More facts about Using WINE

WINE Directory Structure

When you first run a windows application WINE will create a hidden directory on your home folder.

You can view it by doing an
$ ls -a

You will see that it created a .wine directory

Under .wine directory you have drive_c and dosdevices.

drive_c is of particular interest to us.

In the drive_c directory WINE emulates the Windows directory structure. Under this directory you have:

1. My Documents
2. Program Files
3. Windows

My Documents directory doesn't contain anything.
Program Files directory is where WINE stores your program after you installed them. The .exe files and the .dlls are all stored here.
Windows directory of course contains some system programs that our applications need to run properly.

When an Application won't run

Sometimes I do a winecfg and the windows program I would like to run gets added to the menu. But when I click the program in the menu - nothing happens.

What I do in these cases is go back to the Linux Console and type the command to run the program myself like:

$ wine "C:\\Program Files\\WinZip\\winzip.exe"

(Notice the double \. You need to do this in Linux when specifying the path of a program because \ has a special meaning. That is why you need to do \\ instead)

This method allows me to see what error was generated.

Compatibility Issues

Unfortunately, not every Windows application will run with WINE. There are many versions of Windows and the nuances of each version keeps changing with every patch and updates.

But to save yourself the trouble of looking for which program will run, there is a list at WINEs website.

You can find it at http://appdb.winehq.org/

If your program is not in the list, go ahead and try to run it. It may still work.

If it did not work, there are only two things you can do.

1. You can hack away and make it work.
2. If you are one of the mere mortals like me or you simply don't have the time to tinker with the codes, there is no other choice but to wait.

But as I have said in my previous post, we don't actually need every Windows program to run on Linux because most already have their opensource counterpart.

Personally, what I am really waiting for is stable gaming support to be able to play some of my favorite games like "The Battle for Middle Earth".


"A wizard arrives precisely when he means to. " :)

Installing WINE

Normally there will be no reason to install a Windows application on Linux because most Windows application already have a Linux counterpart.

But if you really want to port your favorite Windows software that is not available in Linux yet (in my case, its Flash MX), W.I.N.E is the way to go.

WINE is a Linux software that allows you to run Windows application in Linux.

It's official website is at http://www.winehq.com.

Installing Wine

To install WINE on Kubuntu:
1. Open Adept package manager
2. Type wine on the quick filter text box
3. Select wine from the list
4. Right click
5. Select install package
6. Then click on Commit changes in the toolbar

Testing WINE

To test WINE we first need to download a Windows application
1. Open your browser and go to http://www.winzip.com/downwzeval.htm

2. Download the software.

3. Then open the Linux Console / Terminal

4. Locate the program you have just downloaded

Lets assume it is just in your home directory

5. To install Winzip type:
$ wine winzip90.exe

6. Your program will display something like:
wine: creating configuration directory '/home/anthony/.wine'...
wine: '/home/anthony/.wine' created successfully.

This means that it is creating our emulated Windows directory

7. Install the software as you would normally do in Windows

8. Go back to the Linux Console and Type
$ winecfg






9. Click on the Add Application button

10. Choose Program Files

11. Locate the winzip executable

12. Click open then click Ok.

You have just successfully added the program to your menu

Running the Program:

1. Click on K in the menubar

2. Click wine

3. Click on winzip



Congratulations! You just ran your first Windows program in Linux.

Uncompressing Files with TAR Command

The tar command can be used for file compression and decompression in Linux. But for this post we will tackle only decompressing files.

Tar command can be used to decompress tar (.tar), gunzip (.gz), and binary zip (.bz2) files.

In order to use this command, in the Linux console/terminal you must type
the command, followed by the options, and the path of the file to decompress.

Example:
$ tar xzvf ktoonbin-0.7.3.tar.gz

where

tar - is the command
xzvf - are the options
ktoonbin-0.7.3.tar.gz - is the file

to extract a .bz2 file we type:
$ tar xjf gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2


Let us examine further the options following the tar command:

Options tell the tar command what it is supposed to do and what input to take.
Each option is comprised of one character that bears a meaning and can be combined with other options.

x - in the first and second example tells the tar command to extract from a compressed file.

z- will tell it to extract from a gunzipped file.

v- simply means to list the files it is currently extracting

f- means to take a file as input

In the second example you will notice the we have "j" instead of "z" for our option.

j option tells tar command to extract from a .bz2 or binary zipped file instead of a gunzipped file.

