Emacs tab indents and Python

Okay, so this isn't about Ubuntu, but whatever.

Best resource I've found:
http://www.dansanderson.com/blog/2007/07/indenting-source-code-in-emacs.html

Also interesting:
http://www.jwz.org/doc/tabs-vs-spaces.html

However, neither of these work for getting Python to auto-indent 2 spaces in Emacs (for Mac). In particular, (setq-default py-indent-offset 2) appears to do nothing.

To fix that, I had to dig around python.el:
1. C-h f python-mode
2. Click python.el
3. Search around for "indent"
4. Aha! There are python-indent and python-guess-indent variables (s/aha/wtf/)
5. Add (setq-default python-indent 2) and (setq-default python-guess-indent nil) to ~/.emacs
6. Re-open the Python script in question

Problem solved! (I can't say I completely understand why, since this seems at odds with the comments in python.el and elsewhere, but whatever.)

Reset sound

Sound stops working every so often. Here's a fix that appears to work:
1. sudo lsof | grep pcm
2. Kill the listed processes (they're currently using audio).
3. sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart

Copying from a remote server securely

Use the 'scp' command. For example:
scp sadovsky@xenon.stanford.edu:/afs/cs.stanford.edu/u/sadovsky/adam.txt ~/

Installing R

Today I installed R. It was pretty straightforward. Basic steps:

1. Go to http://www.r-project.org/ and read what to do
2. Add an entry to /etc/apt/sources.list such as:
deb http://cran.stat.ucla.edu/bin/linux/ubuntu intrepid/
3. Fetch the appropriate key (otherwise 'sudo apt-get update' fails):
gpg --keyserver subkeys.pgp.net --recv-key E2A11821
gpg -a --export E2A11821 | sudo apt-key add -
4. sudo apt-get update
5. sudo apt-get install r-base

That's it! To run R, simply type 'R' from the command line.

See here for more information:
http://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/R-intro.pdf

Update (2011-05-17): It appears the gpg key changes over time. Check installation instructions for latest key.
http://lib.stat.cmu.edu/R/CRAN/bin/linux/ubuntu/

Intro

I just bought components for a new desktop and plan to run Ubuntu (current version is 8.10 Intrepid Ibex). I will use this blog to keep track of problems, solutions, tips, and tricks I pick up along the way.

For starters, here's my system configuration:
2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
1 LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
1 OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK - Retail
2 Nippon Labs 18" (1.5 ft.) SATA II Cable with locking latch Model SATA-L0.5-R - Retail
1 Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
1 ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8200 - Retail
1 EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Total cost from NewEgg after rebates was around $640. Plus, they threw in a free...
1 Intel Gift - Leap Ahead rubber bracelet - OEM

Onwards and upwards!