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  • apt-get update bzip2 errors

    - by Tejas Kale
    I installed Ubuntu 11.10 today on my Lenovo w500. After that when i tried running sudo apt-get update This is the error i am getting. Get:117 http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp oneiric-security/universe TranslationIndex [73 B] 99% [48 Sources bzip2 0 B] [22 Sources bzip2 5,294 kB] 1,983 kB/s 0s bzip2: Compressed file ends unexpectedly; perhaps it is corrupted? *Possible* reason follows. bzip2: Inappropriate ioctl for device Input file = (stdin), output file = (stdout) It is possible that the compressed file(s) have become corrupted. You can use the -tvv option to test integrity of such files. You can use the `bzip2recover' program to attempt to recover data from undamaged sections of corrupted files. I found the following similar question : Errors while updating Ubuntu 11.10 , But the solutions mentioned ( changing the download server, running apt-get clean, apt-get autoclean) and have also tried removing the /var/cache/apt/archives/lists direcotry. As a result of this, I am unable to install any new packages.

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  • Is this how dynamic language copes with dynamic requirement?

    - by Amumu
    The question is in the title. I want to have my thinking verified by experienced people. You can add more or disregard my opinion, but give me a reason. Here is an example requirement: Suppose you are required to implement a fighting game. Initially, the game only includes fighters, who can attack each other. Each fighter can punch, kick or block incoming attacks. Fighters can have various fighting styles: Karate, Judo, Kung Fu... That's it for the simple universe of the game. In an OO like Java, it can be implemented similar to this way: abstract class Fighter { int hp, attack; void punch(Fighter otherFighter); void kick(Fighter otherFighter); void block(Figther otherFighter); }; class KarateFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation...}; class JudoFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation... }; class KungFuFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation ... }; This is fine if the game stays like this forever. But, somehow the game designers decide to change the theme of the game: instead of a simple fighting game, the game evolves to become a RPG, in which characters can not only fight but perform other activities, i.e. the character can be a priest, an accountant, a scientist etc... At this point, to make it more generic, we have to change the structure of our original design: Fighter is not used to refer to a person anymore; it refers to a profession. The specialized classes of Fighter (KaraterFighter, JudoFighter, KungFuFighter) . Now we have to create a generic class named Person. However, to adapt this change, I have to change the method signatures of the original operations: class Person { int hp, attack; List<Profession> skillSet; }; abstract class Profession {}; class Fighter extends Profession { void punch(Person otherFighter); void kick(Person otherFighter); void block(Person otherFighter); }; class KarateFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation...}; class JudoFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation... }; class KungFuFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation ... }; class Accountant extends Profession { void calculateTax(Person p) { //...implementation...}; void calculateTax(Company c) { //...implementation...}; }; //... more professions... Here are the problems: To adapt to the method changes, I have to fix the places where the changed methods are called (refactoring). Every time a new requirement is introduced, the current structural design has to be broken to adapt the changes. This leads to the first problem. Rigid structure makes it hard for code reuse. A function can only accept the predefined types, but it cannot accept future unknown types. A written function is bound to its current universe and has no way to accommodate to the new types, without modifications or rewrite from scratch. I see Java has a lot of deprecated methods. OO is an extreme case because it has inheritance to add up the complexity, but in general for statically typed language, types are very strict. In contrast, a dynamic language can handle the above case as follow: ;;fighter1 punch fighter2 (defun perform-punch (fighter1 fighter2) ...implementation... ) ;;fighter1 kick fighter2 (defun perform-kick (fighter1 fighter2) ...implementation... ) ;;fighter1 blocks attacks from fighter2 (defun perform-block (fighter1 fighter2) ...implementation... ) fighter1 and fighter2 can be anything as long as it has the required data for calculation; or methods (duck typing). You don't have to change from the type Fighter to Person. In the case of Lisp, because Lisp only has a single data structure: list, it's even easier to adapt to changes. However, other dynamic languages can have similar behaviors as well. I work primarily with static languages (mainly C and Java, but working with Java was a long time ago). I started learning Lisp and some other dynamic languages this year. I can see how it helps improving my productivity.

