Finally, Official 64-bit Firfox?

Mozilla Firefox started its life as a fast replacement for Netscape Communicator, which was extremely slow. The light-wight browser-only Firefox was welcomed with open arms due to its speed and its light use of system resources. The idea then was that Mozilla makes the browser as light as possible and if users wanted more functionality they would download add-ons.

However, Mozilla was so successful and generated referral revenue from Google in millions. Which led to the non-profit company to expand and shift their focus away from their main product. Firefox did not become neglected but the main idea behind Firefox was neglected. They started adding more and more features to Firefox, making it heavier and heavier. This led to slowness in the growth rate of firefox and the emergence of other "faster" browsers.

Come Firefox 4. A shift back to the old ideals of faster and lighter browser. Mozilla just announced the alpha release of the web browser and this version includes the usual UI (user interface) update and faster javascript engine, two changes we are used to get with every update. However, the more noticeable new features are multiprocess support for tabs and plug-ins, and official 64-bit version.

Now Firefox will scream on multi-core machines (all new decent computers are multi-core) and will not crash. if a plug-in crashes (Flash for example) it will die by itself leaving Firefox running as if nothing happened.

Do not download the alpha version yet because its still buggy and the new UI is not all there just yet.

The ELSE Mobile User Interface Is Amazing

Symbian OS is looking old day after day. Android's default interface is geeky. iPhone's interface is geared towards average users with clear, big and pretty buttons.

Now this video shows the most ergonomic mobile phone user interface I have ever seen. I think this will change mobiles the way the iPod's wheel changed mp3 players.

Fix GRUB After Installing Windows 7

If just like me you installed Windos 7 (or vista) on a computer running Ubuntu Linux in a different partition, then ,just like me, you lost GRUB. Now the computer boots straight to Windows 7. Don't worry. Follow these steps to recover GRUB and bring back the GRUB boot menu.

First: Boot from the Ubuntu live CD and open a terminal.
Second: type this in the terminal:

1. sudo grub
2. find /boot/grub/stage1
3. root (x,y)
   
4. setup (x)
5. quit
6. sudo shutdown "now" -r

Replace "x" and "y" with the results from the find command.
Also, remember to edit the file /boot/grub/menu.lst to make sure the GRUB menu shows all the operating systems in your computer.

This tip is from David Mooney

MAG Beta

I have been invited to help test the new Playstation 3 game MAG which is still in beta. MAG is a 256-player First-Person Shooter. I'm downloading the game client as I write this and will update this blog as I play it. I'm Aware of the nondisclosure agreement and promise not to break it. I hope to file some bug reports and help Sony release a fully polished game in January 2010.

I'm excited about MAG because it resembles (in my eyes) the same atmosphere as Sony's PlanetSide. That game had good potential but died after the introduction of mechs.


I leave you with a video development diary of MAG, previously known as Massive Action Game.

Ubuntu is the Best Windows!

I took my nephew shopping for a laptop. And of course I want to let him use Linux. I formatted the laptop and installed Ubuntu and did everything in my power to change the look of Ubuntu to look like Windows. Now he uses it thinking its Windows, and that's a good thing. Now he has everything he expects in a computer, without windows and without viruses. He is very happy with it. I'll explain how to do it here.



How to make Ubuntu Linux look like Windows XP or Vista for your children:

1. Install Ubuntu
2. Install Ubuntu Tweak and Ultimatix
3. Using Ultimatix, install extra fonts, extra themes, wine, wine doors, aMSN, Google Earth, media codecs, VLC, and all the games (don't install ultimate edition themes)
   
4. Using Add/Remove utility, install all educational and games packages, and Cheese program too. (don't install games over 100MB)
   
5. Remove the top Gnome panel and change the lower panel to look like Windows' task bar (like the screenshot above)
6. Apply the Mythbuntu theme (comes from step 3 above) with a black background
   
7. Using Ubuntu Tweak, lock down all Gnome panels and enable desktop icons for My Computer, Home Folder, Trash, and Network.
8. For Firefox, install Flash plug-in and Adblock Plus add-on. And add bookmarks for your kids favorite sites.
   

That's it. You now have a Windows laptop without Windows. and everything should just-work. Now re-wrap the laptop and give it to your kid.

I expect that later on I'll show him how to change themes and get rid of the windows look once and for all.

Also, you can change Ubuntu to look like a Mac!! but no kids use Macs anyway.

Holy Quran Reading Software for Ubuntu Linux

The best Linux software to read the Holy Quran is Zekr. You can customize it to display the Quran full screen and change the font size as you like.

To install Zekr use the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install zekr

This will install Zekr under Applications -> Accessories.

