Mint 12 KDE v LMDE (MATE)
by cirrus on May.18, 2012, under Tech
I had the urge to put Linux Mint Debian on 2 laptops , i use mint 12 KDE on my main P.C
lets have a look at 3 machines and do some comparisons, here is some screenshots to peruse ..
First up is an old IBM Thinkpad T40 with only 512mb DDR ..
Click on Images For Closer Look
- Release date05/22/03
- Processor Intel Pentium M 1.6 GHz
- Memory 512.0 MB / 2.0 GB (max) DDR SDRAM
- Hard Drive 80.0 GB
- Display Type 14.1 in TFT active matrix
This shows the ram usage after a cold boot & firing up firefox, the RAM usage is 283mb & 0% swap
RAM use is way lower than a previous LXDE install i had on that machine , This LMDE is 32 bit & uses MATE desktop
environment. Ive yet to find a full featured distro that lets this old hardware run smooth as LMDE, obviously no multitasking but
hey a text editor & browser,media player n terminal is all u really need right?
Google Chrome Linux Sandboxing
by cirrus on May.05, 2012, under blog
This Is For Linux Only
Download the latest chrome browser with new V8 engine here
I tried this and i was truly blown away by the speed so it seems the V8 engine is very aptly named indeed ,see here, im going to show you how to sandbox chrome or chromium browsers for those of us who are security concious. You can learn more about the benefits here
Type into your Google Chrome or Chromium browser:
about:sandbox
Mine returns the above (image) which shows seccomp sandbox is enabled
1) Make a shortcut to the browser and in the properties edit command line to read:
google-chrome –enable-seccomp-sandbox %U
in chromium it should look similar to this
/usr/bin/chromium-browser –enable-seccomp-sandbox %U
in google chrome should be similar to this
/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome –enable-seccomp-sandbox %U
2) X out of current browser session and start another using newly created shortcut
3) Again type in about:sandbox to url bar to verify that you are now sandboxed
Another cool tip i found for all operating systems using chrome is if you type chrome://flags into url bar you get options to tweak some hidden settings.
I hope you found this beneficial.
cirrus
DuckDuckGo Search Engine Usage Skyrocketing
by cirrus on Apr.02, 2012, under blog
For years Google Search has been for the most part, the search engine of choice among internet users. Amid privacy concerns another search engine DuckDuckGo is becoming a very popular alternative. Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo’s policy emphasizes privacy and does not record user information. It has clean search results and the ads are optional (very rarely seen) and its without adtracking. Prior to Google’s announcment that it was changing its privacy policy on January 24. 2012 DuckDuckGo’s searchs were just in the neighborhood of 400-600K per day. Since that time its searches have practicly doubled to 1.3 million. DuckDuckGo is becoming involved in the open source community as well. November 2011 Linux Mint signed an exclusive deal with DuckDuckGo and it is the default search engine for Linux Mint 12. Also Trisquel Linux OS and the Open Source Midori Web Browser use DuckDuckGo as their default search engine. It’s my hopes that more and more people who are waking up to the fact that freedom and privacy on the internet are being invaded have another choice other then Big Corps like Google and Bing. Next time someone suggests to do a google search, spread the word, tell em you’ll do a Fowl Search or Duck Search instead. Duck it! 
What Happens when you search using Google Inc. vs DuckDuckGo search
http://donttrack.us/
Add DuckDuckGo SSL Search to Firefox Search bar, it’s fast and easy
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/duck-duck-go-ssl/
Article posted by Mozzy
Arnova 10 G2 Custom ROM with Market3.4.4 by Finless Version 1.4
by cirrus on Mar.14, 2012, under Hardware
OK folks… the long awaited 1.4 ROM is out!
I kinda felt i had to root my device as without root you cant truly call your device your own , here is the best custom ROM for Arnova 10 G2
WARNING! Remove your SDCard when flashing this ROM!!! There is a risk it can be ERASED!!!
This has been a lot of work by Bob Finless & many other people. I HAVE to give total PROPS to FreakTab user Fenice57. His first ext4 setup was not quite right. We all worked together and Fenice solved the problem by highly modifying the recovery system.
ext4 explanation:
Understand the history. After a ROM flash the recovery system formats everything. Well without a change in that it simply reformatted anything back to ext3. The ext4.ko kernel modules handled mounting an ext3 partition even if the mount command said to mount as ext4!!! It even reported it mounted as ext4!!! Go figure that one 
So lot’s of testing and benchmarking later….. We have a real ext4 file system!
