How to add the Universe & Multiverse repositories from the command line

Enabling the Universe & Multiverse repositories will give you access to tons of software that your Ubuntu system doesn’t give you access to by default. Here is how to enable them.

Open a Terminal. Applications > Accessories > Terminal
Type in:

sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.bak

This makes a copy of the file we’re going to modify, in case [...]

How to display the title bar in Google Chrome

When I first installed Google’s Chrome browser, I noticed something odd the first time I ran the application. It’s window had no title bar. I thought that was strange, but I didn’t really mind its absence too much, so I used it like it was. If however, you do miss that title bar at the [...]

How to install Google Chrome for linux

Google Chrome Beta is now available for linux. You can go here and download the .deb file for 32 or 64 bit systems. Select the version you’d like to download, and then you can simply click on Open from the box that comes up to download and install the package. It can then be found [...]

How to free up hard drive space by removing old linux kernel files

The linux kernel is, among other things, something that gets updated periodically when you update your system. When this happens, the kernel that’s being replaced is not deleted, it’s left on your system, but just not used anymore. For example, as I write this, I’m using the 2.6.24-24 kernel. My system may still contain older [...]

Shortcut to root command line access while logged in as un-privileged user

Let’s say you’re logged into your Ubuntu machine as an unprivileged user, meaning that you don’t have permission to use the sudo command on the command line. As such, you cannot update the system, install a program, or perform other tasks in the terminal that require the sudo command without logging out and then back [...]

How to find out which version / release of Ubuntu you have

Have you ever asked yourself, “How do I find out exactly which version, or release, of Ubunut I have?” There are a few ways of doing this.

The easiest, and most basic, is to open the System Monitor.You do this by going to System > Administration > System Monitor. You then click on the System tab. [...]

How to lock your screen from the command line

This could be very useful to you if you’re working in the terminal and need to step away for a moment. You can achieve a locked screen, just like when you do it the graphical way, with this command entered at the command line, or cli…

How to make your Evolution appointments appear in your desktop calender

In Ubuntu you can have the appointments in your calender appear in your desktop calender/clock. If you’ve just come over from years of Microsoft Windows use, Evolution is the linux equivalent of Outlook.  Ubuntu works with the Evolution mail client to give you quick access to your appointments and tasks right on the desktop, [...]

How to set up HP printing on Ubuntu — HP Laserjet P1005

Some HP printers can use one of the drivers already installed by default in Ubuntu. In those cases, all you usually need to do is plug your printer into your computer, and Ubuntu will recognize it and prompt you to set it up. It’s super quick & easy. The HP Laserjet P1005 that I purchased [...]

How to back up your installed applications with APTonCD

APTonCD is a very cool application that will backup the packages (software) on your system to a CD or DVD. This will not backup any personal, user created files. This is very handy for example, if you’re re-installing Ubuntu for whatever reason, but you don’t want to have to re-install every single peice of software [...]