Archive for the ‘Linux’ Category

Posted by Mikko at 19 April 2009

Category: Linux

Tags:

Ubunchu! The Ubuntu Mange

Yes, it’s an Ubuntu manga! The manga of my current operating system.

The manga was made by Hirosho Seo. The manga was originally in Japanese but it’s already translated in many languages including English. There are also left-to-right editions (unlikie the manga-style right-to-left) for like me who don’t read manga.

You are free to get your copy as it is licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution – NonCommcercial license.

Posted by Mikko at 22 September 2008

Category: How-To, Linux

Tags: ,

Lately, I have been trying to amaze myself doing some weird stuff on Linux. Gladly, I thought of connecting my mobile phone to my Linux-running laptop for Internet.

I’d like to share it in case anyone might be concerned on how to do so.

Prerequisites

  1. A Bluetooth, GPRS and/or 3G (but preferably with 3G) capable mobile phone.
  2. A machine with a Bluetooth adapter.
  3. Bluez Bluetooth GNOME applet (the Bluetooth icon on your system tray).
    1. If not installed, may be obtained by typing sudo apt-get bluez-gnome.

This works pretty well on my Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and Linux Mint 5.0 installation.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. First of all, enable Bluetooth for the mobile phone and workstation (laptop, desktop, etc). Make sure both devices are discoverable.
  2. On your workstation’s terminal (on Ubuntu, go to Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal), type hcitool scan .
  3. You should see your mobile phone’s name and address.
  4. Now, let’s bind your device to rfcomm. Type sudo rfcomm bind /dev/rfcomm0 <replace_this_with_address_of_device> <replace_with_channel> .
    1. Replace <replace_this_with_address_of_device> with the address you obtained from hcitool scan (the ones on the left of your phone's name).
    2. Try the values 1, 2 or 3 for <replace_with_channel>. In case the whole process doesn’t work, just unbind your device to rfcomm by typing sudo rfcomm unbind rfcomm0 and repeating the whole process again with another value.
  5. After doing so, click on the network icon in your system tray (near the clock) and choose manual configuration. Unlock it with your password. Change the settings of point-to-point connection by double-clicking the option.
  6. Check “Enable this connection”.
  7. Choose GPRS/UMTS as Connection Type. Change access point name to “internet” without the doublequotes. For account data, just enter any username and password.
  8. On the second tab named “Modem”, type /dev/rfcomm0 to modem port field.
  9. On the third tab, check “Set modem as default route to internet” and “Use the internet service providers’ nameservers”.
  10. Hit OK.
  11. Now, check the checkbox of point-to-point connection.
  12. By this time, you should have an internet connection on your workstation. If it doesn’t work, repeat the process. Note to try other channels (described in the fourth step).

That’s all. Hope it works.

Posted by Mikko at 29 August 2008

Category: Linux

Hey guys, it’s now almost a week since I moved to Linux. And yeah, as I always say, it was fun — really fun.

I am an eight-year Windows user. In short, I grew up with Microsoft and other proprietary software. It is only at this stage of my life that I decided to go open-source. To go for something that is for a greater cause.

I admit that it was a bit hard for me to adjust to the new environment especially when using the terminal (Command Prompt or MS DOS in Windows). It took me time to study the terminal codes just so to look cool and geeky.

Now, ideas are scrambling on my mind. So now, I am making this nonsugarcoated review. A real, authentic and genuine review from an eight-year Windows user.

Machine Specifications

Operating System: Linux Mint (Ubuntu derivative)
Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 (1.9GHz dual-core)
Memory: 2GB
Dedicated Video Memory: 64MB
Video Memory (Dedicated+Shared): 399MB
Hard Disk: 120GB 5400rpm

Linux Mint is a great Linux distribution for first-timers like me. It contains most of the codecs required to play your typical audio and video files. It is also equipped with the necessary players for your multimedia needs.

On my system, Linux Mint was so far stable. Seldom do I experience program crashes. It was swift, even with Advanced Desktop Effects enabled.

If you’re worrying about office applications, it is equipped with OpenOffice. You may have tried OpenOffice before and categorized it as a Loser as I did before. But hey, I recommend you to reconsider your prejudgment. Why don’t you give it another try? I used OpenOffice for most of the House Council works. Also, is the only complete Office suite I knew that has the feature (without using a PDF printer) to produce PDF files. How cool is that? It’s also open-source, so you have the freedom to modify, redistribute, copy and study the software without breaking applicable laws. No more need to commit another crime.

Interfacewise, it is really good — better than Windows shall I say. Desktop effects were astonishing. You could choose different animations for minimizing, maximizing, opening and closing windows. For me, the Desktop Cube was the coolest of them all. Check the screenshots below, how cool is that?

