neddie

The "Configure your desktop" thingy is easier to get to with a right click on the desktop.

No, sadly not. Inkscape can save eps files, but not load them, at least not the version which came with Mandy 2009. (Or let's say I couldn't find a way to load eps files into Inkscape ;) ) But the eps to pdf conversion worked well. :oI don't think you understand the difference between a raster image and a vector image, or the difference between lossless compression and lossy compression like jpeg. In short, AVOID JPEGS! Jpegs will turn your beautiful charts with their clean sharp lines into a nasty blur with spotty artefacts. And if they don't turn them into a blur, they'll make the file size huge. Jpeg is exactly the wrong thing to use for charts out of matlab or octave. Not quite so terrible is saving from matlab as png or gif, and editing them with gimp as raster images. But the best thing you can do is as I described, using eps and pdf formats to retain the nice vector format.

Ahaaa, that's a very different question. As you probably know, eps is a vector file format, not a raster format, and vector formats aren't Gimp's specialty. What I ended up doing with my eps files from octave was: run the eps file first through ps2pdf to convert it into a pdf file Load pdf file into Inkscape and edit it Save from Inkscape as eps file Load new eps file into OpenOffice / whatever It's a bit awkward but it keeps the vector format (and small file size) and lets you use all Inkscape's tricks.

Indeed. It obviously depends what kind of image it is that you're working on as to which kind of file format is best, but if it's a photo, and if you're saving it as jpeg, then Gimp should give you a dialog to let you choose the parameters for the Jpeg compression. You can change the quality settings, choose which metadata is included, see the preview, and it'll tell you how big the file will be. In this way you can optimise it how you want to make it bigger or smaller with higher or lower quality. If it's a gif or a png you're working on, maybe you have increased the colour depth as part of your editing and that's why it's got bigger. So you would need to reduce your colour depth again to get the file size back down again. It would be easier to answer your question if your question was a bit clearer, ie what kind of images they are, what format they're in when you load them, and in what format you're saving them.

It depends what the file is, whether it can be compressed well or not. I guess you know that, right? You don't give us much of a clue what this huge file is, so we can't help much. If it was a text file, then gzip would have compressed it for you. But if the gzipped file is still large then other lossless compression probably wouldn't help either. I'm also guessing that splitting a 144MB file into 144 1MB files isn't too practical for email either - you'd still be sending 144MB by email. So it depends what it is - an mp3 file? A video file? An executable? A zipped directory of images? A Word document? Each of those _could_ be compressed somehow, with varying levels of difficulty, but you'd probably have to unpack them, compress some part(s) with a kind of lossy compression (losing quality) and then repacking. Or buy a cheap USB stick, save your file on it, and then post it :)

There should be an --install-src option for urpmi but I've never tried it and I read that it doesn't work. I think the easiest way is to browse the repository index and instead of going into i586 or x86_64, go into the SRPMS directory instead - then you'll see the main/contrib directories.

I thought I'd resurrect this old thread to update it with some cool info: apparently OpenSuse has a thing called a build service, and those kind souls turn source tarballs into rpms. Now, they're obviously not Mandriva-specific rpms, but nevertheless for simple stuff the rpms they produce will indeed install fine in Mandriva. And I'm sure it would not take too much effort to adapt their rpm to fit the Mandriva guidelines exactly. Anyway, the point is, they have now taken the source code of this java application I was asking about (it's called "Prune"), and they have produced an rpm and source rpm from them. The noarch.rpm installs fine in a live Mandriva 2010 and runs fine, even creating a menu entry and a launch script. So, well adamw is obviously not going to be packaging too much now, but maybe someone else from Mandriva is listening and may be interested in adapting this rpm to be more Mandriva-like? And anyone else who feels like trying it out, feel free ;)

I'm not sure what kind of format you would need to publish it on linuxtech, but here is what I've written so far: Guide for assembling a barebone Let me know if you have any relevant pages on linuxtech I should be linking to! :) Thanks for the checking advice, I'd already run a memory check off the live CD for a little while, but I didn't think to check the harddrive too. But I'd rather not wipe the drive now...

I've got a new computer! I haven't installed the OS yet but it's running a live CD fine and looking great! Thanks a million, tux99, you were an amazing help! I owe you a beer or several! I'll write it all up as soon as I can so that others can do it too!

Quick update - got back from my hols and everything has arrived! :D Well, almost everything... the instructions say you have to apply thermal paste to the CPU to make sure the heat gets conducted effectively up to the cooling system - but surprisingly the boxed CPU didn't contain any such paste (despite containing the fan and the CPU) so I need to find some paste from elsewhere. Should only be a couple of euros extra I think... [Edit] - or, wait a minute, is the paste already on the heat sink? There are three dark grey areas on the bottom of the fan unit, is that the thermal compound already applied? So do I just need to put it all together and the paste will get spread out? I'm surprised it's not mentioned at all in the "installation instructions" for the CPU.

Weird. So if you go in the i586 directory and get kernel-desktop-2.6.29.1-4mnb-1-1mnb2.i586.rpm, then it's i686? Good to know! I guess it's possible that the different compilation makes a difference for the kernel but not for the apps, but it's still a bit odd. I'll have to give it a go as soon as I've put the bits together! Thanks again for the tips!

