Thursday, April 3, 2025

iDeal (Linux Image) KDE Desktop Image Install

 iDeal (Linux Image) KDE Desktop Image Install

Yes, ran into problem, installing iDeal Image.

It is a derivative MX Linux and it has two options.

Diamond which is 5.3GB with lot of KDE applications and Synaptic Package Manager as in Netrunner.  Other Option is smaller and is called Emerald.

I am beginning to like KDE, especially if the distribution gives me Gnome applications.

It has BelanaEtcher pre-compiled. 

If one is a newbie this is a good distribution to try.

However, KDE partition manger is not as good as Gnome's Gparted. 

Anyway, I had to resize the partition and I had to reduce the size of the NTFS partition and in the process I had to delete at least 5 Linux images that I rarely use.

Luckily I had Ubuntu 24.10. in one of the SD Cards mounted on USB Stick.

That save the day.

Gparted and Tails cannot be mounted on USB and need a CD/DVD. 

Installation is almost finishing and I hope it would get Efi GRUB configuration right.

Installation was OK.

It probably configured the keyboard to a German and I could not log in with the password typed. Besides this Encryption Craze makes me mad. I had to add a boot partition in addition to EFT. However it is my usual protocol and this small partition did not deserve  /boot partition but using NTFS, I dis add another partition to the system.

By the way, MX Linux let me have a Gnome Desktop if I get bored with KDE.

I am now Installing proper MX Linux on top of it.

Bset part is MX Linux let me uninstall LibreOffice and Firefox from the system saving me space becuase this installation is in a very small partition of little over 15GB.

Thank YOU MX Linux.

 

Pentoo Linux

 Welcome to Pentoo Linux
Pentoo is a Live CD and Live USB designed for penetration testing and security assessment. 

Based off Gentoo Linux, Pentoo is provided both as 32 and 64 bit installable Live CD.

Our chat services are linked, although discord is considered "main".

Join us on discord for support: https://discord.gg/5yhY9bg
Or on irc on https://libera.chat/ #pentoo

Or on telegram https://t.me/pentoolinux

Report bugs on github: https://github.com/pentoo/pentoo-overlay/issues

Pendrive Linux

Pendrive Linux

Web site: pendrivelinux.com (not active)
Origin: unknown
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: CLI
Architecture: x86
Based on: Debian
Wikipedia:
Media: Live
The last version | Released: June 14, 2007

PendriveLinux – a Debian based Linux distribution, aimed to work as a live system from a flash USB disk.

The last version released in 2007.

Point Linux

Point Linux

Web site: pointlinux.org
Origin: Russia
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: MATE, Xfce
Architecture: x86, x86_64
Based on: Debian
Wikipedia:
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 3.2 | June 21, 2016
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Point Linux

Point Linux – a Linux distribution based on Debian of the stable branch, and focused on personal computers. As default, it is equipped with the MATE desktop – a fork of GNOME 2.

Point Linux provides a traditional desktop, support for many additional devices, easy configuration and system management, and the ability to choose a local language during installation process.

Point Linux is also equipped with Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird products and uses the DuckDuckGo search engine.

The system is available for i686-pae and x86_64 machines in full and core version.

Play Linux

Play Linux

Web site: play-linux.com (not active)
Origin:
Category: Game
Desktop environment: Cinnamon
Architecture: x86, x86_64
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia:
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: beta1 rev2 | September 26, 2015
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Play Linux

Play Linux – a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS made for Gamers. It combines the power of Linux with the simplicity of Ubuntu.

Play Linux comes with 
Firefox, 
Steam client, 
Skype, 
Spotify, 
Flash plugin, 
multimedia plugins, 
VLC, 
LibreOffice, and 
WINE, 
Winetricks and 
PlayOnLinux, which allows you to install and execute many Windows programs.

As an addition, the live system features an application called “Kosmos” which lets users install a few popular programs as well.

Pinguy OS

Pinguy OS

Web site: pinguyos.com (not active)
Origin: United Kingdom
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: GNOME
Architecture: x86_64
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia: Pinguy OS
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 18.04.2 | March 30, 2019
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Pinguy OS

Pinguy OS – an out-of-the-box working operating system for everyone, not just geeks. It is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution aimed at Linux beginners. The system is equipped with tools and facilities for novices, offers support for multimedia codecs and web browser plugins.

Pinguy OS features a slightly modified GNOME desktop and personalized program menu, and a good number of pre-installed additional everyday applications.

The system is available for 32 and 64 bit machines in mini and full version.
As of version 18.04, Pinguy is only offered for 64 bit machines.

Parted Magic OS

Parted Magic OS


Web site: partedmagic.com
Origin: USA
Category: Rescue
Desktop environment: Openbox
Architecture: x86
Based on: Independent
Wikipedia: Parted Magic
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: active
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Parted Magic OS

Parted Magic OS – a live, independent developed Linux distribution which contains disk partitioning and data recovery tools.

Parted Magic OS works as a live CD/USB only without a hard drive installation and can be boot through a network using PXE.
It features recovery tools such as: Partition Image, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, ddrescue, GParted, Parted, Truecrypt, Clonezilla, G4L, SuperGrubDisk, etc., and supports many file systems, including ext2, ext3, ext4, fat16, fat32, hfs, hfs+, jfs, linux-swap, ntfs, reiserfs, reiser4, and xfs.

In August 2013 Parted Magic OS became a commercial distribution.
One of the latest free version 2013_06_14 is available to download and test.

