How to Build a Desktop Computer

Introduction

I wanted to upgrade my ten year old desktop but found that what I wanted and what I could afford were two completely different things. Therefore, I decided to look into building my own Desktop and after some considerable research decided to purchase the following as the basic parts for my desktop:-

Introduction.

This little tutorial aims to cover a simple, but vital process, that may be required if your secure shell (ssh) key becomes invalid.

How could this occur?

A simple explanation could be a corrupted file, but in my case, it was the result of implementing a clean installation of Debian Squeeze on my main production computer.

Introduction.

This tutorial covers connecting a Windows based printer, to Debian 6.00 - Squeeze, the latest Debian version that has been declared stable on 6^th February 2011.

Introduction.

It is not unusual, for new users wanting to try Linux for the first time to want to use an old discarded computer. This is quite a reasonable attitude, as these users have probably never seen a Linux operating system, let alone used one.

Fear plays a part in this, as computers remain a mystery to many thousands of people. They are content with switching them on and using them. What goes on "under the bonnet", is of no relevance.

They are used to Windows and that's it!

Introduction.

Some regular readers may have seen my articles on building a Debian server from scratch.

This has been up and running faultlessly for over a year now, with only the occasional maintenance from me and has proven to be a robust and reliable machine.

So why another; you may ask?

Introduction

A friend of mine recently asked if I could recommend a Linux distro for him to load for one of his family. Of course, there are several mainstream distros that would fit the bill, but I've become rather fond of Linux Mint for new users swapping from Windows.

Although Mint uses gnome as it's desktop, its developers have created a nice menu, that Windows users will feel right at home with and of course, it's based on the Ubuntu family, which in turn uses the very solid Debian core.

Like in That Other OS™ you can set up your desktop background image to change automatically every so often. I seem to remember somebody asking about this before, I had no idea at the time.

Notes: This is not my work at all, just a Linux Journal Tech Tip by Shawn Powers.

W32Codecs - Howto

I recently needed to come to the rescue of one of our club members the other day having some trouble playing some video content, so thought I would spell out what you need to add to get things working properly for both 32bit and 64bit systems for Jaunty Jackalope. Having the Flash Plugin now working on 32bit Firefox is great in Jauty Jackalope and only requires the installation of ubuntu-restricted-extras.

W64Codecs - Howto

I recently needed to come to the rescue of one of our club members the other day having some trouble playing some video content, so thought I would spell out what you need to add to get things working properly for both 32bit and 64bit systems for Jaunty Jackalope. Having the Flash Plugin now working on 64bit Firefox is great in Jauty Jackalope and only requires the installation of ubuntu-restricted-extras.

Useful Infos For Novices (and many long-time users alike)

OK, so here's a small list of knowledge i have obtained over the years in the world of Linux (Ubuntu and Debian specifically):

Pronounciation: "Ubuntu" is properly pronounced oo-boon-too, not oo-bunt-oo. Just a pet peeve but still important :)

Specific Programs and Services: