Intel: Mobile Quad-Core Processors and Intel ‘Nehalem’

Intel is set to introduce Quad-Core processors for laptops namely the Core 2 Quad Q9100 and Core 2 Extreme QX9300. The Q9100 will run at 2.26 GHz, while the Extreme Edition (QX9300) will run at 2.53 GHz. Both CPU’s will have FSB1066 but only the QX9300 will have an unlocked multiplier.

The prices of the two CPU’s are really not cheap with the 9100 having a price tag of $851 and QX9300 being priced at $1036. Wow… I wonder who gonna buy notebooks with these processors at such a price…

Vendors are likely to charge even more for upgrading from Dual Core to Quad Core. (Source: Tom’s Hardware)

Now on to the intel processor that was codenamed ‘Nehalem’. It will now officially be called Core i7. It is predicted to be released later in this year itself.

Intel Core i7

Features of the Core i7:

• Integrated Memory Controller for increased Speed
• Better Multitasking with the Addition of Hyper-Threading Technology
• Better Performance per watt efficiency
• Future versions of the processor in the mobile space will feature an on-chip graphics solution

Click here to get Technical Information about Core i7.

Source of article: Tom’s Hardware

Hope to get the best from the Core i7

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The past days i have been playing a popular game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. And today i completed all the mission…

So let me share my views on the game.

The Gameplay
The gameplay was really immersive and it really puts us in the game. The weapons were modern and had some nice snipers, mini-guns and other automatic weapons… The level of gameplay compelled us to use some tactics and it was not just a shoot-em-up game… Got to take cover when needed and got to run… All the scenarios were realistic with our mates getting into trouble… And what was really nice, was that it was a game among the teams. We are not alone and we got friendlies helping out in combat… This is what i really like in Call of Duty, the realistic combats…

The graphics was really great and really clear with nice lighting effects…

The end
This is where i was really impressed when we need to get away from our enemies… but unfortunately most of the friendlies die and there is only one left half wounded… And it shows the head of the enemy is in front of me checking out for any alive persons to shoot them dead… And while his attention is diverted i get a gun from a friendly who dies after throwing the pistol to me and i got to aim and hit the Target and his two body guards… The background music was really great and the way it all happens seems so true… “JUST LIKE IN A MOVIE”

Here is a screen shot of the last moment:

Hit the target

After killing the three guys, the other men come and rescue me… then there are the credits…

After the credits there is another bonus mission where we got to save a hostage from a hijacked plane… That was a piece of cake…

Played it with “Regular” difficulty level…

Hope to get more games of the same kind soon…

Mounting .iso images manually in Ubuntu (using the terminal)

I have been trying to mount .iso images on my Ubuntu these last days, i looked over the internet and found many solutions, including some ready made scripts and even some applications which help mount iso images, an example is Gmount-iso. I really did not like the way it mounts since when i mount it i have to create a folder on the Desktop and mount it there itself. I looked for some scripts and i tried using them but i was still not able to mount them.

Finally while searching for another solution i ended up on this site which had both ways of mounting the iso image. One way was to use the Nautilus Script which i was really not satisfied and the second way was mounting it manually through the gnome terminal using the Kernel Loop Module.

First let’s see what the Kernel loop module does as it stated in the site:

Using the module loop it is possible to mount a filesystem file. squashfs is a “loop” with (de)compression (Compressed Loopback Device) and it is possible to mount a compressed filesystem like a block device and seamlessly decompress its data while accessing it.

So, firstly we need to load the loop module. Open the terminal and type in:
sudo modprobe loop

Root access is needed so you will be prompted for your root password.

A folder is then created in the /media/ directory (This folder is the mount point of the .iso image) using:

sudo mkdir /media/anyname

“anyname” can be replaced by any name of your choice.

Now we need to mount the .iso image file.

