*NIX (Linux, BSD)

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Introduction

My primary OS is Linux; it was mostly Kubuntu, but elementary OS is slowly taking over my computers.

I do have other systems. In the Unix-like world, one is BSD to practice; it was PC-BSD, but now it is FreeBSD. In these pages are my various notes that I hope are helpful to folks as much as they are reminders for myself.

Oh, Mac OS is different enough in my mind that it isn't here. :-/

Table of Contents

SDDM (Login/Display Manager)

SLiM (Login/Display Manager)

UDEV for Android Devices

Compression Hints

7z a -t7z -m0=lzma -mx=9 -mfb=64 -md=32m -ms=on <destination> <source file/dir>
GZIP=-9 tar -czvf ./backup_sdcard_from_pi.img.tar.gz ./backup_sdcard_from_pi.img
uncompress: tar xvzf file.tar.gz -C /path/to/somedirectory
- x = extract the files
- v = verbose
- z = uncompress gzip
- f = argument that says file name follows
- C = (optional) argument to put output in directory that follows

dd Usage

This is mostly done with Linux, but I suppose it could work in BSD, Mac OS, others?

"burn" ISO to USB: sudo dd bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync if=./some_distro.iso of=/dev/sdX
backup and compress drive to image: sudo bash -c "dd if=/dev/device-drive-or-partition | gzip > /media/disk/name-backup-file.gz"
restore compressed drive image: gunzip -c /media/disk/name-backup-file.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/device-drive-or-partition

Files & File Systems

Move contents of folder one level up:

mv ./<target_contents_subfolder>/* . && mv ./target_contents_subfolder/.* .

- NOTE: the trailing dot is part of the command
- NOTE: there are two commands connected via "&&"
Mount a remote file system through SSH. This "just works" on Ubuntu, you may need to install/setup sshfs and/or fuse.

sshfs my_user@remote_host:/path/to/directory <local_mount_point>

Download a shortened URL with curl:

curl -L -o filename.ext http://shortened.url

Find files that are okay in Linux, but not Windows and put the list into a text file:

find . -name "*[&<>:\\|?*]*" > ~/AndSymbols.txt

I know, technically ampersand ("&") is allowed. But FAT filesystems and older apps don't play nice.

Mount a partition in /etc/fstab via PARTUUID by using blkid command.
Set the label of an ext2/3/4 volume uses the e2label command

LXDE / LXQT

Date/Time Widget

Clock format: %I:%M %p
Tooltip format: %a %x

Full Screen Windows

This will change/enable windows to be maximized by default.

Edit ~/.config/openbox/lubuntu-rc.xml
At end of file, un-comment:

<!--

</application>

-->

Networking

Connection Drop

After converting a Mac mini (Late 2012 / Macmini6,1) to Kubuntu 24.04, it started having issues with the NIC crapping out randomly. It would drop connection after consistent traffic. Like downloading an ISO or watching a movie. After searching a bit, I found this article on reddit. In case it goes away, or anyone too lazy to follow the link, the basic information is:

edit /etc/default/grub (I use nano)
change GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="" to be GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="iommu.passthrough=1"
be sure to save (use sudo) and update-grub2
reboot

The default for Kubuntu was as above. If your distro has other options, add this at the end, separated by a space.

Broadcom Wifi

On many Apple devices from around 2010's, the Broadcom wifi that came with them is not built into many Linux distros. I have a USB wifi adapter that I use during installation and then install the Broadcom driver. The information below gets the wifi card working on different distros.

Ubuntu: sudo apt purge firmware-b43-installer && sudo apt install firmware-b43-installer
Fedora: Enable/install RPM fusion (both free & non-free). sudo dnf install akmod-wl broadcom-wl

Scanning

Scanning is something that usually doesn't enter my mind. It used to be when I couldn't get medical reports electronically. But the late 20-teens had seen most medical institutions in the US be required to have electronic records. Which are also shared; and that raises privacy issues, but I digress. Now, working from home, there are still many processes that require printing -> signing -> scanning -> emailing documents.

