Addendum

Supplemental Software

To get the most out of your brand spankin’ new SABnzbd+ install you may want to check out some of the following applications. These are applications that are either designed for SABnzbd+, or that just simply go hand in hand with the time saving features of SABnzbd+ (philosophical cousins if you will).

These applications are provided in no particular order, and I’m only including applications that I currently recommend using (this is not meant to be an exhaustive list!).

Sick Beard

Sick Beard is a super handy program that has seen an unbelievable amount of developmental over the last year. Even a year ago it was already incredibly functional, and it has only grown in its robustness and in its rich feature-set since then.

For those of you that are not already familiar with Sick Beard, think of it as a program that fills a role similar to a Personal or Digital Video Recorder (PVR/DVR). You tell Sick Beard what shows you’re interested in, and it’ll keep track of them, search for them, and download them automatically for you, and organize them. Then, when you have time and an interest to watch them, you do so at your own leisure. However, instead of using a television connection (such as a PVR), Sick Beard utilizes the Internet. And, instead of using a stand-alone device, Sick Beard runs on your own Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or other GNU/Linux based personal computer (PC).

When setup, and used in conjunction with SABnzbd+ and XBMC Media Center, Sick Beard offers an extremely streamlined, robust, and automated setup that is second to none for most uses. One drawback of the setup however, is that the artists, writers, and actors that have helped to create these shows we enjoy are not being supported. To offset this, you may want to consider purchasing an Amazon.com Prime membership for their Ubuntu and Linux Mint compatible Instant Video Streaming services. Additionally, or instead of the subscription service, you could purchase digital copies of your favorite shows.

Note: Digital content should help prevent the creation of unneeded waste in the form of “DRM” restricted Bluray and DVD optical discs and packaging (as well as the various shipping and other supporting resources that are consumed in transporting them around the world).

Couch Potato

Couch Potato is an application that serves a role similar to a standalone Digital or Personal Video Recorder (DVR/PVR). However, where a DVR or PVR will monitor a cable or satellite television connection for movies that you might like to record and watch at a later date, Couch Potato monitors the Internet. Also, whereas a DVR/PVR is generally going to be a separate, standalone device, Couch Potato is an application that can be run on just about any Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or other GNU/Linux based personal computer. As such, Couch Potato is far more flexible than a “traditional” DVR/PVR setup.

For those that are familiar, this is very similar to Sick Beard, but Sick Beard specifically monitors episodic content where as Couch Potato specifically monitors cinematic content. As such, each has its own similar but unique feature set that is tailored specifically to its own intended role.

When combined with SABnzbd+, Sick Beard, Headphones (soon) or Spotify, and XBMC Media Center this makes for an extremely automated, streamlined, robust, and easy to use setup that is second to none!

However, with that said, one draw back of this setup is that the artists, writers, and actors that have helped to create these movies that we enjoy are not being supported. To offset this, you may want to consider purchasing an Amazon.com Prime membership for their Ubuntu and Linux Mint compatible Instant Video Streaming services. Additionally, or instead of the subscription service, you could purchase digital copies of your favorite cinema.

Note: Digital content should help prevent the creation of unneeded waste in the form of DRM restricted Bluray and DVD optical discs and packaging (as well as the various shipping and other supporting resources that are consumed in transporting them around the world).

XBMC Media Center

XBMC Media Center, also known simply as “X-B-M-C,” is a full featured, skin-able, and extensible, media front-end, library manager, and, who’d of thought, media player. It can play nearly any media you might throw at it. Video and music files, CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-rays, you name it! (Though anything with “DRM“ requires some extra unnecessary work.)

With the right skin (Neon), XBMC Media Center provides a highly polished (second to none) front-end for any media playing computer along with oodles of art, posters, ratings, trailers, lyrics, plot summaries, TV guide like functionality, and so many more bits of supplemental information that I cannot feasibly cover them all here.

While it may not seem like an obvious supplemental application to SABnzbd+, at least when used in conjunction with Sick Beard, Couch Potato, and Headphones it definitely is.

XBMC provides a very polished and easy to use end point for any multimedia collection. That meticulously maintained collection will seem all the more amazing and accessible when it’s supported by the content and information that are pulled in courtesy of XBMC.

Headphones

Headphones is an up-and-coming PVR-like application that aims to fill a roll similar to Sick Beard and Couch Potato but for music content (instead of episodic or cinematic). It’s very much a new program, but if you’re brave and looking to be an early adopter it may be worth firing it up to take a look-see. If not, keep an eye out as I’ll undoubtedly be writing a guide for it in the near future!

Spotify

Spotify is a nearly perfect implementation of what main-stream software could and should be. Incredibly easy to use, Ubuntu friendly, stream or play locally virtually any music and it’s always at your finger tips (no need to sort, rename, store it’s all been done for you!). There’s also a mobile client for your smart phone that allows you to listen on the go or in your car with or without an active data connection. Suffice to say there is lots of good about this service with very little down sides. Give it a try.

Trouble-shooting

Update Manager “Requires installation of untrusted packages” and other issues with updating or installing from JCFP’s PPA

These issues seem to be due to an annoying bug in Ubuntu Software Center / Software Sources / Update Manager that causes them to fail to automatically add the Automatic Signing Key for PPA’s that are added via the graphical utilities. Luckily there’s a fairly easy fix that just involves loading up the Terminal (Dash home > search for “terminal” > Click) and then typing in the following command.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jcfp/ppa

It will ask you if you want to continue, hit [Enter] when prompted and then go to Update Manager, click on Check (even if you just checked right before running the command in the terminal!), and then once the check has completed click on Update. You shouldn’t have problems any longer.

Note: This fix can be used with any repository that you may have an issue with until they finally fix this bug!

Other Issues

We do not maintain, write, or otherwise fix this or any other software. If you have issues that are not addressed in this guide and are not directly related to this guide I recommend contacting the project directly and reading through their documentation for any help you might find!

SABnzbd+ Wiki

SABnzbd+ Forum

Revision History

11/21/11 — Guide updated or Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) and SABnzbd+ 0.6.11.

7/22/11 — Guide updated and relocated.