To make my task easy, i open Nautilus (the ubuntu file browser) and navigate to where the .iso file is found. I then Right-Click -> Copy then return to the terminal and type in:

sudo mount

and after a space i just press Ctrl+Shit+V or Simply Right-click on the terminal background and paste. The path and the filename will already be pasted thus:
sudo mount path_and_filename.iso

and further we type in the mount point of the .iso image in this case: /media/anyname/ followed by -t iso9660 loop where “iso9660″ specifies the type of image file being mounted. There on the whole the code will look like this:
sudo mount path_and_filename.iso /media/anyname/ -t iso9660 -o loop

The iso image is now mounted and accessible from the desktop in the form of a CD/DVD icon

Well after using our mounted .iso file we need to unmount it in order not to leave tasks incomplete (just a small discipline):
sudo umount /media/anyname

Then we simply delete the mount point that we created:
sudo rmdir /media/anyname

I found this a bit more practical even if we got a lot to type but it allows me to create a mount point of my choice without any problem and really flexible…

Well i really want to create an application which will help me implement this using a gnome gui… or maybe there is already one (definitely not Gmount-iso since it does not let me create any folder int the /media/ directory-premission denied)

Any suggestion and help are welcome. This small implementation will help out a lot and save a lot of time and do some clean jobs.

Facebook Texas HoldEm Poker

I am in holidays and waiting for my results… so in the meantime at home trying to learn some more languages like C#, VB .NET and ASP .NET since it is being used more in the IT industry nowadays…

Well today’s post is not really about these languages… but more about how i pass my time when i feel tired and want to relax a bit… I am registered to the Facebook social network which is very popular for it’s application… Some applications are really fun and interesting while there are some which are not so interesting (not to call them boring)… These days i have been trying the Texas HoldEm Poker application.

Well personnaly i do not go to casinos and gamble… but why not try it out with virtual chips… we got nothing to lose… At first i could not really understand the rules since i never played Poker before… two of my friends helped me understand it and i find it quite interesting… The game of luck… We use virtual chips and have fun… It has become quite addictive… even if we lose we come back with more chips and play again with the hope to get more… And we do not play it against bots but with real people around the world who use facebook… The only bot is the dealer. It’s a really cool game which i recommend to many facebook user’s to try out… It’s really addictive and another alternative to gambling and losing real money… So we got no risk of losing ourselves…

LOL i still got loads to understand it well and understand the strategies… Do share your views if you got some hints about the game

My final year project presentation

Today i had to give out a presentation for my Final Year Project as well as demonstrate the software that i developed for the project.

Our project was about a tool that we created, the C++ Error Analyzer, which was meant to convert Syntax error messages from the g++ compiler and convert them into user-friendly messages. The tool was also meant to detect some common semantic errors. The C++ Error Analyzer was mostly meant for those users who are learning C++

So let’s move on to our presentation:

My oral presentation described mostly about how we (me and my project partner) carried out the project. My partner began by describing the aims and the ways we carried out the analysis phase and how we designed the software. Her part was mostly about handling the Syntax Errors. I explained more about the Semantic Errors and how the Interface of the System was designed. I also explained the Implementation process and concluded the oral presentation after pointing out the Strengths and Limitations of my System…

Let’s take a look at the features of the C++ Error Analyzer as explained in my presentation:

• It was designed as a IDE which enables the user to write and save source codes
• We included Syntax Highlighting on our editor by using the com.Ostermiller.Syntax package which is a freely available Open Source package and it can be downloaded from here.
• It generates user friendly messages from the Syntax Errors generated by the C++ Compiler
• It detects Semantic Errors and generates it user friendly messages
• It allows the user to compile and run the program
• We used the ISO standard g++ Compiler to compile the C++ Source Files
• Our system also allows the user to Run the compiled source file

C++ Error Analyzer

After the oral presentation, we then proceeded with the demo of the software.

Well, we presented the software to the examiner. Unfortunately we missed out some Syntax errors. And the examiner came accross those errors as well… but we were successful in explaining how the Semantic Errors worked and was able to Run any Source File. During the presentation i was suggested to add line numbering to my IDE and some other facilities.

My personal opinion about the software:

The software tried to cater for most of the Syntax and Semantic Errors, even if not all. I had tried to implement line numbering on the system but unfortunately we were not able to implement it since it introduced a lot of bugs when i tried it.Personally i know i could have added more features and would have catered for more Syntax and Semantic Errors if i was given some more time…Even if it currently does not cater for all the error messages, more of these can be added later on since the concept of the program is already there… :)  Scanning the error message, catching the keywords, generating the appropriate user-friendly error message.

