2. On my 256 MB system I got an error saying ‘atleast 256 MB required for the installer’. Now my PC has 256 MB so, this error seemed fishy. I had heard a lot about Ubuntu and desperately wanted to give it a go. I googled it and the second result was the answer. If I hadn’t got the result I would have never installed Ubuntu and would have never known the beauty of Ubuntu. I might have even dissuaded others from trying it. Most wouldn’t try much and would give up.

3. Wubi is the most major factor for users to try Ubuntu. Now normally people won’t do partitioning and other stuff. Wubi is one click solution for all. Many people try Ubuntu first on older PC’s with less RAM because XP is too much for it. Now if Wubi won’t allow them to load Ubuntu they will never try Ubuntu again. Note, Wubi can run on systems with less than 256MB with a simple workaround.

4. Not all of your RAM is free all the time. Some of your main memory is allocated to your onboard graphics, that happens with Via Unichrome. So even if you have something like 400 MB RAM and your system (XP+Programs running) uses, say 150 MB, Wubi will give an error message. Now people will think will think the OS sucks so much that it cannot even check the RAM properly and will not install such an OS

I have posted this idea on Ubuntu Brainstorm, http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/10786/

Also Read:

Install Ubuntu Hardy Heron on PC with less than 256 MB RAM

Fun Shortcuts:

Try Alt+Tab and enjoy zooming through all the softwares you are running right now. For more entertainment you might want to pimp it up with free Windows Alt-Tab power-toy.

Vista has a cool feature which lets you shuffle through the open programs like a pack of cards, the windows shortcut for it is Win+Tab. XP users can get the taste of it by using a cool free software WinFlip which provides the same functionality. Hell it runs fine even on crap system (I used it fine on measly 256 Mb RAM)

Work Shortcuts:

It happens many times, every once in a while you happily open MS Word to type that one odd document you have to type. After typing for about 10-15 min suddenly the PC freezes up and depending on your luck nine times out of ten you end up losing that document simply because you didn’t save it. Most of us have the habit of saving the document at the last correction. However if you imbibe the habit of saving the document after writing the heading you will never ever lose your work again. Also remember this God sent shortcut ‘Ctrl+S’, it saves whatever work you have done up till that point of time. Fall into this habit of pressing ‘Ctrl+S’ every time you want to take a break from typing. Trust me it helps a lot!

Many of you who may be having naughty kids at home must know the frustration of leaving the PC unattended with kids; they wreck all your work while your backs are turned. So every time you have to attend a call or take coffee break press ‘Win+L’. It will take your PC to the login screen (All your programs will be left as they are) to access the PC you will require the password.

Oops!! I did it again:

It happens to all of us. You want to do something but end up doing something else. Well if that’s the case with you try this shortcut ‘Ctrl+Z’, it undo’s (if that’s a word) whatever action you have taken. So if you have accidentally deleted a file this thing can whip it back for you.

Secrecy Shortcuts:

I’m sure this never happens to you: You’re looking at something diverse and interesting on the computer when someone else walks into the room. Do you panic? Do you freak out and yell at them? Or, do you quickly and stealthily

know how to hide the entire contents of the screen? Hopefully, you know the trick to instantly hide everything on the screen: Press the ‘Win+M’ key combination, where Win is the Windows key. Win+M automatically minimizes every open window and leaves only the desktop displayed. Alas, you have no Win+M key equivalent if your computer’s keyboard

lacks a Windows key. The mouse equivalent for this command is to right-click the taskbar and choose Minimize All Windows from the pop-up menu. Alas, sometimes that’s just too slow. Oh, you can always switch off the monitor, though that tends to arouse suspicion. ‘Win+D’ too does the same thing.

Full Screen Shortcuts:

For Firefox users try pressing F11 for browsing nirvana. Each and every pixel of your monitor is used to display the webpage, move over toolbars. Also if you want full screen slide show for Windows Picture and Fax Viewer press F11.

Guys don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a Linux bashing blog. I have been using Ubuntu Hardy Heron and love its simplicity. Compiz is the most coolest thing ever on PC. Even more cooler than those shiny, white Macs. Apart from gaming I use Ubuntu most of the time. I am curious about Intrepid Ibex. Hope more cool softwares are added in. The thing I’m most interested in is the new theme change we all were expecting. I am personally hoping for Vista like theme. All black, sleek and shiny with those transparent borders. Or some thing like PCLinuxOS. However the first screen shots of Ibex Alpha 1 have put all ‘Hoping for a Great Theme’ thoughts away from my mind. In one word I’d describe the alpha theme as ‘Ugly’. I cannot understand Ubuntu’s theme makers obsession with brown. Guys brown is one of the ugliest colors on earth for a desktop, why don’t you experiment with black, silver or some other color? At lest looking at the current work Ibex is surely going to look one hell of an OS.

Will it stop me from using Ubuntu? No, I’ll quickly change over to the glossy theme, which according to me is the best theme for Ubuntu. And if Mr. Shuttleworth is reading this, good work keep on going strong and please change the ugly color. Apart from that Ubuntu Rox!!!

Here are few reviews of Ibex alpha 1:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-8-10-Alpha-1-Screenshot-Tour-89049.shtml

http://phorolinux.com/ubuntu-810-intrepid-ibex-alpha-1-screenshots.html

http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/First_Look:_Ubuntu_Intrepid_Ibex_Alpha_1

PS: Read the comments.

I have recently started using Ubuntu and must say I’m really impressed and love it more than Windows. Now as in any other OS Ubuntu too is also customizable, but who wants to get their hands dirty?

Now Ubuntu Tweak is a utility created to make it easier for users to configure and change a variety of system settings. You can use it to quickly adjust settings for GNOME Panel, Compiz, and Nautilus, along with some more advanced security settings.

My favorite are the options to enable advanced features in Ubuntu and the option to change the location of the default system folders like My Documents, My Images, etc. I’ve changed them to point to their Windows counterparts. So now my Ubuntu and XP have the same My Music, My Documents folders. Ubuntu Tweak is a small software, around 250Kb

All in all this is a wonderful application and a must have for every one who uses Ubuntu. Also Ubuntu Tweak’s author TualatriX has promised me that he has added even more cool features in the upcoming version 0.3.2

Download Ubuntu Tweak here

if it doesn’t work go to this download page: http://ubuntu-tweak.com/downloads

Celestia is a free download and is available for Windows, Mac OSX and for Linux. The download for Windows weighs in at around 14 MB. Celestia is an Open Source project and Open Soure rules!

Celestia can be downloaded here

The URL of the page is http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

Few extensions and download managers exist which can sift through the crap and give you the url to download the actual video. However there is one inherent flaw in this process. Youtube doesn’t have download resume feature. So if your internet connection suddenly went kaput midway you will have to stat all over again. Also the file downloaded is in .FLV format which most players can’t play. So here are few free and great ways to download the videos of Youtube and other sites and that too in a format which you want, .AVI, .MOV etc.

Step 1:

Go to the Youtube web page of the video you want and copy the complete url ( http://www.youtube.com/zzxgvd)

Step 2:

Go to http://www.zamzar.com

Step 3:

Select the option "Convert from url" and paste the url in the ‘box’.

Step 4:

Select the appropriate format yuo want. ( .MOV works best, size vs quality)

Step 5:

Type your email address and go to your inbox to find the video ready for downloading.

or you may want to check out http://vixy.net to do the same thing, without giving your email id.

Have fun.

You might like to view this short video too:

Apart from entertainment there are other several more benefits. Want to buy movie tickets? Want to know where the nearest restaurant is? Want to settle that trivia bet you have with your friend then and there? Or would you rather snuggle up in your bed at night and read ghost stories -­­­­­­­ mobile internet can do it all. But using internet on cell can be a real frustrating experience too. The small screens, constant side scrolling, and slow speeds can act as a deterrent for you. So here are two mobile browsers which work on most java supported mobiles.

Opera Mini:

If you have ever tried to use wap you must have experienced the frustration we all have faced. The tiny screen coupled with the worthless browser makes things as though as they get. Thankfully the guys at Opera, Norway have found a way to make things better. The only and the best way to surf internet from mobile is Opera mini. It is small, fast and efficient. Opera Mini uses a remote server to pre-process Web pages before sending them to your phone. Web content is compressed to reduce the size of data transferred, enabling handling on simpler phones and creating fast browsing at low costs. The latest version has made mobile browsing even better, it is so fast that pages load faster than on a PC. Opera mini uses small screen rendering to display web pages. It also has a virtual mouse to help in scrolling; the mouse cursor will look for content and links, and snap the view to them. No registration is required for downloading.

Opera Mini 4.1 lets you have the full Web everywhere. This newest release includes several new features, including automatic completion of Web addresses, making it easier to get to the sites you need; tools for attaching files to Web-based email; uploading photos to your blog or other site; downloading attachments from email for storage on your phone; and saving and viewing pages offline.

New in Opera Mini 4.1

Prior to this release, we upgraded our servers and Opera Mini now receives your requested Web pages up to 50% faster. So you can now access sites like Facebook, BBC, and any of your other favorite Web sites even faster, with Desktop-like speeds.

Find things faster

The new Opera Mini 4.1 lets you search for text within a Web page so you can get to the information you need even quicker than before.

Get to your Web sites faster

When typing Web addresses, Opera Mini 4.1 will recognize and suggest completions for you based on your bookmarks and browsing history, making address input faster, easier and much more intuitive.

Download and upload files

On phones with JSR-75, you can now upload and download files using Opera Mini 4.1, without being re-routed to your phone’s native browser. Update your blog while on the go. Upload photos to your Web site or social network. Add attachments easily to Web-based email, and download other non media-rich content to your phone using Opera Mini 4.1.

Save it for later

On phones with JSR-75, Opera Mini 4.1 lets you save pages for offline viewing so you can quickly access and read your desired Web content, even when you’re on a plane, in the subway, or in other places where you can’t get network reception. Depending on your phone, you may need to choose a destination folder for storing pages for offline viewing.

Download Opera Mini here

TeaShark Browser:

This one is still in beta but seems to be the closest to match Opera. In features and performance it is almost matches Opera Mini. The best feature is tabbed browsing. Yes you read it right, TeaShark supports tabbed browsing. I tried it while it was in its alphas and I wasn’t so amused however recently I tried the beta and was surprised at the amount of features the developers had managed to bundle in this tiny app. Some are not found in Opera Mini.

Full Web for your mobile phone

TeaShark renders web pages the same way as desktop browsers. It’s no more mobile web with hardly any content. Your favorite sites are the same on your phone and the desktop.

Navigate intuitively

There’s an intelligent mouse for easy navigation. The cursor jumps to the next link to click, saving you the trouble. Navigate as fast or slow as you need with page up and down, left and right shortcuts. Jump to content: the display snaps to the text you’re reading.

2-level zoom

TeaShark has unique 2-level zooming. The first level is for fine scrolling with reading capabilities, while the second is for quick jumping from section to section. You’ll never be lost on the page.

Landscape

Go sideways for a more natural feel. TeaShark can rotate the page 90 degrees to landscape mode.

Multiple tabs and history

Tabs is a must for any browser. TeaShark has it. You can open a link in a tab and access it the same way as you would access your browsing history. You can easily slide back and forth, up and down. TeaShark also remembers your last session and when you start it up again, your browsing and tab history is there as you left it the last time.

Bookmark management with color tagging

Color tagging helps you to keep your favorite pages organized. There are 8 pre-defined colors from which you can choose from.

Enhanced click and search

With desktop-like text selection and phone number recognition.

And many more features

Including smart web address entry, find text, built-in web search, RSS reader, in-line editing, permanent history, you name it.

Faster, smaller and better

With about 120 kB, TeaShark packs more features than any of its competitors. But that’s not all! TeaShark server has gone through a major upgrade to fix the bugs reported by alpha users. The new beta server is based on WebKit3, the same engine used by Safari 3 in Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard". It’s more robust and much faster than it has ever been.

Tabbed browsing and page thumbnails

Tabbed browsing is a great way to improve productivity, and it couldn’t be easier to use tabs in TeaShark.

You can enter a url or open a link in another tab. Switching tabs also becomes easy with the page thumbnail support. As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words", TeaShark pimps out your tabs and browsing history by showing real thumbnails of the pages.

Remember your browsing session

TeaShark saves your browsing history, including tabs, when you exit and restores it automatically when you start up the browser again. It makes multitasking easy for you, when you need to switch between TeaShark and your phone.

Manage your bookmarks with color tags

Color tagging is an innovative way to group your bookmarks. In TeaShark, you can assign multiple color tags to a bookmark and share the very same bookmark among several groups. Mission impossible for traditional bookmark folders.

Click, search and call

TeaShark allows you to select text right out of the page and search them with your favorite search engine, saving you tedious and painful typing on mobile. If you see a phone number on the page, you can make a call right from the browser too. All you need to do is just to click and call. Yes, it’s that easy!

Editing in page and auto-complete

In TeaShark, you can type text directly into input boxes, without switching to phone’s native editor. Should you need to use the native editor to enter special characters, you can just click the input box. Even better, all your input is remembered so that next time, TeaShark automatically fills the box as you type.

Not just a browser

TeaShark seamlessly works with native applications in your phone to accomplish tasks beyond its capability. You can click a download link in any page and TeaShark will launch your phone’s built in browser to download the file for you. If your phone supports streaming video, you can use TeaShark to point at the video’s link and play it in your phone’s media player.

Go and download it here.

Have fun with mobile internet!