How to Install Basenji 0.8 in Ubuntu, A Powerful Media Indexing Tool for GNU/Linux!

Say that, you have a lot of CD/DVD or USB devices that you would like to create an index of, so you could easily search through that index even when the media/s are not mounted ... then that's what the Basenji does. When you insert a media such as CD/DVD, Network drives or even USB drives, etc Basenji lets you easily make a complete database of those devices (including thumbnail previews!).

It's not just for GNU/Linux and also available for Microsoft Windows as well.

Main features...

*. Written GTK+.

*. Easy to use (simple) interface.

*. Supports CD/DVD/USB and network drives.

*. Audio CD support.

*. MP3 metadata extraction (you know automatic fetching of title, author, album, etc).

*. Thumbnails support (for videos/pictures, etc).

*. Automatic drive scanning demon support...

So as an Ubuntu user you can install Basenji 0.8 by using the official PPA channel. Open your Terminal and enter the below command (supports Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 and the Natty Narwhal - 11.04).

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pulb/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install basenji

As said the automatic drive scanning demon has to be installed separately, to do that use the below command.

sudo apt-get install volumedb-tools

This is a cross-platform software tool which you can get from the Basenji home page.

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Install Nautilus Facebook Uploader in Ubuntu 10.10/11.04

Facebook is becoming an important part of most of our lives. And as a GNU/Linux user, don't you think it would be nice to have the ability to upload your pictures, video directly from the Nautilus file manager to Facebook??. If so, you should try the Nautilus Facebook Uploader.

Main features...

*. Upload videos/pictures.

*. Upload to any album in your FB account.

*. Post directly to the wall.

*. Schedule uploads.

If you use Ubuntu 10.10, 11.04, the installation is pretty easy actually. All you gotta do is go and get the .deb package from here. And simply double click on it to install. That's it. The credit goes to the gnome-look.org developer (if you're using any other GNU/Linux distributions please get the source-code the developer page). 

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Drakfire Caffe GTK3, A "Coffee" Looking Theme for Gnome3/Shell

Drakfire Caffe GTK3 is another shell theme for all you Gnome3 geeks out there!. Although personally I'm not much of a fan of these type of colors in themes but then I guess just because I don't like doesn't mean there won't be others, right?.

If that's the case and if you're looking for another Gnome3/Shell theme that uses a lot of dark brown type colors (or Yellow... seriously I'm a bad artist... can't even say what color it is :P) then you'd love the Darkfire Cafe.

To be honest guys, I haven't used this at all but when reading through some of the comments in the author page someone said, the colors make it really easy to work on a darker environment. So that might come in handy.... :(.

Anyway, ff you want to install then get the zipped pack from here. And visit this deviantart author page for installing instructions. Enjoy!.

Note - If you're using Gnome 3 in Ubuntu then you can install a tool called Gnome tweak tool which lets you easily configure themes and some of their advanced options in Gnome3. So to install Gnome Tweak tool simply insert the below command in your Terminal.

sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

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A Computer Repair Man's Rant

Computers in general are volatile systems. One minute they're crunching data by the gigabyte the next they've run across a script error and will be shut down immediately. Of course all computers are not built the same. Some larger companies, HP, Dell, Acer, Gateway, Sony, to name a few, offer great support in terms of drivers and help information. They protect their reputation by building the systems that last longer. Alas there will always be a market for cheaper goods. Enter the clones, and after market China products. Don't get me wrong, I'm lovin' the great price, it's the price you have to pay later down the line that will kill you.
Recently a customer from Rialto Ca brought a computer to my office that was constantly restarting. It didn't have a prayer. At first Windows would load and run for a half an hour then restart. Hours Later it began restarting every five seconds. I did suspect it may be the power supply. Switched it out, no difference. Exchanged the board and bingo! No restart. The damaged board was an ECS 'elite groups'. Funny cause I had that same brand mobo a  few years ago with about the same problem.

Now for my rant. The customer brought a second computer to my office and figured I could work with the extra parts. The board was a Soyo Dragon 2. The computer flashes a screen displaying Soyo.com when beginning to  boot. I looked it up the site is non-existant. So much for finding the drivers there. The crazy part about these two computers was that I was able to pull the SATA HDD out of the ECS and run the pre-existing copy of Windows in the Dragon 2! It actually started accidentally as I was about to load Windows XP from CD. The only problem was of course it needed the different drivers. In cases like these I google it, and check the forums and cnet download.com. It took some time. Conclusion- spend a few extra bucks and avoid custom boards. You'll save you're self a lot of hassle down the line. Once you have the right network driver working you're golden. From there it's a breeze. Windows updates, Anti-virus loaded. Having the internet is really the only reason they want their computer fixed in the first place right!?

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The Software Toolkit of a Computer Repair Man

There are a series of different maneuvers and software applications that a computer tech needs to carry with him inorder to be prepared with going out to visit a job.
Tool box Items of Computer Repair:

USB jump drive, or External drive (to store data temporarily, or load the OS faster than a CD) 

OS disks (Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or 7)

Anti-Virus (Dr. Spyware, Avira, MS Security Essentials, Malware bytes, etc.)

Ophcrack (boots from linux kernel and cracks lost Log In passwords)

Internet Connection (Drivers for wireless, network, sound, video, printers, etc.)

Si Sandra (to search and identify components to know what drivers to look for)

Phone (customer contact, possible help from a friend in a pinch)

Do you know of other essential computer repair tools?

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Blue Screen Error Proves MS Disk the Culprit

I received a custom built computer from customer with the Windows install disk still in the drive. Along with the computer he also handed me the CD plastic with the original serial. Figuring it was easier to just start the install from the disk that was already in the drive, I went ahead and booted from the CD. It would load for less than a minute before showing a blue screen with an error: "0x0000007E (0xc0000005, 0xf748E0BF, 0xF78DA208, 0xF78D9F08). Shrug possibly a random glitch. Two tries later I started going through the BIOS and hardware to find the problem. The RAM chip was installed in the second slot away from the CPU. Switched it over to the first slot to receive the same error.
When I first started the computer it wouldn't recognize my USB mouse or keyboard. Using the old school mouse connection allowed me to at least click the user name to try to enter Windows. It wouldn't load at all, just display a solid blue screen no text. The OS may have some how been loaded from this broken disk only to support this broken system. Problem Solved: Finally ejecting this disk that came with the computer and inserting my own, the system loaded. Inspecting this faulty disk I found a small yet deep scratch in the center right where the data begins.

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Gateway M series Laptop Error 02FA: Main Fan Error!!

"Error 02FA: Main Fan Error !! !! Please turn off system and check your CPU fan !!"
 The fan on the Gateway M series laptop I was fixing was spinning up immediately the second after rebooting, then stoping cold. Since the fan did spin when the computer was turned on it was obviously still good. I flipped the laptop over removed the one screw and plastic panel covering the CPU fan and RAM. Removed and replaced the RAM, and it solved the problem. I received the suggestion to start it without memory installed and see if the behavior of fan goes back to normal. (computers do this when no memory is installed). 

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