Micro$oft vs Mac vs Linux

This picture says it all. This just made my day. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Isn't Conky the best? You like?

So yesterday night, I was bored and I thought about doing something on my computer. I stumbled onto Conky and then I thought what a nifty thing to have especially when you are using Linux. I thought, I should give it a try and then I spent few hours on it and then I got it working fine. I thought that if it took me this much time to get it working after some tweaking, then why not share it with others, which may save some people some time. Digg this if you want me to write a step-by-step how to for this.

Here is a Screenshot of what I have:



I know it looks good. No? Well, I just hope that you like it. I am going to put my ".conkyrc" file here. If you like it and if you like it then just drop me a line. I am thinking about writing a HOWTO step by step on my next blog. But, I need an incentive to write this "howto" (So drop me a line if you want me to write one :).However, If you are familiar with Conky then you will be able to figure everything out by yourself.

So, I hope that enough people want this! Trust me, its so light and useful and pretty that you will like to have it on your desktop.

You can find my configuration here.

I know it looks really complicated and geeky, but its PRETTY EASY to use it. All you have to do is copy this configuration into a file and then that's it. See its that easy! You are more than welcome to use this configuration and then if you make it look better then please drop me a line. I will be more than happy to see if you can make it look better than this.

So if you want this then drop me a line here and I will write a HOWTO and then it will be easier for the newbies. I am asking this because I don't know if enough people out there can't figure this out.


UPDATE:
Many people asked me for the weather python scripts. I am sorry but I have been busy with my projects lately so I couldn't follow this post. Here is the link where you can follow the instructions to get your python script. If you have any more questions then please write a comment and I will do my best to answer.

Conky configuration [.conkyrc]

# Conky configuration
# of cbrman.
###For a correct work, edit it and delete all the lines that start with ### below the line called TEXT. They are notes about make it work.
background yes

# Use Xft?
use_xft yes

# Xft font when Xft is enabled
xftfont sans:size=7:bold

# Text alpha when using Xft
xftalpha 0.8

# MPD host/port
#mpd_host localhost
#mpd_port 6600
#mpd_password tinker_bell

#Print everything to console?
out_to_console no

# Update interval in seconds
update_interval 1

# This is the number of times Conky will update before quitting.
# Set to zero to run forever.
total_run_times 0

# Create own window instead of using desktop (required in nautilus)
own_window yes

# If own_window is yes, you may use type normal, desktop or override
own_window_type override

# Use pseudo transparency with own_window?
own_window_transparent yes

# If own_window_transparent is set to no, you can set the background colour here
#own_window_colour black

# If own_window is yes, these window manager hints may be used
own_window_hints undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager

# Use double buffering (reduces flicker, may not work for everyone)
double_buffer yes

# Minimum size of text area
minimum_size 210 5

# Maximum width of window
maximum_width 215

# Draw shades?
draw_shades yes

# Draw outlines?
draw_outline no

# Draw borders around text
draw_borders no

# Draw borders around graphs
draw_graph_borders yes

# Stippled borders?
stippled_borders 1

# border margins
border_margin 4

# border width
border_width 0

# Default colors and also border colors
default_color #cccccc
default_shade_color black
default_outline_color black

# Text alignment, other possible values are commented
#alignment top_left
alignment top_right
#alignment bottom_left
#alignment bottom_right
#alignment none

# Gap between borders of screen and text
# same thing as passing -x at command line
gap_x 5
gap_y 0 # To hide from tranparent window borders.

