Recently, after installing Ubuntu on my netbook I seem to have trouble connecting to the internet in campus because of the ‘wonderful’ IT facility provided by MMU Cyberjaya. I contacted a guy from the Network and Telecommunication Unit(NTU) to get the settings to connect but he didn’t even understand what I was asking and asking me to connect to the VPN and also refer to http://access.mmu.edu.my, but there is no Linux settings to connect to the ‘MMU’ server. Finally, I just went to the library, cracked my head and tried various combination’s of the settings one by one and got it to work.

I assume that you are able to connect to the ‘Public’ server in MMU. Sometimes the ‘Public’ server doesn’t seem to work, so I use to connect to the ‘MMU’ server so that I can surf the net. In Windows we can use SecureW2 and connect to the server but SecureW2 refuses to port this program to Linux. Good news is that Linux supports WPA/WPA2 without the need of SecureW2 which makes it easier for us to connect to the ‘MMU’ server.
OK, lets move on to the tutorial.

First you need to make sure that you are within the range of the ‘MMU’ server.
Then just click on it and you will see this :

Fill in the details as in the image.

1. Select Tunneled TLS.
2. Type ‘anonymous’ in the Anonymous Identity row.
3. Change the Inner authentication to PAP
4. Replace the xxxxxxxxxx with your student ID and don’t forget the ‘@student’ which is the domain.
5. Your webmail password. NOT YOUR ICEMS PASSWORD. (If you cannot remember your password, don’t worry, you can easily change it using your icems password. You can only change your password within the campus.)

And then click connect and you will be prompted with this screen.

Just click ignore.

That’s it !! You’re done !!
You will be able to see this in a few seconds.

It’s as easy as that ?
Who said Linux is not user friendly ??

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Recently, there was this new distribution called Ubuntu Netbook Remix(UNR) introduced and I was eager to try it but I didn’t have a netbook to try it. And if you have read my previous posts, you would know that I got a HP Mini 210 netbook from Streamyx. I didn’t immediately try the UNR since I had to get used to the netbook with Windows 7 itself. After getting to know that I need to be using Linux for this semester’s subjects, I thought of giving it a try. The latest version is 10.04, Lucid Lynx and they changed the name from UNR to Ubuntu Netbook Edition(UNE).

I was a little worried because UNR didn’t have support for Wubi(a software which allows you to install Ubuntu without the need of changing the file system) but I just found out that it was included in 10.04 so it made my life easier. I installed it and here you go, this is an image of my main/desktop screen.

Click on the images to see a larger image

Default browser firefox with google homepage

Skype running on Ubuntu

Empathy Messenger, chat with your MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, and
even your Facebook friends. All in just one messenger.

Audacity is an audio editing and mixing tool.
Its a very simple and easy software to edit or record your audio.

Now this is the part where you will be amazed. This is running on my simple netbook without any sophisticated graphic card. There are many more amazing stuffs but it’s a little hard to capture it as an image. So my suggestion is, try it out yourself and you may get to experience this ->

Multiple desktops running at one time. You can switch to any desktops you want at anytime.

How about this ? – >

Desktop Cube, to simply show off that you have a cool netbook.

Ubuntu Software Center, all the software you need is right here.
There is no need to go around the net to find for software’s anymore.
If you download through this, your software’s will be updated automatically when there is any updates through the Update Manager.

This is a screen where many don’t like to see.
It’s the terminal or we call it command promt in Windows.
It’s usually black and white or some static colors.
But just look at this, it has my image in it !! It’s transparent !!

Its just a simple review of what I have been testing for the past few days. I seem to like it and I guess I’m going to continue using it on my netbook.
Why don’t you guys give it a try too ?? Have fun !!

Just visit their official website and download it :
www.ubuntu.com

Since it was the school holidays,  my family came down to KL. I told my dad about it and asked him to follow me to the music store. I took him to Bentley in Mutiara Damansara and tested some guitars over there. Its a nice place to look around for music stuffs over there. So, I was trying the normal acoustic guitars and was pretty satisfied with the sound of it. Then my dad suggested me to get a acoustic guitar with a pickup, which means it can be connected to an amplifier. I tried a few, it sounded well without the amplifier but its really ugly when it’s connected to an amp. Finally, the salesmen who was with me, took a guitar which cost a little more then the previous one and suggested that to me. I tried it, and compared it with the previous one. It sounded softer when i was playing without an amp but it sounds great when its connected to an amp. The only downside would be, i need to use a 9V battery to use the pickups. My dad was satisfied with it too, and we bought it.

