How to get KGS working on ubuntu

emeraldemon · #1

My parents aren't very computer savvy, but they were tired of windows problems, so I installed Ubuntu on their machine. So far it has worked fine for their needs (mostly just firefox).

But now I've taught my dad to play go and we have some games going on DGS. I want to have him install KGS so we can play some games in real time. There are two problems: I'm in a different state, and I don't have ready access to an Ubuntu box of my own any more. I need to explain to him how to do it without being able to see it myself.

Does java web start come installed by default on Ubuntu, or will I need to walk him through installation? Has anyone had trouble making cgoban.jnlp work, or is usually just download and double-click?

This may be slightly off topic, but hopefully someone can help.

fwiffo · #2

1) Install ssh so you can log into their system remotely to help them with stuff.

2) You'll want sun-java6-bin. The stupid fake java that comes with Ubuntu these days doesn't actually work for anything. Sun java comes with javaws, so it should "just work". To associate SGF files with KGS, you may want to create a script in /usr/local/bin (or whereever). You may want to use aoss, since sun java doesn't work great with alsa.

Code:

#!/bin/sh
if [ "$@" ]; then
    /usr/bin/aoss /usr/bin/javaws -open "$@" http://files.gokgs.com/javaBin/cgoban.jnlp
else
    /usr/bin/aoss /usr/bin/javaws http://files.gokgs.com/javaBin/cgoban.jnlp
fi

judicata · #3

It will probably "just work" if they go to the kgs website.

But you'll probably want to have them install the proprietary version of java to get everything working. This thread explains how I got the replaced the default java so I could hear the stones clicking: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1143

cdybeijing · #4

As others have said:

1. Download and install sun java. You can use the software manager application for this.

2. Download the client from the gokgs.com site (if you're worried about file association, there is an "NFA" version available i.e. no file association.)

3. Run the downloaded file. It will be slow, and java web start takes a minute to set up. This should create an executable on the Ubuntu desktop.

4. Run the executable just like in Windows.

Bantari · #5

emeraldemon wrote:

My parents aren't very computer savvy, but they were tired of windows problems

Out of curiosity - what windows problems?

emeraldemon · #6

Thanks for the tips, I will try to set him up soon. I have ssh installed (I'm on a mac), but wouldn't they need to be running ssh-server for me to log in to that machine?

As for problems, they were running something old (maybe windows 98, I don't quite remember), and it was just crashing frequently. They didn't have the install disk any more, so the idea of something free that worked was appealing.

fwiffo · #7

Yes, that's why I suggested you install it. :-)

How to get KGS working on ubuntu

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