The fix was simple, (re)installing the ntp package made sure that some of the missing dependencies was installed. I am pretty sure this has happened to me before, so it could be a useful tips to others. If your clock runs late, try the following (one may of course use Synaptic as well):

sudo apt-get install ntp

1. Backup disk and remove copy protection

AnyDVD HD

AnyDVD HD does a good job removing the copy protection and backing up the disk to your hard drive. It is a proprietary piece of software, but I found that a lifetime license was worth the investment (about € 100).

Please note that removing copy protection may be illegal in some countries. In Norway (where I live) it is, to my best understanding, illegal to circumvent effective copy protection measures. As far as I see it, AnyDVD makes the copy protection on Blu-rays very ineffective. However, there are, to my knowledge, no court orders that defines what effective is. Removing the copy protection may therefore be in the gray area. Nevertheless, I strongly believe consumers should be able to back up their own DVDs and Blu-rays, and use software like XBMC to manage their media collection.

2. Identifying the movie streams

DBInfo

You may want to store the whole blu-ray with all its files and folders. I am however mainly interested in the main feature itself. To identify the stream(s) that contain(s) the movie I use BDInfo. The first and longest playlist normally contain the stream(s) that constitute the movie. The movie in the screenshot above was contained in only one stream (“00000.m2ts”). The streams are always located in the folder “[movie root]\BDMV\STREAM”.

If only one stream (.m2ts file) contains the whole movie, you may simply store this file where ever you like, and watch it with XBMC or any other viewer you’d like. If the movie is constituted of several streams you should use tsMuxer to join/append these streams in the order shown in BDInfo.

Please note that the .m2ts container does not contain subtitles and chapters. If you want this you could for instance use the mkv container. However, since I normally do not care about either, I just back up the .m2ts file.

3. Adding an AC3 sound track and removing unnecessary tracks (optional)

Eac3toAC3

Some players are not able to decode DTS sound tracks. As a consequence of this I normally add an AC3 (Dolby Digital) track to my .m2ts containers. This is done by first encoding the DTS to AC3 using Eac3to.

tsMuxer

Next, create a new .m2ts file by adding (muxing) the newly created .ac3 file to the .m2ts file from the blu-ray. This is done using tsMuxer.

While muxing the two files I normally remove tracks that I do not need. This may be languages, presentation graphics, or video tracks with lower resolution. To remove them, simply uncheck the tracks that you do not want.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Please also enjoy The Simpsons – I Am So Smart.

First install Sun’s java implementation. I installed it from the 10.04 repository (lucid) using the following commands (or Synaptic Package Manager):

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

However, I am pretty sure using the 11.04 (natty) respository would work as well (Synaptic should already have an entry for partner software):

sudo add-apt-repository deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu natty partner

Then remove all the packages concerning OpenJDK (my computers had six different packages). It is probably easier to find and remove the packages by using Synaptic.

Finally, select the java version to use by typing in the following command (pick the one saying “sun jre” and “auto”):

sudo update-alternatives --config java

I have tested the above on two different computers and it is working. If you have problems, leave me a comment and I’ll see if I can help.

This post shows how to use a machine with Ubuntu as a central server, how to encrypt your data, and how to back them up using Ubuntu One. The guide assumes that you have a disk (array) containing the data that is mounted outside your home folder in Ubuntu.

Encryption

There are several ways to encrypt your data. Ì chose to use a virtual, encrypted file system that encrypts my data on the fly. There are several ways to do this, but I chose encfs. It was recommended around the net, and it seems to be working great. Setting it ups is relatively easy. Just follow this great guide by HyRax1 (thanks man). Just take note on how to share the folder with samba (assuming that you already have set up file sharing/samba on your machine. Just google it if in doubt.)

The guid will ask you create two folders. One for the encrypted data, and one for decrypted data. The folder for decrypted data gives you a view that allows you to read and modify your data.

Please make sure to remember your password!

Linking the folder into your home folder

Since Ubuntu One only supports synchronization of folders within your home folder, you have to bind the folder (the encrypted one) into your home folder. Create a folder named “private_documents” in your home folder, and in a command prompt type:

sudo getdit /etc/fstab

Then add a line similar to the one below into your fstab:

/path/to/encrypted_data /home/[user name]/private_documents       none    bind        0       0

Synchronize data with Ubuntu One

Right click your private_documents, select “Synchronize on Ubuntu One”. See this guide for more info. Now you are all done.

The data may now be downloaded and decrypted on another computer simply by installing encfs and mapping the folder:
encfs /path/to/encrypted_data /path/to/decrypted

Lennon against Aresenal - http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Nevertheless, C Sports has also changed a bit. The good, C Sports now support for Linux through Flash, and they provide streams from the Carling Cup. The bad, the prices are still too high. 79 NOK (10 €) for a game in the first round of the Carling Cup, is still too expensive. At least with the service quality they offer. The ugly: the image! The picture quality on my stream was very poor. Charging 10€ for it is almost a robbery. Moreover, the stream ended five minutes before the game ended!! I could at least not reconnect at the end of the game.

Nice to see more streaming services available on the Linux platform. However, the image and service quality needs to increase, and the price needs to decrease.

