ALBA DVD62XI DVD Region Hack

The ALBA DVD62XI dvd player is not multiregional out of the box, but there is a simple set of instructions to make it that way.

1. Turn on your TV and DVD player.
2. Press the Open/Close button on the remote control.
3. Using your remote control, key in the following numbers from the keypad: 3, 3, 0, 8, 8 one after the other,
4. Then immediately press the 10/0 button on the remote control to set the region to 0 which is the multiregional setting.
5. Pres the Open/Close button on the remote control.

Your player should now be multiregional... try a few DVDs and you'll see its all set up!

Dansai DVD-852 Region hack

To get the Dansai DVD-852 to play multi region DVD's:

Press set up.
Press stop on front panel of player.
Press rewind on front panel of player.
Press fast forward on front panel of player.

Change Factory settings:
Go to region ID.
Down to bypass.
Press play.
Press set up.

The macrovision can also be turned off or on the factory settings page, but the default is off.

OpenOffice UK Spell Checker

To enable the UK spell checker in OpenOffice download the "myspell-en-gb" package using synaptic or apt-get. In OpenOffice hit F11, right click on default, and choose modify. The UK option should now have a blue tick next to it. Choose and hit OK.

CPU Running at 100 Percent

Another problem with running Compiz and Firefox appears to be full on CPU usage (100 percent). Check first to see where the problem lies by typing into a console:

top

This lists the processes in order of greediness. Usually, to solve the problem all you need do is either restart Firefox or turn off Compiz.

Embedded Audio in Linux (Realplayer)

Realplayer for Linux is a bit duff, and is prone to stutters, freezes and crashes. Better to use the Totem media codecs. To get Totem to handle your embedded audio, download the "mediaplayerconnectivity" add-on from Mozilla, and choose your applications manually.

Firefox Covers Task Bar and Shut Down Bar Missing

There seems to be a problem running Compiz and Firefox together. At times, when expanding Firefox to fullscreen, it will expand beyond the taskbar, and the shut down/minimize bar will also appear too high up, effectively off the top of the screen, making it impossible to shut down Firefox by the usual method.

Whatever the problem is, once it's happened, it saves to the Firefox settings file, meaning the setting effectively sticks.

To remedy the problem either (a) turn off Compiz, or (b) type the following into a console:

mv ~/.mozilla ~/.mozillaold

This will rename your Firefox settings file. You will lose all of your extensions using this method, and any themes you may be using, so a re-install of them will be necessary.

Install Flash and Java Plugins - 32 Bit

To get Flash and Java working, either download flashplugin-nonfree, sun-java6-jre and sun-java-plugin through Synaptic and then restert Firefox.

Or:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin

If you need to choose between older Java installations, then type:

sudo update-alternatives --config java

...and follow the onscreen prompt.

Increase Amount of Workspaces in Compiz

System>Preferences>Compiz Config Settings Manager>General>General Options.

Desktop Size>Horizontal Virtual Size>**Change Number To Suit**