Hamachi..

hmm.. syakir has been recommending me this software since last week.. it's my lost cause i didnt listen to him at that time.. heh.. sorry kir.. it is a good software.. lots of benefits for some ppl like me.. but, as always, people misused every advantages they had.. especially when it's free..
what is a Hamachi..?? well, at first, when syakir mentioned it to me, what i heard was 'Apache'.. heh.. well, my hearing isn't that good.. especially my right ear.. there's a story behind it.. but this post isnt about my ears.. hehehe.. i thought syakir recommended me another programming software.. i hate programming..
anyway.. it's a program that creates Virtual Private Network within WAN (internet).. whoa.. the GUI of this software is so simple that any user can make a full use of it.. VPN..?? well.. let's just say that u can easily connect to your other computer at the other side of the world using the same concept as LAN.. file sharing, LAN gaming, remote desktop, all the great things u can do without any port forwarding or network expert skills..
i connect my laptop from home to my machines at the offices using this great software.. what for..?? well, lots of it.. if i forgot to bring home some of my works from the office (as i'm a very absent minded person, really really absent minded), i can still reach out and grab the data from my office pc without any hassle.. and still, i'm a bit worried about the security for Hamachi.. it's too easy.. heh..
but still, i hope that Hamachi remains free for users.. still, u can pay for more great features of Hamachi.. the price is affordable (not me as i dont fully trust online fund transfering).. but, i just need the basics.. heh.. but quickly i remembered DirectConnect and Bittorrent.. it was developed to help people transfering data over the net, but now, people uses it to transfer illegal softwares and ripped movies and songs.. i can see the future of Hamachi.. heh.. but, as i said before, hopefully it remains free for basic user..
and using this great software means i have to leave my machines turned on 24/7.. heh.. and this means higher electrical bills for me.. la la la..
thank you Hamachi..

syndication..

hmm.. another project.. heh.. well, this time, i've benn playing around with RSS and Atom.. wtf..?? u might ask.. heh.. there's always www.google.com.my or www.wikipedia.com for answers.. a little research wont hurt though..
hmm.. what's good about RSS or Atom..?? hmm, i can now read most of the updates from any websites that i often surf to without opening that website in particular and i can read all the updates from my desktop.. wtf..?? heh.. here's a little screenshot of my desktop..



see that widget on the top center of my desktop..?? that's what i meant.. that's an RSS and Atom reader widget.. wtf is widget..?? heh.. it's a software that u can put on your desktop for your own ease of launching an application, a benchmard tools, games, anything on your desktop.. i'm using Yahoo Widget Engine for this project.. it's a free download from Yahoo website.. the other widget that i use on my desktop is a benchmarking tools for my laptop.. it display everything i need to know about my laptop.. my uptime, my current CPU usage, my RAM usage and even my dynamic WAN IP.. damn i forgot to hide my ip.. lol.. it's occay tho, as i can just reboot my modem as i'm using a dynamic WAN IP..
back to the RSS widget, now i can add up any RSS feed from any website that supports 'em.. even my wife's blog.. and even from the website provides me all the latest DVD release..
u can download the widget from yahoo widget gallery.. the widget i'm using is from Mr. Brent Johnson named 'RSS Reader' *duh* thank you Mr. Brent Johnson..
hmm.. actually, the widget project was started from Mac OS.. Apple put this widget thingy for Mac OS for user to make a full use of their desktop.. they can run and utilise their desktop instead of SAMO plain desktop..
well, that's about it.. for more info, there's always google n yahoo for u..

remote on remote..

nice title huh..?? well, it's another tech post.. its another guide to another tech project.. my latest project..
the scenario.. while i was busy looking for a way to manage those computer labs in the university i work for, there's one software developing company called up n said that they have a remote administration software that can help us (IT Division) to manage all the computers within the university.. well, they gave me a demo copy of their software n the saddest was i can only use the demo version for only 15 days.. n it's has been two days now.. *sigh* the software can manage clients computer (lab computers) remotely in terms of hardware inventory, software inventory, network inventory, application metering, patch deployment n other useful stuff..
while i was busy monitoring the software, i was thinking to myself.. how can i manage those computers without ever seeing how many students are still using those computers and how many unattended computers are being left turned on.. i still have to be in the labs and i still have to monitor the software.. the software server version has been installed on one of my pc in my room.. i dont want to keep going in n out of my room n those labs everytime i have to check on those computers.. instead, why cant i control the remote software while i'm mobile..
n hey, i got a PDA phone.. so, i turned on Remote Connection on my pc that has been turned into remote administrating server n i connect my pda phone to the pc and voila.. i can manage the remote administrating software remotely.. n wirelessly.. heh.. how did i do it..?? here's a little guide for anyone interested in this topic..