Step 1.Installation

First, dvdbackup may be installed through Synaptic, or by typing the following into the command line: sudo apt-get install dvdbackup

Second, you most likely have to install a CSS library to remove the copy protection. This may be done by adding the following unofficial repositories to your list of repositories (System->Administration->Synaptic Package Manager, then Settings->Repositories, and them on the “Other Software” pane):

deb http://unofficial.debian-maintainers.org/ lenny main contrib non-free restricted
deb-src http://unofficial.debian-maintainers.org/ lenny main contrib non-free restricted

You will most likely get an error message because of a missing key. Ignore this error message, or get the missing key through installing the package dmo-archive-keyring. Then you need to add the package libdvdcss2.

Third, Handbrake does not have an official stable release for Ubuntu at the moment. However, the nightly build has been working very well on my computer. To install this build follow these instructions. In short, add the following two repositories, and install the package handbrake-gtk.
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/stebbins/handbrake-snapshots/ubuntu lucid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/stebbins/handbrake-snapshots/ubuntu lucid main

Step 2. Ripping with dvdbackup

I use the command line tool dvdback up to make a copy of the DVD on the hard drive. The copy does not have any copy protection. To do this, start the command line, and go to the folder where you want the image to be stored. Then, type: dvdbackup -i /dev/dvd -M

dvdbackup - screenshot

I have experienced some problems with the name of the dvd drive, but /dev/dvd/ usually works. If not, find the right name under /dev or /media. As you might see from the image above, you could receive some error messages. Do not worry about these. They are ignored sectors that are part of the copy protection. Ripping a full DVD usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes on my computer.

3. Transcoding with Handbrake

Transcoding the movies and series from the DVD format (usually a VIDEO_TS folder with several VTS_**_*.VOB files) to a single video file is very simple. First, set up Handbrake the way you want. Personally, I do not include subtitles, select the MP4 file format, and use the “High quality” preset. However, you may play around with the settings any way you like.

HandBrake - Screenshot

Second, Select “Source” in Handbrake (see the screenshot above), browse to the source folder of one DVD, and click “OK”.

Third, Pick the “Title” you want to encode. give it a sensible name, select the folder where you want to store the transcoded file, and click “Add to Queue”. The longest title is automatically selected. For DVDs with movies, the longest title is usually the movie itself. For TV series, make sure that you add all the episodes on the disc to the queue.

Fourth, when you have added all the movies you want to transcode, simply click “Start” and let your computer do the job. On my machine (AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black with 4 GB RAM), transcoding a movie takes about 45 min to an hour with the hiqh quality settings. On an AMD Athlon X2 4850e with 4 GB RAM, it takes significantly longer.

The next step

When Handbrake finishes you will have a collection of transcoded movies and series. In future post, I will show how I manage these using another set of open source software.

Disclaimer

Ripping and transcoding (copyrighted) DVDs may be illegal in some countries. In Norway, where I live it is not illegal to break “weak” copy protections like CSS (the copy protection used on DVDs). Distribution of copyrighted material is still illegal in Norway and most other countries, so please don’t do it.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Treyarch

I must admit that Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nov 9, 2010) is probably the game I am waiting for the most. Not so much because I believe it is going to be the greatest game ever, but mainly because I have become “totally addicted” to Modern Warfare 2. I will most likely play Black Ops quite a lot too, and I am very curious about what Treyarch is able to bring to the table this time around. Dedicated servers are said to be back, and I hope they do something to counter all those cheaters the we see in Modern Warfare 2.

Then there are a few games that most likely will have a story (as opposed to the last few Call of Duty games). We have Mafia II (Aug 24, 2010), Fallout: New Vegas (Oct 19, 2010), and Fable III (Oct 26, 2010). All of these are sequels to great games. Mafia looks quite good, and the previews I have seen are quite positive. Fallout does unfortunately look a bit dated, but I still have high hopes (Note to self: still need to complete Fallout 3). Fable, don’t know yet. I am not sure if I want it to become even less RPG than the previous. However, Fable 2 was a good and cute game. I really love that they have British voice actors.

Civilization 5 - Firaxis Games

The final tittle that I have high hopes for is the return of the undisputed strategy champion, Sid Meier’s Civilization V (Sep 21, 2010). I have unfortunately not played the last game as much as I should, but I am very much looking forward to this new game. It will most likely be great! I just hope that I have the patience to play strategy games, after way too many hours of online multi player FPS.

Worth watching

There are also a few other games that I am a bit uncertain about. However, I will be tracking them closely as they are released. First up is Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Aug 17, 2010). The first game was not very good, and I don’t really expect the second to be an epic game either. Nevertheless, I am found of the two player, this and the likes of Army of Two, offer. Moreover, I really enjoyed the Hitman series from IO Interactive (the developer of Kane & Lynch). Who knows, maybe they’ll get it right this time around.

