Fedora Core 6

FC6 is out for real (?). The official site is down maybe due to the high traffic, and its damn slow for the downloads again due to traffic issues. Hopefully I'd be able to get hands on it by this week end. Here is the download mirrors link http://fedoraproject.org/static-tmp/FedoraMirrors.html

Its expected that this time FC6 will come with a lot of eye candy stuff as well. And for some odd reason yum on FC5 is kinda f*cked up since yesterday. hmmm! I suspect this is again due to the "traffic issues" ?

Firefox Party

People are celebrating the launch of Firefox 2 on Oct 27th, 2006. This is a world wide event. There is talk about one here in Maldives too.

To join the fun, register for a Firefox Party account, and sign up.

mobile computing

Its now become a day to day life thing, the mobile phones. Our computers are also no longer just used to type documents and do spreadsheets. Its no longer a business tool, its also become a personal thingy. The introduction of GPRS has brought so many applications to the mobiles. Now we can be online anytime, read mails, IM, etc. One application which has gained a lot of attention was the mig33, now there are even better concepts and clients. Which is not only used for IM's but even to bring your desktop to your mobile. Even push your emails to your mobile. A college of mine showed me a client called morange, which is worth having a look into. One of the features I really liked was people can access the desktops (remote desktop access) from the mobile to your office and home system. There are loads of other functions as well,like push email and mobile camera access.

From http://www.morange.com/

Remote Desktop Access
There must have been cases when you need to access documents on a remote PC while you are on the go. For example, customers may want a product brochure urgently, or you may want to access your pictures to show to your friends. MORANGE enables a fast and secure access to a remote computer from mobile phone. Users can read and send documents, and you can control all different PC resources remotely. Furthermore, you don't have to have your computer always on, you can enjoy the "virtual thumb drive" to store all your files:

• Browse folders on a remote PC.
• View documents such as Word, JPEG, Text, Excel.
• Send documents as attachment to emails recipient.
• Enjoy 5M of free server space as remote driver.

use Perl;

I've been working on a glue project for the last few days, and finally finished the first phase. Started off with a mix of stuff. Perl, sqlplus and even some shell scripts. Did not go very well. It started to get bigger and messy. Perl is a very flexible language, and has really good and large module support (CPAN). It was a big help. Got things done really fast. But Perl is a messy language. I know you can make it really neat too. But one reason why I use Perl is since I can get things done really fast, thus this results in ugly code. Well; I say ugly cos lately I have been too use to python and I love the looks of python code.

As for Perl its is too permissions related, and too messy to deal with. But this time Perl really did the job. I was able to make the system which was at the center of 5 different systems. The job was to integrate and communicate between them. One of which included an Oracle based system too.

I have to admit Perl really helped. Perl is really good to get things done fast. Lately its been that way, since I need small scripts on and off. All of which is mostly developed in Perl. Now I am starting to wonder, if I should keep things the way it is and go on with Perl. The problem is I know this system is gonna grow really big, and I am not so confident with large Perl based systems. One thing I will hate is if I have to migrate the code to python or Java. Then it will be like hell again. Anyway lets see.

The National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software

Below is a mail I got from the general MLUG mailing list. Thought I should post it here as well.

From: NRCFOSS
To: "Bangladesh1 Bdlugmaintainer" , "Bangladesh2 Bangladesh Linux Users Alliance" , "Bangladesh3 Ankur Bangla Linux users" , "Bhutan1 PL from DIT, Dzonkha Localization Project" , "Maldives1 MLUG" , "Nepal1 Linux Nepal" , "Nepal2 Nepalinux" , "Nepal3 Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya" , "Pakistan1 Linux Pakistan" , "Pakistan2 Foud Bajwa FOSSFP" , "Pakistan3 Chairman FOSSFP" , "Pakistan4 Project Manager (OSRC)" , "Pakistan5 TreMU" , "Pakistan6 Computer Society of Pakistan SIG" , "Sri Lanka1 LKLUG" , "Sri Lanka2 Lanka Software Foundation"
Date: Monday 18:56:40

The National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software


The National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software (NRCFOSS) is a
program of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. Managed
jointly by C-DAC, Chennai and AU-KBC Research Centre, NRCFOSS
(http://www.nrcfoss.org.in/) aims to contribute to the growth of FOSS in
India through Research and Development, Human Resource Development,
Networking and Entrepreneurship Development as well as serve as the
reference point for all FOSS related activities in the country.

