how-to launch applications that need root/admin privileges on Ubuntu when on a remote session

Did you ever find yourself at work with a remote session on your Ubuntu server (or workstation) invoked by ssh -X command and needed to launch users-admin or some similar graphical application that need a sudo (or root) authentication to work?

Did you ever got frustrated of not having the possibility to enter or see accepted your password ?

Well, here’s how to resolve this! All you need to do is invoking this command:

sudo ck-launch-session $command &

For example, when I needed users-admin (to graphically add a new user, modify or delete an old one) giving the aforementioned command, after having inserted my sudo password, I got this window:

P.S. = if you can help me with a shorter or clearer post title I’ll be grateful (remember english isn’t my native language !!!)

P.S. #2 = sometimes you just DON’T have to put the ‘&‘ at the end of the line so you can insert the administrative password needed for the command (i.e. Synaptic) execution…

Bio-Linux: Ubuntu and bioinformatics

Hi!
Today I’d like to spend some words on a particular Open Source project which aims to make know, test and finally use the available tools for molecolar biology, bio-technologies and bio-informatics in general.

This world is overwhelmed by a number of “tools” divided in an ocean of productors, licences, repositories and kind of package (rpm, deb, Z, tar.gz, plain code…).

Enter Bio-Linux.

The Bio-Linux project starts from a branch of UK’s NERC (National Environment Research Council) dealing with biology.

This NEBC proudly has took in hand this shattered cosmo of open source software for bioinformatics under his own “umbrella” and then has gone further … has created a full GNU/Linux distribution, building over the solid core of Ubuntu (on it’s Long Term Support 8.04 release).

Today Bio-Linux 5 is:

• a LiveCD operating system;
• a fully functional operating system running on desktop and servers alike;
• a bioinformatics repository for Ubuntu

and all this is fully supported and given the news on the NEBC and NERC there’s money to guarrantee that for the expectable future.

Personally at work I’ve had chance to appreciate this distro in all the flavours listed above and also as a VMware’s appliance.

If you’ve already running an Ubuntu 8.04 box in this wiki page you’ll find how-to add the biolinux repository to your sources.list. There it’s also stated that there’s some kind of compatibility with Debian and also with the latest 9.04 release, even if for a couple of software there are occasional bugs.

But, on the workplace, expecially when the user has to USE his desktop and not work to make it run, Ubuntu 8.04 (with an updated copy of OpenOffice and a couple of backports) it THE way go, at least for me.

As a personal, final note, I must regret on the strickt control of the repository … I’ve witnessed a similar Biolinux project, focused on the RPM world being abandoned in 2007 supporting ancient distros like Fedora6 and RedHat 9 … I’d prefer a strong team in the Ubuntu (or $distro) community claiming “we will take care of all things bioinformatics, like it’s done for Compitz or other focused projects in the past.

A change of menthality is needed so, when the Public Administration (or a private) invests on an open source technology the RoI must be seen in the product itself (and/or on how it facilitates works or makes you make more money increasing the productivity) and not in a self-owned fancy site claiming “I MADE IT, I AM BIG, GIMME MORE MONEY”.

Don’t you think so?

unofficial Pidgin 2.0 package for Ubuntu

So – as I’ve said – the transition from Gaim to Pidgin is complete and the stable package is out.

My pal AndyCapp has released a ready-to-install pidgin deb package HERE.

Have a good download & install routine

pidgin

ubuntu 6.06 sources.list

Hy folks, following the tradition started with my previous post i’ll show you my current sources.list file configuration on Ubuntu Linux 6.06.

nicola@cerebro:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list

results in:

# original installation cd
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 6.06 _Dapper Drake_ - Alpha i386 (20060504)]/ dapper main restricted
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 6.06 _Dapper Drake_ - Alpha i386 (20060504)]/ dapper main restricted
deb http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper main restricted
deb-src http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper main restricted
## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates main restricted
deb-src http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates main restricted
## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'universe' repository.
## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## universe WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu security
## team.
deb http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universe multiverse
deb-src http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universe multiverse
## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports' repository.
## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse
## Security Updates
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe multiverse
## PLF REPOSITORY (Unsupported. May contain illegal packages. Use at own risk.)
deb http://packages.freecontrib.org/ubuntu/plf breezy free non-free
deb-src http://packages.freecontrib.org/ubuntu/plf breezy free non-free
## project Listen, an AmaroK-like software for the Gnome environment
deb http://theli.free.fr/packages/dapper/ ./
## asher256 dapper repo:
deb http://asher256-repository.tuxfamily.org dapper main dupdate french
deb http://asher256-repository.tuxfamily.org ubuntu main dupdate french

The cd line may be different than usual, since i’ve installed this machine before the release of the TLS release

ps = more info on the Listen project available here.

ubuntu