tuxmaniac’s blog

Merry Christmas! Lets have some Ubuntu Cookies!

Also a big Helloooo to Planet Ubuntu Users!

I got this phone just today and I plugged in the USB Cable on to my laptop and a menu appears on my mobile asking me to choose the mode. The two options were File transfer mode and Phone Mode. The Phone Mode seems to be doing nothing. When I chose file transfer mode, the Memory Card and the phone memory got mounted and transfering data was as simple as drag and drop from then on. Must research on this Phone Mode thingi though.

Next was the Bluetooth Remote control test and it worked flawlessly as like the K750i. Something that made me jump and take notice (made me write this blog entry too) is the effortless syncing/backing up of data with my laptop. I played around with MultiSync and evolution for sometime and failed miserably. I saw too many segmentation faults which I guess I must report. So I moved on to try WAMMU.

sudo apt-get install wammu

WAMMU needs Python Bluez to do the scanning. Install that as below

sudo apt-get install python-bluez

Go to Applications -> Accessories -> Wammu. A wizard pops up. Press next and choose Configuration Type as “Automatic”. Select “Bluetooth” as the connection type. Wammu starts searching for bluetooth devices. Make sure the bluetooth is switched on in your mobile. Wait until Wammu detects the phone and click next. A connection test is performed. At this moment, you should see a confirmation menu displayed on your mobile screen. Accept the connection. Then it detects the manufacturer and model; and you are up and running.

Once the Wammu Interface opens, go to Menu Phone -> Connect. After this you can perform all kinds of tasks like taking back up of your Phone book (SIM and Mobile), retrieving the messages, call history etc.

Check out the screenshots to get an idea of how wonderful the world of free software is!

I got myself yet another Sony Ericsson Phone! This time around its the w810i and have absolutely no regrets with this one too. But I definitely miss my K750i. I was looking at Moto Rokr E6, K550i and the w810i. The ROKR is a good phone running Linux and Qt apps. Major reason why I chucked it out of my list eventually is because of the touch screen and form factor. Typing a SMS is a big pain in that mobile if you dont wanna use the stylus. K550i a good one again, supports A2DP Bluetooth Profile and has almost similar features like the w810i with the difference being that K550i has a TFD (Thin Film Diode) screen and uses the micro SD card but the w810i uses the MS Duo Pro, TFT (Thin Film Transistor) Screen (Difference between TFD and TFT) and also comes in with a 512 MB card.

So its the w810i and I am just loving it. I guess I have become a complete SE Mobile phone fanbhoi now! Two SE phones in a row…

darn! I just realised I have not synced my mobile with my laptop for over six months and above all I am unable to find the back up data. Grrr!!

All this happened while returning from the picnic. It must be in the van but the driver says the obvious! Guys, please message me your number (if you think I had your number) with your name (Include any special identification statements if any to avoid same name confusions). My number remains the same.

Sorry for the trouble.

Last weekend was filled with events (good and bad). I went on a trip to Hill View resorts which is in Ram Nagar (near Bangalore) on the Mysore Road. It was that time of the year when most companies begin to spend the allocated annual budget for official picnics and my firm was not different either. We had a different kind of a picnic this time with some adventure sports.

We began the day with a small trek, followed by what is called a “Chimney Climb”. Not many could do it (Yay! I did it). It was followed by another small trek downhill and then lunch. This was followed by the famous “Rappelling” activity. We had to descend down from a height of about 130-140 feet hill. It was loads of fun. I met up with my Old boss and had very good time with the guys. Most of them stayed overnight while I decided to return back. Reached Bangalore by around 10 PM.
Complete flickr set here

Linked List, Pod casting, Video Streaming, Internet Radio, Live Blogging, IRC….. No! These were not heard at some foobar conference.. It was heard at a wedding!!! Hahah. Thats how the K guy’s wedding went on. 2 hours before getting married, his laptop is open and he is online though not *actually* on IRC. I would not have been surprised if he did a quick “brb after marriage” on #linux-india or any other IRC Channel he is a part of. Comparing Linked List with the exchange of Malas outgeeked by far loads of people I know. What fun it was!! The Marriage was in Mumbai and I reached there by a Indian Airlines flight (my Jet flight got cancelled!!) and was picked up by Barkha. From then on until today morning when I reached Bangalore, it was pure fun. Met Kevin, Vihan, Ubunturos, Anurag and several others “again??”. Some good snaps taken and quite a lot of new friends.

Btw, Mumbai Domestic airport is awesome. Good looks but still long long security check queues.

Complete flickr set here