Just a minor annoyance. The PC speaker "beep" on my laptop is annoyingly loud. I always disable it after I install Linux.
Either via sudo or as root:
Using your favorite text editor, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and add the following line to the file:
blacklist pcspkr
Save and Exit.
It will be disabled on your next reboot. In the meantime, you can 'rmmod pcspkr' to disable it immediately.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Compiling Chromium on Linux Mint 7 - Gloria
I was working on compiling Chromium on Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) and found that the nifty script provided by Google only supports "Ubuntu" by checking the Linux version via "cat /etc/issue". A quick hack and it supports Mint (x64 and most likely x86 as well).
Download modified version here: install-build-deps
Otherwise, just download the original version directly from Google, open it in your favorite text editor, search "Ubuntu" and add an appropriate entry for "Linux Mint". It should be self explanatory.
The rest of the instructions you can follow verbatim from the Google Chromium Dev Site.
Your next step will be to get the code either via tarball or SVN.
All the info you need is here: Chromium Developer Documentation - Get the Code
I'm currently grabbing the source via SVN and will post up any additional helpful details.
Btw, if this post was helpful to you, please leave a comment. I would love to know someone is actually reading my blog. :)
UPDATE: 1:55AM 8/11/09 -
The build was successful. The latest dev build is unstable, as expected. However, there is a *lot* of promise here for a great browser. Load times are unbelievable. No flash or other plugin support yet, but I think this is a preview of something great.
In any case, the build instructions (using the modified script I provided above) work fine on Linux Mint 7 (x64). The instructions provided on the Google link are also precise. Have fun!
Screenshot of GMail running under Chromium on Linux for good measure..
Download modified version here: install-build-deps
Otherwise, just download the original version directly from Google, open it in your favorite text editor, search "Ubuntu" and add an appropriate entry for "Linux Mint". It should be self explanatory.
The rest of the instructions you can follow verbatim from the Google Chromium Dev Site.
Your next step will be to get the code either via tarball or SVN.
All the info you need is here: Chromium Developer Documentation - Get the Code
I'm currently grabbing the source via SVN and will post up any additional helpful details.
Btw, if this post was helpful to you, please leave a comment. I would love to know someone is actually reading my blog. :)
UPDATE: 1:55AM 8/11/09 -
The build was successful. The latest dev build is unstable, as expected. However, there is a *lot* of promise here for a great browser. Load times are unbelievable. No flash or other plugin support yet, but I think this is a preview of something great.
In any case, the build instructions (using the modified script I provided above) work fine on Linux Mint 7 (x64). The instructions provided on the Google link are also precise. Have fun!
Screenshot of GMail running under Chromium on Linux for good measure..
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Wiring your house for Ethernet
Everyone is doing the wireless thing these days.
I have decided to wire my house with CAT 6 Ethernet and ditch the poorly performing WiFi network I have now. The main reason is because I am having problems getting a stable connection with the second building I have a wireless bridge configured to. It works most of the time, but it is on the fringe of useful signal strength.
CAT6 cable is cheap, so I decided to go that route. While working through the process I have learned a few things that I want to share.
Need to run Ethernet cable outside? No problem.
I don't do this all the time, so I wasn't sure what was available in the way of cabling. It turns out that flooded, direct burial, CAT-6 cable is available on E-Bay for a reasonable price. I found 200ft for about $50.
I bought standard issue UTP CAT6 to wire inside the house. (E-Bay, again)
Other things you'll need to wire up your house:
Keystone jacks (CAT6 "approved" for gigabit speeds) and wall plates. These can be bought in all sorts of configurations.
Patch panel - These are relatively cheap but highly recommended. It gives you something easy to terminate all of your wiring from your wall jacks to in a central location and allows for easy cable diagnostics to that point.
Keystone punch down tool - Cheap, and any geek should have one. You can punch the wires down without one, but do it right. You'll thank me later.
Crimping tool for Ethernet connectors - Must have to install connectors on the ends of your cabling. E-Bay or your local electronics retailer should suffice.
Cable tester - Self explanatory. Not required but highly recommended if you value your sanity.
CAT6 connectors - Buy more than you need. You'll likely mess up a connection or two as you get the hang of using the crimper. They're cheap.
Gigabit switch - Cheap and widely available. Run patch cables from the patch panel to the router.
Router - Does not have to be gigabit necessarily since you will only be using this for IP address assignment and routing to the Internet. Your ISP will be your bottleneck, not the 100mbps router.
You could combine the router and switch and just use a router, but I find it easier to have a separate switch. A high quality switch will rarely need to be power cycled. Everyone knows that most consumer grade broadband routers have issues at times.