1. turn on your remote connection option on your pc from the 'system properties' of windows.. under the 'remote' tab n tick on 'allow users to connect remotely....'

2. connect the pc to a wireless point and make sure your pda are connected to the same network segment so that your pda and your pc can communicate with each other.. in my case, i set up the wireless mode on ad-hoc.. so that i can get a better range and no one else can connect to my pc..

3. on your pda, click on 'start' and go to 'programs'.. tap on 'terminal services client'.. make sure u know the IP for your pc.. type in your pc's IP and tap on connect.. if nothing goes wrong, u'll be prompt for a password.. type in your password n voila, u're remotely controlling other pc remotely.. lol.. i'm getting a little headache here writing this guide..

just make sure u got a high end pda so that it wont be sluggish remoting ur pc from your pda.. my pda's processor is TI OMAP 200Mhz.. *sigh* anybody interested of buying me a new high end PDA..?? anyone..?? come on now.. hmm.. occay..

about the remote administrating software.. i am a bit dissapointed actually about the price.. the developer asked for RM2k a month rental for a 24 months contract.. hmm.. it is a bit high on the price for a software function that i can get from multiple freewares.. the good was just it is bundled (not actually as i will get the basic network, system, software inventory without any metering functions n we have to pay for another large sum of money for the optionals) in one server..

look like i have to do more research of remote administration.. hmm..

OSX on Intel.. part 5.. (partitions)

heh.. it seems it doesnt stop here.. just found out another negative issue about this collaboration..
it seems that using an external harddrive is a bit issue here on Mac.. i thought it has no problem at all as i have only tried it using a thumbdrive.. there was no problem at all using a thumbdrive on both mac and windows.. i can still share all those data and transfer anything within those os..
but, using an external hdd, mac can only read my data from the external drive.. but the drive becomes 'read only'.. if u try to make any changes to the external drive, u will get an error msg '..... cannot be modified'.. i did a little research, and found out that mac cannot write anything on NTFS partition.. it still can read though..
wait a minute.. hmm.. that means the mac os x on my dual boot machine cant write the other partition for windows.. hmm.. yerp.. it can read but it cant write anything.. better than nothing.. better than windows that neither read nor write anything on mac os x partition.. hehe.. do something bill gate$..!! n your micro$oft teams..!!
so, what i did on my externel hdd was i formatted it using 'Disk Utility' on os x.. i formatted the disk into ms-dos partition so that both windows xp and os x can read.. hmm..
but wait.. i got 3 external hdd's.. why should i do this partitioning.. lol.. *nah* just another guide for u guys.. *thank u akeys* la la la..

in your shoes..

