URL of image when not cached.

I’ve noticed though that they replace the URL of images inside <img> tags with another URL on their server for caching. This, in turn, causes some problems with web applications that requires authentication and generates images on the fly such as StatCounter. This replacement/caching process is only done when Globe Telecom detects that you are using a web browser on a computer or on a mobile phone (I curl-ed this website and the output did not have any URL replacements).

URL after caching. Notice, the cached and compressed image is in Globe or a third-party partner’s server.

As a workaround, you can spoof your User-Agent by modifying the headers of your requests. You may do this in Firefox by:

1. Going to about:config. A warning will have to scare you but just continue.
2. Then, find the general.useragent.extra.firefox setting. Using the filter above may help you find it.
3. Once you find it, double click the entry and change it to whatever you want. For it to work, it should not contain words like Mozilla, Firefox, Safari or other web browsers. I’ve changed mine to MikkoFox.

Have fun browsing without cached images.

But the release had a very noticeable annoyance, the Update Manager pops up a couple of times if you don’t have an updated system. It was unlike before when Update Manager only issues a notification on the notification area.

Fortunately, there’s a quick fix for that. Just go to your terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) or press Alt-F2 and paste this:

That quick fix just fixes the annoyance, no side-effects or whatsoever!

For more Ubuntu, Linux or tech-related news, you may subscribe to The Geek Brewery thru RSS or email.

I am one of UP’s centennial freshmen, a n00b to College life. Entering in such a very liberal University wasn’t easy. As expected, there was “culture shock”. But believe me, it was fun.

It was only in college when I discovered my so-called Life Lines. These life lines saved me from boredom, weird assignments and insanity. Here’s a few of them:

• Got something to search? Google is your friend. It’s your portal to virtually unlimited resources. May it be an assignment, jokes, games, parodies and list goes on and on.
• But if you need extensive information on something, Wikipedia is always up to help you. In case that you’d need more, see the external links and notes below — links to their sources which in most of the time contains more extensive info are systematically listed. Another advantage of those links are they’re written in APA/MLA style. This means there’s no need to rewrite them for your bibliography.
• What if you were given by your Panitikan ng Pilipinas class a job to research on Biag ni Lam-ang? WikiPilipinas.org offers sufficient Philippine-centric articles which are normally not easy to find in the Web.
• It’s late midnight and you’re uber-bored writing your term paper. A good place to reenergize yourself is to watch CollegeHumor videos. They got very good originals that college students can relate to. They also have an array of high-quality third-party content. They also got a blog where they post funny graphs. [Someone in Plurk told me that CollegeHumor.com paid Paris Hilton to make an Obama/McCain campaign spoof. Cool.]
• For group works that requires collaboration on a paper or a spreadsheet, Google Docs is helpful. Given a permission by the document owner, anyone from the group can make changes instantaneously visible to anyone. This makes collaboration an easy task — easier than giving each one a copy of the file for editing and compiling all changes in a single document. Another big advantage of this one is when a hardware (an external disk or removable drive) fails, you can always download it from anywhere in the world given that you have an active Internet connection.
• Your teacher asked you to read a very thick novel. Shall we say the novel “Love in Time of Cholera”. SparkNotes offers comprehensive summaries of some famous pieces of Literature, may it be a poem, novel, etc. They also offer condensed online textbooks on science subjects and U.S. history.
• Studying Law? As in the Laws in the Philippines? ChanRobles law firm has an online repository of Philippine Laws, the Philippine Constitution, Republic Acts among others.
• As you may have noticed above, they’re life lines on the Internet. Now, let’s UnPLUG ourselves from our PCs/Macs. Join a special-interest organization. I’ve tried this and it’s actually a good outlet for people who love to talk about their interests but unfortunately have friends who aren’t interested with it. You learn new things (in my case, Linux stuff) while plowing new friends. You get a chance to talk and talk about geeky stuff without boring people.
• Give yourself a break. Bond with nature. I bet most schools have an open-field or park. Give yourself a chance to roll on the grass, play frisbee with friends or have a walk with your pet. It may be costly but if you’re adventurous enough, have a discovery dive and discover what the open seas offer.

For the mean time, I’d stop here. I have more in mind, but let me reserve it for another post. Nyahahaha.

Hey you, yes you reading this post. If you reached this post by Googling or Yahooing UPCAT tips, then you are on the rightest page on the Universe. If not, then you’re probably one of my loyal readers.

UPCAT or the University of the Philippines College Admission Test is the entrance examination to the Philippine’s one and only national university, the University of the Philippines. It is taken by thousands of graduating high school students who aspire to study in the prestigious University.

This year’s examination will be on August 2 and 3, 2008 — on different testing centers scattered around the country.

I know I am not the perfect person authority to write tips on taking UPCAT, but at least I passed the exam last year. Here are some simple yet useful tips on taking it:

• For students from science high schools (like me), don’t review superadvanced lessons. Those topics are least probable to come out.
• Don’t answer questions the way they are ordered. Try answering in random order. Some easy questions are scattered on the end part, especially in the Math part.
• There are rumors that it is right minus (1/4) wrong. Try answering every question, if you get it wrong you get a 1/4 point deduction — meanwhile if you get it right you get a full point.
• Read the stories in the reading comprehension as fast as you can. But remember, you should be able to understand them. The reading comprehension is one of the most time-consuming part.
• Don’t bring too little or too many snacks. Chances are you’re gonna have a throbbing growling stomach or unexpected trips to the bathroom.
• Have a great sleep! Be at your best shape and condition during the exam. This helps a lot.
• Don’t overreview the night before the exams!
• Take your time, but remember that it’s time bound. Don’t mind your seatmates. Most of my seatmates (those strangers) finished the different parts faster than I did — sadly I didn’t spot any of them here at UPD. Honestly, I averaged 10 unanswered question by the end of each part.
• Familiarize the testing area in your Exam Slip. Do it at least a day before your examination. If not possible, try to go with someone who’s familiar with the place. This minimizes chances of getting lost.

Here are some of the topics (as far as I can remember) on last year’s exam:

1. Basic Functions of Different Cell Organelles
2. Simple algebra
3. Some polynomial factoring
4. Simple trigonometry
5. Simple Electricity (V = IR; P = IV)
6. Some rectilinear motion (free fall motion, a little projectile)
7. Simple grammar and error spotting
8. Triangles. Given two sides, identify the length of the third
9. Some Earth Science

I hope it helps!

Good luck.