Bright Edges

Buzz Me..

2009-05-05T18:55:00.008+05:30

This is just a dummy post to show you that I am not dead. Its been really long since I threw any update. I had quite a lot to rant but time and reluctance prevented me. In between :I was up to a self hosted Wordpress blog which I installed on maah gnutop. But then skipped the thought for no reason.Was the founding member and designer of our college's first full-fledged newsletter 'The Eminence'

Rip Youtube the CLI way

2008-11-28T22:40:00.004+05:30

There are many applications for extracting and downloading videos from youtube and other video hosts like web-based KeepVid or addons like VideoDownloader, and many others. There's also a very good technique of saving any streaming video by buffering it till 100%, navigate to the Cache folder and simply copy the video file (which is /tmp in case of linux).But recently I got a python based CLI

Custom Search Tool in Firefox

2008-10-25T11:06:00.006+05:30

There are search engines which you visit/use frequently and are not listed in Firefox plugin page, so what you will do? Create your own simple :I will making a Google Linux search tool :Open any text editor and paste this code :

IP address from NetBIOS name

2008-10-14T20:26:00.004+05:30

I will use ping command for knowing the IP address, but for a default *nix system we cannot ping a node using its NetBIOS name. So with a minor edit we can do it all. Here's the process :Edit /etc/nsswitch.conf :$ vim /etc/nsswitch.confOr use any other editor of your choiceSearch for something similar to this :hosts: files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns mdns4and add wins at the end

Maah! Desktop

2008-10-05T19:17:00.006+05:30

With GNU/Linux systems you can have a highly customizable desktop with no bounds to possibilities. I have discussed few techniques for a nerdy looking environment in my Feeling Geeky... post earlier. Well this one is just a snapshot preview kinda thing... concentrating mainly on the eye candy stuffs..Distro : Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04Desktop Environment : GNOMEWindow Manager : Metacity/

(wget = DM) != GUI

2008-09-20T19:37:00.010+05:30

Wget the default download manager in *nix systems is a very versatile tool. I will be focusing on some of its very important features useful to a end user. So here we begin :Simply downloading a file :$ wget

DC++ and Linux

2008-09-16T06:36:00.006+05:30

Particularly in colleges where media sharing is very popular among students (like in ours) DC++ can be used to inter-connect different hostels and enable fast file-sharing. DC++ is a free and open-source, peer-to-peer file-sharing client that can be used to connect to the Direct Connect network. It has private messaging features or one can globally chat in a Hub Room. It also indexes files, so

Audio Boost using MPlayer

2008-09-16T01:10:00.002+05:30

I often felt pissed off when my friends used VLC and others programs for software level volume amplification, so I searched for a similar kind in mplayer and guess what! It was already there in mplayer since ages. You just need to RTFM.Syntax :mplayer -af volume=20:0 mediafileWould amplify the sound by 20dB and hard-clip if the sound level is too highReference ( man pages of mplayer ) :AUDIO

Ubuntu getting slow....

2008-07-30T23:13:00.006+05:30

The day I installed Ubuntu and the day after few upgrades.. I noticed drastic decrease in speed. I thought the problem was with my user, so I deleted the configuration files within my ~/ folder many times but never got a preferred result. Nautilus took 10-20 sec to just open, furthermore my gnutop went indiscoverable in my Hostel's LAN Server and I was receiving error messages after login. The

Grab your IP

2008-07-30T03:13:00.009+05:30

Often you need to know your IP, particularly when your are connected by DCHP kinda connection. So here are some handy tips :CLIDisplaying the current config for all NIC's :$ ifconfigDisplaying the current config for a particular device :$ ifconfig deviceExample:$ ifconfig ppp0For knowing your IP via which you are accessing WWW:$ ifconfig | grep 'P-t-P' | cut -d: -f2 | awk {'print $1'}OR$ wget -q

LAN Messenger

2008-07-24T01:30:00.001+05:30

Today I was searching for a LAN messaging client on my Ubuntu box, so after a bit of googling I turned to Pidgin. I searched if it was possible to configure Pidgin as a LAN Messenger and out of my surprise it was simpler than I ever thought of. Here's how:1> Open Pidgin2> Then Navigate to Accounts > Manage > Add3> Select Bonjour4> Fill the other details as per your choice.5> Do the same setting

Battey Stats

2008-06-30T22:04:00.004+05:30

There are ready made panel applets available for viewing your battery remaining, current state and others.. Well here I give you more geekier an efficient way of doing that .. CLI ofcourse :Know your battery's specification :$ cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/infoKnow your current battery status :$ cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/stateNOTE: BAT0 may differ as per your Laptop model, look for what you have

Ctrl + Alt + Del

2008-06-29T14:48:00.003+05:30

Sometimes users get annoyed with not having their favorite Windows key combination "Ctrl + Alt + Del" working on Linux Box. Well here's how to view your process manager for "Ctrl + Alt + Del" :GNOME :Start gconf-editor via terminal / Alt+F2 & navigate to : apps > metacity > global_keybindingsDouble click on run_command_1 and change its value to

