My statistics have informed me that some people have arrived at my site after searching Google for information on dual screening a Lenovo Thinkpad r60…. although before now I have had no such information here…. anyways, here is my xorg.conf, that utilises MergedFB to get two monitors (1024×768) running composite desktops on Ubuntu, in its entirety.

Enjoy!

N.B. This has worked on both Feisty(7.04) and Gutsy(7.10)

Read the rest of this entry »

Permalink | 2 Comments »

My guide to running alpha releases.

Despite the oh-so-lamented warning of “Do not run on a production machine”, I have used development alphas of Ubuntu since Dapper Flight 3 on my main machine. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to say this is a good idea, for the most part I will freely admit that it is indeed a VERY BAD IDEA. However, with a seperate home partition and a few other precautions in place, I have very little to lose. (Other than the 20-30 mins required to return my computer to its ideal state, see “Praise Be to AptOnCD”)

I usually switch away from the release version around Alpha 2 or 3. Although I love breakage , I still have to get some work done and Alpha 1 tends to be almost identical to the previously release with the addition of a few showstopping bugs.

The second and third alphas tend to bubble everything up to the surface. Its around this time in the dev cycle that I love seeing the 400-500 MB updates. Oooh, what new features or new breakage do we have today? Its like a new invisible birthday every single day. You don’t know what your presents are until they kick you in the face and run screaming away. Delightful.

Anyway, back to the point. Here are a few small pieces of advice for those impatient fools like me.

• First and foremost…WAIT! Unless you are a good coder or a dedicated Launchpad citizen with the patience of a saint, the breakage in alpha releases will grind you and your daily activities into dust. If you just want to “Burn Chrome” with some hot-as-shit software then wait until the Beta or Release Candidates.
  
• Update only when appropriate. If you have some important work you need to finish off, or you need to book flights for your visiting relatives, DO NOT UPDATE. Update only when you have the time and the patience to deal with any potential damage to your system.
  
• Pay attention to the updates. Read the list of updates, take note of the packages that you use or are interested in and check them out. The next tip goes hand in hand with this one.
• Bookmark Launchpad, or even better, have it as your homepage. Report, check out, validate and recreate any and every bug that you can. Although some packages aren’t necessarily maintained via LP, the ubuntu specific changes (if any) will be. Get in touch here and find out if your favourite app is borked in Ubuntu or in the upstream.
  
• Join mailing lists. Even if you don’t/can’t contribute, the best way to get the latest information about developments (in Ubuntu or any OSS project) is to join the mailing list. Couple this with some clever filtering rules in your favourite mail client and you will have a comprehensive guide to any and every change.
  
• Reinstall. In theory, updating a system all the way from Alpha 1 to the release version, should in fact be the exact same as the system installed at release. However it’s good to note that in practice, it won’t be. This doesn’t mean that you should reinstall with every Alpha release…I mean, who could be bothered? Just make sure that you at least reinstall once the release comes out.
  
• Make friends with AptOnCD. To put it bluntly….AptOnCD rocks. Especially if your net pipe is a bit sluggish. Just make sure to make your repository when all the packages you need are NOT broken.
  
• And finally…. If you have any doubt at all, don’t run alpha versions. If you don’t know what a seperate home partition is, don’t run alpha versions. If you can’t do at least 60-70% of your computing activity from the command line, don’t run alpha versions. If you can’t drink coffee without having to hang your keyboard upside down to dry, DON’T RUN ALPHA VERSIONS.

Thank you for listening, and may you all suffer from some fantastic breakage as you nurture your own infant Hardy Heron.

Permalink | 1 Comment »

I’ve been (amongst many other things) learning Python recently. It has been on my todo list for a long, long time. I got my basis from the awesome Byte Of Python by Swaroop, and I’m now learning the very interesting PyGTK bindings.

Anyway, I needed an offline version of Swaroop’s tutorial for future reference and so I copied each page down individually and managed to compile it into a .PDF with an index. So here it is for anyone who would find it useful.

Byte of Python (PDF)
Byte of Python (ODT)

Note: This is the Tutorial as it stands at time of writing. It may be updated. Please check http://swaroopch.info/text/Byte_of_Python:Main_Page for the latest version. Also, if you do find this useful please drop Swaroop a line and thank him for the great tutorial.

Permalink | 0 Comments »

I’m currently in the process of relearning Adobe (nee Macromedia) Flash. This whole new Actionscript 3 malarky is right pain in the prfft when you used to be neck deep in “onClipEvents” ;)

I’m aiming to make a fancy blow-your-mind portfolio website with lots of little scripting and physics goodies done in flash…..and here’s the (beta) first. A remake of the old “scratchpad” i had on my website years ago. Not quite as sophisticated as the former as this is all new code, but it was much easier to write in AS3 than it was in AS2.

Doodle away! Different brush sizes can be chosen at the top and colours at the right. When you’re done you can clear the board with the “X” button or you can have it played back to you with the “Play” button. Enjoy ;)

Not bad for half a days coding!! :D

Permalink | 0 Comments »

So here it is… my new favourite GLOSS. (GLory of Open Source Software, just made it up, you like it? )

AptOnCD

Your quick and easy 5 step guide to ultimate offline computer restoration.

• Step 1.
  Download and burn your favourite flavour of Ubuntu direct from the interwob.
• Step 2.
  Stick the freshly toasted Internet Freedom Disc into the drive on the front of your Compubox
• Step 3.
  Boot up the magical disc and install your own piece of Open Source Heaven.
• Step 4.
  Now, using your favourite package manager, download and install EVERY one of your favourite little open source gems. (especially AptOnCD)
• Step 5.
  Run AptOnCD and create your very own CD repository of all the packages you have downloaded…. everything you need to get your computer back to this ideal state without a net connection!!

Now, you can take both your beautiful Ubuntu Disk and that Shiny New AptOnCD Disk and store them away somewhere safe. Sleep easy tonight knowing that even without the big-bad interweave, you can still make your computer….. dance!

*Mutter sounds of awe and appreciation*

Permalink | 4 Comments »