Installing Mac OSX 10.6.2 Snow Leopard on Acer Aspire 4740G

After numerous retries, I have finally succeeded installing the Mac OSX 10.6.2 Snow Leopard on my Acer Aspire 4740G laptop with Windows 7 dual boot. Took me 10 times to install it correctly. So, to ease your pain, I'll share the steps for you to try.

What you gonna need :

- Installation DVD : Snow Leopard 10.6.2 by Hazard (Don't ask me how to get it, look around). But those of you who live in Indonesia, may contact me
- Adequate space on your hard drive and partition. You will need at least 2 primary partitions to install both Windows 7 and MacOSX. Remember : Primary partition, not extended nor logical. Mac OSX will take approximately 10 Gb.

DISCLAIMER :

- I am not responsible for any loss of data, hardware malfunction or any kind of damages caused by this tutorial. Always backup your data before proceeding. You have been warned.
- Follow the steps CAREFULLY. 1 mistake may ruin it all.

And now, the steps :

1. Install Windows 7 normally. Format the second partition for Snow Leopard (SL) with NTFS/FAT32

2. Before installing SL, make sure on your BIOS that HDD mode is set to AHCI

3. Boot using SL DVD

4. When Darwin Boot Loader appears, press F8 to enter advanced boot option

5. When the boot: prompt appears, type -v cpus=1 busratio=20

6. When you enter the GUI mode, press continue

7. After everything finished loading, on the top menu, select Utilities --> Disk utility

8. Select your target SL partition, then select Erase menu

9. Choose MacOSX Journaled file system, input the label for the partition, then click on erase to proceed with partition clean up

10. Close the disk utility

11. You should now be able to select the new partition as target installation

12. Select the partition, then click install

13. On the next page, before proceeding with install, click on customize button (on the bottom left corner)

14. Select the following package to install

• Mac OS X 10.6.2
• Kernel --> Mobdin Kernel
• Boot_Loader_Intel_Only --> Chameleon RC3 + PC EFI 10.5
• Graphic_Drivers --> Graphic Enabler
• System_Support --> CMOS_Reset_Fix --> Apple RTC

15. Click install to proceed. The installation will now run and will take about 20 minutes to complete, depending on your DVD drive.

16. When installation completed, reboot your system, but do not remove the DVD just yet. We still need to remove some file before your MacOS can boot.

17. When the Darwin Boot Loader appears, repeat step 4, 5 and 6

18. Select Utilities --> Terminal

19. We will need to set the MacOSX partition as Active. To do so, type diskutil list on the terminal window. Confirm that your MacOSX is on /dev/disk0. If not, adjust accordingly.

20. Type : fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 (assuming that your partition is on disk0)

21. Ignore the error "Unable to open MBR...."

22. Type : p

23. Remember which partition is your MacOS partition

24. Assuming that your partition is on number 3, type : f 3

25. Type : write to save the changes. Type : yes to confirm.

26. Type : exit to go back to the terminal window.

27. Type : cd /Volumes/[YourMacOSXPartitionLabel]/System/Library/Extentions

28. Type : rm -fr Sleepenabler.kext to remove the file. This file will cause kernel panic if not deleted.

29, Type exit to return to installation window.

30. Select Quit installation to reboot. Remove your DVD drive and reboot normally

You should now be booting to the Chameleon boot loader. Enjoy.

Credit goes to :
http://www.hendito.com/
http://www.insanelymac.com/

Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

I have just installed the latest Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. Not much difference can be found when loading the desktop for the first time, except there's a user name and desktop search icon on top right corner. Compiz window manager (like Beryl) is automatically activated when the installer detects the computer performance.


