think²

Blog moved to mpathirage.com

2008-06-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

I moved this blog to mpatihrage.com.

Two new blogs

2008-01-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

I started two new blogs in this week. One[1] containing best web designs, css design and web design tutorials and the other[2] containing photoshop related resources from the internet.
[1]design²
[2]photoshop²

Connect your Nokia N70 with your Ubuntu Gutsy

2008-01-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

Today I saw some one from Lanka Linux User Group has asked this question on LUG mailing list. Even though I didn't have a N70 on my own, I burrow my cousin's N70 and tried to connect it using "openobex" and "obextool". I was able to successfully connect to cousin's N70 using obexftp which comes with openobex and obextool.
Here are the steps I followed in my Ubuntu Gutsy:

1. First I installed obexftp and obextool using following command.

"sudo apt-get install obextool obexftp"

2. Then I connect my N70 using USB connector and execute following command.

"sudo obexftp -u"

If your N70 is correctly connected to your machine using USB and if obexftp is working fine you must see the following output.

3. If we got above output we know now we have the interface to use to connect to N70. Then I execute the following command.

"sudo obexftp -u 1 -l"

And got the following out put.

4. Finally I execute the following command and run GUI using obextool.

"sudo obextool --obexcmd "obexftp -u 1"

I only browse through the files inside phone and didn't have time to check more stuff. Try this on your own and find ways to do more things using obextool.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T01:32:00.000-08:00

Ubuntu, The Highway to Freedom

2007-12-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

Setting up ADSL Connection using free ADSL USB Modem given by Sri Lanka Telecom on Ubuntu Gutsy

2007-12-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

For a seasonal offer Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is given away free ADSL USB Modem ZTE ZXDSL 852 for customers who byuing ADSL Connections. This package contains ZTE ZXDSL 852 (SGS Thomson Microelectronic chipset) ADSL USB Modem, Driver CD for Window and ADSL Splitter. But there are no drivers for Linux. This simple guide will help you to install this modem in Ubuntu Gutsy (I believe this will also work with Feisty).

First you have to download this nice piece of Software from http://ubudsl.ubuntu.pl.
You can download UbuDSL 0.5(i386) from here.
You can download UbuDSL o.5(amd64/Ubuntu 7.10 only) from here.

You can install the package using follwing commands:

wget http://ubudsl.ubuntu.pl/debs/ubudsl_0.5-1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i ubudsl_0.5-1_i386.deb

After successfully installing the package, you have to configure the connection. Before condigure the connection you must have Ubuntu Installation CD with you.
To configure the UbuDSL goto Applications->Internet->UbuDSL - configuration.
Then you will get a window like following.Click Next button and select your country from the list and enter your username and password and click start.
Then it will display the following screen and ask for the Ubuntu Installation disk .
After finishing the configuration process it will display the following window.
Then press quit. Before you reboot SLT customers have some thing to do.
Use following command open the options file in /etc/modprobe.d/

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/options

Find a line that starts from "options unicorn_usb_eth" and replace in this line PROTOCOL=pppoatm ENCAPS=vc-encaps by PROTOCOL=pppoe ENCAPS=llc-encaps. Save the file, quit the editor and reboot your computer.

After rebooting your connection will appear on your gnome panel, and display connected message. If you doesn't enable autostart option, you have to manually open the UbuDSL - connection monitor and press connect button. Connection monitor can found in the Applications->internet menu.

Special thanks goes to Adrian Łubik who is the founder and programmer of this tool.

apt and dpkg beyond the basic use of installing programs

2007-12-18T23:48:00.000-08:00

When I start to reading Ubuntu packaging guide, I found this interesting things which can do using apt and dpkg.

apt-cache dump : lists every package in the cache. This command is especially helpful in combination with a grep pipe such as apt-cache dump | grep foo to search for packages whose names or dependencies include foo.
apt-cache policy : lists the repositories (main/restricted/universe/multiverse) in which a package exists.
apt-cache show : displays information about a binary package.
apt-cache showsrc : displays information about a source package.
apt-cache rdepends : shows reverse dependencies for a package (which packages require the queried one.
dpkg -S : lists the binary package to which a particular file belongs.
dpkg -l : lists currently installed packages. This is similar to apt-cache dump but for installed packages.
dpkg -c : lists the contents of a binary package. It is useful for ensuring that files are installed to the right places.
dpkg -f : shows the control file for a binary package. It is useful for ensuring that the dependencies are correct.
grep-dctrl : searches for specialized information in packages. It is a specific use of the grep package (but not installed by default).

