Ken’sTechnology Blog » apt http://www.k840.com A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:17:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Keep your Linux system up to date with KPackageKit http://www.k840.com/keep-your-linux-system-up-to-date-with-kpackagekit/ http://www.k840.com/keep-your-linux-system-up-to-date-with-kpackagekit/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 admin http://www.k840.com/keep-your-linux-system-up-to-date-with-kpackagekit/ As you have most likely seen on Ghacks, there are numerous ways to keep your Linux distributions up to date. There are new systems available such as the Ubuntu Software Center (see my article “The new Ubuntu Software Center“) that make installing software a piece of cake. But even with applications such as the USC in place, there is still a need for other systems. Take, for instance, the USCs inability to install more than one package at a time…this is a big issue within the Linux community. Add to that the fact that there are many Linux users who prefer to stick with older, more proven technologies, and you can see why other installation tools remain.

One of those tools is PackageKit. PackageKit is a background service charged with updating and installing software on your computer. But because PackageKit itself is just a background service, it requires a front end so that end users can take advantage of the system. One very powerful front end is KPackageKit. KPackageKit is the KDE front end for PackageKit, whereas Gnome PackageKit is the GNOME front end (see my article “Installing applications in Linux with GNOME PackageKIT.”)

One of the things I like about KPackageKIT, over the Ubuntu Software Center, is that it can not only install applications, it can update your already installed applications. But unlike USC or Synaptic, you will have to know the name of the software package in order to find it. KPackageKIT does not show all software available. Instead you start up the tool with a blank slate and search for what you want to install. You can search by:

  • Description.
  • File name.

But you can also apply various filters to your search. Included search filters are:

  • Collections.
  • Installed.
  • Development.
  • Graphical.
  • Free.

Let’s take a look and see how software is installed with KPackageKIT.

Starting KPackageKIT

Figure 1

Figure 1

You can start the application two ways: Command line or from the menu. To start from the command line hit <Alt>F2 to open the run dialog and enter the command kpackagekit. To start the tool from the KDE menu click on the menu, click on the Computer tab, and then click on the KPackageKIT entry (see Figure 1).

When KPackageKIT starts what you will see is a fairly simple interface (see Figure 2). From this window you are able to:

  • Install software.
  • Update your system.
  • Configure KPakcageKIT.

Figure 2

Figure 2

Let’s install the Scribus DTP tool as an example. Follow these simple steps:

  1. Select Software Management.
  2. Open up KPackageKIT and enter “scribus” (no quotes) in the search area.
  3. Click the downward-pointing arrows of the software(s) you want to install.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. When the new window appears, click Install Now.
  6. If dependencies are necessary, OK them.
  7. Enter your sudo (or root – depending upon your distribution) password.
  8. Wait for the installation to complete.
  9. Click OK to dismiss the window.

Updating your system with KPackageKIT is just as simple. Follow these steps:

  1. Open up KPackageKIT.
  2. Click on the Software Update section.
  3. If there are updates available, either select the updates you want to run or click the Select All Updates button.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Enter your password.
  6. Wait for the update to finish.
  7. Click OK to dismiss the window.

Configuration

From within the Configuration section there are a minimal number of options to configure. The primary configuration to take care of here is adding new software sources. To add a new repository follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Settings section.
  2. Click the Edit Software Sources button.
  3. Click on the Other Software tab.
  4. Click on the Add button.
  5. Enter the complete apt line for the source (not just the address).
  6. Click OK to dismiss the address window.
  7. Click Close to dismiss the Software Sources window.

If you manually edit your /etc/apt/sources.list (or your Yum repository file – depending upon your distribution) these changes will appear in KPackageKIT.

Final thoughts

Although not perfect, KPackageKIT is certainly a viable solution for Linux software installation. If you need a simple KDE-based means of installing software, and do not want to use the command line, this tool might be just what you need.