1. Asus Motherboard
2. LG LCD Screen
3. Nokia N85 ( Not by lightning,  but related to my post)

First my motherboard ethernet card, and the DVI port got spoilt. Most motherboards has 3 years or more warranty by manufacturer. So I went to lowyat and gave them my motherboard and told them something is wrong with it without mentioning about the lightning strike, cause you know Malaysians, never want to give customer support, they only want money support. So he was reluctant to take my motherboard since its like more than 2 years and he asked me RM30 for transport fees. I was like going to slap that guy, and tell that nut head, “You don’t need a car to send this motherboard to the next building.” ASUS was in the plaza next to lowyat. I gave him the RM30 and paid RM 5 for the parking and another RM 5 for the parking when I came to collect my motherboard.

Total : RM30 + RM5 + RM5 = RM40

Next, my LG LCD Screen. I thought it was only 1 year warranty and I got to pay to fix it. So I took it to LG, and parking was RM1.50. I haven’t went and get back this screen yet. The LG guys called me up and said the PCB is spoilt so he needs to wait for stock to repair it and it would be about a month. Currently using my netbook to blog. So I asked him if the motherboard is still under warranty and he said YES. It is 3 years warranty. Considering the next time I go there, I need to pay the parking fees again.

Total : RM1.50 + RM 1.50 = RM3

Finally Nokia N85, this is a little longer story…
I was using this phone like normal since the first day I bought it. Never knew it had any problems until one of my friend came and told me that sumthing wrong with the camera which I never realised at all all this while. After he showed me the problem, it was not comfortable to be using the phone. So I took it to Nokia Customer Centre in Sunway Pyramid. This is the worst customer centre I ever been to. Its like a small store room where guys are repairing stuff. I gave it and had to keep going and coming back since this guys never knew the problem until I fired them nicely. How many times they expect me to keep coming back and live without a phone. So the boss took me out so that he wouldnt get embarrassed in front of his other customers and told me:

Sir, the technicians here not so professional so they don’t know how to do. Can you go to Amcorp Mall ? There are more professional Nokia technicians there.

I was like, HAHAHAHA, this is why you brought me out ??

So I went to Amcorp Mall and parking was RM3 for open parking. So I went and gave my phone, they changed the camera to a new one. Even the back cover was changed. the camera was so much better. I wasn’t satisfied with the GPS and also told them about it, and the fixed it. I could connect to a satelite within a few seconds. I was totally satisfied with their service except they couldn’t back up my contacts. I had backup, so it doesn’t matter to me. I brought it back, and not even a few days I dropped the phone. The phone was ok but I felt it a little slow. Suddenly one day, I tried my GPS and it didn’t work. So I took back to them and told them that the GPS isnt working since the last time it was fixed. So they took my phone, and guess what. They changed my whole internal board. A new phone with a old casing. Since the day I dropped it, I wasn’t satisfied with the slide, it was a little lose. So when they gave me back my phone, i pretended like the problem just happened. They checked the work order and it wasn’t stated that at the time I gave the phone, there was such a problem. They took it in, and asked me to return in an hour and changed my slide. How cool is that ? Now I have a total new phone and guess how many more days for my warranty to end. 2 more days, and they told me since we just did your phone, you can come back anytime if there is any problem, we give you extra 2 months warranty.

Parking : RM2

Total : RM2 + RM2 + RM2 + RM 2 + RM2 = RM10

All of these plus some of my time and every thing is back to normal and NEW !!
So my suggestion, go for branded and officially supported things and with WARRANTY !!

Recently Facebook has implemented a new chat system which uses the same protocol as GoogleTalk which is XMPP protocol. Its just a protocol to enable real time communication technology. This means we are actually using this technology when we are chatting through Facebook. OK, lets not get down to much to the technical side and get moving to how to use this technology.
Now we can actually access this XMPP protocol by using any XMPP clients available.
A list of clients can be found at this site : http://xmpp.org/software/clients.shtml

I personally prefer Pidgin, because if supports Windows & Linux plus its quite stable and its light weight. Now lets begin with the tutorial.

