Wireless loads on boot!

Finally got my wireless connection to load when I boot, now I don’t have to run a script everytime I want to connect! Woohoo!

Perhaps the switch to Kernel 2.6.6 is even better than I thought ;)

If you too are having trouble getting your wireless connection to load on boot, try editing the /etc/network/interfaces file (Debian) with your favorite text editor (I like gedit and vi).

This is what mine looks like:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
auto eth1 # replace eth1 with the name of your wireless device
iface eth1 inet dhcp
wireless-essid MyESSID # replace with your ESSID
wireless-mode Managed # Managed, ad-hoc, etc.
wireless-channel 7 # replace with your channel number
wireless-enc on # leave on if using wireless encryption
wireless-key key1goes1here1 # replace with your WEP key

Hope that helps, bear in mind that my wireless connection was/is working (through the help of Linuxant’s Driverloader for my Linksys WPC54G card), if you need help setting yours up, I suggest you look at the Driverloader site or check out ndiswrapper (free!).

Kernel 2.6.6 vs My Dell Inspiron 5100

Decided to install Kernel 2.6.6 tonight on my Dell Inspiron 5100. Ran into a few anticipated snags with the Synaptics touchpad (mouse) and ALSA sound configuration – more info on how I accomplished these later.

A few things I need to try:

General tasks like checking email, browsing etc. to see if there is any/much performance increase

CPU intensive tasks like watching movies at fullscreen, using Photoshop through Crossover Office, etc. to see if there is any performance change

Specialized tasks like watching DVDs, burning CDs, using TV-Out

Expect tutorials on configuring Synaptics and fixing ALSA’s volume in the coming days :)

Top 75 Network Security Tools

Top 75 Network Security Tools

The Top 75 Network Security Tools for Linux, Windows, and FreeBSD / UNIX.

Awesome list with links, descriptions, etc. Definitely worth a view if you are concerned about security or combatting hackers.

GNOME-Look.org

GNOME-Look.org

I recently switched back to the Gnome Desktop Environment and just in time it appears! gnome-look.org opened recently and is a great resource for gnome users looking for GTK themes, Metacity themes, Icon themes, GDM themes, wallpaper and much more.

I was a bit weary to try Gnome again since it’s newest release (Gnome 2.6) after some reviews that I had read. At first I thought that it was slower than KDE but realized several hours later that it was my own fault.

So far Gnome 2.6 is performing wonderfully for me, I did change the file managing scheme back to the previous “browser-like” setting- I found the new spatial Nautilus to be weird.

Eurotrip Mail Sound

For those that have seen the movie Eurotrip you probably remember the “You’ve got mail” sound used on Scotty’s computer. Of course, in Eurotrip it was “Mail Mutha F***a!”

I scoured the Net and finally found it, so if you too have been wanting it, here it is (right-click and “Save As…”):

Eurotrip – “Mail Mutha F***a” Mail Alert

Dogster :: A Walk Through The Dog Park

Dogster :: A Walk Through The Dog Park: Toby

Toby makes his web “debut” (on something other than my website)!

Gmail

Funny GMail-related comics at UserFriendly.org

Got my Gmail invite 2 days ago, and as many others have posted it is quite spiffy. I haven’t given the address out to anyone other than Drew, so if I start getting spam he will surely get a flogging!

It is truly amazing to me how ga-ga over Gmail some people are- buying them from others for $20 on Ebay, trading lava lamps and other useless junk, etc. I happened to come by my invite from [Chameleon] in our irc channel #linuxtalk on irc.freenode.net and am grateful for the opportunity to try this new service… but by no means would I have sold my soul for an account!

CSS, Accesibility and Standards Links

CSS, Accesibility and Standards Links

Absolutely essential list of CSS and design resources for any web designer- new or seasoned.

New Season of BBC America’s Coupling

BBC America – Coupling

My favorite show has begun it’s 4th season on BBC America! If you haven’t had the pleasure of tuning in, I suggest you do- Sundays @ 9PM EST.

I also highly recommend Seasons 1, 2, & 3 DVD Sets :-)

ATI Radeon Mobility 7500 S-Video / TV-Out on Linux

ATI Radeon Mobility 7500 TV-Out / S-Video Out ( Fedora Core 1 and Debian Sid )
First you need to download and install ati tv out or if using Fedora, check dag’s repo for an RPM while Debian users can apt-get atitvout.
Also, you need to have mplayer (may work with other programs, but this is the only one I’ve tested). To read the man page for the program, in a terminal, type ‘man atitvout’ (no quotes).

1. Reboot your laptop with the S-Video plug hooked to your computer and TV.

2. You may need to experiment with your resolution, however I found mine to work fine leaving it at 1024×768, you may want 800×600, etc.

3. IF you changed your resolution, Ctrl + Alt + Backspace to restart X

4. First try running your movie on the laptop screen by using a terminal and typing: mplayer MOVIEFILE such as this: mplayer movie.avi

5. Assuming that works properly:

su
Enter Password
xhost +
/usr/sbin/atitvout detect (it SHOULD say something like: LCD/CRT attached, TV attached)
/usr/sbin/atitvout -f t (and you should see your display on the TV)

6. Now run your mplayer command again and you should have your movie playing on the tv screen. (Example: mplayer /directory/MOVIENAME.avi), press f to make mplayer go into Full Screen mode.

7. Sometimes weird stuff happens, like moving the mouse or pressing Alt will screw up the colors, I dont know why this happens, but I have heard of others having the same problem. If this happens, Ctrl + Alt + F1 to switch to your terminal and Ctrl + Alt + F7 to switch to the laptop screen. From there, do atitvout -f t again and that should fix it.

8. When the movie is done/you are done watching it on the TV, shutdown your computer,
unplug the S-Video cable, and start it up again, the laptop should be back to normal.

YMMV This was tested on a Dell Inspiron 5100.