Well, it’s time to update the Linux. The latest update is Hardy Heron.
Computer people like cute names, and each Linux/ubuntu update has an animal name to identify it. Hardy Heron, gutsy Gibbon, etc.
The last time I updated my Ubuntu operating sytem, I downloaded a torrent file of the iso (in English, I downloaded a new disc using a torrent downloader, which is slow, but will continue the download if you turn off or a storm causes your connection to die. The “iso” file is essentially a digital image that you can burn to your disc without having to mess around). It downloaded an ISO file, which I mounted on a new disc. (there are a few Ubuntu programs that do this, but I use one called K3B . Once in awhile it eats/destroys discs but it’s easy enough for even a grandmom to use).
Before you reload an operating system, you back up everything just in case it gets eaten/destroyed.
So when I installed Gutsy Gibbon, I backed up my computer, place in the disc, and voila, it partitioned and reinstalled the entire operating system for me.
This has some advantages: by doing that, a lot of unneeded files were erased, and the installation even let me keep my older downloads on a separate part of the disc, and it did the partitioning for me during the installation.
Presumably if you want to try it with Hardy Heron, the latest upgrade of Linux, you can go HERE and find downloads and torrent downloads. I use Azureus when I download torrents on Ubuntu, but there are other files.
And since it’s sometime easier to do torrent downloads on the desktop office computers rather than my laptop, I downloaded on the office desktop computers using Windows and Bittorrent.
But this time, I decided to try the ordinary download box.
In Linux, up pops an icon saying: You have updates, do you want to see if you want to download them? And when I clicked it, on top of the box was an offer to download the latest system, hardy heron.
Well, I live in the country, and every storm messes up our line, (and monsoon season started early this year, so we have storms every afternoon).
It took me three days to finally manage to do it, but once it was downloaded, it just installed itself as slick as a whistle. It said something about some of the non ubuntu files might need update, but I ignored this.
But the Firefox was a new update…and wouldn’t connect with my Delicious bookmarks or my “down it all”…so you go to “tools” at the top, pull down “add ons” and look for “get more extensions”. The down it all was a beta, and I had to search but it loaded fine.
But then I went to play music. Usually, for some reason, when you hit your mp3 file, it is played by Totem movie player. But movieplayer popped up a box saying: “there is no plug in to play this”.
Well, okay. Let’s try Amarok. This is a nice player that will scan your files so you can play them too…but that also came up with a box saying “Amarok cannot play mp3 files” and the box had a smaller box inside saying “install mp3 support”. Push that box, and nothing happens, except that Amarok disappears into a tiny toolbar icon.
Luckily, I have another player, Banshee, and that plays mp3’s. I use it to download my podcasts, but not to play music because I haven’t figured out how to erase old files that I had removed. So I’m using Banshee.
Now, there are all sorts of plug in and codecs that usually make these things work.
First step is a nice program called Automatrix, that will download them for you after warning you that they might be illegal in your country. Alas, that doesn’t work with hardy heron.
Then I did a bunch of stuff recommended in the forums, under “synaptic package manager” (go to system, sign in and sign in) and that didn’t work.
I also went to Software Sources, also under System, then administrator. I checked for everything to be downloaded.
Finally, I went to Medibuntu. The Ubuntu forum has a bunch of thing to add.
Scroll down, and it has boxes of download for hardy heron. You open a terminal
(go to Applications, a window pops up, then go to accessories, then find “terminal”. You then copy the “sudo” stuff one at a time into that window, and it downloads.)
But it didn’t download them all, even when I did the packages separately. The w64codecs aren’t updated, and only work for feisty and gutsy. (i.e. earlier versions of Ubuntu).
Today I also got some “you have downloads” that included a lot of updates for the packages for Amarok etc.that I was having problems with…that didn’t work either.
Sigh.
So anyway, gxine still opens my dvd’s and vcd’s fine. Totem movie player and Amarok will play my ogg files and my mp4 podcasts.(note: music files come in various form, including ogg and wav. Who knows why. But on the internet, there are all sorts of mp3 podcasts, for free. This includes lectures on anything under the sun, and also some muscicians have free mp3 downaloads. MP4 are used for IPODs. But usually podcasts are in mp3 files.)
K3B will still burn Iso discs, and back up my information on cd and dvd’s, and this includes making mp3 cd’s to play in my dvd player attached to the TV or my Sony Walkman.
But I can’t just listen to music while surfing the web.
When I moved to the Philippines, I ripped my CD collection into mp3 cd’s. Usually I download them into my hard drive, then I can chose which to put into my mp3 player using file system, so no problem. Amarok was easy to make a list and listen, but I haven’t figured out how to do it on Banshee…sigh.
As for internet radio, tell you the truth, I haven’t tried it yet: not enough bandwidth.
In summary, Hardy Heron has lots of kinks that probably will be fixed in the near future. For geeks, it’s probably worth it. There are new programs available that I haven’t even started to explore.
But if I had to do it over again, I’d stick with Gusty Gibbon, the earlier version of Ubuntu, which worked fine.
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Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the rural Philippines. Her website is Finest Kind Clinic and Fishmarket.
7 users commented in " Grandmom’s guide to Ubuntu: Hardy Heron ate my mp3’s "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYou might want to try this:
Open the “Add/Remove…” application, the last one in the “Applications” menu.
Search for the word “restricted”.
Click on the checkbox next to “Ubuntu Restricted Extras”.
Click on “Apply”. It will show a warning about enabling unsupported downloads, that you should accept.
It will download and install several things, and it should allow you to play MP3 files in the Totem Movie Player and in Rhythmbox, among other things.
This is the official recommended way, instead of Automatix.
Good luck.
Dear Grandma,
You might want to consider Linux Mint instead of Ubuntu. It’s actually based on Ubuntu, but comes with all the multi media stuff built in. Whether it’s an MP3 or a DVD it just plays right out of the box.
When you try to play an MP3 with RhythmBox, it tells you that the codec is not available and asks you if you would like to install it.
When you say yes, the Add/Remove dialog opens (as Urko described) with the required packages already highlighted. Simply clicking install solves the problem.
Best of luck,
I think what might have happened is when it updated an app, it removed some codecs and did not install the newest versions. I have seen something like that in Mandriva Linux.
Visit the Ubuntu forums or LinuxQuestions.org and somebody will have had the same quirk and they will be able to guide you to a solution.
It likely means you will have to add the appropriate codecs or “engines”. The engine is like XINE which Amarok can use to actually play the music. Amarok itself is simply a database program which ties the music collection to a media player backend which relies on the codecs. FWIW I think it is a best jukebox program ever but your mileage may vary… GRIN!
I have the exact same problem.
I just tried everything suggested above, and nothing above has worked either.
I may try installing Ubuntu again from scratch, then following the Media HowTo at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766683
thanks to everyone for the suggestions.
As soon as my internet connection improves I’ll try them all…
hay, actually i don’t have internet at my home. ubuntu is not playing any thing i.e.neither songs nor videos. It requires certain codecs. Can you tell me how can i download codecs (links) to play these.
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