Specifically, if you are already rooted and looking for this EASY way to get tethering online see the thread here: moment wifi tethering how-to

I’ve personally followed the instruction and everything works without a hitch, although it is currently being *tested* so… ymmv. Many thanks to the guys over at SDX!

http://vikram.eggwall.com/computers/nxt.html

for tips about getting bluetooth, usb, and nxc to work the NXT under Ubuntu 9.10.

It all worked well for me. I’ll likely be doing some of my own write-ups on Linux and the NXT robot, so if you’ve got questions… leave them.

sudo apt-get install myspell-es

Then, in your document, just go to Tools > Language and pick Spanish for the line, paragraph, or all text – if you don’t see Spanish as an option, then click “more” and change the default language for the document. Ok?

Bien. Adiós.

First, jump into a terminal using ctrl+alt+Fx (where x= 1-6 on ubuntu).
Start a new X client session using xinit — : x vtX (where x = a number > 0 that is not already in use for an x display, and X equals 11 or 12… this allows you to switch to the new gui using ctr+alt+X)
Next, you’ll be on a blank screen with a terminal in the upper left. ssh while forwarding the remote x via ssh -X user@host
you’re set! you can start your window manager or individual programs now.

Now… there… I’ll remember.

So, I took a look at a few other personal blogs for comparison. I’ve certainly found a few differences. My posts are relatively long, my content rarely (if ever) mentions pop-culture, and it is almost completely text.

I’ve decided to make a few decisions based on my findings, and I’m basically noting them here so that I remember them.

• No more ads. No sense is bothering the twenty-one of us that look at this website every day.
• I’m going to make an effort to include a bit more media. Pictures, short videos, online books – they are sometimes helpful for illustrating an idea or sharing a view of the world.
• I completely and utterly refuse to include any more pop culture than I already do.

Aside from these things… I’ve received plenty of complaints about the lack of personal information on this (personal) blog. Looking for Andrew D. Anderson, how can you be sure you’ve got the right one – I’ve no picture! Want to know more about my family background or socio-economic history – there’s not much information here. Where do I travel, and how often? What do I do with my free time, and how much do I have? Yeah, I know, I don’t really talk about it. And, yes, sometimes this leads to false assumptions or misreadings.

However, I don’t really intend on addressing that “issue” – mainly because it’s not really an issue for me at all. It’s by design. I try to think outside these personal limitations… and truly believe that ideas are the only interesting things we humans have to share. I don’t really care about your trip to visit your Aunt Ethel – outside of your motivations and interpretations of the event, your physical experience is unimportant to me. As a result, I strive to distill my own experiences into bundles of thoughts, and spare you the boredom of particulars. If you like to get all wrapped up in trivialities… well, this isn’t ever going to be the blog to read. If you think that ideas are actually the boring part of life… well… in a different context, I agree. Believe me, I’m not a fan of idle theory… but we can not actually experience things for our fellow humans. No sense in trying. I do what I can.

That’s the end of the administrative memos. I think.

I had my schedule for next quarter all planned out, then I ended up getting only one out of my four classes. So, how can you get the classes you want with a computerized system? That was my question, and the answer, at least here, is pretty simple.

Class registrations are updated in real time, so for me to fit into a class I didn’t get, I just need someone to drop. Sniffing passwords over wifi would not be impossible, but the odds that I’d grab a useful password are nearly nothing. There are only about one hundred students that I could log in as to drop the classes I need. There are over 5k undergraduates alone. It just did not pencil out, and besides that – it is illegal.

So, plan B – let them drop of their own accord – just be there the instant they do to take the spot. Easy. Any campus course request system I have ever seen works just like a regular form. POST or GET data. You need to know where and what data is being sent for your course request. Then resubmit it constantly.

In my case, this was easy. JavaScript is used to post data to a single processing page that either works or notifies you of an error. If the class is full, you cannot just click the “add” link. You have to type the JavaScript in the action bar. Luckily, the script is on every page, whether click-able/visible or not, so copying and pasting the script from one page and typing it in on the address bar of the closed course works just fine. IMO this should probably be fixed to make things a little harder.

