In this article I will show you how to deal with such issues as handling media, handling the deletion of files, browsing Nautilus as the root user, and maybe more. Read on Macduff!

Handling media

Figure 1

If you open up Nautilus to any of your folders that contain media and double click on any of those files, most likely Nautilus will ask you what to do with that file (unless you’ve already set a default application for that file type). Did you know, however, that you can instruct Nautilus what to do with just about any media type you can think of? Sure! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open up Nautilus.
2. Click on the Media tab (see Figure 1).
3. From the media type you are wanting to change select the action you want from the drop down.
4. From the Other Media section you can set up less common media formats, and how you want Nautilus to handle them.

That’s it. You will notice, from the drop downs, there are already applications pre-configured to handle certain media types. If you don’t see the application you want to use just select Open with other application and then (in the new window) navigate to the executable for the application you want to use (usually in /usr/bin).

Now when you double click on of those media types the action you have configured will occur.

Deleting files

Have you noticed, if you right-click a file within Nautilus, your only option for deleting a file is to send it to the Trashcan? What if you KNOW you want that file gone (and not saved for later un-deletion)? Well, that is not a problem. You can easily add a Delete option to your right-click action menu. To do this click Edit > Preferences and then, from the Behavior tab, check the box for Include a Delete command that bypasses Trash. After you have done that, click Close on the Preferences window and now, when you right-click a file, you will see a Delete entry.

Open a root user Nautilus window

There are times you just need the power of root – even in your file manager. By default the only way to do this is to open up a terminal window and issue the nautilus command with either sudo or after you have su’ing to the root user. That is not the case. Here’s what you do:

1. Open up a terminal window.

2. Issue the command sudo nano /usr/share/applications/Nautilus-root.desktop

3. Add the following to that file:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=File Browser (Root)
Comment=Browse the filesystem with the file manager
Exec=gksudo "nautilus --browser %U"
Icon=file-manager
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Application;System;

Save that file and then click Applications > System Tools > File Browser (Root) and (after entering the root user password) you will have a Nautilus browser open as the root user! Handy.

Final thoughts

The configurations you can undertake with the Nautilus file manager seem limitless. In this article you have seen three such configurations, but you know there are plenty more where that came from. I hope these three tips have made your Linux file browsing much easier.

This desktop widget is now available for Windows, Mac, and (are you ready for it?) Linux! Yes, it’s available for Linux, so all of us Penguinistas can enjoy our Hulu as it was meant to be enjoyed. And best of all, it’s easy to install. Let’s see just how easy the Hulu desktop client is to install and use.

Distributions and installations

As of now the only distributions Hulu is available for are Ubuntu 9.04 and Fedora 11. So if you’re not running either of them you’re out of luck. Hulu does hope to, over time, support other distributions. But both Ubuntu and Fedora make sense. Now, I will tell you that I did successfully install the Hulu client on Elive Compiz which is a Debian-based installation. So – if you can install a .deb package on your machine, and you meet the requirements, you might be golden.

Let’s take a look at the installation process. The Hulu client depends upon:

• GTK+ 2.12 or higher
• GLib 2.16 or higher
• LIRC 0.8.2 or higher (required for remote control functionality)
• Adobe Flash Player 9.0.124

Most likely, if you are running either Ubuntu 9.04 or Fedora 11, you already have everything you need installed (minus Flash). Installing Flash is as simple (at least in Ubuntu) as visiting a site that requires Flash, and then walk through the steps for installation when prompted. To install Hulu you will need to download the file from the Hulu Linux page. When you have downloaded that file you will need to issue one of the following commands (from within the directory the file was downloaded).

For Ubuntu:

dpkg -i huludesktop*

For Fedora:

rpm -ivh huludesktop*

Once the command finishes up, you are ready to run the client.

Using Hulu desktop

To start up the desktop client, issue the following command:

huludesktop

Figure 1

You will most likely find Hulu desktop in your Audio/Video menu. If not, you can always add it. When the client opens (see Figure 1) you can immediately begin searching and watching your favorite television episodes.

The menu and overall interface are amazingly simple and sleek. More than likely you will be surprised just how well done this Linux client is (considering it is still in beta).

Figure 2

As you can see (in Figure 2) the player runs seamlessly on the Linux desktop. What you can not see is that the client requires very little in desktop resources. In fact, it’s no more noticeable than running a browser.

Final thoughts

The Hulu Linux desktop client makes watching TV (and movies) a breeze. I am thrilled that Hulu has brought out a Linux client without making the Linux community wait as the Windows and Mac community enjoy it’s services.