Daniel Brierton
30
Aug '08

How To: Install XP on a USB Memory Stick

Category: Tutorials - Tags: , ,

After purchasing an Acer Aspire One running Linpus Linux Lite, the first thing I wanted on it was XP. However, I didn’t want to get rid of the Linux distribution on it (due to the very fast boot time), and dual booting on an 8GB SSD just doesn’t seem like a good idea. So I considered booting from a USB memory stick. At first all I could get was a terrible stripped down version made with BartPE. I eventually found a tutorial on how to boot a full blown XP install off a memory stick. The process isn’t exactly the easiest task, but it’s well laid out and worded, so it’s easy enough to follow.

I successfully booted XP off my memory stick, and all is well.

You can check out the tutorial at ngine

The link to the HP Tool mentioned in step 2 is broken in the tutorial, but you can pick it up here from my server


Comments (4)

26
Aug '08

Installing new programs to Acer Aspire One

Category: Tutorials - Tags: , , ,

One thing that disappointed me about Acer’s Aspire One laptop, was the lack of a package manager, a feature now taken for granted on many Linux distributions. At first I thought it would be stuck with its pre-loaded applications for those (like me) who haven’t got much experience with Linux, and don’t really know how to install from a tarball, or how to use the terminal.
So I was delighted to learn that there is a hidden package manager within the Linpus Linux Lite distibution. Here are 5 simple steps to get it:

  1. Open the Terminal by opening any file browser window, and clicking File then Terminal in the toolbar
  2. Type “xfce-setting-show” and hit enter
  3. Click “Desktop” in the window that appears, then click Behavior then enable “Show desktop menu on right click”.
  4. Then you must change your root password. To this simply go back into the Terminal, type “sudo -su”, and hit enter. Then type “passwd” and press enter again. The Terminal will promt you to enter a new password. Folow the onscreen instructions.
  5. Now simply right click on your desktop, and then choose “System” > “Add/Remove Software” and enter your password to get into the Acer Aspire One’s package manager.

Hopefully this will come as good news to those with Acer Aspire One’s or those who are planning on buying one.

[via Laptop Mag]

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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21
Aug '08

Random Bits

Category: Randomness - Tags:

The last week has been quite varied in terms of mood and events.
Like, on Thursday I was frustrated. In fact it was the first time my job really got to me. I had been called into work last minute, then found out it would be for the whole day, then had to reschedule plans with my girlfriend on Friday to look at a house to rent in Athlone, and then learned that I’d be working Saturday, this cancelling those plans. Top that off with idiots coming into work asking for help signing up on Bebo, and then asking how to do everything on Bebo. Here’s a hint: Read! Oh, and my taxi was nearly half an hour late! So yeah, not a good day!
But then on Friday I put a deposit down on a room in a house in Athlone, so that lifted my spirits.
For the next few days it was just average, with the odd bit of frustration.
Until today where I found out I have been accepted into Software Design (Web Development) in AIT, and have tomorrow with my girlfriend to look forward to.
That is all.


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18
Aug '08

Ping.fm FTW

Category: Randomness - Tags:

Just doing a quick test on Ping.fm to see if I’ll use it for posting to my blogs


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16
Aug '08

Disregard the last post – I have new info

Category: Randomness - Tags: , , ,

So, after posting the post below, I emailed Meteor with my calculations, and here is the reply:

In order to support our customers increasing usage of Internet service on their mobile, we are launching new rates for our GPRS service for Pay as You Go Customers. These new rates will be 99cent per day for up to 50MB of GPRS usage. I can advise you that these new GPRS rates will come into effect on the 26th of August.

It’s not great. It’s the same as Vodafone’s offering, but it’s far better than the current situation, where the same volume of data would cost you €246.50 on ISP, or a staggering €1024 on standard Meteor WAP.
I’m awaiting a reply to another email with more questions like,

  1. Will ISP users still benefit from cheaper data outside of this 50MB bundle? Or get an increased limit?
  2. Is the limit just download, or both download and upload?
  3. Will Meteor inform you when you have reached your 50MB limit?

I will post answers to these questions as soon as I get a reply


Comments (0)

14
Aug '08

I just realised just how much I’m being ripped off

Category: Randomness - Tags: , , ,

Over the last few days I’ve been thinking about how much I’d love a data bundle on Meteor Pay As You Go. Just being able to do anything online whereever I am would be ideal. It then got me thinking, what’s the difference in price between my network (Meteor), and a network with data bundles (3), and my findings were outrageous!
On 3, the cheapest bundle in terms of price per MB is €25 for 10GB of data, while on Meteor the cheapest rate is €4.93 per MB. That means 3 charges €0.0024414 per MB (around 1 quarter of a cent). That means Meteor charges nearly 2020 times more than 3 for their data!
I’m posting this now from my phone over EDGE, just to see how much Meteor will charge me. I’ll post the result as soon as I’m at a computer.

Ok that was quite unexpected… I was only charged 2c and even at that I downloaded some message headers and summarys aswell…
EDIT: In fact it’s not actually charging me at all for this! :D I still want a data bundle though.
EDIT 2: Oh wait… €2 just went out of my account!


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12
Aug '08

Talk Boxes are Still Alive

Category: Randomness - Tags: , ,


Hat’s off to this guy who done a great cover of Still Alive from Portal using a talk box


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3
Aug '08

WordPress iPhone app review

Category: Randomness - Tags: , ,

This is by far my favourite iPhone app so far. It makes blogging on the go so much easier. Download the free app from the App Store, then just input your blog URL and your username and password (you may need to enable XML-RPC services in your blog’s dashboard) and you can browse through your posts, add and edit posts. It will work with any WordPress.com hosted blog, and any self-hosted WordPress blog (2.5.1 or higher) with XML-RPC services enabled. You can also add multiple blogs, which is useful if you manage multiple blogs, or contribute to others. (as I do)
(more…)


Comments (1)

The best mistranslation ever!

Category: Randomness - Tags: ,

I just saw this over on AdFreak (via Slashdot) and I just had to post it.
A restaurant in China, decided they would put the name of their restaurant through an online translator, and buy a sign to welcome their English customers, however, the result wasn’t exactly right…

The best thing: The Chinese characters translate to… Restaurant!


Comments (1)

2
Aug '08

Coming Soon

Category: Randomness - Tags: ,

Well, I just installed the WordPress app on my iPhone free from the App Store, just testing it out with this post.
I shall post reviews of my top free iPhone apps sometime soon, along with a review of my holiday to Tokyo.
Anyway, I’ll post soon, see ya!


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