Twirssi error: Timestamp out of bounds

I just found my twirssi inactive. 
When loading the script and authenticating with oath enabled, I got the error:

-!- Irssi: Error in script twirssi:
Timestamp out of bounds

This is (most likely) the result of a wrong system date/time.
Quite easy to solve, just sync it to an NTP server.
Open a terminal and enter:

ntpdate pool.ntp.org

Try to load the script again and login.
All should be fine now.

Wrong time in Windows on Dual Boot system.

When you have a dual boot with Windows and Ubuntu you might experience some time travelling when rebooting to windows.
To solve this, simply boot into Ubuntu and edit the /etc/default/rcS file as sudo and change the UTC value from yes to no.
It should look like this

TMPTIME=0
SULOGIN=no
DELAYLOGIN=no
UTC=no #Set according to your system (BIOS) clock.
VERBOSE=no
EDITMOTD=yes
FSCKFIX=no

These values are being used by the scripts at /etc/rcS.d/ that get invoked during boot (even in single user mode)

To be clear, this is not an Ubuntu error. It is simply the Windows that never assumes the system-clock to be in UTC.

If you wish to adjust this in the Windows installation execute regedit and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation

Change the RealTimeIsUniversal value to 1.

If you’re simply looking for a wach to change your hardwareclock on linux you can check my other article on Changing date and/or time on Linux.

How to split flash (.flv) file to upload to youtube

Say, you have a huge flv flash file you want to upload to youtube.
You’ll find yourself in trouble as there is a limit to the filesize you can upload.
Where you needed to download and install bloatware in Windows to accomplish this,
it’s super easy in Linux.

ffmpeg will do the trick.
Say you want to cut the flash movie in pieces of 10 minutes, you can do this like this:

ffmpeg -i filename.flv -ss "00:00:00" -t "00:10:00" filename_chunk.flv
ffmpeg -i filename.flv -ss "00:10:00" -t "00:20:00" filename_chunk2.flv
ffmpeg -i filename.flv -ss "00:20:00" -t "00:30:00" filename_chunk3.flv
...

Now you’re ready to upload your video’s.

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

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

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade

  2. If you’ve been using older drivers, remove them.

    sudo apt-get remove –purge xserver-xorg-video-radeon

  3. Download the install package from the AMD suppot pages and make it executable

    chmod +x ati-driver-installer*.run

  4. Run the installer as sudo-user

    sudo ./ati-driver-installer*.run

  5. 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 🙂

Call for participants Dipro-fair Ghent 30/01/2011

Wanted:
People who want to help out at the Ubuntu booth during the Dipro-fair is in Ghent on January 30, 2011.
If you’re not able to attend the full day, some hours of help are always welcome as well.

Profile:
You don’t have to be an Ubuntu/Linux expert.
If you can testify about your experiences and suggest to Windows-programs,
can already make a difference.
Most people we lend a word on the fair, have none or little of Ubuntu/Linux/Computer experience.

Fun fact:
As an exhibitor you don’t have to pay the entrance fee, but between helping out, you can take our time to look around and find awesome deals.

How:
Add your name to the ubuntu-wiki page:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BelgianTeam/ComputerFairs/Ghent_2011-01-31
OR
Let me know trough mail ubuntu@mimor.be

Please in both of these cases, mention whether you’ll be helping out a full day or several hours.
That’s all you need to do.
If you can provide items such as demolaptop(s), camera, etc. .. you may also add it to the wiki page.

Hope to see you soon.

=====================================

Gezocht:
Mensen die willen helpen op de Ubuntu stand tijdens de Dipro beurs in Gent op 30 Jan 2011.
Indien het niet mogelijk is om de volledige dag aanwezig te zijn, zijn enkele uren hulp ook altijd welkom.

Profiel:
Je hoeft geen Ubuntu/linux/computer expert te zijn.
Als je kan getuigen over jouw ervaringen en uitleg geven over alternatieven voor Windows programma’s,
kan je al een verschil maken.
De meeste mensen die we op de beurs ten woord staan, hebben helemaal geen of weinig van Ubuntu/Linux.

Leuk weetje:
Als medewerker van de stand hoef je geen toegangsgeld te betalen, maar kan je tussendoor wel rond kijken en toffe deals vinden.

Hoe:
Voeg je naam toe aan deze Ubuntu-be Wiki pagina:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BelgianTeam/ComputerFairs/Ghent_2011-01-31
OF
Laat het me weten via mail op ubuntu@mimor.be

Gelieve in de twee gevallen te vermelden of je een volledige dag of enkele uren zal helpen.
Dat is het enige dat je hoeft te doen.
Indien je items van de lijst kan verzorgen zoals demo laptop(s), fototoestel, etc… mag je dit ook telkens aanvullen op de wiki pagina.

Hopelijk tot binnenkort.

Mvg,

Mike Morraye