Sharique's not so technical blog.

OpenSuse 12.1 - My new primary OS

2011-11-29T23:38:00.001+05:30

OpenSuse 12.1 was released just few days back. I was expecting it to be the update of all the components. I downloaded the KDE live CD, burn it to DVD. I normally install linux using live USB drives, created using UnetBootin utility, which method does not work well for OpenSuse. Official method of installing from Live use drive is specified here http://en.opensuse.org/Live_USB_stick. This method has a problem that if format the USB drive in ext3 filesystem, so it cannot be used as regular storage device.

Installation run smoothly, installation from Live version asked lesser questions comparatively lesser then DVD installation, like, software selection etc.. For boot loader configuration it still shows "boot loader 128 GB" error, it is there since 11.3. So decided not to install boot loader at all, I have Kubuntu 11.10 installed on other partition of the HDD, so I used that boot loader. Automatic partition detection was really smart, it properly detected my home partition and mount point was set to /home, my existing OpenSuse partition was detected and set it "format and mount point to /", this is really nice thing. Rest of the installation went smoothly.

Since I have not installed the boot loader from OpenSuse, I have to boot into Kubuntu to update boot loader configuration, I used StartUp Manager. It is a very nice utility, I don't have to do anything except running and closing this application. It automatically detect and update the boot loader configuration. Then rebooted into OpenSuse, it automatically logged into the first user. I did not find any big change in booting time, it takes about a min to get to the my KDE desktop. All my hardware and peripherals were detected properly including WiFi. I tested Audio quality by playing a couple of mp3 files and experience audio quality much better than as with 11.4 but maximum sound volume is much lower than the previous release. After first boot I was greeted by default OpenSuse KDE desktop, Since I'm using existing home partition, I was expecting same old desktop that I have configured in Kubuntu. It looks like OpenSuse is using .kde4 folder for KDE settings instead of .kde as in Kubuntu and other distros. I think because OpenSuse still supports KDE3.

Drivers and apps
The first thing is ATI drivers, I followed this instructions from OpenSuse wiki. It works fine, I was having problem getting fglrx driver working in Kubuntu. In recent few releases fglrx driver have some issues, specially related to Gnome3. I installed 11.11 version of fglrx (or Catalyst Driver Suit), it still have some problems with Gnome3. KDE has BlueDevil app for bluetooth devices, it was not included in Live CD version. BlueDevil did not work well for me, I'm not able to transfer file via bluetooth. Next task is to install multimedia applications. I'm using VLC these days as default video player. Flash player 11.1 64-bit is also available in Non-OSS repo. Other applications that I installed are Opera, Thunderbird, QBittorrent, Skype, Google Chome, Google Earth and Wine.

After using for a week, I'm pretty happy with the performance and stability of OpenSuse. Over all experience is quite smooth, much better than Kubuntu 11.10. OpenSuse KDE still remains the most polished KDE among all other distros. OpenSuse 12.1 is going to be default OS on my laptop, until I find a better OS. I'll give it 4.5 out of 5.

Phonetic comparison of strings

2011-11-24T23:49:00.000+05:30

I was working on data clean up to some schools database. Data can be in any language.
One of the thing that I have to as part of this, is to find possible duplicates. First we tried out soundex algorithm, which has build in sql server, it is a good algorithm but is most suitable names and surnames (as it was developed for use in census ). Next algorithm we tried is Levenshtien distance, this takes 2 strings and gives no of character different in both strings. For a table with 10k rows for checking one field for possible duplicates it was taking about 15 min, which is quite long. Levenshtien does not well for string with spaces.
Which make reduces its usefulness very much.
So I searched around for few better algorithms. I found a soundex derivative 'Daitch–Mokotoff Soundex' , but it is also for surname with Slavic and Germanic support. Another one I found is Metaphone, which is suitable for most English words, but it is somewhat suitable for english related language (like spanish), but for language like japanese,korean etc.. it doesn't work at all. For strings with spaces it is not much accurate.
There is an improved version of Metaphone named Double-Metaphone. On language wise it is same as Metaphone. For strings with spaces it is much better, it identifies both "bank of india" and "bankofindia" as
same, while non of other algorithm is able to find it. Here are the queries and there output

