The Smaller Bang

Shifting To WordPress.com - GoodBye Blogger !

2008-06-21T05:57:00.002+05:30

Today is the day I never expected to come. I have decided to shift to WordPress.com after lots of considering and reconsidering. Blogger is looking too weak for me to use. I want more pages, but I am not able to get them. I need to organise my content better and provide more features. But blogger can't do much unless and until I edit css, while I am a css n00b. Hence, I decided to shift to wordpress atlast.

My new blog will be at http://thesmallerbang.wordpress.com and you can access all my current posts and user comments there.

I will try to keep this blog updated as well, but I guess it really IS time to say goodbye to Blogger.com.

The fact that wordpress.com provides ability to create pages, and that its default bundled themes are good, and that it hosts blogs which have content similar to mine, and that its easier to send wordpress pages to google only make it more attractive.

Finally, WordPress is OpenSource.

The Swordsman who fights with a Paper Sword - Me and My PC

2008-06-19T14:23:00.010+05:30

Introduction

I think it will be safe for me to get slightly personal in this little post of mine. Here I am going to describe how my life, as a geek and power user, goes on everyday with this computer of mine, which means anything but power. All this because I was never really a geek once, I was just a semi-backward guy who turned geek out of his own actions.

My Computer's Configuration

My computer has a configuration most people would call really weak and old. It was bought in the second half of 2005, and even for a computer bought back then, my system is extremely weak. Holding everything tightly is a cheap motherboard which was 5k when I bought it, Intel D915GLVG. This board has onboard Intel GMA900 graphics, onboard RealTek "HD" ALC880 Audio, and almost NO expansion slots. The graphics sucks to the extreme, and it has issues running even basic things like the Compiz Fusion Composite Desktop manager. The onboard audio is also bad, and though its output is average, its input sucks. There is hardly any bass frequency absorbed by the input of this horrible audio chip. Advertised as a board with a PCIe Slot, this board has a PCIe slot indeed, but a PCIe 1x slot and god knows what GPU I may use in it. It also has 256mb of DDR1 RAM clocked at an effective clockspeed of 400MHz. This amount of RAM is hardly sufficient to run any good modern day OS at full speed. Compared to the rest of the system, at its core lies a rather better off CPU, an Intel Pentium "Prescott" 4 clocked at 2.66GHz and 1MB L2 Cache. This CPU was one of the better buys at the time of my system's purchase, and hence I have least regret buying this. The Hard Disc is a slow Samsung 80GB SATA model, which is now proving to be too little for me. Then there is an Acer AC713 17" CRT monitor, which was supposed to be Flat Screen, but it turned out that it was not. I have a cheap but decent Tech Com 2.1 Speaker System, a UPS from another no name company named Digital, an iBall designer cabinet thats anything but designer looking, and one of the world's worst printers, the Epson Stylus C45.

How I bought this System

During the time of my purchase of my system, also my first computer, I was anything but a geek. I was a kid who had no idea of what was good and what was bad, and I only wanted to play games on this system. I should have bought an AMD Athlon XP/64 system instead, which would have saved me atleast 6K and would have given me a much better performance, but my total ignorance of technology, and the lies told by many to me about AMD processors ensured that I ended up with an ugly and worthless Intel System instead. I couldn't understand what feature I should look for, and I also couldn't follow the names of various parts of my computer's motherboard. In simple words, I was what you can safely call a "Total n00b".

I Turn A Geek

Like many over curious guys, I started experimenting (but within levels of safety) with my computer. I used to buy a technology magazine called Digit every month. Then I obtained an internet connection. Then curiosity turned to obsession, which turned to controlled obsession, then to interest, then I started considering it as a career. Lots of changes came by me (not just testosterone level increase related ones... lol) and I started finding this PC damn too weak for my use.

The Swordsman who fights with a Paper Sword

So there it is, the main title of what I am writing. I started feeling like a swordsman who is fighting with a paper sword. Normally guys just complain and try to get a better system. I did that in the beginning, but all I managed was an upgrade of my DVD-Combo drive to a DVD-RAM drive. Then I realized more upgrades are not as realistic as they sound. With a system too weak to satisfy me, I started to explore more, and tried to juice out more and more performance from my system without resorting to any upgrades.

First thing I learnt was that there is a way to make components stronger by "some geeky technique"(OC is anything but geeky) called overclocking. Well, then I heard Intel Motherboards can NEVER be overclocked properly, and I also noticed that my ambient temperature shown in the BIOS is rather abnormally high, and till date its higher than most overclocked rigs, so this meant NO overclocking for me. Now, since hardware was locked, I decided to move towards the software.

I noticed that my windows xp was an ugly bloated sin. Its windows media player sucked. Most software I had installed, like real player, quicktime, itunes, power dvd, musicmatch jukebox, etc. I got rid of them all. I started organizing my content better, and installing software in a separate partition. I also gained exposure to opensource software like OpenOffice.org and "community" freeware (freeware thats almost as good as opensource for all practical purposes) like Foobar2000. I gradually replaced many softwares with better ones, and soon I was at my hight of windows g33kery and Power Usage. But then, things again started changing. For the good.

I used to still occasionally buy Digit Magazine, and I once found a supplement for it, titled Fast Track to Linux. I quickly became interested. The idea of an alternative OS made me curious. I started reading it, and although it didn't speak brightly about linux, it gave me a foundation. But I still didn't touch linux for another half an year. When I did, I ended up creating the turning point of my life as a g33k.

Ubuntu. This funny name was the name of a Linux Distribution that was recommended to me by many. I had downloaded a few "Live" distros, and I tested them. Ubuntu appeared radically different from windows, and I decided to find out from experienced users what I must use. I went to http://linuxforums.org/forum/ and asked a question in the Newbie section. I was told that my computer was the perfect candidate for a Linux Upgrade(smiles), and I was advised to try out Ubuntu Linux. I installed version 7.04, to which I held on till recently. Initially, I had issues. I couldn't connect to the internet for the first 2 months, since I had no prior experience to configuring a broadband connection. A solution for this I searched everywhere, and in the meanwhile ubuntu being just a sitting duck on my system which couldn't do anything due to lack of required software. A friend of mine, whom I was the one who prescribed linux to, ended up finding the solution. I was happy, and a new phase began in my computer tweaking.

Internet access means a lot of things. A huge world is open to you, and you get to see and hear a lot about many things. Advice and ideas for nearly every situation in the world exists there. Computing with ubuntu was no different. I was surprised, because I heard that linux lacks much support. Instead, ubuntu had too much support, everywhere I went. I started noticing linux in more and more places, and I started customizing ubuntu. I made it look like a killer with the help of themes. I streamlined applications removing bloats like RhythemBox and adding other software like VLC, Xine, MPlayer, Audacious, etc. I also started using power software, especially those for purposes other than normal. With ubuntu studio, I was able to use my PC as an amplifier for my guitar. I found OpenOffice extremely useful for publishing articles and presentations. I started messing with software sources and I learnt to compile my own software. I even started GAMING on ubuntu, and to this day I can't live without Urban Terror, my favorite all time game which also works on ubuntu and is a freeware. Life was fun on ubuntu, but I still had to often switch to windows for gaming, especially since I was addicted to gaming at that time and I wanted to run GTA Vice City, Unreal Tournament, Halo, etc on my PC.