I have made this software Open Source since it is meant to students and it’s a tool for learning, as well as more features can be added by the programmers later on and hence improved. The Software will be made available later on as well as the source code and i would be really glad if other programmers are able to improve it and share it…

Changing the KDE4 Plasma Theme

I installed the KDE4 version of Kubuntu 8.04, but i was not really satisfied with the look of the interface and all… I wanted to change the theme but this fuctionality was not really present in the systems settings of Kubuntu.

Default KDE4 Theme

So i tried to google a bit and even when to the chat forum of #kubuntu-kde4. So i asked them how can i install new Plasma Themes. Then a nice guy gave me a link which guided me through the steps of how to change the plasma theme. It was not as easy as in the KDE 3.5.9 version since we got to make the changes manually. So here are the steps to be followed to give your plasma theme a new look:

I will take an example of the theme i downloaded from here.

1. Create a new folder where you are going to store the downloaded plasma themes
   • Go to the folder “~/.kde4/share/apps/”
   • Create a new folder and name it desktoptheme if it does not exist
2. Get a Plasma Theme
   • Go to the site KDE-Look.org and choose a theme to download.
   • Download the tar.gz file to any folder of ur choice (I downloaded the Glassified Theme)
3. Install the downloaded plasma theme
   • Extract the tar.gz file to a folder in the directory “~/.kde4/share/apps/desktoptheme/” (I created a folder called “glassified” since it’s the name of the theme i downloaded )
   • Press “Alt+F2″ and type in “kquitapp plasma”. This will exit the plasma theme. We will get it back later after configuring the new theme.
   • Press “Alt+F2″ again and type “kate” to open the text editor.
   • Open the file “plasmarc” found in the folder “~/.kde4/share/config/”
   • Locate the line where it says [Theme] and change “name=default” to “name=[Name of folder u just created]” (In my case “glassified”)
   • Save the changes u made to the file and Exit
   • Press “Alt+F2″ and type in “plasma”. This will bring the new plasma theme

The new Glassified Theme

The new theme gives a really nice look instead of the dull default KDE4 Desktop

Two weeks without my mobile phone

I own a Sony Ericsson K750i which I had sent for repair 2 weeks ago since it was not being able to charge That was quite some experience living without my mobile phone for a period of time, and an opportunity to check whether it made any difference of having the mobile or not.

Firstly, since i got unlimited access to the internet and i use msn… i was most of the time communicating via msn or even skype. Incidentally all my friends have unlimited access to the internet so it was not a real problem to communicate with them when i was at home. I had no worry to put my mobile phone on charge. No calls in the middle of the night, no sms to reply…

However It was quite a problem not having my mobile phone outside home… I depend a lot on my phone when am not at home. For example i do not use any watch since i get the time from my phone itself, and these two weeks i got quite some problems keeping track of the time. My mother communicates a lot with me through mobile when am away from home. But these two weeks she was not able to call me for anything. My mobile is also used to know where my friends are waiting for me… But without my mobile i had to search for them in that university campus… I was lucky enough as my search always ended in a short time…

Well overall here’s a summary of the pros and cons of not having a mobile phone:

Pros:

1. No need to spend money to recharge my account…
2. No need to worry about charging my mobile phone.
3. No need to reply to any sms… (Joking… missed my friends… )

Cons:

1. Lack of communication with friends when outside home.
2. Really missed my friends when i was not at home…
3. My own dependencies on the phone (e.g. Alarm clock and Calender, Time)

Well to conclude i should say i really missed my phone… It’s my favorite phone… :)  Am so glad i got it back… With a new Casing… ;)  That was nice…

Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) Released

Yesterday Ubuntu released it’s latest version 8.04 also known as the Hardy Heron along with Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Edubuntu. The main difference between these distributions is that Ubuntu uses the GNOME Desktop Environment, Kubuntu uses KDE and Xubuntu uses Xfce Desktop Environment. Edubuntu is simply the educational version on Ubuntu. Since i am a Kubuntu user i will focus mainly on the features of the Latest Kubuntu.

Kubuntu has come with two different releases, one is the stable KDE 3.5.9 and the other one is a Remix Featuring the latest release of KDE 4.0.

