Dark theme porposed the Ibex

So the Ubuntu 8.10 (Ibex) alpha is out and it's shiped with a dark theme default.



If you want to try the new theme on Hardy, just add this to your sources.list and upgrade your packages.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main

Rhythmbox

Here is some artwork I did for Rhythmbox. This is done in Adobe PhotoShop 7 using WINE on Ubuntu 8.04


Maybe the Ubuntu logo is a little too much ;-)

Ubuntu Global Bug Jam!

DIGG THIS AND SPREAD THE WORD!

People of the world rejoice for I am delighted to announce our very first Ubuntu Global Bug Jam which will take place from Fri 8th August to Sun 10th August 2008.

So, what is the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam? Well, let me explain. Put simply, it is a world-wide online and face-to-face event to get people together to fix Ubuntu bugs - we want to get as many people online fixing bugs, having a great time doing so, and putting their brick in the wall for free software. This is not only a great opportunity to really help Ubuntu, but to also get together with other Ubuntu fans to make a difference together, either via your LoCo team, your LUG, other free software group, or just getting people together in your house/apartment to fix bugs and have a great time.

…believe me, a collection of Ubuntu geeks, some pizza and some cans of something delicious make for a fun time, that’s for sure.

If you are in a LoCo Team, the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam it a great opportunity for LoCo Teams to get together and have a physical bug-jam, which in turn becomes a great opportunity to drink tea, eat biscuits, and possibly listen to death metal if you are so inclined (well, you can ignore the death metal bit). To get started there is a Running a Bug Jam guide, which offers some helpful advice for getting your jam organised. If you are in a Linux User Group why not try and organise a bug jam for your LUG too?

If you are planning on organising a jam for your group, just follow these steps:

1. Decide on a venue and dates, and start letting people know about where and when the jam is. You might want to post to other local groups to let them know so they can attend. Take a read of the Running a Bug Jam page to help you get started.
2. Update the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam and add your jam to it. Be sure to add any specific applications your local participants are interested in in the Interests box - we will then try to get upstream specialists to the Jam who can help with debugging on IRC.
3. Blog about it, post to mailing lists, put flyers up in computer shops and other places and otherwise spread the word.
4. On the day we will post more information about getting involved in the jam

We will be posting more information about how the global bug jam will work closer to the time.

UNetbootin will make a bootable liveUSB drive

UNetbootin allows for the installation of various Linux/BSD distributions to a partition or USB drive, so it's no different from a standard install, only it doesn't need a CD. It can create a dual-boot install, or replace the existing OS entirely.

UNetbootin has built-in support for many distributions. It works with Linux and Windows. Check it out for yourself:

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Ubuntu Developer Channel

The Ubuntu Developer Channel on YouTube has gone live - a site that will be stuffed full of videos about Ubuntu development. To kick off the channel, Tony Whitmore will be doing interviews throughout UDS this week. The first couple are with James Westby of bzr fame and Jono Bacon.

Keep an eye on the Ubuntu Developer Channel this week, as more videos are added.

http://www.youtube.com/ubuntudevelopers

Microsoft Office 2007 on Ubuntu

Thanks to WeeManDan at the Ubuntu forum, here is a guide to get Microsoft Office 2007 running on Ubuntu:

1. Install Wine - sudo apt-get install wine
2. Follow the instructions here, I suggest making the permanent file change as else you'll have to run it after every reboot
3. At the terminal run winecfg and change the under libraries change rpcrt4.dll and msxml3.dll to Windows native.
4. Go to /home/username/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32 and delete the two dll's above
5. Add this dll to the folder above
6. Get this text, save it to a file locally and run the file by sh filename
7. When this runs, select the 3 msxml options and let the installs for these run
8. Now run setup.exe from your Office 2007 installation disk
9. Following this, run the winetricks script from before again and run dotnet2
10. All being well, success!

Also, following installation you might notice that you can't access all the shortcuts as the GNOME window gets in the way, you can get around this by disabling 'Allow the window manager to control the windows' in the wine config.

Web banner

So here is the latest version of my Ubuntu release party banner for the danish release party in Aarhus. I know that this one isn't very pretty, but it's suppose to be eye catchy with the bold yellow color. Unfortunately I wasn't able to include the Ubuntu font or logo in this banner. Let me know what you think...

http://madsrh.googlepages.com/ubuntu-release-party-banner.swf

Did you miss Ubuntu Live 2007?

Although it's almost a year ago, you might find the Ubuntu Live 2007 clips interesting if you missed it. Personally, I'm really looking forward to the next Ubuntu Live.

http://ubuntulive.blip.tv/

As founder of the Ubuntu project, Mark Shuttleworth will give an overview of Ubuntu today: an emerging force in the consumer, developer, and server platform marketplace. He will introduce some key themes for the conference, as well as the keynote speakers who will map out the Ubuntu universe and broader free software trends in more detail. This conference brings together people using Ubuntu in a wide variety of environments -- from large-scale corporate infrastructures, to government deployments across thousands of schools, on hardware that ranges from thin clients and mobile internet tablets to massively multicore servers. Shuttleworth will chart the planned course of Ubuntu over the next 12 months, including their commitment to deliver another LTS (Long Term Support) release.

