Thursday, January 29, 2009

Flashplayer for Firefox & Opera on OpenSolaris

As you know OpenSoalris comes with Firefox browser, however it doesn't include Adobe flashplayer plugin so you can't see any flash-based contents like watching video clips on YouTube.
If you are a novice to OpenSolaris, here you can find basic instructions of how to install flashplayer on Opera and Firefox on OpenSolaris.
In order to install Adobe Falshplayer you have to download the Solaris version of flashplayer from Adobe website here .
If you go on the default download page like the one above you need to choose 'Different operating systems or browsers'.
Choose 'Solaris' from the drop-down list.
Choose x86 from the second box unless you have a Sparc system. Click on 'Agree and install now' and then 'save file'. Here I saved the file on my 'Desktop'.
What you just downloaded is a zipped folder with .bz2 extension. You need to right click on the zipped file and then choose 'Extract Here'. Now your files are extracted into a folder with the same name on your desktop. There are two files in that folder and we are interested in 'libflashplayer.so'.
Then go on the Terminal. login as super-user: type SU and then enter your root password if there is any. In this stage you have to copy the file (libflashplayer.so) into the plugins folder of your Firefox.
type : CP (address of the extracted file) (space) (address of plugins folder of firefox)
In this case it is:

CP /export/home/tiger/Desktop/flash_player_solaris _r151_x86/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/

Note: Tiger is my username, you can replace that with your own username if everything else is the same.
You shouldn't get any errors and after you enter the command it should be like above.
OPERA : Opera is also available for OpenSolaris.
Choose the latest version for Solaris which is 9.63.
The same instructions apply to opera browser but instead of the plugins folder of firefox, you need to enter the address of opera plugins folder.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

ZFS & Dtrace Rock

Have you ever lost valuable data? Well, it happens to everyone...However with ZFS the probability goes down to zero..

ZFS is a new file system developed by Sun Microsystems providing a fundamentally new approach to data management . Whatever the situation, with ZFS you can always roll back to previous versions of your data or in other words 'restore' it.

With ZFS not only do you always have automatic backups but also it provides higher level of security. These are not the only features, there is a number of additional advantages which are becoming more evident to many big vendors but is out of the scope of this post.

Nowadays an ever increasing number of companies are turning to Sun Microsystems to help them achieve more reliable storage solutions and higher security.

Apart from this fantastic storage solution, Sun provides a powerful tool called 'Dtrace' which can be used on MySql to estimate or monitor the execution times of the query parsing or even to determine whether query uses query catch or not.

Tonight, Martin Brown amazed everyone by his fantastic presentation on MySql, ZFS and DTrace at Sun's customer briefing centre in London.

I Loved it..Geeks were speechless!!..and guess what?..the whole presentation was run on MAC rather than Solaris to prove full compatibility.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Microsoft Windows 7 (BETA)

Well, even though I'm not a big fan of Microsoft products since Windows XP SP3, I kind of felt tempted to give a try to Windows 7 beta after reading a number of highly positive reviews from the trusted experts.
After completing the registration process I was given a license number which apparently is valid till August 09. It's a relatively large image file (2.5 GB) which needs to be recorded onto a DVD. But surely there is no operating system safer, smoother, faster and more reliable than OpenSolaris by Sun Microsystems. Not because I work for Sun, Nope, because it really is reliable and nothing makes me feel better more than assurance.

Haven't you noticed the paradox??
Windows Vista in the background, Visual Studio on the desktop and still nagging about Microsoft!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Day After Tomorrow?

You probably remember the movie 'The Day After Tomorrow' and the fact that how climate change can lead to a disaster. Apart from the huge exaggerations which made the movie quite exciting, it was still based on some proven scientific facts. A shaft in the major ice shelves within either of the polar regions or melting the ice shelves, will result in a total climate change all over the world which all stem from a minor increase in atmosphere temperature or what we call "Global Warming".
Interestingly new studies have shown that is actually beginning to happen. Here is the link to the BBC news.
To make it short, these are the highlights which would interest you.
  1. Scientists say data from satellites and weather stations indicate a warming of about 0.6C over the last 50 years.
  2. The continent of Antarctica is warming up in step with the rest of the world, according to a new analysis.
  3. Meanwhile, scientists in Antarctica say a major ice shelf is about to break away from the continent.
  4. The Wilkins Ice Shelf is said to be "hanging by a thread" from the Antarctic Peninsula, the strip of land pointing from the white continent towards the southern tip of South America.
  5. A BAS team currently on site is reporting that the Wilkins shelf, about 15,000 sq km in area, is probably about to break free.
  6. "It really could go at any minute, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the final cracks started to appear very soon," said BAS's David Vaughan.
  7. Last year, scientists from the UK Met Office used climate models to attribute trends at the poles, and concluded that human emissions of greenhouse gases were largely responsible for the observed warming.
  8. A much bigger question is whether the new analysis of Antarctic warming heralds any major melting in the West Antarctic ice sheet, which could lead to big changes in sea level and global impacts.
Source :BBC News

Friday, January 16, 2009

Just Say 'NO'

Say No to whatever : wastes your time, forces you unwanted costs, spoils your mood, breaks your privacy, ruins your social life and limits your freedom.

