tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-269898402024-03-24T00:47:54.911+07:00.:pushbutton:.Living a life is not just like operating a modern machine wherein you simply have to push a button, living a life is to strive hard to get what you want even if it is already meant for you... and from that you get total satisfaction.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-25533252578569812422009-06-30T15:10:00.003+07:002009-06-30T15:21:51.059+07:00Tips and tricks on installing CentOS 5.3 x86_64, Vmware 2.0.1, eRPTS on an IBM X3400.I was in Binalonan last weekends to help my friend Bryan setup his electronic Real Property System on his brand new server. This is to share what we basically did...<br /><br />Specs: Intel Quad Core 2.0 with Intel VT, 3 x 250 SATA HDD (hot swappable), 8Gb RAM DDR2<br /><br />For RAID configuration, please refer to documentation as provided by the IBM supplier.<br /><br />In our case, we did a RAID 1 on the first 2 HD, while the remaining HD was configure as a hot spare.<br /><br />Get CentOS 5.3 x86_64 from http://centos.org. Best download speed is via Torrent. Make sure you get the x86_64 to maximize your machine.<br /><br />Install CentOS. For best results, allocate partitions for the following /boot, /, swap, /tmp, /usr, /var, /home, and a separate partition for the vmware machines (e.g. /vmware).<br /><br />On selecting packages to install, make sure you check on the Development Libraries and Development Tools and try to prune other packages that you may not need at all (e.g. openoffice, gimp, etc.). As a server, you may also opt to put a password on your boatloader.<br /><br />Upon installation, configure network first to a static IP (e.g. 192.168.10.200) and make sure it will connect to the Internet.<br /><br />Update your CentOS installation<br /><blockquote>$ yum update</blockquote>Reboot after update.<br /><br />Edit /etc/fstab. On the options concerning ext3 partitions, put noatime after defaults as an optimization.<br /><blockquote>/dev/sda1 /boot ext3 defaults,noatime 1 1</blockquote>Then edit /etc/sysctl.conf to add the following lines at the bottom:<br /><blockquote>vm.swappiness = 0<br />vm.overcommit_memory = 1<br />vm.dirty_background_ratio = 5<br />vm.dirty_ratio = 10<br />vm.dirty_expire_centisecs = 1000<br />dev.rtc.max-user-freq = 1024</blockquote>You must also turn off some services that your host server won't need during boottime like cups, etc.<br /><br />Reboot for the new optimizations to take effect.<br /><br />Install VMWare 2.0.1. Check documentation for installation instructions. Actually you can accept almost all the defaults except for the location of the virtual machine which you must set to the partition you intended solely for erpts (e.g. /vmware).<br /><br />After installation, edit /etc/vmware/config:<br /><br />If your CPU was 2.0 then its<br /><blockquote>host.cpukHz=2000000</blockquote>Then add the following lines<br /><blockquote>host.noTSC = TRUE<br />ptsc.noTSC = TRUE</blockquote>Access Vmware with your web browser via http://localhost:8222, with root as admin user.<br /><br />Edit host configuration as desired.<br /><br />We may now create a virtual machine where we will install eRPTS.<br /><br />Tips: When adding a virtual disk, put a check on Allocate Disk Space Now and Split into 2Gb files. Under policies, select Optimize for Performance. We allocated 40 Gb of disk space for this VM.<br /><br />Allocate at least 2Gb of RAM and use only single processor. No need to add floppy disk and USB controller. Configure NIC to Bridged.<br /><br />You may now proceed with the installation of erpts. You may also partition your drive into /boot, /, swap, /tmp, /usr, /home, and /var. Take note that /var should have the biggest allocation, perhaps not lower than 20Gb for it will store the database files. Partitioning on this case will ease down I/O traffic.<br /><br />Configure network to a static ip that is in range with the static IP of the host machine. (e.g. 192.168.10.100). Apply erpts patches as instructed during the trainings. Update the database into 57 tables.<br /><br />Time again for some optimizations in the eRPTS Guest Machine...<br /><br />Edit /etc/fstab and add noatime on /var line...<br /><blockquote>/dev/sda5 /var ext3 defaults,noatime 1 2</blockquote>Download the following kernel packages (optimized kernels for vm guests)<br /><blockquote>http://people.centos.org/tru/kernel-vm/4/RPMS/i386/kernel-vm-2.6.9-78.0.22.EL.i686.rpm<br />http://people.centos.org/tru/kernel-vm/4/RPMS/i386/kernel-vm-devel-2.6.9-78.0.22.EL.i686.rpm</blockquote>Install the kernel and development libraries with the –-nodeps option<br /><blockquote>rpm -ivh -–nodeps kernel-vm-2.6.9-78.0.22.EL.i686.rpm<br />rpm -ivh –-nodeps kernel-vm-devel-2.6.9-78.0.22.EL.i686.rpm</blockquote>Edit /boot/grub/menu.list. Make sure the default is set to 0.<br /><br />And add the following at the end of the kernel line of kernel-vm-xxxx<br /><blockquote>noapic nolapic acpi=off clocksource=acpi_pm elevator=noop</blockquote>Save and exit.<br /><br />Edit /etc/sysctl.conf to add the following lines<br /><blockquote>vm.swappiness = 0<br />vm.overcommit_memory = 1</blockquote>Then remove unnecessary services during boot time like cups, smb, etc. YMMV<br /><br />Reboot guest machine for settings to take effect.<br /><br />On the host machine, edit the .vmx file of the just created virtual machine. Its located where you put the virtual machine itself.<br /><br />Add the following lines at the bottom<br /><blockquote>MemTrimRate = “0″<br />sched.mem.pshare.enable = “FALSE”<br />MemAllowAutoScaleDown = “FALSE”</blockquote>Optional!<br /><br />It is possible to install the latest phpmyadmin on eRPTS. Get phpmyadmin on their website.<br /><br />You may also install the mysql 4.1 package from eBPLS with instructions to be posted here soon.<br /><br />Use with caution though and as always, YMMV. :)<br /><br />Wait! No USB? Well now that you are a linux sysad, try using the scp command to transfer files from your host machine to the guest machine. Syntax is as follows:<br /><blockquote>scp sourcefiles root@ipaddressofguestmachine:/specific/path/of/target/folder</blockquote>And how did this installation fare? We chose a certain page at eRPTS where it usually takes them around 60 to 80 seconds to open. With this setup, it now opens in only about 3 to 8 seconds.<br /><br />Not bad, aye?<br /><br />That's all for now, I hope this helps!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-70789752821123584152009-04-15T11:57:00.000+07:002009-04-15T11:58:01.706+07:00Faceoff: PCLOS 2009.1 vs LinuxMint KDE CE 6In the past few days, I was lucky to be able to test drive two wonderful Linux distributions that both promises to work "out of the box" -- PCLinuxOS 2009.1 and LinuxMint KDE Community Edition 6.<br /><br />My rig is only a Lenovo G400, with 1Gb of RAM, 120 Gb SATA HD, Built in Video (Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller) and Sound (82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller), NetLink BCM5906M Fast Ethernet PCI Express as NIC, and BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN for Wireless.<br /><br />Before using trying out these two distros, I was happily using Ubuntu 8.10 on this laptop.<br /><br />PCLOS and Mint KDE share many similar characteristics. They both use the K Desktop Environment. They are both derivatives from "bigger" Linux distros. Both promised an excellent "out of the box" experience thus loaded with the necessary plugins and codecs needed for every average user to enjoy his/her everyday computer use. Both distros are using the Synaptic Package Manager for software management. Development of both distros are being led by one guy namely Texstar for PCLOS, and Clem for LinuxMint.<br /><br />But the similarity ends here. <br /><br />PCLOS is based on Madriva Linux while LinuxMint KDE CE is based on Ubuntu. PCLOS is a meta or rolling distro, Mint is not. PCLOS is true to its promise of being able to play almost all types of media files, with LinuxMint KDE, I don't have sound on some .3gp and .mp4 files.<br /><br />Although both uses Synaptic, PCLOS uses rpms while Mint uses debs. PCLOS uses KDE 3.5.10, while LinuxMint is now using KDE 4.2.<br /><br />Installation with both distros on this rig is a breeze as I didn't encountered any problems at all with both distros using easy to use wizards.<br /><br />On hardware support, I had varying results.<br /><br />PCLOS was not able to activate my Fn keys at the start (I had to install Keytouch), while LinuxMint was able to activate almost every key right after installation. I also have this feeling that LinuxMint KDE 6 handled power management for this laptop better than PCLinuxOS but then again, both were able to suspend my laptop well and that what matters most.