MacPorts and Porticus

A while back I ran across the MacPorts web site (http://www.macports.org/index.php) and thought it looked interesting but did not have time to check it out.  Recently I had time to install it and give it a quick run through.  

Here is a Macports description of what Macports is: The MacPorts Project is an open-source community initiative to design an easy-to-use system for compiling, installing, and upgrading either command-line, X11 or Aqua based open-source software on the Mac OS X operating system. To that end we provide the command-line driven MacPorts software package under a BSD License, and through it easy access to thousands of ports that greatly simplify the task of compiling and installing open-source software on your Mac.

We provide a single software tree that attempts to track the latest release of every software title (port) we distribute, without splitting them into “stable” Vs. “unstable” branches, targetting mainly the current Mac OS X release (10.6, A.K.A Snow Leopard) and the immediately previous one (10.5, A.K.A. Leopard). There are currently 6467 ports in our tree, distributed among 92 different categories, and more are being added on a regular basis.

I chose to use the the dmg install options for Leopard as it look to be the quickest way to install MacPorts.  You can also build it from the source.  For Macports to work correctly Xcode and X11 must be installed.  It is suggested to have the latest version of both.  Finding Xcode for OS 10.5 for PowerPC took a little work but it is out there on Apples site.  After MacPorts was installed I installed Porticus a Cocoa GUI for the MacPorts package manager.  From the FAQ list I found a link to three GUIs for MacPorts and decided to use Porticus as the front-end.  Porticus can be found here http://porticus.alittledrop.com/.  Using Porticus I installed Frozen Bubble 2 from the list of available ports.  The install took about a hour then to run Frozen Bubble I had to use the Finder to find it.  Frozen Bubble works but the color way off.  I then tried to install a few other ports with varying success.  Some would not install and others install but will not run.  I would be interested to know if these ports would work better on an Intel Mac.  
Macports is an interesting concept but not sure it is something that I would use.  How ever having Frozen Bubble on my Mac is kind of cool.  I will post a short clip of Frozen Bubble later.

JG, a Dell Dinosaur, and Ubuntu 9.10

(JG is a 11 year old new to linux)
I was given a laptop. It is a dell build like a square not a rectangle and weighs as much as my sister. This old Dinosaur has some problem with its graphic card.  We tried several different Linux distros before choosing Ubuntu 9.10. We chose it because it was the only one that work with my graphic card. It works well and runs faster then my bros laptop that has Linux Mint. 

BJ, an old Toshiba Laptop, and Linux Mint 8

(Another post from BJ a 13 year old boy who is new to Linux.)

Recently I received a Toshiba laptop running Linux Mint 8 Helena.  I like Mint a lot but notice a few problems. My computer freezes when I log on sometimes. Well not my computer but my mouse freezes and I can't even click my mouse. So I restart my computer, type in my password and go to play Wesnoth. When I'm done playing I press quite and the whole game and computer freezes. Just recently my mouse is hard to move where I want it. This only happened twice times so far and once my mouse froze and well you know the rest. I had to restart my computer. I had started to make a screen cast to show you around the desktop but my charger fried and my battery died before I was done. I will get another charger then remake the video.

Puppy Linux comes in Handy

I was helping a friend with his Windows XP box a while back. He wanted to move his music folder from one hard drive to another.  For some reason the "My Music" folder would not allow him to open it.  I tried to remap it to the other drive but the same type of error message came up.  I had a copy of Ubuntu 9.10 in the car so went and got it and tried to boot into the live CD. Then I ran into another problem he did not have enough RAM to load Ubuntu. "Now what?"  Then I remember Puppy Linux.  I had not used it for a few years but remembered one of the reasons it was made was for the very problem I was having.  Soon I had a CD burned with Puppy 4.3.1.

Rebooting the system started the Puppy load process. A few questions were asked allowing me to select keyboard type, locale settings, time zone, and X server (graphic mode).  Once all questions where answered Puppy finished loading into RAM and I was able to boot the two hard drives, get into the "My Music" folder and transfer all to the other hard drive.

Here are a few screenshots I took on another system. The first shows the desktop the next three show the network setup.

Puppy Linux can be found here: http://puppylinux.org/
(fixed the photo upload)

Linux Live USB Creator

Came across a neat program for Windows users who would like to make a bootable live USB key with a copy of Linux on it.  There latest release now supports Linux Mint one of our favorite Linux distros.  There is a step by step guide to get you up and running in no time.  Great way to show off Linux to your friends.

LiLi USB Creator is a free software for Windows that allows you to create a bootable Live USB key with a Linux on it.

