IT Masala

Last week Ubuntu released Hardy Heron. Before upgrading I was on Ubuntu 7.10. Last week, there was an update notification to upgrade to 8.04. I have also used Mac4Lin theme with Ubuntu.There is some problem with the latest kernel on Ubuntu, some crashes and Mac4Lin dosen't work nicely on Hardy Heron.

Good thing about the upgrade is , you can still select the old kernel i.e 2.6.22-14 during boot.And for Windows users, Ubuntu 8.04 has Wubi which allows users to install and uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows OS application.

Below are some screenshots and reviews: 

Some of the sites which reviewed the latest Ubuntu release.

eWeek's review:

Canonical has marshaled the best of what the open-source world has to offer in Ubuntu 8.04, a Linux-based operating system that's capable of mounting a serious challenge to Microsoft Windows on mainstream desktops and notebooks. During my tests of Ubuntu 8.04, both in its final form and in a series of test releases that led up to the official launch April 24, I've been impressed enough with the distribution to award it the eWEEK Labs Analyst's Choice designation.

LifeHacker's review:

If you've flirted with the idea of switching your desktop operating system to Linux but never took the leap, the time is now. This week's release of Hardy Heron, an Ubuntu release that will be supported until 2011, offers a freer, more productive space for work and play than ever before.

 [ Ubuntu ] [ Get Ubuntu ] [ Request Free CD ]

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I han't used Rapidshare for many weeks..(no new mp3's.. just kidding.., I just use for file sharing). Some days back I went to download a video file sent by my friend and to my surprise, the image captcha of Rapidshare had changed, I put in the code thrice, but it didn't work. Then I carefully saw the page and found this.

No premium user. Please enter all letters having a below.

Its really surprising that rapidshare is using such weird type of image captcha..It might drive you crazy for the first time, but next time you probably won't feel that weirdness.

So, rapidshare users should see it more carefully and then put in only the letters which have cat in the letters. Its bit difficult to make out for the first time. 

Below is a screenshot attached. 

Do you want to give your desktop a pinch of Mac OS X? Do you want to change your GNOME desktop from the default look to something like this? Use Mac4Lin to give it the look and feel of Mac OS X (latest being 10.5, Leopard) on *nix GTK based systems.

Make this happen by Using Mac4Lin on your Linux system. I use Ubuntu  and it worked awesome. The only thing I could not get is  the icons at the bottom, apart from that I have got the perfect MAC look for my Ubuntu system. 

Here is a nice tutorial on how to go about on Howtoforge and also the Mac4Lin has nice documentation.

Don't forget to thank the owner. Its an amazing piece of work.

Download all the 3 parts.

[ Download Mac4Lin ]  [ Tutorial on HowtoForge]

While browsing today, I saw that Register.com site is trying out its new look.  Looks like they have tried out embossing styled buttons and images. The use of colors is really nice, the combination of greyish black and green buttons and images makes the site look lively.

People who haven't seen their old site, I have a screenshot of that old site too. It looks so dull and so common. Besides, they have still not changed their site theme, maybe they are experiementing..

But the new look rocks !

Way to go Register.com !

Old site :                                    New Site:

Here is a nice list of topics from edufive.com

# SPINS -Security Protocol For Sensor Network
# Generic visual perception processor
# Nanotechnology Assembler Design And Nano-Communication
# Tele-Immersion
# Liquid Crystal on Silicon Display (LCOS)
# Jini - advanced set of network protocols
# Computer memory based on the protein bacterio-rhodopsin
# CSS and DeCSS
# Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS)
# Extreme Programming (XP)
# Holographic Versatile Disc
# Zero Knowledge proofs
# Bimolecular Computers
# Context Disambiguation On Web Search Results
# Touch Screen Technology
# Surface Computer
# Face Recognition Technology
# DNA Computing in security
# 4g Wireless Systems
# Spyware and Trojan horses
# Zigbee
# Java Management Extensions (JMX) - component framework for building intelligent network
# Quantum cryptography
# Home Networking
# Steganography and digital watermarking
# TouchFLO Technology
# NESSUS *
# 3D Volume Storage
# Optical Networking and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
# Software-Defined Radio
# Space-time adaptive processing

Apple introduces world's thinnest notebook -Macbook Air. Here are some configurations if you wanna pre-order Air. It seems too costly but still a Macbook is always worth the pay.

Interesting thing to observe is its thickness, its jut .76" , thats really awesome. Anyone would love to have a laptop that thin and light ! 

Priced at $1,799.00,Macbook Air ships within 2-3 weeks with 13inch 1.6ghz ,Intel Core 2 Duo processor,2GB memory,80GB 4200-rpm PATA hard drive1,Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi2 and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Around the new year, someone started alerting the rumors sites that there was going to be a "MacBook Air" product at Macworld.  Also that it was the "worst kept secret at Apple" (which is very suspicious!)  His/her words sound very similar to this Digg commenter. - 9 to 5 mac

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Google takes on Wikipedia with Knol - The idea is called Knols, or “units of knowledge.” “Knol”, just announced at the official Google blog, is a currently private, invitation-only knowledge sharing service.

Google’s Udi Manber says, “Our job in Search Quality will be to rank the knols appropriately when they appear in Google search results.” Knol pages will be made available for indexing by search engines, Google announced.

Will Knol be same as About.com ? Will it destroy Wikipedia !! wooooo!! . So that it can be called Googlepedia ?? 

Here's a screenshot of Knol from the Official Google blog :

Knol Project: Google Experimenting With User Generated Encyclopedic Pages

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/encouraging-people-to-contribute.html

Is it  the end of Wiki ? lots of such questions arising ….. Anyway Knol will surely be a huge hit !!

Here are tips to help you pose for a visa or passport photo:

• No cheesy grins, as mouths should be shut. Adopt a neutral expression and look straight at the camera, so face and both ears are seen properly.

• Hair must not obscure your face, so keep those fringes in check. Make sure facial hair does not hide the outline of your nose or mouth. No head coverings, unless religious.

• Embassies usually require plain-white backgrounds and each one has slightly different rules about photo sizes, so find out what’s mandatory. Some embassies, or their visa agents, offer photo-booths, but they tend to charge you more than regular studios.

[ Readers Digest Magazine ]