I found renaming files in Dolphin, the file manager in KDE, to be a little awkward. By default, renaming files does not happen in-line. Thankfully, enabling it is just a few clicks away. Navigate to 'Settings' > 'Configure Dolphin' > 'General' and the option 'Rename inline' is in the Behavior tab.
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Friday, June 17, 2011
Monday, February 01, 2010
Expose tricks
Hold Shift when invoking the Expose in Mac OS X 10.6, everything is in slow motion! Hold Ctrl when invoking Expose, only the windows belonging to the application in use are displayed.
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Installing UltraScan on Ubuntu
UltraScan is a software used to analyze data from analytical ultracentrifugation experiments. The installation instructions that came with the software were not entirely tailored for Ubuntu. Fortunately, I had some help. If you too are like me, then here is your help.
First, download the software package appropriate for your computer from UltraScan website. (Note: I am assuming that the file is downloaded into your home directory). Next, open a Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and enter each of these commands one after another. (Replace 'username' in the commands with your username. Some steps require you to enter root password).
You may not see the UltraScan icon. In order to get that, click on the icon button and enter this path in the location bar: /usr/lib/ultrascan-9.9/etc/ultra.xpm
Happy centrifuging!
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First, download the software package appropriate for your computer from UltraScan website. (Note: I am assuming that the file is downloaded into your home directory). Next, open a Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and enter each of these commands one after another. (Replace 'username' in the commands with your username. Some steps require you to enter root password).
A text editor window appears. Scroll down to the end and add these two lines:cd /usr/lib/
sudo tar -xvzf /home/username/ultrascan-9.9-631-qt-3.3.8-ix86-linux.tar.gz
ln -s /usr/lib/ultrascan-9.9 /usr/lib/ultrascan
gedit /home/username/.bashrc
export ULTRASCAN=/usr/lib/ultrascanClose the text editor window and return to the Terminal. Type this in the Terminal:
export PATH=$PATH:$ULTRASCAN/bin
gksu gedit /etc/ld.so.conf.d/ultrascan.confAn empty text editor window appears. Enter this line:
/usr/lib/ultrascan/libHit 'Save' button. Close the text editor window and return to the Terminal. Enter the following commands one after another.
After this, you should be able to run the program by entering 'us' in a Terminal. However, it would be nice to have UltraScan entry in the Applications tree. In order to do that, follow these instructions. Return to the Terminal and enter:source /home/username/.bashrc
sudo ldconfig
gksu gedit /usr/local/bin/usAn empty text editor window appears. Copy and paste the following lines into it.
#! /bin/bashHit 'Save' button and close the text editor window. Now, we will create a launcher in the Applications tree. Go to 'System' > 'Preferences' > 'Main Menu'. Click on 'New Item' and enter as shown:
export ULTRASCAN=/usr/lib/ultrascan
export PATH=$PATH:$ULTRASCAN/bin
/usr/lib/ultrascan/bin/us&
You may not see the UltraScan icon. In order to get that, click on the icon button and enter this path in the location bar: /usr/lib/ultrascan-9.9/etc/ultra.xpm
Happy centrifuging!
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Hiking in Ricketts Glen State Park
If you like a lot of waterfalls, you will like Ricketts Glen State Park. Read on for more...
Ricketts Glen State Park is located in Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties of Pennsylvania. More information about the park including directions, links to reserve a campsite or cabin, and downloadable maps can be found at the park website.
We stopped by at Adams Falls on our way to the main park. Trailhead falls on PA-118; there is a parking lot and restrooms here. Although you do not really need a map to visit Adams Falls, you can grab one here if you intend to hike on other trails. Adams Falls is 36 feet high and is just off the parking lot. However, if you are up to a short stroll in the woods, Evergreen Trail is a 1-mile loop that starts near the falls and goes next to Boston Run.
Grand View Trail is on PA-487, on the way to park office. Grand View Trail is a hiking/snowmobile trail. Thus, the trail is wide and flat for the most part. It leads up to the fire tower on the mountain. Views from the summit are okay; not great. And general public does not have access to the fire tower. If allowed, one can probably have some nice views from the top of the fire tower. Grand View Trail is about 2-mile long loop and can be an easy hike if the loop is done in an anti-clockwise direction.