C-DAC Chennai has now become the South Asia node for the International
Open Source Network (IOSN), an initiative of the United Nations
Development Programmes's (UNDP) Asia Pacific Development Information
Programme (APDIP) and supported by the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

An excellent source for primers and resources on FOSS, Open Standards,
Education, Localization, Licensing, Government Policy, Networking and
Security; IOSN South Asia is poised to become the clearing house of FOSS
Information in the South Asia region. You can visit the site at
http://www.iosn.net/.

We would like to invite all LUG groups and FOSS enthusiasts to contribute
to the following subcategories of IOSN under your region -:

1)News
2)Events
3)Organizations (non-commercial)
4)Commercial
5)Projects

Kindly send your information with the Country and Subcategory as Subject
headings to nrcfoss@cdac.in.

You could also suggest new ideas or Subcategories to enhance its purpose.

We look forward to your co-operation to foster development in the region.
_______________________________________________
general mailing list
general@mlug.mv
http://mlug.mv/mailman/listinfo/general_mlug.mv

the cables laid beneath the sea

Finally, they are gonna hit our islands soon. Hopefully very soon. This is good news. Number one reason being that this should bring down the cost of communications. More bandwidth. Hopefully more stable communication channels.

Its not a easy job, as it sounds. A lot of logistical issues and technical issues need to be resolved. It will be easy to say just get the damn thing laid and add the interfaces and do the routing. If everything was as easy as it sounds, we can do so much. Anyway that's a different story, but lets hope this will be a major break through for Maldives. The cost of communication has been coming down, since competition was introduced. Its been so much improved, that people have almost forgot how things were a few years back. The call charges, and the internet charges. Not to talk about the services that we use to have. All that seems to have changed over night. Suddenly things are improving so fast. This is really good. Even the customer are getting more aware and demanding more. That again is good news, it helps the companies to develop and deliver better quality service. But then again things don't happen over night. If you are the one who is suppose to do all the work then only you will know. One thing we often forget is, its easy said then done.

Unicode to mIRC

Finally, Khaled added support for display of UTF-8 text as Unicode to mIRC 6.17. Now I think its 6.2, which I tested. Works ok I guess.

The display of UTF-8 can be enabled by default for all windows in the Options/IRC/Messages dialog, or individually for any window you like via the Fonts dialog. Use the /font command to open the fonts dialog.

I guess you need to have Dhivehi as a language installed on your windows to have it fully working.

open source knowledge base

from http://www.opencyc.org/

OpenCyc is the open source version of the Cyc technology, the world's largest and most complete general knowledge base and commonsense reasoning engine. OpenCyc can be used as the basis of a wide variety of intelligent applications such as:

• rapid development of an ontology in a vertical area
• email prioritizing, routing, summarization, and annotating
• expert systems
• games

to name just a few.

I'm not sure about their claims, however, the project looks very interesting. I just got it up on a system and now my part is done. I hope the people who are suppose to use it enjoy it as well. buhahahaha.

how safe is safe?

Hello

dont worry the situation in Kabul is quite stable there are many forigner workers here and there have not been any kidnapped cases or murder many Europian UN worker drive around kabul and go for shopping and there isn't any problem so i hope you will enjoy working in Kabul to let you know i cant recommand you to work in the south and eastern provinces because there are some enemies and they are trying to kidnapped the foreign and government workers but Kabul is Safeeeeeee

so i hope you come and have a great experience in Afghanistan take care

Regards W

This was a email I got. According to it, its safe. The question now is how safe is safe?. There is another email I go too, which had a good point.

One more thing: there are much more chances to die of autoaccident in Minsk, my native city, then here of a rocket explosion and car crash together.

