Thinking Out Loud

Connecting Ubuntu Client to a VPN setup using ALGO

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 03:12:00 +0000

With ISPs now able to sell your browsing history and data to third parties, the focus is increasingly shifting to personal VPN. A new script which has been in the trend has been ALGO. Algo eases the setup of personal VPN on your cloud server. The server setup steps are listed in detail on the github repo of algo.

I will be talking here how to setup connection through your ubuntu desktop/client. I used Ubuntu 17.04 for my testing and setup.

After completion of the above Algo setup this is how to proceed:-

Post Setup Snapshot

Server hosted on DigitalOcean (Click for $10 credit)
Algo folder algo-master ready with structure ../algo-master/configs/[host-ip]

Steps to be followed on Ubuntu Client

Install Strongswan

Copy contents of ../algo-master/configs/[host-ip]/ipsec_user.conf to /etc/ipsec.conf

Copy contents of ../algo-master/configs/[host-ip]/ipsec_user.secrets to /etc/ipsec.secrets

Copy ../algo-master/configs/[host-ip]/cacert.pem to /etc/ipsec.d/cacerts/cacert.pem

Copy ../algo-master/configs/[host-ip]/pki/private/user.key to /etc/ipsec.d/private/[host-ip]_user.key (note the name change, this name has to match ipsec.secrets)

Copy ../algo-master/configs/[host-ip]/pki/certs/user.crt to /etc/ipsec.d/private/[host-ip]_user.crt (note the name change, this name has to match ipsec.conf)

Fire sudo ipsec restart

Fire sudo ipsec up ikev2-[host-ip]

Visit https://whoer.net/ to check if VPN is succesful

Installing Twilio for Python in Ubuntu

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 May 2016 17:41:00 +0000

Here are couple of quick steps to get Twilio for Python installed in your Ubuntu system.

First you need to get python setup tools installed in your system:-

sudo apt-get install python-setuptools

Next you can install twilio using:-

sudo easy_install twilio

To verify your intallation, punch in the following code

import twilio
print(twilio.__version__)

That's it, quick simple and easy.

Why I Run

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 07:42:00 +0000

As published on RunKeeper: http://blog.runkeeper.com/4275/why-i-run/

It was a sunny September afternoon when I crossed my first finish line. I was out of breath but buoyant, dehydrated but driven, tired but triumphant. After putting in 189.3 training miles, 33 training hours and burning 25,945 training calories (thanks for the stats Runkeeper); I could finally call myself a half marathoner! I completed my first official half marathon, the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon, with a time of 2:03:27.

I posted about my first half- marathon on social media and after the congratulatory messages, my friends started asking me, “Why do you Run?” “Are you running away from something?” “Don’t you get bored running for so long?”

So I started to think about why I run. Do I run for the medals, the bright colored tech t- shirts or do I run for the post race yummy food? No, these are all good to have but I don’t run for the medals, race tees or food.

Let me take a step back and take you into a runner’s mind (yes, I call myself a runner even though I don’t run elite pace). We runners plan each week, each month, and each day leading to a race. We decide on what mileage we will run for the day. Whether it’s 3 miles or 13, no run is easy. Each run requires preparation, mental conditioning, and planning. But between “Activity Started” and “Activity Completed”, the journey is what we enjoy. We enjoy greeting every passing runner, we are motivated when we see an 80 year old zooming past us, we are impressed when we see a mom pushing a stroller running with full vigor, and we learn not to give up as we learn to stretch our boundaries. We don’t give up because we know our running buddies will be waiting at the end zone. We don’t give up because we know we’ve done it before and that we can do it again. We don’t give up because we believe in ourselves.

To quote a lyric from Enrique, “All I need is a rhythm divine”. We run, we go in a trance, and between pace, cadence, posture and breathing, we suddenly get a rhythm. That rhythm pushes us through. We enjoy the sense of accomplishment when we finally pull out our phones and complete the activity. In our regular daily life, achievements can be far between but when you run, you achieve goals every time you run. And that is why I run. I get to prove to myself that I can do what I set out to do. That belief pushes me in my life. As you start believing in yourself, your life sorts itself out around you.