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  • Unable to Upgrade from 13.04 to 13.10

    - by Mohit
    Following is what I get as error Error during update A problem occurred during the update. This is usually some sort of network problem, please check your network connection and retry. W:Failed to fetch http://bg.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/main/source/Sources 404 Not Found , W:Failed to fetch http://bg.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/restricted/source/Sources 404 Not Found , W:Failed to fetch http://bg.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/universe/source/Sources 404 Not Found , W:Failed to fetch http://bg.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/multiverse/source/Sources 404 Not Found , E:Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead. Restoring original system state I am using command line "do-release-upgrade" I have changed my dns to google public dns and verified that using nslookup and host -v could not find bg.archive.ubuntu.com in any of the source list files. not only in that in another tab I have ping google running just to verify that network is not down. Network has no issues.

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  • Star Wars: An Infographic Flowchart

    - by Jason Fitzpatrick
    If you can’t get enough of Star Wars lore, this minimalist set of infographics details major characters, conflicts, and alliances in the Star Wars universe. Courtesy of designer Marc Morera, the series of Star Wars infographics give a quick summary, presents all the major players in the movies, and connects all the players and events via flowchart. Hit up the link below to see all of them in their high-resolution glory. Star Wars Infographic [via Cool Infographics] How To Create a Customized Windows 7 Installation Disc With Integrated Updates How to Get Pro Features in Windows Home Versions with Third Party Tools HTG Explains: Is ReadyBoost Worth Using?

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  • My Rhythmbox plugin can't meet the Ubuntu Software Center "my-app" requirements

    - by allquixotic
    At http://developer.ubuntu.com/publish/my-apps-packages/ the following technical requirements are cited: Technical requirements In order for your application to be distributed in the Software Centre it must: Be in one, self-contained directory when installed Be able to be installed into the /opt/ directory (*) Be executable by all users from the /opt/ directory (**) Write all configuration settings to ~/.config/ (This can be one file or a directory containing multiple configuration files) A Rhythmbox plugin cannot satisfy any of these requirements. Rhythmbox has compiled-in locations where it looks for installed plugins. So, is there no way for me to publish my app in Ubuntu Software Center? Would it have to go into Universe repository (which would require tremendously more work and political maneuvering to get it accepted)? I already have all the Debian package infrastructure built for it, so I have made a PPA for it.

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  • How can I easily create cloud texture maps?

    - by EdwardTeach
    I am making 3d planets in my game; these will be viewed as "globes". Some of them will need cloud layers. I looked at various Blender tutorials for creating "earth", and for their cloud layers they use earth cloud maps from NASA. However I will be creating a fictional universe with many procedurally-generated planets. So I would like to use many variations. I'm hoping there's a way to procedurally generate cloud maps such as the NASA link. I will also need to create gas giants, so I will also need other kinds of cloud texture maps. If that is too difficult, I could fall back to creating several variations of cloud maps. For example, 3 for earth-like, 3 for gas giants, etc. So how do I statically create or programmatically generate such cloud maps?

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  • How can I install bleachbit in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS?

    - by gunjan parashar
    I'm unable to install bleachbit on my laptop running Ubuntu 12.04. The Ubuntu Software Centre shows that the package is available from the Universe software source and I have the option to "use this source" but after that, it gets stuck while quering software sources. How can I fix this problem? It's occurred to me that perhaps this could be from software sources being deleted in my configuration. If so, can someone tell me the default list of software sources? plz help me out and sorry for my poor english

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  • Can I use electricsheep with gnome-screensaver?

    - by Joshua Robison
    I installed electricsheep and xscreensaver, started everything up and was amazed and mesmerized for several minutes staring into the beautiful fractile universe, When all the sudden I moved my mouse and was HORRIFIED by a noisy hideous monster?!?! no anti aliasing , ugly white box!!! horribly pixelization IN MY FACE I'm referring to the disgusting xscreensaver unlock box, that seemingly several users have been trying to theme... But I don't want to theme it. I want my Beautiful Ubuntu unlock screen! My thoughts are that if I could use electricsheep with the gnome-screensaver then that would fix my problem. Any takers?

