I've recently started using Gnome Do in Ubuntu 9.04, and I've not yet explored the extent of its functionality, but I'm continually discovering more uses. It includes plugins for GMail contacts, Firefox bookmarks, a Gnome dictionary and calculator, Pidgin messenger, Imageshack uploader, and more. One useful plugin is the Microblogging (Twitter) plugin; it shows your friends' status updates in the notification tray, and you can post directly from Do. You can even manage your Gnome session and windows, and control your media player. Oh, and all this is just an extension of the main function, which is a search/launcher; however, I have yet to put it to use as effectively as Launchy. Finally, you can use it with a dock skin, wrapping yet another desktop function into one tool.

A few configuration options are available by right-clicking on the Do icon in the dock, but to further customize dock settings, you can use Alt+F2 > gconf-editor > Apps > gnome-do > preferences > Docky > Utilities > DockPreferences. Icons are added or removed by dragging to the dock. Screenshot here.

Now the Twitter plugin would be really handy, except for the fact that it, along with most third-party Twitter apps, was broken to some extent by the Twitpocalypse. Although the crisis was mostly averted, it left in its wake a bunch of mal-tweeting apps. In the case of Do, upon an attempted post to Twitter, you would receive a notification that the post had failed, when it had in fact succeeded. While not exactly an epic fail, it nonetheless was an undesirable state of affairs. Enter open source developers.

The bug was reported and dealt with on Launchpad here. However, finding all the dev language a bit difficult to follow, I headed over to the Ubuntu forums for some clarification, where a user linked to the same fix page, but with a more lucid explanation.

Go to Synaptic, go to Software Sources, pre-released updates, close, look for gnome-do, update gnome-do plugins, go to .local/share/gnome-do and delete (or move) your plugins directory, open gnome-do, enable the microblogging plugin again, and you should be good to go.

So, to further expound ... you open Synaptic package manager, then open Software Sources and enable pre-released updates (instructions). Then go back to Synaptic and search for gnome-do-plugins, and update the package. Next, open a file browser, and show hidden files if they are not already visible (View > Show Hidden Files), then navigate to your home folder, where you should find the above-referenced location; delete or move. Finally, simply open Gnome Do and re-enable your plugins.

Viola! You should now have tweets that flow like clockwork.

I'll start this post with a brief overview of some work I did on my computer, mainly over Christmas break. Vista was beginning to feel a bit sluggish, and since I had some time to mess with it, I decided to plunge into the adventure of tinkering with partitions, boot flags, installations, and so forth. I was also planning to try, once again, to get my Dell Media Direct button to boot Ubuntu. I removed Media Direct a long time ago (it's not all that useful, and takes up more space than a Linux distro), so the button didn't do anything, except maybe bring up the MD flash screen. I had tried this process before, following this guide, and failed then. It didn't work this time either, but don't stop reading; this could still be informative. Here is a thread on the Notebookreview.com forums that details my progress, since I don't feel like recounting it all here.

I now have a running computer, resplendent with the most recent version of Ubuntu, and a fairly customized version of Vista, even if I didn't get it vLited like I wanted too. Maybe next time... I'd need a DVD, a DVD burner, a lot of time and patience, etc. And I've set my MD button to turn off my screen in Windows! See this thread (I use Monitoroff.exe instead of the provided utility). Pretty smooth, and I think it's actually more useful than having it boot Ubuntu. GRUB does a good job.

Our local Radio Shack is been going out of business, so they recently had a liquidation sale, with prices half off. At the sale, I got a Sandisk Sansa 2GB Clip, a Vanguard MP-4 Monopod, a CB radio, and some electrical components that were purported to, if assembled correctly, act as a wireless FM microphone that transmits at (legal) low power with a 45ft range, to frequencies between 91 and 97 MHz, depending on the tuning of the coil and the frequency picked up by the microphone. Wicked awesome, I thought! However, the assembly was another matter. That PCP chip was smaller than I thought, my soldering skills are less than satisfactory, and I think I need a new tip for my soldering gun. However, somehow, when I finally got things put together late at night, it worked. I had to add a SPST toggle switch and 'N' battery and holder to the kit. Pictures below.












































































Oh yes, and I've also uploaded my first Youtube video. I was trying to get Youtube to automatically include a High-Res option, but it's not really worth it anyways, since the video isn't high-res to begin with, and the Youtube version isn't too bad. Just don't watch it in fullscreen.

