tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80571074371440012182012-02-02T14:21:58.488-05:00Running Ubuntu Linux. What works? What doesn't? What works after messing with it and what did I have to do to get it there?Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.comBlogger931100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-44325519873425613072009-02-05T07:30:00.003-05:002010-05-07T07:34:45.169-04:00I have been running Ubuntu almost exclusively on my personal PC for over a year now. I have had some issues, most of which I have mentioned on this blog, but the problems I have had running Linux have not been better or worse than the problems I have had with Windows, just different.<br /><br />I am going to try taking a break from Linux though to give Windows 7 a try. The beta was free for anyone who wanted it and I figure it is about time I try something new from Microsoft. I haven't used Vista except for the occasional web browsing on my wife's laptop. Vista is still foreign to me. Part of my motivation to switch to Linux was in part because of Vista actually. The Vista roll out was a disaster. When it was released there were software compatibility and stability issues, <a href="http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2008/06/learning-from-vista-windows-7-driver-testing-to-begin-early.ars">problems with and missing hardware drivers</a>, concerns over <a href="http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/%7Epgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html">intrusive DRM</a>, the super <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2008/04/vistas-uac-security-prompt-was-designed-to-annoy-you.ars">annoying UAC</a> (though you can turn User Access Control off), poor performance (like <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/04/can-vista-unzip-files-any-slower.html">unzipping files</a>), 4 different versions which was confusing for consumers and it was expensive ($200 - $320 or $100 -$220 to upgrade).<br /><br />I was wary of performance issues and DRM but the biggest thing for me was it really wasn't worth the money to upgrade. I remember getting the Windows 95 upgrade for my birthday and being so excited about it. That was not the case here. XP is good enough.<br /><br />Microsoft has learned some things from their expensive Vista release experience though. (Or maybe the <a href="http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/01/what-killed-vista-will-make-windows-7-fly.ars">press is just nicer to Windows 7</a>.) It looks like they are making Windows 7 what Vista should have been. I do feel a little like I am participating in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mojave_Experiment">Mojave Experiment</a> though by running it. Having this open beta is a good idea. It gets people using the OS and gets more real world usage. It gets buzz like this blog post too. MS also included a "Snipping Tool" that makes taking screen shots of parts of the screen easy. (hint, hint all you beta testers) Getting to run this beta might get me willing to buy my next PC with Windows 7 and dual boot instead of getting a Linux only machine as has been my intention for a while.<br /><br />So far, I like Windows 7.<br /><br />What I like:<br /><ul><li>I love the <a href="http://www.winplanet.com/article/3920-5387.htm">resource monitor</a>. I know it showed up in Vista but it is so useful and worth mentioning!<br /></li><li>It is much prettier (though much of the changes came with Vista). It is about time Windows supports themes natively.<br /></li><li>Speedy. This is a fresh install though.<br /></li><li>Restart your computer after updates notification lets me say 10 min, 1 hour or 4 hours. That has always annoyed me to the point of not installing updates. Still, I shouldn't have to restart that often.<br /></li><li>It has been stable.</li><li>Pretty backgrounds that can rotate too!</li><li>Calculator got much love feature wise.<br /></li></ul>What I dislike:<br /><ul><li>UAC notifications <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> annoying! They are even more annoying when controlling the computer with <a href="http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/">Synergy</a> (shared mouse/keyboard application) because it disables control to the machine from everything but the physical mouse/keyboard.</li><li>Windows Media Player is confusing. I've never much liked Windows Media Player since about version 9 or 10. The eye candy of the interface makes it hard to use.</li><li>Still no concept of <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13880_3-9902034-68.html">virtual desktops</a>! Copy that feature please. Feel free to disable it by default. I will not complain that you are copying wherever that came from first.<br /></li></ul>Undecided:<br /><ul><li>I don't know if I like the <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5075340/microsofts-guided-tour-of-the-windows-7-taskbar">new task bar</a>. I am having trouble getting used to not being able to minimize and maximize single windows by clicking on them (only if there is a group, still works with just 1) though in theory I shouldn't need to do that with the full window preview ("peek" is what they call it). This is the biggest change by far. It is a lot like the dock on OS X (though I don't use a Mac enough to be confident with that comparison). I never have like the group windows in previous versions (and always disable it) so this will get some getting used to.</li><li>What is so special about IE 8?</li><li>My first encounter with the Ribbon in paint.</li></ul>I am sure there are tons of other features I will like that I just haven't encountered yet. I have not read much about the OS either so I don't know what features to investigate. This is all just my first experience stuff.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SYpuZppaITI/AAAAAAAABcA/ZNePOXOg_gI/s1600-h/Windows7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SYpuZppaITI/AAAAAAAABcA/ZNePOXOg_gI/s400/Windows7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299169298510127410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Windows 7 "Peek" Feature<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SYp7Gy-PybI/AAAAAAAABcI/OiuBSi3eNbI/s1600-h/windows+7+peek.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SYp7Gy-PybI/AAAAAAAABcI/OiuBSi3eNbI/s400/windows+7+peek.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299183268247095730" border="0" /></a><br />Resource Monitor in Windows 7<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SYp8mZIGVxI/AAAAAAAABcQ/eZxx7Om1L9E/s1600-h/windows+7+resource+manager.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SYp8mZIGVxI/AAAAAAAABcQ/eZxx7Om1L9E/s400/windows+7+resource+manager.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299184910576539410" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4432551987342561307?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-83235776330927362982008-12-14T23:36:00.017-05:002008-12-15T00:37:58.163-05:00This past week my sister-in-law was on the radio in NYC and my father-in-law wanted me to try and record it for him. Since I live in North Carolina, obviously the only way to do that would be to stream it over the web. I figured finding and listening to the stream would be the easy part. I listen to streaming radio ALL the time (thanks <a href="http://www.wunc.org/">WUNC</a>!).<br /><br />Before getting into all of this, you are likely going to need to install some applications. Everything I used was available through the Ubuntu repositories though I do have <a href="http://www.medibuntu.org/">Medibuntu</a> enabled in addition to all the other easily enable able ones (main, universe, restricted and multiverse). This was also all done using 8.10 Intrepid Ibex. I also know I have several of the restricted packages installed which I am pretty sure is the only reason Windows Media files work. Now for the details.<br /><br />The hard part would be to actually save the stream. Here is a step by step of what I did:<br /><ul><li>Obviously the first step was to find a stream of the station. She was playing on <a href="http://www.wqxr.com/">WQXR - 96.3 FM</a> and I found their Windows Media stream on <a href="http://www.penguinradio.com/stations/185">PenguinRadio</a>.</li><li>I found that <a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/">VideoLAN - VLC media player</a> would be my best bet. It also works in Windows too. I didn't try this on Windows but I bet it would work the same with VLC.</li><li>I had the hardest time trying the many command line options for vlc. I really wanted to download the file and transcode it to wav or directly to MP3 but I just couldn't get that to work. Instead I just saved it directly as WMV and decided to worry about the rest later. I had some trouble with all the many GUI options too so I went with the safer command line route. I used the command line:<br /><code> vlc -vvv "http://htc-01.media.globix.net/COMP005996MOD1/meta/wqxr_live_high.asx" --sout '#duplicate{dst=display,dst=std{access=file,mux=asf,dst=/home/forrest/download.wmv}}'</code></li><li>Here is the easy to replace version: <code>vlc -vvv "MY_STREAM" --sout '#duplicate{dst=display,dst=std{access=file,mux=asf,dst=MY_DOWNLOAD_FILE}}'</code></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SUXs1k8rLLI/AAAAAAAABY8/Bd97IGb2Sx0/s1600-h/WQXR+-+96.3+FM+NEW+YORK+-+VLC+media+player.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 343px; height: 113px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SUXs1k8rLLI/AAAAAAAABY8/Bd97IGb2Sx0/s400/WQXR+-+96.3+FM+NEW+YORK+-+VLC+media+player.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279886543357160626" border="0" /></a><br />After all that I had a 34.1MB wmv file with just under 27 minutes recorded. At this point I converted it to a wav using <a href="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/">mplayer</a> like so: <code>mplayer download.wmv -ao pcm:file=download.wav</code><br /><br />Since I wanted to play it safe and be sure not too miss anything I needed recording, I started to recording early and kept it going past time. At first I wanted to use <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Audacity</a> to trim the file but I had a problem getting that to work so I used a program called <a href="http://sox.sourceforge.net/">sox</a>. To truncate the wav with sox you just specify the trim option, the start time and how long to run (NOT the end time). In my case it was: <code>sox download.wav download-trim.wav trim 14:50 9:39</code><br /><br />Next I converted the wav to MP3 so I could make it easy to get to online before burning it to a CD. I was sick of command line options at this point so I used <a href="http://soundconverter.berlios.de/">SoundConverter</a> instead of <a href="http://lame.sourceforge.net/">Lame</a> (though it likely uses lame as a back end anyway) to save me the trouble.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8323577633092736298?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-43413085667170184822008-12-02T18:48:00.000-05:002008-12-02T18:48:23.177-05:00Despite <a href="http://releases.ubuntu.com/8.10/">Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)</a> being out for over a month now, I just got around to upgrading today. I use my Linux box for web browsing, watching videos, general web development and other day to day tasks so I couldn't afford for it to be down long if the upgrade went badly. Fortunately, the upgrade worked like a charm. So here is the upgrade process that took a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes in pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG0uZ6TNI/AAAAAAAABWk/FPs5eG17tfY/s1600-h/01-Update+Manager.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 110px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG0uZ6TNI/AAAAAAAABWk/FPs5eG17tfY/s400/01-Update+Manager.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341147646610642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG0rENgoI/AAAAAAAABWs/himOxchufbU/s1600-h/02-Release+Notes.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 347px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG0rENgoI/AAAAAAAABWs/himOxchufbU/s400/02-Release+Notes.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341146750288514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG07S0l1I/AAAAAAAABW0/HfmrUjdH_1o/s1600-h/03-update-manager.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 197px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG07S0l1I/AAAAAAAABW0/HfmrUjdH_1o/s400/03-update-manager.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341151106537298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG1IeEWKI/AAAAAAAABW8/ME_ExeHlP5U/s1600-h/04-Distribution+Upgrade.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 304px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG1IeEWKI/AAAAAAAABW8/ME_ExeHlP5U/s400/04-Distribution+Upgrade.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341154643368098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG1bH7Z0I/AAAAAAAABXE/eFhuBFHF-IU/s1600-h/05-intrepid.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 165px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXG1bH7Z0I/AAAAAAAABXE/eFhuBFHF-IU/s400/05-intrepid.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341159650780994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHO1wh58I/AAAAAAAABXM/H83tfTG7KWk/s1600-h/06-Distribution+Upgrade-1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 318px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHO1wh58I/AAAAAAAABXM/H83tfTG7KWk/s400/06-Distribution+Upgrade-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341596297127874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHO_S6ByI/AAAAAAAABXU/uk54r2I8_go/s1600-h/07-Distribution+Upgrade-2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 305px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHO_S6ByI/AAAAAAAABXU/uk54r2I8_go/s400/07-Distribution+Upgrade-2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341598857234210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHO6C9AhI/AAAAAAAABXc/qJU5JOJ2vhw/s1600-h/08-intrepid-1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHO6C9AhI/AAAAAAAABXc/qJU5JOJ2vhw/s400/08-intrepid-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341597448143378" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHPDTNjDI/AAAAAAAABXk/naovsYx2cT0/s1600-h/09-Distribution+Upgrade-3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 319px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHPDTNjDI/AAAAAAAABXk/naovsYx2cT0/s400/09-Distribution+Upgrade-3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341599932255282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHPLHk1mI/AAAAAAAABXs/0cuDu_x0UNE/s1600-h/10-Distribution+Upgrade-4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 307px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHPLHk1mI/AAAAAAAABXs/0cuDu_x0UNE/s400/10-Distribution+Upgrade-4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341602030933602" border="0" /></a><br />At this point something was upgraded that caused the border to not show up in the screen shots. Oh well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHiL7HtDI/AAAAAAAABX0/NWVnapT7qwA/s1600-h/11-Distribution+Upgrade-5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 279px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHiL7HtDI/AAAAAAAABX0/NWVnapT7qwA/s400/11-Distribution+Upgrade-5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341928664642610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHiPvHZcI/AAAAAAAABX8/6Ncd1fcUjis/s1600-h/12-Untitled+Window.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 195px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHiPvHZcI/AAAAAAAABX8/6Ncd1fcUjis/s400/12-Untitled+Window.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341929688032706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHib_ckoI/AAAAAAAABYE/qP8lJKI2o3o/s1600-h/13-Distribution+Upgrade-6.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 279px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHib_ckoI/AAAAAAAABYE/qP8lJKI2o3o/s400/13-Distribution+Upgrade-6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341932977754754" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHibzzfjI/AAAAAAAABYM/8dukb6gFspo/s1600-h/14-Distribution+Upgrade-7.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 279px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHibzzfjI/AAAAAAAABYM/8dukb6gFspo/s400/14-Distribution+Upgrade-7.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341932928925234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHi8FeRBI/AAAAAAAABYU/KgHzenzOGJg/s1600-h/15-Distribution+Upgrade-8.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 280px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXHi8FeRBI/AAAAAAAABYU/KgHzenzOGJg/s400/15-Distribution+Upgrade-8.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275341941592966162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXH2gjbGxI/AAAAAAAABYc/UUujnrDtrFU/s1600-h/16-Untitled+Window-1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 202px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXH2gjbGxI/AAAAAAAABYc/UUujnrDtrFU/s400/16-Untitled+Window-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275342277799779090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXH2y0mH9I/AAAAAAAABYk/UHQo2fKZ6Og/s1600-h/17-Distribution+Upgrade-9.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 280px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXH2y0mH9I/AAAAAAAABYk/UHQo2fKZ6Og/s400/17-Distribution+Upgrade-9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275342282703642578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXH2wkTGKI/AAAAAAAABYs/t2Tzp8xLnm4/s1600-h/18-Untitled+Window-2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 108px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXH2wkTGKI/AAAAAAAABYs/t2Tzp8xLnm4/s400/18-Untitled+Window-2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275342282098415778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After the upgrade the theme was a little funky. I went into the theme editor and changed the theme a few times and it was back to normal. I did see the new dark theme and I am going to give it a try for a little bit. I don't think it will last long but it does look pretty good at first. I also switched to the default background for a bit too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXIrahL4eI/AAAAAAAABY0/NE3c-iCJwA4/s1600-h/intrepid.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/STXIrahL4eI/AAAAAAAABY0/NE3c-iCJwA4/s400/intrepid.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275343186712846818" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4341308566717018482?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-65245131945902542432008-11-21T12:14:00.004-05:002008-11-21T12:23:14.867-05:00<code>The <a href="http://www.winehq.org/?announce=1.1.9">Wine development release 1.1.9 is now available</a>.<br /><br />What's new in this release:<br />- A large number of regression test fixes.<br />- Performance improvements in memory management.<br />- Improved POP3 support in inetcomm.<br />- Initial implementation of the XInput DLL.<br />- Various bug fixes.<br /><br />Binary packages for various distributions will be available from:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.winehq.org/site/download">http://www.winehq.org/site/download</a></code><br /><br /><a href="http://www.winehq.org/site/download"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 88px; height: 31px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSbuAh8I_AI/AAAAAAAABWc/i_M2O1k2Opo/s400/download_wine.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271162106761772034" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6524513194590254243?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-26642458530380633402008-11-21T02:00:00.001-05:002008-11-21T02:50:26.420-05:00The one site on the Internet that annoys me the most is <a href="http://www.experts-exchange.com/">experts-exchange.com</a>. This seemingly useful site comes up in my search results frequently. The more obscure my query, the more likely an Experts Exchange page will appear in the top results. The problem with this though is they don't answer your question unless you register. This isn't just an annoying New York Times registration either. This is a full blown 7 day trial registration that leads to a $12.95 per month account. Blah!<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with them trying to make money by bringing information together. It is not for me though. I have no desire to pay a monthly fee or to take the time to sign up for a free 7 day trial account to answer some simple question that is likely answered somewhere else on page 1 of my search results. Because I will never use their service I'd like to never be bothered with search results to their pages.<br /><br />Fortunately, Google is helping us get a little closer to the dream of completely blocking results on expert-exchange.com. The just released a feature called <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/searchwiki-make-search-your-own.html">SearchWiki which lets you annotate, promote and remove search results</a>. Granted this is only for when you are logged in and on a per search basis so it is far from the optimal "block everything from this domain" option but it is a step in the right direction. At least I can take my loathing out on the result by removing it. It is as easy as 1.. 2.. 3.. You even get a fun explosion dust cloud while the result is removed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSZkl_itlPI/AAAAAAAABWE/2TZ-etXBSu4/s1600-h/expert-exchange+die+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 140px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSZkl_itlPI/AAAAAAAABWE/2TZ-etXBSu4/s320/expert-exchange+die+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271011017758708978" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSZkmCyttlI/AAAAAAAABWM/opzammQHwUM/s1600-h/expert-exchange+die+2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 142px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSZkmCyttlI/AAAAAAAABWM/opzammQHwUM/s320/expert-exchange+die+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271011018631132754" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSZkmEVX_VI/AAAAAAAABWU/PuVzQHJ6Efw/s1600-h/expert-exchange+die+3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 146px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SSZkmEVX_VI/AAAAAAAABWU/PuVzQHJ6Efw/s320/expert-exchange+die+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271011019044945234" border="0" /></a><br />And while doing a little more research, it looks like there is a <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748">Greasemonkey</a> script for Firefox users to <a href="http://userscripts.org/scripts/review/1898">block Expert Exchange results</a> for us already.<br /><br />Also, if you are looking for answers, try <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/">Stack Overflow</a> instead. It is actually useful.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2664245853038063340?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-29141869443537317842008-10-28T11:18:00.004-04:002008-10-28T12:07:27.022-04:00<a href="http://www.codeweavers.com/">CodeWeavers</a> is offering free copies of CrossOver for Linux and Mac users for today, October 28th only! They are doing this as part of a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS158718+01-Oct-2008+BW20081001">Lame Duck Challenge Free Offer</a>. CrossOver is based on <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine</a> which allows you to run Windows applications on Linux and Mac platforms by implementing the Windows API on those platforms.<br /><br />As of writing this, their website is in slim mode because of all the traffic but they are still accepting email address submissions and providing downloads for their Pro and Games versions of CrossOver. <a href="http://lameduck.codeweavers.com/">Go download it now</a> if you are a Linux or Mac user. What do you have to lose?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SQc4qx1naqI/AAAAAAAABTQ/uKk0oX69Enw/s1600-h/crossover2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SQc4qx1naqI/AAAAAAAABTQ/uKk0oX69Enw/s400/crossover2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262236997189593762" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2914186944353731784?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91532257429235201832008-10-17T13:30:00.000-04:002008-10-17T13:30:01.074-04:00Ubuntu 8.10 is set to be <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IntrepidReleaseSchedule">released on October 30th</a>. Only 13 more days to go.<br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.ubuntu.com/files/countdown/display2.js"></script><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9153225742923520183?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-48527604075368938612008-10-17T03:41:00.003-04:002008-10-17T13:39:46.228-04:00Flash 10 was released just a few days ago (October 15th) and I am excited! <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/features/">Whats new?</a> On Linux, Flash has been a <a href="http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/08/08/17/1649232.shtml">second rate citizen</a> for some time. The Linux version has been buggy, causes browser crashes and leads to excessive CPU usage. The last release for Linux was also <a href="http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS4744081663.html">over 6 months behind</a> the Windows and OS X releases.<br /><br />Flash 10 for Linux has been released at the same time as other platforms this time around. The Linux release now also comes with easy to install packages for Debian based distributions like Ubuntu and RPM based distributions like Fedora. Adobe is really starting to pay more attention to Linux users and I really appreciate it.<br /><br />I had hoped that I could get the latest Flash from the <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-havent-i-heard-of-ubuntu-backports.html">ubuntu-backports repository</a> but it looks like they are still working on that as the version listed now is "10.0.1.218+10.0.0.525ubuntu1~hardy1+really9.0.124.0ubuntu2" which <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> is still version 9. To easily install version 10 though, I just went to the <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer">Adobe Flash download page</a>, downloaded the deb file and installed it. The installation also removes the old version for you keeping your upgrade hassle free. A simple browser restart later and I was running the latest Flash 10.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg8eQHIJxI/AAAAAAAABRg/g5xkECPo5sY/s1600-h/download+flash+10.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg8eQHIJxI/AAAAAAAABRg/g5xkECPo5sY/s320/download+flash+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258019055373657874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg8l9qNsOI/AAAAAAAABRo/tnxEV_MuVqI/s1600-h/install+flash+10+for+linux.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg8l9qNsOI/AAAAAAAABRo/tnxEV_MuVqI/s320/install+flash+10+for+linux.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258019187859501282" border="0" /></a><br />I haven't been running Flash 10 long enough to know if it has fixed all my problems yet but I do know it has fixed the <a href="http://blog.gingertech.net/2007/08/21/good-manners-for-adobe-flash-on-linux/">annoying Flash z-index bug</a> that caused content like menus to be drawn behind Flash content. This was most annoying to me on the Verizon Wireless website.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Flash 9 on Linux</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg8081pVfI/AAAAAAAABRw/Txnmwh_1Gh0/s1600-h/flash+9.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg8081pVfI/AAAAAAAABRw/Txnmwh_1Gh0/s400/flash+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258019445337052658" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg9BV43wCI/AAAAAAAABSA/8fclYpAaojs/s1600-h/verizon+flash+9.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg9BV43wCI/AAAAAAAABSA/8fclYpAaojs/s400/verizon+flash+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258019658219896866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Flash 10 on Linux</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg83855V9I/AAAAAAAABR4/N4sC8lV0X04/s1600-h/flash+10.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg83855V9I/AAAAAAAABR4/N4sC8lV0X04/s400/flash+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258019496894486482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg9FhkbzZI/AAAAAAAABSI/gH9sNXtpgMk/s1600-h/verizon+flash+10.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SPg9FhkbzZI/AAAAAAAABSI/gH9sNXtpgMk/s400/verizon+flash+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258019730074881426" border="0" /></a><br />I really hope Adobe keeps Flash on Linux at the same level moving forward. Flash has been one of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_cause_and_consequence">chicken or the egg</a> problems for Linux for a while and I think Adobe now realizes they should do something about that. I also think competition from Sliverlight may be a factor here as Microsoft has only partially endorsed an implementation of it as <a href="http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight">Moonlight for Linux</a>. I see the benefits of having more popular/standardized distributions coming into play also. With Ubuntu and Red Hat/Fedora as two of the major players, Adobe can confidently create tested and easy to install packages for those platforms.<br /><br />As further reading, I would suggest the <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081017-benchmarking-flash-player-10.html">Ars Technica review</a> as it covers all platforms and goes into some performance benchmarks.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4852760407536893861?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-32154648926028928822008-10-17T01:22:00.001-04:002008-10-17T01:23:44.038-04:00My system has been up for:<br /><pre>$ uptime<br />01:01:48 up 44 days, 7:47, 2 users, load average: 1.06, 1.03, 0.86</pre>... but now it is time to restart. Some updates I installed over the past few days require a restart (though I don't believe it is a new kernel which is usually the only thing that requires one).<br /><br />Of course this is nothing like the current uptime of the Linux server I manage (which I had to restart recently to install some more memory). I think it has been up for about a year before.<br /><pre>$ uptime<br />01:06:46 up 86 days, 2:43, 1 user, load average: 0.04, 0.02, 0.00</pre>And this is far from any sort of <a href="http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/top.avg.html">uptime record</a> too. Just an interesting tidbit. Oh, this would also not be possible if it weren't thanks to my friend the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply">UPS</a>. My electric power lately has been less than ideal.<br /><br />Either way, it doesn't matter for anything... just interesting.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3215464892602892882?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-34572352182647350962008-09-28T23:12:00.001-04:002008-09-29T00:12:46.169-04:00My desktop theme has been the same way too long and I haven't posted a new screen shot in a while so today I decided to tackle both of those things. Seeing as it is election season here in the US where I am, I decided to go with a nice red, white and blue theme. The background is called "<a href="http://art.gnome.org/backgrounds/abstract/1939">another gnome wave (blue on red)</a>" and is one of several with this same design and different colors. I am also trying out <a href="http://www.codeweavers.com/services/ports/chromium/">CrossOver Chromium</a> a little more since I have been using its Windows counterpart <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome">Chrome</a> more seriously for a few days now too. I hope to share more thoughts on Chromium later. In the screen shot you will also notice the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnome-dictionary">Dictionary</a> application. This is the first time I have ever used it because I generally use Google as my online dictionary. One last thing, the website shown is <a href="http://electoral-vote.com/">Electoral-Vote.com</a> which tracks daily polling for each state and predicts the outcome of the election if it were to happen today (based on our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College">antiquated electoral college system</a> that allows a President to be elected without a majority of the poplar vote, like in 2000, and focuses campaigning to only a handful of states).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SOBR-8kN_LI/AAAAAAAABOI/S0gzYggS1sE/s1600-h/election+season+screenshot.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SOBR-8kN_LI/AAAAAAAABOI/S0gzYggS1sE/s400/election+season+screenshot.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251287307365776562" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3457235218264735096?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-58081523150694059052008-09-24T19:51:00.002-04:002008-09-24T19:53:39.741-04:00Like clockwork, GNOME 2.24 was released today as an <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/gnome-222-to-be-released-today.html">upgrade from 2.22</a> which was released on March 12. GNOME is on a strict 6 month, time based release cycle. With a time based release schedule, changes are more incremental than in other projects but they still manage to get a lot of good stuff in. Check out the <a href="http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.24/">GNOME 2.4 release notes</a> for all the details and with good screen shots.<br /><br />The highlights of this release as I see it are:<br /><ul><li>The first release with the <a href="http://www.gnome.org/mobile/">mobile development platform</a> "<span style="font-style: italic;">to provide a core platform on which distributors and handheld manufacturers can build rich programming environments</span>". Although not running GNOME specifically, that fancy new <a href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007790.html">T-Mobile Android phone</a> is <a href="http://code.google.com/android/what-is-android.html">running Linux</a>.<br /></li><li>A new integrated IM client, Empathy. Some are <a href="http://blog.ibeentoubuntu.com/2008/08/gnome-has-empathy-for-you.html">excited about Empathy</a> possibly replacing <a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">Pidgin (formerly Gaim)</a> in some distributions but I am skeptical. I love Pidgin. That is my only IM client on Windows and Linux.</li><li>The addition of tabs to <a href="http://www.gnome.org/projects/nautilus/">Nautilus, the file manager</a>. This has been a complaint by many for what seems like forever.</li><li>New Screen Resolution Controls. We shall see if this helps. Linux notoriously has issues with multi-head systems. Much if this is thanks to poor display drivers though. The whole stack needs work.<br /></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SNrOse7KyLI/AAAAAAAABNw/zTjR2wwC12k/s1600-h/GNOME2.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SNrOse7KyLI/AAAAAAAABNw/zTjR2wwC12k/s400/GNOME2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249735579264534706" border="0" /></a>This GNOME release will show up in <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IntrepidReleaseSchedule">Ubuntu 8.10</a> on October 30th, <a href="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/10/Schedule">Fedora 10</a> on November 25th and <a href="http://en.opensuse.org/Roadmap/11.1">openSUSE 11.1</a> on December 18th. If you don't want to wait that long to try it out, most of these distributions already are in late Alpha or Beta and have close to the final 2.24 release in them. There used to be a <a href="http://torrent.gnome.org/">live CD</a> as part of a distribution called <a href="http://www.foresightlinux.org/">Foresight Linux</a> and some VMware images also. I don't see those up yet for this release yet though. I am not sure if the 2.22 release ever had them created either. You may also find the <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080924-gnome-2-24-released-mobile-development-platform-emerges.html">Ars Technica review</a> informative as I usually do.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-5808152315069405905?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-39014086639018363782008-09-24T11:46:00.008-04:002008-09-24T12:20:33.504-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SNpni5AMqII/AAAAAAAABNo/qLI9tM3VBWo/s1600-h/banner-vert-200x.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SNpni5AMqII/AAAAAAAABNo/qLI9tM3VBWo/s400/banner-vert-200x.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249622164768598146" border="0" /></a>September 24 is <a href="http://stopsoftwarepatents.org/">World Day Against Software Patents</a>. Why are software patent so bad you ask? They are bad because they are being issued too freely for <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/trivial-patent.html">trivial ideas</a> and then used as a tool by <a href="http://news.cnet.com/Rise-of-the-patent-trolls/2010-1071_3-5892996.html">patent trolls</a> for litigation. Instead of encouraging innovation as intended they are stifling innovation. Do you want to have a wish list on your website like everyone else? Too bad, you have to <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/17/channel-intelligence-sues-just-about-everyone-who-offers-wishlists/">pay Channel Intelligence or worry about getting sued</a>. Software patents let companies bully each other too with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt">FUD</a> like in this case with <a href="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-152099.html">Microsoft and Linux</a>. I think the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3422853.stm">threat of software patents to Linux</a> and any developer really was best explained by Bruce Perens: "And you can never finish a patent search. The definitions are so broad, you can't ever be sure a company would or would not assert their patent on what you are doing." On one last note, there is the Open Invention Network which aims to make some of these <a href="http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/">patents royalty-free</a>.<br /><br />You can help fix the patent system. See <a href="http://stopsoftwarepatents.org/#toc1">what you can do</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3901408663901836378?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91250112531791518772008-09-21T08:52:00.002-04:002008-09-21T08:54:45.195-04:00I've been exploring web app frameworks lately in hopes of starting work on a new site. I first looked at some PHP implementations, namely <a href="http://codeigniter.com/">CodeIgniter</a> and <a href="http://cakephp.org/">CakePHP</a>. I mostly looked at those thanks to all the cheap and easy hosting available for PHP. I also thought some about a Java framework like <a href="http://www.springframework.org/">Spring</a> or <a href="http://struts.apache.org/">Struts</a> but I mostly write Java these days so I wanted to branch out. What I finally decided on was <a href="http://www.rubyonrails.org/">Ruby on Rails</a>. I have dabbled with Rails a little in the past and have started working on a few real projects recently that are also using Rails so I will be learning it anyway.