If you need an up to date Parted Magic OS iso image, you have to purchase it from the project page.

BeatrIX

BeatrIX

Web site: www.watsky.net (not active)
Origin: Czech Republic
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: Gnome
Architecture: x86
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 2005.1 | January 28, 2005

BeatrIX – a minimal, Ubuntu based Linux distribution, designed to run on computers with old hardware components.

It features only a few applications, such as: e-mail, instant messaging, word processing and web browse on the top of Gnome desktop environment. The Live CD fits into 80 mm discs that can store up to 200 MB of data.

It can run on machines with 64MB RAM in live mode so can be used on very old machines.

The system developer is Steven Watsky.
The latest version of BeatrIX was released in 2005, and was based on Ubuntu 4.10 “Warty Warthog”.

Debris

Debris

Web site: debrislinux.org (not active)
Origin: Switzerland
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: Gnome
Architecture: x86
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia: Debris Linux
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 2.0 | November 29, 2009

Debris Linux (previously: BeaFanatIX, BFX) – a minimalist Linux distribution based on Ubuntu with GNOME as a default desktop. The ISO image file is about 200 MB in size and works as a Live CD, with a hard drive installation option.

After the missing of Steven Watsky (maker of BeatrIX) the community fell apart. Stephan Emmerich wanted to continue the project, but since this was no longer possible with BeatrIX, he decided to make a new distro, based on BeatrIX, called BeaFanatIX. This was later renamed to Debris Linux.

Debris offers GNOME and Openbox, a lightweight session powered only by the Openbox window manager or a traditional session with GNOME and Metacity.

The live system features software:
– Mozilla Firefox – a web browser
– Beep – a mediaplayer
AbiWord – a text processor
– Gnumeric – a spreadsheet program
Evolution – an e-mail client
Pidgin multi-protocol instant messenger.
Audacious – an audio player
– gFTP – a file transfer client
GParted – a partition editor
– NDISwrapper – the Microsoft Wireless driver manager
ePDFViewer – a document viewer
– GQView – an image viewer
– Leafpad – a text editor
– DebI – a custom system installer

Gnoppix

Gnoppix

Web site: gnoppix.com | nongnu.org/gnoppix/
Origin: Switzerland
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: Gnome
Architecture: x86
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 2.12 | September 7, 2005

Gnoppix – a Linux distribution inspired by Knoppix, but based on Ubuntu.
Gnoppix can be compared to Knoppix but GNOPPIX uses GNOME as desktop environment.

The system can be used as a live CD without installing to hard disk, but it offers a hard drive installer too.

Gnoppix 1.0 is based on Ubuntu 5.04 Hoary Hedgehog.
The last version of Gnoppix 2.12 was released in September 2005.

The founder and main developer of Gnoppix is Andreas Mueller.

As of March 20, 2022 the developer let me posted, that the project is still under active development, and:

“Gnoppix is based on Kali Linux Rolling, Gnoppix comes complete with a set of additional software repositories containing the latest 64-bit versions of the Plasma 5 desktop environment/framework, Qt 5 toolkit and other compatible KDE software. Gnoppix was first announced in June 2003.

In Addition to the famous Gnoppix Desktop, we’ll provide also a docker version of Gnoppix, currently we’re working on a Gnoppix version for Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets as well.

The last version | Released: 22.313 | March 13, 2022”

Science Education and Linux

Science Education and Linux
One of my first articles on Linux was based on Linux in education.

Then, I was grumbling about not been able to find a Linux Guru either in Kandy or Colombo.

Result at that time was an appallingly negative outcome.

Of course I found a few Gurus from abroad which included Cristopher Naegus.

Unfortunately he has stopped writing or updating the Linux Bible.

I want blame him for his delay. (I bought his new edition few months ago which came after almost after 5 years).

The way Linux is progressing, nobody can keep pace with, including books on Linux.

Moment you write something on Linux and post it, it is outdated by many a miles.

My entry today is to talk about contribution of Linux to Education in general and Science in particular.

With the introduction of One Lap Top for Child (OLPS) project there was proliferation of educational products from France to Germany to Poland and Spain.

Material included from preschool to university level.

Unfortunately due to interference of Microsoft and they being able to port their product on OLPS with the sole object of destroying the initiative is hindering the progress of the OLPS.

For OLPS there is SOAP (Sugar On A stick or Plastics -means Flash Drive) packages but unfortunately nobody seems to streamline and organize these educational material in a systematic and stepwise manner (Built on an existing platform and add on serially to suit the different age groups and needs).

I found few packages very interesting and deal with them first before proposing a scientific way to establish this scenario of Open Source Science and Education.

I call it OSSE-U (Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).

There is is a serious of 7 to 10 Linux CDS for Science which I have not downloaded yet. (I have done it now-writing on science may be not in the immediate future)

Therefore, I am not going to talk about science at the moment but education in general.

To begin with there is gCompris from France with a definite French accent for Linux and Microsoft.

But my best in Knoppix for Kids (probably originated form Germany) but unfortunately there are no updates after 2005 or 2007.

There are packages from Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Greece, Spain, Poland and Italy and many other countries(including China-Taiwan-Linpus Linux-now become commercial).

But all these are catering for the domestic audience with their language bias without international clout.

Unfortunately UNICEF and UNO is Dumb and Numb about producing educational (Freeduc-that originated probably from France died in infancy at the hands of UNO) material at least for children and doctors of the Third World.

