Caffeine, Solution to Computer Sleep

This is a solution to a problem I had raised in a previous post, that of the computer going to sleep while watching a video usually with flash player.

Post: A-bugging-thing-in-everyday-linux-based-OSs

Thankfully I found an app that targets this specific problem. It's called Caffeine and it does exactly that. It allows you to add programs that will prevent the computer from sleeping while their running. It even has an option specific to Adobe Flash Player.

Here is a picture demonstrating this:

Its pretty simple and straight forward to use.

How to install:

Just copy paste the following commands in the Terminal

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:caffeine-developers/ppa

sudo apt-get update


sudo apt-get install caffeine python-glade2

Tip: Connecting to archive.ubuntu.com takes a long time? 

Connecting to archive.ubuntu.com takes a long time?

Each time I add new repositories to my Elementary OS(Ubuntu based) I need to update the package lists. So normally I have to apply the following command:

sudo apt-get update

Each time I do this though, the terminal gets stuck at a certain point.

100% [Connecting to security.ubuntu.com (2001:67c:1360:8c01::19)]

 After looking around a little bit I found out that there is a problem with what protocol does the system use IPv4 or IPv6. It is better to let it chose by itself. The remedy for this would be to modify a small config file. The file I'm talking about is situated in the /etc folder and it's called gai.conf.

This file though is not modifiable by the user. To fix this you can just paste the following command in the terminal:

sudo chmod 777 /etc/gai.conf

Now just go and open the file with your favorite text editor and uncomment the precedence line:

#
#    For sites which prefer IPv4 connections change the last line to
# 

precedence ::ffff:0:0/96 100  

Now everything should run smoothly. Enjoy installing new stuff again! 

Elementary OS: How to map a network drive?

As the tittle says this post is about how to connect to a network drive in Elementary OS Luna. I used the term "map", to make it more familiar to Windows Users. 

In Windows to do this you just right click on the My Computer icon and follow the steps.

In Elementary OS it is not very different. "Files" is the default file manager. It is through Files that we will connect to the network drive just like to any other drive.

Unfortunately in Elementary OS you can't take screenshots while the right mouse button is clicked. So I will try to be simple.

First open files through the Applications drawer.

Right click on Entire Network and select "Connect to Server..."

A new window will appear that will require you to fill in the required information to connect to the network drive. In my case I am using a Windows Share server in my university. I have used asterisks for privacy purposes. 

After filling everything and clicking continue it will ask you to verify your credentials once again. Don't worry just click continue again.

As you can see the network drive successfully connected. It is listed in the Network Section, and you can unmount it just like a normal drive. 

A bugging thing in everyday Linux based OSs

As an everyday Operating System I am using Elementary OS for more than a month now. I have to admit, it is one of the best Ubuntu based OSs out there. The feeling you get by using it is of a premium software. Everything feels carefully thought and crafted.

Before that I have used other operating systems such as Linux Mint, Ubuntu, etc. All of them very easy and comfortable to use

Having said that there is something that throughout the years I have not quite grasped yet. Streaming videos seems a seamless experience in Windows. You open the video and whether it is 5 mins or 50 mins it will prevent your laptop from going to sleep or from dimming the brightness. Also the mouse will also fade away. This doesn't happen in ElementaryOs or Linux Mint or even Ubuntu.

I am not talking about sites like YouTube. I am talking about Putlocker(now Firedrive),  Gorillavid, NovaMov, VidBux and copy sites of the aforementioned. They rely solely on  flash player without any extras.

I am annoyed of my laptop going to sleep halfway through the movie.

In software such as VLC this doesn't happen.

Do you have the same problem as me? If so comment what you think, or whether you have a solution about this(other than increasing the time it takes before the laptop goes to sleep).

Encrypted messages even in Google servers

As of Thursday March 20th 2014 Gmail will encrypt all messages passing through its servers. This will be done by using always using an HTTPS connection.

Google has offered HTTPS connection to individual accounts since 2008 and made it the default connection in 2010.

Even though the messages going from our personal computers to the Google servers were encrypted, the same messages while moving internally at Google were not. What changed is that now even in the Google Servers the messages will remain encrypted.

This is an important step for user privacy and security. It means now Google itself is less likely to check our messages.

It doesn't mean though, that government backed companies such as the NSA won't be able to request access to certain messages or even track them themselves. All hail to the free web!

Link to the official post in Gmail Blog.

Source: Gmail Blog