<br /><br />So far all my development in Rails has been on Windows. Rails is rather Mac centric and I am a little unsure of the Linux support. I know that the one other project I am working on is deployed on Ubuntu 8.04 server so surely I can develop on it too.<br /><br />First thing is first. Install ruby:<br /><pre>$ sudo apt-get install ruby</pre>And then ruby doc:<br /><pre>$ sudo apt-get install rdoc</pre>(If you don't install ruby doc, you are going to get an error later when installing ruby gems.)<br /><br />Now you could at this point install rails and <a href="http://rubygems.org/">ruby gems</a> using apt-get or synaptic but you don't want to. Rails is currently at version 2.1.1 and ruby gems is version 1.2.0 but the Ubuntu repositories only have versions 2.0.2 and 1.1.1 respectively. If <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-havent-i-heard-of-ubuntu-backports.html">Ubuntu backports</a> had newer versions we would be set but <a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy-backports/allpackages">I don't see rails in the mix</a>. Having a package manager built into the OS is not something that Windows and Mac have available to them natively so ruby has gems as a package manager. Unfortunately <a href="http://pkg-ruby-extras.alioth.debian.org/rubygems.html">this can conflict with the OS package manager</a> so that is why we aren't going to install ruby gems or rails with apt-get.<br /><br />So now you want to <a href="http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=126">download ruby gems here</a>. Extract it (anywhere), fire up a terminal, change to the directory you just extracted and run:<br /><pre>$ sudo ruby setup.rb</pre>If you happen to get the error message: <code style="font-weight: bold;">./lib/rubygems/custom_require.rb:27:in `gem_original_require': no such file to load -- rdoc/rdoc (LoadError)</code> then you skipped over my point to install ruby doc above. Go back and install that and you will be caught up again.<br /><br />After a minute or so you will have ruby gems installed. To install rails run:<br /><pre>$ sudo /usr/bin/gem1.8 install rails</pre>After a few minutes more, you are ready to <a href="http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/Tutorial">start developing with rails</a>. You may also want to consider using Eclipse and <a href="http://www.aptana.com/docs/index.php/Installing_Aptana_on_Linux">Aptana</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SNZBUHEBCCI/AAAAAAAABNg/u_raG_KnplY/s1600-h/Ruby+on+Rails:+Welcome+aboard.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SNZBUHEBCCI/AAAAAAAABNg/u_raG_KnplY/s400/Ruby+on+Rails:+Welcome+aboard.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248454229495973922" border="0" /></a><br />Also, if after this when trying to fire up WEBrick you get the error: <code><span style="font-weight: bold;">/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/rails-2.1.1/lib/initializer.rb:229:in `require_frameworks': no such file to load -- openssl (RuntimeError)</span></code> You will need to install libopenssl-ruby:<br /><pre>$ sudo apt-get install libopenssl-ruby</pre>You may need to install mysql too even if you are only accessing a remote database so keep that in mind too.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9125011253179151877?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-12010437974597996892008-09-20T14:58:00.000-04:002008-12-10T12:44:39.450-05:00Finding a good Twitter client for Linux is not as easy as I thought it would be. About 5 months ago, despite resisting it for a long time, I started using <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>. I don't know <a href="http://www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2008/05/12-reasons-to-s.html">why</a> but it is a little addictive. I've now even attended my <a href="http://anything-left.blogspot.com/2008/09/first-ever-fayetteville-nc-tweetup.html">first tweetup in Fayetteville</a>. Twittering is a lot like blogging but without having to think too much about it as you only get 140 characters to work with. If you are here though, you probably know all that already.<br /><br />For the most part, I have just used the Twitter website to read and post "tweets" but <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_twitter_clients_definitive_list.php">looking at some analysis of traffic</a>, there seem to be a lot of good clients out there. This is in most part thanks to the fact that <a href="http://apiwiki.twitter.com/">Twitter has an API</a> so you don't have to use the website only. You can use one of the endless number of clients that are written to make the experience more feature filled. There is a nice list <a href="http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps">here</a> but for this post, I am only interested in the <a href="http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps#Linux">Linux and cross platform twitter clients</a>.<br /><br />Unfortunately once you get to running Linux, the seemingly endless selection of clients ends. There are really only 3 easy solutions if you are running Ubuntu 8.04. I say easy because you can install all 3 through Add/Remove Applications. Sadly, none of them are very good. First, there are 2 native clients: gTwitter and Twitux.<br /><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://code.google.com/p/gtwitter/">gTwitter</a> (using version 1.0beta) is ok. First, the default view is terrible (not the one pictured below). The default shows the selected tweet from a list of initially the last 12 you have received. The list only shows the name and the time of the tweet (except the time was when it was downloaded, not when it was posted).<br /><br />Switching to "Tweet View" is more helpful (see the screen shot below). In Tweet View the client at least shows all the tweets in full along with the picture of the person; however, none of the links in them work when using this view. You can't follow an @account to see the persons page or even follow normal http links. There is also no ability to reply to a person using the interface either without manually typing @ and their username. These are all very serious deficiencies.<br /><br />The text entry box is also very limited. First, it is a single line. I realize 140 characters doesn't take much space but it can still fill up a single line. I want to see everything I am typing before I send it. At least there is a character counter to show you how many more characters you have left. There is also no spell check which for me is another must have.<br /><br />If you want to change the settings, of which there are few, the only way to access them is from the system tray icon. I didn't even realize it was up there after searching for a very long time for a way to change the update frequency after running out of my allotted API calls.<br /><br />Oh yeah, and sometimes it just randomly crashes.<br /><br />I see gTwitter as a good start but sill to lacking for real use. Just using the website would be more useful at this point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHgFpuYecaI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/taOfcEiJTPg/s1600-h/gtwitter.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHgFpuYecaI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/taOfcEiJTPg/s320/gtwitter.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221929982319554978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://live.gnome.org/DanielMorales/Twitux">Twitux</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>(using version 0.60) is a lot better but still has some major annoyances. It does have clear menu items so you can get to settings and features easily. It also has a number of features that, unlike gTwitter, add value over just using the website.<br /><br />In addition to the basics Twitux has a view to show you different sets of tweets such as the public list, your friends, only yours, direct messages, direct replies and the timeline for the application @<a href="http://twitter.com/twitux">twitux</a>.<br /><br />The text entry is a good sized text area with spell check but to get to it you have to use the menu or Ctrl-N to pop up a dialog box. I think it should be part of the interface like in gTwitter but as multiple lines.<br /><br />The most annoying part of Twitux though is the resizing issues. If tweets are long enough they don't wrap properly and there is always a little left/right scrolling that you will have to do. Why? Up/down scrolling is expected so just drop the left/right scroll and expand those tweets vertically.<br /><br />So far I think Twitux is you best bet but there are some other options.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHgFxRpiKtI/AAAAAAAAA2g/e7BarvBYzhM/s1600-h/twitux.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHgFxRpiKtI/AAAAAAAAA2g/e7BarvBYzhM/s320/twitux.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221930112045427410" border="0" /></a><br />The next option is to run Twitter in <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://wiki.mozilla.org/Prism">Mozilla Prism</a>. This isn't much special as Prism is just a stand alone browser (using much of the same internals as Firefox) designed to be used for a single application at a time. The idea with Prism is you have an icon for Twitter on you desktop that you can click and it will bring up this window with Twitter in it, more like a desktop application. You can use Prism for any site like your online email or calendar too. I think you get the point.<br /><br />So, using Prisim is really just like using the website in its own little browser. There is not much value add there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHgF4DhTj2I/AAAAAAAAA2o/YUGjU2HXNPs/s1600-h/prism.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHgF4DhTj2I/AAAAAAAAA2o/YUGjU2HXNPs/s320/prism.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221930228511903586" border="0" /></a><br />Before moving on to what I think the best solution I have to ask a question: Why are there so many Windows clients and so few Linux clients and of those Linux clients, why are they so lacking? I truly do not understand. On Linux, clients like this usually spring up left and right but they haven't here. Maybe developers just don't use Twitter that much or it just isn't that big of a deal to them. I will say that a Twitter client is pretty low priority.<br /><br />But the best option, I think, it to use some of the newer cross platform clients that are written using the new Adobe AIR framework. The problem there though is <a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/air/">AIR for Linux</a> is lagging behind the Windows and Mac versions. It <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5050587/adobe-air-beta-now-available-for-linux">just moved from alpha to beta</a> on September 18th.<br /><br />I honestly haven't tried installing AIR and an AIR Twitter client on Linux yet. That is next on my list but beyond the scope of this post. I did see some success by this guy on getting <a href="http://www.williamneuheisel.com/blog/?p=41">Thwirl on Linx</a> working. This was when AIR was still in the alpha stage. I really like <a href="http://www.twhirl.org/">Thwirl</a> in Windows. I'd like to try out <a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/">TweetDeck</a> too.<br /><br />If this hasn't solved your quest for a good Twitter client in Linux, you may want to read this <a href="http://www.fsckin.com/2008/03/31/twitter-clients-for-linux/">review of the state of Twitter clients on Linux</a> or see what folks think of <a href="http://del.icio.us/search/?fr=del_icio_us&amp;p=twitter%2Blinux&amp;type=all">Twitter+Linux on del.icio.us</a>. I also found <a href="http://www.pwytter.com/">Pwytter</a> recently but it doesn't look very impressive yet either.<br /><br />Have you had any luck finding a better client? I'd love to know. I'm still just using the website.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1201043797459799689?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-19194020960525334382008-08-01T10:17:00.001-04:002008-12-10T12:44:40.594-05:00Users of <a href="http://compiz.org/">Compiz</a>, a window manager that provides pretty visual effects, know that a lot of those effects are just for fun. Things like drawing fire on the screen or folding up windows like a paper airplane to close them look cool but have little real value. I think a lot of those features (plugins) were written more to show off what Compiz can do than to provide useful functionality. I don't doubt that lots of users are still using them though. Linux users cherish the ability to customize settings to the nth degree.<br /><br />Personally, I am most concerned with the Compiz plugins that add functionality to my desktop. There are plenty of those too. I am going to outline some of my favorites and most useful. First though, I want to point out that if you have Compiz installed, you will want to also have the CompizConfig Settings Manager (ccsm) installed too. You can add it from Add/Remove Applications. Also, when I refer to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_key_%28keyboard_button%29">Super key</a> it is most likely the Windows key or Apple Key on your keyboard. And now, on to the list:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Scale Effect (Shift+Alt+Up)</span><br />The scale effect is like the <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2503">OS X "All Windows" Exposé feature</a> that is invoked with F9. It shrinks all the windows down to fit on your desktop so you can see a thumbnail of everything running to find the window you want. This feature is most useful when you have lots of windows open. The more windows you have open, the smaller each thumbnail gets. It also puts the application icon down in the corner for you to help with identification of applications. You can use your mouse to select the window you want or while still holding down Shift+Alt you can use the arrow keys to move to the window you want.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJJ34ViCBxI/AAAAAAAAA4s/YXhGfyEZvCM/s1600-h/scale+compiz+effect+-+Alt%2BShift%2BUp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJJ34ViCBxI/AAAAAAAAA4s/YXhGfyEZvCM/s400/scale+compiz+effect+-+Alt%2BShift%2BUp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229373927066830610" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Ring Switcher (Super+Tab)</span><br />The ring switcher is another feature for switching between windows. With this plugin all your windows are shrunk and rotated as if on a rod. The windows farther away are smaller and the window you are switching to is front and center. The window title is also displayed. Although not as useful as the scale effect for selecting a window, it is another good way to scroll through all your open windows and switch applications. Maybe you like the way this one looks better too. It is more like the traditional Alt+Tab but allows you to see all of the windows available at once.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJKWqDS2WkI/AAAAAAAAA40/p0KtmQTD5ng/s1600-h/Super%2BTab.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJKWqDS2WkI/AAAAAAAAA40/p0KtmQTD5ng/s400/Super%2BTab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229407766513605186" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Enhanced Zoom Desktop (Super+Mouse Scroll Up/Down)</span><br />Zoom can be a really handy feature. If you run your system at a really high resolution, sometimes you need to be able to take a closer look at something. I've found this feature very useful when watching videos that I can't resize or when using a CRT that just isn't very sharp. It also provides a universal way to zoom so instead of having to know how to zoom in different applications, you can always use this.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMTXPAingI/AAAAAAAAA48/05Lq5cuyKiE/s1600-h/Enhanced+Zoom+Desktop+Super%2BScroll.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMTXPAingI/AAAAAAAAA48/05Lq5cuyKiE/s400/Enhanced+Zoom+Desktop+Super%2BScroll.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229544882193997314" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Expo (Super+E)</span><br />Expo is a feature that makes switching between workspaces (a feature Windows is sorely lacking) a lot easier. It will spread out all your workspaces in a row (with some nice reflection) to allow you to see what is running on all of them at once and then switch to the one you need. Since I've used Linux more I have started to rely on multiple workspaces. I usually have one just for my IM client, one for my personal web browsing, one for work web browsing, one for my media player, one for document editing, etc.. With Expo, seeing what is where is a lot easier and getting there is faster.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMVF4xQkiI/AAAAAAAAA5E/syIMrOGnJ9w/s1600-h/Super%2BE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMVF4xQkiI/AAAAAAAAA5E/syIMrOGnJ9w/s400/Super%2BE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229546783189799458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Shift Switcher (Shift+Super+E)</span><br />The shift switcher is another of the features for switching between running applications. It works like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_Flow">cover flow</a> in iTunes. Because you only see 3 windows at a time, I don't use it as much as the scale effect or the ring switcher but it still useful when you have less windows open at once.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMWadGRjkI/AAAAAAAAA5M/Gt5VkAbL0EY/s1600-h/Shift%2BSuper%2BE+Shift+Switcher.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMWadGRjkI/AAAAAAAAA5M/Gt5VkAbL0EY/s400/Shift%2BSuper%2BE+Shift+Switcher.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229548236050632258" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Window Previews</span><br />I first saw a feature like this on Windows <a href="http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=600988&amp;seqNum=5">Vista</a>. Maybe someone else thought it up first but who cares as long as I can use it. I think this feature has great potential but it also has a HUGE problem as it currently works. If you want to see a thumbnail now, the window has to be visible already. If the windows is minimized, it will not draw the thumbnail. I can understand the technical limitations that lead to this but this feature is most useful when the window <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> minimized. To see these all you have to do is mouse over the application on the taskbar.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMY7gm7MbI/AAAAAAAAA5U/iMFvJkN2_2Q/s1600-h/window+previews.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SJMY7gm7MbI/AAAAAAAAA5U/iMFvJkN2_2Q/s400/window+previews.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229551002951823794" border="0" /></a><br />One last honorable mention that I really love is the Viewport Switcher which allows you to use your mouse scroll wheel to switch workspaces when the pointer is over the background. I could not really get a screen shot to show that.<br /><br />Also keep in mind that you can customize most any of these settings for days on end to get these features to work just the way you want them to. Just install the CompizConfig Settings Manager (ccsm). Some of these features I mentioned are not enabled by default either (on Ubuntu 8.04 at least) so don't expect them to all work untill you enable them.<br /><br />One last thing, if you haven't seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=compiz+fusion&amp;search_sort=video_avg_rating">Compiz in action, just look on YouTube</a>. There are tons of screencasts showing these features and the crazy awesome ones too.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1919402096052533438?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-89066270290788421472008-07-31T19:28:00.003-04:002008-07-31T19:35:14.220-04:00I'm helping a friend setup a cron job to backup his MySQL database. For your reference, here are some one liners to do that:<br /><br />Backup to a text file:<br /><code> mysqldump -u root --password=PASSWORD MY_DB_NAME > MY_DB_NAME.sql</code><br /><br />Backup to a compressed text file (replace <code>gzip</code> with <code>zip</code> or <code>bzip2</code> or your favorite compression format):<br /><code> mysqldump -u root --password=PASSWORD MY_DB_NAME | gzip > MY_DB_NAME.sql.gz<br /></code><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8906627029078842147?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91478601757470184912008-07-22T23:10:00.020-04:002008-07-23T00:49:49.980-04:00Tonight I went to do the simple task of adding some more memory to the one production Linux box for which I am fully responsible. (Running <a href="http://www.centos.org/">CentOS</a> 3.9 currently) It was to be a simple addition of 2x1GB sticks bumping this poor machine from 512MB of RAM. I figured it would be pretty quick and painless. I even had no problems with the normally very temperamental fingerprint scanner at the data center. It worked on the first try. I was off to a good start.<br /><br />I did have to fight with some cables to get a keyboard and monitor hooked up once I got into the rack but that was expected. It is worse because this particular system isn't as deep as the others above and below it making plugging things in very difficult. What I didn't expect though was what I saw when I got the monitor connected. It appeared that one of the drives in the software <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID_0#RAID_1">RAID 1</a> I have setup failed.<br /><br />I don't remember the exact errors but since the system was still running and had been for quite a while, I wasn't really worried about downtime. I was just annoyed that I would have to make another late night or weekend trip out to the data center. So I upgraded the memory and made sure everything else was back up before looking into the RAID failure.<br /><br />The first thing I checked was <span style="font-style: italic;">/proc/mdstat</span> which is "the current information for multiple-disk, RAID configurations".<br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 100%; height: 240px; text-align: left;">[root@host raidinfo]# cat /proc/mdstat<br />Personalities : [raid1]<br />read_ahead 1024 sectors<br />Event: 3<br />md0 : active raid1 sdb1[1] sda1[0]<br />104320 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />md2 : active raid1 sda2[0]<br />1052160 blocks [2/1] [U_]<br /><br />md1 : active raid1 sdb3[1] sda3[0]<br />76967296 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />unused devices: <><br /></pre>So there it is. md2 which is made up of the partitions sda2 and sdb2 is missing sdb2. Fortunately there is just an underscore there meaning it is just not connected. An F would mean it has failed. I was pretty sure that md2 was also the swap partition which is much less of a big deal and makes the most sense. After the upgrade from 512MB of ram to 2.5GB, the box was idling at 754GB so before the upgrade it must have been using that swap partition A LOT!<br /><br />To double check, I checked to see what was mounted on each virtual disk:<br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 100%; height: 110px; text-align: left;">[root@liquidcs raidinfo]# df -h<br />Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on<br />/dev/md1 73G 21G 49G 30% /<br />/dev/md0 99M 85M 8.9M 91% /boot<br />none 1.3G 0 1.3G 0% /dev/shm<br /></pre>Knowing that I only have a root, boot and swap partition I knew for sure by process of elimination I was dealing with the swap.<br /><br />So next I wanted to see what the system logs had to say about md2:<br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 100%; height: 280px; text-align: left;">[root@host raidinfo]# cat /var/log/message* | grep md2<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: md: created md2<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: md2: removing former faulty sdb2!<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: md2: max total readahead window set to 124k<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: md2: 1 data-disks, max readahead per data-disk: 124k<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: raid1: md2, not all disks are operational -- trying to recover array<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: raid1: raid set md2 active with 1 out of 2 mirrors<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: md2: no spare disk to reconstruct array! -- continuing in degraded mode<br />Jul 22 22:19:36 host kernel: md: md2 already running, cannot run sdb2<br />Jul 22 22:19:37 host kernel: md: md2 already running, cannot run sdb2<br />Jul 5 07:01:21 host kernel: md2: no spare disk to reconstruct array! -- continuing in degraded mode<br />Jun 4 06:46:44 host kernel: md: created md2<br />Jun 4 06:46:44 host kernel: md2: max total readahead window set to 124k<br />Jun 4 06:46:44 host kernel: md2: 1 data-disks, max readahead per data-disk: 124k<br />Jun 4 06:46:44 host kernel: raid1: raid set md2 active with 2 out of 2 mirrors<br /></pre><br />So it had failed a over a month ago, ugh. Again, at least it was swap. I am still not sure what happened though. Restoring it turned out to be a simple task. I just ran <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">raidhotadd </span>to add the partition back to the array and waited about a minute. (This was just a small swap partition. Another guy at the data center chatted with me for a few minutes while I was there as he was waiting 3 more hours for a 500GB RAID array to finish rebuilding.)<br /><br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 100%; height: 280px; text-align: left;">[root@host raidinfo]# raidhotadd /dev/md2 /dev/sdb2<br />[root@host raidinfo]# cat /proc/mdstat<br />Personalities : [raid1]<br />read_ahead 1024 sectors<br />Event: 5<br />md0 : active raid1 sdb1[1] sda1[0]<br />104320 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />md2 : active raid1 sdb2[2] sda2[0]<br />1052160 blocks [2/1] [U_]<br />[>....................] recovery = 1.8% (20088/1052160) finish=0.8min speed=20088K/sec<br />md1 : active raid1 sdb3[1] sda3[0]<br />76967296 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />unused devices: <><br /><br />[root@host raidinfo]# cat /proc/mdstat<br />Personalities : [raid1]<br />read_ahead 1024 sectors<br />Event: 5<br />md0 : active raid1 sdb1[1] sda1[0]<br />104320 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />md2 : active raid1 sdb2[2] sda2[0]<br />1052160 blocks [2/1] [U_]<br />[=================>...] recovery = 88.3% (930124/1052160) finish=0.1min speed=10303K/sec<br />md1 : active raid1 sdb3[1] sda3[0]<br />76967296 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />unused devices: <><br /></pre><br />And then just over a minute later, we are back in business!!<br /><br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 100%; height: 240px; text-align: left;">[root@host raidinfo]# cat /proc/mdstat<br />Personalities : [raid1]<br />read_ahead 1024 sectors<br />Event: 6<br />md0 : active raid1 sdb1[1] sda1[0]<br />104320 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />md2 : active raid1 sdb2[1] sda2[0]<br />1052160 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />md1 : active raid1 sdb3[1] sda3[0]<br />76967296 blocks [2/2] [UU]<br /><br />unused devices: <none><br /></none></pre><br />Crisis avoided. Thanks to the <a href="http://unthought.net/Software-RAID.HOWTO/Software-RAID.HOWTO-6.html">RAID HowTo guide</a> and <a href="http://www.kieser.net/linux/raidhotadd.html">this page on recovering from the failure</a>. I really should setup some monitoring and brush up on my RAID knowledge.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9147860175747018491?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-28186573337886498362008-07-21T01:18:00.000-04:002008-07-21T01:19:18.969-04:00Somehow this weekend I stumbled on the <a href="http://linuxhaters.blogspot.com/">Linux Hater's Blog</a> and it is quite a gem. It is not written by your average Microsoft or Mac zealot but, as I assume, a true and very frustrated Linux user. The Linux Hater's Blog discusses the many shortcomings of Linux that we all know are there but often don't want to admit. The author does this with a technical understanding that is far beyond your average Linux user too.<br /><br />Some of the posts I have found most relevant so far have been the discussion on how <a href="http://linuxhaters.blogspot.com/2008/07/fallacy-of-choice.html">having many, many choices is not better</a>, the <a href="http://linuxhaters.blogspot.com/2008/06/evolution-of-ubuntu-user.html">pain felt when upgrading Ubuntu</a> and <a href="http://linuxhaters.blogspot.com/2008/06/nitty-gritty-shit-on-open-source.html">why my next box will likely have an NVidia card</a> despite the open source ATI and Intel video drivers. (I wished I had an NVidia card when <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/04/ubuntu-desktop-screenshot-of-day-7-ati.html">setting up Big Desktop</a>.) I'm generally of the mindset of "it works" is greater than "it sort of works but here is the source if you want to try and make it work". I still respect <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">the ideaology</a> though.<br /><br />Linux certainly has come a long way but it still has many shortcomings left to overcome. (Just read how much trouble <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_S._Raymond">ESR</a> had <a href="http://www.catb.org/%7Eesr/writings/cups-horror.html">setting up a printer on Linux in 2006</a>.) I think we need more people sharing their pain and frustrations when using Linux to get those things fixed (<a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=9370">so does this guy</a>). After all, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So come on fellow Linux users, get to complaining!<br /><br />P.S. - A good place to complain about Ubuntu is, of course, <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/">the forums</a> but also the <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/">Brainstorm site</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2818657333788649836?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-60972805145673672232008-07-12T20:22:00.005-04:002008-12-10T12:44:42.265-05:00We all know that computers are everywhere in todays world. They are ATM machines, in your car, kiosks, cash registers, running factories, your cell phone, and the list could go on forever. You may not have thought about it but even these computers need an operating system. <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/29644?ts">Many scarily run Windows</a>, others run an embedded OS like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QNX">QNX</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxWorks">VxWorks</a>, or even plain old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS">DOS</a>. Most though, without you knowing it, probably run Linux. <a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT7065740528.html">Embdedded Linux market share</a> is <a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4920597981.html">high</a> and on the rise.<br /><br />I got to thinking about this again recently thanks to a Digg post: <a href="http://digg.com/linux_unix/Vatican_Runs_Linux">Vatican Runs Linux</a> Yes, apparently they run Linux behind the scenes for some TVs in the gift shop. I wonder where else the Vatican is using Linux. This also makes me want to know where else have you seen or known Linux to be running? If it is embedded, you likely don't know that you have seen a device running Linux but maybe you've seen a Linux desktop somewhere like your local library, school, or in my case a hotel in Berlin.<br /><br />Some companies are open about their products running Linux (and generally they have to be thanks to the GPL). Sometimes hackers just make Linux run on the device. Here are some:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4729641740.html"><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >Linksys WRT54G Router</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8827997755.html"><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >Garmin </span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >Nuvi 8xx and Nuvi 5xxx-series GPS</span></a></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT9423084269.html">Many, many smartphones</a></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >and all sorts of <a href="http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT4936596231.html">other devices</a><br /></span></li></ul>Despite the high Linux usage, Windows is easier to spot in the wild though. Let me show you some proof:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At the McDonald's drive through<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlGUqv_STI/AAAAAAAAA2w/1X4ipiAPKh0/s1600-h/mcd_bsod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlGUqv_STI/AAAAAAAAA2w/1X4ipiAPKh0/s320/mcd_bsod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222282563799697714" border="0" /></a><br />At the ATM<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlGoqnib-I/AAAAAAAAA24/T-0Vm7MD3j0/s1600-h/cash-machine-bsod-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlGoqnib-I/AAAAAAAAA24/T-0Vm7MD3j0/s320/cash-machine-bsod-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222282907361636322" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/02/bsod_vegas_edition-2.html"><br />In Vegas</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlG1mSMAhI/AAAAAAAAA3A/qomXJhlVnjI/s1600-h/Night+BSOD+Paris+Vegas+GI.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlG1mSMAhI/AAAAAAAAA3A/qomXJhlVnjI/s320/Night+BSOD+Paris+Vegas+GI.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222283129536643602" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/siamonesti/1264479643/">Piccadilly Circus in London</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlIVtsu54I/AAAAAAAAA3I/BbX8DWNX7eg/s1600-h/1264479643_426805ba50.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlIVtsu54I/AAAAAAAAA3I/BbX8DWNX7eg/s320/1264479643_426805ba50.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222284780794472322" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturenet/561641516/">At the Gas Station</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlI4jAB0iI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/tCj2o6VTMK8/s1600-h/561641516_4f827b1a70.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlI4jAB0iI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/tCj2o6VTMK8/s320/561641516_4f827b1a70.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222285379218035234" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/jilly9/183043225/">At the airport</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlJnyUES9I/AAAAAAAAA3Y/3esvpzhTpRA/s1600-h/airport.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlJnyUES9I/AAAAAAAAA3Y/3esvpzhTpRA/s320/airport.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222286190782467026" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/4630">Times Square in NYC</a> and <a href="http://blog.dotkam.com/2007/05/03/windows-xp-screensaver-on-time-square-nyc/">here too</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlNrqaZzAI/AAAAAAAAA3g/EiljjyELyRg/s1600-h/error2006-02-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SHlNrqaZzAI/AAAAAAAAA3g/EiljjyELyRg/s320/error2006-02-20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222290655427546114" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Then there is the <a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/toronto/biggest-bsod-of-all-time-320824.php">impressive showing</a> at Toronto's The Bay department store. I could show you <a href="http://daimyo.org/bsod">examples</a>, after <a href="http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/19/201230">examples</a>, after <a href="http://www.miguelcarrasco.net/miguelcarrasco/2006/10/blue_screen_of_.html">examples</a>, after <a href="http://www.drbrad.org/flight-info.html">examples</a>, after <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/bsod/interesting/">examples</a>. So it is good to not "see" Linux running like this.<br /><br />So back to my original question. Where do you know of Linux running in the wild? Do you have any pictures?<br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6097280514567367223?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-23696595044320555672008-07-04T09:07:00.000-04:002008-12-10T12:44:42.543-05:00If you haven't noticed (I don't think any one hasn't), Firefox 3 has been out for just over 2 weeks now (June 17, 2008). On the release day they also had a push to create a <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/worldrecord">Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in one day</a> and despite some <a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/06/18/121207.shtml?tid=154">initial issues</a>, they (we) did it!<br /><blockquote>Thanks to the support of the always amazing Mozilla community, we now hold a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. From 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008, 8,002,530 people downloaded Firefox 3 and are now enjoying a safer, smarter and better Web.</blockquote> I've been running some of the betas for a while now and despite some crashes in those pre-releases, this is definitely the best release yet. It feels faster, looks better, uses less memory and the <a href="http://www.dria.org/wordpress/archives/2008/04/17/628/">awesome bar truly is awesome</a>. If you have been running Ubuntu 8.04, <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/04/should-beta-software-be-in-ubuntu-long.html">you too have been running beta 5</a>. So go <a href="http://www.techsideup.com/firefox-3-download-day-certificate/">get your download day certificate</a> and enjoy the new browser.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SG4hAffkkgI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/FAMdXsqxP6U/s1600-h/Firefox+Download+Day+2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SG4hAffkkgI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/FAMdXsqxP6U/s320/Firefox+Download+Day+2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219145310506619394" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2369659504432055567?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91990925250629047432008-07-04T01:05:00.002-04:002008-07-04T01:17:36.194-04:00Sorry to anyone (if there is anyone) who follows this blog regularly. I haven't posted in over a month now for a lot of very good reasons.