After you do that, because success and failure share a  common page – you are never forwarded anywhere – you can simple refresh the page to re-post your request. Download a nifty little program to reload your page at set intervals, and you can request all your courses (simultaneously even, at least here) as often as you like.

I now have 3 out of the 4 courses I wanted. With the 4th being requested every thirty seconds. Its a tiny class of ten people, but if one of them decides to move around – I’ll be in.

This is why they invented captchas.

It’s not really “impossible” for a computer to paint; I mean, it can use any program you can . It can muddle through pixel by pixel in hopes of stumbling upon something truly artistic. I’ll code it, if you watch it work. If I ask my computer to make me a tiny black and white picture – say 100 pixels square – how many images would someone have to review to find the few “artistic” images?

The answer, as you have likely already calculated:

1995063116880758384883742162683585083823496831886
1924548520089498529438830221946631919961684036194
5978993311294232091242715564913494137811175937859
3209632395785573004679379452676524655126605989552
0550086918193311542508608460618104685509074866089
6248880904898948380092539416332578506215683094739
0255691238806522509664387444104675987162698545322
2868538161694315775629640762836880760732228535091
6414761839563814589694638994108409605362678210646
2142733339403652556564953060314268023496940033593
4316651459297773279665775606172582031407994198179
6073782456837622800373028854872519008344645814546
5055792960141483392161573458813925709537976911927
7800826957735674444123062018757836325502728323789
2707103738028663930314281332414016241956716905740
6141965434232463880124885614730520743199225961179
6250130992860241708340807605932320161268492288496
2558413128440615367389514871142563151110897455142
0331382020293164095759646475601040584584156607204
4962867016515061920631004186422275908670900574606
4178569519114560550682512504060075198422618980592
3711805444478807290639524254833922198270740447316
2376760846613033778706039803413197133493654622700
5631699374555082417809728109832913144035718775247
6850985727693792643322159939987688666080836883783
8027643282775172273657572744784112294389733810861
6074232532919748131201976041782819656974758981645
3125843413595986278413012818540628347664908869052
1047580882615823961985770122407044330583075869039
3196046034049731565832086721059133009037528234155
3974539439771525745529051021231094732161075347482
5740775273986348298498340756937955646638621874569
4992790165721037013644331358172143117913982229838
4584733444027096418285100507292774836455057863450
1100852987812389473928699540834346158807043959118
9858151457791771436196987281314594837832020814749
8217185801138907122825090582681743622057747592141
7653715687725614904582904992461028630081535583308
1301019876758562343435389554091756234008448875261
6264356864883351946372037729324009445624692325435
0400678027273837755376406726898636241037491410966
7185570507590981002467898801782719259533812824219
5402830275940844895501467666838969799688624163631
3376393903373455801407636741877711055384225739499
1101864682196965816514851304942223699477147630691
5546821768287620036277725772378136533161119681128
0792669481887201298643660768551639860534602297871
5575179473852463694469230878942659482170080511203
2236549628816903573912136833839359175641873385051
0970271613915439590991598154654417336311656936031
1222499379699992267817323580231118626445752991357
5817500819983923628461524988108896023224436217377
1618086357015468484058622329792853875623486556440
5369626220189635710288123615675125433383032700290
9766865056855715750551672751889919412971133769014
9916181315171544007728650573189557450920330185304
8471138183154073240533190384620840364217637039115
5063978900074285367219628090347797453332046836879
5868580237952218629120080742819551317948157624448
2985184615097048880272747215746881315947504097321
1508049819045580341682694978714131606321068639151
1681774304792596709376

Yeah, let me know when you’ll be finished with your critiques. And for the love of sanity, keep colors away from the machine!!!

I’m a big Linux fan, but spend a lot of my time in windows because of driver issues under linux. So, to get the best of both worlds… I run Ubuntu 8.10 in a virtual machine. Prior to yesterday, I was using Microsoft’s Virtual PC 2007. Things were OK, until I found Sun Microsystems’ Virtual Box 2.0.4.

