Windows Vista / Windows 2008 SP2 x64

Sorry I missed out on the previous post. The links were for the 32 bits version only.
Here is the 64 bits version of the SP2:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=656c9d4a-55ec-4972-a0d7-b1a6fedf51a7&displaylang=en

Ebay punishes Linux sellers as pirates

I found out that I was not alone. Many others who sells linux and other software from FSF, GNU or GPL are suspended, banned or otherwise by Ebay.

Here is one case dated back to 2003:
http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/33254
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/171/RipOff0171047.htm
https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/general-10/ebay-threatens-to-delete-my-account-for-selling-linux-296019/
http://www.lawguru.com/cgi/bbs/message.php?i=139125480&view=a

There is even a forums for ebay suspended users:
http://www.modeeworld.com/forums/ebay-suspensions/

I think the whole idea why free software does not take off is because there are organization like Ebay which still probably lives in a well or something.

Windows Vista SP2 and Windows 2008 SP2

Strangely both of them are using the same file... In any case, here it is finally:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a4dd31d5-f907-4406-9012-a5c3199ea2b3&DisplayLang=en

This download if for 5 major languages. I bet you the English only is much smaller.

Ebay still don't get it!!! LINUX IS PIRACY

I made a complain about Linux and ebay reply with this:

Thank you for writing eBay in regards to your removed listing.

We carefully reviewed the following listings:

XXXXXXXXXX - Mandriva ONE 2009 Free x64 64 bits DVD
XXXXXXXXXX - Mandriva ONE 2009 Free x86 32 bits DVD

and found that we took the correct action. Your listing was removed
because it violated the eBay Unauthorized Copies policy.

For more information on listing unauthorized copies on eBay, please
visit:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Georgia
eBay Customer Support

and its very clear to ebay that Linux falls under:

Counterfeits, unauthorized replicas, unauthorized items (such as counterfeit watches, handbags, or other accessories) or unauthorized copies (such as copies of software programs, video games, music albums, movies, television programs, or photographs) are not permitted on eBay. Unauthorized copies include (but are not limited to) copies that are pirated, duplicated, backed-up or bootlegged. It is illegal to sell unauthorized copies of media.

So, I guess ebay stand is that as long as its Microsoft, thats original. Linux is nothing but a counterfeit of Windows. Well, tell that to the world!

Apple Java is still not patched (after 6 months!)

Apple JVM has a critical vulnerability which enable malicious code execution on OSX based Apple. This vulnerability which was acknowledged early this year by Sun, has a couple of working exploit floating around and a PoC at the URL below:

http://landonf.bikemonkey.org/static/moab-tests/CVE-2008-5353/hello.html

There should be no reason why this is not patched, even after 6 months by Apple. In fact, this exploit was used in CanSecWest, but was disqualified because it has been patched by JRE 6 Patch 11. However all version including JRE 6 Patch 10 and below are affected. The catch though was that all has been patched except Apple.

So, my advice is : Apple people should disabled JAVA in both Safari and Firefox until this is fixed. Yes, that means no Internal Banking too. Run your Windows Vista via dual boot if you have to.

Secondly, also disable running of "Safe" download in your OSX.

Well, or be like me, DON'T USE OSX. :) Nope, sorry, I just notice not everyone knows how to install Windows Vista on a Mac.

Sophos Antivirus speaks Klingon

Yes, for all the Star Trek fans out there, there is a free (30 days) antivirus from Sophos now for download at:

http://www.sophos.com/klingon-anti-virus/

Well, its not all Klingon, there is also an English version for the Earth people there as well.

Blog Gone HD

Well, not really, but I had changed to a new template which allows the blog to be widen like in a HD 16:9 mode. I hope, this will allow me to post richer content without disrupting the layout too much.

I hope you will like this new format.

Soler 風的季節 MV

ATI Catalyst 9.5 Suite is out!

Finally, after the long wait. I found this from the TechPowerUp website with direct links to all version of hte Catalyst 9.5 drivers. If you has read my previous post you will know that mainly the upgrade is necessary for anyone on the HD 4770 cards and using crossfire. I am installing right now. Hope this finally fixes the issues.

ATI Catalyst 9.5 for Windows XP 32-bit Windows XP 64-bit Windows Vista/7 32-bit Windows Vista/7 64-bit

Update : Works perfectly with CrossFire. After reboot, automatically enabled. Yeah, kicks some ass in Furmark with 150 fps and COH with 70fps average :)

Modding the Epson TX100 Inkjet Printer with CISS

CISS is very popular nowadays. In fact, it is even cheaper than to use 3rd party ink cartridges. However, printer makes like Epson would want to make life hell for you because they insist that 3rd party ink are pirated and they are losing money selling you printers at hundreds of dollars. Whether you believe this or not, CISS is the way to go.

