Sunday, November 8, 2009

Top 10 Ubuntu downloads

10. Ubuntu Tweak

If you're fine with all the default settings on your shiny-fresh Ubuntu system, you have no need for Ubuntu Tweak. For newcomers, or anyone who feels confined by having their Computer icon stuck with the name "Computer," Ubuntu Tweak is an OCD multi-tool. Besides allowing you to change all the little bits and ends of Ubuntu in a manner far easier than editing a text file or using the gconf-editor tool, Ubuntu Tweak also turns installing (and keeping up-to-date) third-party upgrades like the Avant Window Navigator dock or the latest Firefox beta into a simple check-the-box job. Short version for Windows geeks: It's like TweakUI for Linux. (Head to the program site to download).

9. Screenlets

Look, we get it—not everyone's a fan of widgets/gadgets/whathaveyou, and we totally understand; turning off Vista's sidebar was one of the first things we did on a new install. But the Screenlets application gives you access to any of the hundreds upon hundreds of Google Gadgets and other open widgets, some of them hardnessing actual productivity tools like Google Calendar or Remember the Milk. With Ubuntu's now built-in Compiz powers, you can even set the Screenlets to be hidden away until you press a key (like, say, the Mac's F9 default). To do that, you'll need to install the compizconfig-settings-manager package, where you'll find all kinds of other goodies.

8. Handbrake

We've always liked Handbrake, our readers like it, too, and it works just fine in Linux (as it does on Windows and for Macs). With its latest version, Handbrake works hand-in-hand with our favorite media player, VLC, to make ripping any DVD into a video file for any device. (Head to the program site to grab a pre-compiled Ubuntu version; the 8.10 version should work fine in 9.04).

7. Yakuake

It's come a long way, but no Ubuntu user can get by without a little command line work now and then. Yakuake takes the drop-down terminal from gaming touchstone Quake, makes it seriously speedy and easy to tab, and customized coloring and transparency shading for a terminal that looks how you want it, pops up in the same place each time, and feels a lot more integrated into your overall experience. Technically, it's built for KDE-based systems (like Ubuntu's KDE version, Kubuntu), but GNOME-based systems like Ubuntu can run it with very few dependencies or problems. You'll want to make this one start up with your system.

6. UNetbootin

Trying out new Linux distributions is fun, even if you're a long-term relationship with an Ubuntu desktop. Because, hey, maybe CrunchBang would make a good quick-boot alternative, right? And isn't the Fedora 11 beta looking mighty nice? UNetbootin makes it dead simple to turn pretty much any Linux distribution into one that boots from a USB stick. It can automatically download and install the majority of popular distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, etc.), or adapt any bootable ISO file you've got. You can even get crazy and custom-roll your own system from a chosen kernel, but UNetbootin doesn't require much more than one download and one click.

5. Songbird

Songbird's available on all three platforms, but if you're one of the vast many iPod or iPhone owners out there on a Windows or Mac machine, there's a good chance you're okay with having iTunes run your music and manage your device (not that there aren't alternative iPod wranglers). Linux has its fair share of innovative music managers, but Songbird is the most adaptable, attractive, and streamlined music app around. It too can manage your iPod (except for the standard iPhone/iPod touch conundrum), grab album art from the web, play the streaming tracks from any web site with its built-in browser, and offers a whole host of neat add-ons that mash up web data, customize how Songbird looks and feels, and basically change up anything the way that extensions can for Firefox. It's not perfect, but it's very usable on almost any Linux desktop. (Head to the program site to download).

4. Conky

This one's an old-school app, controlled entirely by text files, but the results can be brilliant, as evidenced by one hacker's mutli-colored, iconic desktop, or a setup for fans of to-dos and Twitter replies. Best of all, you can mix and match the features and data you want displayed in any setup, as we showed you in our Conky guide. Basically, Conky can put any data you want, from your desktop or the web, on your desktop, and keep it updated, and that's a great thing.

3. VirtualBox

VMWare is better if you're serious about running multiple, uber-efficient virtual machines in a development environment. For the average home user who just needs access to a Windows application now and then, it's hard to beat a trimmed-down XP running in VirtualBox. It's easy enough for a beginner to get into, but customizable enough to run as a seamless taskbar on your Linux desktop. In other words, it's a free semi-equivalent of what Mac users have been using (Boot Camp or Parallels) to run the necessary Windows app now and again. (Ubuntu's repositories carry the "Open Source Edition" of VirtualBox, which is much the same, but lacks certain features, including USB support; head to the program site to download standard packages for 9.04).

