The ONLY reliable JDK + JRE

Fedora 8 comes with the bug-ridden IcedTea implementation of JRE with so-called version number 1.7 !! Although this means that you have a pre-installed JRE, it is not recommended to use this package. Instead, install the JDK+JRE provided on the official NetBeans DVD (if you are a hardcore programmer, and use NetBeans like MS Office :D) or download the JRE from Sun's official website: http://java.sun.com

NOTE: Use only Sun's JDK + JRE. Do not use any other implementations.

Fix for JRE/JDK error in Fedora 8

Problem: JRE/JDK fails to install

Error message: Assertion 'c->xlib.lock' failed

Diagnosis: The file libmawt.so has a known bug that needs to be fixed

Solution:

1. Check if the JDK in question is visible throughout the system. For that, execute $ /usr/sbin/alternatives --config java
2. If JDK 1.6 is not present, but you are sure you have installed it, execute this: $ /usr/sbin/alternatives/ --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/jdk1.6.0_03/jre/bin/java 3
3. Copy paste the following code into a plain text file & save it with the extension '.sh' in any folder of your choice
4. Right-click on the file. Select Properties > Permissions > Allow executing file as program (Enable)
5. Close the dialog
6. Double-click the file. Select "Run in Terminal"

#!/bin/sh
# S. Correia
# 2007 11 21
# A simple script to patch the java library in order
# to solve the problem with "Assertion 'c->xlib.lock' failed."
# see bug http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6532373
LIB_TO_PATCH=libmawt.so
for f in `find /usr/java/jdk1.6.0_03/jre/ -name "$LIB_TO_PATCH"`
do
echo "Patching library $f"
sudo sed -i 's/XINERAMA/FAKEEXTN/g' "$f"
done

Points to note:

1. The patch will work on "as is" basis only for Fedora 8, while trying to install JRE/JDK 1.6 from the NetBeans DVD. For other OSs / JREs, please modify the path: "/usr/java/jdk1.6.0_03/jre/ " given in the file to point to the directory where the JRE is installed
2. The file libmawt.so is present in multiple locations in a JRE and hence, finding each file and patching it manually is not recommended

Odd mix of units of measure in India

The measurement system in India is peculiar for having an odd mix of Imperial & Metric systems of measurement. A few points will illustrate this:

• A newborn's weight is measured in pounds, but grown-ups weight is measured in kilograms
• Body temperature is measured in degrees Fahrenheit, but atmospheric temperature is measured in degrees Centigrade
• A person's height is measured in feet & inches, but cloth is measured in metres
• Apartment area is measured in square feet, but office space is measured in square metre
• Road distances are measured in kilometres
  

Fedora can actually look much better....

Friends, if you've been using GNOME and are sick of the cream and blue look, here's something you can try out. Visit http://art.gnome.org/ It has a good collection of themes, window fascias, window borders, icon sets and login screens. You can download them and drag-and-drop into the Appearances window found under System > Preferences > Look and Feel (in Fedora 8). Try out those themese until you settle in for one that suits you best..Happy experimenting !!

Up next for upgrade..........the way ahead..

Being bitten by the upgrade bug, I can't help writing more about it. In this article, I'll disclose my future upgrade plans.

Now, there are 2 major things left to upgrade. Considering I've already made a sizeable investment in DDR memory, it implies I'm not looking forward to upgrade either the processor of the motherboard. Keeping in mind the inherent limitation that this PC can never be used for gaming (we have PlayStations for that, don't we?), there are 2 feel-good things that can be done.

1. A 19" TFT monitor, which must have a VGA connector, and
2. A 250GB or 500 GB HDD, which will ofcourse need to have an IDE interface

While the first upgrade is purely aesthetic, the second one is only marginally functional. Frankly speaking, I'm not likely to go in for any of these upgrades ever. What I am considering, though, is installing a TV-tuner card, that'll allow me to screen my DVDs on the TV in the living room, as well as provide for a way to see my own programs when mum wants to watch another.

