Configuring Perl in Ubuntu

Hi All,

This post explains how to configure perl in Debian based distros.

Open synaptic and search for perl and install it.

Issue this command first:

1. whereis perl
Copy the output of this command as your first bang line for your perl script.

Next perl -v command
This will issue which version of perl is being installed.

Then open gnome-terminal or your console and write this simple perl program. Copy as is.

#!/usr/bin/perl -w


print "hello world";

Name this file as a.perl. In the terminal run this command: perl a.perl


Enjoy,
Ananth S Gouri

Sound on both loud speakers and headphones problem

Hi All,

I want to scold myself a lot for not using what I knew long time back... and being careless about the same....

Right the problem that most Ubuntu and Debian users faced was - whenever any sound was played from the distro's outputs - the sound would be heard in both the loudspeakers and as well as in the headphones..

I had seen this problem a long time back and I knew that we had some solutions to the same like using PulseAudio etc... But it would still work if and only if your kernel version was above 2.6.26

But then I had tried configuring pulseaudio but in vain... May be I had not done it properly or dont know...

Today luckily - I got both pulse audio and as well as this dual sound issue solved..

1. I have already written a post earlier as to how to solve the issue of non-playback using the options provided by pulse audio..

2. For the dual sound to work - please install kernel 2.6.32 or higher... (I have written a post as to how to install a new kernel and configure it... Please read my archives..)

Once installed - login to the new kernel and also install gnome-alsamixer through synaptic...

Now open the mixer using the command gnome-alsamixer from the terminal and in its settings.. make sure

1. You set the Master volume to middle
2. You set the PCM level to null

(You have a button to drag the levels - please use it... )

Now put on your headphones and rock... :)

Tc,
Ananth

Android Protector

Hi All,

I faced a very weird kind of problem today. I had been to a shuttle badminton tournament and while playing my match - I forgot my phone with my student who is a very good friend too. 

I came back home after losing the match :( and only then I remembered that I had left the phone with him. 

Though I have protected my opening menu screen with a password - my student knew the password since he was playing some games with it all day. 

Though I know my student very well and trust him too... since I was not at the screen - I started getting this feeling of what if he checks my mails, what if sees my messages and many other private stuff. 

He could even check my facebook profile. 

I did not realise and was dumb.. I changed my gmail password with the hope that it has to solve my problem to some extent. 

Ya it will solve your problem to some extent if your facebook account is linked to your gmail account. 

But what if you are using some other email to link to your facebook? 

After an hour or so I got back my mobile intact and I was scolding myself for having doubts at him  but also thought that anybody would get these doubts for a matter of fact and it was not something unusual in me... :)

So back home I tried to see if gmail app opens.. and to my shock it did.. Though I could not refresh for new mails since it asked for the changed password, any one who gets access can search over all gmail mails stored till then. 

It was only now that I wanted a permanent solution to this problem and I searched the market for a protector to gmail. 

Now I am happily using an application called "Protector by Alexander Kosenkov" The free version of this app allows you to set a password for protecting upto 8 applications on your android phone. 

The full version can be purchased on the market for a nominal $1 and removes the constraint put by the free version. 

This is a "must have" app if you are worried about the data you have on your phone. But don't forget to do these things on hand...

1. Set your recovery email before setting the password. This way if you forget the password - the password set will be sent to your email address. Please give a valid email address. 

2. Set some number as the password pin and this can be used to protect any app. 

3. Just click on add before you want to protect any new app. 

In the end don't forget this last step...

Don't buy the plugin before installing and trying out the free app... :)

Last but not the least... Now don't be dumb enough to give this pin too.... ;) :P

Tc and hope you can now safeguard your android phone...

Ananth S Gouri

Setting up PulseAudio in Debian Lenny

Hi All,

This post explains how to setup PulseAudio in Debian 6 in the most simplest manner and also the need for it...

Right...

Setting it up...

Its pretty simple.. Open your Synaptic Package manager and search for these 2 packages and install them...

1. gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio

2. pulseaudio

as root and also make sure you can solve all dependencies... Do mail me: ananth dot gouri at gmail dot com for any doubts solving dependencies problems...

So this sets up your PulseAudio... So how to make sure that your Pulse Audio redirects to old ALSA or OSS??

Open a terminal and hit this command:

pulseaudio --system=1 --high-priority=1 -D


This starts the pulse audio server with a high priority...

If this does not give you any errors (Denoted by E) then you have successfully started it...

So why PulseAudio??


The recent AlsaUtils used in distributions like Debian and Ubuntu had lots of issues due to the changes done in software... Some of them being..

1. If you are playing a youtube video - then you cant get back and play a song in your local system with sound to it
2. If you were playing a local mp3 - then if you go to youtube it wont play the sound..
3. You cant play more than 1 song in 2 different players locally...
4. You cant watch a video and hear to a song as well simultaneously...
5. You cant listen to the sound from your rear headphone slot and as well as from your front headphone slot in your latest supported CPUs...
6. You can also listen to sound coming out of your loud speakers even when your headphone is put up and not a loud speaker in your laptop audio out...

and many more...