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  • Upgrade Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.10

    - by Daniel Minassian
    To whoever can help, I want to update the ubuntu on my laptop to 12.10 from the current version 11.10, when i click on the update manager i get a partial update gui, if i click cancel on that i get the gui for update which has three buttons check, install updates and upgrade. The upgrade button upgrades only to 12.04.1.LTS, when i press check it checks and gives me this error "W:Failed to fetch h t t p://lb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/main/i18n/Index No Hash entry in Release file /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/lb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_main_i18n_Index , W:Failed to fetch h t t p://lb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/multiverse/i18n/Index No Hash entry in Release file /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/lb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_multiverse_i18n_Index , W:Failed to fetch http://lb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/restricted/i18n/Index No Hash entry in Release file /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/lb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_restricted_i18n_Index , W:Failed to fetch http://lb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/universe/i18n/Index No Hash entry in Release file /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/lb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_universe_i18n_Index , E:Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead." Thank you for your time and help, Daniel Minassian

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  • The answer to the unfathomable question: what is meaning of error value 2147943645?

    - by Jim Lahman
    I scheduled a task to perform a windows backup of a single disk on the my server.  When I tested it, the task ran successfully – no problems, no errors; just as I expected.    However, when the task ran as scheduled, it failed with error value 2147943645.  I wondered was this the answer to life, the universe and everything in it?  No.  That is 42.    After doing some research and reviewing the task configuration, I realize that the task will only run if the user of logged on:   So, this was the answer!!  I have to configure the task to run whether the user is logged or not.  Or, else I’ll get that nasty error value.

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  • Hack Fest Going Strong!

    - by Yolande Poirier
    Today was the first day of  the Hack Fest at Devoxx, the Java developer conference in Belgium.  The Hack Fest started with the Raspberry Pi & Leap Motion hands-on lab. Vinicius Senger introduced the Java Embedded, Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Java Champion Geert Bevin presented the Leap Motion, a controller sensing your hands and fingers to play games by controlling the mouse as an example. "Programmers are cooler than musicians because they can create entire universe using all senses" explained Geert In teams, participants started building applications using Raspberry Pi, sensors and relays. One team tested the performance of Tomcat, Java EE and Java Embedded Suite on the Raspberry Pi. Another used built an text animation using a LCD screen. Teams are using the Leap Motion to close and open programs on the desktop and other teams are using it as a game control. 

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  • Trouble Updating to Version 13.10 (from Version 13.04)

    - by user206783
    By trying to update to Version 13.10 (German) from Version 13.04 i'd received the following Problem-Message: W:Fehlschlag beim Holen von "http: //de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/main/source/Sources 404 Not Found" W:Fehlschlag beim Holen von "http: //de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/restricted/source/Sources 404 Not Found" W:Fehlschlag beim Holen von "http: //de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/universe/source/Sources 404 Not Found" W:Fehlschlag beim Holen von "http: //de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/natty-backports/multiverse/source/Sources 404 Not Found" E:Einige Indexdateien konnten nicht heruntergeladen werden. Sie wurden ignoriert oder alte an ihrer Stelle benutzt. Update rolls back Anyone got an solution?

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  • I tried to update from 13.04 to 13.10. Got the "Could not calculate the upgrade" error

    - by Siddharth
    I ran grep Broken /var/log/dist-upgrade/apt.log Here is what I got Broken libpam-systemd:i386 Conflicts on libpam-xdg-support [ i386 ] < 0.2-0ubuntu2 > ( universe/admin ) Broken iputils-ping:i386 Depends on libgnutls-openssl27 [ i386 ] < none -> 2.12.23-1ubuntu1 > ( libs ) Broken ubuntu-standard:i386 Depends on dnsutils [ i386 ] < none -> 1:9.9.2.dfsg.P1-2ubuntu2 > ( net )` I would appreciate your help in resolving this error. Thanks :)

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  • What are the biggest barriers to walking the MOTU/developer path?

    - by maco
    For those who are not MOTU (people who maintain the Universe and Multiverse software repositories) and do not have plans of the "I will apply to MOTU by $date" variety: What keeps you and others like you from trying to become MOTU? What makes you think you couldn't become one? I'm referring to both social and technological barriers. EDIT: I'm only saying MOTU because it's a pretty generic group, but "why aren't you packaging / patching and intending to eventually try for upload rights?" is an even more general version.

