How to configure Torrents & TED on Ubuntu Server
One of the things you may want to do with your new Ubuntu server is to download TV shows from the internet. The normal process for doing this is to manually log on to your favourite file sharing website, search for the episodes you want and then manually download them. There is a better way: TED (TV/torrent episode downloader)
With TED you can automate this process and once configured, TED will automatically download your favourite TV shows for you.
Downloading TV shows and the like from the internet can have questionable legality in many countries. So, if you're not familiar with the particular law in your part of the world then let you conscience be your guide as to what you do and do not download!
NOTE: If you're jumping into this guide here and have not been following right from the start then you may need to tweak these instructions to suit your environment. I'm assuming you're doing this using your VNC session although the instructions work equally well if you're using a regular gnome desktop. The version of Ubuntu these instructions were written for is Lucid 10.04, Jaunty 9.04 and Intrepid 8.10.
So to install TED we start by downloading the ZIP file from the TED Website by clicking on the Linux penguin.
By default this will download to your desktop. Now move the ZIP file into your Home folder. You can do this from a Putty/Terminal session by typing:
mv /home/YourUserName/Desktop/tedv096.zip /home/YourUserName/
where YourUserName is the username you assigned when you installed Ubuntu.
Next we have to unzip it. Unzip is not installed in Ubuntu by default. So, from the Synaptic Package Manager (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager) type unzip in the Quick Search box and then place a check against it in the list of results returned and then click Mark For Installation. Next click the Apply button and then the Apply button once again for confirmation.
NOTE: If you don't have the Synaptic Package Manager then you can install it by issuing sudo apt-get install synaptic from a Terminal or Putty session
Next, from a Putty/Terminal Session type:
cd /home/YourUserName
to switch into your Home folder and then:
unzip tedv096.zip
to unzip it. Once it's unzipped you can delete the parts which are not required if you wish:
rm tedv096.zip
rm -r __MACOSX
rm -r tedv096/mac
rm -r tedv096/sunos
rm -r tedv096/windows
TED requires Java and a BitTorrent client. Deluge comes highly recommended so we'll use this. So, from the Applications menu choose "Add/Remove". If you receive a message telling you your list of applications is out of date, just click Reload, enter your password (the one you created when you installed Ubuntu) and wait a couple of seconds for the view to refresh.
Click the Internet option on the left and then scroll down the list on the right until you reach OpenJDK Java 6 Runtime and place a check against it. You'll be asked if you also want to install OpenJDK Java 6 Web Start so answer install all.
Next, from the Show dropdown at the top which, currently probably reads Canonical-maintained applications, choose "All Open Source applications" and now scroll down to "Deluge BitTorrent Client" and place a check against it. Now click Apply Changes and Apply once more. You'll be asked for your password and Ubuntu will start to install those apps for you.
Once that's done we'll need to start a Nautilus session (Places -> Home Folder) and then go into the tedv096 folder to start TED. We do this by double-clicking on the ted.jar file. Run through the wizard, leaving everything at the defaults if you so wish.
You can now use TED to start adding all the TV shows you desire.
To make it easier to launch TED in the future you might want to pin the ted.jar file to your taskbar (called Panel in Ubuntu). Simply drag the file from the Nautilus session up to your Panel and drop it on there.
Configure TED with Deluge.
By default TED will download Torrent Files to your Home folder but Deluge will do nothing with them automatically. So, start Deluge (Applications -> Internet) and click on Edit -> Preferences. On the Downloads tab ensure the Autoload all torrent files in: option is checked and is pointing to your Home folder.
As with the ted.jar file you can pin Deluge to your Ubuntu Panel.
Install Firefox
If you're going to be manually downloading torrents then a simple way to do this is to install Firefox on our VNC gnome desktop. Doing it this way means you can download the torrent file directly to your server and Deluge will automatically open it and run it. For those of you coming from a Windows background who have never heard of Firefox, Firefox is the equivalent of Internet Explorer. Only better!
So, from the Applications menu choose "Add/Remove". You'll likely get a message telling you that your list of applications is out of date. Just click Reload, enter your password (the one you created when you installed Ubuntu) and wait a couple of seconds for the view to refresh.
Click the Internet option on the left and then scroll down the list on the right until you reach Firefox Web Browser and place a check against it. Now click the "Apply Changes" button at the bottom and then click Apply once more. You'll be asked for your password and then Ubuntu will install Firefox for you.
You can also add Firefox to your Ubuntu Panel by choosing Applications -> Internet and right-clicking on Firefox Web Browser and then select Add this launcher to panel.
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