Getting the new Dell Working...

Lovely computer, but would prefer if it had worked out of the box!!

Flickering screen on batteries is fixed by switching off Display Power Saving Technology on Intel HD Graphics Control Panel (see thread here).

Then the laptop not coming out of sleep is ironically, the Intel Rapid Start Technology. This needs to be switched off...!

Source Code Pro...

Currently enjoying the Source Code Pro font, which can be downloaded from here: the OTF version is the newest font type...

Note to stop xterm opening with cygwinx, type touch ~/.startxwinrc in the bash terminal. See here

Setting up the Slide Scanner

Always manage to struggle with this one, but you need to:

• Connect scanner and power on before powering on PC
• Install Hamrick Vuescan (free update period has ended, so stick with version 8.4.60) including the provided drivers
• Unpack SCSI drivers (aic78xx_aic78u2_vista_x86_v605456.exe)
• Through Device Manager, locate the SCSI card, and install the unpacked drivers
• Register Vuescan, using the details in .\Assorted Stuff\Vuescan Account Details.pdf

And it should all work well, although the SCSI card appears to conflict with the sound card for some reason...

Could not resolve host: mirrors.fedoraproject.org; Name or service not known...

In VirtualBox. Turns out it is easy to fix...

[root@localhost ~]# vi /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4
[root@localhost ~]#

However, this file is auto generated by network-manager, so you need to add the following to the appropriate /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-* file:

PEERDNS="no"
DNS1="8.8.8.8"
DNS2="8.8.4.4"

And restart the network manager:

[root@localhost ~]# systemctl restart network

Should all work perfectly...

IP Addresses and Computer Names...

I couldn't ping a computer name, just an IP address. And the internet (in its wisdom) posted a fix here.

Update /etc/nsswitch.conf to add "wins" to the line "hosts:"

And you also need to install samba, samba-common and samba-winbind...

Chrome SE Linux fix...

From here:

# cat /var/log/audit/audit.log | grep chrome | audit2allow -m local > local.te
# make -f /usr/share/selinux/devel/Makefile
Compiling targeted local module
/usr/bin/checkmodule: loading policy configuration from tmp/local.tmp
/usr/bin/checkmodule: policy configuration loaded
/usr/bin/checkmodule: writing binary representation (version 10) to tmp/local.mod
Creating targeted local.pp policy package
rm tmp/local.mod.fc tmp/local.mod
# semodule -i local.pp

Colours...

Not an interesting post by any means. However, as an aide memoir, it is probably a good idea to write down the colours we've used so far in painting the house, so we can repaint them when the kids get creative with their crayons:

Living Room: Almost Oyster and Muddy Puddle

Smaller Bedroom: Natural Hessian

Front Bedroom: Amber Spirit (Light and Space)

Rebuilding Windows

I need to rebuild Windows again (it has been a few years now). So I will need to install:

• Windows
• Windows Updates
• MS Security Essentials
• Printer Drivers
• Webcam Drivers
• Mouse Drivers
• Bamboo One Drivers
• MS Office
• Skype
• Adobe Photoshop
• Canon Camera Software
• Digiguide
• VirtualBox
• Tweetdeck
• iTunes
• Chrome + apps: Amazon, tasks, Chrome too Phone and AdBlock
• HTC Sync
• Picasa
• FoxIt Reader
• CutePDF
• MS SyncToy
• Roxio CD Creator
• Auslogics Disk Defrag?
• Programmer's Notepad
• Vuescan

Could take a while. And see here for the historical XP version...

Linux post-install...

Once it has been installed, there are a couple of things needed to make it a better experience.

These are (package names that can be used with yum):

• google-chrome
• vim-enhanced
• kdebase (konsole)
• kdesdk (kompare)
• eclipse-platform

Also need to:

• add "paul ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" using visudo
• usermod -g vboxsf paul
• ln -sf /media/sf_Documents ~/Documents
• ln -sf /media/sf_Pictures ~/Pictures

VirtualBox Guest Additions...

It seems that sometimes they just stop working. So... to get them running on Fedora, the following instructions apply:

• Install Guest Additions Virtual Drive: Devices-> Install Guest Additions (may have to Remove Disk from Virtual Drive then repeat to get Linux to auto mount).
• su -
• yum update
• yum install dkms gcc
• cd /media/VBOXADDITIONS*
• sh ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

You may need to reinstall the appropriate kernel devel packge (it will tell you it can't find the correct files). And then restart the Guest machine...

Oh, and note that if you want GNOME3 to work, you need to select 3D acceleration in Virtual Box settings...