Speeding up boot time by running boot processes in parallel for Linux Mint

If you are using Linux Mint and have multi-core computer at home and wishes to speed up boot time by running processes in parallel, you can tweaked Grub to take advantage of parallelism.

Step 1: Edit /etc/init.d/rc and change CONCURRENCY from none to shell
# vim /etc/init.d/rc
---------------------------
CONCURRENCY=shell
---------------------------

You should notice a performance improvement in your boot-time.

The netbook distro - Moblin 2.0 beta

Moblin is an open source project focused on building a Linux-based platform optimized for the next generation of mobile devices including Netbooks, Mobile Internet Devices, and In-vehicle infotainment systems.

Moblin is Intel's initiative to develop a linux-based OS for mobile devices like netbook. According to the Moblin website, Moblin v2.0 boast the following feastures:

• New, visually rich user experience
• The myzone, acting as the 'home screen' panel
• Aggregation of your social networking content
• A web browser optimized for the Moblin 2.0 netbook user interface
• A 'Zoomable' media player
• A user interface for connection management

Currently, it is v2.0 beta and according to the website tested moblin on the following netbook

• Acer Aspire*One,
• Asus eeePC* 901, 1000H,
• Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind,
• Lenovo S10,
• Samsung NC10,
• HP Mini 1010 and 1120NR (wired networking only for now).

For more information, do go to Moblin Website

Remove the timeout during boot time

When you boot, there is a small count down before continuing with the boot process. This was originally introduced to ensure that older hardware load modules in time for the kernel to boot. Nowsaday, it is used for users to select their kernel modules, to dual boot etc.

However, if you have a modern machine and you wish to boot fast, you can edit
# /boot/grub/menu.lst

----------------------------------
timeout 0                                    
----------------------------------
(Change timeout from 5 to 0)

You just save 5 seconds from your boot time

Using dhcpcd to fix dhcp client settings

dhcpcd is an useful tool to help you fix dhcp client settings without the need to use the X windows network configuration tools.

To install dhcpcd, just install
# apt-get install dhcpcd

Some application of dhcpcd.
Note 1: Don't let the DHCP program modified your /etc/resolv.conf
# dhcpcd -R eth1

Note 2: Getting your preferred IP Address from the dhcp server. This is especially useful in a small network like home network
# dhcpcd -k (release the dhcp release)
# dhcpcd -s xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx eth1

Note 3: Preventing DHCP from installing default route
# dhcpcd -k (release the dhcp release)
# dhcpcd -G xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx eth1

For more usages, you can visit the online man page for dhcpcd

Installing Adobe Air on 32-bit Linux Mint

To install Adobe AIR on 32-bit Linux Mint, you can do the following:

Step 1: Use dpkg to enumerate adobe application
# dpkg -l | grep adobe


Step 2: Install Dependency for Adobe Flash
# apt-get install libnspr4-dev libnss3-dev libcurl3


Step 3: Download the Adobe Flash from http://www.adobe.com/
# dpkg -i install_flash_player_10_linux.deb


Step 4: Download the Adobe AIR from http://www.adobe.com/
# chmod 755 AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
# ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin