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Sunday, November 22, 2009

The karmic koala...

I've been postponing my upgrade from hardy heron to karmic koala for a long time. But because my laptop disk crash, somehow i've been forced to do it anyway :) So here is my experience...

Installation

The installation was easy and fast. Since I'm installing to another hardisk (used windows disk), i just used the default option and wipe the whole content of the disk.

After successfully installing karmic koala, now comes the detail part. I need to restore my data, since my previous hardisk luckily can be mount using ubuntu live cd, i just copy my home folder to a backup directory in the new one.

There's one problem though. Because in my previous installation I've installed Wine emulator, somehow some of my file was copied more than once. From the real path and from the wine path. Since i don't use Wine any longer, i think its better to remove .wine folder before start copying your old file.

Another thing you should notice when copying your old file is, you better do it with sudo. Because some of my file was created by root id, it failed to copy to the backup folder.

Program List - part 1

Before starting to install the programs there's one thing i like to mention. I use to manually modify the apt source list using vi to point to my favorite repository. But now i can do that through the synaptic manager repository settings. Since my favorite repository is available, one click would do the trick instead of copying several lines in the /etc/apt/sources.list :)
(a bit OOT, my favorite repository is dl2.foss-id.web.id, its blazing fast)

Here's the minimum list of program that i need to install after i finished my karmic installation :

- openssh
- pidgin
- rar plugin
- thunderbird mail client
- exaile (yes we can't live without mp3 anyomore :P)
- sun java 6


few of my own notes. Karmic comes with empathy as the default IM client. But it still lack many things, especially proxy option. Thats why i still need to install pidgin. Thunderbird is my default my client (and probably most people), Evolution is simply not my thing.

And for Exaile, i was using Amarok. But since it load many KDE library, i was looking for another alternative. Exaile seems nice enough. But the most important thing i missed from Amarok is the key binding to start and stop music using windows- z through b. If only another player incorpoorate this :(

The plugins

Yes, its not enough to simply install the programs, now everything come as a plugin :) For me it quite straigh forward, all i need is :

- Flash plugins, Flash Blocker Plugins, Ad Block Plus Plugin and Firebug plugins for my Firefox
- gstreamer for playing mp3 and mpeg files


Restoring

Well one thing i like about Firefox and Thunder bird, to restore all of your mail folder, rss, bookmark, etc. All you need to do is copy the old file and overwrite the old configuration. For thunderbird is a simple as this. copy the content of .mozilla-thunderbird from the old to the new one, open thunderbird and see all of your mail back to where it belongs. You can delete the new profile if you like.

For firefox you need to copy .mozilla/firefox/profiles.ini and .mozilla/firefox/[old profile folder] from the old one to the new one. I was using 3.0 and now 3.5 and the transition is very smoth, i even got my previous opened tab and history just like in my old hard disk :D


The UI

The default Karmic UI still feels somewhat clunky for my taste, so its time to tune it a little bit. I like putting all of bar on one place, preferably bottom. You used to able to do this by dragging the bar. But now you need to right click on the bar, choose properties, and choose the orientation to bottom.

The default ubuntu font is an eyesore to my taste, you can download your own font. There are 2 font that i like to mention, first is the sun font, the sans and serif is quite good. But for my karmic i like to try a new font, the droid font.

The droid font was designed for small system, so even in small display it doesn't break or become clunky. It fit perfeclty for my 14" laptop screen. To install it you just need too look for ttf-droid in the synaptic package manager.

After installing the droid font, you need to configure the appearance through System > Preference > Appearance > Fonts. My configuration is :
- Application fonts Droid Sans Japanese 8
- Document fonts Droid Sans Japanese 8
- Desktop fonts Droid Sans Japanese 8
- Window title fonts Droid Sans Bold 8
- Fixed width font Monospace 10

you need to change a little thing on Firefox to give it the finishing touch. Just go through firefox Edit > Preference > Content > Font. My Configuration is :
- Proportional Serif 15
- Serif Serif
- Sans-Serif Sans-Serif
- Monospace monospace 12


and Voila ... My Karmic Desktop is Prettier than my windows desktop :D

with this settings I've managed to continue my work, the other could be updated piece by piece, and here's some of the advanced part i've managed to set on the weekend.

