Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Has Your Network Manager Icon Disappeared?

A recent issue has reared up with the Network Manager Applet not loading in Debian and Ubuntu. AFAIK it effects Unity, MATE and Gnome and possibly other Desktop Environments. In all cases the solution is quick and simple.

In your startup add the following command:

dbus-launch nm-applet

Then logout out and log back in, or restart.

This appears to be caused by an update but I have no idea which update package is the culprit. I don't recall an update for Network Manager recently but then I just may not have noticed it.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

How I Got Compiz Working In Debian 8.1 Jessie

If you love having the desktop cube or other goodies in Linux via Compiz but use a Debian based distribution other than Ubuntu you have probably noticed that its is no longer in the repositories, including testing and SID. Well fear not you can now get it. I use Linux Mint Debian Edition which is based on Debian 8.1 Jessie release.

After trying several different methods to get it installed, including compiling the source code (epic failure) I did my usual investigation to determine what needed to be done to resolve this. To me Compiz is a vital component, effects aside I rely on the Desktop Cube. It organizes my work flow and allows me to perform operations with less clutter from having several things open at once.

The problem in getting Compiz to work was the missing dependencies from the Debian Repositories so no matter what method I went with I would either get broken packages or outright failures in these attempts. That being said I went to one last (by last I mean it was my absolute final attempt) effort to install Compiz.

In a nutshell Compiz development is only being done by Canonical right now. Its an integral part of their Unity Desktop so they are actively developing it. However, as many have noted the version in Ubuntu 15.04 doesn't work with Debian 8.1. Well fear not because the version in the upcoming 15.10 release does. Wily Werewolf is the solution to our Compiz dilemma.

Add the following line to /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ wily main universe

Update your sources, install Compiz, the plugins and ccsm then either remove, or comment out, the line.

I am currently using Compiz on my system.

For my next magic trick, Emerald Decorator.