Robby Colvin

Guide to backing up DVDs with K9copy

Posted by geetarista August 21, 2006

Backing up DVD’s is one thing I know that is holding many people back from switching to Linux. This was one of the first things that I wanted to learn how to do when I first started using Ubuntu. Now, there are many ways of backing up DVDs in Linux, but I will show how I do it. This may not be the fastest and best way to do it, but I feel it is so simple yet powerful enough for anyone that needs it. I do not use Windows programs through Wine, because I think that defeats the purpose of using Linux and it also becomes more difficult and time-consuming, especially for newbies. The program I have found to work the best is called K9copy. It has a very nice GUI that makes it easy to use and it is very simple so it doesn’t take much to learn.

I also want to remind everyone that copying DVDs that are not yours is illegal and I do not condone it.

To install K9copy, you need to first enable support for ripping decrypted DVDs:

sudo apt-get install libdvdread3
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/examples/install-css.sh

Now you need to add the repositories to be able to get K9copy. In a terminal, type this:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Once that’s open, add this line somewhere in the file:

# k9copy
deb http://repos.knio.it/ breezy main contrib non-free
deb-src http://repos.knio.it/ breezy main contrib non-free

Then you need to get the authentification for the repository:

wget http://repos.knio.it/key.asc
sudo apt-key add key.asc
sudo apt-get update

Now, to finally install, type this:

sudo apt-get install k9copy

If you are using Gnome and the program won’t start, try this:

sudo ln -s /usr/local/kde/bin/k9copy /usr/local/bin/k9copy

Now you are ready to go! All you have to do is open K9copy by finding under multimedia or by using Alt + F2 and entering “k9copy”. Then click the little folder icon directly underneath the “File” menu. Once that is loaded, click on the checkbox next to the name of the DVD you are in order to select the entire DVD. Next, make sure that the option called “Keep Original Menus” is checked also. Your input device should be the DVD burner that you are using and the output device should be “ISO Image”. Leave all of the settings under the “Settings” tab unchecked and then just click on the blue gear icon that is left to the red power button. Then just enter a name for the ISO you are going to create. Then it will take some time to rip the DVD depending on its size and the speed of your DVD burner.

Once that is all finished, open up K3B so you can burn that ISO to your blank DVD. Just click on the “Tools” menu and click on “Burn DVD ISO Image”. Then just select the ISO file that you just saved and burn it to a blank DVD and you’re done! This has worked flawlessly with every DVD that I’ve tried, so hopefully it will work for you as well.

Happy burning!

Google Services in Gmail

Posted by geetarista August 11, 2006

I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I noticed today that there are more links to other Google services within Gmail and Gcalendar. I was hoping they would do this for a while, and now it’s finally here!

Quicksilver Replacement for Linux

Posted by geetarista August 09, 2006

I remember that before when I was switching over to Linux, I had heard about a program for Macs called Quicksilver. Of course I could never try it out because I didn’t have a Mac, but from what I heard, this cool little app could do just about anything (well, not anything). Since I was new to Linux, I didn’t really know how to look for something that was close to Quicksilver that I could use. But eventually I did find a few little apps for Linux that at least have the same general functions. They don’t have all the functionality that Quicksilver has, but hopefully these apps will keep progressing.

The one I will mostly be discussing is called Deskbar Applet. This little program is pretty powerful and can be very helpful especially when you are unfamiliar with Linux. To install the Deskbar Applet in Ubuntu, just search for it in the Synaptic Package Manager, or type this into the terminal:

sudo apt-get install deskbar-applet

Once it is installed, you can add it to a panel to make it easier to use. Just right-click on the panel you want to use, and then click “Add to Panel”. Then just find the one that says “Deskbar” and add it to the panel. You are now ready to start searching for just about anything you need. Just click in the search bar, or you can click Alt+F3 as a shortcut. Once you’ve got it running, you can right click on the little icon and then change the types of searches you want under “Preferences”.

You’ll want to make sure that you have Beagle installed as well because the Deskbar integrates it and makes the applet even more powerful. For those who don’t know, Beagle is a desktop search application that is very powerful and has a lot of great features.

If you want to see it in action there is a little screencast that shows just about everything you can do with it.

For those who use del.icio.us, there is a great del.icio.us plugin that can be used to search your bookmarks.

The other programs that can be used to accomplish the same thing are Katapult and the GNOME Launch Box. Like I said before, they don’t have all of the functionality that the Deskbar Applet has, but you can check them out to see if they fit your needs better.

Even though the Deskbar Applet is not yet up to par with Quicksilver, the website talks about future updates that will hopefully bring it up to step.