Tech Lounge 101

Sync And Collaboration Tool `SparkleShare` 1.2 Released [Ubuntu PPA] ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-10-08T06:53:00.001-07:00

SparkleShare is an open source cloud collaboration/synchronization tool that uses Git under the hood and can be used with your own Git repository or with services such as BitBucket, GitHub, Gitorious and Plan.io.

Read more here:
Sync And Collaboration Tool `SparkleShare` 1.2 Released [Ubuntu PPA] ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

RCA's Internet Music System blends detachable Android tablet, boombox - Engadget

2013-10-02T05:05:00.001-07:00

Though RCA has slipped from electronics giant to maker of niche products, it's just announced an intriguing music streaming system that is rumored to cost $178 at Walmart, according to Android Police. The Internet Music System (has RCA firedits branding department?) features a removable Android tablet of as-yet unknown size that plays music via Bluetooth to the docking amp and speakers.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Review - Engadget

2013-10-01T19:41:00.001-07:00

When we speak of smartwatches, what do you think of first? If you're the nostalgic type, your mind might drift back to Dick Tracy, or to those times when Michael Knight yelled at KITT to help get him out of impossibly tight spots (which, let's face it, was nearly every single episode).

Read more here:
Samsung Galaxy Gear Review

Olympus Touch and Try Event Kuala Lumpur : OM-D E-M1 (Photos and Videos)

2013-09-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Football Manager 2014 Release Date Announced ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-09-16T22:36:00.001-07:00

Sports Interactive has announced that Football Manager 2014 will be released on October 31.

As you probably know, the popular football (soccer) management simulation game will finally be available for Linux with this release.

Read more here:
Football Manager 2014 Release Date Announced ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

Dell Vostro 5460 Ubuntu Edition Review

2013-09-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

Very slick metal lid

The Dell Vostro Ultrabook is really thin, just because the DVD drive component is not present

Applications that come out of the box, and some that are installed via PPA repositories and the Ubuntu Software Center

Power button on the side of the keyboard

This is before Bumblebee was installed

After Bumblebee was installed

Form Factor

Very thin, very light. The lid has a metal finish which I like.

Performance

Performance of the Vostro 5460 is adequate, powered by an Intel 3rd Generation Core i5 Processor.

Gaming

Gaming is superb, ever since the Bumblebee graphics switching module has been out for more than a year now. 2GB of video RAM is more than adequate to render graphics nicely.

You can test the graphics rendering via command line using

optirun glxspheres (using default OpenGL)

optirun -b primus glxspheres (using the primus module)

There are a lot of Steam games can be played these days, such as Bastion, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Dungeon Defenders, Counter-Strike and Psychonauts. There are also Linux games sold via the Humble Bundle to play with. You just have to keep on a lookout for those games bundle.

In order to leverage the primus libraries with optirun, insert the following line into a game's Launch Options in Steam:

optirun -b primus %command%

For instructions on how to install Bumblebee on Ubuntu 13.04 and below, follow the guide here.

Office Productivity

Office applications can actually be done on the Ubuntu operating system:

- LibreOffice for word processing

- GIMP and Shotwell for editing and managing photos

- Firefox or Google Chrome for web surfing

Battery Life

Battery life was worse when the Bumblebee module was not installed in the Vostro 5460, and it's ashamed that it doesn't come right out of the box.

However when it's installed, you will get approximately 6 hours of battery life if you use it normally for word processing and web surfing.

Price

It's very cheap! RM1899 to have the basic specifications with 4GB RAM and graphics card bundled together. You can probably use some extra money to bump up the RAM to 8 GB or 16GB depending on your workload requirements, as well as change the HDD to an SSD for better read/write performance.

Customization
You can customize desktop environments to your liking, whether you want to use the Unity Desktop, or Gnome Desktop, known as the Gnome Shell. Personally I find the Gnome Desktop Environment more productive as you can navigate your opened windows using hot corners, as well as using dynamic workspaces.

Verdict

I think I like the Dell Vostro, simply because it's thin and light enough, and it packs a punch. Surely you'll get the bang for your buck if you're a student or a software developer like myself. In addition to that, you will save a lot since you don't have to buy a Microsoft Windows license, most probably a reason why it can be priced so cheap.

Known Issues
1. When you connect Ubuntu based laptops/ultrabooks to a 1080p external monitor, the external monitor will not display the correct resolution. However, there is a way to cater to that using the xrandr command in the command line.

