Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

[fdv]

A multi again, I appreciate the help on my Jan 31 multi-Q post!

1. Question: how do I fix sound in a web browser in Kubuntu?
Background: I have no sound in Opera and Konqueror. This is out of the blue -- it was working fine. I open Kmixer and I have raised and turned on EVERY setting, to no avail. To date I have therefore seen all of the Super Bowl commericals with no sound. Every other application in the OS that uses sound works fine. I went so far as to go to the Adobe site to reinstall Flash but then I stopped because this kind of assinine "reinstall when it stops working" approach is one of the things I so detested about Windows and I am sure there is a more logical way to fix this in Linux. I Googled but the problem with Googling for Linux problems is that the solutions seem so distropendant, to coin a word. I won't quote the lines I found to (supposedly) fix the problem, becuase they didn't work and were for Debian mostly with one for Ubuntu that didn't work.

2. Question: How do I add context menu items? In other words, right-click mouse menu items? Say I want to right click on a folder and have "open a command prompt here" as a choice.

3. Question: Do Linux / KDE programs usually fail silently, or is it more common to get an error? Kate seems to be closing 1 minute after I switch to something else. I apt-get'ed an update, was the last version prone to fail silently? To do using Linux I cannot recall having an app just die without a message popping up.

4. Question: Is there a good GUI frontend for cdparanoia? (KDE obviously?)
Background: yep, I really did Google. I am learning however that Googling to fix Linux problems is at best a very iffy proposition. Unintentional Googlebombs of links that get you to pages that say "obsolete" or "answer moved here" (only to get more 'obsoletes' or redirects) are pretty much the norm. I know people don't mean to do that but so many Linux users in other forums link to their OWN threads, which doesn't help when the thread closes or gets modified with a link somewhere else (that is closed, broken, or links somewhere else, etc etc). I also don't love Google at times when I look for "kde frontend cdparanoia" and get a dozen hits of CDP frontends that are all for... Gnome. Or XFCE. You get the idea. Anyway, this is not a rant, it's just a note to prove that I really DO Google for answers first!!

5. Question: I screwed up Automatix and it says "BROKEN". How do I uninstall something "BROKEN" ?
Background: I downloaded automatix. (Now, I know that installing Automatix doesn't actually install anything, you're downloading a downloader). I download the .deb for Ubuntu, though I am a Kubuntu user, because going by past experience, many packages run on both. I install the .deb. I go to the Automatix menu item to start the app so as to install things. When I launched it, I got the bouncy icon, then a password dialog to su. Then, after typing in my password, nothing. A third and fourth try yielded nothing as well. So I check it out in Adept, it says "BROKEN" and "installed" in red. There is no uninstall option. How do I do that? Have I damaged my system using the Ubuntu version?

6. Question: So I figured out what to do for Automatix on Kubuntu, and get a DigSig verification error and want to proceed.
Background: So anyway, then I see instructions for Kubuntu are totally different. Ok, I understand that. I type line by line as they recommend in order to download it (yep, right over my BROKEN one).

echo "deb http://www.getautomatix.com/apt edgy main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
wget http://www.getautomatix.com/apt/key.gpg.asc
gpg --import key.gpg.asc
gpg --export --armor 521A9C7C | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update

After this line, I get:

GPG error: http://easyubuntu.cafuego.net main Release: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 580E2519969F3F57
You may want to run apt-get update to correct these problems.

(Ummm, running apt-get is EXACTLY what I JUST DID, smarta55)

Now let's say I don't care about verifying the GPG digital signature and just want the software to install. Is running through GNU Privacy Guard really necessary? Can I skip that step? I see and understand exactly what is taking place, I am verifying legitimacy, but will the installer "see" that I didn't and abort? (I can't go ahead and try, I get an "already installed" error).

7. Question: Someone has pranked me and caused a very unfunny "crazy mouse" app when my system starts. I can kill it, but I want to remove it from start items.
Background: back in Win 3.1 days, there was an app called "crazy mouse" or something that caused a click when you hovered too long over an icon. To my joy, this seems to be a default now with kmousemanager or whatever the heck it is. I must have clicked something and started it now every time my machine boots. How do I take itout of start items? (I know there is no start items group, it's Win parlance for "make it stop starting on boot." I don't know the Linux speak.)

8. Is there an applet EXACTLY like the processtable, but also shows how much memory each item is taking, along with a reveal of how much Total RAM is being taken, how much RAM is free, and how much swap is being used?
Background: I want to get a process manager that shows memory usage. Maybe even one that shows the libraries each module is currently using so I have an idea and can learn what relates to what.

Thanks for any help folks

[D1SxEyes]

Re: Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

A multi again, I appreciate the help on my Jan 31 multi-Q post!

