After much anticipation, I have finally received my new Kindle 2 in the mail. Before I purchased the Kindle, I was assured by Amazon’s Kindle purchase page that PDF was natively supported. As I have a rather large collection of PDF eBooks and documents from Project Gutenberg and more, I was sold. Having my entire library with me (which would weigh a few metric tons if printed to paper) would now weigh only 10 ounces and fit in the palm of my hand. Brilliant!

After playing with all of the features, I immediately plugged my new Kindle in to my PC’s USB cable and transferred a few PDFs to the Documents folder of the Kindle. Nothing happened at first, but a little snooping around showed me that I just needed an update to the latest Kindle firmware. Once updated, I could view my PDFs, but the text was very small, and I was unable to scale it! Oh no! It appears only the Amazon (.azw), .TXT, and .MOBI files allow for text scaling.

After some searching around I found that you can email yourself (account_name@kindle.amazon.com) your PDFs and have them converted and delivered wirelessly to your kindle at $0.10 per document, but I also found a free way to do this and put together a few steps to make it easy. I hope this helps!

Tips:

Found a better way? Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to review it! I’m especially looking for something that will retain the Table of Contents for PDFs!

Below is a collection of cloned applications that I used on Windows that made the switch to Ubuntu (almost) seamless.

Most of these apps are extremely customizable, though all are functional and set to the most common preferences once installed. A few important notes for new Ubuntu/Linux users:

• If you don’t already have Ubuntu, download it, burn it to a CD, and install it! If you can’t burn it to a CD, they will also ship you about 5 copies for free (no shipping, no handling – they even pay postage. This is how I got my first copy in 2005). If you just want to try it, Ubuntu features a Live CD filesystem. Just pop it in and enjoy Ubuntu without actually installing it on your box or making any changes to your existing operating system. Keep in mind nothing will be saved to the hard disk, which makes the rest of this tutorial kind of useless.
• Quite a few of the installations in this tutorial will be through a console. By default Ubuntu installs a console (Applications -> System -> Terminal). Don’t worry. Most of the steps in this tutorial only require copy/paste into the console, and all have a GUI and are added to your Applications menu unless otherwise noted.
• The sudo function means “SuperUser Do” – in other words: “do this command as the root user (Administrator).” Nearly everything that could be considered a dangerous application or change requires you to enter your root password, even GUIfied programs. After the initial install and setup of Ubuntu it can be a pain in the ass, but don’t worry. You’ll get settled in and won’t have to enter your password as often as you’d think.
• The apt-get program is a centralized command-line installer application (whereas Synaptic is a GUIfied aptitude client). There are thousands of packages available through apt-get, and they’re frequently updated as new versions arrive. Before you begin, please ensure your apt-get repositories are up to date. In a console type:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

• The Ubuntu user forum is a *great* place to get information on different packages, technical issues, and environment suggestions, as is google! If you’re having trouble finding a good tutorial on a certain process or package, search google for packagename ubuntu. If the issue is with hardware, it’s likely already a known issue and has a workaround. Search for the product name, such as Broadcom 1390 ubuntu on google.
• Finally, if you want all the packages mentioned here (except Skype, the Firefox plugins, and Frostwire as they require some human interaction), in a console type:

wget http://www.thepemberton.com/allpackages.sh

sh ./allpackages.sh

Now, on to the goodies!

1. Skype!

Skype is what I use for my home phone service. Skype costs about $30 USD/year (The Skype ‘credits’ are useful, but can be a burden – just go for the full year of service and it’ll save you a bundle). It even has a service called SkypeIn, which allows you to have a dial-in number that you can use or check anywhere in the world for a small yearly fee. Skype includes caller ID, voicemail, chat, call forwarding (to forward to your mobile and keep the number private for you business users), and they let you choose your own phone number in the area code of your choosing. Even if you don’t want to pay, it’s a wonderful IM client and VoIP application.

To install Skype, sign up and click “Download” at the top of their website, then choose “Skype for Linux” from the left.

Save the latest “Ubuntu” distribution to your Desktop, and in a Console type:

cd ~/Desktop

sudo dpkg -i skype-debian_<versionnumber>.deb

2. OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice (in my experience — don’t quote me) has full compatibility with all Microsoft Office documents, even PowerPoint and Access – free! This was one of my biggest fears in switching to Linux. Thanks OpenOffice!