But not for long. Studies forced me to leave games, and I felt better that way. I started spending more and more time on linux instead, because it was both fun and the experience could help me make a living in future. Then windows started having issues. Like all Windows systems, mine too goofed up, for the first time ever, and I was able to use it only in safe mode. So I started being on linux 99% of the time I was on my computer. Then ubuntu became to me what windows was once before. I started finding it a bit old. But since a new version was available for me, I decided to get myself an upgrade to whats the current release as of now, Ubuntu 8.04.

Now chaos started. Ubuntu 8.04 had EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. It was just too good. It had every single software in its repositories, it looked great. But all this came at a cost. My system once again started to bottleneck me. Ubuntu as it is was not stable enough anymore, and it lagged and hanged more than windows ever did on my system, all this because ubuntu was also going the good looks high eye candy over ease of use way, and hence started drawing up more and more system resources.

Happy Days Again

It was finally time for me to migrate. I needed to step into unexplored waters, and I decided to get a new distro. I went to the exact same forum as before for help, almost exactly an year later. I was suggested Debian "Sid" Unstable, but due to stability issues, I selected Debian "Lenny" Testing. I ditched lenny quite soon due to the lack of scope in Lenny, and ended up taking Sid, but in a different flavor, Sidux. This ensured stability for Sid by withholding unstable packages.

Now I again had the time of my life customizing. Sidux was extreme, and it was super fast on my system. I used it after tonnes of customization, and I still use it and I feel great. It has everything I might possibly need, and nothing more. Its repository may not be as huge as Ubuntu, but it was enough.

History Repeats

But... once again the system is starting to let me down. Its not able to run at full speed two main web browsers, Firefox3 and Opera 9.5. I am again feeling the familiar old ache, and I think its time to do something. Now, I realized that there was no way I can do anything about it since I am already at my near peak level of performance optimization. I also have little free time now. And hence, I feel that this race is finally over. There is little I can do now to ensure fast performance of my computer without missing some features. Compiling software and running distros like Gentoo, Crux or Arch would have been solutions, but compiling requires lots of dev packages. And with a tiny HDD, that is impossible for me.

The paper needs more wood

Finally, I have decided to stay with sidux. This is only as light as it can get. So now, I am left with no option but an upgrade, an upgrade which I wanted all the time. But the trouble is, I can't upgrade without any issues. I am going to be mostly leaving home (and my computer) in another year, and an upgrade will be useless because the rest of my family is happy with the system as it is. So only the most minimal upgrades can be done. I am settling for another 512mb of RAM to my system, which I can hopefully get without any issues, and which will work well with my current RAM. This way, I can have 768mb of RAM, which is 1.5 times the current minimum standard, and can hence stay on and pull the system for atleast an year, by which time I will be shifting and getting myself a laptop.

To Conclude

All I can say now is that I will ensure that I don't make a mistake like the one I did buying this system three years back. Since I have enough knowledge about laptops, desktops, different internal components and linux now, and since now I am a full fledged geek, there is very little chance of me rushing or making a mistake with my laptop upgrade. I hope for goodwill's sake that no newbie again makes a mistake what I once did, and gets proper advice before buying a new system. If anyone ever gets himself/herself a system like the one I did, then I would advice him/her to ensure that if an exchange is not possible, he/she atleast tries the best to keep it alive. Even if turning geek was necessary to do this.

I R PC

2008-06-18T17:25:00.002+05:30

Wondered how different systems would look if they were human ?
If you did, here they are - all of them.

This is my version of the old I am a mac I am a PC thing, but since all are PCs anyway, I called it collectively as I am a PC

I am UNIX
The old days' champion.

I am Windows
Nothing Seems to work. What next ?

I am Mac
Even Babies can use Macs. Nobody ever gets trapped configuring one.

I am OSX
We name our releases after cats, yes. Got a problem with that ?

I am Linux
Do I look scary to you ? Answer me or I shall shoot you.

I am BSD
I am the Berkeley Software Demon-stribution. Let me Demon-strate how I work.

I am Vista
Someone said I was just a stupid blonde in black. Is it True ?

I am Alienware
Power computing from sigma pomquise. Costs similar to a travel to my planet.

OLPC XO-1
One laptop per child. For purely educational purposes.

Gautham's guide to building the Perfect Mainstream Value PC

2008-06-15T01:46:00.010+05:30

Many of us are at a loss as to what to buy, when we are hunting for a new PC. To solve some of those problems, I am presenting here a tutorial to build a mainstream, i.e. average level PC, which should fit quite well for most people. I am going to describe here in this tutorial how you can build the perfect Value PC, which has all the features needed by a mainstream PC, and still keeps its price under the hood. Overclocking is an excellent way to get more juice out of your PC, so I shall recommend thee a good overclocker system, i.e. - a PC which can be overclocked to much more power. The machine I am designing will definitely qualify as a mainstream PC, so no eXtreme budget parts. The PC will be of an Intel based platform, because sadly, AMD is no longer living up to its expectations as far as cheap and good quality processors are concerned. All of its processors, perhaps with the exception of the extremely rare and elusive Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition are far below similarly priced processors from Intel.

The PC is intended to be as future proof and upgradable as possible, so that you need not suffer later by having extremely outdated parts. Expansion slots, ability to overclock, usability of some parts later in future, etc are given due importance. I won't blindly suggest a rig here and you are expected to read the contents fully and only then, make a purchase after deciding what you need and what you don't.

So lets get down to business and do the dirty work shall we ?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%+++++++COMPUTER COMPONENTS++++++++%%
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####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Motherboard~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

And old saying goes: A mother is a person's biggest asset. And its no different when it comes to a PC. A good PC needs a good, rather, excellent Motherboard. It holds all your components together, and hence any fault in it can damage all other parts of your PC. So I am not going to be stingy here.