Also, check out Ubuntu Live 2008:
http://en.oreilly.com/ubuntu2008/public/content/home

Danish Ubuntu 8.04 Release Party artwork

I'm working on some posters for the danish Ubuntu 8.04 release party in Aarhus and I've made a few suggestions, that I want to share with you. I really hope that my artwork will be selected to promote the release party, but the decision is not mine to make.

And here is the first web banner for the release. I think it could work better if it was animated, I will be working on a new version using Flash.

Test pre-releases in a more eco-friendly way.

Idea description:

The idea is for a very simple and user-friendly program, which provides the user with an up-to-date list of pre-released (alpha, beta, release candidate…) versions of Ubuntu. The user then chooses a version, for instance Hardy Heron Alpha 6, and the program sets up the partitions needed and installs the selected (ISO) data on the users USB flash drive. Now the user can boot up on the USB flash drive and install the selected release as if it was from a CD. Afterwards the user can erase the data from the flash drive by clicking the “remove data” button inside the program.

Reason:

1. The short release cycle in Ubuntu (and many other distributions), means that every six months, many people download the Alpha 1, 2, 3…, Beta, Release candidate and at last the final release. That’s a lot of CD’s being burned, and when the release you downloaded is outdated, you properly won’t use the CD again. Linux is actually quite eco-friendly (http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/items/environment/index.php?lang=), but this program could provide a way to reduce the amount of CD’s ending up in the trash bin.

2. This program would also provide a tool, that would easily make users able to carry a portable Linux version (and their portable desktop) around with them on their USB flash drive.

Contribute:

Please comment on this project! If you want to help out (especially programmers) please let me know.

Links:

Below is a guide to install, boot and run Ubuntu 7.10 from a flash drive. It seems kind of difficulty, especially for beginners, compared to how I imagine this program would work.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/09/28/usb-ubuntu-710-gutsy-gibbon-install/

Introducing Ubuntu Live stats

The idea behind the project Ubuntu Live Stats, is to reflect the enormous activity Ubuntu has on all fronts. The site is constantly updated and presents you with an overview of the latest activity related to Ubuntu. Now you can easily keep track of bugs, forum topics, security fixes and of course latest news.

http://www.ubuntustats.com/

Linux invades Windows

A lot of Windows users haven't tried running Linux, because it seems to difficult or intimidating. Ubuntu now provides the opportunity of installing Ubuntu from within Windows. The tool is called Wubi and it eliminates all the challenges associated with the installation and makes it possible for practically anybody to try Ubuntu in a dual-boot configuration, without any risk or major commitment.
The installation works just like any other Windows program installation and it even sets up a boot menu so that users can choose between Windows and Ubuntu when the computer starts. Wubi does not require users to create a partition on their hard drives. With Wubi you can uninstalled Ubuntu directly from the Add/Remove Programs utility in Windows.

If you wanted to try Linux, but you were afraid - this tool is for you!


Read more here...

gOS PCs discontinued at Wal-Mart Stores

Wal-Mart has discontinued the sale of the $200 Linux PCs running the distribution gOS (based on the Ubuntu). The chain has stopped selling them in stores, but the gOS PCs will remain for sale at the Wal-Marts website www.walmart.com.

Personally I think this is a set back for Linux. Linux hasn't made a dent on the desktop market compared to Microsoft and Apple.

Read more at Yahoo news...

Hardy Heron cover

I'm working on a cover for Hardy Heron. I've made a preview of the inlay and the booklet.
I wanted to create a non-geek version (Why Ubuntu 8.04 needs better marketing...) - maybe the back of the booklet should have more "geeky" information, like: kernel 2.6.24, Xorg 7.3 etc.

Please post feedback if you have any comments or suggestions - thanks.

Ubuntu Brainstorm launched

Ubuntu brainstorm has been launched! A site where people can add their ideas and vote for the entries they like.

The site is off to a good start. Within four days the site had:

• 10,000 registered users
• 2700 ideas (in comparison, Dell Ideastorm has 9000 ideas)

Check it our yourself:
www.brainstorm.ubuntu.com/

For more brainstorm stats:
http://www.ndeschildre.net/2008/03/08/brainstorm-some-stats/

Wallpaper artwork

I want to share with you some of my wallpaper artwork for Ubuntu.

Wood Wall


Ubuntu Sky

Black Hardy Heron

Kubuntu Waves

Startup/End sound

I've made some .Wav files for you to use as startup and exit sound. I tried to keep the African Ubuntu feel to the sounds. Please let me know what you think.

ubuntu-art.org Click here...

I've also made some alternative sounds that I've attached as zipped .mp3 files below. !Note that the files below are alternative sounds and does not include the two default files from Ubuntu-art.org

Get them here:
Alternative Ubuntu sounds as mp3.zip

Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is an application designed to config Ubuntu easier for everyone. This tool is perfect for Linux newbies and other non geeks.

It provides many useful desktop and system options that the default desktop environment isn’t provided.

http://ubuntu-tweak.com

Welcome

This is my first post on my new blog. This page will feature my own contributes to Ubuntu, news, links and so on.
Looking forward to share my knowledge and opinions about Ubuntu.


MadsRH








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