# Subtract file system buffers from used memory?
no_buffers yes

# set to yes if you want all text to be in uppercase
uppercase no

# number of cpu samples to average
# set to 1 to disable averaging
cpu_avg_samples 2

# number of net samples to average
# set to 1 to disable averaging
net_avg_samples 2

# Force UTF8? note that UTF8 support required XFT
override_utf8_locale yes

# Add spaces to keep things from moving about? This only affects certain objects.
use_spacer none

# Maximum number of special things, e.g. fonts, offsets, aligns, etc.
max_specials 512

# Maximum size of buffer for user text, i.e. below TEXT line.
max_user_text 16384

TEXT
${voffset -5}${color #f8ec1e}${font undotum:size=30:bold}${time %e}${font}
${voffset -33}${goto 65}${#f8ec1e}${font undotum:size=10}${time %A}${font}, ${voffset -7}${#f8ec1e}${font undotum:size=12}${time %B}${font} ${voffset -7}${color #f8ec1e}${font undotum:size=12:bold}${time %G}${font}
${voffset -2}${goto 65}${color #f2f2f2}${font undotum:size=12:bold}${time %H:%M:%S%z %P}${font}
${voffset 12}${font openlogos:size=20}${font}${voffset -50}
${voffset 18}${goto 22}${color #28AF63}${color #28AF63}$sysname ${color #FF6600} $kernel ${color #28AF63}Ubuntu ${color #FF6600}$machine${voffset -18}
${voffset 16}${goto 22}${color #28AF63}Uptime:${color #FF6600} $uptime ${color #28AF63}Load:${color #FF6600} $loadavg${voffset -18}
${voffset 18}${goto 22}${color #28AF63}CPU: ${color #28AF63}${cpubar 7,92} ${color #FF6600} $cpu%
${voffset -27}${goto 500}${color #FF6600}${font Openlogos:size=20}${font}
${color #28AF63}${cpugraph 15,203 FF6600 f2f2f2}
${color #28AF63}RAM: ${color #FF6600}$mem/$memmax - $memperc% ${color #28AF63}${alignr 2}${membar 7,45}
${color #28AF63}Swap: ${color #FF6600}$swap/$swapmax - $swapperc% ${color #28AF63}${alignr 2}${swapbar 7,46}
${color #28AF63}Processes: ${color #FF6600}$processes ${color #28AF63}CPU freqency: ${color #FF6600}${freq 1}MHz
${color #f8ec1e}${font OpenLogos:size=25}J${color #f8ec1e}${font 28 Days Later:size=10} WEATHER $stippled_hr${font}
${offset 4}${color whitesmoke}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=CN --refetch}
${color #28AF63}Today's Conditions:${offset 4}${color whitesmoke}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=CT}
${offset 36}${voffset -4}${color #28AF63}${font Weather:size=54}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=WF}${font}
${voffset -8}${color #28AF63}Temperature: ${color whitesmoke}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=HT} ${color #28AF63}Windspeed: ${color whitesmoke}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=WS}
${color #28AF63}Direction: ${color whitesmoke}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=WD} ${color #28AF63}Humidity: ${color whitesmoke}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=HM}
${color #28AF63}${stippled_hr 1}
${color #28AF63}Tomorrow: ${offset 4}${color #f8ec1e}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=CT --startday=1 --endday=1}
${color #28AF63}${stippled_hr 1}
${offset 20}${color #f8ec1e}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=DW --shortweekday --startday=1 --endday=3 --spaces=15}
${offset 14}${color whitesmoke}${font Weather:size=30}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=WF --startday=1 --endday=3 --spaces=9}${font}
${voffset -7}${color #28AF63}Max: ${color #FF6600}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=HT --startday=1 --endday=3 --spaces=13}
${color #28AF63}Min: ${color #FF6600}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=LT --startday=1 --endday=3 --spaces=14}
${color #28AF63}Hum: ${color #FF6600}${execi 1680 python /home/deepu/.scripts/conkyForecast.py --location=USKS0620 --datatype=HM --startday=1 --endday=3 --spaces=13}
${color #f8ec1e}${font Poky:size=20}a${color #f8ec1e}${font 28 Days Later:size=10} PROCESSES $stippled_hr ${font}
${color #28AF63}Name ::. ${goto 110}PID${goto 138}CPU%${goto 175}MEM%
${color #FF6600}${top name 1} ${goto 105}${top pid 1}${goto 138}${top cpu 1}${goto 175}${top mem 1}
${color #FF6600}${top name 2} ${goto 105}${top pid 2}${goto 138}${top cpu 2}${goto 175}${top mem 2}
${color #FF6600}${top name 3} ${goto 105}${top pid 3}${goto 138}${top cpu 3}${goto 175}${top mem 3}
${color #FF6600}${top name 4} ${goto 105}${top pid 4}${goto 138}${top cpu 3}${goto 175}${top mem 4}
${color #28AF63}Memory ::.
${color #FF6600}${top_mem name 1} ${goto 105}${top_mem pid 1}${goto 138}${top_mem cpu 1}${goto 175}${top_mem mem 1}
${color #FF6600}${top_mem name 2} ${goto 105}${top_mem pid 2}${goto 138}${top_mem cpu 2}${goto 175}${top_mem mem 2}
${color #FF6600}${top_mem name 3} ${goto 105}${top_mem pid 3}${goto 138}${top_mem cpu 3}${goto 175}${top_mem mem 3}
${color #FF6600}${top_mem name 4} ${goto 105}${top_mem pid 4}${goto 138}${top_mem cpu 4}${goto 175}${top_mem mem 4}
${color #f8ec1e}${font Poky:size=20}f${color #f8ec1e}${font 28 Days Later:size=10} HARD DRIVE INFO $stippled_hr ${font}
${color #28AF63}Root ${goto 50}${color #FF6600}${fs_used /}/${fs_size /} ${color #28AF63}${alignr 2}${fs_bar 7,60 /}
${color #28AF63}Home ${goto 50}${color #FF6600}${fs_used /home}/${fs_size /home} ${color #28AF63}${alignr 2}${fs_bar 7,60 /home}
${color #f8ec1e}${font Poky:size=20}l${color #f8ec1e}${font 28 Days Later:size=10} MUSIC $stippled_hr${font}
${color #28AF63}${alignc}CURRENT SONG INFO ::.
${if_running rhythmbox}${color #28AF63}Artist: ${color #FF6600}${goto 50}${exec rhythmbox-client --no-start --print-playing-format %ta}
${color #28AF63}Title: ${color #FF6600}${goto 50}${exec rhythmbox-client --print-playing-format %tt}
${color #28AF63}Album: ${color #FF6600}${goto 50}${exec rhythmbox-client --no-start --print-playing-format %at}
${color #28AF63}Genre: ${color #FF6600}${goto 50}${exec rhythmbox-client --no-start --print-playing-format %ag}${goto 130}${color #28AF63}Year: ${color #FF6600}${exec rhythmbox-client --no-start --print-playing-format %ay}
${color #28AF63}Position: ${color #FF6600}${exec rhythmbox-client --no-start --print-playing-format %te}${goto 130}${color #28AF63}Length: ${color #FF6600}${exec rhythmbox-client --no-start --print-playing-format %td}${color #28AF63}$else${color #f2f2f2}${alignc}${font sans:size=6:bold}No Activity${font}$endif
${color #f8ec1e}${font Poky:size=20}w${color #f8ec1e}${font 28 Days Later:size=10} NETWORKING $stippled_hr ${font}
${color #28AF63}My IP Address: ${color #FF6600}${execi 10000 curl 'http://www.whatismyip.org'}
${color #28AF63}WiFi Network: ${color #FF6600} ${wireless_essid wlan0} ${color #FF6600} ${wireless_bitrate wlan0} ${wireless_link_qual wlan0}%
${color #28AF63}${wireless_link_bar wlan0}

