Archive for December, 2007

Maxtor OneTouch4 with Ubuntu Linux

16 Comments
Posted 24 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category Ubuntu

I got the Maxtor OneTouch4 500 GB external hard drive during the Thanksgiving deal. Maxtor uses it’s own software to access/backup files from/to the external drive. I used Windows OS to setup the hard drive the first time. Maxtor installed it’s desktop software and I backed up my files using it’s software. I then booted into Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. Ubuntu 7.10 recognized the external hard drive, but when I tried to access the files, I got a message similar to ‘cannot access the drive or you do not have permission to access the folder’.

I thought I would format the hard drive, so I backed up the Maxtor software from the external hard drive using Windows OS. I tried to format the drive in Ubuntu using QTParted and GParted (2 Linux based partition editors). QTParted didn’t even recognize the drive. GParted did recognize the drive, but the options in the right click context menu were completely grayed out except unmount. I then formatted the OneTouch4 with Partition Magic (Windows based partition editor) as NTFS. I could then access the drive, copy/paste files etc from my Ubuntu system. What a pain Maxtor is/was!!!

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Happy Holidays!!!

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Posted 22 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category General

My office is closed for holidays starting today until January 2nd. I got some house chores to do during that time, so I’m not sure how often I would be able to update my blog.

Dell’s Ubuntu 7.10 offering

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Posted 20 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category Ubuntu

You might have heard the news that Dell is offering DVD video playback in their Ubuntu systems. Dell has released more information on what they are offering for Ubuntu 7.10.

  • Dell is offering LinDVD software with every Ubuntu system for DVD playback. It’s a proprietary software and the cost is included in the system price.
  • Normal Compiz Fusion effects are enabled by default.
  • Dell is installing and enabling the NVIDIA 3-D OpenGL driver by default on systems purchased with NVIDIA video cards.
  • Dell now puts a DVD ISO image on the desktop. Users can burn that to DVD and use as a restore disc. Dell already offers reinstallation partitions on the hard drive.
  • Adobe flash player is installed by default.
  • New hardware support including Integrated laptop webcams w/ digital microphone, NVIDIA video cards on laptops, including suspend/hibernate support, Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 on the Inspiron 530, Support for the Dell 1720 and 1720dn printers
  • APT repository for updating BIOS from Ubuntu.

Source: Direct2Dell.

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Kubuntu 8.04 to include KDE 4.0

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Posted 20 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category Announcement, Ubuntu

Jonathan Riddell announced in Kubuntu mailing list that Kubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron will include KDE 4.0. Since 8.04 is supposed to be a LTS (Long term support) release, users will have an option of selecting either KDE 3.5.x or KDE 4.0. KDE 3.5.x will have the outstanding bugs fixed in order to release Kubuntu 8.04 as LTS release. KDE 4.0 option will give developers and other Kubuntu users to use the latest KDE version for testing/enjoyment. It’s a good move by Kubuntu team.

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Dell enabled DVD playback for Ubuntu systems

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Posted 19 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category Ubuntu

As most of the Ubuntu users are aware, Ubuntu doesn’t install DVD or mp3 or other audio/video codecs by default unless they are open source. The reason is the U.S. patent law. Once you install Ubuntu and try to play a DVD or audio file, Ubuntu will prompt you to install the necessary codecs automatically (with a warning). Dell now enables the DVD playback in their systems. It’s a good move if you want to make Ubuntu more user friendly for moms & pops.

Dellbuntu

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HD VMD – Another high def player

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Posted 17 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category News

I somehow missed this news. I accidentally came across this news in PC World today. The news was 3 months old. It was talking about a new technology, namely HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) which was supposed to be cheaper than Blu Ray and HD DVD. It uses the current DVD technology, the red laser technology, unlike Blu Ray’s and HD DVD’s blue laser technology. HD VMD discs holds 30GB on a single disc (one sided). The format uses MPEG-2 and VC1 video formats to encode at 1080p resolution for the time being, and will possibly move to the H.264 format in the future.

The 1080p set-top players, which use the HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format, should be on sale on Amazon.com and in stores such as Radio Shack and Costco for around $150. People are already pulling their hair between the Blu Ray and HD DVD war and I don’t think we want another format now. I’m not sure if any movie studio is supporting this format.