First you need to access www.pidgin.im to download Pidgin.
Once you have downloaded it, follow the instruction’s in the installer and install the program.

After installing, run the program and you will see this. If you miss this screen or you want to add other Facebook accounts later on, click on accounts on the menu bar and select manage accounts and you will see this screen.

Click on the add button and on the next screen select XMPP and fill up the details.

Fill up the details required.

Username : Your profile name or your profile id
( e.g. http://www.facebook.com/andrewraj ) – Then ‘andrewraj’ is my username.

Domain : chat.facebook.com

Resource : Pidgin

Password : Your facebook password

Take a look of an example :

Then click on the ‘Advanced’ tab and adjust these details.

1. Untick the Require SSl/TLS checkbox.

Connect Port : 5222

Connect Server : chat.facebook.com

Don’t change the value of File transfer proxies.

Thats it !! You’re done !!
In a few seconds you will be able to see your contacts appear in Pidgin just like this.

Of course some might not like having your facebook chat at all time. Don’t worry since this thing doesn’t bug you as much the facebook chat does. You can disable the notifications and chat whenever you like to.

Its as simple as this. Have fun !!

Resource : Facebook Chat

Just thought of giving a review of the netbook given with the Streamyx Cool Uni Pack Promotion.
Basically this package is quite a good deal. The minimum package would be RM 38 where the speed will be 384kbps. For a normal single user, this package would be just nice and if you want to enjoy better speed, you can go for the higher packages. You get a free WiFI modem with this package as well.

Now what’s the big deal about this ?
You get a netbook when you apply for this package, and its a HP netbook plus officially supported by HP.
This normally wont sound normal if you’re staying in Malaysia. The first thing on mind, what’s the catch ?
I don’t think there is any catch in this, as this is partly a government project to ensure that all first and second year university student is equipped with a computer and an internet connection.

Let’s move on to the netbook. The model of this netbook is HP 210-1073TU.
After testing the netbook for quite sometime, I would say the netbook is worth it.
After all, its FREE.

- Intel Atom N450 ( A 1.66Ghz processor)
- 10.1″ screen size  (quite small)
- 1GB Ram (Fast enough for normal usage with Win7 starter, I changed to 2GB but its not much of a difference. You only have 1 slot for the ram, so you can’t add.)
- 250GB Hardisk
- Windows 7 Starter (You can basically do most of the things but certain features are blocked. The one I don’t really like about this is you can’t change your background, but no worries because we have a free software to overcome this problems legally.
- Other normal stuffs like WiFi, Bluetooth, WebCam and 2 years warranty from HP itself.

Its not really for heavy usage but its ok for all your basic internet activities and some other computer tools. Not only that, its quite handy to carry around compared to a notebook/laptop. So have fun and go grab it..

I’m currently staying in Kelana Jaya where I applied for Streamyx 512 kbps package which is a staff package since my dad is working in TM. One Malay guy came to my house to fix the wifi router and the internet. He was talking to me,  i mean bragging to me about this Riger wifi router. He was saying, now Malaysia have their own router, no need to buy from some white man company anymore. I was just keeping quite all the way while he was braggin and told him thanks before he left.

For a few months I was satisfied with the service since there wasn’t any problem and the internet was stable. I was actually about to post something good about Streamyx but unfortunately, one fine morning suddenly my internet wasn’t working. So I thought of just restarting the router and tried it but still couldn’t connect. Then I went to the router and checked the settings and nothing was wrong. After checking all possible ways to connect to the internet I gave a call to ‘Streamyx Customer Care’. I always wonder why TM places such useless customer care consultants ?? They cannot understand any technical thing, and the best part is, they think we the customers are as stupid as them !!
They are trying to ask me to configure, check this , check that..and I followed everything they said. Then the sent a technician to my house. To make my story interesting, I’ll give you pure facts to show you that I’m not bull shitting here. That technician’s name is Fendi, and I told him my router is a problem and he doesn’t wanna believe me and he took more than half an hour to check everything and finally figure out “Ya la, router yang masalah”. Then he change for me and it worked , but guess what !! The story begin’s here..

