Me No n00b

ATI on Linux... Installing

2008-01-30T19:29:00.000+05:30

Ah, you are one of those confused Linux users who happen to posses an ATI raedon graphics card, eh? You look at your friend's PC, where the Gutsy Gibbon [Ubuntu 7.10] runs on full graphics mode, and you swell with jealousy, eh?

Anyway, Ubuntu 7.10 's driver pack for ATI raedon is somewhat errant. You may be getting a message such as 'Desktop effects could not be enabled' or some other one. Well, here is a possible solution [At least it worked for me].
(Please make sure you follow everything correctly. We dont want to mess up the system.)

1) Go to System > Administration > Restricted Drivers Manager, and tick the 'Enabled' check box and close and restart system. (If you are doin this for the first time, the system will probably download the standard drivers for the card. Let the downloading proceed, and restart the PC after completion).

2) Now, go to terminal and type in:
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
(This is the configuration file for the hardware on the PC)

3) Scroll down to the end and add these lines:
Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "1"
EndSection

4) Save the file and close.

5) Try enabling effects from System>Preferences>Appearance>Visual Effects.

6) If you get an error, 'Dektop effects could not be enabled', proceed as follows.

7) In terminal, type:
sudo gedit /usr/bin/compiz

8) Press ctrl+F to open Find. Search for '# blacklist'.

9) You will get something like this:

# blacklist based on the pci ids
# See http://wiki.compiz-fusion.org/Hardware/Blacklist for details
T=" 1002:5954 1002:5854 1002:5955" # ati rs480
T="$T 1002:4153" # ATI Rv350
T="$T 8086:2982 8086:2992 8086:29a2 8086:2a02 8086:2a12" # intel 965
T="$T 8086:2972" # i965 (x3000)
T="$T 1002:3152 1002:3150 1002:5462 1002:5653 " # ati X300 X600,X600 X700

10) Replace the lines with this code:
# blacklist based on the pci ids
# See http://wiki.compiz-fusion.org/Hardware/Blacklist for details
# T=" 1002:5954 1002:5854 1002:5955" # ati rs480
# T="$T 1002:4153" # ATI Rv350
T="$T 8086:2982 8086:2992 8086:29a2 8086:2a02 8086:2a12" # intel 965
T="$T 8086:2972" # i965 (x3000)
# T="$T 1002:3152 1002:3150 1002:5462 1002:5653 " # ati X300 X600,X600 X700

11) Save the file and quit. Type ctrl+alt+backspace to refresh X.

12) Try enabling effects again. If it still doesnt work, proceed.

13) In the terminal, type:
sudo apt-get install xserver-xgl
(This will download non-default drivers for your ATI card).

14)Restart your PC.

This will work in 90% of cases. If it still doesn't, then the drivers are probably bugged. Bad luck :(.

- Cancer

Running Windows based games on Linux

2008-01-30T00:55:00.001+05:30

So you finally shifted over to Linux eh? But then you realise you can't play your favourite games on it :(. Well thats a bitch ain't it??? NO! In this article i will be explaining to you how to run your favourite windows games on linux.

We will be using the software called Cedega

http://www.transgaming.com/

NOTE – Cedega isn't free. To download it a subscription to Transgaming.com is required which costs about $55 per year

Well there isn't much to explain about Cedega. Its very easy to use. :) I have installed it in Ubuntu 7.10 and it works very well. To install Cedega in Ubuntu you just have to Double click on the .deb file. Thats it!

Once you install Cedega you can run it by typing “cedega” in the terminal.

The first time you run cedega, it will run a guided wizard wherein you have to fill a some information.

You may need to update the cedega engine. To update the engine click on the TransGaming buttun and then click on the Install Local Update Option. Then browse to where you have the engine update. This is a .cpkg file. Cedega will now automatically update itself.

Cedega is now UP and RUNNING.

INSTALLING GAMES

To install games you need to have the Disc in the Drive or an executable installation.

Mount the Disc using the MOUNT CD/DVD option and proceed to the installation.

The installation will begin as it would in windows.

NOTE – Cedega creates a virtual C drive - /home/USER/TransGaming_Drive
where USER implies the current user.

Remember this in case you need to access the game files.

After the installation is complete, the game shortcuts would appear in the cedega window as shown in the picture above.

