søndag den 10. juli 2016

Usermade links in Thunar dissapears after reboot

If you make your own links(Shortcuts) to folders on other partitions than the partition your linux distribution are on, then the links might not be there after reboot, until you manually mount the partition the links refer to. This goes for Peach OSI 14.04 LTS and Xubuntu - and perhaps more distributions.


The solution is to automount the partitions on startup - Do NOT use the Disks utility, as your pc will get stuck on startup - this can be done the following way:

First open Mousepad(or your favorite text editor).

Then open terminal and type the following:

ls -al /dev/disk/by-uuid/


Then find the partition(s) that you want to automount and copy the UUID to Mousepad, the UUID look similair to this:

 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root  10 Jul 10 19:16 385dd128-7054-4821-9a24-bb43881676d6 -> ../../sda2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root  10 Jul 10 19:16 3b5c8b74-2a69-4f1a-b86f-1385f1e2ca17 -> ../../sda5
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root  10 Jul 10 19:16 afae36e8-98ba-46bd-bc02-956afeea370b -> ../../sda1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root  10 Jul 10 19:16 c86e9d2c-b017-4bd3-8adc-c73ffcbd71d1 -> ../../sda6




The UUID is the long code in the middle, divided by several - 


Now Click on Applications then click on All Settings icon in the bottom.



Find and click on Session and Startup and click on Application Autostart.

Then click on the Add button.


Here you give a name(make your own) and description(make your own).

In the command field you type this:


udisksctl mount --block-device /dev/disk/by-uuid/


Copy your UUID from Mousepad and paste it in after the last /

Then click on OK.

Repeat for all the drives you want to automount.

When finished click on Close and restart your pc.




fredag den 24. juni 2016

Importing contacts and folders into Thunderbird

Many of us like to use an offline e-mail program, this no matter if you are on Linux or Windows - Thunderbird is a bit of both worlds, as it also can handle the online folders in your e-mail account - that is why I chose it(and it came pre-installed with Peach OSI).

There is a problem importing contacts from Windows Live mail into Thunderbird, there is an article about it here:

http://thunderbirdtweaks.blogspot.dk/2013/03/importing-csv-files.html

I did not follow the whole article, because of the way I have set up my contacts -  What I did, were to make a new contacts-new.csv file from within Thunderbirds Adressbook and open it in LibreOffice Calc - then open the one from Windows Live mail in LibreOffice Calc and copy details over to the new one(anything under the first column).

When you do this you have to put the the mouse where you want to start and click 1 time, then use the arrow keys + shift to navigate and mark - it will not work if you use the mouse to mark - then rightclick on the marked area and choose copy. Then do the same in the new .csv file, but this time choose paste(make sure you have the same amount of columns). When finished, save the new .csv file and import it into Thunderbird from within Addressbook - Not from Thunderbird itself! 

Importing folders from storage folders, doesn't work either, you have to install this add-on:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools/

Then rightclick the Local folder you want to import you folders to(make a new folder), then click on Import/ExportTools, go down to Import all messages from a directory, then click on: also from its subdirectories

Find the folder you want to import(from your backup or on the windows drive), then click Open and all the messages in that folder will be imported.
 

mandag den 13. juni 2016

Peach OSI instead of Windows

As I have told previously, I have switched from windows 7 to Peach OSI which is an heavily modified Linux distrobution based upon Xubuntu. I'm running this on a Lenovo Thinkpad R500, with 4GB ram and 500GB harddisk, 15.4" LCD and Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T6570 2.10GHz. This laptop had problems with Windows 10, because of the lack of updated drivers.

The installation went without any problems and were, including the initial setup, finished within 20 min. - thats alot faster than Windows. Internet, sound and video worked out-of-the-box, so did the mouse, but I had to setup the tapping(I don't like that).



After this I started customizing it to my liking, and this went very quicly also. After running the first updates for Firefox and the base OS, everything now worked as it should. I have been using Peach OSI as my primary OS for the last 3 months, and I like it so much that I will recommend it to everyone I know - also Non-techies:)


If you don't like to have Peach OSI installed on your machine, then you can run it as portable on a USB stick or on an LiveDVD.

I have been a using Linux for over 7 years and always switched back to or dualbooted with windows 7, because there were always something I didn't like or found too much trouble to fix myself - with this one, there is nothing to fix, only things to set up to my liking.

