Fabian Rodriguez

If the amount of people that called for support for their Dell Mini 9 over the holidays is any indication, we’re bound to see quite a few new users of Ubuntu that own this nice system!

If you know someone that uses a Mini 9, remember there is official documentation for the Ubuntu version (8.04) that ships in it at http://help.ubuntu.com . That may sound obvious but many experienced Ubuntu users don’t refer much to those docs and as a result don’t know it even exists

I also wanted to share a lot of tips, tricks and known issues as well as useful links (such as where to ask a question in Launchpad Answers) that have been put together at:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DellMini9

If you have a Mini 9 and know your way around Ubuntu, you may also want to make yourself available as a contact for Launchpad Answers:
https://answers.launchpad.net/dell-mini

That’s particularly useful if you know about things that are specific to your geographic location (like ISP-specific settings, broadband access with USB keys, etc.).

In no particular order…

• Bugmail
  
  Thunderbird 2.0 - 3.0b2pre
  
  A bugtracker bugmail companion - provides a nice header with bug status, upstream links, etc. work nicely with Launchpad bug mail
• Buttons!
  
  Thunderbird 2.0b1 - 3.0
  
  Adds buttons! Not sure how to explain them all…
• Compact Menu 2
  
  Thunderbird 2.0 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Duplicates the menubar on the toolbar as a menu of menus.
• Delete Junk Context Menu
  
  Thunderbird 0.5 - 3.0
  
  Adds ‘Delete Mail Marked as Junk’ to folders’ right click menu
• Diccionario de Español/España
  
  Thunderbird 2.0 - 3.0a2pre
  
  Diccionario de Español/España
• Dictionary Switcher
  
  Thunderbird 2.0b2 - 3.0a1
  
  Displays the currently selected dictionary in the status bar and allows to change it.
• Dictionnaire MySpell en Français - part of Ubuntu
  
  Thunderbird 1.5 - 2.0.0.*
• Display Mail User Agent
  
  Thunderbird 2.0 - 3.0a2pre
  
  Displays the mail program with which the selected mail was written - always useful to give some context to email - is the author using Windows, Linux, a Mac ?
• Duplicate Contact Manager
  
  Thunderbird 1.5 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Facilitates handling of duplicate contacts in your address books. You know you have some.
• Enigmail - provided by Ubuntu, but I install it manually
  
  Thunderbird 2.0 - 2.0.0.*
  
  OpenPGP message encryption and authentication
• Extension List Dumper - produces this list in nice HTML
  
  Thunderbird 1.5 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Dumps a list of the installed extensions.
• Lightning - I install this one manually too.
  
  Thunderbird 2.0 - 2.0.0.*
  
  An integrated calendar for Thunderbird (build 2008091718)
• Mail Redirect - a must to save some “here’s this email I got but it should go to you ” intros.
  
  Thunderbird 0.7 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Allow to redirect (a.k.a. “bounce”) mail messages to other recipients
• Provider for Google Calendar
  
  Thunderbird 2.0a1 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Allows bidirectional access to Google Calendar
• Quicktext - great for multiple signatures and templates
  
  Thunderbird 1.5 - 3.0a1
  
  Adds a toolbar with unlimited number of text to quickly insert. It’s also possible to use varibles like [[TO=firstname]]. With settings for everything.
• QuoteCollapse - you know, some people just looooove to quote.
  
  Thunderbird 0.7 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Collapse quotes.
• Remember Mismatched Domains - yes I use Dreamhost and SSL.
  
  Thunderbird 1.5 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Adds a ‘don’t ask me again’ option to the Domain Name Mismatch Security Error window.
• Remove Duplicate Messages (Alternate) - no comment!
  
  Thunderbird 1.5 - 3.0a1
  
  Locates duplicate messages in mail folders and removes them.
• Sender Verification Extension
  
  Thunderbird 0.6 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Protects you from phishing with SPF and DomainKeys.
• Tag Toolbar
  
  Thunderbird 2.0b1 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Add toolbar for toggling tags.
• Xpunge
  
  Thunderbird 1.0 - 2.0.0.*
  
  Empties the Trash folder and compacts folders in multiple Thunderbird accounts.

If you have any that make your Ubuntu life easier, let me know!

… if you’re new around or if you’re introducing someone else to Ubuntu for the first time, I think a critical read is the following link:

• Adding, Removing and Updating Applications

Painfully obvious ? Rightfully so.

Many new (and old) “converts” ask questions about how to compile applications, manually install .deb packages… those should be the last one needs to do when installing applications in Ubuntu (or any Linux for that matter), at least when you want to keep the system as close as possible to regular, supported security/feature updates and upgrades as possible.

I am still a bit surprised when I get a comment like “I’ve been trying to compile/install XYZ for a few days/hours” and there almost always is a solution using packages part of the regular repositories! For those special cases when there isn’t I have a million suggestions, but compiling is far from the top of my list.

