[update] Wine 1.1.4 has been released, and includes fixes for running Chrome. I’ll update this post once I give it a try. I’ve updated the post.

You’ll need to have an up-to-date version of Wine, I tested it with version 1.1.3. See #8 in this blog post on how to install the latest Wine versions. If you’re not sure, run this command to check your Wine version:
wine --version

Google’s net-installer for Chrome doesn’t work in Wine. Instead, use the standalone installer. Download it from here:
http://gpdl.google.com/chrome/install/149.27/chrome_installer.exe

Open a terminal to and change to the directory you downloaded the installer to. Run the installer with Wine:
wine chrome_installer.exe

The installation should complete very quickly. Click Start Google Chrome and the Chrome window should open, but will appear to be broken. Close Chrome for now.

[update: installing the riched20 and riched30 DLLs is no longer necessary with Wine 1.1.4. You only need winetricks now to if you wish to install fonts.] Let’s use a script called winetricks to automate downloading and setting up some required DLLs. Download winetricks, make the script executable, and run it:
wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks
chmod +x winetricks
./winetricks riched20 riched30

Run Chome with the–new-http and –in-process-plugins options to make it work (the command below is all one line):
wine ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/profiles/$USER/Local\ Settings/Application\ Data/Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe --new-http --in-process-plugins

Use the previous command whenever you want to start Chrome. At this point Chrome is working fine, but the fonts look awful. The fonts can be improved by using winetricks again (I didn’t use the allfonts command because the Liberation fonts seem to be gone and cause winetricks to get stuck):
./winetricks corefonts tahoma

Chrome runs pretty well in WINE. The largest problem is that HTTPS addresses will cause an error. Minor issues include the status bar appearing above other windows and the lack of font anti-aliasing for small text.

This post is based on the instructions from the Ubuntu forums, posted here. More information about Chrome on Linux is available on the Wine AppDB page.

1. The simplest tweak is to mount volumes using the noatime option. By default Linux will write the last accessed time attribute to files. This can reduce the life of your SSD by causing a lot of writes. The noatime mount option turns this off.

   Open your fstab file:
   sudo gedit /etc/fstab

   Ubuntu uses the relatime option by default. For your SSD partitions (formatted as ext3), replace relatime with noatime in fstab. Reboot for the changes to take effect.

2. Using a ramdisk instead of the SSD to store temporary files will speed things up, but will cost you a few megabytes of RAM.

   Open your fstab file:
   sudo gedit /etc/fstab

   Add this line to fstab to mount /tmp (temporary files) as tmpfs (temporary file system):
   tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime,mode=1777 0 0

   Reboot for the changes to take effect. Running df, you should see a new line with /tmp mounted on tmpfs:
   tmpfs 513472 30320 483152 6% /tmp

3. Firefox puts its cache in your home partition. By moving this cache in RAM you can speed up Firefox and reduce disk writes. Complete the previous tweak to mount /tmp in RAM, and you can put the cache there as well.

   Open about:config in Firefox. Right click in an open area and create a new string value called browser.cache.disk.parent_directory. Set the value to /tmp.

4. An I/O scheduler decides which applications get to write to the disk when. Because SSDs are so different than a spinning hard drive, not all I/O schedulers work well with SSDs.

   The default I/O scheduler in Linux is cfq, completely fair queuing. cfq is works well on hard disks, but I’ve found it to cause problems on my Eee PC’s SSD. While writing a large file to disk, any other application which tries to write hang until the other write finishes.

   The I/O scheduler can be changed on a per-drive basis without rebooting. Run this command to get the current scheduler for a disk and the alternative options:
   cat /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler

   You’ll probably have four options, the one in brackets is currently being used by the disk specified in the previous command:
   noop anticipatory deadline [cfq]

   Two of these are better suited to SSD drives: noop and deadline. Using one of these in the same situation, the application will still hang but only for a few seconds instead of until the disk is free again. Not great, but much better than cfq.

   Here’s how to change the I/O scheduler of a disk to deadline:
   echo deadline > /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler

   (Note: the above command needs to be run as root, but sudo does not work with it on my system. Run sudo -i if you have a problem to get a root prompt.)

   You can replace sda with the disk you want to change, and deadline with any of the available schedulers. This change is temporary and will be reset when you reboot.