2. DropBox

Most Linux desktop users are loathe to admit it, but any app that Just Works is worthy of praise. Whether you're installing from source or a pre-rolled package, Dropbox integrates itself smoothly into the Ubuntu desktop, creating a Dropbox folder in your home directory, keeping whatever's in it synchronized (up to 2GB with a free account), and offering quick access and notifications from the system tray. When you're away from your system, you can grab whatever you've got in the 'box from Dropbox's web interface. Simple, streamlined, helpful. (Head to the program site to download pre-compiled Ubuntu packages).

1. GNOME Do

Adam never fails to remind me of GNOME Do's similarity to Quicksilver, the uber-essential application launcher and productivity tool for Macs. But that's a good thing. With Do installed, a quick keyboard smack could open up a super-quick way to open an application, fire off a one-shot terminal command, start a VirtualBox machine, add a Google Calendar or Remember the Milk obligation, update Twitter, restart your system, start an email to a Gmail contact ... this list goes on. As a two-for-one, GNOME Do now includes a smart and intuitive desktop dock for clocks, trash, and those moments when you've already go the mouse in hand.
What apps and add-ons make your Ubuntu desktop productive and comfortable? What alternatives do you prefer to our list items? Give us your open-source offerings in the comments.

Adapted from lifehacker.com

Saturday, November 7, 2009

How to install ubuntu 8.04 on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007?

Download the Ubuntu desktop iso file .

Use the CD menu option to capture the desktop ISO you downloaded from Ubuntu

The first screen to come up, asks for the language.

Select your language, and press Enter to continue. Press F4 to select an alternate starting mode. When it pops up, change to Safe graphics mode, and press Enter

Then press F6 and delete the part that says “quiet splash -” and replace it with “vga=791 noreplace-paravirt” Now choose “Try Ubuntu..” and press enter. (note that you should NOT pick the Install Ubuntu option to install Ubuntu directly)

It will take some time (around 10 minutes) to move the next screen and don’t panic.Once ubuntu boots, you should see the live session trial environment.

Double click the Install icon on the desktop to begin the install process You will see a welcome screen, where you can also change your language, if you want to have ubuntu installed in a different language than you already chose earlier. Press Forward to continue. In the next screen set up your time zone and press Forward Next, choose the appropriate keyboard layout and click Forward Next, choose the option to partition the hard disk (you may leave it as selected) and click Forward It will take time (around 6- 8 minutes) for the disks to be prepared and proceed to the next screen.On the next screen, enter your name, your Ubuntu login name, password and name of the computer and finally click Forward you will find Step 6 missing, but don’t worry. Just click Install to begin the install process.

It will take around 45-60 minutes for ubuntu to install On the Virtual PC menu click CD, and release the cd then click on the Restart now button inside VPC

If the restart does not happen on its own, then in the Virtual PC menu click Action –> Reset. Shut down the Virtual PC 2007 session while saving the state. Start the Virtual PC 2007 session again and it will boot fine.The boot process does take a few minutes.

Once it gets to GRUB, interupt the boot and add the “noreplace-paravirt” to the kernel boot line.

Press “esc” while grub is visible You should now see 3 entries to select from. Leave the first one “Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic” selected and press “e” On the next page, select the second entry that reads “kernel /boot/vmlinuz…” and press “e” again You will see a command line that ends with “xforcevesa“. Hit “space” and add “noreplace-paravirt” (without the quotes) to that line and press “enter” You will be taken back to the previous selection screen with the entry “kernel /boot/vmlinuz…” still selected. Now press “b” and it should boot correctly

How to permanantly add “noreplace-paravirt” option to grub?

Once Ubuntu has loaded, open a terminal window (Applications –> Accessories –> Terminal) and on the command line enter “sudu nano /boot/grub/menu.lst” Enter your password and page down to near the bottom and locate the “kernel /boot/vmlinuz…” in the “Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic” section Move the cursor to the end of the line after xforcevesa and add “noreplace-paravirt” (no quotes) Ctrl + O to write out, enter to accept the name, Ctrl + X to close

Fix the sound issue while installing ubuntu 8.04 on Virtual PC 2007: on the command line enter “sudo nano /etc/rc.local” At the end of the # lines, but before “exit 0“, type on a new line (again without quotes) “modprobe snd-sb16“.Ctrl + O to write out, enter to accept the name, Ctrl + X to close Reboot Ubuntu. The reboot should be clean, and the sound icon should come up without an error indication

In System, Preferences, Sound, set the playback options to ALSA. It’s pretty crappy but works better than OSS and certainly better than Auto detect which generates a stream error when you try to play MP3’s or movies.

