I had always heard it was possible to increase the range of my wireless router using tinfoil but I never really needed to try. That need has suddenly arisen: since setting up my home office (which the modem and router is in for the strongest possible signal on my work computer), my wifi signal to the living room is pretty weak and has frequent dropouts. Since my gaming/video computer is in the living room hooked to my 1080p 52″ Sanyo, it’s kind of a big deal when you keep getting booted from Left4Dead servers or have problems seeing pics in Facebook.

To illustrate, here’s my apartment layout. The red graphic near the top is where my router is positioned. The blue graphic near the bottom is where my TV and computer are located.

I don’t have a fantastic router, just a little Belkin 54g unit. in fact I’m surprised I have a signal at all at 50 feet away. I also tried with my 54g Linksys router, but it had the same weak signal. I don’t want to go out and spend $50 on a repeater or a powered antenna, so I thought I’d give this a try.

Here’s a screenshot from my living room PC before I amplified the signal with the method I’m about to show you:

And after this free tweak:

Double the signal! My games, Pandora, and videos are now uninterrupted!

Steps:

1. To do this you’ll need to print out two handy sheets I made. Make sure when you print them, that the square in the corner is still square. If you resize the image (which shouldn’t be necessary) and the little blue squares become skewed, you may not be able to put it together properly and will have to print again. Note: These are modified versions of the printouts used at freeantennas.com – go there if you want to know specifics!
   1. Print me! (the grip)
      
   2. Print me too! (the sail)
      
2. After printing each of these on a standard letter-sized paper, cut out the images. If the blue squares that say “keep square” are rectangular, you’ll have to try to resize them yourself to fit your paper.
3. With an XActo knife (or something similar) cut out the X’s in the Grip image (the funny shaped one), and the slits in the Sail image (the rounded rectangle image).
4. Curl the Grip image a little so that the tabs fit into the Sail image.Once through, fold the edges and glue in place, so that your Grip forces the Sail to be a little concave.
5. Take some aluminum foil or tinfoil and glue it to the back of the Sail. Yes, the back of it. Don’t worry, the paper won’t get in the way.
6. Let it dry, then place the Grip and Sail on your router’s antenna. The end result should look something like this:
   1. 
7. That’s it! Try to aim the concave part of the sail toward your PC for a better signal (shiny part pointed away from the target computer(s)). Enjoy your ~12dBi of gain, for free!

The Kindle 2 is pretty damn amazing, but there are some misconceptions about it’s features and a few things you should know before ordering.

In no particular order:

• If you’re giving the Kindle 2 as a gift to someone, or if it’s lost or stolen, log into your Amazon account and deregister your Kindle 2 right away. When Amazon ships the Kindle 2 to you, they automatically register it under your Amazon account. If you leave it registered in your name and someone else decides to purchase a book, it’ll come from your account!

• Not backlit - you’ll want a cover and a clip-on light if you plan on reading at night. I don’t suggest clipping a light to the Kindle 2 itself. Too many bad things can happen (snags, scratches). Want to make your own cover to give your Kindle it’s own unique character and save some money? Keep reading.

• Reading on the Kindle 2 is comfortable. Very comfortable. It’s like reading a lightweight paperback, but without the grainy texture, occasional coffee stains, or dogears. It uses a new technology call E-ink to electronically manipulate ink on the screen. It’s very real, and not pixelated (unless the font of your eBook uses a pixelated font). The 16 shades of gray in the Kindle 2 allow for smoothly antialiased text. I have horrible vision without my glasses, and can easily read the Kindle 2 at a decent distance without my goggles when I use a large font size. This would be a great gift for all the grandmas and bedtime readers out there

• Check the wireless coverage map at http://client0.cellmaps.com/tabs.html#cellmaps_na_tab. How much would it suck to start up your Kindle and find that you can’t access the sum of all human knowledge (wikipedia) from your village?

• Subscriptions to the RSS feed delivery service costs $$$. Workaround: set up an account with Feedbooks and create your own combined feed from other feeds. Then just add a bookmark to the browser and check it whenever you want:

or

• The Kindle 2 doesn’t come with the latest firmware version 2.3. As soon as you get it, plug it into your USB cable, go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200324680 and install the 2.3 update. If you don’t, the Kindle 2 will update automatically, but Amazon does them in batches of accounts – so it could take *weeks* for the update cycle to come around to your account. 2.3 includes PDF support, landscape mode, and greatly extends the battery life when reading and using wireless.

• It can hold about 1500 books. Considering that the average 350 page paperback novel weighs 12 ounces, this saves you roughly 1,125lbs of dead weight. Turning pages is also less physically demanding than the average book

• Yes, books are cheaper, and always in-stock. An example: I bought Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (hardcover) for about $25 at a local bookstore (BooksAMillion), after waiting weeks for their shipment to arrive. All the while at the Kindle store I could’ve gotten it in less than a minute for about $9. I checked it today from my Kindle, and it’s only $5! You can bet I won’t be making this same mistake when Johannes Cabal the Detective comes out!

• You don’t have to buy all of your books. Amazon doesn’t limit you to only reading books purchased from the Kindle store. Project Gutenberg has over 30,000 English books free for download instantly, already in the .MOBI format for reading on the Kindle. All you have to do is download the ones you want and copy them over to the Documents folder on your Kindle. Note: you can also search Google for free eBooks.

• You can search Amazon for free Kindle books too! In Amazon, set the search type to “Kindle Books” and search for “-domain” (without the quotes). You’ll get a list of free Kindle books that can be wirelessly delivered to your Kindle!

• The Kindle 2 can act as a portable USB flash drive. It’s got about 2gb of space, 1.4gb is usable for storage of any files, music, or eBooks.

• Go for the better shipping. Amazon is usually running a Free Shipping offer on the Kindle 2, take it. I used the UPS ground 3-5 day delivery and it spent a week in Jacksonville, Florida before being sent for delivery. Even if Amazon isn’t doing free shipping at the time you order, what’s a few extra bucks on the $260 you’re dropping for the Kindle in the first place?

• While waiting for my Kindle 2 to arrive, I made my own cover. It takes about 1-2 hours without a sewing machine, with a sewing machine probably much less. Costs from $4-$8 depending on the quality of the fabric you buy and if you don’t have all the supplies (needles, thread, and hard cardboard or stiff plastic). It’s even cheaper if you cut a vintage shirt or use something you already have. That’s a bundle of savings from the usual $29.99 to $50 you could spend buying a cover. There’s a nice tutorial here: http://www.chicaandjo.com/2009/09/03/make-a-custom-kindle-cover-case/

• The audio is OK. It supports .AA and .AAX audio book formats, and MP3 playback for music. I like to listen to baroque classics while reading. The Kindle has it’s own speakers built-in, but also features a headphone jack and volume control for when you want to limit the tunes or narrative to yourself.

• The screen can temporarily fade in the sun. When reading your Kindle in natural light, after some period of time you may notice the text start to fade. It’s not a big deal, hardly noticeable in my experience, but Amazon included a handy function to resolve this: press ALT+G on the keyboard and the screen will refresh. Chances are you’ll change pages before it has a chance to fade anyway!