1. Abit IP35-E - And nothing less

Technical Specifications/Features( source: www.overclockersclub.com ):

Abit Engineered

Abit SoftMenu™ The original jumperless motherboard design allows for CPU setting changes completely through the BIOS. For GigaOverclocking! Boost your PC's Performance by up to 50%. Convenient and easy-to-use fine tuning from within a self-explanatory

CPU

Support Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme/Duo/Quad processors with 1333/1066/800MHz FSB
Support Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme/Quad/Duo & Pentium® Dual Core Processors Chipset

Intel® P35 Express / ICH9 Chipset Memory

4 X 240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB
Supports Dual channel DDR2 800/667/533 un-buffered non-ECC memory LAN
Onboard Gigabit LAN controller supports 10/100/1000M Ethernet (MARVELL 88E8056) Audio
On board 7.1 CH HD Audio CODEC (Realtek ALC888)
Supports auto jack sensing and optical S/PDIF Out
HDMI ready header (SPDIF header)

Expansion Slots

1 x PCI-E X16
2 x PCI-E X1
3 x PCI

Internal I/O

1 x Floppy Port supports up to 2.88 MB
1 x ATA 133/100/66/3 IDE connector
4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector
4 x USB header (support 8 ports)
1 x FP-Audio

Back Panel I/O

1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x S/P DIF Out
7.1 CH Audio connector (Front, Line-in, MIC-in, Center/Subwoofer, Surround, Rear Surround)
4 x USB 2.0
1 x RJ-45 LAN connector

Serial ATA

4 x SATA 3Gb/s through Intel® ICH9 Form Factor

Misc Data

ATX form factor 305 x 245mm
PCB Color: Blue
RoHS - 100% lead-free process and RoHS compliant

This motherboard has been proven to be one of the best semi-budget/mid-range board out there. You can overclock a good processor to 40% easily without any difficulty, and with some or no cooling, even 100% OC is achievable on certain processors, like those from the E2xx0 series. It costs about Rs. 5,500/-.

This motherboard is not the cheapest in the world, but is a semi-performance board with a chipset which is assured to be able to live for atleast three years, gobbling newer generation processors without much difficulty.

If you want to get another board, its fine, but try to ensure that you get one which uses the Intel P35 chipset.

2. Biostar TP35D2-A7

For a cheaper alternative consider the Biostar TP35D2-A7 motherboard, which comes for Rs. 1,100/- less. But you may loose some small amount of overclocking headroom on this one, along with some features. As one must never be stingy for the motherboard, I recommend the Abit IP35-E only. But the choice is still there, and this can be the first downgrade option you have if there is some budget constrain. Again, I recommend that you start with the Abit IP35-E, then you can fall down to this if you need to invest money elsewere.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Processor~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

A processor is the heart of the system. And Intel makes good hearts. Almost all of them are excellent, and I shall recommend the two best VFM processors here.

1. Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160

This is the best baby out there. Though called Pentium Dual Core, its in no way related to those electric stoves the Pentium 4 series and the Pentium D were. This is a re branded Core2Duo processor based on the "Allendale" core, and is one of the meanest out there. It does not come with certain features like Intel Virtualisation Technology, and has only 1 MB of Shared L2 Cache, etc, but its all worth its wondrous price: Its only Rs. 2,700/-, and its default clock speed of 1.8 GHz can be zoomed up and taken to 3.0 GHz safely on the Abit IP35-E motherboard. You can get even 100% OC, at 3.6 GHz, with some luck or with a cooler(this, although not quintessential, does boost performance, and mainly gives you respect for being a 100% OCerl; and 3.0 GHz is recommended for being a safe limit). It has a 9x multiplier if you want to overclock. Other than all this, this is manufactured from the older 65nm process, and newer 45nm versions have not yet come out. But ITS STILL WORTH IT. What more could you ask for at Rs. 2,700/- ? This thing owns almost every single AMD Dual Core processor out there when given its share of overclocking, and hell ya its worth doing it.

2. Intel Core2Duo E7200

This little guy really IS little. Made from a 45nm process and belonging to the new Penryn family of Core2Duo CPUs, this processor comes at a default clock speed of 2.53 GHz, a respectable number indeed, and it dozen't need to be overclocked to achieve great performance. It consumes very little power too. Most of you will be tempted to push it to 3.0 GHz, which is a highly achievable limit with Abit IP35-E, as it already comes at 2.66 GHz. Sure, go ahead, and enjoy yourselves; but be warned that at Rs. 5,700/-, Rs. 3,000/- more than E2160, this thing looses warranty on OCing. So you need to meet the risks of OCing a more expensive Processor like this. But prices are expected to come down, and lets wait and hope for the best. It has 3 mb of L2 cache, just the amount needed by most software, especially games. It has a Front Side Bus Speed of 1066 MHz, and should effortlessly run on Abit IP35-E. It has a 9.5x multiplier for overclocking. And yes, this also lacks Intel Virtualisation technology, but its of little concern to most people here. It needs to be mentioned that this is the cheapest penryn, but as in the case of E2160 appearing after E2140 and excelling its predecessor in every way and still costing only a trifle(Rs.200) more, we need to wait and see how E7300 turns out to be when it comes. But E7300 just has 10x multiplier and 2.66 GHz clockspeed, definitely not an improvement remarkable enough to consider over its predecessor, unlike the case of E2160, where its predecessor had only an 8x multiplier making all the difference in the world.

The Choice:

Personally speaking, I find both equally tempting. Each is the best at its price, so choose wisely. Both are evenly matched in potential, although E2160 is the best bang intel offers for your buck. If you need to perform processor intensive tasks, select the E7200. But if you don't need too much of processing, E2160 will do. Besides, it can OC, and not many need over 3.0 GHz clock speed. The price difference of Rs. 3,000/- is good enough to offer some serious upgrades, so I recommend with maximum hesitation the E2160. Debatable.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~RAM~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

The ram is one of the main thing a PC needs, and too little of this can make your computer dreadfully slow. But at the same time, too much of it is just a waste of money in maximum of the cases. You don't usually need more than 4GB of it, and just 2 GB of Dual Channel 800 MHz DDR2 memory is the standard for today, and I too recommend it. Never go for 3 GB memory, its something like neither here nor there. Go for either a 1GB + 1GB configuration in Dual Channel, or a 2GB + 2GB configuration in dual channel. With the power needed to power the PC I am currently building for you, 2GB is enough.

1. Transcend Value RAM 2GB

This is a 1GB pair, consisting of two 1GB sticks of 800MHz each.
This is value ram, hence is really basic in functionality.
Latency: 5-5-5-18
Without heat spreader
Cost: Rs. 1,800/-

The ideal ram. This is Transcend's value RAM, and it offers just that. You get affordable 800MHz DDR2 memory, which can serve you for quite a long time, as DDR3 looks far away as of now.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Hard Disk~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

The Hard Disc is supposed to contain all your precious data, and should be chosen with care. You must decide how much of data you may be storing, and buy a hard disc accordingly. But 320 GB is the minimum quantity, with 500GB being the mainstream number.

1. Seagate ST3500320AS

This is THE HDD I recommend to all of you.
It costs Rs. 4,150(from theitwares.com)
With 32 mb buffer and 500GB disc space, its a killer.
It gives you excellent value for your money.
And this 7200.11 model is the best in the market.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Optical Drive~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

An optical drive is quintessential for taking backups, carrying/delivering data to friends, etc. Today, we shall concentrate on only DVD drives, as Blu Ray Drives are quite quite far off. We are looking at DVD Writers which can read/write to DVD+-RW, DVD+-R, DVD-RAM, CD-RW, CD-R, etc. SATA will be the prefered interface, and speed is not a problem. DVDs today come at only 16x, while writers come at atleast 20x.

