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Ubuntu 10.10 and ATI Radeon HD 6870

So, quite some time ago I made the mistake of buying the ATI Radeon HD 6870 without first checking if it would play nice with my Ubuntu 10.10 desktop.
Turned out it didn’t 🙁

But now, there are proprietary Linux drivers released by ATI/AMD

First, you should update your system (just to be sure).

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
If you’ve been using older drivers, remove them.

sudo apt-get remove –purge xserver-xorg-video-radeon
Download the install package from the AMD suppot pages and make it executable

chmod +x ati-driver-installer*.run
Run the installer as sudo-user

sudo ./ati-driver-installer*.run
Reboot

Enjoy!

The Linux 2.6.38 kernel carries the ATI Radeon HD 6000 open source support. (just fyi!)
If you encounter problems or found this post helpful, it would be nice to leave a comment below.
This way, I can adjust it to the needs of my readers.

Nasty little OpenSSH Bug

So I’ve been using my Targa NT9231 as a home sever (Running Ubuntu 10.10 server edition) for a while now.
It’s been serving several purposes such as internal webserver, irssi, monitoring and tunneling/proxy server.

As all wise people should do, I’ve been using OpenSSH to connect to it.
Solely connected to it from my netbook, as my desktop Ubuntu computer died after the purchase of a new ATI (curse you) Graphics card.
But now, I managed to revive my desktop (yay!) and wanted to log in on my server.
Setted up the key and wanted to transfer it to my authorized hosts file… but that gave me a bloody error:

Permission denied (publickey).

So I started to digg around and checked filepermissions, ssh_config file etc… But all seemed ok.
But then I found this little nasty openSSH Bug on launchpad.

Simply running “ssh-add” on the client fixed the problem!

Ssh-add adds identities to the authentication agent, ssh–agent. When run without arguments, it adds the file %HOME%/.ssh/identity. Alternative file names can be given on the command line. If any file requires a passphrase, ssh-add asks for the passphrase from the user.

I’m not sure how this could’ve helped, but hey, its a workaround that actually works 🙂

Politics in Belgium are grinding my gears

I’m not sure how to blog about this without giving the wrong impression.
Last year, when I was in Spain, I had a talk with people from all around the world about Belgian politics.
What I found was some bizarre mix from people not knowing what/where Belgium was to people that were worried about our upcoming civil war.

To make this clear, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN UPCOMING CIVIL WAR IN BELGIUM! That’s just some reporter or news agency trying to make themselves more interesting than they are.
Like half of the country speaks French and the other part speaks Dutch. That’s all there is.
That’s no big deal. In India, they have 7 different languages, in Spain they have 2, etc… (put them in the comment below if you know some more examples)

The only downside of this, is that politicians use this to make a name for themselves.
The language issue is being milked out by unprofessional politicians that don’t want to do their job!
To clarify this, it’s already been 212 days that we’re without a Government.
Somehow, most of the people in Belgium don’t seem to care anymore. Which is a bad thing 🙁

This video (dutch) explains exactly how I feel about the matter:

This guy is asking for the people to go out and demonstrate to let the politicians know, we’re not paying them for sitting around pointing fingers.
And I think, he’s damn right!

Create a .gif with The Gimp

This is requested by my dearly beloved mom, so I’ll keep it simple and mom-friendly.

The things you’ll need:

A Computer
The Gimp (Windows & Linux compatible)
Some pictures/images (preferably of the same size)
A (very basic) knowledge of what a .gif is
A .gif is actually a little slideshow of images.
5 minutes time
or 10, depending on how fast you can switch between open windows.

Get started:

Open up The Gimp
I suppose I don’t have to explain how to do this?
Open up the folder where the images are that you want to be inside the animated image
Drag’n’drop the first image into the big empty Gimp window (the image you want to be displayed first in your ‘presentation’)
If the order of the images don’t matter, just select all the images and drag’n’drop em all at once.
- Press, and hold down, the button on the mouse or other pointing device, to “grab” the object,
- “Drag” the object/cursor/pointing device to the desired location,
- “Drop” the object by releasing the button.
Drag’n’drop the second image into the big empty Gimp window (the image you want to be displayed as second in your ‘presentation’)
Drag’n’drop the third image into the big empty Gimp window (the image you want to be displayed as third in your ‘presentation’)
Drag’n’drop the fourth image …. ok, you’ll get it now!
Continue doing this till you’ve dragged all your images in to that window.
You can check how many and which images are already in there in the Layer window.
Open it by clicking ctrl+l or going to file\dialogs\layers.
Click “File” in the top menu
Click “Save As”
Choose a location where to save the final .gif file
choose a filename that ends with “.gif ” (eg. “ChoopDaWhoop.gif”, without the quotes ofc.)
Select “Save as Animation”
Fill in the comment, or just un-check it. (probably no-one will ever read it)
Select “Loop Forever”
Choose a delay value (this will set the time before switching to another image)
Check out the image at point 13
Click save
Profit!

Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) Release Party Ghent is under construction

It’s official! There will be a Release Party for the Ubunu 10.04 (codename Lucid Lynx) in Ghent.

I’ve just send out the news to the mailing list of Ubuntu-be and the Whitespace to confirm that i’ll organise the release party for the upcoming LTS version of Ubuntu.
The event will take place Thursday the 13th of May in the Whitespace.
I’m still looking for people whom have some knowledge of something Ubuntu-related and have the guts to give a lightningtalk or a demo.
At the moment of writing, I’ve had 1 confirmation from a guy with Balls! Mandel.
He did a talk about desktopcouch at fosdem this year, and will bring an improved version of that to the Release party.
If you have questions, let me know.
I’m available at the #Ubuntu-be channel on freenode, or just PM me (mimor) or use the comment section below.

The sent mail in English:

Hello to all.
>
> I organize a RP on the 13th of May in honor of the Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid)
> release.
> This is indeed a Thursday 🙂 but that’s an official holiday and lot’s of
> the people don’t have to work on Friday.
> What time it’ll take place is yet to be decided.
>
> The RP will take place in the Whitespace (Blekerijstraat 75, Gent,
> Belgium)
> For people wondering what the Whitespace is: http://0x20.be
>
> The space has: power, network, internet, drinks, snacks, beamer, couches
> and I hope we can repair the coffee-machine by then.
> People whom want something else, mention it.
>
> The program is still under construction.
> This moment, my receipt looks like this:
>
> Around 13h we’ll serve a light meet & greet to loosen up the nerves.
> Next, we’ll stimulate the senses wit a series of lightning talks
> accompanied by a spicy serving of freshly cut tips.
> As the Spécial-du-chéf, you can enjoy some trial-and-error-sauce topped
> hands-on sessions.
>
> This part is for sure, but the rest is still work in progress!
>
> This is the rest:
>
> – design of Posters, flyers and web-banners
> – do you know someone, or want to present something yourself? Go for it
> & let me know.
> – spread the word! To your friends, colleagues, your student-club, etc..
> – the pleasure to have YOU with us!
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike Morraye

Or in Dutch:

>
> Hallo iedereen.
>
> Ik organiseer Donderdag, 13 Mei 2010 een RP voor Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid).
> Dit is inderdaad een donderdag 🙂 Maar het is een feestdag en vrijdag is
> voor velen dus een brug-dag.
> Van hoe laat tot hoe laat is nog te beslissen.
>
> De RP gaat door in de Whitespace (Blekerijstraat 75, Gent, Belgium)
> Voor wie wil weten wat dit is: http://0x20.be
>
> Locatie heeft: stroomvoorziening, netwerk, internet, (fris-) drank,
> versnaperingen, beamer, zetels en hopelijk kunnen we tegen dan ook de
> koffiezet herstellen.
> Wie nog iets anders wil, laat het gerust weten 😉
>
> Het programma in nog in ontwikkeling.
> Op dit moment zit m’n recept er zo uit:
>
> Rond 13h serveren we een luchtige meet & greet om de zenuwen wat los te
> weken. Hierna prikkelen we de zintuigen met een reeks van pittige
> lightningtalks vergezeld van een portie vers gesneden tips.
> Als spécial du chéf, kunnen de fijnproevers genieten van enkele hands-on
> sessies overgoten met een sausje trial & error.
>
> Dit stuk is zeker, de rest is work in progress!
>
> Hier dus de rest:
>
> – ontwerp Poster & flyer en/of web-banners?
> – ken je iemand, of wil je zelf iets presenteren. Go for it & let me
> know.
> – Spread the word! In je vriendenkring, op het werk, in je
> studentenclub, etc…
> – het genoegen dat JIJ er ook bent!
>
> Mvg,
>
> Mike Morraye

Whitespace opening soon in Ghent!

Just got read this mail on the Ubuntu-be mailinglist and thought it would be a nice idea to post it here too 🙂

A bit off topic for this list, but there are a lot of ubuntu/fos-users
in the space,
so I assumed this can be interesting for ubuntu users.

Whitespace would like to invite you to its opening weekend 19-21 March.

When: From Friday 19th of March to Sunday the 21st.

Where: Blekerijstraat 75, Gent, Belgium

Whitespace is the first hackerspace in Ghent and will be opening its doors
for the first time on the weekend of 19-21 March. The space is ready for
launch, but far from finished: we’ve got a roof, multiple walls, and some
cat5 and now we need more people to have fun with.

Don’t know what a “hackerspace” is? Check http://hackerspaces.org 😉

We hope to see you drop by.

The (dynamic) agenda[0]:
————————————

Friday:
20:00: Opening drink, see the space, meet the locals, fun hacker partygames.

Saturday:
14:00 : OpenWRT presentation: a big os for small devices.
15:00 : Flashing for fun & profit:
1 Bring your compatible wireless router[1]
2 Flash it! (don’t worry we’ll walk you trough).
3 …
4 Profit!
17:00 : Everything you always wanted to know about IPv6 but were afraid to ask.
18:00 : Open recipe burgers (with secret sauce).
21:00 : Evening entertainment: Powerpoint karaoke hosted by fs111.
After that : something involving liquids.

Sunday:
12:00 Hungry-Hacker is hungry. Breakfast.
15:00 lightning talks:
Such diverse subjects as: Google summer of code, The talk too trollish to
mention, How to get yourself a lot of work that you didn’t plan by being
creative, Something about something, Awesome talk will be awesome, …
(open stage, schedule will be on the wiki, add your lightning talk there)

Registration:
Is not necessary but it would be nice to give us an idea on how many of you
to expect so we have enough chairs and secret sauce.
Please add your name: http://www.doodle.com/bg5x7xrbcg5z9h8q
Feel free to invite your friends.

[0] Keep an eye on http://0x20.be/ for the latest agenda updates,
and maybe follow the bird on http://twitter.com/HSGhent
[1] http://wiki.openwrt.org/oldwiki/tableofhardware

—
ubuntu-be mailing list / mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com

It’s there:

Grotere kaart weergeven

My toughts on Hamburg Mannheimer

For the english, I’m sorry this text is in Dutch. You can use Google translate if you’re interested.

Verduidelijking: De gegevens in deze post zijn niet allemaal afkomstig van betrouwbare bronnen.
Ga niet af op deze gegevens maar ga deze na bij iemand die meer thuis is in deze materie dan ikzelf.
Een medewerker van uw financiële instelling, makelaar en of een exclusief tussenpersoon van Hamburg Mannheimer
zal u op een betrouwbaardere manier kunnen informeren.

Waar het allemaal over gaat (volgens de vertegenwoordigers van MHI):
Q: Wil je nog centjes hebben als je op je 65 thuis zit?
A: Ja

Q: Met de huidige crisis, vergrijzing, sociale onzekerheden etc…, is
er een kans dat je niet veel of niets krijgt. Heb je dit liever of wil
je graag véél meer centjes hebben?
A: Ja meneer/mevrouw, ik wil graag véél meer centjes, net zoals
iedereen. Hoe meer hoe liever.

Q: Wat kan je doen om hiervoor te zorgen?
A: Pensioensparen, ge ziet het tegenwoordig overal.

Q: En hoeveel interesten krijgt ge daar op?
A: Kweet et niet goed, ik denk 2 of 3% ofzo, maar het is fiscaal
aftrekbaar!

Q: Ik ga u informeren over een product die u 9% + het fiscaal voordeel
kan bieden. Zou je dit tof vinden.
A: Meer centen krijgen, zal wel zijn.

HM-medewerker: Wij nemen je centen, en steken dit bij een bank waar je
anders zelf niet in kan investeren omdat je daar niet rijk genoeg voor
bent, en halen daar enorme winst uit!
A: Hoe gaat dat dan?

HM-medewerker: dmv fondsen en beleggen en van die bank-zaken, net zoals
grootbanken, maar dan veel beter. Wij/zij hebben geen last gehad van de
crisis. Ze zijn namelijk super!

A: Waaw!

HM-medewerke: Wij geven je 9% op je centen!
Laat me even berekenen voor jouw leeftijd, op hoeveel jij kan opzij
zetten etc… en ik geef je een enorm bedrag, tot 3x wat je bij de
gewone bank krijgt. ** hocus pocus **

A: Dat is weer Waaw!
Nog enkele vraagjes:
– Wat zijn de instapkosten?
– Kan ik de algemen voorwaarden krijgen?
– Heeft u een blanco voorbeeldcontract (eg: offerte)?
– Wat zijn de algemene kosten?
– Wat kost het als ik wil overstappen van fonds?
– kan je me een voorbeeld geven van iemand die dit reeds gedaan heeft?
Succesverhalen zijn altijd leuk om horen.

HM-medewerker:
– Officiële documenten kan ik je niet geven (om onbekende reden)
– Van die instapkosten kan ik je niets vertellen, dat weten ze in
Brussel wel.
– Overstappen? waarom zou je dat willen doen? Neen ik heb daar geen idee
van
– iemand die dit reeds gedaan heeft? Sorry ik doe dit zelf nog maar 2
jaar en de mensen die bij ons aangesloten zijn hoor ik niet meer.

Dan denk je (ik althans):

Ach, het zal wel niet zo slecht zijn als het gevoel dat ik er nu over
heb zeker?
Ga ik eens het inernet raadplegen.
Zeer interessant.
Overal is er info te vinden over hun product, maar op hun eigen site’s
is er nergens concrete sprake van kosten, instapkosten, voorwaarden,
zekerheid en andere dingen die ik ZEKER wil weten voor ik mijn centen
aan iemand geef.

Dus ben ik hierbij vereerd dat ik je kan informatie kan verschaffen die
de HM-medewerker niet kon geven.

Continue reading My toughts on Hamburg Mannheimer

Going to Fosdem 2010

FOSDEM, the Free and Open Source Software Developers' European Meeting It’s finally there. The 10th edition of Fosdem.
For the people whom don’t know Fosdem (yet):It’s the finest free and non-commercial event where FOSS developers and communities can meet.There are a lot of interesting talks and demo’s, food, drinks, booths, and if you search good enough you might encounter a (real) girl.
And the best thing… it’s in Belgium :)Here’s a list of talks I’d like to attend

Saturday

11:45 to 12:30 Evil On the Internet

This talk will show you live examples of these sites, explain how they work, and tell you what we currently know about the criminals who operate them.
There’s a lot of evil things on the Internet if you know where to look for them. Phishing websites collect banking credentials; mule recruitment websites entice people into money laundering; fake escrow sites defraud the winners of online auctions; fake banks hold the cash for fake African dictators; and there are even Ponzi scheme websites where (almost) everyone knows that they’re a scam. This talk will show you live examples of these sites, explain how they work, and tell you what we currently know about the criminals who operate them.
13:15 to 13:45 Mozilla Europe

General Introduction followed by an update on the work of Mozilla in Europe.
13:45 to 14:00 Mozilla Foundation

Latest MoFo news and projects.
15:30 to 16:30 HTML5