How to convert PostScript script to a .ps file for viewing in PDF viewer or to PNG

Reading about Gerard Huet's paper on the geometry of the Shri Yantra available in PDF format at this link http://pauillac.inria.fr/~huet/SKT/sanskrit.html.orig, I was prompted to try out the Postscript code he had in and Appendix in the paper. After typing the code into a .txt file, the file did not render using Evince or a PDF … Continue reading How to convert PostScript script to a .ps file for viewing in PDF viewer or to PNG →

How to install ttf-mscorefonts-installer on Linux Mint

Do not install the package ttf-mscorefonts-installer using like Software Center or Synaptic on Linux Mint 21. It does not work because the user licence has to be accepted. To install the package, open a terminal window and enter: $ sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer <enter>

How to install masscode code snippets manager on Linux Mint

masscode is one of the best code snippets managers out there. It works on multiple platforms and devices. However, it is only available as a snap package for Linux. To install it on a Linux Mint system where snap packages are disabled by default requires snap packages to be enabled. Therefore, enable snap packages on … Continue reading How to install masscode code snippets manager on Linux Mint →

How to install Oracle SQL developer data modeler on Linux Mint 21 or Ubuntu Linux

One of the best tools for database design is the Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler and it's free. As a developer who designs databases this tool is indispensable due to the features it has. The tool can be downloaded from https://www.oracle.com/database/sqldeveloper/technologies/sql-data-modeler/. Note that you need to have an account with Oracle. The only issue is … Continue reading How to install Oracle SQL developer data modeler on Linux Mint 21 or Ubuntu Linux →

How to fix error the following packages have been held back in Linux Mint or Ubuntu Linux

When updating packages in Linux Mint 21 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, at times, a message appears, as shown below, that states the following packages have been held back.$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade <enter> Reading package lists… DoneBuilding dependency tree… DoneReading state information… DoneCalculating upgrade… DoneThe following packages have been kept back:cryptsetup cryptsetup-bin cryptsetup-initramfs libcryptsetup120 upgraded, 0 … Continue reading How to fix error the following packages have been held back in Linux Mint or Ubuntu Linux →

How to fix error of Warning: apt-key is deprecated. Manage keyring files in trusted.gpg.d instead in Ubuntu Linux 22.04 LTS or Linux Mint 21

In Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Linux Mint 21, there has been a change in the way keys to repos are stored. When installing software like Spotify from the internet via instructions there, the commands used cause an error when running apt-get update. The following error appears: Warning: apt-key is deprecated. Manage keyring files in trusted.gpg.d … Continue reading How to fix error of Warning: apt-key is deprecated. Manage keyring files in trusted.gpg.d instead in Ubuntu Linux 22.04 LTS or Linux Mint 21 →

How to find out SSD details on a Linux computer

Open a terminal window and enter the following to find out technical information of an SSD installed in the computer using Linux. $ sudo hdparm -i /dev/sda <enter> /dev/sda:Model=CT500MX500SSD1, FwRev=M3CR043 Visit https://www.crucial.in/support/ssd-support/mx500-support to check if there is a firmware upgrade for the SSD.

How to improve speed or performance of Linux Mint XFCE on old computer

Decrease swappiness whereby the use of swap is curtailed$ cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness <enter>returns the value of swappiness which is 60 initially. Make this 20 as follows:$ sudo xed /etc/sysctl.conf <enter>Add a line to the end of the filevm.swappiness=20Save the file. Disable Java in LibreofficeOpen Libreoffice Writer.Go to Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Java OptionsUncheck Java … Continue reading How to improve speed or performance of Linux Mint XFCE on old computer →

How to create and use LUKS encrypted partition in Linux

It is easy to create a LUKS container and a partition within it, using the GUI on Linux. The application that enables this easily is the gnome-disk-utility. However, if you want to use the command line to set up a LUKS encrypted device, read on. Exercise appropriate caution before doing any of the below with … Continue reading How to create and use LUKS encrypted partition in Linux →

How to securely wipe a hard drive or USB drive in Linux using dd or scrub

Normally we'd use dd to clean wipe a hard drive as follows after opening a terminal window for a hard disk or USB drive accessible as /dev/sdb :$ sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sdb status=progress <enter> Another command to do a secure wipe of /dev/sdb is scrub that can be used as follows:$ sudo scrub -p dod … Continue reading How to securely wipe a hard drive or USB drive in Linux using dd or scrub →