A couple more things... more along the politics and art veins. This may make an interesting read, if for no other reason than to expand and circulate thoughts on economy and the principles that apply. It should be noted that the creator of this program is a successful entrepreneur. The other thing is about the band mewithoutYou. I could talk for quite some time on the subject, but the telos of what I have to say is really that their aesthetic is much more subtle, poetical, and powerful than a lot of what passes as art or music. Their lyrics and instrumental style portray a much broader, deeper, more sober and yet more beautiful picture of life than just about any current buzz songs that come to mind. Here are the lyrics to a song by mewithoutYou called "Silencer".

Don't waste your lips on words I've heard before
Kiss my tired head.
And each letter written wastes your hand, young man
Come and lead me to your bed
You gave me hope that I'd not lost her
And then thought it rather strange to see me smile-
as I don't do too much smiling these days.

She put on happiness like a loose dress
Over pain I'll never know
"So the peace you had, " she says,
"I must confess, I'm glad to see it go."
We're two white roses lying frozen just outside his door
I've made you so happy and so sad,
But which should I be more sorry for?

Come kiss my face goodbye,
that space below my eye and above my cheek
Cause I'm faint and fading fast, I see a darkness
And I shall be released.
I'll pass like a fever from this body,
And softly slip into his hands
I tried to love you and I failed,
But I have another plan.

My Lord, how long to sing this song?
And my Lord, how much more of this pretending to be strong?
When she stands before your throne
Dressed in beauty not her own
All soft and small, you'll hear her call
"you brought me here, now take me home."

I think they evidence a profound grasp of theological principles, the struggle of life, pain, beauty, and the true source of strength. At any rate, listening to a song like this gives me a whole lot more contemplate than many songs I could think of.

And finally, for what it's worth, here is a list of what I've read, am reading, and will be reading for a while.

Phantastes: A Faerie Romance
Call it Courage
A River Runs Through It
All the Pretty Horses
Camp 4
Royal Robbins: Spirit of the Age
The Great Gatsby
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Man Who Knew Too Much
My Name is Asher Lev
The Ball and The Cross
The Red Badge of Courage
The Princess and The Goblin
The Princess and Curdie
The Liberated Imagination
A Tale of Two Cities
Hans Brinker/The Silver Skates
The Silmarillion
Les Miserables

So, today I stopped in at J's Place on my Christmas shopping rounds, and vaguely wondered if he had any mics. I was looking for one for my harmonica, as I have a Leem GA410D amp that was given to me, but no mic to go with it. It's just a small guitar amp, but that's perfect for that essential blues harp sound. Also, I had checked at WC Marketplace while shopping there, and saw a few cheap $15 mics, and one nice $188 Shure SM58 Vocal, which is pretty much the standard for vocal mics. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for....I knew what Adam Gussow recommends, but not sure if I could find that kind of mic, especially as he got his a long time ago in some obscure store. Anyways, I was just looking around, and saw this box that said "Shure" on it and "microphone" and had a little picture of a mic, but kind of a strange-looking mic, more like you'd see on an old ham radio or something. I asked the guy if he had any mics, and he said he was out of stock, and asked what I was looking for. But when I mentioned harmonica, he went over and pulled that mic out, and said it was a harmonica mic he'd had around for a few years (the box says 2001 on it). It's a Shure 520DX, also known as the "Green Bullet". If you looked at the picture linked there, you can see why. He told me it listed at $150, but I could have it for $85, which I think is a deal, considering current online prices are a little above that, and no shipping and handling.