There is nothing from England and USA, who still with the colonial attitude and mind that they are the repository of Education, which is not so, now. If Open Source take a root in the Developing World their monopoly in education would slowly diminish in importance (European countries are embracing Linux, Spain in particular and Latin Americans including Brazil) but

Unfortunately India also has failed because Indian Maha Rajas also think education is money like their colonial Past Masters.

In this context Russia without a global outlook has failed to catch the market.

I am still to get a live CD version of ALT Linux (they have a DVD version in English-I have the Russian version, though) from Russia in spite of contacting them on several occasions. I have got a CD in Linux now.

I think my Linux 100 and critical comments on the web are bearing fruits in less than 6 months and stock market crisis is a blessing in disguise for the third world except U.N.O pundits who have succumbed to the pressure and insinuation by Microsoft.

Everybody think that once a CD ISO is posted at their web site for free download the job is done.

That is not so.

They do not realize that the Telelom Industry is still in infancy in the Third World and download speed is appallingly slow.

(This has become appalling after the introduction of PEO TV in Sri-Lanka).

It took 12 to 14 hours for me to download SuSe Sugar (please do not download SuSe Sugar, it is slow and has a serious bug in the Grub File).

Because of the proliferation of mobile industry Telecom Industry cannot think of a Giga bite download speed for another decade or so.

That is also if one pays a hefty fee.

UNICEF has failed.

UNO has failed to impart emphasis on education because education from preschool to university is big money spinner.

Unfortunately, even in this Banana Republic of Sri-Lanka it is true.

They are not thinking digitally (Brain Atrophied).

Currently trying to destroy the existing system and the students..
I think many more children will go abroad and will never come back with the budget for education going down while budget for defense is going up.

They think by giving outdated free education material to students free that they have solved our Education Problem. It is not so!

They do not pause to think why our brightest students and the children of rich families with foreign connections go abroad paying massive sums.

With this digital age that information can be had for 10% of the price.

All what the student should have is a laptop with Apple Approach (I would write about Apple computer in preference to Microsoft in due course).

This I have to defer since the price is not within the reach of average Sri-Lankan who has to pay almost 50 Rupees for a coconut now!

Mind you now Linux is porting free Linux distributions for Mac too.

We have to import English Teachers from Hyderabad to teach our teachers, having killed the English Education for the last 35 years.

If one wants to learn about Linux and Education, just go to Google and type Linux and Education you get a heap of material form nearby Australia to Germany and France.

This is only a glimpse. I would give a list below and wind with some hints for the Educational Developers with a Linux bent.

1.OLPS with my new OSSE-Universe Linux

2.SOAP

3.Knoppix for Kids

4.Look for defunct Freeduck

5.gCompris

6.Alt Linux form Russia

7.Pardus Linux from Greece and many more.

Even though SuSE Community assembled many of these resources from the repositories they have done a poor job.

Educational package should in my opinion should have they following as the base.

Mysql.

Mysql PHP

Mysql Admin graphic face

My Admin as the front end for student to play with and develop a database of packages.

Gbasic as a front end of Visual Basic application

gFlash as or Flash as a front end.

A Quick time simulator for playing Apple Education software.

Some way to hack itunes.

Kind of Play Station based on Wine and similar emulators.

Then divide the material as preschool, Junior, Intermediate, Higher and University Level to begin with.

Common software repository with series of Levels (for the Linux Distribution in mind) to download.

I would like the distribution to named as OSSE-U Linux (Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).

That is my contribution for the time being!

Asoka
Edited 0n the 15th of November. 2010

Original 14th of October, 2009

Open for Students, budding Scientists and Explorers of this Universe).
Copyright name of OSSE-U belongs to me anyway!

Google you can improve on this idea with cloud computing in mind.

Microsoft do not steal this idea.

I will be on your tail!

aLinux

 aLinux

Web site: alinux.tv (not active)
Origin: Canada
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment:
 AfterStep
Fluxbox, 
IceWM
KDE, 
WindowMaker, 
Xfce
Architecture: x86
Based on: Independent
Wikipedia:
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 15.0 | February 26, 2013
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: aLinux

aLinux (previously: Peanut Linux) – an independent Linux distribution targeted to home and small office users.

aLinux contains pre-installed a large set of applications of audio, video and graphics categories. 
It supports High Definition TV, so it is called as "Extreme Multimedia Center”.

The main desktop is KDE, but it is designed to have a Windows-style “look”.
The system uses RPM packages, and Synaptic as its GUI’s package manager.

The last stable version aLinux 15.0 featured KDE 3.10 and was released in February 2013.
The last (testing) version was 17.0 beta3.
aLinux founder and developer is Jay Klepacs.

The Live system user name is: root; and the password is blank.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Future Managing Passwords

Future of Managing Passwords
 

I think Ubuntu One and few others give concern for good password management.
 
Naming others would be improper since they are not Open Source based.

What goes behind them and whether they share them with the NSA or a corrupt regimes is open for debate. I have personnel reason to believe they do and my own experience with institutions specially corrupt or vested interests, is on the affirmative.

They are hell bent to breach any privacy one may have.
The reason being that they do not want to be exposed of their sordid acts.
 
They are paranoid and it is a disease.

Fact that this blog post exists is due to the interference with my blog post elsewhere and a site that lacked good security protocol
.

They were dysfunctional over more than a year and I do not use the site anymore.
My writings were very docile innocent and not politically involved.
They were bit humorous and the basic ingredients were satire.

