FreeBSD on Eee

I've managed to install FreeBSD 8.0 on my Eee. I was planning to install NetBSD 5.0, but I found out that I had to convert the ISO to a memory stick image before I can dd it. For some reasons, unetbootin doesn't work with NetBSD's ISOs. There's a script that converts NetBSD ISOs to memstick images, but it seems that it only works on an existing *BSD system. I could have just SSH'd into a remote NetBSD system so that I can run the script there, but I realized that the output would be too big. SSH access is a privilege and not a right; abusing it with large file transfers is a big no-no.

I tried to manually create an image using Mac OS X, but I couldn't initialize my USB stick's MBR (i.e., I couldn't boot from the USB). It says that it couldn't find "/usr/standalone/i386/boot0". I searched for it at the Mac OS X' original install discs, but I couldn't find it there either.

It is possible to install NetBSD using Mac OS X, but I was like, FreeBSD is already available as a memstick image from its FTP site. Why not use it? Thus, I downloaded it, dd'd it to my USB stick, and installed it on my Eee. Everything was straightforward.

Straightforward is boring. I'll try to recompile the kernel to see if I can further reduce its boot time (it boots less than 20sec from GRUB to login). I strongly suspect that I'll just reduce its space but not its boot time, but I'll never know until I try. I'll also try to install NetBSD via PXE, once I'm done playing with FreeBSD. I haven't tried doing it yet.

Farewell, Cory

Cannon shots are being fired every 30 minutes at the military base near our house. It surprises the shit out of me, so I wrote a cronjob to warn me of incoming shots:

0,30  *   *   *   *   echo "Incoming cannon shots in 30 minutes." | say -v Vicki
29,59   *   *   *   *   echo "Incoming cannon shots in 1 minute." | say -v Vicki

I didn't know Mac OS X speech synthesis feature was scriptable!

HOWTO Access a VMWare console from Mac OS X or Linux

Problem

There are no VMWare Server clients for Linux and Mac OS X. VMWare provides a Web UI for its server, but it requires a plug-in that doesn't work* on non-Windows platforms.

Solution

1. SSH into the VMWare Server.
2. Navigate to the VM folder, and edit the *.vmx file.
3. Enable VNC by appending the following settings:
   remotedisplay.vnc.enabled = "TRUE"
   remotedisplay.vnc.port = "5900"
   remotedisplay.vnc.password = "foobar"
4. Start/restart your VM.
5. Connect to your VM using a VNC client. I'm currently using Chicken of the VNC. You might want to google for a client that suits you.

If you need to connect to multiple VMs, simply use a different port (5900 for display :0, 5901 for diplay :1, etc).

I haven't tried this with VMWare ESX Server. I'll try this in the office tomorrow.

* It somewhat works in Linux.

HOWTO Import VMWare Fusion disk images to VirtualBox

Here are the steps on importing VMWare Fusion disk images to VirtualBox.

First, create a hard link from your VMWare package.

simoncpu@soulfury:~/Documents/Virtual Machines$ ln -h "Debian Linux.vmwarevm/Debian Linux.vmdk"

You can move or copy it anywhere you want. What's important is that it's accessible outside the original directory because Mac OS X doesn't treat the package as a navigable directory.

Next, create a new VirtualBox VM. In the "Create New Virtual Machine" wizard, select "Use existing hard disk" and open the Virtual Media Manager. Click "Add", and navigate to the hard link that you've created earlier.

Click "Finish" to create your VM. In theory (i.e., I haven't tested this) the OS will now boot at this point as long as you've used an IDE controller from VMWare. If not, then proceed as follows:

Change your VM's settings and go to the Storage tab. Next, check the "Enable Additional Controller" checkbox and select any SCSI controller from the drop down box. In the Attachments section, change your hard disk's slot from IDE Primary Master to SCSI Port 0.

Click OK, and start your VM.

Firefox 3 beta 3 screenshot

Okidoki, here's a screenshot of Firefox 3 beta 3 (?) in Mac OS X. I wonder why this version is called "minefield." Maybe it's because it'll explode anytime?

Firefox 3

I've switched to Firefox 3.0 beta 2 a couple of weeks ago because I've been frustrated by the constant lockups the browser gave me. Firefox was fine when I first started using it around version 0.x - 1.x. Sure, it did have some security issues, but the development team would quickly fix it up as soon as they were discovered.

Much (virtual) ink have already been spent discussing this issue on other forums, so there's no need to enumerate my problems here.

Firefox 3 beta 2 is cool, and I no longer experienced constant lockups unlike before. It would crash, yes, but only rarely. Too bad the Web Developer extension isn't available yet on Firefox 3.

Anyway, I'll be trying the nightly Firefox 3 build (is it on beta 3 yet?) for Mac OS X. It apparently has a new look, but I don't know if it already has native Mac controls. They promised that the final version would have one. Oh well, I'll wait and see.

Anti-aliasing in MacOS X

I thought I'd get used to MacOS X font-aliasing. I've always turned this off in Windows, because it makes me unable to read small text. My favorite fonts such as Verdana and Tahoma look gorgeous in 8pt and 10pt, but they look like shit when they're smoothed. :)

I hope I can find a way to completely turn off anti-aliasing in Mac OS X. I'm planning to use ProFont for editing codes, but anti-aliasing blurs the difference between 0 and O; 1, I and l, and other similar-looking characters.

/me googles for solutions

Mac OS X mouse acceleration curve

Aaaargh... Mac OS X' mouse acceleration curve is getting on my nerves. I am unable to have precise mouse control for playing DOTA (i.e., without getting myself killed) because the pointer movement is just too unpredictable. Every second in this game counts, and I don't want the mouse getting on my way. If Windows did something right, its superior mouse feel would be it. Aaaargh... !$$^@#&*(!! Lina Inverse at level 10 killed my Faceless Void that was at level 11. #$%238(&387!!!