Technically me.....

Board: Minimizing a DFA QUICKLY

2021-01-21T13:56:00.001-08:00

Check-out my new video about "Minimize a DFA QUICKLY"

on my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/antoniobdacosta

The board work and worked out example discussed in the video are available below.

To help my channel I'd appreciate if you would
Like, Share, and Subscribe to my videos.

Cheers, and be kind!

-Antonio

Board: How to Minimize a DFA?

2021-01-13T10:19:00.004-08:00

Check-out my new video about "How to Minimize a DFA" (How to Minimize a DFA? - YouTube)
on my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/antoniobdacosta

The board work and worked out example discussed in the video are available below.

To help my channel I'd appreciate if you would
Like, Share, and Subscribe to my videos.

Cheers, and be kind!

-Antonio

Making Theory of Computation (Languages and Automata) PALATABLE

2021-01-13T10:11:00.002-08:00

During my undergrad days as a student, and post-grad days, the one constant complaint students had, was that studying the theory of computation was just too hard.

For those who don't know what the subject entails, here's a quick summary. The theory of computation studies the fundamentals of "computation"; that is to say, it is not about computers or how they work, their electronics, architecture etc., but instead on the fundamental mathematics that dictate what "computation" is, and what a "computer" can do. For instance, can a computer add two numbers? Ofcourse it can, but how do we prove that is can?

The theory of computation can be used to demonstrate that given a question (with a "yes/no" answer), can a computer answer the question decisively? It is important for computer scientists and engineers to study the theory of computation, because studying it provides a foundation for understanding programming languages, how they function, and whether a program to solve a problem can at all be written.

Imagine your manager coming to you and telling you to solve a problem, and you spend many man-hours trying to solve it, failing every time. The theory of computation could have been used to prove to your manager that the problem is either "unsolvable" or "only partially solvable under constraints".

I intend to prepare short, easy to understand videos for anyone who wishes to learn. I am open to feedback and proposals for me to create new content.

Each technical video will describe a concept, and will be approached from three perspectives:

1) Theory: These types of videos will explain the concept using theory, algorithms, proofs etc.
2) Intuition: These types of videos will use an example to motivate and provide the intuition behind the concept/algorithm.
3) Examples: These videos will apply the concept to solve problems.

Any and all feedback will be helpful. Cheers and be kind to each other!

LaTex - Increase Section Depth - \subsubsubsection = \paragraph

2015-05-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we need to go down to level 4, especially when using the Article class. At these times, it becomes necessary to find ways for typesetting sections at lower depth. To do that we use:

\paragraph{.}

To use sections (paragraphs), depth 4 and beyond, the following has worked for me:

```
\usepackage{titlesec}
```
```
\usepackage{titletoc}
```
```
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{5}
```
```
\setcounter{tocdepth}{5}
```

\titleformat{\paragraph} [hang] {\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries} {\theparagraph} {1em} {}

Then use \paragraph{.} instead of \subsubsubsection{.} to create sections at depth 4.

\setcounter{tocdepth}{5} instructs the compiler to add entries into the TOC upto depth 5.

Fixing your screen guard on "RIGHT"

2014-02-17T10:36:00.003-08:00

Here are some solutions that have worked for different people. Hope one of them works for you. I've tried them all. They are all good depending on your level of comfort and expertise. With those that use water, please be careful, as you might damage your device.

I would use a piece a tape and try to stick out all the particles off, but make sure you only tape out the particles and try not to stick it onto the sticky part.
Our screen protectors are washable. I would try using a mild soap then running the screen protector thru running water. Let the screen protector air dry (sticky face up).
1. Wash your protector with warm water and some type of soap.

2. Let it dry for around 5 minutes.

3. Wet it again, and let the water drip off of it, but make sure it still has some water on it.

4. Position it on your iPod/iPhone in the best possible position you can manage to get it in.

5. Squeegee the water out with a credit card and make sure there are no air bubble.

6. Let it set for a minute or so, so that it will be completely dry.
before anything, use a WET paper towel or screen cleaning set to clean your screen
1. pour water on the sticky side
2. get a wet tissue and while the sheet is still wet, gently scrape it.
3. then put it on the phone when its not completely dry.
4. drag the water out until you are satisfy, be patient with this step
5. be sure to clean the not sticky part after you are done with a WET towel or a screen cleaning set.
1) I "cleaned" the sticky side of the protector with alcohol and let dry.
2) After dry, ran over several times with regular scotch tape.
3) I cleaned my phone screen with a lint (eyeglass) cloth, but did not wet it.
4) Applied carefully using toothpicks, and squeegeed out the bubbles with a credit card.
5) As perfect as can be.
1. Pit scotch tape all the way over the screen protector and over the ends on the sticky part
2. Clean the screen with a TV cleaner or glasses cleaner
3.then place the sticky part on and slowly remove the tape while placing the screen protector on the screen

Important Numbers for Vodafone Subscribers

2014-01-14T21:52:00.001-08:00

These are some important numbers/codes for Vodafone Subscribers. They work for me. Hope they work for you too.

Balance Enquiry : *141#
SMS Balance : *141*1#
Internet Balance: *111*6*2#

Using Windows Store (Windows 8) Behind a proxy

2013-08-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hey,

If you are like me, and are working behind a proxy server in Windows 8, then you need this to get around the inability of metro style apps such as "Windows Store" to connect to the net via your proxy server.

Run this as the Administrator in the command prompt,

netsh
winhttp
import proxy source=ie

And restart any metro style apps that need the net.

Hope this worked for you like it did for me :)

Do you feel lost and confuzed about life?

2013-07-31T06:54:00.000-07:00

Here is some valuable wisdom that I found online. I will include the links and the text therein (just in case the links go dead).

1. http://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-ways-to-validate-be-part-of-your-support-system/

5 Ways to Validate Yourself: Be Part of Your Support System

By Lori Deschene

“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ~Louise L. Hay
We all have techniques we depend on to lift our spirits when we’re feeling down about ourselves or our lives.
A while back I realized something about the ones I’d found most effective when struggling to forgive or accept myself: Many of them involved seeking validation from other people.
Some of my most effective mood-boosters included:

Reading emails from readers who’d benefitted from my writing
Calling people I loved and reminding myself of how much they valued me
Sharing my experiences and recognizing through the resultant conversations that I wasn’t alone with my feelings and struggles

These are all perfectly valid approaches to feeling better, but they all hinge on praise and external support.
Getting help from others is only one part of the equation. We also need to be able to validate, support, and help ourselves.
I’ve come up with a few ideas to create a little more balance in my support system, making myself a more central part of it.
If you’re also looking to increase your capacity for self-soothing to depend less on validation from others, you may find these ideas helpful:

1. Make a “you” section in your daily gratitude journal.

Of course this assumes you already keep a gratitude journal to recognize and celebrate all the good things in your day. If you don’t, you can still take a few minutes every day to give yourself some credit.
Note down the things you’ve done well, the choices you’ve made that you’re proud of, the progress you’ve made, and even the things that required no action at all—for example, the time you gave yourself to simply be.
When you regularly praise yourself, self-validation becomes a habit you can depend on when you need it the most.