Unfortunately for me, out of the top ten, my writings (I was involved in initial setup) filled the top eight and the administrator got paranoid and blocked my name.

I still continued to write (very little traffic) in spite of noticing the administrators handiwork, since my idea was not to reach the top ten.

They used my birthday as a discriminator
This institute is now defunct not due to my influence.
 
Who says there is no discrimination in web hosting and social media.
But my writings were there for anybody to read in spite of blocking the rating.
I have collated them and recently deleted 75% of the original writings from that site.
Some of them are now in digital output for posterity, in a book form.

This preamble is necessary since when one opens one’s heart and not the mind in the web, one has to be prepared for insults and discrimination.
Sadly now governments and secret agencies are doing things that one would not suspect 30 years ago.
Technocrats and not the real hard working guys who fill these posts and operating from air conditioned cubicles and are scared to be on the beat and foot.
 
Invariably paranoia develops.

So I think it is necessary to have a bit of paranoia when one enters the web with email to begin with.

How does one have a good password?
 
How one can remember a password with 14 to 16 characters (what banks employ now for an account, with the help of computers)?

To begin with one has to train the brain to remember.
I have a suggestion elsewhere (under web etiquette) that  I do not want to repeat here.

Beginning,

Step 1

One has to remember in blocks of three or four.
To train your mind try to remember your VISA card number.
Front four are almost specific and easy.
The last four should be your next attempt.
Do this every time when you go to the bank or to the till.
Do not worry if you forget.
When you can remember the first and the last lot of four numbers, try the other two lot not in specific way.
Suddenly part of the brain not utilized before get a rush of blood and new neurone networks.
Person with any age with firm resolve can do that.
This subconscious repetitive acts can be easily extended to one's password.

I used to remember all the telephone numbers of my friends by heart in good old days and friends are the ones, one frequently ring and (telephone charges were relatively expensive, then) the brain stores them for good.
 
I stop doing that when cell phones came into existence.
 
One has to have one’s own trick for remembering blocks of three or four.

Try to associate them with pictures, names, pets etc.
 
Your pet fish or dog or cat would have a secret code attached.
Every time you feed them repeat the code (in mind) mentally in no time it get fixed as a long term permanent memory.

Step 2
 
Come with a phrase to include all the 10 to 16 characters in one’s password.
This is the hard part but it can be done.

Step 3
Use elements that one never forgets (unless one has Dementia).
Birthday is an easy one to remember.
 
Use only two numbers from it, not all.

Step 4
Unfortunately this cannot be used if one is English but I will give some hint for them too.
For Sinhala U Mata Banna, or Muta Mata Gahanna Hithenawa or Even Puke Ariya are good enough relatively used rephrases one can remember in trans-literate content, which the English Search engine might have trouble in figuring out.
From that phrase  one can choose four characters (even more if the phrase is carefully constructed) easily.
For English user, one good example is to go to alchemy and remember few Elements from the Tables.
Elements like Argon, Neon, Nitrogen,Bromine could be used at lib.
Or even one can use pentagon, hexagon, octagon or any other scientific or mathematical elements.
 
Again one only remembers four characters.

Step 5
If one has ever used a password before which one has remembered with repeated usage, use the same in the middle or rearrange it and put it in the middle.
 
Which will easily give you at least six characters.

You already got 12 characters now.
 
Use two capital letters easy to access from the keyboard as the leader or the end of the password or leader and end, depending one is right or left handed.

Step 6.
If the web site requires you to use an alphanumeric pick an alpha numeral to satisfy them.
You got 16 in all and 14 probably is adequate.

Step 7
Do not tell your method to anybody.
Do not share your password even with your spouse.
One day you me be divorced!
That is real and if you have time read my book on “Myths, Miracles and Marriage”.
Usually perfectly normal people become paranoid after getting married.
That is my medical experience.
It is often the people who are near and dear (sometimes, so called friends) who steal your password, not a rouge who breaks in for quick takeaway and getaway.

Keep the record of the method in a secret hiding place that you only have access.
In case one day you forget.
The best place to Hide is your brain.
Not even a brain surgeon would have any access.



When resetting the password.
When you change the password, drop two and take two from your birthday.
Pick four alternative block of four from your catch phrase.
Jumble your original password or add a new one.
Follow the rest as required and one may be able to go on till eighty to ninety since you practised your own method and is almost specific to YOUR BRAIN which a hacker may not be able to penetrate or crack.

Unless you are one of twins there are no two people alike.
Even in them their are subtle differences not due to genetics but the brain behaves differently, even in twins.

Foot Note
But beware your doctor with a short memory or who is cash strapped who might steal your birth day or the catch phrase that you utter to him every time you visit.
Remember doctors forget their passwords more often than their patients.
They will never tell you.
That is why they record every word you utter and then get the vital diagnosis
wrong.
In this computer age doctors have become robots (unlike good old days) and not real humans.
If they ask you do you forget your passwords
Straight away say NO.

The stupid guy will ask you to state the password and put it in his computer memory which is not protected from hackers.
Even the nurse can steal it, if she/he is inclined.

I trust my doctor does not apply to passwords when you do visit him/her, next time, round.
That includes me too.
I might do that, catch your password, certainly not to steal but because my brain is getting absent minded I might put that in my computer, easily accessed even by a little kid.
Do not worry, I do not practice now by choice not by design anyway.
You are safe with me, my dear.