1. Question: how do I fix sound in a web browser in Kubuntu?
No idea...
2. Question: How do I add context menu items? In other words, right-click mouse menu items?
Again, no idea
3. Question: Do Linux / KDE programs usually fail silently, or is it more common to get an error?
Very rarely do KDE apps fail silently. You're talking about a very strange error, I suggest doing a backtrace and submitting a bug report to the Kate developers
4. Question: Is there a good GUI frontend for cdparanoia? (KDE obviously?)
I think K3B can possibly operate as a cdparanoia frontend. If not, K3B will do everything you want anyway, try just using that
5. Question: I screwed up Automatix and it says "BROKEN". How do I uninstall something "BROKEN" ?
Run "sudo apt-get -f install"
6. Question: So I figured out what to do for Automatix on Kubuntu, and get a DigSig verification error and want to proceed.
Run "sudo apt-get remove --purge automatix" and then reinstall automatix
7. Question: Someone has pranked me and caused a very unfunny "crazy mouse" app when my system starts. I can kill it, but I want to remove it from start items.
I've never heard of anything like that! What app is it?
8. Is there an applet EXACTLY like the processtable, but also shows how much memory each item is taking, along with a reveal of how much Total RAM is being taken, how much RAM is free, and how much swap is being used?
Ksysguard does that if you click on the other tab at the top

Thanks for any help folks

Sorry if I wasn't much help. My answers are in italics.

[Tuxgrrrl]

Re: Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

Greetings

#2 on your list can be done by right-clicking on the panels and icons of the task bar and using the menu editor and panel menus.

The editor that was appendable to Firefox that allowed this may not be functional in the latest Firefox.
There may be a plugin for Konqueror that provides the same functionality or perhaps via a style sheet.

You may find http://www.google.com/linux useful

[Nakrull]

Re: Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

ill try to answer i can
broken automatix
its just as you said, download a downloader to download downloads... exactly lol... to fix them you are trying to fix a broken thing adding more crap... thats the sig error
you have to open the menu of the pakage clicking on to the name of it in apt-get and click on details, it will open a window, where the details and needed stuff, so the pakage works, is and to remove it, it should be the right button in the middle of the window, you should also empty the cache of apt-get... apt get does not have
this option at least not in a graphic way... open a console and type:

sudo aptitude

a console window should contain aptitude, you can even use your mouse to click on the menus above, the first menu to the left has the empty cache option... and many more, i prefer aptitude since it gives you more details on what you are installing upgrading or fixing it even shows the bandwhit

if you already modified your /etc/apt/sources.list you could download automatix from aptitude
the aptitude info below should be self explanatory
update your repositories list, only needed if you did not already whit apt-get and find automatix pressing the "/" button on your keyboard...


if my replies are to long I apologize but you posted it in newbie support

[kubicle]

Re: Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

I'll add a few thoughts on some of the questions:

2. Question: How do I add context menu items? In other words, right-click mouse menu items? Say I want to right click on a folder and have "open a command prompt here" as a choice.

The (konqueror) context menu items are called 'servicemenus' (You can find them under /usr/share/apps/konqueror/servicemenus and ~/.kde/share/apps/konqueror/servicemenus, for example...there is also a section for servicemenus on kde-look.org). Best way to get a hang of them is to look at the existing servicemenu files with a text-editor (back-up if you choose to edit them)

3. Question: Do Linux / KDE programs usually fail silently, or is it more common to get an error? Kate seems to be closing 1 minute after I switch to something else. I apt-get'ed an update, was the last version prone to fail silently? To do using Linux I cannot recall having an app just die without a message popping up.

If the same program (kate) is continuosly dying on you, one way to troubleshoot is to start it from a konsole window. That way the error messages from the program will be directed to that konsole. (Also note that if you start a program from a konsole window, that program will close if you close the konsole window...unless you start it with 'kate &', for example)

7. Question: Someone has pranked me and caused a very unfunny "crazy mouse" app when my system starts. I can kill it, but I want to remove it from start items.
Background: back in Win 3.1 days, there was an app called "crazy mouse" or something that caused a click when you hovered too long over an icon. To my joy, this seems to be a default now with kmousemanager or whatever the heck it is. I must have clicked something and started it now every time my machine boots. How do I take itout of start items? (I know there is no start items group, it's Win parlance for "make it stop starting on boot." I don't know the Linux speak.)

Do you mean 'kmousetool'? You should be able to edit it's settings by right-clicking on the tray icon. Uncheck 'Start with KDE'. Of course you can remove the 'kmousetool' package if you don't use it.

Also (even if the program is not kmousetool) you can check /usr/share/autostart and ~/.kde/Autostart directories for programs that are launched with kde (and remove the program that is causing the trouble)

8. Is there an applet EXACTLY like the processtable, but also shows how much memory each item is taking, along with a reveal of how much Total RAM is being taken, how much RAM is free, and how much swap is being used?
Background: I want to get a process manager that shows memory usage. Maybe even one that shows the libraries each module is currently using so I have an idea and can learn what relates to what.

The CLI app 'top' is also very useful program (see 'man top')

[klerfayt]

Re: Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

1. Question: how do I fix sound in a web browser in Kubuntu?

aboutlugins into address bar and see if you have perhaps older flash player installed? (version 7?)
the newest is Shockwave Flash 9.0 that uses alsa instead of oss (open sound system) used by version 7 and older flash players

[Nakrull]

Re: Boatload of Questions Part III: Kubunt-Pwned

8. Is there an applet EXACTLY like the processtable, but also shows how much memory each item is taking, along with a reveal of how much Total RAM is being taken, how much RAM is free, and how much swap is being used?

Not exactly wath you want but you could play whit it
Kmenu>System>System Wach Performancemonitor

(the name is something like that, i have mine in german)
if you cant figure it out open a console:

ksysguard %U