Current configuration of my PC

• Intel Celeron 2.0 GHz processor
• HIS-manufactured Intel 845-GL motherboard
• 1.25 GB RAM (1 x 1 GB DDR @ 400 MHz + 1 x 256 MB DDR @ 267 MHz)
• Samsung 40 GB PATA HDD
• Samsung CD writer (52-24-52)
• Sony DVD writer DRU-840A
• Sony 1.44" FDD
• Samsung SAMTRON 15" CRT monitor 56V
• Microsoft keyboard and wheel-mouse ( both wired)
• Scientific-Atlanta Cable modem
• HP PSC 500 All-in-One
• Philips HTR-2000 5.1 Home Theatre System with FM Tuner
• Bluetooth USB adapter
• PCI IEEE-1394 adapter card
• PCI LAN card

The Indian way of doing things

The world over, Indians are known for one ability: their ability to extract the maximum possible out of existing resources. And I am no exception.

Stuck as I was with my relic of a PC, I could've easily discarded the machine altogether and gonein for a brand new one. However, I carefully studied my requirements. Since games and me have nothing in common, I figured out I could do with my current Celeron processor. What I needed was not huge instantaneous processing power, but simply more room to accommodate the running programs. Having zeroed in on the issue at hand, I went in for an upgrade that cost me the least: 1GB of RAM for INR 1,550 only.

Now compare that cost to the cost of a new PC: approx 20,000 for a respectable configuration that won't be outdated in atleast a year's time. Even if I had bought such a rig, it would've offered me no real performance gain over my currently upgraded PC.

So, the same result was achieved in a fraction of the cost of a new PC. Thats what the Indian spirit is all about!!

1 GB RAM installed

Guys, you wont believe it. I got a RAM upgrade on 23-Jun-2008, that's a little more than a week back. But owing to sheer my laziness, I didn't update this blog. So, here's the update.

My PC, as you all are familiar now, is a 2004 relic that runs a 2.0 GHz Celeron on an 845-GL. It was bought with only 256 MB RAM. For four long years, I've struggled with this 1-room-kitchen of a memory called 256 MB. For the former part of my PC's life until today, the restrictions weren't as severe. They became obvious when I started using Fedora 6 earlier, and Fedora 8 later. My system was practically living off virtual memory. Every single operation required probably thousands of swaps out of and into the physical memory. The result was a PC slower than a snail, and a wait more frustrating than hearing Atal Behari Vajpayee's slowly progressing speech.

Opening every additional application meant a long-wait...sometimes taking several minutes. Saying that the waits were frustrating would be a gross understatement. To say the least, they were agonising.

Now, the better part. Soon after my vacations started, I decided to look into this issue. I asked Jatin to get me a quote for a 1 GB DDR RAM. Later I realised that the RAM speeds won't match. My motherboard supported a maximum of 267 MHz, while the only ones left in the market were 400 MHz. After discussing the issue out with Jatin, we finally came to the conclusion that a faster RAM would work with a slower board, at the maximum speed that the board supports. With that conclusion firmly in my head, I went to Lamington Road.

Now, a funny thing happened. I decided to check a few shops before buying the memory from the shop recommended by Jatin. So I checked out with not one, not two, but three shops. And all the counter-persons there told me that my conclusion was totally wrong, and that the RAM and board speeds had to match. To my astonishment, they were trying to sell me the slower RAM at double the cost of a faster one !!!

While the 400 MHz variant cost 1,500 bucks, the price quoted for the 267 MHz variant was......2,700 bucks ! Ridiculous! I phoned up Jatin again, and he assured me that our logic was correct and that I should go and purchase the specified RAM from the specified shop. I did as I was told.

Now, both of us has contemplated that the worst case scenario would be that both cards -- the older, slower one; and the faster, newer one -- may not work together. However, I myself had reasoned out that since the speed ceiling of the board coincided with the operating speed of the older RAM, the faster speed of the new one would be neglected, and both woudl operate harmoniously at 267 MHz.

Still unsure if I had blown up 1.5 grand, I reached home, anxious to test the card. First, I removed my old card and plugged in the new one. It worked!! Then, I plugged in my old card as well, and both worked!! I was the happiest creature on the planet alive. My PC's memory had just gone 5x. The machine ran fast. There were no hold-ups. From a time when my HDD access indicator used to flash all the time.....the indicator now acted as if it was off -- the disk being used only for loading programs once, and not for virtual memory swapping every millisecond.