Running isn’t easy; we chafe, get blisters on our feet, pull our hamstrings and calves, and we live with sore muscles for extended periods of time. Yet we run because it gives us a high. I run because it clears my head and because I love the sound of my shoes pounding the pavement. I run to clock 300 miles on my shoes so I can buy a new pair. I run so that I can eat my heart out! And, above all, I run because I enjoy running.

Indian Election Manifesto: Tag Cloud for AAP, BJP and Congress

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 02:57:00 +0000

Now that Indian Lok Sabha General election 2014 season is in full swing and all parties have released their manifestos. I tried a fun way to understand the focus area of each party. So I converted their manifesto to text and used tagcrowd.com to generate tag cloud with the top 100 words from the manifestos of AAP, BJP and Congress. Here more the frequency of the word in the manifesto, larger will the word appear in the image (Non relevant words like is, and, the...etc are not counted). We can see the focus areas clearly out of the tag clouds. Hope it makes your decision somewhat easier. Without any prejudice towards any party presenting the results in alphabetical order:-

AAP

BJP

CONGRESS

tag source: http://tagcrowd.com/

Using Free Unix Without Installing (From Your Windows)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:59:00 +0000

There is a cool online unix server which can be accessed by any telnet or ssh client from your desktop. No need to download the unix distribution or create seperate partitions. Its absolutely free. The steps follows:-

Install a telnet/ssh client preferably Putty (its free)
Key in the below settings and connect.

In the login prompt enter newuser, for the password press 'enter' key.
Now it will prompt you to setup your username, password, shell etc...

Now, you are ready to test your unix skills!!!

Server Courtsey: http://www.arbornet.org/

Jellybean Comes to India for Samsung Galaxy Tab2 GT-P3100

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 07:42:00 +0000

Today India started receiving the OTA (Over The Air) update for Google's Android Jellybean OS for Samsung Galaxy Tab2 (GT- P3100). This is the WiFi+ 3G edition of Samsung's 7 incher. The download size is approx 300MB and it takes approximately 8 mins for the update to be applied. Then another 5 mins for the apps to be optimized. So its a excruciating 13 mins wait from the time the phone reboots and you get your hands on the lovely Jellybean. This is the version 4.1.1, so one more update to follow soon..Some inititail screenshots...

Ingress-The Conspiracy, The Game and The Google Way

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Well the net is abuzz with a organization named Niantic. This organization has been releasing teasers for a futuristic alternate reality game called Ingress. It's in closed Beta at the moment and well I have received an invite so will share an experience on the game.

THE CONSPIRACY

The game is woven on a subplot which states that European scientists have discovered some strange shaper forces which have been there on Earth since eternity. These forces have been identified with the discovery of XM (Exotic Material) which is available all around you. Now the world is divided in two factions Enlightened and Resistance. Enlightened faction tries to explore the forces and understand what benefit it can bring to humanity while the Resistance faction will try and resit this force from taking over mankind. The game begins from here.

THE GAME

Scanning Location

This is an augmented reality game (Ingress prefers to be called alternate reality). It is very outdoor kind of game. Ingress is available for android only so you can get it from play store, but hold on you won't be able to get started yet. You need to request an invite in the official Ingress website or impress Ingress' product manager (Brandon Badger) in Google+ with creativity. I tried both, but got the invite from the website method. The game begins with an extensive training. You need to go out to play the game cause this game uses GPS as well as data.

Training Mode

You need to explore around your city to collect XM. With the help of the XM need to capture portals which is again all over the world. The biggest twist here is that you need to choose a faction once the training finishes. So once you capture a portal it maybe weakened or captured by your enemy faction. So the game stays in constant state of flux.

Portals can be historic landmark, unique architecture or any local business. Portals can be linked in a triangle to form a control field and the population under that control field goes to the mind count of the faction. One can destroy enemy portals by firing XMP or HACK them to get resonators. Resonators power a portal and increases it's strength. As I write this blog the mind count stands at Enlightened (5,477,090) and Resistance(4,444,747).

