I have no problem running 720p .mkv HD video files. No lagging, no dropped frames whatsover. However, when running 1080p .mkv files, especially those big sizes full-HD Blue Ray medias, I have:
- Lagging,
- Dropped frames,
- 100% CPU utilizations.

It doesn’t matter if I’m using VLC, or Totem Movie Player, it will always have those problem above. From what I’ve read, this is probably due to FFMpeg codecs for H.264 decoding.

However, I have a solution, found from http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1037625

Below are the steps:
1. Install mplayer:
sudo apt-get install mplayer-nogui

2. Run your 1080p .mkv files with it:
mplayer -vo vdpau -vc ffh264vdpau /path/to/the/mkv/file

Now the HD movies playing in my Ubuntu laptop are smooth as it can be.
Try it out. Cheers.

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...

Open your command prompt, and type:
netstat -an | grep "LISTEN "

Or, another method:
sudo netstat --tcp --udp --listening --program

It will list all ports that your machine are listening to. The latter method will even shows the program name associated to it.

Enjoy.

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Then, I’ve found Conky. I’ll never turn back.

This is the best system monitor I have ever experienced. It is highly customizable, all you have to do is modify the Conky config file. There’s a lot of widgets/variables to use, such as system monitoring tools (CPU, RAM, SWAP, Hard Drive, etc), batteries capacity, networking, and more. And best of all, it is very, very easy to create your own widgets. If you know any programming language such as Python, Perl, or even a simple Shell Scripts, then you’re off to create your own.

Installing Conky are easy as executing command below in the terminal:
$ sudo apt-get install conky

Next, create your Conky config file. Here is my config file I’m currently using.

Then, execute command below to run Conky. Put it in your startup so that it will be running each time you boot-up your computer:
$ conky -c <path_to_my_conky_config>.conf

Below are what my desktop currently looks like with Conky:

Conky Desktop

In there I’ve created my own GMail notifier, Google Reader notifier and local TV guide, all using Python. You will find more ideas, screen shots and scripts to use with Conky on Ubuntu Forum.

Cheers.

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Xbox-Linux box media sharing could be achieved by using GeeXbox uShare. GeeXboX uShare is a free UPnP A/V & DLNA Media Server for Linux. Installation and configuration explained after the jump below:

Installation and Configuration

1. Install uShare by using command:
sudo apt-get install ushare

2. Edit the uShare configuration file:
sudo gedit /etc/ushare.conf

Example of the uShare config file:

# /etc/ushare.conf
# uShare UPnP Friendly Name (default is 'uShare').
USHARE_NAME=uShare

# Interface to listen to (default is eth0).
# Ex : USHARE_IFACE=eth1
USHARE_IFACE=eth0

# Port to listen to
USHARE_PORT=49153

# Port to listen for Telnet connections
USHARE_TELNET_PORT=

# Directories to be shared (space or CSV list).
# Ex: USHARE_DIR=/dir1,/dir2
USHARE_DIR=/home/myusername/mymediafolder

# Use to override what happens when iconv fails to parse a file name.
USHARE_OVERRIDE_ICONV_ERR=yes

# Enable Web interface (yes/no)
ENABLE_WEB=yes

# Enable Telnet control interface (yes/no)
ENABLE_TELNET=no

# Use XboX 360 compatibility mode (yes/no)
ENABLE_XBOX=yes

# Use DLNA profile (yes/no)
# This is needed for PlayStation3 to work (among other devices)
ENABLE_DLNA=no

“USHARE_NAME” is the display name of your share.
“USHARE_IFACE” is the network interface uShare should listen to.
“USHARE_PORT” this is the port the uShare server listens on. Make sure this is set to 49153.
“USHARE_DIR” is the full path of the folder with your media.
“ENABLE_WEB” to turns on the web interface. Make sure this is set to ‘yes’.
“ENABLE_XBOX” is what enables Xbox 360 compatibility. Make sure it’s set to ‘yes’.

3. After finished editing the configuration file, save the file.

4. Edit the following file by issuing command below:
sudo gedit /etc/init.d/ushare

Find the following lines:

start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --background --oknodo \
--make-pidfile --pidfile $PIDFILE \
--exec $DAEMON -- $USHARE_OPTIONS

And change them to:

start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --background --oknodo \
--make-pidfile --pidfile $PIDFILE \
--exec $DAEMON -- $USHARE_OPTIONS --xbox

5. Restart uShare
sudo /etc/init.d/ushare stop
sudo /etc/init.d/ushare start

That’s pretty much it!

If you have a firewall running, open the firewall connection to your Xbox ip address.

The web interface is available at:
http://your.servers.ip.address:49153/web/ushare.html

Xbox 360 Settings

For your Xbox 360 configuration, make sure they are able to connect to your home network. Just set the networking options in the “Settings” blade. You can set the networking options to be automatic, or manual by the simplest settings of the ip address, subnet mask and gateway.

