Photo Slideshow on Screensaver on Ubuntu.

 My friend asked me whether he could run Slideshow of Photos on Screensaver. First I thought about Shotwell Photo Manager App. It has Desktop Slideshow option but it did not work on Lock screen.

Then I searched for good old xscreensaver utility and installed it as follows:

$ sudo apt install xscreensaver xscreensaver-gl-extra xscreensaver-data-extra

$ sudo apt remove gnome-screensaver

I added xscreensaver to Startup Applications

Then I opened Screensaver Preferences and selected GLSlideshow in Display Mode

 

 then selected Pictures Folder in Image Manipulation/Choose Random image

 and it works on reboot.

Producing music is easier than playing music on a PC/Laptop.

As a child I learned to play Harmonium since there was one in the house. I also joined Vocal Indian Classical Music Class in the evening although there was a conflict whether to play in the ground (it was in front of our house) or go to music class in the evening. I passed Standard 8 of school and Intermediate level classical music at the same time but could not pursue music studies since there was a gap between the school closing and beginning of Music College and both were 3 Kms from my house and I could not walk the to and fro distance two times.

I used to play Flute in my College days (mostly Film Songs), directed College Orchestra, also bought Mouth Organ and Electric Guitar while working as a Trainee Enginner.

Recently I thought about converting my Laptop Keyboard into Midi Keyboard and the story begins.

As described in the last post I installed synthesizer played on it but it is not easy to play on QWERTY Keyboard compared to Harmonium, then connected my mobile phone through usb for Piano like keyboard.

Then I downloaded some Tabla/Drums wav files from Internet and played on their beats but did not like the quality of my music.

Finally I have discovered that producing music is easier than playing it on my Laptop.

I downloaded LMMS which was originally known as Linux Multimedia Studio but became cross platform for wider acceptance with the result that most popular plugin VST is based on Windows.

I searched for Tabla Loops and found free VST plugins.

I could not load VST plugins on LMMS installed on Ubuntu. Since I also have Windows 10 I installed LMMS on it and used the plugin.

Then I discovered that LMMS recommends that you install Wine on Ubuntu, download their AppImage from there website make it executable and run it on wine.

I find that it runs better on Ubuntu+Wine compared to Windows 10. I could load the VST plugin.

I made some preliminary music.
Yaman
Trital

Using WoeUSB on Ubuntu 18.04 to make bootable Windows 10 USB stick.

Windows 10 installer ISO is freely available on Microsoft site. Microsoft recommends its media creation tool which does not work on Ubuntu. WoeUSB is a utility which can be used to create boot-able usb stick from Windows 10 ISO. To install on Ubuntu:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt update
sudo apt install woeusb

Insert USB stick larger than 8 GB formatted with single partition.
Run WoeUSB, select Windows 10 ISO.
Select NTFS File System since FAT does not support files larger than 4 GB.
Select target device USB stick (say /dev/sdb)
Unmount the partition opening a terminal

sudo umount /dev/sdb1

Click on install.

WoeUSB will make bootable USB stick with Windows 10 installer.

Ubuntu Desktop Team wants your feedback.

The Ubuntu Desktop team is tasked with transitioning Ubuntu desktop over from Unity to GNOME — and they need your feedback to help them do it.

The above poll is appearing on OMGUbuntu

I am using Ubuntu for more than 12 years now. From next year Ubuntu 18.04LTS Ubuntu is going to shift from Unity Desktop to GNOME.

Presently I am using Ubuntu 16.04LTS and generally use GNOME fall-back session. I was also keen to try GNOME Desktop on Ubuntu 16.04.

I clicked on the Install GNOME shell link on OMGUbuntu page, installed it and logged out of fall-back to GNOME session.

GNOME extensions are installed through Browser but Firefox requires you to enable GNOME integration. For this I followed following page on OMGUbuntu

After integration I went to GNOME Extensions page and installed the following extensions:

• Dash to Dock
• Impatience
• No Top Left Hot Corner
• Alternate Tab

• Applications Menu
• Better Volume Indicator
• TopIcons Plus

 

and participated in the survey. I also installed Caffeine and Open Weather extensions.

 

I am now using GNOME Desktop on Ubuntu 16.04.

Removing old kernels on Ubuntu.