<br /><br />Network management is way too easy with PCLOS than that of the KNetwork Manager installed on LinuxMint KDE 6. To make matters worst for Mint, I can't seem to make my wireless work. It was so easy with Ubuntu 8.10 but a no go with Mint (this was the ultimate deal breaker for me). With PCLOS, I didn't had to install or download anything. I simply configured it with the wizard incorporated on its Control Center. No fuss or whatsoever.<br /><br />Built in sound just works, the same thing with the video as both can use Compiz with it.<br /><br />More softwares are installed by default with PCLOS. However, I had problems with Frostwire which I had to do a "killall" command before I can kill it. HDDTEMP and POWERTOP aren't working well on PCLOS too. HDDTEMP on PCLOS says that it doesn't support my drive but hddtemp on Mint can. PowerTop on PCLOS doesn't work on my Lenovo, but powertop on Mint just works.<br /><br />However, perhaps its because of KDE 4.2, I had stability problems with LinuxMint KDE 6. Random crashes and slowdowns. I can't use the wireless card with it. Mint doesn't even have a GUI for connecting with PPPOE. And as compared with KDE 3.5 and the PCLOS Control Center, Mint doesn't offer as much tools to work onas PCLOS does.<br /><br />And personally, I don't like Amarok 2 on Mint as much as I love Amarok on PCLOS. Kaffeine on PCLOS is able to play almost everything, unlike VLC or DragonPlayer on Mint which can "play" some videos but with no sound. Where is the joy in that?<br /><br />After an update using mintUpdate, I found myself wondering why I can't hear anymore any sound with Youtube videos with Mint. Did I just broke something with that update? Along the way, I also unknowingly broke my Mint system as some widgets (which I love so much) suddenly ceased to function. I didn't know what happened. I just installed some apps using mintInstall then after a reboot, some of my widgets aren't functioning anymore much to my dismay.<br /><br />And with Mint, sometimes when I try to restart or shut it down, sometimes it will turn off or restart, sometimes it just sits there doing nothing.<br /><br />PCLOS is much more stable. Almost every app from the repos works well except for the three apps I mentioned earlier. And I haven't ever experienced breaking my system after an update.<br /><br />One thing I like more about PCLOS is that it has its very own repository of applications unlike in Mint where I still see some Ubuntu lines on their /etc/apt/sources.list file.<br /><br />And the mklivecd script simply rocks with PCLOS along with RedoMBR and other utilities which Mint doesn't unfortunately have. (Or perhaps they some equivalent but still mklivecd works better than the others)<br /><br />My verdict?! Obviously, after installing PCLOS then wiping it out for LinuxMint, here I am again with PCLOS. So how was I able to restore my PCLOS installation so easily? Good thing that I used mklivecd to create my very own PCLinuxOS, loaded with my fave goodies and with all the updates. <br /><br />I simply reinstalled the whole thing using my custom PCLOS and everything were back to its proper places. :)<br /><br />Make no mistake about it. This is not an anti LinuxMint or anti KDE 4.2 post. I love LinuxMint especially its main Gnome edition. I love how KDE 4.2 looks and still fancy plasma, plasmoids, widgets or whatever you want to call them. (Hey, I miss the Picture Frame widget!!!)<br /><br />But I have a life to live and a choice to make.<br /><br />Perhaps someday when the Ripper Gang is finished with their KDE 4.x rendition, I won't hesitate to install and use KDE 4.x on this laptop knowing that it is finally stable to let me get my job done.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-81919260894075869042009-01-26T11:17:00.005+07:002009-01-26T11:43:21.315+07:00IpKungfu NAT + DHCP server + Transparent SquidIFor 2 months and a half, I forced myself to believe that an appliance router would be enough to share our (measly) internet connection within our local area network.<br /><br />Well, it was actually enough to share the internet connection but not enough to control how it shares the connection and speed it up. Since it was configured as a DHCP server, we are having a hard time monitoring what PC is viewing this and that. We also cannot effectively filter out "undesireable websites" via the appliance router.<br /><br />So I had to go back to my old setup... NAT + Squid + Built-in Filter and now plus DHCP server. We were using Ubuntu 8.10 and I thought it would be easy after all this time I am configuring such setup. It was actually easy, except for one thing... NETWORK setup on Intrepid.<br /><br />Okay, here is the setup. I have two NICs, eth0 and eth1. eth1 is connected to the Internet with a dynamic IP while eth0 is connected to the LAN and to be configured with a static IP.<br /><br />I tried to use the built-in Network Manager but there seems to be a bug on it. It won't save static IP configuration after a reboot. So, eventhough I have configured eth0 with an IP of let's say 192.168.2.1... after a reboot it would still and again ask for a dynamic IP.<br /><br />Darn!<br /><br />Perhaps, there could be other better solutions out there for static IP to work on Network Manager but I did it on a way that I am comfortable... get my hands dirty on /etc/network/interfaces. Here it goes!<br /><br />1. Disable Network Manager<br /><blockquote>sudo update-rc.d -f NetworkManager remove</blockquote>1.1 Open and edit /etc/network/interfaces (dynamic eth1, static eth0).<br /><blockquote>gksu gedit /etc/network/interfaces </blockquote>My /etc/network/intercafes looks like this:<br /><blockquote>auto lo eth0 eth1<br />iface lo inet loopback<br />iface eth0 inet static<br />address 192.168.2.1<br />netmask 255.255.255.0<br /><br />iface eth1 inet dhcp</blockquote>Reboot<br /><br />2. Install and configure DHCP<br /><br />2.1 Install<br /><blockquote>sudo apt-get install dhcp3-server </blockquote>2.2 Configure DHCP to provide reserved IPs to specific computers.<br /><br />2.2.1 Open DHCP conf file, edit to provide ip range 192.168.2.0/24 plus reserved IPs for specific PCs.<br /><blockquote>gksu gedit /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf </blockquote>Copy, paste, and edit the following configuration according to your LAN settings (leave out the comments),<br /><blockquote> default-lease-time 600;<br /> max-lease-time 7200;<br /><br /> option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;<br /> option broadcast-address 192.168.1.255;<br /> option routers 192.168.2.1; # This should be your Squid/NAT server<br /> option domain-name-servers 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220; # These are OpenDNS settings<br /> subnet 192.168.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {<br /> range 192.168.2.160 192.168.2.169; # Edit accordingly<br />}<br />host linksys {<br />hardware ethernet 00:21:29:65:7a:66;<br />fixed-address 192.168.2.170;<br />}<br />host ecenter1 {<br />hardware ethernet 00:07:e9:01:b5:dc;<br />fixed-address 192.168.2.171;<br />}<br />host ecenter2 {<br />hardware ethernet 00:07:e9:01:bc:be;<br />fixed-address 192.168.2.172;<br />}<br /></blockquote>Of course, we have more PCs but I have to cut it to three. :) To get the MAC address of each PC, issue the ifconfig command (ipconfig /all for Windows PC).<br /><br />2.2.3 Restart dhcpd for the settings to take effect.<br /><blockquote>sudo service dhcpd restart </blockquote>3. Configure NAT via Ipkungfu (transparent redirection will be done later)<br /><br />3.1 To save space, Please just read my blogspot on this at <a href="http://teqnix.blogspot.com/2006/06/ipkungfu-kicks-firestarter-out-of-my.html">LINK</a> . Additional info at <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/firewall/ipkungfu">LINK</a>, which was actually partially based on my blogspot too. :) Don't forget to reboot thereafter.<br /><br />4. Configure squid with minimal configuration. I just lifted and edited accordingly my previous post on this:<br /><br />First install squid via apt-get or synaptic:<br /><blockquote>sudo apt-get install squid</blockquote>After installation, edit Squid's configuration file:<br /><blockquote>sudo gedit /etc/squid/squid.conf</blockquote>In the /etc/squid/squid.conf file, search and edit the following options/tags:<br /><br />#TAG:http_port<br />http_port 3128 transparent<br /><br />#OPTION WHICH AFFECT THE CACHE SIZE<br />cache_mem (1/4 of the your RAM) MB<br /><br />(e.g. assuming your RAM is 1Gb then its "cache_mem 250 MB")<br /><br />#LOGFILE PATHNAMES AND CACHE DIRECTORIES<br />#cache_dir ufs /var/spool/squid 100 16 256<br />cache_dir diskd /cache (capacity of your /cache in MB) 16 256<br /><br />(make sure /cache already exists)<br /><br />#RECOMENDED MINIMUM CONFIGURATION<br />acl netxxx src xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx<br /><br />(specify your network and netmask e.g. "acl mynet src 192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0)<br /><br /># AND FINALLY DENY ALL OTHER ACCESS TO THE PROXY<br />http_access allow netxxx<br /><br />(e.g. "http_access allow mynet")<br /><br />#TAG:Visible_hostname<br />visible_hostname (yourserver name)<br /><br />At the terminal, change the ownership of the existing /cache folder:<br /><blockquote>sudo chown proxy:proxy /cache</blockquote>Then create swap directories at /cache:<br /><blockquote>sudo squid -z</blockquote>Then fireaway squid!