I have a Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player. One cool new feature I like (not yet tested) in HD DVD player is sharing movies with families and friends. If you and any of your friend’s or families have HD DVD player (in separate places) and both are connected to the internet through the ethernet port (all HD DVD players have ethernet port, but it’s not the same with Blu Ray players), you can play a movie and share it with the other people through the internet connection. They can watch whatever you are watching, but they won’t have the control to operate or pause or stop the movie. It’s a cool features, but I’m not sure how useful it’ll be in a practical world. (Source: Tech Consumer).

Hd Vmd

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15 biggest tech disappointments – Microsoft got a fair share

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Posted 17 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category News

PC World announced the 15 biggest tech disappointments. This includes (may not be a surprise for many), Windows Vista, Microsoft Zune and Microsoft Office 2007. The interesting part is, the list also includes Apple’s Leopard OS and iPhone. The iphone is more due to AT&T’s broadband service and the big price drop.

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KDE 4.0 RC1 too buggy for me

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Posted 14 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category Ubuntu

I installed KDE 4.0 RC1 in my Kubuntu 7.10 installation as per the instructions here. It was quite buggy. Here is a small list of problem I found in the couple of days I used it. I don’t know if those were fixed in KDE 4.0 RC2 which was released 2 days ago.

  • The K Menu (KDE menu) was aligned to the left of the task bar when I logged in (normal). When I logged in the 2nd time, it moved little to the right and I couldn’t get it back to it’s original position (pic below).

Dscn0794

  • Nothing happens when you right click the taskbar. No option.
  • Right clicking the desktop gives you options to add widget, logout and one more. There’s no option to change the desktop background or anything else useful.
  • I added 3-4 widgets that came with KDE 4.0. All of those widgets were added to the same area on the desktop and I couldn’t move them (pic below). The battery widget couldn’t find my laptop battery.

Dscn0796

  • Lot of options were missing in the system settings. Some of the options didn’t work.
  • When I open a new program, that program gets displayed to the right in the taskbar isntead of starting from the left (pic below).

Dscn0795

  • The print screen command didn’t work. That was the reason why I had to take all these screenshots with my camera.
  • I get a run command box when I login. Once you start entering a command or application name, It’ll display the available applications or commands containing the word I’m typing, so you can select the one you want. That box goes away after I use it once, for each login.

Dscn0793

The login window still looks similar to KDE 3.x. It would be nice if they change it to something better before they release the final version.

Dscn0792

There are still lots to be done before they can release it. I’m not sure how many bugs they would be able to fix if they stick to the current release date. It’s looks promising and it would be, once they fix the bugs.

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Dutch government to adopt open source softwares

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Posted 13 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category News

The Dutch government has set a soft deadline of April 2008 for its agencies to start using open-source softwares. Government organizations will still be able to use proprietary software and formats but will have to justify it under the new policy. The government estimates it would save $8.8 million a year on city housing registers alone after switching to open source. The Dutch policy directs government organizations at the national level to be ready to use the Open Document Format to save documents by April, and at the state and local level by 2009. Kudos to the Dutch government!!!

Source: AP.

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KDE 4.0 RC2 out

4 Comments
Posted 12 Dec 2007 — by Arun
Category Announcement, Ubuntu

KDE team has released the second release candidate of KDE 4.0. This version is codenamed Coenig. The code base is now feature complete.

Here is how you can install KDE 4.0 RC2 in Kubuntu:

  • Remove previous KDE 4 packages, they are not compatible. Open a terminal and type sudo apt-get remove kdelibs5 kde4base-data kde4libs-data
  • Add deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-members-kde4/ubuntu gutsy main to your /etc/apt/sources.list. Type sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list and add it. Save and exit.
  • Type sudo apt-get update
  • Install sudo apt-get install kdebase-workspace sudo apt-get install kdebase-kde4 sudo apt-get install kdebase-runtime
  • KDE 4 apps should appear in your KDE 3 K-menu or you can run a full session by selecting “KDE 4″ from your login manager.
  • To avoid having to start a second X server for a full session install xserver-xephyr and run Xephyr :1 & export DISPLAY=:1; xterm and run startkde in the Xerphyr xterm.

Source: Kubuntu.

Konqueror

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