• Yes, the 3g internet access is 100% free. You don’t have to buy any books or subscribe to anything to get it. And you’re not limited to just Wikipedia, which many people believe you are. I was able to visit and view thepemberton.com on my Kindle 2, as well as every other site I tried. The Kindle’s browser is extremely simple, so images and flash may not show up. Whenever possible, try to use the MOBILE version of your favorite sites. Here’s a list of some of my favorite Kindle 2 browser compatible web apps, usable from anywhere in the world with 3g access:
  • gasbuddytogo.com - get info on the cheapest gas prices in your area.
  • m.yelp.com – restaurant reviews and suggestions out the wazoo.
  • mobile.flightstats.com – flight stats globally. Find delays, etc.
  • wml.froogle.com – comparison shopping at it’s best. If you’re out shopping and find a product you like but think you could wait for shipping, you can probably get a better price on Google’s Froogle website.
  • m.ebay.com – same as above, but for eBay. Handy for you yardsale and antique enthusiasts.
  • slashdot.org/palm/ – lots of reviews and rants from the tech world.
  • iphone.kbb.com – Sure the URL says iPhone, but it works OK on the Kindle. It’s the Kelly Blue Book in your hand! Get a better deal on autos, or find out just how much that Porche you saw in the ditch a mile back is worth with a busted bumper.
  • m.cnn.com – Just overhear some awful news from some passersby? Find out more on CNN’s mobile site.
  • weather.mobi – The weather channel on your Kindle!
  • m.espn.go.com – If you’re a reader, chances are you don’t care about sports either. But if you really want to pretend, you can access ESPN’s site from your Kindle comfortably.
  • www.fatwallet.mobi – a gift forum with the hottest deals.
  • www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html – Google Maps for your Kindle.
  • wap.mapquest.com – but sometimes Mapquest has better driving directions.
  • squeezenet.com/HandyFact – A database of handy facts (zip codes, area codes, etiquette, etc)

• Don’t think for a moment that this PDF support will let you comfortably read sheet music on the Kindle 2. It’s still quite small. The Kindle DX apparently has better support for PDFs: it crops out the white space on the margins, making the PDF larger and easier to read. Why this functionality it’s available on the Kindle 2, I have no idea. Also, if you are planning on reading sheet music with the Kindle DX, not that you only have about 5 and a half minutes of inaction before the screensaver kicks in. This may not be a bad thing, but the least they could do is give us a setting for the screensaver timer for serious study sessions.

• The Kindle DX has a larger screen and better PDF support, but it costs about twice as much as the Kindle 2, and 3g is useless outside of the US. With the Kindle 2, 3g can be used on your travels abroad.

• The screen will still be on when the device is off. This goes back to the new technology, E-ink. The Kindle only uses power when changing pages, searching, or using the web. 3g can be left on and the battery will last a week of regular use. With 3g off, 2 weeks of regular use.

• PDF support on the Kindle 2 sucks. You can’t increase or decrease the size of text or use text-to-speech. Instead, the Kindle 2 crams the entire PDF page onto the screen. If the text is small (like most books), tough luck, get a magnifying glass. I was able to convert all of my PDFs to the .MOBI format (Kindle supported format) to allow increasing/decreasing text size, and text-to-speech. I put together a quick tutorial at: http://thepemberton.com/posts/archives/26

• GPS location and Google Maps was available in Kindle 1, not Kindle 2 or DX. The Kindle 2 has GPS, but the shortcut to allow GPS via Google Maps is disabled, and there doesn’t seem to be any way that you can get your GPS info Amazon may enable this with a future update.

• Make a note of the keyboard shortcuts. There aren’t many, but you’ll use some quite frequently. Here they all are:
  • Power, Reset, Sleep and Wake:
    * Sleep/Wake – Slide and release the power button (on top of the K2)
    * Power Off – Slide and hold the power button for 4 seconds
    * Reset – Slide and hold the power button for 15 seconds

  • General Shortcuts:* Screen-shot – Alt+shift+G creates a screen-shot (.gif format) that goes to the Documents Folder of the Kindle 2 which you can view when connected to computer.
    * Refresh Display – ALT+G (if you notice any ghosting, try this shortcut) Also useful for refreshing web browsing page
    * Jump to page 1 – 5 on Home Screen – Press the number on keypad and then press 5-way Controller
    * Display the Time – Press MENU button
    * Display Free Memory - Press MENU button
    * Display Wireless Network (3G or 1X, if wireless is on) - Press MENU button
    * Play Minesweeper – Shift+ALT+M (from home page) (M or enter to mark; R to restart game; 5-way controller to move cursor)
    * Go to Amazon Kindle Store – alt-home
    * Jump to Web - Type in your search terms and move the 5-way controller to the right and then select “google”.
    * Search Wikipedia – Select “wikipedia” in search category
    * Search Content by Specific Author - Enter @author [author’s name] in the Kindle Store search bar
    * Alpha Search - To search for an author or title by first letter, click one letter on the keyboard and press the 5-way controller.  Then go immediately to the place on the list with the first author or title under that letter alphabetically, *but only if that match exists*. So if you have no Q’s, you can’t get to the R’s that way.  This doesn’t work for “Most Recent First” listings but seems to work for title or author sort and could be useful if you have a lot of books on your Kindle 2.
    * List Supported Search commands - Type @help in the search string to display other supported search commands like @dict, @url etc.
    * Search Kindle Store by Author – When in Kindle Store, type @author in searchbar to limit your search to author names
    * Show Diagnostic Data – From Settings Menu, enter 411
    * Show Current Radio Diagnostics -  From Settings Menu, enter 411 (constantly refreshes the data)
    * Search Amazon Kindle Store for Free Books - From Kindle Store search, type in -domain into the search field.
  • Entering Text – Symbol Shortcuts

  * Double Quotes “ – Alt-9
  * Colon : - Alt-8
  * Comma , – Alt-7
  * Question Mark ? – Alt-6
  * Apostrophe ‘ – Alt-0

  • Book or Periodical Viewing:* Add or remove a bookmark – ALT+B.  Alternate Method: Press 5-way up/down to go to cursor mode, and then press 5-way controller twice.
    * Alt+shift+1-9 – changes the spacing and number of lines per page (default is 3)
    * List Sections of Periodical - Press the 5-way Enter Button
    * Newspaper View Summaries – To view summaries of the articles in a newspaper or magazine, while viewing the newspaper section list, press the 5-way controller to the right to highlight the number showing the number of articles in a section, then press the 5-way select button – This will bring up the list of articles in that section and you can navigate directly to any one you wish.  This little trick makes Newspaper reading much, much better!
    * Jump Quickly through Periodical - Move 5-way controller to right to go to next article or to the left to go to the previous article

  • Text-To-Speech Shortcuts:* Start or stop text-to-speech – Shift+SYM (shift key is the “up arrow”)
    * Pause text-to-speech - Spacebar
    * Switch Between Male and Female Voices & Change Voice Speed – Alt + Aa keys & then toggle between settings with the 5 way controller
    * Start text-to-speech at specific point on a page – To begin the text-to-speech at a particular point on a page, move the cursor with your 5-way controller to the point just before you want the reading to begin.

  • Audio Controls:* Play or stop MP3 Audio – ALT+spacebar
    * Skip to the next audio track – ALT+F
    * Pause Audible Audiobook – Spacebar

  • Photo Viewer Controls:The picture viewer can be activated by connecting your Kindle2 via USB cable to your PC and create “pictures” folder in Kindle USB disk. Create subfolders inside of that and copy the pictures. The subfolders will then become “book” names and the pictures will be pages. *.gif, *.jpg and *.png files all seem to work. Now you disconnect the USB cable and press Alt-Z in the home screen.  Your picture folders should now appear among the books now.

    While you are viewing pictures in the Picture Viewer:

    * Toggle Actual Size – C
    * Toggle Full Screen - F (currently not working properly)
    * Zoom In – Q
    * Zoom Out - W
    * Rotate – R
    * Reset Zoom Level – E
    * Pan Photo Larger Than Screen – Use 5-way controller to pan photo

  • Turn multiple pages at once – Hold down the next/prev page button or click them multiple times causes the Kindle 2 to turn several pages at once.  It’s slow and not ideal, but does work.
  • Delete Book from Kindle – Highlight the item you want to delete (navigate with 5-way button), then press left with the 5-way controller to bring up the Delete selection option.  Press select with 5-way controller to confirm deletion.