On Linux distributions you get kernel update and the images of old kernels remain on your machine occupying space. I got a kernel update today:

$ uname -r
4.4.0-28-generic

After restart I could see that the image of old kernel was present on the machine:

$ dpkg -l | tail -n +6 | grep -E 'linux-image-[0-9]+' | grep -Fv $(uname -r)
ii  linux-image-4.4.0-24-generic                4.4.0-24.43                                         amd64        Linux kernel image for version 4.4.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP

I removed the old kernel by using following commands one by one:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-signed-image-4.4.0-24-generic
sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-extra-4.4.0-24-generic
sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-4.4.0-24-generic

I removed the kernel headers by using following commands one by one:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-headers-4.4.0-24-generic
sudo dpkg --purge linux-headers-4.4.0-24

Since I remove the previous image on every kernel update I had to remove only 4.4.0-24 but if you are doing it first time you may have many images starting from 4.4.0.21

Importing ICICI Bank, other Banks and Android Applicaton Transactions in GnuCash.

I posted about the same topic in 2011. I have decided to maintain the Books of Accounts on my own in the Current Financial Year 2015-16 (since the tryst with Steam Turbine is temporarily suspended and tryst with Linux is on which the readers of this Blog would have noticed anyway looking at frequency of my posts). I installed GnuCash 2.6.6 on Ubuntu through Software Centre couple of days ago and started importing the Bank Account Files. ICICI Bank no longer offers QIF/MSMoney Fomat download as stated in comments on the year 2011 post. No problem for me. I downloaded the Excel File and saved as CSV which was accepted by GnuCash in the option "Import Transactions from CSV".

I imported the transactions from Bank Accounts, Credit Card Accounts and the corresponding debit/credit entry went into Imbalance and only task then was to change the imbalance into the correct account.

I have again become my own CA, thanks to GnuCash.

I also installed GnuCash Application on Android Phone, created Expenses Account, entered the Cash transactions while shopping, exported the transactions in QIF File, imported that File on Desktop Application and the Transactions are entered there. Great going.

Filing Income Tax Return using Java Utility on Ubuntu.

My CA audits my accounts and sends me the XML file of Income Tax Return for uploading it to Income Tax Return e-Filing site. I check the XML file by opening it in the Browser or if I see that a thorough check is necessary I use other tools including Excel Utility for which I need Windows.

This year I decided to use the Java Utility available in Downloads section of e-Filing site. When I opened it typing ./ITR.sh in the Terminal it produced an error. On Googling I found that I need an older version of Java to use it.

I went to Java Oracle site and downloaded the old version jre-8u51-linux-x64.tar.gz and extracted it to /opt/jre (I had to create the directory). Since the latest version of JRE openjdk-8-jre 8u66-b01-5 was installed on my Laptop I removed it and had to use "G Alternatives" to add the path /opt/jre/1.8.0_51/bin/java for Oracle Java.

I could then use the utility by typing ./ITR.sh in the Terminal and open the XML File to view the Income Tax Return.

I made necessary changes in the Return after consulting my CA and could submit it directly through the utility without logging to e-Filing site.

How to deal with Excel (.xlsx) file not opening in Libreoffice?

Long back I discovered that Excel (.xlsx) file not opening in Libreoffice opens in Gnumeric.

Today I noticed that after I save the file opened in Gnumeric in the same format without making any changes it can be opened in Libreoffice.

Goodbye Ubuntu, Welcome AntiX Linux

Although I tried many Linux Distributions as evident from various posts on this blog, I have always used Ubuntu LTS version on my office Laptop and home desktop.

Now I have decided to say Goodbye to Ubuntu and selected AntiX Linux as my OS.

Day before yesterday, I downloaded the latest antiX iso from sourceforge
I installed Unetbootin on Ubuntu Software Centre and created boot-able USB Stick using Unetbootin and the iso image. Windows user can download the Windows exe file and install Unetbootin and create the USB stick.

Yesterday, I tried antiX using the USB stick. I could also create persistent file to save the settings etc.

On my office Laptop, I always keep two versions of Ubuntu in dual boot, the current LTS for use and either retain the old LTS or the latest version for testing. I had old LTS version 10.04, which I deleted and used the partition to install antiX after booting from USB stick.

