Category: Computers

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Google Chrome for Linux and Mac Developer release

Google Chrome for GNU / Linux and Mac has finally arrived! However it is only an early version for developers and lack features that would make it usable in production environment.

Google Chrome Logo

Missing features from early release of Linux & Mac Google Chrome are :

  • Can’t view Youtube videos
  • Missing TIFF support
  • Loads of memory leaks
  • Does not have bookmark manager
  • No Java plugin support
  • No printing
  • Problem with rendering certain websites
  • Occasional crashes and freeze up
  • and many more…

So if you are just an average user, do not download this release just yet! Instead, wait for a few months for a much more (?) BETA release to be available.

The developer channel release was made in order to elicit responses and bug reports from users to prepare for a more stable BETA release.

[Google’s original announcement]

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Catch me at MSCOSConf 2009 – a talk about mobile application development

Hey guys, a quick update, I’m going to give a talk on MSC Malaysia OSConf 2009. For your information.

MSC Malaysia Open Source Conference is an international forum for sharing and exchanging ideas and thoughts on the advancements, business opportunities and the development of open source application development. The conference is organized into 3 tracks (Business, Developers and Community) which feature speakers from their respective fields.

Among the prominent speakers will be featured on MSC OSConf :

  • Chris DiBona
  • Anthony Baxter
  • Wai Kit Lau
  • Dinesh Nair
  • Redhuan D. Oon
  • Gen Kanai

More importantly I will also present a paper (titled: Mobile application development using Open Source Software) at the conference, my talk is featured on day 4 in the Developers Track.

Please refer to MSCOSConf main website and the microsite for more information on how to participate in the conference.

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Appointment as Ubuntu member: Congratulations to Harisfazillah Jamel aka linuxmalaysia

Although it’s kinda late, I still want to congratulate linuxmalaysia (Harisfazillah Jamel) for his appointment as an official Ubuntu Member on the last Asia Oceania Regional Board meeting on 28 April 2009.

The current official members in our local community (Ubuntu-my) as follows :

1. BuffaloSoldier
2. fenris
3. GunbladeIV
4. linuxmalaysia
5. nbliang
6. zarul

Hopefully with this appointment, our community will continue to flourish with activities that would benefit free and open source users as a whole.

What’s the advantage of being an official Ubuntu members?

  • An @ubuntu.com email alias that forwards to your real email address
  • An ubuntu/member/your_nick hostname IRC cloak on Freenode.
  • The right to print business cards with the Ubuntu logo – The business cards can be found at the BusinessCards page, you will need to take care of the printing yourself.
  • Syndication on Planet Ubuntu of your Ubuntu blog or the Ubuntu category posts in your blog, if you have one. Follow the registration instructions on PlanetUbuntu to add your blog!
  • An Ubuntu Member title at the Ubuntu Forums. See this post for more information.
  • A subscription to Linux Weekly News – see this page for instructions on how to apply.
  • Ability to join the Official Ubuntu Members group on LinkedIn.

For more information please refer to Ubuntu Membership wiki page

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Does Twitter kills my blog?

This is probably the first thing that I thought of when I first started of this blog two five years ago… that is the probability that I might find other hobby or work that much more appealing than paying attention to this blog.

The first culprit would be twitter, because ever since I started to hook up with it, I’ve beginning to post updates less frequently than I usually do, until it reaches a point that I stopped posting updates altogether, even though there are loads event that are worthy for me to blog with.

Maybe I’ve lost my passion of updating blogs with my daily hacking activities, or may I simply haven’t got the hang around of updating my blog while juggling with my new work, updating tweets and working on my research projects. Whatever the reason is, it is my intention to keep my post coming out fresh despite having to adjust to my new environment, and for that to happen I need to discipline myself to post regular updates on my blog.

Twitter is nice to use, as it requires less effort to post updates about my activities and make it easy for me to keep updated with my friends, but it greatest advantage seems to have taken a toll on my blog and I’ve nothing to blame but myself :p

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Quick and Dirty Network File sharing with Python

Ever find yourself in need to share file over the network quickly, but find yourself lacking time to setup a proper NFS or samba share? Here’s a way to do this with the good old Python CLI.

  • First, go to the directory that you want to share, for example ~/Desktop
  • Then run this command "python -m SimpleHTTPServer"
  • You may access the folder from a remote computer using any webrowser using the url – http://192.168.1.20:8000, change the ip address accordingly
Simple HTTP Server
file sharing with python

You may find this technique offers limited options to share files, but its a real time saver!

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BluePad: Controls Presentation from Your Phone

Recently I had todo a lot of presentations which made me thinking into getting presentation pen, but since my E71 includes a pre-installed Wireless Presenter (WiPresenter), I’ve buried that thought, who needs an expensive presentation pen when a phone can perform equally when?

Bluepad remote control

But as WiPresenter is only compatible with Microsoft Windows operating system, I’m forced to use keyboard or mouse-clicks to control my presentations when I’m using Ubuntu Linux operating system. This is a drawback as I could perform the task easily thru my phone when I’m on Windows XP.

EnterBluepad, an application which enables your mobile phone to act as a Bluetooth controller. Bluepad consists of two applications, a server and a client. The server application sits on your operating system, monitoring for incoming Bluetooth connection. The client application requires a JavaME compatible mobile phone with JSR-82 (Bluetooth) feature.

The installation is straightforward for both client and server side application, the only thing to remember is to activate bluetooth on mobile phone before starting the client application. After that, you can start OpenOffice Impress and use the the phone to remotely control the presentation.