To install a game from an Windows executable file (.exe) i would recommend using the terminal. For example – You have the setup for Counter strike on your linux or windows partition in a particular directory.

\home\USER\Games\csinstall.exe

To install the game run the following command

cedega \home\USER\Games\csinstall.exe

The installation will begin.

In the very same way you can play games already installed on your windows partition by using the cedega command.

However i would not recommend running games off the windows partition but installing them in linux using cedega.

You are set to play now :)

- aaRJay

Linux ??

2008-01-29T13:41:00.000+05:30

If you are that casual by-stander who looks on as technology whizzes past you, you have probably wondered why there is all this fuss about Linux.

'It is after all, just another operating system, I have windows at home (although it is pirated). It is meant only for techy-geeks who can fidget with Linux. Most of my applications dont run on Linux. And Linux's terminal scraces the hell out of me. I am better off leaving this new-comer alone.'

Well, I can't deny, I used to be part of this populace, so I wont criticize you too much. But anyway, if you are just a bit curious about the Linux revolution, here are some questions that you may have raised.(We'll answer them in lay-man style.... no hi-fi talk, just pure, down-to-earth knowledge). But here's a warning, if you don't jump onto the wagon soon, you'll probably be left behind.

What is so great about linux?

In this matter, we will have to resort to a few catchy terms. Linux is an open source Operating System. [Please note, not all versions of linux are Free Software.... but all of them are open source.] However, the Free versions of Linux are more than sufficient for any user, and are highly recommended.
Thus, you not only have a legal, free, Operating System (So, you can enjoy all benefits of upgrades) but also most software that is meant for linux is also free! Hence you find, the substitute for Microsoft Office, OpenOffice comes for free, while the MS version sets you back by about 10,000 bucks.
Regarding the updates, all updates for the Operating System and for its software are free and available for download (So now, you will never have an outdated version of a software on your PC).
There are well over 60 versions of Linux available, constantly striving to improve. You can only benefit from this competition.
And the best part (arguably) is that Linux is completely free of viruses. Yes, thats right. For the simple reason, all viruses are meant to attack windows. [This of course does not mean Linux Pcs are inpenetrable ... But they can definately be made less prone to attacks.]

Can Linux completely substitute my Windows?

The answer is probably a debatable 'Yes'. Linux a few years back, was looked at as Windows's poor brother. But now, powerful applications are being designed for Linux, that can match up to (if not surpass) their Windows counterparts.
Take the example of OpenOffice. A few years back, it was a sluggish, slow application that was left behind by MS Office 2000. Now, it is matching upto the standards set by MS Office 2003. It may not have the visually pleasing features of MS Office 2007, but it acheives all basic functionalities. No-nonsense .... the way we prefer it.

Why should I switch to Linux?

Well, like we said, if you dont jump onto the wagon soon, you'll probably be left behind. The Linux revolution is bigger and faster than ever imagined. Linux is now being used for business applications worldwide, and is slowly but surely, edging out other OSs in the corporate world. Windows still has a hold over the desktop PCs, but it is guessed that the monopoly will soon come to an end.
I already have Windows on my PC. Won't Linux 'clash' with it?
This is a common misconception. I personally have an Original Windows XP and Ubuntu 7.10 running perfectly fine on my PC. There is absolutely no trouble to install Linux alongwith Windows (provided you dont mess up during installation). [In fact, we will provide you with a proceedure to install Linux alongside your Windows in a later article.]

Linux is open source. What does that mean to me?

Linux being Open Source is not only good news for geeks. You'll love it too.
The Open Source tag word also means that all settings of the Operating System are openly available on display for you to tweak around with them. [For me it means no meddling with registeries to change my bootscreen or 'START' button, and no requiring Sharewares to fancy up my desktop. I can do thos myself, and with ease.]
I assure you, once you get linux working for you, you'll never turn back to windows.

But Linux requires typing in a lot of commands, doesn't it?

The answer is a clear 'No'. The latest versions of Linux (especially Ubuntu 7.10 and OpenSUSE 10) have put their Graphical User Interface (GUI) to wonderful use. No more cubursome commands required to perform basic activities. (The tweaking part still needs commands, but even those are very simple).

Why do people say that we need to 'Learn Linux'?

