Logic Pro course with exam

On the 23rd, 24th and 25th I will be following this three day course in learning Apple’s Logic Pro. The Apple Premium Reseller I work for has giving me the oppertunity to participate in this course which will be meassured by an exam.

I will be following in depth teaching about the following subjects:

• Working with DSP-plugins
• Using Audio Instruments
• Understanding Workflow Techniques
• Editing Audio Regions
• Using the Sample Editor
• Working with Apple Loops
• Using the Matrix Editor
• Recording MIDI
• Using the Track Mixer
• Working with Enviroment

If possible I will try to blog some of my experiences.

Installing Microsoft Windows on your Mac

Running Microsoft’s Windows on Mac isn’t by far a secret anymore. How dissapointed I was at first I have to admit now it was a strategical and good move of Apple.

For people like me in the sales branche it meant a good pitch immediately from the start. The number pf possibilities and solutions for customers grew and that all resulted in even more invented solutions from Apple.

What I still do notice is that a fair amount of customers does not know how it works. I decided to invest a bit of time to explain what the most common options are.

Why installing Microsoft Windows on your Mac

• You might own an application which isn’t available for the Mac OS X.
• You might have invested a large amount of money in the Microsoft Windows version.
• Gaming, you already own a lot of gaming titles which have been released on PC platform.
• etc…

This is an important question. The answers listed above for instance are all valid reason why somebody should install Microsoft Windows XP or Vista on his Mac. Otherwise buying a Mac wouldn’t have been an option at all. But there are wrong reasons too!

Why should somebody not install Windows on his / her Mac

• Not being used to Mac OS X (yet).
• Feeling more secure.
• To switch more easily.
• Simply because the design was the only reason for purchasing a Mac.

The above reasons aren’t valid in my opinion. They don’t tackle an obstacle and even generate more. For instance, some people think that installing Microsoft Windows on a Mac, reinstalling all of their applications, putting back their files and do settings is much easier than start and work with Mac OS X. That’s not true!
Possibilities
Installing Windows on a Mac can be done on two different ways. The two different ways have certain applications to setup and facilitate everything. But for this article I will stick to the most used ones.

• SWSoft Parallels Desktop for Mac.
• Boot Camp.
• Parallels Desktop for Mac in combination with Boot Camp.

Parallels Desktop is one of the better selling resources available. The application gives the user the ability to install Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Microsoft Windows Vista. The Microsoft operating system gets installed on a virtual volume on the Mac. Within the virtual volume Windows thinks that it is installed on a physical hard drive. Why isn’t the operating system being installed on a real physical volume? And what is the performance of Microsoft Windows using such technique.

Before the release of the Intel Mac’s people had to use Microsoft’s Virtual PC. The application provided a layer of communication between the Microsoft operating system and the Mac’s hardware. The layer was responsible serious slow request completion. With the release of Intel hardware for all the Mac families the problem had solved itself. So the communication isn’t a problem anymore. Not at all. However, you have to realize that there is a limitation. Trying to fully use photo-editing software, movie-editing software and 3D-rendering software can be (way) too much for Parallels.

For gamers the lack of full video performance is a no-go. So why use Parallels Desktop for the Mac then? There are enough consumers who just require to run on or multiple small to medium sized applications. For them it’s a big plus to be able to work in Mac OS X (their default operating system) and use Microsoft’s Windows plus Windows only written applications on the fly.

This brings us automatically to the second available option. Running Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Vista on your Mac’s hardware. It might sound as something special or different but it’s not. Installing Microsoft Windows on a Mac is very similar to installing Microsoft Windows on a default personal computer. The big advantage for Mac owners is they get taken by the hand, so it’s almost impossible to do something wrong and the drivers are all being installed automatically.

When the first generation Mac’s got tested by magazines and websites they became known as the fastest computers to run Microsoft Windows on. That’s exactly the reason why people might choose to use Boot Camp. In stead of using a virtual partition, emulating the operating system it gets installed directly to a physical partition on your hard drive. When you boot the operating system works directly using all hardware and support guaranteeing a fast and standalone operating system. Yes, just like installing Microsoft Windows on a normal personal computer.

If your Mac comes with Mac OS X 10.5 or you have purchased the retail version of Mac OS X 10.5 you want to find the application called Boot Camp Assistant. This application does a lot of work for you and makes sure everything goes by the books. The assistant puts you in the seat to manage your Microsoft Windows partition including creating new partitions.

After an installation of Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Vista the first hell people run into is searching and installing all the drivers. Since it’s a Mac and you are dealing with Apple the only thing that needs to be done is inserting DVD (no. 1) or the normal retail DVD and a pop-up appears. All drivers will then be installed automatically. The update manager will also guarantee all drivers and Apple applications (such as iTunes for example) will be updated whenever a new release is available.