Since then, the Fedora system manager has never shown a RAM utilisation of over 50%, and virtual memory has never been used since that day. Today my PC works really smooth. I'm happy and satisfied that I managed to identify the (performance) problem correctly, find the optimal solution (in terms of cost), and had enough knowledge and skills to rightly implement the solution. Equally important is the fact that, in Jatin, I had the right consultant at hand, and that I didn't hesitate to avail of his expert services.

Now, my PC has 1.25 GB RAM, and is one of the coolest machines in the world....atleast from my point of view.

Earlier, I had contemplated putting in a 512 MB card that would've cost me half as much. But I had turned down the proposal, because it wasn't future proof. Now, my PC can run smoothly for at least another 2 years. Besides, when I join the company, I might be posted out of this city. And it'll mean the PC is left only to be used by my folks for communicating with me via chat/video-chat, and for some internet-browsing and documentation work. So, the current rig should suffice.

CD Writer back in action !

Proud to be an Indian!

Finally, I achieved today, what I had been wanting to do for a long time. Not that its any great achievement. Nor that it couldn't have been achieved earlier. Just that didn't find the time and motivation to look into the problem with a view to solving it.

So, what was the problem, you may ask? If you've read my older post, you'll know that I had to unplug my CD drive to accommodate my newly purchased DVD-drive. Today, I asked my dad to get me an IDE (PATA) cable. For those, not in the loop, my PC has an 845-GL motherboard of 2004 vintage, that has no SATA slots, and no PCI-Express slots either.

I opened the cover of my PC to plug the new cable. But silly me that I am, I realised that both, Primary, and Secondary IDE slots had already been occupied: the HDD was sitting on the Primary, as expected; while the DVD-drive was connected on the secondary. "Now what to do?" I asked myself. The most reliable person in such situations is Jatin, my hardware-guru friend. I phoned him and hebrought it to my notice that every IDE cable has an additional connector approximately mid-way along the length of the cable. He mentioned that it can be used to connect another device on the same cable.

However, I was sure that both drives were set to be 'Master' according to their default jumper settings. I knew that if my new configuration is to work, one of them has to be made a slave. But I had no clue which jumper setting will be interpreted as slave. Thanks to my systematic approach to filing of device manuals, I was able to quickly locate the Sony manual. I saw the installation instructions chart, and figured out the way to connect my old drive as a slave on the secondary.

Fortunately, there also existed 2 extra 4-pin mole connectors, more than my requirement of a single-one. To sort issues out, I removed all IDE and power cables, and after a few rejigs, everything was set right. All drives had power and signal cables; they were connected in not only correct, but the optimal fashion; and the CD-drive was now a Secondary slave, while the DVD-drive was the Secondary master.

Another thing I'd like to bring to your notice, guys. Sometimes, simple solutions elude us. Unlike, I mentioned earlier, the extra connector on the IDE cable is not located exactly mid-way, but is rather close to one of its ends. Now, stupid as it may seem, I was connecting one of the two closely-placed connectors, onto the motherboard, and wondering how to connect the remaining two to the two drives. The solution, as I saw from Sony's manual, was to connect the far end on the motherboard, leaving the two closely-spaced connectors to be connected to the two closely-spaced drives. Simple!

So, what did we learn?

1. Always preserve device manuals in an easily retrievable manner
2. Analyse the situation at hand before ordering parts
3. Apply your logic to other peopls's advice, instead of following it blindly
4. Look for simple solutions when you are stuck in a problem
5. Remember, there is no problem without a solution, only if you are willing to devote enough resources to solving that problem

DVD Writer Installed

I have no clue as to how I forgot to write this post, which, by the way should have been written long back. I bought a Sony DVD-Writer DRU-840A in mid-March this year. It was a small celebration of me being placed in Asia's foremost IT company.

The drive cost me around 1,500 bucks. I bought it from Anupam Stationers (Borivli). It was box-packed and a completely legal purchase. Got home and connected it the same day. However, since I did not have any spare connecting cables, I removed the cables on my existing CD-RW Drive, and plugged them into the new drive.

