The soul of Linux operating system lies in the command line . Linux is usually considered as an operating system meant for geeks, due to the enormous number of commands available, which could be accessed using the terminal. There are a lot of tutorials available for linux bash programming, out there. Here I point out a few, interesting commands which could be handy in the long run.

1. sudo !! -  This little one could be handy when you forget to add sudo before commands that would need root permissions.

2.cd - Takes you to the previous working directory.

3. mount -t tmpfs tmpfs /mnt -o size=512m -    This could be used to make a temporary partition in the ram for faster access.

4.  > filename -    Clears the contents of a file, without deleting the file.

5. cat -n filename -   Displays the contents of a file with line number.

Ubuntu linux uses software repositories to provide software packages and security updates to its users. There are a lot of mirrors situated all over the world, to offer better downloading speed for the users. To find the best repository server near you is a simple task, but could make your download speeds much better.

To find the fastest server for your computer you must launch software sources from the system -> administration ->software sources. You will find a window similar to the below one.  Select the “other ” option in the drop-down menu

There appears a button to select the best server, and when clicked it automatically selects the best server by pinging all the available servers.

Note that repository speeds can vary according to traffic and others factors.

Surely if you have used linux, you would have faced the problem of  better networking. Most of the users yell out in forums ” Linux doesn’t detect my wireless card or ethernet card”, “Not able to connect to wireless services, authentication error”, so and so.  What this all means is the lack of a better network manager for your machine. Considering the case of Kde network manager, it fails to detect many devices, let me say frankly, it even failed to detect my wifi card. Foraging for a better network manager landed me in Wicd homepage.

Wicd is a nice network manager with a simple interface offering better support for almost all wireless and wired cards. Licensed under GNU, it provides the user with high customization, offering features for running various scripts and services. Wicd offers support for various encryption schemes like WEP, WPA, WPA2, or if necessary you could add your own encryption. Built in drivers for wi-fi and ethernet really does a great job in configuring devices and connecting to the internet. Wicd offers much better host discovery with your card and supports custom ip-addresses and DNS servers in addition to DHCP service. Separate profiles for each network whether it be wired or wireless is possible with wicd. Wicd includes a tray-icon representing the current network activity and status independent of the desktop manager used.

Even though Linux is growing too fast, outshining other operating systems, lack of a nice download manager in Linux is always felt. Jdownloader is finally out which is expected to resolve all your download problems. Jdownloader is advanced enough to download automatically from Rapidshare, Megaupload etc. Even downloading Youtube videos is supported. Java powers Jdownloader, thus extending the range of platforms of operation.

To install with Ubuntu repositories issue the following commands in the terminal .

sudo apt-add-ppa repository: jd-team/jdownloader

However, starting with Ubuntu Jaunty, type the following line, changing the expression of the corresponding code-named version of the system:

sudo bash-c "echo 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/jd-team/jdownloader/ubuntu NAME-VERSION-UBUNTU (example: Jaunty) main'>> / etc / apt / sources.list"
sudo apt-key adv - keyserver.ubuntu.com keyserver - recv-keys 6A68F637

After these processes have been finished, install Jdownloader.

sudo apt-get update & & sudo apt-get install jdownloader

Opera which advertises with the slogan “fastest browser on world ” has launched its new version Opera 10.51 with packages .deb and .rpm for Ubuntu and Fedora. According to my personal view Opera is a nice browser which offers high browsing speed than other browsers like firefox. But what makes me use firefox is the tonnes of addons and easier to use interface which offers everything one could expect from a webbrowser. But if you are interested in trying out something new, opera is really a nice choice. Opera now offers features like unite which helps to bring people and information together in a personal and private way. Opera turbo is another nice feature which offers higher browsing speed on slower connections. Opera link is another nice feature in opera which enables you to synchronize bookmarks and more. You need to note that Opera for linux is still in its alpha state .

Download Opera 10.51 build 62.52 .deb, .rpm and .tar.gz

Ubuntu Tweak is a nice graphical front end tool for easy customization of your Ubuntu linux machine. Considering the case of a beginner in Linux world, the most haunting task is that of window customization and now it is made easier with Ubuntu Tweak. Ubuntu Tweak functions like an extended control panel and simply facilitates the matching settings even more advanced users and even provides customization which is not possible by default installation. I personally recommend using this tool. New version of Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.2 is now available for download.

Following are the links to download ubuntu-tweak

- Ubuntu Lucid: ubuntu-tweak_0.5.3-1 ~ lucid1_all.deb
- Ubuntu Karmic: ubuntu-tweak_0.5.3-1 ~ karmic1_all.deb

I know you like to try every new linux distribution, but not interested in burning cds and booting  from it. Ok, here is a solution to your problem, install your linux distro in a flash drive and boot from it without going to the hassels of creating a boot cd. If you like to install your favourite distro on a flashdrive so that you could take it everywhere you go, you are most welcome. Unetbootin is an opensource software available for windows and linux platforms which enables you to install almost all linux distributions in a thumb drive. Grab your copy of Unetbootin here. With unetbootin you can install many linux distros like ubuntu, mandriva, knoppix ,opensuse , fedora and much more.

Video showing how to install linux distros using unetbootin :