Linux on a Stick

Fedora 9 Puts Your Desktop on a USB Drive

This week's release of the Fedora 9
Linux distribution makes putting a full-fledged desktop on a portable
USB thumb drive a three-click affair. Even better, you don't need Linux installed to create it, you can leave the data on your thumb drive
untouched, and any files you create or settings you tweak remain in
place the next time you boot up. After the jump, let's create a
fully-functional desktop-to-go using a simple Windows program and a 1GB
or larger thumb drive.

Why Fedora?

Turning a live CD ISO into a bootable USB image has been possible for
some time now, but it usually involves some heavy lifting with the
command line, and almost always in Linux. Fedora's liveusb-creator
program makes USB imaging dead simple, and the Fedora distribution
itself has a lot going for it. The latest "community" version of Red
Hat's Linux package benefits from the same updates to the GNOME desktop that Ubuntu's Hardy Heron includes, and KDE fans get a pretty full-featured version that runs on the customizable KDE 4. You can see a full list of updates and improvements to Fedora 9 here, but it's best to check it out for yourself. Here's how.

Make your live USB

First we'll need to grab Fedora's liveusb-creator tool by grabbing the zip file listed under "Download," extracting it and running the liveusb-creator.exe file found inside in Windows.

The top options on the window let you choose to use a live Fedora CD
image you've already downloaded or have the tool grab a copy of the
standard Fedora 9 disc itself. If you'd rather grab the file yourself
or download it through a torrent, use one of the links listed under
"live media" at the Fedora Project. Plug in your USB drive if you haven't already, and make sure it's selected in the "Target" field. Don't worry about files you've got on there—as long as the tool has space to put Fedora on there, it won't
touch your other files.

The slider to the right is the most important part—"Persistent
Overlay" is the space on the thumb drive you want to use for storing
your files and settings. The Fedora system itself is going to take up
roughly the size of a stuffed CD; using an empty 1GB thumb drive, I
chose 205MB for the overlay, which left 63MB free, but you can scale
that up for larger drives or down if you want more free space. Keep in
mind that any files you store on the drive itself can be accessed from
inside your USB-booted system, so a bigger persistent overlay isn't
always necessary.

Hit "Create Live USB," and watch the creator do its thing. Once it's
done, your stick is probably ready to get plugged in and booted up.

Fix booting problems

I say "probably" because there's a chance, especially if you've donesome formatting or other live-booting experiments, that you'll get anerror at boot-up stating there's "No partition active" or somethingsimilar. If that's the case, head to your Start menu's "Run" command("Start search" box in Vista), type in diskpartand hit Enter. You'll get a "DISKPART>" command prompt, where youshould follow these commands to mark your USB drive as "active."

• list disk (Note the number that corresponds to your USB drive, usually "1")
• select disk 1 (Assuming "1" was your USB drive
• list partition (If you multi-partitioned your USB drive, select the right one, otherwise we'll assume "1")
• select partition 1
• active
• exit

Customize your persistent desktop

Now
you should be set to boot into Fedora 9. You'll see a splash screen counting down from 10 when you boot (hit Enter twice to speed it up),and you'll land at a desktop that's pretty much a fresh Fedora 9 install. You can access to your USB drive's files from here, connect to
a wired or wireless network with the icon in the upper-right system tray, and you've got a solid set of built-in applications—Firefox 3
Beta 5, the GIMP, Pidgin, the Transmission BitTorrent client, and a pretty nifty Bluetooth manager, to name a few. Want to add Thunderbird or OpenOffice.org? Head to the upper-left menus and click to System->Administration->Add/Remove Programs. Anything you install goes into your "persistent overlay," so as long as you've got

space for it, you can add whatever you'd like. Now it's time to explore and get familiar with a GNOME-based Linux system (or KDE 4, depending on which image you grabbed). Here are a few suggestions on helpful tweaks you might want to make once you're set up:

• 

Enable your NTFS drives:If you've loaded a USB Fedora on a system with Windows installed,you'll want to open up Add/Remove Programs, search for "ntfs-config,"and install that package. From the System menu again, choose NTFSConfig, and you can select the drives you want to have access to.Sync data with your Windows apps: Once you can seeyour NTFS drives on your desktop, you can use your established settingsin Firefox 3, Thunderbird, Pidgin, and other apps if you're booting onthe same system as Windows. Check out our guide to dual-booting with shared data; if you're using Firefox 2 in Windows and only want to replicate bookmarks in Fedora, the GMarks synchronizer has updated to support versions 3 and 2.Turn off annoying system sounds: One misstepFedora makes, at least in my opinion, is enabling by default a slew oflittle chirps and whistles every time you click or do something. Tosilence them, head to System-Preferences->Hardware->Sound, clickthe "System" tab, and un-check the "Enable system sounds" box.You've now got a portable system that's great for rescuing un-bootablecomputers, bringing your favorite work apps on the go, or just testingout Linux with realistic performance and custom options. What apps andtweaks have you made to your own live USB system? Share your tips, andquestions, in the comments.

