DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT IN LINUX

Desktop Environment is a graphical environment that not only window manager but also consist of the other applications. The functions of this applications is to complete anything that doesn't exist at window manager,setting the icon on the desktop, drag and drop function in desktop, sound event etc. GBeside that Desktop Environment usually completed with applications for setting the desktop appereance, theme appearance, graphic application, multimedia application etc.Desktop Environment has more complex function and appearance and complete than window manager. There are many desktop environment at the world like :

1. KDE ( K(Kubical) Desktop Environment) is the first desktop environment. KDE is the desktop environment based on Qt. Cause this is the first desktop environment, so there are a lot of application that supported that than other desktop environment. Based on the literacy that i have been read this desktop environment use the engine from windows 98. So the appearance is not so foreign than the other desktop environment. The Lastest version of KDE is KDE version 4.xx

2. GNOME (GNU Object Model Environment) is desktop environment based on GTK. Cause this desktop environment more newer than KDE, just a few application that supported for this desktop environment.GNOME support theme for widget(edit box, check box etc) so the appearance is more interesting than KDE.

3.XFCE
4.OpenBox
5.Enlightment
6.FluxBox
7.IceWM
8.etc

SCP (Secure Copy, Remote File Copy )

scp copies files between hosts on a network. It uses ssh for data transfer, and uses the same authentication and provides the same security as ssh. Unlike rcp, scp will ask for passwords or passphrases if they are needed for authentication. Any file name may contain a host and user specification to indicate that the file is to be copied to/from that host. Copies between two remote hosts are permitted.
Syntax :

scp [-1246BCpqrv] [-c cipher] [-F ssh_config] [-i identity_file] [-l limit] [-o ssh_option] [-P port] [-S program] [[user@]host1:]file1 ... [[user@]host2:]file2

Example :

lambanx@fresh-IDEA#scp -r 192.168.5.2:/home/assignment.odt /home




The options are as follows:

-1 Forces scp to use protocol 1.

-2 Forces scp to use protocol 2.

-4 Forces scp to use IPv4 addresses only.

-6 Forces scp to use IPv6 addresses only.

-B Selects batch mode (prevents asking for passwords or
passphrases).

-C Compression enable. Passes the -C flag to ssh(1) to enable com‐
pression.

-c cipher
Selects the cipher to use for encrypting the data transfer. This
option is directly passed to ssh(1).

-F ssh_config
Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file for ssh.
This option is directly passed to ssh(1).

-i identity_file
Selects the file from which the identity (private key) for RSA
authentication is read. This option is directly passed to
ssh(1).

-l limit
Limits the used bandwidth, specified in Kbit/s.

-o ssh_option
Can be used to pass options to ssh in the format used in
ssh_config(5). This is useful for specifying options for which
there is no separate scp command-line flag. For full details of
the options listed below, and their possible values, see
ssh_config(5).

AddressFamily
BatchMode
BindAddress
ChallengeResponseAuthentication
CheckHostIP
Cipher
Ciphers
Compression
CompressionLevel
ConnectionAttempts
ConnectTimeout
ControlMaster
ControlPath
GlobalKnownHostsFile
GSSAPIAuthentication
GSSAPIDelegateCredentials
HashKnownHosts
Host
HostbasedAuthentication
HostKeyAlgorithms
HostKeyAlias
HostName
IdentityFile
IdentitiesOnly
KbdInteractiveDevices
LogLevel
MACs
NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost
NumberOfPasswordPrompts
PasswordAuthentication
Port
PreferredAuthentications
Protocol
ProxyCommand
PubkeyAuthentication
RekeyLimit
RhostsRSAAuthentication
RSAAuthentication
SendEnv
ServerAliveInterval
ServerAliveCountMax
SmartcardDevice
StrictHostKeyChecking
TCPKeepAlive
UsePrivilegedPort
User
UserKnownHostsFile
VerifyHostKeyDNS

-P port
Specifies the port to connect to on the remote host. Note that
this option is written with a capital ‘P’, because -p is already
reserved for preserving the times and modes of the file in
rcp(1).

-p Preserves modification times, access times, and modes from the
original file.

-q Disables the progress meter.

-r Recursively copy entire directories.

-S program
Name of program to use for the encrypted connection. The program
must understand ssh(1) options.

-v Verbose mode. Causes scp and ssh(1) to print debugging messages
about their progress. This is helpful in debugging connection,
authentication, and configuration problems.

INSTALLING XAMPP IN LINUX MINT 5.0

Step by step installing XAMPP in Linux Mint 5.0 :

1. Download XAMPP from here
2. Open GNOME Terminal and login as super user(root). Enter the directory that contains of file that has been downloaded.
3. Basicly, in Linux Mint 5.0 there is no folder called 'opt' below the '/' (root directory). Cause XAMPP need it to extract the file for installation so we must create it.

lambanx@fresh-IDEA# md /opt

4. Extract file xampp-linux-1.6.8a.tar.gz to /opt directory that has been made.

lambanx@fresh-IDEA# tar xvfz xampp-linux-1.6.8a.tar.gz -C /opt

5. Finish!!, if you would start it just type it in GNOME-Terminal :

lambanx@fresh-IDEA# /opt/lampp/lampp
start Starting XAMPP 1.6.8a...
LAMPP: Starting Apache...
LAMPP:Starting MySQL...
LAMPP started.

6. Open your browser and type http://localhost, if the instalatin success xampp splash page would appear

CHANGE FILE PERMISSIONS

Maybe, you find a file that's can't be deleted in Linux Operating system. In Linux, each of file has permissions/previleges for the owner, the group and the other.So no each one can open, modify or delete the file. Each file in linux has atribut, it will appears if you try to execute command that display a list of file in directory :

at the first column there are 10 character that's consist of :
1. first character is indicates type of file
- indicates that the type of the file is a regular file
d indicates that the type of the file is a directory
l indicates that the type of the file is a symbolic link
b indicates that the type of the file is a block special file
c indicates that the type of the file is a character special file
s indicates that the type of the file is a socket link

2. Three character after the first character is indicates the permission for user that owned the file (so based on the example above, the permission for user is read(r),write(w) and execute(x).

3. Three character after that is indicates the permission for group (so based on the example above, group don't have a permission for this file)

4. The last three character is indicates the permission for other(except user that owned the file and their group), so based on the example there is no permissions for other.

• How to change the permissions ?

NOTE : WE CAN ADD OR REMOVE THE PERMISSION FOR A FILE FOR SPECIFIC USER OR GROUP OR OTHER IF WE JUST LOG IN AS SUPER USER (ROOT)

1. Based on the example above, we would like to change the permissions for the group for read(r), and execute(x) the file. To change the permission we use 'chmod' command (change modifications). For example :

fresh-IDEA Downloads# chmod g+rx 93197-gotchione.tar.gz

So the result will be like that :



2. The '+' character is used for add a permission for the file, but the '-' character is used for remove a permissions for the file. Form example we would like to remove the read(r) permission for the user that owned the file :

fresh-IDEA Downloads# chmod u-r 93197-gotchione.tar.gz

So the result will be like that :

Ubuntu 8.10 Interpid Ibex

A new version of Ubuntu
has been released at October 2008, namely Interpid Ibex. This release brings new look of ubuntu, we can see from new theme that added altough it's not become default theme. That's makes Ubuntu dark, modern, but still usable, new look-appealing to those looking for a fancy yet aesthetic theme.

Interpid Ibex includes the newest release of GNOME 2.24.Nautilus, the default file browser, has a lot of improvements, including tabs-which you are already familiar with from your web browser. Tabs not only help you save a lot of screen real estate, they help you in organizing your files by not having to open sveral Nautilus windows. And another new feature is the new eject button intehrated int the Places column in the sidebar. Right next to the icons of your CD/DVD drives a small eject ion is shown which will, of course, eject your optical media.


Last but not least, on the GNOME side of the improvements,stands the new screen resolution dialog, utilizing the recent XrandR 1.2 specifications of X.Org,drastically improving the handling of some multihead setups. This leads to X.Org 7.4. The latest stable build of the ubiquitous X Windows System improves support for all major hotpluggable devices such as mice,keyboards and graphics tablets. In the past, many were struggling with its configuration, and the more mention of xorg.conf made the strongest of men cry. This dark age has finally come to an end, as the newest release of X.Org allows the
great majority of users - those without esoteric input devices nor screen resolutions - to run Ubuntu without an xorg.conf at all. This especially helps those on computers with multiple users, as Person A can simply plug in her tablet, and Person B her gaming mouse, without having to change anything. But, there are other new features:
for multi-user environments, one ofthe most prominent being the inclusion of the ecryptfs-utilities,offering you an easy way to create private encrypted folders in the users' home directory.
Ubuntu has supported LVM+LUKS encryption for entire partitions for a long time already, but this had a major drawback in areas like speed, setup and the lack of per-user encrypted content. Everything is encrypted by a single password which has to be entered at every boot.(Source :full Circle Magazine)

• UBUNTU 8.10 at The First Sight

When Im heard that's Ubuntu 8.10 has been released, I interested to Install it on my PC cause I will replaced my Mandriva one 2008.1 with this one. I try to rent from a CD rental, but no one that's already have Ubuntu 8.10. Then I decided to download it from the Internet. But the connection is not so stable, so I don't finished that cause my money is "run out"(my helmet also stolen by people when I browsing.Oh God, why Im not so lucky this day?)before the downloaded file has been completed. Someday, my friend offers me an Ubuntu 8.10 CD's, then I borrowed that. I try to install that, during the installation there are no something that wrong, but after I installed that on my PC, and try to change the screen resolution to 1024x768 (the default resolution is : 800 x 600). What I see?! Yes, the resolution just become 1/4 of my Monitor resolution. But it works normally if I use 800 x 600 resolution. It so shocked my, last year when I installed Ubuntu 7.10 there is doesn't matter about the resolution. But why at the newer Ubuntu version there is a problem that appears about the screen resolution. Maybe, it's one of bug at Ubuntu?!