Ubuntu Hardy Repositories list

The simplest and safest way to install software in Ubuntu is to use the apt-get. But for it to work you need to know two things - you need to know what do you want to install, and you need this piece of software to be available in your repositories list.
Unfortunately, not all software that you may need is available in the default repositories. Usually this means that you need to go and look for a repository - most of the time it is enough just to google the program name, but there is a easier way. You can download a custom repositories list, and then to use it instead of your default one.

Photo by rafa espada

There are two problems with this method, however. First of all installing packages from not official repositories may break your system. This is especially true when your are upgrading to a new release. The second problem is that some of the repositories use GPG keys. In order to use them you will need to find the keys on your own. This is easy to do, most of the time a search for the repostory name will aso find the correct command for getting the key. Also, I include most of the keys in the file, so you will only need to download them. But this is very time consuming.

If this doesn't scare you away - click to download a large Hardy repositories list.
Update: Some of the repositories in the original list are outdated. Click here to download an updated version of the list. It is smaller, but all the repositories in it are working
Update 2: An even newer list, get it here.
To install it run these commands in terminal:

sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.backup
sudo cp $HOME/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude upgrade

After this, check the errors that the apt-get update commend will return, and add the keys for the repositories. In order to do this you will need to find the key to the repositories (it is listed in the sources file) and then run the following commands (replace KEY with the key listed in the list):

sudo gpg --keyserver subkeys.pgp.net --recv KEY
sudo gpg --export --armor KEY | sudo apt-key add

It will take a lot of time, but after this you will have a lot of extra repositories available. If at some point you will no longer need the extra repositories, or will want to remove them temporaly from the source file you can just run the following command:

sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list.backup /etc/apt/sources.list

If you know a repository not mentioned in the list you are welcomed to share it in the comments...

The largest jokes of nature..

It is a sad video - most of the people shown in it suffer from some sort of genetic problems, or just from the results of a wrong life style. It is interesting to watch, and it is even slightly funny - but I really doubt that anyone will watch it twice.

In the case you are wondering who made this video - it was done by this StumbleUpon user.

Also, for those who like large things - a list of World's largest useless things.

Ubuntu Hardy is out - what to do now?

Another milestone is reached - a new and improved version of Ubuntu is out. The question is - should you install it? I am a bit surprised myself that I actually wrote this question, but there are some things to consider before installing this upgrade.

What you will get with Hardy:
1. A lot of small improvements - while they are not visible, they contribute to the system overall stability.
2. Improved GUI - there are nice changes, but they are not turned on by default. You can read more about them in my post Thoughts about Ubuntu Hardy - GUI.
3. Latest versions of Firefox, OpenOffice etc.

Unfortunately, this is all. While there is nothing wrong with this upgrade, I don't see that it gives much the changes for the user are relatively small - this is mainly a stability update.
Moreover, there are two things to consider before upgrading to Hardy:
1. I installed the beta version and the update didn't go too well. There was a bug in the install process that caused the sudo command to stop working - when trying to run sudo I got the message "unknown host". The fix is to change the hosts file (it is located at /etc), by adding your desktop name to the list. The catch is, to edit it you need to be root. I solved it by typing aptitude into terminal and then it is possible to become root using the action menu. After doing so it is possible to use gksudo from the terminal. You can read more about how the upgrade went in the Upgrading to Hardy post.
2. The default browser, Firefox, is a beta version. This means that not all of your extension will work. It is possible to solve this partially by installing Nightly tester tools extension. Using this extension you will be able to use add-ons that are not compatible with the version of Firefox you have, but they are not guaranteed to work. If you use Firefox a lot, and especially if you have a lot of add-ons this might be a problem.

Also, if you use kiba-dock be warned - it will not work after the update. It is possible to install it in Hardy, but it must be compiled from source. You can read how to do this in my post Installing kiba-dock in Hardy.

Adding style to Firefox

One of the greatest advantages of Firefox is that it can be customized very easily. There are already a lot of extensions for it, and also a lot of scripts to further modify the browsing experience. I already wrote about this in the post Modifying the net. In this post I want to highlight another useful extensions (found it last week..) Stylish. This extension is a script manager, just like Greasemonkey.

Just as with Greasemonkey, there is a large collection of scripts available to download from UserStyles. I am now using three scripts. The first one is for Gmail, it is called Gmail Redesigned. (Update: This script is no longer available for stylish, read this post to get it: Google Redesigned). I always liked the default view of Gmail, but this little script managed to improve it significantly. Before and after pictures:




The other two scripts are so called global scripts. One of them is for centering the images on the screen - it works only when you open an image in Firefox. It is hard to say if it is actually useful or not, but somehow it looks more natural when the image is in the center of the screen. You can download it here.
The last script modifies the default blank page. This is how black pages look after installing this script:

I tried to find a nice script for GReader, but failed. Some of them looked very nice but they all totally broke the page - probably this is because I am on the latest Firefox beta now.

