Archive for November, 2008

Refills!!! Are they still there?

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

I was wondering, how long has it been for any of you, since you bought a refill for your pen?

For most of the people, answer is – who wants to buy a refill when the pen is just Rs.2 more than the refill.

Is it wise to throw away a pen just because the it costs a little more than a refill? What about all the plastic that gets wasted in the process? Ink is not a nutritious chemical for any animal BTW…

According to me, fountain pens are the way to go – just fill it, shut it and forget it (it ink goes dry)!

Posted in Environment | No Comments »

Configuring Pidgin for Google Apps

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

So here’s how I configured Pidgin to work with a nonprofit Google Apps account. OS is Ubuntu.

1. Select “Add/Edit” from the Accounts menu, then press the “Add” button.

2. Fill in fields on the basic tab.

* Protocol: XMPP (Do’t use gmail option)
* Screen name: sharadaprasad
* Domain/Server: yourdomainname
* Resource: Home (or Anything)
* Password: ********
* Local alias: CSP (Can also be Blank)

3. Fill in fields on the advanced tab.

* Check – Force old (port 5223) SSL
* Change Connect port to 5223
* Connect server: talk.google.com
* Proxy type: Use GNOME Proxy Settings

Leave the rest untouched.

Source

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Where is Sharada?

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Most people usually don’t update contact details on social networking sites though the sites give them options to disclose the info to closest of the friends etc. etc.

For me, providing people with the right information so that they can get in touch with me whenever they feel like is crucial. The gravity of the need could be anything. Hence I always keep my profile updated. You can find all the relevant details – right from phone number, residential address, office address and lat/long of my residence on my profile details.

Today, to enable people to reach me faster and better, I updated my Google profile. You can find my Google profile here.
Even my website has all the relevant contact details. You can find my contacts on facebook as well as orkut – you need to be on my network to do so.

Now I am even experimenting with Google SMS Channels to keep people posted about the happenings. Though Internet has revolutionized the way people communicate, some people are still hard to reach… Keep your contact details available to your friends – you never know when people need to talk to you… be there for them when they need you the most

Posted in Website update | No Comments »

How to get OpenPGP keys?

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

Refer to Wikipedia for info on PGP

On a linux Machine –

# Ensure you already have a key. In a terminal window, enter:

gpg –list-keys your@e-mail.address

If you have no key, create one:

gpg –gen-key

# Ensure the key has been uploaded to a keyserver. To do this:

gpg –send-key key-id

# Enter your key fingerprint. Use:

gpg –fingerprint key-id

On a windows machine – Hvn’t found out yet.

I will post my PGP Key soon!!!

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Error on BSNL broadband connection

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

I have 2 lines at home – one 512kbps unlimited for 24 hrs use and the other 2mbps, 1.5gb limit for heavier downloads. I use 2mbps line b/n 2am and 8am as the download does not get counted to your usage. But some times I get redirected to http://172.30.3.134:8080/ssssportal.war/exceedlimit.jsp
I cannot further access any websites other than https://

I don’t know what the problem is. Searching online has not helped me much. Have lodged a complaint. Let us see what happens. I will keep you guys posted.

Posted in Indian Infrastructure | 1 Comment »

Where can I get the latest .deb file of Real Player from?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Simple – Visit http://www.real.com/linux

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Where can I get super cool installers – .deb files for Ubuntu?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Simple – You can get a good bunch of apps in .deb form from – http://www.getdeb.net/
.deb files are similar to .exe installation files for Windows.

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How to install Google Earth on Ubuntu?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Simple, very simple…

1. Download Google Earth from the Google Earth website.
The linux version will be automatically chosen when downloading from Ubuntu.

2. Open a terminal from Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal.

3. cd into the directory where you saved Google Earth. For example, if you saved it to the Desktop type:
cd ~/Desktop

4. Make it executable by typing:
chmod +x GoogleEarthLinux.bin

5. Run the installer by typing:
sudo ./GoogleEarthLinux.bin

6. Leave the default options and click Begin Install.

7. When installation is complete, press Quit.
Do not press Start as this will run it as root which is never a good idea.

A file named Google-googleearth.desktop will be installed on the Desktop. This file is safe to delete.

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How to Install KDE (Kubuntu) on Ubuntu?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Simple:
In the terminal run this command
To Install: sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
To Unistall: sudo apt-get remove kubuntu-desktop

Next Q – Which is better – GNOME or KDE? For novices, GNOME it is.

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Why is Ubuntu still not poplular?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

GUI in Linux has gone a long way. In 1998 I struggled with RedHat linux. I stopped using linux for a long time till 2 years ago I stumbled upon Ubuntu. I was really happy with the way I could install and start running Ubuntu…Soon I became a fan of Ubuntu. I even started promoting it among my colleagues and friends. (more…)

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