Oliver Merk's Personal Blog - Linux/Ubuntu

Navicat on Linux

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:47:00-0400

I love using Navicat for MySQL. I've tried a lot of different UIs for MySQL administration and this one is worth the price. And I applaud PremiumSoft for having a Linux version. Unfortunately, the Linux version is really the Windows version with an included version of Wine, tweaked to run Navicat. Seems kind of strange to have 2 versions of Wine on my system. So I purchased a copy of the Windows version and set to work figuring out how to get all the features to work and how to make it look like a native app as well. In order to do things like saving data transfer profiles, you'll need to do the following. 1. Use Google to find download links to Pgmr101.ocx, msxml3.dll and msxml3r.dll or get them from a Windows XP distribution. Copy these to Wine's system32 directory, overwrite as required (but backup any existing files just in case). In my case, I copied them to /home/omerk/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/ 2. Run a DOS (yes DOS) terminal:
env WINEPREFIX="/home/{your_home_dir}/.wine" wine "C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe" 3. Paste these DOS commands and hit enter for each:
regsvr32 msxml3.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml3.dll
regsvr32 msxml3r.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml3r.dll
regsvr32 Pgmr101.ocx
regsvr32 /s Pgmr101.ocx

You may need to cd into the system32 directory for this to work. 4. In Ubuntu, open Applications > Wine > Configure Wine. 5. In Libraries > Existing Overrides:
msxml3.dll(native, builtin)
Note that the order is important: native, then builtin.
6. Install the Windows version of Navicat via Wine and you should be good to go. In terms of fonts, they can be tweaked either at the Wine level or in the application itself. Note that if you change fonts in the application, you must re-start it to see the changes. Mine looks like this...

QuickFolders for Thunderbird

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:19:00-0400

Just found a great extension to Thunderbird that has cut down on the amount of time I spend sorting through the daily email flood. QuickFolders is a project created by Alexander Malfait and Axel Grude. They've obviously put a lot of time, thought and care into crafting this very configurable add-on. Here's a screen shot from their site:
As you can see, you create a tool bar of your most-used email folders for easy access. You can also drag emails onto these tabs for quick organization. And there are lots of settings to play around with until you get it looking just right. I think this is such vital functionality that it should be part of the next version of Thunderbird. The project home page is at quickfolders.mozdev.org. If you're a Thunderbird user, this one's a must-have.

Flash Player 10 released

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:44:00-0400

It's here! An the Linux version has a .DEB installer: Download the Linux version here. Other versions here. The debug Linux version is here.

NBC Alienates Users

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:45:00-0400

Not only forcing Silverlight down our throats (see Ben Nadel's hilarious post), but Windows as well. And the hypocrisy of using Flash all over their homepage is brilliant. Nice work NBC. Thank you from all the Linux and Mac users around the world who are shielded from viewing your advertising. The wonderful things that happen when two great companies get together!

Webmin: Web-based System Administration

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:04:00-0400

If you're running Apache, MySQL or just about any other service, this one's for you. I ran into Webmin over the weekend as I embarked on re-building my home server (all Linux!). I was finding the new Apache configs a bit of a handful so I started searching. Didn't take long to find this amazing tool for Linux (there's a Windows alpha available as well). And of course, it's free.

Useful Windows Utility: allSnap

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:16:00-0400

One thing I love about KDE is its default snapping behavior for all desktop windows. When I go back onto my work laptop (Windows) I miss this simple feature. A fellow Toronto developer, Ivan Heckman from U of T, has created a great free utility that mimics this behavior in Windows. Check it out here. So what's your favorite free Windows utility? [Thanks Ivan!]

Flash Switcher

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:44:00-0400

Flash Switcher is a Firefox add-on by Allessandro Crugnola for those developers concerned with Flash Player versions. I tried it a while back when it was Windows-only. It's now got Linux and Mac capability as well and works with FF3! Get Flash Switcher Also check out his Flash Tracer if you haven't already. Thanks Allessandro!

Finally, useful calendar functionality for Thunderbird!

