Words to live by.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Leave a comment

Current mood: amused
Category: Life

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

~Dr. Seuss</p

This makes me wonder how people sometimes can come up with such beautiful one-liners!? Almost makes me feel ‘jealous’ for not thinking up something similar (spontaneously!)

Anyway how does one capture a feeling within a description, ’cause as far as I have tried already, I never have been able to catch this particular type of butterfly. ;-)

Nuff said!

Categories: Life Tags:

How to download YouTube videos

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 1 comment

By default Ubuntu uses the /home/yourUserName/bin or $HOME/bin for short as the default folder where users can store and execute their handy little scripts. ;-)

Please note! That (after finding out the hard way ;-) ) simply putting ‘executable’ files into the ‘bin’ directory doesn’t work? At least I get a command not found reply!!?

To overcome this little obstacle:
Open up your .bashrc * file – i.e. press ALT+F2 then type gedit .bashrc in the box At the bottom of the file paste in the two lines below.
* = . (dot) files are usually hidden

PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
export PATH

Now it will work! I still don’t know why the default doesn’t work though? An excerpt from the .profile file (lines 19 to 22) shows that it should!

# set PATH so it includes user's private bin if it exists
if [ -d "$HOME/bin" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
fi

Anyway!

Some days ago a YouTube user asked me if I had a particular song for him in mp3 format. Unfortunately I couldn’t help out. :-( But what I did tell was the following:

If you’re on a Debian alike system like say Ubuntu? You can always ‘download’ (and rename!) the flash file you just watched. ;-) Now there are two ways (at least) to do this. One is the ‘hard’ way which involves typing every command again, again and again.

Like so:

* While watching, or more preferably after watching (or if the statusbar of the video is full!) a video you like!

mv /tmp/Flash* $HOME/some/path/
cd $HOME/some/path
mv Flash* WhatEverYouLike.flv

After 5 or more videos you will start to get bored by this act of repetition. :lol:

* The other way is to create a script!

To do so, open up a terminal:
Applications ->Accessories ->Terminal
First do:

mkdir bin

Copy & Paste this following line. It will create (after typing _EOF_ on a new line, see below) a file called ‘get-flash’ into a directory named ~/bin (see above).

cat << _EOF_ >> $HOME/bin/get-flash

Now copy & paste (or type?) the following lines after the first > sign.

#!/bin/bash

echo -n "Enter filename: " # As it says.
read file_name
file_name=$file_name.flv # Appends the extension .flv onto the filename.
# $HOME is a shortcut for /home/yourUserName

# It is highly unlikely that one has to create a 'Videos' directory\!
# Since it is one of Ubuntu's default folders,
# but just in case yours does not exist\?  Uncomment the line below.
# [ ! -d "$HOME/Videos" ] && mkdir $HOME/Videos

# If the directory 'Flash' doens't exist\?  Create one now.
[ ! -d "$HOME/Videos/Flash" ] && mkdir $HOME/Videos/Flash

# This moves the recently watched flash movie into the directory you created.
# Just make sure that you haven't moved on to the next clip
# you wanted to watch.  I.e. it is a one download per page-load.
mv /tmp/Flash* $HOME/Videos/Flash/

cd $HOME/Videos/Flash/ # Go to Flash directory
mv Flash* $file_name # Rename file into specified name.

# This will return the terminal prompt as you left it,
# while you were executing this script.
cd $HOME # Go back home

exit 0

After typing and or pasting you should be on a newline now (preceded by an > sign!) Now type _EOF_ and your new file should be written out. You can test this by doing the following:

ls -lh $HOME/bin/get-flash

Make it executable!

chmod u+x $HOME/bin/get-flash # u means user.

Now go rush over to Youtube and ‘download’ away! :-D The extraction of sound and/or video of individual flash files is beyond the scope of this little tutorial. Try google: How to extract sound and video from flash files while using Ubuntu, or something like that.

I hope this helps.

Kindest regards,

Alex

PS: Dude this trick is as old as the way to Rome is. Perhaps? For some people old roads are always new when looked at for a first time.

Categories: Open source Tags: , ,

Just my 2 cents…

Thursday, September 17, 2009 7 comments

Since I am so concerned about security and privacy (which somewhat borders on paranoia by now). Also because I am quite certain that I am not the only one. I once again shall give the EFF some attention.