OpenOffice should come with Ubuntu, but if yours did not click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> OpenOffice.org

3. MSN IM, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, and ICQ

These can all be run from one program: GAIM

Gaim (will be renamed to Pidgin in its next release) can log you into MSN IM, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, IRC, and others. It features numerous plugins (including tabbed chatting to keep your desktop tidy).

To install Gaim (and some of my favorite plugins – including Encryption and GUIfications), in a Console type:

sudo apt-get install gaim gaim-hotkeys gaim-encryption gaim-extendedprefs gaim-guifications

4. Firefox

Really. There’s little or no advantage to using IE. Hell, if you’re patient enough, you can even run IE on Linux.

To install Mozilla Fireforex, click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> firefox Some handy plugins:

- Download Statusbar

Neatly arranges downloads and prevents the annoying download window from appearing every time (though you can set it to display the download window *every* time, but really there’s no need).

- Live HTTP Headers

Shows you exactly what’s coming into your browser.

- TabBrowser Preferences or TabMix Plus

Some additional functionality for tabbed browsing. I suggest starting with TabBrowser Preferences and if you feel like it’s missing something, uninstall it and try TabMix plus.

- StumbleUpon

Just the best timekiller ever.

- User Agent Switcher

If you’re a web developer or frequent an “IE only” website, you might understand how important this can be. It allows you to change the Agent that your browser tells a webserver that you’re using (dozens of options, including googlebot, different versions of IE, and others).

- SEO Quake

Not something I could stomach to have enabled all the time, but it shows website rankings dynamically (try a google search after enabling).

5. Codecs

Codecs? That’s right. Out of the box, Ubuntu doesn’t have any of the popular media codecs (mp3, wmv, etc).

In a Console, type:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-gl gstreamer0.10-plugins-base gstreamer0.10-plugins-good gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse libxine-extracodecs


Any additional codecs you need are likely in the Synaptic Manager (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager). Just search for the codec name.

6. Amarok

Amarok is a fresh new media player. Seriously, this app has some great functions, and has a ton of plugins.

apt-get install amarok

Note: I suggest the Wiki-lyrics plugin: http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=35151

To use the wiki plugin, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install libgtk2-ruby

Save the tar.bz2 file from the link above to your computer, and in Amarok click Tools -> Script Manager, and “Install Script,” pointing to the .tar.bz2 file. To run it, in the Script Manager select Lyrics -> WikiLyrics -> Run

7. KTorrent

A sweet BitTorrent client, much like Azareus, but without spamvertisements or the need for Java. KTorrent allows you to download a full torrent, or select specific files that you’d like to download from the torrent.

To install KTorrent, click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> KTorrent

8. Filezilla

The popular FTP client for Windows is also available on Linux. In my opinion all other FTP clients pale in comparison.

Installation: System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> Filezilla

9. Archivers/File Compressors

Even on Linux there are plenty of archivers, but most do them all.

I like Ark. It handles too many formats to list, but a few are rar, zip, tar, gz, bz, 7z….

To install Ark, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install ark

If you ever find yourself missing a library, say, to open .ace files, take a peek in the Synaptic Package Manager.

10. Java

You know you’ll need it. To install:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

11. Frostwire

A *clean* Limewire clone for Linux. You’ll mostly use this to download single mp3s. Needs Java (see #10). To install Frostwire visit frostwire.com, click “Download Now for Ubuntu,” and save the .deb file to your desktop. In a console type:

cd ~/Desktop

sudo dpkg -i <<filename>>.deb

12. aMule

An eMule/eDonkey clone for Linux. aMule takes a little time to start downloading, but pretty much everything is on here (full albums, windoze software, etc). To install aMule, use the following in a console:

sudo apt-get install amule

13. Wine

Wine stands for “Wine is Not an Emulator.” What is it? Wine is an application that attempts to mimic Windows and let you run Windows programs in Linux, seamlessly. I’ve used it for a few things, even some good complex games like CounterStrike 1.6, Team Fortress Classic, Half Life 2, and Counterstrike: Source.

To install Wine, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install wine

14. Mozilla Thunderbird

A popular email client. Not as many options as Microsoft Outlook out of the box, but there’s a decent Thunderbird plugin repository.

To install Thunderbird, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install mozilla-thunderbird

15. Geany

Geany is an AWESOME programming IDE. It supports nearly every language, a terminal, built-in functions to compile, and autocomplete (not the lame kind, this one actually scans your project across files and provides autocomplete for functions from other user created files!).

apt-get install geany

16. Beryl and Emerald

I wouldn’t use this on an ATI card unless you find a great tutorial on Beryl and ATI drivers… but if you’re fortunate enough to have an NVidia card, Beryl is worth a look. It adds a large number of (mostly) lightweight desktop effects, including a desktop cube, amazing window transitions, and hell… if you’re not distracted by playing with it too much it can even speed up desktop usage. Without Beryl I hardly ever use multiple workspaces. Queue cheesy Youtube video of Beryl in action:

[youtube ZD7QraljRfM]

To install Beryl and Emerald, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install beryl emerald-themes beryl-manager

There are a good number of themes for Beryl and Emerald (Emerald is the window decorator, allows for some great window themes) at http://www.beryl-look.org/

17. Flash Player

Duh.

To install (don’t worry – it’s free):

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

18. Totem Movie Player

A lightweight video player. Not bad at all.

Note: If there’s a codec you’re missing Totem should try to grab it by itself. If this fails, search for the codec name in System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager

To install Totem Movie Player:

sudo apt-get install totem totem-gstreamer totem-mozilla

19. Desktop games!

Most of the games are lightweight and clones of popular Windows games. Check them out! If you’re looking for some serious gaming action, check out my posts on Ubuntu Linux Games – Top Picks, Guide to ROMs (Console emulation) on Ubuntu, and Installing Valve’s STEAM and Counterstrike on Ubuntu.

To install some cool (small) games on Linux:

Applications -> Add/Remove Programs, and check out the “Games” area. Make sure you choose all of the suites (Multiverse, etc) – or:

apt-get install abuse supertux gweled briquolo chromium criticalmass frozen-bubble fb-music-high lbreakout2 pingus powermanga rrootage gnome-sudoku tuxpuck

20. GIMP

Gimp is a fun little graphics editor. It’s infinitely expandable with a huge list of plugins and scripts. Even if you’re not a graphic artist, sometimes you just need to edit photos or pics. There’s also a lot of community support for GIMP. I mention a few great tutorials in one of my previous posts.

To install GIMP:

sudo apt-get install gimp

21. K3B

K3B is an awesome CD/DVD burning and ripping application, like Roxio Toast. To install:

sudo apt-get install k3b

22. Konsole

My favorite terminal/console application. Supports multiple schemas and transparency.

To install:

sudo apt-get install konsole

23. VLC

VLC is another video player. It play some of the more exotic compression formats.

sudo apt-get install vlc

24. KSnapshot

Perfect little screencapture application. You’ll want it once you install Beryl.

sudo apt-get install ksnapshot

25. k9Copy

Linux DVD ripper and shrinker. Enjoy!

sudo apt-get install k9copy

26. KMyMoney

Like quickbooks, but free.

sudo apt-get install kmymoney2

27. OpenSSH

It’s hard to spend time away from your Ubuntu box. OpenSSH allows you to open a remote console from anywhere.

sudo apt-get install openssh-client openssh-server

Note: If you’re going to SSH into your machine from a Windows box, I suggest using PuTTY on the Windows machine (requires no install – just a standalone executable).

28. Krita

Is GIMP too powerful and you just need a few image touchups in a familiar interface? Krita is a tidy little image editor.

sudo apt-get install krita

29. nano

Nano is a console-based text editor. If you break your xserver and don’t have video after trying something new with your crappy ATI driver, nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf will be burned into your memory. Seriously,buy an NVidia card.

sudo apt-get install nano

30. kate

A lot of the features in geany are here, but kate is closer to notepad/wordpad.

sudo apt-get install kate

Afterthought #1:

Mount an NTFS (Windows) partition for read/write access in Ubuntu:

If you have two hard drives in your computer, or a specific dual-boot partitioning schema, you may find it necessary to be able to access files from that partition *cough*mp3s*cough*

To mount that partition under Ubuntu, it can be a little tricky. Here’s what I did:

1. Find the name of the hard drive partition. In a console, type:

sudo fdisk -l

look for any entries mentioning “NTFS” or “FAT32″ and take note of the “Device Boot” column. My “HPFS/NTFS” drive was located at /dev/hdb1

2. Install the apps needed to make this work. In a console type:

sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

3. Create a directory that we’ll access the partition from:

sudo mkdir /media/windows

4. Backup and open the fstab file:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak

gksudo gedit /etc/fstab

5. gedit will open up. Add the following line to the file (replace /dev/hdb1 with your partition location from step 1) and save:

/dev/hdb1 /media/windows ntfs-3g defaults,force,locale=en_US.utf8   0    0

6. Unmount the NTFS partition, and re-mount:

sudo umount /dev/hdb1

sudo mount -a

Or reboot your machine, and you’ll see your Windows NTFS partition in the /media/windows directory!