Notification

Karmic comes with a new centralized notification, sometimes it can be very annoying, especially when you're using pidgin. It keeps popping every time my buddy sign on, combined with bad network, its a living hell for working. To solve this you need to configure your pidgin like this. Go to Tool ->Plugins -> 'Libnotify popups' -> Configure Plugin . And then remove 'Buddy signs on' checkbox.


LILO

My laptop is lenovo 3000 N200. Since Hardy Heron I've always get this problem. My DVD isn't detected on my Ubuntu, the funny thing I'm able to use the DVD for installation or using live cd.

It turn out i'm not the only one, lots of people having this kind of problem with this lenovo series. One of the solution is to set ACPI off in boot time, but has the risk of damaging the laptop in the long run. So i choose the other solution replacing grub with lilo as the boot loader.

Installing lilo is quite easy :
- Make sure you have live cd ready just incase anything happens
- Just go through synaptic and download the lilo package.
- Backup your /etc/fstab to lets say ~/backup/fstab.backup.
- Modify the fstab files so lilo would work, since lilo hasn't been updated to recognize UUID for the boot partition, you need to restore it to the old fasion way. For example like this

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
#
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/sda1 / ext4 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1 <--- the changes
#UUID=ca06fd83-becb-4012-8579-9e65662c9ef0 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1

# /dev/sda2
UUID=948b4626-2f62-40c0-bc92-6ee8b69af42e /media/hda2 reiserfs defaults 0 2


- after that run sudo liloconf, since i didn't use grub anymore i just rewrite the MBR
- and then restart

And finaly my DVD worked and I've managed to backup my work :D

One thing, the default lilo is very slow comparing to grub. It took about 2-3 minute to start while grub could do under 1 minute. There's a way to speed up Lilo boot up time, by using the compact mode. You just need to type this as root,

lilo -c -v

see /etc/lilo.conf and make sure there's line saying compact and its not commented. Then lilo would boot up pretty fast. Comparable with grub, the side note is, this solution is intended for FD, could have some problem with old hardware. But since my laptop is not that old, so far i haven't had a problem with it.

Network Management Applet

Well this is another pain in the ass , but this has been a very long post. So lets leave it as it is and save it for another time :D

- Adeu -

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Human Cerberus

I Get It ! What's this annoying feeling that has been hogging me all day. The sudden extra work by the weekend, staying late with some meeting, especially in the special day. Sudden appearance of someone that i though long gone. And finally coming home 9.30 PM. So tired ... mentally. Just wanna scream that today sucks !

But tonight I finally understand what tonight is about. Is about the people that even though I'm being ignorant, I'm being selfish, annoying and some time ... hurt them, but still care about me. Years apart, but they still say hi, and happy birthday!

In other words, tonight is about the people that is most important to me...

-=My Friends=-

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Peace....

The Questions

Hm... how to start.

Sebetulnya kejadiannya sudah beberapa bulan yang lalu. Salah seorang junior gw menanyakan masalah terkait agama di milis alumni. Sebetulnya menurut gw milis itu bukan tempat yang tepat untuk menanyakan hal seperti itu.

Yang jelas, pada saat itu gw tidak berniat menjawab pertanyaanya. Karena milis itu yang isinya PHD, master , orang2 cum laude, bagi gw yang orang biasa2 aja, terlalu merepotkan untuk menulis sesuatu yang serius dan mendalam. Apalagi kalau hanya akan dilihat dari satu sisi saja, blind logic.

Kalau dipikir, pertanyaan junior gw itu mungkin mirip sekali dengan pertanyaan gw di masa lampau. Kalau tuhan itu begitu perkasa, kenapa begitu banyak koruptor di negara ini ? Kalau tuhan itu maha penyayang, mengapa begitu banyak suffering di dunia ini ? mengapa anak yang terlantar, teraniaya, tidak bisa makan tampak dimana-mana ? Kalau tuhan itu adil, mengapa jika seseorang berhasil melalui sebuah cobaan, maka seseorang akan diberi cobaan yang jauh lebih berat ? Sampai kapan ? Sampai orang itu tidak sanggup lagi ? Then, what's the point ......

Jawaban yang ada di kepala gw saat itu adalah jawaban yang reaktif. Sarat dengan muatan emosi dan dogma-dogma yang mungkin sudah berulang kali di dengar oleh si penanya. Mungkin... itu juga hal yang membuat kemalasan gw untuk membalas emailnya semakin kuat. kalau akan berujung di hal yang sama, menjadi debat kusir tanpa hasil, its just a waste of time.