2. Before seeking external validation, ask yourself, “What do I hope that person tells me?” Then tell it to yourself.

Odds are you aren’t always looking for someone’s advice or opinion when you come to them with a painful story. You’re looking for them to confirm you didn’t do anything wrong—or that, if you did, you’re not a bad person for it.
Essentially, you’re looking for someone else to see the best in you and believe in you. Give yourself what you’re seeking from them before making that call. Then by all means, make it if you want to.
The goal isn’t to stop reaching out to others. It’s to also be there for yourself. Do that first.
The words you want to hear from someone else will be far more powerful if you fully believe what they’re saying.

3. Recognize when you’re judging your feelings.

If you’re in the habit of feeling bad about feeling down, or feeling bad about feeling insecure—or generally having emotional reactions to emotions—you will inevitably end up feeling stuck and helpless.
Get in the habit of telling yourself, “I have a right to feel how I feel.” This will help you understand your feelings and work through them much more easily, because you won’t be so deeply embedded in negativity about yourself.
Once you’ve accepted your feelings, you’ll then be free to seek support for the actual problem—not your self-judgment about having to deal with it.

4. See yourself as the parent to the child version of you.

I know this one might sound odd—bear with me! Many of us didn’t receive the type of love, support, and kindness we needed growing up, and this may have taught us to treat ourselves harshly and critically.
When you’re looking for that warm, fuzzy feeling that emerges when someone you trust tells you, “Everything is going to be okay,” imagine yourself saying it to your younger self.
Picture that little kid who tried so hard, meant no harm, and just wanted to be loved and cherished. This will likely help in deflating your self-criticism and fill you a genuine sense of compassion for yourself.
Once again, this doesn’t need to be an alternative to seeking compassion from others; it just provides a secure foundation from which you’ll be better able to receive that.

5. Get in the habit of ask yourself, “What do I need right now?”

Oftentimes when we’re feeling down on ourselves, we feel a (sometimes subconscious) desire to punish ourselves. When we reject or deprive ourselves in this way, we exacerbate our feelings because we then feel bad about two things: the original incident and the pain we’re causing ourselves.
If you’re feeling down, or down on yourself, ask yourself: “What does my body need? What does my mind need? What does my spirit need?” Or otherwise expressed: What will make you feel better, more stable, healthier, and more balanced?
You may find that you need to take a walk to feel more energized, take a nap to feel better rested, practice deep breathing to clear your head, or drink some water to hydrate yourself.
This is validating yourself in action. Whenever you address your needs, you reinforce to yourself that they are important, regardless of whatever you did or didn’t do previously.
One more thing has helped me tremendously in validating myself: accepting that it’s okay to need reminders like these. There was a time when I saw this as something shameful—an indication that other people who seemed self-assured were somehow better than me.
I wondered why self-kindness didn’t always come instinctively. But when I stopped judging myself, I remembered all the experiences that helped shape my critical inner voice. It wasn’t a sign of weakness that I needed to put in some effort; it was a sign of strength that I was willing to do it.
It’s one of life’s great ironies, that it feels so natural to feel bad about feeling bad. All this does is keep us stuck. When we stop blaming ourselves for having room to grow, we’re free to focus our energy on doing it.
Do you have any techniques for validating yourself?

2. 7 Important Questions to ask yourself today.

7 Important Questions to Ask Yourself Today

By Tim McAuley

“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.” ~Unknown
During the first week of July 2012, a storm left my little town and nearly one million other people in the Mid-Atlantic Region without electricity. The outage lasted eight days for Buffalo, Ohio, and we saw triple digits (F) each day.
I spent much of my free time in a hammock practicing my watching skills. I watched as I breathed in. I watched as I breathed out.
I watched thoughts pop up out of nowhere as I watched the leaves of two young oak trees dance in the hot, humid July breeze.
I think that week here in Ohio was as impactful as the 10-day Thich Nhat Hanh Retreat I experienced in October 2011.
It’s amazing to me the amount of perspective one can gain in such a short period of time.
The day the electricity was restored I decided to limit myself to just a few minutes on the Internet, which turned into an hour. I then returned to my hammock to watch my breath and my thoughts.
I wanted to make sure I understood the lessons of that week, and most of all I wanted to take with me the peace of mind I had rediscovered.
So, there I was—under those two trees listening to birds chirp in the absence of gas generators and watching my thoughts.
I brought with me a pen, a legal pad, and a few questions I thought would be helpful to answer before I plugged back in and continued to do what I do.

Question 1: What Brings Meaning to Your Experience?

As I asked this question to my “self,” I started to realize that my focus has been all over the place.
I have a long list of goals. I spent most of my life goofing off, and never thought I could do much of anything. Since I realized that I can do whatever I decide, setting and achieving goals has been fun for me.
After spending enough time asking this question, I realized that I have three major goals and a list of desired outcomes based on me reaching those goals.
This realization has narrowed my focus a great deal.
What brings meaning to your experience?

Question 2: How Do You Spend/Invest/Leverage Your Time?

Now that I have an idea of what is meaningful to me, it’s easy to look at my daily habits and see where it is I am being mindful of my use of time.
I love me some Facebook, but is it really helping me develop my primary goal—being calm, peaceful, and loving—or is it falsely fulfilling my “need” to feel connected?
I quickly realized I am better off by scheduling social network time as I do appointments. It’s actually been more effective in connecting with people.
This question is proving to be very valuable to me daily, and has morphed into “Is this the best use of your time and energy?”

Question 3: How Do You Feel?

A lot of my research lately has been focused on the limbic system. I’ve been studying stress hormones and breathing techniques that will bring the system (mind/body) back to a state of calm being.
I ask this question each morning and the answer greatly determines how the rest of my day goes.
My primary goal in life is to be calm, kind, and loving. All of the other goals I have listed are things I’d like to do or things/experiences I’d like to have. If I’m feeling a little anxiety when I wake up, my best course of action is to get myself relaxed and calm.
Make sure you ask this question before any coffee. This leads to the next question.

Question 4: What If You Die Tomorrow?

This question actually morphs into a few more.
If you die tomorrow do they know you loved them?
If you die tomorrow are all your apologies said?
If you die tomorrow do you take any forgiveness with you?
If you die tomorrow did you do something today that was meaningful?
Many things in my life are meaningful to me.
On my last day on this planet I hope to wake up and write, eat a variety of fruits, nuts, and oats for breakfast, take a nap, hug 20 people, paddle on my standup paddle board, catch a wave or a wake, tell some people I love them, make love, and enjoy a nice cup of tea.
What if you die tomorrow?

Question 5: How Can You Brighten Somebody’s Experience Today?

Hugs are proven to produce a sense of well-being in both people. Smiles are contagious. Sometimes a kind word from a stranger makes the difference in a person’s day.
It’s so easy to allow our attention to spin out. Most of us are overstimulated, overcommitted, and overly concerned with getting more stuff.
A lot of people have their eyes fixated on the tiny screen of their smartphones. They answer texts and update Facebook while they are in the company of loved ones. The world passes them by as they scroll through so called newsfeeds.
I rarely take my phone out of my house. I know that the ease of access will have me staring into the abyss trying to fulfill that sense of connection while missing the chance to connect in person.
Whose day can you brighten today?

