elvisd's blog

Adobe Flash 10 64bit on Jaunty (Ubuntu 9.04)

2009-07-22T13:32:00.003+02:00

Had strange problems with apt-provided flash player: freezes of flash videos, no sound, can't listen to music if an instance of flash was once started in firefox, and so on.
Finally, decided (and found time) to find a solution. :D

First followed a Pulse audio how-to
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=789578

Than installed the latests flash player 10 64bit for linux refresh
http://www.myscienceisbetter.info/2008/11/install-native-64bit-flash-player-10-on-linux.html

Now every thing works just fine.

Jaunty NEW Update Manager pop-under

2009-04-30T17:20:00.002+02:00

To disable the new Jaunty Update Manager's pop-under feature, just copy the following code in the terminal:


gconftool -s --type bool /apps/update-notifier/auto_launch false

I have found the tip in the comments of TuxRadar's «Open letter to Mark Shuttleworth».

Bye

Jaunty's out! Check it out!

2009-04-24T01:15:00.003+02:00

Finally!
Ubuntu released Jaunty Jackalope 9.04.
I haven't the time, till the w-e, to install it on my main laptop, due to full backup time... :)
Since.... I don't remember since when.... I have at home a laptop IBM Thinkpad R30. I tried many times over the past years to install an Ubuntu release without success.
I haven't given much time to find out the problems.
This was the perfect machine to try, and hope in, Jaunty.
And...
Tadaaaa...
Ubuntu installed without problems... nor kernel boot parameters... nor ... nothing at all.
The only problem was that the screen res was only 800x600... :) ... I say «was» cause after a bit of googling I found (as always) the solution.
Below the content of the super-natural /etc/X11/xorg.conf:


# xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Device"
 Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 Identifier "Configured Monitor"
 HorizSync 28-49
 VertRefresh 43-72
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier "Default Screen"
 Monitor  "Configured Monitor"
 Device  "Configured Video Device"
 DefaultDepth 24
 SubSection "Display"
  Modes  "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
EndSection

Credits to draimus, 2009, april 2nd post found at
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-trident/+bug/209018

I'll post during the week-end how my main laptop upgrade is gone and something about my first Jaunty's impressions.... :P
LOVE IT!

waiting for 15 years....

2008-11-24T11:10:00.002+01:00

Wait's over!
Wow... this brings my memory back for some days... months... years... yes. Many years. 15. (Better 17 years... 'cause haven't loved «The spaghetti incident» so much... )
It's a good album. Very good.

Thank you Axl Rose. Thank you very much.

GDD2008 Milan

2008-10-21T23:42:00.002+02:00

Today I attended the GDD 2008 (Google Developers Day) in Milan. Was the first time. What a nice experience. Sessions were ok (not all what I expected) but, ok.

Interesting the topic on OpenWeb and the Keynote (overviewing all Google products), not bad GWT and Chrome V8 sessions, disliked the GData API; the content can be interesting but to much code to follow on slides, without the possibility to follow live on our Pc. But I understand... one day for so many things...
I love that Company.

The dream...

2008-10-17T16:55:00.001+02:00

Check here
No comments needed...

Gnome Icon theme

2008-10-16T11:30:00.003+02:00

I recently found an impressive wonderful icon theme for Gnome...
Meliae... now at version 0.2.3

Here the link to Gnome-look
Thanks to Sora for creating and sharing this piece of art!

Metacity opacity change (On inactive windows)

2008-10-16T11:14:00.005+02:00

Since one of the last releases of metacity, at least set as default in UBUNTU, inactive windows have set opacity to a semi transparent value. That's nice but... with some skins the effect is terrible.
Here the gconf values to set to achive a nicer look.
(Eventually if you like the opacity effect, my advice is to set to the entire window that effect (using compiz)).
Howto:
1. Open the GConf Editor (alt+F2, gconf-editor, Enter)
2. Navigate to /apps/gwd and set the metacity_theme_shade_opacity Value to 1 (should be 0.75 as said in Ubuntu)
Done!
Here some screens...
...Before

