Unfortunately it seems this guide may no longer work - at least it didn't when I attempted it in Linux Mint 12 (based on Ubuntu). The guide remains here for posterity, but I accept no liability for anything that may go wrong should you attempt to follow it.

Whilst Amazon are to be congratulated for providing version of their software for Linux, I think it's quite poor that after a little more than three years there is still no 64-bit support.

Never mind - guess I'll just be using 7Digital or buying more CDs.

--

At long last Amazon has launched it's MP3 music store in the UK, providing more choice for DRM free music downloading (along with the likes of 7Digital and Play.com).

The new store very kindly provides downloading software which is designed to make downloading albums straightforwarded, and even more kindly they have provided a version of the software for Linux. Unfortunately there is not a native 64-bit version of the software so anyone attemping to do a straight install will come up against an error due to the differences in architecture.

Fortunately, in Ubuntu 8.10 at least, this is very easy to overcome, just by following these simple instructions:

• Download GetLibs (provides libraries for 32-bit software on a 64-bit architecture) from http://www.boundlesssupremacy.com/Cappy/getlibs/getlibs-all.deb saving it to your desktop
• Double click on the GetLibs icon, on your desktop to launch the installer. Install this package
• Download the Amazon MP3 Downloader installer for Ubuntu 8.10 from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/dmusic/help/amd.html/ref=sv_dmusic_3">here</a>, saving it to your desktop.
• Open a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
• Move to the Desktop directory:

  cd Desktop

• Attempt an install of the downloader:
  

  sudo dpkg --install --force-architecture amazonmp3.deb

• The install will show dependency errors. Do not worry about these.
• Run GetLibs on the downloader install, stating Yes if you're prompted to continue at any point:

  sudo getlibs /usr/bin/amazonmp3

• The downloader is now installed, and can be started from the 'Run Application' dialog (ALT+F2) by typing amazonmp3

The first time an album is purchased using Amazon MP3, the browser will ask what application to use to open Amazon's AMZ file. Point the browser to the Amazon Downloader which can be found in /usr/bin/amazonmp3. Tick the box to use this program from now on, and that will be the only time the browser will ask.

It took me a long time to figure this out, and I really don't think it should have.

All I wanted to do was open port 3306 on my Ubuntu Server, permitting external access to MySQL. I use this with my music player, where the client on whatever computer I'm using connects to a central database containing my library and statistics.

I don't recall experiencing an issue getting the port open before, but since I installed Ubuntu Server 10.04 last weekend, I'd been unable to connect and therefore unable to use my music player.

Here's what was needed:

• The MySQL configuration file needed amending. This is stored in /etc/mysql/my.cnf and can be edited from the command prompt as follows:

  sudo nano /etc/mysql/my.cnf

  
  
• In the section [mysqld], the line bind-address = 127.0.0.1 should be changed so that the IP address matches that of the server, for example:
  

  [mysqld]
  user            = mysql
  socket          = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
  port            = 3306
  basedir         = /usr
  datadir         = /var/lib/mysql
  tmpdir          = /tmp
  skip-external-locking
  
  bind-address    = 192.168.0.1

  
  
• MySQL then needs to be restarted. It's this command that I could not find reference to, and the reason why the port never became available:

  sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

Job done!

The MicroSD card in my smartphone became corrupted today, and I feared that all data on it was lost.

Fortunately, I don't store critical data on the phone, but I did have a number of snaps which, whilst of nothing special, would have been nice to keep.

So I took about trying to find out how to get to the data, and it turned out to be very simple in my case. Only a few terminal commands were needed, as follows:

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

These instructions are written for use on Linux based computers (tried on Linux Mint 10) and may only apply in a very limited set of circumstances. I make no guarantees regarding likely successes. I do not accept liability for any damage to hardware, software or data loss.

Certain commands in the following guide can overwrite data and format storage devices. EXTREME CARE MUST BE TAKEN to ensure that all disk/partition references and destination paths are correct.

The Guide

1. First I had to create a folder on my computer, in a location with enough free space to contain data to the capacity of the card (8GB in this example).
2. Next, in I connected the MicroSD card to the computer via a card reader. The OS displayed a message about a bad superblock. I took a note of the partition reference (in this case '/dev/sdb1') and acknowledged the error.
   
   NOTE: If you do not get this error and wish to proceed, use 'sudo fdisk -l' (that's a lower case L) to identify the partition that is causing problems.
3. Opening up a terminal, the first command used copied bit-by-bit data from the card to an image file on the computer. This process can take some time, so be patient:
   

   sudo dd if=/dev/sdb1 of=/home/ben/mysd/sd.backup

   (replace '/home/ben/mysd/' with the path to the location created above)
4. Once the above command has finished, and assuming no errors; a new file will be present on the computer containing the data. It is not accessible yet.
5. Next, the card has to be re-formatted in an attempt to repair any faults:
   

   sudo mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sdb1

   This formats the partition to FAT32, common to most memory cards.
   