Question 6: What Choices Can You Make Differently?

My brain is programmed to recognize every stupid thing I do, and I still do some pretty stupid things. I recognize them, and do my best to change my behaviors. Some habits seemingly take longer to adjust.
The main reason I haven’t shaved my head and gone to devote myself to mindful meditation at some Thich Nhat Hanh Monastery is that I really think I gain more from the challenge of living a regular guy’s life mindfully.
I think sometimes conflict brings resolution. I’ve learned more about myself through dealing with people I don’t particularly like than I have from my time on the yoga mat or the meditation pillow.
I recognize myself in all that I see. So, I ask myself this question so that I am able to see more and more beauty each day.
What choices can you make differently today?

Question 7: What Can You Give Today?

I spend very little of time trading hours for dollars. I’ve reduced my expenses and lifestyle to afford me the time to work on me, and to write.
As my marketing of books and services takes hold I’ll have more money to give; but for now I have so much more than money can buy.
I have an able body and some helping hands. I have two ears to listen, two arms to embrace, and a mind full of useful information.
I have an endless supply of encouragement when I see people on a mission, and an infinite supply of love when I spend the time to clear.
I have a great smile, which I sometimes forget to show. I’m witty, goofy, and geeky enough to give the gift of laughter.
I really have all that I need in life and so much more.
What can you give today? And what important questions would you add to the mix?

Seting up my HP-DV6 with Ubuntu 12.04

2013-07-31T06:21:00.002-07:00

This helped get my HP DV6 - 1152tx laptop with all its gadgets up an running with .
Ubuntu 12.04

This article will explain how to configure Ubuntu Precise 12.04 to fully use the HP 2510p laptop hardware.
It will also help you to tweak your HP 2510p for better overall performances and battery power management.

1. Wifi Connexion Problems

HP 2510p wireless adapter is Intel Pro 4965.

# lspci
...
10:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or AGN [Kedron] Network Connection (rev 61)

This adapter is directly recognised during an Ubuntu 12.04 installation.
You can straight away connect to networks using WEP encryption. But, you may get into trouble when using WPA2 encrypted networks. With this encryption protocol, connexion may be impossible, the adapter not being able to obtain an IP address.
This problem comes from the 802.11n protocol which is not fully handled by actual drivers. It has to be disabled to solve the issue.
To do so, create or edit the /etc/modprobe.d/options.conf file as root and add the following line :

/etc/modprobe.d/options.conf

options iwl4965 11n_disable=1

After a reboot, your wifi connexion problems should be part of the past.

2. Fingerprint Sensor

HP 2510p is embedding an AES2501 fingerprint sensor.

# lsusb
...
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 08ff:2580 AuthenTec, Inc. AES2501 Fingerprint Sensor

Thanks to the Fprint project, your fingerprint sensor can be fully supported under Ubuntu. It can allow you :

to login with your fingerprint
to replace your su password with your fingerprint

To do so, you first need to declare the FPrint PPA :

# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fingerprint/fprint
# sudo apt-get update

You can now install the FPrint demo software :

# sudo apt-get install fprint-demo

The demo software can be launched from the accessories/fprint-demo menu.
Your fingerprint sensor should be recognised and you should be able to enroll your fingerprints.

2.1. Authentification Daemon

As your sensor has been tested and is fully working, you can now install the daemon that will be in charge of the fingerprint authentification process.
Your fingerprint authentification will then replace your password for login or su.
Install the libpam-fprintd daemon :

# sudo apt-get install libpam-fprintd

Once the daemon installed, you can enable the fingerprint login per user basis thru System settings / User Accounts.
When you select a user, a new Fingerprint login field is available to enable the use of the fingerprint sensor instead of the standard password.

The activation of this option is done in 2 main steps.
First one is the selection of finger to use.

Second one is the fingerprint enrollment.

Once your fingerprint has been registered, everything is ready for your fingerprint authentification.

2.2. Fingerprint Authentification

As the enrollment process has been done for your account, your authentification process is now done using :

Your fingerprint, as the principal method
Your password, in case of 3 faulty attempts

This double method process is true at anytime. That means that in case of trouble with your fingerprint recognition, you can always use your password.
So, if you close your session or reboot, your login screen should be like this :

Everytime you will be launching an application needing the root permission, you will be prompted with a dialog like this :

Even under a terminal console, in case of sudo, you will be prompted the same way :

# sudo su
Swipe your finger on AuthenTec AES2501
Failed to match fingerprint
Swipe your finger on AuthenTec AES2501
Failed to match fingerprint
Swipe your finger on AuthenTec AES2501
Failed to match fingerprint
[sudo] password for xxxxx :

Your account access is now fully controled by your fingerprint …

3. Performance Tweaks

3.1. Preload

Preload is an adaptive readahead daemon. It monitors applications that you use, and by analyzing this data, predicts what applications you might run. It then fetches those binaries and their dependencies into memory for faster startup times.
If your hp 2510p is having more than 1 Gb of RAM, it will increase your overall experience.
To install it just do :

# sudo apt-get install preload

After some time you will notice that your apps are starting faster.

3.2. zRAM swap

zRAM creates a RAM based block device which acts as a swap disk, but is compressed and stored in memory instead of swap disk, allowing very fast I/O and increasing the amount of memory available before the system starts swapping to disk.
With the slow hard disk and a good amount of RAM found on modern laptops, zRAM is giving a real boost effect as soon as your system starts to need swapping.
To install it, do these commands :

# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:shnatsel/zram
# sudo apt-get update
# sudo apt-get install zramswap-enabler

It should now be operationnal.
You can check that it is running :

# cat /var/log/syslog | grep zram
Apr 21 13:14:26 nicolas-2510p kernel: [ 26.021442] zram: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
Apr 21 13:14:26 nicolas-2510p kernel: [ 26.033008] zram: Creating 2 devices ...
Apr 21 13:14:26 nicolas-2510p kernel: [ 26.171935] Adding 1015872k swap on /dev/zram0. Priority:100 extents:1 across:1015872k SS
Apr 21 13:14:26 nicolas-2510p kernel: [ 26.183287] Adding 1015872k swap on /dev/zram1. Priority:100 extents:1 across:1015872k SS

More info can be found on http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/increased-performance-in-linux-with.html

3.3. Virtual Memory

With Linux, you can tune how much RAM based cache to use for dirty pages and how frequently to flush that cached data back to disk. Dirty pages are the pages in memory that have been updated but still not written to disk. You can also tune the behavior of memory swap. Because of the low speed 5400 rpm hard disk provided by HP 2510p, proper virtual memory tweaks can give a real performance boost.
Five important parameters can be adjusted :

vm.swappiness - This control is used to define how aggressive the kernel will swap memory pages. Higher values will increase agressiveness, lower values decrease the amount of swap.
vm.dirty_ratio - Contains, as a percentage of total system memory, the number of pages at which a process which is generating disk writes will itself start writing out dirty data.
vm.dirty_background_ratio - Contains, as a percentage of total system memory, the number of pages at which the pdflush background writeback daemon will start writing out dirty data.
vm.dirty_expire_centisecs - The pdflush writeback daemons will periodically wake up and write 'old' data out to disk. This tunable expresses the interval between those wakeups, in 100'ths of a second.
vm.vfs_cache_pressure - Controls the tendency of the kernel to reclaim the memory which is used for caching of directory and inode objects.