If you think you ain’t geek enough to install software in Linux, that’s definitely not a problem. Linux Mint is equipped with Synaptics Package Manager. Just open it, mark everything you need and click Apply. The marked software will be downloaded for you and installed in no time.

So that not to make this review as praiseful and 100% positive, I really had problems when I tried to do some coding work. Before, I used Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 for my PHP, xHTML and CSS needs. I tried to use Bluefish, a software I downloaded using Synaptics Package Manger but it was really different. It was harder than I thought. I was cramming an app and so what I did was restarted my laptop and booted up my Windows Vista and voila, Dreamweaver is back! As to achieve my goal of migrating all my tasks to Linux, I am now looking for a great alternatve. Gladly I saw this site Osalt.com, a site that offers Open-Source alternatives for proprietary software like Dreamweaver.

I’m running out of time. Before I end this one, I’m gonna show you my ultimate favorite in Linux. It’s the wonderful Terminal equipped with Fortunes. It gives you random jokes/quotes/foresights everytime you open a Terminal windows/tab. Oh, before I forget, you can tab out (open multiple tabs) Terminal. Some screenshots:

That’s all. Anyway, I think I found my Dreamweaver alternative. It’s Quanta Plus!! :D

Posted by Mikko at 24 August 2008

Category: Linux

I am now on Linux.

This will be my first blog entry I will be writing on Linux. I have just installed Linux Mint, a Ubuntu (Linux distribution) derivative. I’m liking it – especially the desktop effects.

One of the problems, probably the biggest, I had while configuring my laptop for Linux is my wireless network adapter driver. I do have Broadcom BCM4312 – which did not work with the native generic driver provided by the distribution. The “Windows Wireless Drivers” did not work for me so I had to search for other solutions. I ended up tired of it and so I sought the help of some UnPLUGgers. :D

I’ll be posting screenshots of my wonderful Linux on Laptop soon so keep updated.

Posted by Mikko at 16 August 2008

Category: Linux

It’s been a very long time since I planned to switch to Linux. After about a hundred of Ubuntu (Linux distribution) CDs from Netherlands, I’ve finally decided on it. I am switching to Linux.

I am switching to Linux. The big question is why?

Once in a while, I swallow my pride. I admit I’ve been influenced indirectly by the University of the Philippines Linux Users’ Group. Earlier this week, I received an email invitation from the said org. A couple more emails followed. It was a bit hard for me to decided whether to join or not for a fact that I made a previous statement with my friends that I won’t be joining an org on my freshie year in the University. Sorry dear friends, I’m eating my words for now. Eventually, they made me join their Monthly General Meeting (MGM) yesterday.

I can’t deny the fact that UnPLUG was cool – their organizational structure headed by a “Benevolent Dictator”, the pizza, their cute Linux Penguin, the member’s journey from a learner to a Master of the Universe (MOTU), among others. They were cool [offtopic: read the poem We Real Cool]. Their laptops booted different Linux distributions. Their wallpapers were doing some sales talk on my mind – switch to Linux. Wahehehe.

I’ve been with Windows since we had a computer. I learned HTML, CSS, 8051 Assembly, microcontroller C compilers, Visual Basic, some C++, some Java, PHP, mySQL and all the other stuff with Windows. Now, I’m giving Windows a sweet goodbye. [Not sure if I can do this. But a gradual shift would do]

I believe that it’s not that hard for me to do the switch. I’ve known myself for years. I always had the passion to learn something new when it comes to computer stuff. I always had the perseverance on reading hundreds of eBook pages. I always had the energy Googling jargon terms on a microcontroller’s whitepaper. Given such “always hads”, I believe I can do it.

A persevered learner as I am, I believe I can share the knowledge I’ll eventually acquire thru sharing those things in my blog. I won’t care if you see the idea strange (drowning people not interested to the topic with Linux posts) – this is my blog anyway.

Good luck to me. Good luck to the Linux n00b. Good luck to Conrad Miguel E. Gozalo.

Posted by Mikko at 22 May 2008

Category: Linux

Tags: ,

A number of Ubuntu 8.04 CDs from the Netherlands reached my hands just this morning — after three weeks of long wait; which was actually a week ahead from their promised duration.

I tried running it in a Live CD mode in a user can try the OS from the CD without actually installing it. Finally, they supported WPA-PSK personal preshare keys for Wi-Fi networks. Enough reason to use it!

I tried to install it a while ago on a different partition but I keep on getting PartitionMagic Error 983 (Too many errors found, process halted) and Error 1529 (Information mismatch on directory entry). I tried searching for solutions online. The solutions I found was to perform CHKDSK with repair and force parameters on then defrag then try dividing the partition again. I have done a million of CHKDSK with slash f and slash r (/f /r) parameters and defragged my hard disk but to no avail. Continue reading “Received my Ubuntu 8.04 CDs” »