   NOTE: BE ABSOLUTELY SURE ABOUT YOUR PARTITION REFERENCE ('/dev/sdb1' in this case). GETTING THIS WRONG COULD FORMAT YOUR ENTIRE COMPUTER AND WOULD BE A BAD THING!).
6. Again, assuming everything has gone smoothly, it's now time to attempt to restore data to the card, using the following command (which should be familiar this time). Just like before, this could take some time:
   

   sudo dd if=/home/ben/mysd/sd.backup of=/dev/sdb1

7. Once the above command finishes, and assuming no errors, data should be back on the card. It's now time to mount the device on the computer and attempt to access it.
8. First of all, create another new folder in your file system. Capacity isn't an issue this time as it will be used solely as the mount point. Using a different folder ensures that the backup file created earlier isn't affected by anything.
9. In the terminal, type the following command to mount the device to the new folder:
   

   sudo mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /home/ben/sd

   (change '/home/ben/sd' to the path for the folder you created above).
10. By accessing the folder created above, either through the terminal or the GUI, you should now see the data.
11. Copy everything required to a safe location. DO NOT RELY ON THE CARD. IT HAS FAILED ONCE, IT MAY DO SO AGAIN!

The above guide has worked for me, and fortunately I managed to recover all but one photograph. I re-iterate the above disclaimer though, that this may not work in all cases and extreme care must be taken to ensure commands used are appropriate to your system.

My Data and Results

Although I did manage to recover data, when trying to use the card in my phone; it still reports as damaged. Either the card has truly 'had it', or my phone is causing problems.

I think I'll try a complete wipe of the card including the partition table and start it again from scratch.

Back in July I bought myself a netbook, and being a fan of the open source operating system I decided to install Ubuntu. All went well at the time, but I needed some extra software to make the wireless connection and brightness keys work. I found what I needed and all was fine.

This week however, I thought I'd try the latest version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix and so wiped the existing installation. After a brief test period, I decided I wasn't happy with the latest release and decided to revert to the earlier, Long Term Support, version. This is where I hit a snag ... where did I find that extra software?

After much hunting around the internet and my surfing history, I eventually found a forum post detailing what I needed to do. In order to save me from repeating this hunt; I have now copied the instructions to a text file on my server, saved a bookmark to the forum post and I am replicating the instructions here should anybody else find them useful.

As the forum post was only aimed at solving the brightness keys, I've re-written it slightly but full credit goes to Fred Ora at Ubuntu Forums for his post which is linked to this entry.

First Steps

Ubuntu Linux 10.04LTS does not support the Realtek 8192E wireless driver out-of-the-box, so connect the Samsung netbook via ethernet cable in order to obtain an internet connection.

Getting the Software

• Open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
• Type (or copy) the following command to add a new software repository:
  

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:voria/ppa

• Type (or copy) the following command to update the software list:
  

  sudo apt-get update

• Install the required software with the following command:
  

  sudo apt-get install samsung-tools samsung-backlight samsung-wireless

• Restart the computer

Once the machine has restarted, a wireless connection should be possible. Further configuration is required for the brightness keys.

Configuring the Brightness Keys

1. Open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
2. Type (or copy) the following code to edit a configuration file:
   

   sudo nano /lib/udev/rules.d/95-keyboard-force-release.rules

   (be careful not to change anything other than what is mentioned below)
3. Find the line containing the following text (use CTRL+W to search the file):
   

   ...*N130*|*N140*|...

4. Before the last asterisk and final quotes, type:
   

   |*N210*

   (or your particular Samsung model number)
5. Exit the text editor with CTRL+X, remembering to press Y when prompted to save.
6. Type (or copy) the following code to edit a configuration file:
   

   sudo nano /lib/udev/rules.d/95-keymap.rules

   (be careful not to change anything other than what is mentioned below)
7. Repeat steps 3-5, above
8. Restart the computer

Once the machine has restarted, everything should now be working. This has been tested successfully on a Samsung N210 running Ubuntu 10.04LTS and Linux Mint 9.

One of the small annoyances I experience with the Ubuntu operating system is the Keyring Manager which can pop up from time to time when using automatic login. Fortunately, disabling this 'feature' is easy!

I experienced this problem when starting up my machines which have automatic logon setup, such as my media machine. I just want to start the computer and play some audio. I don't want to have to faff around with passwords which is why automatic logon was enabled. The Gnome Keyring Manager asking for my password immediately after sort of defeated the object somewhat.

The reason it asked for the password was so that the NetworkManager could retrieve my WiFi networks security key. So without unlocking the keyring, my computer would not connect to the network, meaning I couldn't provide the password remotely rather I would have to go to the machine and provide it. Such hassle.

Anyway, should anyone else have this issue; here's how to overcome it:

• Places menu > Home Folder
• Show Hidden Files (CTRL+H on the keyboard)
• Find the folder .gnome2 and open it
• Find the folder keyrings and delete it
• The next time the Keyring Manager requests a password, leave the fields blank and click Create
• Click on Use Unsafe Storage

Do bare in mind the security risk that this could potentially pose when storing passwords, network keys etc.