an interesting thing happen during my breakfast with the boys this morning.. one of my collegue suddenly open up a topic of what he has read in the newspaper some time around July.. this year of course.. it was about a boy who has been beaten to death because he was suspected robbing raw rubber from a rubber farm somewhere in malaysia.. he was beaten by the local rubber tappers on one night as they caught him being suspicious in the farm.. i didnt know about the news at all..
but, what has suprise me is that the way my collegue told us the story was like he was blaming those rubber tappers for being unhuman when they beat up that poor boy.. after he stops laughing about the event of beating someone for a small crime, i asked him politely wether i can object to his opinion.. and he said yes..
i told him, if u were the rubber tapper, u know how hard it is to make a living.. especially if u had childrens.. one day u can only earn mostly about rm30 - rm50 per day.. well, i dont know as i have not had the experience as a rubber tapper.. and u have to feed your childrens and your spouse with those money u earn tapping those rubber trees from maybe 0700 til noon.. again, i dont know wether it's true or not.. my source..?? the mass media.. hmm.. and suddenly, when u're ready to take the profit of what u had been doing since early in the morning, it was taken (stolen) by someone else.. tell me, how are u gonna feed your family..?? if it happen even only once, i still thinks that's a big loss for those tappers..
imagine that u're the only one who work for income in the house.. and suddenly, u came back empty handed.. for sure your childrens will be crying due to hungers.. hmm..
and there's one time there was a news on the tube.. about a family that has been slain by Along (local loanshark).. it was believed that the amount that the family owed was RM1k.. someone laughed about it.. he/she said that "just because of RM1k your family have to die too.. it's not a big amount la.." and i was a bit dissappointed by the laughter.. and i told him/her this.. imagine that your on the debtor place.. you're the only one who worked in the house.. and your household income maybe never reached rm500 a month.. and u have to pay for the rent, the utility bills n other things.. of course, the meals u provide your family.. n suddenly, one of your children fell sick and need to be sent to the clinics.. of course it take a lot of money living in this world.. and what choice do u have..?? none.. u have to go to the Along.. hmm.. u calculate the rest..
i'm not in the mood of writing actually.. i'm so tired.. so sleepy.. *sigh* but still, i have to feed myself.. n i just need to be heard..
n actually i'm doing a research of how to disable DirectX and OpenGL in windows.. the students here are uncontrollable.. they stay in the labs til 2000 just for LAN gaming.. i tried not to scold them anymore as i know it would effect myself in the future.. unsatisfied students will take a revenge on us with vandalism.. that's what happened during those time when i was feared by most of the students here.. heh.. n what they do to get back to me..?? they stole those mouse, keyboard and even peripherals.. lucky for me, there's no cases yet in this semester.. hopefully it will stay that way.. if anybody know how to disable DirectX and OpenGL, please let me know.. i'm already stuck.. got this software called 'gamesnomore' from download.com but it's a shareware.. if i disable DirectX directly from it's own settings, of course they can re-enable it back.. i need to know wether i can disable it using policy or not or even a free third-party software.. as i cant find it anywhere..
thanx..

OSX on Intel.. part 4..

err.. here are some of my screenshots of my OS X..

my 1st machine (a clone pc).. the pic was taken using my 0.3mp HP H6365 PDA phone..

actually, i have added an Asus ATI Radeon 256mb DDR card on this machine.. i'm just too lazy to take another picture of it..



and its screenshots..

notice those MS Office icons on the dock.. word, excel, powerpoint and entourage (some kind of outlook for mac (i think)).. and of course, Mozilla Firefox..



the HP machine screenshot.. the processor speed was mistakenly reported as 4.30 Ghz.. lol.. i'm the first in the whole world to use Intel Pentium 4 4.30Ghz..!! yeay..
the other partition is the NTFS partition of my windows XP Pro.. dual boot.. OS X can read the NTFS partition, but WinXP cant read it..


the HP machine was having the most problems.. it has no ethernet driver, so, basically, i cant try anything except for playing with it's GUI.. *sigh*

osx on intel.. part 3..

hmm.. i tried to post a screenshot of my mac machine.. but on one of my machine, it didnt detect my ethernet card.. i am using Broadcom chipset NIC.. *sigh* that's one of the cons of using a different OS that is not meant for it.. it didnt detect my graphic card also.. it is ATI Radeon X300.. hmm.. i tried to download the driver from both Apple and ATI website, but still it didnt make any changes to my display.. the display is nice, but i cant change the resolution and there is dead pixels in some of the area at the desktop.. *sigh*..
n i have tried to install Final Cut Studio Pro on this machine.. the installation was going on smoothly without any problems.. and to my surprise the installation for FCSP have taken about 30Gb of my hdd.. and it took about 1 and a half hour to install.. heh.. and the saddest thing is not all of the featured package that has been installed can be use.. i still trying to figure out what is the problem.. i can run LiveType, Soundtrack Pro n some of the other software from the package, but i cant run Final Cut Pro and Motion.. it keeps rejecting whenever i tried to run the software.. i assumed it was due to my un'driver'ed graphic card.. and if i'm not mistaken, PPC machine is using ATI graphic chipset card.. hmm..
there was two students from the university brought their AMD machine to my office to try to install Mac OS X on their machine.. i thought there would be no problems to install on those machines, but i was wrong.. eventhough there was an AMD patch included in the Mac OS X installation DVD, but everytime i tried to boot those machines using the dvd, it gave me a 'kernel panic' error.. the error halt me from installing the OS.. i tried two different version of installation dvd but still, the error was the same..
hmm.. like i said before.. christmas come christmas comes only once in a year..

osx on intel.. part 2..