My Firefox with Personas for Firefox

2007-12-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

Personas for Firefox is a extension that adds lightweight theming to your Firefox browser.

Installing:

Click the install now link on this page.
Install the extension as you install any other extensions.
When you restart the browser you will see the Personas for Firefox icon on the lower left corner of your Firefox status bar.
Then just click on that icon and select themes from the available lists.

Here are some examples:

Run Web Applications directly on your Linux Desktop

2007-12-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Mozilla Labs Prism you can now split your web applications out of your browsers and run them directly on your desktop.
This is an example about how to run Google Reader directly on your Ubuntu desktop.

Download Prism for Linux from here.
Extract it to where you want.
Then double click and run the prism executable or run it through your favourite shell.
Fill the details according to the screen shot.
Enter the Google account and password and tick remember this account if you want. It will load the reader.
Then when you want to run the Google Reader you can simply click the icon on your desktop and run it.

Install and Setup Vim Editor in Ubuntu

2007-12-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

First You have to install the vim-full package using following command.

sudo apt-get install vim-full

This command will install version of vim compiled with support for the GNOME2 GUI and scripting support for Perl, Python, Ruby, and TCL. After installation process when you open the vim editor it will not support syntax highlighting or any other features which must enabled using commands. To enable those basic features, you can use .vimrc file inside your home folder. You can find a sample .vimrc file inside /usr/share/vim/vim71 (or vim70) called vimrc_example.vim. Simply copy this file to your home directory using following command.

cp vimrc_example.vim ~/.vimrc

Now you are ready to explore the power of Vim.

Here are some links to download cheat sheet for Vim.

Happy editing!

Linux swap space explained

2007-12-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

When it comes to memory management in operating systems, the buzz words you hear are swapping and paging. You will learn why this swapping and paging is important in your OS introduction course, or may be you hear it from some friend or read about it in a article. When you become more mature in operating systems you will learn about algorithms and various approaches used in memory management. When it comes to installing Linux you will always have to create a swap partition (I think most of the Linux distribution need swap), or if you use guided partitioning installer will automatically create partitions for you. In the following article published in Linux.com you will found most of the details about Linux swap and purpose of the swap space.

All about Linux swap space [Linux.com]

Using Google Chart API

2007-12-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

Google has introduced new dynamic chart API for web application developers. You can find it here. There is also a very nice documentation available at above link. You can use this API inside JavaScript Also. Here are some examples.

Dell XPS M1730 WOW Edition

2007-12-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

Dell has introduce new editions of their XPS M1530 and XPS M1730 laptops specially for World of Warcraft. Here is the link.

swicki from eurekster

2007-12-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

When I browse trough the digg.com every day in my life and I used del.icio.us to manage my bookmarks, I got an idea to create human powered search engine using concepts of above two web applications. In this human powered search people can create tags and add there favorite links to those tags. People who browse through these tags can vote according to there preference for links which are related to that tag. I you think one link is very much related to that tag he can vote for that tag to bring it to the top.
Accidentally today I found a site that implement idea similar to above. Actually this is better than my idea. It's called eureksterswicki. You can find it at eurekster.com. It allow you to create your own custom social search portal on your own topic. People can vote for your links available in your swicki page and it also support web widgets.

Python Cartoon

2007-12-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

This image is originally posted at here(xkcd.com).

My Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop with Avant Window Manager and Wallpaper Clock Screenlet installed

2007-12-05T06:00:00.001-08:00

Changing the default terminal editor in Ubuntu 7.10

2007-11-05T21:18:00.000-08:00

Fist you have to use following command to bring up the configuration manager (It's a simple command line one).

sudo update-alternatives --config editor

From the displayed menu you can choose whatever the editor you prefer.

Vista Killer Compiz Fusion

2007-10-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

Compiz Fusion : A Quick Demonstration
Getting Started with Compiz Fusion
Compiz Fusion: Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 Cool Effects
Compiz Fusion Uses and Effects
Compiz Fusion Development
Compiz Fusion Plugins: Screensaver and Aquarium
Compiz Fusion Cocktail

Javascript video lectures

2007-10-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

Tabs Generator, Stripes Generator, Tartan Maker and Rflection Maker

2007-10-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some free tools for Web application designers. Using these tools you can generate tabs, stripes, tartans and image reflections to use in your web pages.These tools are created by
Alessandro La Rosa and Fabio Fidanza.

