Of Technology and Travel

BIOS upgrade for Asus 1005HA Netbook in Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:41:00 +0000

The BIOS in the ASUS 1005HA netbook was shipped without support for ACPI in Windows 7. All the blue function keys on the netbook rely on the ACPI layer to work, therefore, I decided to upgrade the BIOS to the latest in order to run Windows 7.

There's only one problem -- the BIOS flash program, called ASUS updater, downloaded from the ASUS web site under 1005HA support, relies on ACPI to work :)

To get around the problem, you need a BIO flasher that can work without ACPI support. I searched the ASUS support site for the motherboard model and found this one:BIOS flash utility 6.10.02 I used it to flash the board with the latest ROM and everything works like a charm in Windows 7.

I also read some posts on the web that people has been downgrading the BIOS in order to get the flash utility to work, then upgrading the BIOS again. That's just too much busy work :)

The easiest way to install applications for a new OS

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:15:00 +0000

Check out ninite

Google has a competing product too: Google Pack

Dual Booting Windows 7 and Linux with EasyBCD

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:46:00 +0000

I decided to use Windows 7 bootloader instead GRUB to manage the dual boot.

I've been using GRUB before to manage Linux/Windows dual boot -- you need to edit the menu.lst file in the /boot folder under the Linux root partition; this time, I decided to give the Windows 7 bootloader a try.

Windows 7 uses the same bootloader as Windows Vista. One of the best tool for managing the bootloader is EasyBCD from NeoSmart

Interestingly, the easiest way to dual boot Linux (in my opinion)-- using the NeoGrub bootloader, is not well documented by the maker NeoSmart.

NeoGrub is made by NeoSmart as a bootloader within a bootloader. It can live anywhere on your Windows filesystem; you just make a reference to it inside EasyBCD. After you install NeoGrub from within EasyBCD, you want to click the Configure button and modify the menu.lst file (that's only way to modify it. the file is locked outside the program).

Just copy the boot entries from the old menu.lst file. (if you are wondering how in the world you would be able to reach the old menu.lst from inside Windows 7, you might want to read my old post on Ext2 IFS :) Those boot entries should look like the following:

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic
root=UUID=c28b6727-d0e5-46c1-93a8-9b336033ff05 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic
quiet

Save the file and EasyBCD writes a new NeoGrub entry the into the Windows 7 bootloader for you. Done.

Result of the bootloader entries including the new NeoGrub entry:

Omega Drivers for nVidia

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:50:00 +0000

I've been having stability trouble with my nVidia graphics card on an old computer -- it's crashing it when accessing video intensive web sites. So instead of using the official nVidia driver, I switch to the Omega driver. Downloaded from http://www.omegadrivers.net

Omega makes drivers for both ATI and nVidia. And based on what I've seen so far, their drivers are better and have a better user interface. I am already less than happy that nVidia decided not to provide Vista support for my MX 440SE AGP card, which had been only a couple of years old when Windows Vista came out. After this episode of poor driver quality, I am going to make sure my next graphics card is not one from nVidia.

NVidia Geforce4 4400 AGP 8X in Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:55:00 +0000

I have a 5-year-old Dell 400SC server with a Linksys USB wireless adapter and an Nvidia Geforce4 4400 AGP 8X video card. I wanted to try Windows 7 on it.

Everything seemed to work fine (after I gathered drivers from Dell and Linksys) with the exception of the AGP video card. The card, according to manufacturer, is not supported in Windows Vista.

A little digging (well, a lot of digging) on the Internet turned up this blog, which helped me out.

Apparently some versions of the NVidia drivers will semi-work in Vista, and therefore by extension, in Windows 7 as well. I downloaded the Forceware Version: 81.98 driver and manually installed it. Afterwards I even installed the Nvidia Control Panel plug-in by running under the compatibility mode for the installation.

Well, the installation actually took several back-and-forthness, but eventually I did end up with a semi-working video card in Windows 7. The max resolution is only 1280x1024, less than the 1600x1280 resolution the card can display in Windows XP, and I had to tweak a setting in the display control to set it to use the Card Rendering instead of Monitor Rendering.

But it's still better than having to buy a new graphic card...