Well, you may have been working with Windows for the past 15 years. But you had to 'Learn Windows' at the start too.

I have a friend who used Linux. He didn't understand anything about the Operating System.

Your friend probably used 5-6 year old versions of Linux. Those versions, I agree, were cubersome. Especially, the versions preceeding Red Hat 9.0 were a lot of trouble to adapt to. Again, your friend may have been a n00b to computers too :P.
But now, the Linux versions are easier to use (for a new computer user, Linux may probably be easier to use than Windows.). The transtion from windows to Linux has never been this simple.

You are talking big coz you've been using Linux since you were five.

Quite contrary. I myself am no professional at Linux. I started using it about a year back, and now my Windows is gathering cobwebs. I simply love it. And I fully support this Open Source revolution now.

There are so many flavors of Linux available. Is there really a difference between them?

With regard to basic operation, all Linuxes are very similar. They are really the same operating system tweaked to meet different requirements. But if you use any of the top versions of linux, you'll probably not feel the difference so much.

Ok, if I have to, what version of linux should I use?

I would personally recommend these versions:

1)Ubuntu 7.10 [Gutsy Gibbon]
Very good OS is terms of software support, usability and visuals. But the visuals part require a graphics card. Also, if your PC is a branded one, this OS will probably go against your warranty thing.

2)Fedora Core 8
Second to Ubuntu, not by much. Very good usabilty, decent software support. Some warranties may go against this OS too.

3)OpenSUSE 10
Stiff competitor for the duo. Excellent support on PCs. It would be hard to find a PC where OpenSUSE refuses to function. Very good usabilty and decent software support.

Read more about Linux versions

- Cancer

Alternative Software: [Part 1]

2008-01-23T19:12:00.000+05:30

So you got yourself a brand new Core 2 something PC... Or are you still working on that old P4. Well, no matter what is the configuration of your PC this article is for YOU!
All of us use some software which is considered somewhat standard in its field. We believe that this is the best possible option available to us. We use it just because everyone else is using it! A large portion of the computing world relies on pirated software. Let me tell you. THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE. And at no cost at all. We'll be spending the next few minutes discussing some alternative options which are either Open Source or FreeWare.

Lets start with the browser...

Software – Microsoft Internet Explorer
Alternative - Mozilla Firefox

As of Dec 2007 a whopping 55.9% of net surfers use Microsoft's Internet Explorer. 36.3% use Mozilla Firefox. The remainder primarily use Opera, Safari, Konqueror etc.*
*Source http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

Internet Explorer faces a no. of problems.

Security:
It is very easy to attack computers with IE as the browser. This is due to the large no. of security flaws present in it. This compromises the user's privacy and may give access of the users filesystem to hackers. Virus, trojans, malware and adware are more likely to infect a system if IE is used.

No support for 3rd party plugins:
The usability, functionality or even the look and feel of the browser cannot be changed as desired. You have to use what the Microsoft develepors are throwing at you!

Speed:
Believe it not... IE is much much slower than Firefox and Opera in terms of browsing . Just try out firefox once and you'll come to know the difference!

No timely updates:
As IE is developed and maintained by Microsoft alone, the browser isn't updated and its security holes aren't patched up as quickly as Firefox.

The best thing about Firefox is that it is Open Source! This means that the source code is available free for download! Anyone can modify it and help in its development. Even You! :)

For those who don't want anything to do with the development still benefit from Firefox being open source as it is available FREE OF COST.
Firefox has a HUGE library of Plugins, themes and extensions. You can customize it to meet your needs and requirements.
Firefox releases timely updates as it is maintained by the community. This makes the browser more secure.

In Short
Dump the old IE... USE FIREFOX
Get it at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Available on a no. of platforms in a large no. of languages.
Get The Add-ons from
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

-aaRJay

Of viruses and worms

2008-01-23T19:04:00.000+05:30

Malware:
Before we start off on viruses and the like, it would be better to introduce the term ‘malware’. Mal-ware is just malicious software. Any software or program that is designed for the purpose to harm you or your computer is Malware.
Thus, viruses, worms and everything else that we will talk about are malware by definition. [Note that not all malware are viruses].