 

Web Etiquette and finding a suitable webbing name for blogging and browsing

Web Etiquette and finding a suitable webbing name for blogging and browsing

See below for passwords, a short new entry.

I searched over 100 web pages to find my web entry (accidental) on a blog site and what I discovered was something, I should write here and is important for several reasons.

It is remarkable that several tendencies of the SMS age is evident.

1. Most of them were blogging for fun and only a very few for humor or satire.

The world without humor for me is not worth living and boring.

I like the subtle humour as opposed to crude humor where one has to tickle one's arm pit to initiate the process, almost self induced.

Humor has to be infectious and spontaneous.

The modern age of computing it it is noteworthy of its lack.

The worst of satire in Linux terms is flamming which I am opposed to.

I was brought up in a age of discussion and discrete disagreement and not infighting but that is what one sees today.

2. Second observation I notice was one does not know how to use a pseudonym or what editors call the screen or newspaper adopted name for acting and freelance writing.

The problem with this is that one wants to search for self to see how one fares in the Wild Web as opposed to Wild West of yesteryear is that the pseudonym does not appear when Googling and often to the disappointment to many.

That is the topic here but I should state one more of my observations before getting into that topic.

3. Most of the young ones start blogging after some personal grieve (not death) and disappointment.

Often break up of love affairs.

I often think breakups are good for many to learn real life situation before getting into serious commitments which most of them are not yet ready.

It should be of positive dynamics rather than negative, so to speak.

So blogging is not a bad thing to pass over the tide but I found a serious impediment there.

It is like this if one is attending a a diabetic clinic for the young and fall in love with a diabetic.

In noway I am going to encourage that.

Two bad genes and you (the two) end up with many diabetic children as parents.

Getting to know another diabetic is a good for one's soul to learn to cope with but not to get married, for heaven sake.

My observation confirms that there was unhealthy pairing.

Two emotionally labile getting together leads to disaster.

Falling from ditch to a very deep pit which is worse than two diabetics getting together where on can treat the other with insulin injection.

This is sure recipe for more disappointments and even suicide.

At that stage what you need is a sympathetic friend (not a lover) and a very goodcounsellor with adult stature.

Back to pseudonym, coining a suitable pseudonym has to be done with care.

It is often trial and error.

I will come out with a story.

I went abroad for a short holiday and the idea was to buy a laptop without an operating system and to boot it at the airport with a Linux CD while waiting for the plane before check in call.

I actually did that.

When I went to several places knowing that I was foreigner they wanted to sell me (more profit) always with an operating system.

Eventually, it end up almost with a fight but I did not cave in.

For my liking at last I found a very nice charming salesgirl who quoted me  a very reasonable price without an operating system (boss did not want it that way).

I had to show the guy I was not a stupid foreigner and pulled out a Puppy Linux from my front shirt pocket and booted up and in with the Internet and typed Linux and my Christian name.

Presto!

There were 20 of my entries including Gonbas, Gembas and Gambase in Linux.

My friend who was residing in that country too was amazed and he was a computer guy.

He helped me to go to the correct warehouse of course.

Without much a do we closed the deal.

Irony was the word Linux.

It is very little used in the Web and my Christian name was very, very common.

It was all fortuitous but worked for me.

If one has a common name like Sara or David one can still work with it without adding numerals.

I change paradox to parafox and it is the name I use here.

Then I start using not prefix or suffix like in English.

Tailing words combined.

1. Saralive or seralive or sierralove

2. Davidknock, Davidcook or Davidcock and the vagary is almost limitless.

The word is not a English, Name or a English Word and it will hit the top of Google engine in no time.

For French it is very easy.

Just combine se, le, la to make one word.

Presto.

Only nearest word that came near my parafox was in fact French.

I use fox to fox the foxes live, like the Channel 4.

I hope you got the onions and foxes right by now.

Hope, you and your pseudonym, rise to the top in the web of antonymous.

Edited on 02-08-2013

Passwords

I wanted to write about password for sometime and kept postponing it for valid reason

If I bear them here the hackers will use it to decode it.

So I do it free of charge on personnel basis not out in the open.

But one trick is easy to do.

In good old days, before computers and zip codes and bar coeds came in every shop had a  code name with 10 letters.

Each letter represented numbers 1 to 10 in serial order.

Marked price is written in letters and not in numbers.

Same trick to remember the 25 letters in the alphabet/keyboard,

Quick Fox Runs,

12345, 678, 9,0,10,11

The mark price for  1000 = is nuu

The mark price for  1010 = is nn

For example Pig on my back or pin on my back

123, 45, 67, 89010

Password could be pi3on67bac10

One can use any combination of this and one has to remember the catch phrase only once.

Please do not use the above since the hackers may have already put the code in their search engine to crack the password.

But one may use

Runs Fox Quick OR

Back my pin,on

Use your imagination for the catch phrase and use the numbers in reverse order.

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0

I use a different trick for my password and they come from Linux Code and only a Linux guy with lot of determination will crack it to find there is nothing valid in my emails which has not been published already in my blog sites.

Chinaman

 Reproduction

I do not know from where I picked from. 

Most likely from a paper cutting.

This reproduced here to remember my friend Chakra who was a cricket fanatic. 

Chinaman

Left-arm unorthodox spin

The ball turns away from the right-handed batsman, as if the bowler were an orthodox left-arm spinner. The delivery was sometimes historically called a chinaman.

Trajectory of a left-arm unorthodox spin deliver.