<br /><blockquote>sudo /etc/init.d/squid start</blockquote>5. Enable transparent redirection via IpKungfu<br /><br />5.1 Open and edit /etc/ipkungfu/redirection.conf.<br /><blockquote>gksu gedit /etc/ipkungfu/redirection.conf </blockquote>Uncomment the line that has 3128 on it.<br /><pre><blockquote>tcp:80:3128:internal # transparent squid proxy</blockquote></pre>5.2 Restart IpKungfu for settings to take effect.<br /><blockquote>sudo /etc/init.d/ipkungfu restart </blockquote>My squid configuration was actually configured to filter out undesirable websites and that will be tackled on my next blogpost.<br /><br />Till then!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-66884014131290892762008-05-31T15:28:00.001+07:002008-05-31T15:30:53.215+07:00Hardy Heron on Lenovo 3000 g400<p>Ahhh finally! A laptop issued to me by the LGU of Paniqui, Tarlac.<br /><br />Ta Da! Its a <strong>Lenovo 3000 G400</strong>. The specs are on the <a href="http://www-07.ibm.com/lenovoinfo/ph/notebooks/3000hho/g-series/" target="_blank">Lenovo website</a> .<br /><br />It was bought from Computer Zone in Tarlac City (beside the Tarlac Cathedral). As you already saw the price at the link I gave you... does this mean that a local store would sell it hig<img src="http://epaniqui.com/images/hitman.png" alt="My Desktop" align="right" height="156" width="250" />her?<br /><br />Surprisingly, it didn't. It was priced almost just the same plus a free webcam and mouse... not to mention the gorgeous bag that goes with it.</p><p>It only has MSDOS as its Operating System which is actually a PLUS for me. First, it saved us money from MS licenses and secondly, even if they will give me a laptop with a copy of licensed MS Windows on it, I will still reformat it in favor of Linux.<br /><br />Installing Ubuntu Linux (Hardy Heron) on it was a breeze. Everything was auto detected, including the wireless card. However, it seems that it won't work at first. Some googling around brought me to a simple how-to by <a href="http://invaleed.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/howto-install-driver-wireless-lenovo3000-g400-ubuntu-hardy-heron/" target="_blank">Invaleed</a> .</p> <p>Luckily for me, the how-to worked seamlessly.<br /><br />Next step is to install various codecs and plugins essential for daily work and surfing needs. I first edited the <strong>/etc/apt/sources.list</strong> file to enable all the software repositories on it. It simply involves uncommenting a few lines.<br /><br />Then I also included the Medibuntu repos with the following commands:<br /><br />sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list<br />sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update<br /><br />Then I installed everything I need with this command:<br /><br />sudo apt-get install build-essential avant-window-navigator linux-header-$(uname -r) ubuntu-restricted-extras audacious vlc k3b wifi-radar grip acidrip aptoncd<br /><br />After about two hours (internet connection at the office is crappy at the most) everything got installed. I then proceeded to http://gnome-look.org to get some icon sets, gdm themes and wallpapers for some eye candy.<br /><br />All in all, my laptop now looks like this: <a href="http://epaniqui.com/images/hitman2.png" target="_blank" title="Click Here">Click Here</a> </p><p> The dock at the bottom is avant-window-navigator which will only work when compiz is activated. Good thing I have Intel as video so I don't any problem enabling compiz on this laptop.<br /><br />Almost every key on this laptop works with Ubuntu except for the orange NOVO key. The weight is just right for me although some say it looks kinda bulky. I love the screen and the keyboard layout. My hands just fit in. Suspend and hibernate works without a problem.<br /><br />I haven't tested the internal modem but no I have no problem with that. Earphones are working, including the integrated mic. Battery applet indicates that the battery would last 2 hours and 55 minutes when fully charged. CPU scaling seems to work out just fine. CPU temperature is from 42 to 57 degrees Celsius.<br /><br />And oh, when I installed the wireless drivers.... I suddenly noticed that when I started working on it, a scratching sound blurts out.<br /><br />I desperately tried to trace everything to the point that I wanted to reinstall everything.... only to find out that the sound was caused by my palm movement over the integrated mic on my left. Stupid me! All it takes is for me to mute the mic.<br /><br />One thing I don't like?! The touchpad. It doesn't feel as responsive as the other touchpads that I have used. Its a good thing that I always have my USB retractable mouse with me.<br /><br />All in all I am very much impressed with Lenovo 3000 g400 and with Ubuntu Hardy Heron. I love the simple black Lenovo design that looks cool and sturdy which is complemented by the stability and responsiveness of Ubuntu Hardy. If ever I'll have money to buy a laptop of my own, I won't hesitate to buy the same laptop.<br /><br />Low priced laptop + free open source software = Best Everyday Computing ever!</p>fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-81614317062837065502008-04-22T12:52:00.004+07:002008-12-11T08:02:19.702+07:00Me, Avant, and my WallpaperJust two screenshots showing avant-windows-navigator with a nice green wallpaper on LinuxMint Daryna.<br /><br />Screenshots taken out of boredom waiting for Hardy (which I'll be using for server purposes) and Mint 5.0.<br /><br />Green is cool with Mint, aye?!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWg21HX_inGGo7b9JfS6ZdgB7Qz9GNLeVAVKHHoGw2p212dAYfcKCY7wVuh_0Fa2JW3ovDx0VjUMq73hfqcgx9rH8gqDbmI9EtCnEZVMasQc5JDLueSlBLC0ZlFN5PY0Vfwx4/s1600-h/screen.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWg21HX_inGGo7b9JfS6ZdgB7Qz9GNLeVAVKHHoGw2p212dAYfcKCY7wVuh_0Fa2JW3ovDx0VjUMq73hfqcgx9rH8gqDbmI9EtCnEZVMasQc5JDLueSlBLC0ZlFN5PY0Vfwx4/s320/screen.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191944404263260626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY4TtHDkY5GItqHod-XEzidL-ZpHWwicmQLTz1A2mZ3wlPlUnlep4zpZ9nJ3q0OROnuadGeWf_wKR_dm6XQ1gSdRIVk5kvoiahPumdnnNy4lhXZXjybr-8LnpMAtHwns2719rD/s1600-h/screen1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY4TtHDkY5GItqHod-XEzidL-ZpHWwicmQLTz1A2mZ3wlPlUnlep4zpZ9nJ3q0OROnuadGeWf_wKR_dm6XQ1gSdRIVk5kvoiahPumdnnNy4lhXZXjybr-8LnpMAtHwns2719rD/s320/screen1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191944756450578914" border="0" /></a>fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-79051606512251471892008-01-04T13:43:00.000+07:002008-01-04T14:26:43.358+07:00Arno's Iptables Firewall on my Ubuntu GutsyIpkungfu is acting weird on Ubuntu Gutsy box lately. It sometimes locks the machine from the other PCs in the LAN (I can't ssh or vnc to it) and even disables the transparent proxying for Squid :(. I can't seem to find the problem so every time it locks the server (which acts as squid proxy, router, gateway, dhcp, and vmware server host) I simply reinstall ipkungfu and it works again but then after a few more days, the server got locked up again. :(<br /><br />So what I did is to try find another easy to use firewall script... and that is when I came upon <a href="http://rocky.molphys.leidenuniv.nl/">Arno's Iptables Firewall</a>. To quote from its freshmeat.org entry:<br /><blockquote>"Arno's IPTABLES Firewall Script is a secure stateful firewall for both single and multi-homed machines. It supports NAT and SNAT, port forwarding, ADSL ethernet modems with both static and dynamically assigned IPs, MAC address filtering, stealth port scan detection, DMZ support, protection against SYN/ICMP flooding, experimental IPv6 support, multi-interface/aliased-IP support, and extensive user definable logging with rate limiting to prevent log flooding. It has plugin support to add extra features (like SSH Brute Force protection and (Racoon) IPSEC support). It is easy to configure and highly customizable. A filter script that makes your firewall log more readable is also included."</blockquote>To install it on ubuntu, fire up synaptic then look for and install the arno-iptables-firewall package. It will also install the following packages: gawk and lynx.<br /><br />After the download it will run a simple wizard that will also questions like what is your internet and external interfaces, what ports should be allowed, etc. After answering the questions, it will be installed and is ready to run.<br /><br />To enable transparent proxying, open with your favorite text editor the file "/etc/arno-iptables-firewall/firewall.conf" and then search for the term "3128" and then simply uncomment the line pertaining to it.<br /><br />To reconfigure your firewall, simply do a "sudo dpkg-reconfigure arno-iptables-firewall" and an easy to understand text-based wizard will come up. To make it run on boot, do a "sudo invoke-rc.d arno-iptables-firewall start" command.