After installation I added Icedove (which is same as Thunderbird) and copied xxxx.default and profile.ini files from hidden .thunderbird folder from Ubuntu to hidden icedove folder on antiX and I could see all previous mails and address books.

I added the Battery Monitor in Conky.

I have set up the Cannon Image Runner Printer.

I am using antiX now, goodbye Ubuntu.

Yesterday, I was trying to play music on dhingana.com but it was not playing. I found that Iceweasel is having Flashblock extension installed by default. I posted on antiX forum and got a reply. Accordingly, I added www.dhingana.com to whitelist in preferences of Flashblock extension and it works.

How to edit protected Excel Sheet using Gnuneric.

I am getting an MIS Report every day in Microsoft Excel. Although there is no need to change the contents of the file I clicked out of curiosity on one of the cells and found that I could not read the formula. When I right clicked on Sheet Tab I found the sheet protected with a password.

Since I use Libreoffice I searched about how to crack the password and found a couple of lengthy solutions.

I also keep Gnumeric on my machine. I opened the file in Gnumeric, right clicked on Sheet Tab, selected Manage Sheets and clicked on Lock icon. I was surprised to find that the lock opened without any password. After saving I could edit that file in Libreoffice.

I suppose this is possible in Gnumeric on Windows as well.

Gnumeric is a fantastic software.

Backing up Thunderbird mails on Company's server.

I use Ubuntu Linux on my office Laptop and download mails in Thunderbird. IT Department of every company dislike Linux users and find out ways to prevent them or complain to top management that they have this or that problem due to Linux user. Generally I am able to deal with such complaints.

I am working at Jharsuguda for over two and half years now and there are more than 10000 emails in my inbox and 1000 emails in the sent box. IT Department complained that it is not possible to back up my mails since they are doing back ups through Outlook Express in .pst format.

I installed Import/Export tools on Thunderbird and found that either I could export in .mbox format in one single file or individual mails in .eml format without attachments.

I proposed that Thunderbird on Windows could import the .mbox file but IT Department did not agree.

Then I found mbox2xml converter and told them that the IT Department could convert the mbox file into xml and read it directly in the browser but I had to do that conversion for them and convince that the mail was backed up in usable format.

How to get new Indian Rupee Symbol ₹ on Keyboard shortcut on Debian or Ubuntu?

The new Indian Rupee Symbol ₹ exists for more than one year now. There are various posts on the Internet describing how to type it. The symbol has been included in UTF-8 as U+20B9. Most fonts now support this character therefore you don't need to install any special font for typing it.

You already know how to type $ sign (by pressing shift +4). There is a new Keyboard Layout "India English with Rupee Sign" in new xkb-data file but the stable Linux Distributions have not updated their files.


If you want to get this Keyboard Layout on Debian or Ubuntu download the latest xkb-data file. It is available on Debian Sid as xkb-data (2.1-2)  You can download and install it on Debian or Ubuntu.

After installation you need to select the Keyboad Layout "India English with Rupee Sign". Now you can type ₹ by using Right Alt +4 key combination.

Update: Ubuntu 12.04 has this Keyboard Layout Emglish (India, with Rupee sign).

BarodaConnect BOB Net Banking on Ubuntu Linux.

Update on 18/10/2012
Net Banking Site of Bank of Baroda has since been changed. Now it works on Ubuntu 12.04 with JRE  7 with Chromium Browser. There is only one problem. You should enter the transaction password using Virtual Keyboard, otherwise, it says that you entered wrong password.

Bank of Baroda Net Banking requires Internet Explorer and Microsoft VM for initial change of password and entering Transaction password. If you use Firefox on Windows or Linux it gives an error "[21996] Javascript disabled in browser" after you enter the transaction password.

In order to use BarodaConnect I installed Virtualbox on Ubuntu. Then I installed Windows XP in Virtualbox. Opening BarodaConnect on Internet Explorer I clicked on Java Settings Link and downloaded the Zip file which had Microsoft VM.

After installing Microsoft VM I restarted Windows and did the required browser settings.

Finally I could use BarodaConnect on Internet Explorer running in Virtual Box on Ubuntu.


Step by step instructions for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx:
Install virtualbox-ose through Synaptic or apt-get

If you need usb support in guest os download proprietary Virtualbox from this link and install through gdebi.