select soundex('bank of india'),soundex('bankofindia')
-- B520, B521
select dbo.Levenshtein('bank of india','bankofindia')
--NULL
select dbo.Metaphone('bank of india'),dbo.Metaphone('bankofindia')
--bnk of int, bnkfnt
select dbo.DoubleMetaPhone('bank of india'),dbo.DoubleMetaPhone('bankofindia')
--PNKFNPNKFN,PNKFNPNKFN

SUSE Studio: Using AutoYaST for customizing your appliance on first boot

2011-07-01T12:35:00.000+05:30

SUSE Studio: Using AutoYaST for customizing your appliance on first boot

2010-01-29T22:48:00.001+05:30

I found this fascinating quote today:

As a part of the new, experimental PuneTech video series, we interviewed Anand Soman, CEO of Pune-based startup Infinishare, and serial entrepreneur. Infinishare provides software for a host of internet enabled devices, including digital photoframe devices, digital displays, home internet devices. They provide a full software stack for such devices, but their core IP is in device-to-cloud, and device-to-device communications.punetech.com, PuneTech, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

policykit configuration

2009-10-28T11:31:00.001+05:30

I installed ubuntu 9.04 on my cousine's machine along side of windows. When I try to access windows (ntfs) partition it ask me for root password everytime to mount them. This can easily disabled by changing few settings in polocykit. Go to System->Administration -> Authorisations and search for mount

Than add appropriate user to allow list. In constrains either select none.

Drupal 7 preview

2009-09-06T20:37:00.001+05:30

i installed latest development snapshot of Drupal 7. I found that a lot things have been changed. Whole core is rewritten with PHP 5.2 as base to utilize improvements done in language, like pdo, better timezone handling, etc and few important modules have been moved to core.
Database layer is rewritten using pdo, now it supports more databases.jquery ui is added to core. cck and jqury plugin manager is moved into core.
Seven is the new admin theme, it is single column theme. 1st september was expected to be release date of beta of Drupal 7 but there is a lot work still remain to do.

windows 7 rc in virtual box

2009-05-31T13:06:00.001+05:30

I'm running windows 7 rc in virtual box.win7 rc seems to be well polished, there are alot things which looks similar to kde4, but they are well funished. Win7 is runnig very smooth even without guest tools.

mono is extending .net

2009-05-12T19:48:00.001+05:30

As part of our ongoing Embrace and Extend.NET series (SIMD, supercomputing), today I wanted to talk about the Mono.Tasklets library that has just landed on Mono's repository.
This library will become part of the Mono 2.6 release.
Mono.Tasklets is the Mono-team supported mechanism for doing continuations, microthreading and coroutines in the ISO CLI. It is based on Tomi Valkeinen's excellent work on co-routines for Mono.
Unlike the work that we typically do in Mono which is pure C# and will work out of the box in .NET (even our Mono.SIMD code will work on .NET, it will just run a lot slower) Mono.Tasklets requires changes to the VM that are not portable to other ISO CLI implementations.

Read more at http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2009/Apr-09.html

Colomanager : first release of my open source project

2009-05-10T00:21:00.000+05:30

Color Manager is color palatte management application. It is very useful for designers, specially web designers. It let you create a palatte for each project. It store data in xml file.
This application is alpha stage, So don't expect it to work smoothly.

Curretly I'm working on this only during holidays, so development will be slow. This application is written some time back. I'm thinking about rewritting this application using .Net 3.5 .

Current 0.1 version is basd on .net 2.0. All future versions will based on 3.5.