   If you’re using the deadline scheduler, there’s another option you can change for the SSD. This command is also temporary and also is a per-disk option:
   echo 1 > /sys/block/sda/queue/iosched/fifo_batch

   You can apply the scheduler you want to all your drives by adding a boot parameter in GRUB. The menu.lst file is regenerated whenever the kernel is updated, which would wipe out your change. Instead of this way, I added commands to rc.local to do the same thing.

   Open rc.local:
   sudo gedit /etc/rc.local

   Put any lines you add before the exit 0. I added six lines for my Eee PC, three to change sda (small SSD), sdb (large SSD), and sdc (SD card) to deadline, and three to get the fifo_batch option on each:
   echo deadline > /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler
echo deadline > /sys/block/sdb/queue/scheduler
echo deadline > /sys/block/sdc/queue/scheduler
echo 1 > /sys/block/sda/queue/iosched/fifo_batch
echo 1 > /sys/block/sdb/queue/iosched/fifo_batch
echo 1 > /sys/block/sdc/queue/iosched/fifo_batch

   Reboot to run the new rc.local file.

   [update] Commenter dondad has pointed out that it’s possible to add boot parameters to menu.lst that won’t be wiped out by an upgrade. Open menu.lst (Remember to make a backup of this file before you edit it):
   sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

   The kopt line gives the default parameters to boot Linux with. Mine looks like this:
   # kopt=root=UUID=6722605f-677c-4d22-b9ea-e1fb0c7470ee ro

   Don’t uncomment this line. Just add any extra parameters you would like. To change the I/O scheduler, use the elevator option:
   elevator=deadline

   Append that to the end of the kopt line. Save and close menu.lst. Then you need to run update-grub to apply your change to the whole menu:
   sudo update-grub[end update]

Want to know how fast your SSD or other storage device is? Using hdparm you can test the read performance of your disk:
sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda

The 4 GB SSD on my Eee PC 901 gets about 33 MB/s. My desktop PC’s hard drive gets about 78 MB/s. (What hdparm doesn’t show is that the seek time for an SSD is much, much lower than a hard disk.)

Have any other suggestions for SSDs, or disagree with any of these? Leave a comment to let me know.

This bug can be worked around by changing an advanced Compiz setting to turn off the unredirecting of fullscreen windows.

Run this command in a terminal to turn the setting off, and fix the flickering:
gconftool-2 --set /apps/compiz/general/screen0/options/unredirect_fullscreen_windows --type bool 0

To switch it back on:
gconftool-2 --set /apps/compiz/general/screen0/options/unredirect_fullscreen_windows --type bool 1

If you’re using the CompizConfig Settings Manager, you can change the same setting by opening General Options->General and unselecting Unredirect Fullscreen Windows.

Firefox’s fullscreen mode works flawlessly with this workaround, but 3D applications that run fullscreen might be impacted by redirected rendering. When a window is unredirected, it’s not composited by Compiz, which should be faster.

This problem seems to be with the Intel graphics driver. When a fullscreen application has a window open above it, like a tool tip or menu, it switches from being rendered directly to redirected because of Compiz. This switch seems to cause the Intel driver trouble, and results in a flicker.

Playdeb includes an APT software repository, and a games list that can be used to install games simply by clicking an install link. The repository can be easily added by installing a DEB package. The install links in the games list require AptURL, which is standard in Ubuntu since 7.10, but Playdeb requires an updated version to be installed. A DEB package for this is also provided.

The Playdeb site has instructions for getting set up, follow the links to download and install the two packages.

Once you’ve finished, head to the games list. Pressing the Install link for a game will first reload the repository and then open a dialog asking if you want to install the game. Click Yes and the game will install.

The current Playdeb site is a prototype, and the list of games on the site is incomplete. I did have one issue: the first time I tried to install a game the package could not be found, clicking the install link again fixed it. Playdeb uses the updated AptURL to refresh the repositories before every installation. Playdeb is updated as regularly as GetDeb is, but is this needed? By default Ubuntu updates the repositories daily by itself.

Adding repositories may not be easy for new users. Early versions of AptURL included a feature for adding repositories that would have been very easy, but it was disabled for security. I think Playdeb’s solution of offering a DEB package that adds the repository is ideal.

Playdeb is similar to Linspire’s CRN, which also offers games. However, Playdeb’s design is far superior; it doesn’t conflict with Ubuntu’s own repositories, is easier to set up, and uses the existing package manager.

