Ubuntu

This page is for use with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS [ 32-bit | 64 bit ]

Other useful resources

• Compiling the Ubuntu kernel
• Toolchains
  • Install the Linaro ARM toolchain
  • Install the AVR toolchain
• Setup a Ramdisk
• Setup a static IP address in linux
• Install tftpd
• Install NFS

Out-of-the-box configuration

Do the following (as root) to help make Ubuntu less terrible:

# setup the timezone
dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
# use bash you idiot
dpkg-reconfigure -plow dash
# install daemons
apt-get install openssh-server samba
smbpasswd attie
# install libraries
apt-get install libncurses5-dev
# install man pages
apt-get install manpages-posix manpages-posix-dev
# c++ toolchain
apt-get install g++
# install 32-bit libs and headers (if on a 64-bit host)
apt-get install ia32-libs libc6-dev-i386
# install tools
apt-get install subversion git-core tree minicom shed valgrind lzop screen
# install dos2unix & unix2dos
apt-get install tofrodos
ln -s /usr/bin/fromdos /usr/bin/dos2unix
ln -s /usr/bin/todos /usr/bin/unix2dos
# install nfs
apt-get install nfs-common
# sort out the 'ohh.. did you mean this?'
dpkg -r command-not-found command-not-found-data
# sort out 'sudo'
echo "attie ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" >> /etc/sudoers
# stop X
sed -i -r "s/(stop on runlevel \[0)(16\])/\12\2/" /etc/init/gdm.conf
 
# if you will want to play encrypted DVDs
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

And if you will be using U-Boot:

apt-get install uboot-mkimage

Do the following (as your user)

# generate an SSH key pair
ssh-keygen
# remove the guff
rm -rdf ~/Desktop/ ~/Documents/ ~/Music/ ~/Pictures/ ~/Public/ ~/Templates/ ~/Videos/ ~/examples.desktop

Also see bashrc, samba, Xresources

Disable Gnome lock screen after suspend

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen 'true'

Other useful package names

Name	Description
mysql-server	MySQL Server
libmysqlclient-dev	MySQL CLI tools
libapache2-mod-fastcgi	Apache FastCGI module
python-dev	Python development files

Additional packages for Ubuntu Server

# useful with X forwarding
apt-get install xterm x11-xserver-utils

Disabling Automounting

To enable or disable automount open a terminal and type gconf-editor followed by the [Enter] key.

Browse to /apps/nautilus/preferences/.

The media_automount key controls whether to automatically mount media. If set to true, then Nautilus will automatically mount media such as user-visible hard disks and removable media on start-up and media insertion.

There is another key media_automount_open. This controls whether to automatically open a folder for automounted media. This key can also be set in the Nautilus (file manager) window. From the Edit menu in Nautilus select Preferences and then select the Media tab.

If set to true, then Nautilus will automatically open a folder when media is automounted. This only applies to media where no known x-content/* type was detected; for media where a known x-content type is detected, the user configurable action will be taken instead.

Apache (for development use ONLY)

sudo tasksel install lamp-server

Important config files are:

• /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
• /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/*

Checking the Version

lsb_release -a

Configuring System Services

I like sysv-rc-conf. Simples - it makes use of update-rc.d.

Python Libraries

Run as root:

sudo apt-get install python-cheetah

Serial Console

/etc/init/ttyS0.conf

# ttyS0 - getty
#
# This service maintains a getty on ttyS0 from the point the system is
# started until it is shut down again.
 
start on stopped rc or RUNLEVEL=[2345]
stop on runlevel [!2345]
 
respawn
exec /sbin/getty -L 115200 ttyS0 vt102