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Pre-reqs

Looking at the pre-reqs for the courses I will be taking, and the pre-reqs of those, I think I’m missing about half of them…

Also not helping is the fact that while I have done the other half, I can’t remember much from them…

I wonder if anyone else has this problem, or maybe it’s just my New Zealand/2 Slow Semester a year thing. Either way, this is going to be a very painful year coming up

Posted in Rant. Tagged with .

openSuse 11.3 KDE4 BSOD Screensaver

I loved the BSOD screensaver, but since I installed 11.3 I cannot find it anywhere. The xscreensaver package, data and data-extra are all installed, but I still can’t find them. Turns out the opensuse’s KDE 4 build is missing the xscreensaver bridge…. (Note im using 64Bit, so change any package/path name as you see fit)

  1. Install xscreensaver, xscreensaver-data and xscreensaver-data-extra
  2. cd /tmp
  3. wget http://download.opensuse.org/source/distribution/11.3/repo/oss/suse/src/kdeartwork4-4.4.4-1.4.src.rpm
  4. rpmbuild –rebuild kdeartwork4-4.4.4-1.4.src.rpm
  5. rpm -Uvh –force /usr/src/packages/RPMS/x86_64/kdeartwork4-screensaver-4.4.4-1.4.x86_64.rpm

That should do it!

Posted in Technology. Tagged with , , .

Dolphin not mounting NTFS/HFS drives

So Dolphin in KDE sees my drives fine, but doesn’t allow me to mount with the error:

org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.PermissionDeniedByPolicy: org.freedesktop.hal.storage.mount-fixed auth_admin_keep_always <--(action, result)

Fixing this is easy though, edit /usr/share/PolicyKit/policy/org.freedesktop.hal.storage.policy and change the value “auth_admin_keep_always” under mount-fixed to “yes”

Dolphin doenst seem to support Authentication, otherwise the policy setting is supposed to bring up a password dialog asking for root password

Posted in Personal. Tagged with , , .

Installing VMWare 7.0 on openSuse 11.3

One more thing that just refuses to install… VMWare 7.1

Well the package installs fine, but as soon as I tried to run it, a box comes up asking where the kernel-desktop headers are, even though they are actually there… Pointing it to /lib/src/linux/includes doesnt seem to work, so had to manually compile the vmware modules (**All commands below require root):

  1. Check that kernel source, syms, headers packages are installed
  2. Check that autoconf.h is in /usr/src/linux/includes/linux
  3. If not, then run make oldconfig && make prepare in /usr/src/linux
  4. find / -name ‘autoconf.h’
  5. Copy the autoconf.h file to /usr/src/linux/includes/linux (The header is in some weird place like /lib/src/`uname -r`/generated/ or something)
  6. cd /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source
  7. For all the tar files inside, do:
    1. tar xf [name]
    2. cd [name]
    3. make
  8. cd back to the source, copy all the .o files to /lib/modules/`uname -r`/misc as .ko files (create misc if its not there, do not place it anywhere else, the vmware service only looks in misc)
  9. depmod -a
  10. /etc/init.d/vmware restart
  11. vmware should now be properly installed

As a side note, my vsock made ok but cant be loaded, doesn’t seem to affect anything though since my VMWare is working fine…

Another thing was that the VMWare complained about can’t connect to /dev/vmnet0 (or whatever the number) and cannot start network. If that happens just reboot the machine and try it a few times, the vmware service probably got confused when the modules are first loaded.

Posted in Technology. Tagged with , , .

Interesting interview questions and answers

From all the interviews I have been to, I must say the list is quite accurate, some of the top questions can really make you stumble. Being asked “Recount a story that shows one of your weakness” is rather annoying when you come unprepared and without a strategy.

Read here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17224384/How-to-Answer-the-64-toughest-interview-question

Posted in Article, Information. Tagged with .

openSuSE11.3 on MacBook Pro 6.2

Other than the troublesome install (http://ucla.jamesyxu.com/?p=20), the system runs great! I absolutely love the new changes made in KDE 4.4, the built-in effects are excellent.

Having said that, a few hardware still required tweaking:

NVidia

Just need to remove the nouvea ones, and install nvidia drivers

Compiz Fusion

Fusion-icon works, but the simple-ccsm complains about not finding Xgl, and in fact there is no /etc/X11/xorg.conf. However using the KDE’s effects and KWin is much better. The animation is smoother, and overall feels more refined. Some of the features such as displaying all Desktops is neat.

