Using 635M Nvidia via Bumblebee on Ubuntu 12.10 64bit

After installing and re-installing the drivers multiple times the following order and packages worked for me. (Basically donig the same as most blogs advise but loaded the Nvidia current updates and configured Bumblebee to use it)

sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia linux-headers-generic

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current-updates

then edit /etc/bumblebee/bumblebee.conf

gedit /etc/bumblebee/bumblebee.conf
Driver=nvidia
KernelDriver=nvidia-current-updates
LibraryPath=/usr/lib/nvidia-current-updates:/usr/lib32/nvidia-current-updates
XorgModulePath=/usr/lib/nvidia-current-updates/xorg,/usr/lib/xorg/modules

reboot and test

user@machine:~$ glxspheres
Polygons in scene: 62464
Visual ID of window: 0xb5
Context is Direct
OpenGL Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel(R) Ivybridge Mobile
59.965973 frames/sec - 66.922026 Mpixels/sec
59.915626 frames/sec - 66.865838 Mpixels/sec
59.936809 frames/sec - 66.889479 Mpixels/sec
59.938094 frames/sec - 66.890913 Mpixels/sec
59.933819 frames/sec - 66.886142 Mpixels/sec
59.936031 frames/sec - 66.888611 Mpixels/sec
59.938894 frames/sec - 66.891805 Mpixels/sec
user@machine:~$ optirun glxspheres
Polygons in scene: 62464
Visual ID of window: 0x21
Context is Direct
OpenGL Renderer: GeForce GT 635M/PCIe/SSE2
132.639584 frames/sec - 148.025776 Mpixels/sec
144.849601 frames/sec - 161.652154 Mpixels/sec
143.661287 frames/sec - 160.325996 Mpixels/sec
143.061059 frames/sec - 159.656142 Mpixels/sec
142.425431 frames/sec - 158.946781 Mpixels/sec
152.831347 frames/sec - 170.559784 Mpixels/sec
user@machine:~$

Steam commands for different games:
Left 4 Dead 2 Beta - LD_PRELOAD=./left4dead2/bin/matchmaking.so vblank_mode=0 PRIMUS_SYNC=1 STEAM_RUNTIME=1 primusrun %command%
Dota 2 - optirun --bridge primus %command%
Counter Strike - vblank_mode=0 primusrun %command%

Ubuntu create launcher in unity

I wanted to create some custom launchers on Ubuntu in order to cleanup my desktop and add them to the Unity dash and found

Create-launcher a brilliant app in the Ubuntu Software Centre at https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/quantal/create-launcher/

To install it just click the below:

Apache Server - new virtual host or site

In order to ease development of many PHP projects simultanious and let the PHP IDE's I am testing update the source automatically I use the following to create new virtual hosts:


sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/default /etc/apache2/sites-available/mynewsite


Edit the new file  to configure the new site, I am using ~/Development/project as the web folder.

sudo a2dissite default
sudo a2ensite mynewsite
sudo service apache2 reload

to activate the new site and reload apache2

iPad Aplications that makes my tablet a productivity tool

After some time I decided to post the applications I use to make my tablet a productivity tool. After all it is the apps that make the tablet and not the other way around.

I divided my apps into 4 catagories

• Productivity
• Utilities
• Social
• Entertainment

And yes productivity in my case can be enhanced by entertainment (imagine a noisy open plan office whilst trying to do some decent low level architecture analysis) Nothing better than in-ear headphones and my favourite radio station or music collection ...

Productivity:

• iThoughtsHD - it will import and export mindmaps to and from many of the most popular desktop mindmap applications and used daily by myself.
• TouchDraw - Vector drawing and diagramming with useful Libraries and great support (had some queries around connector types)
• SharePlus - Used to access content on SharePoint sites
• Quickoffice HD - office editing suite for iPad (including Office 2010)
• GoodReader - A auper-robust reader for iPad (great at PDF & Office docs with great file management & multitude of connections e.g. Dropbox, Skydrive, Google Drive, SMB servers, etc.)

Other used as well

 

• UPAD Lite - great for quick freehand notes or freehand schetching
• Evernote - The best note taking application and cross OS (from my PC to my Android phone and my iPad)
• DropBox - cloud sync for non sensitive data (I use a private cloud for sensitive data)
• OneNote - used to sync notes from Microsoft Notes (for a spesific customer in a pure Microsoft environment)
• AceProject - Keeping track of project tasks & collaborate with other teams

Most of these are used on a daily basis by myself with iThoughtsHD used for mind mapping as well as note keeping per project and assigning tasks to myself and others. GoodReader is in my mind the swiss army knive of IOS and enabled me to read most things on the iPad from local, private- or public cloud. All of them was carefully picked to enhance my productivity and still keep the data-overload era we live in catagorized and not to duplicate wherever possible.

Following posts will look into the other catagories of applications I use.

Playing Bluray in Ubuntu 12.10

AACS DRM is preventing native playback of Bluray discs on Ubuntu, to reslve this a few steps needs to be followed.

Obtain a copy of a Keys database (KEYDB.CFG)

Created ~/.config/aacs/ folder

Copied KEYDB.cfg (updated 20/04/2012) into this folder

Install the AACS Dynamic library, two methods available

1. download libaacs.so.0 and copy it into /usr/lib/ or /usr/lib64/ alternatively
2. Install it from the repository: apt-get install libaacs0

Option 2 was the prefered option for me.

Afterwards open VideoLAN (VLC) and playback your commercial Bluray on your Ubuntu platform.

VideoLAN 2.0.4 was used for the test.

How to install Skype on Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal

Type the following in a terminal

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ $(lsb_release -sc) partner"

to add the correct repository and then to install skype

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install skype

Pioneer VSX MCACC Flashing

My Pioneer VSX-921 had the flashing MCACC light after a suspected power dip through the night.
Nor could I turn the amp on at all.

After reading multiple posts and trying multiple combinations pressing the "down arrow" and "multi zone off" together for 2 seconds reset the amp to a workable state.

Apple dependancy on iTunes

One thing that is very clear is the inherent behaviour and dependancy of Apple iOS products on iTunes.

This has led to myself wondering how many iPod & iPad users need Microsoft in there life / a dependancy (excluding the pure Apple eco-system users with a MAC) ?!?

Also the transfer of applications within the Apple eco-system that rely on iTunes to perform the transfer role.

Im my opinion this is not a very good strategy in this era where people want to move to thin clients, tablets and smart phones as personal and/or business tools.

L

Right way to insert iPod earbuds

After struggeling to get the iPod earbuds to stay in my ears I decided to research this topic.. is it my ears or what ... it quickly became aparant online that it is not only me but lots of people struggeling with the same issue.



they are really umcomfortable and they leak sound like an old church roof leaks rainwater.

The normal way of wearing them: 

Some people suggested : 

Griffin Technology 4039-EJAM EarJam Earbud Sound Enhancing Covers

But I think rather than trying to modify the earbuds into something acceptable to just use my old in-ear headphones.

Those Apple earphones are not well designed and I would personally rank it as a failure, anyone with appreciation for good quality music will have to agree with me.

Some people suggested the following will increase bass and mid-range whilst sitting better in the ear



But to be honest I can't see anyone walking around like that.

So the bottom line: there is no right or good way to insert them and investing in a proper set of earphones is the right way to go.

 

Wheres My Droid

http://wheresmydroid.com/

When you lose your phone while the ringer is turned off it can be impossible to find it. Where's My Droid fixes that problem. After texting your phone a custom attention word the app turns the ringer volume up and makes your phone ring. It's also possible to get the GPS location of your phone in latitude and longitude and a link to Google maps.