Frankly speaking ...

Ubuntu One 2GB Might not seem like much, but is actually enough to store a few documents. There are some primitive command line utilities that can be used to perform some basic tasks. Once a folder has been created on the server, then simple commands can be used to keep them synchronised between machines that have subscribed to them. It is sort of tricky as the default behaviour is to subscribe to all folders. And as subscription requires a folder Id, unsubscribing to a folder before it gets synchronised is a bit of a pain. Installation Installation is very easy with: apt-get install ubuntuone-client ubuntuone-client-tools An example Here is a simple Ubuntu One example to show how to: start server and connect: u1sdtool --start u1sdtool --connect Then show current status with: u1sdtool --status link a local folder to the server: u1sdtool --create-folder=[local_fully_qualified_path] Then to list folders on server: u1sdtool --list-folders subscribe or unsubscribe from a fold...

UNR 10.10 - Update on Tethering to iPhone Like a few others, upgrading to Maverick Meerkat killed iPhone tethering. Actually I found that this occurred on most kernel upgrades. Luckily, the fix is simple. Recall , that normal installation is simply: Set repositories: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa sudo apt-get update Then install the drivers: sudo apt-get install gvfs ipheth-dkms ipheth-utils Now, on an upgrade these are already installed, and even a re-installation failed: sudo apt-get install --reinstall gvfs ipheth-dkms ipheth-utils Though, this normally works on a kernel upgrade. Instead, un-install then re-install. If the kernel isn't updated on the re-installation the chances are it hasn't worked. sudo apt-get remove gvfs ipheth-dkms ipheth-utils sudo apt-get install gvfs ipheth-dkms ipheth-utils

This is an update to my last post A Simple Reminder System Scanning the technical news I recently came across: gcalcli . Can this be used with my reminder system? Well, yes it can! Very simply in fact. It took a short Bourne shell script which reads calendar entries forward from today, then post them to Google Calendars. This is the script: #!/bin/sh # Update Google calendar with local calendar. # # $Id: syncgcal.sh 706 2010-10-09 05:28:44Z frank $ echo -n 'Reading calendar events ...' forwardDate=`/bin/date --date="+7 days" "+%Y%m%d"` /usr/bin/calendar -t $forwardDate | while read entry do    /usr/bin/gcalcli quick "$entry" done echo ' done!' exit 0 The trick used here is to check upcoming events for a fixed number of days forward.  If you use  calendar -A  then you'll get events repeated. This is a compromise: checking only a fixed number of days forward and posting items for that date only. What would be better, would be to identify ...

This is a continuation of my post on running a paperless office . Ever faced with the problem of constantly forgetting important events, missing bill payments or forgetting anniversaries? Don't want to publish billing information onto an online calendar? This  simple email reminder system seemed the most versatile. This is how it works: The solution centres upon the calendar(1) command from the bsdmainutils package. It takes a simple formatted text file as input, and displays events within a user specified number of days forward from today. The format is really easy maintain a list of birthdays, or of bills requiring payment. Create a file called ~/.calendar/calendar . The file will contain entries like: #ifndef _calendar_frank_ #define _calendar_frank_ LANG=en_AU #include <calendar.australia><calendar.australia> #include <calendar.birthday><calendar.birthday> #include <calendar.reminder><calendar.reminder> #endif And this is what a th...

This is a continuation of my post on  running a paperless office . Only some PDF documents lend themselves to being edited using  OpenOffice . Those that can be will be discussed in a later blog. Here we are going to describe how to use the Gimp to edit a PDF document. On occasion PDF forms received that need to filled out. The typical way to enter these forms is to print them, add the requested information, then finally, scan or facsimile the document back. What I will describe here is a way to update a form electronically so you can then email or fax directly the completed document. The methods described below were developed over time as part of my initiative to run an paperless office. Suppose you have a multi-page PDF document to be updated. Each page will be separately edited and the final result stitched together. There are two reasons for this: Firstly this reduces the risk of losing the entire document on a mistake. So, you'll be able to recover up to last com...

Coffee is a daily requirement!  After much searching, I've been very fortunate in finding a  barista  who's dedicated to making coffee of consistently high quality.  The team at  Little Cupcakes  greet me each day with smiles and in very short time, a fantastic coffee.  Here are some recommendations on coffee varieties to make that perfect cup ... Want more choice suggestions? How about: Or: But, where can I get all these delicious beans? Well from here:  Thank you Laura for some great advice, and even better coffee!

Extend Ring Time - Mobile This explains how to extend the ring time of your mobile before it diverts to the MessageBank service. The default ring time setting is 15 seconds. You can extend this up to 30 seconds.  To change the ring time before calls are diverted to MessageBank, dial the following command on your mobile: ** 61 * 101 ** (Enter number of seconds required)  # Source: Telstra FAQ Extend Ring Time - Home This explains how to extend the ring time of your home line before it diverts to the MessageBank service. You can extend this up to 60 seconds.   To change the ring time before calls are diverted to MessageBank, dial the following command on your home telephone: ** 99 (Enter number of seconds required)  # For Australia only.

Sometime ago I made up my mind to try running a paperless office. While there maybe many environmental justifications for doing so, my reasons were far more practical: laziness. A modern life collects an awful lot of related documentation. Documentation that needs to be saved for a few years, forgotten, then found again during those rare Spring cleans, and finally shredded. There certainly is a need to record information, I just couldn’t see the point of maintaining it in paper form. First, there is the storage required. Then what do you keep? And how long do you keep it for? Computer storage is cheap, very cheap. So that is when I decided to fire-up the scanner. Taking action straight away reveals problems early: OK, now I’ve scanned a document, what do I name it? Where should I file it? How long should I keep it for? Much the same issues that you have with paper. It is just easier. Over the past two years I worked out a system that works, for me ... What is recorded? For the most par...

10" HP Mini 110-1081TU & 14" Compaq Presario Notebook Installation Guide A netbook is, by definition a mobile device.  You never know when you may lose or have the device stolen. So I recommend that no private information is retained on the machine.  If it must be present, encrypt it.  As you probably have other devices using web-centric email and documentation can overcome many but not all of these issues.  This installation is tailored with these security issues in mind. Installation Get Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) from  http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download-netbook Use this guide to create a bootable USB stick. Post Installation After installation, the internal microphone and wireless networking probably won't be working, see section in Problems . For panel customisation see gconf . For additional software I highly recommend, see  Additional Software . Finally I've added a section on hardware . gconf Custom Date Format for Clock Applet To apply...

For those people still struggling with MS Windows ... Recently I was asked to assist a colleague who had ignored security upgrades, Virus software notices and performance issues.   Microsoft Windows is quiet smart in that it will try to install the latest security updates, unless of course there is a problem. Then it will complain and stop. This was the case in the situation my colleague now faced: Security patches could not be applied due to existing viruses. Looking at the logs, these error messages first appeared at the end of April!  The first thing I did was install Windows Security Essentials : The release of Microsoft Security Essentials has changed the landscape of antivirus software. We've finally got a completely free application that protects against viruses, spyware, and other malware without killing system performance like some of the "suites" tend to do. In my personal experience, it barely slows down the machine and rarely affects my work and during a de...