<br /><br />First, my hard drive crashed to the point that it was completely unreadable. I ran <a href="http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm">SpinRite</a> on the drive for about 2 days straight and it was only 0.002% done scanning the drive with nothing recovered. Ouch! I had some backups but I realize I need a better system. Dual booting makes it harder to backup too because I have data on separate partitions and worse 2 different operating systems that need to perform backups but do it differently. Before the crash I was spenging most of my time in Linux but only had a backup system in place on Windows. Hopefully I will have more on that later when I find a solution.<br /><br />A little over a week later, I went on vacation for just over 2 weeks (Italy and the Normandy region of France). I <a href="http://next-destination-please.blogspot.com/">blogged some about my travels</a> but saw very little Linux and Open Source related to blog about. I did see a few things I might touch on later but nothing super exciting.<br /><br />Now that I have been back for a little over a week, I am finally starting to catch up and get my computer restored. I still want to finish blogging about my trip and in a few more weeks I will be moving and I still have to find a place to live. So... I've got some ideas for some new posts and hopefully I can get to writing them soon but I am not sure.<br /><br />Enough of the personal updates, now back to the regular content...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9199092525062904743?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-60131445546452723082008-06-02T10:47:00.015-04:002008-12-10T12:44:42.688-05:00I am trying to mount a Windows share on a a 2003 server machine with an old Fedora Core 1 box. Mounting the same share using the same command on Ubuntu 8.04 worked (Samba 3.0.28a) but not on Fedora (Samba 3.0.7-2.FC1). The Fedora box also was able to mount a share on Windows XP without any problems. The error I kept getting was <code style="font-weight: bold;">cli_negprot: SMB signing is mandatory and we have disabled it.</code><br /><br />Looking around some I found that this is due to a security policy in Windows 2003 Server that forces the connections to be encrypted. To disable it, on the Win2k3 box go to <span style="font-style: italic;">Administrative Tools -> Domain Controller Security Policy</span>. Then select <span style="font-style: italic;">Local Policies -> Security Options</span> and find the policy <span style="font-style: italic;">Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (always)</span>. Disable that. (I also had to disable: <span style="font-style: italic;">Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (if client agrees)</span> to keep from getting a Permission denied). You will then you will want to reload the policy with '<code>gpupdate</code>'.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SEQNaKUZOrI/AAAAAAAAAz4/IPybNKo6cto/s1600-h/network-encryption-policy.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SEQNaKUZOrI/AAAAAAAAAz4/IPybNKo6cto/s400/network-encryption-policy.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207301812244789938" border="0" /></a><br />After that though, I got another error message: <code style="font-weight: bold;">tree connect failed: ERRDOS - ERRnosuchshare (You specified an invalid share name)</code> That message means that I am trying to mount a directory inside of the share (which I am, and which works on the newer versions of Samba). This fix for that is to just mount the share and change your path references (or upgrade).<br /><br />Instead of:<br /><code>mount -t smbfs -o username=USER,password=PASS //HOST/SHARE/DIR /mnt/DEST/</code><br /><br />Use:<br /><code>mount -t smbfs -o username=USER,password=PASS //HOST/SHARE /mnt/DEST/</code><br /><br />and then change your usage to always change to the DIR.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6013144554645272308?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-31932036483539244582008-05-30T11:22:00.000-04:002008-05-30T11:25:01.102-04:00I'm working on migrating a server again today and we decided that we want to put some of the services on 1 IP and the others on another so if we ever need to move one set of services over the IP can follow. This is the machine that is running Ubuntu 8.04 Server.<br /><br />It turns out this is a pretty simple thing to do. First, edit your interfaces file:<br /><br /><code>sudo nano -w /etc/network/interfaces</code><br /><br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 425px; height: 200px; text-align: left;"># This file describes the network interfaces available on your system<br /># and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).<br /><br /># The loopback network interface<br />auto lo<br />iface lo inet loopback<br /><br /># The primary network interface<br />auto eth0<br />iface eth0 inet dhcp<br /></pre><br />Then add in a few new lines below the eth0 section to <a href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/reference/ch-gateway.en.html#s-high-virtual">create a new virtual interface</a>:<br /><pre>auto eth0:0<br />iface eth0:0 inet static<br /> address 10.10.10.200<br /> netmask 255.255.255.0<br /></pre>Then restart your networking:<br /><br /><code>$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart</code><br /><br />And there you have it, your new virtual interface with your new IP.<br /><br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 425px; height: 340px; text-align: left;">$ ifconfig<br />eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1d:09:15:74:af<br /> inet addr:10.10.10.122 Bcast:10.10.10.255 Mask:255.255.255.0<br /> inet6 addr: fe80::21d:9ff:fe15:74af/64 Scope:Link<br /> UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1<br /> RX packets:52 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0<br /> TX packets:42 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0<br /> collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000<br /> RX bytes:9780 (9.5 KB) TX bytes:5388 (5.2 KB)<br /> Interrupt:17<br /><br />eth0:0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1d:09:15:74:af<br /> inet addr:10.10.10.200 Bcast:10.10.10.255 Mask:255.255.255.0<br /> UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1<br /> Interrupt:17<br /><br />lo Link encap:Local Loopback<br /> inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0<br /> inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host<br /> UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1<br /> RX packets:38081 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0<br /> TX packets:38081 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0<br /> collisions:0 txqueuelen:0<br /> RX bytes:1614360 (1.5 MB) TX bytes:1614360 (1.5 MB)<br /></pre><br />Thanks go to NukeSilo.com for <a href="http://www.nukesilo.com/2007/03/29/configuring-multiple-ip-addresses-for-ubuntu-linux/">getting me started</a> and the <a href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/reference/ch-gateway.en.html">Debian guide on Network configuration</a> for all the details.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3193203648353924458?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-38185950790162575392008-05-20T20:16:00.011-04:002008-05-20T21:34:12.733-04:00Before upgrading from Ubuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I had the annoying problem of <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/copying-or-moving-files-to-ntfs.html">file modification dates getting changed when copying files to an NTFS file system</a>. I also found that the <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-havent-i-heard-of-ubuntu-backports.html">problem was fixed</a> in a newer version of ntfs-3g and all I had to do was get the package from the Ubuntu backports repository. Yipee!<br /><br />But now I am running Ubuntu 8.04 and the problem has returned just in a new and nastier form. Now <span style="font-weight: bold;">file modification dates are always updated in any move or copy</span>, including ext3 to ext3! I did find that I could get around this problem when copying from the command line with <code>cp</code> using the <code>-p</code> switch to "preserve the specified attributes (default: mode, ownership, timestamps), if possible additional attributes: context, links, all". That didn't work for me when copying to an ntfs partition though. I got an error message: <code>cp: preserving times for `/path/My Documents in Windows/testfile.zip': Operation not permitted</code><br /><br />I could (and did) use <code>sudo</code> to make it work on ntfs though. I am glad there is a work around but I really do not want to have to drop to a command line every time I want to move or copy a file that I want the modification date preserved. I want to use Nautilus to drag and drop things!<br /><br />I knew from my previous issue with ntfs that the copy command doesn't preserve the modification date by default but copying in Nautilus did and now it doesn't. There was a major change from 7.10 to 8.04 with the file system though. GNOME now uses <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GVFS">GVFS</a> instead of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GnomeVFS">GnoneVFS</a> (confusing similar names I know). And from my research, it looks like that is the problem. There are bug reports <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nautilus/+bug/215499">here (Ubuntu)</a> and <a href="http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=515777">here (GNOME)</a>. Now let's hope it gets fixed for 8.04 and soon! Until then I guess I will be dropping to the command line to move my photos around, argh!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3818595079016257539?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-59235729405822689162008-05-16T21:19:00.000-04:002008-05-16T21:22:43.226-04:00Now that I have upgraded to Ubuntu 8.04 I am utilizing <a href="http://pulseaudio.org/">PulseAudio</a> instead of <a href="http://developer.gnome.org/doc/whitepapers/esd/">esd</a> so the audio subsystem should be much better right? According to the <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/804overview">Hardy release notes</a>, PulseAudio<br /><blockquote>... makes it possible to mix audio from multiple applications together, assign audio from individual applications to specific sound cards, adjust volume levels of each individual application, and perform advanced operations on audio streams such as transferring the audio to another computer or changing sample formats and channel counts.</blockquote>That sounds great. Only thing is it has been doing some strange things. Occasionally I <span style="font-weight: bold;">lose sound on some or all applications</span>. I haven't exhaustively tried to fix this problem yet but so far restarting has been the only solution.<br /><br />I also just recently had a problem where <span style="font-weight: bold;">only my left speaker was giving me any output</span>. Fortunately muting and unmuting fixed that. I also read that <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=109004">adjusting the volume</a> of both or more channels will also fix it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-5923572940582268916?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-78035850952586960572008-05-15T14:11:00.002-04:002008-05-15T14:18:55.106-04:00Today I am working on migrating some web apps to a new server. The old server was running <a href="http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2003-November/msg00000.html">Fedora Core 1</a> (yeah, really old) and the new box is running Ubuntu 8.04 <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/serveredition">server edition</a>. (This is the first time I have ever used the server version. A coworker chose the distribution. I think I would have gone with <a href="http://www.centos.org/">CentOS (a RHEL clone)</a> but it will be nice to play with Ubuntu server too. I am not some super Ubuntu fanboy!)<br /><br />So I am moving a <a href="http://www.mediawiki.org/">MediaWiki</a> 1.5 installation (you know, the software that runs <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>) and upgrading it to 1.12. Copying the files and upgrading proved to be pretty simple and painless so far as I can tell but backing up and restoring the MySQL DB between version 3.23.58 and 5.0.51a got me a little concerned. I wanted to copy over an archive of the /var/lib/mysql/mediawiki db data directory and restart MySQL but that didn't work. It has in the past when going from a 3.x to a 4.x but I may have been pushing my luck even then too.<br /><br />The best way I found to do this though is to use <a href="http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/mysqldump.html">mysqldump</a>. I have used this before but I always forget all the syntax (which is why I am writing this post). mysqldump will spit out SQL statements to recreate your database and reinsert all the data. The problem with that is you then have a gigantic .sql file that you have to import into your new database. That feels a lot less foolproof to me than if just copying the data directory would (had it worked).<br /><br />Anyway, to backup your database with mysqldump, do this:<br /><br /><code>$ mysqldump -u root -p DBNAME > DBNAME.sql</code><br /><br />And then to restore that, do this:<br /><br /><code>$ mysql -u root -p<br />mysql>CREATE DATABASE NEW_DBNAME;<br />mysql> \q<br />Bye<br />$ mysql -u root -p NEW_DBNAME <><br /><br />There you have it. There is also the option to use <a href="http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/mysqlhotcopy.html">msqlhotcopy</a> but I didn't bother with it.<br /></code><h3>Other tutorials and thoughts:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.thewebhostinghero.com/tutorials/mysql-backup-and-restore.html">How To Backup And Restore A MySQL Database Through Command Line</a></li><li><a href="http://sgowtham.net/blog/2008/04/04/backing-up-and-restoring-mysql-databases/">Backing Up And Restoring MySQL Databases Scripts</a></li><li><a href="http://www.fabent.co.uk/blog/2008/04/15/faster-mysql-backup/">Faster MySQL backup</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://www.colestock.com/blogs/2008/03/mysql-backup-and-recovery-using.html">MySQL: Backup and Recovery using innobackup</a> (looks bad in Firefox though)</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-7803585095258696057?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-87470428631716780342008-05-13T22:01:00.004-04:002008-12-10T12:44:43.445-05:00It was announced today that there is a <a href="http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/13/1533212">critical issue with OpenSSL packages in Debian</a> based distributions such as <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2008-May/000705.html">Ubuntu</a>:<br /><blockquote>A weakness has been discovered in the random number generator used by OpenSSL on Debian and Ubuntu systems. As a result of this weakness, certain encryption keys are much more common than they should be, such that an attacker could guess the key through a brute-force attack given minimal knowledge of the system. This particularly affects the use of encryption keys in OpenSSH, OpenVPN and SSL certificates.</blockquote>Be sure to check update manager and download the latest updates!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCpGkWTLDvI/AAAAAAAAAzI/rd6VMLzG-Es/s1600-h/openssl+security+issue.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCpGkWTLDvI/AAAAAAAAAzI/rd6VMLzG-Es/s320/openssl+security+issue.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200046310027890418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCrsLGTLDwI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/mjFNHdfO90s/s1600-h/generating+new+ssl+cert.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCrsLGTLDwI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/mjFNHdfO90s/s320/generating+new+ssl+cert.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200228395166404354" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8747042863171678034?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-19467116551152791442008-05-11T20:33:00.001-04:002008-12-10T12:44:43.972-05:00I'm doing a little work on a website at the moment but the menu looks terrible in Linux. On Windows it is nice and fits on one line. On Linux the menu breaks to a second line and looks TERRIBLE!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Before Microsoft's TrueType core fonts</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCeQHGTLDtI/AAAAAAAAAy4/IGWFatNZarI/s1600-h/before+ms+core+fonts.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCeQHGTLDtI/AAAAAAAAAy4/IGWFatNZarI/s320/before+ms+core+fonts.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199282746447040210" border="0" /></a><br />The reason for this is I am using 'Trebuchet MS' as the font in my style sheet. Since Ubuntu Linux does not have that font installed, it goes with my backup of sans-serif. The best way to fix this is to install the package <a href="http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/">msttcorefonts</a>. That will install a number of MS fonts including: Andale Mono, Arial Black, Arial, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman, Trebuchet, Verdana and Webdings<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">After Microsoft's TrueType core fonts</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCeQTGTLDuI/AAAAAAAAAzA/8ixejOgIwWI/s1600-h/after+ms+core+fonts.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCeQTGTLDuI/AAAAAAAAAzA/8ixejOgIwWI/s320/after+ms+core+fonts.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199282952605470434" border="0" /></a>If you are designing a web page you can, and should, pick another backup font too because you can't expect most people running Linux to have these fonts installed. In my case, I went with Helvetica as the backup and then sans-serif as the final failsafe. That at least keeps my menu on 1 line.<br /><br />And for a much more in depth read on all the fonts and what looks like what on Linux, check out this great article: <a href="http://mondaybynoon.com/2007/04/02/linux-font-equivalents-to-popular-web-typefaces/">Linux Font Equivalents to Popular Web Typefaces</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1946711655115279144?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-10764959501999229872008-05-10T21:16:00.000-04:002008-12-10T12:44:44.155-05:00Have you noticed the new update icons in Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)? The old update icon was an orange box with what looks like a white sun in the middle. It was OK. The new icon is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram">nine sided star (enneagram)</a> with a white arrow pointing down. I have also noticed a new "Critical Updates" icon that I never saw in Ubuntu 7.10 (Was it there and I just never saw it?). The critical updates icon is a big red down arrow with an exclamation mark in the middle.<br /><br />I really do like the new icons. They look a lot more defined and get your attention better. I especially like that there is an icon that indicates critical updates now too. I do wish the critical updates icon was more like the regular update icon though. They are so different that it is not obvious at first that they both signify updates are available. Maybe Ubuntu could use the same icon and change the color and/or the little icon inside the icon.<br /><br />My one other beef with the new update icon is it also looks like the application crash notification icon. I think it is a bad idea to make both of those icons look so similar. Check out the image below to see what I mean.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The new update icons in Ubuntu<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">(click on the image for the full size version,<br />PNGs don't resize well!)</span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCZHOczHFmI/AAAAAAAAAyo/GtYL4yfBGH4/s1600-h/update+manager+icons.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SCZHOczHFmI/AAAAAAAAAyo/GtYL4yfBGH4/s400/update+manager+icons.png" alt="Ubuntu 8.04 Update Icons" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198921133420123746" border="0" /></a><br />So what do you think of the new icons?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1076495950199922987?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-3784655649034514052008-05-08T13:09:00.002-04:002008-05-08T13:21:02.275-04:00I read a post over at CNet a while ago that <a href="http://www.cnet.com/8301-13846_1-9920202-62.html">Study Finds "Free Open Source Software Is Costing Vendors $60 Billion"</a>. Granted I have not read the $1,000 report but the title is a very naive assessment of the cost and benefits of Open Source software.<br /><br />I imagine the argument in the report goes something like this: You can get a free and open source <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/node&amp;id=599&amp;t=219">web browser</a>, <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">web server</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux">operating system</a>, <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">office suite</a>, <a href="http://www.mysql.com/">database</a> or <a href="http://www.postgresql.org/">two</a>, <a href="http://filezilla-project.org/">ftp client</a>, <a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">im client</a>, <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/node&amp;id=599&amp;t=177">email client</a>, <a href="http://www.7-zip.org/">file de/compression utility</a>, <a href="http://www.gimp.org/">image editor</a>, <a href="http://www.clamav.net/">anti virus</a>, <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/">PDF generator</a>, etc. (the list could go on almost forever) so you don't buy the commercial version. Not buying the commercial version is $60,000,000,000 worth of unsold software. That argument is likely true in a lot of instances. Why would someone pay for software when they could get software that meets the same needs for free?<br /><br />The biggest issue I have with this assessment though is it treats the use of Open Source over commercial software as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-sum">zero sum</a>. The idea that if you use Apache instead of buying IIS, Microsoft just lost X dollars in revenue (add it to the $60 billion) and you saved X in expenses, The End. But if you are also a commercial software vendor, which is very possible, then you can use the money you saved to develop your commercial application and make many multiples of X more. If you are not a commercial software vendor then you just saved money that you can spend on a better more specialized software package. Sure Microsoft got a smaller piece of the pie (or no pie) but thanks to the money you saved and were able to invest in your own product or spend on some other software you could not have bought otherwise, the pie is now considerably larger.<br /><br />Open source software also raises the bar for commercial software leading to better, more useful software and ultimately more software sales. When Microsoft sees that Apache is a serious competitor to IIS, they can either improve IIS so it is better than Apache or they can ditch it and focus on improving their more profitable software like Windows and Office. Do you remember how it took Microsoft forever and a day to get from IE 6 to 7? Do you know why? They didn't have any reason to until Firefox became serious competition. Open Source software raises the bar for commercial software that competes with it and that is good for all consumers. Open Source provides the basics and lets commercial vendors concentrate on the specialized. The Gimp certainly has not killed Photoshop.<br /><br />And one last note. What about all the revenue from services provided by the companies that back Open Source software. IBM, Red Hat and others are doing pretty well.<br /><h3>What are others saying?</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.smbtechadvice.com/2008/04/free-and-open-source-software-costing.html">Free and Open Source Software Costing Vendors $60 Billion?</a></li><li><a href="http://theopensourcewriter.blogspot.com/2008/04/accurate-market-share-statistics-and-60.html">Accurate market share statistics and The $60 Billion dollar question</a></li><li><a href="http://jcoehoorn.vox.com/library/post/open-source-costs-vendors-60-billion.html">Open Source costs vendors $60 Billion?</a></li><li><a href="http://weibel-lines.typepad.com/weibelines/2008/04/open-source-as.html">Open Source as an Industry</a></li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-378465564903451405?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-34611359145971519592008-05-04T01:28:00.004-04:002008-12-10T12:44:45.169-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB02VW_uGhI/AAAAAAAAAxo/0JEqVx3e1uE/s1600-h/image+resizer+powertoy+windows.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB02VW_uGhI/AAAAAAAAAxo/0JEqVx3e1uE/s200/image+resizer+powertoy+windows.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196369285633415698" border="0" /></a>Today I wanted to post some pictures to a site but to upload them I needed them to be considerably smaller. I know lots of ways to resize images in Linux but I needed an <span style="font-style: italic;">easy</span> way to resize them. In Windows, I am used to using the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx">Image Resizer Power Toy</a>. (Why is that not a default feature?) The image resizer in Windows allows me to just right click on one or more images and resize them to any number of sizes. That is pretty handy and a feature I was looking for in Linux too. Sadly, there is not one already installed by default. I knew I could use the Gimp to do what I wanted but that was overkill. I wanted a simple and fast solution.<br /><br />That was when I found the <a href="http://www.bitron.ch/software/nautilus-image-converter.php">nautilus-image-converter</a> package thanks to <a href="http://ubuntu-tutorials.com/2007/09/17/nautilus-image-converter-quickly-resize-or-rotate-images-within-nautilus/">this</a> and <a href="http://dailypackage.fedorabook.com/index.php?/archives/50-GUI-Thursday-Nautilus-image-converter-easy-image-resizing.html">this</a>. You can install it from Synaptic (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager) like I did or from the command line with apt-get like so (make sure Ubuntu Universe is enabled first under System -> Administration -> Software Sources):<br /><br /><code>sudo apt-get install nautilus-image-converter</code><br /><br />After installing it, you will need to restart Nautilus. The best way to do that would be to log out and log back in. You could also quit and restart Nautilus with the command<br /><code><br />nautilus -q; nautilus &amp;</code><br /><br />which will quit and then start it back up in the background. Once Nautilus has restarted it will load the new extension and you will be able to resize and rotate images from the right click menu. You can also resize and rotate multiple images if you select multiple images first. Both resizing and rotating allow you to take the action on the current image or make a copy and rename it with .resized or .rotated. The copy option is the default for both actions. See the screen shots below for all the options available.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The new resize and rotate options</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB1Gfm_uGiI/AAAAAAAAAxw/XPTANj3vh5Y/s1600-h/resize+image.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB1Gfm_uGiI/AAAAAAAAAxw/XPTANj3vh5Y/s400/resize+image.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196387053913119266" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The resize image(s) dialog</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB1H6m_uGjI/AAAAAAAAAx4/F9kNCOYCF6Q/s1600-h/resize+image+dialog.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB1H6m_uGjI/AAAAAAAAAx4/F9kNCOYCF6Q/s320/resize+image+dialog.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196388617281215026" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The rotate image(s) dialog</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB1H-2_uGkI/AAAAAAAAAyA/2dscIdYaRH8/s1600-h/rotate+image+dialog.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SB1H-2_uGkI/AAAAAAAAAyA/2dscIdYaRH8/s320/rotate+image+dialog.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196388690295659074" border="0" /></a>There you have it. Easy image resize and rotate in Gnome. And want it to be default, vote for the idea below:<br /><a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/685/"><br /><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/685/image/1/" /><br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3461135914597151959?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-3955502067972507432008-04-30T00:45:00.006-04:002008-12-10T12:44:45.329-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBhV5W_uGgI/AAAAAAAAAxI/cX0yZr5FltU/s1600-h/updates+galore+2.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBhV5W_uGgI/AAAAAAAAAxI/cX0yZr5FltU/s320/updates+galore+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194996614085614082" border="0" /></a>Ubuntu 8.04 has been out for almost a week now and I have seen a lot of mixed feelings on different blogs and forums. I would say most users love it but there is the occasional user with some strange and annoying problem. I've had my share of strange and annoying problems too. I've found a way around most of them though. But many of these problems may now be fixed. A bunch of updates have already started rolling out. These are not just security patches either, they are also lots of bug fixes. So be sure to pull down the latest greatest updates. I installed 29 of them today.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-395550206797250743?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-37132713167875118382008-04-28T23:46:00.002-04:002008-12-10T12:44:45.440-05:00Why in the world have I waited so long to play with Big Desktop?? I can't live without multiple monitors these days but in Linux I have dealt with a limited setup for a while. I've had my system setup with dual monitors but with dual X sessions too. This has kept me from being able to drag icons and windows between monitors. Fortunately things like Cut/Copy/Paste worked but it was less than desirable. I also could not open the same application in both windows so if I wanted a browser in each window one was Firefox and the other Epiphany.<br /><br />Tonight I decided to just mess with the <code>aticonfig</code> program that helps you setup your xorg.conf for ATI cards. I followed the Ubuntu forums thread on <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301941">Big Desktop</a> (but only part of the way) and now look what I have:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click for the full size 3200x1200 desktop image</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBaYdW_uGfI/AAAAAAAAAxA/-2jT1mNthmg/s1600-h/Big+Desktop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBaYdW_uGfI/AAAAAAAAAxA/-2jT1mNthmg/s400/Big+Desktop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194506850374916594" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Isn't that sweet? One interesting note is the screen is not really that large. The monitor on the right is a smaller resolution than on the left so really the gedit window is almost to the borders of the right monitor. I wonder what other tweaks I can get working. I only messed a little with this to get to this point. It is just so tedious fooling with my xorg.conf file!<br /><br />I see a lot of others have had success too (some more easily than others, lucky nvidia owners):<br /><ul><li><a href="http://jen3ral.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/ubuntu-804-ati-big-desktop/">Ubuntu 8.04, ATI, &amp; Big Desktop</a></li><li><a href="http://lovehateubuntu.blogspot.com/2008/04/dual-head-and-compiz-fusion.html">Dual Head and Compiz Fusion</a> (user not stuck with ATI like me)</li><li><a href="http://www.idude.org/2008/04/28/my-first-look-at-ubuntu-804-lts-as-a-desktop-and-server/">My first look at Ubuntu 8.04 LTS as a Desktop and Server</a> (another nvidia user)</li><li><a href="http://vibhurishi.blogspot.com/2008/04/ubuntu-804-hardy-heron.html">Ubuntu 8.04 : Hardy Heron</a> (I envy nvidia owners more now!)</li><li><a href="http://arulanandan.blogspot.com/2008/03/configuring-dual-monitor-on-ubuntu-710.html">Configuring Dual Monitor on Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon</a> (ati how-to)<br /></li></ul>Also, better background support would be nice here. The background I have now works well tiled. All the other single images I tried didn't work well split across screens. Vote for the brainstorm to have that fixed. Fortunately it may come sooner rather than later as <a href="http://code.google.com/soc/2008/">Google Summer of Code</a> has sponsored the GNOME project <a href="http://code.google.com/soc/2008/gnome/appinfo.html?csaid=89851A6B5EA21291">Individual Workspace Wallpapers</a> which might help some.<br /><a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/93/"><br /><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/93/image/1/" /><br /></a><br /><br />And for my future reference (and yours) and backup, here is my new /etc/X11/xorg.conf for my Big Desktop setup of an ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)] on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron (I have a <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/04/logitech-mx1000-mouse-on-ubuntu-804.html">Logitech MX1000 mouse</a> in there too).<br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 425px; height: 340px; text-align: left;"><br />#Section "InputDevice"<br /># Identifier "Configured Mouse"<br /># Driver "mouse"<br /># Option "CorePointer"<br /># Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"<br /># Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"<br /># Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"<br /># Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"<br />#EndSection<br /><br />Section "ServerLayout"<br /><br /> # Uncomment if you have a wacom tablet<br /> # InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"<br /> # InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"<br /> # InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"<br /># Inputdevice "Configured Mouse"<br /> Identifier "Default Layout"<br /> Screen 0 "aticonfig-Screen[0]" 0 0<br /> InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"<br /> InputDevice "Logitech MX1000"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Files"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Module"<br /> Load "glx"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br /> Identifier "Generic Keyboard"<br /> Driver "kbd"<br /> Option "CoreKeyboard"<br /> Option "XkbRules" "xorg"<br /> Option "XkbModel" "pc105"<br /> Option "XkbLayout" "us"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br /> Identifier "Logitech MX1000"<br /> Driver "evdev"<br /> Option "Name" "Logitech USB Receiver"<br /> Option "HWHEELRelativeAxisButtons" "7 6"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br /> Identifier "stylus"<br /> Driver "wacom"<br /> Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br /> Option "Type" "stylus"<br /> Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br /> Identifier "eraser"<br /> Driver "wacom"<br /> Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br /> Option "Type" "eraser"<br /> Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br /> Identifier "cursor"<br /> Driver "wacom"<br /> Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br /> Option "Type" "cursor"<br /> Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br /> Identifier "Generic Monitor"<br /> HorizSync 30.0 - 70.0<br /> VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0<br /> Option "DPMS"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br /> Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"<br /> Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"<br /> Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"<br /> Option "DPMS" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br /> Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[1]"<br /> Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"<br /> Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"<br /> Option "DPMS" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br /> Identifier "ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]"<br /> Driver "fglrx"<br /> Option "DesktopSetup" "horizontal"<br /> Option "Capabilities" "0x00000800"<br /> Option "PairModes" "0x0+0x0"<br /> Option "EnableMonitor" "crt1,tmds1"<br /> BusID "PCI:1:0:0"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br /> Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]"<br /> Driver "fglrx"<br /> BusID "PCI:1:0:0"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br /> Identifier "aticonfig-Device[1]"<br /> Driver "fglrx"<br /> BusID "PCI:1:0:0"<br /> Screen 1<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br /> Identifier "Default Screen"<br /> Device "ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]"<br /> Monitor "Generic Monitor"<br /> DefaultDepth 24<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br /> Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]"<br /> Device "aticonfig-Device[0]"<br /> Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"<br /> DefaultDepth 24<br /> SubSection "Display"<br /> Viewport 0 0<br /> Depth 24<br /> EndSubSection<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br /> Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[1]"<br /> Device "aticonfig-Device[1]"<br /> Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[1]"<br /> DefaultDepth 24<br /> SubSection "Display"<br /> Viewport 0 0<br /> Depth 24<br /> EndSubSection<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Extensions"<br /> Option "Composite" "0"<br />EndSection<br /></pre><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3713271316787511838?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-85104016476790410082008-04-27T02:40:00.000-04:002008-12-10T12:44:45.701-05:00A few days ago I was looking at the page for <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=68c48dad-bc34-40be-8d85-6bb4f56f5110&amp;displaylang=en">Windows XP SP3</a> and noticed some documentation at the bottom in a file format I had never heard of before. In addition to a PDF, there was an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML_Paper_Specification">XPS (XML Paper Specification)</a> available.<br /><br />XPS is a new competitor to PDF. It was <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/xps/default.mspx">developed by Microsoft</a> and included in Vista and Office 2007 (no wonder I have never heard of it before). They have <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070701-microsoft-submits-pdf-competitor-to-standards-body.html">submitted to the ECMA for standardization</a> but I don't have much hope in them using the ISO Standard stamp as much more than a selling point. Microsoft has not shown they intend to play nice with standards. Remember their <a href="http://www.news.com/2100-1023-941926.html">HTML extensions</a> and ActiveX<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish#Examples"></a>? And the <a href="http://www.griffinbrown.co.uk/blog/PermaLink,guid,3e2202cd-59a3-4356-8f30-b8eb79735e1a.aspx">latest crap with OOXML</a>? They like to "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish">Embrace, extend and extinguish</a>"<br /><br />Either way, if you are running Linux and need to view one of these files, I've only found one program so far that does it. The Gnome viewer <a href="http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=321868">Evince doesn't yet</a> but the <a href="http://okular.kde.org/">KDE4 viewer Okular</a> does. To install it on Ubuntu just use Synaptic. There is a lot to install since you have to have the KDE base libraries but other than that it is fairly simple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBQcfG_uGdI/AAAAAAAAAwU/CzNPMsNPBho/s1600-h/XPS+in+Okular.