Open Source on Me, Myself, and Technology

Weechat v0.3.0 released

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:46:23 +0000

So lately I’ve been using this awesome IRC client called Weechat! It’s minimal, yet highly configurable. It’s got me addicted to it! Weechat + Screen is the best combo! Anyway, a groundbreaking new version has been released today. And if you’re on an equally awesome distro (Arch), then you should have it ready in your repository 🙂

Sametime (meanwhile) support in Pidgin on Arch Linux

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:50:40 +0000

We use IBM’s Lotus Sametime as our IM client at work. And i like to be signed in all the time even on my Arch machine at home. Pidgin does support sametime protocol, but through an external library called meanwhile. Although most popular distributions have meanwhile in their main repos, Arch does not. It has the meanwhile library in AUR. And due to this, the pidgin in Arch has meanwhile support disabled. But even so, the latest stable meanwhile library (1.0.2) has a nasty bug which does not report the correct online status of buddies. Most online buddies are shown as being offline. The problem has been fixed in the SVN version, but unfortunately ALL distributions carry the buggy version of meanwhile. It took me around 5-6 months to get to the root cause of this bug, and yes, i have managed to fix it in Arch. I’m providing here a compiled version of the fixed meanwhile library (64 bit). I’m also providing a complete tutorial on how to compile pidgin with meanwhile support on Arch.

Google’s Web Browser: Google Chrome

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:33:32 +0000

Ok, this just in! Google’s planning on an open source browser based on the WebKit engine.

Via Googlesystem blog,

Google Chrome has been built in a time when browsers no longer render mostly web pages, but full-blown web applications. That’s why browsers need to be more powerful, more stable and more secure. One of the problems of the existing browsers is that a web page can lock the browser and there’s no way to isolate that tab and close it. Google Chrome uses a new process for each tab. “We’re applying the same isolation you find in modern operating systems,” says Arnaud Weber. Each process is sandboxed to prevent malware from affecting your computer.

Ubuntu to rename top level directories?!

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:47:55 +0000

Well, i just heard that Ubuntu is trying to rename all the top level directories! The proposed directory structure is:

/bin /system/executables
/boot /system/boot
/dev /system/devices
/etc /system/config
/lib /system/libraries
/home /users
/media /storage
/mnt /storage
/proc /system/processes
/root /users/Administrator
/sbin /system/executables/admin
/tmp /system/temporary
/usr /system/applications

Well, that’s just plain stupid if you ask me.. It will create unnecessary confusion and difference between various linux distributions! I think Ubuntu should strive to be “User Friendly” not “Idiot Friendly”. We dont want another case of the Windows do we? 😉

Top 10 Reasons to use Linux

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:49:21 +0000

Hmm.. I’ve been out of the blogging scene for quote sometime now! Didn’t really get the time, or anything worthwhile to post. Well anyway, what better way to come back, then to list out the top 10 reasons to use linux! 😀

Â If youâ€™re a Linux enthusiast like me, youâ€™ve probably tried to convert a few people over to Linux from another operating system. Even though you succeed many times, there are always a few â€˜geniusesâ€™ out there who need some real persuading to switch over to Linux.

Latest Pidgin/Rhythmbox repository for Ubuntu

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:52:15 +0000

Here is a repository i use on my gutsy install which always contains the latest builds of Pidgin and Rhythmbox. So no more hunting for debs or compiling sources 😀

Steps to add the repository:

1. Open Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal)

2. Type “gksuÂ gedit /etc/apt/sources.list”

3. Go to the end of the file and add the following onto a new line:

## Latest Pidgin/Rhythmbox
deb http://www.telemail.fi/mlind/ubuntu gutsy main

4. Save the file and close Gedit.

Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3, Version 9.0.115.0 for Linux

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:37:28 +0000

Adobe has released a shining new version of Flash Player for linux. This is a big release fixing a lot of stability issues and also adding a truck load of features!

Changelog:

New audio/video options

H.264/HE-AAC codec support
Flash Player 9 Update 3 includes H.264 video and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio codec support that opens up a broad ecosystem and selection of standards-based video â€” up to HD quality â€” that developers can leverage in their applications. Supporting a subset of MPEG-4 Part 12 (container) and Part 10 (H.264), including baseline, main and high profiles, Flash Player can play back existing MP4, M4A, MOV, MP4V, 3GP and 3G2 content.

Improved Performance

Multi-core support
Speed the rendering of vectors, bitmaps, filters and video, including true 1080p video, with new multi-core support that takes advantage of up to 4 CPUs.
Hardware scaling
Improve the performance and quality of full-screen video through the use of hardware scaling.
Multi-threaded video decoding
The VP6 video codec now runs in a separate thread on multi-core systems, enabling true 1080p video. In addition, the responsiveness and decode blockiness of the VP6 codec is improved with this change.
Image scaling
A new algorithm for scaling bitmap images enhances the quality and rendering performance of downscaled images.
Flash Player cache
The Flash Player cache enables common components, such as the Flex Framework, to be cached locally and then used by any SWF from any domain. Use of the Flash Player cache can significantly reduce SWF file sizes and speed application download times.
Flash Media Server buffering
The stream buffer is maintained while a stream is paused.

