Here’s a simple tutorial for setting up Synergy with Ubuntu as client and Vista as Server

I have a CPU running on Ubuntu and a Laptop running on Vista. I use my Ubuntu box as a test server for my projects while Vista for my daily use. My monitor is placed on my left side and my laptop on the right.

So basically here’s how my setup would look like:

Left – Ubuntu (no keyboard & mouse)
Right – Vista (with keyboard & mouse)

Left – Ubuntu (Client)
right – Vista (Server)

Setup Synergy on Vista

Download Synergy here and install it.

On Vista run Synergy & configure the server

• Click the Share this computer’s keyboard and mouse (server) radio button
• Click the Screens & Links Configure… button
• Click the + button to add the server to the Screens list
  • Enter the name of server (the computer’s name is the recommended name)
  • Optionally enter other names the server is known by
  • Click OK
• Use the + button to add your other computers
  • Using a computer’s name as its screen name is recommended
  • Choose desired screen options on the Add Screen dialog
• Use the controls under Links to link screens together
  • Click (once) on the server’s name in the Screens list
  • Choose the screen to the left of the server; use — if there is no screen to the left of the server
  • Choose the screens to the right, above and below the server
  • Repeat the above steps for all the other screens
• Click OK to close the Screens & Links dialog
• If the server’s screen name is not the server’s computer name:
  • Click Advanced…
  • Enter the server’s screen name next to Screen Name
  • Click OK

Now click Start, your server is running!

Setup Synergy on Ubuntu

Open up your terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install synergy

Then type:

synergy -f ip-address-of-server

Now your client is running. You can move your mouse and see that it is working superbl

Autostart on GNOME

If you want to run your client on autostart, just go to Systems > Preferences > Sessions

Click Add and put the following:

Name: Synergy
Command: synergyc -f ip-address-of-server

Click OK, restart and your DONE!

I learned all these from:

* http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/index.html
* https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynergyHowto

Another simple tutorial post from me.

So, have you ever wanted to record your desktop to create video tutorials, or to show off your desktop to your friends on Youtube? recordMyDesktop is a simple and easy application for these desktop recording and I have been using it since forever!

recordMyDesktop is a desktop session recorder that attempts to be easy to use, yet also effective at it’s primary task. As such, the program is separated in two parts; a simple command line tool that performs the basic tasks of capturing and encoding and an interface that exposes the program functionality in a usable way.

recordMyDesktop has the ability to record audio through ALSA, OSS or the JACK audio server.

To install recordMyDesktop, we start with typing the following to the terminal:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install recordmydesktop gtk-recordmydesktop

Now you have two ways to use recordMyDesktop:

• Terminal
• GUI

To use it through terminal just type the following:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ recordmydesktop

recordMyDesktop will start capturing and once you’re done press Ctrl + C and the video file will be stored in your /home/username/ directory.

If you prefer to use the GUI, go to Applications > Sound & Video > gtk-recordMyDesktop

From there you can record your desktop straight away, to stop the recording just click on the white box on your system tray.

The default video output will be in OGG format. Though you can convert it to AVI using mencoder. You can install it by typing the following on your terminal:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ sudo aptitude install mencoder

Once you’re done installing mencoder you can start converting your OGG file to AVI format using the following:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ mencoder -idx ogg_format_filename.ogg -ovc lavc -oac mp3lame -o new_avi_format_filename.avi

Hope it’s useful :)

I’m going to start writing simple Linux tutorials for my own references because I have a bad memory when it comes to these simple things and I’m just so lazy to surf for it over and over again. If you think it’s useful for you then do use them and leave me a comment or something. Today’s post is about Alien. (nope not those UFO aliens, or weird-o type of people that SOME of you refer to as ‘aliens’)

If you’re using Ubuntu and you have RPM files that you wish to install and want to change it’s format to .deb debian package, then you’ll need to use alien. Alien is a program that converts between rpm, dpkg and slackware tgz file formats.

To install it simply go to your terminal and type:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install alien

To use alien type the following on your terminal:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ sudo alien -k rpm_file_name.rpm

And it will convert your .rpm file to .deb format. This might take a while depending on the size of your file.

To install deb files type the following on your terminal:

adamz@Ubuntu:~$ sudo dpkg -i deb_file_name.deb

And your deb file will be installed.