From:www.ghacks.net

]]> http://www.k840.com/keep-your-linux-system-up-to-date-with-kpackagekit/feed/ 0 Create your own mobile Ubuntu repository with APTonCD http://www.k840.com/create-your-own-mobile-ubuntu-repository-with-aptoncd/ http://www.k840.com/create-your-own-mobile-ubuntu-repository-with-aptoncd/#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:11:21 +0000 admin http://www.k840.com/create-your-own-mobile-ubuntu-repository-with-aptoncd/ How many times have you installed Linux, tweaked it to perfection with various applications, only to have something happen and you have to re-install. Or you get that machine up and running with all the goods and then want to re-create the system on another machine. In either of these situations, the last thing you would want to do is to have to remember all of the applications and then spend the time to download them all again.

Well, there’s a handy tool that will take care of all of that for you. The tool is called APTonCD. What this tool does is create a CD with all of the applications you have installed – basically a portable repository. And, with the same tool, you can restore all of the packages on the CD – all from one convenient GUI.


Features

Choose specific packages on your local machine (or choose all).

Download entire repositories.

Burn CD/DVD from within APTonCD.

Create and restore from same GUI.

Auto-selection of dependencies option.

Easy to use.

Installation

The installation is simple:

  1. Open up your Add/Remove Software Application.
  2. Enter “aptoncd” in the search bar (no quotes).
  3. Mark APTonCD for installation.
  4. Click Apply.

Once the installation is complete you can close out the installation tool and get ready to use APTonCD.

Starting and using APTonCD

Figure 1

Figure 1

Once installed APTonCD is found in the Administration sub-menu of the System menu (GNOME desktop). Figure 1 shows the main window for the application. From this window you can either create a new CD or restore from an already existing CD.

To create a new CD click the Create button which will open up another window. In this new window (see Figure 2) the packages will be collected and, eventually, listed out for you. From this listing you can select the packages you want to include on your CD. By default all of the packages are selected.This window will also includ the total size of the completed installation. As you can see (in Figure 2) the total size of my restore CD will be 596 MB (some of the packages are not selected).

Figure 2

Figure 2

If you want to add packages not already on your system you can click the Add drop down and select either Packages or Folder and then navigate to those files/folders. You can also open up Nautilus and drag and drop packages into the APTonCD window.

Once you have selected all of your packages you might want to go to the Edit menu and select “Auto-select Dependencies” to ensure all dependencies are met on your CD. Now it’s time to burn. When you’re ready click the Burn button which will open up a Disc Properties window (see Figure 3). In this new window you select your medium, the destination for the image file, a file name, and whether or not you want to create a meta-package. The meta-package is one package that

Figure 3

Figure 3

includes all packages on the CD as dependencies. This makes restoration very simple in that all APTonCD has to do is select one package to install.

When you click Apply APTonCD will begin to create the .iso image that you will then burn onto disk using your favorite CD burning software.

When the iso has been created a new window will open asking if you want to burn the CD/DVD. This window will allow you to select that application you want to burn with. If you chose you can click No and burn the CD/DVD later. I have found the burn portion of the APTonCD to be a bit flaky, so I just always burn by open up K3B and burning the image.

RestoringFrom:www.ghacks.net

I would like to say that APTonCD can easily handle the installation of your packages with a simple click of a button. It can not. What APTon CD does is create portable repositories. So you can use the APTonCD restore option to basically add your CD repository for installation.  I have found, however, the best way to install the entirety of the packages is with the tried and true command line. This allows you to quickly get all of your packages installed with a couple of easy commands. What you will want to do is this:

  1. Insert your CD/DVD created by APTonCD.
  2. Open up a command line.
  3. Change to the directory where you CD is located with the command cd /media/cdrom (Note: Your CD might be located in a different directory).
  4. Change into the packages directory with the command cd packages.
  5. Issue the command sudo dpkg -i *deb which will install all packages on the CD.
  6. After the installation is complete you MIGHT have to use Syanptic in the event their are broken packages.

Close out the command prompt and check your Applications menu, you should be good to go.

Final thoughts

I hope that the developers of APTonCD will some day make it much easier to restore from the GUI. But even with the inconvenience of having to use the command line for quick restoration, APTonCD is a very handy tool.

From:www.ghacks.net

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