Once the tar command is finished extracting or decompressing files, you will see its output on the current directory you are in.

Just do an ls command to view the extracted files.

To see what other options are available for the tar command, please type:
$ man tar

Customizing the Menu

1. Hover your mouse over the K button in the menubar

2. Right Click

3. Choose Menu Editor

4. Choose a category where you are going to place the menu item for your program. In this example, I chose internet.

5. Right click on the category you have chosen.

6. Select New Item.

7. You will be presented with the following screen.






Name - is the name of the program that will appear in the menu

Command - is what you would normally type in the Linux Terminal to run this program.

You can also place a short description and some comment.

You can also assign an icon to the menu item by clicking on the icon button next to Name.

You are also permitted to assign a shortcut key for the program.

8. Close the Menu Editor

9. It will automatically ask you to save your update.

10. Choose Save.

11. Open the Menu and locate your menu item you have just added.



12. You have successfully modified the menu.

Chikka SMS for Linux

Today we are going to install an SMS software and at the same time learn about the dpkg command.

dpkg command is the official package manager for Debian based systems like Kubuntu and Ubuntu.

To install a package, you need to issue:
$ dpkg -i packagename

To remove a package, you need to type:
$dpkg -r packagename

I am assuming that you already have gaim installed on your Linux.
If you don't have it, you can open synaptic or adept (for Breezy Badger version).

Just search for the gaim package and install it.

The installer for Chikka for linux can be found at

http://chix.sourceforge.net/downloads.html

You need to download both libchix_1.0.0-1_i386.deb and libchixgaim_1.0.0-1_i386.deb

To install these packages
1. Open a Linux console / terminal

2. Type:
$ dpkg -i libchix_1.0.0-1_i386.deb

3. Type:
$ dpkg -i libchixgaim_1.0.0-1_i386.deb

4. Open gaim

5. Add an account then choose Chix as your protocol



6. Login with your Chikka account

Enjoy!

Why I chose Kubuntu

A lot of you maybe wondering about why I chose Kubuntu over the other Linux distributions.

Originally, I was a Rehat Linux user. But Redhat decided to go commercial so I switched to the next best thing which was Fedora Core, a Linux project also sponsored by Redhat (but is available for free).

In fact, our email server and web server in the office still runs on Fedora Core 1.

Fedora Core is a good choice for servers but if you are going to use it for Desktop PC it is not that user friendly.

You would find in its menu a lot of programs and commands that would be too cryptic for an ordinary Desktop user.

And so I was hoping that future versions of Fedora would solve these issues.

Recent events had put me in a position where I need to find an alternative OS that would be friendly for people used to having Windows.

I have heard about Ubuntu on papers and on an upcoming Linux conference several months ago.

So I checked it out on the web. Downloaded it and installed it.

I was very satisfied with the result.

On earlier versions of Linux distributions it was very important that you know your PC's hardware configuration.

You have to know what brand and model of motherboard you are using. You have to know the exact specification of each and every piece of hardware plugged into your PCI slots. You have to know what graphics card you have, what monitor, and what soundcard. Almost every piece of hardware.

And you have to type this long list during the installation.

But with Ubuntu, I just insert the CD then press ENTER.

It automatically partioned my hard disk. It detected all my hardware without intervention.

I was simply amazed.

But as you all now. I didn't stay with Ubuntu and decided to go for Kubuntu instead.

There are other Linux distributions being suggested by acquintances and friends like Bayanihan Linux which is a locally made distribution.

But I did not go for that simply because too few people are using it and it has not been updated for quite sometime.

This brings me to reason number one.

1. I choose Ubuntu at first because according to DistroWatch.org, it is currently the number one Linux distribution.

For me it means, If I search the web for references, I would find plenty of them as compared to Bayanihan where my major source of references might only be the official website and a couple of users using this distribution.

2. Ubuntu has a very active community infact, they have just released their newest version.

3. I read reviews and they're saying positive things about Ubuntu and Kubuntu

4. The fourth reason is more of a bet.

A lot of Linux distributions come out every month sometimes almost every week. Experience shows us that a lot of these distributions eventually fade into obscurity.

So I am betting on a Linux distribution which in my opinion would endure.

I can see a lot of indicators that Ubuntu / Kubuntu would endure just like Redhat has endured through the years.

And Lastly, Why do I prefer Kubuntu over Ubuntu.

Ubuntu and Kubuntu are the same to the core except for their user interface.