Pros :

• Better power consumption for laptop users
• Most of the packages are already pre installed
• Built in some firefox plugins
• Can detect secondary display automatically. Which means, I don't have to change my screen resolution everytime I want to project my screen through projector
• Pidgin 2.2.1 Multi Messenger is now pre-installed
• Can read and write to NTFS partition
  

Cons :

• Can't install msttcorefonts which is required for IBM 5250 emulator to run (I am currently researching about ubuntu-restricted-extras package and will get back shortly for the result)
• Can't set anything for Compiz. Unlike Beryl, the visual effect is very limited to wobbly windows, snap to edges, transparent title bar and maximize / minimize / close window animation

Overall, it's still the same good Ubuntu, with more power and features. But please note that these pros and cons are the ones that I found within 2 hours of usage. You can find more new features floating around the web and within the Ubuntu website itself

Installing IBM iSeries Client Access for Linux on Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

1.Download IBM iSeries for Linux from the following IBM website :

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/i/software/access/linux/

You may need to create user login before accessing the download link. The latest version of Client Access program is version 1.4 (optimized for Ubuntu).

2. Open Ubuntu package manager program through :

System --> Administration --> Synaptic Package Manager

3. Reload package information from the internet to get the latest list of available packages

4. Install the following packages :

• alien
• msttcorefonts
• libmotif3
• libxaw6
• libstdc++5
• xfs

5. Alternatively, you can install above packages with terminal (Accessories --> Terminal) after reloading the package information from synaptic package manager, by using following commands :

sudo apt-get install alien
sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts
sudo apt-get install libmotif3
sudo apt-get install libxaw6
sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
sudo apt-get install xfs

6. Since the installer package you downloaded from IBM is an RPM package, you will need alien to convert it into Debian package. Open your terminal, and change the directory to where you put the downloaded program, then type the following command :

sudo alien –i iSeriesAccess-5.4.0-1.4.i386.rpm

System should automatically generate .deb package and install the application
Hint : Use Tab button when typing first few characters of the filename to ensure it is typed correctly

7. Open the terminal and type the following commands :

sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbcore.so /usr/lib/libcwbcore.so
sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbcore.so /usr/lib/libcwbodbc.so
sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbodbcs.so /usr/lib/libcwbodbcs.so
sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbrc.so /usr/lib/libcwbrc.so
sudo ln -s /usr/X11R6/lib/libXm.so.3 /usr/lib/libXm.so.3
sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbcore.so /usr/lib/libcwbcore.so
sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/libstdc++.so.5 /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.5
sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/libgcc_s.so.1 /usr/lib/libgcc_s.so.1
sudo fc-cache –f –v

8. Continue with running the following command on your terminal :

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

In between the Section “Files” and EndSection, add the following line :

FontPath “unix/:7100”

Then save the file and quit

9. You may want to restart your system to ensure all the package is configured correctly

10. To run the emulator, type the following command on your terminal :

/opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/ibm5250 –LANGID en_us

Enter your AS/400 ip address, user name and password. You may notice that the emulator uses random terminal (QPADEVXXXX). If you want to change the terminal ID, use the following command to run the emulator :

/opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/ibm5250 –LANGID en_us –DISPLAY_NAME “TNAME”

Replace the TNAME with your terminal name. The terminal name is case sensitive, so use upper case to fill it in.

11. You can run the setup application for IBM Client Access by using :

/opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/setup5250

Should you have any problem with fonts or character set conversion, run the following command first before running the setup :

export LANG=en_US

12. It’s all done. Don’t forget that you can create launcher by :

Right click on your desktop, select Create Launcher

Type in your desired displayed name in the name text box

Type in full path and parameter for ibm5250 application in the command text box

I hope you can find this tutorial helpful.

Reference : Ubuntu Forum, IBM

Wii Addict

Ouch... It's been a while since my last update. Sorry. Blame it to my heavy work load. Haha.

Anyway, those of you who likes to play Nintendo Wii and live aroung Brooklyn might wanna take a look at this :

Wiimbledon : A Wii Tennis Tournament

Wii Sports : Tennis + Beer? Hmmm... Sounds good. Hahaha.

Me? I'm still busy playing Super Paper Mario. Wanna have some fun with your friends? Here's my compiled list of best party games according to me :

1. Mario Party 8 (I wish the minigames used more of the wii remote potential. But it's already good though)
2. Rayman : Ravving Rabbits
3. Warioware : Smooth Moves
4. Sonic : Secret Rings
5. Super Monkey Ball : Banana Blitz
6. Wii Sports

How about just the two of you? Basically, all of the above party games is also suitable for 2 players. Some of the addition :

1. Cooking Mama : Cook Off
2. Kororinpa (Yeah, I know... lame one... But I still recall one of my friend who had trouble adjusting his 3D perspective. Hahahaha. It was hell of a laugh)

Can't wait for Big Brain Academy : Wii Degree and Rayman : Ravving Rabbids 2 (Still long way to go).

