I have just installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, and have spent some time to customize my Xfce panel. I have used GIMP to create a snapshot of my panel, split it into two (since the panel is too wide, with 1440 pixels), and attach them here.

I configured to use only one panel, with a height of 34 pixels at the bottom of the screen.

The Left Part

The left part of the panel consists of the items below (from left to right):

1. Xfce Menu. Only shows the icon to save space.
2. Places. For fast access.
3. Launcher for Firefox. I use Firefox often.
4. Launcher for Chromium. I use Google Chromium often too. Add the repository with a simple sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily
5. Launcher for Xfce Terminal. A must-have for hardcore GNU/Linux hacker!
6. Separator. A Line.
7. Task List. I configure it to 'Never group tasks'.
8. Separator. A Line.

The Right Part

This part is much more dynamic and interesting.

1. Weather Update. I can access the weather details and forecast in a few clicks. Handy information for me before hanging clothes outside!
2. Dictionary. I have also added the web service with URL http://dictionary.sina.com.hk/p/word/{word} for English <-> Chinese translation.
3. Notes. The 'physical' sticky notes I used did not stick well on the edge of my monitor. I resort to this 'soft' sticky notes for the moment. Bad thing is that it has to occupy some display area and not all notes are visible anytime.
4. Governor Plugin. I use the 'ondemand' governor most of the time to save power and reduce the heat generated. Will use 'performance' governor sometimes when I'm desperate. :p
5. CPUFreq. Shows the current CPU frequency, in GHz.
6. System Load Monitor. Shows monitors for CPU, memory, swap, and uptime respectively.
7. Free Space Checkter for /tmp. I have modified /etc/fstab to mount /tmp as tmpfs with this line: tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime,mode=1777 0 0. The capacity of tmpfs in my box, mounted with 4GB RAM, is 2GB. It's sufficient but it's better to monitor its space usage, as I often use /tmp to hold temporary files when compiling software, hold temporary ISO images during disc burning, etc.
8. Network Monitor. The maximums for incoming and outgoing are set to be 200 kBytes/s and 50 kBytes/s respectively.
9. Sensor plugin. sensors-detect found that I need to use the it87 module, but the module will not load successfully under Karmic Koala due to 'ACPI: I/O resource it87 [0x295-0x296] conflicts with ACPI region ECRE [0x290-0x2af]' as found in dmesg. To workaround with the problem, edit /etc/default/grub by assigning GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_enforce_resources=lax", execute sudo update-grub2, and reboot the box. I configured it to show M/B Temp, CPU Temp, and the temperatures of two hard disks.
10. Workspace Switcher. I use 6 workspaces, shown in 3 rows here.
11. Notification Area. The volume control and IBus input method framework are always accessible here.
12. Orage Clock. Line 1: %R, with font Sans 10. Line 2: %d-%b, with font Sans Bold 10.
13. Action Buttons. To lock the screen with just one click.

Your comments or suggestions are welcomed.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!

For updated and latest instructions for Ubuntu 9.10 onwards, go to this page.
This page keeps only the OBSOLETE instructions for setting up this printer up to Ubuntu 9.04 in case some people still need it.

Update (25-Apr-09): Updated for Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope and Samsung Unified Driver version 3.xx
Update (08-Nov-08): Updated for Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex
Update (30-Apr-08): Improved the workaround with hal-cups-utils
Update (28-Apr-08): Updated for Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron
Update (23-Oct-07): Updated for Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

I started to use my Fuji Xerox WorkCentre PE220 since Ubuntu 7.10, and I needed to do many tricks to install the driver properly. But since Ubuntu 9.04 and Samsung Unified Driver version 3.xx, the installation is so easy and it works out-of-box!

Note that the installation steps involved differ for different Ubuntu and driver versions. I make this guide more 'practical' by only showing the steps for the latest Ubuntu (9.04 Jaunty Jackalope) and printer driver (version 3.xx).

1. Download the Unified Linux Printer Driver from Samsung

Some Xerox printers are Samsung OEM. This Xerox WorkCentre PE220 looks like a clone of Samsung SCX-4521F [www.samsung.com] (Note: This link changed very often! Navigate from the main page if the link does not work.) except that it has a slightly different button layout on the control panel. Download the driver. The latest driver I use is UnifiedLinuxDriver.tar.gz (Version 3.00.37) as of this writing.

Configuring internet connection sharing in GNU/Linux normally involves modifying several configuration files and issuing several commands. You need to at least:

• Give Linux kernel the permission to forward network packets;
• Set up DHCP service;
• Set up firewall and route the network packets properly;
• Set up DNS forwarder.

This is definitely not user-friendly for beginners or for those who just want to set up a simple network.

Luckily, since version 0.7 of NetworkManager [projects.gnome.org], shipped with Ubuntu 8.10 and later, includes a very simple GUI for you set up a simple NAT network.

Suppose that you want to set up the following network:

I just bought a 3G mobile broadband package and used my Sony Ericsson handphone as a 3G modem (save money!) to go online. It is so simple and straightforward to set it up now especially if compared with how I did a similar task two years ago.

I have these:

• Xubuntu 9.04
• Sony Ericsson K770i
• Mobile Broadband by Celcom Malaysia

Problem

If you run a fullscreen Windows application in Linux using wine, the desktop panel sometimes overlaps your application. You are then unable to see or click the part of the interface that is covered.

Note that this problem exists only when (in winecfg)

1. "Emulate a virtual desktop" (under Graphics tab) is disabled, and
2. "Allow the window manager to control the windows" (under Graphics tab) is enabled.

Workaround

I discover this one by accident. I personally think that it is less troublesome than others. Here it goes:

Last Updated: 01-Dec-2008

After installing Ubuntu on a desktop PC, you may want use a bootloader other than GRUB for some reasons. (And this, a very nasty one, is mine.) You can choose to use extlinux [syslinux.zytor.com], which is a variant of the famous syslinux [syslinux.zytor.com] bootloader for ext2/ext3 filesystems. The steps here have been tested on Ubuntu 8.10 but should be applicable to other Linux distros as well.

1. Preparation

You need to have a Ubuntu Live Installation CD / USB stick to do the job.

Things I have done to install my GNU/Linux boxes with Ubuntu 8.10.

Last Updated: 01-Dec-2008

1. Requirements

My requirements for my GNU/Linux box:

• Do not compromise system performance for fancier graphics
• A comfortable environment for software development + entertainment!