vm.swappiness=60 is the default setting in Ubuntu. Reducing this value may improve overall performance for a typical Ubuntu desktop or laptop installation. A value of vm.swappiness=10 is recommended in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq.
If vm.dirty_ratio and vm.dirty_background_ratio are too high, when the flush starts, you will get blocked I/O for as much as several seconds at a time, not being able to do anything else. For example, with Ubuntu standard setting vm.dirty_ratio=60, it represents a very big amount of data to write back to a slow disk (1.2 Gb data for 2 Gb RAM) !
A typical side effect of this setting is seen during big file transfers : during the transfer, your gnome desktop will behave as freezed. This is because your file is cached & flushed, cached & flushed, ...
So, because of netbook and laptop specificities (good amount of RAM & slow disk), we need to lower these values to avoid these freeze. For 2 Gb RAM (you can adjust these values to your specific configuration), I tweaked these parameters to vm.dirty_ratio=10 and vm.dirty_background_ratio=5.
vm.vfs_cache_pressure determine the behavior of cache between dentry + inodes and file blocks. Decreasing vm.vfs_cache_pressure causes the kernel to prefer to retain dentry and inode caches instead of file blocks. File block are then being freed first. We can tune this parameters in a way that you will get less 'freeze' feeling while exploring your filesystem when a file transfer is already running. Your previous directory listing will remain longer in the cache memory. After short tests, I decided to set vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50.
For test purpose, you can set all these parameters dynamically, effect is immediate :

# sudo su
# sysctl -w vm.swappiness=10
# sysctl -w vm.dirty_ratio=10
# sysctl -w vm.dirty_background_ratio=5
# sysctl -w vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50

You can now check that you can browse your filesystem directories much faster during heavy file transfers.
As we need to make the changes permanent, you need to surcharge the kernel values that will be used at boot time in a new configuration file under /etc/sysctl.d :

# sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.d/99-laptop-tweaks.conf

/etc/sysctl.d/99-laptop-tweaks.conf

# /etc/sysctl.d/99-laptop-tweaks.conf
# Configuration file for setting netbook and laptop kernel tweaks
#

# limit usage of disk swap
vm.swappiness = 10

# limit percentage of dirty cache in memory
vm.dirty_background_ratio = 5
vm.dirty_ratio = 10

# give filesystem cache more importance than file blocks cache
vm.vfs_cache_pressure = 50

They will be taken into account at every boot.

4. Power Management

4.1. Advanced Power Management

Hard Disk Advanced Power Management defines your hard disk behavior in a way to :

protect its heads by doing head parking when possible
save energy by spinning down after inactivity period

The head parking mecanism helps to protect your hard disk in case of shock. A brand new hard disk is able to handle between 200 000 and 600 000 head parking cycles before failure. So you have to make sure that your APM tuning is not resulting in a too fast head parking cycle.
APM parameter has to be set by hdparm and for the default Samsung 80 Gb Hard Disk of HP 2510p it can take these values :

1 : Aggressive APM settings, head parking occurs after a very short time
128 : manufacturer default value, quite aggressive about head parking
254 : Relaxed APM settings, head parking takes place after a very long time
255 : APM disabled, head parking disabled

The main problem is that Ubuntu default value is set to 128, which is quite low.
Another important parameter is the spindown timeout, which is as low as 2 seconds with Ubuntu standard setting.
That means that your hard disk may park its heads as soon as it detects 2 seconds without disk activity. Both these values imply most of the time some very frequent hard disk head parking.
You can easily check your head parking counter with smartctl tool. You may have to install it as it is not installed by default.

# sudo apt-get install smartmontools

The number in red is your head parking counter. If you go on battery and check it every minute, you should see it increasing quite fast ...

# sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep Load_Cycle_Count
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 097 097 000 Old_age Always - 34552

To change the default behavior and protect your hard disk, you need to add this section at the end of /etc/hdparm.conf :

# sudo gedit /etc/hdparm.conf

/etc/hdparm.conf

...
# set APM to 254 and spindown to 2 hours (244)
/dev/sda {
apm = 254
spindown_time = 244
}
...

These values will take effect after next reboot.

4.2. Laptop Mode Tools

Laptop Mode Tools is a laptop power saving package. It allows you to extend the battery life of your laptop. It is the primary way to enable the Laptop Mode feature of the Linux kernel, which allows your laptop hard drive to spin down. In addition, it allows you to tweak a number of other power-related settings using a simple configuration file.
You can install that package very simply :

# sudo aptitude install laptop-mode-tools

4.2.1. Oneiric Ocelot bug

If at the end of the install you get this message,

Setting up laptop-mode-tools (1.57-1ubuntu1) ...
* Enabling laptop mode...
Unhandled kernel version: 3.0 ('uname -r' = '3.0.0-17-generic')
Couldn't acquire lock. Retrying....

you are in front of a bug of the Oneiric version, which is incompatible with kernel 3.0. But, this bug is simple to correct !
To do so, just open /usr/sbin/laptop_mode file as root and add the line in red :

/usr/sbin/laptop_mode

...
case "$KLEVEL" in
"2.4" ) ;;
"2.6" ) ;;
"3.0" ) ;;
*)
log "ERR" "Unhandled kernel version: $KLEVEL ('uname -r' = '$(uname -r)')" >&2
exit 1
;;
...

You now need to restart the laptop-mode service :

# sudo /etc/init.d/laptop-mode start
* Enabling laptop mode...

Bug is part of the past ...

4.2.2. APM settings

Laptop mode tools allow you to tweak APM parameters (explained earlier) when switching to battery mode.
To reflect the boot parameters modifications explained previously, you need to set them as the default battery mode parameters.
You need to modify /etc/laptop-mode/laptop-mode.conf as root :

/etc/laptop-mode/laptop-mode.conf

...
CONTROL_NOATIME=1
...
LM_BATT_HD_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=7200
...
BATT_HD_POWERMGMT=254
...