Install Samsung ML-1740 driver on Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:10:00 +0000

The Samsung GDI driver for ml-1740 et al. is packaged in an .exe file from the Samsung download web site. http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.com/downloadfile/ContentsFile.aspx?CDSite=US&CttFileID=1291152&CDCttType=DR&ModelType=&ModelName=ML-1740&VPath=DR/200701/20070129084454453_ML-1740_GDI_Vista.exe

However, the .exe file is not Windows 7 compatible. If you try to install the driver by clicking on the executable, the program will terminate. So what to do?

Well, it's simple really. The driver works fine in Windows 7; you just have to install it manually. To do so, follow these steps:

1. download the driver from the link above
2. double click on the downloaded file. there will be a windows error message informning you this program is incompatible with this version of windows. Don't close this error message window yet, because we need to access the temporary files the install program has extracted.
3. now go to the temp directory of your computer, typically, it's (user folder)\appdata\local\temp. It's a hidden folder; to view it you need to enable view of hidden files and folders in Windows folder option. The files contained in the .exe file above were extracted in this directory. Sort by date and you'll see a temp folder containing the following directories: printer\GDI\Vista. Copy the content of the directory to a permanent folder, for example, the download directory.

-- There's actually an easier way as pointed out by one of the comments below. You can right click on the Samsung exe file and choose properties --> compatibility --> and choose to run the program under the compatibility mode for Vista SP2. I tried it and it works.

4. Now go to Start --> Devices and Printers. Select Add a printer, when you reach the page for selecting printer drivers, click on Have Disk... and choose the driver file you had copied earlier.

Works like a charm. Have a look at my printer set up:

Installing Windows 7 on a Netbook without DVD drive

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:08:00 +0000

I installed Windows 7 on my son's Netbook ASUS 1005HA. Since it does not have a DVD drive, I wasn't sure if the installation would go smoothly. Well, indeed it did. So to report, what you need to do the install are:

1. An unused partition on the Netbook to house Windows 7 Operating System. His Netbook came preconfigured with two partitions. But if yours didn't, you can always create a new partition with a tool like BootIt.

2. A virutal CD/DVD mounting tool. I used DaemonTool to do that. With it you can simulate a DVD drive using an ISO file on the hard drive.

Once that's done, I copied the Windows 7 ISO onto his Netbook, mounted the ISO using the DaemonTool, and installed Windows 7 onto the second partition. Everything just worked. No sweat.

Here's a screenprint of the new OS:

California Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:59:00 +0000

My family just returned from a Central California vacation. We visited San Francisco, Sonoma County, Yosemite National Park, and John Steinbeck country (Salinas Valley, San Juan Bautista, Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur). One morning in Yosemite, we had a surprise visitor. Look who's above of our rental car:

And here's close-up view of him:

Lessons from the Car Repair

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, I was involved in a car accident. Another car "T-boned" into my car at an intersection. The right side of my car was completely damaged, even the tires. Luckily no one was sitting on the passenger side of the vehicle and the damage was limited to just the cars.

I showed the damage to a friend of mine before heading down to a auto body shop for insurance estimate. My friend Jason, who knows cars, took one look and guessed it would cost probably $6500 to repair the car.

Afterwards I went to the shop and had the car photographed for insurance claim. Several days later, the insurance company estimated the repair cost would be $3500. That's quite a discrepancy!

Once the repair started though, the body shop quickly determined the estimate was way off and filed for supplement claim. The total cost of repair? Between $6000-7000.

Which begs the question: why was the initial insurance estimate so far off? Well, the answer is that the insurance adjuster never saw the car in person; instead, he relied on the photos sent by the body shop. As a result, he missed many parts that could not be repaired and needed replacements. Have we all done this before in our own business?

You betcha. How many times a software development project got out of control from the initial cost and time estimate? I've seen lots. Often, the person making the initial estimate relied solely on the product requirement document, without fully understanding the nuances of the underlying business problems. To me, the lesson from the car repair is this: Get as close to the source as possible. Get find hand knowledge of a business problem. Never base your estimate solely on the requirement documents.

Tiananmen, Twenty Years Ago Today

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:54:00 +0000

There are things of which I may not speak;
There are dreams that cannot die;
There are thoughts that make the strong heart weak,
And bring a pallor into the cheek,
And a mist before the eye.
And the words of that fatal song
Come over me like a chill:
"A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Random Travel Post

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:54:00 +0000

This photo was taken at the Gator Park in South Florida last year. It makes me laugh.