You can also submit portal request to Niantic team. Just click a photo with geo tagging on and submit it from the share button to Niantic Ops. It will take 2-3 weeks to be up.

In Kolkata, India XM is vary sparse and I couldn't get any portal. So only way is submit portal requests and wait for them to come up. Also in India there are lot of peeping toms who will make it difficult to be played in open air. I have got few unusual glares myself when I was collecting XM and searching portals.

THE GOOGLE WAY

Google is where it is because it brings out innovative solutions and they fix what ain't broken. That's the reason they are way ahead. While playing this game you will realize that Google is actually using this game to better their Google maps.

Game Window

Users have the option of submitting portals which are listed in Ingress help website as:-

Statues
Unique architecture
Outdoor murals
Historic buildings
Special outdoor buildings
Unique local businesses

So they are getting users to map un- mapped public places and give more information and photos about them. Also note the last point Unique local business, this is a revenue generating opportunity that Google has left open. Suppose a business pays to create a portal and opens it for capture, so users will rush to capture it, hack it and re- capture it and in turn the business will start booming. This will become a boon for local businesses.

The last but slight area of concern is that Google will be collecting humongous amount of user location data via this. I say slight concern cause Google has been using user data responsibly "till now". How much of your whereabouts are you ready to share?

Some handy links:-

Ingress website: www.ingress.com

Ingress intel map: www.ingress.com/intel

Connect Computer to Samsung Galaxy Tab2 via WiFi

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Will suggest a simple app to connect your Samsung Galaxy Tab2 (or for the matter most of your Samsung android devices) via your home WiFi router. It gives you a break from the wired clutter between your laptop/pc and your tab.

How does it work? (geek only section)
The app that I am going to recommend will turn your android device into a web server. Which can be accessed via any device connected to your wifi router using their native web browser. The client can be any device running any os just you need a web browser that's it.

The App Details:
The app comes from the house of Samsung electronics. You can find the app with the search term "Kies Air". The following are the link and QR code:-

Link: http://goo.gl/xkZpd

QR Code:

How to get sharing?

Start the app to get the below screen:

On you computer On you computer On you computer On you computer

Press the start button to activate the web server on your device, once the web server is successfully up you will get a screen aOn you computer On you computer s below stating your webserver details. The address given here can be used by all other devices on your network to connect to your Samsung device.

Once, the web server is up and running open your laptop/ pc web browser and type in the web server address. You will be prompted for permission on your Samsung device, press allow:-

The following screen shows a successful confirmation of connection establishment:-

With this app you will be able to perform file transfer, sms via desktop and many more. Go ahead and explore for your self

Sony CyberShot DSC-S3000 Review/ Sample Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 17:51:00 +0000

Let's set the expectations straight at the beginning of this review. This camera is not a DSLR, its a budget point and shoot camera, with all that a point and shoot camera should have. So while making this review I will review its quality keeping the benchmark of a point and shoot camera.

First of all the camera's price...The camera comes at a cool price of INR 4800 (as of May 2011). The package contains:-

Camera

2 Non- Rechargable AA battery
Carry Case (Special offer)
2 Rechargable AA battery (Special offer)
Battery charger (Special offer)
4GB Mini SD Card (Special offer)
CD/ Manual/ Docs

Now coming to the review. The image stabilization is great. Picture in bright light comes very good, but in low light without flash it comes with noise. That is expected from a point and shoot camera. The ISO levels vary from 100 to 3200. Sure there is scope to tinker with the ISO levels for better low light pictures. If flash is used low light photos come great, but you loose the low light effect. Image quality can be modified from 10MP to 2MP, with wide angle shot at 7MP. Wide angle is great for viewing in HD TV and widescreen notebooks. Smile and face detection are two good features that comes as a surprise in camera of this range. There is also a sweep panorama mode which lets you shoot super wide panoramic shots.

For novice photographers, Sony has incorporated EASY mode, which brings down the manual settings to bare minimum. Only image size can be changed in this mode, rest is all detected automatically. This simplistic approach is great considering the target population for the camera.