Download
Your comments and feedbacks are welcome.

opensuse repair is awesome

2009-03-16T19:38:00.001+05:30

I installed OpenSuse 11.1 on my machine. I have done kde4/kde3/gnome installation. It takes about 40-45 minutes. After instaltion I installed Nvidia driver, nvidia driver has installed new kernel (containing trace in name). When I changed boot order to make trace default kernel, grub is installed on root partition than MBR, so my system become unbootable.
I got only 2 days of holidays. I come to know abt this problem after I returned to my work city (Indore) from Home (Khandwa). So I could not fix the problem. So I have to fix it via phone. My brother booted the system with Opensuse 11.1 dvd. My brother is not very technical person but he is advace-level PC user. We have never used recover/rescue installed system option. We selected automated recovery mode. It first checks all partitions and packages, all of them found is good state, setup found error boot loader configuration, we loaded boot loader configuration from disk and found that grub is installed on root partition instead of MBR. We changed the location to MBR and installed. Repairer ( repaire mode installer) still shows boot loader configuration error. We decided to ignore and reboot the system. After reboot everything is on properplace. It is so easy. My brother get surprised to see how simple to fix the linux installtion.
OpenSuse team has done a great job.

10 things Linux does better than OS X

2009-03-10T19:25:00.001+05:30

10 things Linux does better than OS X | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

OS X is heralded for its friendliness, but according to Jack Wallen, it falls short in many other respects. Find out why he says Linux is superior in everything from flexibility to portability to cost.

It may sound strange, seeing as how OS X is based on a Linux variant and is widely considered to be the most user-friendly operating system available, but Linux does a number of things better than everyone’s favorite iOperatingSystem. Before you shun the thought, read on. You might be surprised at your resulting opinion.
Flexibility
Open source
Command line
Hardware requirements
Security
Portability
Cost
More available software
Not so dumbed-down
Keyboard efficiency

10 ways to go green with Linux

2009-03-08T14:38:00.001+05:30

10 ways to go green with Linux | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

From reduced packaging to energy savings to extended equipment lifecycles, Linux can help you green up your tech environment. Jack Wallen looks at some of the eco-friendly benefits of running Linux.

If you’re not beginning to think green, you’re a release behind. In today’s world you have to think green. But how do you do that without installing a roof of solar panels? If you are using (or thinking of using) Linux, you’re one step ahead of the competition.

In this article, you will find 10 solid ways to start thinking green in your IT department. It’s responsible, it’s smart, and it’ll save you money and time on this great planet.

Reduced landfill
Powertop
Netbooks
Zonbu
Money savings
Less energy-demanding desktops
Custom-compiled kernel
Kpowersave, ACPI, and other power-saving tools
Migration from Windows Server
Only the daemons you need to run

10 things Linux does better than Windows

2009-03-08T14:34:00.001+05:30

10 things Linux does better than Windows | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

If you tallied up the strengths and weaknesses of Linux and Windows, which OS would come out ahead? According to Jack Wallen, superiority in security, flexibility, interoperability, community, and command-line power (among other things) put Linux well ahead. See if you agree with his assessment.

Throughout my 10+ years of using Linux, I have heard about everything that Windows does better than Linux. So I thought it time to shoot back and remind everyone of what Linux does better than Windows. Of course, being the zealot that I am, I could list far more than 10 items. But I will stick with the theme and list only what I deem to be the 10 areas where Linux not only does better than Windows but blows it out of the water

#1: TCO
#2: Desktop
#3: Server
#4: Security
#5: Flexibility
#6: Package management
#7: Community
#8: Interoperability
#9: Command line
#10: Evolution

my test report using Sunspider benchmark

2009-02-17T19:11:00.001+05:30

Sunspider is a javascript benchmark, it is used to test performance of
your browser.
I run sunspider bench mark test report on my machine. here are the results

chrome 1.0.154.46
3326.8ms
firefox 3.0.6
14449.4ms
ie8rc1
12985.2ms

If you want to run this test on your browser, go to this link.
http://www2.webkit.org/perf/sunspider-0.9/sunspider-driver.

open suse11.1

2009-01-26T22:13:00.000+05:30

installation is pretty smooth. This time i decided to for default Kde4 installtion, no customisation, I did this to get system up and running as early as possible. Package installtion takes 10 min which good. Ubuntu also takes 10 minues.