Left-arm unorthodox spin, also known as slow left-arm wrist spin, is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm unorthodox spin bowlers use wrist spin to spin the ball and make it deviate, or 'turn' from left to right after pitching. The direction of turn is the same as that of a traditional right-handed off spin bowler, although the ball will usually turn more sharply due to the spin being imparted predominantly by the wrist.

Some left-arm unorthodox bowlers also bowl the equivalent of a googly, or 'wrong'un', which turns from right to left on the pitch. The ball turns away from the right-handed batsman, as if the bowler were an orthodox left-arm spinner. The delivery was sometimes historically called a chinaman.

Left-arm unorthodox spin, also known as slow left-arm wrist spin, is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm unorthodox spin bowlers use wrist spin to spin the ball, and make it deviate, or 'turn' from left to right after pitching. The direction of turn is the same as that of a traditional right-handed off spin bowler, although the ball will usually turn more sharply due to the spin being imparted predominantly by the wrist.

Some left-arm unorthodox bowlers also bowl the equivalent of a googly, or 'wrong'un', which turns from right to left on the pitch. The ball turns away from the right-handed batsman, as if the bowler were an orthodox left-arm spinner. The delivery was sometimes historically called a chinaman.

Notable left-arm unorthodox spin bowlers

The first cricketer known to bowl the style of delivery was 19th-century South African bowler Charlie Llewellyn. Llewellyn toured North America with Bernard Bosanquet, the originator of the googly delivery, and it is likely that Llewellyn learned the googly-style of delivery from him, bowling it with his left-arm.

Among noted players who have bowled the delivery are Denis Compton, who originally bowled orthodox slow-left arm deliveries but developed left-arm wrist spin, taking most of his 622 first-class wickets using the delivery.

Chuck Fleetwood-Smith used the delivery in the 1930s, including in his 10 Test matches. Although better known for fast bowling and orthodox slow left-arm, Garfield Sobers could also use it to good effect. In cricket's modern era, Australian Brad Hogg brought the delivery to wider notice and had one of the most well-disguised wrong'uns.

Kuldeep Yadav, who debuted for India in March 2017, bowls left-arm wrist spin and Paul Adams played 45 Test matches and 24 One-day internationals for South Africa between 1995 and 2004 using the delivery. Michael Bevan and Dave Mohammed are also considered to be "among the better known" bowlers to use the style.

In 2021 The Guardian claimed that Kuldeep Yadav of India, Tabraiz Shamsi of South Africa and the Afghan bowler Noor Ahmad were "probably the foremost left-arm wrist-spinners in world cricket", while in 2022 Michael Rippon was reported as "the first specialist left-arm wrist spinner" to play for New Zealand. In the women's game, Kary Chan of Hong Kong uses left-arm wrist spin deliveries.

Instances of left-arm unorthodox spinners taking a ten-wicket haul in a Test match are rare. Examples include Chuck Fleetwood-Smith against England in 1936–37, Michael Bevan against the West Indies in 1996–97, and Paul Adams against Bangladesh in 2002–03.

In 2007 CricInfo suggested that left-arm wrist-spin bowlers are uncommon because it is "difficult to control left-arm wrist spin. And the ball coming in to a right-hander is considered less dangerous than the one leaving him". A left-arm wrist spin bowler's standard delivery will turn towards a right-handed batsman, as opposed to a right-arm leg spin bowler who will turn the ball away from them. In 2024 Cameron Ponsonby reiterated this view on The Final Word podcast, stating in jest of the success of Kuldeep Yadav,

"The hardest thing in the world, in this sport, is to bowl wrist spin. The reason why right arm leg spin works and is effective is because it spins the ball away from the bat. That's the positive. The negative side of that is you have less control. What's bad about off spin? You spin the ball into the right-hander. What's good about off spin? You have control. Left arm wrist spin: what's good about it? Nothing, because you spin the ball into the right-hander without control."

Historical use of the term 'chinaman'

Historically the term "chinaman" was sometimes used to describe the googly delivery or other unusual deliveries, whether bowled by right or left-arm bowlers. The left-arm wrist spinner's delivery that is the equivalent of the googly eventually became known as the "chinaman".

The origin of the term is unclear, although it is known to have been in usein Yorkshire during the 1920s and may have been first used in reference toRoy Kilner. It is possible that it is a guarded reference toCharlie Llewellyn, the first left-arm bowler to bowl the equivalent of the googly. It is first known to have been used in print in The Guardian in 1926 in reference to the possibility of Yorkshire bowlerGeorge Macaulay bowling a googly but the term became more widely used after a Test match between England and West Indies at Old Trafford in 1933. Ellis Achong, a player of Chinese origin who bowled slow left-arm orthodox spin, had Walter Robins stumped off an orthodox delivery. As he walked back to the pavilion, Robins reportedly made a racist comment to the umpire, "fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman!", which was a reference to Achong, rather than the ball, though the story has been widely mis-told over the years.

In 2017, Australian journalistAndrew Wu, who is of Chinese descent, raised concerns about the use of the term as "racially offensive", arguing the term itself "has historically been used in a contemptuous manner to describe the Chinese".

Wisdenformally changed their wording of the term to slow left-arm wrist-spin in the 2018 edition of theAlmanack, describing chinaman as "no longer appropriate". CricInfo followed suit in 2021, noting that although some argued that its use in cricket "was not meant to be derogatory", that its continued use was inappropriate. Some writers continue to use the term.