Running your Adobe Creative Suite 3, AutoCAD or playing numerous games such as Crysis, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare becomes all possible with Boot Camp. The only disadvantage you might be facing is the fact that both Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows are two separate operating system. So every time you boot the computer (with the ALT key / Option key) you will have to choose between Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows.

For Power Users the combination between Apple’s Boot Camp and SWSoft’s Parallels Desktop for the Mac might be a warm welcome. Parallels offers the ability to mount a physical partition on which Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Vista is installed. So now you can access your operating system while running Mac OS X. For Power-Users it’s the perfect mix. It allows them to maintain, edit and install all kinds of content while using Mac OS X as their default. As soon as heavy applications are needed to be run switching to Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Vista only requires a restart.

So this was a bit of basic information on the subject. How things work. Keep in mind that not only SWSoft’s Parallels is an option. VMWare Fusion also offers such technology. This application also has certain benefits. Go to your local store or visit the links below for more in depth information about the software.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html
http://www.parallels.com/
http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/

Ubuntu Linux should promote making backups #Prt. 1

What is a real backup? For a person it can mean burning a CD / DVD with files. For an other person it can mean buying a hard drive. So are there even more options. 

Ubuntu Linux has definitely grown in the last few years. It has become a solid distribution which is proving to be compatible and adaptable in this modern digital lifestyle. For a lot of people the content is beginning to mean a lot. Photographs are being stored, music is being purchased and movies are being edit. Not every person immediately realizes what the consequences might be when a hard drive fails!

Since the the personal computer market has transformed itself from 20mb hard drives to 1TB hard drives in a relatively short period the principals of making backup’s is only officially known in the enterprise market. For consumers and even small businesses buying an extra hard drive often means expanding the total size of their storage capacity! Nothing more.

In it’s own market Apple has accomplished something incredible. Their backup solutions targets all their existing and new CPU owners. Apple’s Time Machine made Mac owners suddenly know a lot more about what a backup means and provided a state of the art solution which requires almost no setup. In combination with Time Capsule the popularity and amazement of exciting and new customers is certainly there to taste. Except the revenues Apple is making… the rumor around the brand has seen a major uprise!

In my opinion that’s exactly what Ubuntu Linux is ready to take and should take on!

I remember the days when F-Spot wasn’t installed on Ubuntu Linux by default. I even remember the days when all kinds of media applications weren’t installed by default and were under major development. Today the day I see Ubuntu Linux gaining more and more recognition and progress in becoming adopted. More people have downloaded and installed Ubuntu Linux in the last two years than before.  I’ve read uncountable stories how people use Ubuntu Linux every day without being experienced in IT or UNIX / Linux. So this distribution is really growing fast. 
Even I use Ubuntu Linux for digital media now these days! So I even don’t want to think about the possibility of loosing my files. Working for years in sales and as technical service provider making backups is a habit for me. Also for more people it’s a habit.

But not for the largest group of users!

In my point of view Ubuntu Linux shouldn’t be responsible for providing a solution. Ubuntu Linux just could help a lot of not knowing users by making them realize what their files mean to them and by default implement a backup tool. With the right kind of marketing it will create a positive vibe and more rumor around the brand.

In #Prt. 2 I will write more about the present backup solutions available.

Haven’t wrote in a while

Today was any other normal day for except the fact I attended a tech-series presentation. This presentation was organized by Apple to share knowledge and information about media and IT solutions. 

For some reason the whole evening made me realize what matters to me a lot and the feeling I forgot about. All of it is just my world. I love technology, I’m always interested in knowing more about it and just experience it.

That’s why I started blogging again. I logged in today and discovered I had up to 78.500 page views so far. I’ve started this blog on July 2006 and with only 20+ articles I find 78.500 views a bunch! It also motivates me seeing that a certain number of published articles is responsible for that. So I really have the feeling I contributed to the community.

I’ve been seriously out of the game with Linux for quite a while. Just a few days ago I installed Ubuntu Linux because I desperately needed to bring a portable with me. I found Linux to have grown and matured. I’m really looking forward in exploring it again.
For the most time my work involving Apple hardware, Apple’s Mac OS X and related products. I’ve also became a store manager at HTR Nederland. So a certain amount of my free time also disappears in that function and related tasks.

I’ll be plunging myself into the world of Apple and Linux in an interesting way for absolute beginners. Just subscribe to my blog and sit back.

Don’t sell your PowerPC G4 yet!

With the introduction of Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 another series of Apple computers got pushed back. Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 feature fair system requirements compared to the economical lifespan of modern / current day computers.

Mac OS X 10.5 is already running on my Apple Mac Pro 2.0GHz (2x Intel Xeon Dual Core CPU). Since I’ve also acquired Adobe Creative Suite 3 I was more than thrilled to experience a speed bump. Unfortunately Adobe Creative Suit 3 can’t be run on 10.5 yet.