1. Samsung SH-S203F

This is the chosen DVD-RAM drive. Its the best there is in the overall mainstream category. Its the world's first 16x Dual Layer DVD Writer. Ordinary DVDs can be written at 24x. It takes all formats effortlessly, and verbatim, sony, moser baer, etc perform excellently in it costs Rs. 1,250/-, and comes bundled with the usual Nero 7 Essentials. Definitely no competition to this drive, as its expected to stay for atleast 4 years, with DVDs comming at only 16x and as I said before, Blu Ray Drives are too expensive now. And this thing has aced over other drives in benchmarks too.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Cabinet~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

You need a good looking and sturdy cabinet to hold the PC of yours. Go for one with USB, Line in and Line out ports in the front. I recommend two models:

1. Zebronics Gaming Series Bijli cabinet

This one is a serious looker and a real sturdy one. It has a structure looking like a portable CD Player in the front containing a Temperature Monitor, Two USB ports, a speaker jack, a line in jack and the start/restart keys. This is priced around Rs. 1,500, and is definitely worth it.

2. iBall Entry Level Designer Cabinet

This series has good budget cabinets at around Rs. 600-650.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Keyboard and Mouse~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

These, being the primary input devices, should never be taken lightly. Ideal input devices should be durable, fully functional and most importantly, Ergonomic. Nobody looks at mice which have only two mouse buttons. Ball Mice are history. Scroll is quintessential. And Laser mice are the way to go. So we are looking for a Laser 3 Button Scroll mouse. Keyboard + Mouse combos from some companies are rather good and offer excellent value for your money.

1. I recommend Microsoft or Logitech Multimedia wired keyboard + laser mouse combo.

Both brands are highly ergonomic, and have all the buttons you will possibly need for customisation. The basic recommended sets I am talking about cost Rs. 1,200/- approximately for both brands.

2. Logitech Basic keyboard/mouse combo.

If you want to go more cheap, try this. Its only Rs. 500/- and the keyboard has excellent feedback, the keys being really great to press, being neither too laptopishly soft, nor disgustingly hard to press.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Power Supply Unit~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

This is the component that's even more highly placed in computer importance hierarchy than motherboard, because one fault on your PSU, and the entire PC may burn out. Also, getting the correct wattage is important because your computer needs sufficient power to run.

1. Cooler Master eXtreme Power 500W

This is what you should get if you care a lot about your PC. It sets you back by about Rs. 2,500/-, but beware, 500W is not for power draining PCs.... but.... lets leave this PSU for the higher end rigs shall we ? I am trying to stay on budget here...

2. VIP 600W PSU

This is the more down-to-earth "standard" PSU, for around Rs. 1,000/-

3. Zebronics 400W PSU

This baby is bundled with the Zebronics bijli cabinet I suggested you to buy. I suppose it can successfully manage to run the PC, if you are using a low power rig, and is worth a try. Good if you want to save some cash, because an awesome looking cabinet in combination with a decent PSU for a budget PC at a Budget rate is not something that's too common these days.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Monitor~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

Now comes the slightly tough part: Your needs may vary all the time, so I can't go into a great deal of detail. So I shall just suggest a commonly accepted and wanted size: 19" Wide Screen

1. Dell SE-198WFP

Features:

1000:1 typical contrast ratio
1440:900 ideal resolution
Brightness 300 cd/m2 typical
160° / 160° typical viewing angle
5ms typical response time
DVI-D with High Definition Content Protection (HDCP)
Video Graphics Array (VGA)
AC power cord connector
Kensington® security port (cable lock sold separately)
VESA-compliant mount (100 mm)
cable management
3 years on-site next day replacement warranty
Adjustability: Tilt
Rs. 9,200

This is another of those good looking and highly functional monitors from Dell. Its definitely a great buy, and can handle all games you throw at it effortlessly, unlike some other LCDs.

2. Samsung Flat 798MG

17" Flat CRT monitor
Rs. 5,700/-

this is a more budget oriented monitor, and performs quite well. I have used it myself, and its not bad.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Graphics Card~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

Things get interesting here, because the Graphics Card is one of the most talked about things in PCs and is essential for activities like Gaming. As the P35 based motherboards come without an onboard GPU, you need to buy a dedicated card for your video processing needs. This is a Value PC building guide, but I am still going to suggest some higher end cards just to give you an idea of what choice you have, and if you are a gamer, you can still manage to reduce budget allotment for the motherboard by going for the BioStar model, go for the standard keyboard/mouse combo instead of higher end multimedia combos, skip cooling, and then buy a high end GPU and play games like Crysis. It might not be worth it for some, but others might want it. That's why I have suggested some cost cutting options occasionally.

1. MSI nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 OC Edition

This is (one of) the most VFM GPUs out there. Comming at Rs. 12,000/-, and being able to comfortably handle games like Crysis at high settings, this GPU is a Killer. Though its next generation, the 9xxx series is out, only the 9800GTX, 9800GX2 have been released in the high end segment, which are not at all worth the money you need to spend for them, and the 9600GT, which is only slightly less than the 8800GT OC edition, but not with comparable performance(the next card is only a rebranded 8800GS, so it doesn't qualify as a proper 9 series card). Its not yet compatible with DirectX 10.1, but more than makes up for this shortage with its amazing performance.

2. Palit Sonic nVidia GeForce 9600GSO 384MB GDDR3

This is currently the king of cards with maximum Value for Money out there. Its actually a rebranded 8800GS, and performs excellently available at just Rs. 6,300/-. I recommend this card to those who seek to build a system that is a power horse but is still cheap. Its performance is similar, though slightly lower, when compared to the Radeon HD3870, meaning its a perfect powerhorse card for the masses. It happily and effortlessly plays all the games released till date at maximum settings, with only a few exceptions like Crysis. There is also a rumour going around that for a particular brand of this card, some modding can be easily done to make this perform at par with the 8800GTS. Great indeed.

3. Mercury nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR3

This card is now a monster, being available at just Rs. 3,000/-. Perfect mid to low range performance is offered by the 8600GT, and due to its recent cost dip, it has become very attractive indeed. This card can also play crysis at sub medium settings, but anything high and this will start whining and complaining a lot. It has no difficulty with most games. It lacks DirectX 10.1 support, but that really isn't an issue these days because the propability of exclusive directx 10.1 games hitting the market looks atleast 2 years away. I need to mention though, that this is not the best 8600GT in the world. It might be one in the bottom, but that doesn't stop it from curshing all other cards at this low a budget.

The Choice:

I recommend the last card, Mercury 8600GT if you want a PC with casual or slightly lighter gaming needs. If you are going for only upto 1024x768 gaming, this is perfect. The middle one is for the happy gamer looking for a card that's cheap, reliable and usable for playing even games like Crysis at high quality. As I said in its description, the 9600GSO is just too good. 8800GT only if you NEED to game, and by NEED I mean Never Ending Explicit Desire. Since the arival of 9600GSO, 8800GT has now become almost pointless on a VFM system like this. Its definitely not recommended at this budget, but, its all your choice in the end.