This was a good point. But I don't think still all this will convince my family and friends for me to take up a job at Kabul, Afghanistan. But I guess, if not for them I would have considered taking the offer. Well no one will know what holds for us, but most will say better not take chances with your life. So nothing much can be said. I am kinda sad, cos I think I have to let down the chance. It would have been a good experience and the pay was damn good. Plus I needed a change.

Form the looks of how things are going, things are stalled. Most will say its a very "harudhaana" choice. But for me, I'd rather move on and learn more. I don't think I would wanna be working for one place for a long time. I think its better for us to move on, find better options and gain experience. But most "harudhaana" minded people will disagree with me on this. That's fine. Its just my view that I am expressing here. One reason being, the more exposure you get the better chances you have to learn and improve. But if you wanna rule and take over a place or make it look as if you are the boss, or will be soon. Then stick on. Or maybe if you think you will never get a better job. Stick on. But as of now, I guess I'd be always on the look out for better options. Maldives is obviously out. There is nothing much I can learn from here. Even most jobs the pay "SUCKS". But I hope this time, I'd get a saffer offer.

The art of saying 'yes sir' and 'sorry sir'

I guess I have already posted about saying 'NO'. This time this is another experience. It is also very smart to say 'yes sir' and 'sorry sir' to your boss, as often as you can. This will keep you out of trouble and will make you successful. Never say 'no' to a boss, who does not like to hear the words 'no' and 'why'. Always and always say 'yes' and 'sorry'. Easy way out too. Just ignore the rest. Do what you have to do. There is no way you will win in some wars, or fights. It is even stupid to confront. Just give them what they would like to hear, and just walk out. Doing things how you want to do is a different story.

Need a change!

I guess I have had enough of something. I really need a change and some good stuff to work on. Its very frustrating when you feel different and have conflicting ideas then the rest. To watch and wait when things are done wrong and time is wasted. You wanna shout out loud but at the same time, you know its best NOT to say anything. Anyway end of the day, its not your business, so what the f**k? But for some reason it matters and its frustrating.

So the solution. I guess its to get out as soon as you can, before you start to have nightmares every night and it starts to effect you. Change is the answer. Be is for the best or worst. Who cares.

idhikeeli

Some people talk big. Hide behind crowds and shout. Use anonymous names and publish web sites and articles. We have seen all this. Hardly you will find people who will come up with their names and say stuff out. Maybe they are scared, and they have good reasons. Why? cos if you do, there will be a team of people who will attack you back. Anyway this is not new at all. For the past few years we have been witnessing this show for a while.

now the country is divided into two or three, politically. Some choose one party , since they hate some individuals or had enough of someone. For others they choose a party since they think its the best choice for the nation. There are also people who choose a party cos that is their life line. If you go against a party or choose not to support them, then you won't have a car to ride or the rest of the luxuries they have been so used to. For others its an opportunity to go to these heights. There is also people who choose a party cos of religious reasons. What ever it is, truth is its all divided. Does not matter for what reason you choose a certain party. Its our freedom to choose and decide. No one can force it on us or we should be picked upon for it.

right now the issues is what system we should select. Do we go with the presidential system or the parliamentary system. My view is and I support the presidential system. Why? I feel that is the best system for us right now. Just cos its been practiced in UK or else where does not mean we should go with that. When we select or vote it should be decided on what is best for our country and our children for the future. Now is not the time to fight or try to see which party is best, or who will win or loose. Its a matter of what is right and good. Its not about being political but about deciding our future. When you make a choice or stand up for what you think is right, does not mean you are being political. Anyway, no need to drag that talk.

idhikeeli is a blog run by a few individuals, who are just like you and me and most of us. They don't have a party to defend, or get paid by some people for what they write. Even they are not trying to over throw some other party, or defend their regime. I got a call today from a friend of mine, he called to let me know that he has emailed me the URL of the blog. I thought I could help him/them/us to spread the words. So if you get time too its worth a visit. Now I know we all have different views, I am just standing by mine. At the same time I guess we should fully respect others views as well.

the URL of the blog is http://idhikeeli.blogspot.com/

To: Span King(s)

Its not new that we get SPAM from the internet. Old story, but recently the SPAM is not from outside, but from inside. I have been getting junk SPAM on my inbox from the internal office server. Seems there is a big cult of people who love to SPAM. Please, please take me off this list. aaaaaaar! Vampire the Spammer!