  • Cube desktop works out of the box, just need to tick the desktop cube effects. The strange thing is KDE’s pager has a 2×2 desktop setup, not 4 in a horizontal row like Compiz. This causes the rotation animation to stop on desktop 1 and 2 (since 3 and 4 are below them). To fix this just untick the use pager layout in the desktop cube effect options.
  • Middle wheel scrolls across different desktops when you are on the desktop. This can be changed in Desktop Activities -> Mouse Action (The desktop activities settings can be accessed by click on the little KDE thing on the top right corner of the screen)
  • The only feature missing from the KDE effects compared to Compiz, was the feature where if you hold shift while rotating desktop, the current window will be sent to the new desktop. I used to use it a lot, but I guess there really isnt a reason to do it much. KDE offers an option called Desktop Grid which is neat and serves as an acceptable replacement for me

Fn Keys (Pommed + GPomme)

To get the function keys to work, you need Pommed and GPomme (The volume keys should just work however, but if you want to use it with the Fn key then you need this). The bad news, is that the Pommed package thats currently in the repository for openSuSE 11.3 does not work for Macbook Pro 5+ (my is a 6.2). To see this, install pommed (zypper in pommed) and then run pommed -f in the console, watch the log that comes out.

To get this working:

  • Download https://launchpad.net/~mactel-support/+archive/ppa/+files/mbp-nvidia-bl-dkms_0.24.3~lucid.tar.gz
  • extract
  • cd into [Extracted Package]/usr/lib/src/dkm_source_tree
  • make -C /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build M=$(pwd) modules
  • there should now be a mbp-nvidia-bl-dkms.ko
  • copy that into the kernel modules directory, /lib/modules/KERNEL_VERSION/updates/ (something like that, look at where the nvidia modules are)
  • depmod -a
  • modprobe mbp-nvidia-bl-dkms.ko
  • zypper in alien
  • download https://launchpad.net/~mactel-support/+archive/ppa/+sourcepub/1126592/+listing-archive-extra
  • alien -r [FILE FROM ABOVE]
  • zypper in [GENERATED RPM FROM ABOVE]
  • zypper in gpomme
  • Also if the eject key doesnt work, ln -s /bin/eject /usr/bin/eject

Now start pommed with pommed -f and then gpomme. All the Fn keys should be working.

To use pommed and gpomme on start up, open the System Services (Runlevel) thing in Yast, find pommed, and set it to run on level 3 and 5 (Expert mode). Tell KDE to auto start gpomme (KDE control panel -> Advanced -> Autostart)

To use the Fn keys, read /etc/pommed.conf

Speakers (Sound card)

The speakers and sound card are installed automatically, but for some reason they didnt work for me.

  • vi /etc/modprobe.d/50-sound.conf
  • add options snd-hda-intel model=mbp55
  • restart

For me the first time I restarted only my right speaker was working (headphones are ok), another restart fixed that so I’m not going to care too much

Wireless (BCM43224)

To confirm the card you have, run lspci and look for the Broadcom card (or BCM4XXXX and google). If you have the same card as mine, then just go into zypper in broadcom-wl (something called that, search for broadcom, zypper search broadcom).

If nothing happens after installing, then type modprobe wl. Wait a minute or two and the card should come online in the network manager

Bluetooth

http://ucla.jamesyxu.com/?p=87

Fan control

I have always ran my own fan algorithm, coupled with a KDE Plasmaroid that display the temperature, uptime and my fan speeds. The new macbook (6.2) I have changed their sensors around, so CPUs are on temp3 and 4, GPU is on temp 7, GPU Sink is 6 (Not too sure about the GPU sensor names, could be wrong…).

Is relatively easy now, applesmc comes stock with 11.3 (used to have to compile my own) and inserted. So really all you need to do is look around in /sys/modules/applesmc/plateform blab blah/ for the sensors. Cat the sensors, and write to the fan settings (Hint, if you cant write to something, try reading, its probably a sensor output rather than input)

Skype

Skype provided more trouble than I thought it would have. There is no 64 bit package, so you have to install the 32bit package. In console type skype, and see what it complains about, and install the corresponding 32bit package. For example if it says  libXv.1.0.so missing, then zypper search libXv, and install the 32bit library as well. Repeat until Skype runs


Misc

To disable auto updater on KDE, right click the icon, and go configure.

Triple booting is kind of weird. If I soft restart from Windows and boot to openSuSE it will complain about sda3 not online. Just shut the machine down and start cold.


Posted in Rant, Technology. Tagged with , , , .

Disable ClearType everywhere, Windows 7, Office 2007, Windows Live etc

I hate these ClearType fonts, drives me nuts. I like fonts that are clear cut and sharp. Anyway, the steps below turns off all the Windows 7 cleartype fonts, everywhere:

1. Disable ClearType by opening “Control Panel->Fonts->Adjust ClearType text” and unchecking “Turn on ClearType”.

Alternatively you can change the value of the following registry key from 2 to 1:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
“FontSmoothingType”=dword:00000001

2. Disable font smoothing by unchecking “Smooth edges of screen fonts” in “Control Panel->System->Advanced system settings -> Performance Settings->Visual Effects.