4.2.3. USB

USB auto-suspend is enabled by default. It means that any USB device will be set into sleep mode to save power.
This may be a problem if you are using a USB mouse (usbhid) or a USB key (usb-storage). You need to blacklist them from being set to sleep mode.
On the same aspect, to be able to use the fingerprint, you need to blacklist it from the devices handled by auto-suspend.
First, get the fingerprint USB device ID :

# lsusb
...
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 08ff:2580 AuthenTec, Inc. AES2501 Fingerprint Sensor

To blacklist devices, you need to add the ID in /etc/laptop-mode/conf.d/usb-autosuspend.conf as root :

/etc/laptop-mode/conf.d/usb-autosuspend.conf

...
AUTOSUSPEND_USBID_BLACKLIST="08ff:2580"
...
AUTOSUSPEND_USBTYPE_BLACKLIST="usbhid usb-storage"

4.2.4. Bluetooth

If you want to automatically disable the bluetooth adapter when running on battery, you have to set bluetooth management in /etc/laptop-mode/conf.d/bluetooth.conf as root :

/etc/laptop-mode/conf.d/bluetooth.conf

...
CONTROL_BLUETOOTH=1

4.3. Jupiter Applet

Under Gnome, Jupiter applet allows some important power saving actions :

adjust CPU frequency
enable/disable wireless device like Bluetooth or Wifi
enable/disable multiple video displays

Even if this applet is not compulsory, it may be very helpful.
As Jupiter is supported by WebUpd8 team, a PPA is available to ease the installation of this applet :

# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/jupiter
# sudo apt-get update
# sudo apt-get install jupiter

If you are using Gnome Shell, the icon is available thru the lower message bar.
To display it into the topbar, you need to install the gnome-shell-classic-systray extension :

# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gnome3
# sudo apt-get update
# sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-classic-systray

After a reboot, the jupiter applet should be accessible via the topbar icon

With these different tips, you are now able to use the full potential of your HP 2510p laptop.
If you want to go further, with some overclocking or hardware modifications, the HP 2510p owners lounge forum is a very good place to start.
Enjoy !

Fix Missing Serial/Product Numbers for HP Laptops

2013-07-18T05:57:00.002-07:00

I have taken this information from http://diypcrepair.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/how-to-fix-system-board-ooa-missing-system-information-hp/ I tried this on an HP DV6 1152tx notebook and it worked.

How to Fix “System Board OOA” or “Missing System Information” or “Product Information Not Valid” HP

This happens when a motherboard loses the information that’s “tattooed” onto it, or burned onto it. HP says the only way to fix this issue is to pay a technician to repair the issue. I have found a way to do it yourself, although it does require a little finesse and following directions. It’s not too difficult, though.
Before you try the method below, see if this method works first, because it is less of a headache to deal with.
Things you’ll need:

Empty USB thumb drive
About 30 minutes or less

Here’s How:

First, download this utility. It’s called Rufus, and it quickly and easily makes bootable flash drives, which is how we are going to run the HP tattooing utility.
Next, download HPBQ138.exe. This is the utility HP service technicians use to burn system information to the motherboard. Sometimes this is called the DMIFIT tool.
Now create a bootable USB thumb drive using Rufus. Follow the screenshot below for the exact options to choose.

How to Create a Bootable Drive
Now open the flash drive and drag HPBQ138.exe (not zipped) into the main directory. It should now look something like this:

Files needed to use DMIFIT
Now reboot your computer and boot from the USB drive. If you don’t know how, use the guide here.
Once in the DOS environment, type: “HPBQ138.exe” without the quotes. This should start the DMIFIT utility.
Follow the guide below to update system board information:
- (0) Serial Number = S/N on back of laptop
- (1) Notebook Model = model number of back of laptop
- (2) GUID Number = random
- (3) UUID Number = Select 1 to generate UUID
- (4) SKU Number = Product Number (e.g. WA985UA#ABA)
- (5) CTO Localization Code = Last 3 letters (e.g. ABA)
- (6) MAC Address = Random
- (7) PCID = Sticker/ printed on back, under battery or on MOBO. (This may be difficult to find but it’s there and hopefully not burned or rubbed off. I found mine under the battery compartment in really small letters. It looked like this: “PCID: 1234567…”)
- (8) System Board CT # = blank
Save the information and reboot.

Leave a comment if you have questions and I will respond, but my assistance will be limited.
Also, let me know it worked okay!

Education... Ideas that work

2013-04-27T21:52:00.003-07:00

Got this idea from an FB video : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=478109645558088&set=vb.441909225829618&type=2&theater

"Creativity is not inspired by the pressure of time

but by freedom, playfulness and fun."

Inspirational songs....

2013-04-13T00:56:00.002-07:00

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/30-inspirational-songs-that-keep-you-motivated-for-life.html

http://personalexcellence.co/blog/inspirational-songs/

Changing your mac address on ubuntu 10.04

2013-03-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

There are multiple ways to change the mac address on Ubuntu.

One of them is from the Terminal:

type sudo ifconfig eth0 down hw ether your:mac:address
then sudo ifconfig eth0 up

Done. Now check your new mac address typing ifconfig

Inner Voice

2013-03-01T22:05:00.001-08:00

At the beginning of this semester (Semester 2 of M.Tech Computer Science at IIT Kharagpur), I felt like something was going to change this time around, and I was going to do better than I ever did. Now is that moment when things are going to change. And they will become better. Now what the definition of "better is", I don't know. But I do know this. Whatever change happens, will make me happy throughout the rest of my time here.

The load during this semester became overwhelmingly large. And as it grew, my spirit grew smaller. This spirit which I'm writing about, is that one, that helped me become who I am today. The spirit that loves to work in , and learn more about, this field of Computer science.

My last semester ended in a bang. I scored an "Excellent" grade in "EVERY" subject under the sun, and gained myself the nick-name "10 Pointer". I wanted to name this article 10 point someone, but I won't because that isn't what I want this entry to be about. I am writing this so as to make things clear; more to myself than to you, who are reading this; things about what my purpose of doing this course is, renewing my passion for my dream.

When I got the 10 point, I didn't think much about it. Thoughts only took form once I joined back for the next semester at IIT -Kgp. I started to feel the pressure. "I was a topper in my local university in Goa. I never thought I was good enough then. I thought it was a joke being the topper there, because I didn't think I was smart enough to be called so... But NOW........ Oh my!!!... I have topped in IIT too? But I still feel like I don't deserve the name. And if I don't deserve the name, what will happen when everyone tests me this semester, just to find out if I really am that smart or not? What if I don't do as well as they expect? What will they say about me then? That this boy isn't really what we give him credit for being...".

All these thoughts, in addition to the fact that I chose to challenge myself by taking all heavy courses this semester, started, and succeeded, getting me down.

Now let me see the truth, the reality of my life. Yes, I did top Goa University... And with good reason. And the proof is that I taught some of my friends in my college and they appreciated me for it. So I definitely am knowledgeable? "I" got into IIT didn't I? And "I" answered those IIT exam question papers and scored well in them, in spite of having my 2nd permanent residence on Facebook the last semester! "I" scored a perfect 10 point GPA in the first semester. So yes, I CAN DO IT! I know I can. And I do deserve it. And I worked hard and do deserve to appreciate myself as someone who "KNOWS". I don't need the tests of others to prove that to myself.

So back to the title of this entry, "INNER VOICE". The load this semester has increased. And I have made many mistakes this time around. So what lessons can I take from this?.. Its time to ask myself the question... What does my Inner voice tell me that I want to do? What do I want to do, independent of what others say i.e. doing well, getting good marks, getting a good IIT type high salaried job? No! What I can do, day in and day out, being happy, 12 out of 24 hours a day, not caring about income or anything of the sort, is teaching. That is my purpose. And I am here, at IIT, to better prepare myself for that chapter of my life. Getting a good score last semester was a result of my innocent struggle to improve myself so that I can better fulfill my dream of teaching.

