Lightweight desktop environment for ubuntu server

Gnome Ubuntu Logo | Smarthomebeginner

Your server speed, cpu usage, memory usage, and overall Linux performance depends also on the amount of system resources your desktop environment is using. A lightweight desktop environment or a minimal desktop, will consume less resources and therefore make more resources available for serving purposes. Many system administrators argue that … read more

Setup Chinavision Remote for Kodi and Harmony Remote

Harmonymapping2 | Smarthomebeginner

I have described how I setup my Ubuntu-XBMC based HTPC in several of my previous posts: https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/?p=252 https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/?p=279 https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/?p=285 I bought the Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC as a cheap IR remote / receiver to control my HTPC. It sells for about $7 on Amazon. This USB … read more

Couldn’t connect to database server magial_rules error

Write For Us | Smarthomebeginner

After a recent WordPress update (to 3.3), one of my blogs showed the following error: So how to solve this problem? Googling lead me to various websites and blogs that discussed possible solutions to this problem. This seems to be a problem specifically with Elegant Themes. Below is what worked … read more

Disqus vs Livefyre vs Facebook Comments – Which one to choose?

Facebook Connect

I recently realized that the default wordpress commenting system lacked a few things: It wasn’t user friendly and quick. Users had to type their name, email, etc. before submitting their comments. It was bland and not very interactive. It did not do much to attract more traffic to the site. … read more

CouchPotato Apache reverse proxy

Couchpotato Apache Reverse Proxy

CouchPotato is a wonderful set and forget python script to automatically download and pass movie torrent files to torrent downloaders (eg. Transmission) or NZB files to NZB downloaders (eg. SABNzbd+). In this post I will explain how to setup CouchPotato Apache reverse proxy. How It works through a feature-full CouchPotato … read more

Transmission Apache proxy setup

Transmission Apache Proxy

Transmission bittorrent is probably the most common bittorent client for Linux platforms. Transmission web interface is like a thin client yet feature-rich and aesthetically pleasing. Bittorrent client for Windows and Linux are both available. In this post, I will explain how to setup server running Ubuntu 12.04 with Transmission Apache … read more

.bashrc file not found?

Write For Us | Smarthomebeginner

Sometimes when you install Ubuntu, the .bashrc file is missing. The problem comes when you want to start using aliases as described in this post. Here is how to fix it. Make sure that your .bashrc file is missing. Check to see if you have a .bashrc file. If you … read more

How to create shortcut / aliases to commands in Ubuntu using .bash_aliases?

Write For Us | Smarthomebeginner

Working in commandline offers speed and convenience. The downside is you will have to remember all the commands and some of them are long and can affect your productivity. Fortunately, we can create shortcuts to commands that can significantly speedup the work. In Ubuntu, a user can create a “.bash_aliases” … read more

Play Amazon Prime Videos on XBMC in Ubuntu

Amazon Prime | Smarthomebeginner

XBMC is a great media player, very well suited for HPTCs. There are several XBMC addons that stream videos from the internet. In this post, I am doing to describe how to play Amazon Prime Videos on XBMC (both free and rented videos), running on a Ubuntu system. With the … read more