Alternatively you can change the value of the following registry key from 2 to 1:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
“FontSmoothing”=”1”

3. Change window elements fonts. To do this, open “Control Panel->Personalize->Window Color->Advanced appearance settings” and change all fonts from Segoe UI 9 to any other font (Windows XP uses Tahoma 8 for all elements by default).

These settings are stored in the following registry path:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics]

4. Now you need to make the system believe that it has no Segoe UI fonts and that it must replace it with for example Таhoma. Please note that there is no need to delete any fonts!!!
Run regedit.exe and make the following changes in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
“Segoe UI (TrueType)”=””
“Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)”=””
“Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)”=””
“Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)”=””

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]
“Segoe UI”=”Tahoma”

If you would like to revert it back here are the defaults:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
“Segoe UI (TrueType)”=”segoeui.ttf”
“Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)”=”segoeuib.ttf”
“Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)”=”segoeuii.ttf”
“Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)”=”segoeuiz.ttf”
“Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)”=”seguisb.ttf”
“Segoe UI Light (TrueType)”=”segoeuil.ttf”
“Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)”=”seguisym.ttf”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]
“Segoe UI”=-

5. Restart the computer.

Thanks to the post here: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7desktop/thread/f180e803-3317-4433-8fd2-63aadaecc2d2

Posted in Technology. Tagged with , , .

Macbook Pro, Windows 7, Mac OS X and openSuSE 11.3

Triple booting on a Macbook Pro always take ages to setup, but my new MacBook Pro proved to be especially challenging, mainly due to a bug (?) from the openSuSE 11.3 installer… Ubuntu worked fine, but I simply refuse to use it.

I’m a huge openSuSE fan, installing a different flavor is not an option! Below are the steps required:

  1. Using Boot camp, create a partition for Windows
  2. Install Windows 7 normally
  3. Boot into Mac OS X, install reFIT
  4. Restart, sync disk using the Partition Tool (on the refit boot menu)
  5. Test that Windows 7 boots. The first time it will get stuck on the Windows logo, restart machine and try again. If it still doesnt work, restart machine and hold down Option, boot into Windows, restart, and use refit again
  6. Boot into OS X, resize the Mac OS X partition and create a new partition for Linux
  7. Boot into a Ubuntu LiveCD (I used 10.04), use GParted (System -> Administration -> GParted), format the linux partition to Ext3 (or whatever you want to use)
  8. Boot into the openSuSE installer, chose to mount / into the formatted drive above, do not let the installer reformat anything, or touch anything. Do not install a bootloader (chose do not install bootloader)
  9. Once installed, boot with the Ubuntu LiveCD again (My 10.04 came with Grub2, had to download a 9.04 LiveCD to get the original Grub), and open a console (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal), and type (assuming the linux is on sda3). Note that if you want to use the 10.04 LiveCD which has grub 2, then read grub-install (there is no grub command line)
    • sudo grub
    • grub > root (hd0,2)
    • grub > setup (hd0,2)
    • grub > quit
    • sudo mount /dev/sda3 /mnt
    • sudo vi /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst
  10. default 0 timeout 10 title openSUSE root (hd0,2) kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 initrd /boot/initrd
  11. Reboot, and sync the disk again using refit. OpenSuSE should be bootable now (You will have to restart the machine the first time refit tries because it will get stuck)
  12. If you are happy with using the grub that you have now, then you can stop here. If you want the good looking openSuSE boot screen, keep going.
  13. In openSuSE, goto YaST2, System -> Bootloader, chose to install GRUB, untick everything, including everything in Advanced, and install.
  14. Everything should be running now!

Thanks for this post for most of the information: http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-help-here/install-boot-login/430718-macbook-pro-grub-2.html

Posted in Technology. Tagged with , , , .

New Macbook Pro

A few months ago, my old Macbook Pro suffered the infamous NVidia graphics card failure, the repairs are supposedly free from apple. See here:

For most people the machine’s display would simply be black, but for me however I can still get into Mac OS X and Linux. For the Mac OS X it defaults back to a VESA driver I think, which works, and for Linux I had to fall back to the nv driver.

Took the computer into a authorized dealer, they looked at it, ran this funny test, and decided that my error is borderline, and didn’t qualify for the free repairs. I don’t know how they decided it was borderline, but I didn’t particularly care since deep inside I wanted to buy a new unibody hehe.

Bought one 2 days ago, on its way here now. Originally wanted the Matte screen, but the higher res annoyed me. My old macbook pro has the 1440×900 Matte, and it is the best screen I have ever had. Thought I’d try a shinny one this time.

Posted in Rant, Technology. Tagged with .

Song ruined :(

So yeah… listening to ルミカ -Powerful Lumica edit-, I thought hey! lets see the music video on Youtube. Bad idea. The artist’s costume is absolutely horrendous, and the group aren’t exactly good looking either 🙁 Final line, the song is now forever ruined… too bad there is a /unsee 🙁

Posted in Rant.