<br /><br />So far its running great on my machine. Remember when I blogged about ipkungfu kicking firestarter out of my machine? Now it seems arno is ready to kick ipkungfu, but let me find out first after a series of tests.<br /><br />For the FAQ on arno, read <a href="http://rocky.molphys.leidenuniv.nl/page/iptables/qafaq.htm">here</a>.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-56346666355621548172007-11-09T10:57:00.000+07:002007-11-09T14:13:56.902+07:00VCDGear and WinFF on Ubuntu GutsyI once had this challenge on how to convert a .dat file on a VCD to mpeg. After scouring the web, I stumbled upon VCDGear which has a GUI version built for Windows and a Console version for Linux.<br /><br />Unfortunately, its not at the repositories but its easy to install. Simply download the file from this <a href="http://vcdgear.com/files/vcdgear_1.6e-1_i386.deb">page</a> and then double click on the deb file and easy does it.<br /><br />Execute it by typing vcdgear at the terminal and you'll see the options and command syntax to follow. For more info, visit http://vcdgear.com.<br /><br />Another app I love is WinFF. I first saw it at PCLOS repos but its not included at the Ubuntu repos. Simply download the deb file from <a href="http://biggmatt.com/files/winff-0.31-i386.deb">here</a> and double click on it to install.<br /><br /><span><strong>WinFF</strong> is a cross platform batch GUI for</span> <a href="http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu/">FFMPEG</a>. It will convert most any video file that FFmpeg will convert. WinFF does multiple files in multiple formats at one time. You can for example convert mpeg's, flv's, and mov's, all into avi's all at once.<br /><br />Great for converting flv's downloaded from Youtube to 3gp's to be uploaded to cellphones. :)<br /><br />For more info, visit http://biggmatt.com/winff/.<br /><br />Enjoy!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-45537574292253154282007-11-08T15:23:00.000+07:002007-11-08T15:35:03.797+07:00A Hit and a Miss in a Day<span style="font-weight: bold;">HIT</span>: Mark, my officemate, can't synchronize his iPod shuffle on Windows PC. iTunes spew an error that it won't sync because there is a missing disc. Duh?!<br /><br />So what I did is that I tried it on Ubuntu Gutsy... iPod Shuffle was automatically detected, Rhythmbox came up and I simply drag and drop the songs he wanted and it worked flawlessly!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MISS</span>: I tried my Ubuntu Gutsy for a presentation... actually to play .dat movies on a VCD... plugged on an LCD Projector. Wow, the resolution is very good! Sound is working.. but hey it won't play the VCD that we wanted to play.... no applicable codecs, no suggestion to download... ubuntu-restricted-extras but still no go. :(<br /><br />In short, I was embarrassed.<br /><br />Now I am using Automatix2 to install the necessary codecs and see if it works. Dang!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-34682478642996445092007-10-24T17:46:00.000+07:002007-10-24T17:55:27.367+07:00Gutsy or PCLOSI have enjoyed Ubuntu in the past but suddenly got turned off by Feisty. Now that Gutsy is out with a slew of improvements... my heart is torn into two.<br /><br />Gutsy or PCLOS?!<br /><br />PCLOS = KDE, codecs and plugins already installed... with excellent control panel...<br /><br />Gutsy = I just love Gnome!!!<br /><br />Oh well, abangan na lang... bugbog na naman sa install itong PC ko.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-87954642877355441002007-10-08T16:07:00.000+07:002007-10-08T16:25:06.314+07:00eBPLS on Asus P5K Mobo Intel Pentium Core2 DuoWe at the LGU of Paniqui, Tarlac is currently testing the deployment of the Electronic Business Permit and Licensing System or eBPLS software that came from the NCC thru its joint project with the LMP and CESO (a Canadian group). The eBPLS is on Fedora Core 4.<br /><br />The biggest hiccup that came along the way is that we weren't (at first) able to install it on a new server PC with an Asus P5K Mobo, Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo, 2 sata drives, one dvd drive, and 2 Gb of RAM.<br /><br />The install CD will boot until the time it looks for a driver (or module in *nix terms) for the DVD drive (or might be the sata drives). We tried all the selections but it was in vain.<br /><br />Until I discovered something that can make it work by putting an incantation at the boot parameter... and its as simple as "linux all-generic-ide"!<br /><br />And it installed although it only recognized our sata drives as IDE drives which we can live for now. One other problem that is it won't recognize the DVD drive upon boot but still we just simply USB drives which came in handy. Got any solutions for this? Comment it!<br /><br />And yes, no sound and no ready detection of NIC... so we simply inserted one edimax NIC and it works. I don't have to deal with the sound coz its a server PC after all.<br /><br />And for those using eBPLS on a Intel Core 2 Duo machine, install the smp kernel to maximize your processor. The default kernel will only use one cpu. :(<br /><br />For now, we are happy that the server is now up and running. We have installed Yum to ease the installation of other applications if ever we need them. So far so good!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-72720269123549408052007-09-12T15:56:00.000+07:002007-09-12T16:05:41.703+07:00WinFF converter!I am soooo busy! And quite frankly, I am too lazy to blog about anything and I don't know where to start!<br /><br />Oh well, here's a small post.<br /><br />Are you looking for a free open source movie converter with a simple and easy to use interface?<br /><br />Look no further, we have WinFF! WinFF is a frontend for FFMPEG that runs on Windows and Linux. The project will convert most any video file that FFmpeg will convert.<br /><br />WinFF does multiple files in multiple formats at one time. You can for example convert mpeg's, flv's, and mov's, all into avi's all at once.<br /><br />I've tested WinFF on my PCLinuxOS box converting a .flv movie to .mpeg, .mpeg to .3gp, and other conversions and it just works.<br /><br />For more info, check it out on its <a href="http://biggmatt.com/winff/">homepage</a>.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-89289473988315549842007-06-28T13:27:00.000+07:002008-12-11T08:02:19.942+07:00How a hospital opted for SimplyMepis..."What?! The last time you're on PCLOS 2007 and now you're using yet another distro?! "<br /><br />Ok, that's a bit exaggerated but that's what my friend told me when I told him that I am using yet another new Linux distro.<br /><br />Its SimplyMepis 6.5.02! SM 6.5 is an Ubuntu based Linux distro being led by a certain Warren Woodford. Its official site is at www.mepis.org... other relevant sites are its <a href="http://www.mepis.org/docs">Wiki</a>, <a href="http://mepisguides.com/">Guide</a>, and <a href="http://mepislovers.com/">Community Forum</a>.<br /><br />Its KDE based much like Kubuntu and PCLOS. Why SimplyMepis for me?! Here's what happened...<br /><br />A hospital here in Tarlac sought my services thru my friend Jag Talon. They will migrate to OpenOffice, while half of their PCs will be installed with Linux. Actually, they would want to install Linux in all their PCs if not for an already developed hospital system they are currently using... oh well, that's another story.<br /><br />I was supposed to install PCLOS 2007, but along the way the installer seems to fail in some machines... to the point of not being able to boot up to its live installer. And then I asked them if they would want to try on Ubuntu but they said that they would like to have something that looks close to Windows XP without much modifications... which is KDE of course.<br /><br />I need Kubuntu! But I don't have one at that time. I only have PCLOS, Sam Linux, Xubuntu, Bayanihan Linux 4.0, Ubuntu Feisty and of course SimplyMepis 6.5.02.<br /><br />Sam and Xubuntu are good but I don't think they will work well for these Linux newbies. PCLOS was my first choice, but alas, it won't boot right on a nice PIII 256 RAM ATI Video Card laptop owned by their boss. It seems to have problems detecting its screen, thus, it won't boot on a Live CD environment.<br /><br />Down goes PCLOS 2007 :-(. And so I tried SimplyMepis... it flawlessly booted. It even detected the correct screen resolution plus the wifi card.<br /><br />They were actually sold with SimplyMepis but I still insisted to try on an Ubuntu Feisty Live CD. To my embarrassment, Ubuntu Feisty took *years* to boot... a far cry from how fast SimplyMepis Live CD booted on the same laptop. And besides, they don't really like Gnome.<br /><br />To make the story short, 17 PC desktops at Ramos General Hospital are now on SimplyMepis 6.5... and so is my office PC so that I can relate to what I am teaching them.