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBQcfG_uGdI/AAAAAAAAAwU/CzNPMsNPBho/s400/XPS+in+Okular.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193807591044422098" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8510401647679041008?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-88722683054607595712008-04-27T01:18:00.007-04:002008-04-27T21:48:24.455-04:00I <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/04/upgrading-to-ubuntu-804-lts-hardy-heron.html">upgraded to Ubuntu 8.04 tonight</a> but when I did, my mouse didn't work at all anymore! I just had a dead pointer. I was able to get it working previously under Ubuntu 7.10 <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/getting-my-logitech-mx1000-mouse-to.html">(Getting my Logitech MX1000 Mouse to Work, Fully, on Ubuntu 7.10</a>) but those settings no longer worked. After playing with the settings some more, removing "CorePointer" from the InputDevice line did it for me. So, I am going to write up a new, improved and simpler how-to for the Logitech MX1000 Mouse on Ubuntu 8.04 Linux (Hardy Heron). This may also work for other multiple button mice but I don't have any other multi button mice to find out.<br /><br />The very first thing to do is <span style="font-weight: bold;">BACKUP your /etc/X11/xorg.conf</span> file. Want a command for that? This will copy it to your home directory as xorg.conf.backup.<br /><br /><code>cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf ~/xorg.conf.backup</code><br /><br />If ever you need to go back to your working config, just login to the terminal failsafe mode and switch the destination and source for the command below (plus add sudo to the front). Like so:<br /><br /><code>sudo cp ~/xorg.conf.backup /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code><br /><br /><br />Now then, first thing to do is install or make sure you have <a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/xserver-xorg-input-evdev">evdev</a> installed. <a href="http://linux.die.net/man/4/evdev">evdev is a generic input driver</a> for keyboards and mice. (Read the man page I linked to for more detailed configuration options. Look most at the Absolute Axis Configuration section.) I think evdev is installed by default but run the line below to install it either way. If it is already installed it will just say so and not change anything.<br /><br /><code>sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-evdev</code><br /><br />Next you will want to edit your xorg.conf file. You must edit it with super privileges or you will not be able to save it. To edit it in gedit, issue this command:<br /><br /><code>gksu gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code><br /><br />Add a new MX1000 InputDevice section and comment out the old mouse InputDevice section. I first thought you didn't have to comment out the old mouse section but if you don't then your buttons will get mapped to 3 and 2 instead of 9 and 8 and they will not work for forward and back.<pre>Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "Logitech MX1000"<br />Driver "evdev"<br />Option "Name" "Logitech USB Receiver"<br />Option "HWHEELRelativeAxisButtons" "7 6"<br />EndSection<br /><br />#Section "InputDevice"<br /># Identifier "Configured Mouse"<br /># Driver "mouse"<br /># Option "CorePointer"<br /># Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"<br /># Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"<br /># Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"<br /># Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"<br />#EndSection<br /></pre>The "Name" option must match the device name exactly. It is case sensitive. To determine your device name, run:<br /><br /><code>cat /proc/bus/input/devices</code><br /><br />You will get output (along with other devices) that looks something like this:<pre>I: Bus=0003 Vendor=046d Product=c50e Version=2500<br />N: Name="Logitech USB Receiver"<br />P: Phys=usb-0000:00:1d.3-2/input0<br />S: Sysfs=/devices/virtual/input/input5<br />U: Uniq=<br />H: Handlers=kbd mouse1 event5<br />B: EV=7<br />B: KEY=1f0000 0 100 38 c0000000 c0000 0 0 0<br />B: REL=103<br /></pre>The Name listed there is the same name that must match in your InputDevice section. Next, add the new Logitech InputDevice that you created in the ServerLayout section and comment out the old mouse. Do it this way so if you messed something up, you can comment out the new Logitech mouse and uncomment the old mouse to switch back.<pre># Inputdevice "Configured Mouse"<br />Inputdevice "Logitech MX1000"<br /></pre>Now just logout and log back in. Logging out seems to restart the XServer, a necessary step, but if that doesn't work you can use Ctrl + Alt + Backspace. Use caution as that will kill your X session immediately and all open programs will just get killed.<br /><br />If you have any problems with this, you might want to try my <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/getting-my-logitech-mx1000-mouse-to.html">previous write up</a> from when I was running Ubuntu 7.10. I upgraded from 7.10 -> 8.04 so I may have missed some necessary steps because I'd already done them previously. I don't think I did though.<br /><br />And for reference, my full /etc/X11/xorg.conf after I was done:<br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 425px; height: 340px; text-align: left;">Section "ServerLayout"<br /><br /># Uncomment if you have a wacom tablet<br /># InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"<br /># InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"<br /># InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"<br />Identifier "Default Layout"<br />screen 0 "aticonfig-Screen[0]" 0 0<br />screen "aticonfig-Screen[1]" rightof "aticonfig-Screen[0]"<br />Inputdevice "Generic Keyboard"<br /># Inputdevice "Configured Mouse"<br />Inputdevice "Logitech MX1000"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Files"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Module"<br />Load "glx"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "Generic Keyboard"<br />Driver "kbd"<br />Option "CoreKeyboard"<br />Option "XkbRules" "xorg"<br />Option "XkbModel" "pc105"<br />Option "XkbLayout" "us"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "Logitech MX1000"<br />Driver "evdev"<br />Option "Name" "Logitech USB Receiver"<br />Option "HWHEELRelativeAxisButtons" "7 6"<br />EndSection<br /><br />#Section "InputDevice"<br /># Identifier "Configured Mouse"<br /># Driver "mouse"<br /># Option "CorePointer"<br /># Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"<br /># Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"<br /># Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"<br /># Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"<br />#EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "stylus"<br />Driver "wacom"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br />Option "Type" "stylus"<br />Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "eraser"<br />Driver "wacom"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br />Option "Type" "eraser"<br />Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "cursor"<br />Driver "wacom"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br />Option "Type" "cursor"<br />Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br />Identifier "Generic Monitor"<br />Horizsync 30.0 - 70.0<br />Vertrefresh 50.0 - 160.0<br />Option "DPMS"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"<br />Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"<br />Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"<br />Option "DPMS" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[1]"<br />Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"<br />Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"<br />Option "DPMS" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br />Identifier "ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]"<br />Driver "fglrx"<br />Busid "PCI:1:0:0"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]"<br />Driver "fglrx"<br />Busid "PCI:1:0:0"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Device[1]"<br />Driver "fglrx"<br />Busid "PCI:1:0:0"<br />Screen 1<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br />Identifier "Default Screen"<br />Device "ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]"<br />Monitor "Generic Monitor"<br />Defaultdepth 24<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]"<br />Device "aticonfig-Device[0]"<br />Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"<br />Defaultdepth 24<br />SubSection "Display"<br />Viewport 0 0<br />Depth 24<br />EndSubSection<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[1]"<br />Device "aticonfig-Device[1]"<br />Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[1]"<br />Defaultdepth 24<br />SubSection "Display"<br />Viewport 0 0<br />Depth 24<br />EndSubSection<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Extensions"<br />Option "Composite" "0"<br />EndSection<br /></pre><br />And one more thing, a good program to test out your mouse buttons to figure out what is what is <code>xev</code>. The forward and back buttons should show as 9 and 8. Your left button is 1, right is 3 and pressing the scroll wheel is 2.<br /><br /><a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/120/"><br /><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/120/image/1/" /><br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8872268305460759571?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-48033263978838431752008-04-26T21:24:00.003-04:002008-12-10T12:44:47.383-05:00Ubuntu 8.04 has been out for a day and a half now so I figured it was time to upgrade. I've documented my <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/02/upgrade-to-ubuntu-804-hardy-heron-alpha.html">previous attempts at upgrading to 8.04 Alpha 4</a> on my laptop but that did not go so well. The upgrade failed and once I finally was able to get the upgrade to work, things like my <a href="http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43">lame Broadcom wireless card</a> no longer worked. I've since installed a Beta and upgraded to the final on my laptop and it is working better than ever. <a href="http://compiz.org/">Compiz</a> now works on it and the wireless that used to have problems when connecting to WPA access points now works as expected.<br /><br />So I had high hopes for my desktop. It already worked pretty well. My only 2 issues with it are no Compiz (but I can live without that) and my dual monitors are setup as 2 separate sessions instead of "<a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301941">Big Desktop</a>". That means I can't move windows between them and if some application like Firefox is running in one window it can not run in the other. I imagine I could fix that with enough work though.<br /><br />So here is how the upgrade went.<br /><br />First, to start the upgrade you just have to run the update manger with the -d option (<code>update-manager -d</code>). Last time I tried this I ran it from a terminal window but since then I have learned about Alt + F2 to open the GNOME "Run Application" box.<span style="font-style: italic;"> (Screen shot below taken after the fact.)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPNz2_uGXI/AAAAAAAAAvk/Inggvz4jmSo/s1600-h/run+update+manger.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPNz2_uGXI/AAAAAAAAAvk/Inggvz4jmSo/s320/run+update+manger.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193721086108113266" border="0" /></a><br />My first attempt resulted in my not having enough disk space.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPOHm_uGYI/AAAAAAAAAvs/OKuFKkaf9J8/s1600-h/not+enough+disk+space.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPOHm_uGYI/AAAAAAAAAvs/OKuFKkaf9J8/s320/not+enough+disk+space.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193721425410529666" border="0" /></a><br />After deleting/moving a bunch of files, I was off again.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPO-2_uGZI/AAAAAAAAAv0/rjAA0snZGmE/s1600-h/update+available.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPO-2_uGZI/AAAAAAAAAv0/rjAA0snZGmE/s320/update+available.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193722374598302098" border="0" /></a><br />It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to download the 1,333 packages to upgrade, 40 minutes to install them all and another 3 minutes to cleanup. There were a few dialogs along the way. I had to decide what to do with my Samba "smb.conf" file (I kept the old one) and what to do with my Grub config file "menu.lst" (I overwrote it). I then was asked if I wanted to remove the 57 obsolete packages and I decided sure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPRaG_uGbI/AAAAAAAAAwE/-kKi_KPcnnE/s1600-h/Screenshot-Distribution+Upgrade.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPRaG_uGbI/AAAAAAAAAwE/-kKi_KPcnnE/s320/Screenshot-Distribution+Upgrade.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193725041772992946" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPRmG_uGcI/AAAAAAAAAwM/-PqqoVZBvpY/s1600-h/start+upgrade.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPRmG_uGcI/AAAAAAAAAwM/-PqqoVZBvpY/s320/start+upgrade.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193725247931423170" border="0" /></a><br />When I rebooted though, my mouse did not work. It looks like I am going to have to figure out how to make my <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/getting-my-logitech-mx1000-mouse-to.html">MX1000 work in Linux</a> again. Fortunately I had just commented out the old config so I switched my comments and wala, I have a mostly working mouse. The video was also super slow (but Compiz was enabled). I opened up the restricted drivers manager and the proprietary ATI drivers were enabled but not in use. Strange.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPQ5W_uGaI/AAAAAAAAAv8/9KM70dhiIX8/s1600-h/Screenshot-Hardware+Drivers.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SBPQ5W_uGaI/AAAAAAAAAv8/9KM70dhiIX8/s320/Screenshot-Hardware+Drivers.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193724479132277154" border="0" /></a><br />This is where everything went downhill fast. I disabled the driver (it was uninstalled) and then re-enabled it (it was reinstalled) and restarted. It has been so many configuration changes and restarts now, I don't even remember what didn't work. I think the first time it worked as before the upgrade except I didn't have window borders. Booting in safe mode sort of worked. I tried some other settings that failed and got a message that I needed to install "get-edid" but after a quick <code>sudo apt-get install read-edid</code> all I fixed was there was no error listed in the same exact screen as before. At some point too, I installed the xserver-xgl but that just caused other problems so I removed it. My favorite problem of them all though was when I got it sort of working, the screen saver would lock up the primary screen and nothing but a Ctrl + Alt + Delete would fix it.<br /><br />So now I have a semi working setup, I think, based on my old config. Here is is for when I screw things up again, I will have a backup online:<br /><br />/etc/X11/xorg.conf with Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and an ATI Radeon X300<br /><br /><pre style="border: 1px inset ; margin: 0px; padding: 6px; overflow: auto; width: 425px; height: 340px; text-align: left;"># xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)<br />#<br /># This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using<br /># values from the debconf database.<br />#<br /># Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.<br /># (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)<br />#<br /># This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*<br /># if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg<br /># package.<br />#<br /># If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated<br /># again, run the following command:<br /># sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg<br /><br />Section "ServerLayout"<br /><br /># Uncomment if you have a wacom tablet<br /># InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"<br /># InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"<br /># InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"<br />Identifier "Default Layout"<br />screen 0 "aticonfig-Screen[0]" 0 0<br />screen "aticonfig-Screen[1]" rightof "aticonfig-Screen[0]"<br />Inputdevice "Generic Keyboard"<br />Inputdevice "Configured Mouse"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Files"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Module"<br />Load "glx"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "Generic Keyboard"<br />Driver "kbd"<br />Option "CoreKeyboard"<br />Option "XkbRules" "xorg"<br />Option "XkbModel" "pc105"<br />Option "XkbLayout" "us"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "Configured Mouse"<br />Driver "mouse"<br />Option "CorePointer"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"<br />Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"<br />Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"<br />Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "stylus"<br />Driver "wacom"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br />Option "Type" "stylus"<br />Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "eraser"<br />Driver "wacom"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br />Option "Type" "eraser"<br />Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "InputDevice"<br />Identifier "cursor"<br />Driver "wacom"<br />Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"<br />Option "Type" "cursor"<br />Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br />Identifier "Generic Monitor"<br />Horizsync 30.0 - 70.0<br />Vertrefresh 50.0 - 160.0<br />Option "DPMS"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"<br />Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"<br />Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"<br />Option "DPMS" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Monitor"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[1]"<br />Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"<br />Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"<br />Option "DPMS" "true"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br />Identifier "ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]"<br />Driver "fglrx"<br />Busid "PCI:1:0:0"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]"<br />Driver "fglrx"<br />Busid "PCI:1:0:0"<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Device"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Device[1]"<br />Driver "fglrx"<br />Busid "PCI:1:0:0"<br />Screen 1<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br />Identifier "Default Screen"<br />Device "ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]"<br />Monitor "Generic Monitor"<br />Defaultdepth 24<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]"<br />Device "aticonfig-Device[0]"<br />Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"<br />Defaultdepth 24<br />SubSection "Display"<br /> Viewport 0 0<br /> Depth 24<br />EndSubSection<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Screen"<br />Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[1]"<br />Device "aticonfig-Device[1]"<br />Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[1]"<br />Defaultdepth 24<br />SubSection "Display"<br /> Viewport 0 0<br /> Depth 24<br />EndSubSection<br />EndSection<br /><br />Section "Extensions"<br />Option "Composite" "0"<br />EndSection<br /></pre><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4803326397883843175?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-30078157276913057522008-04-20T20:32:00.006-04:002008-04-21T11:46:28.221-04:00<div style="float: right;"><br /><a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/6298/"><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/6298/image/1/" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/4438/"><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/4438/image/1/" /></a><br /></div>I've been wondering since the <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyHeron/Alpha3">alpha 3 release notes</a> what Firefox 3 beta was doing as the default browser in Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron), due out on April 24th, a mere 4 days away (<a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyHeron/RC">RC notes</a>). I wonder this because the final Firefox release is not expected to be <a href="http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2008/03/firefox-3-expected-for-june/">released until about June</a>. It seems odd to me to include beta software as the default for a <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LTS">LTS</a> release that will be supported for 3 years. It seems a little odd for most any release really.<br /><br />I am assuming though that as subsequent betas, release candidates and the final release are made available, those packages will make their way into the OS as updates and that the Firefox version in Ubuntu 8.04 will ultimately be Firefox 3 (not stuck at beta 5).<br /><br />I have not seen any formal discussion or mention of this decision but there have been a few Brainstorm ideas (see images above) concerning the issue and a 12+ page discussion on the Ubuntu Forums (<a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=734176">Ubuntu 8.04 - worried about Firefox 3 Beta</a><strong></strong>).<br /><br />Most people, and I am one of them, think the 2 months of dealing with a beta version is well worth it in the long run. Do we really want people to be using Firefox 2 in 2011 because Firefox 3 was only 2 months away from a final release in early 2008? Mozilla certainly will not be supporting it anymore by then. This is one of the unfortunate side effects of time based releases but I think Ubuntu made the right decision.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3007815727691305752?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-84788855761406017852008-04-20T12:58:00.000-04:002008-12-10T12:44:48.024-05:00While preparing to run the scanning software for the <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/04/let-world-know-how-much-oss-you-are.html">Open Source Census</a> on my wife's Vista laptop, I realized another reason why I am switching to Linux instead of the next Microsoft OS: Extracting zip files is ridiculously slow!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SAoLojKEgoI/AAAAAAAAAu8/M_GyFwgJehw/s1600-h/Vista+unzip+is+slow+as+dirt.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SAoLojKEgoI/AAAAAAAAAu8/M_GyFwgJehw/s400/Vista+unzip+is+slow+as+dirt.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190974311758070402" border="0" /></a><br />When extracting the 43 MB archive that contains just over 14,700 items and about 100 MB of data, Vista took an eternity in comparison. Extracting this file on my old slow laptop (Pentium M, 1.4 GHz) running Ubuntu 8.04 took 35 seconds, on a slow old (6 years old, Pentium 4, 1.4 GHz) XP desktop extracting this file took about 2 minutes, on the newest computer in the house (less than a year old, Core 2 Duo 1.5 GHz), it took well over 20 minutes!! That is Vista for you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SAoMlTKEgpI/AAAAAAAAAvE/h2y0TvBXZiI/s1600-h/system+info.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SAoMlTKEgpI/AAAAAAAAAvE/h2y0TvBXZiI/s400/system+info.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190975355435123346" border="0" /></a><br />This is the release version of Vista and not service pack 1 so maybe the problem has been fixed. That is no excuse for something this slow though in a release product. Vista is over 10 times slower than XP and 34 times slower than Ubuntu 8.04 for this particular file. Did no one test extracting files before releasing Vista? Surely they would have noticed how slow it was.<br /><br />I am not alone in noticing this either.<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.usefulconcept.com/index.cfm/2007/5/20/Vista-Zip-Slow-and-Broken">Vista Zip Slow and Broken?</a></li><li><a href="http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/09/07/unzip-extract-all-zip-files-in-vista-is-painfully-slow-workaround/">Unzip (Extract All) Zip Files in Vista is Painfully Slow - Workaround</a></li><li><a href="http://blog.dustinrue.com/archives/74">Extracting a file in Vista is surprisingly slow</a></li><li><a href="http://blog.meanpc.com/2008/01/09/microsoft-vista-archive-bug/">Microsoft Vista archive bug?</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/showthread.php?t=31211">Is Vista Slow at Decompressing ZIP Files or is it Just Me?</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://forums.thedailywtf.com/forums/p/4970/111073.aspx">Another Vista wtf</a><br /></li></ul>Does Vista SP1 fix this problem? I am a little too <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/21/AR2008032102367.html">scared to install it to find out</a>. Some are <a href="http://www.raoulpop.com/2008/04/17/vista-sp1-addresses-some-of-my-previous-frustrations/">happy with SP1</a>. This guy <a href="http://philiphendry.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/vista-unzipping-with-sp1/">still has the problem</a> and so does <a href="http://www.chuckshomeworld.com/?p=601">this guy who upgraded to SP1</a>. The real solution (though I have not tried it yet) seems to be install a new application to handle your archive files like <a href="http://www.rarsoft.com/">WinRAR</a> or <a href="http://www.7-zip.org/">7-Zip</a>. Remember when we had to do that on Windows 98 and earlier? <span style="font-style: italic;">Moving back to move forward</span> should be the new Microsoft motto.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8478885576140601785?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-80774184982662144982008-04-19T10:26:00.001-04:002008-12-10T12:44:48.208-05:00I just read today about <a href="https://www.osscensus.org/">The Open Source Census</a>. It is a project aimed to get a better understanding of what and how much Open Source software is being used in a business setting. From <a href="https://www.osscensus.org/about.php">their about page</a>:<br /><blockquote>The primary goal of The Open Source Census is to promote the use of more open source software in the enterprise. We know that if we can show companies how much open source they and their peers are already using, they will feel comfortable using even more.<br /></blockquote>I've already submitted 3 systems (a Linux server (CentOS 3), Linux desktop (Ubuntu 7.10) and Windows XP desktop). All you have to do is download their scanning tool (it is about 45MB assuming you are without Java and Ruby), get a submission key and run it on your system. It took anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours for each of the 3 systems I ran it on today to finish the analysis.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SAkWVVoZxyI/AAAAAAAAAu0/RYUzzPMBupM/s1600-h/results+from+3+systems+scanned.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/SAkWVVoZxyI/AAAAAAAAAu0/RYUzzPMBupM/s400/results+from+3+systems+scanned.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190704601360877346" border="0" /></a><br />From their <a href="https://www.osscensus.org/summary-report-public.php">results so far</a> (there are only 619 unique systems at this point), 81% of people have <a href="http://www.zlib.net/">zlib</a> (a de/compression library), 80% have <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/">Firefox</a> and 75% have <a href="http://xerces.apache.org/xerces-j/">xerces</a> (Apache XML parser for Java). Those are the top 3.<br /><br />So help out by <a href="https://www.osscensus.org/app/index.php">running the scanner on your machines</a>.<br /><br />Want are others saying?<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144681/open_source_census_launches.html">Open Source Census Launches</a></li><li><a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62603.html">OpenLogic Kicks Off Open Source Head Count</a></li><li><a href="http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Ubuntu-takes-early-lead-in-open-source-census/0,130061733,339288249,00.htm">Ubuntu takes early lead in open source census</a></li><li><a href="http://www.news.com/Census-for-open-source-apps-kicks-off/2100-7344_3-6237719.html">Census for open-source apps kicks off</a></li><li><a href="http://linuxpoison.blogspot.com/2008/04/open-source-census-launches.html">Open Source Census Launches [blog post]</a></li></ul>And other similar projects/ideas:<br /><ul><li><a href="https://fedorahosted.org/smolt">Smolt</a> - A hardware tracking project mostly used by Fedora. It is supported on other platforms though. I have not tried it myself. Check out <a href="http://smolt.fedoraproject.org/">the results</a>.</li><li><a href="http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/07/16/participate-in-the-popularity-contest/">Ubuntu application popularity</a> - You can enable sending what you have installed to Ubuntu to keep track of the most popular applications. That is how they know how many stars to show under Add/Remove Applications.</li><li><a href="http://distrowatch.com/">Most popular Linux distributions</a> by page hit over at DistroWatch</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8077418498266214498?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-85526346988579868752008-04-12T20:26:00.001-04:002008-04-12T20:30:06.335-04:00I am borrowing a video camera this week for a project and I want to be able to edit video. The first program I decided to install was <a href="http://www.kinodv.org"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kino</span></a>. It seems pretty full featured so far and I am impressed. I wasn't able to pull down video over the 1394 (FireWire) interface (/dev/raw1394) at first though. I got the error message:<br /><br /><code>WARNING: raw1394 kernel module not loaded or failure to read/write /dev/raw1394!</code><br /><br />This was an easy fix. My problem was the latter. I could not read/write from/to the device. To fix that, open up a command line and do this:<br /><br /><code>sudo chmod a+rw /dev/raw1394 </code><br /><br />That will change the file permissions to allow all users read and write access. You can verify all users have read/write access now by doing this:<br /><br /><code>$ ls -l /dev/raw1394<br />crw-rw-rw- 1 root disk 171, 0 2008-04-12 19:56 /dev/raw1394</code><br /><br />(<a href="http://www.comptechdoc.org/os/linux/usersguide/linux_ugfilesp.html">File permissions explained</a>) The third set of <span style="font-style: italic;">rw</span> needs to be there.<br /><br />That is hopefully all there is to it for you. It would be nice if the <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kino/+bug/184710/+viewstatus">file permissions were automatically changed</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8552634698857986875?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-89669085296875577772008-04-10T02:16:00.003-04:002008-04-10T02:20:15.360-04:00I just got around to getting the 8.04 beta installed and now there are only 2 weeks until the final release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS!! I sure can tell too. It is solid on my laptop (more on that later).<br /><br /><center><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.ubuntu.com/files/countdown/display.js"></script><br /></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8966908529687557777?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-28224543882556968272008-04-08T03:39:00.000-04:002008-12-10T12:44:48.777-05:00Just a quick post before I go to bed. I finally got an <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyHeron/Beta">Ubuntu 8.04 beta</a> installed on my laptop with the proprietary video drivers installed and most importantly with wireless access working! For the wireless, all I really needed to do was install the b43-fwcutter package which actually downloaded and installed the firmware as part of the package installation. How nice is that! Using the wifi card with WPA seems to be pretty solid now. It was almost never usable before and I would always a have to connect to good old <span style="font-style: italic;">linksys</span> to get online. Shhh...<br /><br />I still do not think kindly of the Broadcom 4306 wireless card I have thanks to the lack of openness. I will be doing a lot more hardware research on future computer purchases!<br /><br />The last time I tried to upgrade to 8.04 it was <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/02/upgrade-to-ubuntu-804-hardy-heron-alpha.html">a disaster</a>. Today I started fresh with the <a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/dvd/current/">daily DVD image</a> from 4/5/08. I have to get a DVD because the drive in my laptop no longer reads CDs. Installing the DVD went fairly smoothly but then I realized I was just running 7.10 that pointed to the Hardy repositories so I had to preform an upgrade. ~600MB of packages downloaded later... The install/upgrade went well except <a href="http://www.mono-project.com/">Mono</a> (the Linux .NET implementation) didn't work so a few applications like F-Spot and Tomboy likely do not work either (I haven't tried them yet).<br /><br />Anyway, I need some sleep so here it is. Click on the image for the full resolution image.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R_sfKHdG6kI/AAAAAAAAAuE/ahHSZqm3h3k/s1600-h/Ubuntu+8.04+beta+on+the+laptop.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R_sfKHdG6kI/AAAAAAAAAuE/ahHSZqm3h3k/s400/Ubuntu+8.04+beta+on+the+laptop.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186773654507547202" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R_sg-HdG6lI/AAAAAAAAAuM/97ZUH25oBVE/s1600-h/how+many+hours+to+sleep.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R_sg-HdG6lI/AAAAAAAAAuM/97ZUH25oBVE/s400/how+many+hours+to+sleep.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186775647372372562" border="0" /></a>Ugh, the sun will be here way too soon. Thanks for the info there new world time clock applet.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2822454388255696827?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-80119884080188173212008-04-03T17:06:00.002-04:002008-04-03T17:16:52.396-04:00Many months ago I downloaded some <a href="http://www.jumphq.com/">Jump Little Children</a> live shows from the Internet Archive <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/JumpLittleChildren">Live Music Archive</a>. The files, of course, were in a lossless format but it was the older <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorten">Shorten</a> (*.shn) format instead of the newer and open <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC">FLAC</a>. Shorten has limited support in Linux (and Windows too) so instead of trying to play them as shn I decided to convert them to mp3.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Tappers: I know you hate when your lossless recordings are converted to mp3. Heck, the notes that come with the files explicitly say "</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">DO NOT ENCODE INTO MP3!</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">" I am going to do it anyway. I would go with FLAC since it is also lossless, creates smaller files than Shorten and is better supported but I still have problems with FLAC. First, it is still much larger than an mp3 and my hearing and/or audio systems are not good enough for it to matter to me. Second, FLAC does not play on my iPod so I would have to convert it to something else to listen to it there. I promise though that I will not distribute these crappy mp3 copies of your recording and I plan to keep a copy of the shn files around (or maybe a FLAC copy as an archive). Thanks and keep up the good work!</span><br /><br />I first installed the <a href="http://etree.org/shnutils/shntool/">shntool</a> package using Synaptic. <a href="http://stommel.tamu.edu/%7Ebaum/linux-music.html#converting">This page</a> showed me the command line arguments. But that didn't work as planned.<br /><pre>$ shntool conv -o wav *.shn<br />shntool [conv]: warning: failed to read data from input file using format: [shn]<br />shntool [conv]: + you may not have permission to read file: [jlc2003-02-14d1t01.shn]<br />shntool [conv]: + arguments may be incorrect for decoder: [shorten]<br />shntool [conv]: + verify that the decoder is installed and in your PATH<br />shntool [conv]: + this file may be unsupported, truncated or corrupt<br /></pre>I needed to <a href="http://etree.org/shnutils/shorten/">download the Shorten codec</a> too (shorten-3.6.1.tar.gz)... but would not compile because the <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=17033"><span style="font-style: italic;">C compiler cannot create executables</span></a>. Fixing that was a simple:<br /><pre>$ sudo apt-get install libc6-dev g++ gcc</pre>Then I was back to compiling and installing with:<br /><pre>$ ./configure<br />$ make<br />$ make check<br />$ sudo make install<br /></pre>And now I can convert the Shorten files to wav files (or FLAC but that takes more processing and I want to go to mp3 eventually so instead of going Shorten -> FLAC -> WAV -> mp3 I decided to just go Shorten -> WAV -> mp3. I did convert a few to FLAC which worked well. (To do FLAC, use <code>shntool conv -o flac *.shn</code>, wav is the default as you see below.)<br /><pre>$ shntool conv *.shn<br />Converting [jlc2003-02-14d1t01.shn] (0:35.65) --> [jlc2003-02-14d1t01.wav] : 100% OK<br />Converting [jlc2003-02-14d1t02.shn] (5:18.22) --> [jlc2003-02-14d1t02.wav] : 100% OK<br />...<br /></pre>To then convert your wav files to mp3 I would suggest <a href="http://lame.sourceforge.net/">lame</a> (LAME Ain't an Mp3 Encoder). What else is there anyway?<br /><pre>$ sudo apt-get install lame</pre>lame does not support batch processing thought like shntool did so I found a good <a href="http://www.linuxtutorialblog.com/post/solution-converting-flac-to-mp3">FLAC to mp3 post</a> that helped me write this little gem:<br /><pre>$ for file in *.wav; do $(lame -V2 "$file" "${file%.wav}.mp3"); done</pre>using <a href="http://linux.die.net/man/1/lame">the -V2 option</a> will encode the mp3s with variable bit rate at a fairly high quality (4 is default with a range of 0 to 10 and 0 being the best quality)<br /><br />Now instead of the about 1.2GB of shn files, I have 272MB of mp3s to listen to most anywhere.