Viewing Your Media

Go to the “Media” blade on your Xbox 360 Dashboard. Open your media (Music, Video or Picture). The uShare (or any other name you’ve given in the uShare config) should be available on the selection source.

Open your media in the uShare source. WMV files should not be any problem, but for AVI’s and any other types, the view-ability depends on the codecs installed on your Xbox.

Next project, wireless connectivity for the Xbox 360. I currently have a 10 meter network cable running across the room from my Xbox to the router, which is ridiculous.

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...

Twitux
A Twitter client for GNOME.
Twitux is a lightweight client for the twitter messaging service, featuring time-line auto updating, a tray area icon and notification of new messages.

gTwitter
Client for tracking and posting to twitter.
gTwitter is a client for posting and fetching updates to the twitter service.

Installation is available through Synaptic Package Manager. Just do a search for the application name, twitux or gtwitter.

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...

To install Google Gadgets on Ubuntu 8.10:

1. Download the .deb package.
2. Install the package using the following command:
sudo dpkg -i google-gadgets_0.10.4-0~getdeb1_i386.deb

3. Run the apps using the command ggl-gtk or from the Applications menu.

Autostart:

1. Add a new entry at System -> Preference -> Sessions.
2. The command entry would be ggl-gtk

Enjoy.

Resource: Howto install Google Gadgets in ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...

The number 5 represents the number of seconds before Gnome automatically take the screenshot. After typing the command, go to the window or menu that you would like to take the screenshot of.

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...

When you have not yet installed any VPN manager, the “Add” button for VPN connections in the applet seems to be disabled. But thanks to a post in UbuntuForum here, I manage to enable the “Add” VPN connection button, and add my office’s VPN connection by a few simple clicks.

1. Go to Applications -> Add/Remove.

2. From the Show dropdown “All available applications”, and then enter “vpn connection” into the search box.

3. Choose your choice of VPN manager. In my case it’s VPNC.

4. Now you can add the VPN connection. The “Add” button is enabled now. Click on the NetworkManager applet -> VPN Connections -> Configure VPN…

5. Click on the VPN tab, click “Add” button

6. Enter your VPN connection details (Gateway, user name, passwords, etc).

7. Click “OK”, and Voila!, your VPN connection is available for you at your NetworkManager applet, shown below:

Enjoy.

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...

Wifi: Works right of the box. It has more features for you to configure your networking, such as wired connection, wireless, mobile broadband, VPN and DSL.  It automatically reconnects upon waking up after hibernation. I had some issues about the nm-applet keyring keeps on asking me for admin’s password after reboot, but the solution is very simple. I will have another post for this one later.

Nvidia Graphic Card: Works like a charm! Better than Hardy, where I had a few problem installing the driver the first time.  The proprietary Nvidia accelerated graphics driver version 177 is very easy to install. All you have to do is activate it.
NOTE: Please do system update (can be via Update Manager) before activating, otherwise it just doesn’t seem to install the driver.

Webcam: Works in Ekiga, but not in Cheese unless I select 176×144 resolution.

Trackpad/Touchpad: It’s working, but with BIOS A09, I had to change the /boot/grub/menu.lst like what I’ve mentioned in my post here.

Sound and Mic: Working fine.

(Above: The mp3 player in action)

Bluetooth: No problem.

Thumb print Reader: Never tested before.

DVD Player, USB, Printer, HDMI, SD/MMC Card Reader: No in-depth test yet.

Software

VLC: Works with brand new cool interface.

Nautilus: Comes with new tabbed interface.

VMWare 1.0.7: Need patches to successfully install it. Perhaps I will post more detailed information later, but for the time being, please refer to this UbuntuForum.

New DarkRoom Theme: Beautiful looking theme, but it renders some text unreadable. Gonna wait for the fix.

Screenlets 0.1.2: Works.
Dropbox: Okay.
Google Reader Notifier: Still notifying.
VPNC: No problem.

Conclusion

Like previous release of Ubuntu, it never disappointed me. Looks like it’s here to stay!

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1. Start System/Administration/Software Sources.

2. Click on the “Updates” tab and change “Show new distribution release” to “Normal releases”.

3. Start System/Administration/Update Manager.

4. Click the Check button to check for new updates.

5. If there are any updates to install, use the Install Updates button to install them, and press Check again after that is complete.

6. A message will appear informing you of the availability of the new release.

7. Click Upgrade.

8. Follow the on-screen instructions.

I will give a simple review about the new Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex, 8.10 when I’m done upgrading it on my machine. Looking good so far

1. How to Check for Open Ports in Ubuntu There are various ways to view for open ports on...