Many people suggest the users to use the older alsautil package and many others also suggest using a GTK that would help to select a Default Hardware Sound Device....

The optimum solution to this problem is to install the PulseAudio and this would solve all these above problems...

Now you can play songs in more than 2 players simultaneously, play a youtube video and then close that window and start listening to a mp3 locally...

Now to solve the step 6.. If you check your Sound preferences - you can find something as Analog Output and Analog Headphones.. Just select the Headphone option...

You can as well give a permanent solution to this problem by telling - the pulse audio to overtake (automatically redirect to) ALSA or OSS if 2 or more sound outputs are needed by doing the following..

edit the file

/etc/pulse/client.conf and

uncomment the line

autospawn = yes

Enjoy,
Ananth

Tracking your Facebook recognized devices

Hey All,

Before we can go in detail.. First lets discuss something more about security on Facebook.

Being the most famous social networking site now, www.facebook.com also has the problem of being insecure day-in-and-out...

Not many of us know how and when our accounts could be hacked, blocked or even for that matter deactivated...

So what are the safety measures and how do you monitor them once in a while...?

This post is all about it....

Sit back and read it relaxed and implement it step by step...

1. Once you login to facebook profile, go to Account Settings->Account Security.
2. Check the check box to do "Secure browsing"
3. Next last check both the check boxes under "Login Notifications"
4. Click save and logout
5. Relogin back to your profile.

From now on - you will be asked for a Device name before logging into your Wall.

But until here many would be knowing all these.. But what next??

You are now supposed to check once in a while at the same Account Security and make sure you have the names under "Device Name" the same as you have given during that day and time stamp.

Please make sure that you dont give common name to your device for getting recognized - like - home, shop, office, home2 etc..

This way if you give very common names - even you would lose track and would not remember if it was really you who did login at that time stamp.

Instead give some dummy names or even some junk names for your device. Example: likf3r34%6


That way - a hacker will not give the most common Device name "Home" and you can track him right away too... :)

Secure social networking and happy and safe browsing too...
Ananth S Gouri

epub

Hi All,

epub is not any electronic pub for boozing... ;) Its a e-book file format originated as an open e-book format standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF).

These files have .epub file extension.

This post explains how to open books of .epub file format in Debian.

You have 2 readers to read .epub files.

1. FBReader and 2. okular book reader

Use synaptic to search for: fbreader, okular and okular-extra-backends packages. Upon installation you can read the books.

Note that a normal compressed pdf file of around 20Mb file size is less than 10Mb size if its in .epub extension.  :)

Enjoy reading,
Ananth Gouri

VCC

Hi,

So for all of you who thought for a while - this vcc is something similar to our good old friend gcc.. Sorry ;) And for the rest - this post is not anything related to Linux stuff at all..

Read it out to know yourself..

I was unfortunate not to get a credit card till date.. I must correct it to say - I 'am' :(

But these days - I started feeling the pinch of it more and more and I was in dire needs of getting a Credit card... I contacted most of the banks in and around my place but in vain - as they had their own criteria for giving me one or I did not like their options..

So I thought it was the end from my side and was dependent on my friends who already had one.. But many a times my friends were so busy that I could never get the job done - or buy the things I wanted on time. Me  being extremely impatient - would finally let it go..

But recently when I was again in the search of an alternative for this.. I saw some posts in a forum where it said about a virtual credit card in Paypal.com.. I was thrilled - but that did not last long as I came to know that though I have a Paypal account for long time now - they dont offer any credit cards to India due to our RBI guidelines...

One last hope lost.. I was pissed off - but today... Yes I found yet another site called EntroPay.com :) visit it at www.entropay.com and create a free account.. This site provides you Prepaid Virtual Visa Card.

Once you have got a free account - you can link your regular debit card / netbanking account to this vcc... You can transfer from minimum of 20$ to max 2k$ :)

Once you have transferred the amount to the card(Note that the site would charge you 4.5% of the total amount you transfer each time to your vcc), you can do any transaction as if you own a credit card..

The best part is - the site gives you a dummy card picture in your profile with the 16 digit number, valid upto date , name of yours on the card and as well as the cvv (Card verification value).

All you need to do is - do any shopping in any of the sites that support VISA. Thats it.. Once you are in the check out page - just give in the vcc card number, valid upto date, and the cvv code and the name on your vcc card.

Some points are:

1. This is a complete debit card type process only. You transfer money from your debit card through some net banking process to this card. So if you don't have money in your account - you cant do anything...
2. The process is secure enough and need not worry at all. But I or my blog is not responsible for anything that happens by trying this out. Please do the process under your own risk. I did not face any problems - thats what I meant.
3. The whole system is maintained by a company called Ixaris Systems Ltd, Great Britain.
4. One sad thing is - you cant get the feature of a plastic virtual credit card of entropay due to the same guidelines of RBI that Paypal also follow.

Last but not the least.. You can also link your paypal account to this vc card - where this card acts as a regular Credit card. Note that Paypal.com does not link any debit cards of Indian Banks.. You would now have the advantage of doing enough online shopping since most of the sites these days support Paypal service.

Do let me know your experience if you use this :)

Dont forget to leave thanks ;)
Ananth G S