source: http://lifehacker.com/391067/fedora-9-puts-your-desktop-on-a-usb-drive

Top 10 Cell Phone Etiquette Rules People Still Break

Posted by Dan in Random stuff

Do
we really still need to talk about this? You’d think with over a decade
of experience under our belts along with our inherent delusions of
hyper sophistication that we’d have figured things out by now. But the
sad truth remains: cell-phone douche-baggery is worse than ever! In
terms of maturity levels, many of us rank amongst toddlers,
interrupting anyone and anything with our loud nonsense, our little
fingers obsessively pushing buttons with what’s left of our attention
spans constantly distracted by various bells, whistles, and bright
colors on tiny screens. This ridiculous need to be in touch with all
people at all times is getting out of hand, and while we think we are
staying more connected with each other, we are in fact treating those
closest to us like China treated the Mongols. We’re building giant
walls people! The following are basic cell phone
rules of etiquette which people still can’t seem to follow. In fact,
they should be called “How to use your common sense and remain polite
in a human society.” Read them, learn them, and absorb them into your
system as you would the vitamins from a mango smoothie.

1. Talking too loudly.

“YES! FOR THE LOVE OF BABY JESUS, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW!” For some
bizarre reason people feel the need to raise their voices while on
their phones. I think we’ve come far enough, technologically speaking,
to trust the phone’s microphone to adequately amplify and carry your
voice. Your mouth couldn’t physically be any closer to the microphone,
so unless you’re talking into it from a Captain Kirk distance or
calling in an airstrike while under heavy machine gun fire, there’s no
need to yell. Hell, even Kirk never raised his voice and he was
communicating with an alcoholic Scotsman on a space ship!

Note: There are attention-seekers out there who speak loudly on
purpose to “show off” recent accomplishments and victories to impress
surrounding strangers. Do not hate on them too much, they were probably
adopted and are cursed to constantly seek approval from anyone within
earshot.

2. Holding inappropriate conversations in public.

No one needs to hear how wasted you were last night, or what color
your boyfriend’s boxers were on the night the two of you, um, “played
Scrabble.” Keep your personal conversations personal. If you don’t want
people to see you crying in line at the bank or while ordering a
stuffed-crust pizza, refrain from having emotional conversations in
public. Offer to call the person back, step outside, or find a quiet
place where you can openly and unabashedly describe your new foot
fungus.

3. Rudely interrupting conversations.

Have you ever felt the only way to maintain a conversation with the
person right in front of you is to give them a call? Ever arrive at the
climax of a hilarious story, only to have the momentum ruined by
“Sorry, I gotta take this”? Why is the disembodied voice of someone
else more important than the flesh and blood standing before you? It’s
very frustrating to stand around waiting while your “friend,” date, or
family member gets into a phone conversation on your time. When this
happens, I recommend simply walking away. Even when you’re sitting in a
restaurant, if your date would rather chat with someone else, then you
should get up and leave immediately to find someone else. Or, as I
mentioned earlier, call them on their other line. “Hey, how’s it going?
How’s your sea bass? Isn’t the wine delicious?” If you can’t beat ‘em,
call ‘em.

4. Checking your phone at the movies.

Movie theatre announcements and people who are quick to “shhhh” have done a decent job of reducing reducing cell phone
rings over the years. But people are still checking their calls and
text messaging rfiends, silently, but equally annoyingly. There’s a
reason why we spend an arm and a leg to watch movies in the theatre.
When the lights go out and the screen lights up, we try to forget our
everyday troubles and we submerse ourselves into whatever the hell
world we bought tickets for. We escape. But when out of the corner of
our eyes we see someone’s entire face light up while they check their
phone messages, we’re yanked right back to reality and are reminded of
how many jerks per square foot there are in the world. Turn your phones
off, have a little consideration for the people around you. The world
won’t stop spinning if you’re unavailable for 2 hours. “But what if
there’s an emergency?” The odds of an actual emergency occurring are
astronomical. Besides, if there was an emergency, it already happened.
You already weren’t there, and chances are the people who could
actually do anything about it, already have.

