This days everybody are trying Linux. I'm using GNU/Linux systems (mostly Slackware) for almost ten years, and I've never seen any installer simpler than the Ubuntu (based on the Debian Installer). If your haven't yet start using a Linux system, just take one minute and read this small installation guide. Please make a backup of all your important files of your old system.

First, download the CD image from http://www.ubuntu.com. Make a CD from it (read this if you need help). Now, reboot your computer with the CD inserted. Choose the "Start or Install Ubuntu" option.

Wait some minutes while it loads. From the start, you will have a full working Linux. Try some of the applications, get a feel of who it works. As you can see, it's a very friendly operating system. So, why not installing it? Is as simple as double-clicking in the Install icon that is placed in the Desktop.

The installer will start. First, you have to select your language, location (to set the timezone) and keyboard layout. With this, you have completed the three first steps of the installation.

Next is time to get some room in your hard-disk to install your new Linux. If you have already another operating system installed, and you want to keep it, just say how much space you want to devote to the new system. If you want to use the entire disk (and lost all the data you have on it), choose the option “Guided – use entire disk”. Or, if you have some experience with disk partitions, choose “Manual”. If you have choose the first option, click on the “continue” button in the following warning message.

If you have choosed the first option, click on the “continue” button in the following warning message.

If you have some popular operating system installed, you will have the opportunity to migrate your data to the new installation, so that some of your data and preferences will be copied to your Ubuntu desktop. After that, you will have to insert your name, choose a login and a password, that you will use to enter in the system, and give your computer a name (or keep the suggested).

Click “Forward”. You are ready to start the installation. Just press “Install”, and wait some minutes.

And finally... click on “Restart now".

Wait a little more and remove the CD when prompted. From now on you will have a menu when booting. From them, you can choose if you want to start your new Ubuntu Linux system, or your old operating system. Simple choose Ubuntu (will be the first choose), and... Welcome to the Linux World.

As always, use this information at your own risk. I'm not responsible for any data lost. Always keep a backup of all your important files.

Are you working in a secret project? Writing a book that can't be read until finished? In this post I will explain a simple way to create a encrypted disk using Ubuntu, where you can keep a backup of your private files. I've tested all the steps using a small USB flash drive, but use them at your own risk.

First you need to install the cryptsetup package:

sudo apt-get install cryptsetup

Now is time to plug your flash drive. To know the device associated with your drive, you can use the mount command (in my case, /dev/sdc1). You will see something like this:


So, in my case is the /dev/sdc1. Now is time to format the partition and create a password, using the luksformat command, choosing the file system. I will use ext3. So, type the following:
sudo luksformat -t ext3 /dev/sdc1

You will see a message like this:

WARNING!
========

This will overwrite data on /dev/sdc1 irrevocably.
Are you sure? (Type uppercase yes):

Type YES. At this point you will lost every data in that partition. Now you will have to insert a password, that will be used do unlock your device.

Enter LUKS passphrase:
Verify passphrase:
Please enter your passphrase again to verify it
Enter LUKS passphrase:

Now you will have to way until the partition until the format operation and the file system is created. After that, you can remove the device and insert then again. A window like this will appear:


Type the password and press Connect. The encrypted partition will be mounted.

If you have used the ext3 file system (like in my case), you will have create a directory in you flash drive using the superuser, and change the permissions. Use the mount command again, to see where the partition have been mounted:


In this case, the partition have been mount on /media/disk, so just make something like this:

cd /media/disk
sudo mkdir osmeusficheiros
sudo chmod 777 osmeusficheiros/

Now you can start using your new encrypted disk to save your important stuff. Don't forget that there's no perfect backup device, and one day or another your device may fail, so keep more than one copy of your data. For more information, visit the LUKS website.

The Mozilla Firefox browser have a very nice feature: the ability to add extras to enhance your browsing experience. In this article I will show you some of them.

Keeping your browser bookmarks synchronized between your desktop and, for example, your laptop computer can be a problem. To help avoid it, there's an extra that give you the possibility to keep a backup of you bookmarks online. It's called Foxmarks. It's particularly interesting because you can keep you bookmarks in your own server or in the Foxmarks server. If you want something more powerful, you can choose the Google Browser Sync, that can keep your bookmarks, history, cookies and saved password in just one place.

If you think your page loading is getting slower and slower because of the flash ads, video ads, etc, you can just block then with Adblock Plus. Just install it, restart your browser, select one of the lists of ad providers, and it's done. But remember: the ads are the only way most of the sites have to pay the hosting bill, so, use with care!

There's lots of sites that requires a registration just to allow you to access some information. Sadly, some of them will sell your email information to spammers. To avoid it, you can use a fake email, temporary email, to just complete your registration, with this extension, that make the use of the spamavert.com accessible with just a mouse right click, and choosing the option "Show Spamavert address".

Sometimes, while typing, I touch in the touchpad, the pointer moves and the cursor goes to another place in the text. I really hate that. Soo... who to disable the touchpad while typing?

It's simple. In GNU/Linux you can use a small application called syndaemon. With that, you can specify the time between the last key press and the next accepted mouse click.

First, as root, edit the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf, and add, in the Input Device section, the SHMConfig option, with the on value, like this:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection

Now, save the file and restart the X.Org. The fastest way to restart it is pressing ctrl+alt+backspace (before doing this, make sure that you have closed all applications running and saved any document you may be using).

After that, open a terminal, and type:

syndaemon -i 1 -t -d

The -i switch specify the amount of time (in seconds) between the last key press and the next accepted mouse click (the default is two seconds). The -t switch disables the click and scrolling features. That way, you can still move the pointer. The last switch, -d puts the application running in the background (as a daemon). You can run this command every time you start your session. In the gnome, go to System -> Preferences -> Sessions and add it.

This video shows you how to install Windows Vista in two minutes... not really!!