<br /><br />They even requested me to customize Mepis so that it would look as closest as possible with Windows XP and so here is my best imitation of Windows XP desktop look:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvzKNSJ9Rhmff0YecPp4TSFI68_ETvbqXGJgeNsqVnuVtGGnFIb7lG6b9nICEtSO3zePcZ7dRwDAryGPor-l5QicyFc2K07vS1OvXjZdHhq36OA17elVNm38Z_jdX4xniaZr-/s1600-h/xplook.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvzKNSJ9Rhmff0YecPp4TSFI68_ETvbqXGJgeNsqVnuVtGGnFIb7lG6b9nICEtSO3zePcZ7dRwDAryGPor-l5QicyFc2K07vS1OvXjZdHhq36OA17elVNm38Z_jdX4xniaZr-/s320/xplook.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5081009100019876482" border="0" /></a><br />I am now compiling a few newbie KDE tips that I plan to post here when I have the time. Some of them are really simple but are often overlooked... and may already constitute as an annoyance to many new Linux users.<br /><br />So far, Ramos General Hospital is happy and contented to migrate to Linux and OpenOffice.org. It saved them around P350,000.00 and are already looking forward to the development of custom FOSS solutions in the future.<br /><br />Which makes me ask... anyone interested to develop an accounting software (FOSS of course!) for them? Email me ASAP!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-13432068383170934932007-06-04T07:21:00.000+07:002008-12-11T08:02:20.241+07:00A cool object dock for KDEOne thing that "amazes" me on a MAC desktop is its object dock wherein the icons actually zoom in a parabolic way when you hover your mouse pointer on it. I thought it was exclusive for MAC then so I didn't bothered looking for a Linux equivalent.<br /><br />Now that I am on KDE, I found out that there is <a href="http://ksmoothdock.sourceforge.net/">ksmoothdock</a>. Ksmoothdock<span> is a cool desktop panel (like KDE's kicker) for KDE 3.2 and above with smooth zooming (2 modes: normal & parabolic). Its aim is to provide a cool alternative/complement to kicker. As it is intended for KDE/Linux, its behavior will be like that of kicker.</span><br /><br />Here's are screenshots:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oSbcwP_719ZIBrzHqn_VmVThPnsp_Vng_fy85ptfvROn2ewzrFAWGdR130izGmSui-ZsyYhpAGssgBeGAYRdg66p57GoRnwQkuNM311x_9jkjJ-o6brMThNgstc9Ggg1_wsM/s1600-h/ksmoothdock2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oSbcwP_719ZIBrzHqn_VmVThPnsp_Vng_fy85ptfvROn2ewzrFAWGdR130izGmSui-ZsyYhpAGssgBeGAYRdg66p57GoRnwQkuNM311x_9jkjJ-o6brMThNgstc9Ggg1_wsM/s320/ksmoothdock2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072019362548956738" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagD4bG5xg0Ds0xu-poZmSGzXnhwQfoqyRYYxEoMjpOEuWmqhJcirHgwMNLhdZmdnc4dEd-HYlmGgIjv_eTFW4JtfTzp2EIWHsX0B0tc_Rtc2lbZYCJoUqDCfPfBfryqmbZ-OT/s1600-h/ksmoothdock1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagD4bG5xg0Ds0xu-poZmSGzXnhwQfoqyRYYxEoMjpOEuWmqhJcirHgwMNLhdZmdnc4dEd-HYlmGgIjv_eTFW4JtfTzp2EIWHsX0B0tc_Rtc2lbZYCJoUqDCfPfBfryqmbZ-OT/s320/ksmoothdock1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072013882170687026" border="0" /></a><br />Neat! I am using the Aqua Fusion Icon Theme the Baghira window decorator. Perfect for Linux (KDE) enthusiast who would want a MAC twist to their desktop look. :)fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-89353845812189569322007-06-01T09:39:00.000+07:002008-12-11T08:02:20.592+07:00TIP: Undo wrapped text on your KDE desktop iconsAn initial bad impression I had on KDE is that it wraps the text under a desktop icon that sometimes it even automatically shorten the text... it looks darn ugly to me:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxd6nmp7Sx6qw67DIF7rQ65ZM7rb1dERvefsl3zNsc5vlRqv6whOS2N9Tnl7kI4ZcSzgl4Eoa8INH3m7xvjiUuhpZMPOW-j_hgJEmXHk4yMRLpM0tn9U45lBhxgTJOO5BG8Xe/s1600-h/panget.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxd6nmp7Sx6qw67DIF7rQ65ZM7rb1dERvefsl3zNsc5vlRqv6whOS2N9Tnl7kI4ZcSzgl4Eoa8INH3m7xvjiUuhpZMPOW-j_hgJEmXHk4yMRLpM0tn9U45lBhxgTJOO5BG8Xe/s320/panget.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070921023447252482" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I've tried searching the <span style="font-weight: bold;">KDE Control Center</span> for a solution only to get zero results. I later found out that the solution is really simple. Right click on your desktop (not on an icon), then hover on the word <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Icon</span> and then left click on <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Align to Grid</span>. You may also right click on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lock in Place</span> to prevent accidentally messing up your desktop icons.<br /><br />And dyaran...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE7rE3a8l1pskM_IL6dA8KZG2JQTNlaiIfgR8_4gByDtKmhpieSqqbQb__xMoEiouTyHtrrhbe6SFNaNtGljcKlduQiLdYTChewzaWcMIcwkhb0lINknFvi4XJCgpAyeFbtW9/s1600-h/ganda.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE7rE3a8l1pskM_IL6dA8KZG2JQTNlaiIfgR8_4gByDtKmhpieSqqbQb__xMoEiouTyHtrrhbe6SFNaNtGljcKlduQiLdYTChewzaWcMIcwkhb0lINknFvi4XJCgpAyeFbtW9/s320/ganda.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070921895325613586" border="0" /></a><br />No more wrapped texts under desktop icons while icons are neatly aligned. Simple does it!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-66646699570260013482007-05-29T18:25:00.000+07:002008-12-11T08:02:21.154+07:00Another distro hop - PCLinuxOS 2007Again and again, a new Linux distro is installed on my office PC... and for a change, its not Debian or Ubuntu based.<br /><br />It's <strong><a href="http://www.pclinuxos.com/">PCLinuxOS 2007</a></strong>, a three year old Live CD distro based originally on Mandriva and is developed by a rpm packager known as Texstar.<br /><br />Actually, my first distro is rpm based... Bayanihan 3.0. Then my 2nd distro is also rpm based, Mandrake 10.1. And then I got hooked on Ubuntu primarily because of Synaptic which makes software installation a few clicks away.<br /><br />Now here comes PCLinuxOS, an rpm-based that actually uses Synaptic to install applications. Huh?! But it amazingly works! No rpm hell or whatsoever!<br /><br />As of now, I am pretty much impressed with this distro. Essential (some say evil) codecs and plugins are already installed out of the box... to the point that any multimedia format I threw on it played without problems (I'm starting to like KMplayer).<br /><br />The PCLinuxOS Control Center (that is actually ripped from Mandriva) is fantastic. Samba is installed by default which makes file sharing with Windows PCs on a network an instant. Beryl and Compiz are installed by default, while installation of Nvidia graphics card via Synaptics is a breeze.<br /><br />One thing I don't like about this distro is the menu layout. Its like a "chopsuey" of applications that sometimes it is difficult to find this and that (or maybe I just got too used to playing around with Ubuntu Gnome). And oh, another thing is that it doesn't have any game installed by default but a lot are listed at the repositories via Synaptic.<br /><br />PCLinuxOS by the way uses KDE.<br /><br />The community is not as large as that of Ubuntu but I am already trying to blend in with the crowd of PCLinuxOS users.<br /><br />But hey, I still do like Ubuntu. Its just that somehow I just felt that PCLinuxOS offers a better out of the box experience than Ubuntu. If someone will ask me to install Linux on his laptop or desktop PC with no internet connection, PCLinuxOS would be my choice coz I don't like my friend wondering why he can't play his 3gp or MP3 files out of the box... which is already a showstopper to many to some degree.<br /><br />PCLinuxOS 2007 is good for PC users who are thinking of migrating from Windows to Linux and even to those who are not so technically adept (like me!) who would want to promote Linux to their friends.<br /><br />Don't just imagine there how it feels like to use PCLinuxOS on your PC, <a href="http://www.pclinuxos.com/index.php?option=com_ionfiles&Itemid=28">grab a copy now</a>!<br /><br />Pahabol: Our LGU here in Gerona, Tarlac will launch an FOSS IT Skill Enhancement Program thru our Community eCenter. Our goal is to promote FOSS to the local constituency. Trainings, fora, and seminars will be launched along with free internet use on Linux boxes (PCLinuxOS 2007 maybe used instead of Ubuntu). Mabuhay FOSS!