Testing out WiX.com, an online tool for building Flash web site

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:15:00 +0000

I used WiX.com's free Flash Studio to make the album object above. The web site's very easy to use. It took about 10 minutes to learn to use their design studio, and the Flash object I created is hosted on WiX.com.

I recommend it.

My Problem with Dell's Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:41:00 +0000

I was a good customer of Dell, having bought over a dozen computers from them over the years, and never once utilized their tech support since I can fix most common computer problems on my own.

A week ago, I bought a laptop from Dell as a present for a relative -- but there was a glitch with the order.

I've heard horror stories from people about Dell's customer service, and today I had the privilege of experiencing it first hand. It was mind numbingly BAD.

I found out today, 5 days after I placed the order (by checking the order status online, without any notifications from Dell), that the laptop I bought as a present for someone had been canceled. I called Dell Customer Support and after 1 hour of being on hold and talking to various departments, five transfers including having my call dropped twice, I was finally transferred back to the department I first called -- Customer Service, and was told by Monish, a "senior customer service rep" who refused to let me speak to his supervisor, that there was nothing he could do for me to either reinstate my order, which was canceled due a system glitch, or, to reinstate the promotion coupon or give me another one so I could place another order for the same price as my canceled order.

I am puzzled. Does Dell not understand that I do not need to buy PC from them? Once I hung up the phone from Dell, I bought a Toshiba laptop from Newegg.com. The order was confirmed and the credit card charge was processed in seconds, and within three hours the laptop is being shipped to me via free 1-day UPS ground shipping from New Jersey.

So I guess Dell can say goodbye to me as a loyal customer. I could be wrong, but very few good businesses survive for the long run by continuously providing sub par customer service.

My favorite neighborhood in London

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:09:00 +0000

Having just returned from London, I want to mention how much I love South Kensington. Though I have some personal reasons for liking the neighborhood, I also think it's a great area for tourists and business travelers. There is a perfect balance of being in the center of everything yet still possessing plenty of neighborhood charms.

My hotel on Thurloe Square in South Kensington:

VirtualBox

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Has anyone tried the Sun's VirtualBox Virtual Server? It's a fantastic product, dubbed one of the best VM solutions you've never heard of.

I downloaded the product tonight from http://www.virtualbox.org/ and found it very easy to install and use. Compared to VMware server, VirtualBox has some nice features, for example, the wizard walking you through the virtual machine creation process is very logically designed, and the product is free.

Somthing's fishy in Linux JVM

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:12:00 +0000

I just encountered another failed JVM setting. This time it was the Oracle SQL Developer.

Here's the error log under verbose option:

steven@family-room:/opt/sqldeveloper$ ./sqldeveloper.sh -verbose

Oracle SQL Developer
Copyright (c) 2006, 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.

Reading configuration from: /opt/sqldeveloper/sqldeveloper/bin/sqldeveloper.conf
Working directory is /opt/sqldeveloper/sqldeveloper/bin
Running Command: /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun-1.6.0.06/bin/../jre/bin/java -Xmx512M -Xverify:none -XX:JavaPriority10_To_OSPriority=10 -XX:JavaPriority9_To_OSPriority=9 -Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true -Dcom.apple.mrj.application.apple.menu.about.name=SQL_Developer -Dcom.apple.mrj.application.growbox.intrudes=false -Dcom.apple.macos.smallTabs=true -Doracle.ide.util.AddinPolicyUtils.OVERRIDE_FLAG=true -Dsun.java2d.ddoffscreen=false -Dide.update.masterserver=http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/sql/master.xml -Dwindows.shell.font.languages= -Dide.AssertTracingDisabled=true -Doracle.ide.util.AddinPolicyUtils.OVERRIDE_FLAG=true -Djava.util.logging.config.file=logging.conf -Dide.conf="/opt/sqldeveloper/sqldeveloper/bin/sqldeveloper.conf" -Dide.startingcwd="/opt/sqldeveloper/sqldeveloper/bin" -Dide.home.dir.name=.sqldeveloper -classpath ../../ide/lib/ide-boot.jar:../../jdev/lib/xmleditor.jar:../../ide/lib/oicons.jar:../../jlib/jewt4.jar:../../jlib/share.jar:../../sqldeveloper/lib/jle2.jar:../../sqldeveloper/lib/oracle.dbtools.logging.jar oracle.ide.boot.Launcher
Using oracle.home=/opt/sqldeveloper
Using ide.user.dir=/home/steven/.sqldeveloper
/opt/sqldeveloper/sqldeveloper/bin/../../ide/bin/launcher.sh: line 478: 19573 Segmentation fault ${JAVA} ${APP_VM_OPTS} ${APP_SCRIPT_USER_HOME} ${APP_ENV_VARS} -classpath ${APP_CLASSPATH} ${APP_MAIN_CLASS} ${APP_APP_OPTS}
Error: SQL Developer can't recognize the JDK version