To show the Quran in Arabic in a large font inside Zekr program, do the following:

• Go to Tools, Options, View, and change quran_fontSize to 30 (or 35)
• Go to View, Layout, and choose Quran
  
• Go to View, Layout, Quran, and choose Block

It is easy to change the Zekr interface to Arabic. Under Tools, Options, General, change language from English to Arabic.

There is also Zekr for Windows and Mac OSX.

And you can always use Quran Explorer website or download the Quran as PDF file (Arabic version and English version)

Intsall 100s of Fonts in Ubuntu with 1 Command

Ubuntu GNU/Linux comes with many fonts but what if you want more?
Just type this command in the closest terminal:

sudo apt-get install ttf-georgewilliams ttf-dustin ttf-larabie-deco ttf-larabie-straight ttf-larabie-uncommon

This will download 11 megabytes of packages and install hundreds of fonts in your system. Make sure you enabled universe and miltiverse repositories.

Source

Quick Guide to Switch to Linux

I have been using Linux as my default desktop for a over a month now with almost no problems. I have been using it in my travel laptop for over a year and on the home server for two years. So why my main computer was so late to the party?Its because of my mobile phone and ipod specific applications and computer games.

I solved the first problem by having a Windows virtual machine inside Linux and solved the games issue by having a 30GB partition with Windows. Now I connect my Nokia/iPhone/Blackberry to the virtual windows and it works flawlessly and to play Crysis, I reboot in Windows and play it there. The Windows partition is without any programs because it is there for the sole purpose of playing games.

I just wanted to provide a quick guide to everyone who's stuck with windows like I used to be and can't make the switch to Linux. Each step is linked to a useful web page explaining, in details, how to do it:

1. Backup all your personal files and bookmarks in an external hard drive

2. Download the latest Ubuntu Linux and burn it on a CD

3. Find your old Windows CD and hardware drivers CDs for Windows

4. Install windows on a 20 or 30GB partition

5. Install Ubuntu by choosing the side-by-side option.

6. Immediately change the Ubuntu theme!

7. In Ubuntu make sure you install the following:

   • Proprietary graphics drivers (I know, sue me!)

   • Medibuntu repository

   • ntfs-config
     

8. Download the closed source virtualbox (not the SOE eddition) and create a windows virtual machine for your iPods and Nokia mobile phones
   

9. Keep a list (text file) of all commands you learned in the process and all DEB packages you installed in the process

10. Once you are satisfied with your Linux desktop back it up using remastersys which is like having a snapshot of your computer (with or without personal files) on a bootable CD/DVD.

If you have any questions just shoot me an email or use the ubuntu forums. You can get paid phone support from Canonical if you want to. Its a great way to financially support the organization behind Ubuntu. I also use Google a lot to help me with troubleshooting. For example, search for “linux replacement for photoshop” and “ubuntu install true type fonts” these kinds of searches usually yield good results. You can be very specific and still find good results, like “ubuntu screen resolution dell inspiron 6400.”

Usually its good to have a friend with Linux background, so I really mean it, send me an email or add me on msn (no Blackberry, sorry) and I'll be glad to help and spread the knowledge of Linux.

Viva's Fake Word of Mouth Campaign

Seems like Viva, a very tiny and ignorable Kuwaiti telco, is emailing bloggers using fake names and emails to complement their latest ad campain. Its so obvious and pathatic. Nobody is using Viva and nobody cares.

I recieved two emails from pink[...]@hotmail.com and s.m[...]@live.com both asking my opinion about Viva's recent ads and both attached pictures of the ads, which i won't put on my blog. I'm suddnly an advertising expert and my opinion matters to random people?

I wonder how desperate is their marketing department to attempt such a stunt and sound so obvious and fake? They need people to talk about them in their blogs and get free ads all over the kuwaiti blogsphere? Good idea, but bad fake names.
Probably this post means they have accomplished their goal and let me write about them and give them free mention and advertising. But i felt the need to warn all bloggers out there.
The emails are fake!!

Zain and Wataniya Compared

This is a little comparison between the two leading mobile operators in Kuwait. I made this spreadsheet to help me decide what operator and what plan to choose for my personal use. But decided to put it online for everyone who couldn't decide.

I created it with Google Docs and its available here as a web page and in PDF, Excel, and Open Document formats.

Let me know if it needs any modifications.

Auto Mount NTFS Drives in Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty

This is by far the easiest way to mount internal hard disks automatically every time you start Ubuntu. I'm assuming this works for all Linux distributions not just Ubuntu. This is copied and slightly edited from Ubuntu forums.

