HackNBlog @ Salamanteri Server

I believe most here have already read about Google starting up an operating system of their own, Chrome OS to compete with Windows as their next project. I’ll share some of my feelings about good, bad and the futile related to this hopefully neat project.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Google want’s to provide users with an OS that boots up lightning fast and ready for web in seconds from switching power on. They want the system not to clutter up but always run as fast as anew. They want to provide an OS where there is no fuss and fighting with new hardware, configuring the system (that usually needs knowledge below the average) and no updates that break things or change&confuse the user interface. This all sounds good - and it also already sound familiar.

Gathered not from Chrome OS official blog but from a zdnet blog entry, let’s check some known facts:

• It runs on top of Linux kernel.
• It will boot directly into the Chrome Web browser
• It will be aimed primarily at netbooks
• It will run on both x86 and ARM processors
• It will not be designed to have local storage; all data will be stored in the cloud
• Google will not entice developers to build software to run on the Chrome OS; instead, they want them to build Web apps that will run on any standards-based browser
• The three most important features will be “speed, simplicity and security”, according to Google
• Google will release the software to the open source community before the end of 2009
• Announced Chrome OS hardware partners: Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba.
• Netbooks running Chrome OS will be available in the second half of 2010

I just got some new video files but instead of divx packed inside .avi they came in .mvb files unknown to me. Trying to view them with xine I was surprised that I did not have a correct codec installed and revealed that the format was RealVideo (RV40).

I was so blinded by the thought that I should have almost any possible commonly known codec installed that I spent several apt-cache searches by looking for something else and completely missing on packet - which I then spotted and was humbled by the fact I had forgotten to install it. The command I needed to get it work was simply:
apt-get install w32codecs So never fool yourself, even though your guru mind should know all the switches and gears to make a steampunk computer tick, you might still miss the most obvious package for whatever problem you bump into :)

Most of the image manipulation guides on internet are made for photoshop so I’m always thrilled to find a interesting guide for GIMP.

From blog of Locutus I found an entry 3D Chuck. The Gimp script way.. I have never even thought of this idea - the guide describes how to turn regular image into 3d-image for viewing with red and green or blue and yellow 3d-glasses.

Not only does it tell how to do it manually but also a script-fu code (script language to add effects, etc. to GIMP) that adds “3D Convert” function under filters menu to automatically do the conversion.

Note that you should read also the comments of the entry to get the script function correctly as there are some problems with entering code in blog of locutus and comments provide some minor corrections to code and how to get it show on GIMP.

I have no glasses to try and test this stuff but I thought it might interest people :)

My phpinclude plugin seems to have been success. Only 1 day after release I’ve already have almost 79 visitors on the page and several downloads just from this site. I guesss large part of the success came from adding my plugin to WorddPress Plugin Database @ wp-plugins.net and reviewing my plugin page on my StumbleUpon favorites so big thanks to social media! =)

I found some sites even mentioning my plugin (leaving out the obvious ones mentioned above):

• Weblog tools collection, post WordPress Plugin Releases for 12/22
  The page listed several plugins but a user had even commented mine (not to mention that it was the only comment when I looked. Apparently he had been looking for something like this for some of the same reasons I created it and he had even tried some plugins trying to achieve somehing similiar.
• WordPress Planet apparently lists new plugin entries from different blogs. It’s kind of pathetic to mention this here because my plugin was mentioned in entry from Weblog tools Collection, which I listed just above

Noothing else this time, I’m just happy about my success. Will this get me fame? Possible. Money? Not likely. Happiness through rocognizion: Definately.

I’m proud to have released my first WordPress plugin, phpinclude… It allows to include any file apache can access into your post or page. Including PHP files it also executes them. Naturally there is some security settings to make sure that only editors authorized for that can do it. You can check the overall info, view syntax highlighted source and download the plugin at Software / Wordpress Plugins / phpinclude page. Naturally it’s released under GNU GPL license.

Also, if you havent glanced the “Quick News” list on the left of the posts you might want to know that I have released a proramming example of DOS tree command implemented for *nix bash shell in Shell Scriping subsection. So to check tree.sh, go through any of those or go straight to tree.sh for full info and that syntax hihlighted fabulous source (I make a joke, hehe).