Universal Reach

Full screen mode for Linux
Full screen mode with hardware scaling is now supported in Linux.
Accessibility support for the plugin
Flash Player 9 update 3 adds support for Microsoftâ€™s Active Accessibility (MSAA) API to the plugin, enabling consistent support across plugin-based and Internet Explorer browsers.
Mac Os X Leopard support
Flash Player 9 update 3 now supports the Mac OS X Leopard operating system.

Fixed in this version:

On Linux, modal dialogs displayed by Flash Player stay in front of browser windows but do not prevent interaction with the browser as they should. (191331)
On Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mode may prompt users with security warnings when attempting to view Flash content after installing the Flash Player 9 (9.0.45.0) ActiveX control. Security warnings may also appear for users who choose to install the Google Toolbar from the Flash Player Download Center on adobe.com as part of the player installation process. This was fixed in an Internet Explorer update in June 2007.
On certain SUSE 9.2 installations using the standalone player only, trying to Open a browser from the standalone player with SeaMonkey open will cause the player to hang. (193383)
On Linux, networking operations in the standalone player are currently slow. (193158)
On Linux, when the mouse is hovering over Flash content, keyboard input is not sent to the browser. (194265)
Full-screen mode is not supported in the Opera Browser on Macintosh systems. (189140)
Full-screen mode is now supported on Linux.
Invoking document.write(..) method of JavaScript using ExternalInterface or FSCommand hangs Safari on next page load. This issue has been reported to Apple. (167996)
The Mozilla Plugin Finder Service will not install Flash Player 9.0.20.0 on Intel-based Macs using double-byte language modes. Users may either install from the Adobe Player Download Center or use the Plugin Finder Service in non-double-byte language modes. (180719)
The plugin version of Flash Player does not fire flash.events.Event.RENDER when wmode is set as transparent. (198515)
Full-screen can be used when wmode is set (202290)
Passing large amounts of XML through External Interface is significantly faster (206828)
ExternalInterface now works with HTML objects that contain dots within the object name (199614)

Here is the list of security updates.

Fedora 8 Released!

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:11:38 +0000

Fedora 8 has been released: “Announcing the release of Fedora 8 (Werewolf). This release includes significant new versions of many key components and technologies. Features: GNOME 2.20; Online Desktop; KDE 3.5.8; Xfce 4.4.1; NetworkManager 0.7 provides improved wireless network management support; PulseAudio is now installed and enabled by default; CodecBuddy is now included; CompizFusion, the compositing window manager that re-merges Compiz and Beryl, is installed by default; the completely free and open source Java environment called IcedTea is installed by default….” Learn more about all the features in the release summary and release notes. The installation DVD and live CD/DVD images are available for download via BitTorrent or directly from Fedora’s download mirrors. Quick links: Fedora-8-dvd-i386 (3,369MB), Fedora-8-dvd-x86_64 (3,800MB), Fedora-8-Live-i686.iso (697MB, SHA1), Fedora-8-Live-x86_64.iso (767MB, SHA1).

Introducing the Hardy Heron

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:59:17 +0000

From the Ubuntu Developer mailing list:

I am delighted to have the pleasure of announcing the Hardy Heron
(Ubuntu 8.04), the next version of Ubuntu that will succeed Gutsy Gibbon
(Ubuntu 7.10, due for release in October 2007). Not only will the Ubuntu
community continue to do what it does best, produce an easy-to-use,
reliable, free software platform, but this release will proudly wear the
badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates
for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. We look
forward to releasing the Hardy Heron in April 2008.

Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 5!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:03:32 +0000

Tribe 5 just hit the mirrors! Get it while its hot! This release includes a lot of new features like:

Gnome 2.19.90
Graphical Configuration tool for X Server
A new plugin manager for Firefox, which allows to choose readily used plugins such as flash, adblock, beagle plugin etc
A new printing system, with a default PDF printer being installed by default

I once tried Gutsy when it was tribe 2. Lots of things didn’t work, or were buggy at that time, so i went back to feisty then. But now i’ve been using Gutsy since tribe 4 and its been as stable as feisty! So all those people who like to stay on the edge, do try it out, as its completely usable!

Pidgin v2.1.1 Released!

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:52:03 +0000

No changelog yet, ill update this thread as soon as i get debs. Though, since a month now, i have shifted to Ubuntu Gutsy. 🙂

Get it here.