well, i've got my copy of Mac OSX last week.. hmm.. dont ask me where did i get it from, just read it through.. i have been trying to install to my machines (plural as i got 1 laptop, 1 PC at home and 3 PCs at my office).. i have tried it on my home pc via vmware workstation 5.. and i have tried to install it on one of my machine at the office using the whole system for it.. it worked for both of em.. a bit slow on vmware though.. my home machine is a Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, 1.5Gb DDR2 RAM, 240Gb of Storage (1 x 80Gb PATA and 2 x 80Gb SATA) and a 256Mb ATI Radeon graphic.. i've allocated 10Gb of storage and 768Mb of memory for the installation of OSX but still, it was slow on performance.. well, what do u expect, an OS on top of other OS..
it is not a problem for my dedicated machine for this project at the office.. it is a Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, 512Mb DDR2 RAM, 40Gb of PATA harddisk and using integrated graphic display.. the operation system went smoothly operating its tasks and it is a great experience using it..
the OSX installation was typical for a technical person like me except for the partitioning part.. it is a bit questionable on why did Apple hide the partitioning utility for a first time installation.. maybe they know that all Mac machines came out from the market with preinstalled OS and if they want to change or upgrade their OS they can just upgrade using an easy upgrade option right from its GUI (graphical user interface).. i have to search thru lots of websites for guides on partitioning such as osx86project, wiki, and some other people's blogs.. some of them gave a useful guides and some of em just SAMO to others.. well, i hope my guide here is not one of the SAMOs..

step 1. get a copy of the installation dvd.. and of course a system of your own.. i dont know about the minimum requirements but u can just do the trial n error.. if it works, good for u, if it doesnt, hmm.. sorry..

step 2. boot from the dvd.. *duh* and it will ask u to hit any key to install Darwin OS or u want an advance option on installation.. hmm.. just hit 'any key' to continue.. and dont ask me where is the 'any key'.. =P

step 3. after it loads up, selects your language.. on the next screen, after the toolbar on top appears, go to 'utility' and select 'disk utility'..

step 4. after the 'disk utility' loads up, select your harddisk, and go to partition.. create your partition.. and name your partition.. i created only one partition and named it 'akeysMac'.. and then go to the 'first aid' tab and verify your disk wether it's occay or not.. after all that, click on 'disk utility' toolbar and selects 'quit disk utility'...

step 5. hmm.. it's based on 'next', 'proceed', 'accept' and 'next' again scheme.. but when it comes to customizing your installation, select 'customize'.. select the option that u wants or deselect anything that u dont want.. if u're using patched dvd, dont forget to install your SSE3 patch or SSE2 patch (intel patches).. and after that, of course click on proceed to start installing your OSX.. after the installation finishes, your machine will reboot.. dont forget to remove the installation dvd..

step 6. if u get the 'b0 error', u have to reboot your machine again and boot using the installation dvd.. when it comes to the 'press any key to install OSX', press F8 for an advance option.. type '-v -s' (without the quotation mark) and press enter.. after the unix shell loads up, type this commands..

fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 (to enter fdisk program and that's a 0 (zero) not O)
print (to display all partitions)
flag (to make the partition active)
quit (to quit fdisk program and save changes)
reboot (to extract usd500 from your dvdrom.. just kidding.. to restart your computer of course *duh*)

dont forget to take out the installation disk.. only use this step if u're stuck with the 'b0 error'.. if u're not, skip this step..

step 7. after the machine reboots, the user information form is displayed for u to customize your OSX.. first, u have to state your location, and then sets up your keyboard etc..

well, after all that.. voila.. your OSX is ready.. enjoy.. yeay.. thanx akeys..

my machine boots up in less than 10 seconds.. the office machine.. they say that running on intel is slower than the actual Apple machine.. not for me.. anyway, thanx Steve Jobs for making everyone's dreams came true..

smoke gets in my thought..