<br /><br />One final resource I found helpful was the <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=600781">shn in Ubuntu thread</a>. Enjoy your music.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8011988408018817321?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-88479530954755540322008-04-01T17:17:00.002-04:002008-12-10T12:44:49.088-05:00Wow! I have not posted in almost 3 weeks! Blogging takes a long time and I am short on time lately. I still don't have a ton of time so I am just going to take the easy way out and put up a new screenshot. Today's shot comes from my work desktop.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R_KljndG6jI/AAAAAAAAAt8/r7tGGUALd7Q/s1600-h/2008-04-01-New+Amazon+MP3+Downloader.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R_KljndG6jI/AAAAAAAAAt8/r7tGGUALd7Q/s400/2008-04-01-New+Amazon+MP3+Downloader.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184388152361937458" border="0" /></a><br />In it you see me downloading the Music For The Motion Picture Into The Wild by Eddie Vedder (you know, from Pearl Jam). When I first tried to download my album I got a message indicating there was a new release. The <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/amazon-mp3-downloader-for-linux-is-here.html">Linux Amazon MP3 Downloader</a> was upgraded from 1.0.2 to 1.0.3. Here are the release notes:<br /><pre>Released: 1.0.3<br />- Fixed bug where read-only .amz files weren't being loaded.<br /><br />Released: 1.0.2<br />- Initial release.<br /></pre>So they fixed that annoying bug keeping a lot of people from being able to download files. Nice work. I wonder how long ago they released it. I don't download a new album very often so I did not really keep up with it. I wrote about a <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/unable-to-download-with-amazon-mp3.html">work around for this problem</a> before on March 4, 2008 though. I only had problems myself when I was running a Firefox 3 beta.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8847953095475554032?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-80158012574672902032008-03-12T11:52:00.000-04:002008-03-12T11:54:44.970-04:00I'm excited. Gnome 2.22 is set to be released today. Check out <a href="http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.22/">what's new in the release notes</a>. The changes I find most useful are <a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2007/11/policykit_looser_limitations_t.html">PolicyKit</a> integration (so I don't have to type in my password if I just want to do something like view the partitions in <a href="http://gparted.sourceforge.net/">GParted</a>) and <a href="http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2007/09/28/gnome-2-22-planning-gio-and-gvfs-proposed-for-inclusion">GVFS</a>. Those changes will help and will continue to help make Gnome a more usable desktop in future releases.<br /><br />The official release hasn't been posted yet but once it is I plan to download a <a href="http://www.foresightlinux.com/gnome.html">Foresight LiveCD</a> to check it out for myself. Foresight is the distribution used as "the top choice when demonstrating the latest GNOME". Once the ISOs are posted, the Gnome 2.22 LiveCD torrents will be <a href="http://torrent.gnome.org/">here</a>.<br /><br />I won't be running Gnome 2.22 regularly until after Ubuntu 8.04, which will have it, is released on April 24th (as <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyReleaseSchedule">currently scheduled</a>). That is the date I am really looking forward to. It is funny to read the release notes of Gnome and Ubuntu because much of the new stuff in Ubuntu is because it is new in Gnome. The <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyHeron/Alpha6">Ubuntu 8.04 Alpha 6 release notes</a> mention PolicyKit, the new world clock applet and GVFS. All of those are also in the Gnome 2.22 release notes.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8015801257467290203?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-21629236450724996972008-03-11T14:43:00.007-04:002008-03-11T15:12:52.104-04:00No, it didn't really steal my password. I've never used G-Archiver or even heard of it before. But it did expose over 1,700 of other users' GMail login info.<br /><br />News hit today that a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206902839">G-Mail archive application steals user passwords</a> by sending them to an email account of one of the developers. Whoops! This was discovered by Dustin Brooks and <a href="http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001072.html">posted on the Coding Horror blog</a>. The publisher claims it was <a href="http://www.garchiver.com/what-happened.htm">debug code inadvertently left in</a> the final release. Possible but I doubt it.<br /><br />This shows yet another reason to run Open Source software. Security. I will not claim that malicious code hasn't ever made it's way into an Open Source software release or that Open Source is immune and never will have something like this happen but it is much less likely. With more independent users looking at the source, it is more likely that anything like this will get removed if someone is even successful enough to get the code included in the first place.<br /><br />Go read <a href="http://www.dwheeler.com/secure-programs/Secure-Programs-HOWTO/open-source-security.html">Is Open Source Good for Security?</a> for a more in depth review. An excerpt:<br /><blockquote>It's sometimes argued that open source programs, because there's no enforced control by a single company, permit people to insert Trojan Horses and other malicious code. Trojan horses can be inserted into open source code, true, but they can also be inserted into proprietary code. A disgruntled or bribed employee can insert malicious code, and in many organizations it's much less likely to be found than in an open source program. After all, no one outside the organization can review the source code, and few companies review their code internally (or, even if they do, few can be assured that the reviewed code is actually what is used). And the notion that a closed-source company can be sued later has little evidence; nearly all licenses disclaim all warranties, and courts have generally not held software development companies liable.</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2162923645072499697?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-56405341869178010282008-03-07T22:54:00.006-05:002008-03-08T01:25:49.440-05:00I've been having the annoying problem of file dates not being retained when copying or moving files to an NTFS partition in Ubuntu 7.10. This has particularly <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/downloading-pictures-from-my-camera.html">kept me from transferring files from my digital camera</a> in Linux because I don't want the file date lost and I don't want to put them on a non NTFS partition. It took me quite a bit of searching to figure out this was limited to a problem with NTFS and due to a bug in <a href="http://www.ntfs-3g.org/">ntfs-3g</a>. I also eventually found out that the <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/copying-or-moving-files-to-ntfs.html">problem in ntfs-3g has been fixed</a>.<br /><br />My problem at this point though was I could not find a way to get the new release installed. I didn't want to compile it myself. I found that a new version that fixed the problem was in the repository for the 8.04 release but attempting to install that didn't work due to other dependencies.<br /><br />At some point, I heard about <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuBackports">Ubuntu Backports</a>. <blockquote>The Backports team believes that the best update policy is a mix of Ubuntu's security-only policy AND providing new versions of some programs. Candidates for version updates are primarily desktop applications, such as your web browser, word processor, IRC client, or IM client. These programs can be updated without replacing a large part of the operating system that would affect stability of the whole system.</blockquote>And it turns out a <a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/gutsy-backports/otherosfs/ntfs-3g">new release package of ntfs-3g</a> that I need to fix my problem is right there in the <a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/gutsy-backports/">backports repository</a>. So now my problem is fixed and I still have a stable system. Nice!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-5640534186917801028?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-42205075826618687352008-03-06T12:03:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:50.028-05:00After figuring out how to have <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/ubuntu-auto-login-with-gnome.html">Gnome automatically login</a>, I realized I was still missing a few things in that process. I wanted some applications to auto start when I login too.<br /><br />The main application is my instant messaging client, <a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">Pidgin</a>. I ALWAYS forget to login so my friends and coworkers often wonder where I am when I would normally be at the computer or should be working, respectively. Adding new application is not to hard as long as you know where to look. The hardest part may be having to know where the application you want to launch is located on the file system.<br /><br />To start an application automatically on login, first go to <span style="font-weight: bold;">System -> Preferences -> Sessions</span>. That is where all the already configured startup programs are and where we will add our new one(s).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9Ackm4JupI/AAAAAAAAAtM/Rkzw_RVtsZ8/s1600-h/System-Preferences-Sessions.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9Ackm4JupI/AAAAAAAAAtM/Rkzw_RVtsZ8/s400/System-Preferences-Sessions.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174667387085634194" border="0" /></a><br />Then, obviously, click on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Add</span> to add the application you want to start up automatically.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9AdjW4JurI/AAAAAAAAAtc/G6i6fhuYh_s/s1600-h/Open+With+Select+application.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9AdjW4JurI/AAAAAAAAAtc/G6i6fhuYh_s/s200/Open+With+Select+application.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174668465122425522" border="0" /></a>This is the hardest part because you have to know the location of your application. There is no nifty select application like there is when you use "Open With" from right clicking on a file. I think there really should be! It works great. See the screen shot to the right for <span style="font-style: italic;">what I would like to see</span>.<br /><br />Instead you have to know or find your application. I didn't know where Pidgin was. The best way to find out is with the command <code>whereis</code>. Like so:<br /><pre>$ whereis -b pidgin<br />pidgin: /usr/bin/pidgin /usr/lib/pidgin</pre>(The -b switch means only look for binaries.) So pidgin is installed in /usr/bin/. Configure it like so below. All that matters of course is the Command. The rest is just to help you identify it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9Ac5m4JuqI/AAAAAAAAAtU/05VHTWMRhjQ/s1600-h/New+Startup+Program.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9Ac5m4JuqI/AAAAAAAAAtU/05VHTWMRhjQ/s400/New+Startup+Program.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174667747862887074" border="0" /></a>And there you have it:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9Aiu24JusI/AAAAAAAAAtk/_q7nOUOXeHk/s1600-h/Pidgin+added+to+sessions.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R9Aiu24JusI/AAAAAAAAAtk/_q7nOUOXeHk/s400/Pidgin+added+to+sessions.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174674160249060034" border="0" /></a><br />You can load anything there, including scripts. That is very helpful if you have specific things to configure at boot for your UI.<br /><br />And as a side note. The Windows boot up is a little easier to configure. All you have to do is stick your application in your Startup command folder (All Programs -> Startup) or use <code>msconfig</code>. But be careful when you add programs to startup or your system will run like my Windows system on startup which is horrible! It takes 6 1/2 minutes for my Windows system to get from the BIOS screen to a desktop with no hour glass mouse. Even then, trying to open MS Money takes another 5 minutes! In all, it takes 10-15 minutes to get to a usable desktop in Windows for me!! That is sad. Welcome to Ubuntu where I don't have that problem. Ubuntu is ready to go after about a minute. I just hope over time I don't get the problem in Linux.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4220507582661868735?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-83274329097079783702008-03-04T22:02:00.001-05:002008-03-04T22:06:32.245-05:00I have seen that a few people have had problems getting the new Amazon MP3 Downloader for Linux working for them. See <a href="http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2008/03/03/amazon-mp3-downloader-bad-news-good-news/">here</a> and <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4434518">here</a>.<br /><br />Although <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/amazon-mp3-downloader-for-linux-is-here.html">I didn't have any problems</a> on my main home system (Ubuntu 7.10), I did have problems on my Ubuntu system at work. The difference is that my system at work is running Firefox 3.0b3. (The other difference may be the download destination though, hmm...)<br /><br />The problem I have seen has to do with the .amz file that is downloaded. Once it is downloaded the downloader is launched with the downloaded file passed in. The problem I have seen is that <span style="font-weight: bold;">if the file is read-only, it will not work</span>. The worst part is the downloader doesn't give you any errors or anything. It just fails silently. I think the problem with it not working is Amazon needs to be able to delete the file as soon as it starts downloading to keep you from downloading multiple times using that file.<br /><br />So just <span style="font-weight: bold;">change the .amz file you downloaded from read-only to read-write and open it again</span> in the Amazon MP3 Downloader. Then, enjoy your new DRM free tunes in Linux.<br /><br />I really hope Amazon fixes this issue in a release soon or at least changes the application to give the user some feedback instead of failing silently. Of course the bigger question for me is why are files I download being set as read-only sometimes but not others? The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&amp;nodeId=200154210">FAQ</a> doesn't even provide any help yet.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8327432909707978370?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-82184225493976369352008-03-03T10:36:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:50.971-05:00A few months ago Amazon announced that they were working on a Linux version of their MP3 downloader. They already had a version for Windows and OS X. Well now it is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/help/amd.html?ie=UTF8&amp;forceos=LINUX">ready for download</a>. There are packages available for Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy, Debian 4 Etch, Fedora 8 and OpenSuSE 10.3.<br /><br />The reason this release matters is because <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070516-amazon-announces-drm-free-music-store.html">Amazon is selling <span class="small">256 kbps </span>DRM free MP3 tracks</a> for the same price ($0.89 and $0.99 per track) as the DRM restricted files on iTunes. I've only downloaded the occasionall free track from iTunes. I have not bought anything from them specifically because of the DRM. The other reason this Linux downloader release matters is because Linux users never could buy from iTunes anyway. It is a double win. Linux users can now download DRM free music that they can use on any device (everyone and everything supports mp3).<br /><br />So here is my brief experience with the Linux downloader. Installation was a breeze and making my first purchase was a pleasant experience.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I installed the amazonmp3.deb package in no time.<br />Dependencies were downloaded for me.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wPWefMdcI/AAAAAAAAAsM/cXD7tr2jLrs/s1600-h/Screenshot-Package+Installer+-+amazonmp3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wPWefMdcI/AAAAAAAAAsM/cXD7tr2jLrs/s400/Screenshot-Package+Installer+-+amazonmp3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173526950757299650" border="0" /></a><br />My first purchase was the<a href="http://ghosts.nin.com/main/home"> new Nine Inch Nails album, Ghosts I-IV</a>. I would have <a href="http://ghosts.nin.com/main/order_options">purchased it directly from NIN</a> for the same price ($5) but I wanted to show my support for Amazon's Linux release in addition to NIN. Trent Reznor has really impressed me with his actions when it comes to digital music delivery.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wPi-fMddI/AAAAAAAAAsU/StmJDl-kLGQ/s1600-h/Screenshot-Opening+Ghosts+I-IV.amz.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wPi-fMddI/AAAAAAAAAsU/StmJDl-kLGQ/s400/Screenshot-Opening+Ghosts+I-IV.amz.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173527165505664466" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wRUefMdeI/AAAAAAAAAsc/kB1KeNFjVPI/s1600-h/Screenshot-Amazon+MP3+Downloader.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wRUefMdeI/AAAAAAAAAsc/kB1KeNFjVPI/s400/Screenshot-Amazon+MP3+Downloader.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173529115420816866" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wRaefMdfI/AAAAAAAAAsk/llrp3WHZ8fI/s1600-h/Screenshot-Amazon+MP3+Downloader-1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wRaefMdfI/AAAAAAAAAsk/llrp3WHZ8fI/s400/Screenshot-Amazon+MP3+Downloader-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173529218500031986" border="0" /></a>My mp3s were saved in the default location ~/Music/Amazon MP3. That directory, of course, is configurable. My only problem with the download was there was no artwork included. Had I purchased it directly from NIN I would have also gotten a "PDF book covering the whole release" and a "digital extras pack with wallpapers, icons, and other graphics". Good thing I can still download that stuff for free from NIN. So Trent, don't use me as a statistic in your "Free Downloaders" because I paid for it, just not from you directly. If there wasn't a Linux downloader from Amazon I would have gotten it from your directly.<br /><br />I just tried to download the free version (first 9 of 36 tracks + artwork/pdf) and it just stopped after about 9mb into the 82.5mb download. I wonder if they are getting slammed with traffic or if the flakiness of my Internet connection over the last few days is to blame. I will try it again later I guess. I want all those little extras!<br /><br />One more thing about the download from NIN directly. You can also get <a href="http://flac.sourceforge.net/">lossless FLAC</a> or<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lossless"> lossless Apple</a> versions from them too. How awesome is that? I am not enough of an audiophile to want a FLAC version but I can appreciate the availability of one.<br /><br />This native Linux version sure beats the hacks and work arounds it took to buy music using <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&amp;iId=9265">the Windows version under Wine</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Windows version under Wine is not so great</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wWdufMdgI/AAAAAAAAAss/zijw18D-dXA/s1600-h/Amazon+MP3+Downloader.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8wWdufMdgI/AAAAAAAAAss/zijw18D-dXA/s400/Amazon+MP3+Downloader.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173534771892745730" border="0" /></a><br />P.S. - Ghosts I-IV is good stuff. It is all insturmental and though I would enjoy some lyrics, this is a nice change and great music to work to.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8218422549397636935?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-25260202429590131272008-03-03T01:02:00.002-05:002008-03-03T01:06:14.373-05:00I am sure by now everyone and their brother has shared their excitement in a blog post about <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu Brainstorm</a>. Well here comes another.<br /><br />Just over a year ago the massive computer manufacturer <a href="http://www.dell.com/">Dell</a> started a site called <a href="http://www.ideastorm.com/">Idea Storm</a>. The purpose of this site was to get feedback from customers about what they would like to see from future Dell products and services. The site has been a great success and has helped to lead to such things as <a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/05/24/32451.aspx">Dell selling preinstalled Ubuntu systems</a>, <a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/12/19/38924.aspx">Legal DVD playback on Dell Ubuntu systems</a> and <a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/06/13/18049.aspx">reducing all the preinstalled bloatware</a>. Companies listening to their customers, who would have thought!<br /><br />Ubuntu has <a href="http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1357">decided to do the same thing</a>. The are making it easier for us, their customers, to share our feedback.<br /><br />I've already voted on a few things like:<br /><ul><li>idea #21: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/21/">Professional-looking bootloader</a> </li><li>idea #403: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/403/">Improve file/folder sharing experience (Samba)</a> </li><li>idea #84: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/84/">System Monitor Default Shortcuts (Ctrl+Alt+Del / Ctrl/Shift/Esc)</a> </li><li>idea #1278: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/1278/">Update NTFS support</a> (a good part of my day was lost to <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/copying-or-moving-files-to-ntfs.html">an NTFS problem</a> today)</li><li>idea #762: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/762/">Better Wine integration</a> </li><li>idea #161: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/161/">Support multimedia keyboards</a> </li><li>idea #234: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/234/">Color Coded Update Notifier</a> </li><li>idea #1117: <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/1117/">"open a terminal" on the right click</a></li></ul>And the one I really want to see is related to file meta data sorting in the file manager. I want to see and be able to sort by all those MP3 ID3 tags and my photos EXIF data, amongst other metadata. I marked one as a duplicate but I accidentally did it the wrong way. I wanted the primary idea to be "<a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/1045/">idea #1045: Nautilus: support file metadata in alternate view modes</a>" instead. Go vote for this idea:<br /><br /><a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/119/"><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/119/image/1/" /></a> <a href="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/1045/"><img src="http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/1045/image/1/" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2526020242959013127?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-1694346933884498002008-03-02T17:05:00.002-05:002008-12-10T12:44:52.029-05:00<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE 3/7/08:</span> There is a <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-havent-i-heard-of-ubuntu-backports.html">fix thanks to Ubuntu Backports</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE 5/20/08:</span> I wrote this post under Ubuntu 7.10. <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/05/file-modification-dates-changed-in.html">File modifications dates aren't being preserved under 8.10 either</a> but for a different reason now.<br /><br />I complained a while back about how <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/downloading-pictures-from-my-camera.html">copying files from my digital camera</a> changed the modified date to the current time. Well now I can qualify that behavior a little more. It is a much more limited problem than I thought (though still a pretty big deal).<br /><br />It appears that this only happens when copying a file to an NTFS partition. Ubuntu has only supported <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/710tour">writing to NTFS partitions since release 7.10</a> (the current release I am running) thanks to <a href="http://www.ntfs-3g.org/">NTFS-3G</a> which has only been considered <span style="font-style: italic;">stable</span> for a year (since February 2007) after <a href="http://www.ntfs-3g.org/about.html">12 long years of development</a>.<br /><br />Want some proof and pretty screen shots? (I love some screen shots if you haven't noticed.) I created a file earlier today at 2:52:44 PM EST in my home folder on an ext3 partition.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The original file on an ext3 file system,<br />check out that modified date</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sWlefMdVI/AAAAAAAAAqs/V5rkm511v14/s1600-h/original+file.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sWlefMdVI/AAAAAAAAAqs/V5rkm511v14/s320/original+file.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173253430060021074" border="0" /></a><br />Then I searched to see if I could find a work around, walked the dog and posted on Ubuntu Forums for help. Look at the subsequent accessed dates but the modified date that is intact.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Copying to another location on the ext3<br />file system retains the modified date</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sXNufMdWI/AAAAAAAAAq0/u7ronc_VT8U/s1600-h/extf3+copy+retains+date.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sXNufMdWI/AAAAAAAAAq0/u7ronc_VT8U/s320/extf3+copy+retains+date.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173254121549755746" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Copying to my external USB<br />FAT32 drive also works</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sXyOfMdXI/AAAAAAAAAq8/INgk4vuZ6W8/s1600-h/fat32+works.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sXyOfMdXI/AAAAAAAAAq8/INgk4vuZ6W8/s320/fat32+works.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173254748614980978" border="0" /></a><br />But then I copy the same file to my NTFS partition. Look at that! Now the modified date is 4:15:15 PM EST instead of 2:52:44 PM EST like it should be and as it is when copying to ext3 and fat32.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">But copying the same exact file to my old<br />My Documents folder on the Windows NTFS<br />partition changes the modified date! Argh!!</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sZFefMdYI/AAAAAAAAArE/TqcBUhRDwcg/s1600-h/changed+modified+date+on+ntfs.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sZFefMdYI/AAAAAAAAArE/TqcBUhRDwcg/s320/changed+modified+date+on+ntfs.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173256178839090562" border="0" /></a><br />So how can I fix this? I don't know yet. I am not even sure if it is a bug or if it is just an unimplemented or misconfiguration. Either way, it is a problem. Lets hope someone in the Ubuntu <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=713268">forums has some ideas</a>.<br /><br />Ah, and after a little more research, this is in fact a known bug. <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nautilus/+bug/157396">#157396 - Copyng a file to a NTFS drive change the date and the time of the file</a> Unfortunately it also doesn't look like there is much interest in fixing it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE:</span> It looks like there actually was a lot of interest in fixing it by the ntfs-3g developers. Wohoo! I think it was fixed in the November 20, 2007 release (<a href="http://ntfs-3g.org/releases.html">release number 1.1120</a>). Ubuntu 7.10 is running version 1.913 from September 13, 2007. I didn't have much luck upgrading to that release so I am not positive this fixes it but that is what the release notes make it sound like. Also, that is the <a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/ntfs-3g">release of ntfs-3g currently in the Hardy 8.04 repository</a>.<br /><br />But then it gets even better! (And by better I mean worse.) If I copy the file on the command line using the <code>cp</code> command then the modified date gets updated regardless of the destination partition, fat32 and ext3 included. This is unlike the copy in Nautilus where the modified date remains the same, as expected. Thanks for the consistency. <span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE 2:</span> It was pointed out to me that you can use the -p switch when using cp to preserve the mode, ownership and timestamps. Why isn't that the default?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sjeefMdbI/AAAAAAAAAsE/a40Qz2x-Wig/s1600-h/command+line+copy+does+the+same+thing.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8sjeefMdbI/AAAAAAAAAsE/a40Qz2x-Wig/s400/command+line+copy+does+the+same+thing.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173267603452097970" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-169434693388449800?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-60979616702673382502008-02-29T22:43:00.009-05:002008-12-10T12:44:52.559-05:00Happy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_29">leap day</a>! Now back to your regularly scheduled program.<br /><br />I love metrics and statistics. I particularly love historical trends like the how the <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=EUR&amp;to=USD&amp;amt=1&amp;t=5y">Euro was once worth $1.10</a> in 2003 instead of the ridiculous $1.52 high it hit this week (a trip to Europe this summer is looking more and more expensive) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8joWufMdTI/AAAAAAAAAqc/U06wM2OdR_A/s1600-h/Browser+and+OS+Visits.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8joWufMdTI/AAAAAAAAAqc/U06wM2OdR_A/s400/Browser+and+OS+Visits.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172639649168651570" border="0" /></a>and how 59% of you (visitors to this site) are using Firefox on Linux (just based on OS, 66% are using Linux and just based on browser 80% are using Firefox).<br /><br /><br />I preface this post with all that so you will not think me too nerdy when I tell you I keep track of every mile I drive and every gallon of gas I burn in my car and then stick it in a spreadsheet and graph it. I know the min/max/average/median for the miles I drive between each fill up, my price per mile, my total cost per fill up, and the list goes on. I also know an average of how many miles and how much I spend on gas on a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis. I admit it is nerdy but it is neat to know and easy to keep track of!<br /><br />I used to keep track of all this data in an Excel spreadsheet until I moved to Linux and decided to just switch the file over to an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument">Open Document Spreadsheet (ods)</a>. That all went great. I even edited the file as an Excel sheet in <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">Open Office</a> for a while. But I do have some beef with Open Office and the culprit is charting in <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/product/calc.html">Calc</a>.<br /><br />I know that <a href="http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Chart2/Features2.3">charting in Calc has come a long way</a> and is still being <a href="http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Chart2">improved</a> upon. I applaud the developers and am thrilled that there exists such a high quality open source spreadsheet application. There are lots of little missing features in the current 2.3 release that I would like to see such as better looking chart defaults, trend lines and data label positioning. All of these things are being worked on but the one other thing I really want, I don't see in any development plans. I really want charts to fill up an entire worksheet as they do in Excel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8jmeOfMdSI/AAAAAAAAAqU/xXZbBTWsxLI/s1600-h/Excel+chart+location.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8jmeOfMdSI/AAAAAAAAAqU/xXZbBTWsxLI/s320/Excel+chart+location.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172637578994414882" border="0" /></a>Excel lets you place a chart in it's own worksheet. When a chart is configured to be it's own sheet it resizes based on the size of the application window. As far as I can tell, Open Office Calc doesn't support a feature like this yet. The best you can do now is stick your chart on it's own worksheet but once there it is set as a fixed size. I realize this is a small issue but shouldn't it also be fairly easy to implement? Maybe not but I sure hope it is and it makes it in to an upcoming release.<br /><br />See how my pretty graph impoted from Excel looks. Imagine how nice it would look it if filled up the whole window. By the way, this chart below shows the price I paid per gallon for gas since August 2004 and until I filled up this morning before work. I really wish it filled up the whole worksheet! :-)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8jpp-fMdUI/AAAAAAAAAqk/cbuIONMxkIM/s1600-h/Screenshot-Accord+Gas+Mileage+-+OpenOffice.org+Calc.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8jpp-fMdUI/AAAAAAAAAqk/cbuIONMxkIM/s400/Screenshot-Accord+Gas+Mileage+-+OpenOffice.org+Calc.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172641079392761154" border="0" /></a>See that first spike? That was a peak of $3.099/gal in September 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. The next spike was between May and August 2006. And the final bump there is just depressing... I paid $3.129 per gallon this morning. The most I have ever paid.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6097961670267338250?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91142597906305456142008-02-27T13:55:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:53.537-05:00Updating your operating system these days is just a fact of life. There are always bugs to fix, security holes to patch and little new features (and sometimes big features, think XP SP2) to push down to users. Both Windows and Ubuntu have update mechanisms in place so users don't have to periodically check and install updates manually. I think if automatic updates didn't exist, most users would never update their systems.<br /><br />Before Windows had good updates they also had the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Red_worm">Code Red worm</a> that affected IIS in July 2001 and Linux had the <a href="http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2002-27.html">OpenSSL Slapper worm</a> in September 2002. My home Linux web server got hit by Slapper. The system did have an update feature (the Red Hat Network!) but it was not setup to be automatic. I am not sure why I even had SSL running and open to the world since I didn't use it but that is another story. (If you want to know a little more history about major computer viruses and worms, this Wikipedia page is interesting and helpful: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_notable_computer_viruses_and_worms">Timeline of notable computer viruses and worms</a>.)<br /><br />Back to my point - Ubuntu's update manager works well and is not annoying but Windows update makes me want to punch a hole in the wall. I have both Ubuntu and Windows configured to check for updates periodically. Windows checks on whatever schedule Microsoft decided was good and my Ubuntu boxes check daily as <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> decided was good. I have both configured to go ahead and download updates and let me know when they are ready to be applied.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Ubuntu Update Manager Notification</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WSQyzChrI/AAAAAAAAAp0/zWiErWNHSaQ/s1600-h/Ubuntu+Updates.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WSQyzChrI/AAAAAAAAAp0/zWiErWNHSaQ/s400/Ubuntu+Updates.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171700564316292786" border="0" /></a><br /></div>I don't remember the default behavior of Windows update but I know a lot of people have it setup to install updates automatically. Ubuntu will allow this too and I don't remember its default setting either. Installing the updates automatically sounds great for the novice but I always want to see what is getting updated before I apply any patches to my system. That way if something goes wrong after the updates, I will have an idea what updates caused it and where to start to fix it.<br /><br />Now we get to the real annoying part. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Most of the time Windows updates require a system restart! </span>Why? The only time Ubuntu has ever wanted to restart after installing updates was when a new kernel was installed. What is worse is if you have Windows update configured to automatically install updates it will also automatically restart your system! I don't know about you but I leave a ton of applications up and running all the time. I don't want to come to my computer in the morning and find it freshly restarted with all my applications closed and data lost.<br /><br />If Windows is configured like mine to ask you to install updates, it will add a little yellow shield in the system tray and occasionally give you a pop up. This is the same way users are notified about updates on Ubuntu.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Windows Updates Notification</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WZoyzChtI/AAAAAAAAAqE/Lkkpj3pplEk/s1600-h/stupid+windows+updates.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WZoyzChtI/AAAAAAAAAqE/Lkkpj3pplEk/s400/stupid+windows+updates.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171708673214547666" border="0" /></a></div>But after installing the updates the dreaded "Restart Now" dialog kicks in. I feel like this dialog comes up every 15 minutes or so! It is so annoying. And what is worse is I have occasionally accidentally clicked on "Restart Now" instead of the "Restart Later" button when attempting to keep working instead of being interrupted by this annoying dialog.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >NO! I do NOT want to restart now Windows!</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WZsizChuI/AAAAAAAAAqM/vVBMH6QBPwo/s1600-h/I+do+not+want+to+restart.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WZsizChuI/AAAAAAAAAqM/vVBMH6QBPwo/s400/I+do+not+want+to+restart.