Sync folders between Android and Ubuntu 12.04

One of the things that I find not so straightforward for Android devices is syncronizing music and other files. I have been trying with Rhythmbox and Banshee but both either crash and/or don't copy all songs.This is how I managed to sync files from my Galaxy Nexus (GSM). This is a tethered sync over USB. There will be another post showing how to do it over WiFi with Samba Share. Try at your own risk. 
As a precaution you may want to rename your device's Music folder and recreate it. In case you do something horribly wrong and you are syncing TO the computer and delete your phone's music/pics/whatever... files.

The programs used are:

• Conduit for Ubuntu

Commands:
sudo mkdir /media/gnex

sudo apt-get install conduit  

sudo apt-get install mtp-tools mtpfs 

sudo adduser YOURUSERNAME fuse

sudo mtpfs -o allow_other /media/gnex

sudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules

Paste this in that file (note *1)

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="043", ATTR{idProduct}=="685c", MODE="0666"

Create system commands to save you time in mounting.

• sudo gedit ~/.bashrc 

Paste at the end of the file (all single quotes): 

alias android-connect='mtpfs -o allow_other /media/gnex' 

alias android-disconnect='fusermount -u /media/gnex'

Note *1:
Use mtp-detect | grep idVendor and mtp-detect | grep idProduct to get the correct values for your device.

Installation is finished. To test your setup run android-connect and you should see you should see the following in Nautilus (file browser). To unmount your device run android-disconnect .

 Open up Conduit. Drag two folder providers from the left panel. Right click on the one on the left and set the first folder to sync. Repeat the above for the second "folder" on the right. You may add an option to make it two-way so that new files on the phone are added to your computer.

   
Now that your gnex folder is browsable setup your sync source and destination.

When you are ready to sync right-click on the arrow(s) and click Syncronize Group. Wait and verify with a file manager on your Android device.

 Files are displayed on device App.

Allow websites access to webcam on Ubuntu

In this social-media world of the Internet, being able to snap picture with your cellphone, or digital camera is convenient but what if you simply want to use your laptop's built-in webcam. "Keep it simple" you may say but some things just don't work out of the box when it comes to Ubuntu.

I was updating my status on Facebook by adding a picture using my laptop's web-cam . The circle thing kept moving but nothing happened. No camera controls showed up. So I tried something that I had never thought about.

My specs:

Firefox 10.0.2
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS kernel 2.6.32-38-generic
Adobe Flash Player: 
Laptop: 

• Gateway ID49C07u 
• i3 processor
• 1.3 mp camera

Here is what you have to do to grant websites access to you camera.

1) Switch to picture mode.
2) Right click on the flash uploader / preview.
3) Click 'Global Settings'.

4) Go to "Camera and mic" tab.
5) Click the "Camera and Microphone Settings by Site..." button.
6) Add/ edit the website which you would like to grant access to.
7) From the dropdown select Allow.

Close both dialog boxes and retry to capture your picture.

Enjoy your status updates.

As I was wrapping up this post, I tested video capture and it works fine.



For much better quality consider this camera.
 
I have the LifeCam that records at 720p; very nice camera.