One uses Gnome while the other uses KDE.

I chose Kubuntu over Ubuntu because I found it hard to customize menu in Ubuntu. On the other hand, it was very easy in Kubuntu.

So you see, my reasons were very simple ones.

Changing Wallpaper in Kubuntu

I have always liked being outdoors. I like loitering around beaches or being high up mountains.

You maybe like me. You may have been dreaming of going out of town but you just can't because there is a job to do or a business to run.

So let's just pretend we are going out of town or better yet out of the country.

1. Click the K button on your menubar.

2. Minimize your browser for a while.

3. Right click on your Desktop

4. Choose configure Desktop

5. Click on Get New Wallpapers

6. Click on Tibet, Mount View

7. Click Install

8. Then close the window

9. On the Configure Desktop window, click on the dropdown list next to Picture

10. Select Tibet, Mount View

11. Click Apply

There you go! You're own mountain view of Tibet.

Happy trekking. :)

Upgrading to Kubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)

The latest version of Kubuntu, codenamed Breezy Badger is out. There have been several changes since the previous release which was Hoary HedgeHog.

To upgrade your OS from previous version,

1.type:
$ sudo sed -e 's/hoary/breezy/g' -i /etc/apt/sources.list

There are several commands you will notice here.

We need to use the sudo command again because the file we need to edit, which is sources.list, is accessible only to the root user. Take note also that sources.list is stored in /etc/apt directory ,

The sudo command allows us to execute any Linux command as root user.

The sed command stands for 'stream editor'. This program will allow us to modify sources.list.

notice 's/hoary/breezy/g' after -e

s means search
hoary is the word we need to replace
breezy is the word we will replace it with
g means global replacement or replace all occurrence.

-e tells sed to execute a script or expression.

-i tells sed to save the changes in the input file

Our input file is of course /etc/apt/sources.list.

sources.list tells Kubuntu where to download upgrades or additional software packages.


2. then type:
$ sudo apt-get update

3. then:
$sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

A word of warning. This may take you several hours depending on the speed of your internet connection.

If you prefer not to wait this long you can always download the ISO image and burn it on the CD.

Then do a fresh install.

Be sure to backup your files though. And store them somewhere safe before you install.

Installing Linux YM client with webcam support

Finally we have come to the last part of this series (installing gyachE).

Before you read on, be sure that you have followed the instructions on my two previous posts ( 1 and 2).

If you did, then we are ready.

1. Open the Linux Terminal

2. Login as root by typing
$ sudo -s
then provide the password when asked

3. go to / directory by typing
# cd /

4. list the two gyachE files we have placed there
# ls

5. You should see these two files:

gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2
gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2

6. Lets install the main program. Type :

# tar xjf gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2

This would automatically put all the files needed by gyachE in their respective directories.

7. Install the webcam plugin. Type:

# tar xjf gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2


Run gyachE:
# gyach

If you encounter any dependency problems just follow the 10-12-2005 post then try to run gyachE again.

On a later post we will talk about the tar command.

Installing Additional Softwares with Synaptics

(July 2009 Update: Since Kubuntu 8.10 - you no longer need to install synaptic. You can find it by clicking on the menu (K button), then Applications tab, and then choose System.)

Kubuntu has a built in package installer and it is called Kynaptic. But it has one disadvantage over its Ubuntu counterpart.

If you want to install packages that are not found with Kubuntu's default repositories, you still need to fire up Synaptics to access additional repositories.

By the way, repositories are simply lists of web sites where Kubuntu and Ubuntu can download additional programs and Linux updates.

It is very similar to Windows Update in Windows XP.

Installing Synaptic
1. Click the K button on the menubar.
2. Click System.
3. Then click Kynaptic (package manager)
4. In Kynaptic, click Edit
5. Click Find
6. On the text box laber "What", type synaptic.
7. Find synaptic in the list
8. Select synaptic
9. Right click then click install if it is not installed yet.
10. Wait for the program to finish then close kynaptic.

