Nvidia Quadro FX 1400: Linux Mint 10 & dual monitors.

By Michael Harper | Published: May 2, 2011

On this card, you’re definitely going to want to grab a restricted driver to enable accelerated graphical performance. The problem I faced across many Linux installs was the crashing X server after Nvidia’s proprietary control panel erases the xorg.conf file and leads to a command prompt upon restarting. To side-step this issue, Enable TwinView, not Separate X screen. Choose the primary display (if you have two monitors), then select “Save to X Configuration file.” A popup will reveal itself and make sure to select “merge with existing file,” don’t just overwrite the xorg.conf file that your system is currently using.

Permanent link to this post (101 words, estimated 24 secs reading time)
Posted in Linux | Leave a comment

Virtualbox 4.0.6 under Linux Mint 10: USB Issues!

By Michael Harper | Published: May 2, 2011

Just reinstalled Linux Mint 10 and arrived at the VirtualBox phase of my setup. Installed Windows 7 with guest additions and was going to give Windows 7 its own USB wireless adapter for network tests, however I wasn’t given a list of devices like I was accustom to when normally installing a guest OS. I found out that Oracle requires you to download an extension pack from their VirtualBox website in order to get it all to work but even after this necessary step I still had no USB devices listed. I checked to make sure my Linux Mint user account was included in the vboxusers group and I was. Finally realized that “Enable IOPC” must be turned on in order to retrieve the USB devices under Linux. Soooooo….

This is a preview of Virtualbox 4.0.6 under Linux Mint 10: USB Issues!. Read the full post (183 words, estimated 44 secs reading time)
Posted in Linux | Leave a comment

Fedora 14 woes, Ubuntu 11.4 fail

By Michael Harper | Published: April 29, 2011

I keep bouncing around on Linux operating systems because of my desire to use restricted drivers for my Nvidia Quadro FX1400. It’s an awesome card and I’m trying to get the most out of it. This morning I installed Fedora 14 and couldn’t believe my eyes when it configured my dual-monitor view perfectly without even having to configure a monitor layout. Perfect resolution, monitors on each side, etc…. However, I couldn’t connect to two separate wifi routers using two separate cards. Nothing would work with wireless. Can’t find an obvious fix and can’t connect to the internet to search for updates or driver fixes.

This is a preview of Fedora 14 woes, Ubuntu 11.4 fail. Read the full post (175 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)
Posted in Fedora, Linux | Leave a comment

Always going back to Linux Mint….

By Michael Harper | Published: April 26, 2011

Despite my explorations into other other Linux distros, Linux Mint keeps calling me back.

My latest dabblings include a trip into the realm of openSUSE 11.4. Always hearing great reviews and seeing interestingly advanced features: openSUSE always turns out to be a pipe dream for me.

I had initially installed Linux Mint 10 after much debate over that and openSUSE 11.4. Linux Mint installed without a hitch, very fast and very easy installer. Everything worked: sound, video, wifi, additional SATA drives… However I ran into a wall after Nvidia’s proprietary control panel screwed up my Xorg file. A minimal error that left me staring at a text -based login prompt. Not the end of the world but certainly enough to convince me to go ahead and install openSUSE.

This is a preview of Always going back to Linux Mint….. Read the full post (262 words, estimated 1:03 mins reading time)
Posted in Fedora, Linux, Linux Mint, openSUSE, Operating Systems | Leave a comment

Toshiba Satellite A215-S4767 & Windows 7 x64 Ultimate SP1

By Michael Harper | Published: April 19, 2011

A common issue on the Toshiba Satellite A215-S4767 with Windows 7 is the malfunctioning audio & video after returning from a sleep state. I have noticed Windows 7 showing irregular behavior on several ATI chipset boards. This can be fixed, like most laptops, by updating the drivers AND BIOS accordingly. Other than that, Windows 7 has been the fastest Windows to date for my machines.

Permanent link to this post (66 words, estimated 16 secs reading time)
Posted in How To, Operating Systems, Software | Leave a comment

Accessing Facebook At Work (Behind a Firewall): Hotspot Shield

By Michael Harper | Published: April 18, 2011

DISCLAIMER: Check with your local ISP about proper usage of VPN software to ensure you are not breaking their terms of service. You probably are not but it is always best to check if you are unsure. ALSO, please read the AnchorFree terms.

REMEMBER: Facebook can be a powerful online advertising and marketing tool, and is best used when you’re not getting paid to do something else. So with that…. GET BACK TO WORK!