Really? Does that make a difference? I always used a 586 kernel with my old Centrino, and in fact all I can see in the repositories are 586 and x86-64 kernels. But if the Pentium dual-core is different enough to have different instructions and a different kernel from a 586, doesn't it matter that all the apps are compiled for 586? At least, in the three repositories I looked at (in 3 different countries) there are only i586 and x86_64 sections for 2009.1.

Yay! Monitor has arrived (1600x1200, looks great), and the rest of the bits are on the way... :D Now time to reveal more of my ignorance and ask another dumb question - should I put Mandriva 32-bit or 64-bit on it? From the specs of the E5300, all it says about 32/64 is a little tick by "Intel 64", with the footnote "64-bit computing requires a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating system, device drivers and applications enabled for Intel 64 architecture." And on Shuttle's site it doesn't appear to mention it at all, so I don't know whether the chipset (apparently "Intel 945GC + ICH7") or the BIOS do support it. Now maybe it doesn't matter. From what (little) I understand about it, a 32-bit OS will run fine on a 64-bit-capable machine, just maybe not quite as fast (depending on the apps) as a 64-bit OS would. But maybe the difference is really small for many things and maybe the extra trouble of incompatible drivers and unavailable plugins would make running 64-bit awkward. And I don't care about supporting 8GB of RAM as my case can't support that much anyway. It just feels like 32-bit was getting old quite a while ago now. And then the next question is, if I install from One (as I probably will because my attempts to use Free on my old laptop failed miserably but One worked every time), it doesn't seem I get a 32/64 choice anyway, so will I get 32 bits that way? In which case, I guess that's ok, right? :unsure:

Hi, sorry I haven't replied sooner, but thank you very much tux99 for all the info! That's really great, I've been busy looking up all those things you mentioned and it looks like it'll be pretty much what you recommended. I've found a few places that sell those bits, and many offer the option of build it yourself or have it put together by them. I was going for the convenience of a put-together system but the more I read the more putting it together myself sounds doable. Also I was leaning towards a Core2Duo (more or less based on the specs of the first K48 system I saw) plus I was thinking the more modern chips would generate less heat maybe, maybe stress the fans less, and if I'm splurging on a "real" PC then I might as well pay a little bit extra for a little bit more oomph. But you recommended the Pentium rather than a Core2Duo, and the alternate system also only lets me choose either Celeron or Pentium, so maybe that's a better match for the rest of the system... problem is all performance is relative and until the system's running and I can use it then it's tricky to tell whether that CPU would be fast enough for what I want etc etc. Anyway, I've got the monitor ordered now at least, and more or less decided on the system, just need to get it ordered. I actually saw the K48 in a real shop this week too which gives me a bit more confidence buying it. Thanks again for the tips!

Another question - the K45 (and K45SE) only has a VGA output. The K48 also has a DVI output. If I want to drive a 1600x1200 monitor (which has both VGA and DVI in), will it make much difference which input I use? I assume DVI is better because it wouldn't have to be converted from digital to analog to digital, but would it be noticeable? Otherwise there doesn't seem to be much difference between the K45SE and K48 (apart from 50EUR and a slight difference in size). (The asrock apparently has HDMI out and a HDMI->DVI converter)

Unfortunately that 400 Euro is pretty much in line with what that particular store charge for the bits you suggest. If I add up their prices for the K48 case (135 EUR) plus a Maxtor hard drive, LG DVD burner, Kingston 2GB RAM, Intel Core2Duo 2*3GHz, plus a cheap keyboard, I get 420 EUR, which leaves 20 EUR for the saved hassle of not having to put all the bits together myself. Plus as I said I can take the whole thing back if it doesn't work and it's their fault not mine. OK, the processor is a bit faster than what you suggested (3GHz instead of 2.6) but it's pretty close to the advertised 440 EUR setup. Sadly the guy in the shop couldn't show me one, and I'm wary of ordering something that I've never seen. So I did some more digging around, and found another shop advertising a K45, and selecting bits from that shop came out about 50 EUR cheaper (although the K45 is a cheaper barebone anyway). But while I was digging around I found several complaints about the PSU fan on the K45 being annoyingly loud, which is a bit off-putting. So I went to the shop to ask (especially to ask about the K45SE which has the USB ports on the front, _and_ space for an optical drive, thanks for the tip!!), and it turns out they can't get _any_ K45 or K45SE or even K48 cases any more, they can't even order them any more. With no sign of a similar replacement. And there followed gnashing of teeth. But in the store they had one of these asrock thingies, and it was driving a big, high-resolution screen showing a movie with no problems whatsoever, couldn't hear it running, and it wins over the Asus and Acer Atom nettop thingies by being dual core and with the Ion and with a DVD burner built in. (By the way yes I am in Euroland, currently in Germany.)

Great job!