Microsoft who? I’ll never go back to Virtual PC, not for virtual windows boxes – and most assuredly never again for virtual Linux boxes. Here’s why:

Virtual PC 2007 has some virtual resolution issues. You can’t have a virtual PC with more than 1600 x 1200 resolution. That’s annoying when you want to run virtual 1680 x 1050 on your host 1920 x 1200 screen. With VirtualBox, this isn’t an issue. Pick your resolution – and it works. (Well, you do need to add the resolution(s) you want to your xorg.config…)

Virtual PC 2007 can play sound from Ubuntu 8.10, I think, but it doesn’t work out-of-the-box. VirtualBox: enable sound for your virtual Ubuntu machine – and no more configuration is required. It works flawlessly.

Virtual PC 2007 can not run 64bit guest operating systems. That’s a bit of an issue, because if you want to test your 64bit applications on a virtual machine – you’re SOL. VirtualBox can handle 64bit guest operating systems as easily as it can handle any 32bit OS. Just make sure you enable “VT-x/AMD-V” hardware assisted virtualization when you’re setting up your virtual machine.

As if that wasn’t enough. There’s more! VirtualBox has some stellar “Additions”. Once installed, from the VirtualBox virtual machine menu (under devices). You can enjoy seamless mouse integration and clipboard synchronization. You can also share folders between your host and guest. That’s just cool.

To get it working on Ubuntu 8.10 all I had to do was select the option from the menu. Then a virtual CD was mounted. I opened a command prompt and ran:

sudo sh /media/cdrom0/VBoxLinuxAdditions-amd64.run

It works beautifully, even after upgrading the kernel.

I haven’t run any official benchmarks, but everything under VirtulaBox feels MUCH more responsive than it did under Virtual PC 2007.

Try Sun’s VirtualBox 2.0.4 today! You’ll wonder how you ever put up with the shortcomings of Microsoft’s inferior product.

Then, I stumbled on this page: http://secretsoftheinternets.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/download-the-adobe-cs4-suite-early/ that gave me a tip. It was just a bit off…

You need to have an Adobe Account, and start some trial download – like Adobe Acrobat 9. Cancel the download after a few seconds, then you can download the CS4 Master Collection by copying and pasting BOTH of these into your browser or download manager:

http://trials.adobe.com/Applications/MastCol/CS4/Win/ADBESTAMCS4_LS1.exe

http://trials.adobe.com/Applications/MastCol/CS4/Win/ADBESTAMCS4_LS1.7z

5.4Gb later, you’ll have the trials!

Alternatively, I JUST stumbled upon a site that has links to each component, take a look if you don’t want to download the whole suite: http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=592602

Have fun.

If you’d have known it would sell for paltry $1.25 more then your max bid, you’d have bumped ‘er up a little. Now that antique-one-of-a-kind trinket that you’ve been daydreaming about is gone. You’re in pain.

You imagine the guy that beat you out. Chuckling like a madman, rolling on the floor in pure glee right after he completes checkout to claim his stolen goods. Oh, the pain! What you wouldn’t give to trade spots, just this once…

Well, you’re in luck, because you can next time. Be that guy. For free. Heart-broken eBayer – meet Gixen. It makes sniping on eBay too easy. Heck, you’ll probably do it for fun.

Ubuntu loaded the drivers I need for my Intel Pro Wireless to work (3945), this must be done manually in FC6. Not only that, but I was than able to click my network icon and view all available wireless networks! I was pleasantly suprised at the ease of this. Then I thought I’d try my media keys… which do not work in FC6 – they worked in Ubuntu 7! No configuration required. I can control the volume and even get a nice little volume OSD when doing so. I then tried the remote control I have with my laptop… not only does it control the volume, but allows me to launch rhythmbox and play/pause/skip music as well. I am amazed that this works. Really.

The latest versions of Firefox and OpenOffice.org only sweetened the deal. My windows NTFS partition was also readily available and automatically mounted. When I attempted to play a WMA file from my windows partition, the codec was searched for and I was able to install it with one click. 47 seconds later I was enjoying the tunes.

I’m amazed by this release, and if Fedora 7 isn’t equally amazing, I’m switching.

Ok, so what happened is that OpenOffice apparently made the text look more clean in this version… I guess it is. As a result, my double spacing doesn’t take up as much room. End result: same text, fewer pages.

