Ubuntu Tutorials

UPDATE: This article has been updated for Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala”. Medibuntu on Ubuntu 9.10.

I am generally very wary of suggesting the use of 3rd party repositories. I rarely, if ever, use them myself, even if it’ll make installing an application a bit simpler. The bottom line for this is that I want my machine to be as supported as it can be, so I generally only use the official Ubuntu repositories (main restricted universe multiverse). Adding this repository will add unsupported packages to your system, but it is considered far more trusted than other repositories.

Medibuntu is the one repository that I find I can suggest to people, and this solves most all of the non-free issues people have. Everything from DVD playback to non-free codecs–even Google Earth!

A breakdown of what is available via Medibuntu:

• Non-Free Media Codecs (w32codecs, libdvdcss, etc)
• Acroread
• Google Earth
• RealPlayer
• Skype
• Popular Media Players without stripped codecs (amarok, xmms, mplayer, kaffeine, k3b)

Adding the Medibuntu Repo

To add the Medibuntu repository we’ll need to grab the sources.list available there. Note: the following is for Ubuntu 7.10 “Gutsy”. Replace gutsy.list with feisty.list, etc for your version:

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/gutsy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

We’ll also need the key in order to validate the packages as they come in:

wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update

Installing Packages

So the heavy lifting is now done, now for a few examples of adding some of these codecs or applications.

To install DVD playback use:

sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2

To install non-free codec support:

sudo aptitude install w32codecs

(w64codecs for 64bit, ppc-codecs for PPC architecture)

More documentation is available at the Ubuntu Community Medibuntu Wiki.

Installation via apturl

If you’ve added the repository in the above step you can now install any of the below by clicking on the link. These will install from the Medibuntu repository ONLY if you’ve configured them as above. These packages are not distributed or downloaded from my servers:

Adobe Reader – Adobe’s PDF Reader

Adobe Reader Plugins – Ability to complete fillable forms

Adobe Mozilla Plugin – Adobe Plugin for Firefox, Galeon, Konqueror

Google Earth – Google Earth : Explore, Search and Discover

Win32 Codecs – nonfree media playback (wma, realplayer, quicktime)

Amarok – The popular media player + mp3/mp4 integration

Skype – VOIP with Skype

ffmpeg – Multimedia player, server and encoder (mp3,mp4,h264,amr support)

Ubuntu Restricted Extras

You may also want to read my previous, Installing Ubuntu Restricted Extras for a wider list of the packages that are not installed by default.

Disclaimer: These are not in base Ubuntu for a reason. Either they are patent encumbered or not free software.

Patent and copyright laws operate differently depending on which country you are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country.

If this article has been helpful, please consider linking to it.

Here is day two of Automatix Alternatives. Today I’ll cover the second section outlined in the Automatix package list, Chat Clients. There are numerous chat clients and, as was the case yesterday, most of the same exact applications are available in the official supported Ubuntu repositories. Here is a breakdown:

• aMSN (An MSN messenger written in Tcl): requires universe

sudo aptitude install amsn (or System > Applications > Add / Remove > "Search" amsn)

• Gaim / Pidgin (multi-protocol instant messaging client): automatically installed

Latest version 2.0.0beta6 in Feisty / Pidgin 2.1.0 in Gutsy

• Skype (Make free calls to anyone else on Skype) : requires manual installation

Visit skype.com - download / installation link (open with "gdebi-gtk (default)" > "Install Package")

• Xchat – (Popular IRC client) : requires universe

sudo aptitude install xchat (or System > Applications > Add / Remove "Search" xchat)

• Gyachi – (Yahoo Messenger client with voice and video support) : requires manual installation

Visit gyachi.sf.net - download page (look for "Ubuntu Edgy" package > open with "gdebi-gtk (default)" > "Install Package")

Also available: (System > Add / Remove > “Search” package)

The packages listed below are from the Ubuntu repositories and are completely safe and supported on your system.

Xchat-gnome (sudo aptitude install xchat-gnome) : requires main

konversation (sudo aptitude install konversation) : automatically installed (KDE)

psi (sudo aptitude install psi) : requires universe

irssi (sudo aptitude install irssi) : requires main

gajim (sudo aptitude install gajim) : requires universe

kopete (sudo aptitude install kopete) : requires main

gossip (sudo aptitude install gossip) : requires universe

Again, I know this isn’t a comprehensive list. I’m taking these applications per section from the Automatix list. Tomorrow I’ll do “Commercial Software”. It should be worth mentioning that while a few of the above have instructions on manual installation that does potentially limit the amount of support for that application. The best solution is to always search for the package in the Add / Remove section of your machine and, as a last resort, install it manually with outside packages.

I’ve also included other (better, if you ask me) solutions for chat clients already available in Ubuntu. This is based on the comments in yesterdays post about leaving things out. I am definitely not meaning to leave anything out, I’m simply focusing on documenting the alternatives to what Automatix does on its own. There are more applications outside of the above list, but this should be plenty to get going with.

See you back here tomorrow with more suggestions on supported alternatives to the applications Automatix installs. If you find these useful please let me know. Other suggestions, leave comments as usual.

I’m going to take this series on supported Automatix replacements one “section” at a time. If I spread it our per single application we’d be here forever. So, starting with the Automatix – Feisty list I’ve started with the first section, “Burning and Ripping” and here are supported alternatives to the same.

These lists apply to Feisty and above.

Burning and Ripping

• Brasero (Advanced and user-friendly CD burning tool for Gnome) : requires universe

sudo aptitude install brasero (or Applications > Add / Remove > "Search" Brasero)

• Gnomebaker (The best GTK2 CD/DVD burning software) : requires universe

sudo aptitude install gnomebaker (or Applications > Add / Remove > "Search" Gnomebaker)

• k9copy (KDE based DVD backup software) : requires multiverse

sudo aptitude install k9copy (or Applications > Add / Remove > "Search" k9copy)

• StreamTuner and StreamRipper (Internet Radio Client & Ripper) : requires universe

sudo aptitude install streamtuner streamripper (or Applications > Add / Remove > "Search" streamtuner, streamripper)

• DVD Ripper (a GTK based DVD ripping software) : requires multiverse

sudo aptitude install dvdrip (or Applications > Add / Remove > "Search" dvdrip)

• xDVDShrink (create fair-use archival copies of DVD) : requires manual-installation

This application is no longer in development. It is suggested to use k9copy (above).

Feisty was a definite improvement and lessened much of the appeal on Automatix. The above list, again coming directly from the Automatix page, are all directly available via the Ubuntu repositories. Some are packaged by and limited to support by the community, but still supported nonetheless. Tomorrow I will try and tackle “Chat Clients”.