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  • Is a yobibit really a meaningful unit? [closed]

    - by Joe
    Wikipedia helpfully explains: The yobibit is a multiple of the bit, a unit of digital information storage, prefixed by the standards-based multiplier yobi (symbol Yi), a binary prefix meaning 2^80. The unit symbol of the yobibit is Yibit or Yib.1[2] 1 yobibit = 2^80 bits = 1208925819614629174706176 bits = 1024 zebibits[3] The zebi and yobi prefixes were originally not part of the system of binary prefixes, but were added by the International Electrotechnical Commission in August 2005.[4] Now, what in the world actually takes up 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 bits? The information content of the known universe? I guess this is forward thinking -- maybe astrophyics or nanotech, or even DNA analysis really will require these orders of magnitude. How far off do you think all this is? Are these really meaningful units?

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  • Creating a user called 'root'

    - by pnp
    I am creating Virtual Machines using the ubuntu-vm-builder. The syntax goes something like this: ubuntu-vm-builder kvm precise \ --domain newvm \ --dest newvm \ --arch i386 \ --hostname hostnameformyvm \ --mem 256 \ --user john \ --pass doe \ --ip 192.168.0.12 \ --mask 255.255.255.0 \ --net 192.168.0.0 \ --bcast 192.168.0.255 \ --gw 192.168.0.1 \ --dns 192.168.0.1 \ --mirror http://archive.localubuntumirror.net/ubuntu \ --components main,universe \ --addpkg acpid \ --addpkg vim \ --addpkg openssh-server \ --addpkg avahi-daemon \ --libvirt qemu:///system ; I need to enable the 'root' user account after creating each of my VMs (and supply a password for it). I was just wondering whether I can take this short-cut of supplying the username (--user) as root in this command itself. If I supply username as root to create my VMs, am I creating/enabling the root user, or just creating a user named as root? p.s.: any better ways to achieve my task are also welcome. But I don't want to manually meddle with each VM after its creation

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  • mplayer does not disable screensaver

    - by psychok7
    so i have upgraded to Ubuntu 12.10 and i installed smplayer from the repositories. The thing is when i play a movie (even in full screen) the screen saver comes up. I have to disable screensaver enabled in smplayer but it doesn't seem to work apt-cache policy mplayer mplayer: Installed: 2:1.0~rc4.dfsg1+svn34540-1ubuntu2 Candidate: 2:1.0~rc4.dfsg1+svn34540-1ubuntu2 Version table: *** 2:1.0~rc4.dfsg1+svn34540-1ubuntu2 0 500 http://pt.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ quantal/universe amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status apt-cache policy gnome-screensaver gnome-screensaver: Installed: 3.6.0-0ubuntu2 Candidate: 3.6.0-0ubuntu2 Version table: *** 3.6.0-0ubuntu2 0 500 http://pt.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ quantal-updates/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status 3.6.0-0ubuntu1 0 500 http://pt.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ quantal/main amd64 Packages Any ideas?

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  • We're Building Both Our Client Base & Our Partners!

    - by TheSilverlightGroup
    In a timeframe of a week or so, all our previous work is beginning to pay off! We are getting client offers that are both interesting, for huge companies, & utilizing Silverlight 4! In addition, we are building our database of Partners. Moving along, The Silverlight Group now has a toll-free phone number: 1-888-863-6989, so please call us for your most challenging Silverlight Project as well as training, Silverlight tools, etc. The Silverlight Group is carving our mark in the Universe!

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  • cannot do apt-get update on 12.04, cannot connect to IP

    - by user171771
    i cannot update my ubuntu from terminal or software centre and the links work if i go to them manually. heres the terinal feed..i have to remove the links but they work... ........ Err security.ubuntu.com precise-security/main amd64 Packages Unable to connect to 172.25.10.3:80: ......... ....... ........ ....... W: Failed to fetch archive.linux.duke.edu/ubuntu/dists/precise/universe/binary-amd64/Packages Unable to connect to 172.25.10.3:80:

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  • how to create animation of sparkling effect for iphone using cocos2d or Quartz core

    - by iPhone Fun
    Hi all, I am creating one application in that i want to give background effect like there are number of starts and something like we are in universe and some starts are getting lighted for few seconds then some other starts etc. I got one open gles animation of Explosion , but I want that kind of effect using quartz core or Cocos2d so that I can implement other things easily. if any one do have any idea or any sample for the sample please suggest me. Thanks in advance

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  • Java3d resetting to a new scene

    - by Dan Howard
    Hi all, I'm working on a game in Java3D. I read all my level info from a file and it works fine. But now I want to re-initialize the scene from reading data from a different file. How do I reset the scene? Should I just destroy the whole canvas3D and universe objects?