...After

Nicer GNOME clock applet

2008-08-06T10:04:00.004+02:00

I have found how to change the look of the default-almost-ugly GNOME clock applet...

gconf-editor
goto /apps/panel/applets/clock_screen0/prefs

set

format = custom
custom_format = <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:smaller;">%a %d %b</span> <b>%H:%M</b>

Example:

best eclipse.ini

2008-06-13T10:17:00.001+02:00

Is this the best possible eclipse.ini file content?
---------- 8< ----------
-showlocation
-showsplash
org.eclipse.platform
-vmargs
-Xms768m
-Xmx768m
-XX:PermSize=128m
-XX:MaxPermSize=256m
-Dosgi.bundlefile.limit=100
-ea
---------- 8< ----------

IBM iSeries Access for Linux in Ubuntu

2006-10-31T22:34:00.000+01:00

finally... follow http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=165337 ... the continuation of my post... http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=97066

Dock for gnome!

2006-08-24T16:05:00.000+02:00

see: http://www.gnome-dock.org/trac

Installation instruction on Ubuntu 6.06:
( from http://www.compiz.net/topic-2839-gnome-dock)
Install dependency
sudo apt-get install build-essential librsvg2-bin librsvg2-common librsvg2-dev libglitz-glx1 libglitz-glx1-dev

Download and move the tarball

wget http://www.gnome-dock.org/prerelease/cairo-dock-0.0.1b.tar.gz && tar -xvzf cairo-dock-0.0.1b.tar.gz && sudo mv cairo-dock/ /opt/

Make and run it
cd /opt/cairo-dock/ && sudo make clean && sudo make && sudo ./cairo-dock --no-glitz --no-background

Works like a charm with this !

Received new Laptop

2006-08-24T11:43:00.000+02:00

After much waiting I have received a new laptop. A DELL Latitude D820, here's the specs:
- Intel Core Duo 2GHz
- 2 GB Ram 667 MHz
- 80 GB Harddisk, 7200 rpm, SATA
- 15.4" display, NVIDIA 110, 1920x1200
- Wireless, Giga-Ethernet, Modem
- and so on...

Wow. I'm happy.
I'll install Windows XP, in a 23 GB Partition, and the rest for Linux. I have chosen to install UBUNTU 6.06.1, gnome as UI.
I'll post here my installation notes in the next days.

Bye bye.

elvisd

iSeries Access on my gentoo box

2006-03-01T16:04:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

I finally have a working iSeries Access (formerly know as Client Access, is a 5250 emulator, needed to work with the IBM iSeries, a.k.a AS/400)!

Here's how to:

1. Download the Linux version from the IBM web site (http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/access/linux/) I have downloaded version 5.2.0-1.10 (file name is: iSeriesAccess-5.2.0-1.10.i386.rpm)

2. emerge the rpm2targz utility (sudo emerge -av rpm2targz or emerge -av rpm2targz as root)

3. in the terminal console navigate where you saved the rpm file and type rpm2targz iSeriesAccess-5.2.0-1.10.i386.rpm, this will create a file named iSeriesAccess-5.2.0-1.10.i386.tar.gz

4. cd /

5. tar xvzf /iSeriesAccess-5.2.0-1.10.i386.tar.gz this will create folders in /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess

6. now we create symlinks to required libraries:
a. sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbcore.so /usr/lib/
b. sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbrc.so /usr/lib/
c. sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/ibm5250 /usr/bin/
d. sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/setup5250 /usr/bin/
e. sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/mri/en /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/mri/en_US

7. launch the application typing ibm5250 in your console... Should work... ;-)

8. create all the links/launchers you'll need.

Prerequisites:
- openmotif
- glibc
- unixODBC --> don't sure if must be here (?)...

Everything available on portage

References:
- http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37428
- http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-306492-highlight-iseries.html --> for font issues, xorg.xonf file
- http://bugs.gentoo.org/attachment.cgi?id=76122 --> copied what the ebuild does...