2. Audio output bug. It seems like the subwoofer is not working. Windows users of this machine doesn't have this problem. The bug is reported in the Launchpad bug tracker website.

Additional Note
The Bumblebee graphics switching module will be merged into Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander sometime in October. This means you don't have to add the PPA package for Bumblebee anymore.

Stay tuned for more reviews from Tech Lounge 101...

Asus "We Transform" Event : New Products Lineup

2013-08-16T20:54:00.002-07:00

Asus Malaysia organized the "We Transform" Event and Roadshow, and revealed new products being the Fonepad Note 6, the MeMO Pad HD 7 with a range of accessories, the 5 inch Padfone Infinity with a 10.1 inch tablet dock, the Vivobook Touch S500 series ultrabooks, and the new Asus N550 series laptop, and revamped A series laptops.

Note: Fonepad FHD6 and the Padfone Infinity are only for showcase preview for this event.

Musical performance with Asus tablets and ultrabook

The MeMO Pad HD 7 with interchangeable accessory covers

The highest specs of the N550 series laptop, apparently comes with the 4th generation Intel Haswell chipset, with Nvidia discrete graphics

Vivobook S500 Series

Asus Padfone Infinity, a 5 incher Android phone with a 10.1 inch tablet dock

Fonepad Note 6

So far what I'm pretty excited about is the Haswell based Asus N550 series laptops and how the battery life stands in real cases. And it's probably good for open source users, or software developers in specific, to adopt this laptop and install an alternative operating system on it.

The MeMO Pad HD7 is catered to general consumers that wants an affordable tablet, same goes with Vivobook S500 series touch enabled ultrabooks.

Asus Padfone Infinity is promising too, provided that the consumers don't mind having a non-working tablet form factor if the phone detaches from the dock. But looking at how the screen density and layout "transforms" into a tablet, it's really impressive since Asus is the first to come up with this concept and implementation. Could have wished for Asus to just sell the phone only, as an option.

Fonepad Note 6 caters for consumers who wants an all-rounder phone-tablet. It even comes with the stylus. A contender to the Samsung Galaxy Note series.

Stay tuned for more updates from Tech Lounge 101.

The New Nexus 7 Malaysia : First Impressions

2013-08-15T06:53:00.001-07:00

And so Google collaborated with Asus again to develop a newer version of the Nexus 7 tablet. Let's get to it.

Brushed body of the new Nexus 7, with the horizontal Nexus logo, and the back camera

The IPS display and the front facing camera

Power button and the volume rocker

Nothing here...

3.5mm headphone jack

The micro USB charging port

Impressions:

Brushed body looks and feels much better than the previous Nexus 7 model and it's not flimsy anymore. The build quality is much improved, and it's lighter and thinner too.

Android 4.3 OS feels so much more responsive than the previous Nexus 7 too, since I'm using the previous Nexus 7 still.

According to the Country Manager of Asus Malaysia, the new Nexus 7 will arrive in Malaysian shores in mid September. So stay tuned.

More reviews coming soon. Perhaps I'll do a comparison between the 2nd generation Nexus 7 and the 1st generation one.

Sayonara - Lightweight Qt Music Player | OMG! Ubuntu!

2013-08-11T21:56:00.001-07:00

Has the halcyon days of music players for Linux passed? Judging by my own out put over these last few years it certainly feels like it.

Where once upon a time I was writing about at least one new music app a week there are now great long periods of silence.

Well, today I’m making some noise to talk about a relatively new music app called ‘Sayonara.’

Using Nvidia Graphics Drivers With Initial Optimus Support In Ubuntu 13.10 Got Easier With Nvidia-Prime ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-08-10T04:16:00.001-07:00

As you probably know, the Nvidia graphics drivers have received initial Optimus support a while back. Currently, the Nvidia GPU can be used to render the desktop, but there's no power saving yet. That means you can for instance play games or watch videos using hardware acceleration.

But to be able to take advantage of this feature in the latest Nvidia drivers, you need up-to-date dependencies (such as Randr 1.4, Xorg 1.13 - that's what the initial Nvidia release notes mention, but it seems you actually need 1.14 -, Linux Kernel 3.9 with some special flags enabled), as well as a custom xorg.conf file and some other bits.

Fedora 19 Available For Download ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-07-03T03:05:00.001-07:00

Fedora 19 "Schrödinger's Cat" has been released today, featuring the latest stable GNOME 3.8, a new initial setup and other interesting changes.

