Linux.fm: Broadcasting the code

This must be the geekiest most useless project in the history of geek IT projects. Linux.fm is an internet radio station that broadcasts a read version of the source code of a random kernel source file. WTF? It uses eSpeak synthesizer for reading the source file. Each time you reload the page it reads a new source file. The whole project is dedicated to Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the asexual super geek character from Big Bang Theory. You 've got to hear it to believe it....

Chrome 4 Beta available for Mac and Linux

Chrome is finally available to both Linux and Mac users. I have really enjoyed using Chrome in Windows but since i don't use Windows that often I would have really liked it to be available for the Linux and the mac platform. Google heard my geek prayers and released Chrome 4 beta.

I installed it and run to both platforms without any problems and to my delight there were ready-made packages for Ubuntu, as well as for Fedora and Suse all having 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

One noticeable difference of the two versions is that the Linux one keeps the default blueish theme while the Mac version has a metallic theme obviously to play along with the rest of the metallic theme of OSX. In addition one, hiccup is that In Ubuntu, Chrome does not follow the windows behavior set in user preferences. Thus, for example, if you have set for a window to roll-up if you double click on the titlebar it will just stay there which is kinda disappointing. I guess its still in beta and better integration will come in the near future as soon. In addition, the mac version does not support extensions for now which is a bummer since extension have some very useful stuff. in Linux version though they are enabled and ready for use.

I like Firefox but it has started to get to my nerves how painfully bloat it has become. When Firefox came out 5 years ago it was bleeding fast compared to Internet Explorer, which was one of the reasons it became the browser of choice for many people. Chrome still lacks the plugin support that Firefox enjoyes but it will come in the near future (the extensions are in beta as well). All I can say Chrome is the new Firefox.

Play Lord of the Rings Online on Mac OSX

I have bitched about the state of mac gaming before. I still stand by that as nothing is different and nothing got better. The development companies (or production companies for that matter) still ignore the platform and the few games are still more expensive than their windows equivalent, save for some exceptions. There is yet hope though.

There are other ways to play your favourite games on the mac without leaving OSX to bootcamp back to windows. I tried parallels. At first, I was thrilled and excited, but then I was as annoyed as bootcamping and more(its slower than windows on bootcamp). It is an impressive piece of software but I still had to load an entire Operating system even if the loading took place on a virtual machine. I then tried Crossover games. For this paragraph i 'll just say that lotsa Orc-slaying is taking place using Crossover.

Crossover is a commercial flavor of wine, the well known open source Windows API implementation, that allows windows programs to run on various operating systems including Linux and Mac OSX. I have used wine in the past to play games but it felt more like work to maintain your gaming environments clean and keep your games in a working order without screwing something up. Crossover is saving you from just that. It is basically wine with a better environment and lets you install your windows games cleanly without affecting your other games and it lets you configure everything correctly without much headaches. It is doing that with the use of bottles(get it? bottles of wine?) to isolate your individual games and everything runs on it own bottle.

Avoid windows and orc bad breath

Lately I am hooked on Lord of the Rings Online (more on that in a future post). Lotro occupies most of my gaming time and, at least for that one, I needed to find a way to play it efficiently on the mac without resorting to bootcamp. Crossover games was the answer. Even though tehcnically Lord of the Rings Online is not officially supported by Codeweavers it is still playing great. Installing it is straight forward once you know the correct steps. Basically the game plays as is. The only difference is that one has to replace the original .Net game launcher with another one that is compatible with Crossover. This is where pylotro comes into play. Make sure you download the windows pylotro version to install it in your bottle.

(Obsolete instructions. Please look further down in the post for the updated instructions)
Basically the steps for the US version are:

• install Crossover Games
• create a windows 2k bottle(its been know to be more stable)
• install the game from the downladbale Mines of Moria client
• install pylotro
• run pylotro and patch game from there

For the European version it is slightly different:

• install crossover
• create a windows 2k bottle(its been know to be more stable
• install Book 14 client
• install Mines of moria update 1
• install Mines of Moria Update 2
• from the extra software packets of Crossover install VC++ 2005
• install pylotro
• run pylotro and patch the game

I have been playing Lotro from crossover games for many days now and it is very stable with very good performance. In addition to Lotro I have been playing Team Fortress 2 and Half Life 2 from Crossover games without any issues whatsoever. Before trying it make sure to check on the compatibility pages if your game is supported. Ok I may bootcamp for something that is not supported but for 90% of the time I am ok. For 39 dollars being able to enjoy my favourite games without leaving OSX is a very good deal. Crossover has a full fledged demo version to try it before you buy it. In addition by buying a licence you support a company that supports open source and in addition writes a very important opensource project, wine.

