All Things Technology Related Thread

[That Guy]

well some distros like redhat or ubuntu have package libraries, but any UI installer is just a UI wrapper on top of terminal commands, like pretty dos batch files more or less.

but i mean, it sounds like you're just looking for a package manager, which is basically a pretty face on top of apt-get:
HTG Explains: How Software Installation & Package Managers Work On Linux

so you just need to find the repo for your version of linux and use it like the apple or google app store.



does that answer it or am i missing the point?

[skinsguy]

Speaking of Linux, I have an issue on my computer. It is duo booted with Windows 7. when I let the boot loader boot into Mint, it will get to the login screen, but will no longer open my password box to log into the desktop. Actually, I can't even reboot from that screen. Any thoughts on what happened? I'm thinking I might have to just format that partition and start over again. It's not like I had a lot of important things saved on my linux partition, but was just wondering why I, all of a sudden, can't log into my Liniux Mint desktop.

[That Guy]

never used mint, so don't know. i'd google it, and if you don't have anything important, a reinstall will definitely fix it, even though that's kind of a nuclear option.

you could also try upgrading it or disabling the ui and loading it from the terminal afterwards, but that requires a bit of work and going into config files from another OS, so not necessarily a trivial thing to do.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by That Guy

well some distros like redhat or ubuntu have package libraries, but any UI installer is just a UI wrapper on top of terminal commands, like pretty dos batch files more or less.

but i mean, it sounds like you're just looking for a package manager, which is basically a pretty face on top of apt-get:
HTG Explains: How Software Installation & Package Managers Work On Linux

so you just need to find the repo for your version of linux and use it like the apple or google app store.



does that answer it or am i missing the point?

Thats exactly it. Ironically enough shortly after that initial post I downloaded PackageKit which was a tar file for my ScientificLinux virtual machine. However that hit a bit of a snag. The ReadMe file said to cd to the folder with the program and enter ./configure which went smooth enough. However the steps telling me to type make and make install in the terminal didn't go as smoothly. Then I saw there was an Add/Remove Software program, the exact same one you have pictured in the post above, in the administrative tools so I started messing around with that. Then I got a headache and had to sit down.

Long story short my ADD is going into overdrive with this stuff, lol.

I also decided to mess around with Puppy Linux for my oldest laptop (2008 dual core HP) which has gone relatively smooth but it also has its own learning curve. For example I learned that Puppy Linux doesn't have a Desktop directory so messing around with the links on the desktop is slightly different.

However I think now I'm catching on a lot quicker to the little stuff. For example when I saw the links on my desktop of Puppy Linux reading sda1, sda2, sdb1, sdc1 I knew almost right away which drive they corresponded too so hooray progress.

Anyway todays lesson for my online course is messing around with tar packages but last I checked the focus of the lesson seemed to be more on compressing directories to send out rather than unpacking them but we'll see lol.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Speaking of Linux, I have an issue on my computer. It is duo booted with Windows 7. when I let the boot loader boot into Mint, it will get to the login screen, but will no longer open my password box to log into the desktop. Actually, I can't even reboot from that screen. Any thoughts on what happened? I'm thinking I might have to just format that partition and start over again. It's not like I had a lot of important things saved on my linux partition, but was just wondering why I, all of a sudden, can't log into my Liniux Mint desktop.

In regards to your problem I guess one thing you could try is when you get to the log in screen hold ctrl+alt+f1 (I think F2 through F5 should work as well). That should bring up an old school terminal similar to this

Afterwards type your user name for the local host login, which usually is your first name all lower case, and your password, which will receive input but keep in mind it won't give you a ***** output like you're use to. For example say you type the ultra secure 12345 password, well you won't get any output on the screen even though the computer is accepting your input.

Afterwards press ctrl+alt+F7 and that should take you back to the desktop enviornment where hopefully you would be logged in but honestly I'm not sure how viable a method this is for what you're going through.

Switch to the console using CTRL+ALT+F1 (to switch back to the DISPLAY use CTRL+ALT+F7).

Heck at this point this is how I feel giving you advice for this particular problem:

Unfortunately Google was a bust when I tried to search for your problem. So yeahhhhhh 99% chance you're going to have to re-install 1% my method works.

[That Guy]

yeah, in linux the UI is separate and modular from the actual OS (unlike, say windows), so things like desktop directories aren't standard and are distro specific (and mainly included to help windows users).

they'll all have home and user directories, etc which is more of a standard place to store that kind of stuff. if you want you can use openLDAP to do single sign on to either windows or linux (in a networked environment) and share settings etc between them. it used to be a really hard thing to do, but now, not so much.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag59

In regards to your problem I guess one thing you could try is when you get to the log in screen hold ctrl+alt+f1 (I think F2 through F5 should work as well). That should bring up an old school terminal similar to this

Afterwards type your user name for the local host login, which usually is your first name all lower case, and your password, which will receive input but keep in mind it won't give you a ***** output like you're use to. For example say you type the ultra secure 12345 password, well you won't get any output on the screen even though the computer is accepting your input.

Afterwards press ctrl+alt+F7 and that should take you back to the desktop enviornment where hopefully you would be logged in but honestly I'm not sure how viable a method this is for what you're going through.



Heck at this point this is how I feel giving you advice for this particular problem:

Unfortunately Google was a bust when I tried to search for your problem. So yeahhhhhh 99% chance you're going to have to re-install 1% my method works.

Hey thanks Dirt! I'll try that this evening and report back. It had been while since I had even booted the desktop, so maybe something had gotten corrupted on a reboot.

