Linux Tablet FAQ

Revision as of 03:00, 20 March 2006

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:

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.

How do I rotate the screen on the tc1100?

At a console (not as root), enter

xsetwacom set "stylus" Rotate CCW
xrandr -o left

to rotate the screen side-ways and enter

xsetwacom set "stylus" Rotate None
xrandr -o normal

to rotate the screen back. Once we've got the tablet hotkey buttons working these commands will be integrated into a script for you. Until then you can take advantage of these handy-dandy scripts by downloading them and adding them to your GNOME/KDE panel (please right click and use "Save File As"):

• RotateSideways.sh
• RotateNormal.sh

If you have downloaded the Modified Wacom Pen Driver then you can take advantage of the following script to automatically rotate the display on the tc1100 (place in /usr/custom/bin/):

• rotate.sh

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.

How can I setup my tablet to connect to a WPA-enabled network under Linux?

Preferred Method

This method requires that Ubuntu Dapper be installed and updated

The experimental version of NetworkManager can be used to support WPA and WPA2 networks under Linux. In order to do this you must add the address for the experimental NetworkManager to your package list, this can be done by adding the following lines to /etc/apt/sources.list:

# NetworkManager Sources
deb     http://kubuntu.no-ip.org/kubuntu dapper main
deb-src http://kubuntu.no-ip.org/kubuntu dapper main

Once you've added those lines you need to update the local package list and install the new NetworkManager, this can be done by executing the following lines from the command prompt:

sudo sux
wget -q -O- http://kubuntu.no-ip.org/AnthonyMercatante.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
apt-get update
apt-get install network-manager nm-applet

Please understand that this will place your NetworkManager into a state where it will be more difficult to update in the future, in order to update you will likely need to remove the lines that were added to /etc/apt/sources.list and you may need to completely remove the "network-manager" and "nm-applet" packages and re-install them in order to bring your installation back in-line with the experimental tree.

See Dapper NetworkManager for details.

Universal Method

You need to edit the "/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf" file to contain:

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant

network={
       ssid="<your_network_name>"
       scan_ssid=1
       proto=WPA
       key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
       psk="<your_secret_key>"
}

See Amilo 1425 Linux for details.

How do I change my password under Linux?

In order to change your password under linux you should open up a console window and type

sudo su
passwd student

and follow the directions (make sure to place "student" after passwd so you do not change the root password). It is recommended that you change your password, failure to do so may result in an inability to restore your session if the display gets locked. The display will lock if you close the tablet while Linux is running in Gnome so you will need to change your password before this happens.