Marvin’s Place

At last I was able to get a new monitor. Well, it’s not totally new since I bought it from an officemate whow wants to get a bigger monitor. It’s still in “brand new” state (only used for a few months with care).

Set it up last Saturday and everything was fine. I can now do pending jobs I have to finish.

Next stop… get a new processor, mobo and memory…

I was able to replace som major parts of our home desktop. We used to have an AMD Duron 800mhz with “64kb L2 Cache” (overclocked to 1ghz), 8mb Nvidia tnt2 agp video card, 512 mb memory, 160gb HDD. I was able to get a new motherboard (intel chipset), processor (Intel Pentium III 800mhz) and a 256mb ATI Radeon 9600 agp video card.

I was able to reinstall Windows XP without any problems, downloaded drivers for the video card. Was up and running in 2 hours.

Well, I am a bit of a fan of Ubuntu. So I installed Ubuntu 8.04 on the system. Installation went smooth. But when it comes to video card configuration, it was a headache. When I enabled the restricted drivers (closed-source drivers for linux), my monior goes to sleep mode. Tried a few howtos, and failed. Reinstalled Ubuntu to get it clean. It took me almost 3 days (though I’m just working on that for at least 3 hours a day) before I decided to install the drivers that came from ati’s website. And alas, it’s working now.

I was able to configure compiz-fusion (eye-candy of Ubuntu). I haven’t yet checked the 3D rendering on the OS.

Here’s a sample of my desktop with the “cube” effect:

Well, have some things to work on still (TV-out both for XP and Ubuntu). And properly install my Canon Pixma IP1200 printer on Ubuntu (which I think will be impossible, but it’s still worth a try).

With the near end of Windows XP support, and my system not capable of running Vista, and me not having enough budget to buy a new system, I am planning to go to a switch to Ubuntu. Just have to configure the printer and also the desktop to look like XP so my wife could easily adapt to it.

Yesterday, one of my colleagues asked me to help her setup their home network. The have a desktop (Windows XP), a Toshiba laptop (Windows Vista Basic), PLDT DSL, and Linksys wrt54g.

I was able to setup the router to dial the DSL modem (Alcatel modem) via PPPoE. Setup of the wired connection (for the desktop) was a breeze. Was able to surf the internet in seconds.

Setup of the wireless (for the router side) is not problem. But when I got to the laptop (running Vista Basic), It wasn’t detecting the wireless signal.

I am not familiar in setting up wireless connection for Vista. My first encounter with Vista wi-fi setup was with my brother-in-law’s Acer laptop (also Vista Basic). I find it very hard to configure (that was in our home network where in I am no having problem connecting a Latitude D620 running on Windows XP wirelessly) and whenever I got a connection, when I restart the Vista laptop, it can’t pick up my home wi-fi anymore, so I have to manually configure that again.

My wireless setup was this. Router’s SSID is hidden, WPA2 Personal, AES.

On the acer laptop, I was able to connect by disabling the proxy settings on IE and Firefox (maybe set by the seminary for their wifi). But still, when restarted, connection won’t come back.

On the toshiba laptop, it was totally head-busting. Even after configuring the wireless signal manually, it won’t connect. I can’t detect the wireless signal for the first 30 minutes. It detected it after I manually configured it (un named network protected). However, it still shows that it is disconnected. It was able to detect the wireless signal of a nearby net cafe (SSID not hidden) as soon as the laptop is turned on, but as for the Linksys router, it won’t.

I tried changing broadcast channel but still no go. Went to unprotected network but still no go. I discovered that the laptop was set to a static IP. I changed it to automatically acquire IP and I thought that would solve the problem. But still, can’t connect. I tried restarting everything but still no go.

I was about to go to online chat with Linksys when I tried to enable the broadcast of the router’s SSID. I restarted everything (modem, router, laptop, desktop). And boom, the Vista was able to detect the Linsys router immediately. It was able to connect to the router and the internet after entering the passkey.

I restarted everything again and it is working fine now.

So, I did a research. this site brought me some intriguing answer. It says that hidden SSID is a bad wireless security measure (against the common knowledge that hiding your SSID will add security to your wi-fi network). And it also says that I should enable “Connect even if the network is not broadcasting” option on the wireless network setup so I can connect to a hidden SSID (which I thought it was refering to connecting even if the router is not broadcasting “wi-fi signal” not the SSID).

The author is a tech from MS itself. And there were actual research that hiding SSID for security was a myth. And it is actually a violation of 802.11i specifications and guidelines when you hide your access point’s SSID. As for my part.

I also thought about that (hiding SSID a security myth). But I don’t know why I still applied that to the networks I setup. I have never encountered problems with that before (XP, Ubuntu) only on Vista. Well, maybe, I’ll change the way I wireless network now. I’ll let the router/access point broadcast its SSID to avoid problems, breaking standards and stop believing in myhts :).