I find my Apple Powerbook G4 (1.25GHz PowerPC and 1,5Gb System Ram) running noticeably slower than with Mac OS X 10.4.10 (Tiger). While you might find Mac OS X 10.4.x fast enough and you have no shortcomings, you might want to play, explore and learn about Ubuntu Linux on a Mac.

Currently Ubuntu Linux 6.10 (Edgy Eft) can be downloaded also for PowerPC computers. While the PowerPC isn’t being considered a important architecture for Ubuntu they still have a community team safeguarding this release.

You can download Ubuntu Linux 6.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) for your PowerPC from these locations:

Ubuntu Linux 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Kubuntu Linux 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Upcoming period I will dedicate some time in order to write a user experience / review about this specific release on my Apple Powerbook G4.

Career details

Almost two years have passed since the first day I started working at an Apple Premium Reseller. In those two years I had not only the privilege of selling Apple (related) products I also worked a full year as an Apple Technician.

Now featuring the best of both worlds I’m more than eager to blast of into my third year selling Apple (related) products. But this time I feature not only knowledge but also technical experience.

During my function as Apple Technician in Rhenen and Veenendaal I’ve diagnosed and repaired Apple hardware such as:

• iMac G5’s / Intel’s
• Powerbook G4’s
• Macbook (Pro’s)
• iPod’s
• Airport Express’ / Airport Extreme’s

This baggage allows me to better assist customers in general but especially business related customers. In combination with Apple’s Sales Trainings I’m looking forward to built up a career.

Restoring your previous xorg.conf file

Resurrecting your xserver by restoring your previous xorg.confA few days ago I installed Cedega on my portable with Ubuntu Linux installed on it. After installation I customized the application options / preferences and ran the test utility. The test revealed that my 3D Acceleration wasn’t working. I found that a crucial part to have working so I started fixing it.After a while I made a mistake and my (already highly customized) xorg.conf got re-written by all kinds of default settings. Since the xserver uses the file in order to start-up correctly you can imagine that my xserver crashed.In Ubuntu Linux the xorg.conf file makes a backup of it’s current state before it accepts getting edited or rewritten. This does not apply when you edit xorg.conf yourself though (editing with Vi or Gedit). So I got an backup waiting to be restored, with all my setting related to resolution, drivers, AIXGL/Compiz and so on. I’ll use my own example in order to explain how you can restore the previous xorg.conf file.After I rebooted Ubuntu Linux started up correctly until it came across xserver section. There the xserver crashed and I was presented with a terminal screen which kindly asked for my username.I logged in with my normal account and entered:

djons@tosh-empire:/$ cd /

This command brings you to the root of your system. If you enter:

djons@tosh-empire:/$ dir

You will see you are at the beginning point of the system.We need to proceed towards the xorg.conf location. Hit the following path in order to get there:

djons@tosh-empire:/$ cd /etc/X11

Note that X11 is with a capital X. All Linux distributions, UNIX variations and thus also Mac OS X feature this.When you are in the X11 directory you will see a file structure similar to this:

djons@tosh-empire:/etc/X11$ dirapp-defaults gdm xorg.conf Xsession.dapplnk rgb.txt xorg.conf~ Xsession.optionsconfig susewm xorg.conf.20060807011320 Xwrapper.configcursors X Xresourcesdefault-display-manager xinit xserverfonts xkb Xsession

You should pinpoint two files, they are the files with which we are going work:

xorg.confxorg.conf.?????????????

The question marks represents year, month, day and some more info. But the date is the most important since you can easily pick the most current back-upped version of xorg.conf before things went sour. So now it’s time to replace our corrupt xorg.conf with a previous working version.First of all we have to delete the current corrupted xorg file. To make this happen do the following terminal work:

djons@tosh-empire:/etc/X11$ sudo rm xorg.conf

Now we have to rename the back-upped version in order to get our installation working with icons and mouse. Do the following terminal work:

djons@tosh-empire:/etc/X11$ sudo mv xorg.conf.????????????? xorg.conf

We’re done. The only thing you have to do is restart your machine and wait till it’s done booting up the installation. In order to get your machine rebooting hit the on/off switch once or use the following command:

djons@tosh-empire:/etc/X11$ sudo shutdown -r now

Flash Player 9 for Linux expected in early 2007

Yesterday the following information was released by the people over at Penguin.SWF (developers of Flash Player 9 for Linux):

Our current schedule for releasing the final version of Flash Player 9 for Linux is early 2007. Many readers have understandably requested a beta version before that time.alpha-beta.pngYes, we do plan to release a beta version in advance of the final version. However, it will be a beta in the classical software engineering sense– i.e., a version that we believe to be largely bug-free and submitted to the users in the hopes that the last of the bugs will be found and reported.Why are we stubbornly refusing to release, say, an alpha version now? Primarily because there are known bugs in the Linux Flash Player, and because we know what the bugs are, and we are on track to fix these known bugs. If we were to release an alpha now, we would likely be inundated with reports about bugs we already know about. We think that processing such redundant reports would not necessarily be the most industrious use of our time.So, the beta will come. Watch this space.