Not even a minute he left, I offed the router and on it back and it didn’t work again. I immediately called that technicians office and talked with the Supervisor, Pn. Sabariah. I asked her to send him back, and that guy came back and check and he told me, ‘mungkin firmware ada masalah la’. Then he called up is colleagues and tried to get the firmware and update it. He updated it and it worked, and left again. This time I get to use the internet a little longer. After 5 mins, I can’t get to the internet. This is what happen last year, to be exact, 2 months back.

From that day, I have been calling Streamyx and all the useless Customer Care staffs think I’m some useless guy who knows nothing about computers, router’s and networking, and asking me nonsense question. What operating system, what router, configuration, bla bla bla..
Everytime I call, I have to answer all their nonsense question. I’ll be frank here, I would have called them approximately 30 – 40 times. since then. Each conversation can be posted as another post under jokes category.

Then the technician called me and told me, use another router and guess what.. It worked ! Perfect !!
It seems that TM server and our wonderful Malaysian Company Riger router is not compatible only in my area. SS3 Kelana Jaya..
I can bet you that this Riger company which has a contract with TM belongs to a Malay guy. Why I say so ??
Because if it was Chinese or Indian, TM wouldn’t change the contract form Aztech to Riger.
Mana boleh kasi Cina, India duit juta juta ??

So my report was open, and a guy from Customer care called me up and asked me if he can close the report. I asked him, saya punya problem sudah settle ke belum ?? He said belum.. Then I said mana boleh close  report ?? But that guy very smart, he close my report. He’s lucky I didnt get his number and his staff ID. From then on, I called up and open a report on 22nd January and till now my report is not closed. They keep calling me to close the report, but nowadays I dun allow them to close the report, plus I get their names and staff ID.

Till now, I haven’t got a solution for my problem. Let’s see how long they take, to solve my problem..

I made a google search for streamyx and found this image.
Although I don’t like to extremely talk bad about streamyx.
This is the best photo which is quite decent that I can get.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has received numerous messages from his non Muslim friends in Sabah and Sarawak, telling him that some Christians felt that the current crisis could have been avoided, “if we, the Christians would not just use the word Allah”.

You know what, I have been so nicely avoiding all political issues because I’ve already given up on this country, but my dad was reading this and he was laughing at it and when I read it and saw this fellow talking like this in our Malaysian news, I just cannot stop laughing to see how a minister can answer like this in overseas. I bet you, all the other foreigners who heard this probably would be talking about this to their family and laughing all the way. Such a stupid answer !!

The government is asking the Christians not to use the word Allah, after all this while the Christians have been using this word to worship God. Can’t that bl**dy f**l see that it is not the Christian who started this but it is the fanatical government who uses religion issues to cover up all their other issues ? Sugar price has increased but no news about it ?
Our Polis Diraja Malaysia/Polis Raja Di Malaysia said that there should not be any protest held, which makes it illegal protest but there wasn’t any water cannons, tear gasses and kicking ?? Sounds weird, cause when people bring flowers there was all this havoc but when people shout Allah HuHaHa and carry cow head all around, its ok. And our Mr.1 Malaysia said, we cannot do anything to stop them from protesting. What a wonderful statement..  You think they really gonna vote for you Mr. 1 Malaysia ?

This is another statement from Muhyiddin

“This is a constant and permanent challenge. Just as I speak here today, there is hue and cry among the Muslim community in Malaysia over a High Court ruling which allows a Christian publication to use the word ‘Allah’ in its newsletter.

What the ?? Hue and cry ? I think its better if its replaced as, there is shouting and racist bastards…
Malaysia and Islam and Barisan Nasional !! Listen to this !!
The war is not between the Muslim and the Christians, because we Christians are not taught with killing and jihad, we are taught to forgive and love our enemies because we do not need to fight and win the war. God is against you, and God will fight the war for us. He never told us to worry about anything. If you cannot determine who is your God just because of one word ‘Allah’, that ‘Allah would be really sad right now cause now he might be confused of all this time you calling Allah and now after this crisis he might be wondering that if you were really calling Him.

Don’t forget to download and enjoy the radio.

Starting today discussions, suggestions and any other Drewbuzz related stuff will be on the official Drewbuzz Radio Facebook page

Click for a larger image

First would be the video chat function which was improved from their previous version.
Secondly a status update which is similar to twitter updates.

So go download it and give it a try..