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  • Conversation as User Assistance

    - by ultan o'broin
    Applications User Experience members (Erika Web, Laurie Pattison, and I) attended the User Assistance Europe Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. We were impressed with the thought leadership and practical application of ideas in Anne Gentle's keynote address "Social Web Strategies for Documentation". After the conference, we spoke with Anne to explore the ideas further. Anne Gentle (left) with Applications User Experience Senior Director Laurie Pattison In Anne's book called Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation, she explains how user assistance is undergoing a seismic shift. The direction is away from the old print manuals and online help concept towards a web-based, user community-driven solution using social media tools. User experience professionals now have a vast range of such tools to start and nurture this "conversation": blogs, wikis, forums, social networking sites, microblogging systems, image and video sharing sites, virtual worlds, podcasts, instant messaging, mashups, and so on. That user communities are a rich source of user assistance is not a surprise, but the extent of available assistance is. For example, we know from the Consortium for Service Innovation that there has been an 'explosion' of user-generated content on the web. User-initiated community conversations provide as much as 30 times the number of official help desk solutions for consortium members! The growing reliance on user community solutions is clearly a user experience issue. Anne says that user assistance as conversation "means getting closer to users and helping them perform well. User-centered design has been touted as one of the most important ideas developed in the last 20 years of workplace writing. Now writers can take the idea of user-centered design a step further by starting conversations with users and enabling user assistance in interactions." Some of Anne's favorite examples of this paradigm shift from the world of traditional documentation to community conversation include: Writer Bob Bringhurst's blog about Adobe InDesign and InCopy products and Adobe's community help The Microsoft Development Network Community Center ·The former Sun (now Oracle) OpenDS wiki, NetBeans Ruby and other community approaches to engage diverse audiences using screencasts, wikis, and blogs. Cisco's customer support wiki, EMC's community, as well as Symantec and Intuit's approaches The efforts of Ubuntu, Mozilla, and the FLOSS community generally Adobe Writer Bob Bringhurst's Blog Oracle is not without a user community conversation too. Besides the community discussions and blogs around documentation offerings, we have the My Oracle Support Community forums, Oracle Technology Network (OTN) communities, wiki, blogs, and so on. We have the great work done by our user groups and customer councils. Employees like David Haimes reach out, and enthusiastic non-employee gurus like Chet Justice (OracleNerd), Floyd Teter and Eddie Awad provide great "how-to" information too. But what does this paradigm shift mean for existing technical writers as users turn away from the traditional printable PDF manual deliverables? We asked Anne after the conference. The writer role becomes one of conversation initiator or enabler. The role evolves, along with the process, as the users define their concept of user assistance and terms of engagement with the product instead of having it pre-determined. It is largely a case now of "inventing the job while you're doing it, instead of being hired for it" Anne said. There is less emphasis on formal titles. Anne mentions that her own title "Content Stacker" at OpenStack; others use titles such as "Content Curator" or "Community Lead". However, the role remains one essentially about communications, "but of a new type--interacting with users, moderating, curating content, instead of sitting down to write a manual from start to finish." Clearly then, this role is open to more than professional technical writers. Product managers who write blogs, developers who moderate forums, support professionals who update wikis, rock star programmers with a penchant for YouTube are ideal. Anyone with the product knowledge, empathy for the user, and flair for relationships on the social web can join in. Some even perform these roles already but do not realize it. Anne feels the technical communicator space will move from hiring new community conversation professionals (who are already active in the space through blogging, tweets, wikis, and so on) to retraining some existing writers over time. Our own research reveals that the established proponents of community user assistance even set employee performance objectives for internal content curators about the amount of community content delivered by people outside the organization! To take advantage of the conversations on the web as user assistance, enterprises must first establish where on the spectrum their community lies. "What is the line between community willingness to contribute and the enterprise objectives?" Anne asked. "The relationship with users must be managed and also measured." Anne believes that the process can start with a "just do it" approach. Begin by reaching out to existing user groups, individual bloggers and tweeters, forum posters, early adopter program participants, conference attendees, customer advisory board members, and so on. Use analytical tools to measure the level of conversation about your products and services to show a return on investment (ROI), winning management support. Anne emphasized that success with the community model is dependent on lowering the technical and motivational barriers so that users can readily contribute to the conversation. Simple tools must be provided, and guidelines, if any, must be straightforward but not mandatory. The conversational approach is one where traditional style and branding guides do not necessarily apply. Tools and infrastructure help users to create content easily, to search and find the information online, read it, rate it, translate it, and participate further in the content's evolution. Recognizing contributors by using ratings on forums, giving out Twitter kudos, conference invitations, visits to headquarters, free products, preview releases, and so on, also encourages the adoption of the conversation model. The move to conversation as user assistance is not free, but there is a business ROI. The conversational model means that customer service is enhanced, as user experience moves from a functional to a valued, emotional level. Studies show a positive correlation between loyalty and financial performance (Consortium for Service Innovation, 2010), and as customer experience and loyalty become key differentiators, user experience professionals cannot explore the model's possibilities. The digital universe (measured at 1.2 million petabytes in 2010) is doubling every 12 to 18 months, and 70 percent of that universe consists of user-generated content (IDC, 2010). Conversation as user assistance cannot be ignored but must be embraced. It is a time to manage for abundance, not scarcity. Besides, the conversation approach certainly sounds more interesting, rewarding, and fun than the traditional model! I would like to thank Anne for her time and thoughts, and recommend that all user assistance professionals read her book. You can follow Anne on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/annegentle. Oracle's Acrolinx IQ deployment was used to author this article.