So now, I finally had a DVD-Writer, which had been overdue. However, I regreted the fact that my old drive had to be unplugged from the system. Now see guys, I'm not the kind of person who runs behind new things. Although I fully acknowledge that adopting new technologies is essential if we are to progress, I'm also quite attached to old things that I've been using for a while.

Anyway, since I was in one of the two most traumatic semesters, I couldn't ever find the time and thinking resources to find away of keeping both drives plugged in. Of course, buying additional cables was always the option. But it was simply never implemented.

However, the DVD drive brought one of the most important change, that is, I was able to install Fedora 8.

Evolution of connectivity in India

First of all, let me apprise you of the provocation for writing this article. A new unlimited internet connection has been activated at my place. My joy knows no bounds, today!! I think it's the best gift a techie can ever receive !!

So, India, indeed, has come a long way in providing internet connectivity to the common man. You can say that my family has been quite progressive in terms of technology, if not at the forefront. We were never able to afford things ahead of their time, but have mostly benefited every time some technology has just started to become commonplace. And so has been the case with net connectivity, as we have charted the progress over the past 11 years..

The story begins in 1997 when we first got the Internet connection. It was a 100 hour pack, purchase from then VSNL. The connection: 56 kbps dial-up. A new connection or purchase of the pack required a visit to VSNL's downtown office, something very, very far from the suburbs where I used to live. 100 hours might seem like a joke today. But, in those days, we used Outlook Express to check mail and there were only a handful of sites to be visited anyway. Remember, I am speaking of the days when there was no Orkut, Facebook, YouTube, etc, etc.... Those 100 hours used to be consumed thriftily, trying to prolong the renewal as far possible.

Another killer was that we had to pay uptime charges to the telephone operator
, for using the landline. The charges levied were the same as you being on a regular phone-call for that long !! So, using net meant having to pay VSNL, as well as the telecom company.

There's a certain patch after this that I don't remember. However, when we shifted back to Kandivli, we got ourselves a post-paid MTNL dial-up connection. It cost less than the setup at Vasai, but it was still time-metered. Then, under a new scheme, we bought a new landline number, one that offered unlimited Internet, ofcourse at 56 kbps. This setup continued for about....2 years, if I'm not mistaken.

The next wave of the true New India, hit us with the introduction of 256 kbps ADSL connection by MTNL. The old 24-hour line was disconnected, and replaced with an ADSL connection on the same line used for making regular telephone calls. An old single-port router was replaced by a new 4-port ethernet router, when we subscribed to IPTV service. This was the realisation of the full Triple-Play service envisioned by the telecom authorities.

Later on, the 256 Kbps connection was upgraded to a theoretical 2 Mbps connection; a move made by MTNL at no extra cost to the subscriber. It provided a realistic speed of 0.9 Mbps, and was quite satisfactory.

Then, tragedy struck. MTNL was continuing with its sloppy attitude towards customer management. The QoS of IPTV never stabilised to a point where it could be classified as acceptable. Frustrated, we replaced the service with the completely reliable TataSky, and have found no reason to complain in the 2 months that we have been using it.

Now see an important point here. Technologically, it is such that the IPTV service rides on top of a broadband connection. So, all IPTV users must be broadband users of the same service provider. However, now with the IPTV service gone, broadband was no longer a compulsion.

One Sunday (04-May-2008, precisely), I happened to read a newspaper insert by Hathway - a local cable-internet service provider. On offer was an unlimited 256 Kbps connection, at the price of a 1 GB connection offered by MTNL. No reason to switch? May be. But MTNL had fallen back on its promise of 2 Mbps. The connection speed had been down to about 240 Kbps in the past month. And there were growing concerns being voiced publicly that MTNL was unable to upgrade and expand its network as it waited endlessly for its chartered equipment supplier to deliver the new machines. The time was ripe, the opportunity was irresistible.

I decided to take the jump. The connection has changed from 256 kbps 1GB limit to 256 kbps unlimited. Those in advanced countries might not appreciate the speed; but what is of essence here is that its an unmetered connection ! Now I can actually get those podcasts, the iPlayer news, movies and all the media I ever wanted, but only window-shopped till today!

I'm really happy I made the change. I look forward to Hathway to provide a reliable service and live up to my expectations....

A taste of Java ME

I returned home from college on Thursday (17th April 2008), after completing my Sem-6 project. And I immediately set to work on the B.E. project. The first task was to grasp the structure of Java ME.

Started with it that very day, and made great headways.
Continued my upstream struggle for the next two days, and today,
I am sitting comfortably, 
with significant knowledge of the platform
to atleast begin designing my project in a native fashion.

------------------------------------
This article is only for chronicling purposes

Java EE installation problem on Fedora 8

Java EE server may refuse to install on Fedora 8. You end up clicking on the link, and nothing happens, ever. So, here's what you do.

Open the terminal. Become root. Invoke the .bin file of Java EE from the terminal itself. You are likely to get a 'no such library' message. The library is something related to C++. Now, unfortunately, I forgot to blog when I had actually found the solution to the problem. So, I am not listing the steps below, as I usually do, but instead, all I can say is that please google the complete error message you get at the terminal. You should find the solution in a few clicks.

The solution basically involves adding the C++ library, which is a measly 250 KB (approx). Then, try running the .bin file again. It should work this time....

Skype 2.0 on Fedora 8

It turns out Skype 2.0 has a hell lot of problems getting to work on Fedora 8. You need not get into the root cause of all those problems. Just implement the fix given below.

Please note:

1. Although the Skype 2.0 download is about 14.3 MB in size, the 'fix' is a staggering 59 MB. Ridiculous !! But there's no alternative I could come across either.
2. The entire process of getting Skype 2.0 to work on Fedora 8 may take hours. So, please be patient, and either have some work to do, side-by-side, or sit with your iPod, 'cause you are sure to get bored. However, do not leave the system unattended, except when downloads (esp the 59 MB jumbo download of QT4) are in progress, as your authorisation, and some other actions from your side, will be required time and again.

So, here we go:

Step 1: Download the libsigc++20-2.0.17-1.i386.rpm package:
# wget http://fedora.osmirror.nl/extras/5/i386/libsigc++20-2.0.17-1.i386.rpm
# rpm2cpio *.rpm | cpio -idmv

Step 2: Create directory /opt/libs32/ if you don't have it yet:
# mkdir /opt/libs32

Step 3:Copy libsigc-2.0.so.0 and libsigc-2.0.so.0.0.0 to /opt/libs32/ directory:
# cp ./usr/lib/libsigc-2.0.so.0 /opt/libs32/
# cp ./usr/lib/libsigc-2.0.so.0.0.0 /opt/libs32/

Step 4: Install everything that has anything to do with Qt4:
# yum install qt4*

Step 5: Download the skype-2.0.0.27-fc5.i586.rpm rpm package from http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-2.0.0.27-fc5.i586.rpm and enter command in terminal:
# rpm -i --force --nodeps skype-2.0.0.27-fc5.i586.rpm

Step 6: Give the path to those libraries:
# export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/opt/libs32/"

Step 7: Now you can run skype by typing:
# skype

The section mentioned above will only get the application to install and boot up on your system. In no way does it guarantee a problem-free run. Try making the Skype Test Call. If you are able to hear the sound as well as record and hear your own voice, congrats !! However, the chances of this occurence (of Skype running straight out of the box) are minimal, if any.

Here's the most likely condition. Skype Test Call fails to load, citing 'Audio playback problem'. To fix this, go to Options -> Sound Devices. The default 'Audio In', 'Audio Out' and 'Ringing' devices are unlikely to work. First, we will fix the 'Audio Out' problem, so that we can atleast get started with the Test Call. Select an option (apart from default) from the 'Audio Out' device menu. Click on Apply. Close the Options box. Try to make a test call. Keep repeating the procedure until the error message disappears, and you are able to at least hear the lady's voice.

Then, comes the next problem. The call might terminate due to 'Problems with Audio Capture', as shown in the call window. Again, go to Options -> Sound devices -> Audio In. Here, usually, the same option that worked for 'Audio Out' is likely to work for 'Audio In' as well. So try that option first. If it doesn't work, go ahead and try each of the other options one by one, just as you did for 'Audio Out'

After doing all this, you should be able to hear and record your own voice succesfully. In case it still doesn't work, maybe you could try invoking skype with this little piece of code i found somewhere on the net....

$ pasuspender skype

Happy Skyping !!