After much anticipation, I have finally received my new Kindle 2 in the mail. Before I purchased the Kindle, I was assured by Amazon’s Kindle purchase page that PDF was natively supported. As I have a rather large collection of PDF eBooks and documents from Project Gutenberg and more, I was sold. Having my entire library with me (which would weigh a few metric tons if printed to paper) would now weigh only 10 ounces and fit in the palm of my hand. Brilliant!

After playing with all of the features, I immediately plugged my new Kindle in to my PC’s USB cable and transferred a few PDFs to the Documents folder of the Kindle. Nothing happened at first, but a little snooping around showed me that I just needed an update to the latest Kindle firmware. Once updated, I could view my PDFs, but the text was very small, and I was unable to scale it! Oh no! It appears only the Amazon (.azw), .TXT, and .MOBI files allow for text scaling.

After some searching around I found that you can email yourself (account_name@kindle.amazon.com) your PDFs and have them converted and delivered wirelessly to your kindle at $0.10 per document, but I also found a free way to do this and put together a few steps to make it easy. I hope this helps!

Tips:

Found a better way? Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to review it! I’m especially looking for something that will retain the Table of Contents for PDFs!

If you haven’t used iMacros for Firefox yet, you’re missing out. You can do things like record your browsing habbits (button clicks, entered text, responses to dialogs, etc) to automate them. It has CSV support, so you can even use stored data to dynamically execute macros, directly from Firefox on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The iMacros Firefox plugin is free, but the Pro edition is the best. It supports proxies natively, is much faster, and has many other functions not available to Firefox. Click here to check it out.

But if you’re looking to try it out before buying (or are too broke to get the Pro edition), you might want to keep reading. I’ll show you how to add proxy support to the Firefox plugin, and really change any Firefox config option you want with iMacros!

A little backstory:

I was searching for the ability to use proxies in macros for my own personal use, and wanted an easy language to learn. I spent a few hours searching, and iMacros seemed to be the best. The macro scripting language is super easy to learn, and there’s a ton of examples on their site. So I installed the plugin for Firefox, and started creating my macro.

I quickly discovered that the Firefox plugin doesn’t support proxies! After hours of searching for some other free macro engine that’s web-centric, I found nothing. I thought about writing a Firefox plugin to allow typed addresses in the URL bar to change info in Firefox’s about:config page. That could be bad though. Real bad. If users started installing it, it would only be a matter of time until someone used a hrefs maliciously and there was an epidemic of broken Firefoxes. What to do…

And then, epiphany. I recall some time ago a friend sent me a silly snippet of JavaScript code that you could paste into the address bar, and it would replace all the images with his own. Kind of rude, actually. Funny, but rude.

So, I opened up about:config. If you’re not aware, about:config lets you tweak almost every aspect of Firefox’s behavior and communications. Click here to read about it.

I had to use a few tools to get the source and general idea of what was happening in about:config, since I had never written a Firefox plugin or done any scripting with Firefox. After a few moments, I was able to construct a line of Javascript that changed one of the integer settings in about:config. Awesome! As it turns out, changing string settings is a bit more complicated to do via address bar JavaScript, but after digging deeper into the FireFox chrome source for about:config, I found a way.

If you don’t have FireFox iMacros installed, now would be the time to get it: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863

To change a setting in about:config from iMacros (or any other macro engine for Firefox I suppose – just change the syntax), here’s the javascript:

For integer values:

URL GOTO=about:config
URL GOTO=javascript:gPrefBranch.setIntPref(“SETTING.NAME”,INTEGER_VALUE);

Just change “SETTING.NAME” to the name of the setting, like layout.spellcheckDefault, and INTEGER_VALUE to the desired integer value

For string values, this gets a little more complicated:

URL GOTO=about:config
URL GOTO=javascript:var<SP>prefb<SP>=<SP>Components.classes["@mozilla.org/preferences-service;1"].getService(Components.interfaces.nsIPrefBranch);var<SP>str<SP>=<SP>Components.classes["@mozilla.org/supports-string;1"].createInstance(Components.interfaces.nsISupportsString);str.data<SP>=<SP>”STRING VALUE”;prefb.setComplexValue(“SETTING.NAME”,<SP>Components.interfaces.nsISupportsString,<SP>str);

Change “STRING VALUE” to the desired value, and “SETTING.NAME” to the setting name.

And for boolean values:

URL GOTO=about:config
URL GOTO=gPrefBranch.setBoolPref(“SETTING.NAME”, true or false);

Once again, change “SETTING.NAME” to the desired Boolean variable, and “true or false” to either true or false.

So, now on to the fun stuff. Using it in a macro to change the proxy. For this example, I created a csv file at C:\sample.csv

In that csv file, I specified the following:

“ExampleURLtoVisit”,”proxyIP”,”proxyPort”
“http://whatismyip.com”,”192.168.1.1″, 8080
“http://whatismyip.com”,”10.10.36.1″, 3128

Here’s the code to use it::

VERSION BUILD=6240709 RECORDER=FX
TAB T=1
SET !DATASOURCE example.csv
SET !DATASOURCE_COLUMNS 4
PROMPT Enter<SP>the<SP>App<SP>OAuth<SP>URL: !VAR1
‘Increase the current position in the file with each loop
SET !LOOP 2
SET !DATASOURCE_LINE {{!LOOP}}
‘clear cookies and cache:
CLEAR
URL GOTO=about:config
‘some proxies are slow, set the timeout to 90 seconds:
URL GOTO=javascript:gPrefBranch.setIntPref(“network.http.keep-alive.timeout”,900);
URL GOTO=about:config
‘set the proxy URL
URL GOTO=javascript:var<SP>prefb<SP>=<SP>Components.classes["@mozilla.org/preferences-service;1"].getService(Components.interfaces.nsIPrefBranch);var<SP>str<SP>=<SP>Components.classes["@mozilla.org/supports-string;1"].createInstance(Components.interfaces.nsISupportsString);str.data<SP>=<SP>”{{!COL2}}”;prefb.setComplexValue(“network.proxy.http”,<SP>Components.interfaces.nsISupportsString,<SP>str);
URL GOTO=about:config
‘set the proxy port:
URL GOTO=javascript:gPrefBranch.setIntPref(“network.proxy.http_port”,{{!COL3}});
URL GOTO=about:config
‘turn the proxy on
URL GOTO=javascript:gPrefBranch.setIntPref(“network.proxy.type”,1);
‘log in:
URL GOTO={{!COL1}}
‘see:
WAIT SECONDS=5
‘disable proxy:
URL GOTO=about:config
URL GOTO=javascript:gPrefBranch.setIntPref(“network.proxy.type”,0);

Obviously the possibilities here are near limitless. Do a few google searches, this can be used for a TON of things. Some ideas:

• Change the user agent (general.useragent.override)
• Stop sending referer headers: (network.http.sendRefererHeader)
• Disable images on the fly for the purpose of faster macros (permissions.default.image)

Note: This is what’s used in the free script on http://www.scriptamp.com/myspaceappsmogul

Have fun, scripters!

This is going to be a quick tutorial of a few of the cool things you can do with the Firefox 3 about:config window.