So there was no ext4 file system to benefit from in previous work. The improved ext4 kernel modules gave a little performance add but not much. However Fenice57 worked HARD on solving this and modified the recovery system to stop the format to ext3. Sowa and myself also added in testing and showing the issues. But Fenice is the MAN! He solved it.
Fenice57… Can I just say THANK YOU! Everyone that uses my 1.4 ROM. Please also give a hand to Fenie57!
OK so what’s in this ROM 1.4
It’s the same as 1.3 with a couple more tweaks on my part based on user feedback and a couple of other slim downs in code I have done to init.rc, updated lib modules, etc.
1) WiFi scan interval is changed from 15 seconds to 300. This may help some guys with battery issues. Myself, I do not have this problem but due to many asking for it, I put it in. If you want to change it back:
Use a file manager and copy out from /system the file build.prop file. Copy it on your SDCard. Then copy to PC or whatever. Edit the file and find this line:
wifi.supplicant_scan_interval=300
Just edit the 300 back to 15 and your back to stock.
2) ext4 file system.. Well I explained the work that went into this above but just to add. I have done extensive benchmarking with many tools. This does not add a huge performance increase to the overall use of the tablet. EXCEPT, and this is actually kind of benefit, Sequential Write of files to memory. Large file writes are over double what they were on ext3. Random Read and Random Write are about the same. So where you should see an increase is downloads to Tablet memory, market download and install speed, some apps that write to memory a lot, etc etc etc. Overall however, the tablet seems much faster to me but remember, I am the cooker so I am biased
3) Because of popular use of Hauwei 3G sticks in Europe and Asia, I added this Fenice57 mods for support of this. I cannot and have no way to test this patch. So hopefully I implemented this properly. You guys I am sure will let me know
3g USB-modem Hauwei models E1550 E1692 E1750 E1820 *
Ok well that’s it. I was working on a dual boot setup but that will have to wait for 1.5 
Here is the download link for 1.4
ROM -> Arnova 10G2 rooted version 1.4 by Finless (78 megs)
Indepth readme.txt tutorial included in above link
Ive Installed Linux Now what ??
by cirrus on Mar.13, 2012, under blog
This is a short tutorial primarily for the Linux novice & first time users, most folks will know this stuff but the recent converts may not, i recall on my first Linux install a few years back i was like ok , i have an OS now what , i found myself blindly attempting to download and install .exe files for that was all i knew , all i had been trained to do. So id imagine there is others just starting out who need to overcome this small hurdle.
Now that I’m a wee bit older and um wiser (coughs) i know different.
This is the the method used in PCLinuxOS and it is similar on most popular Linux distros.
Once you have booted into your shiny new OS you will see that quite a bit of the generic software is installed already , but the builds will be limited to the age of the .ISO that you used to install Linux, for instance you downloaded a six month old release and you now need a flash update so you can watch you stare etc. The first thing we do is find out what package manager the distro uses i.e., pacman, synaptic, yum ,if you are not sure just Google “your distro package manager” which is basically just a front end for apt tho not in Fedora, mandriva, mageia or suse (apt-get command is what we used to install software from within a konsole), those new to Linux can get by nowadays without knowing any konsole commands whatsoever, there is a GUI for almost everything nowadays , so don’t be put off Linux by thinking your gonna have to memorize a shed load of commands , it’s not the case, (although as u become more advanced the konsole gets things done more efficiently).
when you have found the relevant package manager (software centre) first thing to do is hit the reload button , this updates the packages that the package manager has access to from the mirror (more on mirrors in a bit) , after reload you now have the option of installing the latest packages (software) next we want to find the “custom” button then highlight “upgradable” this will show all the packages that are currently installed which can be upgraded , go ahead and “mark all upgrades” then hit “apply” you will see that it is downloading and installing all the latest packages in one full swoop , none of this one at a time nonsense the users of other OS’s have to endure. (upgrading should be done at least once per month).