This software also offers an exclusive option of automatic virtualization to directly run Linux in Windows without any configuration nor installation.

• create bootable Live USB of Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Damn Small Linux, Puppy Linux and many others !
  
• enable persistency of your data
• launch Linux directly in Windows with a special Portable VirtualBox
• hide created files on the key

Anybody can use LiLi USB Creator. It's really easy to use and you don't have to be a computer geek !

The Battle for Wesnoth Screencast

The young folks in the Family have become big fans of The Battle for Wesnoth.  Here is a short Screencast to give you an idea of the game.


Screencast was made with Screenjelly.

Safari Plugins

Plugins for Safari are few and far between. If you are looking for plugins for Safari check the "Pimp My Safari" site. pimpmysafari.com Looks like most have them have not been updated for a year but there might be something you can use.
(update with the release of Safari 5.0 plugins are now supported. http://www.apple.com/safari/)

Ubuntu Howtos

Ran across an interesting wikipage the other day Ubuntu Howtos. Might be an interesting site to browse through if you are looking help with Ubuntu or would like some ideas of things to do with you Ubuntu install.  Check them out at Ubuntu HQ. Here is their welcome:
Ubuntu Howtos
Introduction

Welcome to the UbuntuHQ howto archive. As you can see, this wikipage is a work in progress. The easiest way to find and buy essay in a specific howto is using Ctrl+F and using your browser's search function.
The UbuntuHQ howto archive allows users to write, edit, manage, and share infromation, and tutorials about the Ubuntu Linux Operating System. Viewing the information is free, though if you register you can contribute by:
Submit more tips, tutorials, howtos, etc.
Clean up this site by moving, removing, renaming, existing links
Make suggestions for improving this page
Spread the word about Ubuntu, and UbuntuHQ.
New to Ubuntu? Start Downloading Ubuntu and read about What Ubuntu Is and the Beginner Documentation. You can read more documentation at the User Documentation or at the Regular Documentation. Joining the [ubuntuforums.org/ Ubuntu Forums] allows you to connect with other Ubuntu users, and ask and receive support. If you want to learn how to use the Terminal Shell then go to the Linux Command Page. Thanks for visiting!

Learning the Terminal in Linux

As more people began to understand they have more options then Windows a number of new GNU/Linux users have sprung up.  For a lot of us the time comes when we begin to use the Terminal.  My first experiences with the Terminal involved coping and pasting commands I found on blogs and forums. The time came to when I wanted to know what it was I was doing.  One place I have found useful is LinuxCommand.org. LinuxCommand.org has but together a nice site to get the novice Terminal user up to speed. If you are looking for help with the Command Line or would like to expand your knowledge check them out. Why do you need to learn the command line anyway? Well, let me tell you a story. Not long ago we had a problem where I used to work. There was a shared drive on one of our file servers that kept getting full. I won't mention that this legacy operating system did not support user quotas; that's another story. But the server kept getting full and stopping people from working. One of the software engineers in our company spent the better part of a day writing a C++ program that would look through the directories of all the users and add up the space they were using and make a listing of the results. Since I was forced to use the legacy OS while I was on the job, I installed a version of the bash shell that works on it. When I heard about the problem, I realized I could do all the work this engineer had done with this single line:

Firefox add-ons for privacy

The last couple of posts have been about privacy and security so thought I would post this link to an article about Firefox privacy add-ons.  Hope it helps.  10 add-ons for Firefox: Privacy and Security

Flash Cookies: "You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again"

Interesting read on hidden Flash Cookies.  If you are interested in privacy and try to keep your cookies cleaned out you should read this.  At the end of the article are a few links for tools to remove Flash Cookies.
Unlike traditional browser cookies, Flash cookies are relatively unknown to web users, and they are not controlled through the cookie privacy controls in a browser. That means even if a user thinks they have cleared their computer of tracking objects, they most likely have not.
Read article here: You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again

Browsing Advice from F-Secure

F-Secure posted 5 things that they feel will help keep users safe when they are browsing.  F-Secure writes Antivirus software for Windows so their advice is geared towards Windows users.  I like number 2:  2. Real anti-virus or Internet security software will NEVER just appear on your computer.
If an “anti-virus” you didn’t install appears on your PC, it’s a scam. There is almost no exception to this rule. If anything other than your Internet security software tells you that infections have been detected on your PC, don’t believe it. F-Secure Online Scanner will detect and help you extract any malware including fake anti-virus or scareware. PLEASE, don’t pay for any software that installs itself on your computer. If you do make the mistake of passing on any banking information to a fake security program, contact your bank or credit-card company immediately. I had to recover a computer who's user downloaded and installed an "antivirus" program that popped up.  F-Secure left out some helpful advice such as get a more secure Operating System.
5 Things to Remember Whenever You Open a Web Browser

ClickToFlash: Adobe Flash controller for OS X

Found this great WebKit plugin for blocking Flash on websites.  If you use Safari, Stainless or another Webkit based browser on OS X and hate Flash as some of use do you need to check this out.