The about:config window lets you change pretty much all of Firefox’s settings. Be careful when you’re adjusting your settings, as you can give Firefox brain damage

To open the config window, in the address bar type about:config and press enter

Here are some of my favorite hacks for Firefox 3:

1. Disable Extension Compatibility Check

extensions.checkCompatibility = False
extensions.checkUpdateSecurity = False

2. Disable Prefetch (if you do a lot of Google searches)

network.prefetch-next = False

3. Enable spellcheck in forms

layout.spellcheckDefault = 2
Change Value from 1 to 2

4. Don’t allow <blink> text (annoying!)

browser.blink_allowed = False

5. Some network speed tweaks:

network.http.pipelining false to true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests 30 to 8
network.http.max-connections 30 to 96
network.http.max-connections-per-server 15 to 32
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server 6 to 8
network.http.pipelining.ssl false to true
network.http.proxy.pipelining false to true

6. Show More Tabs

browser.tabs.tabMinWidth = 50

Setting lesser value with reduce Tab width. By default 12 will show at 75 pixels.

7. Disable or Set Short Delay Time While Installing Firefox Add-on

security.dialog_enable_delay = 0

Set to 1 if you only want to wait 1 second.

8. Increase History Undo Close Tab Limit ( Recently Closed Tabs )

browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo=25

Only 10 by default

9. Open Firefox Default Search Bar Result in a new tab:

browser.search.openintab=True

10. Right Click View Source in Your Favorite Editor

view_source.editor.external=True
view_source.editor.path= Path of Editor

(e.g. path C:\Program Files\geany\geany.exe)

Enjoy!

]]> http://www.thepemberton.com/posts/archives/24/feed 21 http://www.thepemberton.com/posts/archives/22 http://www.thepemberton.com/posts/archives/22#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:17:04 +0000 elip http://thepemberton.com/posts/archives/22

I don’t want to say that this is for the guys I work with… but yeah. This is for the guys I work with. This is the only language (most) of you know, and primary to most…. don’t you think you should at least understand it?

Let’s get right to the point. Misusing words makes you look less intelligent than you really are. If you misuse words in your writing, it can damage your credibility and diminish the point you’re trying to make. Even worse, it could completely change the meaning of the sentence.

What follows is a list of the 32 most commonly misused words and phrases.

1. Accept/Except- Although these two words sound alike (they’re homophones), they have two completely different meanings. “Accept” means to willingly receive something (accept a present.) “Except” means to exclude something (I’ll take all of the books except the one with the red cover.)

2. Affect/Effect- The way you “affect” someone can have an “effect” on them. “Affect” is usually a verb and “Effect” is a noun.

3. Alright- If you use “alright,” go to the chalkboard and write “Alright is not a word” 100 times.

4. Capital/Capitol- “Capitol” generally refers to an official building. “Capital” can mean the city which serves as a seat of government or money or property owned by a company. “Capital” can also mean “punishable by death.”

5. Complement/Compliment- I often must compliment my wife on how her love for cooking perfectly complements my love for grocery shopping.

6. Comprise/Compose- The article I’m composing comprises 32 parts.

7. Could Of- Of the 32 mistakes on this list, this is the one that bothers me most. It’s “could have” not “could of.” When you hear people talking, they’re saying “could’ve.” Got it?

8. Desert/Dessert- A desert is a hot, dry patch of sand. Dessert, on the other hand, is the sweet, fatty substance you eat at the end of your meal.

9. Discreet/Discrete- We can break people into two discrete (separate) groups, the discreet (secretive) and indiscreet.

10. Emigrate/Immigrate- If I leave this country to move to Europe, the leaving is emigrating and the arriving is immigrating.

11. Elicit/Illicit- Some people post illicit things on message boards to elicit outrageous reactions from others.

12. Farther/Further- Farther is used for physical distance, whereas further means to a greater degree.

13. Fewer/Less- Use fewer when referring to something that can be counted one-by-one. Use less when it’s something that doesn’t lend itself to a simple numeric amount.

14. Flair/Flare- A flair is a talent, while a flare is a burst (of anger, fire, etc.)

15. i.e/e.g- I.e. is used to say “in other words.” E.g. is used in place of “for example.”

16. Inflammable- Don’t let the prefix confuse you, if something is inflammable it can catch on fire.

17. It’s/Its- It’s= it is. Its=a possessive pronoun meaning of it or belonging to. Whatever you do, please don’t use its’.

18. Imply/Infer- A reader infers what an author implies. In other words, when you imply something, you hint at it. When you infer something, you draw a conclusion based on clues.

19. Literally- If you say “His head literally exploded because he was so mad!” then we should see brains splattered on the ceiling.

20. Lose/Loose- If your pants are too loose you may lose them. That would be almost as embarrassing as misusing these two words.

21. Moral/Morale- Morals are something you want to teach your kids. If your team’s morale is low, you need to do something to boost their confidence.

22. Percent/Percentage- The word “percent” should only be used when a specific number is given. “Percentage” is more of a general term.

23. Stationary/Stationery- You are stationary when you aren’t moving. Stationery is something you write on.

24. Then/Than- “Then” is another word for “after.” Incidentally, the word “then” makes for boring writing. “Than” is a comparative word (e.g. I am smarter than you).

25. There/Their/They’re- There are few things as frustrating as when I look at my students’ writing and they’re misusing these words in their writing.

26. Unique- Something can’t be “kind of unique” or even “very unique.” It’s either one-of-a-kind or it isn’t. There is no in between when it comes to unique.

27. Your/You’re- If I had a nickel for every time I saw this one… yeah, you know the rest. “Your” shows ownership and you’re is a contraction meaning “you are.” Get it right.

28. To/Too/Two- Two is a number. “To” is used in instances such as, “I am going to the store.” If you are supposed to use the word “too,” try inserting the word “extra” or “also.” If one of those fits, you need to also add the extra “o” to make “too.”

29. Lie/Lay- After you lay the books on the table, go lie down on the couch.

30. Sit/Set- Set your drink on the table and sit in your chair. Got it?

31. Whose/Who’s- Whose is the possessive form of who. Who’s is a contraction meaning “who is.”

32. Allude/Elude- When someone alludes to something in conversation (indirectly references), if you aren’t paying attention the meaning may elude you (escape you).

Below is a collection of cloned applications that I used on Windows that made the switch to Ubuntu (almost) seamless.

Most of these apps are extremely customizable, though all are functional and set to the most common preferences once installed. A few important notes for new Ubuntu/Linux users:

• If you don’t already have Ubuntu, download it, burn it to a CD, and install it! If you can’t burn it to a CD, they will also ship you about 5 copies for free (no shipping, no handling – they even pay postage. This is how I got my first copy in 2005). If you just want to try it, Ubuntu features a Live CD filesystem. Just pop it in and enjoy Ubuntu without actually installing it on your box or making any changes to your existing operating system. Keep in mind nothing will be saved to the hard disk, which makes the rest of this tutorial kind of useless.
• Quite a few of the installations in this tutorial will be through a console. By default Ubuntu installs a console (Applications -> System -> Terminal). Don’t worry. Most of the steps in this tutorial only require copy/paste into the console, and all have a GUI and are added to your Applications menu unless otherwise noted.
• The sudo function means “SuperUser Do” – in other words: “do this command as the root user (Administrator).” Nearly everything that could be considered a dangerous application or change requires you to enter your root password, even GUIfied programs. After the initial install and setup of Ubuntu it can be a pain in the ass, but don’t worry. You’ll get settled in and won’t have to enter your password as often as you’d think.
• The apt-get program is a centralized command-line installer application (whereas Synaptic is a GUIfied aptitude client). There are thousands of packages available through apt-get, and they’re frequently updated as new versions arrive. Before you begin, please ensure your apt-get repositories are up to date. In a console type:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

• The Ubuntu user forum is a *great* place to get information on different packages, technical issues, and environment suggestions, as is google! If you’re having trouble finding a good tutorial on a certain process or package, search google for packagename ubuntu. If the issue is with hardware, it’s likely already a known issue and has a workaround. Search for the product name, such as Broadcom 1390 ubuntu on google.
• Finally, if you want all the packages mentioned here (except Skype, the Firefox plugins, and Frostwire as they require some human interaction), in a console type:

wget http://www.thepemberton.com/allpackages.sh

sh ./allpackages.sh

Now, on to the goodies!