EFFector Vol. 22, No. 26 September 15, 2009 editor@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

In our 518th issue:

NATIONAL COALITION OF AUTHORS URGE REJECTION OF GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH
DEAL. A coalition of authors and publishers–including
best-sellers Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, and technical author
Bruce Schneier–is urging a federal judge to reject the proposed
settlement in a lawsuit over Google Book Search, arguing that the
sweeping agreement to digitize millions of books ignores critical
privacy rights for readers and writers.

For the full press release:
https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/09/08

For a copy of the filing:
https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/authorsguild_v_google/File%20Stamped%20Brf.pdf

EFF Updates

* What Information Is “Personally Indentifiable”?
Gender, ZIP code, and birth date feel anonymous, but Carnegie Mellon
Professor Latanya Sweeney was able to identify specific individuals
through this information.It turns out the combination of gender, ZIP
code and birthday is unique for about 87% of the U.S. population. In
addition, particular data sources, such as voter registration
databases, enable researchers to do searches that build on what they
already know about someone to learn more. “Anonymized” or “merely
demographic” information collected about you on websites and in your
daily interactions may be neither.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/what-information-personally-identifiable

* Who Controls Data About Public Transportation?
How should city transit authorities treat independent software
developers who make use of public schedule data? Two models appear to
be emerging to answer this question. One, typified by New York City’s
MTA and Washington DC’s WMATA, sees schedule and related data as
valuable intellectual property to be zealously protected, licensed and
monetized. So far, the results of this approach appear to have been
bad press, irate passengers, wasted money and stymied innovation. The
other model, typified by San Francisco’s SFMTA and Portland’s TriMet,
holds that encouraging independent developers to make free use of
schedule information can both save the city money and foster
innovative applications.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/who-controls-data-about-public-transportation

* Improving DMCA Takedowns at Blogger, Flickr
Over the past couple of weeks, two major online service providers,
Blogger and Flickr, announced improvements to their DMCA takedown
policies. EFF had a hand in both: Blogger contacted us to discuss
their improvements, and we contacted Flickr to raise some concerns we
had. We’re glad to see these improvements, which make the process more
transparent for users and minimize the collateral damage to free
speech that can sometimes be the result when a copyright owner sends a
takedown notice.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/improving-dmca-takedowns-blogger-flickr

* UK Musicians Oppose Draconian Disconnect Policy
The UK government continues to consider a policy that would punish
those accused of illegal downloading by cutting off Internet access to
entire households, saying it wants to “support” the music
industry. Now it seems a coalition of the actual British musicians,
songwriters and producers behind the music, including superstars Paul
McCartney and Elton John, don’t want “support” of this kind and view
this sort of draconian policy as “extraordinarily negative.”
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/uk-musicians-oppose-draconian-disconnect-policy

: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :

miniLinks

~ Japan to Build Anti-Piracy Software Into Mobile Phones?
Japanese wireless carriers are considering mandatory filters to
control copyrighted music on the main device on which young Japanese
people listen to music.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bc727f48-9f34-11de-8013-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

~ Defining “Noncommercial”
Creative Commons released a new report about people’s understanding of
the word “noncommercial” in CC licenses.
http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/17127

~ Copyright Office Slams Google Book Deal
“[T]he so-called settlement would create mechanisms by which Google
could continue to scan with impunity, well into the future, and to our
great surprise, create yet additional commercial products without the
prior consent of rights holders.”
http://arst.ch/7hs

~ Another Objection to Google Book Search Settlement
A new voice has joined the opposition: the Free Software Foundation.
http://www.fsf.org/news/2009-09-google-book-settlement-objection

_ Data Valdez: Facebook’s Oops
Private Facebook notes are leaked due to a misconfigured webserver.
http://bit.ly/sTG3a

For more minilinks and other news, follow EFF on Twitter or
Indenti.ca!
http://www.twitter.com/eff
http://www.identi.ca/eff

: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :

Announcements

* EFF Geek Reading with xkcd’s Randall Munroe!

The second Geek Reading event to benefit EFF will be held on Monday,
September 21, at 111 Minna in downtown San Francisco. The Geek of
Honor will be Randall Munroe, creator of the webcomic xkcd.