ATI cards are actually as cheap as, and often cheaper than similar performing nVidia cards abroad. They support directx 10.1 and are manufactured from a 55nm process as opposed to nVidia's 65nm. They are also higher on features. But they come at huge prices in India, so with deepest regret, I have revised this article removing them. If you go abroad, then definitely buy HD3870, HD3650 or HD3450. These are dirt cheap abroad and in similar guides written by someone from the US, these cards will be mentioned.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Cooling System~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

If you are looking to overclock the system a lot to increase performance, you might need a cooling system to ensure that you don't screw up. Its not needed for non OverClockers. But, if you are the kind of guy who wants to pump up his CPU clockspeed by 100%, and GPU speed by 30%, you need this. Its a good idea to get this and the E2160, because the money saved by skipping the E7200 can be put to making the E2160 much stronger than you can make E7200 without cooling. And this benefits the GPU as well.

What you need is a good budget cooler, as this is a value PC, not one where you can throw money into and get a high end vapour cooler. I am going to suggest two cheap and efficient air coolers. But these are ineffective without ventilation, so please take care of that. Its VERY important when it comes to Air Cooling. The following can manage decent levels of cooling, with milages like 15 Kelvin.

1. Cooler Master Hyper L2

2. Artic Freezer F7

Both these are good budget coolers and retail at around Rs. 1,700/-. This is quite good, because E2160+Cooler is cheaper and more performance when OCed than E7200 when OCed. Ofcource, nothing stops you from going E7200+Cooler, in which case you will end up with possibly 4GHz per core. And that means insanely high performance, especially with many games and applications today optimised for Dual Core and still to be optimised for Quad Core. But the budget may go a bit high with E7200 and Cooling, so take care there.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Speaker System~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

Next up, you need a good set of speakers, because the motherboard I have suggested has an excellent onboard audio. Good speakers mean that you get to turn your PC to a HiFi music system. From personal experience and that of many others, and taking into consideration budget related factors, here are the speakers I am suggesting:

1. Philips Easy Fit Earphones

This is not really an option for you, its just a pair of earphones I am mentioning not because they sound godly, and they certainly are not meant to replace your speakers. So why am I mentioning them ? I am mentioning them because they offer very clear sound quality, for almost all types of music, fit comfortably in your ears, and can last around 6 months of rough use. But the thing that's most special about them is their price. Rs. 45/- only. Just Rs. 45/-. Imagine what you can do now. By getting this pair of clear and neat earphones, which are amazingly good and VFM, you get to save up a lot of cash on speakers if you don't intend to buy a set or if you don't need to hear sounds from your PC very often. These earphones are much more worth their price than any other noisemaker out there, and weather its Creative EP630 or Apple iPod, no earphone can beat this thing when it comes to overall value for money. Several made in China (apologies to the Chinese readers here) earphones are costlier than this but still sound horrible. The easy fit headphones also exist, but they suck. This one is the best thing ever for the ultimate money saver.

2. Logitech R-10 2.0

This is the standard issue 2.0 speaker system. I have tested both this and the Creative SBS 2.0, and found that both sound about the same but this one packs a deeper bass. Both are priced around Rs. 425/- to Rs. 500/-, but Rs. 450/- is the common bargainable price in most places. So this guy wins thanks to the better bass(although both are bad, as in all 2.0 systems). Don't buy 2.0 speaker systems if you are into Heavy Metal music like me, or if you listen to lots of deep bassy music. This will spoil such music. 2.0 is more suited towards light Bollywood, Symphony, Classical and Pop music than heavier stuff. This will do if you need a basic clear sounding and working audio system.

3. Logitech R-20 2.1

Back to business now. One more from the Logitech R series. This is the set of speakers you need to be looking at if you are after listening to songs. Two speakers and a Subwoofer, deep sound, even frequencies, crystal clear audio. This set costs Rs. 1,200/- and is worth every rupee. If you want a general perpose speaker system that can do nearly everything effectively, I suggest this, because it has a good output, nice clarity, deep bass, and can be effectively used while gaming too. So if you are not sure which to buy, buy this.

4. Creative Inspire T6060 5.1

If you are a gamer, or if you watch a lot of DVD movies, you might want 5.1 audio. The sound card supports it, so I suggest you this set. A subwoofer and five speakers to deliver you the perfect yet budget surround sound. This set has one of the best quality audio output for 5.1 speakers. Creative Inspire T6060 sets you back by Rs. 4,200/-. It might appear a bit costly at first, but its sound makes it worth it. As not everybody will be interested in buying 5.1 speakers for a value PC, I have set this aside as the last option, but to some it might be the very first option.

The Choice:

Earphones for those who don't need to hear sounds from their PC often. Speakers in 2.0 for those who don't listen to much music or those who listen to only light music. Speakers in 2.1 for the masses, these are general purpose usable by everyone kind of speakers, and anyone from a gamer to a music enthusiast can get these. 5.1 for the avid gamer and/or movie buff; surround audio really IS a thing you MUST hear, but its on the expensive side.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~WebCam~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

Most of you might be interested in video conferencing over the internet or recording video via your computer. For this, you need a web camera. I am going to present some common and efficient web cameras which are available in the market.

1. Logitech QuickCam Cam Family

1.3 megapixels = 800x600 video resolution
a good high quality webcam for home use
Rs. 1,400/-

2. Techcom Ssd-642k

low resolution webcam
built in microphone - a bonus
shaped like a human foot.
Rs. 450/-

The Choice:

The quickcam is a high resolution camera for those who need clear quality videos, and the ssd-642k is a budget webcam which produces low quality videos but is just usable. Take the former if you need high quality videos of a decent resolution, and the later if all you need is a cam to have your face seen by the person you are chatting with. The later has a built in microphone, which can help you knock off the costs from the products below.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~Microphone~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

You can make voice calls to people for free over the internet. This reduces expense on normal phone. For this, you need a microphone. It can serve many purposes, from recording voice/music to chatting to voice commands to any voice recognition software to gaming.

1. Techcom Ssd-642k

already mentioned above...
this is a low end webcam with mic attached

2. Intex Headphone/Mic combo

This could have been in the speakers section, but due to the fact that these headphones don't sound good enough, I placed this item here. Anyway, this is a basic budget set of headphones with mic attached. Just Rs. 100/-. Average quality, good enough for the casual user.

3. Zebronics ZEB 1000SM

This a mainstream quality microphone, and it has a flexible stand.
Microphone : 6x5/58±2dB
Frequency Response : 30Hz~16,000Hz
Impedance : 2.2kOhms
Sensitivity : 105dB/mW
Plug type : 3.5mm stereo
Cable Length: Approx 1.8m
Rs. 200/-
[specs from zebronics website]

The Choice:

If you are not a serious mic user nor are you a serious webcam user, get the Techcom Ssd-642k. Its perfect for those who want to do nothing but chat. For a standard cheap headset, intex headphone/mic combo is the way to go. But if you are one who needs high quality, buy the Zebronics ZEB 1000SM. Its a minimum if you are looking to do activities like recording your own music, etc.

