Install IPython 2.0 on Linux Mint Maya

Based on http://ipython.org/ipython-doc/stable/install/install.html, on Linux Mint 13 “Maya” (64-bit), the following is how I build IPython 2.0 from source. The instructions should work the same for Ubuntu 12.04 “Precise Pangolin”. Using python version 2.7.

# First, install 'distribute' for use with 'pip', which is going to replace 'easy_install'
# I assume 'easy_install' is already installed. If not, install 'easy_install' first
sudo easy_install -U distribute

# Second, get 'pip'
sudo apt-get install python-pip

# Then, install an optional package 'pandoc' for document conversion
sudo apt-get install pandoc

# Now, install all the dependencies, some of them optional
sudo pip install virtualenv jinja2 sphinx pyzmq pygments tornado nose pexpect matplotlib

# Get the source and compile
git clone --recursive https://github.com/ipython/ipython.git
cd ipython
sudo python setup.py install

# I got the following printout from the above step
#BUILDING IPYTHON
#                python: 2.7.3 (default, Feb 27 2014, 19:58:35)  [GCC 4.6.3]
#              platform: linux2
#
#OPTIONAL DEPENDENCIES
#                sphinx: 1.2.2
#              pygments: 1.6
#                  nose: 1.3.1
#               pexpect: 2.3
#                 pyzmq: 14.1.0
#               tornado: 3.2
#              readline: yes
#                jinja2: 2.7.2

# Test whether it works
ipython --version

# I got the following printout from the above step
#2.0.0-dev

# Setup some useful profile preferences
ipython profile create foo
cp ~/.ipython/profile_foo/ipython_*.py ~/.ipython/profile_default/

# Run IPython notebook
ipython notebook

Thanks to IPython contributors for building this amazing tool.

LTS Enablement Stacks

With 12.04 LTS release, Ubuntu offers an option to upgrade to newer kernel versions. Full info is available at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack. I decided to rock Linux 3.8 kernel by doing

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-lts-raring xserver-xorg-lts-raring libgl1-mesa-glx-lts-raring

The above works for both Ubuntu 12.04 and Linux Mint 13. Note that since Raring is 13.04, this kernel upgrade might break future upgrade from 12.04 to 12.10, since 12.10 is older than 13.04.

ipp printers with CUPS 1.5.3

I moved to Linux Mint 13 “Maya” and had trouble setting up a network printer (HP LaserJet) using Internet Printing Protocol (ipp). When I try to print, I’m asked to provide username and password even though they are not required, and so all my printing jobs are held for authentication. I tried to directly edit /etc/cups/printers.conf to use AuthInfoRequired none, but it was changed back to AuthInfoRequired username,password whenever I submit a new job. CUPS version is 1.5.3 (more specifically 1.5.3-0ubuntu6). Numerous users have complained about how the changes in ipp backend in CUPS 1.5 have broken their print settings. The most relevant bug reports that I’ve found are: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cups/+bug/992982 and http://www.cups.org/str.php?L3985 . The solution that works for me is to replace ipp:// with ipp14://.