I have been looking at some screenshots and posts on Digg that suggests the next version of Ubuntu may ship with a dark theme enabled by default.  Until programmers learn to theme their desktop applications properly, I don’t think this should to happen.  Many programs are styled with a light theme in mind, and changing to a dark theme reveals several problems that shows these programs weren’t tested very well in a dark theme environment.

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I recently bought an Epson Stylus Photo R280 printer, and I thought I would make a CD cover for Ubuntu’s latest release.  I did a search for one, and didn’t really find one that I liked, so I designed my own.

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I wanted to test Firefox 3.0b2 on my computer, but I didn’t want it to interfere with my current Firefox profile or even my current system. I decided to create a separate user and use that user specifically for running Firefox. No, that doesn’t mean that I have to sign out and sign back in as that new user every time I want to use it.  I can run Firefox 3.0b2 under its own user at the same time as all of other programs. I can even run both versions side by side for comparing and testing.

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A short time ago, I wrote on how to get your X10 CM17A Firecracker module working in Linux. Since then, I have migrated to a new home server, and I am left with no serial ports. That means that I have to get a USB module working. I already have the CM19A here at home, so I went on a task to find a driver to work for this one. I did succeed, so read on to find out how you can get it working yourself.

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Haven’t you always wanted to control your Christmas lights with your Linux server? Being able to control X10-enabled devices opens up your world to a whole new level of geekness. There are several other powerful reasons to put your computer in control of your lights and appliances including programming simple timers and controlling your lights from anywhere in the world. I’m going to show you how to do it with the CM17A interface. There are plenty others out there like the CM10A, CM11A, and others. You may be able to tweak this article to your needs if you have a different interface other than the CM17A.

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Since the Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy release date, I have upgraded my laptop and desktop as well as done several test installations. The Ubuntu team has made great improvements in some areas, but failed attempts in others. I will discuss several new features exposed such as desktop effects, graphical display configuration utility, restricted drivers, themes, and more.

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It seemed that Ubuntu’s icons have always been larger than the icons are on Windows. This may be trivial for some people, but I wanted my desktop and nautilus icons to be a bit smaller. Changing the icon sizes as well as the font size is fairly easy. These steps are based on Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10.

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When you first install your version of Ubuntu, you are left with a plain looking desktop with only icons of your mount points. I wanted to add icons for my computer, trash, home folder, and more. This article explains how to do it. This tip works for Ubuntu Gutsy, Feisty, and possibly older.

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I’ve used this technique to get lightning shots that I’ve gotten from my video camera. This will help you get static pictures from any video clip. You can also manipulate the images and convert them back into a video clip!

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Although it is insanely easy to install software on Debian systems using the package manager, there is a neat technique that you can use to clone a PC or reinstall all your software with one command after a format. This works with all Debian-based systems.
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