27 most Interesting Facts [22 to 50]

Are you bored? Well, here is something to keep you entertained at the same time you may learn something. This is another addition to the most interesting facts. These are hard to find but whenever I find them, I like to keep a note about them. So here they are:

22. The most nutritious food in the world is: Blood (who would have thought).
23. The origin country of windmills: Iran.
24. How long American drivers wait at traffic lights in their lifetime: 14 days (I feel bad for the taxi-drivers).
25. Carpenter's pencils are square so they don't roll off roofs.
26. Water can flow through a plant at 4mph.
27. Every second 100,000 chemical reactions occur in your brain.
28. First ever Christmas celebrated with electric tree lights: 1903.
29. Cranberry Jell-O is the only flavor that contains real fruit flavoring. (I seriously didn't know this).
30. Most widely eaten fish in the world: Herrings.
31. Thomas Edison proposed to his second wife by Morse code.
32. Worldwide, about 20% of all married couples are first cousins. (Just gross).
33. Britain's Imperial Crown has 1,783 diamonds, 277 perls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 5 rubies and it weighs around 7 pounds. (wow).
34. In Greek mythology, "Nike" is the goddess of victory.
35. There are 284 bathrooms in the Pentagon. (talk about government waste).
36. World's bestselling cookie: Oreo (I think everyone knew about this).
37. Kayaking is a required subject in Greenland's schools.
38. Norway consumes more Mexican food than any other European nation.
39. Mosquitoes hibernate.
40. A shrimp's heart is in its head.
41. Denmark has the highest tax in the world. (Rates 'start' at 42%).
42. The only American praised by Hitler in 'Mein Kampf' was Henry Ford.
43. In Sanskrit, "Nirvana" literally means "going out". (I bet you didn't know that).
44. The Berlin wall was 26.5 miles long.
45. Europe is the only continent without a desert.
46. A French kiss is known as an English kiss in France.
47. Jupiter is large enough to fit all the planets of the solar system inside it.
48. The word "disco" means "I learn" in Latin. (huh).
49. More steel is used in the U.S to make bottle caps than to make cars.
50. Hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs. (Well, what do you know).

