The Kindle 2 is pretty damn amazing, but there are some misconceptions about it’s features and a few things you should know before ordering.

In no particular order:

• If you’re giving the Kindle 2 as a gift to someone, or if it’s lost or stolen, log into your Amazon account and deregister your Kindle 2 right away. When Amazon ships the Kindle 2 to you, they automatically register it under your Amazon account. If you leave it registered in your name and someone else decides to purchase a book, it’ll come from your account!

• Not backlit - you’ll want a cover and a clip-on light if you plan on reading at night. I don’t suggest clipping a light to the Kindle 2 itself. Too many bad things can happen (snags, scratches). Want to make your own cover to give your Kindle it’s own unique character and save some money? Keep reading.

• Reading on the Kindle 2 is comfortable. Very comfortable. It’s like reading a lightweight paperback, but without the grainy texture, occasional coffee stains, or dogears. It uses a new technology call E-ink to electronically manipulate ink on the screen. It’s very real, and not pixelated (unless the font of your eBook uses a pixelated font). The 16 shades of gray in the Kindle 2 allow for smoothly antialiased text. I have horrible vision without my glasses, and can easily read the Kindle 2 at a decent distance without my goggles when I use a large font size. This would be a great gift for all the grandmas and bedtime readers out there

• Check the wireless coverage map at http://client0.cellmaps.com/tabs.html#cellmaps_na_tab. How much would it suck to start up your Kindle and find that you can’t access the sum of all human knowledge (wikipedia) from your village?

• Subscriptions to the RSS feed delivery service costs $$$. Workaround: set up an account with Feedbooks and create your own combined feed from other feeds. Then just add a bookmark to the browser and check it whenever you want:

or

• The Kindle 2 doesn’t come with the latest firmware version 2.3. As soon as you get it, plug it into your USB cable, go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200324680 and install the 2.3 update. If you don’t, the Kindle 2 will update automatically, but Amazon does them in batches of accounts – so it could take *weeks* for the update cycle to come around to your account. 2.3 includes PDF support, landscape mode, and greatly extends the battery life when reading and using wireless.

• It can hold about 1500 books. Considering that the average 350 page paperback novel weighs 12 ounces, this saves you roughly 1,125lbs of dead weight. Turning pages is also less physically demanding than the average book

• Yes, books are cheaper, and always in-stock. An example: I bought Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (hardcover) for about $25 at a local bookstore (BooksAMillion), after waiting weeks for their shipment to arrive. All the while at the Kindle store I could’ve gotten it in less than a minute for about $9. I checked it today from my Kindle, and it’s only $5! You can bet I won’t be making this same mistake when Johannes Cabal the Detective comes out!

• You don’t have to buy all of your books. Amazon doesn’t limit you to only reading books purchased from the Kindle store. Project Gutenberg has over 30,000 English books free for download instantly, already in the .MOBI format for reading on the Kindle. All you have to do is download the ones you want and copy them over to the Documents folder on your Kindle. Note: you can also search Google for free eBooks.

• You can search Amazon for free Kindle books too! In Amazon, set the search type to “Kindle Books” and search for “-domain” (without the quotes). You’ll get a list of free Kindle books that can be wirelessly delivered to your Kindle!

• The Kindle 2 can act as a portable USB flash drive. It’s got about 2gb of space, 1.4gb is usable for storage of any files, music, or eBooks.

• Go for the better shipping. Amazon is usually running a Free Shipping offer on the Kindle 2, take it. I used the UPS ground 3-5 day delivery and it spent a week in Jacksonville, Florida before being sent for delivery. Even if Amazon isn’t doing free shipping at the time you order, what’s a few extra bucks on the $260 you’re dropping for the Kindle in the first place?

• While waiting for my Kindle 2 to arrive, I made my own cover. It takes about 1-2 hours without a sewing machine, with a sewing machine probably much less. Costs from $4-$8 depending on the quality of the fabric you buy and if you don’t have all the supplies (needles, thread, and hard cardboard or stiff plastic). It’s even cheaper if you cut a vintage shirt or use something you already have. That’s a bundle of savings from the usual $29.99 to $50 you could spend buying a cover. There’s a nice tutorial here: http://www.chicaandjo.com/2009/09/03/make-a-custom-kindle-cover-case/

• The audio is OK. It supports .AA and .AAX audio book formats, and MP3 playback for music. I like to listen to baroque classics while reading. The Kindle has it’s own speakers built-in, but also features a headphone jack and volume control for when you want to limit the tunes or narrative to yourself.