The above method applies for all versions of Ubuntu..including ubuntu 9.04 and 9.10

Reffered from http://techblissonline.com/

Mouse Programming with c

Mouse Programming is a topic which every C programmer from beginner to professional needs to have in his toolbox to have a cutting edge.It will be used almost everywhere. It will embeded in games programming to commerical valued applications.

This tutorial is written Turbo C++ 3.0 IDE and install in folder C:\TC. I recommend to use same IDE and settings to avoid any uncompatibility.

Basic Funda

Before we start programming we must first understand some principles on which mouse programming is based.

First thing you must know how to tell a mouse to do anything. In actual we do not communicate with mouse directly but through the driver provided. We use "Interrupts" to get access to this driver. Each device provide by computer has its own port and more or less we access these ports.

Each device has a unique port which is a hexadecimal value and value is designed to be machine independent enhancing portability of program.

Mouse has port 0X33 attached to it and similarly keyboard has attach port 0X60.

We also make use of address registers. These are basically UNION of type REGS defined in "dos.h". We use two registers to communicate to a device driver one for input and one for output.


We send value to device driver through the input register and recieve information in it embedded in output register.

AX Register

We can access various mouse functions using different values of AX input Register and passing those values to mouse port using a interrupt.

The Functions are listed below - Here AX, BX, CX and DX are members of UNION REGS and more or less integers.

Input Function Performed Returns

AX = 0 Get Mouse Status AX Value = FFFFh support is available.

AX Value = 0 ,support is not available.

AX = 1 Show Mouse Pointer Nothing

AX = 2 Hide Mouse Pointer Nothing

AX = 3 Mouse Position CX = Mouse X Coordinate

DX = Mouse Y Coordinate

Ax = 3 Mouse Button Press BX = 0 No Key Is Pressed

BX = 1 Left Button is Pressed

BX = 2 Right Button is Pressed

BX = 3 Centre Button is Pressed

Ax = 7 Set Horizontal Limit Nothing

CX = MaxX1

DX =MaxX2

Ax = 8 Set Vertical Limit Nothing

CX = MaxX1

DX =MaxX2

Detecting Mouse

Before you start your mouse program you should always check whether the mouse programming is supported or not.

If somehow mouse fails to initialise you should always make sure that either program terminates or employ a error handling approach that maybe shift to keyboard interface .

To do mouse programming you must include . We use a function called int86() to access "interupts".

To detect mouse we use a function name detect_mouse() which has following code -

#include

union REGS in, out;

void detect_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Failed To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse was Succesfully Initialized");
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

Showing and Hiding Mouse

Now first we show mouse on screen .

  • Mouse works both in text mode and graphic mode.
  • In text mode it looks like a square while in graphics mode it looks like a pointer.

Mouse Programming in Text Mode

It was produced from adding a function showmouse_text() to above code so code becomes -

#include

union REGS in, out;

void detect_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Failed To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse was Succesfully Initialized");
}

void showmouse_text ()

{
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
showmouse_text ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

Mouse Programming in Graphics Mode

This is achieved using a function showmouse_graphics() added to above code while removing showmouse_text() from main.

#include
#include

union REGS in, out;

void detect_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Failed To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse was Succesfully Initialized");
}

void showmouse_text ()
{
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void showmouse_graphics ()
{
int gdriver = DETECT, gmode, errorcode;
initgraph(&gdriver, &gmode, "c:\\tc\\bgi");
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
getch ();
closegraph ();
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
showmouse_graphics ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

Next we do realtively simple task of hiding mouse using a function hide_mouse() as shown below -

#include
#include

union REGS in, out;

void detectmouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Failed To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse was Succesfully Initialize");
}

void showmouse_text ()

{
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void showmouse_graphics ()

{
int gdriver = DETECT, gmode, errorcode;
initgraph(&gdriver, &gmode, "c:\\tc\\bgi");
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
getch ();
closegraph ();
}

void hide_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 2;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
showmouse_graphics ();
hide_mouse ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

Detecting Input

We will now work on a important aspect of mouse programming "Detecting Clicks" i.e. Taking Inputs.

We make use of an aditional function known as kbhit ( ). This functions returns zero till any keypress and when a key is press it returns 1.

kbhit() is used to run an infinite while loop.

For detecting mouseclicks we use a function called detect() which displays on screen the respective button clicked. Press any keyboad key to exit the loop.