Source: Penguin.SWF

Should I try (ai)xgl/compiz

It has been weeks since I’ve installed Compiz on my portable. Should you use (AI)XGL/Compiz on your normal working machine?Not in my case. I’ve been experiencing some rendering issues. In order to solve the problem I have to restart Compiz every time it happens. Is that bad?Since the whole XGL/Compiz thing is alpha I don’t expect an all feature working release. I even don’t expect it to be stable. But for an absolute beginner who doesn’t knows his way around the wole matter will make it even worse. Textboxes with no content will be appearing. Option won’t be visible. If an absolute beginner edits settings out of curiosity he won’t be able to just quickly apply the default values. A nice example is starting an application which requires a system password. I know when to expect this box. While an absolute beginner will be presented with simply an vague opacity screen.If you have a system or partition available which isn’t of importance for you, trying out XGL/Compiz will only be fun.

My first day as an Apple Technician.

Today was the first day I could experience my job. Yesterday my store manager asked me if I was interested in helping out the guys at the head office. At the moment they are missing two colleagues. One of them has found other work, I will be replacing him permanently soon. An other employee at the head office couldn’t work much this week. So why not. It would be a nice opportunity to check everything out and get used to my new desk which will be mine within a couple of weeks.I start earlier. My train leaves at 7:22 AM and since I like big breakfasts and checking my email and daily links my day starts while it’s still dark. Around 8:10 AM I arrive at work and the first thing to do is find the coffee machine. Though I always drink coffee in the morning when I get up I still need an other cup to become productive. While drinking my coffee I could match the faces with names I’ve been talking with on the telephone.The day started highly tech. Bas, my supervisor pointed out an Apple PowerMac G5 2.0 Dual Core of which the Power Supply was dead. Since the PowerMac has three to four different kind of screws and they vary in length it was a bit sketchy and difficult to work at a fast tempo. But still, taking out the motherboard, all connectors, Power Supply Unit, loads of screws and fans and putting it all back took me two hours without practically any help. So yes, even after one year being away from fixing normal desktop computer I still have the skills.After a short break it was time to disassemble a Macbook 1.83. I’ve never disassembled a notebook in my life, especially no Apple type. Taking one apart is much easier actually only you have to be very careful and get the feeling. But for the first time it also went very well. But… I still managed to brake something. The top case of the macbooks (which also contains the track pad and keyboard) is connected to the Main Logic Board via a small and fragile cable. Yes, I broke that connector. No worries though, it will be fixed tomorrow by replacing the top case.Bas and Johan (an other Apple Certified Technician) decided to work over. The workload at the head office is very huge. Since I’ll be their colleague withing some weeks and I was enjoying the whole day I automatically wanted to help out too. So after having dinner at the local cafeteria we drove back and got busy.Having to deal with some paperwork I went berserk on that. After that it was time again to repair another Macbook. While the Macbook was fixing itself (software), I diagnosed / analyzed an iMac and arranged replacement parts to be ordered.I enjoyed the day tremendously. Being always interested in hardware, software and troubleshooting this is just the job for me. After four years of experience with desktop computers I decided I wanted to continue in the same lane until I am going to start my new study. Upcoming Friday I’m going back again since they still will be low on people. In Utrecht, they are still looking for someone to replace my tasks, salesman and technical service stuff handler. In Utrecht the technical handling is no big deal. Fixing iPod’s and retuning dead keyboards.

Ubuntu has a new community manager

Quoted from markshuttleworth.com

A short while ago I blogged about what I think is one of the most interesting and challenging positions at Canonical - the Ubuntu community manager. We had several fantastic folks in the shortlist and I’m pleased to say that Jono Bacon (a.k.a. jono on IRC.freenode.net, pictured here playing his own interpretation of Hamlet) will be stepping up to the plate.Jono - welcome aboard!We have one of the world’s best technology communities in Ubuntu - from the UbuntuForums to the MOTU with LoCo teams, Art, Doc, Marketing, and specialist interest groups all collaborating to make Ubuntu rock. I’m excited to have someone working across the project to help them all rock even harder!

Some more information quoted from jonobacon.org

Well, after an awesome time working with my good friends at OpenAdvantage, I am moving on and recently handed in my notice to move to a new role at Canonical. On September 4th I start as the Ubuntu Community Manager, and I am raring to go.

