Linux Mint 11 (32 bit): Logitech C210 webcam and skype

Logitech C210 works without any issues in cheese.
However to make it work in skype I needed to execute skype beta 2.2.0.35 through the following commandLD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so /usr/bin/skypeIf this does not work, than u can try to use:LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so /usr/bin/skype

If u don't already libv4l installed, than u can install it as follows: sudo apt-get install libv4l-0

Ubuntu 10.10: Change grub menu timeout

Default grub menu timeout is 10 seconds. To change it just edit the grub filesudo vim /etc/default/grub and change GRUB_TIMEOUT value from 10 to e.g. 2. Then update grubsudo update-grubAfter the restart the time before boot your default operating system be 2 seconds.

Alternatively, one can install GUI grub editor called StartUp-Manager sudo apt-get install startupmanager

Linux Mint: Positive first impression

Today, my Arch Linux died on a PC at work. Since I had not time to play with it, I decided to install something new. First I wanted to install Ubuntu 9.10, but usually after the installation of Ubuntu I have to spent time installing audio/video codes, flash player etc. I've heard that in Linux Mint all this stuff is pre-installed. I've also heard positive comments about this Ubuntu-base distro, so today I decided to give it a try.

I downloaded Mint 7 Gloria, made backup of my home folder form Arch and I did a fresh installation on my dual-screen PC.

In short: installation was very smooth and quite fast. After the installation, I could play my video and audio files, DVDs without any tweaking or installing any packages. The one thing that required installation was nvidia driver, but there were no problems with it. As a gnome user, the only thing that I found strange was the mintMenu at the bottom panel, no top panel and very dark default Mint theme. So I had to manually adjust these things. It just took few minutes.

Some screens:

In conclusion, my first impression of Linux Mint is very positive. Now I look forward to Mint 8!