Running 2 Instance of Dropbox under Ubuntu

Have you ever wanna run 2 instance of Dropbox (2 different account) at the same time, syncing both account's files at the same time? You can find the guide for Windows here. As for Ubuntu, I will try to share the method I found and use.

Dropbox is a powerful software to allow files syncing, and sharing between devices, and users. Me myself owned 2 Dropbox account, one for personal use (sharing files between computer and devices), and another one for my work (sharing files between colleague).

Step 1: Install Dropbox in Ubuntu. There are many ways to do this, but I personally recommend going through Ubuntu Software Center. You can simply open Ubuntu Software Center, search for "dropbox" and click Install. It might take a few minutes, and you should have your Dropbox running.

Step 2: Create Shell Script to start multiple instance of Dropbox. You do not need to continue with the Dropbox configuration, or if you already have a Dropbox setup and running, just "quit" it. Create a .sh file, and store it somewhere. (I found this method from this page here, the original code provided do not work on ubuntu 14.04, and I edit some part of it)

The content of the .sh file:

#!/bin/bash

dropboxes=".dropbox-1 .dropbox-2"

for dropbox in $dropboxes

do

    HOME="/home/$USER"

    if ! [ -d "$HOME/$dropbox" ]

    then

        mkdir "$HOME/$dropbox" 2> /dev/null

        ln -s "$HOME/.Xauthority" "$HOME/$dropbox/" 2> /dev/null

    fi

    HOME="$HOME/$dropbox"

    /var/lib/dropbox/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd 2> /dev/null &

done

Step 3: Add the .sh file to be executed automatically on startup. You can go to your Startup Application list, and you should find a Dropbox in the list by default. Edit it and replace the command with the execution of your .sh file. For example I store my .sh file under "/mnt/Data/Software/ubuntu/SH/" folder, and the name of the .sh file is "dropbox.sh"

So, my edited Startup Application Command:

Step 4: Reboot and setup both Dropbox instance. Upon reboot, if everything is in order, you will have 2 instance of Dropbox setup running. I have no Idea how to know which are which, I just simply insert my first account to the 1st one that pop out. After setting up both account, you should have 2 dropbox syncing at the background.

So far both account is syncing properly, no crash, no issue. The only downside of this method is there is no way to know which icon is for which account, the way to overcome this is to store both "Dropbox" folder at 2 known places. To access the folder simply use file explorer to browse to the directory for each account. 

Also take note that, there is no way to edit the name of the main syncing folder. It has to be always "Dropbox", and this will prevent putting both account's folder on the same folder. 

Install Driver for D-Link DWA-171

I recently purchased D-Link DWA-171 USB WiFi dongle, more info here.

It is a mini size USB WiFi dongle that support dual band and comes with IEEE 802.11ac. I tried it on my Windows maching, it is working great, I can easily get the driver provided on its product page. But it does not work out of the box in my Ubuntu.

I previously found this page here, where it provide the driver for ubuntu, I downloaded, and try to make and install, but the make itself doesn't successfully complete. It shows 2 errors on the summary of the make.

After more searches, I found this discussion here, where people also discussing on how to install the driver for DWA-171, until I found this comment.

Text version for the code:

sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/abperiasamy/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux.git
cd rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe 8812au

I followed it and now it successfully installed. I guess the difference between the method above and the method of downloading the driver from its wikidevi page is the 2nd method actually using the latest version of its driver, and the its wikidevi page might still carrying its older version of driver.

Update 161005

The original method above seems not works for 5GHz network. To support 5GHz network, please use the updated command:

sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/gnab/rtl8812au
cd rtl8812au
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe 8812au

Install .bundle file on Ubuntu

1. Open terminal
2. Navigate to the folder that contains the installer (.bundle) file using cd command
   example: cd /media/Data/Software
3. Start the installer by using sudo sh command
   sudo sh VMware-Player-6.0.1-1379776.x86_64.bundle
4. It should pop out an installer window, and the installation process should continue there.

Install Google Chrome on ubuntu 11.10 (64-bit)

I just finish installing a fresh copy of Ubuntu 11.10 64-bit. One of my first thing to do is to install Google Chrome.

After download the deb file for Google Chrome 64-bit, I found out that I cannot simply run the deb file to install it. Ubuntu 11.10 kind like reject the installation.

I found the solution from http://www.google.co.uk/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=381d28fd49d3fc52&hl=en, the workaround for this is to install Google Chrome via Terminal. The instruction:

Step one: Download chrome to your Download Directory from http://www.google.com/chrome

Step Two: Open Terminal ( Ctrl + Alt + T )

Step Three: Run this command:
sudo apt-get install libnspr4-0d libnss3-1d libxss1 libcurl3

I guess this step is to install some required libraries for Google Chrome.

Step Four: Run this other command (Not Optional)
sudo dpkg -i './Downloads/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb' 
For this step, please modify the command if your downloaded Google Chrome installer is not located in your Downloads folder. For me the Google Chrome installer is located under my Desktop, so the command will be:
sudo dpkg -i '/home/tph/Desktop/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb'

Step Five: Hit the "Super" Key and search for Chrome.

After following all the steps, I had my Google Chrome running nicely under my Ubuntu 11.10. Thanks to Luke Woods.

Installing Metatrader 4 under Ubuntu 11.04

To install Metatrader 4 or MT4 under Ubuntu 11.04, make sure Wine Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer and Winetricks has been installed. If not, you can go to Ubuntu Software Center and install those.

Then, double click on the MT4 installer (.exe file) to start the installation of MT4. The process should run just like how it is run under Windows. After the installation complete there will be a shortcut for MT4 created under your desktop. Try to run MT4 using the shortcut. If your Winetricks is not installed with vcrun6, then it will pop out a windows saying that the MCF34.dll file is missing. 

To solve the dll missing problem, install vcrun6 under Winetricks. Run your ubuntu terminal and run the command "winetricks vcrun6".

Let the installation complete and try to run MT4 using the desktop shortcut. Now, your MT4 should be running nicely.

How to Install a .run File

Follow the steps to install a .run file:

1. Open a terminal. In ubuntu 11.04, simply press the Super Key (Windows key) and search for terminal.
2. Navigate to the directory of the .run file. For example, to navigate to desktop, type in "cd ~/Desktop" and pres enter.
3. Type "chmod +x example.run" and press enter (replace the example.run with the filename of your .run file).
4. Now type "./example.run", and press enter, the installer should start.

Installation of ATI Graphic Card driver:

Source: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=239797