Unlike Netbeans' error message, this one is totally bogus. Anyway, because of what happened in Netbeans, I suspected it was the JVM stack size option again, so I added "AddVMOption -Xss4M" to the jdev/bin/ide.conf, just above where the -Xms option was set.

The problem instantly disappeared. Seems to me the default JVM stack size on Linux is too small for a number of graphic heavy Java applications. I wonder if this is a bug with the Hotspot JVM implementation on Linux.

Netbeans Crash in Linux / Kubuntu

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:09:00 +0000

When I launched the Java IDE Netbeans 6.1 today, I got this error:

steven@family-room:~/netbeans-6.1/bin$ ./netbeans
An irrecoverable stack overflow has occurred.
#
# An unexpected error has been detected by Java Runtime Environment:
#
# SIGSEGV (0xb) at pc=0xb7e249bc, pid=25679, tid=3019492240
#
# Java VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (10.0-b22 mixed mode, sharing linux-x86)
# Problematic frame:
# C [libc.so.6+0x739bc] memcpy+0x1c
#
# An error report file with more information is saved as:
# /home/steven/netbeans-6.1/bin/hs_err_pid25679.log
#
# If you would like to submit a bug report, please visit:
# http://java.sun.com/webapps/bugreport/crash.jsp
# The crash happened outside the Java Virtual Machine in native code.
# See problematic frame for where to report the bug.
#
./../platform8/lib/nbexec: line 466: 25679 Aborted "/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/bin/java" -Djdk.home="/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun" -classpath "/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/boot.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/org-openide-modules.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/org-openide-util.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/boot_ja.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/boot_pt_BR.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/boot_zh_CN.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/org-openide-modules_ja.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/org-openide-modules_pt_BR.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/org-openide-modules_zh_CN.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/org-openide-util_ja.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/org-openide-util_pt_BR.jar:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8/lib/locale/org-openide-util_zh_CN.jar:/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/lib/dt.jar:/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/lib/tools.jar" -Dnetbeans.dirs="/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/nb6.1:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/ide9:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/java2:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/xml2:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/apisupport1:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/enterprise5:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/mobility8:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/profiler3:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/gsf1:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/ruby2:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/visualweb2:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/soa2:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/identity2:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/uml5:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/harness:/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/cnd2:" -Dnetbeans.home="/home/steven/netbeans-6.1/platform8" '-Dnetbeans.importclass=org.netbeans.upgrade.AutoUpgrade' '-Dnetbeans.accept_license_class=org.netbeans.license.AcceptLicense' '-Xmx161m' '-Dcom.sun.aas.installRoot=/home/steven/glassfish-v2ur2' '-client' '-Xss2m' '-Xms32m' '-XX:PermSize=32m' '-XX:MaxPermSize=200m' '-Xverify:none' '-Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true' '-Dsun.java2d.noddraw=true' org.netbeans.Main --userdir "/home/steven/.netbeans/6.1" "--branding" "nb"

As you can see, the error is caused by a stack overflow. Of course, a number of items can go wrong with that, for example, some code with bad recursive calls; however, my Netbeans had been working fine, so I thought the default thread size might be too small for Netbeans.

The stack size option in JVM (not to be confused with heap size options) is set by using the Xss flag. As you can see from the stack trace above (no pun intended), the default stack size was 2MB. A grep on the netbean folder revealed that this is being set in etc/netbeans.conf like this:

netbeans_default_options="-J-Dcom.sun.aas.installRoot=\"/home/steven/glassfish-v2ur2\" -J-client -J-Xss2m -J-Xms32m -J-XX:PermSize=32m

I changed the -Xss from 2m to 4m and launched Netbeans again.

Voila. Problem solved.

PS -- each project in Netbeans has its own runtime settings. You may need to add the -Xss option to the project property (right click on the project name and select property, then select run --> vm options)

Unix for Dummies --musings from a gcc install

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Unix admins are a curious bunch.