When I got home, I plugged it in and tried it out. I was getting some undesirable feedback with sudden attacks on the harp, but it sounded pretty good. Then I looked up the manual online, only to have my mom point out that it probably came with one, which I quickly found in the box. Funny. Anyways, once I followed it's recommendations, I got a better sound. It's pretty sweet. The only thing that I'm not completely happy with is that, with a normal vocal mike, you can use your right hand quite well for vibrato, whereas this is a little bigger around. Oh well. Anyways, it IS pretty much the standard, time-tested favorite for blues harmonica. So, cool.

Also today, the Dell tech came and replaced my motherboard and LCD screen on the good old Vostro 1400. I had called Dell on Monday complaining about some graphics issues. I had initially seen my display divide into little, rectangular pieces, and start rapidly jiggling back and forth, and then go black. I powered it off. I ran it in safe mode, and uninstalled my nVidia drivers, then installed a different version, 180.70, although I see a newer version is now available from LaptopVideo2Go. I had no problems until a couple days later, while sitting in Bucer's in Moscow, ID. My screen did the same trick, except this time in a tasteful shade of pink, broken up with little black strips here and there. I powered off and back on, this time resolved to call Dell as soon as possible. I did so, the representative, after a little troubleshooting, advised that he would send a tech out with a new mobo and screen. In my opinion, they could've just replaced the mobo, or even just the gfx card, although it's kind of better to replace the whole deal in these cases, but I wasn't complaining about the screen, especially since I had a minor scratch on mine. At any rate, out he came. It was the same guy who replaced my mobo last year, when I complained about audio issues often experienced with this line of Vostros and Inspirons. The condition is pretty widespread, and solutions range from DIY frequency adjusters, tape between the wifi card and speaker cables, and installing drivers for different graphics cards. Not to go into the technical details right now, but there's supposed to be some conflict between maybe the wifi and audio, and/or gfx and audio being on the same PCI or something.... (Speaking of which, my new mobo audio sounds just as good, if not better, than previously. Great!)

Anyhow, he disassembled it, replaced the motherboard and screen (giving me an opportunity to clean out some of the dust with compressed air and oil the screen hinges), and reassembled it! Sweetness. And, so far, everything looks wicked awesome.

As a sidenote, I also finally put my MD button to use. I still am afraid to hit it when the laptop is off, for fear it will screw up my boot partitions, but, in Windows, I now have it set to turn off my screen (using Monitoroff, of course). Instructions here. I downloaded the zip file, and just edited the registry entries before incorporating them, and used Monitoroff instead of the other program.

Next on the list? Maybe try out KDE in Ubuntu, perhaps set the MD button to boot Ubuntu per this guide, perhaps buy a 9-cell battery....options, options.

Well, that's it for now!

-pixelot

I discovered a new virtual desktop app a while ago… through Grand Stream Dreams, not surprisingly… all the previous ones were rather disappointing after having used Linux multi-desktops. Vista/XP Virtual Desktops is much closer. Still is a little clunky compared to Linux, but it seems significantly better than everything else I've tried. A few of sweet features: a min-toolbar that is somewhat like what you might see in Ubuntu (shows you what desktop you're on and lets you switch desktops), the ability to move windows between desktops (suhhh-weeeetness!!!!), and live desktop previews in Vista using DWM.  No 3D cube goodies, but quite functional. I'm reluctant to use it all the time because of it's memory usage, but those of you with and abundance of memory might consider trying it out.

Just a few things about Ubuntu in the last couple days that might be helpful.

1. If compiz crashes on you, simply type compiz in the terminal to restart it.
2. sudo apt-get upgrade is useful to update all your packages. (tx Thomas from NBR)
3. Ctrl+L opens an "Open Location" dialogue.
4. If your volume doesn't get as loud as you think it should, double-click on the volume icon in the panel and make sure that everything is all the way up. (tx Calvin from NBR)
5. Here and here are a couple of really awesome GDM (login) themes.

When you mouse over a music file, it plays! No media player needs to be open.