“The old axiom remains true: security by obscurity is no security at all”

Before I start, my favorite web broswer is Mozilla Firefox 3. I set it up that every time I start Firefox, it would open the websites I always visit.

Here they are…

1. marvincruz.com - well, this is my blog. Though I don’t post often (or post nonsense most of the time), this is the first on my list.
2. Ubuntuforums.org - Philippine Team - I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux for quite a time now (though I am not using it now since I have to format my hard drive). And I am getting updates from this community. And what’s good with the ubuntuforums community is that it doesn’t just talk about Ubuntu or Linux or Opensource, there is a lot of other topics in there like day to day experiences, jokes, etc… It’s very imformative and enjoying. Philippine Team - local group for Filipinos.
3. lifehacker.com - “Lifehacker, the software and productivity guide, is a blog that covers tips and tricks for streamlining your life with computers (and sometimes without). Updated several times daily, Lifehacker points out software downloads, web sites, do-it-yourself projects, howto’s, tutorials, shortcuts and tips for going beyond the default settings and getting things done in the most clever, unexpected and efficient ways. Think of Lifehacker as self-help for power users.” - http://lifehacker.com/about/. In short, you get tips and current informations from this website. Though sometimes reading the comments are discouraging (because of people discriminating the post beacuse the commenter thinks the post is very elementary and doesn’t fit his ‘high’ standars), there are a lot of things I learned from this website (specially technology).
4. google reader - Well, this is my RSS feed reader. I am using a web based RSS reader cause I want to check my feeds at home, work or wherever I am. Google reader was my first RSS reader and I find it easy to use. With google reader, I’ll know if there’s a new post or update on the blogs that I read.
5. inquirer.net - Inquirer is a local broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines. And this is their website. I check on this one cause I think they have the most updated info unlike the others. It doesn’t just speak about current Philippine news but also global news.

So there it is. This doesn’t mean that I don’t visit other sites. I do visit other sites. But this 5 website is my gateway to other sites. If there is a new feed in google reader, I go to that blog to check it out further. If there is a recommended website in lifehacker, I check it out, etc…

What’s your favorite websites?

Yeah, Joomla!, one of the world’s best Content Management System (CMS), will be conducting it’s first ever Joomla! Day Event in the Philippines.

Too bad I heard about the news late, and due to overwhelming response (I just realized that there are a “lot” of Joomla! users in the Philippines), the registration is already closed.

I hope there will be another event soon after this one. I really need to learn Joomla! cause I’m planning to use it for our church website (and some other projects)..

Cheers…

Since I got my new hard drive last December and installed Windows XP SP2, I never had problems with it. Well, yeah, I did had ‘minor’ problems. What I meant is problems like Virus, Spyware, system crash, data loss (I lost data due to the crash of my ‘very old’ hard drive). In short, I never had ‘major’ problems that caused me to reinstall windows.

Well, I kept on hearing and reading comments about the ‘instability’ and ‘virus attractiveness’ of Windows. I am not disproving their facts and opinions. And I am not trying to promote Windows (I am planning to leave windows and migrate to Ubuntu). What I am trying to say here is, keeping your system in a good running condition is 80% (just my estimate, in short majority) based on how the user maintains and secure his computer (hardware and software).

In the seminary, some of my technician friends (there are a lot of computer techs in our seminary) used to joke that computer tech problems is 90% user caused and 10% hardware/software caused. And as we looked at it, it is sometimes (most of the time) true.

As for for my experience, I was able to maintain a healthy system for almost 5 months now. This computer is used by multiple users (there are actually 5 user accounts including the admin, one of them is “extra” which is used by who ever wants to use the computer - includes relatives, neighbors who doesn’t have computer, church mates, etc.). With my setup, we would expect for a system breakdown within just a month.

Here’s how I kept my system virus free, software/hardware stable, etc. (I am not trying to be an expert here, this is all based on my experience.)