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  • Use an Ubuntu Live CD to Securely Wipe Your PC’s Hard Drive

    - by Trevor Bekolay
    Deleting files or quickly formatting a drive isn’t enough for sensitive personal information. We’ll show you how to get rid of it for good using a Ubuntu Live CD. When you delete a file in Windows, Ubuntu, or any other operating system, it doesn’t actually destroy the data stored on your hard drive, it just marks that data as “deleted.” If you overwrite it later, then that data is generally unrecoverable, but if the operating system don’t happen to overwrite it, then your data is still stored on your hard drive, recoverable by anyone who has the right software. By securely delete files or entire hard drives, your data will be gone for good. Note: Modern hard drives are extremely sophisticated, as are the experts who recover data for a living. There is no guarantee that the methods covered in this article will make your data completely unrecoverable; however, they will make your data unrecoverable to the majority of recovery methods, and all methods that are readily available to the general public. Shred individual files Most of the data stored on your hard drive is harmless, and doesn’t reveal anything about you. If there are just a few files that you know you don’t want someone else to see, then the easiest way to get rid of them is a built-in Linux utility called shred. Open a terminal window by clicking on Applications at the top-left of the screen, then expanding the Accessories menu and clicking on Terminal. Navigate to the file that you want to delete using cd to change directories and ls to list the files and folders in the current directory. As an example, we’ve got a file called BankInfo.txt on a Windows NTFS-formatted hard drive. We want to delete it securely, so we’ll call shred by entering the following in the terminal window: shred <file> which is, in our example: shred BankInfo.txt Notice that our BankInfo.txt file still exists, even though we’ve shredded it. A quick look at the contents of BankInfo.txt make it obvious that the file has indeed been securely overwritten. We can use some command-line arguments to make shred delete the file from the hard drive as well. We can also be extra-careful about the shredding process by upping the number of times shred overwrites the original file. To do this, in the terminal, type in: shred –remove –iterations=<num> <file> By default, shred overwrites the file 25 times. We’ll double this, giving us the following command: shred –remove –iterations=50 BankInfo.txt BankInfo.txt has now been securely wiped on the physical disk, and also no longer shows up in the directory listing. Repeat this process for any sensitive files on your hard drive! Wipe entire hard drives If you’re disposing of an old hard drive, or giving it to someone else, then you might instead want to wipe your entire hard drive. shred can be invoked on hard drives, but on modern file systems, the shred process may be reversible. We’ll use the program wipe to securely delete all of the data on a hard drive. Unlike shred, wipe is not included in Ubuntu by default, so we have to install it. Open up the Synaptic Package Manager by clicking on System in the top-left corner of the screen, then expanding the Administration folder and clicking on Synaptic Package Manager. wipe is part of the Universe repository, which is not enabled by default. We’ll enable it by clicking on Settings > Repositories in the Synaptic Package Manager window. Check the checkbox next to “Community-maintained Open Source software (universe)”. Click Close. You’ll need to reload Synaptic’s package list. Click on the Reload button in the main Synaptic Package Manager window. Once the package list has been reloaded, the text over the search field will change to “Rebuilding search index”. Wait until it reads “Quick search,” and then type “wipe” into the search field. The wipe package should come up, along with some other packages that perform similar functions. Click on the checkbox to the left of the label “wipe” and select “Mark for Installation”. Click on the Apply button to start the installation process. Click the Apply button on the Summary window that pops up. Once the installation is done, click the Close button and close the Synaptic Package Manager window. Open a terminal window by clicking on Applications in the top-left of the screen, then Accessories > Terminal. You need to figure our the correct hard drive to wipe. If you wipe the wrong hard drive, that data will not be recoverable, so exercise caution! In the terminal window, type in: sudo fdisk -l A list of your hard drives will show up. A few factors will help you identify the right hard drive. One is the file system, found in the System column of  the list – Windows hard drives are usually formatted as NTFS (which shows up as HPFS/NTFS). Another good identifier is the size of the hard drive, which appears after its identifier (highlighted in the following screenshot). In our case, the hard drive we want to wipe is only around 1 GB large, and is formatted as NTFS. We make a note of the label found under the the Device column heading. If you have multiple partitions on this hard drive, then there will be more than one device in this list. The wipe developers recommend wiping each partition separately. To start the wiping process, type the following into the terminal: sudo wipe <device label> In our case, this is: sudo wipe /dev/sda1 Again, exercise caution – this is the point of no return! Your hard drive will be completely wiped. It may take some time to complete, depending on the size of the drive you’re wiping. Conclusion If you have sensitive information on your hard drive – and chances are you probably do – then it’s a good idea to securely delete sensitive files before you give away or dispose of your hard drive. The most secure way to delete your data is with a few swings of a hammer, but shred and wipe from a Ubuntu Live CD is a good alternative! Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Reset Your Ubuntu Password Easily from the Live CDScan a Windows PC for Viruses from a Ubuntu Live CDRecover Deleted Files on an NTFS Hard Drive from a Ubuntu Live CDCreate a Bootable Ubuntu 9.10 USB Flash DriveCreate a Bootable Ubuntu USB Flash Drive the Easy Way TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Office 2010 Product Guides Google Maps Place marks – Pizza, Guns or Strip Clubs Monitor Applications With Kiwi LocPDF is a Visual PDF Search Tool Download Free iPad Wallpapers at iPad Decor Get Your Delicious Bookmarks In Firefox’s Awesome Bar

