Fixing Ubuntu One

Ubuntu One is Ubuntu's first step into Cloud Computing. Like dropbox, it provides automatic file-syncing of a dedicated "ubuntu one" folder over the internet between several computers. Both solutions are running on Amazon EC2 virtual servers and both solution have a free starting plan that provides 2 GB of synced storage. The magic syncing and free 2GB provides a convenient alternative to USB sticks for exchanging documents.

As an Ubuntu 9.10 user, I played a bit with ubuntu one, but I had problems with the syncing on one computer. If you have trouble with ubuntu one, you can experiment with the command line tools. Some useful commands:

• install command line tools:
  $ sudo apt-get install ubuntuone-client-tools
• $ u1sync --authorize
• $ u1sync --init ~/Ubuntu\ One
• $ u1sync --diff ~/Ubuntu\ One
  

At first, I had to uncheck the "limit bandwidth" in the ubuntu one config: ~/.config/ubuntuone

[bandwidth_throttling]
read_limit = -1
write_limit = -1
on = False

This didn't help much, however. These are the relevant ubuntu one directories:

• python sources:
  /usr/lib/ubuntuone-client/ubuntuone-syncdaemoncd
  /usr/share/pyshared/ubuntuone/*
• data dir: ~/.local/share/ubuntuone/syncdaemon
• shares dir: ~/.local/share/ubuntuone/shares
• logging ~/.cache/ubuntuone/log
  

As I couldn't find any relevant errors and get Ubuntu one continue its syncing, I finally re-initialized Ubuntu One:

• I killed all ubuntu one processes:
  $ pkill ubuntuone
  
• I removed all ubuntu one configuration files:
  $ rm -rf ~/.*/ubuntuone
  $ rm -rf ~/.*/*/ubuntuone
  

After logging out / logging back in, ubuntu one just worked fine. I had to remove the conflict files, but apart from that, the syncing is now OK.

As an additional service, ubuntu one also provides excellent syncing for Tomboy and for Evolution. Simply follow the steps in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuOne/Tutorials/Notes.

Ubuntu: Changing the Computer Name

When installing Ubuntu, the setup wizard asks for a computer name. By default the computername is based on the first username. It is easy to change the computer name afterwards:

gksudo gedit /etc/hosts /etc/hostname

Modify and save both files at the same time