Linux Tablet FAQ

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How do I change my password under Linux?

Simply double click the "Change 'student' password" icon located on the desktop by default, and when prompted, enter your new password.

How do I change boot options?

You can change the boot options by booting into Linux, then going to System > Administration > QGRUBEditor, which will allow you to edit the configuration file found at /boot/grub/menu.lst (if QGRUBEditor asks, point it there).

TICC recommends against removing any of the boot options, as if your tablet cannot boot, we will simply re-image it, and you will NOT be able to back up your data (because the tablet won't boot).

You will probably want to change the default timeout of GRUB, you can do this by Gurb Settings Tab (bottom) > Adjust Timeout value as desired.

You can also edit the GRUB configuration text file found here: /boot/grub/menu.lst Be warned, however, that an improper configuration can mess up GRUB and render your tablet unbootable (needing a re-image). It is recommended that you use QGRUBEditor.

How do I run Mathematica?

When it starts up, Mathematica tries to connect to the Mines Licensing server. Because the AC&N (Computing Center) runs a very tight firewall, you cannot connect to the server from outside the Mines campus, unless you setup a VPN. Simply setup the VPN (shown right below) and then launch Mathematica.


How do I connect to the VPN?

Click the network manager icon in the system tray (in the upper right hand corner). Go to VPN Connections -> Configure VPN. Click the CSM VPN, and click edit. Go to the optional tab, and make sure that the "Override user name" is selected, put in your AC&N username (your email without the @mines.edu at the end). Click apply, and again click the network manager icon. Go to VPN Connections -> CSM, the group password is "CSMRocks", and the normal password is your AC&N (ADIT) password.

How do I fix the network-manager from dying after hibernation?

This is a bug in the network-manager from a few release cycles ago. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. Until then, please reboot your machine, after saving all of your work. You can use the locations feature of the networking utility to save specific settings for different locations (home, CSM, work, etc).


How do I disable the network-manager from connecting to a non-preferred network?

Browse to /home/student/.gconf/system/network/wireless/networks/ and delete the folder you don't want to connect to automatically anymore. To reverse this process, simply click on the network-manager, and select the wireless network you wish to connect to. GNOME will automatically remember the settings.


How do I install a handwriting recognition program (CellWriter) in Ubuntu Feisty?

CellWriter is installed by default on the most recent Gutsy build. If you need to install CellWriter, you know who you are.

It appears that the author compiled against the latest versions of the libatk1.0-0 library, meaning that the recommended way (installing the .deb package on the website) should work fine on Gutsy. However, Feisty does not have the latest version of the libatk1.0-0 library and the install program throws an "Unsatisfiable dependency" error, but the author suggested building it from the source code (I did, it works).

Download the source tarball (.tar.gz file) here, by clicking on "source tarball". Then, extract the tarball, (right click on file > "Extract here"), and open up a terminal. In a terminal cd into the extracted folder and run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r`
./configure
sudo apt-get build-dep cellwriter
make
sudo make install

Then, you can remove one of the two menu listings the install creates by using the menu editor (right click on Applications > Edit Menus). To add a launcher to the taskbar, simply drag and drop the launcher from the Applications menu onto the taskbar. If the writing panel doesn't show when CellWriter is launched, click the CellWriter tray icon (a CW on a white background), and click show.

To train cellwriter to your handwriting style, simply click on the train button on the left, and write over the letters. You can do letters multiple times, but and if you mess up, just erase on the letter (this erases all of the training on that letter!). You can add additional characters (like Greek for equations by going into Setup > Languages and selecting the checkbox next to the name of the language you want to add. To train the new alphabet, (in Training mode) change the language on the bottom-right. When in the input mode, simply write each letter in each cell. If you need more lines, either write to the end of the line, or if a word ends at the end of the line or a space before, simply wait a bit (about 2 full seconds) and a new line will appear. To actually enter the text, click the Enter button on the bottom-right (this also works as the Enter key). To access an on-screen keyboard, click the "Keys" button. When writing, if a letter turns red, it means that CellWriter has a low confidence in the accuracy of the letter recognition. If you are getting a lot of red letters, consider training the program for better performance.


Kile can't use spellcheck, help!?

We apologize that we did not get this into the existing build. You can add spell-check capabilities by installing the packages for spelling, this can be done from the command line by executing the following commands:

sudo su
apt-get install aspell
apt-get install aspell-en
apt-get install ispell
apt-get install myspell-en-us

Adding these libraries will also add spell-check capabilities to OpenOffice.org.


The tc4200 powers off very easily, is there a way to fix that?

YES! You can download a quick little script that (when installed) will ask you before powering down the system:

Archive.png Download Power Down Confirmation Script (Version 0.1)

Once you have downloaded the above file you should extract it and run the script "install.sh" contained in the folder powerbtn, this can be done from the command line by executing:

tar -xzf powerbtn.tgz
cd powerbtn.sh
./install.sh


Mathematica crashes the GNOME panel when I launch it - how do I fix that?

Try running mathematica without the splash screen, you can do this by executing

mathematica -noSplashScreen &

at the command prompt.


I'm having trouble making first-time connections to wireless networks under Linux, what should I do?

There appears to be a problem with the wifi-radar software in that it cannot connect to wireless networks that you have not connected to before. While the wifi-radar software is in the "working" stage open up a console and type

sudo su
ifdown eth1
ifup eth1
kill `ps -A | grep wifi-radar`

in order to reset the wireless network connection. If you continue to have problems please leave a message on the Forum.

My pen doesn't work after waking up from suspend on the 4200. What do I do?

If your pen doesn't work, close all windows and press Ctrl-Alt-Backspace this will restart X (the graphical manager) . The screen will flicker black for a little bit and you will be returned to the login screen. Login and you should be good to go.

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