UPDATE 13/11/10

Good news everyone! Codeweavers are now supporting Lord of the rings Online with C4P installation in crossover games. That means less hussle setting it up. It also runs like a breeze with 9.2.

The installation process is a breeze now.

• Download the client setup files from the links found on the Tips and tricks page of the game's support page. Please note that there are different files for North American and European clients. This will install the Siege of Mirkwood client(don't worry you will update later). Do NOT use the latest free to play client because it will NOT work.
• After you have installed the latest crossover games version (9.2 at the time of writing) create a new windows xp bottle and go to the game's support page on codeweavers website
• Click on the the C4p icon on the right hand side of the page to initiate the automated installation procedure. Click through the security messages.
• Start the automated procedure and provide the lotro client location on your computer to the wizard.
• The rest of the downloads will be handled by C4P
• After the installation is complete use pylotro to run the game (the game's regular client won't work).
• Patch to the latest version using pylotro
• If the game is not launching for you, check to see if DirectX modern package is installed in your lotro bottle in crossover. If it is not, install it through the supported installations of the bottle.

IMPORTANT: check the Tips and Tricks section of the support page

Don't judje an OS by its video contenst (We are Linux video contest)

You have all seen the videos from the very successfull "I am a Mac" campaign. Linux foundation found them a great idea and decided to run its own 'We are Linux' video campaign contest. This sparked the creation of countless videos that took part in the contest.

The submission period is over and the judging period has started. Most of the videos are crap, others are creepy, while some look like they were created after a lot of booze(or other substances). Love for the OS though is apparent in all of them. There are a few though that are rather good and really make the point nicely.

VectorLinux a distro for the old but not forgotten machines

I have some old machines just sitting there doing nothing. These machines will not play along nicely using windows or large footprint Linux distros like Suse. Using an old Distro is out of the question, so what is left to do? There are various solutions out there that include small footprint and low requirements such as Damn Small Linux(DSL). What if, though, I want new kernel, the latest and greatest packages, nice interface and low requirements at the same time?

VectorLinux is here to save the IT-damsel-admin-home-user in distress by providing a very fast distro, new kernel, new packages optimized for performance. Ok do not expect to run OpenOffice 3 on a pentium II 300 MHz but you get my point. As fast the OS is concerned everything is fast. It is based on Xfce Desktop and it looks rather nice. On the downside it still uses Lilo by default so if you have all your machines running with grub you might have to spend some extra time twiking.


According to the developers the requirements for the different editions are:

Standard Edition: Pentium 200 or better, 96MB RAM, 2.1GB hard drive space for system only, more for your data.

SOHO Edition: Pentium 750 or better, 128MB RAM minimum, 3.1GB hard drive space for system only, more for your data, video and monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution at 24 bits color.

Light Edition: Pentium 166 or better, 64MB RAM minimum, 1.8GB hard drive space for full system - more for your data.

Live Editions: Pentium 750 or better, 256MB RAM minimum, video and monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution at 24 bits colour. For the Beryl version you will need a modern video card.

The new version 6.0 was just released offered into 2 different packages. One free and one that costs 25$. The difference is that in the pay version you get to have 15 days installation and configuration support and some extra packages by default. A live CD is available, as well, if you just want to try it out without installing.You can download it from here.

Wine support for Office 2007

The latest version of Wine (1.1.9) fully supports Office 2007. No more dll messing or winetricks, just plug and play! It seems that the only half-decent product from Redmond doesn't need its silly Windoze OS...

Microsoft's Office Web to support Linux and Mac OSX

Microsoft never liked open technologies and I am not just talking Open source here. I mean just having something that can play along with other companies' technologies. ActiveX or Frontpage extensions anyone? At this day and age though, even Microsoft has to reconsider past practices. With many users jumping train to other Operating Systems and other companies pushing web products in the market, it would stupid not to support them if you are building a web service.

Last month Microsoft introduces Office Web which is a lightweight version of Microsoft's office that runs as a web service. Microsoft now announces that the Office Web will be compatible with Linux and the iPhone. That means that users of Safari and Firefox will be able to use it as well. I am guessing here that Microsoft is becoming increasingly alarmed by Google's policy of run everything everywhere which is gaining momentum. With so many Mac OSX, Linux and iPhone user's out there Microsoft just could not afford to loose more users.

Ubuntu 8.10 to be released tommorow

The release of the new Ubuntu Linux 8.10 is upon us. Many have downloaded and tested the new version and all agree on one thing. 8.10 Intrepid Ibex is a polished version correcting the mistakes of the past. Rather than introducing many new features the Ubuntu team went out to eliminate the glitches that plagued the previous version. It feels more of a service pack than a whole new version, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Good news is that it has has an even better hardware support, paying particular attention to wireless connectivity. Installation procedure as always fast and easy. Previous version users can just update their current system. Please note though that updating will get you to a non LTS version so anyone using the machine for a server is advised not to upgrade. Dedoimedo has a comprehensive review for you to check out, along with a small tutorial and many pictures of the new version.

Ubuntu 8.10 to be released

The new Ubuntu 8.10 is going to be released in a few days. The brave souls can download the release candidate and play around with all the new features. From my experience the Ubuntu release candidates are quite stable and you can drop the old repositories for the new ones to get all the update after the official release. So if anyone is in a hurry he/she just might as well install it on his/her machine. I would not recommend it on production machines though because you never know when the nasty bug will hit you.

There are numerous upgrades on this release. We have the usual suspects of new versions for gnome and kernel but more “exotic ones” as well such as the encrypted directories and the long awaited improved connection manager that allows the road warriors to manage their 3G connections of their laptops.

The list includes:

• Gnome 2.24
• X.Org 7.4
• Linux Kernel 2.6.27
• Encrypted private directory
• Guest session
• Network Manager 0.7
• Dell Kernel module support
• Samba 3.2
• Pam authentication
• Totem BBC plugin

Along with Ubuntu, the Xubuntu and Kubuntu distros will be released for the fans of Xfce and KDE desktop environments. The new releases will not be LTS, even though this will not be an issue if you are not planning to use it on a production server.

I was not very happy with the previous release and had problems with it. Lets see if all the issues were resolved in 8.10.

Linux turned 17! Happy birthday Linux!

Linux turned 17 last week. Our beloved OS has evolved to be an excellent dektop, server, console, mobile phone, any many other things, Operating System over these years. So in order to celebrate that, I am reposting the original post of Linus Torvalds on the minix newsgroup 17 years ago that started it all. Happy birthday Linux and many more..!!!

Do you pine for the nice days of minix-1.1, when men were men and wrote
their own device drivers? Are you without a nice project and just dying
to cut your teeth on a OS you can try to modify for your needs? Are you
finding it frustrating when everything works on minix? No more all-
nighters to get a nifty program working? Then this post might be just
for you :-)

As I mentioned a month(?) ago, I'm working on a free version of a
minix-lookalike for AT-386 computers. It has finally reached the stage
where it's even usable (though may not be depending on what you want),
and I am willing to put out the sources for wider distribution. It is
just version 0.02 (+1 (very small) patch already), but I've successfully
run bash/gcc/gnu-make/gnu-sed/compress etc under it.

Sources for this pet project of mine can be found at nic.funet.fi
(128.214.6.100) in the directory /pub/OS/Linux. The directory also
contains some README-file and a couple of binaries to work under linux
(bash, update and gcc, what more can you ask for :-). Full kernel
source is provided, as no minix code has been used. Library sources are
only partially free, so that cannot be distributed currently. The
system is able to compile "as-is" and has been known to work. Heh.
Sources to the binaries (bash and gcc) can be found at the same place in
/pub/gnu.

ALERT! WARNING! NOTE! These sources still need minix-386 to be compiled
(and gcc-1.40, possibly 1.37.1, haven't tested), and you need minix to
set it up if you want to run it, so it is not yet a standalone system
for those of you without minix. I'm working on it. You also need to be
something of a hacker to set it up (?), so for those hoping for an
alternative to minix-386, please ignore me. It is currently meant for
hackers interested in operating systems and 386's with access to minix.

The system needs an AT-compatible harddisk (IDE is fine) and EGA/VGA. If
you are still interested, please ftp the README/RELNOTES, and/or mail me
for additional info.

I can (well, almost) hear you asking yourselves "why?". Hurd will be
out in a year (or two, or next month, who knows), and I've already got
minix. This is a program for hackers by a hacker. I've enjouyed doing
it, and somebody might enjoy looking at it and even modifying it for
their own needs. It is still small enough to understand, use and
modify, and I'm looking forward to any comments you might have.