Hackintosh Dell GX620
by cirrus on Mar.10, 2012, under Hardware
I recently took a trip into the world of OSX , after being a windows user for over a decade and being a linux user for maybe only 1 year i wanted to see what OSX would serve me up , simply so i could make an informed decision when asked about my OS preferences opposed to going by what blogs and friends say about OSX i wanted to see for myself …
To install OSX was a breeze using Kalyway 10.5.2 generic install , i tried later builds 10.5.6 from ideneb and iatkos but the installs would hang or bootloop , so i found kalyway 10.5.2 to be best for the older hardware in the GX620 , after install i had dual screens full res 1920×1080 off the bat and i had audio too from usb and speakers ( i had to use onboard AC97 as the kext for my audigy2 soundcard just wouldnt play ball) Audio was however a tad flaky , on occasion it would sound tinny and if i was say dragging a window or opening an app the audio would stutter and pause and sometimes drop out alltogether. But for the most part it worked reasonably well.
Replay Video Capture
by cirrus on Feb.23, 2012, under blog
Replay Video Capture software is the best way to make production quality videos from hard-to-record sources, including:
ANY Video Web Site, using ANY streaming protocol
DVD’s
Webcam sites
PowerPoint Presentations
Video Chat sessions
And more!
This has to be one of my favourite pieces of software out there, unfortunately its only for windows platforms so i tend to keep windows 7 in virtual box for the purpose of using this. Recently i had a friend looking for some way to capture his screen for the sole purpose of doing tutorials , someone pointed him to a $300 application , but me being the frugal scotsman pointed him in this direction , he was impressed and apparently the only thing it lacked was some kind of pointer , i suggested using a red cursor whilst doing the tutorials to act as the missing pointer.
We all from time to time would like the idea of capturing whatever is on our screens , be it a video , picture , or even if someone in your G+ hangout is playing with a truncheon, i find this app to do the job exceedingly well, have a look at the video below and if u feel its something you could use i just might be able to help.
Download Replay Video Capture 5.4.2 Demo
Download Replay Video Capture.v4.2-full
No Cracks or Keygens 
#Enjoy
Archos Arnova 10G2 Review
by cirrus on Jan.30, 2012, under Hardware
Now that i have owned the 10G2 for a few weeks i figured its time to write a review on the experience,now the specs are by no means the best out there although as ive mentioned before the Rockchip RK2918 ARM Cortex-A8 processor that can run at up to 1.2Ghz. Is more powerful than the Apple A4 in the iPad1 and iPhone4, it’s more powerful than the Samsung Hummingbird processor in the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Samsung Galaxy S. so its no slouch.
Now i basically wanted a tablet for generic stuff,irc and light browsing nothin major but this £150 tablet has exceeded my expectations, first +1 is that im able to stream all media from my linux desktop (using samba) to the tablet which for me is a BIG +1 as the NAND is only 4 GB , although i do have a 16 GB SDHC the fact i can stream makes a big difference, now the device is NOT wireless N although my router is , so i get wireless G speeds on device around 65 Mbps which is sufficient in this small 2 bedroom house.
This tablet does not ship with Android Market, it ships with appslib which is just another market app, getting the market on it was a breeze no rooting involved, as soon as i got the latest app market on there 3.4.4 i deleted the appslib thing (which paypal disabled from my account i dont know if they been using underhand tactics, but paypal seem to not like appslib) so now it is same as any other gingerbread device, with NO proprietry software.
Another big +1 is i can control my desktop/media player from tablet while laying in bed which i wasnt aware i could do when i purchased,im getting on in years and getting out of bed to adjust volume ect was murder.
I installed the latest skype from market and seems it would only do audio, after doing some research i found that only an older build of skype would work on the Arnova (2.0.0.47) get it HERE , so promptly installed the older build and i was good 2 go with both audio & video, I also installed the google plus app from market and the hangout feature worked well (altho the camera seemed a lot darker than it does on skype) the camera supposedly can record in 720p but i havent tried it as yet.
which brings me onto media playback , i have found the speakers to be decent however the video playback is real nice i recently tried to play a video at 1080p and in the mx video player it was found wanting, but in the stock video player it played flawless. I have noticed that not all of my .avi files play but all the DVD rips do , i guess thats down to the encoding used , i wont be converting all the files maybe one or two of my favourites, i also noticed when streaming flash video it attempts to download the full file before playing. but all in all its a decent experience sites like justin & ustream , you tube ect all play well, (as long as user agent is set to desktop, if set to android or ipad it will not open flash video in browsers but ask to play in an external player, so stick to desktop user agent) the 1024×600 screen res allows you to view webpages in full width so i find desktop user agent to work best.