މެހިމާލެ or ހުޅުމާލެ

.ވެދުންސަލާމައްފަހު ލިޔަމެވެ .
ކަމާބެހޭފަރާތަކުން އެއީކޮންމެ ފަރާތަކައްވީނަމަވެސް މިމެހިތަކުގެ ބަލާއިން ސަލާމަތް ވާނެގޮތެއް ހަދާދީބަލާށެވެ

What's that on top?

Ok, a few times I have been asked this question. What's on top of my blog on the banner. So here it is. Its just some thing I have had for two years or more. Its got some good memories of good times.

http://www.mvhackers.org/

Been killing time on http://www.mvhackers.org/ last two days. Me and two of my friends from work, have been working on the challenges on the site. It was a good time kill. I think its kinda very educative too, once you complete a challenge. Maybe a little kiddy for most people, but hey its a game. I guess I am done with the site, but would like to thank the guys who did it. Nice work.

Team

Person A , slaps hard on Person B's face
Person A: how did that feel?
Person B: it was ok
Person A: will you dance to my drums?
Person B: why, yes sir, sure sir.

Now that's what I call dedication and motivation.

USA and world domination!

We are living in a time where after the world war II, the USA has been trying to take over the world. The US uses lame excuses to invade nations and kill innocent people (all acts of self defense). If another nation does anything in self defense its is always considered to be acts of terror. The exception being that nation is a nation like Israel. This has been going on ever since US has come to power. Any voice who stands up against them is always considered to be terrorists. This has lead the world to what it is now. All thanks to the US. I need not go into any details. Guess this has been kinda same through out the history. From the Roman days to the British and German. Now the Americans.

I guess its time for the Americans to think and re think. If they continue like this, it is them who might have to suffer all the losses. No matter how much they try simple things just might lead them to destruction. My fear is them dragging the rest of the world too to this hell. War is not the answer. Killing people is not the answer. How can they declare them as right, after killing innocent children. There is no way anyone can be innocent after killing innocent people for what ever the cause is. What is happening to the Arab world is partly there own fault too. We can't only blame the Israel and USA for what is going on in the middle east. If the Arabs where united and talked the same language and did not back stab each other this day would not have come.

My guess is one reason this war is being dragged is the USA is looking for a way to get Iran involved in the war. If they do, then this will take the war to the next level. First the USA invaded Iraq with "lame" and stupid excuses. Now its Iran's time. It was not long back, when the US invaded Iraq saying they had WMD's and were a threat to the USA. This was on CNN and every where. This is what "G W Bush" SAID. When they could not find anything even close, the story line changed. It was liberation of the the Iraqi people. hmmmm! Nice joke. So this is how the world is run today. We just have to live with this and wait. Lets see where this leads us.

Finance and human resources

Combination of finance and human resources is the worst thing possible that a company can have. Finance department is always into cost cutting and against most developments where they don't see any financial benefit (mostly). HR should be neutral and should manage the staff in all aspects, including making sure the development of staff and benefits, etc. So you can imagine what will be the result if both of these comes under one person or department. Result is most likely that you will have a lot of de motivated staff. Further more, you can forget about anything good to happen to you; if you even talk about this or point things. Consider your self getting a promotion to the cleaning department. :P

Contra

The story begins when New Zealand (A.D. 2631) reports that a meteor crashed into the nearby ocean. Two Years Later the "Red Falcon", begins the destruction of humanity. Two of earth's marines, Bill & Lance, become the Contra. Their mission: Stop the world's destruction.

What ever the story was about, be it two guys with no shirts on or a stupid alien name called "Red Falcon". It was the best games of the 80's. I guess I never played any game more ever. Contra was the game. It had a good music, good graphics and most of all game play was good and fast. Considering the machines it ran on and the time. This was the best game on the Nintendo. Ok, some of you will say Super Mario was the game, hmmm! Ok, but for me it was not so. Before that I would say River Raid of Atari was the best.