• Installed a good anti virus - Anti Virus is important. There are good free antivirus out there. But if you have money, get the commercial one. I used to have AVG Free for my virus protection. It works good. But later someone told me to use Avast. They have a free edition also. Monthly full system scan. Scan disks, files, folders, etc, before opening it.
• Firewall - I am using Windows XP’s firewall. I am also behind a NAT so my system is already protected from outside attacks.
• Users under limited account - avoid using or setting a user with administrative privileges is one security that most WinXP users forgot. My brother thought me this one. Most malicious attacks from websites (scripts etc.) needs an administrative right in order to deploy (or infect/affect) your system. So if you are running in limited account, this script won’t be able to modify sensitive System registry info, Windows files (which are protected by windows), etc. Draw back, you won’t be able to install unless you switch to admin mode (I use Runas or use the admin user just for installing softwares). With a bit of tweaking, a limited account can access functions needed by the user.
• Clean the fans - Cleaning the fan and the inside of the computer from dusts can make the computer run cooler.
• Don’t install unnecessary programs - in the start, I am installing lots of unwanted softwares, but later on, I stopped. I only installed softwares I need.
• Delete Cache, cookies, temporary files / internet files - doing this at least on a monthly basis cleans up my hard disk, and gives IE, Opera, and Firefox a “fresh new start”. I am not saying this can cause your computer/internet to speed up, but i think disposing wastes is a good habit.
• Disable Autorun - disabled autorun for CD drive, flash drives, etc. And I don’t allow USB drive users to just plugin their device without my permission. I had one virus infection (just once, minor infection) when someone used his USB drive without scanning. Good thing is my Anti Virus was able to detect it.
• Always lock you PC - when I am working and have to leave my workstation, I lock my pc so my son won’t be able to play with the keyboard, or someone else using my account (my account have some special privileges).
• Install updates - I install updates from Microsoft (under the Admin account).

Doing these routines, I was able to maintain my system. It is my experience. I am happy with XP. Yet, I am planning to migrate to Ubuntu due to some (lots of reason, XP going to be phased-out, philosophy, change, challenge, etc.).

During the writing of my previous article, the Ubuntu website is not yet updated. Meaning it doesn’t have any info regarding the release of Hardy Heron (but rather the Release Candidate only). Now, the website is updated and information regarding Hardy Heron can be seen (click here).

I am currently downloading Xubuntu 8.04, Which is basically the same with Ubuntu, but only differs primarily with the Window Manager and some other softwares. It is lighter (in terms of graphics) than Ubuntu (which uses Gnome, Xubuntu uses Xfce).

Cheers…

Ubuntu, one of the popular Linux distribution (ubuntu.com), has just released its latest version “Hardy Heron” (8.04). Ubuntu is designed to be “free” (you can download for free or request for a CD with free shipping virtually to any country, which is good for those with slow or no internet connection). It is also pre-installed with softwares that is basically needed by a user (office productivity suite, photo editing, internet and mail, video and audio player. system management, networking tools, and more.). And other softwares are readily available from the Ubuntu Repository (can be installed with just a few clicks).

This release of Ubuntu has many improvements from the latest core products it has to how the OS and its software communicates to its users.. And best of all, it has “Long Term Support”, meaning updates and support is available up to April 2013 for server edition and April 2011 for desktop edition.

You can check for more information from their website and download it here (via download or free/paid shipping). BitTorrents are also available for hassle free downloading (click here).

Though we can start upgrading/installing now, I will wait up to one month before installation so the “final” bugs can be cleaned. And also, the servers are “very busy” right now.

Cheers….

I got a new phone. It is a Samsung SGH E250.

It is a low priced mobile phone that have almost everything I need. A mobile phone with GPRS/EDGE (don’t need 3G/HSDPA yet), FM radio, MP3 Player, VGA camera (yeah, VGA, I am planning to buy a digicam soon), video recording, voice recording/memo, expandable memory (up to 2gb).

Actually, I am not planning to buy a phone. I have (or had) a Nokia 1112i phone. My father in law also have the same phone. But he lost his phone when he went to Bagio City for a seminar. He is hesitant in buying a new phone since he don’t want to “study” the new phone. So, my wife sold my phone to him. And I have to buy a new phone.

I was looking at three phones, this one, a Nokia and a Sony Erickson. which has (almost) the same specifications. I chose (actually, my wife did) this one because of expandable memory and MP3 Player.

There are things that I don’t like (but it is not a problem though) with this phone is, you can’t set the extended memory (microSD) as the default memory for the phone to save captured photos or videos. So, you have to copy those pictures to the memory card. It is a bit of a hassle. But I’m not using the phone as a digital camera. Well this is not specific to this phone because all Samsung phones can’t use extended memory as default memory. Another thins is, the user manual is not elaborate enough for a not that easy to understand menus and submenus.

Overall, I like the phone. I only had it for a day, and I hope I won’t experience something that would make me call their customer service and rant about it… hehe…

This phone was released last year (but it is not yet “phased out”, but due to my limited budget, I bought it.

Yeah, I thought and I still believe Xubuntu is great. But my system have problems with it. Every time I shutdown my system, it crashes. Tried to troubleshoot, but can’t find help online even on the forums. The suggestion was to use the terminal to shutdown (which is working). But I don’t think I’ll stick to that.

Currently, I am researching about fluxbox , a windows manager for linux that is low on resources, fas, highly customizable, etc (as per other says). I am planning to use this one for my Ubuntu box. Have to do some research first for programs I can use in it.