Worse Than Failure

Just recently found this interesting website :

Worse Than Failure

You think you're bad in programming? Make lots of bugs? Doing stupid logics to solve problems? GOOD!! You can now enter this unique contest :

OMG WTF (Olympiad of Misguided Geeks - Worse Than Failure)

Very interesting. All you have to do is make a program of C/C++ which meets one of the following criteria :

• Ugly code (Unreadable, difficult to understand)
• Buggy code (you know what this is :p)
• Clever code (Unconventional or uncommon way to solve problem)

So? What are you waiting for? Put up your worst ever made program now, and get a chance to win a 15" Mac Book Pro or a Sony VAIO VGN-SZ430N/B.

null pointer exception

Sushi Etiquette

Sushi! Some of you might love to eat sushi, some may don't. But do you know the etiquette of eating sushi in a Japanese restaurant or Sushi Bar? Here's some steps and tips taken from WikiHow :


1. Place chopsticks properly. If at a sushi bar, place the chopsticks in front of you, parallel to the edge of the bar, with the narrow ends on the hashi oki (chopstick rest). While it is not as polite to place them on the plate, if you do, place your chopsticks across your plate, not leaning on your plate.

2. Use the broad end of your chopsticks to pick up sushi from a communal platter.

3. Don't pass food from one set of chopsticks to another. As part of a Japanese funeral ritual, family members pass bones of the deceased to each other by chopsticks. Passing food from one set of chopsticks to another mimics this ritual, and is therefore considered extremely impolite and offensive. If you must pass something to another person, pick it up, and place it on their dish. They can then pick it up with their own chopsticks.

4. Know the difference between "nigiri," (pieces of fish, shellfish, or fish roe over rice balls), "makizushi (rolled in seaweed)," "temaki (hand rolls)" and "sashimi" (sliced/chilled raw fish without rice).

5. Always place your "nigiri-sushi" upside-down in the soy sauce and eat it "rice-side up." Don't pinch it too hard, and place it so the fish touches your tongue. (The soy sauce will cause the rice to fall apart.)

6. Sushi should be eaten in one bite if possible, but two bites is generally acceptable. However, don't put the sushi back on the plate if you bit it in half already. Once you pick it up, eat all of it.

7. Feel free to use your fingers as utensils. Wipe your hands on a damp towel, if they provide you with one. But generally, use your fingers for sushi, and use chopsticks for sashimi.

8. Clean off your plate. It is impolite to leave a grain of rice on your plate.

9. Ask the chef what's good, and let him pick for you, especially if it's your first time eating sushi. This shows your respect for what he does, and maybe you'll get a good snack. If you're in Japan, buy the chef a drink, like sake or beer, as a compliment.

10. Learn a few polite Japanese words and phrases, like:

Say thank you, or even better, Arigato gozaimasu (ah-ree-gah-toh go-zah-ee*-mahss) which means thank you very much.

Before eating, say "Itadakimasu!" (ee-tah-dah-kee-mahss) and when you're done, say 'Gochisousama deshita!" (Goch-sou-sah-mah-desh-tah). This is what Japanese say before and after they eat.

When asking for a waiter/waitress say "Sumimasen" (su-mee-mah-sen). This is the equivalent of saying "excuse me"
(Note on pronunciation: in Japanese, all syllables receive equal stress)

11. If you order a "teishoku" or set item which includes soup, ask to have the soup served with the sushi as an accompaniment, rather than before the sushi as an appetizer.

12. If there is tea available, drink it with one hand holding it, and the other hand supporting it from underneath, using two hands to hold the cup. (Men don't have to do this.)

13. If there is sake for drinking, it boorish to pour sake for yourself. Pour some into cups for others, and let your companions pour sake for you.

