Upgrading my system from Fedora 8 to something more recent has been on my todo list for awhile and last night I finally took the plunge. I had already downloaded iso images for Fedora 10 and 11 so I was ready to do the install from the DVDs. I couldn't go straight from 8 to 11 because there has been some significant changes in the distribution so I had to first upgrade to 10 first.
The upgrade to 10 was pretty smooth but as with my previous experience, I had to manually clean up some dependency issues before I can do the first 'yum update'. I expected the upgrade from 10 to 11 to be smooth but I actually ran into more issues. Firstly, there was some problems on the first reboot where Fedora couldn't start X. It didn't tell me there was a problem and instead just hung on a blinking cursor. Booting into level 3 ('init 3') allowed me to get a command prompt where I could fix the various dependency issues again and do a 'yum update'.
While the hung screen is pretty serious (an average user might not be able to figure out the work-around), what annoyed me the most is how long it takes to do the first 'yum update'. That's because it updates EVERYTHING. First there was the 2 GB of download then the time to calculate dependency issues before it actually starts the update. What's the point of doing a DVD install if it is going to download everything again?
It would be nicer if there was an option of first download the system updates and then do application level updates in the background once the system is already up.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Moving on from Yahoo.
Well, the time has come for me to say goodbye to Yahoo! There are definitely some things I'll miss, but it is time to move on. I had a great experience here and learned a helluva lot. Now I'm looking forward to applying those skills I've developed at my next job. I'm not going far. Just up to the street to Google.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Upgraded to Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6)
Got Snow Leopard today and decided to upgrade. Install went smoothly and took about 30 minutes. The only glitch was after it was done I got that strange blue tinge screen, but a reboot corrected that. Here are the steps to upgrade:
Insert DVD and run the Upgrade installer.
Once upgrade, go to www.adobe.com to install the latest flash player since the one with Snow Leopard has a security hole.
--- The next are optional ---
Install XCode from the installer disc.
Install macport 1.8 for Snow Leopard
Follow the instructions to update macport packages: https://trac.macports.org/wiki/Migration
Tracking status of macports on Snow Leopard: http://trac.macports.org/wiki/snc/snowleopard
Insert DVD and run the Upgrade installer.
Once upgrade, go to www.adobe.com to install the latest flash player since the one with Snow Leopard has a security hole.
--- The next are optional ---
Install XCode from the installer disc.
Install macport 1.8 for Snow Leopard
Follow the instructions to update macport packages: https://trac.macports.org/wiki/Migration
Tracking status of macports on Snow Leopard: http://trac.macports.org/wiki/snc/snowleopard
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Using ctrl-c/v/x on OSX for copy/paste/cut
Three very common keyboard function that I use is to copy/paste/cut. For my hands, I found it more comfortable to use the CTRL key instead of the COMMAND (apple) key along with c/v/x. To change the key binding:
create/modify the file: ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict
with the following:
Applications that uses the Cocoa AppKit text edit objects (i.e. TextEdit). However, not every application will necessarily support this. I noticed that Firefox does not which is very annoying.
For more details, http://xahlee.org/emacs/osx_keybinding.html is very useful.
To swap ctrl and command in Firefox/Thunderbird edit 'ui.key.accelKey' to 17 (about:config in Firefox, advance config in Thunderbird). Specifically, you can use one of the following:
17 Control (windows style)
18 Alt (unix style)
224 Meta (Mac OS command).
create/modify the file: ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict
with the following:
/* ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict */
{
"^z" = "undo:";
"^x" = "cut:";
"^v" = "paste:";
"^c" = "copy:";
"^a" = "selectAll:";
"\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfLine:"; /* Home */
"\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfLine:"; /* End */
"\UF72C" = "pageUp:"; /* PageUp */
"\UF72D" = "pageDown:"; /* PageDown */
}Applications that uses the Cocoa AppKit text edit objects (i.e. TextEdit). However, not every application will necessarily support this. I noticed that Firefox does not which is very annoying.
For more details, http://xahlee.org/emacs/osx_keybinding.html is very useful.
To swap ctrl and command in Firefox/Thunderbird edit 'ui.key.accelKey' to 17 (about:config in Firefox, advance config in Thunderbird). Specifically, you can use one of the following:
17 Control (windows style)
18 Alt (unix style)
224 Meta (Mac OS command).
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Google Update open source
Couldn't remember if I wrote this, but awhile back Google open source'd its software update engine, Google Updates. The project name is Omaha.
The OSX update engine is a subset of this project.
The OSX update engine is a subset of this project.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Firefox 3.5 icon with version number
Download the image here.
Firefox 3.5 is out and since those of us working on the web usually have multiple versions of the browser installed, having an icon with the version number on it makes it easier to identify the instance we're loading.
This is inspired by http://browserversionicons.com/firefox/
With the icon from Mozilla.
Instructions for running multiple instances of Firefox are here.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Red Cooked Pork
Found original recipe here: http://www.redcook.net/2008/01/18/hong-shao-rou-red-cooked-pork/
Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 lb. pork belly meat cut into two inch cubes
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 3 cloves of garlic peeled
* 1-2 whole star anise
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce (老抽)
* 1/4 cup rice wine (紹興酒)
* 1 1/2 cups water
Preparation:
* Melt the sugar with some water in a small pot over medium high heat. Continue heating until the sugar is slightly brown.
* Brown the cubed pork in the pot
* Add brown it with the caramelized sugar. About 8 minutes.
* Put the garlic, star anise,soy sauce, rice wine and clear stock into the pot. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes. Stir the meat every 10 minutes to make sure the bottom of the pot does not get burnt. Remove the cover and turn the heat to medium high. Cook the meat for another 10 minutes until the sauce reduces to a smooth consistency.
* This dish, like most stew dishes, is better if left overnight and reheated the next day.
Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 lb. pork belly meat cut into two inch cubes
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 3 cloves of garlic peeled
* 1-2 whole star anise
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce (老抽)
* 1/4 cup rice wine (紹興酒)
* 1 1/2 cups water
Preparation:
* Melt the sugar with some water in a small pot over medium high heat. Continue heating until the sugar is slightly brown.
* Brown the cubed pork in the pot
* Add brown it with the caramelized sugar. About 8 minutes.
* Put the garlic, star anise,soy sauce, rice wine and clear stock into the pot. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes. Stir the meat every 10 minutes to make sure the bottom of the pot does not get burnt. Remove the cover and turn the heat to medium high. Cook the meat for another 10 minutes until the sauce reduces to a smooth consistency.
* This dish, like most stew dishes, is better if left overnight and reheated the next day.
Sweet Green Bean Soup
This is a popular Chinese summer time treat.
1.5 cup green beans (mung beans)
10 cups water.
5 T sugar.
Wash the beans.
Bring water to boil.
Add beans and simmer at low heat for 45 minutes or until bean is soft.
Add sugar and stir.
Can be served hot or cold.
1.5 cup green beans (mung beans)
10 cups water.
5 T sugar.
Wash the beans.
Bring water to boil.
Add beans and simmer at low heat for 45 minutes or until bean is soft.
Add sugar and stir.
Can be served hot or cold.
Monday, June 15, 2009
2009 NBA Champion: LA Lakers!!!
Every post-game interview last night asked how this championship is different from the 3 Shaq-Kobe ones. As a fan, this one was different then those three since this one came after a loss in the previous finals that led to an entire season where the focus is just on winning the championship. Maintaining the focus throughout an entire season must be so difficult that it should set this one apart from the others.
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