5. Texting while driving.

Somebody please get the “Darwin Awards” on the phone. Of course, if
you’re driving when you do, make sure you’re on hands free or have
pulled over before you start explaining how there are people who send
texts while behind the wheel of a vehicle. According to a Harvard
University study, cell phones cause
over 200 deaths and half a million injuries each year. And that’s with
eyes on the road! Laws are in place to make sure people aren’t talking
on their phones, and yet people are typing?!?! (I very rarely use the
double question mark with the double exclamation point at the end of
sentences, but this is ridiculous) I would love to see the tombstone:
Was LOL when he WCTTFW (Went crashing through the freaking windshield)
Anyone caught texting while driving should be stripped of their driving
license forever.

6. Texting while talking.

You ever have someone try to listen to your story while text
messaging someone else? You want to give them points for making the
effort as they clumsily insert “oh yeahs” and “un huhs” at all the
wrong moments, cutting you off mid-sentence with a “no way” as they
furiously thumb type in your face, but at the same time you want to
volleyball spike their phone to the ground for being unbelievably rude.
A third option is tell better stories.

7. Texting small talk.

Does our friendship mean nothing? Have we become so lazy and
disinterested in each other’s lives that we’re asking people to sum up
their days with a text? “How r u?” “What’s up?” “What’s new?” These
arbitrary questions are annoying enough when asked in person, but at
least we have the ability to fire back equally insignificant responses
in one second or less. But expecting people to waste their time typing
“not bad, u?” or “same sh*t” or heaven forbid “let me tell you about my
day” is about as lame and pointless as your appendix.

8. Loud and annoying ringtones.

I was riding the bus to work one morning, when out of nowhere the
silence was shattered with screaming. It was the type of scream a frat
boy lets out when a serial killer is in the process of gutting him with
a fountain pen. I just about had a cardiac arrest and many of the
people on the bus jumped out of their seats. It was only when the
repetitive screaming suddenly tripled in volume that we all discovered
the culprit: a cell phone. Some jerk pulled the phone out of his
pocket, embarrassed at how loud it was, and accidentally dropped it on
the bus floor. The joke now on him, the whole bus watched in amusement
as this dude’s face grew redder and redder, scrambling to pick up and
silence the screams coming from his phone. While there are far too many
stupid ringtones
out there to mention here, the story makes the point: turn down your
stupid ringtone! No one thinks you’re clever, or funny, or musically
savvy when you’re little pocket jukebox interrupts their thoughts. That
guy on the bus probably thought his scream-tone was hysterical, but the
looks on everyone else’s face read loud and clear: “What a douche bag!”

9. Disturbing live performances.

Comedy shows, concerts, plays etc…Nothing boils my blood more than
having art ruined by a ringing cell phone. I nearly gave a security
guard a standing ovation when he grabbed a gentleman by the collar and
escorted him out of a Cirque du Soleil show for having his cell phone
go off during a particularly dangerous acrobatic stunt. You ruin
someone’s comedy act or interrupt an actor on stage, in turn spoiling
the experience for everyone around you who’s spent their hard earned
money on a night out, and you’re an arrogant douche-monkey who should
be put in the corner with the rest of the 5 year olds. But when you
disturb a performer who’s very life depends on needle-point focus and
concentration, you should be put in jail.

10. Location location location

There are countless locations where “taking the call” is
inappropriate and extremely annoying to those around you. The first two
off the top of my head as the most frustrating are in libraries, and
fast food restaurant lines. One of the last places on earth, aside from
an empty church or your own bathroom, where people can go to read,
think, and study in silence, is under attack by people who refuse to
disconnect from the outside world. Does the word SSSSHHHHH mean nothing
to you? Take the call outside, before someone throws “War and Peace” or
Stephen King’s “It” at your head.

While ordering food, there’s no need to explain how annoying a phone
call can be for both the restaurant staff and for the customers in line
behind you. Check out how one Subway restaurant dealt with this
problem. Again, if people are going to act like children we need to
treat them like children. Well played Subway, well played.

Here at Last: Copy-and-Paste Capabilities for the iPhone

By Scott Gilbertson
August 20, 2008



Want copy-and-paste features for your iPhone? Well, Apple still says it isn’t a priority, but luckily for you some developers have taken matters into their own hands and created a new framework that allows apps to pass data between themselves.

The main downside is that the new tools don’t work with Apple’s built-in apps. But until Apple admits copy-and-paste functionality is needed, at least you have a partial solution.

The key is a new open source iPhone app framework named OpenClip.

The problem with making copy and paste work on the iPhone is ensuring that your app doesn’t run afoul of the iPhone SDK agreement, which forbids background processes. Apple also forbids plugins, which makes it difficult for apps to communicate with each other.