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:32:00-0400

I just upgraded my Lightning add-on for Thunderbird from 0.5 to 0.8 and wow! Some of the great new features:

You can invite attendees to meetings!
You can use a common location to store your calendars. I've got mine on my FTP server so it's accessible to anyone with access.
The layout has been dramatically improved.
You can assign tasks, and convert them to meetings or email messages.
You can publish your calendar.

Now, I no longer need to hang my head in shame in front of my Outlook-using co-workers when they tell me to set up a meeting. Get Lightning at: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/download.html

BlazeDS!

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:44:00-0400

For those who may have been hesitant to use LiveCycle Data Services, Adobe has just announced the release of BlazeDS, an open source version of LCDS (formerly FDS). They have also published the AMF spec. Check out both on labs: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=labs%5Fblazeds I'm downloading now and will blog about the installation in a future post. The download even includes a Linux version. Thanks, Adobe!

VirtualBox: The Virtual Machine Done Right!

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:00:00-0400

When you do a lot of beta testing, it's useful to install on a clean system. Virtual machines (VMs) are a great way to quickly test new software without causing harm to your main desktop system. Lately I've been looking for a virtual machine environment that I can use on Windows (to run Linux) and Linux (to run Windows). I used to use Connectix VirtualPC until Microsoft bought it. So much for decent Linux support. It was Windows-only as well. About a year ago I paid for Parallels. It runs great on Windows (and Mac), but the Linux version is a complete dog. Sluggish graphics and it's a RAM hog. I'll be asking for my money back. Then I found VirtualBox. Excellent cross-platform performance, including Guest Additions for both Linux and Windows (basically a set of drivers for video, network, etc.). You can easily transport virtual hard disks from one platform to another. Speed feels almost native due to the use of Intel VT-x and AMD-V technology. Most cool is a feature the manual calls "Seamless windows", where you can run apps on the host desktop, essentially hiding the guest OS desktop. Parallels has had this for the Mac for a while, but has yet to keep the Windows and Linux versions in sync. Oh, and did I mention the cost? $0.

Rant: My Yahoo! My A**!

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:11:00-0400

I've just about had it with these idiots. For years I've been able to use My Yahoo! page under Linux. Now, all of a sudden I get this condescending message. I wouldn't mind using the new beta version if it didn't suck so badly. You can't even customize the display font like you could in the new version. It's just plain "fugly." And you simply cannot get back to the old version (which worked fine!). I tried to contact them about this to no avail. If anyone from Yahoo! is reading this, you've just pissed off every Linux user out there. Nice work!

Linux: Kubuntu 7.10 Released!

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:58:00-0400

According the the upgrade site, Ubuntu/Kubuntu have been released as of today! I'm really looking forward to the much-anticipated new version. 7.10, or Gutsy Gibbon, promises a 3-D desktop, a new version of KDE and the native ability to read and write NTFS drives. There's also a new video control panel that's supposed to make hand-editing config files a thing of the past. Here's the official word on how to upgrade: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/upgrading Let me know how your upgrade goes (if you're in the club;). I'll post again when I've finished my upgrade. Update: Well, the suggested upgrade path (using Adept) didn't work. I'm now downloading the alternate CD for 7.10 and will try an upgrade from that...

Adobe Flex Builder Linux!

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:28:00-0400

The masses have spoken and Adobe has listened! As many of you know I'm a strong Linux advocate. This evening, Steven Heinz, Flex Builder Product manager announced at Max that Flex Builder Linux Alpha is now available on labs. If you're interested in this product, please provide as much feedback to the FB Linux team as you can.

Acrobat Reader for Linux

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:13:00-0400

Kudos to Adobe on their recent release of the Acrobat Reader 8.1.1 for Linux. I've tried previous versions and they were buggy and slow to the point of being completely unusable. With this new version, startup time is 2 seconds on my modest P-IV 3GHz Kubuntu box. Text display is incredibly clear on my LCD monitor and zoom rendering is very snappy. And best of all, it's very stable. I'm happy to see Adobe acknowledging Linux as a desktop platform. I'd like to see some of their other software make the leap some day...

Clean your clock

Mon, 28 May 2007 19:03:00-0400

It's a simple matter to change the tray clock's font size and appearance in KDE under Linux, but just try it in Windows. Good luck. I finally found a utility to allow me to customize how the tray clock in Windows looks: TClock Light And best of all, it's free!