Hotspot Shield

HotspotShield.com

This is a preview of Accessing Facebook At Work (Behind a Firewall): Hotspot Shield. Read the full post (399 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)
Posted in How To, Networking, Product Spotlight, Software | Leave a comment

What is this devilry? Minimalism good sir.

By Michael Harper | Published: April 6, 2011

FINALLY. I have found 10 minutes to break away from designing everyone else’s site to come back and redesign my own. Blank slate as I call it.

Phase 1 of the redesign will be more function than form. Taking away crap articles, revising my resume, about me, current projects, blah blah blah.  I also have to gather my photography into one place which will be a blast considering I have about 6 hard drives to sort through.

This is a preview of What is this devilry? Minimalism good sir.. Read the full post (132 words, estimated 32 secs reading time)
Posted in News, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

HP Mini 1000 Review (Model: 1030NR)

By Michael Harper | Published: June 17, 2009

My latest gadget is the HP Mini 1000 – a very stylish netbook that has completely changed the way I see netbooks. I purchased this netbook for my wife to replace her older HP dv1000 laptop. We purchased this item from Best Buy for $350.

hp-mini-1000The main feature we were searching for in a good netbook was a keyboard that wouldn’t cramp our hands too much. It seems that any netbook under the 10″ mark totes incredibly toddler-sized keys. This was originally why I strayed away from them completely (that and the extreme price markup online and off). I reviewed many netbooks and it seems that even online vendors were backing down on their prices. The cheapest I found this netbook anywhere else at the time was from TigerDirect.com (I believe) for $300.

This is a preview of HP Mini 1000 Review (Model: 1030NR). Read the full post (616 words, 3 images, estimated 2:28 mins reading time)
Posted in Product Spotlight | 7 Comments

Ubuntu 9.04 Totally Redeems Itself!!! (Ubuntu Studio Rocks!)

By Michael Harper | Published: June 3, 2009

I have written a few posts recently that have reviewed the latest version of Ubuntu. At first, it seemed, I wouldn’t be able to use Ubuntu 9.04 because of extreme graphical issues. My main issued was caused by Ubuntu Studio. Now, I have finally found the method of installation that proves to be the stablest and hassle-free.

I tried a clean install of Ubuntu Studio 9.04 only to have major issues. Nothing worked. Then I tried upgrading from Ubuntu 8.10 to Ubuntu Studio 9.04. Same problems. After much dismay and trying other distros, I made the decision to do a clean install of Ubuntu 9.04 and what do you know – amazing results. The latest Ubuntu is amazing. Very stable and I’ve had several issues fixed permanetly including working wifi and certain graphical issues.

This is a preview of Ubuntu 9.04 Totally Redeems Itself!!! (Ubuntu Studio Rocks!). Read the full post (188 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)
Posted in Ubuntu Studio | 3 Comments

openSUSE 11.1: My Personal Advantages over Ubuntu 9.04 & Fedora 10 (and a few tips!)

By Michael Harper | Published: May 17, 2009

The other day I realized that Linux Mint wasn’t receiving the official security updates from Ubuntu. My Ubuntu Studio desktop had update after update while my Linux Mint desktop had nothing. Strange – so I decided to install Ubuntu 8.04 – LTS edition because my laptop’s ATI card wasn’t supported in the newer version of Ubuntu 9.04. I at least wanted the support that was available until April 2011 from Canonical. I reinstalled Ubuntu 8.04 will all codecs and additonal software and then decided to install even more with the Ubuntu Studio upgrade. That installed the real-time kernel which I was dying to try out. Unfortunately, an error I had experienced in the past came back up dealing with the wifi drivers and the new kernel location. I blogged about it before but it’s not even worth mentioning now. As a reminder to everyone, I use a Toshiba Satellite A215 that has an ATI chipset and Atheros chipset. I couldn’t upgrade to Ubuntu 9.04 because the FGLRX driver is completely corrupted in the newest version of Ubuntu. I still tote the Ubuntu decal on my laptop but I have definitely ventured out to other distros. Besides the 9.04 issue and my keeping 8.04 as the LTS edition, I have been experiencing a few other issues such as Blender never working correctly on any version of my Ubuntu installed on my laptop (worked great on nVidia desktop) and the inability to go into suspend without breaking the system on resume.

This is a preview of openSUSE 11.1: My Personal Advantages over Ubuntu 9.04 & Fedora 10 (and a few tips!). Read the full post (943 words, 1 image, estimated 3:46 mins reading time)
Posted in Fedora, openSUSE, Ubuntu | 78 Comments
HPage_468x60banner

LinkShare_468x60v1