The worm and the virus:
To clarify points, this aint no children’s tale. This is rather, the tale of two legendary infectors of computer systems worldwide – the virus and the worm. There are other types of pains-in-the-neck for computer users, but they can’t compare with the magnitude of damage that these two villains have managed to inflict over the past years. [But we’ll mention them nonetheless.]
People are often confused between the virus and the worm, (and don’t even use the terms Trojan, malware and spyware :S) but they are completely different. They both cause harm to the system, and the similarity ends there.

The virus:
Ah, a great day, and you settle down for a cuppa in front of your computer listening to that favorite tune of yours. Suddenly, the music player stops functioning and you are hogged by a rather pretty pop-up that swears at you. Or an error message appears and screams out, ‘Low memory on your hard-drive’. “Hmm that is strange” you wonder… you remembered having 12 GB of space on your drive just a few hours ago.
Before you totter off to your friend claiming that he had eaten up space while you were gone, you might as well consider a virus infection on your PC. [Don’t glare at me like that].
Viruses can damage your pc in a variety of ways [and they are rather proud of it :S]. They can eat up your memory space, present audio or visual messages, delete random files and better still, fcuk up your boot-sector and render your Operating system useless.
They feature of the virus is ability to spread quickly (which gives its name). A virus can infect thousands of computer systems in the matter of minutes. They can cling onto other programs, send themselves through email, or sneak into floppy disks or CDs while they are being written.
It is also possible that a URL on the internet may be infected!! Accessing the URL from your PC will spread the virus to your system too.

The worm:
The worm is lesser known that its fast-spreading counterpart. But it is just as dangerous.
The worm doesn’t need another medium to spread itself. It can easily operate itself as a program and spread over networks. The worm is identified by the fact that is nearly always targets networks to inflict damage. It can eat up bandwidth or send messages to every IP address on the LAN. Many worms carry a program on their back(called payload) which infects every computer where the worm travels. This payload can damage the system or send valuable information to the worm’s master.
The virus makes its presence felt, but the worm carries out its orders quietly until it strikes the fatal blow. You’d probably not even notice the effects of a worm on your pc, but it could be there.

The Trojan:
The Trojan or the Trojan horse is a master of disguise. It pretends to exist as a harmless program until it is executed. Trojans mainly occur as .exe files. They may appear to be harmless games or the like, but in the background, they carry out feats of destruction.

Spyware:
Spyware is a rather controversial class of programs because a while lot of them are generated legally!!
Spyware, as the name suggests, are programs that spy on your PC. They may be harmless (sending logs of errors to the software manufacturer) or otherwise (sending your credit-card number to the spyware owner). Nonetheless, they invade our privacy which is definitely undesirable. A lot of software companies mention their in-built spyware in their terms and conditions (have you ever read that?).

As you may have noticed, there can be programs that can have characteristics of more than one of these groups. But that doesn’t stop them from being Malware.

-Cancer

Remote Desktop Access

2008-01-23T18:46:00.000+05:30

Ahh uhmm, Good Day All of You. In today’s edition of How To ‘DO’ It Yourself, we will tell you how to Remote Access your or others PC.
First of all let me tell you about Remote Access, it is a very niche tool provided alongside windows XP but sadly we all do not know much about it.
Imagine you go off to your friend on third floor of G Wing to solve one of his technical problems and you suddenly remember “Oh ! Crap You forgot the settings to that software!!!”. Back you go to your room cram up the settings and back again. God forbid, you may forget any other setting again, you just might have to go back all the way. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could just carry your pc with you and show it to him (Damn ! those smug laptop owners).
That is what Remote Access is all about. You can open your computer with all the software’s, media, etc whatever you have on someone else’s comp just like that and you can actually use their hardware through your PC and even modify your own computer there itself. Long story short your pc can even use the other guy’s hardware. Despite these awesome things there are some limitations to this feature. Like you can only access PCs which are on the same network as yours and must be running the exactly same Operating system as yours.

Lemme show you how it is done. Remote Access comes disabled by default in the windows Xp. First you have to enable it so that the other person or even you can access it from somewhere else. Go to your My Computer icon or click on start button of the windows taskbar. Right click on the ‘My computer’ icon in both of the above cases. Click on ‘properties’ option in the menu that pops up. A window will come with several tabs one of which will be ‘Remote’. Click on that You will see a screen which some what resembles the screen below.