Here is a bonus for you:
51. In Oklahoma (USA), you can be fined for making funny faces at dogs.

I hope you enjoyed them. I will keep them coming. Stay tuned.

My Mandriva (spring 1.0) experience. [Mandriva Vs Ubuntu]

Hello everyone,

So yesterday, I went to the book store and bought the 'Linux Magazine'. In the July 2008 edition, I found the Mandriva (spring-1.0) DVD and I read the whole article about it. It boasted about a lot of things such as, "how easy it is to install" and "how the control center in Mandriva is so unique". As, its clear so far that I like to try out many distributions and I always like to compare them with Ubuntu, which I have been using for many years. I have been looking for a distro which can replace Ubuntu but I think that, that search is never going to end.

So, before I tell you about my experience with Mandriva, I would like to tell you what kind of computer I own and what kind of situation I was in before I gave a try to Mandriva.
I have a Dell Latitude D630, with 512MB RAM, 60GB hdd and Intel Centrino Duo Core. I had three partitions on my computer. I had Windows on a 20GB partition and then the rest of 40GB was alocated to Ubuntu. I had two partitions for Ubuntu and I alocated 10GB to the "/" and 30GB to "/home".

So I popped in the Mandriva DVD, which I got with the "Linux Magazine" and then I installed it just the way Ubuntu was installed on my computer and obviously, I got rid of Ubuntu. The installation was pretty slow compared to Ubuntu and things like setting up the system clock and partition table etc were not as user friendly as Ubuntu. Anyway, I did what I had to do to get Mandriva installed on my computer and at the end, it asked me to restart the computer. I was really excited about the whole thing but all my excitement just evaporated when I got a message when my computer wouldn't restart after the installation. I got an error messages saying that, my hdd was currupt.

Now you tell me how I would feel when I get a message like that. I was so furious as now it wouldn't even let me go back to my previous partition status. I tried to look for help online, but there was nothing available online which could help me. Then I got the idea of putting Ubuntu CD and then checking my partition. Guess what! My whole hard-drive was deleted. I lost freaking everything. Mandriva just locked everything and my whole partition was gone. Ubuntu even couldn't recognize my partition table or Windows.

Well, then I thought, now that I have lost everything anyway, let me give Mandriva another try. I re-installed Mandriva and this time it worked. It worked but there was a really really annoying problem. They boasted that they use Network-Manager-0.7 in the Linux Magazine article, but they forgot to set it up for the the user. When I tried to connect to my DSL Wireless, it asked me to download some dependencies off the Internet.
"How do you think that I will be able to get something online, if my freaking Wireless is not working?"
Then as a price to install/try Mandriva, I lost my Windows but I leanrt a valuable lesson. Don't try out anything without having a backup. Thank God that I had a backup on my external hdd before I tried Mandriva.

Now I have only Ubuntu on my system. I have tried many Linux Operating Systems but my personal experience with Mandriva was the worst. I thought that Linux operating systems are trying to be more user friendly, but if this is how they are going to be then, how do you expect to attract Windows and Mac users to start using Linux. No wonder why Mandriva is on #6 on DistroWatch.

So I would like to convey this message to everyone, that DON'T INSTALL OR GIVE A TRY TO MANDRIVA UNLESS YOU HAVE BACKED UP YOUR WHOLE SYSTEM. As in my previous blog, I shared my experience with Suse-11.0 with everyone, but I never told anyone not to give it a try if they wanted to, but in the case of Mandriva, I would say you should only give it a try if you are truly not happy with your current operating system.

Here is a take home message for you. If you are using Ubuntu, then please don't even think about giving a try to Mandriva, you will get disappointed in so many ways!

If you have any comments or remarks then feel free to drop them in the comments section.

These are my 2 cents for you! Hope this helps some people out there.

Brits vs Americans!

They both speak English, but not necessarily use the same words. For example, British people call trucks "lorries". I think that's the right thing to say as well because I lived in England for few years. Well, anyway, I found some common and funny words which would make you laugh. I took most of the words from the "I hear America Talking", by Stuart Berg Flexner.