####>>>>>>>>>>~~~~UPS~~~~<<<<<<<<<<####

An Indian is an Indian only if he experiences lots of power cuts. Lets face it - we experience Way to many power cuts in India and hence a UPS for a computer is quintessential. We are not looking at 1 hour 2 hour backups, because for a home PC all we need is 10 minutes to save all open doccuments, close all applications and shut down the system. So we are going to look at one standard budget UPS.

1. PowerSafe 600VA

Good Quality Home UPS
Provides backup of ~10 minutes.
Rs. 1,950/-

I mentioned just one product here. Why ? Because its the best there is for budget conscious buyers. Its under two thousand rupees and provides enough backup time to turn the system off. Its also a reputed brand and you can rest assured that this thing will last.

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A computer needs to be only as powerful as the work given to it. So when you buy a computer, don't just try to go for the most powerful(and consequently most expensive) components. Plan out everything properly. For example, if your main need is multimedia and home theater, don't buy E7200 or 8800GT. At the same time, don't be too cheap either. If you plan to play Crysis at high resolutions, the same E7200 and 8800GT become a must, so don't get stingy.

Always choose components with priorities in mind. Invest more money in areas which are important to you. And in situations where you still have some extra cash, consider upgrades you can never go wrong with. Examples are better motherboard, more hard disc capacity, higher model keyboards, larger displays, etc. If you are short on cash, chip away in areas you won't regret cutting costs. For example, less ram/hdd, etc.

Do not be stingy when it comes to those components which are very important and whose malfunction can damage the system. This includes Power Supply Unit and the Motherboard, along with the UPS.

Finally, ensure that you buy products WITH warranty. Grey market maybe tempting, but expensive stuff without warranty is a strict NO. If you plan to buy an overclocking E2160, and if you intend to mod/mess with it which may void warranty, there is nothing wrong with grey market.

Debian: Sidux Forever

2008-06-13T13:29:00.008+05:30

Introduction:

Before starting this post, let me give you a flashback of my current situation so that the lazier among my readers here can get a gist of the story without any clicks. Ubuntu Linux was my first Distro, but its most recent version was just too hot for my computer to handle. It was a disaster on my PC. Then I tried out Debian Lenny. It would have been good before, but now was the time its development period was about to end. And it was a bit too vague in many respects. So I had to say goodbye to it too.

You have seen two stages of my review of Debian Sidux GNU/Linux, about my installation of Sidux and my experiences with its first update. After a round of updates and installing software, and also customising, I can now consider Sidux to be almost family to me. Let me enter my third (and hopefully last) stage of my sidux review - the experience of Sidux now that everything has settled down(sort of).

Sidux - impressions and updating experience

Sidux is one of the best operating systems ever designed. It has features to automate nearly anything, and can be customised to an infinitely large extent. Everything a user might want is provided Out of Box. This includes compiling/building tools, media players, codecs, file/web browsers, editors, themes, administrative tools, etc. The debian multimedia repositories, the debian main, contrib and non-free repositories and the Google repositories collectively ensure that every software I want is provided to me. Sidux has built in features so that its code base, Debian "Sid" (Unstable), is no longer unstabilised due to faulty updates. Any suspected unstable updates are automatically held back. Its website is a must bookmark, as it provides valuable news about any update, vulnerability and security related issue. Its fun trying to administrate a sidux system, because to do it one needs to be at par with the general news about it during any day. Its like a continuous source of knowledge and information.

Package Management

Sidux is a rolling release distribution, i.e, one will never need to do a reinstall to get the latest operating system version ever again. The system is automatically brought up to date with the latest software and modifications thanks to the apt-get upgrade and apt-get dist-upgrade commands. As I said before, apt-get is the best package manager ever designed, and thanks to it, one can be as lazy as he/she wishes, with no dependency sorting or package finding issues, as everything is taken care of by the default repositories and the default package manager.

Commandline

Commandline is a breeze to work with in Sidux. Its actually fun, and installing software in run level 3 via root login at console is just awesome, and super fast. I actually log off and login again in commandline mode only to enjoy the fun looking black screen with white text on it, hoping that atleast something is available to do.

Desktop Environment: KDE

It has KDE, a complete desktop environment, and FluxBox, a window manager, bundled with it by default. KDE is a complete suite here, with an app to do anything you want. It is the most advanced desktop environment ever. Its menu is detailed and organised. It has lots of widgets that can be put on its taskbar, named kicker. Its media player is called Kaffeine, and its the world's most feature rich and most format supporting media player. KDE's KOffice is an excellent light weight office suite, and OpenOffice.org, the more familiar but heavier office suite is also bundled. KOffice needs to be installed separately though, but its just a 50 mb download via apt-get. This does not bundle Dolphin file manager for some reason, but I am not going to discuss why, because I myself have no idea about it. Krusader, the advanced two pane file manager is also present. KDE can have really killer looks too.

While KDE has been said to be resource hungry by advocates of Gnome, a lighter desktop environment, it far superseeds gnome in features and level of customizability. For those looking for light weight use, a window manager called Fluxbox is bundled, so installing gnome still serves no purpose. Even here, KDE apps start faster than gnome apps.

Window Manager: Fluxbox has been ditched for IceWM by me.

Fluxbox is a light weight window manager, one of the lightest ever, and also very minimalistic in nature. It might be the No. 1 choice for most, but personally, I feel IceWM is much much better. So I ended up replacing fluxbox with IceWM. It retains most configuring ease of fluxbox, but it also has better features. It has a taskbar, a tray, a show desktop button, icons on tray, etc and a very useful menu. It has lots of support for keyboard shortcuts built in, and the best part is that despite being more functional than Fluxbox, it uses lesser resources. Now wouldn't you call this super cool ? And to add to its goodness, it launches KDE applications really fast. Definitely faster than gnome applications. its a killer and I advice everyone to install it over fluxbox. Let fluxbox live, but IceWM will serve you better since it is the lightest and still the most feature rich of the light desktop environments like JWM, Openbox, Fluxbox, Blackbox, etc.

Administration in Sidux

Being bundled with KDE, Sidux has lots and lots of administrative applications. Other than the usual KDE standard, which is pointless to discuss here, Sidux menu includes some useful shortcuts for root access to some applications like Konqueror file manager, Krusader file manager, etc. This is useful if you need a GUI file manager to go about and manually edit some files. A root terminal is also provided to log in terminal as root. Sudo privileges are disabled for a user by default, but its quite unnecessary in my opinion. Root login is allowed only in text mode, a clever move to discourage people from working as root.

Conclusion:

I am sure sidux is going to live for many more years to come as a means to get people to use Debian Sid in a safer manner. Its out of box support for many things adds more plus points to its book. Sidux is never constrained by distribution size. They don't have a rule enforcing a single CD size, nor do they have a rule enforcing a full DVD. Their current size is a 1.5 GB ISO, and this ISO comes with exactly what is required, nothing less and nothing more. And this bundle is designed keeping in mind the average Intermediate User, exactly the kind of person who would choose Debian or Sidux in the first place.