Now the question is what does that mean? "Prepare myself for that time". What it means to me is that, while I am here in IIT, I must "learn" as much from my subjects as possible, following the advice of my professors when they assign work as assignments etc...; without making grades and marks and jobs my priority. Just to do my best. My results will reflect how much I have taken from this course, and will be a good feedback to keep my ego in check. But I'm not going to allow last semester's 10 point to take control of my life.

For me, writing this, there is a purpose. But for you reading it, if you are not a 10 pointer, you might feel like there is no point in reading about a 10 pointer complaining about his experiences. Yes. But my perspective is from a position different from your's. It is similar though.

For you, my message is this. Don't let your grades or any other external factor influence your true purpose of doing what you are doing. Remind yourself of Why you are doing it, and then take action holding onto your dream. The results will follow.

And most importantly ENJOY LIFE... BECAUSE YOU ONLY LIVE TODAY ONCE!

One small crux to the "Enjoy Life" phrase is this. Enjoy life the way "YOU" would enjoy life. Not the way your friends say you should enjoy life. Don't do the things others think mean "Enjoying Life". You won't enjoy that. You will only feel worse and end up with regrets, while those around you laugh at what you are doing. Do what you feel good doing. That't it!

Time to go and make that change :)
-The Phoenix

Put the Glass down

2012-09-22T22:29:00.003-07:00

A Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students “How much do you think this glass weighs?”

’50 gms!’….. ’100 gms!’ …..’125 gms’ …the students answered.

“I really don’t know unless I weigh it,” said the professor, “but, my question is:
What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?”

‘Nothing’ …..the students said.

‘Ok, what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?’ the professor asked.

‘Your arm would begin to ache’ said one of the student.

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!”
….. Ventured another student & all the students laughed

“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor.

‘No’…. Was the answer.

“Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?”
The students were puzzled.

“What should I do now to come out of pain?” asked professor again.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students

“Exactly!” said the professor.
Life’s problems are something like this.
Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK.
Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache.
Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.
It’s important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to ‘PUT THEM DOWN’ at the end of every day before you go to sleep…
That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh & strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!

So, when you start your day today, Remember friend to ‘PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY!'

IIT Post Grad: When the going gets tough! Do you really care??? :D

2012-09-21T05:23:00.002-07:00

I heard this in a movie and it really hit me... So those of you who feel like you are in the dumps in Grad school or as we in India call it Post Grad studies (MTech), do read...

You feel like you've lost your passion for research, but maybe you've forgotten how to be passionate about anything! Graduate school is as much about finding truth in research as it is about finding truth in yourself.

How come a person doesn't get stressed?

It's easy in research to get tunneled vision, to feel isolated, like your the only person with your problem. Your not alone. But whenever I get stressed I simply ask myself this question: "Do I really care? Would I rather be doing anything else? You're not a machine. You have to embrace the things your passionate about. Every great idea, every great moment of eureka came when it was least expected. Apple, Google, Facebook, Newton and gravity, Einsteins theory of relativity... These things all happened when they weren't doing what they were supposed do be doing, it happened when they were following their passion.

-The Phoenix... Rising from the ashes! :)

What has happened to passion?

2012-08-26T08:41:00.001-07:00

It seems that extremism doesn’t help. At one point in time, one realizes his or her dreams. And one works towards them. From being an artist or a doctor or even a Computer Engineer as am I.

This is a thought that has been haunting me these past couple of days as I struggle to revive what passion I once had, that was drowned in a world filled with competition and expectations and the ALMIGHTY examinations that dominates our educational system. The examinations that we all are pressurized throughout our courses to answer as perfectly as is possible, keeping aside all else that could distract us. In this process I have come to find that passion gets lost somewhere along the way and we … maybe I should just refer to myself, .. and I forgot why I am doing the things I am doing.

Why am I working so hard. Yes no doubt I know that I had passion for computers. And I still do. Along the way I realized that my passion also lied in the field of academics, of teaching. But how much do I sacrifice to get there?

Is being away from normalcy one of the things worth sacrificing?
I think not!

In India, pressure and examinations dominate our scholarly lives, and in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, one finds himself doing more work than he had ever done in his entire life. Working harder towards a goal that somehow one forgets along the way.

What is my ultimate goal in this course? Is it to top even at this level, as I had done when I was studying in the Goa University? Well, the way I have been working, it seems so. But I’m losing what I treasure most in life. And that is my passion to live life. No doubt with some level of discipline.

But where does discipline come from? Does discipline have to be forced? And if forced does it have effect? I don’t think so. I think desire has to come before one can discipline oneself to work towards something. And I need to discipline myself too… I just need to draw in the desire I once had. And leave the marks and the rest to the whims of time.

The learning experience is the most important thing. That’s what I should aim at. And that’s my experiment this week.

Cheers! Ate logo…

-Antonio

New surroundings

2012-08-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

A warning to you, the reader. What I pen down is expected to be quite disconnected as this is my attempt at trying to clear out my thoughts about my experiences in IIT.

It could have been the high expectations of beauty and cleanliness that ultimately caused my disappointment. It could have been that I wanted to enjoy my subjects free from pressure… that now I feel lost at sea, gasping and trying so desperately to find the shore.

I arrived at IIT Kharagpur on the 21st of July 2012. Curious to see where I would be living for the next to years, I visited my hostel. With the expectations that the room would be clean and spacious. I arrived to find just the opposite. The previous tenants had decorated the walls with pictures and words that I wouldn’t want to wake up to every morning. The attached bathroom; shared by my room-mate and I along with the two in the ad joint room; was filthy, walls and toilet bowl included. It suffices to say that I was quite disappointed.

My life at IIT Kharagpur officially began on the 23rd of July 2012. The first day of registration turned out to be very un-organized. The day was filled with standing in long queues, waiting for thousands of students before me to pay their fees. Each one speaking in his or her own native tongue. With my excellent language skills in Hindi, I managed pretty well (Haha… NOT!). Once all formalities were complete, it was time to discover who my classmates were and who was part of the faculty of the Computer Science Department. The batch of CS2012, I found, was quite down to earth, different from most others that shared the campus with us. I was now one amongst a batch of 37 other graduates from all over the country pursuing their MTech at IIT Kharagpur.

The faculty introduction was quite interesting, more so because I was thoroughly confused at the end of the introduction. It seemed that everyone was sailing in the same boat with me. When our student advisor Prof. PPD listed the subjects offered to us this semester, I was quite disappointed as I would not be able to choose the subjects of my choice. I was looking forward to learning about Ubiquitous computing. Anyway, little did I know that the end of the week would bring me closer to choosing a similar subject that would begin to satisfy my networking appetite.. After speaking to our seniors, I was sure of which subjects I surely didn’t want to take up. If I could, I would have taken up just four subjects this semester, knowing what I know now.

As the days past by, I was re-introduced to the subjects of Algorithms, Theory of Computation and freshly introduced to Embedded Systems, Wireless Adhoc and Sensor Networks, and Cognitive Sciences.

Algorithms felt and still feels like a subject out of my grasp. I am waiting for my AHA moment to arrive when I can say… “I finally get what the subject is all about”. In my time here since, I have realized that the pressure in every subject just seems to build. However I have still not been able to enjoy any of the subjects the way I was hoping to.