1. Skype!

Skype is what I use for my home phone service. Skype costs about $30 USD/year (The Skype ‘credits’ are useful, but can be a burden – just go for the full year of service and it’ll save you a bundle). It even has a service called SkypeIn, which allows you to have a dial-in number that you can use or check anywhere in the world for a small yearly fee. Skype includes caller ID, voicemail, chat, call forwarding (to forward to your mobile and keep the number private for you business users), and they let you choose your own phone number in the area code of your choosing. Even if you don’t want to pay, it’s a wonderful IM client and VoIP application.

To install Skype, sign up and click “Download” at the top of their website, then choose “Skype for Linux” from the left.

Save the latest “Ubuntu” distribution to your Desktop, and in a Console type:

cd ~/Desktop

sudo dpkg -i skype-debian_<versionnumber>.deb

2. OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice (in my experience — don’t quote me) has full compatibility with all Microsoft Office documents, even PowerPoint and Access – free! This was one of my biggest fears in switching to Linux. Thanks OpenOffice!

OpenOffice should come with Ubuntu, but if yours did not click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> OpenOffice.org

3. MSN IM, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, and ICQ

These can all be run from one program: GAIM

Gaim (will be renamed to Pidgin in its next release) can log you into MSN IM, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, IRC, and others. It features numerous plugins (including tabbed chatting to keep your desktop tidy).

To install Gaim (and some of my favorite plugins – including Encryption and GUIfications), in a Console type:

sudo apt-get install gaim gaim-hotkeys gaim-encryption gaim-extendedprefs gaim-guifications

4. Firefox

Really. There’s little or no advantage to using IE. Hell, if you’re patient enough, you can even run IE on Linux.

To install Mozilla Fireforex, click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> firefox Some handy plugins:

- Download Statusbar

Neatly arranges downloads and prevents the annoying download window from appearing every time (though you can set it to display the download window *every* time, but really there’s no need).

- Live HTTP Headers

Shows you exactly what’s coming into your browser.

- TabBrowser Preferences or TabMix Plus

Some additional functionality for tabbed browsing. I suggest starting with TabBrowser Preferences and if you feel like it’s missing something, uninstall it and try TabMix plus.

- StumbleUpon

Just the best timekiller ever.

- User Agent Switcher

If you’re a web developer or frequent an “IE only” website, you might understand how important this can be. It allows you to change the Agent that your browser tells a webserver that you’re using (dozens of options, including googlebot, different versions of IE, and others).

- SEO Quake

Not something I could stomach to have enabled all the time, but it shows website rankings dynamically (try a google search after enabling).

5. Codecs

Codecs? That’s right. Out of the box, Ubuntu doesn’t have any of the popular media codecs (mp3, wmv, etc).

In a Console, type:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-gl gstreamer0.10-plugins-base gstreamer0.10-plugins-good gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse libxine-extracodecs


Any additional codecs you need are likely in the Synaptic Manager (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager). Just search for the codec name.

6. Amarok

Amarok is a fresh new media player. Seriously, this app has some great functions, and has a ton of plugins.

apt-get install amarok

Note: I suggest the Wiki-lyrics plugin: http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=35151

To use the wiki plugin, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install libgtk2-ruby

Save the tar.bz2 file from the link above to your computer, and in Amarok click Tools -> Script Manager, and “Install Script,” pointing to the .tar.bz2 file. To run it, in the Script Manager select Lyrics -> WikiLyrics -> Run

7. KTorrent

A sweet BitTorrent client, much like Azareus, but without spamvertisements or the need for Java. KTorrent allows you to download a full torrent, or select specific files that you’d like to download from the torrent.

To install KTorrent, click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> KTorrent

8. Filezilla

The popular FTP client for Windows is also available on Linux. In my opinion all other FTP clients pale in comparison.

Installation: System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> Filezilla

9. Archivers/File Compressors

Even on Linux there are plenty of archivers, but most do them all.

I like Ark. It handles too many formats to list, but a few are rar, zip, tar, gz, bz, 7z….

To install Ark, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install ark

If you ever find yourself missing a library, say, to open .ace files, take a peek in the Synaptic Package Manager.

10. Java

You know you’ll need it. To install:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

11. Frostwire

A *clean* Limewire clone for Linux. You’ll mostly use this to download single mp3s. Needs Java (see #10). To install Frostwire visit frostwire.com, click “Download Now for Ubuntu,” and save the .deb file to your desktop. In a console type:

cd ~/Desktop

sudo dpkg -i <<filename>>.deb

12. aMule

An eMule/eDonkey clone for Linux. aMule takes a little time to start downloading, but pretty much everything is on here (full albums, windoze software, etc). To install aMule, use the following in a console:

sudo apt-get install amule

13. Wine

Wine stands for “Wine is Not an Emulator.” What is it? Wine is an application that attempts to mimic Windows and let you run Windows programs in Linux, seamlessly. I’ve used it for a few things, even some good complex games like CounterStrike 1.6, Team Fortress Classic, Half Life 2, and Counterstrike: Source.

To install Wine, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install wine

14. Mozilla Thunderbird

A popular email client. Not as many options as Microsoft Outlook out of the box, but there’s a decent Thunderbird plugin repository.

To install Thunderbird, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install mozilla-thunderbird

15. Geany

Geany is an AWESOME programming IDE. It supports nearly every language, a terminal, built-in functions to compile, and autocomplete (not the lame kind, this one actually scans your project across files and provides autocomplete for functions from other user created files!).

apt-get install geany

16. Beryl and Emerald

I wouldn’t use this on an ATI card unless you find a great tutorial on Beryl and ATI drivers… but if you’re fortunate enough to have an NVidia card, Beryl is worth a look. It adds a large number of (mostly) lightweight desktop effects, including a desktop cube, amazing window transitions, and hell… if you’re not distracted by playing with it too much it can even speed up desktop usage. Without Beryl I hardly ever use multiple workspaces. Queue cheesy Youtube video of Beryl in action:

[youtube ZD7QraljRfM]

To install Beryl and Emerald, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install beryl emerald-themes beryl-manager

There are a good number of themes for Beryl and Emerald (Emerald is the window decorator, allows for some great window themes) at http://www.beryl-look.org/

17. Flash Player

Duh.

To install (don’t worry – it’s free):

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

18. Totem Movie Player

A lightweight video player. Not bad at all.

Note: If there’s a codec you’re missing Totem should try to grab it by itself. If this fails, search for the codec name in System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager

To install Totem Movie Player:

sudo apt-get install totem totem-gstreamer totem-mozilla

19. Desktop games!

Most of the games are lightweight and clones of popular Windows games. Check them out! If you’re looking for some serious gaming action, check out my posts on Ubuntu Linux Games – Top Picks, Guide to ROMs (Console emulation) on Ubuntu, and Installing Valve’s STEAM and Counterstrike on Ubuntu.

To install some cool (small) games on Linux:

Applications -> Add/Remove Programs, and check out the “Games” area. Make sure you choose all of the suites (Multiverse, etc) – or:

apt-get install abuse supertux gweled briquolo chromium criticalmass frozen-bubble fb-music-high lbreakout2 pingus powermanga rrootage gnome-sudoku tuxpuck

20. GIMP

Gimp is a fun little graphics editor. It’s infinitely expandable with a huge list of plugins and scripts. Even if you’re not a graphic artist, sometimes you just need to edit photos or pics. There’s also a lot of community support for GIMP. I mention a few great tutorials in one of my previous posts.

