Mythweb at its best

Mythweb, a component of MythTV, allows you to stream your own recorded videos, shows or movies from the Internet in a YouTube-like interface. Here is an example. One more reason MythTV beats the socks off TiVO.

Why Webmin is the best tool for Systems Administrators

In the SysAdmin world, Webmin is the best invention next to sliced bread. It is a compete, web-based administration interface for dozens of different systems. Not only does it support a plethora of operating systems, but it is much better than Red Hat's system-config-* and almost as good as Novell's Yast. It knocks the socks off any other administration tool that I have seen. You can download the package for your distro at Webmin's Website I guess you can call me a Webmin fanboy.

Lexmark Z645 Printer on Ubuntu Linux

This post, is how you can get a Lexmark Z645 Printer to work within Ubuntu 7.04, 7.10, 8.04 and later. It is most useful. http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-616097.html

Writing ISO files from the commandline

Maybe you want to rip a data CD or DVD into an ISO formatted file. Here is how to do it from the command line:

$wodim -v dev=<device> [speed] <trackName.iso>

For example:

$wodim -v dev=/dev/scd0 speed=4 puppy-3.01-seamonkey.iso

Backup or restore a MySQL database

They say that a system administrator is only as good as his last backup. If you need to backup or restore a MySQL database, you can execute these commands:

Backup the database:

$mysqldump -u <adminuser> -p <password> <databasename> > <databasebackupfile.sql>

For example:
$mysqldump -u root -p myPass mythconverg > mythdatabasebackup.sql

Restore the database:

$mysql -u <adminuser> -p <password> <databasename> < <databasebackupfile.sql>

For example:
$mysql -u root -p myPass mythconverg < mythdatabasebackup.sql

Repair a MySQL database

Sometimes you can do something to your MySQL database which causes corruption. You can fix this with the following command:

$mysqlcheck <database> -u <adminuser> -p <password> --auto-repair

For example:

$mysqlcheck mythconverg -u root -p myPass --auto-repair

This will automatically repair any corruption found within the database schema.

Align and clean printer heads for a Lexmark printer

If you have a Lexmark printer within Linux, it may be difficult to align or clean the printer heads as these utilities are nonexistent within cups. I have a Lexmark z645 printer. The workaround is to use the lpr utilities to get the job done. With some modification, this should work for most printers, not just Lexmark ones.

To align printer heads:
#lpr -P <printernamewithincups> -o raw <pathtoalignutility.out>

For example:
#lpr -P Lexmark_640_Series -o raw /usr/local/z600llpddk/utility/lxbcalgn.out

To clean printer heads:
#lpr -P <printernamewithincups> -o raw <pathtocleanutility.out>

For example:
#lpr -P Lexmark_640_Series -o raw /usr/local/z600llpddk/utility/lxbccln.out

The -o raw allows the job to be performed without going through MIME filters. Note that the paths may be different depending on your printer's driver. Use the command:

#find / -iname *.out to locate the correct path for the align and clean utility.

Past writings for the BYU-I Linux/Unix Society

I have been the BYU-Idaho Linux/Unix Society President for four semesters. During that time, I have had the opportunity to present articles on various themes. Here are links to those documents:

How to install Linux within VMWare (PDF)
Gaming in Linux (PDF)
Multimedia within Linux (PDF)
Build your own TiVo with MythTV (PDF)

The society's website is located here.

Why Masters of the Universe?

When I was younger, my brother and I were enthralled with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon show. We enjoyed playing with the action figures and imagining we were He-Man. This blog is a throwback to the idea of overwhelming power over evil. In this case, through using Linux.