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Google makes the really neat program Picasa 3 for managing and editing photo/image collections. Since Microsoft Windows it a travesty and I therefore use Linux as much as possible, I was in need of a better and more stable photo management software to replace the buggy unstable F-Spot program. To my glee I found that Google releases a Debian version suitable for using under Ubuntu’s flavor of Debian Linux. I love you Google. Anyway, it was still a 2-step process, which would frighten most Windows users, but this bit of work in the beginning assures that I am using reputable sources for software that can be installed without visiting a website or downloading anything from a web server, as I would have to do if using Windows. Not to mention that by being forced to the wild web in order to download all applications and software just opens up a computer to problems because the user must decide which software makers to trust, not a good situation for casual users who aren’t in touch enough with the current “scene” to be able to make an educated decision about which company’s software is trustworthy and which are not. Alas, I digress…

To install Picasa on Ubuntu:

1. Create a backup copy of your file: /etc/apt/sources.list
2. Edit /etc/apt/sources.list using “sudo” and the editor of your choice e.g. vi, vim, gedit.
3. Add the following line:
   deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ testing non-free
4. Save the file.
5. Update apt-get’s repository list using: sudo apt-get update
6. Try to install Picasa now: sudo apt-get install picasa
7. If it installs, then Hooray! You’re done! However, if you get an error like the following, then proceed to the next steps:
   W: GPG error: The following signatures couldn’t be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 1234567890123456
   W: There is no public key available for the following key IDs:  1234567890123456
8. The long number will be different for you, and you’ll need it for the next step.
9. Run the following commands, substituting 1234567890123456 with the number from your error messages:
   gpg –keyserver pgpkeys.mit.edu –recv-key  1234567890123456
   gpg -a –export 1234567890123456 | sudo apt-key add –
10. Assuming that you get success, and you should as long as there’s no typos, try again to install Picasa directly with Ubuntu apt-get:
    sudo apt-get install picasa
11. Picasa will download and install, you may be required to verify that process before it proceeds, though.

Check put these for a bit more info, and the source of the steps needed for this process:
[Debian] Apt-get : NO_PUBKEY / GPG error
Howto Install Picasa 3.5 in ubuntu

Posted under Freeware, Graphic, Linux, Software

So, you have a Windows system that gets a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) during bootup, and you can’t see what it says before it disappears. Not a big deal, except that the system won’t boot into safe mode either, so you can’t do the regular method, using the Windows GUI, to set the system properties settings so that the system does not automatically reboot when the blue screen appears. Yikes! Well, if you want to stop the system from rebooting beforee you can get the STOP: codes, and find out how to fix the problem, here is a really neat way:

How To Disable Automatic Restart For BSOD If You Are Unable To Get Into Windows

Download UBCD  here

Another neat tip from a Japanese Lenovo support board, save me some work today (use Google to translate):

Need to Repair Install Windows (second R during setup) when STOP: 0 × 0000007B (0 × F789EA94, 0) / INACESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE occurs on restore of OS onto new hardware / storage controller.

Thanks all for the help!

Posted under Hardware, Microsoft, Operating System, Software

When transferring file directory structures between linux / Unix hosts, usinf FTP was what came to mind.  FTP has been used for many transfers in the past, but when forced (read:allowed) to use the command line to transfer files, the MGET and other FTP related commands were useless. So google to the rescue, and up pops this great simple writeup about how to copy host-to-host using the SCP command. Sweetness defined.

In essence:

scp -vr -P 2222 ./* REMOTEUSERNAME@REMOTEHOSTNAME.TLD:/FULL/UNIX/PATH/TO/DESTINATION/FOLDER/(OR/FILENAMES.ABC)

This command will Verbosely and Recirsively do it’s thang. It will contact the remote host on port 2222 instead of the default port 22 used for SSH. The remote username is the unix username, and the remote hostname is the full DNS name or IP address of the remote unix box. The destination path is reltive to the root of the system, NOT relative to the user’s home dirtectory.

Have fun, and leave FTP for transferring single files or batches of files inside a single directory container only.

Posted under Freeware, Linux, Network