I’m hoping to see more sites like Playdeb, offering other applications.

To give you an idea of how bad it is - inserting an SD card causes it to be mounted as /media/D: to emulate Windows’ drive letters. A Linux distribution that unnecessarily Windows-like? No thanks. There’s also next to nothing available in the package manager and so far no client for Asus’ CNR-based software site. If you want to use the Eee as more than an internet appliance, you’ll likely want a different Linux distro.

For a laptop that was preloaded with Linux right out of the box, the Eee PC 901 is surprisingly unfriendly to Ubuntu 8.04. After getting around the lack of an optical drive and installing Ubuntu, you’ll find yourself with no Ethernet or Wifi support.

Distro support is getting better for the Eee PC laptops, Ubuntu 8.10 should be much more compatible. Here’s the process I went though to get Ubuntu 8.04 set up on my Eee PC 901:

1. Boot from a USB drive or SD card to run the Ubuntu installer. I’ve already written a how-to for creating bootable Linux USB drives that you can use to install Ubuntu on the Eee PC. Pressing Esc during the Eee’s boot will bring up a menu that allows you to select to boot from USB.

   After booting into the live desktop environment Compiz should be the default window manager. If you have trouble with windows not fitting the screen, turn Compiz off for now so you can use the Alt key to pan windows.

2. Install Ubuntu normally. The only special consideration to make during the installation is partitioning. The Eee PC 901 has a smaller SSD (sda) and a larger SSD (sdb). I used manual partitioning to place the root on the smaller SSD and /home on the larger. Don’t put a swap partition on the SSD, it’ll wear out the SSD faster than anything.

   I used the default Ext3 file system for all the partitions. The smaller 4 GB SSD just barely fits the minimum requirements, but it will fit just fine and leave you will a bit of free space even. However, if you need to install many more applications you may need to remove some that you don’t use from the default installation first.

3. Reboot into the new installed system. If the live system has trouble shutting down, press the power button. As a last resort, hold down the power button until the Eee PC shuts off.
4. Remove the cdrom line in fstab. The Ubuntu installer mistakenly adds the drive it was installed from to your fstab file as a CDROM. This means that SD cards (and USB drives?) will not be mounted properly.

   Open your fstab file:
   sudo gedit /etc/fstab

   Find and comment out (by adding a # to the beginning of the line) the line referencing /media/cdrom. Reboot, and you should now be able to use SD cards again.

5. Install the custom Eee PC Linux kernel. I used a kernel created specially for Eee PC laptops, including the 901. This kernel solves most of Ubuntu’s issues with the laptop.

Follow these instructions to install the new kernel without an network connection. Remember to complete the second half, adding the repository, so you stay up to date.

After booting the Eee PC kernel, wired and wireless LAN should work. The system should also boot and perform faster thanks to the optimized kernel.

6. Enable Bluetooth and the webcam. If you want to use the Bluetooth radio or the webcam, you’ll need to turn them on first in the BIOS. In addition, you’ll need to install a webcam application. Cheese is easy to install from the repositories and works well.

   [update] The microphone does work, but the capture volume is turned all the way down by default. Open Volume Control, and select File->Change Device->Capture ALSA PCM… to open the correct control. Turn up the volume for this device to 100%.

7. Set up the desktop. Ubuntu’s default GNOME desktop isn’t ideal on such a small screen. Set up a single GNOME panel to save screen space. Adding a CPU scaling monitor to the panel will show that Ubuntu now supports scaling the processor speed to save power. I opened Power Management and chose the have the system sleep when I close the lid.

   Here’s what my desktop looks like now:
   

That’s about all it takes to get the Eee PC running Ubuntu with mostly everything working. I think the only thing not working are some of the function keys, which I have not bothered with yet. The battery applet estimates about 4.5 hours of battery life, which is far short of Asus’ claimed 8 hours.

Check back soon for a few more Eee PC and laptop-related posts.

A comprehensive and up-to-date list of the new features has been posted on the Ubuntu Forums.

Development of Ubuntu 8.10 started with the Linux 2.6.26 kernel, compared to version 2.6.24 in Ubuntu 8.04. Just recently, it was decided to use the 2.6.27 kernel instead. The main reason for the switch is to avoid having to update the older kernel with things already in 2.6.27.

