After a break, i’m come back!
I’ve decided to install Gentoo on my HP Pavilion dv6000 series and I’ll try to share with you my progress. Gentoo has tons of good documentation but could always happen something strange that the guides dont talk about. I hope to write some usefull things.

I’m started from Gentoo 2008.0 beta Minimal taht you could find here. Burn the ISO and restart your machine (check that the boot from CD is activated).
Now you need to follow step by step the guide at Gentoo website.

When you have to configure and compile the Kernel, if you would do it easily, use the follow command

livecd etc # genkernel --menuconfig all

It is designed to take the pain out of the kernel compiling process, and supports most hardware by default.

Helpfull Link

Howto fdisk

linux, gentoo, howto

I’ve an HP Pavilion notebook (mod. dv6115eu). I’ve installed Debian on it and, listen to music, I’ve tries to insert the jack headphone but the sound come out from speakers yet!

The solution is pretty easy. Download from alsa website the alsa-driver source package.
To compile it, we have to install the right packages before

root~:# apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic libncurses5-dev automake autoconf

Here: ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/ you can find the last source packages.
Make a folder and donwload the source packages

Extract the package

user:~$ tar xjf alsa-driver-X.tar.bz2

Compile and install it

user~:$ cd alsa-driver-X
user~:$ ./configure
root~:# make && make install

Edit /etc/modules and insert at the end of it this kernel module: snd_hda_intel.
Save the file and reboot: the headphone could be work right now!

linux, debian, hp, pavilion, notebook, alsa, headphones, audio

Today i’ve updated my AWN repository

deb http://www.arearelax.org/awn/ ./

with new packages made from awn0.2.1 version taken from Bazaar’s repository.
I’ve thinked that it could be helpfull if I write how you can do your own packages.

First of all install the packages for compile AWN and the dipendencies packages :

root:~# apt-get install build-essential automake1.9 autotools-dev libxdamage-dev libxcomposite-dev libgnome2-common libgnome2-dev libgnome-desktop-dev libgtk2.0-dev libwnck-dev libgconf2-dev libglib2.0-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev python-gtk2-dev gnome-common python-dev python-cairo-dev python-gnome2-dev python-gnome2-desktop gnome-panel python-glade2 librsvg2-common cdbs gnome-pkg-tools gtk-doc-tools valac

install bzr:

root:~# apt-get install bzr

go on your home folder and download AWN source from Bazaar:

user:~$ bzr co lp:awn

join in the new folder

user:~$ cd awn/

and make the packages

user:~$ dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot

come back at your home ( cd .. ) and you can find all packages that you need to install AWN

root:~# dpkg -i *.deb

That’s all. Have fun!

linux, debian, awn, deb, gnome

Sometimes could be useful to manage a PC from a remote computer. To do it VNC maybe is one of the best solutions.

It’s good if VNC starts at PC’s boot.

Some easy steps:

root:~# apt-get install vnc4server vnc4-common

To start a program at boot we have to insert the command to run it in the /etc/rc.local file.

root:~#nano /etc/rc.local

and insert the following row before exit 0. (exit 0 must be always the last row)

su - user -c "/usr/bin/vnc4server :1 -geometry 1024x768 -depth 16 > /tmp/vncserver.log 2>&1 &" &

This command let start vncserver automatically at boot in usermode and on a Display different from the main display.
You have to substitute in that row USER with your user and you can customize the command vnc4server like it’s good for you.
If you would run other programs with VNC, you have only to add other rows in rc.local like the follow row

su - user -c "DISPLAY=:1 /usr/bin/gkrellm &" &

gnome, debian, vnc, linux

I’ve found some trouble to find the DEB version of Skype but after some research, i’ve found the solution and it’s pretty easy:

acido:~# wget http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-deb
acido:~# su
hp:~$ dpkg -i skype-debian_1.4.0.118-1_i386.deb

With wget you download the latest version of Skype for your distro, like root you do the installation and you have finished!

EDIT: If you use the URL above, instead the first:

http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-beta-deb

you can download Skype 2 beta version with video support.
Thanks a lot to po3ts for the advice.

linux, debian, skype

Another hard war: ME vs MyNotebook!
Sometimes happen that if you have some multimedia keys, the system could discover them itself. If you would modify the function of that special keys, you have to read this how-to.

First of all go in System > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcut
Here there are two section: Desktop and Audio.
Go in audio and disable(click on each row that you would disable and press BACKSPACE) all keys that you would use (in my situation Play/Pause, Pause, Skip Prev/Next Track).

