Notify OSD notifications are the small bubbles that popup in the upper right hand corner of the Ubuntu screen, just underneath the panel noticiations area. The most common OSD notification is probably the network connection notification as seen in the screenshot below.

rc.local is a file that the server runs once the server is fully booted.

The method to which the server notifies the desktop client is as follows:

• Server reboots.
• Server runs rc.local once it finishes booting.
• The rc.local sends an OSD notification through SSH telling that the server is up and running.

How to Setup Server Up Notifications

Nomenclature:

• Server – the server machine that reboots and sends to the OSD notificaton.
• Client – the desktop machine that receives the OSD notificaton.
• <client_user_name> – the username of the client computer that recieves the OSD notifications.
• <server_user_name> – the username of the server computer.
• <client_computer_name> – the name of the client computer.
• <server_computer_name> – the name of the server computer.
• <domain_name> – the name of the network domain.

Client Setup

I’m using Ubuntu Lucid 10.04 as my desktop OS.

1. Install OpenSSH server.

sudo apt-get -y --force-yes install openssh-server

Server Setup

I’m using Ubuntu Server Karmic 9.10 as my server OS.

1. Install Notify OSD.

sudo apt-get -y --force-yes install notify-osd

2. Test to see if the client will recieve the OSD notification.

ssh -X <client_user_name>@<client_computer_name>.<domain_name> 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"'

Example:

voltron43@server: ~$ ssh -X voltron43@voltron43-laptop.local 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"'

where

• “Server is up” is the notification message
• -i “/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg” is the location of the icon on the client computer shown in the OSD notification.

Once the test is successful, we need to move onto password-less SSH logins in order for the server to send the OSD notification without having to prompt for the client username’s password. Because rc.local uses root instead of the Server superuser, we need to setup the password-less SSH login with root.

3. On the Server, switch to root user.

sudo su

4. Generate RSA keys.

ssh-keygen -t rsa

5. Accept the default file and leave the passphrase blank.

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/root/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /root/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.

6. Copy the RSA key to the client computer and client username.

ssh-copy-id -i /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub <client_user_name>@<client_computer_name>.<domain_name>

Example:

ssh-copy-id -i /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub voltron43@voltron43-laptop.local

7. Test the OSD notification from root to make sure there isn’t a password prompt.

ssh -X <client_user_name>@<client_computer_name>.<domain_name> 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"'

Example:

root@server: ~$ ssh -X voltron43@voltron43-laptop.local 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"'

8. Create the rc.local file

sudo nano /etc/init.d/local

The Ubuntu equivalent to rc.local is the local file located in the init.d folder.

9. Paste the following into the local file.

#!/bin/sh
ssh -X @. 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"'
exit 0

10. Save and exit nano by pressing Ctrl+O and Ctrl+X.

11. Make the local file executable.

sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/local

12. Link the local file with Init.

sudo update-rc.d local defaults 80

13. Restart the server and you’re done!

sudo reboot

Debugging

To debug the script, add “> /home/<server_user_name>/error.log 2>&1″ to the local file at the end of the ssh command to check for errors and “echo $(date) – Running >> /home/<server_user_name>/test.run” in the next line to see if the local file is being executed on startup.

#!/bin/sh
ssh -X <client_user_name>@<client_computer_name>.<domain_name> 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"' > /home/<server_user_name>/error.log 2>&1
echo $(date) - Running >> /home/<server_user_name>/test.run
exit 0

Example:

#!/bin/sh
ssh -X ssh -X voltron43@voltron43-laptop.local 'DISPLAY=:0 notify-send "Server is up" -i "/usr/share/icons/Humanity/apps/48/bash.svg"' > /home/voltron43/error.log 2>&1
echo $(date) - Running >> /home/voltron43/test.run
exit

References

• Bash script (or alias) using ssh & notify-send
• RcLocalHowto
• rc.local not executing at reboot
• make server beep after bootup
• Password-less logins with OpenSSH
• Finally an Easy Way to Customize Notify OSD Notification Bubbles

Application Indicator Icons Sets for Dropbox

1.  Ubuntu Dark by Incognitus

Download

2.  Ubuntu Light by Incognitus

Download

3.  Ubuntu Mono Dark Set 1 by nevon

Download

4.  Ubuntu Mono Dark Set 2 by nevon

Download

5.  Dropbox Ubuntu Mono by invernizzi

Download

6.  Dropbox Notification Icons Dark by Charles Anderson

Download

7.  Dropbox Notification Icons Light by Charles Anderson

Download

8.  Dropbox Monochrome Dark by Joern

Download

9.  Dropbox Monochrome Light by Joern

Download

How to install the icons.

There are a few ways to download and install the Dropbox icons.

Option 1: Manually download and install the icons.