Another friendly advice, also consider asking on the Launchpad “Answers” system or showing your new converts how to do that, many times you may find things in Ubuntu are done in a slightly different way - not always obvious, most of the time easier. Don’t take my word for it Asking where or how to get help is OK too.

Last but not least, http://www.ubuntu.com/support provides links to official docs, free community support and even commercial options. Chances are there is a Local Community Team in your area, know it, promote it, join it, use it!

There’s only one better thing than discovering Ubuntu, and that is knowing where its community is and how to tackle into it and even participate in it. I’ve found when new users are empowered to do this, they don’t have to depend on me at all for future support! Well, unless they want 24/7 immediate phone support, that is

I’ve been meaning to post a picture of my laptop’s “decoration” for a while, perhaps start another chain reaction…

I think what you put in your laptop tells a bit about who you are or what you do

So here’s my current laptop:

One more thing, I got a zebra-themed vinyl skin applied on the laptop, which protects the machine - the stickers are on that vinyl layer.

Clicking on the image will bring you to Flickr where I added some notes.

What’s on your Ubuntu laptop ?

If you’ve ever helped someone over the phone change any router configuration, you know it’s a bit of a challenge to guide anyone through the mazes of menus and options each different router has just to enable port forwarding for any given application.

Fear not, you can now become your local neighborhood router guru, just bookmarkhttp://www.portforward.com and have it handy when someone requests you mighty knowledge. If you feel like letting anyone else in to this carefully guarded secret, do so at your own risk

Thanks for the tip, David!

Following a long tradition, an Ubucon will be rocking Bogotá, Colombia no less! The date is this coming Saturday Nov. 29th. Save the date!

The Colombian LoCo Team has been very actively preparing for this event, they even lined up some sponsors. There will be 2 separate conference tracks and one workshop track, and the event will be streamed live. This looks to be a lot more than an informal gathering! All details are available on the website.

It’s exciting to see local business and enthusiasts getting together around Ubuntu. Make sure you file the registration form if you’re attending.

Don’ t miss them! There are going to be simultaneous parties this Thursday Oct. 30 at 6PM in Montreal and Quebec City. See:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QuebecTeam/IntrepidParty

I can finally stop hitting reload.

Dell’s new Inspiron Mini 9 is now available for pre-order in the US.

Last week I wrote about Ubucon San Salvador coming up this Saturday well guess what!!!

I’ll be stopping for a few days in Guatemala on my way back to Canada and I dropped an email to some ubunteros in Guatemala - it looks like we’re going to have a nice gathering there too! I’ll be presenting but mostly meeting the local community and learning about them. What a weekend!

So… if you’re in San Salvador or Guatemala city this weekend… come and spend some time with the local Ubunteros.

See you there!

The Direct2Dell blog is a great way to find out about new Ubuntu development and products at Dell from a reliable source one can actually quote publically
From my seat on the support side of things, I used to worry about such exposure - how can you give tech support to so many new Ubuntu users ? Granted, this is only but a small fraction of Dell’s business, but it is growing fast in many ways (and countries, as seen below). Many vendors understand the need to build their own support infrastructure and knowledge, not much new in that area. But being able to do so in your local language, in different markets, taking advantage of all the freedom LInux and in general Ubuntu offers is a huge new bonus. You get to decide if/when you need professional services (from Canonical or else) and you set the speed for that.

This ranges from pre-installing and supporting Ubuntu on certified servers to selling and supporting a boxed edition that includes 60 days support for $19.99 at Best Buy.

In Dell’s case, having part of their Linux wiki dedicated to Ubuntu and even forums and mailing lists means such initiatives have all the chances to success as Ubuntu’s strong community can complement all efforts from Dell and give traction to them. I also see how Ubuntu’s philosophy slowly infiltrates such offerings
From the blog post (emphasis mine):

Today we’re rolling out two new laptops and desktops that are designed to meet the specific needs of small businesses, government and educational facilities operating on a limited budget in the worlds top emerging markets. Take a look at either Steve Felice’s post or Kara Krautter’s post on the Small Business blog for a bit more context on that front.

Note: Click on any of the images in these post to see larger versions of them. You can also see these photos and more by viewing this photo set at the main Dell Flickr page.

One thing of interest to a lot of our readers is that we will offer Ubuntu Linux as an option on all four of these machines worldwide. Regular readers of Direct2Dell know that we already support Ubuntu on select systems several countries.

These new Vostro systems will be introduced in more than 20 countries over the coming months—including Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. They will be available primarily through authorized channel partners worldwide and also directly from Dell. Pricing for the products will vary by configuration, region and country. Additional Vostro products designed for emerging markets and high-growth economies will be introduced in the coming months.