The good news is, users can download the latest Pidgin release (2.5.7) in order to keep connected with Yahoo Messenger.

For Ubuntu users, Pidgin 2.5.7 is available for download from the Click-and-Run GetDeb.net portal. Just select Pidgin package, and choose to open it with gdebi.

Hopefully you can solve the Pidgin login problem through this post.

Disabling Touchpad

• Go to the Ubuntu Netbook Remix main screen
• Select ‘Preference’, then ‘Mouse’

Untick the touchpad checkbox. The touchpad would be disabled until you you change the option back.

Lately, it seems that some people are having trouble connecting pidgin to Yahoo Messenger services. The problem seems to be associated with the Yahoo server itself.

Solving the Yahoo Messenger problem
A temporary solution for this problem is to change the Pidgin YM server setting.

Go to Accounts->Select your YM screen name->Edit Account->Advance.

Then change the original value of “scs.msg.yahoo.com” to any of these ip address:
66.163.181.183, 66.163.181.166 , 66.163.181.169, 66.163.181.170, 66.163.181.172, 66.163.181.171, 66.163.181.181, 66.163.181.182

As shown on the screenshot :

Note that this is only a temporary solution and you should only use this as the last resort.

Actually the problem does not lie with Ubuntu or any operating system in particular, rather the problem is related to 32bit operating system which only can address maximum of 2³² bytes of memory.

Some might argue that 32-bit should be enough to address 4GB RAM, but in reality some of those memory location are reserved for computer and application operation that only a fraction of it are addressable when you installed 4GB RAM on a 32bit operating system. Thus you would see that your computer would only have around 3.5 GB only.

The solution?

There are two solutions to remedy this problem :
i) Install a 64-bit (Ubuntu) operating system
ii) Compile/Install kernel with PAE features enabled

The (i) solution is obvious, just install a 64bit edition of Ubuntu to your computer, and your problem will be automatically solved! The downside is, you probably does not want to use a 64bit edition of Ubuntu yet for some obscure reason (the evil binary only drivers and blobs)

The (ii) solution requires you to install a kernel with Physical Address Extension (PAE) support enabled.

For you information, Ubuntu comes with pre-compiled linux kernel that has PAE enabled. What you need to do is to apt-get these 3 packages “linux-headers-server, linux-image-server and linux-server” and reboot your computer. This will enable you operating system to recognize the extra RAM installed inside your computer.

p/s : The best solution is to get a system that does not depend on binary blogs (hardware drivers, etc) and move to 64-bit operating system in order to enjoy the full potential of your computer.

For the time being, you can only follow this blog with Friend Connect, but in the future I will expand the functionality to include video posting, commenting and post rating to make it more interesting. You can start by following my blog on the Google Friend Connect bar at the bottom of my blog, you can use either your Google account username or OpenID account to sign in with Friend Connect

The Asus EeePC 1000h dimension is roughly the size of an A4 paper. If you happened to have an A4 paper in front of you, then you’ll get the idea of how big Asus EeePC 1000h is. Its 10 inch widescreen monitor offers a compact yet comfortable view for portable operation.

The keys on the keyboard is roughly 92% the size of an average laptop keyboard. This is larger than its predecessor Asus Eeepc 1000 and 901. Most importantly, the 1000h also comes with 160GB hard disk (with a modest 5,400 rpm) as opposed to 4-8GB of Solid State Drive (SSD) like its predecessor, allowing you to store more files on the netbook.

EeePC 1000h battery life
One of the thing that I admire most about Asus EeePC is its battery life which was advertised as it could last up to 7 hours. My personal test reveals that EeePC 1000h could last about 5 hours when running with active WiFi connection, which I consider as more than enough for my use.

Pre-Installed Software
The stock EeePC 1000h comes with Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 and preinstalled with StarOffice 8.0 which is not compatible with the latest Microsoft OpenXML document format. The EeePC also comes with various ‘crapware‘ including EeePC Storage and EeePC panel (for enabling/disabling various features of the netbook)

Additional built-in hardware
Besides from the standard WiFi feature, The Asus EeePC 1000h also comes with :

• Bluetooth
• Webcam
• Microphone
• VGA-out port
• RJ45 LAN port
• Card Reader
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• 1 GB RAM, upgradeable to 2 GB

As many other netbook, the Asus EeePC does not come with CD/DVD drive, something that haven’t bothered me because Ubuntu can be installed using the standard USB flash drive

Compatibility with Ubuntu
The netbook is compatible with Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR), which can be installed with this simple instruction using a typical USB disk drive.