I use VLC as my main Media Player, and Banshee for music, I chose to have Flash Player installed with Peach OSI, and it will get updates whenever everything else gets updated. The main difference between Linux and Windows regarding updates, is that your programs also get updates - even if they are not produced by the author of the Linux version(windows don't have that feature).




As with Ubuntu, Peach OSI comes with Ubuntu Software Center were there are many things you can download and install for free, but there are also a few things that cost money.



There are also Synaptics, this is similair to the software center, but things here are for free.


As something new, compared to other Linux distrubutions, the author of Peach OSI has set up an Facebook account where you can contact him if you run into trouble - Microsoft does not have this!


Below are some pictures of Thunar which is the filemanager for Peach OSI, Firefox and the very handy quicklaunch bar in the bottom of the screen.





 I may have mentioned thís earlier, I really like this OS:) Hope you will too.
Peach OSI homepage: https://www.peachosi.com/

UPDATE: After this article were written, I have moved on to the 16.04 LTS version of Peach OSI and in 64 bit. And I'm now running it on a Lenovo Thinkpad X300, which is my only machine, I do not need anything else.

Don't want Windows 10? - de-activate automatic updates NOW!

Microsoft has taken the choice away from the user, wether or not they want Windows 10 - so if automatic updates is enabled, then Windows 10 will be downloadet and installed - and there is nothing the user can do to stop it.

The user just have to wait until the install is finished and then its possible to go back to previous windows version. windows 7 is supported until 2020.

The free Windows 10 update run until juli 2016, and after this period you have to pay for Windows 10.



Personally, I do not recommend people to update, since Windows 10 has too many errors and bad updates that often break something in Windows, And its not even certain that you PC can run Windows 10 100%. There can be drivers that do not work as they should, - even though Microsoft claim the opposite (do not trust the update program).

If you want to transfer to Windows 10, then its better to invest in a new machine or wait for the hardware manufacturers to make new drivers - for some products you can use the old Windows 7 and 8 drivers, but its not always they work as they should together with Windows 10(Microsoft's fault, not the driver).



Or there are the possibility to go down to your local computer guy and get your machine checked to see if there should be drivers for windows 10, so you can upgrade now.

Personally, I skipped this and installed Peach OSI on my laptop - I'ts fork of Ubuntu Linux, based upon an heavily modified Xubuntu. So far I have had no complaints, of course there are a few things that needs to be modified to fit your machine and you, but most things worked out-of-the-box.

I will later make a review of Peach OSI on my laptop, with pictures.

lørdag den 20. februar 2016

Cherry Mobile Cubix Cube TWO - get rid of eWarranty

If your are one of the lucky owners of Cherry Mobile Cubix Cube TWO - sold exclusively through LAZADA Philippines - then you might have a problem completing the eWarranty which starts every time you turn the phone ON.

Should that happen to you then complain to LAZADA here:

customer@lazada.com.ph

And explain to them that the submit button does not work!


Here is a work around that you can use until Cherry Mobile's extremely bad customer service, has sorted this out:

Go to settings, then Apps, then scroll to ALL and press on eWarranty. Now press on Disable button and go back to home screen. Now restart your phone and see if it turns ON without the eWarranty pop up.

This is a temporary work around, it does not remove this anoying thing and it certainly does not complete your warranty - so if you factory reset, this will come back again. 

BTW: there are no Frontliner code in the box - so you can stop looking!

Be careful if you want to buy a Lenovo Smartphone in the Philippines

Be advised, that Lenovo Mobile(from now on LM to avoid confusion) which is handling support of Lenovo phones in the Philippines, is NOT Lenovo company, they are in fact part of TAO Corporation and are not obligated to follow any of Lenovo's guidelines or offer same service level as you are used to from your country - and they certainly don't even try to do that.

Complaining to Lenovo won't help, they just refer you back to the dealer or Lenovo in mainland China - really bad service.

This is because, in the Philippines, the warranty is not with Lenovo, it is with the dealer/importer(LM) - You do have 1 year factory warranty which includes 14 days return(Philippine law) from Lenovo - but they leave it to the dealer/importer to sort it out.


Why? Because they can! And nobody in the Philippines are stopping them - there are no real protection of consumers rights! There are government agencies you can complain to when companies don't uphold the warranty or Philippine law, but be realistic they are probably not going to file a case against a big company, just because you complain.