It might be interesting to work out WHY you can't delete it - we're all assuming that it's because of a permissions problem, that is, you aren't allowed to delete it because the folder belongs to someone else. But then it's curious that it could have got into your trash in this case. Before you delete it, look at the properties of the folder to see who it belongs to and what the permissions are (read-only, only writeable by owner etc). If you don't understand file permissions, why not look into it a bit before just deleting the file? Plus, are you using KDE3, KDE4, gnome or some other desktop? Does it give an error message when you try to delete it?

Wow, that's interesting. I just assumed that in the years since I bought my laptop everything has advanced so much that whatever I buy is bound to be faster - especially when it says 2*1.6GHz instead of 1*1.6GHz. I had no idea the cache makes so much difference, I guess I'll have to try it out if I can. But if the graphics stuff is handled by the decent GPU, then the "weak" atom would only really be noticeable when doing serious number crunching like compiling or photo-stitching, right? Maybe booting but that's mostly hard drive access. Most of the time it wouldn't really be a problem I think (my centrino spent a lot of time running at 600 MHz). Yes, that's right. I've seen the ION one at 290 euros and a complete system using the K48 is being sold for 440. That's with core2duo 2*2.9GHz, Intel GMA950, 2GB RAM, 750GB hard drive, DVD burner and so on, nothing spectacular. The main reason I don't buy a load of bits myself and attempt to put it together is that I have no clue what I'm doing and no clue what bits go well (or at all) with what other bits. So I'd probably think I was saving money when actually I was just wasting it. If I buy a complete system then they've done the groundwork figuring out what fits. Plus they buy in bulk, plus I could take it back if it doesn't work. So that's why the atom/ion one looks attractive to me, it's a complete unit (and much smaller), much cheaper, lower power, just maybe your point about performance is a drag. Good news about the compatibility though, thanks.

That would be great! There's no great rush, I'm trying to test the release at the moment anyway so it'll be a week or two before it's ready for release. Plus as mentioned on other threads my laptop is dead so it's unlikely to get released before the end of the month anyway... Thanks for your help! And let me know if you want your (nick)name credited!

My search for a decent, non-wide laptop to replace my now-deceased non-wide laptop ended up with a complete failure - so I'm now looking for decent, non-wide desktop instead. I'd like a nice, neat, SMALL desktop, very quiet, but able to drive a decent screen. I'm not going to be playing spectacular 3d games so it doesn't have to be a monster. So far I've found a 1600x1200 monitor, and I've found a couple of candidates for the little machine: - Asrock nettop ion 330 (dual core 1.6 GHz Atom, nvidia ion graphics, DVD burner, very cheap) - Shuttle K48 (Intel core2duo 2.9 GHz, Intel shared graphics, DVD burner, more ports but about 50% more expensive). So obviously I'm leaning towards the Asrock, but I'm wondering if I'll have problems with the (new?) nvidia ion stuff or problems driving a 1600x1200 with such a cheap box. I've read comments that Ubuntu runs ok on it, but it's not clear how much of a pain it was to get it working. Does anyone have any experience with these things, are they too cheap to be worthwhile or would they be a reasonable desktop? I'm not expecting stellar performance but I'm used to my single core 1.6 GHz centrino so I'm easily happy :)

It's a tool to view, edit and convert GPS coordinate data. For example, if you have a GPS receiver you can use it to extract the coordinates of your most recent trip out of the receiver, show where you've been on top of an openstreetmap image, show the altitude profile, let you delete bits you don't want, compress the track, convert to kml or gpx or kmz, plot the track in 3d, correlate your photos using the timestamps, that kind of stuff. It's written in java, if you're interested you can see some screenshots.

Some of you may remember my previous call for help for translating texts for a GPL'd application. Well, as you might expect, I'm back again and the question is very much the same - would anyone like to help translating some short texts from English into their own language? Again, the main priority languages are French, Spanish and Italian because these three are nearly complete. (Polish and German are already done this time!). Not quite so complete are Portuguese, Afrikaans, Indonesian and Romanian if anyone can help out with those. And again, even if you only contribute a few texts, it's much much better than nothing! For the French there are only around 25 texts still remaining (are you there, YinYeti? ;) ), for the Italian around 40 (maybe tux99?) and for the Spanish somewhat more (around 100 I think). All help is gratefully received and will be credited in the app if desired! I can take contributions in any form, whether here in this thread, or by email, or directly in the translation wiki as last time (no registration required). Whatever's easiest for you. Thanks a lot in advance!

Fair enough, but those two laptops only have vertical resolutions of 768 (yikes!) or 800. My poorly old laptop has 1050 and I don't want to spend loads on a new laptop which is not as good (in that one particular respect) as my old one... I think Ian's right, 1680x1050 is about the best I could do, but those are significantly more expensive than the 768 or 800 high ones. So I'm thinking it over and coming to the conclusion that maybe I don't really need it to be a laptop any more, and maybe I can get better value with a cheaper desktop (but something small like a Shuttle case) and then I'd have more choice of screens. Maybe I have a better chance of finding a "normal" format screen, or if not then a 1680x1050. Still don't get why they're all widescreen now.

Have you looked at QtDesigner together with Python? May require a bit of a learning curve but then so will anything. Or of course if you really want it to be dirty, use Visual Basic! :P