1. In a terminal window type "sudo apt-get install ntfs-config"
2. Unmount all manually mounted drives
3. Run NTFS configuration in the menu (System > Administration)
4. choose the drives that you want to be automatically mounted (all of them)
5. Put a check next to "Enable Write Support for Internal Drives"

Thats it. All your drives will be available to you at everytime you start the machine.
I wonder why this is not the default behaviuor in Ubuntu!

Finally A Usable iPhone

After watching apple's WWDC keynote, I can finally see an iPhone that I can use. Tomtom finally provided turn-by-turn GPS navigation application. The inclusion of copy/paste and MMS took some time but they managed to introduce these features. Official Arabic support, a plethora of applications and games, a faster CPU and an actual GPU. And don't forget zero configuration tethering.
Now I'm missing only two things, official carrier in Kuwait and a physical keyboard. I can manage without a keybord but I will only get an iPhone if its officially sim free or officially supported by a local Kuwaiti carrier.
Come on Zain, stop hauling in blackberries, where are the iPhones?

The Fully Automated Website

There are many strategies to monetize websites (making money out of websites). However, the most effective way is to make the website do all the work. Namely, automation.

Websites the likes of 6alabat.com and similar shopping and delivery websites are a good way to make profits. But you must provide services, maintenance and delivery operations, which are costly. This is not what I want. I want to make a website and totally leave it for years, while it continues to make profits. I can do that with scam websites, like registering the domain gogle.com (notice the missing 'o') and fill it with ads for all those who mistype the word google. But I don't want to do that also. I want people to benefit from it and that will make them come again and tell their friends about it. So it must be also useful.

Also, the last thing I need is a running cost for the website. Hosting the website and registering domains can be very expensive if I don't shop around for best deals. Never go to a local company for web hosting and design. They will charge huge amounts of money for few man hours of work with free open-source web applications, pre-made templates, and slow locally hosted servers. You can find online retailers who charge $20 for the whole thing but you have to do it yourself.

So the website must be automatic, useful, and cheap. Add to that some paid non-intrusive ads and a nice design and you're set to go.

We use automated website everyday without knowing. Fully automated websites require minimal intervention once its off and running. I strive to come up with ideas to develop such website. The kind of websites where you "set it and forget it." My first inspiration to this idea was Google News and then came Techmeme, a technology news aggregation website. The owners of these sites rarely even look at them once in a while. Techmeme recently hired the site's first editor, three years after launch! The editor's job is to visit the website once a day (from home) and promote news stories to the top of the page if he thinks they're important.

Techmeme attracts adds from companies such as Intel, Microsoft, and Adobe. The owners have three more similar websites aggregating politics, baseball and celebrity news, and I imagine more websites coming very soon. Because once you create an automatic website for a specific topic, you can copy it for other topics and attract even more people and serve more ads.

Step 3: profit!

Vague Google Searchs Improve Your Results

You can ask Google to search for synonyms very easily by adding a (~). For example, I was searching for a problem with my phone after upgrading its software. So I searched for: nokia 5800 firmware screen problem which gave me good results. However, changing the search query to: nokia 5800 ~firmware ~screen ~problem gave me a better result.

Why is this a better search? Google searches for the words in the query but also searches for their synonyms. Meaning that if someone wrote a very nice article on nokia 5800 software monitor issue, it wont show up in my first search and will show in the second search.

So help Google help you by using (~).

A Weekend Trip With Only Ubuntu 9.04

I took a leap of faith bringing only a fresh install of Ubuntu Linux with me on this non-business trip. It made sense as all I needed from my computer was email and web browsing.

I put this shiny new Ubuntu on my old IBM ThinkPad T43 laptop. It ran as if my laptop was this year's model. It is very fast and responsive. Actually it was faster than my brother's new Dell laptop running Windows Vista. I turned it off as soon as the installation and update process finished and packed my bags to leave for the airport.

Later that evening, in the hotel room, I turned my laptop on to read my email and some blogs. The desktop was clean, Firefox pre-installed and ready, it already connected to the hotel wireless internet, all that without me touching anything but the power button. If I remember correctly, windows required so much tweaking to reach this point! I read my email and was able to view PDF and docx attachments without installing additional software.

I couldn't sleep, so it was time to play some Counter-Strike on Steam. All I did was install wine and download Steam. With the fast connection in the hotel, I downloaded the entire game and was playing in 30 minutes. This game was not playable on the same laptop when it was running Windows XP. How ironic is that?

This experience amazed me because I was able to to do every I can do with Windows, without Windows. Even do things I couldn't do with Windows, like running games on old computers. What this means is that we, the people, have the option to work/play on the platform that we choose. This concept is strange to us now because we are used to accept the fact that all computers run Windows. Well, not anymore.