dnf/rpm error on Fedora: package xxx.rpm does not verify: no digest

If you trust the source, skip the digest verification:

> rpm -ivh --nodigest --nofiledigest xxx.rpm

Change the Default Paper Size in Fedora Linux

 The quick way:

Change directory to /etc/cups/ppd.

There you should find a file for your printer.

Edit it and find the line:

 *DefaultPageSize: A4

The list of supported sizes is below that line. Make sure you set the default to one of those. 

Configure a Brother Printer in Fedora Linux

I needed to configure a relatively old Brother HL2030 laser printer.

Don't look for the official drivers on Brother's Web site but rather install this package.

Make sure the printer is connected to a USB socket and switched on.

Then go to Settings and add a printer. It should be automatically found.

 

 Fedora Printing page.

Running a Graphical Application as root on Fedora

If you, as a regular user, want to run a graphical application with root privileges, you can do the following from your account:

First check you belong to the wheel group (you can invoke sudo).

Create a file with the following script in a file named, for example, wsudo:

#!/bin/bash
# -*- ENCODING: UTF-8 -*-
#small script to enable root access to x-windows system 
xhost +SI:localuser:root
notify-send "ALERT: Enable root user on xhost"
beesu $1
#disable root access after application terminates
xhost -SI:localuser:root
#print access status
notify-send "Disable root user on xhost"

Export the display:
> export DISPLAY=:0.0

then run the graphical application like this:
> ~/bin/wsudo appname

You will be prompted for your password and you're done!

gnome-tweak-tool to change Gnome 3 Settings

[Updated 2013-06-20]

You can modify the gnome settings using gnome-tweak-tool

E.g. The clock/date settings
If you want to show the date in the clock on the top bar:

1. Launch the gnome-tweak-tool
2. Go to the "Shell" menu
3. Enable "Show date in clock"

Microphone Not Working in Fedora 14

If your microphone is not working on your new installation, just try this. It worked for me:

1. Go to System --> Preferences --> Sound
2. Select the input tab
3. Switch from the existing configured microphone (probably microphone 1) to another one (microphone 2)
4. Close the application and everything should work ;-)

It looks like this issue has been going on and off since Fedora 10...

Fedora: Receiving Files Over a Bluetooth Connection

This post refers to receiving files from a phone to a computer over a Bluetooth connection.
Please refer to the official Fedora documentation for installation and initial configuration:

• Feature/Bluetooth.
• Documentation/Bluetooth.

Then you have to enable the bluetooth file sharing service.
If you can't find the link to the application in Applications --> System Tools, then create the link yourself or launch the following command manually:
> gnome-file-share-properties&

Enable Receive Files over Bluetooth.
Go to your phone and send the file to your computer.

Unable to Start Eclipse On An Empty Workspace

OS: Fedora 11
Eclipse Version: 3.4.2, Build id: M20090211-1700

If I try to initialize a new workspace (empty but with an existing directory), Eclipse will open as an empty non-killable window.

I was able to have a "dirty" initialization copying the .metadata directory of another workspace I had previously and mysteriously created to the new workspace.

I need to experiment a bit more to see if it's possible to, for example, just create the .metadata directory...

rpmdb: PANIC: fatal region error detected

I had the following error when trying any yum operation on Fedora 11:

> yum update
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
rpmdb: PANIC: fatal region error detected; run recovery
error: db4 error(-30974) from dbenv->open: DB_RUNRECOVERY: Fatal error, run database recovery
error: cannot open Packages index using db3 - (-30974)
error: cannot open Packages database in /var/lib/rpm
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/yum", line 29, in
yummain.user_main(sys.argv[1:], exit_code=True)
[...]

The googled ;-) solution that worked for me was:

> cd /var/lib/rpm
> rm -f __db.00*
> db_verify Packages
> rpm --rebuilddb

Converting MPEG-4 to MP3

Instructions for Fedora Linux.
Install lame:
> yum install lame

Install FAAD.
You need to compile it. Instructions are in the README.linux file in the source package.

Then you can use this command:
> faad -o - "file.m4a" | lame - "file.mp3"

References

1. Lame, http://lame.sourceforge.net/
2. FAAD, http://sourceforge.net/projects/faac/

gpk-application Not Working

I recently had this problem with the gpk-application on a Fedora 9. This Gnome application allows you to check what you have installed and install/remove packages.
The thing was I could not see the groups of packages and update the list from a remote machine. It happened I found out the cache was corrupted and this command:

> yum makecache

restored it to its full functionality.
Almost. I still cannot remotely refresh the list (which I could on the local display) but I think this is another story... permissions maybe.

Fedora Extras @ livna

rpm.livna.org provides many useful packages that can not be distributed in Fedora (previously known as Fedora Core and Extras) for one reason or another, including multimedia applications.

rpm.livna.org is not a standalone repository, but an extension of Fedora, Fedora Core and Extras repositories.

To add livna Fedora 8 packages to your list of repositories:
> rpm -ihv http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm

Installing Xine on Fedora 8

This procedure details the installation using the available prepackaged RPMs. The trick is that they're not all in the same place!

Install the main xine libraries (available from the main Fedora repositories):
> yum install xine-lib

Grab the main package and dependencies from RPM Find [1] and RPM pbone.net [2]:

1. xine (xine-0.99.5-1.fc7.i386.rpm) [1]
   
2. xine-lib-moles (xine-lib-moles-1.1.11.1-1.fc8.i386.rpm) [1]
   
3. vcdimager (vcdimager-0.7.23-7.fc8.i386.rpm [2]
   
4. libdvdcss (libdvdcss-1.2.9-2.fc7.i386.rpm) [1]
   
5. libfame (libfame-0.9.1-12.fc7.i386.rpm) [1]
   
6. libmad (libmad-0.15.1b-4.fc7.i386.rpm) [1]
   

Note that on Fedora 8 you need the above version of xine-lib-moles for compatibility with xine-lib.

Install them directly with rpm to avoid the need of disabling yum's signature check:

> rpm -ihv libdvdcss-1.2.9-2.fc7.i386.rpm libfame-0.9.1-12.fc7.i386.rpm libmad-0.15.1b-4.fc7.i386.rpm vcdimager-0.7.23-7.fc8.i386.rpm xine-0.99.5-1.fc7.i386.rpm xine-lib-moles-1.1.11.1-1.fc8.i386.rpm

Another way is to add livna to your list of repositories and do a:
> yum install xine

Didn't try this though...