<br /><br />Three snapshots of my PCLinux OS:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkg8_oxOpk4ocspOkQ2XDA3EQmo1wpD_goxdauFOn9N6hP-LsgixPqIksRswjlNcCLYVVmYhw2-5osj0qyk3cUyX1fjvn20FMaIFzZe0tSbrBxhGykY60csrSzkyxHf0C0anW/s1600-h/snapshot1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkg8_oxOpk4ocspOkQ2XDA3EQmo1wpD_goxdauFOn9N6hP-LsgixPqIksRswjlNcCLYVVmYhw2-5osj0qyk3cUyX1fjvn20FMaIFzZe0tSbrBxhGykY60csrSzkyxHf0C0anW/s320/snapshot1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070290449233755602" border="0" /></a>Yakuake on PCLinuxOS in action<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkbkBB_KxvFj9698HNC_pBIbYRb9GbdcDlsMqgYppzmSxWQrvXRLis-OjDNZQmg-yB4bYFM4hIyQokqo_RvOy-4NVVZ0U7Laly_k9Ojhrpj31s1L1k0crwnA3BzpT6qHECbJT/s1600-h/snapshot2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkbkBB_KxvFj9698HNC_pBIbYRb9GbdcDlsMqgYppzmSxWQrvXRLis-OjDNZQmg-yB4bYFM4hIyQokqo_RvOy-4NVVZ0U7Laly_k9Ojhrpj31s1L1k0crwnA3BzpT6qHECbJT/s320/snapshot2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070290951744929250" border="0" /></a>Wobbly windows courtesy of Beryl which is installed by default<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjTseR44dQJjCf71Yk6gDNCwpAG_fO__YBePm_3IXkRdmKTAbdy8Smo-0NmwoeOOU4FiKejQ4Y4Whjdi1oMzGMzboWpUWG8YzhSZ8wJacoP71n7LnnDj2OIvuliUNJJ8O-o4b/s1600-h/snapshot3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjTseR44dQJjCf71Yk6gDNCwpAG_fO__YBePm_3IXkRdmKTAbdy8Smo-0NmwoeOOU4FiKejQ4Y4Whjdi1oMzGMzboWpUWG8YzhSZ8wJacoP71n7LnnDj2OIvuliUNJJ8O-o4b/s320/snapshot3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070291570220219890" border="0" /></a>Multimedia playback are out-of-the-box... I'm playing a .FLV file with KMPlayer.</div>fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-44586658716142404382007-05-02T09:18:00.000+07:002008-12-11T08:02:31.040+07:00Mintified Edgy!Last weekends, I suddenly felt like installing LinuxMint over Ubuntu Edgy on the PCs in our Community eCenter. However, I realized that all I need is the theme (not including the Biana usplash theme which IMHO sucks) and the mint tool namely mintMenu, mintDisk, mintDesktop, and mintConfig.<br /><br />And then I realized that LinuxMint is in fact around 95 percent Ubuntu Edgy so why waste my time again doing a fresh install when all the codecs and plugins I need are already installed? So I did a few research and I theorized that Ubuntu Edgy can be easily mintified, so to speak.<br /><br />How?<br /><br />To be able to install the mint tools, you have to add the LinuxMint Bianca repository at the /etc/apt/sources.list file.<br /><br />Open /etc/apt/sources.list<br /><blockquote>$sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list</blockquote>and then add the following line at the end of the file...<br /><br />deb http://www.linuxmint.com/repository bianca/<br /><br />Please take note of the "/" after the word bianca. Save and close the file and then update packages...<br /><blockquote>$sudo aptitude update</blockquote>Time to install mint tools. To make this a lot easier, simply open the Synaptic via Administration --> Synaptic Package Manager. Then search for the word "mint" (Ctrl + F then type in the word mint). Scroll down until you see the following packages: mintMenu, mintDesktop, mintConfig, and mintDisk. Select there four packages, right click then choose Install. Then click on Apply and then wait till installation is done. (You may also want to install the Bianca theme and mintWifi if you like.)<br /><br />To use mintMenu, right click on a panel then Add to Panel, then scroll down to click on LinuxMint Menu. After selecting it, click on Add. You may change the word Bianca by right clicking on the mintMenu then Preferences. When a dialog opens, double click on applet_text and input any word you like.<br /><br />You can now also access mintDisk via Administration. mintConfig and mintDesktop are at Preferences.<br /><br />Here are some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8071481@N02/">screen captures</a> at <a href="http://flickr.com/">Flickr</a>....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dsEGtnErO5ZYKp7mNtBXm0-3UW18xwsVujloo3J4JSH8vLUiXRhbEacmBsmCQ3yT_dFQo4htfAq-7__z2GmQMwy3faKaTO1i-N67ack4FoPPHninkhUNTfDL5jzzwgeGGbSG/s1600-h/clean.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dsEGtnErO5ZYKp7mNtBXm0-3UW18xwsVujloo3J4JSH8vLUiXRhbEacmBsmCQ3yT_dFQo4htfAq-7__z2GmQMwy3faKaTO1i-N67ack4FoPPHninkhUNTfDL5jzzwgeGGbSG/s320/clean.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059795813218004866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">I am still using the orange Human icon set but opted to use the linuxmint wallpaper plus the layout of its panel.</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeLlVrWAbyXPr_bQiQal44fdVbxzeJ70DndHnf6HY0D7U7KjC1tAfnPZPiEOEHvaNtbJI_cLC2a-sPU5VndduKBl4mnvpH3OE85FLKDIgQ2cmaDGb-v5OYa0OiYna4RGEWJQ1/s1600-h/mintMenu.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeLlVrWAbyXPr_bQiQal44fdVbxzeJ70DndHnf6HY0D7U7KjC1tAfnPZPiEOEHvaNtbJI_cLC2a-sPU5VndduKBl4mnvpH3OE85FLKDIgQ2cmaDGb-v5OYa0OiYna4RGEWJQ1/s320/mintMenu.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059796272779505554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">mintMenu, a replacement for the Gnome menu which is inspired by SUSE's Slab and based on USP.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfaemhoNqABb0j_PRxFH2sQG1iMNgp9KtZLptR191BXjLk00Fb_AQJ5p3AXTiXkGSCZQ0vp2QrpD-7oDeCIlLhUUPGeGhHdsBmGiKUg56WNqeKMRqfExRSgq_1jTZ55FdTZDs/s1600-h/minttools.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfaemhoNqABb0j_PRxFH2sQG1iMNgp9KtZLptR191BXjLk00Fb_AQJ5p3AXTiXkGSCZQ0vp2QrpD-7oDeCIlLhUUPGeGhHdsBmGiKUg56WNqeKMRqfExRSgq_1jTZ55FdTZDs/s320/minttools.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059797058758520738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">mintDisk and mintDesktop, both imported from the Linuxmint repositories.<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8buter5l9PerJnZXZ9K1_lFygXYr65BP19e0h9flUhZ2QrZ-Ab9vj8G07SqVa1WTRt-sm6joS8jqXqhYN8FZZ9ur1MId4Uo4q0vtABotXDwR4MzDBwCcau2yQA8glllUu3IG3/s1600-h/preview.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8buter5l9PerJnZXZ9K1_lFygXYr65BP19e0h9flUhZ2QrZ-Ab9vj8G07SqVa1WTRt-sm6joS8jqXqhYN8FZZ9ur1MId4Uo4q0vtABotXDwR4MzDBwCcau2yQA8glllUu3IG3/s320/preview.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059797526909956018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Beryl in action!<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK7Sm-KsaU8WIqmTDgZBkSLsRcCg5OfosCID30JFqzvla5goktvdO_1xoeic2OkuC95gIqNhT8eCnnCWibkA577Mu8BZZjt7DVenbPNwH5b1fCQaUotoqrwkeMKy11EVxzyl_/s1600-h/windowselect.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK7Sm-KsaU8WIqmTDgZBkSLsRcCg5OfosCID30JFqzvla5goktvdO_1xoeic2OkuC95gIqNhT8eCnnCWibkA577Mu8BZZjt7DVenbPNwH5b1fCQaUotoqrwkeMKy11EVxzyl_/s320/windowselect.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059797823262699458" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div></div>By the way, I had a chance to try on <a href="http://www.albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html">Envy</a> and on <a href="http://www.beryl-project.org/">Beryl</a>. As you can see at the screencaps, it still looked yummy even only on 64 mb Nvidia video card.<br /><br />Obviously, I am trying to keep myself busy to forget my disappoint not being able to install Ubuntu Feisty. Poor me!<br /><br />P.S.: Thanks Dom and Chin for the Ubuntu Feisty Fawn installer!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-50817955700265640152007-04-28T16:24:00.000+07:002007-04-28T17:25:36.449+07:00Feisty'ng Yawa, stucked and getting to know LinuxMintIt seems Feisty has installation problems that were reported <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/75135">here</a> and <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.20/+bug/106864">here</a> that both unfortunately bugged me on my attempts to install Feisty on two different machines. More Google results on the said problem are <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=feisty+installation+problem+%2Btty&btnG=Google+Search">here</a>.<br /><br />I had no problems installing the Dapper and Edgy versions of Ubuntu on the same machines so I just thought why waste my time on a version that won't properly install on PCs where previous versions can (without any glitch!). Sorry for me, no upgrade this time until they resolve the bug.<br /><br />But then, thanks to <a href="http://linuxmint.com">LinuxMint 2.2 (Bianca)</a> which somehow satisfied my itch to upgrade my office PC.<br /><br />The purpose of this Ubuntu-based distribution, according to its website, is “to produce an elegant, up to date and comfortable GNU/Linux desktop distribution.” There is support out of the box for numerous multimedia codecs, encrypted DVDs, as well as the latest Flash and Java plugins. (Yes, I know its illegal in some countries. :-> )<br /><br />Installation is almost exactly the same easy way as how you install Edgy Eft (in which Bianca is based) on your PC. I had no problems installing LinuxMint on a PIV 1.7 Ghz 512 MB Nvidia VC and on a PIV 3.0 Ghz 256 MB built-in VC.<br /><br />The initial interface is much like Vista or XP if you wish. It uses a menu system that works like SLAB in Suse. I kinda like the menu system but when I right clicked on an item in which I am trying to find an option to add it on the desktop or panel... the only option is to Add to Favorites. I always use that option so I was a bit disappointed not to see it. I hope someday they could add that feature on this gorgeous menu system.<br /><br />It doesn't have a workspace switcher by default on the panel. Beagle search is the default desktop search engine. No games included. No Gimp.