Read more here:
Fedora 19 Available For Download ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

SimpleScreenRecorder: Powerful Screen Recording Software For Linux ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-06-23T07:52:00.001-07:00

SimpleScreenRecorder is a Qt screen recorder for Linux which, despite its name, comes with more features than other similar tools. The application is very easy to use and the default settings should be enough for most cases, so usually you won't need to change any settings.

Read more here:
SimpleScreenRecorder: Powerful Screen Recording Software For Linux ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

Android 4.2 Stock Keyboard Now Available For Download, Unofficially | Pocketnow

2013-06-05T23:19:00.001-07:00

One of the new enhancements we saw yesterday with the launch of Android 4.2 is the fact that Google has implemented gesture functionality into the keyboard. I know many of you already know what that is through the Swipe keyboard, but Google has actually taken it to a whole new level of instant prediction. The problem is obviously the fact that you were limited to using it only if you have Android 4.2, and you guessed it, nobody does yet. Now if you want to give this keyboard a try, it’s already available for download under two scenarios:

Read more here:
Android 4.2 Stock Keyboard Now Available For Download, Unofficially | Pocketnow

LG Optimus G, Optimus L9, and Optimus L5 II Dual SIM Debuted in Malaysia

2013-05-24T10:24:00.002-07:00

And so LG and Brightstar has announced in the conference that Brightstar is their official local distributor for their latest Optimus smartphone lineup. For now they're debuting the Optimus G, Optimus L9, and Optimus L5 II Dual SIM, and more smartphones and perhaps tablets to come in the future.

The LG Optimus G

Click here for spec sheet

The LG Optimus L5 II Dual SIM

Click here for spec sheet

The LG Optimus L9

Click here for spec sheet

“LG has strong brand value with an amazing product roadmap. We are excited to bring the latest in mobile innovation from LG to Malaysian consumers and also play our part in promoting LG as a leading smartphone brand in the country,” said Eric Goh, Brand Director for Brightstar Malaysia.

“LG continues to develop the most advanced UX in order to provide unrivalled intelligent features designed to take maximum advantage of superior hardware in this era of LTE technology and large, high-resolution displays,” said Steve Kim, Country Sales Manager, LG Electronics. “We are pleased to partner with Brightstar in Malaysia. Its nation-wide network will allow us to increase availability of our most in-demand Optimus smartphones to consumers here.”

I think Google just auto-awesomed my burst photo shots

Free DJ Software `Mixxx` Sees New Release ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-05-17T04:09:00.001-07:00

Mixxx is an advanced free / open source DJ software for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. Among its main features are: parallel or split scratchable waveform displays, spinning vinyl widgets, MP3, OGG, WAVE, M4A / AAC, and FLAC playback with support for extra formats through plugins, Shoutcast and Icecast broadcasting, microphone support, automatic crossfading with Auto DJ, crates and playlists, reads iTunes, Traktor, and Rhythmbox libraries, pitch-independent time stretch, vinyl emulation, BPM detection and estimation and much more.

Half-Life 2 Games Available For Linux (Steam) ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-05-14T10:13:00.001-07:00

Quick update: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Half-Life 2: LostCoast are now available in Steam for Linux.

Read more here:
Half-Life 2 Games Available For Linux (Steam) ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

AngelHack Comes To Malaysia

2013-05-10T06:53:00.002-07:00

AngelHack, claimed the biggest hackathon (coding marathon) in the world, which is organized to inspire entrepreneurship and introduce new technologies (either hardware or software) to developers, is coming to Kuala Lumpur on June 8 - 9.

AngelHack kicked off in Los Angeles, travels to 30 cities to organize their events with approximately 6000 hackers participating, and later they'll be travelling to Asia with its few cities in mind such as Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, and even Kuala Lumpur. Entrepreneurs and startups mustn't miss this golden opportunity, polish their ideas with the founders and organizers of AngelHack, and win a trip to pitch their ideas in the Silicon Valley in the United States later this year.

Official Video on The Oculus Rift

iTrain, the information technology and online business training facility in Kuala Lumpur, which organizes trainings and offer locations for tech events, has just recently bought an Oculus Rift development kit, which is a pair VR goggles, specifically for gaming. Want to hack on the Oculus Rift and other kinds of cool devices? Join us in the AngelHack this June in Kuala Lumpur.