• The screen can temporarily fade in the sun. When reading your Kindle in natural light, after some period of time you may notice the text start to fade. It’s not a big deal, hardly noticeable in my experience, but Amazon included a handy function to resolve this: press ALT+G on the keyboard and the screen will refresh. Chances are you’ll change pages before it has a chance to fade anyway!

• Yes, the 3g internet access is 100% free. You don’t have to buy any books or subscribe to anything to get it. And you’re not limited to just Wikipedia, which many people believe you are. I was able to visit and view thepemberton.com on my Kindle 2, as well as every other site I tried. The Kindle’s browser is extremely simple, so images and flash may not show up. Whenever possible, try to use the MOBILE version of your favorite sites. Here’s a list of some of my favorite Kindle 2 browser compatible web apps, usable from anywhere in the world with 3g access:
  • gasbuddytogo.com - get info on the cheapest gas prices in your area.
  • m.yelp.com – restaurant reviews and suggestions out the wazoo.
  • mobile.flightstats.com – flight stats globally. Find delays, etc.
  • wml.froogle.com – comparison shopping at it’s best. If you’re out shopping and find a product you like but think you could wait for shipping, you can probably get a better price on Google’s Froogle website.
  • m.ebay.com – same as above, but for eBay. Handy for you yardsale and antique enthusiasts.
  • slashdot.org/palm/ – lots of reviews and rants from the tech world.
  • iphone.kbb.com – Sure the URL says iPhone, but it works OK on the Kindle. It’s the Kelly Blue Book in your hand! Get a better deal on autos, or find out just how much that Porche you saw in the ditch a mile back is worth with a busted bumper.
  • m.cnn.com – Just overhear some awful news from some passersby? Find out more on CNN’s mobile site.
  • weather.mobi – The weather channel on your Kindle!
  • m.espn.go.com – If you’re a reader, chances are you don’t care about sports either. But if you really want to pretend, you can access ESPN’s site from your Kindle comfortably.
  • www.fatwallet.mobi – a gift forum with the hottest deals.
  • www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html – Google Maps for your Kindle.
  • wap.mapquest.com – but sometimes Mapquest has better driving directions.
  • squeezenet.com/HandyFact – A database of handy facts (zip codes, area codes, etiquette, etc)

• Don’t think for a moment that this PDF support will let you comfortably read sheet music on the Kindle 2. It’s still quite small. The Kindle DX apparently has better support for PDFs: it crops out the white space on the margins, making the PDF larger and easier to read. Why this functionality it’s available on the Kindle 2, I have no idea. Also, if you are planning on reading sheet music with the Kindle DX, not that you only have about 5 and a half minutes of inaction before the screensaver kicks in. This may not be a bad thing, but the least they could do is give us a setting for the screensaver timer for serious study sessions.

• The Kindle DX has a larger screen and better PDF support, but it costs about twice as much as the Kindle 2, and 3g is useless outside of the US. With the Kindle 2, 3g can be used on your travels abroad.

• The screen will still be on when the device is off. This goes back to the new technology, E-ink. The Kindle only uses power when changing pages, searching, or using the web. 3g can be left on and the battery will last a week of regular use. With 3g off, 2 weeks of regular use.

• PDF support on the Kindle 2 sucks. You can’t increase or decrease the size of text or use text-to-speech. Instead, the Kindle 2 crams the entire PDF page onto the screen. If the text is small (like most books), tough luck, get a magnifying glass. I was able to convert all of my PDFs to the .MOBI format (Kindle supported format) to allow increasing/decreasing text size, and text-to-speech. I put together a quick tutorial at: http://thepemberton.com/posts/archives/26

• GPS location and Google Maps was available in Kindle 1, not Kindle 2 or DX. The Kindle 2 has GPS, but the shortcut to allow GPS via Google Maps is disabled, and there doesn’t seem to be any way that you can get your GPS info Amazon may enable this with a future update.

• Make a note of the keyboard shortcuts. There aren’t many, but you’ll use some quite frequently. Here they all are:
  • Power, Reset, Sleep and Wake:
    * Sleep/Wake – Slide and release the power button (on top of the K2)
    * Power Off – Slide and hold the power button for 4 seconds
    * Reset – Slide and hold the power button for 15 seconds