Notes

Kilner bowled slow left-arm orthodox deliveries rather than wrist spin. Although it is possible that the term was first used either by Kilner or in reference to his bowling, it was not used by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1924 when he was one of their five Cricketers of the Year or in his 1929 obituary.

Llewellyn had a white father and a mother who had been born on St Helena. She was described as "black" by historian Rowland Bowen, although it is possible that she was from a Madagascan or Indian background. Andy Carter has suggested that there could be a link between Llewellyn's mixed-race heritage and the use of the term "chinaman".

Macaulay was a right-arm bowler who did not bowl wrist spin deliveries.

For example, the term remained in use to describe Kuldeep Yadav in the Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in 2021.

Morphix

 Morphix
 

Morphix is something that I downloaded for testing and then completely forgot about it.

I was looking for Gamers which Linux even now sadly lacking and this was one of the few that morphed form Debian into a successful distribution way back in 2003 when live CDs were not in vogue and I was immature to Linux.

But it has everything I am (now) looking for.
Debian base and hence stable.
Morphed into modules hence assembling is easy.
It is light weight and boots fast with many options at boot time.

Problem is that it has gone into long five year hibernation.

According to Alex it is in coma.

Thank god he left all 4 versions in various Iso sites.

I am going to download all now that without them me writing a review is absurd.

Morphix Team should wake up from slumber and it is a distribution which should not be in the attic.

It has all the virtues.

You know when some body wakes up from coma it feels very fresh and there is lot of energy left.

My kick-ass mentality is the only way to make one realizes its potential.

I am waiting are you ready.

Open Office Version 1 to 3 (dated-16-12-2008)

Open Office Version 1 to 3 (dated-16-12-2008)

SunMicroSystem Open Office has taken a giant step from its 2.4 version to 3.

I happen to see this version on a laptop with Linux distribution and was bit curious since I had been using it from version 1 which was the Star Office of Sun MicroSystems Office package released to the web as an open source software. Linux guys grabbed this with enthusiasm and it was budnled with all the Linux distributions.

This was the time I was migrating from Windows to Linux and its features included Web Format as well as pdf format.

I used to import Microsoft Office documents and remove all the Macros with proprietary claims which unnecessarily makes the the word file bigger than it ought to be.

In addition these Macros attract Viruses and make page laying extremely difficult from page to page. It is the nuisance Microsoft users have to encounter.

Auto formatting was a pain in the neck.

Other features of Open Office included that one can save the document in many formats as one wishes so that the recovery (this does not happen with Open Office) of a Microsoft file gone haywire was just a touch of a button.

It has a automatic recovery system when the power fails (if one does not have a battery backup when power fails) which I found annoying but it was a safety feature that was important if you are working on a long file.

Over five year period this happened only  three or four times and you can see what a "Finicky Soul” I am when working with computers.

I have only had one file corruption (one of these recovery incidents) over period of five years that was all due to my 128 RAM getting overloaded (hardware problem and not software) by many programs running at the same time.

That is the beauty of Linux with  multitasking abilities.

I only had to shutdown and restart and the file would be recovered in a few minutes, since the program gave me an adequate warning of the impending file corruption (due to RAM overload) and the misbehavior. I did not use enough swap file in those early days.

That is the value of this office package which I have no hesitation to recommending to anyone especially one is short of cash to buy the Microsoft new office package. I believe it is a waste of money.

The real reason I used was its PDF format which was a necessary ingredient for transferring a file across the Web.

The new version has arithmetic (formula feature) and calculation function which would be very easy for school kids.

Once you are registered with the Open Office home site automatic upgrading is available ad one does not have to wait for the next version.

Only down side that the database cannot be uploaded to an old access database. I have to live with it for the time being but very soon he community would find a way out of this scenario and remove all the Macros and ActiveX script and get the database raw table into its domain, whether Microsoft likes it or not.

Footnote

The exposure of the Internet Explorer to hackers probably from China, raises the question how safe is the Microsoft Software including Office.

Linux has many browsers (explorers) from Dillo to Falkon to Firefox.

Why we Ceylonese not using these browsers speaks of our up to date knowledge of IT Industry.

It is time to move to Linux especially Suse-11 and Mandrake 2009.

Ironically SLT (Sri-Lankan Telecom) does not support its wired service to Linux.

I had to go to Singapore in 2009 and buy a Router for our private use.

The modems they dish out freely in the past and dishing out in this Christmas do not support Linux

They are hooked to Microsoft.

16thDecember 2008

Google, Chrome, Cloud Conputing and the Future of Communication

Google, Chrome, Cloud Conputing and the Future of Communication

It is fitting to post the 200th and end my blogging exercise with some note on Cloud Computing.
I was one who was always concerned with the bulk we carry to school and work.
Light weight and agility with nimble footing was something I liked to treasure when young and in old age. When I see Ceylonese children carry gunny loads of books on their back. I pause to think of the wisdom of our Educationalists who do not understand the physical and physiological mechanics and making of a young child.
They also do not understand how the world is changing from factual world to interactive IT world and web utilities. Big books bring fear in children and adults.
I can remember tearing off the big medicine book into its chapters and making it small and light weight (this was an advice I got from a senior medical student).
Like one step at a time on chapter at a time makes it easier to read.
This I stretched further in the final year (now the big books are coming in pocket editions and and data and evidence medicine are carried in palmtops) and I only carried smallest possible note in my hand (rest in the head) and only noted down the few things that I did not comprehend fully to revise (I do this to present day- come across a new word, in English or Medicine, refer that in a dictionary and master the use of it, better still find a simple alternative word which simple people understand).
When you take the computer world operating systems are getting bloated by the day.