Now open a term and write:
xev | grep keycode | \
sed s/"^.*keycode *([0-9]+).*$"/"keycode 1 "/ | uniq
xev is used to capture the “code” for each key that we press. Press all keys that you need and after that, close the term. In output you see something like:
keycode 36
keycode 144
keycode 162
keycode 164
Exlude the first row (it’s the Enter Key). The other rows are keycodes about your keys.tutte le altre in ordine sono i keycode legati ai vostri tasti. Now modify the file xmodmap: go in your home and make a copy of your file
xmodmap -pke > xmodmap.conf
Edit it (gedit or nano or whatever you want) and insert near the Keycode that you have discovered before, a name.
For example your PLAY key have
keycode 162

Go at the row “keycode 162” and insert after the “=” a name to identify the key
keycode 162 = AudioPLAY

Repeat this for all keys that you need.
Now you have to substitute you new xmodmap.conf to the older one and you have some ways:

1) edit the file %HOME/.xsession and insert
/usr/bin/xmodmap $HOME/xmodmap.conf
2) edit the file /etc/gdm/Init/Default and substitute the row sysmodmap=/etc/X11/Xmodmap using the path of your xmodmap (for me is /home/utente/xmodmap.conf)

3) if you are luky, if you restart Gnome, it can discover the new xmodmap.conf in your home and ask to you if you would use it instead the default file

After that, open a term and launch
root:~# gconf-editor

go in /apps/metacity/keybindings_commands

Here you can set 12 commands(command_1, command_2…).
You can insert all command that you would use for your keys (start browser, pause a song, disable the sound, etc…).

Go in /apps/metacity/global_keybindings and you see run_command_1 … run_command_12 that you can use to associate a key to the command that you have write in the step before.
Near run_command_1 write the name that identify the key that you would use.

To do an Example
keycode 162 = AudioPLAY

in /apps/metacity/keybindings_commands
command_1 xmms

in /apps/metacity/global_keybindings
run_command_1 AudioPLAY

Have fun!

linux, debian, keyboard, multimedia, gnome

Gkrellm is a good utility that let us to monitoring the entire system: battery status, temperature (CPU, HDD, Video, …), fan speed. But it’s not enaught: it need help from some daemons or kernel’s modules.

Now i try to explain how to check the temperatures.

Open a term and write (like super-user):

root:~# apt-get install lm-sensors hddtemp

and after the installation

root:~# sensors-detect

you have to follow the sensors setup (use the default answers); after that, in output you see some modules

#----cut here----
# module options
<module_1>
<module_2>
#----cut here----

that you have to insert in the file /etc/modules.
(if you would start the modules immediately use like root modprobe <modulo_1> <modulo_2> )

To start the harddisk sensor:

root:~# hddtemp -d /dev/hda
(or hdb, hdc or sda, sdb: it depends from the harddisk that you would monitoring)

Now start gkrellm goo in

Function > Sensors > Temperature

Here you can find all sensors from your PC.

Tips:
If you exec
acido:~$ sensors

in output you can see all sensors (exept harddisk);

root:~# hddtemp /dev/hda
(or hdb, hdc or sda, sdb: it depends from the harddisk that you would monitoring)

in output you can see harddisk sensors;
if you would start hddtemp like a daemon (each time that you start your pc) use:

root:~# nano /etc/default/hddtemp

and set RUN_DAEMON=“true“ and DISKS=“/dev/hda” (your harddisk).

linux, debian, gkrellm, gnome

After the Compiz installation, sometimes happen that it’s not possible to see movie on fullscreen!

Let’s start gmplayer and go in Option.
Choose the Video “tab” and set x11 driver.

Now close gmplayer, open a term and write
echo "zoom=yes" > $HOME/.mplayer/config

Start gmplayer and watch movie in fullscreen!

mplayer, gmplayer, compiz, linux

Probably ixquick it’s not famous yet: is a meta-websearchengine (it’s a service that do a websearch using all others websearchengine togheter) that don’t save information about users that done a websearch.

To know better, read this article published on no1984.org.

By the way, who use iceweasel (firefox on debian) maybe want to add ixquick in the searchengine list that it’s on Iceweasel’s toolbar.

If you go on ixquick’s website, in the right area you are not able to insert the plugin, so we have to do it by ourself.

Download here the package that contains th plugin and the icon.
Open a shell, go on folder where you have downloaded the package and extract it:

acido:~$ tar -xf ixquick_it.tar.gz

Now:

acido:~$ mv ixquick_it.* /usr/share/iceweasel/searchplugins/

(if you are not able like user, do it like root)

Now start iceweasel and you can find ixquick in the search engine list!

ixquick, iceweasel, linux, ixquick plugin

Avant Window Navigator (Awn) is a dock-like bar which sits at the bottom of the screen. It has support for launchers, task lists, and third party applets.

To use it, it’s requested a composite manager (compiz or beryl).

The bad thing is that until now i wasn’t unable to find a repository od awn for Debian SID. So i’ve decided to make awn packages for Debian SID and put them in a repository.

Then, if you would install awn on your machine, you need to do (like superuser):

hp:~# nano /etc/apt/sources.list

add the following line at the end of the file

deb http://www.arearelax.org/awn/ ./

save, exit and digit

hp:~# apt-get update && apt-get install avant-window-navigator-trunk

now like user digit

acido:~$ avant-window-navigator &

and you can see the dock on your desktop. Try to configure it trought awn-manager. Good luck!

linux, debian, awn, eye candy, compiz, dock-bar