Category: Technology

A Quick Start to GNOME Shell Extensions
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Introduction
From the GNOME website:
GNOME Shell provides core user interface functions for GNOME, like switching to windows and launching applications. User interface elements provided by GNOME Shell include the Panel at the top of the screen, the Activities Overview, and Message Tray at the bottom of the screen.” GNOME Shell extensions are small pieces of code written by third party developers that modify the way GNOME works. (If you are familiar with Chrome Extensions or Firefox Addons, GNOME Shell extensions are similar to them.) You can find and install GNOME Shell extensions using this website. Creation of extensions are created outside of the normal GNOME design and development process, they are supported by their authors, rather than by the GNOME community. Some features first implemented as extensions might find their way into future versions of GNOME.
Assumptions
- A Rocky Linux Workstation or Server with GUI installation that uses GNOME.
Install GNOME extensions
GNOME Extensions is available from the “appstream” repository, requiring no additional repository configuration. Install with:
```
sudo dnf install gnome-shell
```
Installation includes all needed dependencies.
Install browser integration
Gnome Extensions has a software library available through their website gnome.extensions.org where you can install extensions right off their website. To achieve this, your browser and gnome-extensions needs to facilitate a connection.
```
sudo dnf install chrome-gnome-shell
```
GNOME browser integration installation guide
Determining GNOME shell version
The browser extension used to facilitate extensions installations from extensions.gnome.org should automatically detect the version of GNOME shell your system is currently running.
If you wish to perform a local install you will need to download the extension with the correct GNOME shell version.
```
gnome-shell --version
```
Installing an extension
For this example we will install the popular dash to dock extension.
1. Go to dash to dock extension webpage
2. Toggle extension from “off” to “on”
3. When prompted to install the extension, click “yes”
Managing installed extensions
GNOME extensions are installed and managed on gnome.extensions.org.
To manage your GNOME extensions, first go to https://extensions.gnome.org/local/.
On this page you will find a list of installed extensions. You can toggle each of these on or off. You can also configure the shell settings by using the toggle button on either of the two available menu options “Disable all extensions” “Disable version validation”.
Conclusion
GNOME Extensions is a good tool for adding additional functionality and customizing your GNOME desktop environment.
Read this guide on the Rocky Documentation website.
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Please note that my website and content may contain affiliate links. This means that when you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, all the products I promote are ones that I believe to be of high quality, and I personally use them as a consumer myself. Your support through these links helps me continue to create valuable content. Thank you for your support!
July 2, 2024
Installing NetSpeed Gnome Extension on Rocky 9 Workstation
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Introduction
The NetSpeed Gnome Extension is a useful tool for monitoring network speed directly from your Gnome desktop environment. This guide will walk you through the steps to install the NetSpeed extension on a Rocky 9 Workstation.
Update Your System
```
sudo dnf upgrade
```
Installing Prerequisites
You need to install a few packages to be able to install gnome extensions.
```
sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extension gnome-tweaks
```
Install the NetSpeed Extension
Open your browser of choice and navigate to gnome extensions website.
Search for “NetSpeed”
Click on the NetSpeed extension and toggle the switch to “On”
Conclusion
You should now see the NetSpeed indicator in your Gnome panel, displaying your current upload and download speeds.
By following these steps, you’ve successfully installed the NetSpeed Gnome Extension on your Rocky 9 Workstation. This extension provides a convenient way to monitor your network speed directly from your desktop, enhancing your overall user experience.
Articles to Read Next
How to Setup WireGuard VPN on Rocky 9 Linux
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How to Install Virtual Box and Answering “What is a Hypervisor?”
How to Enable Bidirectional Shared Clipboard on VirtualBox VM
How to Create a Linux VM with VirtualBox
Affiliate Links
Form your business with Northwest registered agent
Create a website with namedotcom
Secure your website with Wordfence
My work laptop
Affiliate Disclaimer
Please note that my website and content may contain affiliate links. This means that when you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, all the products I promote are ones that I believe to be of high quality, and I personally use them as a consumer myself. Your support through these links helps me continue to create valuable content. Thank you for your support!
July 1, 2024
Spinning Up a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Workstation VM in VirtualBox
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Introduction
While this tutorial only covers creating a RHEL VM, there are many more Red Hat products available to try with a Red Hat Developer membership.