Lake Rose Trailhead Parking lot provides access to the main Falls Trail. It is a little less than 5-mile loop that provides access to about 20 waterfalls - small and large. If you are not up to a long, steep climb, take Highland Trail from Lake Rose trailhead and hike the trail in a clockwise direction. About half way through Highland Trail, you will come across Midway Crevasse - a narrow passway through giant rocks. At the end of Highland trail, make a right on to Falls trail. After this point, the trail goes along creek with waterfalls at almost every turn. At Waters Meet, the trail splits. Hiking down a little further leads to three more waterfalls. At Waters Meet, make a right turn to stay on Falls Trail and hike back to Lake Rose trailhead. Again, the trail traverses along the creek with several waterfalls on the way up to the parking lot.
Falls Trail is the highlight of Ricketts Glen State Park. This can be nice day hike. Alternately, one can camp out in the campground near Lake Jean and make a two day trip - with Falls trail hike on one day and Grand View Trail + Adams Falls on the other. We visited this park during Fall season and the luckily, the leaves were at their peak colors when we visited - making the trail even more beautiful.
Read more!
Ricketts Glen State Park is located in Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties of Pennsylvania. More information about the park including directions, links to reserve a campsite or cabin, and downloadable maps can be found at the park website.
We stopped by at Adams Falls on our way to the main park. Trailhead falls on PA-118; there is a parking lot and restrooms here. Although you do not really need a map to visit Adams Falls, you can grab one here if you intend to hike on other trails. Adams Falls is 36 feet high and is just off the parking lot. However, if you are up to a short stroll in the woods, Evergreen Trail is a 1-mile loop that starts near the falls and goes next to Boston Run. Grand View Trail is on PA-487, on the way to park office. Grand View Trail is a hiking/snowmobile trail. Thus, the trail is wide and flat for the most part. It leads up to the fire tower on the mountain. Views from the summit are okay; not great. And general public does not have access to the fire tower. If allowed, one can probably have some nice views from the top of the fire tower. Grand View Trail is about 2-mile long loop and can be an easy hike if the loop is done in an anti-clockwise direction.
Lake Rose Trailhead Parking lot provides access to the main Falls Trail. It is a little less than 5-mile loop that provides access to about 20 waterfalls - small and large. If you are not up to a long, steep climb, take Highland Trail from Lake Rose trailhead and hike the trail in a clockwise direction. About half way through Highland Trail, you will come across Midway Crevasse - a narrow passway through giant rocks. At the end of Highland trail, make a right on to Falls trail. After this point, the trail goes along creek with waterfalls at almost every turn. At Waters Meet, the trail splits. Hiking down a little further leads to three more waterfalls. At Waters Meet, make a right turn to stay on Falls Trail and hike back to Lake Rose trailhead. Again, the trail traverses along the creek with several waterfalls on the way up to the parking lot. 
Falls Trail is the highlight of Ricketts Glen State Park. This can be nice day hike. Alternately, one can camp out in the campground near Lake Jean and make a two day trip - with Falls trail hike on one day and Grand View Trail + Adams Falls on the other. We visited this park during Fall season and the luckily, the leaves were at their peak colors when we visited - making the trail even more beautiful. Read more!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office
For most users, OpenOffice provides ample functionality at an unbeatable price. If you don't know about it already, you should give it a try (Download OOo link). I use OpenOffice and I like it. However, that is not the case with everyone I work with. Microsoft Office is the preferred piece of software and although I am careful, often I come across a situation where I have file in ODF (OpenDocument Format) and I only have access to Microsoft Office. ODF Plugin solves that problem.
ODF Plugin allows you to open files that are in ODF using Microsoft Office. It can be downloaded from this website (33Mb file). After downloading the .exe file, double-click to open and follow on-screen directions to install. Now, I keep a copy of that installation file on my USB disk so that, if necessary, I can always install it and use Microsoft Office to work with my ODF files.
Read more!
ODF Plugin allows you to open files that are in ODF using Microsoft Office. It can be downloaded from this website (33Mb file). After downloading the .exe file, double-click to open and follow on-screen directions to install. Now, I keep a copy of that installation file on my USB disk so that, if necessary, I can always install it and use Microsoft Office to work with my ODF files.
Read more!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Backup and keep 'em in sync with Dropbox
As a Linux/Mac user, I use good old rsync to keep files on all my computers in sync. My wife on the other hand is not CLI-savvy and is a Vista user. How should she keep files backed up and in sync? My answer: Get Dropbox!
