Sharing Files with the Local Network

Well, it is often that each one of us has 2 or more computers at home connected with a local network.
I, for example, have a laptop which is my primary machine for working + enjoying audio and video content. In addition, I use a 5-year old desktop for purposes of downloading, increasing productivity, testing and more.
The most boring and counter-productive thing for me to do was transferring movies, documents and music using external media (usb flash, hdds). I've lived with that long enough before deciding that things need to change.

A 5-minutes how-to

1. Make sure you have manually entered local IPs on your router (that means turn DHCP off) and write them down. Let's say that "server" has an ip of 192.168.1.3 and "client" 192.168.1.2
   
   
2. Server:
   Install samba and samba authentication by typing in a terminal
   
   sudo apt-get install samba libpam-smbpasp
   
   
   
3. Right click the folder you wish to share and choose the "Share" tab.
   
   Check "Share this Folder" and give it a name. You may also want to check "Allow other people to write in this folder". DO NOT check "Guest Access".
   
   Click "Create Share".
   
   
4. Client:
   
   open nautilus and type smb://192.168.1.3
   

You now have access to the shared folder

Fix the ugly fonts in AMSN 0.97.2

So, as of yesterday, older versions of AMSN won't log you in MSN Chat. You have to install the latest release 0.97.2. But, if you do so, you will encounter the known ugliness of Tcl/Tk, the language AMSN was built on. Crappy fonts will make your life miserable and your aesthetics will be severely damaged.

Here comes the solution: Recompile from (source) scratch AMSN along with other libs and stuff.
To do so, I've barely changed an existing script for the previous version of the program.

Download from here.

Uninstall existing amsn installation, typing

sudo apt-get purge amsn

Run the script

sudo bash fixamsn0.97.2.sh

(you have to move to the appropriate directory first -- eg. cd ~/Desktop)

Keep waiting until you regain control of your terminal. It will take enough time to get yourself some iced coffee.

A word of caution: I used the exact script myself, but you're running it at your own risk ;)

Set your default speakers values using a two-line script

I came across this irritating problem using my Dell laptop. The sound was rather faint and I asked myself why was that. There exist several playback volume controls, such a Master, a double PCM, a double Front etc.

It is possible that one of them is not set at its full extent, thus lowering your overall sound volume. At my system Front speakers were set at 80%. Since I could already control the Master channel with the special keyboard buttons, I created a small script that sets Front at 100%

In the terminal,

sudo gedit /usr/bin/setFront100

it opens gnome editor

add these lines

#! /bin/bash

amixer set Front 100%

Save and Exit (Ctrl + O and Ctrl + X, accordingly)

Make it executable

chmod +x /bin/bash/setFront100

Add it to your System->Preferences->Sessions

THE END