The Answer


Kebenaran akan datang, tidak bisa ditebak dari mana arah datangnya. Kebimbangan seseorang yang dilontarkan disebuah milis, mungkin malah mendatangkan lebih banyak manfaat bagi diri gw dari pada si penanya. With that said, ada satu hal yang membuat gw teringat kejadian berbulan-bulan lalu itu. Sebuah kutipan pemahaman dari salah seorang mualaf di kolom republika :

Tuhan itu satu, tapi Dia mempunyai 99 nama yang melambangkan sifat-Nya.Perilaku Tuhan dalam Islam, melambangkan nama-nama itu. Kenapa Allah menghukum, karena dia mempunyai sifat Adil. Namun, Dia juga pemaaf Ghafur juga rahman dan rahim


Yah jawaban yang begitu sederhana, pengetahuan yang sudah lama gw miliki, asmaul husna. Perbedaannya adalah, pemahaman gw mengenai hal ini meningkat sedikit dibanding beberapa bulan lalu.

Hal-hal yang tidak terjelaskan itu, bukan lah sebuah efek dari sebuah perbuatan, atau impact dari suatu kondisi sebab-akibat. Manusia dengan arogannya terlalu sering 'Me-manusia-kan' tuhannya. Berbeda dengan manusia yang terkungkung dalam pilihan, dan terbius oleh pengetahuan. Dia adalah yang maha kuasa.


The advice

Kalau boleh dengan segala keterbatasan yang ada, gw diizinkan menyumbangkan sebuah saran. Seandainya kamu terjebak dalam keadaan seperti ini (semua manusia sepertinya melalui fase ini). Saran gw adalah :

Janganlah bertanya ke sembarang tempat. Dan jika kebutuhan akan jawaban hal itu sudah begitu kritis. Maka mulailah sebuah perjalanan, perjalanan spiritual mencari sebuah jawaban hakiki. Tetapi awal dan dasar perjalanan itu haruslah benar. Mulai dengan dasar keimanan, faith, bahwa yang Islam ajarkan adalah kebenaran. Jangan terjebak dengan logika, membuang segala sesuatu, memulai dari nol dan mencoba membandingkan segala sesuatu dengan metode ilmiah. Karena landasan dari agama dan alam semesta ini adalah keimanan.

Karena jika kamu terjebak, yang terjadi adalah kamu akan menuhankan logika. Membuat agama baru dengan memilih hal yang kamu sukai, mencampurkannya dengan ajaran lain, atau bahkan akhirnya... meniadakan tuhan. Karena tuhan yang tidak masuk akal dan tidak logis, bukanlah tuhan.

Dan jika perjalanan sudah dimulai dengan benar, banyaklah membaca untuk menambah pemahaman bukan pengetahuan mu. Menjadi kritis terhadap penjelasan yang ada dengan memanfaatkan logika untuk menemukan mata rantai selanjutnya untuk memahami ajaran yang begitu indah ini. Jadikan Al-qur'an dan terjemahannya sebagai penunjuk arah, dan keheningan malam untuk melihat makna yang tersirat dibalik tulisan-tulisan itu. All of that, will lead you to the right place ... And eventually, in time, the wisdom will come to you.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

When september comes...

Let this be a reminder, i can't sleep well for 2 days because of this next presentation. My stomach acid fluid acting up. They've asked to much at the last minute, so many things have happened in the past week.

From a simple informal meeting, into a large workshop attended by the divisions head. Maybe its better if i don't give a damn with the sudden changes and act according to the previous scenario.

So, when September comes, i will have my answer. I was never meant for this, i only accept it to challenge my self. So when the challenge is over, no need to make the rest of my life miserable. The fortune, may sway me a bit. But here here, when September comes, just say what you really feel.

Its time to say enough !

1 tahun berlalu...

Satu tahun lagi telah berlalu, dan kembali gw berada di posisi yang sama. Kalau dulu gw punya sedikit justifikasi, bahwa gw butuh belajar dunia yang berbeda. 1 tahun memang bisa dibilang terlalu singkat, tetapi 1 tahun ini begitu banyak perubahan yang gw alami. Begitu banyak hal baru yang gw pelajari. Kalau gw gak mengambil keputusan itu 1 tahun lalu. Mungkin wawasan gw bakal tetap sempit dan tidak bisa terbuka sampai 5 tahun kedepan.