Booting is fast (same as 11.0). All me hardware is detcted and configured properly.system wors quite smoothly. kde4 loads faster than kde3. flash provided with distro is 32 bit. so I download 64 bit flash player. I also tried to install 64-bit jre (update 12 preview) but it did not work for me,(let me know how to make it work).
Kde 4 included is quite workable. I used for 2 days and find stable. There are some features missing in kde, like info bar in konqi.
kde4.2 will be out in few days.
Gnome is also works except few gliches. I miss class application menu in gnome. Shut down and restart did not work as expected, they just log me out of current session.

Queen Rania: what's happening in Gaza is a crisis of human dignity

2009-01-26T21:37:00.001+05:30

Queen Rania: what's happening in Gaza is a crisis of human dignity

Zimbabwe infaltion at 11,268,758.9%

2008-09-05T22:22:00.000+05:30

Zimbabwe inflation is at 11,268,758.9% .
Communal violence can be so dangerous.

people can buy 3 eggs with 100million Zimbabwe dollars. Just think how people will be living there.
We should look around the world and must learn from others mistakes (sin also small for current situation of Zimbabwe).

read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwean_dollar

Advice on diet for Ramadan

2008-09-03T22:57:00.000+05:30

BBC - Religion & Ethics - Ramadan: Health advice

Advice on diet

During years where Ramadan falls in the winter, and the long hot days of the summer a mere distant memory, most of the health problems are likely to arise from inappropriate diet, over-eating and insufficient sleep. Firstly, there is no need to consume excess food at Iftar (the food eaten immediately after sunset to break the fast), dinner or Sahur (the light meal generally eaten about half an hour to one hour before dawn).

The reasons for this are two-fold. Firstly and most importantly such a lifestyle contradicts the principal aims and spirit of Ramadan. A learned scholar once said that "There is no receptacle more odious to God, than a belly stuffed full of food after a fast" and therefore "of what use is the Fast as a means of conquering God's enemy and abating appetite, if at the time of breaking it one not only makes up for all one has missed during the daytime, but perhaps also indulges in a variety of extra foods?" Indeed, there is a concern that it is becoming customary for some to "stock up" for Ramadan, so that more is consumed during this time than in the course of several other months combined. It is therefore worth reflecting on the true objective of fasting which is to experience hunger and to check desire in an attempt to reinforce the soul in piety.

Secondly, the body has regulatory mechanisms that reduce the metabolic rate and ensure efficient utilization of the body's fat reserves in times of hunger. Add to this the fact that most people assume a more sedentary lifestyle whilst fasting and the implication is that a balanced diet that is even less in quantity that normal will be sufficient to keep a person healthy and active during the month of Ramadan.

Greatest event come to end.

2008-08-25T00:23:00.000+05:30

This Olympics are the most memorable Olympics of history. People will remember for many-many years to come. Whole world is impressed with it. I don't think this could be possible if it wasn't hosed in China. This Olympics is going to change the image of China. They used it show their history, traditions and culture.

For it the greatest event ever I seen in my life. It really "THE BEST" one could expect.
It brings sportsman in me come alive.
Thank you Beijing.

Details of video

"Theme song for the 100-day countdown celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, music by Xiao Ke and original lyrics by Lam Jik (Hong Kong). The melody of the song was inspired by a local Beijing ballad called "Shui Niu", which are snails that come out on rainy days. Children in Beijing like to sing songs to attract these little creatures to come out of their shells. For those of you wondering where's Andy Lau, he has his own Olympic song: "Everbody Is No.1" For those of you wondering where's Jay Chou, he has his own Olympic song: "千山万水" For those of you wondering where's S.H.E, Jacky Cheung and Wilber Pan, they have their own Olympic song: "红遍全球"
Lyrics:
Chen Tianjia: Welcoming another dawn, bringing fresh new air.

Liu Huan: The air changes, but sentiment still scents of fragrant tea.

Na Ying: The doors of my home open wide, awaiting you with open arms.