14. The purpose of the soy sauce is to flavor the fish, not the rice.

15. Avoid playing with your chopsticks.

16. Use a scant amount of soy sauce, it's impolite to fill up your dish with excess soy sauce.

17. It's just fine to put a a small amount of wasabi on your sushi; likewise, it's fine to tell the chef (itamae-san) that you don't want any wasabi--it will never be taken as an insult. Just use the phrase "wasabi nuki de." Some folks just don't like wasabi, and the customer is king--or "god" as they say in Japanese "okyaku-sama wa kami-sama desu."

18. Don't expect the chef to handle the money. Have another employee assist you. People who handle the food never touch the money.

19. Don't ask for knives, as sushi is not that tough to eat!

20. Never stick your chopsticks in food, standing upright. This is rude, and resembles the incense at a funeral.

21. Always use even/matching chopsticks. People use uneven chopsticks to express sorrow and pass cremated remains (see #3).


Now that you know all the hassles. Now start eating! Enjoy!

Tongue Twister

How many of you enjoys tongue twister? Either you love it or not, tongue twister can actually improve your English pronunciation a lot if you practise over and over. Here's several tongue twister to prove what I meant.

Mr. Fister's Tongue Twister

Read this story aloud. You won't believe what happens. Mr. Fister's sister Sue enjoys tongue twisters. She should! Sue sells sea shells. The store Sue sells sea shell in is near the seashore. It's simply called Sue's Seashore Sea Shell Store.

Naturally, Sue searches the seashore for the seashells she sells. Some say Sue's silly for selling sea shells in a seashore store. But Sue's smart. She smiles.

Sometimes, Mr. Fister helps his sister Sue search for sea shells on the seashore. He enjoys tongue twisters too. But he doesn't sell sea shells. He sells silk sheets. The store he sells silk sheets in is near Sue's Seashore Sea Shell Store.

It's called Mr. Fister's Seashore Silk Sheets Store. One day, Mr. Fister told his sister Sue, "I sold six silk sheets to six sheiks who came into my Seashore Silk Sheets Store!"

Mr. Fister's sister Sue shrieked. "Those must be the same six sheiks I sold sixty sea shells!"

"Shucks," said Mr. Fister, "the same six sheiks must have visited your Seashore Sea Shell Store after buying six silk sheets in my store." "Yesh," smiled Sue. Mr. Fister chuckled. "Selling shix silk seets to the shame six sheiks who bought shixty she sells seems to have twisted your tongue, my dear Shue!".

And that was Mr. Fister's tongue twister.

p.s. The words in bold show common mistakes made when reading the story

How's that? Need some more? Here goes :

Betty Botter had some butter,"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.If I bake this bitter butter,it would make my batter bitter.But a bit of better butter--that would make my batter better."So she bought a bit of butter,better than her bitter butter,and she baked it in her batter,and the batter was not bitter.So 'twas better Betty Botterbought a bit of better butter.

Sarah sitting in her Chevrolet, all she does is sits and shifts, all she does is sits and shifts.

Sixish! (say it 10 times)

Still need some more? Head on to :

The Tongue Twister Database

The 1st International Collection of Tongue Twisters

While you're at it there's a movie showing a crazy and wacky Japanese Tongue Twister game. Boys? Are you up to the challenge?

Web Technology News

Are you interested in knowing latest news in web technology? A friend of mine gave me this link, and I do think it's very interesting. It provides quite detailed reviews of latest websites, technologies and features where it is grouped to several category.

Here's the link :

World Tech Logic

Get Clicky

I've been using this web analytic tool for quite awhile from my friend's referrence. You can add it to your blog or website for tracking your visitors. I find it very useful, and most of all, it's also free for non premium user. The difference between free user and premium user lies on additional feature such as rssfeed, spy. If you do need such feature, the price is also quite reasonable for 14.99$/year. Unfortunately, all payment can only be done using PayPal at the moment.

Compared to other free web analytic tools, get clicky provides better range of service, including dashboard, integration with google map, clean and user friendly interface, and many more. You can view the complete comparison from the website link below.