This model I am particularly talking about is the Epson entry level TX100. The difficulties in fitting in CISS is that it has 3 closed compartments and moving in bettwen them doesn't give much room for the CISS tubes. In fact, Epson ensure you have make a mess by moving the printer head occasionally at high speed from left extreme to right extreme just to tear our your tubes. Plus, the 2 compartments have plastic blocking any 3rd party objects so that when the printer detects a lag in the movement of the print head, it will refused to print. Anyway, people who had modded this will know what I meant.

I had found a way to put in the CISS without cutting off any parts of the printer. Well, there are some ways that involves sawing off part of the plastic, but I will show you why you do not need to now.

Firstly, you will need to get cheap holders like the ones shown in the diagrams below. Make sure they stick well. Do not bother with expensive mounting tapes. I had tried 3M's super heavy weight, the tube just come out with the movements. Lets first identify the secret of how this is going to work. We are going to put the tube over this small hole as shown here :

Next, we will mount the first point as shown:

After putting in the first clip we need to put one or 2 more at the other side as follows :

I would suggest we have these 2 reversed holding. the inner one holds down (to prevent springing up) and the outer one hold up (to prevent falling into the rail track).

As for the remaining, just make sure you measure and allow or the print head to move in right and left extreme. Then tape the remaining as follows :

For the last portion, notice I did not use the clips because it will rise the scanner and you may find that you cannot close properly. Just normal mounting tapes will be good for this.

In addition, if you want to, you can find a compartment behind the printer. Open it and you will see a white tube. Take that out and connect it to a waste ink container (which you can make from CD cake box etc). However, even if you do so, the printer will eventually complain the waste ink is full. You will still need a software to reset it before you can use it.

RIP Lenovo System Update

I remember I praised this system update application from Lenovo not long ago. It is a great software to obtain a one-stop download for all affected applications for Lenovo systems. However, I did not know why, this application has suddenly stop updating.

Browsing from Lenovo website, I found this article:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-72207.html

From the look of it, it seems they had decided to stop supporting this application and change the way how update can be delivered... Well, I know what you may be thinking. Windows Update integration. Well, we will just have to keep our fingers crossed.

Anyway, R.I.P. Lenovo System Update.

Grub Option for Ubuntu 9.04 on Virtual PC 2007 SP1

I seems to see some people run into issues after a reboot with Ubuntu 9.04 on the MS Virtual PC 2007 SP1. I did not have this issue and Ubuntu boots fine. However, maybe its some setting in GRUB that is preventing a proper boot up... Anyway here is my configuration for menu.lst:


title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-11-generic
uuid a6c101f9-5125-4826-8a28-266a9398162b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic root=UUID=a6c101f9-5125-4826-8a28-266a9398162b ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-11-generic (recovery mode)
uuid a6c101f9-5125-4826-8a28-266a9398162b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-11-generic root=UUID=a6c101f9-5125-4826-8a28-266a9398162b ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-11-generic

title Ubuntu 9.04, memtest86+
uuid a6c101f9-5125-4826-8a28-266a9398162b
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

Oh, and lastly, do remember to eject your CD / DVD before rebooting, otherwise you will keep going back to the installation screen!

ATI Crossfire X Issue with Vista 64 bits 6GB RAM

I was very vert disappointed with ATI driver support. Although they only comes out once per month or less, their drivers are much more unstable as compared to Nvidia's which I think we have at least 1 or 2 per week. I wonder just how much differences are there in the 2 teams in terms of skills and number.

Anyway, I realized that even till today's Catalyst 9.4, the Radeon HD 4770 is not supported fully. For Windows 7, its a total no go, although there is article that mention that HD 4770 drivers will be build in in the final release:

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13231&Itemid=1

I have RC release and it is not at all supported for now.

The biggest issue comes when people like me tries to be powermongy about the graphics card. The (in)famous CrossFire X(tm) configuration. As you can see from this review:

http://en.expreview.com/2009/04/28/first-look-at-radeon-hd-4770-crossfire-benchmark.html

There is definitely a reason why I should go for a 2xHD4770 CrossFire X instead of the HD4890 or HD4870.

The big problem is that CrossFire X is not really supported well on Vista 64 or 6GB of RAM in any order or both, which I have. After staring for it and getting blue screens plus "incompatible display" error 43, I got pointed to a "special" driver by a friend from some hardware benchmark site. Thanks again, and I respect your request not to mentioned who and which site you are from.

In any case, there is a beta driver which works in the above configuration from here:
http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/GPU-6-HotfixthatfixesErrorCode.aspx

I hope this post helps any of your out there with Error 43 and CrossFire X issues.

Installing Ubuntu 9.04 on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 SP1

The default installation hangs somewhere. This is similar to Fedora Core 10 that I describe before. The solution is somehow similar.

Boot Ubuntu 9.04 up. On the first screen, choose [English].
Then press [F4] and select [Safe Graphics].
Then press [F6], but do not select any option. Instead press [Escape] and it will allow you to change the command line. Remove the option "quiet splash --" and replace it with "vga=791 noreplace-paravirt" instead.
Press [Enter] to start the installation.

I will expect more issue with the grub menu and other options later on, but my VM is still installing as I type here, so I won't know at this point of time. I will update again on a later post if there is any other issues.