All in all this is a good camera to have for those small occasional party or holiday. Only con I would say is the color saturation is bit low. Unedited Sample pictures follow:-

Low light ISO 400, No Flash, 10 MP

ISO 100, With Flash, Low Light, 10 MP

ISO 100, 10MP

ISO 100, 16:9, 7MP, wide shot

ISO 100, 10 MP, White balance 1

ISO 100, 10 MP, White balance automatic

Sweep Panorama

Other recommended cameras in this category are:-

FujiFilm AV200
Nikon CoolPix L23

Debut at EDEN

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 11:09:00 +0000

The Build UP:

It was yesterday 22nd April 2011 that I debuted at EDEN. Not that I have taken to playing cricket, but as a spectator. I always waited for a chance to get to EDEN. Now, for call of duty have shifted base to Kolkata and was waiting for that opportunity. Was all pumped up for the INDIA vs ENGLAND match of World Cup 2011 but it was moved out of EDEN due to unsatisfactory stadium condition (as mentioned by ICC).

Then came IPL 2011, and got tickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match. On the D-Day we had some rain scare, was hoping that my first match at Eden doesn´t get washed out. It didn´t but some other kind of storm had come, that I will come to later.

The JOURNEY:
After getting down from Esplanade metro with my friends the walk towards Eden was splendid. The first thing I could notice was the amount of alternate branding (duplicate maal) that was there right from the time I came out of the metro. Be it KKR jersey, head gear, flags, hooters, you name it they had it at dirt cheap price. It was good to see the amount of indirect business that is generated through a single match and gives the youth a chance to earn a day´s livelihood. We continued the walk in the sea of crowd toward EDEN (its strange how it feels we are not part of the crowd until we look back). You never needed to look for direction, the crowd´s push will take you towards your destination.

The giant flood lights were visible right from the time we got out, but slowly the mammoth structure of EDEN was getting visible. What to say about the new look EDEN, she looks stunning. Ours was Gate No.10, F Block. We reached Gate 10, after ticket checks and frisking we were allowed in. We got ourselves bags full of water pouches and began our walk towards the stands. My heart started pounding, the Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo song was pumping the stadium with joy and adrenaline.

The First Look:

As I walked into the stadium and got the first sight of the greens, what a feeling it was. A lush green designer trimmed outfield, with stands embracing the field in it´s lap. Purple and gold was the theme of the stadium with green and blue seats adding to the glory. The towering floodlights were bowing their heads giving a warm welcome to a first timer into Eden.

It was 3.10 PM by my watch. Toss was still 20 minutes to go. The green fields had nets up and KKR and RCB were having their practice drills. Started spotting the cricketing heroes whom I have been seeing in my drawing room all these years. The atmosphere was electric, with DJ belting out one hit after another and the crowd going berserk seeing Yusuf Pathan hitting long shots in practice session. There was a deep feeling it was a day of KKR. I was absorbing as much as I could, seeing all round with awe and admiration. I was finally sitting inside the mecca of cricket with 65,000 other fans.

The Match:

I could see Pommy MBangwa facing the camera with the two captains in the middle of the pitch, yes it was toss time. RCB won the toss and elected to field first. The crowd roared in anticipation of KKR' s batting. We were going to have a treat at hand. The match started with Jack Kallis on fire and hit Zaheer Khan all round the park. I shouted along with the crowd and almost lost my voice in the first over, but at the same time was feeling bad for Zaheer after all he is our India´ s pride. I was having tough time switching my loyalties from country heroes to club heroes.

The crowd was cheering each and every run and was sporting enough to appreciate the good fielding effort that RCB put in. I took part in a mexican wave that was going round the stadium, it was a delight to watch. The towering sixes and fours were a treat to the eye with the DJ pumping out superb bets after each and every four or six.

The flood light was slowly coming to force, the intensity of the light made the stadium look a bit foggy. The ambiance was even better now, the knight´s golden pads were shinning more (knights in shining armour). The KKR innings finished for 171, looking in a comfortable position to win.