<br /><br />Despite being without workspace switcher, games, and Gimp... it has all the necessary codecs and plugins to play movies and music. No problems playing a movie at YouTube, or using Chikka JavaLite. I can play 3pg, mp3, and other formats by default. I can also play .flv but I have to install VLC media player coz other media players installed (Totem and Mplayer) doesn't play it properly (no sound). I also installed RealPlayer which is best for .3pg playing.<br /><br />No problem detecting USB flash drives and sound. I installed nvidia-glx for the Nvidia VC the same way I once installed it on Dapper and Edgy and it just works.<br /><br />Honestly, I don't like any interface that resembles Windows XP anymore. So, in an instant I modified the panels and everything to make it look like Ubuntu. I don't like the default theme and wallpaper. I went to System -> Preferences -> Theme and chose the pre-installed the Bea theme which is a blue tango inspired theme. I also used the simply blue Bea wallpaper. I love it.<br /><br />I tried Beryl which installed and works flawlessly on LinuxMint but I uninstalled it soon afterwards since I am not really a fan of eye candy. You may also use <a href="http://getautomatix.com">Automatix</a> with LinuxMint.<br /><br />Other than codecs, what does LinuxMint have that its parent Ubuntu doesn't? It has mintDisk, mintDesktop, and mintConfig. With mintDisk, you easily mount NTFS partitions with read and write powers, mintDesktop is much like the desktop options in Windows OS, while mintConfig is its customized Control Center. <br /><br />Oh yes, on your home directory... there are already folders like Documents, Videos, Projects, Network, Pictures, etc with the appropriate emblems. Pretty neat.<br /><br />I inspected /etc/apt/sources.list and it actually uses the same Ubuntu and MediBuntu repositories plus a one line LinuxMint repository (in which I think where you can get the mint tools).<br /><br />Although I am not sure if Bianca will stay on my PC for a long time, I'll surely keep its installer handy especially for installations on internet-less PCs (less hassle).<br /><br />Next upcoming version is Cassandra which is most likely based on Ubuntu Feisty. I do sure hope that Cassandra already has the fix for the above reported bug... more reason for me to keep LinuxMint longer on my PC.<br /><br />For the meantime, I must say that I am disappointed with Feisty... I hope not for long.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-54563071858211982912007-04-22T11:07:00.000+07:002007-04-22T11:17:36.204+07:00To do with Feisty!I am yet to install Feisty on my PC but here's already my short list of to-do's, to wit:<br /><ol><li>Install VMWare and learn how to install different OS's.<br /></li><li>Install IE4Linux, just for fun.</li><li>Install and setup a working LAMP.</li><li>Get an account at DynDNS.com to acquire a static domain.</li><li>Setup my PC so that I can ssh (or VNC) to it when I am out of the office.</li><li>Install and play with Beryl!<br /></li></ol>That's all for now. I just thought that I have been using Desktop Linux for two years and its about time that I experiment with other things than I can do with Linux (other than fiddling with proxy servers and iptables all the time).<br /><br />This forever linux newbie is getting excited!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-27909662417359818752007-04-22T10:18:00.000+07:002007-04-24T09:21:23.596+07:00Paying it Forward<a href="http://villageidiotsavant.blogspot.com/2007/04/free-feisty-fawn-cds.html">Dom</a> promised to send me a copy of the latest Ubuntu (Feisty Fawn) installer. I haven't met Dom in person or even online. He's from Dumaguete.<br /><br />The only thing he asked me in return is free beer when he visits Tarlac. (But I read from a comment on his blog that he doesn't really drinks beer!) But then, what the heck... I am a beer drinker so no problem with free beer.<br /><br /><b>Pay it forward</b> or <b>paying it forward</b> refers to repaying the good deeds one has received by doing good things for other unrelated people.<br /><br />Just like Dom, I am paying his kindness forward... (of course, I am still reserving that free beer for him)... anyone who would want to have a free Ubuntu Feisty Fawn delivered thru mail, just email me your mailing info at daveasuncion@gmail.com. No fancy CD here, just works.<br /><br />And if you can bring your laptop or PC here at my humble office (which looks like a bodega sale for PCs) at the Local Government Unit of Gerona, Tarlac... I may even help you install Ubuntu Feisty Fawn... for free!<br /><br />There's one condition though: you have to promise me that you'll burn the installer CD (at least) into three copies and then give it to your friends, or just about anyone who would want to have an Ubuntu Feisty Fawn installer.<br /><br />Deal?!<br /><br />Of course, free beer shall also be greatly appreciated :)<br /><br />Addendum: Oh yes! I'm also waiting for a CD from <a href="http://chinwong.com">Chin</a> who also promised to send me one :)fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-65473526406505392382007-03-25T10:43:00.000+07:002007-03-25T11:06:39.100+07:00IPKungfu, Squid Screwed on Edgy... Nah!Whew! I almost thought that I could no longer use my trusted combination of IpKungfu and Squid for a transparent proxy setup on our local intranet here at the Community eCenter of Gerona.<br /><br />Yesterday, I upgraded our router/squid/samba/printer server from Ubuntu Dapper to Ubuntu Edgy Eft via a fresh install.<br /><br />To my horror, as I tried to run ipkungfu from the terminal... it won't run leaving several lines of error warnings! I did some research with Mr. Google in which I find out that I only have to open /usr/sbin/ipkungfu...<br /><blockquote>sudo gedit /usr/sbin/ipkungfu<br /></blockquote>and change the first line to...<br /><blockquote>#!/bin/bash<br /></blockquote>and then my IpKungfu started to work flawlessly.<br /><br />Then next is Squid. When I tried the same configurations I used on this <a href="http://teqnix.blogspot.com/2007/03/my-basic-squid-proxy-configuration.html">blogpost</a>, Squid won't start with matching errors (again!).<br /><br />After a few seconds Googling the net, I found out that I no longer have to setup the lines below on Squid version 2.6 (Dapper uses the older version)...<br /><pre>httpd_accel_host virtual<br />httpd_accel_port 80<br />httpd_accel_with_proxy on<br />httpd_accel_uses_host_header on</pre>Instead, all I have to do is to change the http_port tag at the squid configuration file from "http_port 3128" to "http_port 3128 transparent" and that's it!<br /><br />Now Ipkungfu and Squid works well hand in hand (and a bit zippier!) on my Ubuntu Edgy Eft box as if it was configured by a pro. :)<br /><br />Online Resources: <a href="http://www.deckle.co.za/squid-users-guide/Transparent_Caching/Proxy">Transparent Caching on Squid 2.6</a> and <a href="http://my.opera.com/albuemil/blog/index.dml/tag/firewall">Ipkungfu on Edgy Eft</a>.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-83228332996742120842007-03-16T11:38:00.000+07:002007-03-16T14:30:50.213+07:00My basic Squid Proxy configurationA certain Albuemil asked thru a comment on this <a href="http://teqnix.blogspot.com/2006/06/ipkungfu-kicks-firestarter-out-of-my.html">blog</a> on how I configured my Squid proxy. So here I am sharing what I learned via PLUG mailing list (special mention to AC Perdon for his excellent instructions) on how to configure Squid proxy. Warning: I am no computer expert and so I welcome additional information to enrich my Linux experience.<br /><br />First install squid via apt-get or synaptic:<br /><blockquote>sudo apt-get install squid</blockquote>After installation, edit Squid's configuration file:<br /><blockquote>sudo gedit /etc/squid/squid.conf</blockquote>In the /etc/squid/squid.conf file, search and edit the following options/tags:<br /><br />#TAG:http_port<br />http_port 3128<br /><br />#OPTION WHICH AFFECT THE CACHE SIZE<br />cache_mem (1/4 of the your RAM) MB<br /><br />(e.g. assuming your RAM is 1Gb then its "cache_mem 250 MB")<br /><br />#LOGFILE PATHNAMES AND CACHE DIRECTORIES<br />#cache_dir ufs /var/spool/squid 100 16 256<br />cache_dir diskd /cache (capacity of your /cache in MB) 16 256<br /><br />(make sure /cache already exists)<br /><br />#RECOMENDED MINIMUM CONFIGURATION<br />acl netxxx src xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx<br /><br />(specify your network and netmask e.g. "acl mynet src 192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0)<br /><br /># AND FINALLY DENY ALL OTHER ACCESS TO THE PROXY<br />http_access allow netxxx<br /><br />(e.g. "http_access allow mynet")<br /><br />#TAG:Visible_hostname<br />visible_hostname (yourserver name)<br /><br />#Then i just add these lines after the last lines of the configuration file<br /><br />ie_refresh on<br />httpd_accel_host virtual<br />httpd_accel_port 80<br />httpd_accel_with_proxy on<br />httpd_accel_uses_host_header on<br /><br />Save the file and then close.