Now, if I were a bum of a college student (which is tempting), I’d stay with 2.1 – after all I’m getting more pages for free. Since, that’s just not me… looks like I’ll be writing more. I don’t really mind though, because comparing the realestate taken up by Word for my papers – OpenOffice is right on par. Now when I have to e-mail an 8 page paper to my professor… I can be sure it will be 8 pages on his end as well.

That’s progress… now, if I could just use Vista’s dictation feature in OpenOffice.

 Where to begin… with Vista? Sure. It’s alright. I like it because it is better looking than the previous versions and because it is new. It feel just as responsive as XP did, but I turned off the Aero interface anyway. I didn’t like the little bubble that popped up when I watched DVDs. (I know I could have disabled the bubble!) The 3D window switcher is nothing fancy in my opinion. Linux still has a way better GUI with Beryl. Overall, however, Vista is nice. The voice recognition feature is really fun, but it doesn’t work with OpenOffice… and so I won’t be using it too much. I wouldn’t really recommend rushing out to buy Windows Vista, but I got mine for free (legally)… and so felt as though I should say a little about it.

Now, WordPress 2.1 is very nice. A few little quirks when you upgrade, but the new autosave feature is splendid and everything feels faster. I would recommend an upgrade.

Lastly, Opera 9.1 is now my browser of choice. It is amazing. Really. It has so many useful features (autorefresh, on-the-fly page editing, advanced tabs, optional image shutoff). You should try it. You will be captivated with the speed at first, but the awesome features will win you in the long run.

Nothing else is new. Just software. And this post.

It arrived about 5 days early… and I’m failry caught up with all of my work – so I decided I would write a review of this very sleek looking machine. I’ve decided this partly because I was looking for reviews when I was going to purchase it, and party because I like to type on the new keyboard…

Firstly, let me say that my last laptop was an HP zd7000 – and in comparison to the dv9000t – my old laptop is thicker and a little less attractive. Obviously, it has fewer bells and whistles… anyway, now that you know where I’m coming from:

What I like:

• Very attractive body. The paint is nice, but there is more than that – I like the rounded keyboard, rounded screen (edges and base), and the fact that there are no ports on the back of the laptop.
• The laptop runs cool and fairly quiet… my leg does cover the air intake on the bottom of the laptop, which is slightly annoying, but it still does not get hot.
• The built in webcam is very handy – and the microphones are just fine so long as you are in a relatively quiet room.
• The optional remote, which I got, is very nice. I like how it slips right inside the laptop. Well worth the (cheap) upgrade.
• I really like the touch sensitive media controls above the keyboard – very easy to use. They emit an awful beep from the factory, but you can disable the annoyance via the BIOS.
• Two headphone jacks are very slick and conveniently placed (front and center).
• USB ports are everywhere you need them, two to a side… this is nice IMHO.

What I dislike:

• The half-sized right shift key. (This was done to make the keyboard line up correctly for the rounded look).
• The speakers are not in the front of the notebook, they are on the top above the keyboard. This doesn’t sound as good IMHO.
• The hinges don’t seem to close the screen as tightly as I am used to. It kind of wobbles when closed – maybe it’s just me.

Overall, once you remove all the crap HP sends with the system… (not in insane amount, but enough to consume time for removal)… it runs VERY swiftly. Overall, I am very impressed with the machine as a whole. It looks elegant, runs well, and is competitively priced. I am pleased with the purchase.

I did not get the HD DVD drive because I do not watch too many movies and another ($450) was a little steep.

I’ll be installing Fedore Core 6 (FC6) on here this weekend – and maybe I’ll write about it.

If you found this review helpful, please leave a comment – I don’t usually review products, but if others find it useful I may consider doing so more often.

I have to admit, I was skeptical. “Free” usually carries some sort of catch. Not here. Really.

Skype is voice chat client. Talking to other Skype members is free… and instead of having to remember phone numbers, you can simply remember their username instead. Call quality is crisp. No one I talked to could tell the difference between regular phone quality.
Wait, it gets even better. Until the end of the year (at the very minimum) Skype allows you to make free calls to any landline phone in the U.S.A or Canada – yes, for free. You have nothing to lose. No credit card is required or anything silly like that.

I’ve decided this is what I’ll be using in college to keep in touch via voice. Really – it’s that good.

So, what are you waiting for – go try Skype!

My favorites:

In that order. Let me know what you think.