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  • Community Conversation

    - by ultan o'broin
    Applications User Experience members (Erika Webb, Laurie Pattison, and I) attended the User Assistance Europe Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. We were impressed with the thought leadership and practical application of ideas in Anne Gentle's keynote address "Social Web Strategies for Documentation". After the conference, we spoke with Anne to explore the ideas further. Applications User Experience Senior Director Laurie Pattison (left) with Anne Gentle at the User Assistance Europe Conference In Anne's book called Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation, she explains how user assistance is undergoing a seismic shift. The direction is away from the old print manuals and online help concept towards a web-based, user community-driven solution using social media tools. User experience professionals now have a vast range of such tools to start and nurture this "conversation": blogs, wikis, forums, social networking sites, microblogging systems, image and video sharing sites, virtual worlds, podcasts, instant messaging, mashups, and so on. That user communities are a rich source of user assistance is not a surprise, but the extent of available assistance is. For example, we know from the Consortium for Service Innovation that there has been an 'explosion' of user-generated content on the web. User-initiated community conversations provide as much as 30 times the number of official help desk solutions for consortium members! The growing reliance on user community solutions is clearly a user experience issue. Anne says that user assistance as conversation "means getting closer to users and helping them perform well. User-centered design has been touted as one of the most important ideas developed in the last 20 years of workplace writing. Now writers can take the idea of user-centered design a step further by starting conversations with users and enabling user assistance in interactions." Some of Anne's favorite examples of this paradigm shift from the world of traditional documentation to community conversation include: * Writer Bob Bringhurst's blog about Adobe InDesign and InCopy products and Adobe's community help * The Microsoft Development Network Community Center * ·The former Sun (now Oracle) OpenDS wiki, NetBeans Ruby and other community approaches to engage diverse audiences using screencasts, wikis, and blogs. * Cisco's customer support wiki, EMC's community, as well as Symantec and Intuit's approaches * The efforts of Ubuntu, Mozilla, and the FLOSS community generally Adobe Writer Bob Bringhurst's Blog Oracle is not without a user community conversation too. Besides the community discussions and blogs around documentation offerings, we have the My Oracle Support Community forums, Oracle Technology Network (OTN) communities, wiki, blogs, and so on. We have the great work done by our user groups and customer councils. Employees like David Haimes are reaching out, and enthusiastic non-employee gurus like Chet Justice (OracleNerd), Floyd Teter and Eddie Awad provide great "how-to" information too. But what does this paradigm shift mean for existing technical writers as users turn away from the traditional printable PDF manual deliverables? We asked Anne after the conference. The writer role becomes one of conversation initiator or enabler. The role evolves, along with the process, as the users define their concept of user assistance and terms of engagement with the product instead of having it pre-determined. It is largely a case now of "inventing the job while you're doing it, instead of being hired for it" Anne said. There is less emphasis on formal titles. Anne mentions that her own title "Content Stacker" at OpenStack; others use titles such as "Content Curator" or "Community Lead". However, the role remains one essentially about communications, "but of a new type--interacting with users, moderating, curating content, instead of sitting down to write a manual from start to finish." Clearly then, this role is open to more than professional technical writers. Product managers who write blogs, developers who moderate forums, support professionals who update wikis, rock star programmers with a penchant for YouTube are ideal. Anyone with the product knowledge, empathy for the user, and flair for relationships on the social web can join in. Some even perform these roles already but do not realize it. Anne feels the technical communicator space will move from hiring new community conversation professionals (who are already active in the space through blogging, tweets, wikis, and so on) to retraining some existing writers over time. Our own research reveals that the established proponents of community user assistance even set employee performance objectives for internal content curators about the amount of community content delivered by people outside the organization! To take advantage of the conversations on the web as user assistance, enterprises must first establish where on the spectrum their community lies. "What is the line between community willingness to contribute and the enterprise objectives?" Anne asked. "The relationship with users must be managed and also measured." Anne believes that the process can start with a "just do it" approach. Begin by reaching out to existing user groups, individual bloggers and tweeters, forum posters, early adopter program participants, conference attendees, customer advisory board members, and so on. Use analytical tools to measure the level of conversation about your products and services to show a return on investment (ROI), winning management support. Anne emphasized that success with the community model is dependent on lowering the technical and motivational barriers so that users can readily contribute to the conversation. Simple tools must be provided, and guidelines, if any, must be straightforward but not mandatory. The conversational approach is one where traditional style and branding guides do not necessarily apply. Tools and infrastructure help users to create content easily, to search and find the information online, read it, rate it, translate it, and participate further in the content's evolution. Recognizing contributors by using ratings on forums, giving out Twitter kudos, conference invitations, visits to headquarters, free products, preview releases, and so on, also encourages the adoption of the conversation model. The move to conversation as user assistance is not free, but there is a business ROI. The conversational model means that customer service is enhanced, as user experience moves from a functional to a valued, emotional level. Studies show a positive correlation between loyalty and financial performance (Consortium for Service Innovation, 2010), and as customer experience and loyalty become key differentiators, user experience professionals cannot explore the model's possibilities. The digital universe (measured at 1.2 million petabytes in 2010) is doubling every 12 to 18 months, and 70 percent of that universe consists of user-generated content (IDC, 2010). Conversation as user assistance cannot be ignored but must be embraced. It is a time to manage for abundance, not scarcity. Besides, the conversation approach certainly sounds more interesting, rewarding, and fun than the traditional model! I would like to thank Anne for her time and thoughts, and recommend that all user assistance professionals read her book. You can follow Anne on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/annegentle. Oracle's Acrolinx IQ deployment was used to author this article.

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