Install Ubuntu from Alternate CD

Just figured out a quicker way to update our Ubuntu sytem, instead of using the automatic update system (which can take hours to download almost a Giga of packets, caused by saturation of update servers, especially the first days after a new Ubuntu version has been launched).

It is also very interesting when you have to update several systems, in my case three.

You don't have to burn any CD!

Install instructions

1. Download the alternate CD ISO image (assume you store it in your home directory).
   You could use the Torrent, which downloads so much quicker.
2. Next we'll mount that ISO image, and launch the upgrade process so that it uses almost all packages from the CD.

sudo -s
mount -o loop -t iso9660 ~/ubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso /media/cdrom0
sh /cdrom/cdromupgrade

Maybe, you'll still have to download some packages, depending on how much additional software you installed on your system, but at least the most of them you just downloaded with more speed (a big file, instead of hundreds of small packages).

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

The latest version of this magnificent operating system just arrived today.

You can download CD images from their Ubuntu Releases site.

Upgrading through the integrated updater, will come soon.

Subversion 1.6 Quick Reference Card

• You want to know subversions new features?
• You like quick reference cards like the ones that come with emacs and gdb?

Get the Subversion Quick Reference card for Subversion 1.6. This two-page PDF document summarizes common Subversion command line commands, subcommands and switches.

Found on CollabNet.

Mind mapping - Freemind

FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java and therefore a multi-platform high productivity tool.
It claims that its operation and navigation is faster than that of MindManager (a commercial software only for Windows).

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

Install instructions

I highly recommend to install the latest release candidate 0.9.0rc3. Just unpack the archive somewhere and launch freemind with one of the startup scripts for your platform (and of course, make sure you have Java installed).

Automatic updates

If you want to get automatic updates, use Ubuntu's package management.

sudo -s
echo "deb http://eric.lavar.de/comp/linux/debian/ unstable/deb-src http://eric.lavar.de/comp/linux/debian/ unstable/
deb http://eric.lavar.de/comp/linux/debian/ experimental/
deb-src http://eric.lavar.de/comp/linux/debian/ experimental/" > /tmp/freemind.list
mv /tmp/freemind.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d
aptitude update
aptitude install freemind
exit

At the moment, this will install Release Candidate 1-2, not the latest one.

Picasa Photo Organizer

Picasa is a very powerful image manager.
It's main features are:

		Organize Manage your photos in one place, and find photos you forgot you had
		Edit Eliminate scratches & blemishes, fix red-eye, crop and more
		Create Turn photos into collages, slideshows and more
		Share Upload seamlessly to Picasa Web Albums to share with friends, family & the world

Install instructions for Linux

Just copy and paste the following instructions into a Terminal (you'll have to do it twice, as the first sudo -v stops the rest of instructions):

sudo -v
# Add Google's public package signing key on your system to prevent warnings or errors
wget -q https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub -O- | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free #Google repository" > /tmp/GooglePicasa.list
# If you don't want to install the beta testing version, don't paste the following line:
echo "deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ testing non-free #Google testing repository" >> /tmp/GooglePicasa.list
sudo mv /tmp/GooglePicasa.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install picasa