Hope this can help someone setting up the iSeriesAccess on linux and that helps someone else to be free to leave the Win-World, or maybe live in a more mixed one.

Gentoo on my IBM Thinkpad R51 1829-9MG

2006-02-22T14:06:00.000+01:00

why: me, thinkpad and gentoo

I am an employed java developer. MS Windows user since 90s.
since the announce of win-vista I have decided to switch to linux. I won't to explain why on this post... maybe another day.
I need, obvious to say, a stable and usable system. and fancy too.
I always tried many linux distros: The first one was Suse, than RedHat (later Fedora) the last one was Ubuntu, for approx. 3-4 months. Then I'd like to try a more customizable distro, and I have found and tried gentoo, because of his package management system (portage).
The first install took 2 days, to have a not-yet-fully functional system. Not happy I have reinstalled gentoo from scratch. This time the system was better, but not perfect. To many experiments... :-)
Now i'd like to install a perfect instance of gentoo on my thinkpad R51 (1829-9MG), and this is my adventure journal. Hope can help someone else.

objectives and requirements

here a list of what needs to work on my laptop

Graphical user interface (still deciding if GNOME, xfce or KDE, but till now I've used GNOME)
Ethernet: wired and wireless, including network profile switching (very important!)
display switching (LCD, External Monitor, Both)
Video card performances (ATI Radeon)
two or more jdks (1.5 and 1.4)
eclipse and other java tools
VMWare 5 for a Windows environment
USB Devices (External HD, Memory sticks, dig. camera)
An audio player (not decided yet. help needed) w/ mp3 and ogg support
A video player (not decided yet, help needed) w/ DVD DivX Xvid mpg wmv ... support
Open office 2.0 as office suite
Firefox 1.5 ( +plugins ) and Thuderbird 1.5
A 5250 emulator for iSeries connections
A terminal server client
Graphics/Photo tools
IM (MSN+Jabber) and Skype (with bluetooth headset working)
MySQL Database server 5 and JBoss 4
CD and DVD Burning with both my internal drive and an external USB2 drive
Photo printing on my HP Photosmart 7760
Windows shares access
Some other software (picture previewer, acrobat7)

Let's go

1. Basic gentoo installation
I have followed the Official gentoo installation handbook available here
I have chosed to create 3 partitions on my 60 Gb /dev/hda:
- /dev/hda1 for /boot of 128 Mb ext2
- /dev/hda2 for swap 1 Gb swap
- /dev/hda3 for /, all available space minus 4 Gb for future usage reiserFS

2. UI
I have chosed to use KDE, till now I've used GNOME, it's time to try something else. I have downloaded a distribution with KDE 3.5 to play with, and I must say that my first impression is very positive. Surely better as for 2-3 years when I tried KDE for the first time.
What I absolutely don't like is the default theme (window, style and icons) but I have browsed www.kde-look.org and I think there are some good looks.
What has impressed me a lot is Karamba the widget engine, seams better than gDesklet.

...to be continued...

SUN Creator 2 on my gentoo box

2006-02-17T10:42:00.000+01:00

I have found this blog entry, in Marco Walther's Weblog, describing how to install SUN's creator 2 on gentoo.

A quick-resume-guide

Just to know my system:

elvisd@tped ~ $ uname -a
Linux tped 2.6.15-gentoo-r1 #8 SMP PREEMPT Wed Feb 15 16:14:51 UTC 2006 i686 Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.70GHz GNU/Linux
elvisd@tped ~ $ cat /etc/*release
Gentoo Base System version 1.12.0_pre16

Then install required library, and symlink:

elvisd@tped ~ $ emerge sys-libs/libstdc++-v3
elvisd@tped ~ $ cd /usr/lib/libstdc++-v3/
elvisd@tped libstdc++-v3 $ ln -s libstdc++.so.5 libstdc++-libc6.2-2.so.3
elvisd@tped libstdc++-v3 $ cd /usr/lib
elvisd@tped lib $ ln -s libstdc++-v3/libstdc++-libc6.2-2.so.3 .