Martin Webster

Entering an OpenPGP Passphrase on Ubuntu

Martin Webster — Fri, 21 May 2010 22:28:28 +0000

If you’re running Ubuntu Netbook Edition (UNE) Lucid Lynx (10.04 LTS) you’ll have problems using OpenPGP/ GnuPG because the Maximus desktop daemon interferes with the pinentry window. For example:

When receiving an encrypted email gpg-agent launches the pinentry window requesting your OpenPGP passphrase.
The screen briefly flickers when the pinentry window is opened and immediately closes.
This behaviour is repeated three times before Evolution (for instance) reports an error: “public key decryption failed: bad passphrase“.

Fortunately, this is easily resolved:

Open Gnome Terminal and type gconf-editor.
Select apps->maximus.
Double-click exclude-class key.
Click Add and type ‘pinentry’ followed by OK.

I’ve tested this solution with Evolution and GPG, e.g. gpg –clearsign.

Bug #573195 in maximus refers.

Update: Running SqueezeCenter on a Buffalo LinkStation Live

Martin Webster — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:17:02 +0000

Heart Internet is withdrawing its free hosting service. Consequently, I have moved all SqueezeCenter (Logitech Squeezebox Server) files to Box.net. I’ll update the posts in due course. However, all the files are available from the Box.net widget in the sidebar.

Running SqueezeCenter on a Buffalo LinkStation Live, part 1.

Running SqueezeCenter on a Buffalo LinkStation Live, part 2.

Installing Ubuntu Network Edition on an HP Mini 5102

Martin Webster — Sat, 01 May 2010 20:33:34 +0000

HP Mini 5102 running Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04

The HP Mini 5102 (VQ670EA) is a business notebook with the newer Intel Atom N450 processor (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB) and Intel NM10 Express chipset. It comes pre-installed with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED.) Unfortunately, SLED isn’t optimised for the netbook and doesn’t provide much choice regarding applications and multimedia support. Consequently I ditched this in favour of the latest Ubuntu release. What an improvement!

Heads-up: Ubuntu Network Edition 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) works out-of-the-box on an HP Mini 5102 netbook.

Preparation: Since the HP Mini 5102 doesn’t have a CD-ROM I installed Ubuntu Netbook Edition (UNE) from a 2GB SD card. Here’s how it’s done:

First, download the ISO image on another PC (I used a Windows PC; see Ubuntu Community Documentation for more options.)
Extract usb-creator.exe from ubuntu-10.04-netbook-i386.iso using WinRAR or similar utility.
Insert SD card (>= 1GB) or USB pen drive and format FAT32.
Run usb-creator.exe, select image and device and make sure “discarded on shutdown, unless you save elsewhere” is selected.
Make a cup of coffee using a Quooker while you wait for the image to complete.

Installation: Stick the SD card into your Mini, power-on and follow these simple steps:

At boot time, when you see HP logo, press and hold until the BIOS menu is displayed.
Now press and hold for the Boot Device Options. Select SD card and press to boot UNE.
From the Ubuntu menu select Install Ubuntu Netbook and press the key to view the boot options.
Delete the “quiet” option and press to start the Ubuntu installer.
Following the on-screen instructions and UNE will be up and running in 10-15 minutes.

Tweaks: Wired networking is supported by the Kernel. The wireless card requires the Broadcom STA Proprietary Driver which is automatically identified by the Hardware Drivers administrative tool. A network connection is required. Finally, I made a couple of changes so I could browse Windows shares. This is described in MLManley’s blog (Problem 3.)

Issues: The hardware buttons for Web browsing and email don’t work (I’ve not attempted to address this.)

Correction: The email button launches Evolution.

I’ve Got a New Laptop!

Martin Webster — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:59:36 +0000

HP Mini 5102

At last, I have a new laptop. It’s not a Mac and it’s not a PC. It’s an HP Mini 5102 running SUSE Enterprise Linux Desktop 11. I’ll give SLED a go but it’s unlikely it’ll last the weekend since the choice of applications and multimedia support is limited. And of course, it’s not Ubuntu!

Poppy Field

Martin Webster — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:06:15 +0000

Poppy Field by Martin Webster

Since I’ve no laptop I’ve had time for other things… I painted this pleasant picture one afternoon using a tracing from Watercolour Landscapes by Terry Harrison. I’ll probably do a few more exercises from this book before moving onto layering techniques.

I Need a New Laptop!

Martin Webster — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:15:38 +0000

My son, and a glass of wine, put an end to my nx6125 last week. It powers on but the keyboard is shot, the display permanently stuck on the dimmest setting, and five vertical lines (and counting) to boot down the screen. Oh well, I’ve had it a few years and I was ready for a change. I checked out some Windows-based laptops in a local store this weekend and was surprised how much they cost (I wonder if Windows 7 or the weak pound has something to do with that) when I spotted an Apple MacBook. Wow!

The upshot is I want one. Or to be precise an Apple MacBook Pro MB990B/A. Alas, I can’t afford one… yet.

A Moorland Village

Martin Webster — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:44:28 +0000

A Moorland Village by Martin Webster

I found an incredibly faded watercolour print by J. A. Hurley (I think) and really liked the composition. I was reminded of Withypool, Exmoor and decided to paint the moors in the rain. I tackled this as an experiment but am rather pleased with the result. Of course I don’t take any credit for the composition; I just wish I knew a little about the original artist: J. A. Hurley, who also signed the painting with a cat. If you have any idea please let me know. Thanks.

Mount Windows Shares in Ubuntu

Martin Webster — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:30:41 +0000

Mounting Windows shares permanently is relatively straightforward. This is how I did it:

Create new mount point.
Create new entry in /etc/fstab.
Change the unmount order.

Create new mount point

martin@lagothrix:~$ sudo mkdir /srv/cifs/media

Create new entry in /etc/fstab

martin@lagothrix:~$ sudo nano /etc/fstab

Include the following line. Replace userid with the proper value:

//saimiri/media /srv/cifs/media smbfs credentials=/home/userid/.smbpasswd,uid=userid,gid=userid 0 0

Now create an password file in your home directory. Replace userid and password with the proper values:

martin@lagothrix:~$ martin@lagothrix:~$ echo username=userid > .smbpasswd
martin@lagothrix:~$ echo password=password >> .smbpasswd
martin@lagothrix:~$ chmod 600 .smbpasswd

Finally, mount the new filesystem:

martin@lagothrix:~$ sudo mount -a

Change the unmount order

This prevents CIFS (SMBFS) from hanging at shutdown.

martin@lagothrix:~$ sudo update-rc.d -f umountnfs.sh remove
martin@lagothrix:~$ sudo update-rc.d umountnfs.sh stop 15 0 6 .

Change Host Name

Martin Webster — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:42:41 +0000

Open the terminal and edit /etc/hostname and /etc/hosts. Replace all references to old host name with the new. Finally, execute the following:

martin@mico:~$sudo /etc/init.d/hostname.sh start

Back to Jaunty

Martin Webster — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:00:34 +0000

I’m so disappointed with Ubuntu 9.10-Karmic Koala-that I decided to start over with Ubuntu 9.04-Jaunty Jackalope. This time I’ve opted for x86; there’s really little benefit making use of the nx6125′s 64-bit architecture.

It’s not an ideal solution but at least standby and hibernation work now. The only significant issue concerned Windows sharing; fortunately MLManley’s blog is really helpful and I was able to browse my network in no time at all.