diff --git a/sources/tech/20150908 How to Download Install and Configure Plank Dock in Ubuntu.md b/sources/tech/20150908 How to Download Install and Configure Plank Dock in Ubuntu.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..4f0a5f9ea1 --- /dev/null +++ b/sources/tech/20150908 How to Download Install and Configure Plank Dock in Ubuntu.md @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +How to Download, Install, and Configure Plank Dock in Ubuntu +================================================================================ +It’s a well-known fact that Linux is extremely customizable with users having a lot of options to choose from – be it the operating systems’ various distributions or desktop environments available for a single distro. Like users of any other OS, Linux users also have different tastes and preferences, especially when it comes to desktop. + +While some users aren’t particularly bothered about their desktop, others take special care to make sure that their desktop looks cool and attractive, something for which there are various applications available. One such application that brings life to your desktop – especially if you use a global menu on the top – is the dock. There are many dock applications available for Linux; if you’re looking for the simplest one, then look no further than [Plank][1], which we’ll be discussing in this article. + +**Note**: the examples and commands mentioned here have been tested on Ubuntu (version 14.10) and Plank version 0.9.1.1383. + +### Plank ### + +The official documentation describes Plank as the “simplest dock on the planet.” The project’s goal is to provide just what a dock needs, although it’s essentially a library which can be extended to create other dock programs with more advanced features. + +What’s worth mentioning here is that Plank, which comes pre-installed in elementary OS, is the underlying technology for Docky, a popular dock application which is very similar in functionality to Mac OS X’s Dock. + +### Download and Install ### + +You can download and install Plank by executing the following commands on your terminal: + + sudo add-apt-repository ppa:docky-core/stable + sudo apt-get update + sudo apt-get install plank + +Once installed successfully, you can open the application by typing the name Plank in Unity Dash (see image below), or open it from the App Menu if you aren’t using the Unity environment. + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/plank-unity-dash.png) + +### Features ### + +Once the Plank dock is enabled, you’ll see it sitting at the center-bottom of your desktop. + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/plank-enabled-new.jpg) + +As you can see in the image above, the dock contains some application icons with an orange color indication below those which are currently running. Needless to say, you can click an icon to open that application. Also, a right-click on any application icon will produce some more options that you might be interested in. For example, see the screen-shot below: + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/plank-right-click-icons-new.jpg) + +To access the configuration options, you’ll have to do a right-click on Plank’s icon (which is the first one from the left), and then click the Preferences option. This will produce the following window. + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/plank-preferences.png) + +As you can see, the preference window consists of two tabs: Appearance and Behavior, with the former being selected by default. The Appearance tab contains settings related to the Plank theme, the dock’s position, and alignment, as well as that related to icons, while the Behavior tab contains settings related to the dock itself. + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/plank-behavior-settings.png) + +For example, I changed the position of the dock to Right from within the Appearance tab and locked the icons (which means no “Keep in Dock” option on right-click) from the Behavior tab. + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/plank-right-lock-new.jpg) + +As you can see in the screen-shot above, the changes came into effect. Similarly, you can tweak any available setting as per your requirement. + +### Conclusion ### + +Like I said in the beginning, having a dock isn’t mandatory. However, using one definitely makes things convenient, especially if you’ve been using Mac and have recently switched over to Linux for whatever reason. For its part, Plank not only offers simplicity, but dependability and stability as well – the project is well-maintained. + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +via: https://www.maketecheasier.com/download-install-configure-plank-dock-ubuntu/ + +作者：[Himanshu Arora][a] +译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID) +校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID) + +本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出 + +[a]:https://www.maketecheasier.com/author/himanshu/ +[1]:https://launchpad.net/plank \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/sources/tech/20150908 How to Run ISO Files Directly From the HDD with GRUB2.md b/sources/tech/20150908 How to Run ISO Files Directly From the HDD with GRUB2.