1.  Download the compressed archive to your home directory.

wget <archive URL> -O ~/icons.tar.gz

2.  Stop Dropbox.

/usr/bin/dropbox stop

3.  Backup the original Dropbox icons in the ~/.dropbox-dist/icons directory.

mkdir ~/.dropbox-dist/icons/Backup
cp ~/.dropbox-dist/icons/*.png ~/.dropbox-dist/icons/Backup/

4.  Extract the compressed archive and place the icons in your ~/.dropbox-dist/icons directory.

tar xvf ~/icons.tar.gz

5.  Browse to the extracted directory and manually copy the icons to the ~/.dropbox-dist/icons directory.

6.  Start Dropbox

/usr/bin/dropbox start

Option 2:  Download and run the install_dropbox_icons script.

install_dropbox is a bash script that downloads and installs custom notification icons for Dropbox. The current supported icon sets are:

1. Ubuntu Dark by Incognitus
2. Ubuntu Light by Incognitus
3. Ubuntu Mono Dark Set 1 by nevon
4. Ubuntu Mono Dark Set 2 by nevon
5. Ubuntu Mono Elementary by invernizzi
6. Dropbox Notification Icons Dark by Charles Anderson
7. Dropbox Notification Icons Light by Charles Anderson
8. Dropbox Monochrome Dark by Joern
9. Dropbox Monochrome Light by Joern

1.  Download the script.

wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16428/scripts/install_dropbox_icons.tar.gz -O ~/install_dropbox_icons.tar.gz

2.  Extract the script.

tar xvf ~/install_dropbox_icons.tar.gz

3.  Make the script executable.

chmod +x ~/install_dropbox_icons

4.  Run the script.

~/./install_dropbox_icons

Optional: Remove the script and archive from the home directory.

rm ~/install_dropbox_icons*

The install_dropbox_icons script can be downloaded here.

Update: install_dropbox_icons has been updated to version 0.2.

Related posts:

• How to Update Dropbox to the Latest Experimental Build Using dbupdate [HOWTO]
• How to Install Dropbox in Ubuntu [HOWTO]

How to install dbupdate.

There are a few different options on how to use this script.

Option 1: Download the dbupdate script and run it as a bash script.

Note: the below code corresponds to version 2.10 of the dbupdate script and will not work with future releases.  I recommend installing dbupdate via the repository (see option 3 below).

Run the following code in Terminal.

1.  Download the script.

wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1108539/dbupdate/dbupdate0.2.10

2.  Make the script executable.

chmod +x dbupdate0.2.10

3.  Run the script and check is there is a Dropbox update.

./dbupdate0.2.10 -c

4.  Run the script and upgrade Dropbox.

./dbupdate0.2.10 -u

Optional: The script can also be installed via the script by running the following code.

sudo ./dbupdate0.2.10 -i0

Option 2: Download and install the deb files.

Note: the below code corresponds to version 2.10 of the dbupdate-bin deb file and version 2.5 of the debupdate deb file and will not work with future releases.  I recommend installing dbupdate via the repository (see option 3 below).

Run the following code in Terminal.

1.  Download the deb files.

wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1108539/dbupdate/dbupdate-0.2.5.deb && wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1108539/dbupdate/dbupdate-bin-0.2.10.deb

Alternative: Download the deb files over at the Dropbox forums.

2.  Install the dependencies.

sudo apt-get -y --force-yes install libnotify-bin

3.  Install the deb files.

sudo dpkg -i dbupdate-bin-0.2.10.deb
sudo dpkg -i dbupdate-0.2.5.deb

4. Cleanup the deb files.

rm dbupdate-0.2.5.deb && rm dbupdate-bin-0.2.10.deb

5.  Proceed to Update Dropbox section below.

Option 3 (recommended): Install via the repository.

The advantage to using the repository is that the most recent version of dbupdate is installed and dbupdate is automatically updated when a new version is released.

Run the following code in Terminal.

1.  Add the dbupdate repository.

echo "deb http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1108539/dbupdate ./ #dbupdate" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dbupdate.list

2.  Add the dbupdate public key.

wget --quiet http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1108539/db.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3.  Update the repository.

sudo apt-get update

4.  Install dbupdate

sudo apt-get -y --force-yes install dbupdate

5.  Proceed to Update Dropbox section below.

Update Dropbox

It’s very easy to update Dropbox using dbupdate.

Run the following code in Terminal.

1.  Check if there is a Dropbox update.

dbupdate -c

2.  Update dbupdate

dbupdate -u

To see a list of all of the supported dbupdate command options.

man dbupdate

or

dbupdate -h

Below is a little video of dbupdate in action.

Note:  The video is a little out of date so the commands shown in the video may not work with the current version of dbupdate.

One of the latest updates to Dropbox is the introduction of custom status icons.  A future HOWTO post will outline how to download and install custom status icons.

