Ubuntu in Debian Software Sources

Besides Ubuntu as an OS on my machine, I'm also using Debian GNU/Linux 7 Wheezy for months now. I'm enjoying using this latest stable version of Debian because it really is a stable version. I never encounter a single error while using it. That's the main reason why I choose to use it for some stuff I'm doing. If you are looking for a stable OS and have never use Debian before, I highly recommend to install and use it.

In Debian stable, I can get many software and applications which are complete enough (at least for me) for everyday regular tasks. Although for some applications I used to use in Ubuntu I have to find alternatives, but they are there. Software versions in Debian stable are a bit outdated compared to those in some other Linux distributions but that's not really a problem because most of the time I don't really need new features that comes with the newer version of most applications.

But today I was thinking of adding some more software and also to get some more up-to-date version of apps. I was adding software sources from Debian Testing (currently Jessie repo) by using the powerful Synaptic Package Manager app. Then I open the software sources utility to add lines to software sources list. While I was clicking tabs in Software sources window, I noticed something strange, but funny :)

Install Real Firefox in Debian

Mozilla Firefox is a widely used web browser in many GNU/Linux distibution, including Debian OS. But, due to the brand/name restriction, Debian use Iceweasel, a rebranded Firefox browser, as its the default web browser instead of "real" Mozilla Firefox.

Iceweasel is Firefox, only with different name and logo. It looks and performs exactly like Firefox, Firefox extensions/add-ons are 100% compatible and thus can be installed and used in Iceweasel.

But for many people, using the rebranded browser of Firefox somehow doesn't give a "real" Firefox eperience. And also, although in very rare cases, some websites reportedly can't recognize Iceweasel as Firefox, so the site can't be used smoothly on it. Another reason why some people prefer the real Firefox instead of Iceweasel, is because Iceweasel in Debian is a bit outdated, not updated to the latest Firefox (as of this writing, Iceweasel version in Debian Wheezy is Iceweasel ESR 10.0.7, while the latest Mozilla Firefox is Firefox 15.0).

For whatever reason, if you want to install the real Firefox in Debian OS, here I will show a little step-by-step tutorial/guide.

Debian doesn't provide Firefox in its official repository, so we need to install it in another way. In this method, I will show you a manual installation: how to install the real Mozilla Firefox web browser in Debian OS.

Install Non-Free Multimedia Codecs in Debian

Debian GNU/Linux is a free and open-source operating system, that brings only free software/applications by default.

For most users, although the applications included in official Debian iso release are capable to handle most everyday computing tasks, but sometimes they still need to use additional codecs especially to deal with certain types of file like mp3 audio, Java plugin, Adobe flash, or basic MS fonts that is included in an office document, or other proprietary formats.

Install Latest MATE in Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint

The MATE desktop environment is a fork of GNOME 2, bringing back full experience of classic/traditional desktop metaphor found in GNOME 2.x.

MATE desktop probably is the best choice especially for Linux users who can't get used to the mobile-device-centric desktop environment like GNOME Shell or Ubuntu Unity, and want to keep using the classic, simple yet highly customizable, GNOME 2 look and feel instead.

Since its first release in late last year, now MATE has been consider stable enough for everyday use, with its latest release that has reached 1.4 version today.

Below is the screenshot of MATE 1.4 running on top of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin, with some customization.

As someone asked in the comment below, I used zonColor GTK theme on the screenshot.

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What's New in MATE 1.4

Install Latest Java in Debian / Ubuntu / Linux Mint

In previous versions, many Linux distributions including Debian-based systems (Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint/LMDE) have official Java included in their official repository, before Oracle withdrew it and forbade it from being included in operating system or third-party repository.

The decision make users have to download Jave JRE binary from official Oracle Java website, and install it manually. Thankfully, some people have made installation script to make it easy to download and install it automatically. In this article, I use a repository of duinsoft.nl, owned by a member of Dutch Ubuntu community. Using this repository, you just do regular installation process by adding repository and then install it either via Synaptic or Terminal.

This repository contains installation script to automatically pull and download latest Oracle (Sun) Java JRE binary from official Java (Oracle) website, and install it to your system. After you have it installed, the script and the binary will be updated automatically next time when new updated package is available.

OK then, here you go.

Install NVIDIA in Debian

Debian GNU/Linux OS comes with built-in open-source graphics driver to make use of your graphics device, which decent enough to display graphical appearance on your monitor. But, this driver is not suitable or has a poor quality if you want to see more than just basic graphics, such as for displaying 3D graphics and other effects.

Recently I wrote an article about how to install the NVIDIA driver in LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition), which is a distro based on Debian pre-configured with some additional proprietary applications sources. Basically, installing the NVIDIA driver in Debian is not too different from doing it in LMDE, except that you have to activate some non-free repository in Debian's software sources, because unlike LMDE, it is only pre-configured with purely open-source apps repository.

Here I want to show you how to activate non-free repo and then install the NVIDIA graphics driver in Debian.

Install Latest WINE in Debian / Linux Mint (LMDE)

We love Linux and free/open source softwares. Unfortunately, we live in a world where most people are still using proprietary software in Windows OS, so that many applications are still only available for the Microsoft's OS. Fear not, the Linux community has a very useful application called WINE, short of Wine Is Not an Emulator, a software that can run a Windows application on Linux machine.

Most Linux distro (including Debian/Mint) have WINE in its official repository, all we have to do is running a single-line command like sudo apt-get install wine to install it. Unfortunately, at least in Debian system official repository (including Debian Squeeze (stable), Wheezy (testing), or LMDE which is based on Debian Testing, WINE package is a bit obsolate. WINE version in the repo is 1.0, while latest stable version of WINE is 1.4, let alone the beta version which currently has reached WINE 1.5. The latest version of WINE brings many features and improvements compared with previous one, supports more Windows apps/games, and also bug fixes.

According to WINE official page, we can install latest WINE on Debian system via this website. The page does not provide a repository that we can simply add it to the Debian source list, but we have to download all necessary packages of latest WINE and install them all manually.

Here I will show you how to install lates WINE in Debian.