Category: Ubuntu

Nexus One ADB on Ubuntu 9.10/Arch Linux

So I just spent the last hour trying to get the Nexus One and ADB to play nicely together on my machine. Finally it is working and here is how…

/etc/udev/rules.d/90-android.rules

SUBSYSTEM=="usb|usb_device", SYSFS{idVendor}=="18d1", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb|usb_device", ATTR{idVendor}=="18d1", ATTR{idProduct}=="4e12", SYMLINK+="android_adb"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb|usb_device", ATTR{idVendor}=="0bb4", ATTR{idProduct}=="0fff", SYMLINK+="android_fastboot"

sudo restart udev

This should allow any user in the plugdev group to use adb without sudo.

Irssi, Irssi Proxy and Bitlbee

Quick summary: How to make communications as convenient yet convoluted as possible.

In my seemingly endless desire to play with changing the way I do things, I have modified the way I use instant messaging. While at work I am constantly connected to IRC in order to keep up (in realtime!) with things going on in the real world. Yesterday we were comparing the benefits of irc and xmpp trying to determine which technology is cooler. One of the nice things most Jabber servers have going for them is the ability to connect to other networks (AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, etc). As I normally have two clients open for this very reason (xchat-gnome for irc and pidgin for regular IM) I decided it was time to try out BitlBee. BitlBee is basically a lightweight service that creates an IRC interface to various IM networks (including all of the examples above).

Setting up BitlBee (at least in my case) on Ubuntu was absurdly simple.

  1. Install BitlBee
  2. Start the service (sudo /etc/init.d/bitlbee start)
  3. Connect your irc client to localhost port 6667
  4. Type help quickstart and follow along

The way I handle IRC is a bit more complex than many people, so I had a few additional steps. I use irssi and irssiproxy running in screen to stay connected 24/7 (or close enough). The only extra thing you need to do to make that work is add a port to irssiproxy_ports for your bitlbee network.

Adobe Air in Jaunty (Ubuntu 9.04)

I just finished reinstalling Ubuntu 9.04 and was trying to install my air applications. Not terribly difficult…

  1. Download the installer from: http://get.adobe.com/air/
  2. Install ia32-libs
  3. Install lib32nss-mdns (from http://tr.im/jCFs )
  4. Install your apps

I got stuck on the third step when I was going through things. I could install Adobe Air applications, but they had no network access. Installing that library corrected the problem.

Ubuntu + Google Calendar

This is finally working for me in Intrepid Ibex (8.10). I am able to sync my desktop calendar with the google calendar without noticing that Evolution is involved. My primary goal was to get calendar events to show up in the clock/calendar dropdown in the top right corner (by default). To do this is actually pretty simple. In the settings for your Google calendar, copy the private ics link. Paste the link into the address bar and change the http(s) to webcal. Hit enter and it should prompt you to open it using evolution-webcal. Let it do that, answer the questions it asks and all should be good in the world.

Slicehost

I have finally upgraded to my own VPS. Dreamhost was a great host, but I prefer being able to setup and break everything all by myself. Also, having dedicated resources makes things like photo galleries work much better. As such, 3dgo.net and all of its related sites are now running on a 256 slice from Slicehost. I’m running Ubuntu Hardy with Lighttpd as the web server.

When I was setting up the server I initially used Apache as it is what I am most familiar with and it is pretty easy to get up and running. But when I was trying to use my site, I realized that Apache is far too heavy with its memory usage. Even caching various things there was still not enough memory available for any kind of load. I had used Lighttpd once at work for a Rails app and had heard that it was significantly lighter than Apache. As such, I decided to try getting it up and working. That was easier said than done…

Problem: PHP wouldn’t work
Solution: Install php5-cgi and then activate the fcgi module (not the other way around)

Problem: Multiple virtual hosts by hostname?
Solution: http://www.debianhelp.co.uk/virtualhostslighttpd.htm

Problem: No .htaccess support (for mod_rewrite, mod_deflate)
Solution: No ideal solution for this one really, but you can setup mod_rewrite/mod_deflate rules in the config for each vhost. I prefer the .htaccess method, but this works for now. For most popular apps you should be able to find lighttpd rules to replace the .htaccess rewrite rules.

On the off-chance, you want to signup for Slicehost and wouldn’t mind using me as a referral, here is my affiliate link: https://manage.slicehost.com/customers/new?referrer=de41b271f1865e85d87b32e6996d4ee9