And since my tried and true printer as well as scanner from the early 2000's finally died....

I bought a rather inexpensive HP Envy 7855. It got many good reviews online for working with Linux. Both as a printer and scanner. It was relatively painless to setup but for those who are totally tech-clueless, you may want to rely on HP's tools and/or a USB connection. If you understand basic IP networking, you can exit the first setup screen on the built-in touch panel and enter information manually.

Now with that done, onto scanning!

In the past, I had used gscan2pdf (noobies: link is to project, use your distro's package manager to install). My old scanner was a flatbed, so no sheet feeder. The new HP Envy 7855 has one, and I'd rather use that feature. I next tried Skanlite (again, project page), but it only seemed to scan to pictures, and I need PDF. So then I tried Simple Scan (sudo apt install simple-scan); low and behold, nice shiny PDF output. :-) If you don't have fancy needs, Simple Scan is the way to go!

SDDM (Login/Display Manager)

Change DPI in SDDM (method #1):
- nano -w /etc/sddm.conf
- paste in below:

[X11]

EnableHiDPI=true

ServerArguments=-nolisten tcp -dpi 144

Change DPI in SDDM (method #2):
- nano -w /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup
- /usr/bin/xrandr --dpi 201

SLiM (Login/Display Manager)

SLiM is one of the pieces of software that manages how users log into Unix-like systems, graphically. They are referred to as both "login manager" and "display manager". I usually use the default on any system, but FreeBSD did not have one for XFCE. So I choose SLiM over XDM.

Below are some notes/hints/etc.

In FreeBSD, config file = /usr/local/etc/slim.conf
In FreeBSD, themes are in /usr/local/share/slim/themes/
I made a simple theme to understand the files.

UDEV for Android Devices

Below are UDEV rules for connecting Android devices via USB on Linux. At the end is the values for Amazon Fire 7" 5th Generation.

# udev rule to detect android devices

# Acer

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0502", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Archos

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0e79", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Asus

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0b05", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Azpen Onda

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1f3a”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# BQ

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2a47", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Dell

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”413c”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Fairphone

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2ae5", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Foxconn

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0489", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Fujitsu Toshiba

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”04c5", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Garmin-Asus

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”091e”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Google

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”18d1", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Haier

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”201e”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Hisense

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”109b”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# HTC, Wiko

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0bb4", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Huawei

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”12d1", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Intel

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”8087", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# K-Touch

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”24e3", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# KT Tech

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2116", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Kyocera

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0482", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Lab126

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1949", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Lenovo

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”17ef”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# LG

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1004", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Meizu

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2a45", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Micromax

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1ebf”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Motorola

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”22b8", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# MTK

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0e8d”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# NEC

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0409", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Nook

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2080", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Nvidia

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0955", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# OnePlus Two (unknown vendor’s name)

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2a70", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Oppo

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”22d9", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# OTGV

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2257", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Pantech

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”10a9", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Pegatron

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1d4d”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Philips

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0471", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# PMC-Sierra

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”04da”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Qualcomm

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”05c6", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Rockcwell Electronics

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2207", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# SK Telesys

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1f53", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Samsung

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”04e8", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Sharp

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”04dd”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Sony

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”054c”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Sony Ericsson

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0fce”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Spreadtrum

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1782", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# T & A Mobile Phones

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1bbb”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Teleepoch

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2340", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Texas Instruments UsbBoot

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0451", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Toshiba

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”0930", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Wearners

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”05c6", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Wileyfox

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2970", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# XiaoMi

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2717", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# YU

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1ebf”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Zebra

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”05e0", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# ZTE

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”19d2", MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# ZUK

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”2b4c”, MODE=”0666", GROUP=”plugdev”

# Amazon Fire 5th

SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”1949", MODE=”0660", GROUP=”plugdev”