The Storm:

The 2nd Innings started and a storm came. It was Gayle Storm, he was at his fluent best. He scored a hundred punctuating them with sixes and fours. I was simply awestruck to see the powerhouse he was. He was hitting at will, and defending with the same ease. He could have played at least one innings like this while he was in KKR. His inconsistency in the last three season left him unsold in the player auction this year. He came in as a replacement of Dirk Nannes and what a replacement he has proven to be. I must say RCB was very lucky, since these kind of innings doesn´t happen very often but when they happen it devastates the opposition. Watching the sixes fly into the crowd was superb and if I had not been a KKR supporter would have enjoyed it more.

All said and done, it was a great day out and a wonderful experience in Eden. Winning and losing are part of the game. Being a gracious fan of a losing side. I would say Well Played Gayle, Well Played RCB. All in all a total value for money (Paisa Vasool).

Chrome(10.0.648.151) vs Firefox 4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:11:00 +0000

With all the hype surrounding Firefox 4, I thought of giving it a try. Downloaded it in Ubuntu first but was not impressed. Came back to Windose and installed it. At the first look I must admit that it looks very refreshing and sleek. As I am a Google Chrome user for a long time. Thought of running a performance test using http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Performance/FlyingImages/ . The results were quite towards chrome I must say. One point to note that Firefox 4's hardware acceleration feature was disabled, since my configuration doesn't support it. On the other side Chrome too ran without it. See the results below:-

Firefox 4:

Chrome 10.0.648.151:

Looks like Chrome is a clear winner with 39fps vs Firefox's 21fps. Way to go Google. Someone tried out with hardware accelerator on? Let me know your comments.

MRTG in Ubuntu for monitoring bandwidth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:01:00 +0000

Wondering how to measure your average bandwidth over a period of year, month, week or even day? MRTG (Multi Router Traffic Grapher) is the answer for you. As the name suggests its basically designed for greater purpose, but here I will be elaborating how to monitor a simple ppp connection using MRTG. Again many of you may be knowing about MRTG but aren't able to configure it. MRTG configuration is a bit cumbersome but not difficult (the key is the conf file). Below I will be presenting the points how to configure MRTG on ubuntu.

Pre-requisites: A httpd server needs to be installed in your system. If you don't have one please get one installed (will be using Apache httpd server in this example).

The steps required are as follows:-

-Download and install Apache HTTPD server from http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi

-Download the MRTG package from http://oss.oetiker.ch/mrtg/download.en.html

-Install it by following the ReadME

-Create the following script @ /usr/local/sbin/mrtgstats-net.sh (Source)

#!/bin/sh

awk '

/'$1':/ {

$0=substr($0,index($0,":")+1);

print $1;print $9

}

' /proc/net/dev

-Create the following config file /etc/mrtg.cfg

######################################################################
# Multi Router Traffic Grapher -- Sample Configuration File
######################################################################
# This file is for use with mrtg-2.5.4c

# Global configuration
WorkDir: /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/mrtg/
WriteExpires: Yes

Title[^]: Traffic Analysis for

#Target[leased]: 1:public@router.localnet
#MaxBytes[leased]: 16000

Target[ppp0]: `/usr/local/sbin/mrtgstats-net.sh ppp0`
Title[ppp0]: Internet Traffic
MaxBytes[ppp0]: 406323
PageTop[ppp0]:Internet Traffic
Options[ppp0]: growright,bits,noinfo

Note: Here ppp0 is my interface name

-Fire mkdir /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/mrtg

-Start the apache httpd server

/usr/local/apache2/bin/apachectl -f /usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf

-Goto your web-browser and type http://127.0.0.1/mrtg and open the file ppp0.html

That concludes the MRTG setup part. MRTG is automatically added to your crontab it will refresh data every 5 minutes.

Acer Aspire One 532h-2Bh Partitioning and Ubuntu 10.10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Last night I tried installing Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire One 532h- 2Bh netbook but couldn't. The problems faced were:-

THE PROBLEM:

Full Install: Installation of Ubuntu started fine, all looked cool but suddenly while partitioning using Ubuntu 10.10 's native partitioning software I was stuck. The problem was the resize option was disabled and without it there was no way to claim space for Ubuntu.
Wubi Install: Then I tried the WUBI way (btw WUBI is a tool to install UBUNTU as a native application in windows). Again the installation went fine, and was told to restart. Then was given the error "No Root Filesystem is defined, please correct from partitioning menu". This kept coming.

