X61, Ubuntu 8.04 and Dual Monitors finally work for me

Image via WikipediaFinally got dual monitor to work! I could now run Ubuntu on the external monitor, and a Windows VM on the notebook's LCD panel. I now have a virtual desktop that is sized 2048x768. I am now a happy user of Ubuntu. So far, no major complaint.

Here is my /etc/X11/xorg.conf
-----------------------------------------------------
# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Modes "1024x768" "1024x768"
Virtual 2048 768
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection
---------------------------------------------

After modification, I press CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE to restart X.

I than run the following command line to resize the virtual desktop

xrandr --output LVDS --mode 1024x768 --output VGA --mode 1024x768 --left-of LVDS

Reference: Simple dual monitor setup with XrandR in Ubuntu (Linux)

First day to use Ubuntu instead of Vista at work

Today is my first day of work without using Vista.

I really want to like Vista, I really do. I have been trying to like it even though the performance is not as good as I originally expected.

Last week I have to run two VMs for testings and my computer (Lenovo X61 with 3G) ran out of memory. So I thought I bought a 2G ram hoping to at least get 3.5G ram out of it (My Vista is 32-bit only, so I don't I am not getting 4G). But to my surprise, after I spent the money the system shows 3G ram only again. I searched the internet and others are having the same issue.

So I decided to install a 64-bit OS. I could install Vista 64bit or Ubuntu.

I decided to give Ubuntu a try and installed it as my main OS. Linus has come a long way and it is quite easy to setup. I have also installed XP as a VM so I could run WIndows applications if I need to.

It is very easy to install and setup. I could do most of the work almost immediately as I have been using Google Apps for awhile. So far so good in my case, my only complaints is: No good support for dual monitor in my setup. I have another monitor at work and I could only see Cloned desktop view.

I don't know how long I am going to stay with Ubuntu. I think it is a good transition before I could get a Mac. :)

At this moment, I don't miss Vista at all.

Video from Startup School Conference

Startup School is a great conference for people who are interested in startups. It is great that a video is available for people to watch online.


Watch live video from HackerTV on Justin.tv



[Update: full-length videos at Omnisio.com. It is very cool that the slides are being shown at the same time!]

Listening to UC Berkeley's Search Engine Class

I have been learning and researching more on search engine lately and I am glad to found out that there is a free 2007 class online on this subject from UC Berkeley, one of the best university in the world.

UC Berkeley Webcasts | Video and Podcasts: INFO 141

I wish they could also post the slides for the class as well so I could visually the algorithm that they are talking about.

The internet has really changed how people learn.

I am currently taking classes from two different universities in HK, yet at the same time I am also listening to this class from UC. All the educational information are available now and the only one stopping me to learn is myself.

I could still remember how difficult it was to find out information on game programming when I wrote my first game using QuickBasic (Yeah...it was a long time ago...). Now, there are so many learning opportunities now and the key is information discovery and filtering.

We are living in exciting time.

[Updated: this 2005 version of the class with Video. I remembered I blog about it before too]

Chinese Handwriting Recognition for iPhone

Check out IPhone: Handwriting Recognition for iPhone Now Available

This is very cool! I will give it a try when I have time to load it up in my iPhone.

What to do when you are busy?

See this comic about what you should do when you are busy. Funny.

Seriously, Twitter is getting really popular for people to draw comic about.

Another startup lessons from the net.

Very interesting discussion and advices from the founder of the Gridjit site.

I like his discussion on the business model, where he is saying that you may not have all the business model figure out yet.

"So, I’m not saying you have to figure out your business model right away. I certainly don’t have mine completely figured out...What I am saying is that, given the direction things are going, you’ll want to do everything you can to make your business self-sustaining along the way. But only do that if it doesn’t compromise the quality of your product. Embrace constraints, as they say, and deliver a quality product that people want."

I think it also means that you should still give it a shot and figure it out later, if you believe your service is valuable. That's kind of true, Google didn't figure out his real business model until later on.

The key is to make it self-sustaining so you are still ok if it doesn't work out.

Twitter and the Open Sea

I have a Twitter account for awhile, but I don't use it simply because I don't think it is useful.