Developer Zac White, who started the OpenClip foundation, figured out how to make an end run around the SDK limitations by using a shared space on the iPhone. Any application that includes the OpenClip framework can then access the
shared space and write data to it, thus enabling copy and paste between apps.

In other words, rather than trying to work with Apple’s limitations, White created a framework that other developers can include in their apps. Think of it as an opt-in clipboard.

So far Twittelator, WordPress and UItralinga have announced forthcoming apps with OpenClip, and MagicPad, Dial Zero, and Cocktails have expressed interest in supporting the project as well. If you’d like to check out the features in action, Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.tv got to play with some prototype apps:

video:
http://www.vimeo.com/1562944

source: http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/Here_at_Last%3A_Copy-and-Paste_Capabilities_for_the_iPhone

17 Portable Apps to Help Troubleshoot PC’s

Are you the one that your friends and family call every time theyhave a problem with their computer? Put these tools on your USB thumbdrive and troubleshooting will be that much easier. Please feel free - encouraged even - to suggest other helpful,portable troubleshooting apps. Just leave a comment and I’ll check outthe app then update the list accordingly.

1. AutoRuns (startup monitor)



The most comprehensive tool for info on auto-starting locations ofany startup monitor/utility. It shows you what programs are configuredto run during system bootup or login, and displays the entries in theorder Windows processes them. To download and/or get more details,click here.




2. Avira UnErase (file recovery)
   



File Recovery tool for Windows 2000 and XP. Install on a PC, thencopy the installation folder to your USB thumb drive. Though it’s nolonger officially supported, it’s still available for download, and itstill works. Download here.




3. Cleaner (PC optimization)
   



The popular PC optimization and privacy tool has a Portable Edition that you can download and install on your USB thumb drive. Related tutorial: How to use CCleaner to free up disk space on your Windows PC




4. ClamWin (anti-virus)
   



Following the instructions found here, you can carry the open-source anti-virus software ClamWin on your USB pen drive. Great for removing viruses when you’re unable to install anti-virus software on the host PC.




5. DBAN (secure disk eraser)
   

DBAN is a self-contained boot disk that securely wipes the harddisks of most computers. Download the USB flash drive version from http://dban.sourceforge.net.


Related tutorial: How to completely wipe all the data from your hard drive




6. JkDefrag (disk defrag)
   



JkDefrag is a portable disk defragmenter and optimizer for Windows2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/X64. Completely automatic and very easy to use,fast, low overhead, with several optimization strategies, and can handle floppies, USB disks, memory sticks, and anything else that lookslike a disk to Windows. And it’s open source.




7. K-MAC (MAC address changer)
   

Useful for network troubleshooting. Download here.




8. On-Screen Keyboard (virtual keyboard)
   



Working on a PC with a broken keyboard? Or one that has keys remapped to the strangest of places? On-Screen Keyboard will come in handy. Note: part of the PortableApps suite.




9. Portable MV RegClean (registery cleaner)
   

Registry cleaner for 32 and 64bit Windows. Also allows you to make backups of any registry change made by MV RegClean. Download here.




10. Portable UnInstall Cleaner (software uninstaller/cleaner)
    



When a program does not properly uninstall or problems occur in the uninstallation, there will be excess entries in the registry. UnInstallCleaner can delete these entries so that you don’t take the painstakingjob of cleaning the the registry manually. Download here.




11. Process Explorer (advanced task manager)
    

Hugely improved version of Windows Task Manager. Download here. Related tutorial: How to get detailed information on each running process in Windows




12. Restoration (file recovery)
    

Restoration is another file recovery tool, but this one works on Windows98/ME/2000/XP/Vista. If you’re trying to recover files in 2K or XP, tryAvira UnErase (see above) first.




13. Roadkil’s Boot Builder (create custom boot sectors)
    

Boot Builder
allows you to create your own custom boot sector from scratch. This utility allows you to recreate or restore boot sectors lost due to virus or other damage to a drive. Boot sectors can be imported/exported to a disk or created from a template. This program supports FAT and NTFS boot sector types.




14. SpyBot Search and Destroy (spyware removal)
    



Download SpyBot Search and Destroy, install it on your PC and then follow the instructions found here to make it portable. Related tutorial: How to remove spyware from your PC




15. System Spec (System Information Utility)
    

Find detailed information on the PC you’re troubleshooting. Works inWindows 2000 and XP completely, some info won’t be displayed (though itdoes work) on Windows 98 and ME. Download here.




16. TinyResMeter (real-time system and resources)
    



TinyResMeter provides real-time PC system and resource info in asmall display window, and detailed info when that window is selected.