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..7de3640532 --- /dev/null +++ b/sources/tech/20150908 How to Run ISO Files Directly From the HDD with GRUB2.md @@ -0,0 +1,96 @@ +How to Run ISO Files Directly From the HDD with GRUB2 +================================================================================ +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/rundirectiso-featured.png) + +Most Linux distros offer a live environment, which you can boot up from a USB drive, for you to test the system without installing. You can either use it to evaluate the distro or as a disposable OS. While it is easy to copy these onto a USB disk, in certain cases one might want to run the same ISO image often or run different ones regularly. GRUB 2 can be configured so that you do not need to burn the ISOs to disk or use a USB drive, but need to run a live environment directly form the boot menu. + +### Obtaining and checking bootable ISO images ### + +To obtain an ISO image, you should usually visit the website of the desired distribution and download any image that is compatible with your setup. If the image can be started from a USB, it should be able to start from the GRUB menu as well. + +Once the image has finished downloading, you should check its integrity by running a simple md5 check on it. This will output a long combination of numbers and alphanumeric characters + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/rundirectiso-md5.png) + +which you can compare against the MD5 checksum provided on the download page. The two should be identical. + +### Setting up GRUB 2 ### + +ISO images contain full systems. All you need to do is direct GRUB2 to the appropriate file, and tell it where it can find the kernel and the initramdisk or initram filesystem (depending on which one your distribution uses). + +In this example, a Kubuntu 15.04 live environment will be set up to run on an Ubuntu 14.04 box as a Grub menu item. It should work for most newer Ubuntu-based systems and derivatives. If you have a different system or want to achieve something else, you can get some ideas on how to do this from one of [these files][1], although it will require a little experience with GRUB. + +In this example the file `kubuntu-15.04-desktop-amd64.iso` + +lives in `/home/maketecheasier/TempISOs/` on `/dev/sda1`. + +To make GRUB2 look for it in the right place, you need to edit the + + /etc/grub.d40-custom + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/rundirectiso-40-custom-empty.png) + +To start Kubuntu from the above location, add the following code (after adjusting it to your needs) below the commented section, without modifying the original content. + + menuentry "Kubuntu 15.04 ISO" { + set isofile="/home/maketecheasier/TempISOs/kubuntu-15.04-desktop-amd64.iso" + loopback loop (hd0,1)$isofile + echo "Starting $isofile..." + linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz.efi boot=casper iso-scan/filename=${isofile} quiet splash + initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz + } + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/rundirectiso-40-custom-new.png) + +### Breaking down the above code ### + +First set up a variable named `$menuentry`. This is where the ISO file is located. If you want to change to a different ISO, you need to change the bit where it says set `isofile="/path/to/file/name-of-iso-file-.iso"`. + +The next line is where you specify the loopback device; you also need to give it the right partition number. This is the bit where it says + + loopback loop (hd0,1)$isofile + +Note the hd0,1 bit; it is important. This means first HDD, first partition (`/dev/sda1`). + +GRUB’s naming here is slightly confusing. For HDDs, it starts counting from “0”, making the first HDD #0, the second one #1, the third one #2, etc. However, for partitions, it will start counting from 1. First partition is #1, second is #2, etc. There might be a good reason for this but not necessarily a sane one (UX-wise it is a disaster, to be sure).. + +This makes fist disk, first partition, which in Linux would usually look something like `/dev/sda1` become `hd0,1` in GRUB2. The second disk, third partition would be `hd1,3`, and so on. + +The next important line is + + linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz.efi boot=casper iso-scan/filename=${isofile} quiet splash + +It will load the kernel image. On newer Ubuntu Live CDs, this would be in the `/casper` directory and called `vmlinuz.efi`. If you use a different system, your kernel might be missing the `.efi` extension or be located somewhere else entirely (You can easily check this by opening the ISO file with an archive manager and looking inside `/casper.`). The last options, `quiet splash`, would be your regular GRUB options, if you care to change them. + +Finally + + initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz + +will load `initrd`, which is responsible to load a RAMDisk into memory for bootup. + +### Booting into your live system ### + +To make it all work, you will only need to update GRUB2 + + sudo update-grub + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/rundirectiso-updare-grub.png) + +When you reboot your system, you should be presented with a new GRUB entry which will allow you to load into the ISO image you’ve just set up. + +![](https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/rundirectiso-grub-menu.png) + +Selecting the new entry should boot you into the live environment, just like booting from a DVD or USB would. + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +via: https://www.maketecheasier.com/run-iso-files-hdd-grub2/ + +作者：[Attila Orosz][a] +译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID) +校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID) + +本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出 + +[a]:https://www.maketecheasier.com/author/attilaorosz/ +[1]:http://git.marmotte.net/git/glim/tree/grub2 \ No newline at end of file