I will advise people to carefully consider it, before buying Lenovo mobile phones in the Philippines, as LM customer service is not at all helpful, if something is wrong with the phone!


Here is my story:

As a long time IT-consultant, my brother in law came to me for help finding a good Android phone. At Techbox, 2nd floor at Robinsson mall in Calapan, we chose a Lenovo A316i, because this model had enough Ram(memory), Rom(internal storage), good 3G modem, and a 2000 mAh battery in the box(normal battery for this model is 1300 mAh). Lenovo is normally good quality(at least in europe) - I always buy this brand for myself and customers.

The phone came with 1 year warranty and 1 week return for factory defaults(not 14 days). At home, I started setting up the phone with apps and anti-virus using my Wi-Fi. The phone worked fine. But after just 5 days from purchase, an LCD Pixel error developed as a white line across the lower bottom of the LCD.


I immediately contacted Lenovo Mobile(LM) http://lenovomobile.ph - by sending them an email through their own contact form on their support page, asking for help on how to get the phone replaced with a new unit. After 3 e-mails, where the last one I used my own computers email system so I would have a receipt, and still no reply from LM, I called them.

My first call to LM were on january 21, here I talked to Hanna, and after explaining the problem, she agreed it were factory fault - she agreed to call Techbox International Inc. on the number I provided from their webpage and ask them to get hold of the store in Calapan(Robinsson Mall), so they could have a new phone ready for us when we went there to swap it. Then after talking to them, she would call me back friday or monday.


She didn't call, so on January 26 I called back and again it were Hanna who picked up the call - nothing had changed, as she claimed that Techbox didn't know how to get hold of their own store in Calapan, so she had no feedback from Techbox. And so it went on for several times, still no service and no call from Hanna.

Finally an e-mail arrived from LM, telling me to bring the phone to the TechBox shop we bought it so it could be sent in for Service checkup. Not to be replaced - this beacuse the 7 days of replacement had already passed - That this were their fault, because they had not replied to me in time - they didn't care about, and never replied to my complaint of this.

So my brother in law and I, took it back to the shop, as it were the only thing to do now - There I had the pleasure of a sales lady arguing with me for 30 minutes, since she would not send the phone in for repair - I even showed her the email from LM - until I demanded the manager to come and talk with me. The manager arrived just about 45 min. later, and we were told that they would send it in for repair and that would take between 1-3 months. Being tired of all the endless arguments, we agreed. I demanded a written receipt of handing in for repair and got it, and we left.


As it turned out the phone were never sent to Lenovo - it were sent to LM and they just copied the data on it to another phone, and shipped this back to the shop, who then after 2.5 months, finally sent it back to my brother in law. At first glance it looked like the same phone, but after examining it, I discovered the following: The battery were 1500 mAh, the model were A369i(lesser model) - and the Phone were SIM Locked to SMART Telecom. We had bought a phone that were, openline, had 2000 mAh battery and better internal 3G modem.

So I called LM again, and again the girl(new one) had to call Techbox(this time I had a phone number for her), and Lenovo to find out what went wrong. I told ther that we wanted a replacement of the same model with the same 2000 mAh battery, not lesser model - she said she would call me back. After 1 week still nothing and I called again. She had no news for me, and again she said she would call me back. And never did - after calling the hotline again I were told they could not get hold of the girl I had talked with and had no notes about this case. So 1200p extra expenses, trying to get proper service, and all this time were enough! My brother in law and I went down to the local phone shop and got the phone made openline for 400p.
 
To this day, several months later, LM has not called back or tried to fix their mistake! They just left the case open like this, with no obvious intentions of fixing it! I call that fraud!


This has been a nightmare for my brother in law, since this were his first smartphone and he already paid for it, and then all this - shame on Lenovo Mobile and shame on Lenovo company for allowing this world class screwup to go on!

Another thing I found out: TechBox and Lenovo Mobile is both part of the TAO Corporation, so its very unlikely that they don't know to contact eachother.

Globe Telecom and FUP (Fair usage policy)

When you use Globe as service provider for internet and telephony, then you most likely have been notified with their FUP - but did you know that they cheat you for 1php if you try to send load to another SIM card and it doesn't go through - I say cheat, because they covered this under their policy regarding share-a-load and claim that you pay the 1php for the service to try sending through share-a-load NOTE: not for completing the share-a-load!

So if it fails many times in a day, then Globe deduct those many pesos from your account without completing the service! Is that Fair Usage Policy?