install SynCE-GNOME or SynCE-KPM to provide a password prompt on device connect.

. WARNING **: synce_info_from_odccm: Failed to get a connection for <device_name>: Not authenticated, you need to call !ProvidePassword with the correct password. pls: Could not find configuration at path '(Default)'

To start sync your device, you need OpenSync.

sudo apt-get install multisync-tools opensync-plugin-evolution opensync-plugin-synce

Wee..! Your device is ready to sync. Please refer to OpenSync page for tutorial on how to use OpenSync

For the official guide, please visit http://www.synce.org

Bug in Pidgin 2.4.1 with Ubuntu (8.04) Patch

I’ve installed the latest pidgin (currently 2.4.1) using default repo from ubuntu 8.04 and i’ve found a bug. If my Yahoo Messenger buddy invisible and suddenly he/she appear online with status, I’m not be able to see they appear online until he/she change her/his status to available (with no status).

I’ve done several tests and finally come out with this solution: Compile it from source without ubuntu patch.

First, remove your old Pidgin configuration files and update your package list

rm -dfr ~/.purple
sudo apt-get update

Now install build-essential

sudo apt-get install build-essential

Now install the Pidgin’s dependencies

sudo apt-get build-dep pidgin

Ok.. you need to download the original pidgin source code

wget http://heanet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/pidgin/pidgin-2.4.1.tar.bz2

Extract the file and enter the extracted directory

tar -jxvf pidgin-2.4.1.tar.bz2
cd pidgin-2.4.1

Run configure with –enable-gnutls=yes because it is required for MSN and Google Talk

./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-gnutls=yes

In my case (Intel Pentium Core Duo), I’ve enable CFLAGS options for processor optimization

CFLAGS="-march=prescott -O2 -pipe -fomit-frame-pointer" ./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-gnutls=yes

You can simply use the command without the CFLAGS above, or if you want to optimize the pidgin to suit your processor, you can refer to Safe_Cflags page (yeah.. I’m a fanatic Gentoo user)

Now, run make and it will start compiling. Owh ya, it gonna takes some time

make

Finally, become root and run make install

sudo make install

Enjoy!~

Ubuntu 8.04 is a mistake!

Credits:
Thanks to Munzir, Adib and Yeh. They are my tester. Hahaha..
Gentoo wiki for the CFLAGS

Programmer Expression

[source: oscarrodriguezcarmona]