This is unusual for an Ubuntu release, typically the kernel has been upgraded two versions. The last time the kernel was upgraded three versions in an Ubuntu release was Ubuntu 7.04 (Edgy’s 2.6.17 to Feisty’s 2.6.20).

The last number in the kernel version being odd indicates a kernel with larger changes than an even numbered kernel. However, both even and odd kernels are considered stable.

The new Linux kernel needs to be tested! An up-to-date installation of Ubuntu 8.10 should now include it.

It’s not likely that Flash Player 10 RC will make it into Ubuntu 8.10 because of the feature freeze.

If you want to try the new Flash Player, first remove any previous versions if you manually installed them. If you installed it from the repositories this is not necessary because the new package will replace the old one.

I have found some packages of the RC available for Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10. Here’s a link to the download for Ubuntu 8.04 on i386.

Install the package and restart Firefox to start Flash 10 Beta.

I found the previous beta 2 release to be unusably slow and buggy. Fortunately, Adobe must have fixed the problem because this RC is working great! I can now play YouTube and even Vimeo HD videos fullscreen with Flash without any trouble.

The only issues I’ve had so far with some websites that can’t yet correctly identify Flash Player 10, and Wordpress’ Flash uploader.

If you do have trouble, downgrade back to Flash 9 by uninstalling the package and reinstalling from the official Ubuntu package:
sudo apt-get remove flashplugin-nonfree
sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

In other Flash news, this page, written by a Flash developer was linked to from Adobe’s Linux Flash Player blog. It hints that Adobe has developed a 64-bit Flash Player for Linux and FreeBSD.

I used this method to create an Ubuntu 8.04.1 live SD card. The process required just over 700 MB of space on the card.

UNetbootin’s website offers a statically-linked binary download for Linux systems. This means you don’t need to install it. Download UNetbootin for Linux using the link on the top of the application’s site.

Mark the downloaded file as executable using the command line, or by opening its properties and selecting Allow executing in the Permissions tab. You can run the application on the command line or by double clicking the file.

If you get errors about missing some dependencies, exit UNetbootin and install them before continuing. I had to install mtools and p7zip-full (click the links to install):
sudo apt-get install mtools p7zip-full

UNetbootin should start now without any warnings.

Select the Diskimage option and browse to your source ISO file. In the Drive dropdown box, double check that your desired USB flash drive or memory card is selected. For example, if you want to check if /dev/sde1 is your flash drive, run this command:
mount | grep /dev/sde1

Among the output from that command should be the location where /dev/sde1 is mounted currently.

Click OK and wait while UNetbootin works. Click Exit once the process is finished, and eject your drive. You should now be able to boot off of it on any system capable of USB boots.

Where I got confused initially was using the Browse Device option to pair the mouse. This seems to be meant for file transfers only and causes the mouse to disconnect and reconnect rapidly. Here’s the correct way to set this up:

If your system’s Bluetooth radio is working, you should have a Bluetooth icon in your notification area. Right click on this icon and select Preferences. Select the Services tab, and turn on Input service if it is not already running. Select the Input service item from the list and click the Add button.

A new window will list all the currently visible input devices. If your mouse isn’t visible here, then press the button that makes the mouse discoverable now. (For the Logitech V470, that’s the Connect button on the bottom of the mouse.) Select the device and click Connect.

The new mouse should start working immediately. In my testing, the mouse will also automatically reconnect after a reboot.

Hamster will be included in GNOME version 2.24, and likely also in Ubuntu 8.10.

Open System->Administration->Software Sources. Select the Third-Party Software tab. Click Add, and paste in this repository:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/hamster.support/ubuntu hardy main

Close Software Sources, and when prompted, choose to reload the repositories.

Install Hamster from the package hamster-applet (click the link to install), or by running the command below in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install hamster-applet

Add Hamster to your GNOME panel to begin using it. Right click on an empty area on a panel and select Add to Panel. Select Hamster from the list and click Add.

After you’ve added Hamster to your panel, you’ll see “No activity”. Click on the text to bring up Hamster’s activity interface.

Simply type what you’re doing into the Activity text box and press Enter to begin tracking it. You’ll see the text on the panel change to your current activity and how long you’ve been doing it. When you’re finished, either click Stop Tracking or type a new activity. One useful shortcut is to double click on an item in the Today list to start tracking that activity again.

The Show Overview button opens a more advanced interface for editing and analyzing past activities. Clicking the Generate Report button will create an HTML summary of your day and open it in a web browser.