BRITISH	AMERICAN
Tower Block	High-rise Apartment
Booter	Horn, Siren
Note	Bill (paper money)
Fringe	Bangs (of hair)
Graughts	Checkers
Caravan	Trailer
Track	Tread
Cash Desk	Checkout Counter
Polka Dots	Chocolate Chips
Candy Floss	Cotton Candy
Boarding	Billboard
Motion	Bowel Movement
Accumulator	Battery
Fascia (panel)	Dash (board)
Cubbyhole	Glove Compartment
Pantechnicon	Moving Van
Lie-by	Rest Area
Verge	Shoulder (of a road)
Chucker Out	Bouncer
Push Chair	Stroller
Wing	Fender
Patience	Solitaire (a card game)
Sponge Bag	Shaving Kit
Braces	Suspenders
Spanner	Wrench (tightening tool)
Freeway	Turnpike
Grabage/Dust bin	Trash Can

Enjoy!
If you know any other words then please drop them in the comments.

18 FOOD SUPERSTITIONS!

Did you ever thought, what you could do with the food beside eat it? Drive evil spirits away, Use it for good luck and many other uses. Many people actually used to or still believe in these bizarre rituals and superstitions related to food. I found few of them and I thought I should share it with you all.

1.
Bake your cake while the sun is rising, and do not throw away the eggshells until the baking is done.



2.
Tossing coffee grounds under steps leading to the kitchen will rid the home ants.



3.
If you spot bubbles in a cup of coffee, try to spoon them up and eat them before they burst. If you succeed, you will receive money from an unexpected source.


4.
If you don't spit out the seeds while eating a grape, the seeds will give you appendicitis. (Thank God there are seedless grapes out there)


5.
It's meant to be a bad luck if you gather Blackberries after October 11th.



6.
If you love someone and you want him/her to love you back then you should give them an orange.



7.
Hold a buttercup under someone's chin. If it casts a yellow colored shadow then that person 'loves' to eat butter.


8.
If you are deaf then, you should eat Onions mixed with 'ant eggs', which will cure your deafness.



9.
If there is a thunderstorm out there then you should save yourself and your milk. This is because, its believed that, the sound of thunder would turn the milk sour.


10.
It is a bad luck to eat the last piece of bread on a plate, this is because it is believed that it will cause a bachelor to marry, or an unmarried woman to stay unmarried. (I think its a bit sexist)


11.
If you have a tree which doesn't bear fruit? Well it is believed that if you hammer a peg or nail into a fruit tree that bears no fruit, soon you will have some fruits.


12.
If you are bald then here is something which will help you. It is believed that if you pour Rum on a your bald head, it will cure your baldness. (what a waste of alcohol)


13.
There is always a good reason to watch your steps. Tipping over a slice of cake on a plate while serving a guest is a sign of bad luck.


14.
If you want your Cabbage to flourish and do well, you should plat them on St. Patrick's Day.



15.
Two yolks in an Easter egg is a good omen. It is believed to make you rick someday soon.



16.
You like eating bananas? Well, bananas must be broken apart - never cut with a knife. Because, it is believed that cutting bananas brings bad luck.


17.
Oh you think you are dumb? You want a solution? It is believed that eating peaches gives you wisdom.



18.
If you grow too much lettuce in your garden, your wife will never conceive children. (I wonder when it came from, this just dones't make sense. As if the rest of them make sense.)


I hope that you enjoyed reading this.

You are my INSPIRATION!

It's always interesting to find out where the architects of pop culture get their ideas. These may surprise you.

PRINCESS LEIA'S HAIR:
According to the "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, "I was trying to create something different, so I went with the kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman look. The buns are basically from turn-of-the-century Mexico."




SCOOBY-DOO:
Modeled after Bob Home's movie persona, "in which he played the coward for laughs before ending up the reluctant hero."





DOUBLE VISION:
The title of Foreigner's 1978 hit song came from a hockey injury. Frontman Lou Grammm was at a NewYork Rangers game when the goalie was knocked in the head with a stick. After the dazed player was taken off the ice, the arena announcer reported that he was "suffering double vision."



ELLIE ARROWAY:
The protagonist in Carl Sagan's novel "Contact" (played by Jodie Foster in the movie) was based on a real-life SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) member Jill Tarter, who "has logged more telescope hours in the search for cosmic company than any other human on the planet."



CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW:
Johnny Depp based his character in "Pirates of the Caribbean" on a mix of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and the amorous cartoon skunk, Pepe LePew.




THE EXORCIST:
Both the novel and film were based on reports of an actual exorcism performed on a 14-year old boy in Maryland in 1949, the last official case of exorcism in the United States.




ME AND BOBBY MCGEE:
Songwriter Kris Kristofferson got his inspiration from a scene in Fellini's movie "La Strada". When Anthony Quinn realizes that Giulietta Masina is dead, "he suddenly realized he was free but he was also the loneliest son of a bitch in the world. It showed the two sides of freedom - that freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."