I'm also interested in hearing from anybody who has written any of the
utilities/library functions for minix. If your efforts are freely
distributable (under copyright or even public domain), I'd like to hear
from you, so I can add them to the system. I'm using Earl Chews estdio
right now (thanks for a nice and working system Earl), and similar works
will be very wellcome. Your (C)'s will of course be left intact. Drop me
a line if you are willing to let me use your code.

Linus

PS. to PHIL NELSON! I'm unable to get through to you, and keep getting
"forward error - strawberry unknown domain" or something.

Ubuntu Linux is starting to piss me off

I have been a Linux user for years. For the most part I used Suse Linux for work and at home. Around six months ago I decided to use Ubuntu Linux at work, which is gaining the momentum these days, after a short period of using it at home. The reason for this was that Suse version I was using then (10.2) was really pissing me off with how fat and heavy it felt (and was) and its really awful update system that rarely worked. In order to install a single small packet I had to wait for many minutes in order to find the mirrors resolve dependencies, crash the system, kill the xserver, and so on. I had used, briefly, a debian-based distro, in the past and was very impressed by its excellent update system. Thus since Ubnutu had the reputation of being very friendly with less hassle and was debian-based I gave it a try.

I started with a prior to 8.04 version and the updated after a month or so to the current version (8.04). Trouble was ahead since they changed the whole sound system and I had to fiddle around with the sound settings for a great long in order to get everything with the sound working. Then the updates started. Since the Suse update system rarely worked I was happy during the first few days to receive daily updates. The version was just released and many updates seemed logical. After six months of use though I still have an average of 25-30 MB of updates daily. I mean what is up with that? It is really annoying and the worst part is that some of these updates broke the xserver and then broke the alsa sound system and I had to fiddle with them again. Installing a package is a breeze though....That is something. In addition some of the tools simply don't work. For example I want to change the class of device for my bluetooth dongle and Ubuntu just refuses to do that. I gead down to hcidconf file to do manually and refuses to take that into consideration. I figured out later after days of trial and error that it disregards the universal to every Linux distro hcidconf and uses other settings for that. Go figure....

These days I have started thinking about going back to Suse. I don't know. I 've read they have fixed their update system and thats good, but on the other hand I read that for every new Suse version and its never fixed. I miss Yast and the many ready-made scripts for controlling everything. Time will tell.

Porting linux work on the mac

Since I make my living as a programmer, being able to do some of the devlopment in Mac OS X was always a pleasure for me. Unfortunately the main project I work on requires Linux. Not that I do not love my linux box but I would like to be able to take work on the road on my Macbook Pro.

Yesterday I tried to port everything to Mac OS X to be able to develop for work while on the road. The project requires the jboss application server, liferay portal engine, postgres database and sun's wireless toolkit for j2me development. I do my Java coding on Eclipse so I had to install that as well.

I begun with postgres. I fiddled with macports to get it to work but I 've found a very nice project for postgres on Mac OS X and I used that instead. Very easy installation. It provides tools as well for client and server. I deployed the jboss with the liferay on it and it run almost out of he box with some very minor issues. It is all Java anyway so why wouldn't it work. Jboss started in 57 seconds on the macbook pro with everything deployed on it. Very-very fast.

The last bit proved to be a disaster though. Sun does not provide a wireless toolkit for the mac platform. That is really a shame. I tried to hack my way to a working, or almost working, solution using the wireless toolkit for Linux on the mac. I installed Eclipse on the MBP and then the EclipseMe plugin to work with the j2me libraries. I installed the wireless toolkit for linux on the mac and then I tried to make the EclipseMe plugin to see the emulated devices from the wireless toolkit. No luck there.

I tried to open the wtk ktoolbar application but it threw some exceptions. I fiddled around with it some more to get it to half-work. When I managed to get it to open (without being able to get the emulator to work though), I tried getting EclipseMe see the devices again. Success! Well almost because I am able to use the libraries from Eclipse, but I am not able to run the emulator. Oh well at least I got some dependencies problems out of the way and I can work on half the project.

Any how, Why the hell hasn't Sun all these years released a Mac WTK. It is beyond me. Even to get half of it working it took me many hours trying BSD JVM alternatives and other crazy stuff and still I do not have a working solution. Having looked on the internet as well, I have not found a a solution to this problem. There are alternatives but that would break the compatibility with me and other guys working from WTK from Linux. I think I will leave it be for the time being.