Linux auto updater reports packages kept back?

On several of my Linux computers recently, after performing an upgrade to the installed packages, I see a category called "Packages Kept Back" that has a few packages in it. Install upgrades nor refresh is able to install them. Perplexing.

The reason: I found a discussion that explained that the updater is intended to only update installed packages. When an update is released that requires installation of dependencies, it is "kept back" to keep the meaning of update pure.

The solution: Running sudo apt-get install on each of the packages kept back will both upgrade that package and install the dependencies, resolving the problem.

The extra-large hammer solution: Running sudo-apt-get dist-upgrade will also resolve these kept-back packages, but will upgrade your distribution as well (for example from Ubuntu 8-10 to Ubuntu 9-04).

Web client for Firebird database

I had a need to do quick sql query and wanted to do it using a web app (rather than launching a command line tool or dbVis/SQuirrelL), so I found this package:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ibwebadmin/

Which provides a web interface to firebird. I had to do the following to get it installed and running:

1. Install ibWebAdmin
   Not necessarily to your $HOME/public_html, we can set up a soft link later
   
2. Have Apache installed and running (These instructions assume Apache 2)
   
3. Have php5 installed and running and configured for Apache2
   3a. You'll also need the php5-interbase plugin (sudo apt-get install php5-interbase)
   
4. Have Apache serving up a personal directory (http://localhost/~{username})
   Edit /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/{site}, adding the following lines beneath <virtualHost>
   <IfModule mod_userdir.c>
   UserDir public_html
   <Directory "/home/{user}/public_html">
   AllowOverride Options
   </Directory>
   </IfModule>
   
5. (optional) Soft link ibWebAdmin installation in public_html
   
6. Configure ibWebAdmin to serve up databases in non-standard directories
   Edit {ibWebAdminHome}/inc/configuration.inc.php and change the ALLOWED_DIR to an empty array by commenting the default value and uncommenting the empty array declaration
   

Now go to your browser http://localhost/~{username}/ibWebAdmin

<rant>iTunes and Windows x64; WTF?</rant>

I was looking for a song that I heard while listening to Pandora on Lala, Amazon.com, Yahoo music and couldn't find it. Pandora implied that it was available for purchase on iTunes so I decided to install iTunes and see.

The first question from website, are you running Windows 64 bit operating system? Why yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Windows XP x64. So I download the 64 bit version as instructed. On installation, I get a popup error saying "Oops, you can't use this version of iTunes because you're not running Windows Vista x64". +10 aggravation points Apple!

So I download the 32 bit version. And guess what happens now... iTunes installer tells me "Oops, you shouldn't be using this version since you have a 64 bit operating system; we recommend you download and use the 64 bit version of iTunes". +10 aggravation points again!

So I ignore the warning and continue with the 32 bit version. Once it's installed I search for the track I'm interested in and ... you guessed it, it's not even on iTunes. +10 aggravation points for pandora.com.

It's all making sense now why people go postal. I wonder how many people I've taken to the edge with software I've written. If you are one of those people, please forgive me and don't do a home invasion or drive-by on me!

Things I've found in and around my 100+ year old house

Most of these items were found during remodeling and landscaping. Ordered by value

1. 1856 Nickle found in the yard while building a retaining wall on my side of the Erie Canal bed.
2. 1907 Dime found when replacing a door to a second floor porch
3. Miscellaneous blue-glass bottles found while working on retaining wall.
4. Rolex silver baby spoon
5. Postcard from 1924 advertising a boxing match at the Rochester Athletic Club (found while I was still working at the unrelated Rochester Athletic Club)
6. Rusty old horseshoe
7. Bottle of Mercurochrome.
8. Old knitting needle

Fixing rendering problems with checkbox and radio on Firefox 3 with KDE 4

I've been living with a rendering problem on Firefox 3 under KDE 4 with Kubuntu 8.10 for some time but today I decided to try to fix it.

The problem was that the checkbox, radio and sometimes buttons and input fields on web pages under Firefox 3 didn't render properly until I did a hover over them. Once I scrolled the page those widgets got hosed again until I hovered over them again.

I had tried installing latest video drivers and tweaking KDE 4 look and feel settings to no avail. After a little digging, I found that the problem isn't with KDE 4 settings, but the settings for "GTK Styles and Fonts". Access these settings under "System Settings".

The page has a radio selector for "Use my KDE style in GTK applications" that was selected. Changing this to "Use another style" and selecting "Raleigh" made this problem go away but had a negative overall effect on how Firefox looked. I was on the right path though.

A little more digging made mentions of a common GTK style called "QtCurve". I installed this via Adept, closed the System Settings window and reopened it. Now "QtCurve" appeared in my "Use Another Style" dropdown. I selected it, pressed apply, then restarted Firefox.

And it was beautiful.

It also fixed my checkbox rendering problems in Eclipse (where the right edge didn't display).

Before:


After:

Ripping copy-crippled DVDs

Since my kids like to manhandle DVDs and they usually end up scratched, I decided to keep the originals in a safe place and burn copies which can live near the TV. When one doesn't play anymore, I can just re-rip the DVD or better yet, use the ISO image to burn a fresh copy.

So the first rip/burn went perfectly with the Windows freeware DVD-Shrink. I used it to rip to an ISO file, then I used another freeware program "InfraExpress" to burn the DVD. Problem solved, right?

Wrong. Some newer DVDs employ a copy protection mechanism that tricks DVD-Shrink into thinking the disc is corrupt. To get around this, I found the free-trial-ware program AnyDVD, made by Slysoft. I'm not sure how it works but using that program I was able to rip the DVD to a format that DVD-Shrink could use to then create the ISO. I did have to reboot after installing AnyDVD software and again after I unchecked the "run at start up" option to turn it back off.

The end result is that I have personal-use backups of my legitimately purchased DVDs. Now I just have to make sure the kids don't get to the originals!

Cutting and installing laminate countertop

I had a small base cabinet next to my washer that I needed to get a countertop for. Leaving 1/16" gap for the appliance and a 1" overhang on the end resulted in 24 5/8 width. I found a 5' countertop at Mr. Seconds that was reasonable for $44.

I was concerned about cutting the countertop but it turns out that a 36 tooth finishing blade on my circular saw did the job perfectly. I made a cleat as a saw guide to be sure I got a nice straight line.

I stood the countertop on the front edge to cut the backsplash as my first cut, then called over my neighbor for a spare set of hands and made the second cut for the remainder. I cut in a smooth motion to minimize chipping. No masking tape along cut on face of countertop required.

The next step was to put the edge laminate on the exposed edges. Anne did much better than I did at this. I suggest enlisting the wife, especially for the detail work of filing the extra laminate off. Hot iron set on Acrylic did the job for the adhesive.

Observations: when determining the width of the countertop, consider any extra molding on the outside edge of the base cabinet. I had a 1/4" strip near the front that I didn't consider, so my gap next to the washer ended up being more like 5/16".

Also, when putting in screws up into the countertop to affix it to the base cabinet, be sure the screws will not come anywhere near the surface. This seems like a no-brainer, but the cabinet's hardware for holding said screw was a flimsy piece of #2 plastic which flexed and allowed extra reach for the screw I used, which punctured the laminate. I used a clamp overnight and a dab of glue to fix the small puncture.