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171708737639057122" border="0" /></a></div>If Ubuntu needs to restart, it kindly adds an icon to the system tray. There are no pop ups every 15 minutes that are all to easy to click the wrong button causing your system to just restart right then and there. Windows doesn't even care about anything you may be working on that is unsaved. If you say "Restart Now" it will just start killing applications. Ubuntu updates will occasionally also have a little light bulb letting me know I need to restart some program for the updates to take effect ("some program" has always been Firefox so far). Again, they let me know but they don't annoy me or allow me to screw up something by trying to ignore a dialog.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Ubuntu Restart Required (image thanks to <a href="http://www.howtoforge.com/">HowtoForge</a>)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WWxCzChsI/AAAAAAAAAp8/i3ju8JUGG64/s1600-h/ubuntu+restart+required.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R8WWxCzChsI/AAAAAAAAAp8/i3ju8JUGG64/s400/ubuntu+restart+required.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171705516413585090" border="0" /></a></div><br />To get around the hated "Restart Now" dialog in Windows, I just wait to update when I am about to restart for some other reason. This means updates on my system take longer before they get installed making my system more insecure. It is also getting me in a bad habit and I find that I don't always update Linux when I see that there are new updates.<br /><br />One final point. Ubuntu also has a great advantage of being able to update your applications as well as the operating system. In Windows, updates don't exist for all those 3rd party applications you installed. You have to manually go out and download an update for each an every program. That assumes you know there are security or bug fix updates to be installed. With Ubuntu, update manager knows about all your applications and updates them along with the OS. Nice!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9114259790630545614?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-10225660075628417062008-02-20T11:48:00.001-05:002008-12-10T12:44:54.404-05:00I am not sure who to thank but a <span style="font-weight: bold;">big thanks</span> to who or whatever implemented the code to tell me when something I want to run is not installed and<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">how to install it</span></span>!<br /><br />I am working on a website for my uncle and I needed to get a development environment up and running. It is going to be a simple and mostly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brochureware">brochureware site</a> so I just wanted <a href="http://www.php.net/">PHP</a> and <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">Apache</a>. I went to check to see what version of php was installed and got this:<br /><br /><code>The program 'php' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:<br />sudo apt-get install php5-cli</code><br /><br />Now that is some user friendliness. I had already installed some of the PHP packages from <a href="http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/">Synaptic</a> (since they were not listed under Add/Remove Programs) but apparently I missed some things.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R7xZ7izChnI/AAAAAAAAApU/ch_SmJrtsZM/s1600-h/Not+Installed+but+here+is+how+to+install+it.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R7xZ7izChnI/AAAAAAAAApU/ch_SmJrtsZM/s400/Not+Installed+but+here+is+how+to+install+it.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169105351802521202" border="0" /></a><br />Now we shall see how well <a href="http://www.smarty.net/">Smarty</a> works. I've not worked with PHP in a long time and the last time I did I had my own hacked template code. Good times.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1022566007562841706?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-69030932239828083002008-02-09T14:29:00.000-05:002008-02-09T14:38:48.137-05:00Ever since the feature plan for Ubuntu 8.04 was released, tons of designers have been working hard to create mockups for <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071101-hardy-heron-visual-theme-planned-at-the-ubuntu-developer-summit.html">Ubuntu's new look</a>. As of the <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardy/alpha4">alpha 4 release</a> on February 2, this "new look" has not shown up. From <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyReleaseSchedule">this schedule</a>, it looks like we will start seeing some of this in alpha 5 on February 21.<br /><br />So I just wanted to compile some of those mockups that I have found. What do you think of these?<br /><ul><li><a href="http://willwill100.deviantart.com/art/Ubuntu-Mockup-Hardy-Heron-74511244">Ubuntu Mockup Hardy Heron by ~willwill100</a></li><li><a href="http://mossblaser.deviantart.com/art/Ubuntu-8-04-GUI-Design-Idea-72574609">Ubuntu 8.04 GUI Design Idea by ~Mossblaser</a></li><li><a href="http://blog.slyon.de/?p=172">Two New Hardy Mockups</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://kims-area.com/?q=node/23">Gelatin2 + Wallpaper</a></li><li><a href="http://vdepizzol.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/gelatin/">Gelatin</a></li></ul>And many, many more 8.04 mockups can be found on the <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Hardy/Alternate">Ubuntu wiki</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update:</span> But now after Googling around some, it appears this<a href="http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2008/02/04/new-theme-for-ubuntu-804-deferred/"> radical theme change has been pushed to the 8.10 release</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6903093223982808300?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-6784139374278240892008-02-08T18:14:00.000-05:002008-02-08T18:16:13.071-05:00This blog is mostly about desktop Linux but I also help manage a handful of Linux server for work. We mostly run <a href="http://www.centos.org/">CentOS</a> servers or the occasional <a href="http://fedoraproject.org/">Fedora</a> on internal sites but use CentOS exclusively for any public sites. I was finally getting around to updating a CentOS 3 server today with good old <code><a href="http://linux.duke.edu/projects/yum/">yum</a> update</code> when I ran into an unwelcome surprise.<br /><pre>Running test transaction:<br />Errors reported doing trial run<br />installing package kernel-smp-2.4.21-53.EL needs 53KB on the /boot filesystem</pre><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27oh%21">D'oh!</a> I knew this day would come eventually when my tiny little 90MB /boot partition would get full!<br /><br />So what to do? Easy, just uninstall some of those old kernels. But how do I do that? It turns out, that is also easy.<br /><br />First I figure out what kernel I am actually running now so I don't try and delete it. I am not sure what would happen if I tried but I am not going to find out. To determine the running kernel, use <code>uname -r</code>. I am running 2.4.21-52.ELsmp .<br /><br />Next we want to see what other kernels are installed to find what we can delete. Do this like so:<pre>[root@localhost root]# rpm -q kernel<br />kernel-2.4.21-37.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-37.0.1.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-40.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-47.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-47.0.1.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-50.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-51.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-52.EL<br /></pre><br />I see that we have 7 old kernels installed. Now to delete them, just use rpm -e <kernel> like so:<br /><br /><code style="font-weight: bold;">rpm -e kernel-2.4.21-37.EL</code><br /><br />And it is gone. Rinse and repeat for the other kernels. I only plan on getting rid of a few. This is what was left:<br /><pre>[root@localhost root]# rpm -q kernel<br />kernel-2.4.21-50.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-51.EL<br />kernel-2.4.21-52.EL<br /></pre>Now I have 30M instead of 5.6M free on my /boot partition and I can continue the update. Unfortunately that didn't clean up /boot/grub/grub.conf to remove the old kernels from the grub boot menu. Maybe that has been fixed in CentOS 4 or 5 (well, RHEL).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-678413937427824089?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-42729536895935761192008-02-08T12:44:00.001-05:002008-02-08T12:46:37.242-05:00<blockquote>It's not the price of the software that makes the real difference (although it's a reason to migrate from one software to another for many people); it's the idea that proprietary software comes with boundaries that keep the user experience confined to... well, being the user. Here are 50 commonly used programs that have open source alternatives.</blockquote><br /><a href="http://whdb.com/2008/the-top-50-proprietary-programs-that-drive-you-crazy-and-their-open-source-alternatives/">read more</a> | <a href="http://digg.com/software/50_Proprietary_Programs_We_All_Hate_and_the_OS_Alternatives">digg story</a><br /><br />I pointed out many of the same applications in an earlier post: <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/cross-platform-applications-that-make.html">Cross Platform Applications That Make the Switch from Windows to Linux Easier</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4272953689593576119?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-7955459328265723712008-02-05T21:32:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:57.692-05:00After reading the Ars Technica <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080202-first-look-ubuntu-8-04-hardy-heron-alpha-4.html">review of Ubuntu 8.04 alpha 4</a>, I decided it was time I gave it a spin. There is some <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardy/alpha4">cool new stuff</a> (and also stuff from <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardy/alpha3">alpha3</a>, <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardy/alpha2">alpha2</a> and <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardy/alpha1">alpha1</a> releases). My first serious introduction (ie - not running it from the Live CD) to Ubuntu was starting with one of the Beta releases of 7.10 so I don't think I'll have any problem running this alpha. I am only running it on my laptop which I don't use for any serious work anyway. By the way, <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/libwnck/+bug/129152">the one issue I did have with the 7.10 beta</a> didn't get fixed for the release as I recall.<br /><br />I opted for upgrading online instead of via <a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/hardy/alpha-4/">the CD image</a>. The main reason for that is because my disc drive on my laptop doesn't read CDs anymore, only DVDs. I initially installed 7.10 from DVD. Also, installing online is <span style="font-style: italic;">a lot easier</span> than downloading a 700MB file, burning it to CD and then installing it.<br /><br />So to kick off the install, just run the command: <code>update-manager -d</code><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UNxk3UYwI/AAAAAAAAAns/VtMbI_LG30s/s1600-h/update+command.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UNxk3UYwI/AAAAAAAAAns/VtMbI_LG30s/s320/update+command.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162547693210592002" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UN3k3UYxI/AAAAAAAAAn0/MS7pW1UGotQ/s1600-h/Update+Manager+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UN3k3UYxI/AAAAAAAAAn0/MS7pW1UGotQ/s320/Update+Manager+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162547796289807122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UODk3UYyI/AAAAAAAAAn8/uK42B1i-AP0/s1600-h/Release+Notes.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UODk3UYyI/AAAAAAAAAn8/uK42B1i-AP0/s320/Release+Notes.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162548002448237346" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UOI03UYzI/AAAAAAAAAoE/7GzHcQofkzI/s1600-h/Distribution+Upgrade+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UOI03UYzI/AAAAAAAAAoE/7GzHcQofkzI/s320/Distribution+Upgrade+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162548092642550578" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UON03UY0I/AAAAAAAAAoM/-QwHmp9W6vM/s1600-h/3rd+party+disabled.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UON03UY0I/AAAAAAAAAoM/-QwHmp9W6vM/s320/3rd+party+disabled.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162548178541896514" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UOR03UY1I/AAAAAAAAAoU/ZDnvGVbzGKo/s1600-h/Distribution+Upgrade+2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UOR03UY1I/AAAAAAAAAoU/ZDnvGVbzGKo/s320/Distribution+Upgrade+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162548247261373266" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UO2k3UY2I/AAAAAAAAAoc/O1A9VYtwhD4/s1600-h/Start+Upgrade.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UO2k3UY2I/AAAAAAAAAoc/O1A9VYtwhD4/s320/Start+Upgrade.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162548878621565794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UPeU3UY3I/AAAAAAAAAok/27YWLtYAiCk/s1600-h/Distribution+Upgrade+3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UPeU3UY3I/AAAAAAAAAok/27YWLtYAiCk/s320/Distribution+Upgrade+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162549561521365874" border="0" /></a>And then about an hour and 25 minutes later...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UjOk3UY4I/AAAAAAAAAos/xanFl-0kfn4/s1600-h/Distribution+Upgrade+4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6UjOk3UY4I/AAAAAAAAAos/xanFl-0kfn4/s320/Distribution+Upgrade+4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162571281170981762" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6Ujfk3UY5I/AAAAAAAAAo0/zTUfO85XGdA/s1600-h/Distribution+Upgrade+5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6Ujfk3UY5I/AAAAAAAAAo0/zTUfO85XGdA/s320/Distribution+Upgrade+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162571573228757906" border="0" /></a>And about an hour into the install I get an error.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6kYpE3UY6I/AAAAAAAAAo8/YSdmtiYqkHs/s1600-h/xfonts-base+error.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6kYpE3UY6I/AAAAAAAAAo8/YSdmtiYqkHs/s320/xfonts-base+error.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163685541716452258" border="0" /></a>It all went down hill from there. I ignored that error but a few packages later got a dialog to restart "ntpd". After that failed, the install failed completely. (No screen shots because that didn't work anymore either.) I then restarted and the file system had errors. fsck fixed them, eventually, and I was able to boot. The install didn't work at this point either. I just got stuck on the brown Ubuntu background. Restarting into failsafe Gnome worked but my wireless didn't. After lots of other little work arounds and hooking up to my wired lan, I got the install completed and working.<br /><br />After all of this, my stupid <a href="http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43">bcm43xx</a> wireless card which requires "restricted drivers" didn't work, rendering my laptop useless as a laptop. Argh. I guess I am not ready for the Ubuntu 8.04 alpha, at least on my laptop. I'll likely give it a go when we get to a beta stage. The final will be out in 2 - 3 months anyway.<br /><br />I'm using the screwing up my system as an excuse to try out Fedora 8. I haven't installed Fedora since release 5 and never installed it on my laptop. Fingers crossed the wireless works! If not I guess back to Ubuntu 7.10 I will go or maybe I will try a differnt distro.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-795545932826572371?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-86520603671382624892008-02-02T02:43:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:57.922-05:00I use my Linux box at work a lot more than my machine at home, especially lately. Since the keyboard at work is mapped via <a href="http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/">Synergy</a>, none of the special keys on my multimedia keyboard work or are just not setup to work. I'm going to have to double check on that Monday morning. Maybe I just have a configuration issue.<br /><br />Tonight I discovered that most of the keys <span style="font-style: italic;">do work</span> on my multimedia keyboard at home! (Same keyboard by the way, the <a href="http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/showproduct.php?product=1499&amp;cat=443">Microsoft Natural MultiMedia Keyboard 1.0a</a>.) I pressed the calculator button out of habit and up popped the calculator. Sweet! Then I tried out the Play/Pause, Mute, Volume, Previous/Next buttons, and the My Documents button. All but the My Document button worked. But I wanted it to.<br /><br />So off I go searching and under <span style="font-weight: bold;">System -> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts</span> I hit the jackpot. It turned out that nothing was mapped to the My Documents key.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6QU3E3UYvI/AAAAAAAAAnk/NTBmdk7S4D8/s1600-h/Keyboard+Shortcuts.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6QU3E3UYvI/AAAAAAAAAnk/NTBmdk7S4D8/s320/Keyboard+Shortcuts.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162274009304556274" border="0" /></a>I simply selected the "Home Folder" and pressed the My Documents key and it set 0xef (the My Documents key apparently) to open a <a href="http://www.gnome.org/projects/nautilus/">Nautilus</a> window to my home directory. Nice! Unfortunately the My Pictures and My Music buttons don't work when trying to map something to them. It doesn't much matter at the moment though because I don't see an action for opening your ~/Music or ~/Pictures directories. I also don't see any ability for custom actions. Considering the overall customization abilities of Linux, that really surprised me. Maybe I wanted the My Music button to launch a script that does some crazy thing. Well I don't think I can. At least I can change every other default shortcut if I have the desire too.<br /><br />Also, here is a handy table of some common keyboard shortcuts I love and use regularly:<br /><br /><table><tbody><tr><th>Action</th><th>Shortcut</th></tr><tr><td>Show the Applications Menu</td><td>Alt + F1</td></tr><tr><td>Bring up a run application dialog</td><td>Alt + F2</td></tr><tr><td>Take a screenshot</td><td>Print Screen</td></tr><tr><td>Take a screenshot of the active window</td><td>Alt + Print Screen</td></tr><tr><td>Move to the workspace to the right</td><td>Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow</td></tr><tr><td>Move to the workspace to the left</td><td>Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There are many, many, many more so check out the Keyboard Shortcuts application to see what is configured. The default settings may vary slightly between distributions but hopefully not much.<br /><br />Also, one last tip for you Windows switchers. If you miss pressing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_key">Start/Windows button</a> to bring up the application menu (instead of the current Alt + F1), you can remap that easily too. It turns out pressing that is the same as "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_key_%28keyboard_button%29">Super</a> + L". Honestly though, I would recommend getting used to the default since that is what is going to be everywhere else.<br /><br />Oh, and one more note. Last one, I promise. If you have "Desktop Effects" enabled (i.e. <a href="http://compiz.org/">Compiz</a>), there are<a href="http://ulyssesonline.com/2007/10/25/compiz-fusion-keyboard-shortcuts/"> a lot of other special Compiz shortcuts</a> that come into play there. Many of those effects utilize the "Super" key which is also the Start/Windows key.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8652060367138262489?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-34049420853052324902008-01-31T21:55:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:58.778-05:00<blockquote>The popular cross-platform BitTorrent client Transmission, praised by its users for being full-featured but lightweight, is now officially the new default client for Ubuntu.<br /><br /><a href="http://torrentfreak.com/transmission-bittorrent-client-ubuntu-080130/">read more</a> | <a href="http://digg.com/software/Transmission_Becomes_Default_BitTorrent_Client_for_Ubuntu">digg story</a></blockquote>Ubuntu is switching their default torrent application in 8.04 to <a href="http://www.transmissionbt.com/">Transmission</a>. I don't know that I think that is the best torrent application to switch to but it is better than the boring default client that is in place now!<br /><br />Back in Windows, my primary torrent application was <a href="http://azureus.sourceforge.net/">Azureus</a>. That was before it got so slow that I couldn't run it and much else on my system at the same time. Azureus does run on Linux though as it is written in Java using the SWT toolkit. After Azureus, I used <a href="http://www.utorrent.com/">uTorrent</a> (micro torrent, that "u" is really a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28letter%29">µ</a>). I really loved it. It was lightweight and fast. It also had lots of great features. There are too many other Linux clients to bother with it in wine though.<br /><br />The problem with the current default torrent application in Ubuntu 7.10 is that it is bare bones. I really like lots of progress statistics like uTorrent provided. The replacement I found and like better is <a href="http://deluge-torrent.org/">Deluge</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KI2k3UYrI/AAAAAAAAAnE/yLjQeLq5tV8/s1600-h/Deluge+-+Details.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KI2k3UYrI/AAAAAAAAAnE/yLjQeLq5tV8/s320/Deluge+-+Details.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161838594110022322" border="0" /></a>As you can see from the picture above, there are lots of details on what is going on and lots of bandwidth settings and the like. I really like that. It also tells you details about individual files and individual peers.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KJX03UYsI/AAAAAAAAAnM/0aTfDKmNdAQ/s1600-h/Deluge+-+Peers.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KJX03UYsI/AAAAAAAAAnM/0aTfDKmNdAQ/s320/Deluge+-+Peers.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161839165340672706" border="0" /></a>Transmission has a lot of those features too, only at a more basic level so it is preferable than the current default. I can also see the desire by Ubuntu to choose a slightly simpler default torrent applicaiton so I'm not going to complain. It isn't like I can't use Deluge like I am now in a few simple clicks!<br /><br />And now some Transmission screen shots:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KKSE3UYtI/AAAAAAAAAnU/8j9Y0l-mwxU/s1600-h/Transmission.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KKSE3UYtI/AAAAAAAAAnU/8j9Y0l-mwxU/s320/Transmission.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161840166068052690" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KKXk3UYuI/AAAAAAAAAnc/rtZqZjTPn58/s1600-h/Transmission+-+Properties+for+kubuntu-kde4.0-i386.iso.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R6KKXk3UYuI/AAAAAAAAAnc/rtZqZjTPn58/s320/Transmission+-+Properties+for+kubuntu-kde4.0-i386.iso.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161840260557333218" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3404942085305232490?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-6732060818171493472008-01-27T15:19:00.000-05:002008-01-27T15:22:15.169-05:00Ever since I started looking into running Ubuntu, I have wondered, what is the deal with the crazy version numbers? I first started playing with Ubuntu release 6.06. The release after that was 6.10 and then 7.04. How did they go from 6.06 -> 6.10 -> 7.04 and what is up with the weird zero X numbers?<br /><br />Well the answer is both simple and logical. If you take a minute to look at the pattern, you will see it is obvious. The version is the year plus the month of the release. So 6.06 was released in June 2006, 6.10 in October 2006 and 7.04 in April 2007. I am currently running 7.10 which was released in October 2007. See how easy that is? It is also nice because then you know exactly how old or new the version you are dealing with is.<br /><br />As detailed on the Ubuntu Wiki, <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DevelopmentCodeNames">release names are a little different</a>...<br /><ul><li>Warty Warthog was released in October 2004, release number 4.10. </li><li>Hoary Hedgehog was released in April 2005, release number 5.04. </li><li> Breezy Badger) was released in October 2005, release number 5.10. </li><li>Dapper Drake) was released in June 2006, release number 6.06 LTS </li><li>Edgy Eft) was released in October 2006, release number 6.10. </li><li>Feisty Fawn) was released in April 2007, release number 7.04.</li><li>Gutsy Gibson was released in October 2007, release number 7.10.</li><li> Hardy Heron will be released in April 2008, release number 8.04</li></ul>Although not a hard and fast rule, lately they have been going with code names in alphabetical order. I am hoping the 8.10 release will be called <span style="font-style: italic;">Infallible Iguana</span>.<br /><br />Also, from the outdated by 9+ months <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/faq">Ubuntu FAQ</a>,<br /><blockquote>Note: The official way to refer to a released version of Ubuntu is by the number, not the name. Thus the current version of Ubuntu is 7.04, not Feisty Fawn.</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-673206081817149347?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-46785422247117571712008-01-22T22:13:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:59.087-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5awb03UYpI/AAAAAAAAAmY/TfkUW2q_600/s1600-h/free_software_sticker_book_vol1.pdf.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5awb03UYpI/AAAAAAAAAmY/TfkUW2q_600/s200/free_software_sticker_book_vol1.pdf.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158504415293104786" border="0" /></a>I spotted this site on Digg the other day. It is a giant PDF of images that look like those "Designed for Microsoft Windows", "Intel Inside", etc stickers. You have to get some adhesive photo paper to print them on but then you have some cool stickers. Go download the <a href="http://raro.oreto.inf-cr.uclm.es/apps/stickers/">Free Software Sticker Book.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5axAE3UYqI/AAAAAAAAAm8/sMjsxWlap5k/s1600-h/powered_by_ubuntu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5axAE3UYqI/AAAAAAAAAm8/sMjsxWlap5k/s400/powered_by_ubuntu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158505038063362722" border="0" /></a>You can also make <a href="http://toastytech.com/good/bumperstickertips.html">Firefox bumper stickers</a>.<br /><br />Or order some <a href="http://system76.com/article_info.php?articles_id=9">free Ubuntu stickers</a> from <a href="http://system76.com/">System 76</a>. All you need is a SASE. I got some a month or so ago. It looks good on my laptop.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4678542224711757171?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-40522372173289181312008-01-19T11:24:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:59.988-05:00Previously I blogged about <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/burning-cd-or-dvd-in-ubuntu.html">writing a CD or DVD in Linux</a>. Writing an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_image">ISO image</a> is just as easy when you know where to get started. Like writing a data or audio cd, ISO writing is also built into <a href="http://www.gnome.org/">Gnome</a>.<br /><br />Instead of following the whole selecting a data or audio disc, go straight to your .iso file on the filesystem, right click on it and select Write to Disc. That is all there is to it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5IkAgUQc-I/AAAAAAAAAl4/V2PSErjXyPA/s1600-h/Burn+ISO+in+Linux.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5IkAgUQc-I/AAAAAAAAAl4/V2PSErjXyPA/s320/Burn+ISO+in+Linux.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157224114386138082" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5IkGgUQc_I/AAAAAAAAAmA/MetAXU366PM/s1600-h/Burn+ISO+in+Linux+2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5IkGgUQc_I/AAAAAAAAAmA/MetAXU366PM/s320/Burn+ISO+in+Linux+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157224217465353202" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5IkKwUQdAI/AAAAAAAAAmI/iObB6dQ1FOU/s1600-h/Burn+ISO+in+Linux+3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5IkKwUQdAI/AAAAAAAAAmI/iObB6dQ1FOU/s320/Burn+ISO+in+Linux+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157224290479797250" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4052237217328918131?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-45381645111247705362008-01-19T09:15:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:00.253-05:00This is what happens when you have 14 windows with 94 tabs open for a few weeks and 3GB of memory for Firefox to use.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5F2UwUQc9I/AAAAAAAAAlw/qHzw_DyQ2mI/s1600-h/Firefox+Memory+Usage.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R5F2UwUQc9I/AAAAAAAAAlw/qHzw_DyQ2mI/s400/Firefox+Memory+Usage.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157033147255256018" border="0" /></a><br /><br />720 MB of memory usage! Those are a lot of tabs so I'm not holding this against my favorite browser but I still hope<a href="http://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3"> Firefox 3</a> uses less memory. It is due out "early 2008" and since Beta 2 was released on December 18, 2007, it should be any week now!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4538164511124770536?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-41165857989171471492008-01-18T22:28:00.000-05:002008-01-18T22:27:49.101-05:00Sometime this weekend I am going to have to boot back into Windows. I haven't been there in 2 weeks!! Argh!<br /><pre>forrest@linux-desktop:~$ uptime<br />22:27:40 up 14 days, 3:11, 8 users, load average: 2.90, 1.99, 1.29</pre>The reason is I need to balance my checkbook. I use <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/money">MS Money</a> for managing all of my finances. Credit cards, investment accounts, savings and checking accounts - they all get downloaded into MS Money and every transaction gets categorized and tracked. At any point in time, I can see what my wife and I are spending our hard earned cash on, how much money is coming in, where we could save more, how <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSL1861638320080119">terrible our stocks did this week</a> and how we are doing on reaching our goal of saving enough for our next <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Peru">big</a> <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Italy">trip</a>. <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&amp;iId=79">MS Money on wine</a> isn't a usable solution yet and MS Money's main competitor and industry leader, <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&amp;iId=107">Quicken</a>, has had some promising versions with wine in the past but not recent versions.<br /><br />Ideally there is a Linux alternative to MS Money (or better yet a <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software</a> alternative) but so far, I haven't found one that fits all of my needs. The big feature that none of these applications seem to have is support for online banking. I don't mean downloading a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicken_Interchange_Format">QIF</a> file. I mean opening the application, clicking a button and walla, all your transactions are downloaded into your app. I have tried some of the applications from <a href="http://freshmeat.net/articles/view/269/">a Freshmeat article</a> on Financial Software for Linux and <a href="http://www.linux.com/feature/49400">this review</a> on linux.com. I tried <a href="http://www.gnucash.org/">GnuCash</a>, <a href="http://www.grisbi.org/">Grisbi</a> and <a href="http://kmymoney2.sourceforge.net/index-home.html">KMoney</a> but they did not support online banking and were not quite do what I am looking for.<br /><br />GnuCash has improved a lot since I last used it but it is still a little cumbersome to use, doesn't have graphs and doesn't make it easy to look at and manage individual accounts. KMoney looked promising too and was definitely laid out better but I had trouble importing data and it also does not appear to support online banking.<br /><br />There are also sites like <a href="http://www.mint.com/">Mint</a>, <a href="https://www.wesabe.com/">Wesabe</a> and <a href="https://moneycenter.yodlee.com/">Yodlee</a> but I have a hard time trusting ALL of my financial information to a website. Data as sensitive and important as my financial records should stay on my local machine.<br /><br />There are 2 other applications I found that I plan on trying soon when I have some more time though. Neither are free but then that has never been a requirement. There is <a href="http://www.thekompany.com/products/kapital/">Kapital</a> ($24.95) which looks pretty good. It appears to support online banking. The other is <a href="http://moneydance.com/linux">Moneydance</a> ($29.99) which is written in Java so it runs on Windows/Mac/Linux. It looks very promising. Or I could always just learn to start downloading transactions for every account, but that would take so long!<br /><br />More on Moneydance and/or Kaptial later. I also hope to write a little bit about doing my taxes in Linux soon, if I can.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-4116585798917147149?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-12191600588864090742008-01-13T00:38:00.000-05:002008-01-13T01:11:47.542-05:00I'm going to give KDE 4.0 a look using the <a href="http://home.kde.org/%7Ebinner/kde-four-live/">Live CD</a>. It has been a while since I've used KDE. I really liked a lot of the features and the polish the last time I used it under an early Fedora Core. A <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080111-kde-4-0-rough-but-ready-for-action.html">review over at Ars Technica</a> explains that compared to the previous 3.5 series, this release is a major overhaul. Since so much under the hood has changed, not everything that was in 3.5 is at the same level in 4. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back to keep moving forward though.<br /><br />So congratulations on the release KDE team. I look forward to giving it a go and writing a little more about it later. Who knows, maybe I will switch to <a href="http://www.kubuntu.org/">Kbuntu</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1219160058886409074?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-66210613558779579422008-01-09T22:03:00.003-05:002008-12-10T12:45:03.266-05:00<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Note:</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> This guide only applies to the older, 1.3.7 version of EasyGPS. You can </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://www.easygps.com/windows98.asp">download it here</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Note 2 (4/22/08):</span> EasyGPS 1.3.7 is no longer available for download from the developer. I have <a href="http://www.thelinkup.com/shared/bef6pcp3tpu4">a copy you should be able to download here</a> if you need it. Also, please go to <a href="http://www.oldapps.com/">Old Apps</a> and <a href="http://oldversion.com/">Old Version</a> and request they archive it too. I've sent them both a copy but it has not made it in their archives yet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update 3 (10/11/08) :</span> Here is a <a href="http://www.dropfiles.net//files/2303/EasyGPS/SetupEasyGPS1.3.7.zip">new EasyGPS 1.3.7 download link</a>! Also, I've tried newer 2.7</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">.x</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">, 2.8</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">.x</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> and 2.9.x versions of EasyGPS with Wine 1.1.6 and the existing problems are still there so this looks to be your best option still.</span><br /><br />I've <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/01/easygps-in-linux-using-wine.html">spent some time recently</a> getting an older version of <a href="http://www.easygps.com/">EasyGPS</a> working in Linux. Now all you <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">Geocachers</a> and GPS lovers can have a good all in one application to manage waypoints and transfer them to and from your GPS in Linux.<br /><br />These instructions are based on wine 0.9.52 (12/28/07), EasyGPS 1.3.7, Ubuntu 7.10 and an eTrex Legend (serial) or GPSMap 60CSx GPS (usb) receiver. The Linux distribution and version likely will not matter. Any recent version of wine should be ok too but there may always be a regression bug or 2 in any release that may break something. Unfortunately, I also don't have any other GPS receivers to test this but feel free to buy me one. I'd prefer a Magellan for the variety since all I have now are Garmin. :-) I imagine any other serial GPS will work the same though. I have no idea about USB support for other brands.<br /><br />Running Windows programs is made possible by Wine. If you are already here, I am going to assume you have wine installed. If you don't then <a href="http://www.winehq.org/site/docs/wineusr-guide/getting-wine">install it</a>. (or use these instructions to get the <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/01/running-latest-version-of-wine-in.html">latest Wine in Ubuntu</a>) I am running wine 0.9.52, the latest as of this writing, and you may or may not have problems with newer or older versions.<br /><h3>Install and Setup EasyGPS First</h3>The first step is to download the older <a href="http://www.easygps.com/windows98.asp">Windows 98 compatible EasyGPS 1.3.7</a>. The newest version still has too many problems under wine. Then install it like you would any other Windows/wine application by double clicking on the icon or running:<br /><br /><code>wine SetupEasyGPS98.exe</code><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4QWfAUQcuI/AAAAAAAAAjY/jXCjHAxvP5g/s1600-h/Setup+-+EasyGPS.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4QWfAUQcuI/AAAAAAAAAjY/jXCjHAxvP5g/s320/Setup+-+EasyGPS.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153268595535409890" border="0" /></a><br />Don't have the application start automatically after installation, or if it does, just close it. We will get back to the application soon.