#include

#include

union REGS in, out;

void detect_mouse ()

{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Failed To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse was Succesfully Initialized");
}

void showmouse_text ()

{
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void showmouse_graphics ()

{
int gdriver = DETECT, gmode, errorcode;
initgraph(&gdriver, &gmode, "c:\\tc\\bgi");
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
getch ();
closegraph ();
}

void hide_mouse ()

{
in.x.ax = 2;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void detect ()

{
while (!kbhit () )
{
in.x.ax = 3;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.bx == 1) printf ("Left");
if (out.x.bx == 2) printf ("Right");
if (out.x.bx == 3) printf ("Middle");
delay (200); // Otherwise due to quick computer response 100s of words will get print
}
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
showmouse_text ();
detect ();
hide_mouse ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

Mouse Coordinates

We can obtain the coordinates of the mouse using same service 3 but using different elments of the union .

This function has a prime use in games programming, application designing and GUI development. Different decisions are taken on same left button click, its the postion of click that matters.

BX element of output registers stores the X Coordinate of the postion of mouse at time of calling function.

CX element of output registers stores the Y Coordinate of the postion of mouse at time of calling function.

Now we demonstrate the use of this function by modifying detect function above to display x and y coordinates on screen when left click is pressed.

Code will be as followed -

#include
#include

union REGS in, out;

void detect_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Failed To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse was Succesfully Initialized");
}

void showmouse_text ()
{
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void showmouse_graphics ()
{
int gdriver = DETECT, gmode, errorcode;
initgraph(&gdriver, &gmode, "c:\\tc\\bgi");
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
getch ();
closegraph ();
}

void hide_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 2;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void detect ()
{
while (!kbhit () )
{
int x,y;
in.x.ax = 3;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.bx == 1)
{
x = out.x.cx;
y = out.x.dx;
printf ("\nLeft || X - %d Y - %d", x, y);
}
if (out.x.bx == 2) printf ("\nRight");
if (out.x.bx == 3) printf ("\nMiddle");
delay (200); // Otherwise due to quick computer response 100s of words will get print
}
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
showmouse_text ();
detect ();
hide_mouse ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

Restricting Mouse

We now restrict the mouse in particular rectangle .

We create a function called restrict which takes four paramters, two cartesian points each containing one x coordinate and one y coordinate.

First point mentions the top of the rectangle while second point mention the bottom bottom point of rectangle.

This service can be quite handy in special circumstances, for eg - if you want to restrict your mouse in one particular size window in GUI or In Games Programming.

Final code of the tutorial -

#include

#include

union REGS in, out;

void restrict (int x1,int y1,int x2, int y2)

{
in.x.ax = 7;
in.x.cx = x1;
in.x.dx = x2;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
in.x.ax = 8;
in.x.cx = y1;
in.x.dx = y2;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void detect_mouse ()

{
in.x.ax = 0;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.ax == 0)
printf ("\nMouse Fail To Initialize");
else
printf ("\nMouse Succesfully Initialize");
}

void showmouse_text ()

{
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void showmouse_graphics ()

{
int gdriver = DETECT, gmode, errorcode;
initgraph(&gdriver, &gmode, "c:\\tc\\bgi");
in.x.ax = 1;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
getch ();
closegraph ();
}

void hide_mouse ()
{
in.x.ax = 2;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
}

void detect ()

{
while (!kbhit () )
{
int x,y;
in.x.ax = 3;
int86 (0X33,&in,&out);
if (out.x.bx == 1)
{
x = out.x.cx;
y = out.x.dx;
printf ("\nLeft || X - %d Y - %d", x, y);
}
if (out.x.bx == 2) printf ("\nRight");
if (out.x.bx == 3) printf ("\nMiddle");
delay (200); // Otherwise due to quick computer response 100s of words will get print
}
}

int main ()

{
detect_mouse ();
showmouse_text ();
restrict (100,100,500,500); // Change values here to create different mouse movement space.
detect ();
hide_mouse ();
getch ();
return 0;
}

This was the most basic tutorial in Mouse Programming. We will be back with more advanced once very soon.


refferd from botskool.com

Tips to access Orkut and Facebook when blocked by Firewalls

Unable to surf sites in ur office or school?...
getting frustrated ...try this..

Most of the sites including Social networking sites can be accessed through Firewalls or content filters...u just need to trick them by changing the URLs.

For Example..
to access facebook, rather than trying http://www.facebook.com try https://www.facebook.com or try accessing the mobile version like this http://m.facebook.com

to access orkut , try http://www.images.orkut.com or http://images.orkut.com or http://orkut.co.in or u can try the mobile version http://m.orkut.com..

similarly most of the sites can be accessed like this by tweaking their urls..