So definitely install sidux if you can, and happy Distroing.

Tutorial: Configuring a standard BSNL modem to allow DHCP Protocol for Direct Internet Access

2008-06-12T05:39:00.007+05:30

Hi there and welcome to yet another of my tutorials. Here I am going to describe you how you can enable DHCP, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, in your standard BSNL broadband modem.

Are you the kind of person who does OS hopping and/or lots of reinstalls of Operating Systems ? Have you ever been pissed off by the fact that you always need to reconfigure the internet connection for the OS ? Do you use Live CDs often, and find it troublesome to reconfigure internet again and again ? Well, then worry no longer, as I am going to describe you how you can configure your modem, so that the OS uses internet directly, without being bothered with IP Address, Gateway Address, DNS Servers, etc.

DHCP, or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, is a protocol by which you can ensure that internet is supplied directly to a internet accessing device, without any special connection configuration. Multiple devices can be connected to the internet this way and you wouldn't need to manually change their IP addresses to avoid conflicts. You can read up about DHCP in the link I just gave you, but its may be pointless to some of you; so I am not describing it here. The operating system only needs to be preconfigured to use the DHCP protocol by default. All distros, plus Macintosh OS have this feature. That accounts for 99.9999999% of live environments. All of them use DHCP by default unless you configure them to use something else.

Here is how you configure it:

1. Open your Web Browser.

2. Go to your modem's IP address, which is usually 192.168.1.1

3. Type the username and password both as admin

4. This takes you to your modem's Web Configuration Interface

5. Go to DHCP section.

6. Select Enable.

7. You will be asked to restart device and wait for 2 minutes.

8. Finish it and go to DNS section.

9. For High Speed internet, use OpenDNS servers.

10. OpenDNS servers are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

11. Once again you will be asked for conformation to restart device and wait 2 minutes.

12. Finish it and turn off system.

Now, when you use the system, with a Live CD or a fresh distro, DCHP should be enabled and you can experience instant internet.

Good luck and happy surfing.

Please comment if you found this useful.

Note: This can be done on nearly any modem, with similar procedures. Refer to their manuals for variable data like IP Address of Router and Username/Password.

Debian: Updating Sidux - Kick My Ass if I ever choose tw.debian.org again

2008-06-12T05:01:00.007+05:30

You remember my previous post about my Sidux install, right ? Well, a good lot has happened since then.

I installed sidux thrice, yes THRICE, after that. All that for a simple net connection/router problem. And because I wanted ReiserFS, the filesystem of my root partition, to be replaced with ext3 again. Anyway, I had lots left to read in Linux For You, and the internet was still there, so I could amuse myself with something while sidux installed. Luckily, I have a seperate /home partition. This ensured that I don't have to recustomise Sidux all over again. Anyway, once all my trouble seemed over, new trouble started...

Updating Sidux needs special care. As debian Sid is unstable, according to Sidux manual, upgrading and dist-upgrading from anywhere ecept in runlevel 3 terminal root session is dangerous. So I proceeded with a root login in a terminal.

Start system

ctrl + alt + F1 at KDM prompt

$ root

$ root password

# init 3

# apt-get update

# apt-get upgrade

The last command made my life hell. I chose http://ftp.tw.debian.org/debian as the repository, and it was a big mistake. I waited, waited and waited for a long long time, and wasted three fourths of an hour for nothing. I ended up doing a hard reboot, with only 30% of the download done at dirt speed, selecting the IIT Madras repository this time, and updating my apt-get. This time, it took hardly 20 minutes for an enitre redownload of the upgrades. I added a -d switch to the apt-get command, so that I may install software at leisure later, when I am less sleepy.

Then I proceded with dist-upgrade. As I write, I am still downloading. But yes, its really fast. I have again done the command with a -d switch. My first experience with an upgraded debian sid system is going to be written about in a day or so.

Till then, I give this advice to all my fellow Indians who want good debian repositories - IIT Madras is not only an enter-to-get-filthy-rich-quick educational institute. Its an excellent FOSS supporter, and hosts the best mirrors for Debian and Ubuntu repositories.

Good luck and wish you a happy updrade and a safe dist-upgrade.

Debian: The Sidux Install

2008-06-11T23:51:00.005+05:30

I have finally replaced Debian "Lenny" (Testing) with Debian "Sid" (Unstable) based Sidux, due to the reasons mentioned here. Anyway, I installed the 2008.1 DVD. As first time impressions can be misleading, I usually avoid them, but now I HAVE to say it feels great. Its doccumentation is detailed and indepth. It gives lots and lots of advice to the user.

Its live mode rocked, and I installed the KDE-Full DVD, which is around 1.4GB, in just 14 minutes and 53 seconds(its installer displays this even this information during install - saves me the trouble of having to start my stopwatch and stare at the monitor when the install is nearing its end so that I may stop my stopwatch). I am sorry that I couldn't get any screenshots during installation, which were easily possible, for you the reader's benifit due to my negligence. Anyway, the first time I installed it, I realised that I had forgotton to remove configuration files for programs from the Lenny install and move them to a special backup folder. So I had to do a reinstall. During that time, I went and watched a bit of TV and read the June issue of Linux For You magazine. Anyway, second install is not a problem with linux, because unlike windows, once you set various parameters, install is unattended. So I finally finished installing Sidux for the last time.

Booting into it, I found many things about sidux that is appealing. Especially its installed applications. It had all the apps I would need from a standard desktop, ecept some non-free components. Its jam packed with administrative tools too. There are nifty shortcuts everywhere. Unlike lenny, Sidux Linux feels great.

Ofcourse, the real experience for Debian Sid is supposed to be its upgrades and dist-upgrades, which I am supposed to be very careful while doing. But luckily, I read up sufficient information about the same and noted it down on my newly made computer log book which I keep on my computer table 24/7, for jotting down important notes.

I am going to upgrade and dist-upgrade Sidux at 2:00 AM as usual today. Before doing it, I have ensured that I have enabled all the repositories. IIT Madras is the mirror closest to me, and offers very high speeds. But I heard its often not updated. Sid always needs latest mirrors, as there might be lots of security issues pending. So I used the tw.debian.org mirror, the Taiwanese debian mirror instead. More experiences on installing software and updating them via debian will be up in my next post.

Debian: The Lenny Diary

2008-06-11T18:07:00.004+05:30

This is my set of notes I jotted down while I was playing with Debian Lenny. Not formatted, and often vague, but it will do. I am posting it here to just show how good/bad lenny experience can be to someone.

