How to install ionCube loader on Ubuntu 12.04

Some CMS (content management systems) may require IonCube Loader which is a PHP extension to encode PHP files.

The extension is not in the Ubuntu repos, so you'll have to grab it from the developer's website. (http://www.ioncube.com/loaders.php).

Here is how to install IonCube Loader on Ubuntu 12.04 (and other releases and editions of Ubuntu as well).

If your Ubuntu system / server is 32-bit:

cd /usr/local
sudo wget http://downloads2.ioncube.com/loader_downloads/ioncube_loaders_lin_x86.tar.gz sudo tar xzf ioncube_loaders_lin_x86.tar.gz

If your Ubuntu system / server is 64-bit:

cd /usr/local sudo wget http://downloads2.ioncube.com/loader_downloads/ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz sudo tar xzf ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz

Next step is to check if PHP loads the extension:

echo "zend_extension=/usr/local/ioncube/ioncube_loader_lin_5.4.so" | sudo tee /etc/php5/conf.d/ioncube.ini

Then restart the webserver:

sudo service apache2 restart

That's it.

How to install skype on Ubuntu / Kubuntu / Xubuntu 12.04 / 12.10

Installing Skype on Ubuntu / Kubuntu 12.04 / 12.10 and other flavors of Ubuntu is easy, even though it's not in the official repos.

Head to the official Skype website - skype.com -> Get skype -> Skype for Linux -> Download -> select the package for Ubuntu that suits your architecture - there are packages for (K/X)Ubuntu 32-bit and (K/X)Ubuntu 64-bit.

 

In short, here is the link to get Skype for linux - http://www.skype.com/intl/en/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/ (there are packages for some other distros, as well).

Download the package, double-click -> install. The package manager will pull down all the dependencies and will install Skype on your Ubuntu system.

How to change splash screen resolution after installing proprietary Nvidia drivers on Ubuntu

Since Maverick Meerkat or so, after you install the proprietary Nvidia driver on Ubuntu and its flavors and derivatives (Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.), the splash screen resolution gets too small, and you stop seeing the nice splash screen that worked with open drivers, and see some broken text instead while the system is loading. This is not critical, of course, the system normally boots anyway, and after it's loaded, the resolution is the one that has to be. However, having an ugly splash screen is bad, and here is how to fix this.

1) Determine the resolution Grub can support. It's not necessarily the optimal one for you system (for example, my optimal resolution is 1440x900, but I found out Grub didn't support it). 

To do so, reboot, on reboot press "c" key on your keyboard to enter grub console.

In the grub console type:

vbeinfo

The command will list all the resolutions supported by Grub.

Note the closest (to your native one) supported resolution from the list (for my 1440x900 screen, the closest one was 1280x1024x32 - yes, it suggests it's longer but it's what I used and was happy with the result; x32 stays for color depth).

2) Next step is to edit the following file

/etc/default/grub

(Run kdesu kate /etc/default/grub or gksu gedit /etc/default/grub to edit the file with the necessary superuser permissions; change kate/gedit with the text editor you prefer, and kdesu/gksu are for KDE and Gnome/Unity/Xfce, respectively).

In the file, locate the string #GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480. Yes, it's commented (#). Leave it so. Put the following line after #GRUB_GFXMODE: 
GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=1280x1024x32 // << the resolution may differ! (see step 1)

Then run:

echo FRAMEBUFFER=y | sudo tee /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/splash
sudo update-grub2
sudo update-initramfs -u

Reboot. Check the splash screen - it should be nice now.

View available updates from terminal without updating the system / Ubuntu

I find it a faster way to install updates on my Ubuntu machine from terminal rather then using a GUI package manager.

sudo apt-get update  // collects information on updated packages from the repos
sudo apt-get upgrade // install upgrades for packages for which updates are available

The commands above are cool, of course, and quick to type, but one thing always annoyed me - I could only see what was updated after I actually initialized the process of upgrading the system. Well, not cool (GUI package manager would show what packages are upgradable).

How to view available updates from terminal without updating the system:

apt-get --just-print upgrade
apt-get -s upgrade

These 2 show the very same output (they both simulate an upgrade, don't really do it). So the 2nd one is shorter to type.
Another command for the same purpose:
aptitude search ~U

Anyway, I find a command like below a bit more logical when read by a human being than simulating an upgrade:

sudo yum list updates // view available upgradable packages on rpm distros.