photography | mac | lego | open source | sap | gadgets
Archive for August, 2006
Ubuntu update breaks X
5 years ago
by manfred
in Linux/Unix
It’s been fixed, but the latest update released for Ubuntu caused me some frustration. Having played around with adding some components and codecs for audio and video playback, I also installed the latest update available. After a reboot, no more X server. Instead of being greeted by the attractive Mac OS X theme I use, I was unceremoniously dumped into the Ubuntu command line. Trying to figure out the error was not so easy: the log file /var/log/Xorg.0.log indicating that no devices could be detected and no screens found.
Not knowing what I had done to cause the error, I obviously started scratching around the configuration file for X (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) and trying to decipher the meaning of the cryptic error messages. Not much success there. lspci | grep -i vga indicated the correct graphics adapter, but for some or other reason the graphic adapter listed in xorg.conf was not correct – similar, but not what it should have been. Trying to fix that by hand did little good…
Thankfully, I finally stumbled on the bug description and fix here.
Having updated the incorrectly released xserver-xorg-core component, I was quite optimistic that a reboot would bring the X interface back to life. No such luck – the same error still appeared.
It was only after I reconfigured the X settings using
sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
that everything came back to normal. Thankfully the X configuration utility seems to be able to auto-detect graphic and screen settings fairly reliably. I also made sure that the PCI bus of the ATI RADEON X600 was correctly detected.
That’s the second update in a matter of a few days that’s broken the system! Response to this issue was very fast, to be fair. Ubuntu is really great, but the prospect of any new updates to the core operating system is making me nervous.
Pluto demoted
5 years ago
The sentence Mooing very eagerly, Mary jogged south under nine planets may have been a good way of remembering the order and names of the nine known planets in the solar system, but that’s about to change. Pluto has been demoted to dwarf planet status. This follows the discovery of three bodies in the solar system that may have acquired planetary status, except argumentation over what constitutes a planet became quite heated. Planet Pluto has been under discussion for many years. It seems that astronomers have finally taken the decision to revoke that privilege.
To be a planet, the following requirements need to be met:
- 1. The object must be in orbit around a star, but not be a star itself
- 2. The object must be massive enough to be a sphere by its own gravitational force
- 3. It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
Still, Pluto’s higher up in the rankings than Sirius, the dog star. Talk about top dog 
Separated at birth?
5 years ago
I’ve been playing around with AirSet and CompanionLink to try to synchronize multiple mail accounts and have only now noticed the similarity:
AirSet’s synchronization software component is free to download. But to make use of the extended features of the calendaring application on the Internet a subscribtion of USD 6.95 is payable per month. In contrast, Google offers no software to synchronize your PIM, but makes the web application fully functional at no cost. A third party product is available for USD 29.95 to enable synchronization from your desktop application.
My guess is that Companionlink have licensed the software to AirSet. It’s identical, except that the build number for AirSet is lower. Strange that AirSet promises further development with regard to proxy setting support, which is a standard feature in the CompanionLink app…maybe they didn’t pay enough to get that too?
Show me the music
Apple is cranking up the hype in ZA. This is the second event I’ve attended showcasing the creativity one can unlock using Apple hardware and software. Last time the focus was on digital video and photography. This time, music held centre stage and, for someone who is able to play only a CD, this was quite an eye opener. Apple’s Show me the music event was held at Montecasino’s Nu Metro cinema and featured the requisite display of a selection of Apple hardware. Pity that the new quad processor Mac Pro wasn’t on display.
The entertaining presenter provided some insight into the creation process involved in producing music. For the hobbyist, there’s GarageBand included in the iLife ’06 suite. GarageBand provides thousands of sampled sounds and instruments that can be arranged and manipulated to start creating songs and musical scores. Podcasting support is included, as well as numerous free jingles and sound elements that make this popular medium easier to gain access to. Zooming into tracks and individual instruments is smooth and editing to the level of individual notes is possible!
Logic Pro is the professional application. If GarageBand is considered to provide a lot of functionality and flexibility, Logic Pro is even more incredible. With plug-in support for a slew of synthesizers, beat machines and tons more, there is little the talented musician wouldn’t be able to do. The application takes the musical creation process from recording, enhancing, clean-up and all the way through to final mastering of a CD or DVD. A very impressive feature is the synchronization of sound to video in realtime. A G5 was used instead of the new Mac Pro for that demo and the fluidity of the application needs to be seen to be believed. Similar to Aperture browsing hundreds of RAW images…
My favourites, though I’d have no clue how to even start using them, are Sculpture and Ultrabeat:
These plug-ins are amazing and are able to create any sound you can imagine. Sculpture in particular is incredibly flexible.
Overall, this Apple demo was very interesting. I’m no musician, but this stuff would be great to play around with!
Show me the music
5 years ago
by manfred
in Moblogging
Show me the music
Originally uploaded by MHertenberger.
Just back from Apple’s “Show me the music” demonstration. More news tomorrow…
8GB USB stick
I call them thumb drives. Whatever you call it, TrekStor’s latest USB stick is impressive. Roughly twice the width of current USB thumb drives but only half the length, the USB Stick CS-D packs a whopping 8GB of storage space!
The USB 2.0 interface provides a read performance of roughly 9 MB/s and a write performance of roughly 5,3 MB/s. There is no pricing information available yet.
Leave it to the Germans to give you a reason to throw out that dual layer DVD writer
AirSet – online organizer
Google’s calendar doesn’t yet have a good solution for synchronization of calendar items to and from a desktop PIM. It relies primarily on an export in CSV format, then an upload. That means that appointments deleted from one or the other are not transferred, causing a bit of a mess.
Enter AirSet, a web-based calendaring application that provides a desktop component to enable synchronization of a PIM and the web-based calendar. Being a US-based system, you won’t be able to utilize the SMS service. AirSet features a calendar, contacts, Email and lists to help you stay organized. You may also choose to upload your favourite links and start a blog.
I haven’t had a chance to synchronize multiple Exchange accounts – that’s a definite need I have at the moment and I somehow doubt I’ll be successful. But overall, AirSet’s features are nicely implemented.
Scraping paint
5 years ago
by manfred
in Life in South Africa
The humble razor scraper…
Useful to remove gunk from window panes and other smooth surfaces. Also to remove paint flecks from a car’s paint and bodywork…
Don’t ask 
Google Browser Sync installation for Firefox on Ubuntu
5 years ago
by manfred
in Linux/Unix
I’ve had a frustrating time trying to add the Google Browser Sync extension to Firefox in Ubuntu. This more than likely has to do with the fact that Ubuntu has no root account, a strange thing for a UNIX operating system! Even though the settings to make Firefox trust tools.google.com were active, the extension simply refused to install. By the way, the settings to make a certain site a trusted download source may be found in
Edit -> Preferences -> Content -> Allowed sites.
The solution to get the extension in is to use an anonymous proxy server. Many are available on the web. I use AnonyMouse. Enter the string
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/extensions/toolbar/google-browsersync.xpi
in the entry field. You may be requested to permit access to Anonymouse. You’ll have to agree to permit Firefox to open the requested site. The extension should then be installed…
Google Analytics and Writely
If you’re running a website and want access to some decent analytical information, why not get a Google Analytics account? Previously available on invitation only, registration is now open to anyone.
On the topic of Google, the online word processor Writely has been acquired by the search giant. Though still in beta (surprise, surprise), you may register to try it out. This is another excellent example of Web 2.0 and AJAX in action. Take your documents and word processor with you wherever you go.
Recent Comments