Firefox Easter eggs

I new about one of them for a long time but apparently there are three. Firstly, type "about:mozilla" without quotes in the address bar. You should see a page with a citation from the Book of Mozilla. In Firefox 2 we got this text:

And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror.

From The Book of Mozilla, 7:15

In Firefox 3b5, the text is different:

Mammon slept. And the beast reborn spread over the earth and its numbers grew legion. And they proclaimed the times and sacrificed crops unto the fire, with the cunning of foxes. And they built a new world in their own image as promised by the sacred words, and spoke of the beast with their children. Mammon awoke, and lo! it was naught but a follower.

From The Book of Mozilla, 11:9

(10th Edition)

Photo by Sleestak66

There are also two other easter eggs. If you will type "about:credits" you will get a list of all the developers who contributed to the project. Surprisingly there is at least one name for every letter - even one for Q..
The last egg works only in Firefox 3. Type "about:robots" to get this:

Click on the "Try Again" button for an extra joke..

Also try to type "about kitchensink" (without semicolon and quotes). This is not Firefox Egg, it is just a redirection by Google, but it is still funny..

Bonus: If you have Picasa, open it and press Ctr+Shift+Y. A teddy bear should appear on the screen. Apparently it belongs to one of the developers... if you will continue to press the key combination you will get more teddy bears.

Free ClipArt

I never liked ClipArt too much - its quality is usually too low for any serious use. However when I saw this post, I knew that I will almost surely find something for me to use in this 800 mb collection. Besides, all the images are public domain which means it is possible to modify them and to use for any purpose.
The post was changed since I first read it - it now says that it is possible to download the collection using apt-get.

Just a small example of what is inside...

When I first saw it, it provided a direct link to the archive. If I understood correctly, not all ClipArts that are in the archive are available via apt-get. To get the archive do the following:

For Linux:
Open terminal and type (one line at a time):
mkdir ClipArt
cd ClipArt
wget http://download.openclipart.org/downloads/daily_SVG_snapshot.tar.bz2

For Windows:
Download the archive.

It is a large download - 156 mb. After unpacking it will take about 800 mb. I downloaded the entire collection today, and deleted all the pictures I didn't like - what remained was 15 mb in size - 5 mb after putting it into a zip archive. You can download it here.
Please note that all the ClipArts are in svg format. If your computer cannot open this file type, and you don't know a program that will open it, you can download a smaller archive with png images here.

Azereus frog

FAQ and how to contact me

This post is a work in progress. Probably I will be able to expand it as times goes on..

Q: Who are you?
A: I don't like to share information about myself. If you have a reason to know something (curiosity is not considered a reason) it will be told personally and not discussed on this blog. What I want the world to know about me is written in the "About me" page section to the right.


Q: Why you started this blog?
A: To be honest, I hoped to get income from it. Very soon I understood that it is not very real. As of now I write this blog for myself. It turned out that I like writing posts...


Q: Do you have any connection to MathPages.com? Why you have the same name?
A: I have no connection to it. You can read more about this here.


Q: Why there are birds in Math Pages blog header image?
A: When I draw this image, I wanted to add something to its right side in order for it to look more filled. I am using Gimp for photo editing, and it turned out that one of the built in figures it can draw is a bird. I have nothing against birds, so I added their shapes to the header. Overall I am pleased with the result.


Q: Why you write "math"? You should write "maths".
A: No. There are two ways of writing it. If you are from UK you probably write "maths" but in the USA it is written "math". Also - see the Wikipedia article.


Q: I have proved the Riemann Hypothesis / developed a GUT theory, but nobody takes me seriously. Can you help?
A: Short answer - no. Long answer - firstly go here and then here. If after reading these two pages you are still confident in your ideas use my e-mail (below) to contact me.

Q: I have a blog/site, and I want you to add it to your blogroll (or to mention in a post).
A: I add only math blogs (I have a few non math blogs there, but if you are not a math blogger it is unlikely that I will include your blog there). Also, I want to be sure that the blogs I have in my blogroll add something to my readers, so I firstly subscribe to them myself and then if I like the content I add it. So the best way to get in there is to simply notify me about your blog, if I will like it I will add it myself. I am not going to add your blog because you added mine to your blogroll.
A site I cannot add to a blogroll, but if it is interesting or useful I will write a post about it.

Q: How can I contact you?
A: The best way is to use e-mail. My e-mail address is: