Here goes  my geek code as from www.geekcode.com

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS/IT/S d+()@>- s:+ a----- C++$ UL P L+ E--- W++ N- !o-- K- w++$ O-- M- !V-- PS PE Y PGP+ t !5-- !X !R tv+ b++ DI D G e++ h-- r-- y--
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

Edit: I found a site where you can generate it easier without a hazzle, the Code of the Geek Generator. Hope you get it!

Starting out on the Open Source fever, I installed Mandriva, Suse and finally have settled with Ubuntu after two days of fighting over which distribution to go with. But Ubuntu doesn’t ask a lot of questions during install, about what to install and where to install grub etc.

After installing Ubuntu, I saw that it had not even install gcc libraries but had installed the gcc compiler. Also, the default operating system to boot into was ‘Ubuntu’ instead of Windows XP. As I and my friends use the same machine and they have no liking to Linux, I needed Windows to boot first. During the installation, I was not provided the option to choose.

I wanted to change the default boot option in grub. I had to edit the ‘menu.lst’ file located in /boot/grub manually. It does not allow to edit as the permissions for the only user was denied. The concept of ‘root’ user was not there, as I was not requested for the creation of a root user. I just created a user, and ubuntu assigns super user privilege to this user.

To switch users, the ‘sudo’ command was to be used instead of ‘su’.

Finally, all set and working. Still to install ruby, mysql, python, vlc.

I was stumbling the web as usual a few days back. I came across a keynote speech by Chris. This has changed my entire perspective of viewing the software business and industry. I have till now just enjoyed life as a programmer, reusing existing code, ‘googling’ what I don’t know and getting the job done by time.

My life as a software engineer has just been concentrated on providing solutions that already exist. But real software engineering is not that. My goal in life is not that. I need to engineer something. A product, that people use in their day to day life. I remember my Engineering Mechanics professor’s definition of an engineer, ‘A person who creates, engineers something so that it is useful to the society in their daily life’. That is what I feel as the soul calling.

This keynote address, http://gist.github.com/6443 was what I have been wanting to inspire me. He tells what a software is all about. It is the passion of a programmer that creates the wonder, a Real Software. What a programmer needs to do? The real joy comes from within and not from materialistic gains.

What in the world can be more inspiring than one’s own creation. I have had moments when I felt this joy, pride and enthusiasm, that comes when I did programming, when a thing that I have been struggling with, at last comes to place, when the very blank mind of mine, finds a solution to a problem, when a client or peer appreciates. But they did not last long.

Open Source is calling me to contribute. I have started out with Ruby and Python. Any suggestions are always welcome.

Google had launched its new browser ‘Google Chrome’. Right now I am typing this post in the Chrome browser. True to how Google had been in the past, ‘Google Chrome’ is simple, clean and does what it was intended to do.

For developers, there is a Javascript debugger. Although I am missing the addons that I had in Firefox, I am sure that we will be having a lot of addons in the coming months.

The interface is simple, loads a lot faster. There is one more feature, that is new in ‘Google Chrome’, the ‘incognito’ mode, wherein no browsing history, cookies are saved. Google had incorporated the best of features in all the browsers in this launch. Tabbed browsing, unintrusive password remembering tools, smooth import of bookmarks from IE and Firefox.

Hope everyone has a happy Surfing!

Hi,

I have downloaded the linux source code for version 0.0.1 from http://lxr.linux.no/.

I just wanted to get started on reading and trying to find out what each one of the files are doing. Where do I start off. I am not quiet comfortable in semaphores or operating system stuff like that.

Any help will be welcome.

Thanks.

My first PC was a P II @266MHz system, with 8 GB HDD and a whooping 32 MB SDRAM. It was by and large a nice configuration then I could easily accommodate Windows 98 in 1 GB and the remaining space was for me to load songs, NFS, games and all goodies.

I used to read a lot of computer magazines, Digit topping the list. In my 11 th standard, along with Developer IQ magazine they shippped a CD containing Mandrake Linux 8.1 (in association with Deep Root Linux in India). Rather adventurous, I wanted to try this new operating system. I had not seen any other OS than the dominant Win 98 and Win 95 in my school PCs. So trying out a new OS was something thrilling.

If I remember correct, it was my summer holidays. So I had all the day to myself. I put the Mandrake CD into the CD-ROM and waited for it to start installation. I was not familiar with the installation procedures, and I was too lazy to read through the installation instructions in the book. I chose the automatic partitioning, defaulted to all the setup options and in the screen wherein Linux configures hardware, I was stuck up with the monitor not getting detected. I started my first line of defence, the ubiquitous (Ctrl + Alt + Del) combination. It dropped me to the command line and told me that system was going for a restart.

Then on restart, it brought the LILO boot screen and halted. I booted into DOS prompt using a boot CD and
tried to see what had happened to my windows data using FDISK. DOS recognized the partition as NON-DOS partition. I cursed myself for ruining a nicely running machine. So I took the second line of defense, reinstalling Linux (this I tried so that I could recover my windows partitions, since the partition manager in the installer of linux was graphical, it was easier.) I installed Linux again. This time I read through each and every screen, that is when I noticed that we had option to dual boot into Windows, choose the boot loader etc. The install was fine till the monitor setup. I chose the Generic Monitor setup this time and it seemed to work. The system was re-booted, and at last I saw dawn. I had booted into a new OS. Mandrake Linux.

KDE was the desktop environment provided. I came to know about the different options available only much later. I was new and everything needed me to go into Root mode and install or update (RPM was available then. I tried installing Java into the system, that is when I found out, it was easier to use shell in Linux than use the graphical tool. I missed my Windows very much. So I popped in my Win 98 CD and started installing it. After install only did I realize that the boot loader was re-written by Windows and I had lost the option of booting into Linux. I didn’t feel for the loss of Linux, as I had my safer, usable and friendly Windows on hand.

PS: Now I can use Linux more effectively. I learnt it the harder way.