I have had a wonderful time at OpenAdvantage, and the team there are fantastic to work with, incredibly supportive and great fun. I will miss each and every one of them, and particularly enjoyed the impromptu discussions, debates and demos in and around all manner of subjects. At OpenAdvantage we have made huge strides in developing the West Midlands as a hotbed of activity for Open Source, and it has been great to be part of the ride. As the project nears its completion, I really hope OpenAdvantage can continue to do such sterling work across the West Midlands and hopefully across the UK. My departure from OpenAdvantage is entirely amicable and I look forward to staying in touch with all my friends there.So, onto the Ubuntu role. Some of you may have seen Mark’s blog post about the position. It is an interesting and challenging role, and one I am ready for. For the last eight years I have worked in a number of different communities, developing community relations and working to understand, rationalise and manage the different aspects of community effectively. Most recently I have been doing this with the Jokosher project, and we have an awesome community with a strong culture and direction.As Ubuntu Community Manager, my energy will be focused in a number of different areas, each a foundation for a strong Ubuntu community. This includes:

• Ensuring the wheels of the community are well oiled, and the different teams (Documentation, Art, LoCo, Marketing, Press, Accessibility etc.) can effectively work together, resolve conflict, source resources and more.
• Refine and explore methods to make the Ubuntu community as approachable as possible. I want to ensure potential contributors can get started quickly and know when, where and how to get involved easily.
• Develop processes and practises to ensure we get the most out of contributor time. Many contributors only have limited time they can dedicate to a project - we want to make sure they get the most out of that time and there are as few obstacles and red tape in the way. Happy contributors get things done and achieve doable goals - lets make this rock even more.
• To foster innovation at every level. We have so much potential to think outside the box, develop better ways of working together and new ways of delivering in each of the different teams.
• Making the Ubuntu community as inclusive as possible. The ever-growing Ubuntu community spreads across many countries, cultures and communication mediums - lets make sure that we always retain community feel and spirit.
• Measure and explore patterns in the community so we can understand it better and ensure all aspects of the community get the attention they need.

This is just a small subset of the work I will be doing as part of the Ubuntu project, and the job will bend, twist and move in the same direction that the community moves. Importantly, I am here to be a point of contact for the Ubuntu community. If you want to discuss something, have a concern, are unsure about something, do get in touch.So, where now? Well, in the meantime I need to get the usual new-job related things set up, wrap up a book and finish up some OpenAdvantage projects. This should take me up till the end of the month and then I get started.While I am doing this I want to know what you think about how the Ubuntu community could be improved, where is excels, what you would like to see happen and where you see the Ubuntu community in two years. I will be asking the same question to the different Ubuntu teams when my company email is set up, but I am interested in readers of jonobacon.org’s comments too. So, share with me your thoughts…

Absolute Beginner Guide: 915resolution

For those who own Intel graphical chipset it might happen that the maximum resolution can’t be set. Why this problem still isn’t solved I don’t know. It might have something to do with Ubuntu Linux or Intel drivers.Earlier in my blog I wrote how to install drivers for a Intel Graphical card. I took my own graphical card as an example. You can read the guide here.But even I have to apply an application to patch or set the resolution to the maximum. In my case that is 1400 x 1050. The application to achieve that is called 915resolution. So let’s get started then.

• Know your max. resolution

This is really important. In case 915resolution displays resolutions your monitor / LCD can’t bear. Otherwise you will risk xserver-xorg failures and in the worst case damage your monitor / LCD. In my case the max. resolution is 1400 x 1050.

• Download and install 915resolution

This is also very simple to do. 915resolution is an application which is located in your package manager. But first you must add the ‘universe’ and ‘multiverse’ repositories since it’s located there.System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> Settings -> Repositories.After you have added them you’ll be asked to reload your Package Manager information. If not, click the reload button on the left. After that’s done it’s just selecting 915resolution and hitting the apply button which will install the application on your hard drive.

• Setting up 915resolution

The application is a CLI (Command Line Interface) one. But don’t worry it’s really easy to use. Let’s discuss how 915resolution works.915resolution has the ability to recognize Intel Graphical Chips and determine their max. resolutions and bit depth. But except recognizing 915resolution is able to patch the system so that the real maximum resolution can be used. The user has to run the application with a parameter. Then when choosing a mode from the output, the user has to edit a config file. This file will be addressed to every time the user logs in. After editing the file 915resolution has to be used one more time to set / activate the mode. So it’s quite simple.

• Determine the Intel graphical chipset

In order to apply the correct resolution and bit depth 915resolution first has to know with what kind of Intel Chipset it has to deal. Perform the following terminal work to find out:

$sudo 915resolution -l

The output displays mode for you to choose from. I will stick to my own chipset in order to make the example as easy as possible.