Medal of Honor - EA

Then we have Halo: Reach (Sep 14, 2010). Halo will without doubt be a big game, but I am not really a hard core Halo fan boy. I prefer more realistic shooters and the game engine looks a bit dated to me. Next up is Dead Rising 2 (Sep 28, 2010). Zombie killing is always fun, but I am not 100% convinced yet. Medal of Honor (Oct 12, 2010) falls into the same category. I love modern first person shooters, but I am not sure what MoH adds to the table. We have already seen Battlefield Bad Company 2 this year (from DICE – the developer of  the multi player component of MoH), and Call of Duty Black Ops is due just a few weeks later. I have already tried the Beta, and I was unfortunately not blown away. Well actually, I was blown away in a one hour spawn rape before returning to Modern Warfare.

In addition we have Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Nov 16, 2010), and  Fifa 11 (Sep 28, 2010). I guess these will be just more of the same, which is a good thing as their predecessors were very good games. However, what about a bir more innovation? Finally, there is Stracraft 2 (already released). I am not really a big Starcraft fan either. I do not really have the patience to play real time strategy against people over the Internet (I would probably get pwned). However, for those who like it Starcraft is a dream come true (at least so I’ve understood).

Unrealistic dreams

Duek Nukem Forever - who knows??

Recently, rumours surfaced that Gearbox had picked up Duke Nukem Forever. I don’t believe it until the game ships, but as long as there is some hope I’ll be waiting for the duke to return. Moreover, I would also love to see a new game from Egosoft (the creators of the X3 series). Nothing has been announced yet, so I won’t hold my breath. However, X3 Terran Conflict was released about two years ago and in my eyes it is about time for something new. What are your wishes for Christmas?

In the latest episode of the Bonus Round over at Gametrailers.com they discussed the best games of 2010 so far. I did something similar last year, and I thought it was about time to do the same for 2010. The year of 2010 has already seen several very good games. My pick for the game of the year (so far) is as follows:

The game of the year so far

Read Dead Redeption - Rockstar Games

My choice for game of the year so far is not very controversial. Red Dead Redemption stands out from the crowd as an outstanding game in my eyes. I guess I have a weakness for games from Rockstar, but I must say I love the story telling, the characters, and the settings the guys at Rockstar are able to create. The game has a few weaknesses like aiming in close quarters, boring gatling gun sequences, and a bit too much aim assistance at longer ranges (making the game a bit too easy). However, it is very fun to gun down a lot of guys in quick succession. Moreover, the cell phone was not yet invented and one does not have annoying friends calling you all the time like in GTA 4.

Runner up

Mass Effect 2 - Bioware

Read Dead Redemption is not the only great game released so far this year. Even though I enjoyed the first game more than the second, Mass Effect 2 is still a very very solid game. Great voice acting, graphics, and storytelling. However, I did not fancy the dumbing down of the RPG elements, the horrible scanning of planets to find metals, and the *SPOILER* silly chose-the-right-squad-members-at-the-end-or-else-they-will-die.

The other games I played

Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward

I have also played several other games. The one I have played the most (by far) is without doubt Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Even though it has a lot of problems (cheaters, lack of dedicated servers, no user mods, IW.net, and so on), it is a highly addictive game (just ask my girlfriend). Getting all those challenges is very hard Battlefield: Bad Company 2 tried to dethrone Modern Warfare. Even though it was a decent game, I stopped playing it and returned to Modern Warfare. I guess I preferred being able to “win” the game by myself in Modern Warfare over having to rely on a squad as in Bad Company. Since I do not have a squad, I frequently got frustrated at all the n00bs playing to get high kill/death ratios instead of succeeding with the mission objectives.

Borderlands - Gearbox

In addition to Modern Warfare and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I have also played a bit of Left 4 Dead 2, Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery), Borderlands, Fable 2, Assassins Creed 2, and Fallout 3. I think all of these games are very good, but they do not reach the same level as Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect. Moreover, almost all of them were released in 2009. On one hand, Left 4 Dead and Assassins creed are better games than their predecessors, but they are basically more of the same. On the other hand, what I would like to see more of the same from is Borderlands. Even though the game world felt a bit empty and the quests were a bit repetitive, I very much enjoyed the game’s basic principles of having a lot of different guns, plenty of missions, and a quite open world.

Still in the back log

Splinter Cell Conviction - UBISOFT

The amount of  new games being released (and the amount of game time with Modern Warfare 2) has prevented me from playing all the games I would have wanted. I have still to (start and) finish the following games:  Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Splinter Cell Double Conviction, Army of Two 40th Day, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Bioshock 2. I am in particular looking forward to Splinter Cell Conviction and Batman Arkham Asylum. I would also like to get my hands on Just Cause 2, Alan Wake, and perhaps also Crackdown 2.

In addition to these games, there are a few games on the PS3 (which I do not have) that have received a lot of attention, in particular, God of War 3 and Heavy Rain. Honestly, I must admit that neither of those appeal to me at all. I do not fancy hack and slash/fighting that much, and Heavy Rain is not even a game.

After installing Ubuntu 10.04, Vuze would not start. Reinstalling the libswt-gtl/3.5/java package may solve this problem (thanks to the tips in this issue at launchpad.net). Reinstalling this package may be done by opening a console window and typing: “sudo apt-get install –reinstall libswt-gtk-3.5-java“