Register with AngelHack via this link below:
http://angelhackkl.eventbrite.com/

50 Beautiful Mobile UI Design with Amazing User Experience | Inspiration | Graphic Design Junction

2013-05-09T06:23:00.001-07:00

The actual fact of User Interface (UI) as well as User Experience (UX) is that both UI/UX are the two sides of the same coin. Both are keeping up the relationship between the users and their products. The User Interface (UI) describes the dealing with the as well as and the products, while another, the user experience (UX) is dealing with the user’s experience and the observation of the products. Moreover, simply saying, the User Interface (UI) deals with technical as well as formal features of a site and the user experience (UX) is dealing with the understanding and response to the user.

Read more here:
50 Beautiful Mobile UI Design with Amazing User Experience | Inspiration | Graphic Design Junction

Root HTC One (M7) and Install ClockworkMod Recovery on It

2013-05-07T07:49:00.001-07:00

Android is the only operating system for mobile devices for which has so many renowned OEMs who manufacture devices but HTC is different from others OEMs in that it only makes smartphones. As a result, an HTC flagship device clearly defines the rest of the product portfolio below it. So when you talk of the HTC One (codenamed M7), you talk about the best of the Taiwanese company put into a beautifully designed unibody Aluminium hood.

The device comes with the latest and most revolutionary version of the OEM’s Sense 5 UI further supported with a Qualcomm APQ8064T Snapdragon 600 chipset, new Ultrapixel camera, HTC Boom Sound, HTC Blink feed, HTC Zoe and a myriad other things. HTC One is considered the most eligible contender to Samsung’s Galaxy S4.

The phone was released just the last month and the development work for it has already begun with fast pace. If you own this superphone and wish to root it and install the ClockworkMod recovery on it, we are here with a step-by-step tutorial that’ll make the course easy-going for you.

Root Android 4.2.1 On Nexus 4, 7, 10 And Galaxy Nexus [How-To Tutorial] | Redmond Pie

2013-04-28T07:46:00.001-07:00

Android 4.2.1 Update is barely out the door, bringing with it all the bug fixes and patches, along with the much-needed and missing “December” from the People app. A new version of Android always means one thing in particular – wait time for a new root method or package for the latest update. Well, thanks to the wonderful developer community that we have all come to trust and love, wait is over, or rather, got over long before you knew it, because Android 4.2.1 is also rootable on all the devices – Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Galaxy Nexus – just like its predecessor was. The method has no bells and whistles attached to it, either, and involves flashing a custom recovery and pushing the SU binaries to your device. We’ll guide you how just past the jump.

Read more here:
Root Android 4.2.1 On Nexus 4, 7, 10 And Galaxy Nexus [How-To Tutorial] | Redmond Pie

How to Resize Your Ubuntu Partitions

2013-04-27T07:27:00.001-07:00

Whether you want to shrink your Ubuntu partition, enlarge it, or split it up into several partitions, you can’t do this while it’s in use. You’ll need a Ubuntu live CD or USB drive to edit your partitions.

The Ubuntu live CD includes the GParted partition editor, which can modify your partitions. GParted is a full-featured, graphical partition editor that acts as a frontend to a variety of Linux terminal commands.

Read more here:
How to Resize Your Ubuntu Partitions

How To Install Oracle Java 7 (JDK) In Ubuntu ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-04-26T06:57:00.001-07:00

As you probably know, Oracle Java (JVM/JDK) will not be available in the Debian / Ubuntu repositories anymore because Oracle retired the "Operating System Distributor License for Java" (JDL) and the only release available in the repositories will be OpenJDK.

Read more:
How To Install Oracle Java 7 (JDK) In Ubuntu ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

7 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-04-26T06:51:00.001-07:00

Ubuntu 13.04 will be available for download in a few hours and since many of you will be installing it as soon as it's released, here are 7 useful things you can do right after the installation.

Source:
7 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

Audacious 3.4 Beta 1 Released [Ubuntu PPA] ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-04-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

The first Audacious 3.4 beta version is available for download. Audacious is a fast, lightweight music player which comes with numerous plugins and two interfaces: a Winamp-like interface (it even supports Winamp 2.x skins) and a GTK interface.

Source:
Audacious 3.4 Beta 1 Released [Ubuntu PPA] ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

BitTorrent Sync: Secure File Sync Between Computers Using P2P Technology [Public Alpha] ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

2013-04-24T07:32:00.001-07:00

BitTorrent Sync, a free to use (but not open source) tool that can be used to automatically synchronize files between computers using the BitTorrent protocol, is now available for all as public alpha. The application runs on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and NAS.

Source:
BitTorrent Sync: Secure File Sync Between Computers Using P2P Technology [Public Alpha] ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog