NeoArch

I just switched my workstation over to a static IP setup. It’s an Ubuntu machine, and I ran into a little snag. Every time that I tried to sudo any command, it returned the following error:

sudo: unable to resolve host MyComputersName

If you have this problem, it’s an easy fix. Edit your host file (sudo vim /etc/hosts). You probably have your machine name configured as localhost, 127.0.0.1, or 127.0.1.1. Whatever it is, change the ip address associated with the machine name to the new static ip address. Ubuntu will stop screaming at you.

I use Ubuntu on a regular basis, but I find that sometimes the packages I can obtain with apt-get stink. Sometimes they’re not up to date, sometimes they’re incomplete, and sometimes the various mirror servers have broken packages. I’m not complaining. That’s just life when you’re using free and open source software. Sometimes things don’t work as they’re supposed to and you have to find a workaround. Sometimes building from source saves major headaches.

Anyway, such was the case recently when I wanted to install Tex Live. The Ubuntu sources for Tex Live were incomplete, and I constantly had errors, missing fonts, etc. So, I decided to try installing the full TeX Live CD myself. For me, it works like a charm, and I no longer have any problems. So, I offer this for any LaTeX and Ubuntu noobs out there who want a solution that works.

Here’s what I did. First, I used synaptic to fully uninstall all LaTeX and TeX Live packages.

Next, I went to CTAN and downloaded the installer for the 2008 CD. I extracted the folder to my desktop, opened a command prompt, and typed the following:

cd ~/Desktop/install-tl/
sudo ./install-tl
I

Then, I waited until the install was complete. I had to restart it a couple of times due to connection time outs, but in the end, the entire CD downloaded. It takes a while.

After the install finished, I opened my .bashrc file and made one change so that bash understood where to look for my paths.

sudo gedit ~/.bashrc

At the end of the file, I added this line:
PATH=/usr/local/texlive/2008/bin/i386-linux:$PATH; export PATH

Then, I saved the file and sourced the .bashrc file:
source ~/.bashrc

Now, if you’ve done all that, you can test it by typing:
latex -v

If everything worked, it should tell you about the version, and you should be good to go.

Just today, I was working on converting a Proliant ML350 G2 server from running Windows Server 2000 to a Linux distribution. I noticed several people had this same problem with various flavors of Linux, and I did not find a legitimate workaround that did not involve a noapic option. I was getting an error that involved this line: MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC.

I did find a workaround. It’s not that creative. I went to the HP/Compaq website and ran all the BIOS and firmware updates. The install went through without issue after that.

This post is just an FYI for those trying to use Capistrano on Ubuntu Feisty and running into the same problem I had. I had trouble finding specific information on the topic, thus this post.

I recently tried to use Cap on Ubuntu, and it would not work. I already had ruby and gems installed, having installed them using apt-get. I installed capistrano using the gem install capistrano. I could run gem list and capistrano was installed. All of my other gems worked fine.

When I checked the status of Capistrano using cap -h, I go the error bash: cap: command not found. After doing some searching, I found out how to fix it. Open ~/.bashrc using your favorite text editor. At the end of the file, add these lines:

#The following sets the path for Capistrano
export PATH=$PATH:/var/lib/gems/1.8/bin

Save the file and reboot. Capistrano should work now.