Ubuntu Hardy - Some more stability for flashplugin-nonfree

Although the 9.0.124 version has been way more stable and reliable for me (running AMD64), it seems improvements are on their way in the updates:

Changelog

flashplugin-nonfree (9.0.124.0ubuntu2) hardy; urgency=low

 * fix "frequent crashes with flash on youtube"; we fix this by
   demoting libflashsupport from depends: to suggests: (LP: #192888)
   This has positive as well as negative consequences:
    (+) increased stability for firefox and nspluginwrapper
    (-) pulseaudio users reported that this breaks sound if flash
        while other applications are running that use the sound
        device for output.
   Users that installed libflashsupport during hardy cycle should
   uninstall it to increase stability.
   - update debian/control

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, hardy, flashplugin, updates

Ubuntu Hardy Heron - Screenlets

In the past, I have not been a fan of screenlets. However, recently I learnt how they can be presented in a useful way. By activating the widgets layer in compiz, and then setting the screenlets to act as widgets, you can get them to appear by pressing F9. And disappear with the same key.

Now this is useful. With some carefully chosen screenlets, I can access some valuable information with one key press.

And this is all in repo's. No extra repo's or compiling from source. A few weeks ago, they were crashing regularly, but some recent updates appears to have fixed that.

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, hardy, screenlets

Ubuntu Hardy AMD64 - Flashplugin-nonfree 9.0.124.0 seems more stable

This upgrade came through earlier today and since then flashplayer in Hardy AMD64 seems a lot more stable.

I am not using any of the workaround posted in forums, just straight Hardy Beta, FF3b5, and flashplugin-nonfree in AMD64.

Technorati Tags: hardy, flashplugin, amd64

Ubuntu Hardy - Liberation Fonts now Fully Hinted?

A recent update came through for liberation fonts. It wasn't clear, but it looks as if there is now full hinting available. Looks very nice! Might have to add this to my Win XP work laptop as well.

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, hardy, liberation, fonts

Ubuntu Hardy Heron Beta - AMD64 Flashplayer

When I installed one of the 64bit alpha's of Hardy Heron, I had to follow one on the many threads around to set up links or move files around to get flash installed and working in Firefox. In the end, I fiddled too much and was left with a somewhat functional flash player.

This morning I re-installed the machine using a freshly downloaded Beta.

No more fiddling around. Just install flashplugin-nonfree and it will bring in all the required dependencies and set up everything correctly.

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, hardy, amd64, flash

Ubuntu Hardy - Intel 945 Graphics Driver Needs Some Tweaking

I have this driver integrated with the motherboard and, although a Hardy install detects it and sets everything up correctly, the current driver doesn't quite give the performance that it should, especially if you have compiz-fusion running. Typically, you will notice that Firefox scrolling is slow and/or jerky.

I have found two things (searching ubuntuforums.org, where else?) that improve things:

• Update your /etc/X11/xorg.conf to look like this:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Option "AccelMethod" "exa"
Option "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
Option "ExaNoComposite" "false"
EndSection

• Add the following as a separate line to your /etc/environment file:

INTEL_BATCH = "1"

Note sure how to do this? Both files that need to be edited require root privileges to edit because they are system files. There are many different ways to do the same thing, but this is one of the easier.

• Step #1. Always. Make a backup copy of each of the files before editing them. If you get a result you don't like, you can revert to your original settings.
• Open a terminal window. Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal.
• type gksudo gedit <the filename you want to edit>
• Edit and then save.
  

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, hardy, intel, slow, choppy, exa, greedy

Miro 1.2 Released

If you haven't tried Miro yet, I would recommend giving it a try. For ease of use and access to lots of free online video media, it's hard to beat. The current version in Hardy repositories is 1.1.2, but 1.2 appears to be a major upgrade. From the Miro blog post:

Miro - Internet TV Blog » Blog Archive » Announcing Miro 1.2 - A Major Update

We’ve just released a major update to Miro, version 1.2.

Grab it now: Download Miro

This version adds lots of tweaks and bug fixes that make Miro
smoother and slicker. It also lays the groundwork for some big
improvements that are coming soon. Version 1.2 is the best Miro yet.

Some of What’s New in Miro 1.2

• On Windows and Linux, we updated to XULRunner 1.9, which brings memory and performance improvements.
• We’ve added a much-requested preference to set new channels to not auto-download.
• New preferences for tweaking number of simultaneous auto-downloads and torrent seeding.
• Important re-architecting of the frontend and backend code.
• Lots of bug fixes and tweaks.
• On OSX, we updated to Perian 1.1.
• On Windows, the Miro installer is now much simpler and prettier.
• Improved support for Flash in Channel Guide pages.
• Improved translations for dozens of languages.
• All of what’s new in Miro 1.2

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, miro