That way you can stash the switch in an out of the way place near the patch panel and run a single cable from the switch to the router that connects you to the Internet.
All devices on the switch will communicate with each other via the switch at gigabit speeds and Internet traffic will find its way through your router.
I'm still working on physically wiring my house. I'll update this post with pictures as I complete the project.
I have decided to wire my house with CAT 6 Ethernet and ditch the poorly performing WiFi network I have now. The main reason is because I am having problems getting a stable connection with the second building I have a wireless bridge configured to. It works most of the time, but it is on the fringe of useful signal strength.
CAT6 cable is cheap, so I decided to go that route. While working through the process I have learned a few things that I want to share.
Need to run Ethernet cable outside? No problem.
I don't do this all the time, so I wasn't sure what was available in the way of cabling. It turns out that flooded, direct burial, CAT-6 cable is available on E-Bay for a reasonable price. I found 200ft for about $50.
I bought standard issue UTP CAT6 to wire inside the house. (E-Bay, again)
Other things you'll need to wire up your house:
Keystone jacks (CAT6 "approved" for gigabit speeds) and wall plates. These can be bought in all sorts of configurations.
Patch panel - These are relatively cheap but highly recommended. It gives you something easy to terminate all of your wiring from your wall jacks to in a central location and allows for easy cable diagnostics to that point.
Keystone punch down tool - Cheap, and any geek should have one. You can punch the wires down without one, but do it right. You'll thank me later.
Crimping tool for Ethernet connectors - Must have to install connectors on the ends of your cabling. E-Bay or your local electronics retailer should suffice.
Cable tester - Self explanatory. Not required but highly recommended if you value your sanity.
CAT6 connectors - Buy more than you need. You'll likely mess up a connection or two as you get the hang of using the crimper. They're cheap.
Gigabit switch - Cheap and widely available. Run patch cables from the patch panel to the router.
Router - Does not have to be gigabit necessarily since you will only be using this for IP address assignment and routing to the Internet. Your ISP will be your bottleneck, not the 100mbps router.
You could combine the router and switch and just use a router, but I find it easier to have a separate switch. A high quality switch will rarely need to be power cycled. Everyone knows that most consumer grade broadband routers have issues at times.
That way you can stash the switch in an out of the way place near the patch panel and run a single cable from the switch to the router that connects you to the Internet.
All devices on the switch will communicate with each other via the switch at gigabit speeds and Internet traffic will find its way through your router.
I'm still working on physically wiring my house. I'll update this post with pictures as I complete the project.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
DD-WRT and freedns.afraid.org
I am currently using a Netgear WGR614v8 router running Firmware:DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/27/09) mini.
I recently decided sign up with one of the many available dynamic DNS services. One of the supported services in the DD-WRT firmware is freedns.afraid.org. I really liked their user interface so I signed up.
Much to my dismay the initial login attempt from the router failed. After confirming my user ID and password were correct, I did a bit of searching.
Here's the secret:
When configuring the options in the DDNS configuration screen of DD-WRT you have to make a slight adjustment to the hostname field. You have to include the hash value for your site after the actual hostname.
Note the hostname field.
Now, you may be asking "Where do I get this mysterious hash value?" Easy!
Just log into your account at freedns.afraid.org, click on "Dynamic DNS" on the left hand side of the screen. Hover over the "Direct URL" link and copy the shortcut value to the clipboard. This will give you something like this:
http://freedns.afraid.org/dynamic/update.php?UUZGxRSVRTTUl25VUmMTozA
The part we care about is the value after the "?" in the query string. Now, just modify your Hostname value in DD-WRT to look like: myhostname.com,hashvalue and then save the settings.
That's it.
I recently decided sign up with one of the many available dynamic DNS services. One of the supported services in the DD-WRT firmware is freedns.afraid.org. I really liked their user interface so I signed up.
Much to my dismay the initial login attempt from the router failed. After confirming my user ID and password were correct, I did a bit of searching.
Here's the secret:
When configuring the options in the DDNS configuration screen of DD-WRT you have to make a slight adjustment to the hostname field. You have to include the hash value for your site after the actual hostname.
Note the hostname field.
Now, you may be asking "Where do I get this mysterious hash value?" Easy!
Just log into your account at freedns.afraid.org, click on "Dynamic DNS" on the left hand side of the screen. Hover over the "Direct URL" link and copy the shortcut value to the clipboard. This will give you something like this:
http://freedns.afraid.org/dynamic/update.php?UUZGxRSVRTTUl25VUmMTozA
The part we care about is the value after the "?" in the query string. Now, just modify your Hostname value in DD-WRT to look like: myhostname.com,hashvalue and then save the settings.
That's it.
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