The pressure seems to be building ever so much, leaving me breathless and in desperate need of a break. And alas, my break has arrived. A long weekend… Its time to wash all of the dirty laundry and start afresh.

I am determined to not let the pressure get to me. I am determined to do my best and enjoy it.

My LDAP Mail in Persistent

2012-06-07T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone :)

As my team-mate Shrimaan had said, I'm not sure which meaning suits LDAP better. I'm writing this e-mail about my Lovely Days At Persistent on my Last Day At Persistent.

I was blessed to have been offered a job at Persistent. When I found out that I was offered a job here, given that Persistent had not yet come for interviews in GEC, I had to confirm with GEC's placement cell and with Pallavi that the news was true. My journey in Persistent has been, similarly full of surprises.
Never could I have imagined that doing what I loved could be any more amazing until I was surrounded by my wonderful team-mates in RACKSPACE.

Siddhi, you were my mentor and you still are for so many things. You've helped train me into what I am today. Thank you for all that you did for me throughout my time at persistent. You were my go-to, my confidant and you've guided me well. After seeing you groovying with Grails I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be able to take your place in MyRack and do what you could. But I've tried as best as I could to do it. I hope I've made you proud.
Ganesh... Dude what can I say, Thank You. Just thank you for being you, someone that I could laugh at, I mean with at all times. :D Seriously dude, I know I haven't had much experience working with people other than u, but ur the best team-mate to ever work with! I'll never find someone I'm so comfortable working with at IIT... For sure... Someone who's so flexible with working all odd hours of the night, and with so much of dedication to the team! You've always gotten the job done and I'm proud to say that I've worked alongside you. I've had the time of my life being a part of a team with you in MyRackspace. Siddhi and You have taught me so so so much.

Shweta, welcome to the team and the best of luck in everything you do out here. Ganesh will teach you the tricks of the trade, whatever I haven't yet :) Thank you so much for documenting my last days here so well. You are an extremely artistic and creative person. Never lose your individuality. I am proud to be handing over the reins to you and I know you'll do extremely well in MyRackspace. And by the way... thanks for allowing me to borrow your chair :P And now I give you full permission to use mine :P The old mine not the new mine. The new mine goes back to Hiren :P

To all the Racker girls! Krishna is always online and available on FB and Gtalk :D ... And in IIT it'll be even more so :D Gonna miss you all... Cassandra!!! I will be back :P .. MAIN LAUT KAR AAUNGA .. ZAROOR AAUNGA .... :D :D

To my managers past and present, thank you for your guidance. I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for you.

To my batchmates, I really enjoyed our time here at Persistent. To the Java and PHP devs... PHP devs in particular, we are still yet to be taught by a Microsoft professional how to hack :D

Rui, Karol, Sanyam... Karol ur driving simply amazing, Sanyam the amount of waiting we did, simply amazing, Rui .... sometimes ur driving and sometimes our waiting, simply amazing !! :D Thanks guys! But in all seriousness, Sanyam and I both gained confidence in driving our respective cars :P with your advice. I'm sure that I've gained confidence in my driving skills thanks to you guys. Twas fun while it lasted. All the stories and the jokes, and all the English song quizes we gave Sanyam. :) And I just feel like this para should end with a ...... long jacket :P

Melo, Manjo, Mangu, Neethi, Dhru, Karol, Pandey, Sanyam, Damu, Tanvi, Gautami, Ivy, Janice. We really did come up with so so many interesting things to talk about during lunch and tea. Keep me in the loop about all the info that overflows onto the table :D Gonna seriously miss seeing you guys everyday, Listening to everyone talk about so many different things, crazy things that happened with you'll. It is the people that PSL chooses to join them, that makes the work fun. And you guys sure did make things fun! Dhruti thank you so much for the dance and for trusting me :) Helo Melo :) Melo don't ever change. Like some others here you were my second conscience. Most of you from PCCE I had never met, And its really amazing how we bonded in such little time. I'm not planning on saying bye to any of you.

To all of you that I met as I journeyed through life at Persistent, you have changed me, you have had an effect on my life and it is that part of me that I will cherish.

However the times are changing and my life is calling me to explore different things, new things. It is time to allow that change to happen as I ease into this new chapter of my life.

The code has been developed, reviewed and tested, and my performance has been appraised and was found to be better than 99.87% of the other bids in the whole country... I am extremely blessed and I thank you all for your support and prayers because of which I have received admissions into India's prestigious IIT Kharagpur.

Feel extra free :D to contact me on
Mobile(Goa as of now) : 9765183601
Google/FB : antoniobdacosta@gmail.com

Adeus Korcho Vellu Pavlo... And so I bid you all, my colleagues, my friends and my family... Thank you so much for everything!!!

Best of wishes to you all in all your future endeavours.

-Antonio Anastasio Bruto da Costa

Beautiful Code

2011-08-25T05:19:00.003-07:00

Break Google Down!!!

view-source:http://mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google_gravity/

Tablet smackdown: Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. iPad 2

2011-08-16T19:47:00.001-07:00

Tablet smackdown: Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. iPad 2

Happy 30th Birthday to the PC

2011-08-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

INDIANAPOLIS - Thirty years ago, on August 12, 1981, IBM introduced what we know as the PC – or the personal computer, IBM 5150.

What we know as a PC today and what they produced a little over a quarter of a century ago are vastly different.

We now can hold a computer in one hand – i.e. netbook – that can hold millions of more bytes of data than the IBM 5150.

It’s amazing. It’s a miracle. And to quote a very distinguished philosopher – * cough cough * comedian – Louie C.K., “It’s magic,” and we should be grateful for even having something like this.

Seriously, though, in 30 short years we have gone from big, clunky, tan boxes to slim, sleek micro-machines that contain tons of our very important info, photos, movies and games. We can toss it in a bag and go, whether it’s our smart phone, our netbook or an iPad. We are mobile. We have definitely evolved.

If you watch this awesome commercial for the IBM 5150, you’ll see that people had that same feeling about the original PC, because it was a huge difference from previous computers, some which took up entire rooms!

To celebrate this austere occasion, let’s take a moment and think about how we take our personal electronics for granted everyday. These tiny machines that most people think they can’t live without deserve a little “thumbs up.

Happy Birthday Personal Computer!

Cassette Audio Adaptor

2011-07-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

My brother's car (which I currently drive) is around 8 years old. When it was bought, it had a CASSETTE AUDIO PLAYER installed. And as everyone knows, cassettes are just "almost" out dated. I usually have 2 or 3 cassettes in the glove compartment of the car, for musical entertainment purposes... But that never seems enough and I always wonder how it would be possible for me to hijack my car's stereo speakers and hook 'em up to my cell phone. Either that, or I record the music I like from my phone/pc onto record-able cassettes... which would be a pain to say the least.

Just a week back, on Friday the 15th of July, I sat in the back seat of a team-mate's car. She had a weird looking cassette player installed in her 10yr old Marutti 800. The player had an even weirder looking cassette installed which had a cable coming out of it, ending in a 3.5" audio jack. So my friend (who was in the front seat of the car) asked her casually what the cassette and wire combo were all about. And she explained that she connected it to her cellphone/ipod and it transmitted the sound to the car audio system.