I read about the Adobe AIR Twitter client called Twhirl a couple days ago and I decided to try Twitter again. I than tried to follow some well known people on the internet. To my surprise, they also follow me back! Although I don't think I could contribute too much back to them.

Now I see the value of Twitter, it could definitely make the distance between people much closer than before. I could read about them in their blogs, or listen to their podcasts from time to time, but using Twitter you know the person more in a totally different way.

My only problem with Twitter is that I only have 1 friend in US using it, and none of my friends or family use it. It is like shouting to a an open big sea....

Even Disk Encryption is Not Safe Enough

A lot of people are talking about using disk encryption to protect their files these days. However, it turns out that even disk encryption is not save enough because the encryption key could be grabbed in RAM! [Read more at Engadget]

Funny and True: How NOT to use Powerpoint

Learn from other's mistake about building a company

It is important to learn from other people's mistake. If you want to start your own technology company you need to read the following blog post about what the owner of mycarpoolstation.com had gone through.

I wish there are more company owners out there who are willing to share their own experience in such a great detail.

Direct link to the original post: Click Here

How to stop windows from auto restart after auto update

One thing that I really hate about Vista (or maybe it is windows update) is that it will automatically reboot my system at night without my agreement. I am all for having the latest update, but it has destroyed my works many times already. Sometimes I wrote down quick note in notepad as a quick todo list, and I usually have firefox opened up a number of website to do my work. Today I woke up and see them all gone again. AARRrrrrr..

So I found out a quick group policy option from the internet to disable auto-restart. Do it now if you use windows.

Mac OSX becomes more appealing to me again.

What soft skills a leader should possess

The followings are the three important soft skills that the profession of Leadership in Asia class taught us:

1) Have a board knowledge on different issues in the world
2) Be able to persuade people
3) Have a real interesting in people

Birthday Toys!

I received many cool gifts for my birthday this year! They are:
1) Apple iPhone
2) Sony Reader PRS-505
3) Wifi Detection T-shirt
4) 8-bit Tie

Thanks My Wife, Mom and Daniel!

[Updated:] Also thanks Lewis for the arrangement of the iPhone purchase!

Happy~~!

Good Lessons from Bill Gross

The followings are some of the good lessons we could learn from Bill Gross:

Read the full article here:

"We like to challenge the status quo, to take on something that other people wouldn't do to solve a big problem."

"if a customer is already being served, but just a little bit less efficiently, that's not as exciting as a customer with a problem that no one is trying to solve."

"It's not a matter of how cheap you can start the company. You also need to have a way to stop other people from doing the same thing once they see that your idea is taking off."

"So I think the biggest lesson we've learned is that you need to find a way to raise enough money and spend it slowly enough that you can stick around until everybody catches on to your idea. The race is not to run out of your money first - it's to be there at the finish line."

Free Lecture Video from UC Berkely

UC Berkely has released some of their lecture videos for FREE on youtube. The most interesting one to me is the Search Engine lecture. Although the video is from 2005, it is still good if you want to understand search engine. I need to find some free time to go through them.

Hope they could put more classes there. Are they available at iTunes store too?

Lessons Learned from Business Simulation Class

Just finished the 4 full-days intensive (8:30AM-9PM) Business Simulation Class. This class is about Retail and Manufacturer relationship and how to do business in a win-win situation. Even though our team didn't win the game. I learned quite a lot from this class.

Lessons learned:
- Our strategy is valid, but the execution could be much better.
- Advertising is important, but we need to really understand the effect and the return.
- Need to spend more time on the financial data by doing a more detail analysis.
- When the company is in crisis, focus on the fundamental.
- Need to prepare better for negotiation. What is your bottom line? Don't just give discount, ask for something!
- Challenge your assumption. If the assumption is wrong, you will make a fatal mistake.

Also got a chance to meet some old friends from the original KxCracker Team. I am glad that they are doing well.

Overall, it was a lot of fun.

Ten Questions with Jeffrey Pfeffer Article

Ten Questions with Jeffrey Pfeffer is a good interview article with lots of good suggestions on how to manage the company better. A good read.

Virtual Barber Shop

Remember to wear your headphone and close your eyes! The sound is unbelievable.

Kwik-E-Mart for Real!

Check out this Real Kwik-E-Mart (Converted from a 7-11)! I want to visit it too. Can't wait for the new Simpson Movie.