<br /><br />At the terminal, change the ownership of /cache<br /><blockquote>sudo chown proxy:proxy /cache</blockquote>Then create swap directories at /cache:<br /><blockquote>sudo squid -z</blockquote>Then fireaway squid!<br /><blockquote>sudo /etc/init.d/squid start</blockquote>You may now follow the instructions on this <a href="http://teqnix.blogspot.com/2006/06/ipkungfu-kicks-firestarter-out-of-my.html">blogpost</a> for a transparent proxy using Ipkungfu.<br /><br />To check if its working, open a web browser on a PC in your LAN and then do the following at the terminal :<br /><blockquote>sudo tail -f /var/log/squid/access.log</blockquote>Enjoy Squid!<br /><br />P.S.: I am using Ubuntu LTS on a Pentium IV 1.7 Ghz 1Gb RAM 120 Gb HB PC.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-27511726355038303902007-02-26T13:34:00.000+07:002007-02-26T13:53:50.450+07:00Have I died and gone to Linux heaven?Once upon a time, I had a <a href="http://teqnix.blogspot.com/2006/05/ubuntu-printer-sharing-repost.html">blog entry</a> on how to share a printer from an Ubuntu box to other PCs within a Local Area Network. Back then, I have to hand edit a few configuration files here and there...<br /><br />But now, printer sharing on Ubuntu Edgy has been made way much easier than it is used to be that you won't even have to open a terminal. The steps are:<br /><br /><ol><li>Install printer.</li><li>Go to System --> Administration --> Printing --> Global Settings then click on Share Printer.</li></ol><br />That's it!<br /><br />On the Ubuntu Edgy box where you have to share the printer, simply go to System --> Administration --> Printing --> Global Settings then click on Detect LAN Printers then wait for a few seconds and there you see the shared printer automatically detected and installed.<br /><br />Ain't that sweet?!fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-28280805548690429512007-02-14T14:49:00.000+07:002007-02-14T14:54:14.513+07:00Problems moving from Linux to WindowsSince I can't think of anything to write about my Linux experience in the past few days, I just thought of sharing this comment posted at <a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/linux/blog/2007/02/performing_brain_surgery_on_yo.html?CMP=OTC-0O724Z062301&ATT=Performing+Brain+Surgery+On+Yourself#comment-468513">page</a>.<br /><p>I had a fun time reading this comment and I hope you'll enjoy it too. :)<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>I do have some sympathy for the poster that had problems moving from Windows to Linux. I had the same problem trying Windows.</p> <p>I decided to try it after some friends who use it all the time told me it was great.</p> <p>I went to the MS site to download it but it wasn't available. I got really frustrated as I couldn't work out how to download it. In the end I had to ask a friend who told me I had to buy it. </p> <p>I got in my car, drove to PC World and asked one of the sales guys for a copy of Windows. He asked me which one, I said I want the most complete one please and he said that's £149.99 please.....I said a rude word then I drove home empty handed.</p> <p>One of my friends gave me a copy of Windows XP but said I had to be very quiet about it. I thought that was odd because I always burn copies of Ubuntu for anyone that asks me and tell them to pass it on to anyone interested when they've finished. Anyway, I popped it in my CD tray and waited for it to boot into the 'live' CD desktop. It didn't work. It just kept asking me if I wanted to install it. I got on the phone to one of my friends in case I was doing something stupid but he told me, XP cannot run a 'live' desktop from the CD.</p> <p>I thought I would try installing it. I followed the prompts but got nervous when it didn't ask me about other operating systems. When I installed Ubuntu it recognized I had Windows on my machine and asked me if I wanted to create then install Ubuntu on another partition. Back on the phone my friend told me that Windows will overwrite any other OS it finds when it installs.</p> <p>I backed up all my stuff then took the plunge and installed it. The install was pretty straightforward apart from when I had to enter some letters for a serial code. I had to call my friend again but he got quite flustered came over and entered it himself. He told me to keep quiet again??</p> <p>After I powered it up I had a look around. </p> <p>I was shocked when it let me changed system configurations without asking for root access. My friend was getting a bit p**sed off when I called him again but came over. He told me that root access was given as default. I immediately made another account as a user and used that. I started getting confused when I tried to make changes but it didn't ask for access but he told me I had to log out as user then log back in as administrator. I started to understand why so many people run as root all the time and it made me shiver.</p> <p>Enough of the playing. I had some work to do. I went to start > programs so I could open a spreadsheet I needed to complete but couldn't find any spreadsheet software. My friend told me Windows didn't come with any and I would have to download some. Oh I thought, a barebones distro. I went to add/remove programs in the control panel, (just like Ubuntu) but it didn't have any programs to add. It would only let me remove programs. I couldn't find the button to add applications. My friend told me I had to go and find the applications myself. After much googling I figured it out, downloaded and installed Open Office.</p> <p>To be honest I had a torrid time with Windows. I didn't understand a lot of the terminology...why do they have an A drive, then a C drive, where is the B drive? I thought the distro is way too barebones, it ships with no real productive applications and it is very confusing to find any. My friend told me I needed anti-virus and anti-adware software but Windows didn't come with any.</p> <p>I think it is difficult, confusing and too much hard work for me. It might be OK if you are a techie like my friend but I'll stick to Ubuntu. Thanks.</p></blockquote>fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-81797227373288356732006-12-14T08:48:00.000+07:002006-12-14T08:55:34.422+07:00Who said this?!I am not a Windows hater. Its just that I already love using Linux on the desktop and still wishing that I could learn someday how to use Linux on the server.<br /><br />But I kinda like how the following quote sounds, to wit:<br /><blockquote>"Windows - a 32 bit extension and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor, written by a 2 bit company without 1 bit of sense."</blockquote>Any idea of the original author?! I even forgot where I got it.fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26989840.post-85463587153875909332006-11-17T15:06:00.000+07:002006-11-20T10:48:31.990+07:00Ahhh, no more GoogleBot... I hope!To my surprise, the bandwidth for our website at www.gerona.gov.ph is almost spent. :(<br /><br />Upon inspection of log statistics with <a href="http://awstats.sourceforge.net/">AWSTATS</a>, I was surprised that it was no other than GoogleBot that has been churning our bandwidth. All the while, I thought that the culprit was the <a href="http://www.gerona.gov.ph/larawan">Gallery</a> and all the photos on it.<br /><br />So with my limited knowledge on this webserver stuff, how do I stop GoogleBot from eating our bandwidth?!<br /><br />Ironically, Google itself provided the answers. I did this <a href="http://www.google.com.ph/search?q=where+to+put+robot.txt+googlebot&start=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial">search</a> and this <a href="http://www.google.com.ph/search?q=how+to+block+googlebot&start=0&ie=utf-8&amp;amp;amp;amp;oe=utf-8&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial">search</a> wherein I learned that I have to place a robots.txt at the accessible root (e.g. http://gerona.gov.ph/robots.txt) of our website.<br /><br />So what are the contents of the robots.txt file?! I find this <a href="http://www.searchguild.com/printer/fm7/86/">link</a> very helpful. Even more helpful is this <a href="http://webtools.live2support.com/se_robots.php">link</a> where it automatically gives you the correct content of the robots.txt file to block specific bots. This <a href="http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/robotstxt.shtml">webpage</a> is also a good source of information.<br /><br />As of this writing, I haven't tested if its working but I'm keeping my fingers crossed as GoogleBot is threatening to eat all of our site's bandwidth.<br /><br />The question is, why is it doing that?! Is it being used by malicious spammers, some sort of vehicle?! I hope to be enlightened. Anyone?<br /><br />Update: It works! GoogleBot and Inktomi is no longer eating my bandwidth :)fishfillethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16183341350078929051noreply@blogger.com3