Click on the check box which says “Allow Remote Access Invitations to be sent from this computer”. Now your computer will be visible on the network (meaning the other computer will be able to find your comp on the network). Also now click on the advanced button tab right next to it. Another sub menu opens up click on the check box which says “Allow this computer to be controlled remotely”. Now this comp is all ready to be controlled by some other computer on the network. Also note the name under ‘Full Computer Name’ note down the name as this is the id for this computer that we will use later to access it.

Now to actually access the other or your own computer go to Start bar. Click on the run option and type there “mstsc” (you can also go to Start à Programs à Accessories àCommunications à Remote Desktop Connection). A small menu will open up here you can type the computer name we got from before or the IP of the targeted computer. Then a window will open which somewhat resembles your windows login screen. Just enter the details of the account through which you want to access the computer and voila!! You are ready to go.

After this the other computer will open up on your desktop as another window and can be controlled like your own computer. To terminate the connection just close the window like any other.

- blaDE (Anurag Sharma)

[Guest Writer]

Warez ...

2008-01-22T00:03:00.000+05:30

Hmm…

For our very first article, we thought we would perhaps tell you about some terms that may or may not be using in our daily lives. The ordinary computer guy tends to use these terms rather casually. We would perhaps be better off knowing what these terms mean. [We don’t want to get into get into a losing argument with that geek next-door; he may not look dangerous, but he can mess up your computer system if he wishes to :fear: .]

As usual, no bullshit, so we won’t define the terms ‘computer’ or ‘keyboard’ for you. You’d better do your homework in those matters.

For a start we give you the major (and most common) types of programs that we may encounter.

Freeware :

Quite a tricky term, I believe, because it is so easily confused with ‘Free software’. I’ll get back to free software later. But a freeware refers to a software that is ‘free to use and redistribute’. You can use ALL features of the product without having to pay a single paisa. And you can hand the setup to your gorgeous neighbor without having legal issues [and act real smart while you do it ;)].

Free Software :

Ok, you head back after giving that chick a freeware, and you wonder why this aaRCan is making such a fuss about ‘free software’. The freeware gives you everything, right? Wrong. The freeware gives you all you need as a low-end user. The ‘free software’ hands you one more thing – source code.

You enjoy access to the code that keeps the program on its feet. You can view it, change it, boast about it, and maybe share your improvements with the computer community.

Why do it, you ask? It is just a way for people to ‘give something back’ to the computing community that they are part of. Sounds neat, doesn’t it? You can now modify the program, add your personal touches and really get that chick reeling on her heels.

Shareware :

After all that providing software to that girl ( and some flirting ;) ), it is time for some gaming!

You open that game you installed from this month’s CHIP CD, and a fearsome message pops up:’ Your trial period has expired! Click here to purchase.’ That game is nothing but a shareware.

Sharewares are ‘try and buy’ programs. They are often referred to as ‘demos’ or ‘trials’. These are basically advertisements of the original ‘full version’ program that comes for a price. The shareware program may have one or more restrictions put on it. It may a restriction on the number of time you can use the program, or the feature that you can use.

Open source:

[Oh man, when will this aaRCan stop bugging me? I just want to get back to that girl… :S]

Strictly, ‘Open source’ is not a distinct type of software. It only means that the source code for the program is available with the program. As you may have noticed, all ‘Free software’ is Open source. Also, plenty of software that comes for a price comes with its source code bundled along with it.

We always recommend use of Free software and Open source. It is of course, not possible in certain fields. But with open source Operating Systems already in full swing, the day may not be far when open source software will be the sole way to go.

-Cancer

First up ...

2008-01-21T23:51:00.000+05:30

Hey PPL, AARCAN is now here !!

Ourselves, aaRJay and Cancer are proud to present to you, ‘Me No n00b’. The blog with computer trivia. Perfectly down-to-earth, and no nonsense. Many of you computer gurus may look down to this page in disgust, but hey, you guys used to be n00bs too.

We are two very practical guys and we will try to keep all articles as practicable as possible.’ Enough with the bullshit’, we like to say. When we learn something, we love to put it to use. That will be our motto.

Considering the huge talent pool in DAIICT in this field we will have guest-writers regularly, who are better at some stuff than we may be.

So anyways, kudos to us all, and lets keep rocking \m/ .