Intel 800/900 Series VBIOS Hack : version 0.5.2Chipset: 855GMBIOS: TYPE 2Mode Table Offset: $C0000 + $36fMode Table Entries: 21Mode 30 : 640×480, 8 bits/pixelMode 32 : 800×600, 8 bits/pixelMode 34 : 1024×768, 8 bits/pixelMode 38 : 1280×1024, 8 bits/pixelMode 3a : 1600×1200, 8 bits/pixelMode 3c : 1400×1050, 8 bits/pixelMode 41 : 640×480, 16 bits/pixelMode 43 : 800×600, 16 bits/pixelMode 45 : 1024×768, 16 bits/pixelMode 49 : 1280×1024, 16 bits/pixelMode 4b : 1600×1200, 16 bits/pixelMode 4d : 1400×1050, 16 bits/pixelMode 50 : 640×480, 32 bits/pixelMode 52 : 800×600, 32 bits/pixelMode 54 : 1024×768, 32 bits/pixelMode 58 : 1280×1024, 32 bits/pixelMode 5a : 1600×1200, 32 bits/pixelMode 5c : 1400×1050, 32 bits/pixelMode 7c : 1024×600, 8 bits/pixelMode 7d : 1024×600, 16 bits/pixelMode 7e : 1024×600, 32 bits/pixeldjons@tosh-empire:~$

Note that I have found my max. resolution and bit depth (Mode 5c). Also note that my output has another max. resolution of 1600 x 1200 (Mode 4b and Mode 5a). I know for sure my LCD does not support that. Remember not to choose resolutions which are higher than your max. since it can or will damage your xserver-xorg or monitor / LCD.

• Editing the 915resolution file

The configuration file of 915resolution makes sure your setup won’t be lost the next time you reboot the system. Editing the configuration file is also a breeze. It asks you to specify the Mode, bit depth and max. resolution. That’s it!Do the following terminal work to open the 915resolution for editing:

$sudo gedit /etc/default/915resolution

Below here I’ve copy / pasted the content of the file with the options I had to write down for my Intel Graphical Card and type of LCD.

## 915resolution default## find free modes by /usr/sbin/915resolution -l# and set it to MODE or set to ‘MODE=auto’## With ‘auto’ detection, the panel-size will be fetched from the VBE# BIOS if possible and the highest-numbered mode in each bit-depth# will be overwritten with the detected panel-size.MODE=5c## and set resolutions for the mode.#XRESO=1400YRESO=1050## We can also set the pixel mode.# Please note that this is optional,# you can also leave this value blank.BIT=32

It is possible to let the 915resolution file alone keeping it on auto. But in my case every time I rebooted the system it switched back to 1280 x 1024. Also this way you ensure 915resolution by accident or whatever does not select a resolution which will wreck.

• Applying / Patching / Setting the Mode

After you have saved the configuration file and closed it there is one last thing we have to do with the terminal. We have sought for modes, we have specified one and now we have to let 915resolution know what our choice will be. Do the following terminal work to apply the Mode.

$sudo 915resolution 5c 1400 1050

Note that the mode 5c and the resolution 1400 x 1050 are part of my own Intel Graphical Chipset in combination with my own type of LCD Panel. If everything goes well you should receive a message which looks like this:

Intel 800/900 Series VBIOS Hack : version 0.5.2Chipset: 855GMBIOS: TYPE 2Mode Table Offset: $C0000 + $36fMode Table Entries: 21Patch mode 5c to resolution 1400×1050 complete

You are done! The only thing rest to do is restart the xserver (ctrl + alt + backspace) or restart the system. When you login it should be the maximum resolution. You can always open:System -> Preferences -> Screen ResolutionIn order to check if the application works.

New job, same company!

A lot of things have been going on lately. I’m working several articles for the blog at the same time. In real life I just got a new job at the same company. Within a few weeks I’m done with selling Apple hardware, software and accessories. I’ve have been chosen to work at our head office in Rhenen, The Netherlands. There I will be repairing Apple Hardware, provide service and keep the administration clean.Everything about the decision I made makes me smile. I work from early morning till early evening. Instead of late morning till late evening. I won’t have to stand and keep up appearances since the technical service is a behind the shop happening. I’m going back to my roots. Being a salesman is one thing but doing the technical has always been one of my better qualities.Since it’s almost a year ago I joined the company I won’t have to go through the whole ‘learning the company’ procedure. It’s just immediately starting to do what I’m being told to do.Boy I can’t wait.

Some minor flaws with XGL

Several hours of fun and a quick nap have passed since I installed XGL on my system and Compiz to manage it all. It’s running cute on my portable which is equipped with an Intel 855GM onboard chipset. But there are a few flaws which I can’t seem to correct.

• Two modules (state and trailfocus) are causing the whole XGL/Compiz configuration to fail. Even restarting Compiz does not seem to help. But I haven’t really looked in to this problem. Maybe it’s simple to solve.
• Not all shorcuts work. Also, when I manually add / replace shortcuts (even after restarting Compiz) they don’t work.

But even with these two small problems, XGL can be a nice extra running on top of your desktop.

How-to Install XGL/Compiz on Ubuntu (the easy way).

Some time ago I wrote that I had tried XGL/Compiz using an Intel 855GM onboard chip and Ubuntu Linux. The guide I’ve used however wasn’t a right one or wasn’t good at all. Richard Querin replied with a comment saying he used a much simpeler guide which should work.Having being busy with all sorts of things, only today I found an opportunity to install and test XGL on Ubuntu. What a surprise after having used SLED 10, with XGL ‘Out Of the Box’ and a community wiki guide, which failed. Using the link and the information behind it Richard Querin supplied I had XGL up and running in no time and it even works quite fast on my Intel 855GM onboard chip.If you wish to install XGL, which with this guide will be a breeze, I encourage you! I thank Richard Querin for providing me with this information.

