EXPERT LINUX WORKSHOP ▲

Linux workshop: Browsing the Net

No operating system would be complete with a Web browser. Phil Thane explores the options available to Kubuntu Linux users

The Internet has changed

computing from a business tool

and niche activity for hobbyists to

a mainstream activity for almost

everyone. As a result, Linux would stand

absolutely no chance as an alternative to

Windows and Mac OS if it didn’t have a

good browser. Fortunately it has several.

Last month’s PC Utilitiescover DVD

featured Kubuntu Linux, so we’ll assume

you are using this version. (If you didn’t

get last month’s issue you can download

Kubuntu for free from wwwwww..kkuubbuunnttuu.. ccoomm.) The default browser for Kubuntu,

and any other Linux distro providing a

KDE desktop, is Konqueror; the

installation process will have put it in the

K Menu and in the Quick Launcher menu

on the panel. If you connect to the Web

via Ethernet, router and ADSL/cable,

you’ll be online automatically – just click

on Konqueror and you’re away.

Setting up one of the free USB ADSL

modems given away by most ISPs is not

a job for beginners. Rather like the built

in ‘winmodems’ used for dial-up

connections in the past they rely on

software to do most of the signal

processing, and the software is

▲

To get QuickTime running smoothly, install Automatix2 and Swiftfox

INSTALL AUTOMATIX2

Windows/Mac OS only. There are hacks

for many of them, but even on the

systems they were designed for many of

these devices do not perform well. Do

yourself a favour and buy a router –

they are cheap, fast and reliable. If you

are still using dial-up, then get an

external modem.

Back at Konqueror then. It’s a

competent tabbed browser and being

part of the official KDE release it

integrates automatically with Kmail

(email client), Amarok (media player),

Kopete (instant messenger) and the

rest. Konqueror is also used as KDE’s

file manager interface and there’s no

reason why you shouldn’t have some

tabs accessing local files and others the

Web. You can even use it to upload files

to a website by entering the FTP

address in the Location Bar. When

performing file transfers it’s handy to

have both source and destination

folders open in the same window, so go

to View/ Split View to navigate each

pane independently.

There are two small problems with

Konqueror: Java and Flash. Konqueror

is based on Netscape code, now

licensed by the Mozilla Foundation,

and uses Mozilla plug-ins. Go to

Settings/ Configure Konqueror and

select Plug-ins to add more. Java can

be a problem on some systems and

Flash is an issue on our AMD64 test

machine because Adobe has only

released a 32-bit version for Linux. As

usual on Linux there are hacks for the

experienced or those with time on

their hands, but for the rest of us,

there is a much easier way.

1

▲Go to the Automatix website (www.getautomatix.com) and click on the Installation link on the left. Click on Installing Automatix2 With Apt. The instructions seem complex, but they aren’t if you copy and paste them one at a time. Highlight the first one and press Ctrl+C or right-click and choose Copy.

www.pc-utilities.co.uk issue 90 72

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2

▲ Open Konsole from the System menu. This is oneof many terminals on Linux and it works rather like a DOS or command prompt dialog in Windows. To paste the copied command press Shift+Insert. To execute the command, hit Enter. The $ prompt returns. Go back to the Automatix site and copy and paste the next command.

3

▲ The final command will throw up an errormessage about missing files and suggest a solution, which is: sudo apt-get –f install, which will compel it to install all the supporting packages. So type that (or copy it from the error message) and press Enter. Now you’re ready to roll.
LINUX WORKSHOP ▲

EXPERT

INSTALL BROWSER PLUG-INS & CODECS

1

▲Using Konqueror, go to Settings/ Configure Konqueror/ Plugins. Konqueror will usually find the Mozilla and Netscape plug-in directories, but you can add new paths if necessary. After making changes click the Scan For New Plugins button. Installing Firefox and plug-ins for it usually adds to Konqueror’s capabilities.

▲ Using Firefox, click on Tools/ Add Ons/ GetExtensions. Because Firefox is available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux, some extensions are specific to certain platforms. If a suitable Linux version for what you want is listed, click the link and follow the instructions carefully. 2 ▲ By far the easiest solution to the codecs issueis to run Automatix2 from the System menu and install Swiftfox and the Swiftfox codecs and plug-ins package. Now you can access Java, Flash, and most other media formats. This provides simple access to YouTube, ThinkFree Office and other Java-based online applications.