Running Synaptic
1. Click the K button on the menubar again.
2. Go back to System
Notice that the Synaptic Package Manager has been installed.
3. Click Synaptic Package Manager

Let us go back to the gyachE website. Go to http://www.phrozensmoke.com/projects/pyvoicechat/install.php#missing

As you can see in the website gyachE requires:
a) Gtk-2 2.0.6 or better
b) GtkHTML-2

We need to install these to for our gyachE YM client to run properly

Installing the Missing Files with Synaptic
1. Go back to synaptic.
2. Click on search
3. On the search box type, libgtk
4. You will notice that synaptic performed a smart search. It displayed all the packages that contained the letters "libgtk".
5. Look for libgtk2.0-0
6. Select it.
7. Right click
8. Select mark for install
9. Then click the Apply button in the synaptic toolbar

10. Click search on synaptic again
11. Type libgtkhtml2-0
12. Search
13. Find and select it from the list
14. Right click
15. Select mark for install
16. Click Apply

On the next post we will finally install gyachE.

Copying, Moving, and Renaming Files in Linux

Today we are going to start doing something useful.

We will start learning about installing a Yahoo Messenger client with webcam support.

1. For Kubuntu, start Conqueror web browser. You can find it near the K button on your menubar.

For those using Ubuntu go to your menubar. Then go to internet. Then click on Firefox.

2. Point your browser to
http://www.phrozensmoke.com/projects/pyvoicechat/index.php

This is the official page of GyachE, a program dedicated to Yahoo Messenger

3. Click on their download section

4.
This will bring you to
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=57756

5. Download gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2 , the GyachE program

6. Then download gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2, the webcam plugin for GyachE

7. Conqueror web browser will ask you where you would like to place the file that you are downloading. Just place it on your default directory. In my case, it is /home/anthony

While Firefox by default will download it on your /home/username/Desktop directory. In my case /home/anthony/Desktop

Let's learn about copying files.

In order for us to install gyachE and it's plugin, we need to move it to the top directory of your Kubuntu or Ubuntu installation which is the / directory.

We won't be able to do this as a normal user because only the root user has access to Linux's top most directory.

So what we will do is

1. Open your Linux terminal.

2. Type
$ sudo -s

3. Type the password so that you can login as root

4. To copy the file to / directory:
Type:
# cp /home/anthony/gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2 /.

5. Then type:
#cp /home/anthony/gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2 /.

6. If the file is in /home/anthony/Desktop, you would instead do:

#cp /home/anthony/Desktop/gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2 /.

and

# cp /home/anthony/Desktop/gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2 /.

Now for the explanation of the cp command.

The first argument is the absolute path and the name of your source file.

The second argument is the destination directory or the place where you want to copy your file plus the filename you want to give it.

You will notice the dot after / directory in the destination argument.

It means that I want to retain the original file name when I copy the installer to the new directory.

To verify that you were indeed able to copy the files to / directory.

Type:

#ls /

If you see the files then you were able to copy them.


Let's learn about moving files.

In order to move files in Linux you will need to use the mv command.

The mv command is very similar to the cp command. In fact you could say they are exactly the same.

There is just one big difference. With the mv command the file in the source directory is erased after you moved the file.

so like in the cp command you would type:

# mv /home/anthony/gyach-enhanced_pyvoice-binary-1.0.7-i586.tar.bz2 /.

and

#mv /home/anthony/gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2 /.


Renaming Files
You could also use the mv command to rename files.

For example:

#mv /home/anthony/gyachE-Webcam-Utilities-0.4-i586.tar.bz2 /home/anthony/gyachEWebcam

What I did was move the file to the same directory but I changed the name to gyachEWebcam


Whew! This has been a long post.

Tomorrow we are going to learn about synaptics to solve gyachE's dependecy issues and then finally on the next post we will install and run GyachE and test the webcam viewer.

If you're adventurous, Just follow the installation instructions on the official home page.

It's pretty easy.

Further Discussion on the cd Command

A few more notes regarding the cd command.

There is an easier way of changing directories.

If you are familiar with the directory hierarchy of your Linux installation, you can type cd plus the absolute path of your destination directory.

For example:

1. Type:
$ cd /usr/bin

2. Then type:

$ pwd

to verify.

If you want to go back to your home directory, in my case it's, /home/anthony,
simply type:

$ cd /home/anthony

Then type:

$ pwd

And you will see that you are back to your original directory.

There is a shorter way of doing this of course.

Simply type:

$ cd

The cd command without any argument always brings you back to your default directory.

On the next post we will learn about moving and renaming files.

Navigating through Linux Directories

First some insight. This blog is generally about Kubuntu, the KDE counterpart of Ubuntu. But all the post you have read so far can be applied to other Linux distributions except for the following:

1. rpm command is for Redhat and Fedora.
2. dpkg and apt-get commands are for debian based packages like Ubuntu and Kubuntu.