  • General Shortcuts:* Screen-shot – Alt+shift+G creates a screen-shot (.gif format) that goes to the Documents Folder of the Kindle 2 which you can view when connected to computer.
    * Refresh Display – ALT+G (if you notice any ghosting, try this shortcut) Also useful for refreshing web browsing page
    * Jump to page 1 – 5 on Home Screen – Press the number on keypad and then press 5-way Controller
    * Display the Time – Press MENU button
    * Display Free Memory - Press MENU button
    * Display Wireless Network (3G or 1X, if wireless is on) - Press MENU button
    * Play Minesweeper – Shift+ALT+M (from home page) (M or enter to mark; R to restart game; 5-way controller to move cursor)
    * Go to Amazon Kindle Store – alt-home
    * Jump to Web - Type in your search terms and move the 5-way controller to the right and then select “google”.
    * Search Wikipedia – Select “wikipedia” in search category
    * Search Content by Specific Author - Enter @author [author’s name] in the Kindle Store search bar
    * Alpha Search - To search for an author or title by first letter, click one letter on the keyboard and press the 5-way controller.  Then go immediately to the place on the list with the first author or title under that letter alphabetically, *but only if that match exists*. So if you have no Q’s, you can’t get to the R’s that way.  This doesn’t work for “Most Recent First” listings but seems to work for title or author sort and could be useful if you have a lot of books on your Kindle 2.
    * List Supported Search commands - Type @help in the search string to display other supported search commands like @dict, @url etc.
    * Search Kindle Store by Author – When in Kindle Store, type @author in searchbar to limit your search to author names
    * Show Diagnostic Data – From Settings Menu, enter 411
    * Show Current Radio Diagnostics -  From Settings Menu, enter 411 (constantly refreshes the data)
    * Search Amazon Kindle Store for Free Books - From Kindle Store search, type in -domain into the search field.
  • Entering Text – Symbol Shortcuts

  * Double Quotes “ – Alt-9
  * Colon : - Alt-8
  * Comma , – Alt-7
  * Question Mark ? – Alt-6
  * Apostrophe ‘ – Alt-0

  • Book or Periodical Viewing:* Add or remove a bookmark – ALT+B.  Alternate Method: Press 5-way up/down to go to cursor mode, and then press 5-way controller twice.
    * Alt+shift+1-9 – changes the spacing and number of lines per page (default is 3)
    * List Sections of Periodical - Press the 5-way Enter Button
    * Newspaper View Summaries – To view summaries of the articles in a newspaper or magazine, while viewing the newspaper section list, press the 5-way controller to the right to highlight the number showing the number of articles in a section, then press the 5-way select button – This will bring up the list of articles in that section and you can navigate directly to any one you wish.  This little trick makes Newspaper reading much, much better!
    * Jump Quickly through Periodical - Move 5-way controller to right to go to next article or to the left to go to the previous article

  • Text-To-Speech Shortcuts:* Start or stop text-to-speech – Shift+SYM (shift key is the “up arrow”)
    * Pause text-to-speech - Spacebar
    * Switch Between Male and Female Voices & Change Voice Speed – Alt + Aa keys & then toggle between settings with the 5 way controller
    * Start text-to-speech at specific point on a page – To begin the text-to-speech at a particular point on a page, move the cursor with your 5-way controller to the point just before you want the reading to begin.

  • Audio Controls:* Play or stop MP3 Audio – ALT+spacebar
    * Skip to the next audio track – ALT+F
    * Pause Audible Audiobook – Spacebar

  • Photo Viewer Controls:The picture viewer can be activated by connecting your Kindle2 via USB cable to your PC and create “pictures” folder in Kindle USB disk. Create subfolders inside of that and copy the pictures. The subfolders will then become “book” names and the pictures will be pages. *.gif, *.jpg and *.png files all seem to work. Now you disconnect the USB cable and press Alt-Z in the home screen.  Your picture folders should now appear among the books now.

    While you are viewing pictures in the Picture Viewer:

    * Toggle Actual Size – C
    * Toggle Full Screen - F (currently not working properly)
    * Zoom In – Q
    * Zoom Out - W
    * Rotate – R
    * Reset Zoom Level – E
    * Pan Photo Larger Than Screen – Use 5-way controller to pan photo

  • Turn multiple pages at once – Hold down the next/prev page button or click them multiple times causes the Kindle 2 to turn several pages at once.  It’s slow and not ideal, but does work.
  • Delete Book from Kindle – Highlight the item you want to delete (navigate with 5-way button), then press left with the 5-way controller to bring up the Delete selection option.  Press select with 5-way controller to confirm deletion.

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

This is a bit advanced, but the outcome is very cool. This process takes a black and white (or color) image, lets you scribble in some colors, and the colorization application accurately fills in and shades the rest. It can even do animated clips, as shown below.

More examples can be found at:

http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~yweiss/Colorization/ The application that does this can be downloaded from: http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~yweiss/Colorization/colorization.zip Please note that you’ll need a C++ compiler available to build the application, but it will compile on both Windows and Linux (view the README file in the download).