Linux Documentation on your Ubuntu

Want to read more about how things work on Linux ?

Install these two packages on Ubuntu and you pretty much have almost all the HOWTO documentation out there!

HOWTO & FAQ

sudo apt-get install doc-linux-html

Non-Free HOWTOs

sudo apt-get install doc-linux-nonfree-html

Qunu - expert people service

Qunu is a search engine for people. We use instant messaging to connect -- in real time -- people who have (for now) software or tech-related questions with experts who are passionate and willing to help

Check more on Qunu

hdparm - speed up your IDE disk

Still using those IDE hard disks ;-) ?

hdparm is a utility that lets you speed up your disk speed by optimizing certain IDE parameters.

hdparm should come installed with your distribution

First, execute

hdparm -tT /dev/hda

to check the disk speeds

Now, execute


hdparm -d1 -c1 -m16 /dev/hda

which basically enables DMA, IO Support & maximum number of disk sectors per single request

Execute the speed check and you will most probably notice significant increase in the speed.

hdparm -tT /dev/hda

Install Mac & Win Fonts on Ubuntu

Installing TrueType fonts is very easy on Ubuntu. On your desktop or in a file-browser window, just type Ctrl-L to access the Open Location window; then type fonts:/// and click Open. You will then see a list of all the fonts you currently have access to on your system. Drag your new TrueType font from your desktop or file manager into the font-list window, and it will be automatically installed and made available to applications through Defoma the next time they start up.

It's actually not quite that simple if the fonts come from a Macintosh system, because Mac OS embeds extra font information using a special format that Linux can't read directly. Before you drag Mac OS fonts into your fonts:/// folder, you need to convert them with a utility called fondu, which you can install with the following command:

sudo apt-get install fondu

Then copy your Mac OS font directory to your Linux machine and run:

fondu *

Source: Ubuntu Hacks

How to be a Programmer

To be a good programmer is difficult and noble. The hardest part of making real a collective vision of a software project is dealing with one's coworkers and customers. Writing computer programs is important and takes great intelligence and skill. But it is really child's play compared to everything else that a good programmer must do to make a software system that succeeds for both the customer and myriad colleagues for whom she is partially responsible. In this essay I attempt to summarize as concisely as possible those things that I wish someone had explained to me when I was twenty-one.

This is very subjective and, therefore, this essay is doomed to be personal and somewhat opinionated. I confine myself to problems that a programmer is very likely to have to face in her work. Many of these problems and their solutions are so general to the human condition that I will probably seem preachy. I hope in spite of this that this essay will be useful.

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