<br /><br />The next step is to <a href="http://www.winehq.org/site/docs/wineusr-guide/misc-things-to-configure">setup your serial ports</a> if you haven't already. You will need to open a terminal if you don't already have one open and then do this:<br /><code><br />cd ~/.wine/dosdevices<br />ln -s /dev/ttyS0 com1<br />ln -s /dev/ttyS1 com2<br />ln -s /dev/ttyS2 com3<br />ln -s /dev/ttyS3 com4<br />ln -s /dev/ttyUSB0 com5<br /></code><br />Those commands will map your Linux serial ports to show up as Windows serial ports by creating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link">symbolic links</a>. You likely will not need com3 or com4 and possibly will not need com2 but it doesn't hurt to have them. Also, com5 is pointing to the USB to serial device that I use for my USB GPSMap 60CSx. /dev/ttyUSB0 will not exist unless your GPS is currently connected but it is ok to create the symbolic link even if it is not there. Your ~/.wine/dosdevices directory should then look similar to this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VdwgUQcwI/AAAAAAAAAkI/_6oRTI0AEtA/s1600-h/wine-dosdevices.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VdwgUQcwI/AAAAAAAAAkI/_6oRTI0AEtA/s320/wine-dosdevices.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153628436485403394" border="0" /></a><br />Now, run EasyGPS. Go to File -> Preferences to configure your GPS receivers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VejgUQcxI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/YNiOa0HUax4/s1600-h/Add+GPS.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VejgUQcxI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/YNiOa0HUax4/s320/Add+GPS.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153629312658731794" border="0" /></a><br />Once you select and add your GPS, you will see a dialog to select the way the GPS is connected to your computer (which serial port or USB). This is where the problems come into play. The way EasyGPS determines your available com ports does not currently work in wine. <span style="font-style: italic;">Note: If you are able to select a com port at this point, then do that and stop reading this because the bug is fixed.</span><br /><br />On this screen you don't have to do anything unless you are using a USB GPS. If you are using a USB connection, uncheck the USB checkbox (since we are using USB over serial, EasyGPS will see it and communicate with it as a serial port). The dialog will look like the images below as serial and USB respectively.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VjawUQcyI/AAAAAAAAAkY/uVVykN3XsDY/s1600-h/GPS+Settings+-+Select+Port.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VjawUQcyI/AAAAAAAAAkY/uVVykN3XsDY/s320/GPS+Settings+-+Select+Port.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153634659893015330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VjeAUQczI/AAAAAAAAAkg/0b_VOPJa08A/s1600-h/GPS+Settings+-+no+usb.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4VjeAUQczI/AAAAAAAAAkg/0b_VOPJa08A/s320/GPS+Settings+-+no+usb.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153634715727590194" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After adding my 2 GPS receivers, the preferences dialog looks like so:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4Vj1wUQc0I/AAAAAAAAAko/zuJMcw3K8M0/s1600-h/Configured+GPS+units.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4Vj1wUQc0I/AAAAAAAAAko/zuJMcw3K8M0/s320/Configured+GPS+units.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153635123749483330" border="0" /></a><br /><h3>The Work Around Part</h3>Now we can get around to the actual work around. Even though EasyGPS can not see the com ports inside the application, it stores the configured port in the registry. All we have to do is open up regedit from your terminal.<br /><code><br />regedit<br /></code><br />Once regedit is up, navigate to the key <span style="font-weight: bold;">HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TopoGrafix\Common\GPS Receivers</span> where you will see your configured GPS receivers. For each, you need to change the com port from -1 to the com port your GPS is connected to. Change the value by double clicking on it or right click and select Modify.<br /><br />Most serial GPS receivers will be connected to com1. If you configured /dev/ttyUSB0 to go to com5 as I did above, then set your USB GPS to com5. For my setup, the serial connected eTrex Legend is connected to com1 and the USB GPSMap 60CSx is connected as com5.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4Vx_gUQc1I/AAAAAAAAAkw/b69IL4BDP4Q/s1600-h/Edit+COM+Port+in+the+registry.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4Vx_gUQc1I/AAAAAAAAAkw/b69IL4BDP4Q/s400/Edit+COM+Port+in+the+registry.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153650684415996754" border="0" /></a>(<span style="font-weight: bold;">Note:</span> I tried setting the BaudRate for the USB GPS to 115200 and 57600 but neither of those changes made transfers faster. I am confident the USB transfer could be faster because the GPS beeps indicating the transfer is complete well before all the waypoints are fully downloaded so I think the hold up is just the serial part of the translation. It isn't slow enough, yet, for me to spend any more time on it though.)<br /><br />Be sure to restart EasyGPS so it will read in your com port changes and that is all there is to it! Have a blast transferring waypoints to and from EasyGPS!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3EQUQc2I/AAAAAAAAAk4/Fg8AB7E8NXw/s1600-h/Information+about+your+GPS+eTrex+Legend.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3EQUQc2I/AAAAAAAAAk4/Fg8AB7E8NXw/s320/Information+about+your+GPS+eTrex+Legend.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153656263578514274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3LwUQc3I/AAAAAAAAAlA/HTCEmfchQ-M/s1600-h/Information+about+your+GPS+60CSx.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3LwUQc3I/AAAAAAAAAlA/HTCEmfchQ-M/s320/Information+about+your+GPS+60CSx.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153656392427533170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3WQUQc4I/AAAAAAAAAlI/q2_GEcdceTQ/s1600-h/Receive+from+GPS.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3WQUQc4I/AAAAAAAAAlI/q2_GEcdceTQ/s320/Receive+from+GPS.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153656572816159618" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3agUQc5I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/dSaq6MbniEM/s1600-h/Receiving+Waypoints.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3agUQc5I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/dSaq6MbniEM/s320/Receiving+Waypoints.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153656645830603666" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3fQUQc6I/AAAAAAAAAlY/BAeD6nytxgI/s1600-h/Sending+Waypoints.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V3fQUQc6I/AAAAAAAAAlY/BAeD6nytxgI/s320/Sending+Waypoints.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153656727434982306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4WY_QUQc8I/AAAAAAAAAlo/wGgKF3x634Q/s1600-h/EasyGPS.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4WY_QUQc8I/AAAAAAAAAlo/wGgKF3x634Q/s400/EasyGPS.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153693561074512834" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6621061355877957942?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-79923683518922714502008-01-09T20:59:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:03.616-05:00Victory! This is a screen shot I took transferring waypoints from my GPS using <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&amp;iId=3546">EasyGPS running under wine</a>. All the details will be in a post that will soon follow this one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V8wgUQc7I/AAAAAAAAAlg/NeH-TGDHZzw/s1600-h/Screenshot4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R4V8wgUQc7I/AAAAAAAAAlg/NeH-TGDHZzw/s400/Screenshot4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153662521345864626" border="0" /></a><br />As you can see there are a ton of icons on my desktop. That is from actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">using</span> Linux. I am messy and leave lots of icons on my desktop all the time on any OS I use. The theme is the default Ubuntu 7.10 Human theme (I switched to that for some other tutorial screen shots) and the background is a picture I took in Switzerland of the <a href="http://www.moenchsjoch.ch/">Mönchsjoch hut</a> next to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6nch">Mönch</a>, near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungfrau">Jungfrau</a> and near the top of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aletsch_Glacier">Aletsch Glacier</a>. Go there! Take the train! It is beautiful!!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-7992368351892271450?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-53224981431675019302008-01-08T13:22:00.001-05:002008-04-22T11:13:40.027-04:00<span style="font-style: italic;">Update: Read my </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/01/getting-easygps-137-working-in-linux.html">EasyGPS in Linux tutorial</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> to get it working. This is for an older version of EasyGPS though.</span><br /><br />I haven't posted as much lately because I've gotten into a side project. I am now the <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&amp;iId=3546">Wine AppDB maintainer for EasyGPS</a>. <a href="http://easygps.com/">EasyGPS</a> is an application used to manage and transfer waypoints to and from GPSs. I use it all the time for <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">Geocaching</a>.<br /><br />Unfortunately in Linux, there aren't any great solutions that I have found that are like EasyGPS. Linux has an assorted set of tools, the most useful and well known being <a href="http://www.gpsbabel.org/">gpsbabel</a>, but I have not found an EasyGPS replacement. GPSBabel runs on Windows too by the way.<br /><br />So I decided I would try EasyGPS out on wine. The <a href="http://easygps.com/latest.asp">latest version</a>, 2.7.5, didn't work very well. It locked up and threw errors all over the place. There are definitely some implementations missing or wrong there. I was able to eventually ignore those problems, connect to my GPS and transfer waypoints from my GPS but then it threw errors again. I am guessing part of the problem is the use of the XML based <a href="http://www.topografix.com/gpx.asp">GPX format</a> and the incomplete <a href="http://wiki.winehq.org/NativeMSXML3">msxml3</a> implementation. After downloading waypoints, nothing shows up except for error dialogs.<br /><br />I also found an <a href="http://www.easygps.com/windows98.asp">old version of EasyGPS</a> that is the last supported version on Windows 98 or earlier. This version, 1.3.7, works great. Everything works except the crucial part of transferring waypoints to and from your GPS. This is because the code that finds the available serial ports always returns empty. I emailed support and had a very helpful email dialog with developer <a href="http://www.geobuddy.com/about.asp">Dan Foster</a> who clued me into some of the api calls that were breaking on me in both versions.<br /><br />In my investigating, I haven't figured out exactly why no serial ports are showing up but I did figure out a great work around to get the older 1.3.7 version working almost perfectly. I plan to post detailed [<a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/01/getting-easygps-137-working-in-linux.html">EasyGPS 1.3.7 in Linux instructions</a>] to that in a later post this week.<br /><br />I also hope to get to working on getting all these issues resolved so Linux Geocachers can easily use the latest EasyGPS and its sister products <a href="http://www.expertgps.com/">ExpertGPS</a> and <a href="http://www.geobuddy.com/">GeoBuddy</a>.<br /><br />I've already installed <a href="http://git.or.cz/">git</a>, gcc, flex, bison and several dozen -dev packages so that I can build wine myself. I was surprised how easy<a href="http://wiki.winehq.org/GitWine"> getting and building the latest wine</a> was. Now all I have to do is figure out some of these little pieces of the Windows API.<br /><br />And because I can, here are my Geocaching stats: <a id="lnkProfile" href="http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=0e22367f-90e8-4ae8-acf7-fabcc3c74f05"><img id="imgProfile" alt="View my Profile" style="height: 50px; width: 200px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/stats/img.aspx?txt=View+my+profile&amp;uid=0e22367f-90e8-4ae8-acf7-fabcc3c74f05" align="middle" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-5322498143167501930?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-11403251316939342272008-01-06T22:32:00.000-05:002008-01-06T22:36:34.673-05:00I spent a good bit of time yesterday playing with wine and a few applications I'd really like to get running like <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&amp;iId=3546">EasyGPS.</a> I figured the <a href="http://www.winehq.org/site/irc">wine irc channel</a> would be a good place for help. While in there, I was noticing people kept posting urls to configuration files. Turns out there are numerous sites that allow you to upload snippets of text from code, to config files to debug output for sharing over email, irc, im, etc. You can also select the text type on most of these sites and it will format it and use colored syntax highlighting. I am really wondering why I have never seen these sites before??<br /><br />And if you want to use some of the collaborative debugging sites, you can find them <a href="http://rafb.net/paste/">here</a>, <a href="http://pastebin.com/">here</a>, <a href="http://rifers.org/paste/">here</a>, <a href="http://openpaste.org/en/">here</a>, <a href="http://papernapkin.org/pastebin/home">here</a>, <a href="http://hashbin.com/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.pasteyourcode.com/">here</a>, and <a href="http://paste.plone.org/">here</a>. Many of these are running the same software too by the way.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-1140325131693934227?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-26131513671666329822008-01-04T22:31:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:03.959-05:00I was working on setting up <a href="http://www.samba.org/">Samba</a> tonight so my wife could access content from my system (more on that later) and I stumbled across a little application shared in My Documents on her system (my old one). It was none other than SkiFree!!!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://ski.ihoc.net/">SkiFree</a> was released way back in 1991 as part of the Windows Entertainment Pack. I don't even remember what ele was included in that because SkiFree was by far the BEST of the games. I think I have a floppy disk around here somewhere with the entertainment pack on it. Of course, finding a floppy drive to read the disk would take some work.<br /><br />Anyway, SkiFree was released in the Windows 3.0 days. Windows 3.1 would <a href="http://www.computerhope.com/history/windows.htm">not be released until early 1992</a>. I remember playing this on the only Windows 3.0 system I ever used in my 8th grade yearbook class when I wasn't stuck laying out pages in <a href="http://www.makingpages.org/pagemaker/history/">PageMaker</a> (3.1 had been released by this time but that was the only install of Windows 3.0 I ever saw/used).<br /><br />I have also been playing with <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine (Wine Is Not and Emulator)</a> a bit more lately too. (Yes, that is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym">recursive acronym</a> just like GNU, bunch of nerds!) When I discovered ski.exe, I figured why not give it a go. And boy did it go. It turns out, <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&amp;iId=317">SkiFree is a platinum rated</a> application running on Wine. That is as good as it gets. I also found out that my old crappy SkiFree 1.0 is only compiled for 16bit Windows and the author fixed some bugs and recompiled it for 32bit systems in October 2005. Sweet!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R376LwUQctI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/v31fn_NcRpM/s1600-h/SkiFree1.0.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R376LwUQctI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/v31fn_NcRpM/s400/SkiFree1.0.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151830103613797074" border="0" /></a><br />So thank you Wine team for implmenting all those API calls from Windows 3.0 so that SkiFree could run. And for all of you out there who want to play it yourself, it is freeware now! Go <a href="http://ski.ihoc.net/#download">download SkiFree from the author's site</a> and read up on some history of the application and his licensing it to Microsoft for 100 shares of stock (I hope he hung on to them for a while).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-2613151367166632982?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91894289210605067502008-01-02T01:42:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:04.093-05:00Today is going to be a busy day at work catching up with everything that piled up over the holidays so I am going to be lazy and go ahead and post another desktop screen shot. This is one from my laptop and the first SSotD from it. The laptop is a Pentium M 1.4 GHz with 512MB of RAM.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3snNgUQcsI/AAAAAAAAAjI/gAMHYssNX5Y/s1600-h/Laptop+Screen+Shot+2008-01-02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3snNgUQcsI/AAAAAAAAAjI/gAMHYssNX5Y/s400/Laptop+Screen+Shot+2008-01-02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150753711794975426" border="0" /></a>Isn't it awesome that a <a href="http://live.gnome.org/GnomeSudoku">Sudoku game comes with Gnome by default</a>? <a href="http://live.gnome.org/GnomeGames">16 games come with Gnome</a> out of the box actually. That sure is a lot better than just a stupid minesweeper and solitaire game! I just wish I didn't suck so bad at sudoku. But then again, my wife stole my sudoku book that I got last Christmas and did all the puzzles in it before I got a chance to get good.<br /><br />It also would be nice to watch an episode of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_%28US_TV_series%29">The Office</a> one day and see Pam playing Gnome Sudoku instead of boring old Windows solitaire. Pam is a sudoku master after all: "<a href="http://www.theofficequotes.com/episode.php?id=56">Suduko. Level moderate, 18 minutes. Suck on that, Halpert.</a>" She sure wouldn't have gotten that virus while trying to download a celebrity sex tape if she was running Linux either.<br /><br />Ah yes, and the background is <a href="http://art.gnome.org/backgrounds/gnome/1138">GNOME Flowers</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9189428921060506750?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-91644497582648180362008-01-01T16:44:00.000-05:002008-01-01T16:45:52.447-05:00I've been trying to get some applications to work in <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine</a> today. I was working on submitting an application to the <a href="http://appdb.winehq.org/">Wine Application DB</a> but the version of Wine that comes with Ubuntu 7.10 was not listed. Wine puts out releases rather frequently so they don't wont to bother with old versions and possibly old and now resolved issues. The current version of Wine is 0.9.52 but I was running 0.9.46 with no default update from Ubuntu. The Wine AppDB submission form would only accept applications tested as far back as 0.9.47.<br /><br />I did find an easy way to upgrade my copy of Wine to the latest release though. All you have to do is uninstall the current version of Wine, add a repository, and then in Synaptic Package Manager, add the new version of Wine back. All the details of updating it can be found in <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=624644">this Ubuntu Forum</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-9164449758264818036?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-74143221410192162842007-12-31T23:13:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:05.061-05:00I've gotten tired of having to log into Gnome every time I restart my computer. With my laptop this happens a good bit since hibernating does not work (hopefully I can solve that problem at some point). You can have Gnome automatically login for you though. The process is simple, you just have to know where to look.<br /><br />Go to System -> Administration -> Login Window<br /><br />From here you can configure Gnome to automatically login as any user on the system immediately or after a delay. The latter option allows you to still login as a different user if that is your intention. All of my current systems are only used by me so I don't need that feature. And the obligatory sreeenshot to help you know you are in the correct place:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3nBxQUQcpI/AAAAAAAAAiw/Y_j9noCHaZc/s1600-h/Login+Window+Preferences.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3nBxQUQcpI/AAAAAAAAAiw/Y_j9noCHaZc/s320/Login+Window+Preferences.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150360700812554898" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-7414322141019216284?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-34816384416032955012007-12-29T15:22:00.000-05:002007-12-29T15:24:00.156-05:00I'll admit that switching from Windows to Linux is not always a painless process. Years of learning the ins and outs of Windows doesn't always transfer to Linux. Fortunately when it comes to the applications you use, the process can become a little easier.<br /><br />There are numerous cross platform applications that allow you to run the same exact application you may run under Linux in Windows. If you are already comfortable with an application in Windows before switching to Linux, that removes one hurdle for you.<br /><br />Best of all, most if not all, of these applications are a free download away. Not all of them are Open Source though which I would argue is also a promising thing (not for <a href="http://www.fsf.org/">Free Software advocates</a> though) because it shows commercial support for Linux.<br /><br />Some of my favorite applications that I have used or use regularly are listed below:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/">Firefox</a></span> - My primary web browser for the last 5 years. <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/node&amp;id=599&amp;t=219"><img alt="Firefox 2" title="Firefox 2" src="http://sfx-images.mozilla.org/affiliates/Buttons/firefox2/ff2b80x15.gif" border="0" /></a> Take back the web!<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pidgin.im/">Pidgn</a></span> - (Formerly Gaim) This is one wonderful all in one IM client. It supports all of these protocols: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo! and Zephyr. I started using this as my only IM client the minute I had to log into AIM and Yahoo! at the same time. I haven't looked back.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.openoffice.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">OpenOffice</span></a></span> - A great open source office suite. Stop spending so much money on MS Word and just download the hefty 120-140MB installer. OO also helped lead the charge for the new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument">Open Document Format (ODF)</a> which will allow office documents to work for anyone, not just those paying the Microsoft Tax. I imagine I will blog more on ODF sooner or later since it and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML">OOXML</a> specification are still <a href="http://ooxmlisdefectivebydesign.blogspot.com/">battling it out</a>.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thunderbird</span></a></span> - A good email client brought to you from the same people who brought you Firefox. I have to be honest and say it is not my favorite email client but it is still solid. Once you get to Linux you might want to try <a href="http://www.gnome.org/projects/evolution/">Evolution</a> which is more Outlook like (and may have a <a href="http://shellter.sourceforge.net/evolution/">Win32 version too</a>!).<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://filezilla-project.org/"><span>Filezilla</span></a></span> - A decent and full featured GUI FTP client. I don't like the latest UI updates that are part of version 3.0 but you get used to stuff like that. It does what you need without the need for a command line.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.gimp.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gimp</span></a></span> - The "Photoshop Killer" it is not but still a great replacement for many. I am working on learning it since I do use Photoshop quite a bit.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://azureus.sourceforge.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Azureus</span></a></span> - My old favorite Bittorrent client. It is super feature rich. It is also a resource hog in my opinion. I've opted for <a href="http://www.utorrent.com/">uTorrent</a> on Windows and <a href="http://deluge-torrent.org/">Deluge</a> in Linux. All 3 are similar though. Maybe now that I have more RAM I will give it a go again.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://desktop.google.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Google Desktop</span></a></span> - Yep, Google ported their desktop search tool to Linux. There are other Linux specific desktop search applications but that is not the point of this post.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.wireshark.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wireshark</span></a></span> - (formerly Ethereal) An awesome packet sniffer. You may never need this but when you do, it is there for you on both OSes.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://earth.google.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Google Earth</span></a></span> - This is just fun to play with! Especially for a <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">Geocacher</a> like me.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Picasa</span></a></span> - Great photo management application. And to get it working, they made changes to <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine</a> that were given back the the community. <a href="http://www.winehq.org/pipermail/wine-devel/2006-May/047806.html">Open Source at its finest.</a></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.abisource.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Abiword</span></a></span> - A word processor that handles MS Word documents well and is lightweight and fast.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.tightvnc.com/">TightVNC</a></span> - Remote desktop access. I use this mostly on Windows.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.eclipse.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eclipse</span></a></span> - The new heavyweight (in a good and bad way) of IDEs. It is designed to be an IDE for any and everything you can imagine thanks to a plug-in architecture.</li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://secondlife.com/community/linux-alpha.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Second Life</span></a></span> - An online 3d virtual world game. I don't use it much but it is fun that it works.<br /></li></ul>And others I am less familiar with like:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.opera.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Opera</span></a></span> - Another web good browser. I only use it sporadically now. Back in the day when I had a 486 I ran it because all the other browsers were so slow. I mostly use it on my Wii these days.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/">VLC</a></span> - Good all purpose media player. I used it to watch DVDs in Linux and haven't used the Windows version before.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Audacity</span></a></span> - Sound recording and editing software.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.inkscape.org/">Inkscape</a></span> - Scalable Vector Grapics (SVG) editor like Illustrator or Corel Draw.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.fpx.de/fp/Software/Gorilla/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Password Gorilla</span></a></span> - Password Manager<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.rssowl.org/">RSS Owl</a></span> - RSS Feed Reader<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.nvu.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nvu</span></a></span> - Web authoring like DreamWeaver or FrontPage<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.xchat.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Xchat</span></a></span> - IRC chat program<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://mamedev.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mame</span></a></span> - Play old video games with this emulator. I've only used the Windows version of this and that was many years ago.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://popfile.sourceforge.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">POPFile</span></a></span> - Filter out all that annoying SPAM and sort other types of email too! I've run this in Windows for years but never Linux. It is written in Perl so I know it will run in Linux.<br /></li></ul>Also, as web applications are growing in use, all you need is a browser in any OS for many applications. Webmail, <a href="http://docs.google.com/">Google Docs</a>, <a href="http://www.bloglines.com/">Bloglines</a>, online calendars, etc all look and work the same (mostly!) on any compatible browser regardless of operating system. My eventual switch to Linux, among other advantages, is why I made the switch from POP email to a webmail provider.<br /><br />There are of course other cross platform applications like <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">Apache</a>, <a href="http://tomcat.apache.org/">Tomcat</a> and <a href="http://www.mysql.com/">MySQL</a> but Linux is and has been rock solid as a server for a long time so I'm not really thinking about those applications. Just sticking to the desktop here.<br /><br />What applications did I miss that you use? I know there are more. I thought of a few new ones just from proof reading this post.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3481638441603295501?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-541212612229939122007-12-28T01:28:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:05.278-05:00This is a screen shot of my home PC Desktop. It is the P4 3GHz with 3GB of RAM (recently upgraded from 1GB).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SX0WDQctI/AAAAAAAAAig/kYdg9pEiKnk/s1600-h/Home+Desktop+2007-12-28.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SX0WDQctI/AAAAAAAAAig/kYdg9pEiKnk/s400/Home+Desktop+2007-12-28.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148907199519552210" border="0" /></a><br />The background is an image I took at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_Mountain_%28North_Carolina%29">Pilot Mountain</a> while doing some hiking with my Dad in late November this year. I am using the <a href="http://art.gnome.org/themes/gtk2/1311">Cillop-Mediterranean controls</a>, <a href="http://art.gnome.org/themes/metacity/1256">Clearlooks with a Cherry on Top</a> window borders, and the <a href="http://art.gnome.org/themes/icon/1138">JiniBlueSky icon</a> set. I wish the icon set didn't have a different Firefox icon. I prefer the application icon in that case.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-54121261222993912?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-88217076278084188072007-12-27T10:40:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:07.490-05:00After my<a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/downloading-pictures-from-my-camera.html"> disappointment with file modification dates being reset while moving my files from my digital camera to my desktop</a>, it was time to upload some of those images to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">flikr</a> to share with my family.<br /><br />flkr doesn't have an official Linux client. They have a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/tools/">suggested client</a>, which I will cover later, but nothing that is maintained and supported. I wish they did have an application they developed but I understand why they don't. I am impressed they link to non supported applications and I am more impressed that they make it easy (at least as a user) to use 3rd party tools to interact with your account. Way to go Yahoo (they own flickr)!<br /><br />My searching turned up a handful of different applications you can use to upload your images. I tried 2 of them and here are my thoughts:<br /><br /><h3>jUploadr</h3><a href="http://juploadr.org/">jUploadr</a> is the 3rd party uploader mentioned by flickr on their site. It is written in <a href="http://java.sun.com/">Java</a> using the <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/swt/">SWT graphics library</a> so it runs essentially the same on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. Installing it is not as easy as Add/Remove Applications but it is still easy.<br /><br />Download and extract the tar.gz. Then run "jUploadr".<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3PZyWDQciI/AAAAAAAAAhI/8rgKOkbQOsU/s1600-h/Screenshot-jUploadr-1.1.2-linuxGTK-i386+-+File+Browser.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3PZyWDQciI/AAAAAAAAAhI/8rgKOkbQOsU/s320/Screenshot-jUploadr-1.1.2-linuxGTK-i386+-+File+Browser.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148698257950536226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is what you will see first. Notice that flikr button in the bottom right corner.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QGnmDQcjI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/ZQBIk_yXMNI/s1600-h/Screenshot-jUploadr+.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QGnmDQcjI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/ZQBIk_yXMNI/s320/Screenshot-jUploadr+.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148747551290192434" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next step is to authorize your account. Click on the flikr button in the bottom right corner. It will take you to a flikr page that requires you to authorize this application before allowing you to upload with it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QG1mDQckI/AAAAAAAAAhY/_hTzVqUvMh8/s1600-h/Screenshot-Flickr:+Authorize+jUploadr+-+Mozilla+Firefox.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QG1mDQckI/AAAAAAAAAhY/_hTzVqUvMh8/s320/Screenshot-Flickr:+Authorize+jUploadr+-+Mozilla+Firefox.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148747791808361026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then you can just drag and drop some photos in.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QHKmDQclI/AAAAAAAAAhg/eUFpAA-t3YA/s1600-h/Screenshot-jUploadr+-1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QHKmDQclI/AAAAAAAAAhg/eUFpAA-t3YA/s320/Screenshot-jUploadr+-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148748152585613906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Change the title, description, tags and privacy settings for each photo individually.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QHgWDQcmI/AAAAAAAAAho/rl0VpU6zecQ/s1600-h/Screenshot-Attributes+for+DSC03527+.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QHgWDQcmI/AAAAAAAAAho/rl0VpU6zecQ/s320/Screenshot-Attributes+for+DSC03527+.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148748526247768674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And then upload them!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QHyGDQcnI/AAAAAAAAAhw/U2Xn2-qODEU/s1600-h/Screenshot-jUploadr+-2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QHyGDQcnI/AAAAAAAAAhw/U2Xn2-qODEU/s320/Screenshot-jUploadr+-2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148748831190446706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QIDmDQcoI/AAAAAAAAAh4/hlVlUAaBBwQ/s1600-h/Screenshot-Upload+Complete.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3QIDmDQcoI/AAAAAAAAAh4/hlVlUAaBBwQ/s320/Screenshot-Upload+Complete.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148749131838157442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I like jUploadr. It worked ok for the handful of images I uploaded. I didn't like that it wasn't as simple to install as going to Add/Remove Applications but there is likely a repository with it somewhere. I also did not like the way you manage photo meta data (title, description, tags). I did like how you can create a new Photo Set and add new images to any number of Photo Sets when you upload them. I also like that it has bandwidth throttling.<br /><br /><h3>FlickrUploadr</h3><a href="http://micampe.it/projects/flickruploadr">FlickrUploadr</a> can be installed easily in Ubuntu through Add/Remove Applications. Just search for "flikr"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SBK2DQcpI/AAAAAAAAAiA/LaovGo_dc4E/s1600-h/About+Flickr+Uploader.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SBK2DQcpI/AAAAAAAAAiA/LaovGo_dc4E/s320/About+Flickr+Uploader.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148882297299169938" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The first thing you need to do after starting the FlickrUploadr for the first time, is authorize it (just like I did for jUplodr above). The authorization will actually say "Postr" instead of FlickrUploar. I am not sure why that is but my guess is Postr is a library that FlickrUploadr uses or it is the old name for the application. Either way, just be aware of that difference.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SBXmDQcqI/AAAAAAAAAiI/LM8pW2fO0UU/s1600-h/Screenshot-Flickr:+Your+Account:+Third-party+apps+-+Mozilla+Firefox.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SBXmDQcqI/AAAAAAAAAiI/LM8pW2fO0UU/s320/Screenshot-Flickr:+Your+Account:+Third-party+apps+-+Mozilla+Firefox.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148882516342502050" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then just drag and drop in images or add them from the File menu. Once the images are added, you can then select one, many or all and change the image names, descriptions, tags and the set they are in.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SBmGDQcrI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/LW7lhf_g5sg/s1600-h/Flickr+Uploader-2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SBmGDQcrI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/LW7lhf_g5sg/s320/Flickr+Uploader-2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148882765450605234" border="0" /></a><br /><br />One thing I dislike about FlickrUploadr that I do like about jUploader is you can not create a new set. You have to go to the flikr website to create a set first when using the FlickrUploadr. You also can't create an empty set so you have to stick a dummy image in your new set until you upload some more images into it. Also note, after you create a new set, the FlickrUploadr will not update automatically, you will need to restart the application for it to refresh the list of available sets.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SB6WDQcsI/AAAAAAAAAiY/1oS28jVF6e0/s1600-h/Flickr+Uploader+Progress.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3SB6WDQcsI/AAAAAAAAAiY/1oS28jVF6e0/s320/Flickr+Uploader+Progress.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148883113342956226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I used the FlickrUploadr to upload most of my Christmas pictures but looking back, jUploadr is a much more feature rich application. FlickrUploadr is not far behind and if you don't need new sets or the ability to add images to multiple sets, I would go with it just because it is easier to get up and running.<br /><br /><h3>Others I Didn't Try</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.flock.com/">Flock</a> - This is a web browser dubbed the "Social Web Browser". It is based on Firefox and has integrated features to work better with sites like flikr, del.icio.us, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, etc. I've used Flock in Windows before and I liked it but it was based off an older version of Firefox and I didn't really use the "Social" features.<br /></li><li><a href="http://f-spot.org/">F-Spot</a> - I read F-Spot allows you to easily upload images to flikr. It is a photo management application <span style="font-style: italic;">similar</span> to <a href="http://picasa.google.com/">Picasa</a> or <a href="http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/">iPhoto</a> that comes pre-installed with Ubuntu 7.10. I haven't tried it myself though.<br /></li><li><a href="http://kflickr.sourceforge.net/">kFlickr</a> - A flickr uploader for KDE.</li></ul><br />Are there any others you would suggest? Which do you use?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8821707627808418807?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-74353838967534573962007-12-26T23:49:00.001-05:002008-12-10T12:45:07.710-05:00I've been loving my Linux experience so far. Sometimes things <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/it-is-nice-when-things-in-linux-just.html">just work the way or better than you expect</a>. Sometimes, like today, they don't.<br /><br />Today I got home from spending time with the family for Christmas and decided instead of booting into Windows to copy my digital photos off my camera, I would use Linux. I was very confident it would work because the camera shows up as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_mass_storage_device_class">generic mass storage device</a> which I know is well supported by Linux. My 500GB external hard drive shows up this way and it works flawlessly.<br /><br />I plugged in the camera and up popped a "Photo Import" dialog. Sweet!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3MshmDQchI/AAAAAAAAAhA/ESCzgTjgT5o/s1600-h/Gnome+Photo+Import.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3MshmDQchI/AAAAAAAAAhA/ESCzgTjgT5o/s320/Gnome+Photo+Import.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148507754676122130" border="0" /></a>As in Windows, I decided to import my images manually though so I clicked ignore. I have a system for this, ok! I also was not sure what the whole import would do. Turning on the camera had added a "disk" icon to my desktop so I just browsed there, created my local folder on the NTFS partition where all the other images are, and then moved them over. Now I wish I would have just copied them.<br /><br />After moving all the files, I wanted to sort them by the date they were taken. In Windows, that is the same date as the file. But oh no, not in Linux. The move operation had changed the modified date (the files was NOT modified, just moved) so they were all times of just a few minutes ago. Gnome will show you the picture taken date that is embedded in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif">EXIF</a> data but only on a per image basis so there is no sorting to be had. Good thing the file names are sequential. I still would like to have the file dates the same as the date they were taken.<br /><br />I did a little searching and found I am not alone in wanting to<a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-499602.html"> sort by date the picture was taken in Gnome</a>. We are both without an answer though. Someone suggested <a href="http://f-spot.org/">F-Spot</a> which is a photo collection application that comes <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/F-Spot">pre-installed in Ubuntu</a>. I might try that out sometime soon to see if it can rename the files for me. There has to be a utility or script to change the file modified date to the picture taken date somewhere!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE 3/7/08:</span> After <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/copying-or-moving-files-to-ntfs.html">some more research</a> I discovered this problem is limited to NTFS and there is a <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-havent-i-heard-of-ubuntu-backports.html">fix thanks to Ubuntu Backports</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-7435383896753457396?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-39923438197155212712007-12-23T16:43:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:11.194-05:00Every year my wife and I get calendars made with family pictures for grandparents and/or parents. We use digital photos and also scan in some older photos. Unfortunately I could not get my <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=149483">Memorex MEM 48U USB scanner working in Linux</a> so I had to boot into Windows which lead to my discussion of <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/dual-boot-into-windows-and-ubuntu-with.html">dual booting Ubuntu and Windows</a>. If I hadn't waited until the last minute, I likely would have spent more time on the scanner. There might be more on that issue in the future.<br /><br />So after firing up Windows, scanning all the pictures and getting them all organized, I still needed to burn them to CD to take to Office Max. I rebooted into Linux figuring this would be an easy task. I looked and looked and looked for CD burning software but didn't see any pre-installed. I was a little disappointed. I fired up Add/Remove applications and installed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GnomeBaker">GnomeBaker</a>. It had 4 stars (out of 4) for popularity and "integrates well" with Gnome. No problem, not everyone wants to burn CDs.<br /><br />At this point I fired up GnoneBaker and stuck in my blank CD. Up popped this message:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27TIWDQcQI/AAAAAAAAAe4/N9y6Fd-dMDg/s1600-h/Ubuntu+Burn+CD+01-Choose+Disc+Type.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27TIWDQcQI/AAAAAAAAAe4/N9y6Fd-dMDg/s320/Ubuntu+Burn+CD+01-Choose+Disc+Type.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147283564442710274" border="0" /></a>Oh Gnome, I'm so sorry for underestimating you! Why would I need an external CD burner when it is built into Gnome already?! Duh! After choosing "Make Data CD", I just had to create some directories and use some drag and drop to setup the content for my disc.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27TcWDQcRI/AAAAAAAAAfA/t6eybwQ1sRo/s1600-h/Ubuntu+Burn+CD+02-CD-DVD+Creator+-+File+Browser.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27TcWDQcRI/AAAAAAAAAfA/t6eybwQ1sRo/s320/Ubuntu+Burn+CD+02-CD-DVD+Creator+-+File+Browser.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147283908040093970" border="0" /></a>Then I selected my burning options. I changed the name from the default shown in the screen shot below. I generally play it safe too so I changed the disc to burn at some super low speed like 4x. I had other things to do before I headed to the store anyway. I could wait.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UB2DQcSI/AAAAAAAAAfI/KykX4HmeSMY/s1600-h/Ubuntu+Burn+CD+03-Write+to+Disc.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UB2DQcSI/AAAAAAAAAfI/KykX4HmeSMY/s320/Ubuntu+Burn+CD+03-Write+to+Disc.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147284552285188386" border="0" /></a>And then make it write the disc... (the preparing to write step took a lot longer than I expected, what was it doing?)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UKmDQcTI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/Jy2dVhETsZI/s1600-h/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UKmDQcTI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/Jy2dVhETsZI/s320/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147284702609043762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UaWDQcUI/AAAAAAAAAfY/7ZVBQ39jn2E/s1600-h/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD-1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UaWDQcUI/AAAAAAAAAfY/7ZVBQ39jn2E/s320/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147284973191983426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27Uf2DQcVI/AAAAAAAAAfg/tRDQA6-osYA/s1600-h/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD-2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27Uf2DQcVI/AAAAAAAAAfg/tRDQA6-osYA/s320/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD-2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147285067681263954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UjWDQcWI/AAAAAAAAAfo/QKJdiTz4g1c/s1600-h/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD-3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R27UjWDQcWI/AAAAAAAAAfo/QKJdiTz4g1c/s320/Screenshot-Writing+Files+to+CD-3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147285127810806114" border="0" /></a><br />And there you have it. I burned a CD in Linux, so simply. After the successful burn without it, I uninstalled GnomeBurner. The GnomeBurner interfaced looked a little confusing anyway. Maybe I will install it again some other time if I want to do something more complex but until then I'll stick with the easy way.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update:</span> And burning an Audio CD was just as easy. Start from the same dialog when you pop in a blank disc and then up pops Serpentine to burn your audio CD.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EDq2DQcbI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/H8ymxfP7J8E/s1600-h/burn+audio+cd+01.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EDq2DQcbI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/H8ymxfP7J8E/s320/burn+audio+cd+01.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147899883659751858" border="0" /></a><br />Drag and drop in some mp3 (or other file formats too I am sure). Whoops, I added too many at first.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EDvWDQccI/AAAAAAAAAgY/PiX4p6j5Fns/s1600-h/burn+audio+cd+02.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EDvWDQccI/AAAAAAAAAgY/PiX4p6j5Fns/s320/burn+audio+cd+02.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147899960969163202" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EDzmDQcdI/AAAAAAAAAgg/dTfvKUmscug/s1600-h/burn+audio+cd+03.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EDzmDQcdI/AAAAAAAAAgg/dTfvKUmscug/s320/burn+audio+cd+03.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147900033983607250" border="0" /></a><br />Start the disc burning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3ED7WDQceI/AAAAAAAAAgo/eDV_sXDF6-g/s1600-h/burn+audio+cd+04.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3ED7WDQceI/AAAAAAAAAgo/eDV_sXDF6-g/s320/burn+audio+cd+04.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147900167127593442" border="0" /></a><br />And then wait a really long time. I assume this step is converting the MP3s I selected into wav files to burn to the disc. The during this process, CPU usage ramped up to a solid 50% (I have a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper-threading">hyperthreading</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_4">P4</a>).<br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EEBGDQcfI/AAAAAAAAAgw/8m6Fz3njrn4/s1600-h/burn+audio+cd+05.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EEBGDQcfI/AAAAAAAAAgw/8m6Fz3njrn4/s320/burn+audio+cd+05.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147900265911841266" border="0" /></a><br />And the next thing I knew, it was done!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EEEmDQcgI/AAAAAAAAAg4/lKIpimAnRWA/s1600-h/burn+audio+cd+07.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R3EEEmDQcgI/AAAAAAAAAg4/lKIpimAnRWA/s320/burn+audio+cd+07.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147900326041383426" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-3992343819715521271?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-68785664944306285152007-12-23T11:57:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:11.692-05:00Dual booting in Linux is pretty easy. All you have to do is install Linux on a separate partition (after installing Windows or there is more work involved since Windows always overwrites your <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record">MBR</a>) and setup the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/">GRUB boot manager</a>. Creating a separate partition is also fairly easy with <a href="http://gparted.sourceforge.net/">GParted</a>. GParted is part of the Ubuntu Live CD applications. I am not going to get into the details of resizing partitions today though.<br /><br />In addition to resizing partitions, GParted also is a handy utility to find out what partitions each OS is installed on. Knowing what partition each OS is installed on is necessary to configure GRUB. The image below is from my home desktop:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R22krmDQcOI/AAAAAAAAAds/oCKLPkpLikg/s1600-h/GParted-sda-partitions.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R22krmDQcOI/AAAAAAAAAds/oCKLPkpLikg/s320/GParted-sda-partitions.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146951018009882850" border="0" /></a>GParted is not installed by default so you have to add it from Add/Remove programs if you want to use it. Alternatively you can just use fdisk to find out how each partition is configured.<pre>forrest@desktop:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda<br /><br />Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160000000000 bytes<br />255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19452 cylinders<br />Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes<br />Disk identifier: 0x41ab2316<br /><br />Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System<br />/dev/sda1 1 8 64228+ 6 FAT16<br />/dev/sda2 * 9 15756 126495810 7 HPFS/NTFS<br />/dev/sda3 18996 19452 3670852+ db CP/M / CTOS / ...<br />/dev/sda4 15757 18995 26017267+ 5 Extended<br />/dev/sda5 15757 18799 24442866 83 Linux<br />/dev/sda6 18800 18995 1574338+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris<br /></pre>Earlier this week I commented about some new <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/fresh-ubuntu-security-updates.html">Ubuntu updates, including a Kernel update</a>. I'm a bit disappointed because the the update wiped out my GRUB configuration, removing my ability to boot into Windows (I still need it sometimes). That is the basis for this post.<br /><br />So at this point we know from above that Windows is installed on <code>/dev/sda2</code> and Linux is installed on <code>/dev/sda5</code>. To add the ability to boot into Windows back, you will need to edit your GRUB menu file. From a command line run (gksu is the graphical version of sudo):<br /><br /><code>gksu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst &amp;</code><br /><br />The file has a lot of options but the ones you are looking for are the ones that have <code>title</code> and <code>root</code> options. My currently configured kernel has this entry in menu.lst:<pre>title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic<br />root (hd0,4)<br />kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=2a7aa925-61b3-4890-ab99-baa68b29c76c ro quiet splash<br />initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic</pre>Notice the hd0 part of the <code>root</code> option. That corresponds to the device we want to boot from. The 4 is the partition on that device. In this case, Linux is installed on the first disk and the fifth partition. Since GRUB starts from 0 instead of 1, the first hard disk is hd0 and the first partition is 0. All of the details of <a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#Naming-convention">finding the correct name of your partition are here in the GRUB manual</a>, including some slight differences when dealing with extended partitions.<br /><br />Looking ad the output from fdisk or what is show in GParted, we can see that Windows is installed on the second parition so all we have to do to add Windows to the list is add the following to the GRUB menu.lst:<pre>title Windows XP<br />root (hd0,1)<br />makeactive<br />chainloader +1</pre><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#DOS_002fWindows">Windows boots a little differently</a> from other OSes. It has to be <a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#Chain_002dloading">chain-loaded</a>. That is the reason for the <code>makeactive</code> and <code>chainloader</code> options.<br /><br /><h3>Another example</h3><br />I also had to do the same thing on my laptop. I think when I initially installed Ubuntu on my laptop it automatically added Windows to the GRUB configuration. Updates have since wiped that out. Here are my partitions on the laptop via GParted and then fdisk:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R22ru2DQcPI/AAAAAAAAAew/d7LMocNgjyc/s1600-h/GParted-sda-partitions-laptop.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R22ru2DQcPI/AAAAAAAAAew/d7LMocNgjyc/s320/GParted-sda-partitions-laptop.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146958770425852146" border="0" /></a><br /><pre>forrest@laptop:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda<br /><br />Disk /dev/sda: 40.0 GB, 40007761920 bytes<br />255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4864 cylinders<br />Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes<br />Disk identifier: 0xa0000000<br /><br />Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System<br />/dev/sda1 1 4 32098+ de Dell Utility<br />/dev/sda2 * 5 2567 20587297+ 7 HPFS/NTFS<br />/dev/sda3 2568 4676 16940542+ 83 Linux<br />/dev/sda4 4677 4864 1510110 5 Extended<br />/dev/sda5 4677 4864 1510078+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris<br /></pre><br />And based on that, my GRUB menu.lst entries for my Windows partition and Linux kernel:<br /><pre>title Windows XP<br />root (hd0,1)<br />makeactive<br />chainloader +1<br /><br />title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic<br />root (hd0,2)<br />kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=b4741939-10d8-4a31-bfd1-55231e49ebb6 ro splash quiet<br />initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic<br />quiet<br /></pre><br />I hope those examples help to get your dual boot back up and running. While I am here I also wanted to mention a few other GRUB options that I've taken advantage of. I think all of them are already in the default menu.lst file, just commented out with a #.<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#default">default</a> - set which OS you want to boot into by default<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#timeout">timeout</a> - how long to wait for a user selection before booting into the default OS<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#color">color</a> - make your default menus fit a tad more to your taste</li><li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#hiddenmenu">hidemenu</a> - disable the OS selection menu, I prefer to NOT use this option<br /></li></ul><pre>## default num<br /># Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and<br /># the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.<br />#<br /># You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry<br /># is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.<br /># WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your<br /># array will desync and will not let you boot your system.<br />default 1<br /><br />## timeout sec<br /># Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry<br /># (normally the first entry defined).<br />timeout 6<br /><br />## hiddenmenu<br /># Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)<br /># hiddenmenu<br /><br /># Pretty colours<br />color cyan/blue white/blue<br /></pre><br /><h3>One final note on GRUB background images with "splashimage"</h3><br />And one final, final comment. Thinking about the color configuration reminded me of booting into Fedora or RHEL. They have a <a href="http://linuxdansmonpc.is-a-geek.com/distribution/fedora_core_5/captures/capture_031.jpg">nice graphical background as part of the GRUB boot screen</a>. I looked into that months back and that is a feature that is not part of the vanilla GRUB distribution but was <a href="http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/%7Emcgrof/grub-images/#0.1">added to the Redhat stream of GRUB as far back as Redhat 8</a> (September 2002). This feature is not included in the <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debain</a> stable branch, what Ubuntu is based on, so you can't add a boot background without installing GRUB from the <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/unstable/">Debian unstable</a> which does have it. I don't think that is worth it. Many <a href="http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/%7Emcgrof/grub-images/">details on splashimage in GRUB are here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-6878566494430628515?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-80924567484735018002007-12-21T21:34:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:12.332-05:00Wohoo!! Firefox 3 Beta 2 was released on December 18th with a lot of buzz. <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html">Download the latest beta here</a>. I am finally getting around to running it (I am writing this post using it) and so far I am loving it. I am not going to go into all the details of what is new, I will let the <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0b2/releasenotes/">Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 release notes</a> tell you that.<br /><br />I do wish it was easier to install on Ubuntu though. I first tried the Ubuntu Forums which suggested I use Synaptic to install the <code>firefox-granparadiso</code> package. That would have worked well except that didn't install Beta 2 but rather <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firefox/3.0a8/releasenotes/">Gran Paradiso Alpha 8</a>. Gran Paradiso releases are quite rough and I assume the name change during alpha development is to keep overly eager users from running something that isn't ready for anything more than testing. I also imagine there is <span style="font-style: italic;">some repository</span> that has it but finding that would have been more work than the time it would have saved using apt-get.<br /><br />Anyway, to install Firefox 3 beta 2, I did it the old fashioned way. I downloaded the tar.bz2 archive, extracted it, stuck it in my home folder and then created an icon for it on my top panel that runs <code>/home/forrest/firefox-3.0b2/firefox</code>.<br /><br />When I first fired up beta 2 I got a nice little dialog letting me know that some of my extensions are not compatible. I expected this. I was actually surprised that some of the extensions did work. I know that there is an extension manifest that allows you to specify which Firefox versions your plugin supports so many of these may still work but the meta data tells Firefox they don't. I remember that being a BIG problem when 1.5 came out. It was less of a problem when 2.0 came out though because extension developers were more prepared for it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2xbpmDQcLI/AAAAAAAAAdU/RpUmOxVjr1w/s1600-h/Incompatible+Add-ons+Firefox+3+beta+2+Update.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2xbpmDQcLI/AAAAAAAAAdU/RpUmOxVjr1w/s320/Incompatible+Add-ons+Firefox+3+beta+2+Update.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146589244324606130" border="0" /></a> Save Session does has an updated version that was then downloaded and installed but at this point I don't care about it anymore. Firefox 3 makes the <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addons/versions/4199">Save Session add on</a> obsolete with the long awaited (by me) feature that lets you save you current open browser windows and tabs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2xhEGDQcMI/AAAAAAAAAdc/PhIC0AUP4iI/s1600-h/Quit+Firefox+3b2+Save+Session.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2xhEGDQcMI/AAAAAAAAAdc/PhIC0AUP4iI/s320/Quit+Firefox+3b2+Save+Session.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146595197149278402" border="0" /></a>Save Session is a feature that should have been implemented in version 2.0. All the internals were there when they implemented <a href="http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Restore">Session Restore</a> so you wouldn't loose your open pages after a crash or a required restart to load a new Add-on. Also, about the time Firefox 2.0 came out, so did IE7 which does have a <a href="http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=478">save tabs</a> feature. Before save session I found myself occasionally opening up Task Manager/System Monitor to forcefully kill the process and save my open tabs.<br /><br /><a href="http://adblockplus.org/">Addblock plus</a>, <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/173">Gmail Notifier</a> and <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/">StumbleUpon</a> add-ons all still work. As long as those first two are still working, I'm not going to complain until a week or so after the final release for the other add-ons.<br /><br />One fun thing to point out before the obligatory screen shot is the <a href="http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0b2/firstrun/">new first run page is really funny</a>. And now for the screen shot:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2xlyGDQcNI/AAAAAAAAAdk/oYvq76e-K0U/s1600-h/Mozilla+Firefox+3+Beta+2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2xlyGDQcNI/AAAAAAAAAdk/oYvq76e-K0U/s320/Mozilla+Firefox+3+Beta+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146600385469771986" border="0" /></a>And one final note since I just realized it. The improved GTK support is very nice. "<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:80;" >[Improved in Beta 2!]</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Integration with Linux: Firefox's default icons, buttons, and menu styles now use the native GTK theme.</span>" Now the browser visually feels more at home with the rest of my desktop. Also, when I change themes around with Firefox open, it doesn't render the entire browser useless for a minute or so. I don't change themes that frequently but it was annoying if you change your theme while Firefox 2.0 was up and running.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:80;" > </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:80;" ></span><h3>Reviews and other thoughts (including some beta 1 stuff)<br /></h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.go2linux.org/firefox-3-vs-firefox-2">Firefox 2 compared with Firefox 3 beta 2</a>, with screen shots</li><li><a href="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15865/1023/">Firefox 3 Beta 2 - faster and easier to navigate</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1061">ZDNet - First Look at Firefox 3.0 beta 2</a></li><li><a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071219-first-look-firefox-3-beta-2-officially-released.html">Ars Technica - First look: Firefox 3 beta 2 officially released</a></li><li><a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=960">Memory test - Firefox 2.0.0.9 vs Firefox 3.0 b 1</a></li><li><a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071120-afirst-look-at-firefox-3-beta-1.html">Ars Technica - First look at Firefox 3.0b1: fast, stable, and full of new features</a></li><li><a href="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15788/1023/">We haven't forgotten Linux in Firefox 3: Mozilla</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cybercapital.org/index.php/2007/11/09/beautiful-tab-switching-for-firefox-3/">“Beautiful” tab switching for Firefox 3</a> - a feature I hope might make it in 3.0</li><li><a href="http://fosswire.com/2007/12/20/firefox-30-beta-2-is-a-win-for-linux/">Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 Is A Win For Linux</a></li><li>Firefox, apply directly to the forehead. (Added 1/11/08, very interesting read)<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update:</span> Flash is not working. I am not sure what I need to do to get it working but it makes you realize that a lot of sites use Flash!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update 2:</span> I moved Firefox from my home directory to /opt and also got Flash working. To get Flash working I <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash">downloaded it from Adobe</a> and then just copied libflashplayer.so to /opt/firefox-3.0b2/plugins and restarted.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-8092456748473501800?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-939557503848728942007-12-21T14:08:00.000-05:002007-12-21T14:13:45.403-05:00<h3>A little background first</h3><br />I've discussed <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-want-to-watch-my-dvds-part-1.html">some background</a> and <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-want-to-watch-my-dvds-part-2.html">my experiences on getting DVDs to play on Linux</a> before. The whole reason either of those articles even exist is because access to DVD content is restricted by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_Scramble_System">CSS</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act">DMCA</a> anti-circumvention provisions which make it illegal to work around CSS. If it were not for CSS and the DMCA, every Linux desktop distribution would have DVD support from the start. <a href="http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/">Eben Moglen</a> wrote an insightful article back in 2000, soon after the algorithm to decrypt CSS was reverse engineered, titled: <a href="http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/lu-02.html">Free Software Matters: Linux, the DVD and the Law</a>. Read that for the historical perspective on the reverse engineering of CSS and the law.<br /><br />On Windows and Macs, you <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> play DVDs out of the box so you might be asking "Why do you need to circumvent CSS and break the law (the law being the DMCA) on Linux anyway?" There are 2 primary reasons from what I see.<br /><br />The first, and less important in my opinion, is the desire for all software to be <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html">Free software (free as in speech, not free as in beer) on Liunx and everywhere</a>. You fundamentally can not have a proprietary, closed encryption scheme and an open implementation to access data encrypted by that scheme. An open implementation opens up the encryption to all.<br /><br />The second, and more practical issue, is there are no closed implementations of DVD software for Linux. Back in <a href="http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-want-to-watch-my-dvds-part-1.html">I want to watch my DVDs (Part 1)</a> I discussed the lack of commercial alternatives. There is a market for watching DVDs in Linux (I don't think it is a very large market but it does exist and it is definitely growing) yet there are no legal commercially available applications to meet the demand of that market. What has met the demand in the market is an open source solution that happens to be illegal.<br /><br /><h3>Dell, Ubuntu 7.10 and legal DVD watching</h3><br />This is where Dell comes in. Dell has been selling systems with <a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/05/01/13147.aspx">Ubuntu 7.04 pre-installed</a> since May 2007. Now that Gutsy Gibson has been out for a few months Dell seems to have tested it and are ready to start selling 7.10 on new systems instead of 7.04. Oh but wait, that is not the exciting part. As part of the roll out of Gutsy Gibson on Dells, they are also including a LEGAL DVD player. This is one exiting press release: <a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/12/18/38935.aspx">Ubuntu 7.10 and Built-In DVD playback</a> Dell is going with LinDVD which is one of the players I mentioned before but that I couldn't find a real site for.<br /><br />I guess with Dell's money, you can find the right person to talk to to make things like commercial DVD playback happen. That is one of the reasons that I love that Dell, and some other manufacturers are getting on the Linux train. They are helping Linux to solve it's chicken and the egg problems by throwing their weight behind it and giving it the credibility it deserves. Dell also offers some good resources such as <a href="http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board?board.id=sw_linux">forums</a> and <a href="http://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo">mailing lists</a>. Thanks Dell! I think my next computer will be one from you with Ubuntu on it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8057107437144001218-93955750384872894?l=adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08156739167001456236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8057107437144001218.post-37655070250251545572007-12-19T20:53:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:45:12.778-05:00I work for a small company with a Microsoft based VPN. As employees of a small company, we have the luxury of being able to work from home when necessary. Since my primary computer at work is running Windows XP and already has everything I need configured, the easiest way to work from home is to connect to the VPN and then create a Terminal Services connection to my machine and work as if I am there (minus the second monitor).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note:</span> If you have a different, non PPTP VPN, your mileage <strike>may</strike> will vary. This is the only VPN I have ever connected to with Linux.<br /><h3>Step 1: Connecting to the VPN</h3>The first step in this of course is to get connected to the VPN. It turns out, at least in Gutsy Gibson, this is a fairly easy task. All you really need to do is install the "VPN Connection Manager (PPP generic)" in Applications -> Add/Remove...<br /><br />Once you have that installed, just left click on the network icon in the system tray, select VPN Connections -> Configure VPN. Click the Add button to configure a new connection. Configuring the VPN was straightforward for me. I entered in the Connection Name, Gateway (this is the IP address of your VPN server) and under the Routing tab I set it to only route traffic to the VPN local network over the VPN by adding 10.10.10.0/24. We intentionally setup our work network to be 10.10.10.x so it would not conflict with the home network of any other employees. Most routers default to using 10.0.0.x, 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x (you don't often see a 172.16.x.x - 172.31.x.x internal network). Everything else I left as the default.<br /><br />After configuring my new VPN connection I did have one little issue. The connection didn't show up when I again clicked the network icon in the system tray. I think to fix this you can just restart the network manager but I had to restart my system anyway due to a kernel update required restart.<br /><br />Once you have the VPN connection configured, then you can just click on the network icon, select VPN Connections and click on your newly created connection. You will then get a dialog to enter in your username and password. As it is connecting to your VPN, the network icon will have a little yellow swoosh thing that flows into a little lock on the network icon. Once connected, the lock stays constant.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2nBcGDQcJI/AAAAAAAAAdE/lIFTY20sZZA/s1600-h/Connected+to+the+VPN.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2nBcGDQcJI/AAAAAAAAAdE/lIFTY20sZZA/s320/Connected+to+the+VPN.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145856737652273298" border="0" /></a><h3>Step 2: Connecting to the my computer at work with rdesktop<br /></h3>The next thing I need to do is connect to my work computer using Terminal Services / Remote Desktop. I am not really sure what the difference is between those two terms so I will use them interchangeably. The default install of Gutsy Gibson has a "Terminal Server Client" installed. It is the last option under Applications -> Internet. It handles 2 types of connections: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VNC">Virtual Network Computing (VNC)</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Desktop_Protocol">Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)</a>.<br /><br />VNC is platform-independent and works pretty well. When in Windows, I have <a href="http://www.tightvnc.com/">TightVNC</a> running as a server so I can connect to my home system from anywhere, even the Java client in a browser. I am sure I will setup a VNC server in Linux for the same purpose eventually. RDP is primarily a Windows solution. The "Terminal Server Client" is really just a nice front end for the actual applications, <a href="http://www.rdesktop.org/">rdesktop</a> and <a href="http://www.realvnc.com/">vncviewer</a>, that are used to connect to a remote system.<br /><br />The information you need to know is self explanatory if you have ever used Remote Desktop on Windows. You need to know the IP or host name of the computer you are connecting to, select the RDPv5 protocol (only use the plain RDP protocol if you have to connect to an NT4 machine, I hope you don't), enter your username (skip the password, it asks again later anyway) and the domain (I am pretty sure you do not always need this). I also go to the Display tab and change my connection to full screen mode but that is your call. <span style="font-style: italic;">Important Note:</span> To get out of full screen mode, hit the key combination CTRL + ALT + ENTER. The native Windows client handles this much, much better as it has a little bar in the top center that works like a menu bar with auto hide and is only shown when you mouse over it or explicitly pin it to show.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2nHBWDQcKI/AAAAAAAAAdM/k0A3fVYdnCE/s1600-h/Terminal+Server+Client.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oSDU1nPkdPE/R2nHBWDQcKI/AAAAAAAAAdM/k0A3fVYdnCE/s320/Terminal+Server+Client.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145862875160539298" border="0" /></a>And that is all there is to it! Now I am Working from Home in Linux!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://