Now on with the lessons.

I've realized that most of you maybe having problem navigating through the Linux folders when using the terminal.

Let me introduce you to the cd command. If you are familiar with the Windows command prompt, you have probably used chdir command to navigate through the Windows directories.

In Linux you will use cd.

1. Open a Linux Terminal (refer to my October 6 post on how to do this).

2. Type:
$ pwd

On my case it will return:
$ /home/anthony

pwd stand for "present working directory". It will tell you where you currently are in Linux.


To navigate to the higher directory:
1. Type :
$ cd ..

The two dots you see after the cd command stands for the parent directory

2. Now type:
$ pwd

On my case, it would display:
$ /home

You will see that my present working directory is now one level higher.

If you want to go higher, just type:

$ cd ..

again

Then check with the pwd command to verify where you are.

Now, assuming you are still at /home directory.

To get to the lower directory:
1. Type:
$ ls

ls command, stands for list. It will list the contents of the directory.

In my case, It displayed:

$ anthony

in Kubuntu you will now that what is listed is a directory because the font color is blue.

To go to the lower directory:

1. Type cd then the name of the lower directory.

$ cd anthony

2. To verify where you are use the pwd command again.

3. If you want to go to a directory lower than /home/anthony, just type cd again and the name of the lower directory.

I hope this was helpful.

Until next time! :)

Installing from RPMs

RPM is the official installer package for RedHat based distributions.

If you are using Redhat Linux Enterprise, Fedora Core or an earlier version of RedHat Linux, this post will be useful to you.


1. Go to yahoo.messenger.com and download YM for Redhat 9

2. Launch the Linux Terminal (Refer to my October 6, 2005 post).

3. Type:

$ rpm -i rh9.ymessenger-1.0.4-1.i386.rpm

4. To run the program, type:

$ /usr/bin/ymessenger

Remember that I am just using this file as an example.

You should download the file that is appropriate for your Linux version.

If you get an error during installation like lack of access rights or privilege, try to login as root.

In Fedora and Redhat you can do this by typing:
$ su

Then enter the password for the root user.

The Different Install Packages Available in Linux

In Windows you usually look for a .msi, or .exe file to install a new
software.

In Linux you are usually given .bin, .rpm, .deb, .tgz, or .bz2

First lets tackle .bin files because they are the easiest to install.

1. First let us get a .bin file, go to java.sun.com

2. Download the jdk-1_5_0_05-linux-i586.bin ( this file is quite large
47mb so if you could get your hands on any smaller .bin file please
do so. Remember that we are just using this file as an example)

3. Open up a terminal (refer to my earlier post on how to do this)

4. In my case, after the browser finishes downloading, I always find
the file in /home/anthony/Desktop but on some system, downloads are
usually stored on your home directory, say /home/anthony

5. Assuming your file is in /home/anthony, enter the following command

$ chmod 775 jdk-1_5_0_05-linux-i586.bin

this will make the downloaded file exectutable

6. then type

$ ./jdk-1_5_0_05-linux-i586.bin

the program will automatically install

7. to check if the program really did install
simply type

$ ls

if you see a blue jdk1.5.0_05 in your list it means that the software
was installed.


I used 2 commands here that you are not familiar with (chmod and ls)
to see what these commands do type

$ man ls

or

$ man chmod


Good luck.

Accessing Root Privilege through Linux Terminal

Up to now you have probably updated your Linux installation using
Ubuntu's "synaptics" program.

But if you are going to install a software that is not part of the
standard Ubuntu distribution, there will come a time that you will
need to use root privilege.

To use root privelege.
1. Open the menu
2. Click system
3. Click terminal/console (you can't miss it. it's the one with the
monitor icon)
4. You will be presented with something that is similar to a DOS window
5. type: sudo -s
6. enter the password when asked. (the password is the one you
provided when you first installed Ubuntu)
7. You will know that you are already root when the prompt has change
from the $ sign to a # sign.
8. To go back to a regular user privilege, simply type exit on the # sign.
9. You will notice that the prompt changes back to a $ sign.

Q: So what's the difference between a regular user access and a root
access?

A: With a regular user access I can only read, and write to the
directory or folder assigned to me by Linux. in my case its

/home/anthony

While with a root access I will have a read and write privilege on all
the directories of Linux.

Its important that you keep your root password secure or else any user
will have the ability to mess up your Linux installation.