Even after the WWDC 2006 Keynote, I’m all Ubuntu.

Working as a sales employee at an Apple Centre I watched the WWDC text messages and photos on Macrumors.com and Engadget.com come by. I found it a quite thrilling keynote with some interesting products and product features being announced and explained.Apple has always been presenting a solution to people who are searching for something easy what works. Apple hardly fails in creating products and services which apply to that.Most interesting to see were the Mac OS X 10.5 features. Since the WWDC 2006 is over certain highlights (not sure if all) have been released and can be checked on their website. Mac OS X is in my opinion Apple’s first ‘adult’ Operating System. What I mean by that? It’s Apple’s Operating System which allows you to do your work effectively, easy and with style.Also the new Mac Pro is a jewel to look at. Even more if you have the opportunity to remove a side panel of one. While most people hardly even open their case to take a look inside, this machine is a technical achievement from the inside (as is the current and older models).What does it change for me? Hardly anything. I’m still stoked on using GNU/Linux distributions and Ubuntu Linux in specific. I still use and in the future will use GNU/Linux distributions as a main Operating System. Not because it’s free. But because I believe in Open Source and it forms an effective and excellent solution for my needs. Still I will use my current (and in the future new) Apple with Mac OS installed on it. Why? To a certain degree I am dependent of high-quality and industry standard photo-editing software. I am glad I don’t have to choose between the two (distributions or Mac OS). For me they both are perfect solutions to certain needs and requirements.

XGL in action

Yesterday I found this blog post on Ubuntu Video. This is a nice demonstration of what XGL is capable of. Even more interesting is the fact that this movie is starring a Macbook 2.0GHz with (of course) Ubuntu Linux installed on it. This shows that Apple’s newest portable member is capable of some serious effects and virtual happenings.Click this link to view the movie on Ubuntu Video.

Palm Zire under Linux

A week ago I found my Palm Zire again. I’ve experienced some easy working for the passed half year and didn’t needed the hand-held. Unfortunately the amount of work is dramatically increasing and I need the Palm to organize it all as efficiently as possible.The device has been out of order for half a year. I needed to ‘hard reset’ it in order to boot it. This reviving procedure costed me all my data. Numerous telephone numbers, memo’s and quick writings were lost.In order to prevent a repeat I dove into Synaptic (the package manager, Ubuntu uses) and used some keywords, common for hand-held devices. I found J-Pilot. This application is almost identical to the software Palm ships with it’s models. I can work both on my Palm and Notebook and when done just simply synchronize the two using USB or InfraRed.

Stop comparing! You’re doing it all wrong

It would be a nice idea to make a sticky out of this or an other well appreciated post already existing. I want to address something which, not only being considered useless by me, but also by many other community members.In a world of commercial software there is always competition and winning. That’s one of the reasons why companies such as Microsoft and Apple try to overrule each other in commercials and conferences. We are all used to that. We frankly don’t even care. It’s a tight market and both companies are what seems to be very capable.Let’s forget the companies. We don’t own them nothing in the first place. Why should we take part of this race? With each year, with each new product, with each new feature and more, one or other company claims itself being innovating and up to date.Well… but none of them is perfect.I don’t understand why most people adopt the A vs. B attitude. There is no such thing as the best Operating System because of quite some factors. There is no such thing as the best software application for the same reason. Not everybody has the same desires and criteria for their needs.But even then a lot of people start to make the wrong comparisons. The most common are of course made about (Ubuntu) Linux vs. Windows, The Gimp vs. Photoshop and OpenOffice vs. Microsoft Office.It is well known to almost all members in almost every community that the differences between applications or Operating system (as described above) are and can be very large. When it comes to the amount of features, commercial applications as good as always win. But does that matter? A lot of people hardly use 80% of all Microsoft Office features. There are quite some people who think they need Photoshop but a simple photo edit tool is suffice. Some people spend hundreds of dollars buying an Operating System and additional software while a Linux variant would made their life’s much easier. Also not everybody finds an extensive amount of eye-candy the reason to call a application or Operating System better!In a world where application / OS choice is personal due to the desires and criteria of people there can’t be one better. Even not with Windows Vista coming up. This Operating System is being followed by many people. Yet again multiple Ubuntu vs. Vista threads appear. The funny part is that people express the concerns about Linux having to deal with this. Well for these Linux vs. Vista, Office vs. OpenOffice and Photoshop vs. The Gimp people I’ve got to say only one thing: “Don’t you worry at all, not everybody is playing follow the herd.”For the people who want to compare two applications in order to pick what’s best for them, please use A. compared to B. Look, now you are comparing!