How to install Dropbox:

First of all, Dropbox is proprietary software and therefore cannot be included in the Ubuntu repository.  To get around this, Dropbox has created a small script called nautilus-dropbox that can be added to the repository and installed in Ubuntu.  The nautilus script is used to download and install the proprietary Dropbox daemon from the web.  The download options below download, install, and and then run the nautilus-dropbox script.

Option 1: Download and install the deb file from Dropbox’s website.

See the Install the Dropbox daemon section below for installation details.

Option 2: Add the repository and install nautilus-dropbox  from Terminal.

Run the following code in Terminal.

1.  Add the repository.

echo "deb http://linux.dropbox.com/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee "/etc/apt/sources.list.d/dropbox.list" > /dev/null

2.  Add the public key.

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 5044912E

3.  Update the repository.

sudo apt-get update

4.  Install nautilus-dropbox.

sudo apt-get -y --force-yes install nautilus-dropbox

Optional: nautilus-dropbox should automatically launch the Dropbox daemon.  If it does not, run the code below.

dropbox start -i

5.  Proceed to the Install the Dropbox daemon section below.

Option 3: Download my install_dropbox script and install nautilus-dropbox from Terminal.

1.  Download the script.

wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16428/scripts/install_dropbox.tar.gz

2.  Unpack the script.

tar xvzf install_dropbox.tar.gz

4.  Make the script executable.

chmod +x install_dropbox

5.  Run the script.

./install_dropbox

6.  Proceed to the Install the Dropbox daemon section below.

The script can also be downloaded here.

Install the Dropbox daemon

This section takes you through the steps of installing the Dropbox daemon.

1.  Click the Start Dropbox button.

Alternative: Dropbox daemon can also be started using the following code in Terminal.

dropbox start -i

2.  Check the Don’t show this again checkbox and click OK.

You should now see a download dialog window.

The next windows is the unpacking dialog window.

3.  If you already have a Dropbox account, select the I already have a Dropbox account option and click Forward and skip the next step.  If you don’t have a Dropbox account, leave the default option and click Forward and move onto the next step.

4.  Create your Dropbox account by filling in your personal details and click Forward.  Be sure to check the I agree with the Terms of Service checkbox!

5.  Log in to Dropbox using your new or existing username and password and click Forward.

Dropbox keeps track of which computers you are syncing with your account, so make sure to name your computer something that makes sense.

6.  Choose which account type you use.

I, personally, have used the 2 GB account for the past 3 years or so and have not had a problem with running out of space because I only sync important documents.

7.  You can choose to either take a tour of Dropbox if you’re a new user, or you can skip the tour by clicking the Skip tour and finish button.

8.  Choose to use the default Dropbox Folder Location or choose you’re own by checking the I want to choose where to put my Dropbox folder checkbox.

The option to choose where to put the Dropbox folder is a very convenient option, especially if I have to resync Dropbox to an existing Dropbox folder.  If you choose to resync Dropbox to an existing Dropbox folder, be sure to use the parent folder.

9.  Restart nautilus by clicking the Restart Nautilus button.

Alternative: you can also restart nautilus by running the following code in Terminal.

nautilus --quit

Congratulations.  You have now finished installing Dropbox for Ubuntu!  To use Dropbox, just create documents inside the Dropbox folder and the documents will automatically be uploaded to Dropbox’s server.  To share documents between computers and/or operating systems, install Dropbox on the computers and/or operating systems.

In future posts I’ll show you how to update Dropbox to the latest experimental builds using Dusten B.’s script and customize the notification icons.

[Update] Added How to Update Dropbox to the Latest Experimental Build Using dbupdate [HOWTO]

Here is a list of my preferred applications:

• OS: Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 LTS
• Internet browser: Google Chrome unstable
• Email: Gnome-Gmail
• Music player: Quod Libet
• Video player: VLC
• Editor: gedit
• Chat: Empathy
• File sync: Dropbox
• File launcher: Do
• Dock: Docky
• Scanning: Simple Scan
• Virtualization: VirtualBox
• Download manager: Uget
• FTP Client: FileZilla
• PDF ‘editor’: PDF Shuffler
• BitTorrent: Transmission

I will be blogging about some of the applications and how I use and modify them to my liking.

Make sure to visit my Preferred Applications page to see what I’m currently using!

My current desktop has the following:

• Docky with the Gmail, Weather, and Mounter docklets
• Radiance theme with Droid fonts
• Wallpaper: Hurrah Ubuntu by pr09studio
• Top Panel:
  • Panflute applet
  • Dropbox with customized icons
  • Emapthy with customized icons

I’ll update this post every now and then to document my desktop upgrades and modifications.

A few of the topics that I’m to cover are:

• Customizing system tray icons, panels, and desktop.
• My preferred applications and their settings and customizations.
• Ubuntu bug fixes.

Being a dedicated techie, I tend to run the latest development and test builds of applications, meaning I’ll be writing about Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 LTS.

I’m excited to share all of my Ubuntu experiences!