Exhibit A. Someone posted this message on one of the Unix chat boards:

Help! My gcc install failed. The error message I got is:

(sparc) 2.95.3
cpio: Cannot write "reloc/lib/gcc-lib/sparc-sun-solaris2.8/2.95.3/cc1", errno 28
, No space left on device

And the answers from those helpful Unix admins on the board? They ranged from "You are running out of space." to "run a df -k".

Well, duh. I think common sense is not a popular trait among the admins.

The space error message is a problem commonly encountered during the installation of a very large package, like the gcc. 95% of the time, the answer is: the /var partition is almost full. Specifically, it is the /var/sadmin directory which contains all the package install information. To solve the problem, move the directory to another partition, and create a sym link in its old place.

Install Samsung ML-1740 Printer in Solaris 10

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:52:00 +0000

The Samsung ML-1740 is a non-postscript laser printer. To print in Solaris, I decided to install and run CUPS (common unix printing system) instead of using the standard lpcommand in Solaris

Why?

Because I know CUPS will work since that's what my Kubuntu runs.

The major steps to install and configure Samsung ML-1740 in Solaris 10 are:

1. Install CUPS. You could use a pre-compiled CUPS package (freely available from the Sun Solaris Optional Component DVD and the Solaris web site), or you could download the latest source code from www.cups.org and build the binary yourself. I've tried both and would HIGHLY recommend using the latest CUPS (version 1.3.8). It's less buggy, plays nicely with clients like Firefox and has some additional niceties, like letting you browse for a printer driver file, and telling you when a particular filter specified by your printer's driver is missing.

2. Start CUPS.
/etc/init.d/cups start
Point your browser to the CUPS management interface at localhost:631 Make sure CUPS is running and you can see the management interface before continue.

3. Get the printer driver. Because the foomatic gdi driver is platform independent, I simply use the same one I have on Kubuntu, which I downloaded from OpenPrinting.org

4. Install the foomatic-rip filter.
Because my printer is not a postscript printer, the gdi driver downloaded in step 2 uses the foomatic-rip filter to translate the postscript language for CUPS. The foomatic filter is not installed by default from either CUPS package, so I again got mine off the OpenPrinting.org web site. The foomatic tar file link is here.

5. Configure the printer in CUPS. Add the printer to your user preference.

In Kubuntu, it takes all of 2 minutes to get my Samsung ML-1740 laser printer set up. But things got a lot more interesting when I tried to follow all the steps above to install the printer in Solaris.

Stay tuned if you are interested in some troubleshooting tips with CUPS in Solaris and Foomatic printer drivers. I can tell you the story does have a happy ending...

Linux Filesystem Viewer for Windows

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:29:00 +0000

Linux has long been able to mount both Windows NTFS and FAT file systems, but the reverse is not true in Windows.

To view a ext2 or ext3 file system, I tried a tool called DiskInternals Linux Reader, downloaded from the company's web site: http://www.diskinternals.com/download.shtml. I installed it on my dual boot Windows XP/Kubuntu server.

I can now see my Linux file systems in Windows XP, but if you need to read the files, you'd have to use the recovery option in the DiskInternals tool and make a copy of the file.

I guess it works for those emergency situations that you need to get a file from the Linux partition, but it is not very convenient.

So I tried a second software, called Ext2 Installable File System For Windows, from http://www.fs-driver.org/download.html. Despite the name of the product, the software works for both Ext2 and Ext3 file systems, and you have the option of disabling the write access to the Linux partition. After the install, you can mount the Linux partitions to their own drive letters, and they show up just like any other NT drives. By the way, the configuration is done through a file, ifsdrives.cpl in Windows XP, which you access through the control panel.

There are some technical issues related to mounting of an Ext3 partition vs. an Ext2 one. The Ext3 file system is the Ext2 file system which has been extended by journaling. It is backward-compatible to Ext2 - an Ext3 volume can be mounted and used as an Ext2 volume. The Ext2 IFS software is smart enough to check the Ext3 file system and will refuse mounting an Ext3 file system which contains data in its journal, just like older Linux kernels which have no Ext3 support. This way, it avoids potentially corrupting the file system in case of a prior system crash in Linux.

All and all, the IFS software is a great tool. Kudos to the folks at fs-driver.org.