Simple Desktop Enhancements

Ubuntu Linux comes with brown. Why brown you might ask? This color fits more with what the word ‘Ubuntu’ means. It reflects humanity and mother earth better than any other color. For those reasons I’ve used the default theme for weeks back then with 5.10 Breezy Badger. But after a while, consistently using my portable, consistently modifying applications, preferences and configuration files I found it was time to use other themes, colors and backgrounds.Who ever read my previous posts knows by now that Ubuntu Linux is a very transparent distribution. It doesn’t takes ages and doesn’t requires you to be a whiz kid in order to understand it’s workings. Though it’s so transparent I didn’t find it a reason to be modifying appearance with the terminal. I wanted to be able to change as much as possible while hardly using a terminal, The Gimp and other tools.In this Absolute Beginners Guide I will explain how you can easily change things as:

• Backgrounds
• Window themes
• Login Manager themes
• Splash screen themes

But no only that. I will also tell you how to find them. With this information you will be able to customize your Linux installation in no time. As for me, Ubuntu is in my heart and my contribution efforts. So I don’t feel sorry abandoning the colors.

• Where to find them?

The most popular form of Desktop enhancements are backgrounds. Now, while a lot of people find backgrounds being plain pictures or digital creations I’ve made an hobby out of it. By checking numerous websites almost daily I search and save backgrounds I like. For me a background must apply to certain criteria. Why? Because I don’t want to get hyped by a background and it must match with the rest of my enhancements.For instance I hardly download backgrounds which are mostly white or light-gray. This color, when using only the terminal or some small view size application burns your eyes out after a while. So almost all of my backgrounds are a combination of dark and or neutral colors.Where do I find them? I mostly download them from DeviantArt. This by far the largest community which features a configurable gallery sorting resolutions, subjects and more. For people who can think logical or just know enough French to navigate around Hebus is also a nice resource. Being the same type of community as DeviantArt, Hebus is a bit smaller and a lot of backgrounds are not available in high resolutions. But also Google can help find you specific artists. Pixelgirl Presents is an artist website I found. There you can find a lot of very high resolution wallpapers.But it would be a sin to forget about our own community. Also Linux related websites provide wallpapers and other Desktop enhancements, so let’s name them!When it comes to downloading it all our own community resources have more of everything rather than more of one specific subject. Art.Gnome.org offers not only backgrounds but also Application themes, Window Border themes, Icons, Login Manager themes, Splash screens and even whole GTK+ engines.KDE-Look.org is a much larger gathering. But the downside is… it’s indeed more KDE oriented, rather than Gnome. But you will still be able to find quite some enhancements only please note that not all enhancements are usable for Gnome.

• How to install them?

After you have found some interesting stuff of everything it’s time to get them installed. Don’t worry about terminal commands and difficult CLI interpretations. These enhancements are going to be installed using special applications.Installing another background shouldn’t be a problem. When you are looking at your desktop it’s just clicking right with your mouse and selecting ‘Change Desktop Background’. This is usually one of my first enhancements when reinstalling Ubuntu or getting bored of my theme.My second step is almost always changing the Login Manager theme. There’s really no need to follow the enhancements in an particular order anyway. In order to change a Login Manager you have to open a terminal. There execute the following command:sudo gdmsetupAfter a couple of seconds waiting a graphical application appears. This is your Graphical Display Manager setup utility. In the ‘local’ tab you can add and select Login managers to be activated. After adding one and selecting it you are done. You can test your new Login Manager by logging out. It will bring you right up to it.In order to be able to select and switch from Splash screens we need to download a small application using Synaptic. If you are more skilled, try the Terminal and use ‘apt-get install <filename>’. The application we need to add is being called ‘gnome-splashscreen-manager. It might be Synaptic won’t find it at first. In that case not all your included Ubuntu repositories are enabled. If so, go to: settings -> repositories -> addMake sure you select both Universe and Multiverse when (re)adding channels to the repository. After you’ve done that, try again to search for ‘gnome-splashscreen-manager’. Once you’ve downloaded it you will find it under:System -> Preferences -> Splash ScreenThe application works very simple. So it shouldn’t be a problem.If you like the Human Gnome Theme but you’ve had it with brown? Let’s open the Themes:System -> Preferences -> ThemesWhen you scroll down you will see various themes including the Human theme. You can always select a totally different theme. But the Human theme remains one of the newest themes. A lot of other themes really let you see how Gnome looked a few years back. On the right you can always choose ‘Theme details’. There you can choose how windows should look like, which icons should be used and Window Borders there should be used. Within one minute, you’ll have it customized.You can also add more themes for Gnome, Screen Splashes and Login Managers using Synaptic. But that’s your homework.So now let’s see. The login manager looks way better. When logging in a totally different Splash Screen greets us and the background rocks. These are some Absolute Beginner tips on enhancing your Ubuntu installation.