So Just Say NO
to
 FACEBOOK
Apple iphone
Microsoft Windows Vista
Apple MAC OS ( Excluding Safari Browser)
&
...
I wish I had more freedom to talk my mind... 
But I'm using Google services!!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

It's been a long day!!

I started my day in a hurry..Very badly woken up to dozens of annoying door bell ringing...inconsiderate people!!...

Had to be at my office from 10:00 to 18:00 researching IEEE papers on some interesting (yet very frustrating due to lack of novel papers) topic.

My token card's battery seems dead, so I have no access to SWAN. I've been getting emails that my password will expire in a few days time and with this battery issue there is no way around it.

I got in touch with my fellow-research co-workers to get their memberships sorted out on our new Sun community. Since I distributed all the kits and booklets I am now officially out of supply. Contacted Michael for my token card and more supplies.

Thank god, he always replies to my emails quickly.

Well, I also contacted Vicki (my previous postgraduate coordinator) to get two signed and stamped copies of my transcript which took me an hour to work out how to grant her digital access. Well this one is finally sorted out too.

Got a few emails from my supervisor warning me about 'the missing log' from last week's meeting which I have no idea how it happened.

Weizi, one of my colleagues is back from China who told me about his long adventure and how Lufthansa let him down by some flight cancellations which led him to a night at Frankfurt airport. Honestly It couldn't get any worse.

Attended my french lecture which I almost fainted in the middle of the session. Then rushed to Prof.Mcoven's lecture on entrepreneurship which gave me a great chance for an hour of comfortable sleep.

I am exhausted..Really am..

Friday, January 09, 2009

Nostalgia !!

Fardad, Shahrad, MeOctober/2004

Sometimes when you look back over what you have been through in the past and remember those particular joyful times you've had with your friends, suddenly you realize how much you’ve missed them and feel rather nostalgic.

At the time, we wouldn’t even think of being apart from each other, but as life’s got its own will, in the blink of an eye, we found ourselves quite distant, not only for a while but almost as it seems a lifetime. The same applies to our family and siblings.

Maybe this isn’t the case for you, but it very well describes my past since I have fell apart from many good friends over the years.

Today very accidentally I happened to talk to my best friend's brother, who also became one of my friends five years ago.

Although we’ve never been very close and at some points we had pretty serious clashes over different issues, but just talking to Shahrad brought too many memories back of my undergrad years.

When I heard his voice on Skype, I suddenly began recalling a group of friends,who spent much of their time happily together.

But all those cheerful moments have faded away.

My Undergrad friends: Ali,Ashkan,Fardad,Ionnis,Luij,Omid,Shahrad.

I’ve also missed a few friends from high school

Abbas, Sadegh, Taha,…

Oh , …

Fardad, Omid

Me, Fardad
Ionnis, Luij, Me Fardad, Me, Omid
Ionnis Sadegh, Mansour, Me
Ionnis, Luij, Fardad Adnan, Ali, Xang, Tinashe, Me

But guys if you are reading this post, I know I’ve been in touch with most o you from time to time.

But Ionnis, I haven’t heard from you for ages.

Last time you mentioned, you were serving your compulsory term in Greek military. Please drop me an email if by any chance you come across this post.

Best Wishes to you all.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

!! Congratulations Matt !!

Our Best Congratulations
To
Matt & Veneta
On Your Engagement

Matt, one of my best mates got engaged on new year's eve.
New Year's Eve??...Yeah!!.. Wow.. Dude...How Romantic !!!. We wish you and Veneta the best of luck and happiness together in the years to come.

From your Firends: Mo,Jeff,Carlos,Claire,Virginia

Claire,Me,Carlos,Jeff,MattFrom Left: Claire,Me,Carlos,Jeff,Matt

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Lausanne is beautiful

Following my previous post, here is my switzerland pictures. Well, During my trip to Switzerland apart from Geneve which I was staying in, I made visits to Lausanne and Berne. In a country of spectacular natural beauty Lussane is the most beautiful of cities. One of the best spots there is the 15th century Castle of Maire. Walking along the shores of famed lake Geneva is so relaxing and pleasant.
It's a pity that I lost many pictures due to some failure with my memory card but I think I still have some nice ones left.
Lausanne Train Station
This place below was amazing I could find all sorts of cheese in there. I love cheese and I was really enjoying going around the supermarket trying different kinds of cheese. Apparently this cheese shop is called "Au Paradis du Fromage" which means "The Cheese Paradise".

Short Trip to Barcelona

Recently made a couple of short trips to Spain and Switzerland mainly for business or better to say Business-Academic purposes. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed the weather specially in Barcelona as it was much warmer.
Took a lot of pictures but lost a lot of them thanks to the damn memory card. Here are the Barcelona ones and Switzerland's would be in the next post probably.
Luckily I could get to the Barcelona Vs Real Madrid Match at the FC Barcelona stadium.