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I really needed to have access to a Windows application that would not work using WINE. Using Sun''s VirtualBox I was able to install Windows and on it install the application. VirtualBox is a free program you can download, and with it you can install other operating systems in Ubuntu. I am not referring to a dual boot system, which is actually what I did for about a year while I was weening myself off of Windows. VirtualBox gives you the versatility to have both, or more, operating systems open simultaneously.

In Ubuntu you can install VirtualBox via the terminal using "sudo apt-get install virtualbox" or you can install it using the Synaptic Package Manager by doing a search for "virtualbox-ose".

Before you can install an operating system, such as Windows, you must establish a ''virtual machine''. To begin this process select ''new''. Selecting ''new'' will launch a ''New Virtual Machine Wizard''.






At this stage you assign the virtual machine a name. In this example I named it ''Vista''. Also choose the operating system type from the drop menu, then select ''next''.


At this stage you will use the slider to divide the RAM up between the host OS and the guest OS. As you can see I divided it in half.


Chances are you''ll need to create a ''virtual hard drive''. Do this by selecting ''New''.




At this stage you can either assign a fixed hard drive size, or you can choose to have it''s size expand as needed. Obviously, any hard drive space you give to the guest OS reduces available space on your host OS.


At this stage you must give your virtual hard drive a name. In this example I named it Vista. I also chose to start with a 20 GB virtual hard drive.




At this stage you should be able to select your virtual hard drive from the drop down list, then select next.




At this point you can place your Windows installation CD in the CD drive, highlight Vista, or whatever name you gave it, and select ''start''. If you have installed Windows before, you''ll find yourself in familiar territory from this point on.


As shown below, Windows Vista is running within Ubuntu.


Now you may want to also add the VirtualBox guest modules. This will allow you to have full screen resolution on your guest operating system, otherwise the default maximum is somewhat lower. With the VirtualBox guest Modules you can run Windows full resolution on one screen and Ubuntu on the other.

The best software I have found for ripping music CDs to MP3 is Sound Juicer. Sound Juicer can be found in the Synaptic Package Manager. Once it is installed you can rip to wav or ogg files. For MP3 format one must also install the following packages:

Copy and paste the following into the terminal:

• 
  sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-pitfdll gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse
  

Once installed open the application: Applications --> Sound & Video --> Audio CD Extractor

Go to edit --> Preferences (as shown below)



As shown in the following image, select CD Quality, MP3 (.mp3 type)



Also notice in the 'Preferences' window you can choose a location on your hard drive for placement of the MP3 files.

Click close, insert a music CD, then select 'Extract', found on the main Sound Juicer application window.

And, that's it!! Enjoy!

A good place to start a website is on your own personal computer. So why not set up a local host on our own Ubuntu box and get moving? Open up the terminal and follow these three steps:

1. Install the MySQL server and client: $ sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client


2. Install php5: $ sudo apt-get install php5-mysql


3. Install phpMyAdmin: $ sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin


Okay, now you''ll need to create a directory where you can build websites within the server directory and give it permissions. Follow these steps:


4. $ sudo mkdir /var/www/directoryname


Okay, now you need to give permissions so that you may work freely in your new directory. As follows:


5. $ sudo chown yourUserName /var/www/directoryname



Test your local web server by entering the following into your web browser:


6. http://localhost

You should now see in large bold font, "It works!". Now you are ready to create websites from scratch, or perhaps you'd like to install a content management system into your newly born directory! Have fun!