The main event starts at 7:00 p.m., and tickets are $30. For some
extra face time with the man behind the most complex stick figures
ever drawn, join us at the VIP reception ($100) at 6:00 p.m. Space is
limited, so get your tickets now!
Monday, September 21, 2009

VIP Reception: 6:00 pm

Reading: 7:00 pm
111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco

* Help EFF Go to Ohio LinuxFest!

EFF is looking for donations of airline tickets and hotel points for
Ohio LinuxFest in Columbus, as well as other conferences and speaking
engagements. If you have enough airline miles for a free ticket and
would like to send an EFF staffer to a conference, let us know, and we
will help you with the process of making the reservation. Please note
that at this time we are unable to combine miles from multiple
individuals or airlines. We are also looking for hotel rewards points
to help reduce our overall travel costs.

As thanks for your donation, we can offer a free membership and a
mention in EFFector (if you’d like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if
you can help!

* Volunteer at EFF!

EFF is looking for volunteers to assist with operations in our
membership department. If you’re organized, detail-oriented, and
looking for a hands-on way to support EFF, contact us today!

Duties include:

  • * Sending out membership packets
  • * Organizing premiums
  • * Printing mailings
  • * Assisting with events

Learn about fundraising operations in the nonprofit world while
supporting your favorite organization in a tangible way! Interest in
grassroots fundraising is a plus, as is knowledge and familiarity with
EFF’s issues. Send a letter of interest to aaron@eff.org

Administrivia

EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.eff.org/about

Editor:
Eva Galperin, Referral Coordinator
eva@eff.org

Membership & donation queries:
membership@eff.org

To support EFF:
http://links.eff.org/emaildonate

General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries:
information@eff.org

Back issues of EFFector are available at:
http://www.eff.org/effector/

To change your email address:
http://action.eff.org/addresschange

Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is
encouraged. This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled
electrons.

EFF appreciates your support and respects your privacy.
http://www.eff.org/policy

Unsubscribe from future mailings or change your email preferences.

Categories: Counter Intell Tags: , , , ,

Recommended reading

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 1 comment

For this “week’s” suggestions post, not that I’ve compiled one earlier. :lol: I’ve compiled a list of in my opinion mandatory posts one should read/skim through in order to stay safe on the net. Therefore I am not going to tell you about all the customizations I’ve made to the several applications (Ubuntu only) discussed in detail below. But that I’ve made some, this much should be clear by now. ;-)

Also this comprehensive list isn’t geared towards the ‘average user’ but more to the ‘more educated’ among us. I.e. you have to be ready to spend some time in learning how to secure your own system (or the one you were asked to update/upgrade) and bear the responsibility yourself of both success and failure. I am sure you’ll succeed though. ;-)

However if you are ‘a regular “plug and play” user’ who has spent a fair amount on fees, subscriptions and or other forms of paid support and you are still interested in maintaining a secure system? Then now the time has come to either take customer support up on their offer or take your destiny in your own hands (and void any warranties you may have had in the process :lol: ) No, somewhat more serious now. Whatever reasons you had in the past about buying a closed source computing device. Those are your reasons and yours alone!

As for me, I just don’t like the feeling of the someone looking over my shoulder effect (whether perceived/imagined, real or an ‘interesting’ mix of those two). Which is one of the reasons for me to have switched to another O.S./distro. While all the software I use now, follows a license similar to this one: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html I can honestly say that I am quite happy now! Although the software I use comes “WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY” whatsoever. :lol: But hey, that’s just me! :-D

So without further delay(s):…

# For the (Windows) security aware users amongst us!

# For those of you on Debian/Ubuntu.

#Apache

# How to tor.

  • MD5 Fingerprint=B1:11:1F:5E:F8:47:38:D4:08:06:28:66:DB:91:CF:7F
  • SHA1 Fingerprint=6A:CD:F2:9D:32:4D:C8:C6:AF:D9:27:42:09:E2:62:57:49:C8:D0:1E
  • https://help.ubuntu.com/community/TOR – The Ubuntu way.
  • http://www.hermann-uwe.de/blog/howto-anonymous-communication-with-tor-some-hints-and-some-pitfalls – Anonymous communication with Tor – some hints and some pitfalls
    • Categories: Counter Intell Tags: , , , ,

    The future is now.