Start Virtualbox through Applications/System_tools.

Create a new Virtual Machine for Windows.

Insert Windows CD and install it on Virtual Machine.

Start Internet Explorer and go to BarodaConnect.

Click on Login link for Net Banking.

Since Java VM or Microsoft VM is not yet installed you will get the link to download java_settings on login page.

Click on the link and download java.settings in zip file.

Unzip and click on msjavx86 exe file to install Microsoft VM.

Set up Internet Explorer as follows:
Click on Tools/Internet_Options
Click on Security Tab
Select Internet
Click on Custom_Level
Scroll down to Microsoft_VM/Java_Permissions
Select Custom
Click on Java_Custom_Settings
Click on Edit_Permissions Tab
Select Enable every where
Click on Ok.

Select Restricted Sites and repeat all above steps.
Finally click on Apply button.


You can now access BarodaConnect and carry out transactions.

How to boot Ubuntu from Desktop iso.

I have been trying various Linux distributions by copying the contents of Live CD ISO to a spare partition, editing menu.lst file of Grub for suitable entries and booting the operating system. This method saves a CD.

Grub2 is the default boot-loader on Ubuntu 9.10 Karnic for previous distributions you have to install it.

To install Grub2:
$ sudo apt-get install grub-pc
This will install Grub2 but does not replace Grub Legacy and puts an entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst to Chainload and try it. After you find that it is working you need to replace Grub Legacy by Grub2:
$ sudo upgrade-from-grub-legacy

I installed Grub2 recently and discovered that it can directly boot from ISO. I had Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop CD ISO to try. Instead of copying the contents of the ISO I copied the ISO in my-ISO folder on one partition (sda4). Then added following entry in the file /etc/grub.d/40_custom
menuentry "Karmic Live CD (sda4)" {
loopback loop (hd0,4)/my-ISO/ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso
linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/my-ISO/ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso
initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
}

Then I updated Grub2:
$ sudo update-grub

The update copied the above menu entry from /etc/grub.d/40_custom to /boot/grub/grub.cfg (Please note that you are not supposed to edit grub.cfg directly).

On reboot I selected the new menu entry "Karmic Live CD (sda4)" and could boot from the ISO.

Please note that on Grub2 sda4 is represented by  (hd0,4) and not  (hd0,3) like in Grub Legacy.

Install new Opera 10 on Ubuntu

Opera 10 was released on 1st September and I tried to upgrade since the Opera deb repository was already available on my software sources file. Then I noticed that I had not added the Opera GPG Key. I added the key:

$ wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

and I could upgrade to the new version.

File transfer between two machines running Ubuntu and using ssh.

I had successfully transferred a file from Windows machine to the one running Ubuntu through Samba but had no experience of a transfer between two Ubuntu machines.

I have an old desktop with 32 MB RAM on which Win98, Ubuntu server and Puppy Linux are installed. The CD drive on this machine still works. There is no USB port on this machine.

I have 3 years old Laptop on which the CD drive is not working and I don't intend to replace it.

Yesterday I was required to use some folders and files from a CD and decided to make an iso of the entire CD on the old desktop and transfer it to the Laptop by connecting the two machines.

For transferring the file I decided to use SSH, therefore I downloaded openssh-server on the desktop and installed it.

I made the iso using the dd command:
dd if=/dev/cdrom of=file.iso

I opened a Terminal on the Laptop and logged into the desktop through the command:
ssh desktopuser@ip_of_desktop

After confirming blah blah about RSA key etc I was asked the password and the terminal user changed as the desktopuser@desktop_host_name

I tried to transfer the file through scp command
scp file.iso laptopuser@ip_of_laptop:/home/laptopuser/

But found that the port 22 on the Laptop was closed.

I used the following command to see what was listening on the Laptop ports:
netstat -an | grep "LISTEN "

Although I was logged in from the Laptop to the Desktop no daemon was listening on port 22. I also changed the ssh client to openssh-client on the Laptop but could not make it listen on port 22.

I searched on Google but could not find any satisfactory solution.

Finally I decided to install openssh-server on the Laptop as well.

With openssh-server running on both the machine I could transfer the file that too after the server on the Laptop asked the password of the laptopuser.