Sue me first, Microsoft

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 09:11:28 +0000

From Digital Tipping Point,

Hello, and welcome to our Microsoft lawsuit invitational. This page is intended to be a place where people would like to join together to invite a Microsoft patent infringement lawsuit. If you would like to invite a visit by Brad Smith, Microsoft’s head litigator, please feel free to add your name here. We are asking that people include their name, email address, version of GNU Linux disto(s) being used, and a short statement explaining why you are using that distro.

Fedora Core 7 “Moonshine” released!

Thu, 31 May 2007 21:34:29 +0000

The Fedora Project has announced the release of Fedora 7, code name “Moonshine”: “Howdy, cousins! Welcome to our little Fedora hollow, where we’ve brewed up some mighty, mighty Fedora 7 Moonshine for your enjoyment.”

The latest version of the popular distribution comes with a number of new features, including “spins”, or variations of Fedora built from a specific set of software packages, the latest GNOME 2.18 and KDE 3.5.6 desktops, fast user switching, improved internationalisation support, a new SELinux troubleshooting tool, significantly faster package management utilities, a new kernel-based virtual machine technology, and many other enhancements. Please read the release announcement and consult the release notes for detailed information.

Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn Released

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:15:27 +0000

Its finally here! And im running it 😀 Due to all the traffic rush, Ubuntu.com is down! On their homepage:

Thank you to everyone who has helped make Ubuntu 7.04 a reality. Thousands of you have helped code, test, translate and promote Ubuntu and everyone can celebrate today’s release.

If you are looking for general information about the Ubuntu project, the main site will be back shortly.

For official mirrors to download, please see the Ubuntu homepage.

Introducing the Gutsy Gibbon

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:12:37 +0000

From the Ubuntu mailing lists:

Folks, allow me to introduce the Gutsy Gibbon, who will be succeeding
the Feisty Fawn as the focus of our development love in a few short
weeks, for release in October 2007.

Hehe.. Funny name i must say.. But then i think about Warty Warthog, Hoary Hedgehog, Breezy Badger, Dapper Drake, Edgy Eft and Feisty Fawn.. Anyway, whatever the name may be, Ubuntu ROCKS!

Is Wine really faster than Windows?

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:22:10 +0000

Would you believe that Wine, the open-source, program that enables you to run some Windows programs on Linux, is faster than native Windows XP on the same hardware?

I have trouble buying that one too, but according to the Wine crew’s latest benchmark runs, it’s true.

These were primarily graphic tests. Both systems, Windows XP SP 2 and Gentoo with Wine 0.9.5, were asked to show their stuff on a 3.8GHz Intel 570 Pentium box with an 800MHz FSB (front side bus), a gigabyte of 533MHz DDR2 (double data rate) RAM, and a 60GB IDE ATA100 hard drive.

Ubuntu Feisty 7.04 Beta Released!

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:14:08 +0000

Ubuntu Feisty Beta hits the servers! From Official Announcement:

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 7.04.

Ubuntu 7.04 is the most user-friendly Ubuntu to date and includes a ground-breaking Windows migration assistant, excellent wireless networking support and improved multimedia support.

Ubuntu 7.04 server edition adds support for hardware facilities that speed up the use of virtual machines as well as other improved hardware support, making it an excellent choice as a web, database, file and print server, the fastest growing area of Linux server use.

Animated boot screen on openSuSE 10.2

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:05:29 +0000

Everyone who has used openSuSE 10.2 must have come across the animated boot screen. But the problem is that its not permanent. It comes sometimes, and doesnt come at other times. Im writing this tutorial for all you penguin lovers who would like to see the animated boot everytime!

1. In the terminal (from your home folder) type mkdir new
2. Type cp /boot/message new
3. Now type cd new
4. Type cpio -i < message
5. Dont close the terminal, and open the folder new in your home folder (from konqueror or nautilus) and edit “gfxboot.cfg” file in kwrite/gedit
6. Change “penguin=-1” to “penguin=100” and save the file
7. Now delete the message file in the new directory by typing rm message
8. Now type ls . | cpio -o > message
9. Now type sudo cp message /boot, enter your root password if required.

openSUSE v10.2 Released!

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 09:23:25 +0000

The openSUSE project is a community program sponsored by Novell. Promoting the use of Linux everywhere, openSUSE.org provides free, easy access to the world’s most usable Linux distribution, openSUSE. The openSUSE project gives Linux developers and enthusiasts everything they need to get started with Linux.

The goals of the openSUSE project are:

Make openSUSE the easiest Linux distribution for anyone to obtain and the most widely used open source platform.
Provide an environment for open source collaboration that makes openSUSE the world’s best Linux distribution for new and experienced Linux users.
Dramatically simplify and open the development and packaging processes to make openSUSE the platform of choice for Linux hackers and application developers.