Here’s a video of Asus EeePC 1000h netbook with Ubuntu Netbook Remix in action.

My Conclusion
Given the current price of (around) RM1,600 and its features, I’d say the Asus EeePC 1000h is a bargain. Its greatest feature is it portability where you can carry it around without much trouble when you are traveling on a holiday or working outside the office.

Powered by Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU, the Asus 1000h netbook gives out a surprisingly adequate performance for users to work on their project while they are outstation.

However, one point need to be stressed out : netbooks are built with portability in mind rather than performance, so you are advised to consider your requirements before deciding to get Eeepc.

Get ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10-inch netbook now !

Missing features from early release of Linux & Mac Google Chrome are :

• Can’t view Youtube videos
• Missing TIFF support
• Loads of memory leaks
• Does not have bookmark manager
• No Java plugin support
• No printing
• Problem with rendering certain websites
• Occasional crashes and freeze up
• and many more…

So if you are just an average user, do not download this release just yet! Instead, wait for a few months for a much more (?) BETA release to be available.

The developer channel release was made in order to elicit responses and bug reports from users to prepare for a more stable BETA release.

[Google's original announcement]

Websites that provide OpenID identity are called OpenID providers. There are many OpenID providers, and one of it is Launchpad. Launchpad users can use their Launchpad account URL as OpenID URL in order to access OpenID-supported websites or services.

For example :
https://launchpad.net/~mypapit

The general form of Launchpad OpenID URL is: https://launchpad.net/~your_user_name.

Where I can use OpenID for authentication?

You can use your Launchpad URL for authentication at websites or services that feature OpenID logo. Examples of such services is Blogger comment form, Sourceforge and Facebook.

How to use Launchpad account as OpenID provider?
On website that supports OpenID, enter your Launchpad account url : https://launchpad.net/~your_user_name, replace your_user_name to your own username. Then, you will be directed to your launchpad account, enter your password and you will be automatically authenticated for the current service.

Screenshot example :

The favorable side-effect of using your Launchpad account as OpenID is that you can indirectly promote (and probably brag) about your contribution (aka karma) towards Ubuntu.

MSC Malaysia Open Source Conference is an international forum for sharing and exchanging ideas and thoughts on the advancements, business opportunities and the development of open source application development. The conference is organized into 3 tracks (Business, Developers and Community) which feature speakers from their respective fields.

Among the prominent speakers will be featured on MSC OSConf :

• Chris DiBona
• Anthony Baxter
• Wai Kit Lau
• Dinesh Nair
• Redhuan D. Oon
• Gen Kanai

More importantly I will also present a paper (titled: Mobile application development using Open Source Software) at the conference, my talk is featured on day 4 in the Developers Track.

Please refer to MSCOSConf main website and the microsite for more information on how to participate in the conference.

The current official members in our local community (Ubuntu-my) as follows :

1. BuffaloSoldier
2. fenris
3. GunbladeIV
4. linuxmalaysia
5. nbliang
6. zarul

Hopefully with this appointment, our community will continue to flourish with activities that would benefit free and open source users as a whole.

What’s the advantage of being an official Ubuntu members?

• An @ubuntu.com email alias that forwards to your real email address
• An ubuntu/member/your_nick hostname IRC cloak on Freenode.
• The right to print business cards with the Ubuntu logo – The business cards can be found at the BusinessCards page, you will need to take care of the printing yourself.
• Syndication on Planet Ubuntu of your Ubuntu blog or the Ubuntu category posts in your blog, if you have one. Follow the registration instructions on PlanetUbuntu to add your blog!
• An Ubuntu Member title at the Ubuntu Forums. See this post for more information.
• A subscription to Linux Weekly News – see this page for instructions on how to apply.
• Ability to join the Official Ubuntu Members group on LinkedIn.

For more information please refer to Ubuntu Membership wiki page