Stefanie Sun (Singapore): After an embrace there will be understanding, you will love this place.
Sun Yue: From far or near you're all our guests, please don't be shy .

Wang Leehom (Taiwan): We've promised to get together, we welcome you Han Hong: We've planted evergreens, blooming every legend .

Chau Wakin (Hong Kong): We've sown the ancient earth, for memories to be cherished .
Gigi Leung (Hong Kong): Strangers or friends you're all our guests, please be at home Yuquan: No matter how many times you've been here, we've much to talk about.

Jackie Chan (Hong Kong): Beijing welcomes you We've opened our world for you .

Richie Ren (Taiwan): Its charming tides of change teems with life .

Jolin Tsai (Taiwan): Beijing welcomes you Sharing a breath beneath the sun Sun Nan: Setting new records upon the yellow earth.

Zhou Bichang: The doors of my home open wide, embracing the heavens and the earth .
Wei Wei: History flashes a youthful smile, welcoming this day .

Huang Xiaoming: The whole world is our friend, please don't be shy .
Han Geng: Pictures and poems painted with smiles, all to await you .

Wang Feng: Beijing welcomes you Moving you like music .

Karen Mok (Hong Kong): Let's all try our best to excel ourselves.
Tan Jing: Beijing welcomes you With dreams, anyone's a winner.

Eason Chan (Hong Kong): With courage there will be miracles.

Yan Weiwen: Beijing welcomes you We've opened our world for you.
Dai Yuqiang: Its charming tides of change teems with life.

Wang Xia, Li Shuangsong: Beijing welcomes you Sharing a breath beneath the sun.
Liao Changyong: Setting new records upon the yellow earth.
Lin Yilun: Beijing welcomes you Moving you like music.

Jang Nara (Korea): Let's all try our best to excel ourselves.

JJ Lin (Singapore), Ah Du (Singapore): Beijing welcomes you With dreams, anyone's a winner With courage there will be miracles Beijing opera: Beijing welcomes you.

Joey Yung (Hong Kong): The doors of my home open wide, awaiting you with open arms.
Li Yuchun: After an embrace there will be understanding, you will love this place.

David Wong (Hong Kong): From far or near you're all our guests, please don't be shy.

Chen Kun: We've promised to get together, we welcome you.

Nicholas Tse (Hong Kong): Beijing welcomes you We've opened our world for you .
Han Lei: Its charming tides of change teems with life.

Vivian Hsu (Taiwan): Beijing welcomes you Sharing a breath beneath the sun.
Fei Xiang (Taiwan): Setting new records upon the yellow earth.

Tang Can: The doors of my home open wide, embracing the heavens and the earth.

Lin Chi-ling (Taiwan), Zhang Zilin: History flashes a youthful smile, welcoming this day.
Jane Zhang: The whole world is our friend, please don't be shy.

Valen Hsu (Taiwan), Sky Wu (Taiwan): Pictures and poems painted with smiles, all to await you.
Yang Kun, FanFan (Taiwan): Beijing welcomes you Moving you like music.

Yu Hungming (Taiwan), Zhou Xiao'ou: Let's all try our best to excel ourselves.
Sha Baoliang,
Man Wenjun: Beijing welcomes you With dreams, anyone's a winner.

Peter Ho (Taiwan), Jin Haixin: With courage there will be miracles.

F.I.R. (Taiwan), Pang Long: Beijing welcomes you We've opened our world for you.

Kenji Wu (Taiwan), Qi Feng: Its charming tides of change teems with life.

5566 (Taiwan), Anson Hu: Beijing welcomes you Sharing a breath beneath the sun.

Yumiko Cheng (Hong Kong), Dao Lang: Setting new records upon the yellow earth.

Ji Minjia, Tu Honggang, Denis Ng (Hong Kong): Beijing welcomes you Moving you like music.

Guo Rong, Will Liu (Taiwan), Tengger: Let's all try our best to excel ourselves.

Kym Jin Sha, Allen Su, Wei Jia: Beijing welcomes you With dreams, anyone's a winner.