To install GIMP:

sudo apt-get install gimp

21. K3B

K3B is an awesome CD/DVD burning and ripping application, like Roxio Toast. To install:

sudo apt-get install k3b

22. Konsole

My favorite terminal/console application. Supports multiple schemas and transparency.

To install:

sudo apt-get install konsole

23. VLC

VLC is another video player. It play some of the more exotic compression formats.

sudo apt-get install vlc

24. KSnapshot

Perfect little screencapture application. You’ll want it once you install Beryl.

sudo apt-get install ksnapshot

25. k9Copy

Linux DVD ripper and shrinker. Enjoy!

sudo apt-get install k9copy

26. KMyMoney

Like quickbooks, but free.

sudo apt-get install kmymoney2

27. OpenSSH

It’s hard to spend time away from your Ubuntu box. OpenSSH allows you to open a remote console from anywhere.

sudo apt-get install openssh-client openssh-server

Note: If you’re going to SSH into your machine from a Windows box, I suggest using PuTTY on the Windows machine (requires no install – just a standalone executable).

28. Krita

Is GIMP too powerful and you just need a few image touchups in a familiar interface? Krita is a tidy little image editor.

sudo apt-get install krita

29. nano

Nano is a console-based text editor. If you break your xserver and don’t have video after trying something new with your crappy ATI driver, nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf will be burned into your memory. Seriously,buy an NVidia card.

sudo apt-get install nano

30. kate

A lot of the features in geany are here, but kate is closer to notepad/wordpad.

sudo apt-get install kate

Afterthought #1:

Mount an NTFS (Windows) partition for read/write access in Ubuntu:

If you have two hard drives in your computer, or a specific dual-boot partitioning schema, you may find it necessary to be able to access files from that partition *cough*mp3s*cough*

To mount that partition under Ubuntu, it can be a little tricky. Here’s what I did:

1. Find the name of the hard drive partition. In a console, type:

sudo fdisk -l

look for any entries mentioning “NTFS” or “FAT32″ and take note of the “Device Boot” column. My “HPFS/NTFS” drive was located at /dev/hdb1

2. Install the apps needed to make this work. In a console type:

sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

3. Create a directory that we’ll access the partition from:

sudo mkdir /media/windows

4. Backup and open the fstab file:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak

gksudo gedit /etc/fstab

5. gedit will open up. Add the following line to the file (replace /dev/hdb1 with your partition location from step 1) and save:

/dev/hdb1 /media/windows ntfs-3g defaults,force,locale=en_US.utf8   0    0

6. Unmount the NTFS partition, and re-mount:

sudo umount /dev/hdb1

sudo mount -a

Or reboot your machine, and you’ll see your Windows NTFS partition in the /media/windows directory!

Afterthought #2:

Create a backup of all installed packages

Creating a backup list of applications to install is quite easy really. If you ever need to reinstall Ubuntu or wish to install all of the same applications onto another computer, try this:

Save a backup list of all installed packages to your desktop:

cd ~/Desktop

dpkg –get-selections | grep -v deinstall > ubuntu-install-files

Now don’t lost that “ubuntu-install-files” file! Email it to yourself, put it on your pen drive, anything. It might also be helpful to include a bookmark to this page or copy/paste of the below steps to install from the backup file.

On the new computer (or fresh install):

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

dpkg –set-selections < ubuntu-install-files

sudo dselect

Hit ‘i’ on your keyboard to continue the install, and Q once it’s done.

Please leave comments if you’d like anything added! I’ll take most into consideration

This is only my experience downloading and installing Steam and Valve games like Counterstrike 1.6 and TFC on Linux. Your experience may vary.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A purchased copy of Half Life Platinum (if you’re into the old versions of Counter Strike and Team Fortress Classic – still going strong with thousands of gamers on 24/7) and/or a purchased copy of Half Life 2. You won’t have to use the DVD/CDs in this tutorial (in fact I’ve never gotten them to work), you’ll just need the product key. Steam includes a lovely little downloader for Valve games
• Wine:
  • sudo apt-get install wine
• Once Wine is installed, extract the fonts from this archive to the ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/fonts/ directory. If you don’t, you’ll notice Steam and its games don’t have any text!
• Download and run the SteamInstall.exe file (NOT the .msi that’s on their download page). From a terminal:
  • cd ~/Desktop
  • wget http://steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.exe
  • wine SteamInstall.exe -dxlevel 90 -novid

This will guide you through a small install process. Once completed, edit the shortcut (or create one if one wasn’t automatically created for you):

Right-click on Applications menu -> Edit Menus -> Wine -> Programs -> Steam -> Steam, right-click “Steam” and change the properties “command” to:

wine “C:/Program Files/Steam/steam.exe” -dxlevel 90 -novid -width 1024 -height 768 -heapsize 512000

There you go! If you have a steam account by purchasing a copy of Half Life, you can log in and use the interface to download whichever games you’ve purchased.

Gaming console emulation on PC is nothing new. An emulator is a program that mimics the hardware and firmware from a gaming console (such as the Super Nintendo), to play roms. Roms are just computerized copies of console games. For PSX and other CD-based systems Roms are called ISOs. This guide is just my personal notes on emulating the different game consoles on Ubuntu Linux (Feisty 7.04 in this article).

First, if you don’t have a gamepad, I suggest stopping by your local Best Buy and purchasing one. If you’d like to save some cash, there are plenty of affordable solutions online, and not to mention you can use the controllers from your existing consoles by using a USB converter. Personally, I use a Logitech Dual Action controller. There was no setup needed except plugging it into a USB port and defining the controls in the emulators. This controller is great for other non-emulated games as well, including VDrift.

Finding ROMS:

Locating roms is easier than one might think. There are plenty of great websites for both bittorrent clients and standard HTTP clients. aMule and mininova.org have been my favorites thus far. Simply search for systemname and rom or iso (and maybe the game you’re looking for to trim down the results); e.g., snes roms or Legend of Mana iso psx

Super Nintendo:

For Super Nintendo emulation, I chose ZSnes. I haven’t found a Super Nintendo game that this doesn’t support (and I have over 800). ZSnes has many graphical filters to make your SNES games look better on your computer than they did on the console, a GameGenie-esque cheat system, and more.

To install ZSnes on Ubuntu: System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> ZSNES

You’ll want to add it to your Applications menu (right-click on Application menu, Edit Menus), or open it directly from a console by typing: zsnes

Once installed, you may consider checking out mininova.org or aMule to start downloading your roms. A simple search for “snes roms” should do the trick. There are plenty of dedicated snes rom websites, however a lot of good roms are ESA protected, so you won’t be able to download goodies like Super Mario World.

Once you have a collection of roms, fire up zsnes and click Config -> Input #1 (for the first controller). If you have a Logitech Dual Action controller, you’ll find this fairly easy. Just click “Set Keys” and it will prompt you for the button config. After you’re done here, click the ‘X’ to close the config window, and click Game -> Load, and navigate to your snes rom directory.

Note: If your roms don’t have the .smc filename extension, you’ll need to check the “Show all Extensions” checkbox from the Load screen. I recommend paying the Config -> Video screen a visit, and enabling a higher resolution (1024×768 win is my preference) and checking the BiLinear Filter, HQ2X, and High Res Mode 7 checkboxes. If the sounds are too high pitched, you may need to adjust the sound frequency down to 8000hz (Config -> Sound).

Nintendo 64:

Not all Nintendo 64 emulators are built equally. I’ve had the best luck with pj64 for Windows, but under Linux the Mupen64 emulator is the next best thing.

To install Mupen64, download it, extract the files to a folder on your desktop, and you can run Mupen64 directly from the extraction folder.