Creating a Red Hat Developers Account
A prerequisite to downloading an ISO file for RHEL is to have a Red Hat Developer’s account.
Register a Red Hat Developer Membership
From Red Hat Developer’s website:
A Red Hat Developer membership comes with a ton of benefits, including no-cost access to products such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Red Hat OpenShift, and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform.
- 1 year of access to all Red Hat products
- Developer learning resources
- Virtual and in-person tech events
- Red Hat Customer Portal access
- Exclusive content
- Access to the Developer Sandbox for Red Hat OpenShift, a shared OpenShift and Kubernetes cluster for practicing your skills
Downloading the Red Hat ISO
After registering a Red Hat Developer Membership and logging in, click the button “Download RHEL at no-cost“.
Creating a New Virtual Machine in VirtualBox
Click “New” to create a new virtual machine.
Give the virtual machine a descriptive name.
Select the ISO image.
Check “Skip Unattended Installation”
Click “Next”.
Assign Hardware in VirtualBox
The list below has the values I used for hardware assignment on the Red Hat VM.
- Base Memory: 4000 MB
- Processors: 2
Click “Next”.
I provided 100 GB of disk space for the virtual hard disk and did not pre-allocate the full size. Pre-allocating the full size causes the initial VM creation to take longer, but there are performance improvements.
RED HAT ENTERPRISE 9.4 INSTALLATION
Create a User
Under the “User Settings” menu, select “User Creation”.
Enter optional value into “Full name” field.
Enter required value into “User name” field.
Check “Make this user administrator”.
Enter required value into “Password” and “Confirm” password fields.
Installation Destination
Under the “SYSTEM” menu, select “Installation Destination”.
Select your disk under “Local Standard Disks”.
Connect to Red Hat
Under the “SOFTWARE” menu, select “Connect to Red Hat.”
You can authenticate with Red Hat servers with either your account credentials or an activation key. In the video I demonstrate how to authenticate with your account credentials.
Select the “Account” radio button under the “Authentication” label
Enter your username into the “User name” field
Enter your password into the “Password” field
Under the “Purpose” menu, check “Set System Purpose”
Set the Role as “Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation”
Set the SLA as “Self-Support”
Set the Usage as “Development/Test”
Optionally check “Connect to Red Hat Insights” under the “Insights” menu
Click the “Register” button
Software Selection
Under the “SOFTWARE” menu, select “Software Selection”.
Under the “Base Environment” menu, select “Workstation”.
Click “Done”
Begin Installation
Next click the “Begin Installation” button. It will take several minutes for RHEL to install and the system will restart once the installation is finished.
VirtualBox Guest Additions
VirtualBox Guest Additions greatly improves the user experience of VirtualBox VMs using desktop environments.
Install kernel development tools.
```
sudo dnf install kernel-devel -y
```
Click “Devices” in the top toolbar of VirtualBox.
Click “Insert VirtualBox Guest Additions CD Image”
Open files and select the attached drive “VBox_GAs_7….”
Click “Run Software”
Click “Run”
Authenticate with super user password
Power off the VM
VirtualBox Display Settings
Click “Settings” in the VirtualBox Manager window.
Select “Display” in the left toolbar.
Move the dial to the highest value possible for “Video Memory”
Check “Enable 3D Acceleration” under “Extended Features”
Change Hostname
```
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname desiredhostname
```
Conclusion
In this tutorial you learned how that it is free to register for a Red Hat Developer membership, and how to create Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 VM.
Articles to Read Next
How to Setup WireGuard VPN on Rocky 9 Linux
Secure Remote Support on LAN with x11vnc over SSH on Rocky Linux
How to Install Virtual Box and Answering “What is a Hypervisor?”
How to Enable Bidirectional Shared Clipboard on VirtualBox VM
How to Create a Linux VM with VirtualBox
Affiliate Links
Form your business with Northwest registered agent
Create a website with namedotcom
Secure your website with Wordfence
My work laptop
Affiliate Disclaimer
Please note that my website and content may contain affiliate links. This means that when you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, all the products I promote are ones that I believe to be of high quality, and I personally use them as a consumer myself. Your support through these links helps me continue to create valuable content. Thank you for your support!
June 30, 2024