For more features and registration, you can click on here

Get Clicky Website

52 Gaming Similes To Describe Your Relationship

Found this interesting article at : http://www.mathewkumar.com/2007/04/10/320/

Here goes :

Our relationship is like…
1. Killer 7. I don’t understand what you’re saying, and I don’t even know who I am any more.
2. Resident Evil 4. I’m protecting you from all the world’s evils, and you won’t even let me look at your pants.
3. Super Mario Kart. I’m sabotaging the progress of others to reach the rainbow road.
4. Tetris. Shit keeps piling up.
5. Bust A Move. You keep bursting my bubble.
6. Rayman: Raving Rabbids. I’m being put through a series of bizarre trials with little hope of success.
7. Red Steel. I’m just waving my hands in the air and nothing is happening.
8. Harvest Moon. I must always tend our crops to reap a magical harvest.
9. The Sims. Everything keeps breaking down.
10. Shadows of the Colossus. The cost is so great, I’m not sure I even want it any more.
11. Nintendogs. We never really go anywhere, and all I do is clean up your shit.
12. Super Mario Bros. I keep hitting my head against the ceiling and falling down holes.
13. Katamari Damacy. I want to roll you up into my life.
14. The Legend of Zelda. We just keep doing the same things over and over again, just in slightly different ways.
15. Animal Crossing. All my letters and gifts won’t guarantee that you’ll stay.
16. Silent Hill. I’ve never got a clear view of things.
17. Guitar Hero. We have poor timing.
18. Hotel Dusk: Room 215. You never answer a question straight.
19. Sonic The Hedgehog. I’m always running blindly into danger, and I never seem to have any rings for you.
20. Lemmings. I’m trying to save it, but I really just want to hit the nuke button.
21. Dance Dance Revolution. I keep tripping over myself.
22. Chibi Robo. I can never get our house clean.
23. World of Warcraft. I think I’m having fun, but it’s really just a grind.
24. Track and Field. I never seem to rub your buttons fast enough.
25. Gears of War. Even with all my macho posturing, you still don’t take me seriously.
26. Paper Mario. Some people might think it’s flat and lifeless, but they’re not looking at it from the right angle.
27. Kirby’s Dream Land. No matter how hard I suck, I can’t get you all in my mouth.
28. Paperboy. You don’t want what I’m trying to deliver.
29. Wario Ware. Every three seconds, it changes.
30. Wii Sports. It was fun at first, but now my shoulders hurt.
31. Ico. You’re completely helpless, and I’m sick of dragging you around everywhere.
32. Trauma Center: Under the Knife. The operation that would be required to save it is utterly ludicrous.
33. Parappa the Rapper. Perfect rhythm, bright colours.
34. Super Princess Peach. I’m pushing all your emotional buttons, but you’d rather I just left you alone with your vibe-scepter.
35. Grand Theft Auto. I think it’s full of possibility, but you’ll only let me progress if I do it your way.
36. Tie Fighter. I’m having more fun being the bad guy.
37. Punch-Out. I hit you a lot, but you never seem to go down for me.
38. Electroplankton. I’m never going to have anything to show for my time.
39. Mortal Kombat. I used to think you were so cool. Now I have no idea what I was thinking.
40. Ghouls and Ghosts. Punishing.
41. Bomberman. My plans always seem to blow up in my own face.
42. Oregon Trail. It’s dying of dysentery.
43. Street Fighter II. Once you start slapping me, I don’t know what to do to make you stop.
44. Ultima VII. You think I’m a symbol of perfection, but really I’m a sociopathic, thieving bastard.
45. Metal Gear Solid. You just won’t shut up.
46. Pokemon. I’m supposed to be your best friend, and yet you keep throwing me into battles against my will.
47. Final Fantasy. No matter what we go through, we’re fully refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
48. Pro Evolution Soccer. It’s the same thing every time I come back, but it seems to get worse as we go on.
49. Space Invaders. We’ve got a lot of fond memories of it, but we can’t go back.
50. Pac-Man. You keep stuffing your face and trying to avoid old ghosts.
51. Crackdown. I feel like Superman.
52. Duke Nukem Forever. I don’t think it’s ever going to start, is it?

So which game describes your relationship the most? :)