I havent experienced anything out of the ordinary as yet, ive had 3 or 4 apps force close on me but in hindsight those were apps that i could live without, when i had first gotten tablet it would take 2 or 3 mins to boot, since installing an app to disable startup items (android assistant) the boot time increased dramaticaly. I havent many cons on the device , except maybe the lack of HDMI out and the camera isnt great but its not a deal breaker for me. Also there is no GPS and no bluetooth (although bluetooth is available on a custom rom using a usb dongle) these things arent a must have for me.
To summarise , i am well happy with the £150 tablet its very responsive, it has 2x USB ,
1 x Hi-Speed USB – 5 pin Micro-USB Type B,
1 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A
and the micro SDHC port , so storage is no big problem , I have bought a USB keyboard / case for it so it kinda serves as a netbook as well as a tablet.
I would recommend this tablet, for the price i paid it has been well worth the money, im seriously trying to think of some more cons so u guys dont think im a total fan boy , but honestly im at a loss to think of anything. Obviously there are many better spec tablets out there that might well perform better but for £150 you cant go wrong with the Arnova 10 G2.
Block Ad’s On Android Unrooted Device
by cirrus on Jan.22, 2012, under Hardware
For Unrooted Devices: Browser-Based Ad Blockers
Opera Mobile browser is the choice. i discovered that you can create your own adblock filter for Opera with a simple text file. First, create a file called
somewhere on your SD card (I put mine in Opera’s folder), copy the text from Here
paste text into a text file and save as “urlfilter.ini”
move file to your SD card. It’s usually easiest to do this from your computer, after plugging in your device and enabling USB mode.
Then, disconnect your device and open up Opera. Type
in the URL bar. Do a quick find for filter.ini You should see an option to tell Opera where your filter file is. Tap that box, then hit the back button until you’re at the root of your phone (which it recognizes as a simple ./ )
you just created adblock filter . After a reboot, you should find that Opera is ad-free.
Sadly, there aren’t more methods to block ads on Android, but these should help get most of you by. Got any of your own ad-blocking solutions we didn’t mention? Be sure to share them in the comments. in laymans terms , create a file named “urlfilter.ini” paste text into it and save as urlfilter.ini , move to sd card , in opera browser type opera:config in address bar, then quick find for filter.ini point it to the newly created file on sd card (do not modify any other settings in “opera:config”). i like it because u can add wildcards to the .ini file and block those annoying ads once and for all, if anyone needs help leave a comment.
Market Version 3.4.4 on Archos Arnova 10 G2 without root or flashing
by cirrus on Jan.15, 2012, under Hardware
- follow steps to install-android-market-without-root-on-latest-firmware
- connect tablet to pc
- extract files using winzip on pc
- transfer files to the sd card portion of internal storage on tablet
- put all files in a folder ie apps or downloaded
- unmount tablet from pc
- using the pre installed file browser (files green icon) on tablet (if you get parsing error use ES file manager from appslib)
- browse to folder where u downloaded the .apk compressed files
- install files in the order below
Download the files from here http://www.mediafire.com/?aalj0j7y4bdhuyy
If you have an older market installed, just install the vending 3.4.4.apk & current will be updated.
Extract the files, transfer the files and then install the apks using file manager in this order:
-1.Google Services Framework -2.OneTime Initializer -3.Setup Wizard -4.Talk -5.Gmail -6.Vending -7.Maps
For parsing errors use another filemanager ( ES Filemanager) from appslib worked for me.
1) After installing all the G Market files go try to login to Gmail. You will get an error.
2) Now go into settings and manage apps. Click on Google framework. Clear the cache files.(if no cache files delete data files)
3) Do the same thing for Gmail and clear the cache.
4) Power down and back up.
5) DONT launch the market but launch Gmail and login. It should work.
6) Now you can launch the Market.
ps. u may need to reconfig the wi-fi settings of device.
Get PClinuxOS