Kubuntu 8.04 now features two versions of the K Desktop Environment, a
powerful graphical desktop environment which combines the ease of use,
contemporary functionality, and outstanding graphical design with the
technological superiority of the Kubuntu operating system. The stable
release of KDE in Kubuntu 8.04 is version 3.5.9. The edgier release of KDE
in Kubuntu 8.04 is version 4.0.3.

(This text has been taken from the Kubuntu website)

KDE 4

Some features of the KDE 4 are:

• Plasma - Size and the position of the panel is now configurable
• KHTML - repainting issues addressed and KHTML now supports more non-HTML4-compliant documents
• session switching has been included
• and more…

KDE 4 is available on the Kubuntu 8.04 Remix CD or it can be installed by typing apt-get install kubuntu-kde4-desktop in the Linix Konsole.

KDE 3

The KDE 3.5.9 is the stable version of KDE which includes the following features:

• A favourite email folders view in KMail as well as drag and drop support for the folders
• Easier scheduling in KOrganizer
• KGeography and Kig fixes within the KDE Edu module
• Fixes to KPDF
• and more…

Desktop Special Effects

Kubuntu 8.04 now provides the ability for 3D Desktop Effects such as spinning cube, true transparency, wobbly windows and other special effects. The Compiz Engine is needed to be able to use these Desktop Effects. There are 4 levels of Desktop Effects:

1. No Effects - All effects are disabled and the KDE Window Manager (KWin) is used
2. Standard Effects - Some simple effects such as shadows or shrinking windows
3. Extra Effects - Enhancing the Standard Effects and using more other effects
4. Custom Effects - This needs the Compiz Configuration Manager installed in the system to tweak the effects according the the user’s choice.

File System Support

Kubuntu 8.04 provides many new advancements and support for file systems. There are two new features in Kubuntu 8.04. It is now possible to install an encrypted file system during installation. This option is currently available only on the Alternate Installation CD. Every partition can be encrypted apart from the /boot partition providing the user a more secure version of Kubuntu. The second new feature is the ability to easily read and write any NTFS partitions.

Printer Auto Configuration

Kubuntu 8.04 now provides an applet that automatically configures a printer when it is attached to your system. This new applet also provides users with feedback on the status of the printer installation and configuration.

Wubi

Kubuntu 8.04 or Live CD’s provide a new installer for those running Windows. It is now possible to install Kubuntu as if it were any other application to be installed in Windows. There is no need to modify the partitions of the PC or use a different loader.

Some other features

• OpenOffice.org 2.4
• Personal Information Management using Kontact

If u wish to download Kubuntu u can click here

The other distributions can be downloaded in the links given below:

• Ubuntu Download
• Xubuntu Download
• Edubuntu Download

I have already started the download of Kubuntu-KDE4 version…

Hope you will enjoy using the new version of the Ubuntu distributions

(All images have been taken from the Kubuntu home page)

–

#€|!0$

Last.fm

Today morning i registered myself on Last.fm. So what is Last.fm?

Last.fm is a free service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then produces a large number of features personalized to you. You can use Last.fm to listen to music, find out about artists u may like, other people with similar music taste as well as much more.

How to use Last.fm?

After registering to the service, I downloaded the Last.fm client and installed it on my computer. The client is used to “scrobble” the music that will be played on my computer. This means that when you listen to a song, the name of the song is sent to Last.fm and added to your music profile.

The players supported by the Last.fm client are:

1. Windows Media Player
2. Winamp
3. Foobar2000
4. iTunes

I added a plugin for Last.fm to my facebook profile as well… This means users looking at my facebook profile will also see the artist I listen to

It’s a really nice community where the users share their music… Those who are great fans of music, it’s really worth signing up to the Last.fm community.

–

#€|!0$

Ubuntu Live Stats

I was just browsing the All about Linux blog, I came across a very interesting post which talked about a site which gives live updates about Ubuntu including Forum posts, Bugs, News, Security and others. So i had a look at the site and it was really a page where we got the updates Live… As soon as a new post was entered or there was a News, it just got updated in the lists without the need to refresh the page… That was too cool… Well these live updates are because the page was created in AJAX… I really do not know well about AJAX yet since i never got the chance to study it, but i would really like to know about AJAX and learn it… The site which i was talking about is the Ubuntu Live Stats where all those interested to get the latest news about Linux can have a look…

#€|!0$