Even, the Linux derivatives are bloated in size and the KDE 4, I fondly call the Gorilla of Linux to drive my point.
Linux started with 4 to 32 MB of code but now fills a DVD (42, 000 packages in Debian and not even itemized yet) without an effort.
They come neck and neck with Microsoft.
The bloating period is coming to an end with the entry of Chrome Browser and Chrome OS from Google.
Now chills are running down the spine of Microsoft and if this takes the center stage software era and profit making are going to be thing of the past.
Utilities and Services will count like Water, Electricity and Payphone.
In future it is Cloud Service and Google will carry the load.
Already Cloudusb (a company name) and dropbox are established and they are platform independent.

Quoted from a web page published elsewhere!

"Google has said that Android is optimized for touchscreen interfaces, while Chrome is optimized for keyboards. It might be just as accurate to say that Android is optimized for consumption first, content creation second, while Chrome will be optimized for both consumption and content creation".
For some of us, the crucial difference is "play" and "work."
I am one who wants to outsmart even Google by carrying my operating system in a Pendrive (Flash drive). into my grave if that is allowed by the government.
This is what I want the education department to give serious thought.

The Jolicloud Manifesto
At Jolicloud we believe a movement has started. A movement that will change the computer industry forever: a world where computers are inexpensive, where operating systems are free and software is online. This is the world we dreamed of when we first discovered computers and the Internet. And this is why we wanted to build an operating system (OS) around a platform that gives everyone the opportunity to be part of this movement and access a whole new range of possibilities.
Jolicloud is an Internet operating system. It combines the two driving forces of the modern computing industry: the open source and the open web.
Jolicloud transforms your netbook into a sophisticated web device that taps into the cloud to expand your computing possibilities. The web already hosts a significant part of our lives: mails, photos, videos, and friends are already somewhere online. Jolicloud was built to make the computer and web part of the same experience.
The online world is taking processing power away from our computers, so we won't need expensive machines in the future. The web improves itself, so we don't need to replace machines all the time to be able to run newer versions of operating systems or office suites.
But the real catalyst of change has been the arrival of the netbooks: they started as an experimental low cost laptop for kids and they now radically change our views on how much we are willing to pay for personal computers. Think about it: computers are now becoming cheaper than mobile phones and MP3 players.
We feel privileged to witness this rebirth of the computer culture and are very excited about the world changes it can foster: More affordable means more people around the world connecting with knowledge, more communication between people and more balanced access to computing power with less cost, format or geographical limitations.
We come from the web, so we built our user interface mostly using its core technologies (HTML, javascript, CSS). We have integrated our web DNA into the OS to make it modular, social and personal. Our developer platform relies on the web and will let anyone or any service join in no time. With our API, developers will have the ability to let their website communicate with the computer directly with no need to code specific native applications.
Of course it's just the beginning. Netbooks are very new. They are still bulky, but they are making progress with better keyboards, better screens and battery time.
No one has yet entirely switched his or her life online, but everyday larger parts of our personal and business lives are relayed and stored via the web. Online connectivity is still expensive but prices are dropping as operators can't resist the global needs of the "always on" generation.
Legendary computer inventor Alan Kay once said, the best way to predict the future is to invent it. This is why we created Jolicloud. Like every project we can't do it by ourselves. We need your help and support to make this project a success. Together let's change the status quo and build the coolest OS for netbooks.
The future lies in the IT industry and not in heavy textbooks.
Less textbooks is environmentally friendly too.
We do not have to chop more and more trees to produce paper and textbooks which are getting outdated by the minute.
Cloud of computers can carry all the education material online.
Children should carry a Pendrive and few workbooks.
That is the future and it is next evolution of mankind.

WordPress

 

Sunday, December 12, 2010


WordPress

My privsate Web Page still working (but I cannot update, I have forgotten the password for yahoo mail) was based od www.WordPress.com which I recived free. www.WordPrtess.og one had to purchase.

WordPress is a Open Source Content Management System (C.M.S) that provides a simple web application platform for web hosting. If you a Linux geek you can download it and tweak it to satisfy your needs but the open license prevents you from developing new themes other than what is already agreed and known as the standard.

It probably developed from Ubuntu Turnkey applications and has a significant market share of web hosting for smaller companies.
My intention here is to let you know that there is www.wordpress.org that gives you a blog space like here in Google's blogspot that can be your personal web site before you mature into a Web Wizard.
Other reason for me to highlight it here is that it has support for Sinhala fonts and Tamil fonts for your web writings.
Do not wait till Government provides you with necessary infrastructure in IT including fonts, go and become a Web Star (not a Mega Star) by learning the basics with WordPress.
It is easy as a word processing program and you will ascend to greater heights once you master the Codes.

A glossary of the Codecs are published elsewhere free for access. It is free but once you are mature you can pay a nominal fee and upgrade your blog site which for me is almost a complimentary website without annoying advertisements that hide your creativity.
I downloaded WordPress some months ago but failed to write something about it since I was obsessed with Linux 100 Live CDs.
Now I am quietly delving into inner strengths of Linux and Open Source, talking about WordPress is appropriate here.
The omission was a serious lapse on my part and my apologies for that.
WordPress is as important as Dropbox for new wave of web activity with cloud computing on the horizon.