Fu Lishan, Shawn Huang, Jaycee Chan (Hong Kong): With courage there will be miracles.

All: Beijing welcomes you With dreams, anyone's a winner With courage there will be miracles.

All: Beijing welcomes you With dreams, anyone's a winner With courage there will be miracles.
"

Thank you Beijing.

People like Olympics Hostess more than cheerleaders

2008-08-24T23:59:00.001+05:30

People all over the world like Olympics hostess more than skimpy cheerleader. It is very clear that you can't attract people showing off your body. People like decency and simplicity.
These girls have gone through long training for this. These girls true
representative of Chinese beauty and traditional values. (I wanna one
of them.)

Closing ceremony of Beijing Olympics draws world attention, praise

2008-08-24T23:26:00.000+05:30

Closing ceremony of Beijing Olympics draws world attention, praise_English_Xinhua

The closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics Sunday night has drawn worldwide attention and Beijing's successful hosting of the Games has earned global applause.

Dana Abdulrazak - most heroic runner

2008-08-24T23:01:00.000+05:30

Only female athlete from Iraq. She is a real hero, who come from war torn country.

Olympic "superlatives" to be remembered_English_Xinhua

Dana Abdulrazak - most heroic runner

Photo taken on Aug. 21, 2008 shows Iraqi athlete Dana Hussein Abdulrazak hold a Chinese knot in Beijing, China.

Iraqi women runner Dana Abdul-Razzaq has received as loud applause as champions. The Iraqi team's only woman faced many obstacles to reach Beijing, from a sniper's bullets to a lack of training facilities and religious and cultural opposition to female athletes.

Before the Olympics, she was told that Iraq was shut out of the international sports gala. When her coach consoled her by saying that she could take part in the 2012 Olympics, she broke into tears, "who knows if I could live that long!"

Olympics viral Video

2008-08-22T23:43:00.000+05:30

Alex Puskitas is a fictional, underdog athlete that incorporates all we want to express with the «Best of Us» campaign. He is capable of overcoming the odds and ‘bringing out his best’ in order to achieve his goals. He symbolizes the spirit of the athlete - the participation and striving to be your best.

London 'blown away' by Beijing Olympics: Boris

2008-08-21T22:31:00.000+05:30

Mr. Boris is impressed very much with Beijing Olympics so I'm. This olympics will be remember for many years to come.
AFP: London 'blown away' by Beijing Olympics: Boris

Speaking in Beijing, where the Olympic flag will be formally passed to him at Sunday's closing ceremony, Johnson said the huge spectacle of this year's event was an inspiration to London organisers.

"I think I speak for millions of people in the UK, when I say we have been dazzled, we have impressed, we have been blown away by these Beijing Games but we have not been intimidated," he told reporters.

"And in our own sweet way, without wasting taxpayers money, I am absolutely convinced that we can do just as well in 2012."

Johnson said Britain's medal successes over the past three weeks -- their best performance for 100 years -- had provided the London Games with a real boost.

"The Games are changing the public perception of the Olympics ... Olympo-sceptics are being rapidly converted," he said, insisting that the Games would stay within its 9.3 billion pound budget.

Johnson said he had not raised the issue of human rights when he had met with Beijing officials. China has faced international criticism on issues ranging from its jailing of dissidents to its censorship of the Internet.

"I think millions of people in Britain and in London are deeply concerned obviously about human rights in China," he said.

"But I feel very strongly that these Games offer a fantastic opportunity for China to open up to the rest of the world ... and for China to understand how the rest of the world thinks about China."

I'm alienated

2008-07-19T01:10:00.001+05:30

many times I feel alienated by friends. I'm the person who stick to his values, I give more important to being right than being winner. I cannot focus on multiple things at a time. They like me, but they never make feel that I'm part their group/team. They never involve me in their things like party or study session. I feel this more during my collage days.
Perhaps today's world in not for good people. I feel that this what all other people feel, who want to live with their religious values. Some says you are to good to be considered as good.

Make me feel my existence.