Next stop, OS X

I am going to buy a Mac, at last. I knew it was coming. I just tried to deny it and somewhere down in my heart I was hoping someone convince me to convert to OS X and buy get a Mac. well, it happened and I am going to buy a Macbook (maybe Pro or Air or just a simple macbook).

As I continue using Vista on my desktop, there should be some interesting compatibility and connectivity issues. If I find them interesting enough to address, I will write about them here.

It's winter, almost...

Slow internet connection in Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

I finally managed to install Ubuntu 7.10, Gutsy Gibbon. As I wrote in my earlier post, it was not such a straightforward experience.

Tweaking firefox is usually the first thing I do after installing any operating system. The very first thing I do is to set home page to www.google.ca .


I was shocked to see that the main google page took many seconds to come! After trying few other addresses, I realized that there is something wrong.

I well remember that in Ubuntu 6.10 I had the very same problem. This was totally gone in Ubuntu 7.04 and now in 7.10 it is back again.

This is a partial solution:

In firefox, type:
about:config

find this:
network.dns.disableIPv6

and change its value to "true"

There you go! It fairly fixes the problem in firefox but the connection is still painfully slow and with serveral seconds delay in anywhere else (for instance when you want to update your repositories in synaptic).

Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon feels more like Windows, painfully frustrating.

First experience with Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon): Disasterous!

I have been impatiently waiting for the release of Ubuntu 7.10, Gutsy Gibbon.

I finally managed to download the DVD iso image, burnt it into a DVD and just waited for the right moment. Late in the night, I grabbed my coffee, dimmed the lights, and fired up my computer with the DVD. For me, the most exciting aspect of Ubuntu is its visual appeal. Very recently, with the introdoction of Compiz Fusion, this appeal just become something hot.

When the computer was starting up with the live DVD, something badly went wrong. The right graphic driver could not be found and instead I was forced to opt for basic one. It had never happened to me with any version of Ubuntu and with my current hardware configuration. My graphic card is an integrated Intel GMA 965, X3000. It has been serving Ubuntu 7.04, Feisty Fawn without any problem.

I was hopping that with the installation of Gutsy Gibbon to the hard drive, it will resolve the problem. I was so wrong.

When installation finished and system restarted, I was shocked to see a resolution of no more than 800x600 on a wide screen monitor with native resolution of 1440x900.
I played with different settings. after a while I managed to get the resolution right. but to my surprise, visual effects (Compiz) could not be started, a sign of wrong graphic driver.

Finally, I gave up with a bitter sense of disappointment. I may find a solution here and there. I will definitely give it a try. But I will never forget that Gutsy Gibbon was not what it meant to be in the first try. Feisty Fwan! I have so missed you!

When I edited menu.lst, to set Windows Vista as default operating system again, and restarted back to Vista, for the first time, I felt happy going back to Windows.

[Update: it is known that Intel 965 graphic chipset is in compiz blacklist. You can force compiz to skip checking and everything goes back to normal.

to do so, in terminal make sure you are in your home directory then type:

sudo gedit .config/compiz/compiz-manager

and add this line:

SKIP_CHECKS=yes

now try compiz again.]

How to install compiz fusion [updated]

This is an update to my previous guide on installing compiz fusion in Ubuntu. I have used a new repository in this new guide. The following steps are those which worked for me. I have installed compiz fusion in Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn 64 bit edition and it should work in 32 bit edition as well.

1. Go to Synaptic and remove compiz (and preferably anything with compiz in its name!).

2. Again in Synaptic, remove all compiz related repositories that you might have added before. If you have not installed compiz yourself (and/or you have a fresh installation of Ubuntu) forget about this step.

3. Add this line to your repositories in Synaptic:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/amaranth/ubuntu feisty main

and then reload (there is a button on synaptic for reloading package information).

4. In Synaptic, Install these packages:

compiz, compizconfig-settings-manager, sexy-python, emerald, emerald-themes

To be accurate, only the first package is absolutely essential for running compiz fusion. Compiz Settings Manager makes your life a lot easier in configuring compiz fusion. Emerald is not a necessary package. It basically handles windows decoration (like window frame, buttons, shadow ...). But I personally like it very much and in fact I missed it a lot from beryl era.

5. Now, it is time to run compiz fusion. But my personal experience was that plugins would work best if you reboot your system before actually getting to run compiz for the first time. To run compiz fusion, in terminal type:

compiz --replace &

and if you like to take advantage of emerald, type:

emerald --replace &

I am particularly fascinated by shift switcher plugin in this compiz. It is more like cover flip effect in new Mac interface (used in new iTune, iPhone, iPod Touch, OS X Leopard). It is not active by default and you should activate it through Compizconfig Settings Manager.

It is worth mentioning that Expose effect is called Scale here.
One last thing to remember is that due to some bugs, your system update will keep notifying you that compiz-core needs updating. The fact is that it does not! Use your imagination to find a workaround.


I would also like to suggest that you read these two posts on installing a Mac OS X like dock (Avant Window Navigator):
Avant Window Navigator
Avant Window Navigator + reflection

Just remember that in the latest version of Avant Window Navigator, you don't need to change settings manually to get 3D effects. It is all in its preferences now.

Enjoy!