I recently bought a Microsoft Arc keyboard to work with my ubuntu 10.10 maverick system and I am very happy with it.

Only one problem occured: When I hit one of the multimedia keys on it (Volume up, down or mute) my left mouse button stopped working. It seems like pressing a multimedia key is forcing a pushed down left mousebutton until you restart the x-server.

Really annoying, but the ubuntu guys have a fix for ubuntu maverick 10.10 in launchpads bugtracker already.

Install this Package for 32bit systems or this one for 64bit systems and reboot your system.

The annoying keyboard/mouse issue is gone.

Should work for ubuntu lucid 10.04 and other keyboards with multimedia Keys (Microsoft, HP, A4Tech) which suffer from this issue, too.
 

As I have worked quite a lot with html, php and javascript, I encountered some issues and also solutions, when it comes to webdeveloping, testing and Firefox.

Of course Firefox is the best Browser for testing dynamic websites, since there are much add-ons to assist your work. Do not forget to test your webapplication in Internet Explorer, Chromium, Opera and Safari on a regular basis, too.

Following: Some tips for Firefox.
 

Firefox caching bug

there is a bug (or maybe they even call it a "feature") in Firefox, preventing the user from cleaning the cache. You reload and reload your php or html page (maybe even installed some "cache cleansing" addons or buttons), but javascript, css and html stays the same, although you have changed it!

This bug has a long history. If you are interested, read the report in Mozillas Bugtracker and get an idea about what is happening there.

All I can say to you is: rename, delete or move the file you are testing, reload until you get an 404 (file not found exception) and put the file back on its place. Reload. Firefox should show the edited file now. Closing Firefox and restart it (do not save your tabs!) works sometimes, too.
 

DOM, Javascript Testing

Firefox has an Error Console, located under "Extras"->"Error Console" in the menu (or for the shortcut folks: "ctrl+shift+J"). Use it for your javascript debugging needs.

If you need a more powerfull testingtool, Firebug is essential for testing your DOM and Javascript or to get to know the DOM of other websites/webapplications you have not made. Firebug can do quite a lot. Feel free to discover it's possibilitys.

HTML Validation

General Test

[UPDATE 18.01.2011]
Finally somebody had the same problem like me and came up with a better solution. The problem with what I wrote: Changes get lost on nautilus updates.

To get the "real deal", stick to Joeys How-To at OMG! ubuntu. Thanks for reading.

[/UPDATE]

to change the side pane colour in nautilus, open the gtkrc file for your theme

e.g.

sudo gedit /usr/share/Ambiance/gtk-2.0/gtkrc

and add

style "treeview-mod"
{  
    GtkTreeView::even_row_color   = "#F2F1F0"
}
widget "*NautilusNavigationWindow*" style "treeview-mod"

only issue: when switching the view to treeview, the background changes, too. But thats not so bad as you mostly use treeview when the folder is full, so that you never see the background in treeview anyway.

I did this with nautilus elementary mod, so I do not know if it fully works with the standard nautilus. 

Take a look at these threads at ubuntuforums to get your own clues:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1539296
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1381274

Hello, maybe you study with me here at solent or otherwhere around the world, it does not matter.

Uninetworks tend to be restrictive, unflexible and not workable, especially for IT-Students. So I did/installed/bought some things to make my life a lot easier, maybe you can use some things, too. Maybe not. Just read further.

1. Dropbox

Most Uninetworks have a system to store files and even to download them from home. But otherwise around? Mostly no chance to get files from home to the uninetwork and if you tend to forget or loose your usb-stick that could be bad or worse for your assignments and files.

This is where Dropbox comes in handy. Its syncs the files from your different computers (Windows, Linux, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android mobiles and Blackberrys) and makes them available for you where ever is an internet-connection and one of the mentioned compatible devices.

Dropbox is nice for making Backups, too. Sharing Files with friends and even a Photogallery can be pubished to your friend, by simply uploading your Photos to a Folder.

Get Dropbox here: http://www.dropbox.com/
Installation-instructions should be very self-explanatory for almost everyone. Btw: You get an Bonus of 250MB on top of your 2GB free account if using my provided link. It means I invited you and I get bonus space, too.

2. Portable Apps

Like said, mostly you will have a uni account, a folder to store files and lots of computers to use, but no rights to install programms. But wait a minute: a folder to store files? That should do it.

http://portableapps.com/ is a site and project, which aims to provide portable versions of many free Open Source Software. You can use them stored on an usb-drive or your uni-account folder, with any Windows PC.

You will find everything you need within the Portable Apps. Favorites like Firefox, Skype, miranda IM (for ICQ, MSN, Jabber and others messenging protocols) as well as a portable Java runtime, notepad++ for syntax highlighting or even a full featured OpenOffice suite, ready to run from your usb-stick or unifolder without the need for installation rights.

3. Get a prepaid sim card with mobile broadband access

Huh? Yeah! If you do not have one, get one. if your mobile is not capable of sharing the internetconnection with other devices, get an u

sudo mv /usr/share/dbus-1/services/org.freedesktop.Notifications.service /usr/share/dbus-1/services/org.freedesktop.Notifications.service.disabled

to turn it on again, just run this
 

sudo mv /usr/share/dbus-1/services/org.freedesktop.Notifications.service.disabled /usr/share/dbus-1/services/org.freedesktop.Notifications.service