Cyber-shot DSC-S650

2008-06-29T11:27:00.003+05:30

Specifications :Brand : SONY, S-Series Cyber-shot cameraMega pixels : 7.2 Mega pixelsZooming : 3x Optical Zoom2 inch. LCD MonitorMedia Type : Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO DuoHigh Sensitivity ISO 1000Spot Metering, Scene Selection ModesLooks : Cool and SleekAccessories : Sony Original 1GB Memory StickRecommended goodies : Original Sony Nickel-Metal Hydride, Rechargeable Batteries, Sony

File transfer to/from Mobile Phone

2008-06-28T21:29:00.004+05:30

With new distros its very simple to do file transfer using bluetooth. Just a matter of few clicks :Insert your Bluetooth Dongle, and a bluetooth icon will appear in the notification area, otherwise start your bluetooth service by executing : bluetooth-appletRight click on that icon and Browse Device > Select your Mobile > ConnectIf your device is not paired up, it will pop up pairing up menu on

Mario, Contra, Ice Climber play them all

2008-06-28T11:18:00.003+05:30

I remember the days when I was addicted to TV video games, so thought of bringing them back. After a bit of googling I got a open source NES emulator named Nestopia, but was unable to download it because the links for Linux download were dead. Then I turned to NTSC and PAL Famicom/NES emulator called FCE Ultra whose packages are easily available in Ubuntu Repositories.Install it :$ sudo apt-get

Feeling Geeky...

2008-06-27T18:24:00.006+05:30

Fed up with GNOME/KDE resource hogging Desktop Environment, but do not want to loose GUI! So now its time when you turn to fluxbox. Call this page "HowTo forge a simple geeky environment"..Packages Recommended :Window Manager : fluxboxFile manager : pcmanfmWeb Browser : epiphanyImageMagick software suiteMplayer + CodecsOther light-weight applications as per your requirement, there are many pages

Webcam and MPlayer

2008-06-21T21:25:00.001+05:30

Ubuntu really shocked me today when it recognized my integrated webcam automatically, which I discovered via Ekiga application.. Ok so drivers set, what I need now is record videos and take snapshots.. Mplayer as the title indicates does this all, the versatile player which can load video devices too. Lets begin with our task :Viewing :Fireup this command to bring up your video streamer:$ mplayer

Compaq Presario C773TU Notebook PC

2008-06-20T19:32:00.000+05:30

Today I bought a new Notebook : Compaq C773TU as the title says, so here I present a brief review on it.Specifications:Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83 GHz)Intel 965GM Express Chipset2 MB L2 CacheMemory - 2 GB PC2 DDR2 (667 MHz)Hard Drive - 160 GB, 5400 RPMCD/DVD RW, 8x Double Layer DVD Writer15.4" Widescreen TFT, 1280x800 WXGAFreeDOSMy computer aka gnutop which I thought was appropiate name for it,

Formatting USB Drive with Linux

2008-06-05T15:31:00.001+05:30

This is a guide to format a Thumb drive in Linux. After a bit of Googling I got mkfs, which is used to build a Linux file system on a device. Now for thumb drive we use FAT32 or VFAT filesystem, so we use mkfs.vfat instead.Syntax (quick format) :# mkfs.vfat -F32 {device}For Fedora/RedHat based : # /sbin/mkfs.vfat -F32 {device}I have made a script for easy formatting :1> Open Terminal :$ nano

Mplayer : Universal Media Player

2008-05-25T22:24:00.001+05:30

Since mplayer is the only multimedia player on my PC other than Amarok, so I will obviously want it to work with each and every media file I have or may encounter and mplayer did all its work with 100% perfection till one day when I tried to play .rm/.rmvb files with it.. So what next, install a separate player for that? Never..the solution is more simple than anyone can expect :1> If you have

Enabling/Disabling 'sudo' for Local User(s)

2008-05-24T12:54:00.003+05:30

Fedora/RedHat based distros doesn't give sudo power to local users by default, So its the root who grants them the power. Here's a way:1> Open Terminal / Konsole and then login as root :$ su -2> Change the permission of /etc/sudoers to read-write mode :# chmod u=rw /etc/sudoers3> Open the file using a texteditor (I am using vim) and search for :# vim /etc/sudoers## Allow root to run any commands

Video Rotation

2008-05-24T12:50:00.001+05:30

One line command for rotating a video by 90 degrees :$ mplayer -vf rotate=

Gnash

2008-05-23T16:41:00.001+05:30

Gnash is a GNU Flash movie player, after going through a article in Digit Magazine : From a Hacker's Diary I came across this piece of program and I was very impressed knowing that it is GNU/GPL licensed and is also a standalone program along with plugin features.Procedure to install Gnash on Fedora/RedHat like systems:1> Install package as root:# yum install gnash gnash-plugin2> Activate Plugin:

Truth Happens

2008-05-22T22:43:00.000+05:30

I want to quote a video which perhaps I have seen a year ago.This video is produced by Redhat which is one of the most unrecognized company dedicated to FOSS.