Ever wanted to get rid of the scourge of the web that is Adobe Flash, but still retain the ability to view Flash whenever you want? With ClickToFlash, you can! Using ClickToFlash, all of those icky Flash bits that have infected most webpages on the internets are replaced with a nice, smooth gradient and the word "Flash" set in a nice, pleasing font. When you want to view the Flash, just click on it!
Features:
Block evil Adobe Flash
Flash only when you want it.
One-click Flash loading
View blocked Flash with just one click.
Higher quality YouTube
Play H.264 videos in QuickTime.
HD YouTube support
No more crappy, blocky video.
Website Whitelist
Allow Flash on certain websites.
Application Whitelist
Allow Flash in certain applications.
sIFR Typography Support
Load quality typesetting automatically.
Automatic Updating
Download updates when they're ready.
Read more and download from ClickToFlash.  Source Code also available here.

Free Geek

A while back a friend of mine showed up with an old Apple Computer running Ubuntu 9.4 that he had purchased from a local Portland company Free Geek. I was curious about Free Geek so looked them up on the web then went down and looked the place over. Free Geek has a Thrift Store, recycle center, volunteer program and computer assemble room at their location on 1730 SE 10^th Ave. Free Geek supplies computers to schools and charitable organizations in the local area. Volunteers can earn a computer running Linux when they volunteer their time. I was hoping to volunteer on Mondays as I have some free time that day but it turns out they are closed on Monday. One of the neat things Free Geek offers is training while you volunteer. I will paste in part of their own write up about the volunteer program:

Our Programs

We have two main programs for volunteers. Some people want a computer as soon as possible while others are more interested in learning about building computers. Choose the program that fits your interests best, but know that you are welcome to continue volunteering after you finish that program!

Computer Adoption

If you are looking to get a computer quickly from Free Geek Adoption is the program for you. Adoption volunteers generally help us with tasks like computer disassembly, keyboard and mice testing, data entry and processing donations. Volunteers are welcome to continue volunteering after they complete their 24 hours. Learn more about the Adoption Program here.

Build Program

Build Program volunteers build the computers that we give to volunteers and non-profit organizations, as well as the computers we sell in our Thrift Store. You don’t have to have any prior knowledge to join the Build Program, just a willingness to learn. Graduates of the Build Program take home the sixth computer they build, and often go on to become Build Assistants or Teachers. Learn more about this program here.

Check out their site here: freegeek.org

Printliminator

A while back I was catching up with my lifehacker feed and read about Printliminator.  Printliminator is a bookmarklet that allows the removal of anything on the page you do not want to look at or print.
Here are two screenshots of the same webpage, the first with out changes and the second with changes.

Read the lifehacker article. Printliminator

Get the Bookmarklet: The Printliminator

Open Source file archiver Windows

If you are looking for a nice Open Source file archiver you should take a look at 7-zip.  I have installed 7-zip on a number of Windows machines and find it is compatible with more archive formats then the basic archiver that comes with Windows.
From 7-zip.org:

The main features of 7-Zip

• High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
• Supported formats:
  
  
  • Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
  • Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR and Z.
  
  
  
• For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
• Strong AES-256 encryption in 7z and ZIP formats
• Self-extracting capability for 7z format
• Integration with Windows Shell
• Powerful File Manager
• Powerful command line version
• Plugin for FAR Manager
• Localizations for 74 languages

Learning Process with the BJs

The BJs had a problem the other day with their old Dell laptop that is running Mint 7 XFCE. One thing lacking with their Dell is a build in wireless card so they were using a USB wireless card. The problem started when they broke the USB wireless card, I helped them get a new card using Craigslist the price was almost free for an unopened box. What they now have is a Belkin F5D8010 PC card. I was not close by when they got the card but figured I could talk them through the setup with no problem. As it turned out they could not get it to work and so I figured it need the driver installed logging into WizHelp I soon had control of the computer and installed the driver still no luck.  We talked things over and I asked are you sure the card is all the way in? The answer was "oh yes".  Final we just had to wait until I could join up with the computer, at that time a glaring problem became obvious to me. The card was in upside down.  After inserting the card correctly I had to make a change in the WICD settings changing wlan0 to wlan2.  Unfortunately I have since learned it will not connect to a network that uses WPA.  That is something I will have to look into later.