Ajax game powered by dojo gfx and SVG/VML rendering

2007-10-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

Paolo Ardoino has created a wizard game based on ajax/javascript using dojo gfx and SVG/VML. Actually this is a very nice idea and a nice game.

Yahoo Search with Search Assist

2007-10-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Yahoo has updated there search engine with new search assist feature.

Python video lectures

2007-10-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

Apache Axis2/C 1.1.0 Released

2007-09-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the release note,

You can download this release from:
http://ws.apache.org/axis2/c/download.cgi

Major Changes Since Last Release

1. WS-Policy implementation
2. TCP Transport
3. Improvements to Guththila parser to improve performance
4. Improvements to Java tool, WSDL2C, that generates C code
5. Basic HTTP Authentication
6. Memory leak fixes
7. Many bug fixes

New Digg Interface

2007-09-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

Zen of Python

2007-09-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

Zen of Python by Tim Peters

Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

Create collaborative lists, atlases, databases and more using listphile.com

2007-09-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Listphile is free web site which will enable you to create collaborative lists, maps and databases about anything from funny stuff to professional stuffs.

Python Cheat Sheets

2007-08-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some Cheat Sheets for Python. I think they will be help full for every one who start to learn Python programming and who involve in programming using Python.

Python Cheat Sheet - This will contain brief details input handling, Text file processing, lists, dictionaries and basic language.[html]
Python 101 Cheat Sheet - This cheat sheet from IBM contains details from running python to exception handling.[html]
Python 2.2 Quick Reference - Quick Reference which every Python developer must have.[html]
Djanjo Cheat Sheet - Python Web development framework cheat sheet.[html]

cheat-sheets.org

2007-08-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

This site containing cheat sheets for most of the programming language found. This is one stop shop for cheat sheets you want.

Free University Lectures

2007-08-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

While searching through stumbleupon I found a really interesting site called Lecturefox. It contains video, audion and notes related to Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics and mix of other things. I think this site is really interesting and help students to find new areas of knowladge.

In the Computer Science section there are lot of interesting video lectures about operating systems, programming languages, web 2.0, semantic web and so many other videos about different areas available.

I think you should check this out.

Python, PyGTK and simplicity of Gnome UI Programming

2007-08-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

I started a new project to make fun in my free time and to learn python more deeply. So I start to develop TCP Monitor using Python for Linux platform. I was able to write simple fort forwarding program which will forward requests coming for a localhost port to remote port and I was able to make it multi threaded with the help of following code samples from ASPN.

After that I tried to create GUIs using PyGTK and Glade. After some time I felt some uneasiness using glade and PyGTK. It gave some errors while using notebook control in PyGTK. So I moved to use PyGTK without Glade with the help of PyGTK tutorial available in PyGTK project site.
I think PyGTK is cool solutions for those who have problems while making GUIs with GTK+ in C. Because writing GUIs using C is a pain. But PyGTK will make your life easier.

Some Tutorials for PyGTK with Glade

My First Post

2007-08-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

I first used blogger. I then moved to wordpress. But I felt that blogger is better than wordpress. So now I came back to blogger with new vision and new goals.
But I thought, what to write first in my new blog. I got an idea, which is a solution for problem I faced when I am trying to post code in my blog. These things are gathered by searching through google for better answers.
I first tried to use CodePress & CodeEdit which are better solutions for browser based code editors. But then I found this Syntaxhighlighter project in code.google.com. It's a very good solution for me. I have found several posts from blogs like gpowered.blogspot.com. But these posts are somewhat out dated. So, this is the updated guide use http://code.google.com/p/syntaxhighlighter/ to post code in your blog.

As the first task you must download the JavaScript Library from http://code.google.com/p/syntaxhighlighter/ site.
Because blogger doesn't allow us to upload files we have to find a solution. My solution is to create a web page in pages.google.com and when you create google page you get free 100 MB online storage. Upload syntaxhighlighter source files to this account. You must upload most of the files in the library.(clipbord.swf, SyntaxHighlighter.css, shCore.js and other required brushes. You need a google account to create google pages)
Then you have to add the required Javascript files and css file mentioned in syntaxhighlighter site to your template file in blogger account. Remember to add these code into head section of your template.

And you have to modify the following code part mention in previously mentioned link:

to this:

Then you have to follow instructions in this link to post code in to your blog. You can use pre tags in Edit Html mode directly without replace '<' characters with any code like '&alt;'.

&lt;br>