Mass printing... How to print locked pdf file. Part 2: Windows.

I've already described a way to solve this problem for Linux users here.
In Windows it can be solved even easier.
Just follow the instructions:
    Download pdf2djvu.
    unpack the downloaded archive
    copy a pdf file with ban on printing to the program directory(pdf2djvu directory).
    open a terminal in the program directory and run the following command:
         pdf2djvu -o output.djvu locked_pdf_example.pdf
    output.djvu - output file in djvu format
    locked_pdf_example.pdf - input file (name of the pdf file with ban on printing)
Output.djvu has a lot of advantages: it is usually smaller and you can print it!
To view djvu files you will need WinDjVu.

Copy music from iPod to PC

I'll give iPod 0 points in this case because it's not easy to get your music back from your iPod.

It's not a secret that all the music files on iPod are in the hidden directory \iPod_Control\Music\.

To see hidden files in Windows XP:
1. On the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.
Note: To access Windows Explorer, click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.

To see hidden files in Windows 7:
1. Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Under Advanced settings, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.

Copy all files/folders from \iPod_Control\Music\ to a folder on your pc.

But our adventure does not end here: the files have wrong names.

Download Tag Scanner and rename the files using a mask. E.g.: %artist% - %title%

Program interface is intuitive.

But the mp3 files may not contain ID3-tags(optional information). In this case you should switch to the "Tag editor" in the program TagScanner and add the information you know yourself. I added authors and titles for only 16 songs(out of 367).

Alternatives:

• Practice in programming and write a little script. For example, using id3lib.
• Use iTunes.

OpenGL, C++ and GLUT using CodeBlocks and MinGW

Original can be found at LevelByLevel.com: OpenGL, C++ and GLUT using CodeBlocks and MinGW – Updated.

On my old blog, CodieCode, I wrote a tutorial on how to set up an OpenGL, C++ and GLUT environment using the CodeBlocks IDE and MinGW compiler on a Windows XP and Vista machine. This was a popular post which seemed to help quite a few people. However time moves on, software updates and operating systems change. I’ve decided to update this tutorial with Windows 7 (though this should still work fine on XP and Vista) and the latest version of CodeBlocks and MinGW. Hope it helps

I would like to add that if you’re serious about learning OpenGL, I think it’s a must that you own “The Red Book” (OpenGL Programming Guide by Dave Shreiner). You can buy it from Amazon (with the link on the left) or wherever you normally buy your coding books. Either way it’s a fantastic resource to have and it’s helped me countless times in the past.

———

If you’re interested in coding in OpenGL and C++, a great way to start is by using GLUT. GLUT takes care of a lot of the difficulties in setting up an OpenGL project and lets you get started on your project quick and easily. In this tutorial I will guide you through installing and setting up the software you’ll need (CodeBlocks, MinGW and GLUT).
Before you can start you’re going to need a few things:

Windows – I’ve updated the steps below to run on Windows 7, Windows XP and Vista, If you manage to get this working on other operating systems, let me know

OpenGL – I’m not going to go into how to install OpenGL in this tutorial as most people will be using Windows XP or later and OpenGL comes ready in these operating systems.

GLUT – To download the GLUT files you’ll need click here and download ‘glut.zip’.

IDE (Integrated Development Environment) – While it’s possible to use an editor (such as Notepad++) and makefiles. I find the easiest and most efficient way to code is using a good IDE (be careful there’s some not-so-good IDE’s out there). The best that I’ve come across is CodeBlocks (I’m not a fan of using Visual Studio for OpenGL but you can use that too if you wish) and it’s this IDE that we’ll be setting up today.

C++ Compiler – The compiler I’ll be using is MinGW, there are many advantages to using this but I wont go into these here.

So without further ado, lets start:

Bash Tips for Working Faster With the Shell

"Using !! "This command is used to bring back and automatically execute the last command in history. It is the same as pressing C^P followed by Enter). Here’s an example:

debian$ cat /etc/debian_version
5.0.7
debian$ !!
cat /etc/debian_version
5.0.7

"Using !text

"Replacing ‘text’ with any command will call the last command in the history which starts with ‘text’. Example:"

Complete Story

Original story:

10 Bash Tips for Working Faster With the Shell (Part 1 of 2)

8 More Bash Tips for Working Faster With the Shell (Part 2 of 2)

In addition:

Introduction to Linux Command-Line for Beginners

Really clear...

Do you love him?

It is a very old story that goes from 1994...
But many people come to understand only now...

http://charter97.org/en/news/2010/4/7/27925/

If you don't know these people... left to right: Hitler, Lukashenko.

XPS Viewer Portable Version for Windows XP

A good advice from  blog.rubypdf.com

I tried to install Microsoft XML Paper Specification Essentials Pack(aka XPSEP or XPS Essentials Pack) many times on my PC, but failed, after searching, I got the answer. Then I thought how about just copy the necessary file on a fresh PC to run the XPSEP, after tested, it works. So I share it here for the friends who do not want to install XPSEP or failed to install XPSEP.
Download it now,
XPS Viewer EP-portable(2.19M)
XPS_Viewer_EP-portable(2.19M) - mirror

P.S.
If you just want to view XPS, you can use IE plug-in after install Windows XP SP3, but it is very slow, and once you set your Firefox as default browser, you have to try to browser xps document with IE to open it.
Oct 20, 2009
If you do not want to install .NET Framework 3.0, I recommend you A Free Win32 Native Code version XPS Viewer or try java-axp, java version XPS Viewer(free and open source)

Linux hardware or Hardware supported by linux: ch. 1

Today computer is a necessary attribute of our life. Computers evolve fastly and we cannot keep it up-to-date. Hardware, software, new technologies and operating systems. One thing we want is to use our computer and its hardware fully and with all the advantages.
It's nice if you have money and can buy apple or microsoft porducts and if you really enjoy them - I don't worry about you. But there are other operation systems mainly based on the linux kernel: linux, unix and bsd families.
If you try to use them, you will see you have another problem: hardware support. Not everyone writes drivers for his nice devices for linux. Pity...
So, the best way to use all the advantages of your computer's hardware under linux is to buy computer with supported hardware. It's easy and clear for everyone, I suppose. But how can I check wich hardware will work and wich wont. Google has the fitst answer for you :)
Perhaps useful links:
Linux-drivers.org - Linux Hardware Compatibility Lists & Linux Drivers
Linux Online - Linux-Friendly Hardware
Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO
Hardware Devices that Support GNU/Linux — Free Software Foundation — free as in freedom
Is my hardware Linux-compatible? Find out here | Linux.com
Supported Hardware | Linux Journal

Hack the planet! ;)