hmm.. malaysian 2007 budget has been successfully launched by our prime minister.. well, there are a few things i would love to hear and a few things that i dont want to know at all.. of course the happiest news about the budget was the one month bonus salary for civil servants.. actually, i dont know where to categorized myself in that news.. the university i work for is not directly under civil servants category, but it is a semi-government sector.. half government, half public.. anyway, i dont know why, if mr. prime minister says that there will be a bonus salary, accidently, i got it too.. yeay.. err.. that's why i didnt care so much about which sector that i am in, as long as i get the bonus.. but still, i didnt receive any civil servants specialties such as housing loans, car loans n such.. still, i dont care..
the bad news about the 2007 budget was, as always, there will be a price increase for cigarettes.. hmm.. and *sigh*.. 2006's price for Dunhill 20's is (i think the price havent been increase yet) RM7.00.. mr. prime minister said that there will be an increase of 1 cent per cigarette.. hmm.. that means it will be RM7.20 for my Dunhill 20's.. la la la..
i smoke around 10 - 15 cigarettes per day.. well, it depends actually on my mood.. if i'm too concentrate on my work at home, the amount will increase.. if i'm bored, the amount will increase also.. if i felt a bit tension, still, the amount will increase.. it helps me a lot to control my anger and my hypertension problem.. if u know me in real life, u'll probably thinks that i'm a soft spoken and calm.. (err.. i think so).. actually, i was having an anger management issue while on my teenage year.. i'm a hot blooded person, go to hell with the world n such.. somehow, i manage to control myself and learned to appreciated my life and other people's feelings..
back to the topic.. this will be the time for most people i know that didnt like me smoking to say something like "stop smoking laa.. the price has been increase", "make good use of your money laa instead of burning it to buy cigarettes", "u know what u can do with all the money u spent for your ciggies?" n such.. heh.. and as always, all these comments (like my wife always said) it didnt go thru my ears at all.. and i have my own reasons for that.. and here it is..
heh.. while i was 17, i remember that the price for dunhill 20's was around rm3.50.. and it was half the price for the same amount of ciggies today (well, yesterday i think).. and the government are currently holding a campaign on stop smoking called 'Tak Nak' (wtf..?? lol).. but, did u ever notice that how serious was the government running the Tak Nak campaign..?? there's one person wins RM10k for quitting cigarettes for about 5 months or so.. how can u be sure that he quits for good..?? i dont know, but, if i win that prize, after i have quits for 5 months, i'll buy lots of ciggies and laugh at the government while smoking some expensive cigars.. lol.. especially the campaign manager..
anyway, lots of people told me to quit especially my mom.. my wife, hmm.. she didnt say much.. she even offers me to buy me ciggies if she went to the shop while i was still sleeping (that's a part of why i love u kecheq).. lol.. but, did u guys ever think of this situation..
WHAT HAPPENS IF SUDDENLY ALL MALAYSIAN QUITS SMOKING..??
whoaaaaaa.. like that gonna happen.. heh.. but, to think of it, i know there will be a price hike on all the stuff on the market.. did u guys ever realized how much taxes are the ciggies smokers pay to the government to make sure this country running..?? all the building, road maintenance, fuel subsidies n such.. i did even paid for the construction of klcc, putrajaya, bukit jalil national stadium n such.. heh..
as i said before, the price of the same ciggies i smoke while i was 17 was rm3.50 and now it is rm7.00.. the difference was rm3.50.. all of these years, the tax has been increased for more than 200% within 8 years.. if i remember it right, the ciggies price after the rm3.50 for dunhill 20's was rm3.70 and it increases to rm4.20, rm4.50, rm5.40, rm6.30, rm6.50 and now rm7.00.. and i only remember the price for these ciggies during my smoking period.. not to mention the price before that.. hmm..
what if, there will be no more ciggies in the market.. the price for sugar will be rm2.50 per kilo (now it is rm1.50 per kilo).. the price for fuel will go up.. u have to pay rm6.50 for a plate of fried maggi (maggi goreng) or maybe rm2.50 for a piece of roti canai at the sidewalk mamak stall..
heh.. u think about it again.. how much ciggies smokers pays for your daily expenses.. we (the ciggie smokers) pays more taxes than u do to make sure u can have a better living.. we pays our taxes everyday to make sure u have a cheaper maggi goreng and teh tarik.. to make sure u can travel to your destination in cheaper rate.. think of our sacrifices.. dont ask me to quit again.. about my health, it's my health.. if i die, u're the one who spends my insurance money.. not me.. how can i spend it all..?? i'm sure u wouldnt make my tombstone out of gold..
hehehe..
as usual, it is just my tormented thoughts.. and again, i dont want to offend anyone here.. if u do, well, stop reading my blogs.. it's mine.. if u want something nicer, write your own.. lol.. remove me from your bookmark.. dang.. i'm getting emotional.. lol.. and sorry for this another long post.. well, if u dont like it, ..... maybe i should stop writing for now.. ta ta..