Download here




17. What Is Transferring (TCP packet sniffer)
    

What Is Transferring is a portable packet sniffer for Windows 2000/XP. It can capture anddisplay the TCP/IP packets that pass through a network adapte. Very helpful for determining unwanted connections and then viewing what those connections have sent/recieved.




source: http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/07/21/15-portable-apps-to-help-troubleshoot-pcs/

more info portable application:

http://portableapps.com


http://pendriveapps.com

21 About:Config Hacks(Tweaks) For Firefox 3

Firefox 3 one of the maximum downloaded open source browser which has set a Guinness world record. Their were Over 8,000,000 downloads in 24 hours!. Along with Firefox 3 Spreadfirefox also got new cool look.

Firefox 3 about:config file is the core configuration file of Firefox. By editing about:config file we can get amazing hacks for Firefox 3. Firefox allows the users to change many preferences in the about:config file so it’s totally ethical to do it.Here is list of 21 Firefox 3 hacks & tweaks.

To get the Firefox 3 configuration file type “about:config” at address bar.

Here is List of about:config hacks for Firefox 3

1) Disable Extension Compatibility Checks
extensions.checkCompatibility = False
extensions.checkUpdateSecurity = False




2) Location Bar (Set number Auto Complete URL at Address Bar)

This is a good hack to trim down that huge auto-complete list on your URL bar. By default it displays maximum 12 URL

browser.urlbar.maxRichResults = #

Enter Number at # (3,10,12 etc)

3) Stop Displaying Website Icon (Favicon) in Address bar & On Tab

browser.chrome.site_icons = False

4) Disable Prefetch (Helpful for frequent Google searcher, low-speed internet connection or low RAM)

network.prefetch-next = False

5) Extend Spell check to forms

layout.spellcheckDefault = 2
Change Value from 1 to 2

6) Disable Blinking Text

browser.blink_allowed = False

7) Speed Tweaks

network.http.pipelining false to true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests 30 to 8
network.http.max-connections 30 to 96
network.http.max-connections-per-server 15 to 32
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server 6 to 8
network.http.pipelining.ssl false to true
network.http.proxy.pipelining false to true

8 ) Disable Annoying Browser Behavior

dom.disable_window_open_feature.menubar
dom.disable_window_move_resize
dom.disable_window_open_feature.titlebar
dom.disable_window_open_feature.toolbar

Set all of above to value False

9) Remove Tab Close Button from all Tab and set A single Close Button at Right

browser.tabs.closeButtons = 3

Single Close Button to control all Firefox Opened Tabs. (value should be 3 and not 2 Thanks Andreas )

10) Disabler Browser Toolbar Tip

browser.chrome.toolbar_tips = False

11) Show More Tabs on Single Firefox Window before Scrolling

browser.tabs.tabMinWidth = 75

Setting lesser value with reduce Tab width

12) Past Copy Content with Middlemouse Click

middlemouse.paste = True

13) Scroll webpage in One Go

mousewheel.withaltkey.action=1

14) Disable Delay Time While Installing Firefox Add-on

security.dialog_enable_delay = 0

(Zero is number of seconds Firefox should wait while installing Add-on)

15) Increase History Undo Close Tab Limit ( Recently Closed Tabs )

browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo=15

By default you can undo 10 recently closed tabs inorder to increase your history closed tabs. Change number 13 to as per your choice.

16) Open Firefox Default Search Bar Result in New Tab

browser.search.openintab=True

17) Right Click View Source in Your Favorite Editor

view_source.editor.external=True
view_source.editor.path= Path of Editor

(e.g. path C:\Program Files\npp.4.8.2.bin\notepad++.exe)

18) Enable/Disable Single Click to Select Whole URL in Address bar

To Enable Single Click Select URL of address bar use the below about:config Tweak

browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll = True

To disable Single Click Select

browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll = False

19) Emule/ed2k link association (Linux users)

network.protocol-handler.app.ed2k= /usr/bin/ed2k
network.protocol-handler.external.ed2k = true

20) Fast Scrolling Across Tabs

toolkit.scrollbox.scrollIncrement =75

( 75 is number of pixels to scroll at a time when scrolling the tab strip’s scrollbox. (Default: 20)

21) Auto Complete URL while You type at address Bar

browser.urlbar.autoFill=True

Many of above about:config hacks are available in Older Firefox Version, at the end if some thing goes wrong then feel free to restore your about:config to older setting see the below image of how to restore about:config

Hope you guys like this Firefox 3 hacks, If you have any tips or hacks related to Firefox 3 about:config, hacks, tweaks do let me know I will include it in above list.

http://www.blogsdna.com/372/21-aboutconfig-hackstweaks-for-firefox-3.htm