Matt Jones Tech
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  • Using Mono to Run .exe Files on Linux

    Found a great game? Discover a new program? Only available on Windows? No Windows machine? Don’t want to bother dual booting? Running a virtual machine not an option? Me too! Using Mono makes all that a lot easier. Let’s talk about using mono to run .exe files on linux.

    Mono, according to their website, is an open source project sponsored by Microsoft that implements the .NET framework across other platforms like Linux and Mac OS. It’s not a program. It’s a framework. Basically a sort of language used to run files. So how exactly do you go about using mono to run .exe files on linux?

    Installation is pretty straightforward. Just install a few packages, add the PPA to your system, and run the install command. Done! Detailed instructions on how to do this can be found here.

    In my case, I use KeePass to keep track of all my passwords, but that’s a software project that’s only available as an .exe file. Luckily, you can open it and run it on any OS using Mono. Just by dropping this command:

    mono Location/Of/Your/EXE/File.exe

    The only catch here is that Mono only works for certain .exe files. This is where it gets kinda deep, but it’s essentially dependent on how that .exe file was compiled and what elements of .NET it’s using or requires to run. A bit of googling can certainly point you in the right direction, and for more information on Mono compatibility, check this out.

    Something I learned just recently: if you’re just trying to run KeePass, there’s a great chance that the package manager in your distro has some sort of KeePass equivalent, if not KeePass itself. I’ve started using Manjaro lately, and KeePass is just a one click install. Try it out!

    matt

    July 2, 2019
    Linux, Uncategorized
    development, linux, open source, software, windows
  • Why The Breeze Cursor Theme is The Best

    Themes

    So basically, there are themes.

    Themes can do a lot to change the look and feel of your computing experience. If you’re a Linux user, there’s a good chance you like things customized. Just have a Google for “linux themes” and you’ll see what I mean. You can take this to whatever level you want. You can change the look and feel of literally everything, or you can do a subtle cursor change like me.

    Breeze Theme

    Lately I’ve been a fan of the Breeze cursor theme. To get that theme and a selection of other themes to choose from later, open a terminal and install the unity tweak tool and a few theme libraries:

    $ sudo apt install breeze-cursor-theme oxygen-cursor-theme oxygen-cursor-theme-extra unity-tweek-tool

    Once you install the themes and the unity tweak tool, you can open the tweak tool and head over to Appearance > Cursors. Click through the list until you find one you like. Make note of the name. Once you’ve got one, open your terminal again and type:

    $ sudo update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme

    This will bring up a list of all the themes you’ve installed on your system. Look through the list and find the theme you liked. Type in the number of your selected theme to confirm your changes. To make sure your changes remain changed, simply run:

    $ compiz --replace

    and you can either reboot or log out and log back in to make your changes. That’s it! Enjoy your new look!

    matt

    April 16, 2019
    Lifestyle, Linux, Ubuntu
    breeze, computing, cursor, linux, pc, theme, ubuntu, windows

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thess 5:21