Once again, mininova.org has a few great n64 rom packages. Right away, I would download a few video plugins for Mupen64 such as GLN64 and Glide64. Once downloaded, extract the files into the Mupen64/plugins folder. You’ll likely have to try other plugins for different games. I still haven’t gotten Donkey Kong 64 to work properly with any video plugin. If you find a way, please comment this post and I’ll test and edit as necessary.

You’ll find that switching between games like Bomberman 64 and Mario 64 is a tedious task, as you’ll often have to click Options -> Configure and select or edit a different video plugin. Once you have your roms and video plugins, in Mupen 64 click Options -> Configure, and add your rom directory(ies). This will add all roms to a list, and it’s much easier than opening each rom individually.

I have not found a game controller that equals the original N64 game controller, particularly the location of the “Z” button and the “C” buttons. If you’re a hardcore N64 fan, you should try to find a USB adapter. If you use the Logitech Dual Action controller, the right-analog stick works fine for the C-up,down,left, and right buttons. I found Blight’s SDL Input Plugin to be the easiest and most accurate to configure for my controller. You can find it at: http://www.ngemu.com/n64/mupen64.php?action=plugins

Nintendo DS:

DeSmuME has a lot of options, and of course supports your mouse in place of the stylus. I haven’t gotten it to work with any game controller.

To install DeSmuME, click Applications -> System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager, and search for ‘desmume’

To run DeSmuME, open a console and type: desmume

I found DS emulation a bit clunky and (for the most part) fruitless, and gave up on it. I’ll revisit DS emulation once I hit the Phantom Hourglass in my epic quest to defeat the Zelda chain, or I may just buy a DS, they’re quite cheap lately – and the portability is supreme.

Nintendo Gameboy:

TuxBoy has been the best thus far. To install:

TuxBoy has a gui (whereas gnuboy does not) and it worked after install with my Logitech Dual Action controller (though I had to enable the “mode” button on the controller to take it off analog and use the D-pad).

Nintendo NES:

For NES, I suggest a gfceu.

To install, click Applications -> System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager, and search for “gfceu”

To run gfceu, from a console type: gfceu

You’ll be presented with a lovely little GUI to locate and run your NES roms.

Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32x Systems:

Gens is a great emulator for the Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32x systems. To install:

1. Download this handy debian package to a new folder (thanks to chronusdark for this contribution)
2. In a console, change to the saved directory.
3. Type: sudo dpkg -i gens_2.12a-i386.deb

To run Gens, simply type ‘gens’ in a console. The GUI is pretty intuitive. Make sure you redefine your controls to your gamepad by clicking Option -> Joypads and redefining the controls!

Playstation (PSX):

With such great games as Tenchu and FInal Fantasy 7, I had to have a PSX emulator. I stumbled across ePSXe and haven’t looked at another.Installation can be a bit of a pain, and if you forget anything you may need to start over, so I’m including complete install instructions:

1. Open a console, and install the needed packages: sudo apt-get install unzip libgtk1.2-common libgtk1.2
2. Create an install dir: sudo mkdir ~/Desktop/epsxe
3. Change to the install dir: cd ~/Desktop/epsxe
4. chmod the installdir to ensure all users can write to it: chmod -R 777 ./
5. Download ePSXe base from this link: http://www.epsxe.com/files/epsxe160lin.zip
6. Extract the contents of the above file into the ~/Desktop/epsxe/ directory
7. In the console, type: sudo chmod 777 cfg sstates snap memcards
8. Next, type: sudo touch memcards/epsxe000.mcr memcards/epsxe001.mcr .epsxerc
9. Then: sudo chmod 666 memcards/*
10. Followed by: sudo chmod 666 .epsxerc
11. Download the PSX BIOS software (PSX firmware) by searching google or any popular search engine for: scph1001.bin
    1. Move the scph1001.bin file to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/bin/ folder
12. Download a hardware acceleration package to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/plugins/ folder: http://www.pbernert.com/gpupetexgl208.tar.gz
13. Note that the cfgPeteXGL2 and gpuPeteXGL2.cfg files need to go in the ~/Desktop/epsxe/cfg/ folder!
    1. Sub-Note: If the hardware acceleration package doesn’t work, you may consider trying to extract http://www.pbernert.com/gpupeopssoftx117.tar.gz to your ~/Desktop/epsxe/plugins folder, making sure to move cfgPeopsSoft and gpuPeopsSoftX.cfg to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/cfg/ folder
14. Download the PadJoy input plugin, extract the cfgPadJoy file to the /cfg/ folder, and the to the libpadJoy-0.8.so file /plugin/ folder: http://members.chello.at/erich.kitzmueller/ammoq/down/xjoypad.zip
15. Download an audio plugin and extract to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/plugins/ folder: http://www.pbernert.com/spupeopsoss109.tar.gz
    1. Note: move the file cfgPeopsOSS to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/cfg/ folder!

You can now run ePSXe directly from the ~/Desktop/epsxe/ folder. Make sure you click Config -> Bios, and set it to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/bin/scph1001.bin file.

If you don’t have a PSX disk or iso, you can test it by clicking File -> Run BIOS.

To configure my controller I only had to click Config -> Ext. Game Pad -> Configure

Edit 8/28/2007: Thanks to Matt, I’ve discovered a much easier PSX emulator. Simply download the file below, extract to a folder, and run “pSX” directly from the folder. I’ve tested with all my PSX games and haven’t had any glitches or compatibility issues: http://psxemulator.gazaxian.com/pSX_linux_1_13.tar.bz2

Note that you’ll still need to search google for a scph1001.bin PSX BIOS file and extract it to the /bin/ folder.

Once that’s set, you can configure your controller by clicking File -> Configuration -> Controllers. I think I’ll be using this PSX emulator from now on

*Great computer repair services in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, Florida by Harbor Data Systems

If you’ve switched to Ubuntu (as I have) or any other Linux distribution, you may consider the following free (and in most cases open-source) games, as they’ve been favorites of mine for some time now.

1. Tremulous

Tremulous is an addictive first person shooter (FPS) that has countless gamers on at all hours from both the Linux and Windows worlds. As all other games in this article, Tremulous is free to download and play.

In Tremulous there are two teams: Aliens and Humans. Aliens can have such awesome feats as wall-walking (dizzying to say the least), pouncing from great distances, and spraying poisonous gases. Humans can obtain advanced weaponry and armor, and plant strategic devices such as turrets to defend their base.

Tremulous features a unique upgrade system, where players from each team must make a certain number of kills to gain new upgrades (aliens can evolve into more powerful aliens, and humans can obtain better items and gear).

[youtube vlGWi4Tmzc0]

To install under Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install tremulous

2. Gridwars

Grid wars has been removed from the creators website, however you can still install it in on Linux, Windows, or Mac by doing a quick search.

There is a distinct retro top-down-shooter look and feel to this game, but any thought that this is a vintage game is blown out of the water once you see the stunning liquid visuals that this game provides.

[youtube 6thaR7s1wXA]

3. VDrift

VDrift is a Linux racing game with a focus on drifting. Quite frankly, VDrift sucks if you only have a keyboard and mouse. If you’re nerd enough to have a PC joystick or gamepad, you’ll get the most out of this little gem.

[youtube 97JGsp6cNT0]

To install VDrift on Ubuntu:
apt-get install vdrift vdrift-data

4. World of Padman

World of Padman is a rather toony first-person shooter which combines fast gameplay, brilliant colors, and the Quake3 engine (massively supported by today’s hardware standards).

There is no aptitude installer for World of Padman, so if you’d like to try this out you’ll need to visit the World of Padman website Download section.

[youtube wXxJlj4hNr8]

5. Nexuiz

Nexuiz is another Quake3 mod, but with some of the best weapons this side of Half Life 2.