3

Firefox Regular PC Utilitiesreaders will have

heard of Firefox – the cross-platform

browser produced by Mozilla. Millions

of people now run the browser on

Windows because it offered tabbed

browsing long before Internet

Explorer, has fewer security issues

and better pop-up blocking than the

Microsoft browser. Almost every Linux

distro includes Firefox and Kubuntu

installs it by default. You’ll find it

under K Menu/ Internet. When Firefox

recognises that you need a plug-in for

Java or Flash or any other format it is

intelligent enough to pop up a Click

Here To Install Plugin message.

Unfortunately AMD64 users will once

again run into problems with Flash, so

there is a third option.

The cross-platform Firefox browser

relies on a compatibility layer to enable

it to work on almost any platform.

Swiftfox (hhttttpp::////ggeettsswwiiffttffooxx..ccoomm) is a

version of Firefox, which is optimised for

Linux on various processors, and the

ideal version for your hardware can be

downloaded from the website. It looks

exactly like Firefox, but is slightly faster.

This still won’t cure 64-bit users’

frustrations though, so yet another

option is to install the 32-bit version of

Swiftfox with matching plug-ins and

codecs using Automatix2

(wwwwww..ggeettaauuttoommaattiixx..ccoomm).

Automatix is a graphical package

manager for installing all the most

common applications, plug-ins and

codecs requested for Debian-based

distros such as Kubuntu. The Automatix

site has a couple of installation options

– downloading a .deb file and installing

it, or using apton the command line.

Normally we would recommend the

graphical (.deb) method, but trying it on

a new PC with very little in the way of

development packages installed threw

up a host of dependency problems, and

Useful links

Test Shockwave and Flash

wwwwww..aaddoobbee..ccoomm//sshhoocckkwwaavvee//wweellccoommee

To test any MIME type

hhttttpp::////ttiinnyyuurrll..ccoomm//bbqqllvvvv

Test Java

wwwwww..jjaavvaa..ccoomm//eenn//ddoowwnnllooaadd//hheellpp//

tteessttvvmm..xxmmll

ThinkFree Office

wwwwww..tthhiinnkkffrreeee..ccoomm

it turns out to be easier using apt. See

the guide opposite for details.

This may seem like a lot of hassle just

to get a browser working properly, but

once Automatix is installed it solves

many other problems too – not least the

matter of proprietary codecs for audio

and video – so it’s worth doing whatever

sort of hardware you have. Swiftfox has

come in for some criticism from Open

Source Software developers because its

source code is not available for

inspection, it is only released as

compiled binary code. We sympathise

but it has to be said that with the Java

and multimedia codecs package installed

Swiftfox is the ideal Web browser for

Linux beginners as everything just works

without any hacking.

Fancy something different? Epiphany (wwwwww..ggnnoommee..oorrgg//pprroojjeeccttss// eeppiipphhaannyy//) is a lightweight browser

intended for the Gnome desktop. You

can install it on Kubuntu (using the KDE

package manager Adept) but it doesn’t

offer anything you don’t get from

Konqueror.

Dillo (wwwwww..ddiilllloo..oorrgg) can also be

installed from Adept. It is an even

lighter, faster browser, but it doesn’t

▲

The ThinkFree online office suite can be run in Linux once you have the required Java plugins installed

support many of the advanced features

utilised by modern sites. As such, it’s

primarily of use for quickly browsing

text-heavy sites on a slow connection.

SeaMonkey (wwwwww..mmoozziillllaa..oorrgg// pprroojjeeccttss//sseeaammoonnkkeeyy) is a continuation

of the original Mozilla project based on

the Netscape philosophy of having a

single application for browsing, email,

chat and Web design. It’s worth a look if

you were a Netscape fan, but most

people seem to prefer their email client

separate these days, or integrated into

an organiser such as Kontact, rather

than into the browser.

Test your browser’s Java capabilities online at www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml ▲

issue 90 www.pc-utilities.co.uk 73

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