Afterthought #2:

Create a backup of all installed packages

Creating a backup list of applications to install is quite easy really. If you ever need to reinstall Ubuntu or wish to install all of the same applications onto another computer, try this:

Save a backup list of all installed packages to your desktop:

cd ~/Desktop

dpkg –get-selections | grep -v deinstall > ubuntu-install-files

Now don’t lost that “ubuntu-install-files” file! Email it to yourself, put it on your pen drive, anything. It might also be helpful to include a bookmark to this page or copy/paste of the below steps to install from the backup file.

On the new computer (or fresh install):

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

dpkg –set-selections < ubuntu-install-files

sudo dselect

Hit ‘i’ on your keyboard to continue the install, and Q once it’s done.

Please leave comments if you’d like anything added! I’ll take most into consideration

If you’ve switched to Ubuntu (as I have) or any other Linux distribution, you may consider the following free (and in most cases open-source) games, as they’ve been favorites of mine for some time now.

1. Tremulous

Tremulous is an addictive first person shooter (FPS) that has countless gamers on at all hours from both the Linux and Windows worlds. As all other games in this article, Tremulous is free to download and play.

In Tremulous there are two teams: Aliens and Humans. Aliens can have such awesome feats as wall-walking (dizzying to say the least), pouncing from great distances, and spraying poisonous gases. Humans can obtain advanced weaponry and armor, and plant strategic devices such as turrets to defend their base.

Tremulous features a unique upgrade system, where players from each team must make a certain number of kills to gain new upgrades (aliens can evolve into more powerful aliens, and humans can obtain better items and gear).

[youtube vlGWi4Tmzc0]

To install under Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install tremulous

2. Gridwars

Grid wars has been removed from the creators website, however you can still install it in on Linux, Windows, or Mac by doing a quick search.

There is a distinct retro top-down-shooter look and feel to this game, but any thought that this is a vintage game is blown out of the water once you see the stunning liquid visuals that this game provides.

[youtube 6thaR7s1wXA]

3. VDrift

VDrift is a Linux racing game with a focus on drifting. Quite frankly, VDrift sucks if you only have a keyboard and mouse. If you’re nerd enough to have a PC joystick or gamepad, you’ll get the most out of this little gem.

[youtube 97JGsp6cNT0]

To install VDrift on Ubuntu:
apt-get install vdrift vdrift-data

4. World of Padman

World of Padman is a rather toony first-person shooter which combines fast gameplay, brilliant colors, and the Quake3 engine (massively supported by today’s hardware standards).

There is no aptitude installer for World of Padman, so if you’d like to try this out you’ll need to visit the World of Padman website Download section.

[youtube wXxJlj4hNr8]

5. Nexuiz

Nexuiz is another Quake3 mod, but with some of the best weapons this side of Half Life 2.

[youtube tNQIToJn9mw]

6. Scorched 3D

Scorched 3D has the same objective as old games like Missile Defense, but provides revamped graphics in a 3D world, network play, and terrain interaction. In same cases it’s just more fun to nuke a path to your enemy and sink their base into the ocean.

[youtube QFm91PBics0]

Applications -> Add/Remove -> Games -> Scorched 3D

7. Glest

Glest is a well designed real time strategy game, which is guaranteed to provide hours of fun.

[youtube qyEZV5uqM2g]

To install, download from the ubuntu forums:

http://www.getdeb.net/release.php?id=1061

and install using:

sudo dpkg -i glest-data_2.0.0-1~getdeb1_all.deb

8. Flight Gear

Flight Gear is a must for everyone. Sometimes you just need to take to the skies

[youtube fWPXLi2vazs]

To install in Ubuntu:

Applications -> Add/Remove -> Games -> Flightgear

9. Battle for Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game. It’s quite fun really!

[youtube EIt69vznegs]

To install in Ubuntu:

Applications -> Add/Remove -> Games -> Battle for Wesnoth