Tetapi sekarang pertanyaan yang sama kembali berulang. What do you want to do. Beranikah untuk melepas kemapanan, demi satu hal yang lebih berharga di atas uang.

Kebebasan dan kebahagiaan.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Arrivals

I've got 4 days holiday from the 21'st, so I've got lots of free time, lots. There were some plan I've made prior to the holiday, but it turn out i was suck by this series.

I've got it from another source, but you can find the complete list at the http://www.rapidshare.com/users/CEG2E or go to the www.wakeupproject.com.

I don't expect people to believe this as the only truth, even me view it with lots of skepticism. But even though i don't expect people to see it as the only truth, I'm praying that they can at least see it as a possibility of the truth.

And this series has given me some insight of some of the action that i want to take :
- Be moderate, not following any extreme view, while preparing my self with knowledge
- Finding more info about new Free Energy and to duplicate it in my own life
- Gradually try to be come less dependent to the system
- Finding way that only good people would lead us, not the people that has been corrupted by the system
- And lastly the more realistic and greatly impact my life. Not continuing my work to the new office. Since if i follow that path, there's only one future that i can see. My self getting deeper-and-deeper drag to the trap of the materialism of this world.

Its time to wake up.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Goodbye

12.01 ...

baru saja selesai menonton ending scrubs, setelah 8 tahun. Jadi teringat waktu terakhir kali nonton friends. I'm always a sucker for this kind of things. Its hard to say goodbye to things that you really love, especially the things that could make you laugh when ever you're feeling down.

Jadi teringat waktu harus mengucapkan perpisahan, sd, smp, sma (one of the hardest, they say high school is the best time of our life), and then college. And after that, its all about work.

Waktu pertama kali harus pindah, memang menakutkan, tetapi itu karena pengalaman pertama. Dan juga begitu banyak kekhawatiran tentang apa sesudah ini, bagaimana masa depan yang menanti di luar sana. Would it be kind ? Or does it gonna make me into somebody i didn't like.

Dan tempat kerja sebelum sekarang, walaupun begitu berat untuk meninggalkan lingkungan yang begitu menyenangkan. Tetapi rasa sedih tidak terlalu terasa, karena gw tahu setiap kali ingin berkunjung, they welcome me anytime, and besides its only across the streets from my current workplace.

Suatu saat gw pasti meninggalkan tempat kerja yang sekarang. Tetapi sudah jelas, saat yang paling berat adalah saat meninggalkan tempat kerja sebelum tempat kerja sebelum ini. Kantor pertama setelah lulus.

Tiga tahun, walaupun teman-teman yang lain sudah lebih dulu pergi dan gw staff terakhir yang berhenti. Tetapi tetap saja, hari terakhir gw ada disana, gw tinggal hingga malam. Mengenang hari-hari yang gw lalui di setiap suduk kantor itu. I even take pictures of the empty office.

So ... gw gak bisa membayangkan bagaimana rasanya harus mengucapkan perpisahan setelah bekerja bersama-sama setelah 8 tahun. But all things have to come to an end, even good things :)

Dan mengingat satu lagi perpisahan yang masih menghantui gw. Dua hari lalu adalah peringatan 5 tahun meninggalnya bokap gw. Damn! untuk menulis satu kalimat itu aja beratnya minta ampun. Entah kenapa tahun ini nyokap gak ngajak ke makam, walaupun sempat disinggung sebentar waktu ngobrol. Mungkin karena ngeliat gw cape dengan kerjaan kantor, adik-adik gw juga sedang gak ada di rumah.

Mereka bilang semua akan berlalu seiring waktu. Gw gak tahu, mungkin 5 tahun bukanlah waktu yang cukup untuk perpisahan seperti ini. Walaupun gw orang yang memiliki harga diri tinggi untuk selalu menyelesaikan masalah sendiri. Nilai yang tertanam dalam diri gw semenjak kecil. Tetapi kehilangan seseorang yang walaupun tidak berkata apa-apa, but you know, if you ask, he will be there.

Satu tonggak yang bisa terlihat dimanapun gw berada. Truly, the future seems so dark and scary after he's gone. I'm so scared of goodbye and getting hurt, so I've been preparing my self to live life like zombies. But all of this reminiscing make me read this blog all over again. And little bit here and there I see changes in me. So even though I'm barely hanging on now.
I promise..... one day, one day ....

I will be alright.