# This installer is too damn easy to use. Its fun. W00t! install completed.

# GRUB looks better than in ubuntu. WTH is this only 5 seconds wait time ?

# WTH ? Login in text mode ? K no problem.

# Guess KDE is not installed

# sudo apt-get install KDE

# sudo command not found

# hehehe even sudo is not installed by default

# time to leave

# hard reboot via restart button

# lets try single user mode

# WTH ? I forgot my password

# Whoops. I guess I didn't forget the password after all. It was just slightly lengthened.

# apt-get install sudo

# that's better

# apt-get install kde

# insert CD ?

# OK fine. here you go

# inserted CD

# darn, I think the net is too slow

# 15kbps download speed for 2280kb

# rest from CD

# this install is boring

# let me play guitar a bit

# w00t! install finished

# exit

# yay! KDM!

# omgwtf ? kstartupconfig not installed it says when I log in

# time to go back to root mode

# apt-get install kstartupconfig

# package does not exist

# damn you

# time to go to sleep. will worry later

# so it turns out I don't have permission to view my own home folder

# reboot, go to windows mode, safe mode with networking

# find out the darn command for loading the list

# #think-digit @ chat.freenode.net

# QwertyM: I don't help distro hoppers and windows users unless I am bored

# Me: screw you

# aditya|movies: chown gautham /home/gautham -R

# aditya|movies: chgrp users /home/gautham -R

# Me: Thanks bro

# reboot

# yup problem fixed

# time to configure debian

# wait a sec, damn I lack sudo privilage

# restart

# google

# visudo was the command this time

# found I need to add gautham ALL = (ALL)ALL after a line root ALL = ALL(ALL)

# ctrl+X to exit, Y to save

# confirm my findings

# go to #think-digit again

# aditya|movies: useradd -G root gautham

# me: you sure ? here is mine...

# aditya|movies: whats visudo ?

# me: guess I shall try both in that case

# wow, editing worked

# damn aditya's methord said user already exists

# exit

# haha I am a sudoer now

# time to really mess with debian now

# configuring is fun

# I R 1337 themer

# lemme make my own theme, because default configuration sucks

# purple is good

# wait a sec, net was slow because debian uses BSNL DNS by default. my mistake.

# OpenDNS FTW !

# Time to try out more stuff

# I don't have a proper sources.list file

# can someone get me a good one ?

# infinitely long search in the net

# cool. IIT Madras server's apt lines

# Wow! The connection is super fast

# Debian Multimedia rocks

# Something feels wrong about debian

# Fonts are ugly

# Found a better fonts.conf file

# Fonts look great and smooth now

# Still me not satisfied

# Many things not functioning as I expect them to

# I think I must leave Lenny

# Lenny is going to be frozen in a month or two and made stable

# Darn, this means no more updated packages

# Time to say Good Bye, Mr. Lenny

# What distro should I use ?

# Sid ? Sid ? Sid ?

# Its too unstable

# Thats it! Sidux is the answer

# I forgot that sidux has features for stability

# Sidux ensures that unstable packages don't make it

# Downloading Sidux

# Burning stuff to free disc space

# Downloaded and Burnt Sidux

# So I guess this is it then... Good Bye Lenny - Forever.

So thats it. There goes the story of my extremely short life with Debian Lenny, lasting barely a couple of days. Its excellent, but still lacking in something. I just had to leave it. There was no other way. I am going to install Sidux now. Time to see how good Sid's stable son will be.

How To Have Categories in Blogger

2008-06-11T16:43:00.003+05:30

This is propably one of the most discussed topics ever on the internet. Google Blogger is great. Kudos to google for this wonderful software, and I thank them and words aren't enough to do this. I am even willing to host free adsense advertisements for them on this blog. One thing however, which makes people choose wordpress.com over blogger is the fact that blogger lacks categories. You can't organise your posts into categories.

But there are workarounds. While most people suggest long and complicated workarounds, some even needing external sites, I am going to show you how you can do it with built in tools in blogger. All you need is to ensure that you have tags which are the same as categories. This post for example, is tagged with Tutorials among other things. And tutorials, as you see, is a category on my blog. What you do is simple. Under the layout section, create a links list called categories. Here, in website name section, write your category. In link section, you write search link for the category tag. How ? Simple. Go to a published post, and click on the "category" tag. It brings you to the search page for all posts tagged with that category. Here, the list of posts seen is almost exactly like wordpress categories.

For a good example, just have a look at my blog.

Hope this ensured that category lovers give blogger a second look. Good luck and Happy Blogging. :)

Bye Bye Ubuntu - The Opening Of A Void

2008-06-11T16:18:00.010+05:30

I am a big fan of Ubuntu Linux. But I guess its time to say goodbye to Canonical's Wonder, perhaps permanently. My first ever Linux distribution was ubuntu Linux 7.04. It taught me nearly everything I know about Linux. It, and the huge community it has have collectively ensured that I became a Linux user and a good one too.

But ubuntu is just not suited for me anymore. Its current version, 8.04, is too heavy for my system to handle. It has huge startup times and is laggy. Several features fail to work. My 2.66GHz Pentium 4 processor, with 256mb DDR 400MHz RAM and onboard Intel GMA900 Graphics just appeared too little to be able run ubuntu now. Its Gnome 2.22 was a HUGE bloat. Compared to my previous highly satisfactory experience with Gnome 2.18, this gnome had hardly any more features but it still hung and lagged like nothing else. KDE was fast and responsive but it was a bit too hot for the system to handle; it took its own time to start because the one provided with kubuntu-desktop package was jam packed with things I never needed. I switched to IceWM, and now I am a big fan of this nifty little window manager. But minimalism can only last so long. So I decided to switch to another operating system.

I concluded that Knoppix, Debian GNU/Linux, Vector Linux and Zenwalk were my choices. My friend Beojan Stanislaus convinced me to stick with a Debian based distro because Debian packaging system is still unrivaled and it has a huge repository. Knoppix was more of a live distro than an installable one, so Debian was the choice. He asked me to take Sid "Unstable", but out of fear for stability of my computer, I stuck with Lenny, the "Testing Release".

You might expect the story to be happy from now, but sadly, it isn't. I am considering leaving lenny too, and that calls for another post. Keep watching my blog as I write my entire set of experiences with Lenny.

How This Blog Came Up

2008-06-11T05:03:00.004+05:30

Its a really long story indeed how this blog came up. I am a born writer, but blogging and website designing are completely different from "standard" writing. I am a guy who is used to posting tutorials and articles on different forums. I have no idea how to use HTML. T have a spare blogger blog now, which was my first blog and it was a huge mess. After it, I used to experiment with some websites like freewebs.com and googlepages before. Nothing turned out right. I considered getting myself paid web hosting. I also considered a wordpress blog. But finally, I am back to blogger for good and I intend to stay.

Then comes the blog's name. I thought many different names, but none could reach close to the current one, which flashed into my mind by chance. The Smaller Bang. Sweet. Most of what I post in here are intended to help and make a bang. But not as big as the big bang. So that's it, the smaller bang. I initially considered the bigger bang, but neither was it modest enough nor was it available.

So whats in such a first step ? Well, nothing really. Its just that some things take time to happen, and despite looking rather simple, can be immensely complex. Very well, let me resume blogging.