-------------------------

Some content used from the following sites:

http://www.sinoberg.com/blog/article.asp?id=13
http://www.pulseaudio.org/wiki/PerfectSetup#Skype

Full credit to the authors of the articles on the above mentioned sites

Installation Instructions for VLC Player for Fedora 8

Become root. Execute the following commands at the terminal:

#> rpm -ivh http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm
#> yum install vlc

VLC player supports almost all input streams, and contains decoders for almost every codec one could possibly come across, today. One stop solution for all your media playback issues in Fedora 8...

Flash player installation for Firefox and Opera

Instructions for setting up flash player plugin for Firefox and Opera:
----------------------
1. Login as root
2. Unzip the tar.gz file onto the Desktop
3. Rename the extracted folder as 'flash'
4. Copy the folder into the /opt directory
5. Create a link to the 'libflashplayer.so' file
6. Copy the link file into /opt directory
7. Rename the link file to 'libflashplayer.so', that is, without the 'Link to..' part
8. For Firefox, copy the link file into the 'plugins' directory of your current firefox version
9. For Opera, copy the link file into the /home/USER_NAME/.opera/plugins directory, for every non-root user, and in the /root/USER_NAME/.opera/plugins directory for Root. Create the 'plugins' folder under each of the usernames, in case it does not exist.
10. Restart all browsers for which you have installed Flash
11. Test the working, and let me know if there are any problems

Log: Fedora 8 installed

Not much time to write, but just that I installed Fedora 8 on the evening of Saturday, 15th March 2008. Bought the DVD from a pirated-DVDs vendor sitting at the GKB Optolabs corner ;)

Pulling the plug on Orkut

Drat ! I had written a really lengthy article under this heading....only to realise that my logging out from orkut caused me to loguout from blogger as well !! When will service providers stop this stupidity? Why does the average Joe need to know that orkut and blogger are both operated by the same company, namely, Google Inc, and that all sites belonging to them store and delete a login cookie bearing the same signature?

To mention a gist of what I had written in the previous article, I've finally decided to quit orkut, owing to their lack of concern for safegauarding the privacy of their users, as also a complete loss of relevance of the services it offers, as seen in my rapidly evolving context.

I bid adieu at 19:27 on Sunday 23rd March 2008...

MP3 support in Fedora

I really don't know what took me so long to figure this out (again). Since my latest installation of Fedora about 2 months back, I've been trying to hard to get it to play MP3s. Not that I didn't know how. I had done that before, 'N' times. But I just couldn't manage to do it again!!

Finally, cracked it today. Here's how:

$ yum install gstreamer-plugins-ugly

That's it! Yes, that's it. Just answer with y (yes) whenever your permission is required to proceed. Download size is just under 1 MB. It will enable MP3 support in Rhythmbox, the default media player under Fedora (GNOME)

Regional language (Indic scripts / Complex scripts) support in Fedora

The following instructions have been tested to work correctly only for Devnaagarii script.

To enable Indic support, you need two things:

1. A font having Indic character definitions
2. A 'complex script' rendering engine

The first part is taken care of by the Arial Unicode MS font (see my Windows fonts tutorial). The complex script rendering engine in Fedora is called pango. I dont't kno about other applications, but its certainly required for Mozilla/Firefox.

Now Firefox can be 'built' from its source code either with the pango engine, or without it. The ordinary version that you download has been compiled WITHOUT pango. And although the source code is freely available for everyone to comiple, trust me, trying to compile it yourself is no easy task.

A better option is to use whichever version of Firefox that came with your Fedora installation.Such versions (1.5.0.7, in my case, on FC6) have been compiled using the pango engine, and that should make your task easier. However, you must take care to see to it that you use the older version only when you need Indic support. Older versions can have security vulnerabilities that can put your computer/data at risk.

A thing I consider extremely worthwhile mentioning is that multiple versions of Firefox can peacefully co-exist under Fedora. All you need to do is keep them in separate folders. You can make the default link poin to the latest version, and run the old version manually by executing

$ FIREFOX_HOME/firefox

where FIREFOX_HOME is the directory where your old Firefox installation resides. In my case it is /usr/lib/firefox-1.5.0.7

That done, you should be able to view regional scripts (Indic) correctly...!