THE ROOT CAUSE:

The root cause to this is the EISA partition present for system recovery in windows based Acer netbook. This UBUNTU was not able to process, and hence, one night's sleep wasted :)

THE SOLUTION:

The solution that came to my mind was fairly straight forward, if UBUNTU can't human can. So thought of resizing manually using third party software. I stumbled across mini tool partition wizard, this is a superb free partitioning software. Highly recommended. Using it I resized my partition to squeeze out 30Gigs of space.

Then ran the Ubuntu bootable pen drive. Used the unallocated 30Gigs(between / and swap) and the installation succeeded.

PS: This post has been written from UBUNTU :) Trust me it works...

Speed up your internet connection

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:06:00 +0000

People stuck in slow speed internet connection I have a solution for you. It won't make your speed lightning fast but will at least make it a tad better. The answer is Google Public DNS. Using it the DNS lookup time reduces considerably. The page starts loading as soon as the request is fired (instead of the usual connecting...).
The settings are:-

Google Public DNS: Configure your DNS to 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4

The process for configuring DNS in a typical Windows XP based computer:

Control Panel >> Network Connections >> Right Click on the connection you are using and select properties >> In the General Tab Double click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) >> Bingo you will get the place to enter DNS settings.

For more info visit http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Best budget 3G enabled Android Phones in India

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:33:00 +0000

Presenting a list of feature rich android phones which are cool to have but won't burn a hole in your pocket. The minimum criterion for making it to the list is:-

a) It should be sporting the Google Android Mobile OS.
b) It should be 3G enabled.
c) It should have at least a 3MP camera.
d) Other connectivity features a must.
e) It should be less than INR 15,000.

Just a small disclaimer the prices are just for indicative purpose only, you might get it lot cheaper in the street. Go on and use your bargaining skills.

Here goes the list in ascending order of price.

1) Micromax A60 #Price ~INR 6,400

2) Dell XCD28 #Price~INR 7,400

3) LG GT540 Optimus #Price ~INR 10,700

4) Motorola Quench xt502 (5MP cam) #Price ~INR 12,000

5) Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini (5MP cam) #Price ~INR 12,000

6) LG Optimus One P500 #Price ~INR 12,300

7) HTC WildFire (5MP cam) #Price ~INR 13,500 *Highly recommended

8) Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro (5MP cam) #Price ~INR 13,600

Go on get street smart and app ready. Happy Droiding!!!

Teradata Sequence

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Here I will give a Teradata work around for sequence (oracle users). This is not a DDL based solution. It will generate values on the fly using query. Find the example below:-

SEL
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY 'A' ORDER BY COL1) AS SEQ,
COL1,
COL2
FROM
(
SEL
COL1,
COL2
FROM MYTABLE
)TMP;

The explanation is when you partion by a constant value (in this case 'A'), full table becomes one partition. As a result row number is assigned on the basis of the ordered columns. For any doubts leave a comment.

Export for bulk change in Informatica

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:40:00 +0000

For all those who face sudden voluminous redundant change of code in Informatica:
What do you do when you have to change certain redundant things at lot of places in a informatica Workflow? Open every session, every task and change it? No, just Export the objects as XML, do a find and replace, finally import it back.

When informatica asks for conflict resolution just use replace strategy. Simple but very convenient method. Feel free to comment in case of issues.

Virus Kill for ark53.tmp

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:35:00 +0000

Recently one of my friend detected a virus named ark53.tmp. It was detected by Avira Antivir. It the best free antivirus I have ever used. I recommend and rate it highly. It also has a paid edition with enhanced features.

Now, coming to the point of ark53.tmp. After detecting the virus, I instructed the antivirus to delete it. It got deleted but in the next scan ark54.tmp was detected. The pattern went on increasing to ark55.tmp, ark56.tmp and so on.

The quick fix solution to it is:-

Turn Off System Restore. (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> System Restore. Click the settings and turn of system restore on all drives)
Perform full scan using Avira again.
Restart the computer.
Turn on System Restore.