[youtube tNQIToJn9mw]

6. Scorched 3D

Scorched 3D has the same objective as old games like Missile Defense, but provides revamped graphics in a 3D world, network play, and terrain interaction. In same cases it’s just more fun to nuke a path to your enemy and sink their base into the ocean.

[youtube QFm91PBics0]

Applications -> Add/Remove -> Games -> Scorched 3D

7. Glest

Glest is a well designed real time strategy game, which is guaranteed to provide hours of fun.

[youtube qyEZV5uqM2g]

To install, download from the ubuntu forums:

http://www.getdeb.net/release.php?id=1061

and install using:

sudo dpkg -i glest-data_2.0.0-1~getdeb1_all.deb

8. Flight Gear

Flight Gear is a must for everyone. Sometimes you just need to take to the skies

[youtube fWPXLi2vazs]

To install in Ubuntu:

Applications -> Add/Remove -> Games -> Flightgear

9. Battle for Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game. It’s quite fun really!

[youtube EIt69vznegs]

To install in Ubuntu:

Applications -> Add/Remove -> Games -> Battle for Wesnoth

ImageMagik is something nearly all developers can all appreciate. It’s a little software suite that allows you to create or modify batch images on-the-fly from PHP, C, C++, Perl, Python, Java, and several other languages. It can be tricky getting used to, but I’ve located a guide that explains the basics. Once reading through this, you should be pretty familiar with ImageMagik, and how you might apply it in your applications:

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-graf/?ca=dnt-428

This is a bit advanced, but the outcome is very cool. This process takes a black and white (or color) image, lets you scribble in some colors, and the colorization application accurately fills in and shades the rest. It can even do animated clips, as shown below.

More examples can be found at:

http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~yweiss/Colorization/ The application that does this can be downloaded from: http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~yweiss/Colorization/colorization.zip Please note that you’ll need a C++ compiler available to build the application, but it will compile on both Windows and Linux (view the README file in the download).

For those of you not familiar with the GIMP image editor., it’s a powerful cross-platform image editor licensed under the GNU GPL. Out of the box, GIMP is pretty powerful, but it can parallel (or as some might claim – exceed) the usability of Photoshop once you add some community-created plugins or scripts.

In 2006 a thread started at nintendo.com detailing some very useful tricks for the GIMP image editor. While the tutorials on this site are geared towards creating and editing video-game related images (signatures, banners, avatars, etcetera), the tips can be quite useful for all GIMP users.

The tutorial listings on this forum number in the hundreds, with such useful guides as:

• One-Render Tutorial
• Ninja in Autumn
• Rusty I-Beam
• Advanced Lighting

Make sure you scroll through the entire thread. The majority of the how-to’s are on the replies.

I stumbled upon an interesting thread on stencilrevolution.com

Check it out. It outlines a process to inexpensively “tattoo” your clothes with a stencil and some bleach. The outcome can be really neat:

Quote from the thread:

“ This Japanese Koi design was created specifically for this tutorial. (my original drawing in fig. 1.) I wanted to create and instruct with a relatively simple design that translated well into a two stencil work. It is based on traditional Japanese Koi artwork (but I really just made it up, so I hope it’s more recognizable than it is offensive) due to the popularity of the symbol and design in historic and modern tattoos. Of course my bleaching work began when I was asked to “tattoo” fabric. The Koi also symbolizes luck, and I can use all of that I can get.

There are a few basic need-to-know items and suggestions that I can offer.

First: bleach will not work on most synthetic fabrics. You will need natural fabrics. The good news is that even the cheap tee-shirts are generally 50/50 Cotton and Polyester, and they will work just fine. 100% cotton will also work well, HOWEVER, bleach really weakens the material. If you get big, wet drips of bleach on 100% cotton, they will quickly develop into holes in the material. I do know that, for at least one clothing company, this is actually the desired effect but I prefer the stronger 50/50 blends for bleach designed clothing.

Second: I use Duralar material (.005) to create my stencils. Cardboard will only soak up your bleach and become a mess. Duralar is available at your art supply dealer or online and is only about $2.50 USD for a 32 X 40” sheet. It is thin, plastic, and clear and you will get a lot of mileage out of each of the stencils you cut out of it.

Third: Cheap bleach is fine. It is still a toxic chemical. Wear a respirator or work in well ventilated areas, or both. Don’t wear anything you love. You’re spraying bleach.

Fourth: Empty your spray bottle after you’re done. If you store bleach in it, it will expand due to softening of the plastic and gasses from the reaction between the chemical and the plastic bottle. This can be messy and dangerous.

In the photographs, I have tried to show you the spray bottle I use. It is a very common spray bottle and inexpensive (about $1.50 USD).

With stenciling bleach onto dark fabrics, you have to think in the negative. This is opposite the general process of stencil work with spray paint or roll-on paints and inks. The light colors are going through the stencil and the dark areas are being blocked by it. Otherwise, this process is darned close to the spray paint stencils more commonly created.

For this stencil, I created the stencil for the half-tone layer to be applied first. On the back side of the stencil, I used a repositionable spray adhesive. This is a 3-M product and makes the stencil sticky but easily removable. It leaves no residue on the substrate (fabric). This is used to prevent under-spray for those clean, crisp lines and edges. It is important to also select a spray angle with your wrist position and stick to it. The angle of your spray should remain consistent throughout the even application. If you roll your wrist at all, you’ll risk under-spray and inconsistent application.

In the second photo, you can see the shape of this stencil and compare it to the original drawing to see the areas I selected for the half-tone/lighter value layer. I also designed it to have a half-tone halo that fades into the background to enhance the outline. Spray this layer with the same, full-strength bleach but use a light mist for application. This mist will not be very wet. It is not to soak into the material. It is a fine mist that will lay atop the fabric and cause the effect. You will have to wait a few moments for the reaction. It will develop like a Polaroid. You can leave the stencil on for this effect in case you want to add a little more to make it lighter.

In the third photo, you see me using some paper towel to pat the stencil. This is to prevent droplets and drips from the chemical that is beaded up on the stencil from dripping onto the fabric when the stencil is slowly peeled off.

The fourth photo shows this layer completed and fully developed.

In the fifth photo, the second stencil is applied. You will see a black marker line that is drawn on the reverse side of the stencil for alignment and registration. It is drawn on the back because the bleach will erase it from the front. I add the island stencil for the eye and it has also been sprayed with repositionable spray-adhesive. You can see in the first layer, I included a little line, that is actually sprayed as part of the design, for registration of this separate eye stencil. This whole layer gets the same, full-strength bleach. A heavier application is employed to achieve a lighter value. IMPORTANT: this is still not soaked. If you soak it, it will saturate the material and seep under your stencil. You will lose all your detail if you spray too heavily. Keep it consistent. You can leave the stencil in place until it develops to see if you want to apply more bleach to lighten it.

As with most stencil work, you will almost never get the stencil to properly re-register/re-align for a second attempt. This means you really can’t expect good results from trying to reapply the stencil for another attempt. Try your best to get each layer in one shot.

In the sixth photo, I am again blotting the stencil with dry paper towel to prevent drips and beaded chemical from running onto the material.

I cheat sometimes. In the seventh photograph, I am using a Sharpie fabric marker (this has dye instead of ink) to add three details; the nostril and two “V’ shaped lines in the tail.

The last photo shows the completed design. I used a black cotton napkin for this, instead of a tee shirt, so the photos in the tutorial would be clear.

You should know that when the bleach dries, it may crystallize. These tiny crystals are still dormant bleach. If these are re-hydrated, they can continue to bleach the fabric. I highly recommend running the finished piece in a dryer to beat these crystals out of the fabric before getting it wet by washing or whatever else. Be careful washing this with other clothing until it has been beaten and rinsed once. “