Charming Shanghai Neighborhoods

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:57:00 +0000

Shanghai is my favorite city in China. I loved its unique blend of European flair and Chinese characters. The following photos are from some of my favorite neighborhoods in Shanghai:

The Dongjiadu Church, a Portuguese style church, in Old Shanghai.

A traditional Shanghai Longtang (a residential quarter) in the former French Concession.

Shanghai's many lively neighborhood parks. This one on the Shaoxing Road is the smallest park in Shanghai.

The Nanjing Road pedestrian shopping district

View from the Oriental Pearl across the Bund. Notice the difference in the water color where the Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu River.

For more, you can read a detailed Shanghai neighborhood guide I wrote.

My favorite memories of China

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:02:00 +0000

We just completed a family trip to China. I am going to post some of my favorite memories from the trip.

And number one on the list: Food!

The empty Forbidden City

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:00:00 +0000

As long as you know where to go to avoid the crowd, the Forbidden City can be had without tourists.

Hacking Picasa

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:04:00 +0000

I like the Picasa software primarily for its album feature. The albums I created are stored as meta data in the Picasa database and are not physical copies of the photos, therefore, they are more efficient in terms of data storage.

However, what happens if you choose to move your photos to another location. Hey, I know! Because I found out the hard way. You lose all you albums.

Well, I managed to find a backup copy of some Picasa system files (called .pal files). Those files contain the list of photos that belong to different albums.

So I thought there's gotta be a way to hack Picasa so that I could create albums using my own meta data. I created a test album and used the backup feature in Picasa to dump the album settings into an ISO file. I then mounted the ISO file in Kubuntu:

sudo mount CD0.iso /cdrom -t iso9660 -o loop

After I opened the ISO, I found that files.txt in the ISO root contained a list of files for the album. The lines are like this:

\[Z]\mnt\xpdata\Documents and Settings\3po\My Documents\My Pictures\Test\Picasa.ini
ft,3eabbb00,1c8fc34,3eabbb00,1c8fc34

3eabbb00,1c8fc34,3eabbb00,1c8fc34 are Hex codes. Different Hex codes are appended to each line in the file. I don't know what they mean or how I could crack them. Therefore, so far, no dice on how to hack the Picasa albums.

I wonder if there's a way to hack into the Picasa db...

Setting up SAMBA server on Kubuntu and client on XP

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:09:00 +0000

So today I decided to set up a SAMBA server on my Kubuntu because this is where my music collection is stored. My son uses the music library to sync up his ipod, and his computer is often running Windows XP.

To install SAMBA, I used the Kubuntu Debian package manager. Very straight forward.

Afterwards, before I did any configuration of the SAMBA server, I checked the SAMBA install from the XP client using \\ip_address, and it's already there! The printer is shared. Cool.

Step two, add the shared folders. Now, a lot of people will quickly tell you to go edit the /etc/samba/smb.conf file. DON'T. It's a waste of time for a simple home project like this. SAMBA works fine out of the box by default for a small network, and there is a graphic user interface in Kubuntu to handle the folder sharing.

You get to the configuration via System Settings --> Sharing --> File Sharing. Enter administrator mode and you are ready to roll. I added the My Music folder to the SAMBA share, and next thing I know, it's showed up nicely on XP.

What if you would like to limit the access to the shared folder? That's where a lot of the problems happened in the past between Windows and SAMBA and if you do a search on the Internet, you'd find numerous postings on this topic, most of them, unfortunately, are NOT helpful.

To add users to a shared folder, you can also use the GUI by selecting "More SAMBA option" then the User tab. Once there, click on the "Expert" button and add the users and assign their access privileges.

Done? Well, not so fast. If you try to access the folder from your XP client now, you'll see an authentication dialog asking for your user name and password. But it will not authenticate you even if you type in the correct credentials.

You see, Windows XP encrypts the passwords by default. So how is my Kubuntu linux going to understand the passwords being sent from an XP client?

This is where a simple SAMBA utility came into play. The utility is called smbpasswd and can keep track your Linux user names and encrypted passwords in a database on Kubuntu. Run the following command:

sudo smbpasswd -a your_user_name

-a stands for add. The program will prompt you to enter and confirm your password.

Now try again from your Windows client. Voila. All this functionality was accomplished without a single attempt to manually edit the smb.conf file.