Compiling Python on Ubuntu / Linux

I’ve been having problems installing Python on my Ubuntu machine because of errors with setup tools.

During installation you get the following error:

Installing distribute into /home/ting/.pythonbrew/pythons/Python-2.7.3
ERROR: Failed to install setuptools. See /home/ting/.pythonbrew/build.log to see why.
Skip installation of setuptools.

And if you try and use pip / easy_install, you get this:

ImportError: No module named setuptools

It turns out the answer is simple, we’re missing some libraries required to compile it.

sudo apt-get build-dep python2.7

BAM! Pythonbrew works!

Linux on Netbooks

Getting Linux setup on my Netbook has been so incredibly frustrating. I installed Ubuntu at least 4 times. Each time believing I had gotten the install correct, only to find that when I went roaming it would freeze.

Installing Ubuntu on a Samsung N145 (and possibly others)

There are a few issues out-of-the-box with Ubuntu (and possibly other distros) on Samsung laptops and netbooks. Specifically:

• Pressing the brightness function keys causes the keyboard to lock
• The brightness keys don’t change the brightness.
• Resuming from suspend hangs the computer with a black / blank screen.
• Wireless does not work properly after resuming from suspend.

There are also non-Samsung related problems with Ubuntu and Unity:

• Vi inserts A, B, C, D characters in insert mode when using the arrow keys.
• Eclipse and Lyx menus don’t display in Unity (and other applications).

This guide is specifically for Ubuntu 10.10 and the Samsung N145 netbook, but the information will be applicable to other distros and Samsung laptops and netbooks.

If this page doesn’t resolve your issues, check the comments as other users have experienced other issues and found further work-arounds for them.

A comment on installing Debian on the N145.

A post on installing Debian on Atom based computers.

Last updated: 2011/01/09

This is why we can’t have nice things…

So my Ubuntu Netbook Remix 10.10 install lasted me less than a single day, and now I have the choice of trying again and hoping, or trying out the other netbook distros.

But wait… let me re-wind there.

Netbooks

N145, I am impressed =)

Just wish Ubuntu had a netbook remix installer for 64-bit. I’m too lazy to roll my own from the desktop edition so I’ll just stick with 32-bit development (XP and Linux) for the time being. My code should be 64-bit clean so it should present no problem.

I also ran Windows 7… for all of 2 minutes before I got thoroughly bored and removed it. There is no curiosity like with an OS like OS-X or desktops like Gnome and Unity, just… the same interface with a different chrome. Maybe thats a good thing for the Windows eco-system. But its not exactly something that inspires imagination.