Ronnie Tucker

I’m not proud of what I’ve done. Not proud at all…

I bought an iPod *sob*

Forgive me! I was tempted by value for money! No seriously it was! 80Gb Black iPod Classic for £160 from OverclockersUK.

The only snag is that it’s 6th Generation and 6G is where Apple altered the iPod’s to only work with iTunes. But fear not! The latest update to libgpod (0.6.0) allows the iPod and Amarok to share some mp3 looooove.

Only problem is: you have to *gulp* compile libgpod!

Using a few threads from Ubuntu Forums I was able to get my iPod working fantastic with Amarok. Here’s how I did it:

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Well, i’ve been using KDE4 now for two whole days and i’ve been noticing some ‘quirks’ which i’m not too keen on.

• Why is it so difficult to create a new folder? I right click in Dolphin/Konqueror and choose Create New from the menu and… no, there’s no New Folder option. Ok, what about the File menu? Nope, not there either. Only way I could find to create a new folder was to right click in the left (tree view) panel in Konqueror and create a new folder there. How annoying! Especially ironic since both Konqueror and Dolphin are ‘file managers’. An update has been released which fixes the ‘New Folder’ problem. Hurrah!

• I still can’t find a way to make the items in the task bar smaller. They’re huge and I really preferred it when they were linked to the desktop they are running on. So for example I could have Thunderbird running on desktop four and it wouldn’t show up on desktop 1, 2 or three.

But on the bright side:

• I do like how you can download new widgets and make an uber-pretty desktop. That I do like!

• Dolphin has the option to have a mini console window at the bottom of it which is quite funky. Clicking on a folder automatically enters the command into the console so the console is always up to date with where Dolphin is. Nice!

But even with the gripes I still like KDE4, I’m sticking with it but just need to find where I should file bug reports as I’ve noticed a few things that I’d like to point out although I’m sure most of my small moans have been reported by now…

KDE4 released - Check

KDE4 installed fast as humanly possible - CHECK!

Just got back from work and my KDE4 install is up and running

Click for larger image

First impressions are that it is really nice. I am, of course, taking in to consideration that this is 4.0 and will have some rough edges. It has a few ‘quirks’ though: apps such as GIMP and Firefox, while having a nice fancy border, look like old Windows 95 applications for some reason. One other thing is the Desktop Effects, turning them on really slows things down, which is odd considering I’ve ran Compiz Fusion on this machine before with no slow down, but see my last comment about knowing that KDE4 would be a bit rough.

The new K menu thing is taking a bit of getting used to. The confusing thing with it is that it seems to also include some of my KDE3.x apps. So going in to K > System gives me File Manager and File Manager KDE 4. File Manager is my old 3.x version of Dolphin while the other is the new Dolphin. Very confusing!

The task bar now seems to effectively be a new fangled ‘widget’ and as yet I’ve no idea how I make windows unique to a desktop, ie: if a window is on desktop 1, I don’t want it to show on the task bar in desktops 2 to 4. But I’m sure the option is hidden in there somewhere.

But all in all, I like it. I’m writing this post in Firefox running in KDE4.

Let the good times roll!

While browsing Ubuntu Forums today I stumbled across a post asking what cool stuff a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone can do with Linux and discovered KBlueLock.

Of course, you need a Bluetooth dongle on your PC, I have a USB one.

In KDE I get a ‘K’ version of the Bluetooth logo in my task bar. If I right click it, I can choose KBlueLock.

The KDE Bluetooth menu (above)

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After much tinkering, I’ve finally managed to get VNC working on the EEE!

Meaning? That I can now control my home PC through the internet using the EEE! WHEEEE! (no pun intended, honest!)

My home PC desktop:

Same desktop being controlled in the ASUS EEE:

I did a quick write up on how I managed it.

Smashin’!