    Sunday, August 9, 2009 1 comment

    I’ve read sometime ago (ubuntuforums?) that it is best to mention the based on Gnu/Linux distro Ubuntu as an alternative to other legacy operating systems. This instead of trying to bash those previously mentioned legacy operating systems.

    You know what! Whoever said that, was and is right! :-)

    Anyway I found this video on YouTube about what one could do, as far as eye candy is concerned, with the previously mentioned FREE Gnu/Linux distro. I figured why shouldn’t I add some spice to my aforementioned mentioning of this free alternative. :-D

    Source:
    http://lifehacker.com/software/top/hack-attack-top-10-ubuntu-apps-and-tweaks-195437.php

    Other links of (possible) interest!?

    Other alternatives worth mentioning:

    Categories: Gnu, ubuntu Tags: , , , ,

    The reason why I like FireFox so much…

    Monday, July 27, 2009 Leave a comment

    Is its capability to enhance your browser experience with all kinds of interesting add-ons/plugins/themes. Therefore in no particular order (except for the LavaFox blue theme of course. :-D ) I present to you my favorite ones!

    Add-ons for FireFox

    Themes for FireFox

    Screenshot-Mozilla-Firefox

    Speaking of privacy! You may or may not want to have a look at the following sites.

    Categories: Internet, Linux, Open source, nerdy, wikipedia Tags: , , , , , ,

    Don’t Let Google Close the Book on Reader Privacy!

    Saturday, July 25, 2009 Leave a comment

    Anyway I at regular intervals receive mail from the EFF foundation.

    An excerpt from their latest mail:

    Google Book Search Settlement

    With help from a proposed class action settlement, Google is planning to dramatically expand its Book Search service so that millions of books will be available for browsing, reading, and purchasing online. But in designing this new service, Google is leaving reader privacy behind. Without strong privacy protections, all of your browsing and reading history may be collected, tracked, and turned over to the government or third parties without your knowledge or consent.

    Email Google CEO Eric Schmidt and demand that Google Book Search protect your freedom to read privately. You should be able to read about anything — from politics to health — without worrying that someone is looking over your shoulder. Demand that Google pledge it will not stockpile information about who you are and what you read and will not become a one-stop shop for government fishing expeditions into the reading habits of Americans.

    I am not an American! So now what? I have send an e-mail to said CEO anyway. ;-)

    Furthermore since I started on the subject of privacy anyway, I might as well point to previously mentioned ‘anonimity’ providers like Tor and Jap. Also since I do like to use the services provided for free by the world’s biggest search engine. I really do feel the need to point out an alternative. Namely this one!

    Nuff said! Enjoy your weekend y’all!

    Some ixquick screenshots:

    https://ixquick.com - daybreak.

    https://ixquick.com - daybreak.

    https://ixquick.com - night

    https://ixquick.com - night

    https://ixquick.com - bubbles.

    https://ixquick.com - bubbles.

    Categories: Undefined Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    Saturday, July 25, 2009 Leave a comment

    The creators of useful ideas and content must become the “owners” of their ideas and their content, with the right to control the use of those ideas and content, in order to receive payment via licensing.

    LungXray

    Anyway I am currently reading this relatively old article. I got there through a series of sidesteps.

    Namely:

    So what is the point of this post, you may or may not ask yourself?

    Answer: There is no point for me to make, just as well as there is no reason for me to reinvent the wheel with anything I say/write/blog about!

    But since I am a private minded individual anyway I like to read about (almost) anything which may or may not become a threat to said private mindedness in the near or distant future. Therefore I like to guard myself by education. Nuff said!

    Categories: crap, horror Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Cool videos!

    Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2 comments

    I felt like sharing some YouTube vids!

    How are you didgeridooing!

    Hack the beat.

    Good ‘ol Pink Panther.

    Of course last but not the least.  :-)

    PS: I am also a big HALO fan.

    Categories: music Tags: ,

    So, why don’t you play ogg files?

    Monday, June 1, 2009 Leave a comment

    Just try it, you may like it?

    Need I say more!? ;-)

    Categories: Gnu, Open source, crap, music Tags: , , , ,