Update: Yes, as pointed out by a commenter below, it is also possible to access command line by pressing [Esc]. However, you had better somehow remember the whole command, because it is not echoed onto the screen.

Update: Also note that during the bootup, it will take a while at the message that said squashfs.... Do not panic. That is normal.

Update: Near the end of the installation, at about 97%, there is a long wait to remove software packages. This is normal.

Slayers Evolution R Ending - Spoilers

Slayers Evolution ended about 2 weeks ago with some loose ends still unsolved. Lina Inverse has her hair turned white, perhaps due to the over usage of Giga-Slay. Although the ending, they did show her hair back to orange. One of them must be a glitch. Pokoda lose his hair/hand but was seen sew back by the villager in the ending. The truth of the Red Wizard Reizon was revealed, but was revealed to be a anti-hero rather than a villian. And the reason why the series was named Slayers is finally revealed.

1. But what happened to Maria, the enchanted armor? Where did she return to?
2. What happened to Gaori's Sword of Light? (Maybe I forgotten this... Was this in the past series?)

Well, I do hope we see more of Slayers. This is one wonderful series.

Ebay Still Thinks Linux Are Works of Piracy

Well, just because you can download torrent for Linux such as Mandrake, Fedora and Ubuntu from sites like ThePirateBay.com, it does not may these Linux needs to be works of piracy. For that matters, many things you can download from torrent sites are open source, freeware or public domain.

However, Ebay certain do not think so. Although after cutting and quoting GPL license and such, Ebay has reverted my account and standing, I believe they simply did nothing to their "robotic" engine which flag all Linux as Piracy. On top of that I still suffered more than 1 week of suspension which definitely equates to opportunity lost and a dent on my reputation.

I am not very thrilled to try and list another Linux for sale because of this. I had wrote to Ebay a few times and all I ever get back is cut and paste response with no regards to whatever I wrote in the question.

I guess I will just have to accept the fact. As far as Ebay is concern, all Linux are piracy and you will get severely punished for listing them.

Gamebooster FREE Software for Disabling Unnecessary Services During Gameplay

From the same company that made the FREEWARE Advance SystemCare and Smart Defrag, comes another FREEWARE product which enables the user to temporary disable background process and services during gameplay to enhance system performance. This is Gamebooster.

This is a free product which I find it useful when you want to run a intensive application or game and does not want the background process to weigh down the system performance for a while. This products works in Windows 7 as well!

Read and download from:
http://iobit.com/gamebooster.html

Linux is piracy... According to Ebay

Recently I had an incident with ebay which I felt very upset about. On one hand the linux world is trying so hard to push the concept of FREE open source software, then I got slam in my face because ebay consider linux pirated software.

My incident is pretty much similar to this:
http://www.linux.com/feature/27022
which was upssetting since it was in 2002. Basically, ebay pull the plug on my auction stating that the Linux I am selling is counterfeit and I should not list them again in the future.

Perhaps it people around south east asis is still very much stuff with the concept that software must come in a box and must be printed in factories. To be honest, even from Microsoft, I had tons of legal software which I do not even have the media for each license. All that matters was the piece of paper that state my rights to the software and the COA. In terms of moving ahead, Microsoft had done their parts not to make too much extra CD/DVD. Imagine if I needed like 101 copies of WinXP just to prove its original when I have the site license for it?

On the other hand, I guess open source software did not do its part to educate the world, well, at least not ebay. I had passed a friend of mine a DVD-R copy of Fedora and he whisper... "Err, we cannot use pirated software here... but btw, what's the CD-KEY?" I stared blankly at him. Obviously, FREE open source doesn't archive that it is suppose so.

But ebay really took it to the top. Linux IS piracy. Haha, I bet Microsoft guys must be laughing off their chairs now. Any copy, or for that matters, even my printed version of Ubuntu IS piracy. I am simply not allowed to sell Linux!!! That doesn't happens with Microsoft or other software. I listed them before and as long as I provides picture of the box, its perfectly ok.

I guess I could just walk and forget about Linux. It doesn't hurt because I wanted to do this more as a service than a profit. Some Linux are huge and I guess really painful for some users, I ust hope through me, it could reach out to them. Imagine downloading 4GB of data with a 2Mbps line.

Despite my contact to ebay, I believe I am speaking to a robot with the name of Sandra S. who simply cut and paste whatever ebay policy there is no matter what I ask or type in my request. This is probably something I did not need to do. Just tell myself, it is pointless fighting for it. Just accept the fact, Linux IS piracy. So, we all should stop selling pirated software such as Linux (including Mandriva, Fedora, Ubuntu, OpenSuse) on ebay. Yes, just switch to Windows. Its the only legal operating system regconized by ebay.

Conficker Eye Chart AKA Conficker Scanner for Dummies

Loading 6 pictures will give you a status of whether you are (likely) to be infected. Unless the DNS has been screwed up or something, I see this check as perfectly easy and effective.

http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org/infection_test/cfeyechart.html