I had just found what I had been looking for.... The perfect piece of electronics to satisfy my musical needs...

The very next day I hopped onto the net and hunted down "cassette mp3 player" on e-bay, and low and behold, there it was, and just for 105 bucks... Indian Rupees... Seriously... I was shocked... I immediately said "BUY NOW"... I clicked on the button that said "Buy now" as well :-p

The seller called me up 3hrs later informing me that the item was being shipped that very day and would reach me in max 2 days. Since the next day was Sunday, I expected the cassette to be in my possession by monday/tuesday max...

I received the cassette on monday. I opened the packaging only to find that the cassette had a small plastic piece, a part of its body, broken... :-(

I was angry initially, but then again, I thought, what does it matter... As long as it works, its fine...

So I propped the keys of the car into the ignition and switched the radio on, plopped the cassette into the player, connected the audio jack to my cellphone and hit play.... And wallah... I could play music from my mobile in my car... So it did work

All this time, I could hear some kind of plastic shaking sounds inside the cassette body. So like any curious engineer would do, I took a + screw driver and opened it up, to find a good number of gears, some of em out of place... and some small plastic pieces that had broken off from the inside of the cassette...

I was disappointed in the workmanship that went into making that cassette... But then again, I can't complain cause I paid a measly 100 rupees for it.

I put all the gears in place, taped up the broken pieces and screwed it all back together again...

The next day I took the car to work. On the return trip, my friend was handling the tape deck in the car. After dropping everyone to their respective homes, I headed home myself. On the way I realized that the sound coming out of the system was extremely soft. I couldn't figure it out until the next day.

I did some research only to find out that the "head" of the tape and that of the player weren't aligned. My friend must'v reversed the playing direction while in the car, and it was playing the "B" side of the tape. When I re-aligned the heads, by playing the "A" side in the player, the sound boomed out of the speakers... And problem 1 was solved.

The only other problem that still persists is the rattling sound of the plastic gears inside the cassette...

I'm going to try something out this evening. And will post any updates that I find... :)

Solving Problem 2
I opened up the tape, took a good look at the gear system, got some grease on my fingers and applied the lubricant at the interface between the gears. Put the tape back together again and propped it into the car deck.

But!!!!! :( :( :( .... Not the deck kept switching sides. Side A, ..... 2 seconds later ..... Side B ..... Side A... and it went on, till I couldn't take the clicking sound coming from switching of sides, that I switched the player off.

Seems like the grease was too thick to allow for the gears to move, well at least, the force that my deck had wasn't enough to get them to rotate.

Back to the drawing board..... Opened up the tape again, cleant off most of the grease and added some oil. Took a pencil, put it through one of the holes in the tape and turned it around until the gears were moving smoothly and all the oil had been distributed well.

Now I enjoy listening to wonderful music in my car :)

For those of you still using tape decks in your cars, don't fret... Go online and get one of these tapes off ebay. They are definitely a good buy!

An interesting Optical Illusion

2011-07-14T21:57:00.001-07:00

CLICK ON ME!!!

A Divine Occurence

2011-07-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the testimony of a U.S citizen. Read on

My Testimony

I, place before you the Divine event that took place with me.

It was 23^rd Marchأ‚آ’2011(Wednesday). I left the house for office at 06:40 a.m. and as usual began my day out with a rosary. I had a busy day in the office and had to work till 19:00 hours. I reached home at around 20:15 hours, after refreshing myself I decided to have some tea and watch some cricket highlights.

At around 21:00 hours, I took-off for a stroll with my wife and returned home at around 21:45 p.m. I was very tired so went for a shower and since I was tired, just lied down on the bed, In the mean time my wife was cooking for us some dinnerأ‚آ…later she entered the bedroom and saw me asleep, as it was late, we decided to skip rosary and have our dinner, after our dinner, I was refreshed and decided to watch some T.V news related to Japan Earthquake /Tsunami. Libya crisis, .etc .for around 30 minutes.

It was around 23:30 hours before going to bed, me and my wife had a chat for 15 minutes, my wife wanted to continue chatting, but I told her that I had to go to work, so I turned around on the other side and we both went to sleep.

To my astonishment, after 10 minutes which was just before midnight, when I turned around and opened my eyes towards my wifeأ‚آ’s side, I saw theأ‚آ“Statue of Mother Mary, standing at one Meter height from the ground level, dressed in blue and white garment color appearing in the place where my T.V was. I was in total shock. I immediately got up and folded my hands tightly and started watching mother Mary at the same time, I wanted to wake up my wife and show her this auspicious moment but to my surprise I couldnأ‚آ’t feel the touch or presence of my wife at that particular moment, I was all alone with Mother Mary ,at this time the only thing I remembered was that our living hall turned completely Navy Blue and there were white stars twinkling all over in the hall, I could see Mother Mary wearing a crown on her head with a big rosary in her hand and the rosaryأ‚آ’s cross was blinking continuously. There she was for nearly 10 seconds and after this she disappeared.أ‚آ”

Earlier we brought Mother Mary to our house twice once she was there with us for 2 days and second time for 8 days and Mother Maryأ‚آ’s statue was kept in the same place where she appeared. To be honest with you the T.V. was recently shifted to that spot around 2 months back and to my surprise it was the same T.V. spot Mother Mary appeared to me, was it a coincidence or message??.

Since it was midnight and I was totally nervous I decided to tell my wife in the morning and went to sleep. I got up early morning at around 5:30 a.m. and started realizing the whole scenario, I said to myself I worked up to 19:00 hours to finish my work, after coming home I had time to go for stroll, I had time to watch news and even to chat with my wife but did not make time to do family prayer. One side I was very happy (by the appearance), but other side I was guilty because we skipped the rosary that day. It was around 6 a.m. so my wife also got up, but before I could start I was in tears and told her about the auspicious moment of Mother Mary. I did not tell my children in the morning because they were getting ready to go to school. When I returned from work in the evening I straight away took the Holy Bible in my hand and narrated the whole story of the أ‚آ“Divine appearance of our Ladyأ‚آ” and all that preceded. Fear and nervousness surrounded them also. I gave this testimony to many of my friends and most of them suggested to email so that others can come to know about this great Miracle. Some of my friends asked me if she gave any message and I told them no, probably I was too nervous and not ready to take the message but my dear friends the Cross that was blinking for nearly 10 seconds I consider itself a message for all of us that we must pray everyday no matter how much busy we are because nothing is as important than prayers and holy rosary.

Iأ‚آ’m very thankful to you Mother Mary for showing love and concern to me and my family and interceded for me with your son Jesus, to forgive me and bless me and my family. By now I realized my mistake for giving priority to other temporal things and neglecting and giving lesser importance to rosary and spiritual things. I realized that Mass, Rosary and Prayers are of much more value and importance in our lives for our faith.

I think we are in the end of times, so my humble requests to all of you, please make time for daily prayers in the house for at least 15 minutes because prayers can do wonders and save many lives.

Many people told me that I must open up this testimony to public via email and finally it is being accomplished. Please forgive me for delaying this testimony. My humble request to you is, if you believe in this testimony please forward it to as many people as you can so that it may increase their faith more.

May Jesus and Mother Mary bless you all!