Sharing an NTFS partition in Ubuntu 10.04

Today I set up a different computer to host my shared files and printer. All my shared files are on an NTFS-formatted hard drive. I chose a standard Ubuntu desktop for the operating system because I also use the computer for listening to music and surfing the web.

I ran in to difficulties while trying to share the 500GB hard drive that has all my music and stuff on it.

Here is what I did to get it to work.

First you will need to have the partition automatically mount on boot up, and make you the owner of the mount point (as opposed to the root account). You can manually edit the fstab file if you want, but I found that using the "pysdm" program was quite easy (search for it in synaptic).

Once installed, it is under System > Administration > Storage Device Manager

On the left side of the screen is a list of hard disks in the computer, clicking the little arroe will display their partitions.

in my case it was sdb > sdb1

You will want to create a folder to mount the drive in (I put it in my home folder).

Set the mount point to this folder. Then in the box for options immediately after default type ,uid=1000 (where 1000 is your user ID, if it is a one-user system it is more than likely 1000). This tells the computer that you are the owner of the contents of that mount (by default it is root). Click apply then mount.

After you have the mount point configured you need to configure your smb.conf file. press Alt + F2 to open a run application dialog box, then enter: gksudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf and click Run.

Under the [global] section add or modify these options to allow guest access:

usershare allow guests = yes
security = share
guest ok = yes
guest account = your_logon_name_here

Replace your_logon_name_here with what name you use to log in with.

Save the updated smb.conf file. (Note: It is wise to backup config files before any changes are made, but I was lazy and didn't do it.)

Restart samba by entering sudo restart smbd in a terminal window.

Now you should be able to right-click the mount point in the file manager, click sharing options and configure your share.

This may not be the proper or best way to do it, but it worked for me.

How did we ever live without ESRB?

Playing some of my old NES games recently I realized that some of them that at the time of release would have been considered kid-friendly really arent by today's standards.

The first that I have noticed this with is Bubble Bobble. A Tiato arcade classic from 1986. While playing it on the NES I saw a bonus iten that looke remarkedly like a glass of wine. This could garner an M rating from ESRB for Alcohol consumption if you want to nit-pick.

The other title is Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers released by Capcom for the NES in 1990. The final boss of the game, Fat Cat, is smoking a cigar, and if I recall correctly one has to attack the cigar to defeat him. I seem to remember something about cigarette-smoking lizards as well, but I could be wrong. This would probably garner a T rating.

Honerable mention is Dr. Mario with its pill-popping antics. Although it officially has an E rating, one has to wonder about all those drugs the Plumber/Doctor hands out, err, excuse me, "vitimins."

Acer Aspire One Internal Mic and Ubuntu Linux

In my attempt to get Skype set up on my netbook (an Acer Aspire One model AOA 150) I ran in to trouble with the internal microphone. I am using Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition.

To solve the issue, install the package pavucontrol, it is a volume mixer for Pulse Audio. After it is installed, go to the Input tab and make the sliders for "Internal Audio Analog Stereo" move independently, then turn one all the way down and adjust the other as needed (mine is set to 30%).

I also had to setup Skype to NOT automatically adjust mixer levels as it kept thinking things were too loud and turning down the mic whenever it detected sound.

Change Autologin settings in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx from the terminal

While setting up my home server I made the [stupid] mistake of deleting the user that was configured for auto login. After searching for an hour I figured out that the remedy for this is quite simple.

First, switch to a virtual terminal (CTRL + ALT + F1), then login as a working user with sudo privileges.

Edit the file /etc/gdm/custom.conf using nano, vim, or some other text mode text editor. Note that the typical configuration file is /etc/gdm/gdm.conf but this file was not present on my system and the values were in the custom.conf file instead.

If using nano you would type:
sudo nano /etc/gdm/custom.conf

The lines you want to change are "AutomaticLogin=" and "TimedLogin="

Change these to the [existing] user you want to be automatically logged in.

Another option is to delete the values mentioned above and edit the lines "AutomaticLoginEnable=" and "TimedLoginEnable=" and set them to false.

Save and reboot.

Done.