[skinsguy]

I'm not quite as advanced on Linux distros as I should be. I don't work in one on a daily basis. I mostly install them on my computers and just kind of play around with them. I think it's fun messing around with Linux though, but I haven't gotten good enough to know how to fix something when it goes wrong.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by That Guy

yeah, in linux the UI is separate and modular from the actual OS (unlike, say windows), so things like desktop directories aren't standard and are distro specific (and mainly included to help windows users).

they'll all have home and user directories, etc which is more of a standard place to store that kind of stuff. if you want you can use openLDAP to do single sign on to either windows or linux (in a networked environment) and share settings etc between them. it used to be a really hard thing to do, but now, not so much.

Definitely going to look into it.

[CRedskinsRule]

So,

I just got this for my Nexus 5:



PowerBot® PB1020 Qi Enabled Wireless Charger Inductive Charging Pad Station for All Qi Standard Compatible Devices Including Samsung, iPhone, Nokia, Google, Nexus, LG, HTC and Other Smartphones with Receivers (AC Adapter Excluded. 2 x Micro USB Cable Included), Black

Price: $19.99

And I love it already. I am constantly getting up and down from the desk, and some days can be so hectic, I forget or don't get a real chance to plug the phone in. Or I might plug it in, then get a call and end up yanking the USB cable around - am really gunshy about messing up the charge plug after having so many get finicky for no reason.

This disc sits on my desk, and set the phone on top, it beeps to let me know it's charging, no cables or tangles when I have to get up to check inventory or how production is going.

And it was only $20 at Amazon! The official one was $50, but this one had solid write ups in CNet and android forums.

[That Guy]

how well does it work compared to plugging in?

[CRedskinsRule]

my phone went from about 45% to 80% in one hour. I didn't do comparisons, but there is an excel comparison done on either xdadeveloper or phandroid sites that I found when I googled it. They ran comparison's of amp draw and charge time, and found it comparable to plugged in. I can say that it is a simple to use, and for today had no issues getting it to charge.

My only issue is I have a case that has a folding front cover and the charge won't go through 2 layers of the cover, but it definitely goes through one, and since the front flap has my credit cards, I think they might get messed up if i tried to go through both.

It came with a long (3-4') cord, and a real short cord (maybe 1') and I wondered why, but I connected it to the left side of my laptop usb's and now the pad sits right where I would normally set it, and the short cable doesn't snake all over the place.

Needless to say, first day - new toy - I like it.

[skinsguy]

Well, the weirdest thing. I go to attempt to sign into my Linux partition and everything signed on just as fine as if nothing had ever happened. Yet, just the other day, after multiple tries, I couldn't sign in. Now, it all seems to be magically working again, lol!

[Dirtbag59]

This starts to worry me. I knew Comcast was awful but ever since they started "testing overage fees" in Atlanta back in November and reinstating data caps for the first time in about a year and a half I've found myself coming across a lot more of these:


Then I saw the article where a Level 3 exec basically called out the major isp's, and was particularly drawn to a part where he was quoted as saying:
Level 3: Your Broadband Company May Be Holding Your Internet Access Hostage - TIME

The company said that most network interconnections operate at around 36 percent capacity, which allows for an easy flow of traffic between the networks. But on the six networks it claims are problematic, it said congestion has been around 90 percent for more than a year. At this level of congestion, the connection is saturated and packets are dropped often for several hours a day.

But that argument is “unreasonable on its face,” writes another Level 3 executive, Michael Mooney, in a blog post in March, and “entirely inconsistent” with the fact those broadband providers already make a lot of money from consumers who pay them to deliver content at certain speeds. The ISPs’ refusal to help maintain the peering connections that they rely on is simply creating a global game of chicken, he writes. Who blinks first is less the point than who is suffering is mean time: everyday internet users, whose YouTube video won’t stop “buffering,” whose NBA playoff games won’t stream, and whose web pages, at a peak hours, sometimes simply won’t load.

Am I reading this right or just wearing extra tin foil on my hat? I mean I realize Level 3 has their own vested self-interest in this tragedy but the major ISP's haven't exactly done much to endear themselves to the general public.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Hey thanks Dirt! I'll try that this evening and report back. It had been while since I had even booted the desktop, so maybe something had gotten corrupted on a reboot.

So um....yeah I think I figured out the solution to your problem. I actually ended up having the same problem after recently installing Fedora 20 on my desktop. Boot into Linux only to be greeted with a black screen, terminals worked for me but regardless the GUI wasn't having it.

The cause seems to have been, at least in my case updating yum which is the Fedora equivalent of apt-get for Mint and other Ubuntu derivatives. Anyway after going through numerous forums and threads posted by people with similar problems I found that the solution was ridiculously and painfully simple.

When logged in as the root user I typed the following. Now get your pens out this is going to be a long command

startx

Thats it. F****G typing startx in a terminal fixed it for me. BASICALLY ONE F****G SIMPLE COM MAND.

So basically if I could go back in time heres what my response would have been.

Hey Skinsguy. Douch....I mean Dirtbag59 here. In regards to your problem please try the following.

1. Open a virtual terminal by pressing ctrl+alt+F1 (or F1-F6)

2. Use your basic login name in the local host field (usually either your first name in lower case or first initial last name. (For example John Smith is usually either john or jsmith). If you know your root password you can also try logging in as root then entering the root password.

3. If logged in as regular user type sudo startx if logged in as root simply type startx.

4. Press ctrl+alt+F7 and you should have your desktop back.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go warn the Navy that the Japanese are planning to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. BTW can anyone tell me todays date?