When all the tech details are left for the techies, here is what Dropbox does: creates a 'My Dropbox' folder on your computer and keeps its contents backed up on its server. If you chose, you can put Dropbox in another computer and the program will make sure that the contents in the Dropbox folders of your computers and the web server are always in sync. The beauty of the system is that all of this is done automatically without any user input.
If you want to get going, here is what you do. First, get dropbox. Download the program and install it. During installation, it will ask you if you are a new user or if you already have an account with them. If you are new, create an account with Dropbox - it uses your email address as UserID. When the program is installed, it puts a 'My Dropbox' folder in the 'Documents' folder of the user (this is the case in Vista. I am assuming it does something similar in Mac and Linux too). Whatever you want to backup, just drag those files into the 'My Dropbox' folder and you are all set! There is a small Dropbox icon put in your taskbar next to the clock. If you right-click on it, it will show you a status of the synchronization process (Backing up for the first time can take a little while depending on the amount of stuff and your internet connection. Subsequent synchronization processes are very fast). Whenever, the files in 'My Dropbox' folder are changed or moved or deleted, those changes are synchronized with the web server automatically. The program detects if you have internet connection and if you do, it will automatically keep the files in sync. When you do not have access to the internet, the program will wait until you get access and then resume the synchronization process.
The program has a nice and simple web interface too. This lets you access all those files you backed up from any web browser. Also, you can use this program to share files with friends and family. Put all the files you want to share in 'Public' folder and send the unique link to the recipient. File sharing made simple!
What's the catch? 2GB is all you get. So, this is not the kind of program you want to use to backup all your music and photo collections. But, it is a pretty neat program to keep your important documents and files backed up.
Read more!
When all the tech details are left for the techies, here is what Dropbox does: creates a 'My Dropbox' folder on your computer and keeps its contents backed up on its server. If you chose, you can put Dropbox in another computer and the program will make sure that the contents in the Dropbox folders of your computers and the web server are always in sync. The beauty of the system is that all of this is done automatically without any user input.
If you want to get going, here is what you do. First, get dropbox. Download the program and install it. During installation, it will ask you if you are a new user or if you already have an account with them. If you are new, create an account with Dropbox - it uses your email address as UserID. When the program is installed, it puts a 'My Dropbox' folder in the 'Documents' folder of the user (this is the case in Vista. I am assuming it does something similar in Mac and Linux too). Whatever you want to backup, just drag those files into the 'My Dropbox' folder and you are all set! There is a small Dropbox icon put in your taskbar next to the clock. If you right-click on it, it will show you a status of the synchronization process (Backing up for the first time can take a little while depending on the amount of stuff and your internet connection. Subsequent synchronization processes are very fast). Whenever, the files in 'My Dropbox' folder are changed or moved or deleted, those changes are synchronized with the web server automatically. The program detects if you have internet connection and if you do, it will automatically keep the files in sync. When you do not have access to the internet, the program will wait until you get access and then resume the synchronization process.
The program has a nice and simple web interface too. This lets you access all those files you backed up from any web browser. Also, you can use this program to share files with friends and family. Put all the files you want to share in 'Public' folder and send the unique link to the recipient. File sharing made simple!
What's the catch? 2GB is all you get. So, this is not the kind of program you want to use to backup all your music and photo collections. But, it is a pretty neat program to keep your important documents and files backed up.
Read more!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Fair Hill NRMA Green Trail
Recently, we went biking on the Green trail in Fair Hill NRMA.
Fair Hill NRMA has several biking trails. Five of them are well maintained and marked with colored blazes on the maps that are put up at the parking areas. Apart from these five colored trails, there are several interconnecting trails. If you want a map for yourself, you can either buy it from the Park Office or order one here.
From Fair Hill NRMA Trail Guide:
Map is shown below:
View Larger Map
Read more!
Fair Hill NRMA has several biking trails. Five of them are well maintained and marked with colored blazes on the maps that are put up at the parking areas. Apart from these five colored trails, there are several interconnecting trails. If you want a map for yourself, you can either buy it from the Park Office or order one here.
From Fair Hill NRMA Trail Guide:
Green Trail 5.5 miles - moderate
The Green Trail is comprised of a combination of double-track and single-track trail. The majority of the trail consists of old farm roads and passes by the historic covered bridge. Hiking the Green Trail will require approximately two hours.
Map is shown below:
View Larger Map
Read more!
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