Done!!! The computer is free from ark53.tmp. If anyone as any experience handling this virus or if you have any problem please feel free to shoot a comment.

How to create folders in Gmail?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:34:00 +0000

As such there is no option for creating folders in Gmail but with a minor tweek you can get the essence of folders in gmail. It can be done in three simple steps:-

Create a label.
Apply the label to the mail.
Archive the e-mail.

These steps will move your mail from the inbox and give you a feeling that the label link is your personalized folder. Visit this link for managing labels.

Inno Setup to the rescue

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:24:00 +0000

Recently I developed a software but was having some problem packaging it. I used VB6 for development and its package and deployment wizard to package. The packaging completed successfully but when I started Setup.exe it gave the error "Setup Bootstrap for Visual Basic Setup Toolkit has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience".

I tried few workarounds but none gave results . I also tried it in other computers, but the setup.exe just won't work. So the search for an alternative setup generator for Visual Basic 6.0 began. I got Inno Setup, which is an independent setup generator. It's usage is a bit cumbersome but it saved my day.

Also the compiled setup file's interface is far better than the dated package and deployement wizard's interface. Visit the link for more details:-

INNO

A note for Visual Basic 6.0 users. Visit these two links also:-

1) For OCX Files

2) For VB System Files

Once you get the hang of this tool it's a joy to work. I am loving generating setup files with Inno. If you need any help regarding use of Inno with Visual Basic just shoot a comment. I will be glad to help you out.

Education Loan Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:52:00 +0000

Here is a software which will solve your education loan calculation blues. Question can arise that why an education loan software?? This is because education loan is taken in a very different manner than house loans, car loans or for the matter other loans. It is very seldom taken at a go, rather it is taken when the fees have to be paid.

This software will help you calculate your EMI you have to pay after you complete your studies. The marquee part of this software is that it will generate a statement for you. You have to just enter the rate, the amounts you have taken at different times during your education. Once you click the magical 'Generate' button it will show you your statement for the desired number of months.

The software is created very hastily. So please take caution while entering data. Bug checks has not been implemented. It will be done in due course of time. Here is the link:-

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

If you feel it is not good voice it, if you feel it helped you also voice it. I would love to hear from you.

Google Chrome offline install and online update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Problem:

Since, I have a slow internet connection I brought chrome offline installer from a internet cafe and installed it. Suddenly I realised that it wouldn't be a bad idea to update it online. Update failed saying Update server not available( error: 3). Here is a fast solution.

Solution:

Read patiently I won't tell u to install chrome again in full. I will show a fast method to this solution using the online installer but not installing it in full. Download chrome online installer. Now open the taskmanager (ctrl + alt + del), and keep a watch on the processes tab. Start the ChromeSetup.exe file which you just downloaded. As soon as you see a process called Googleupdate.exe in the processes tab exit the installation. That's it, this will install the Googleupdate.exe. Now goto google chrome and try update. It won't show error:3 anymore.

Cuil Launch: Will it really kill Google? Naaaaaaa

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:14:00 +0000

Cuil launched itself. It was tipped as the 'Google killer'. It failed in the most basic search. Try out the key word 'cuil launch' in cuil and google. Google passed the result, but Cuil couldn't come up with a relevant search in the first page. So Google lives longer ;) Isn't it?

Is Google going the Microsoft way??

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:27:00 +0000

Today I noticed Google has changed it's favicon (it is the icon which we see beside the website name in our internet browser, it is circled in red in the picture below) for most of its product website. It seems that Google is concentrating on looks also. Maybe the future has begun where Google will belt out products with flashy and glassy finish. Now the $1million question is "Is Google going the Microsoft way??"

Gmail's new loading interface

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:01:00 +0000

Today while logging on to gmail, I pleasantly found that the 'loading..' page has changed quite a bit. Now a progress bar is there and most importantly a link at the bottom to switch to the basic HTML view. This feature is great considering the fact that whenever I went to slow internet cafes to check my gmail, very few times did I succeed. Kudos to Google for putting so much thought behind their work. My fondness for Google seems to grow everytime.