Get a Typeable Location Text Bar in Gnome Nautilus on Ubuntu

Open gconf editor, in your shell go gconf-editor

Navigate to apps > nautilus > preferences and check the box "always_use_location_entry".

For all those power user out there.  You will be able to type where you want to go again.

source: http://askubuntu.com/questions/21924/how-to-make-nautilus-location-bar-editable#21926




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Don't Buy Optus Prepaid Broadband

It is shit, really shit and I don't recommend that you buy it, even if it is free.

Too many downloads, going 1-2% then stalling to dialup speed or zero KB/s.

At they same time they are robbing their customers with 10Mb increments.

Other people are pissed too!
http://www.cnet.com.au/optus-prepaid-broadband-data-robbery-339291339.htm

Fuck Optus.
Fuck Optus.
Fuck Optus.

http://www.optus.com.au/home/index.html
optus.com.au/home/index.html 

optus.com.au/store/prepaidwirelessbroadband/modems

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Accu-chek Performa Expired Strips hack

If you have a Accu-check Performa, you will know that the strips come with a expiry date.

If the strips have expired, you will not be able to use them, even if you manually change the devices date.

This is because the device has a second battery onboard, which powers another clock, which is set in the factory.


There are several hacks online showing you how to get around this problem, some which involve shorting out this second battery.  This does work, however I am not into shorting out batteries.



There are two screws on the back of the case, one is under the label.  (yes, goodbye warranty)

Then lever the case open, by pushing back on the internal case tabs in these locations.

The best method is to use a soldering iron to lift one side of the battery (point 1) of the board, then use a wire to momentarily short the contacts on the board (point 1 & 2) to totally discharge the real time clock circuit.

If you are no good with a soldering iron, I suggest that you don't do this procedure.  Also you should not rely on expired strips, because they are "expired"






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Unlocking and Debranding Vodafone K3570-Z 3G Internet Dongle

The aim:

• Get rid of the Carrier dashboard and replace with a non branded one.


• Unlock the device so any sim could be used.


• If patience persists, fine tune the device files to remove any USB reference to the carrier.

Tools and files:  Look here for links and here or google
QPST
Unlock software
ZTEMODEM.ISO_K3565-Z_debranding_v2.rar 
VF_K3570_New_Dialler.zip to patch the ZTEMODEM.iso file
Stupid Windows box
Brains


Prerequisite:
Install the driver for the device, either by installing the dashboard that comes with the device or by installing the driver inside the VF_K3570_New_Dialler.zip

Unlocking:
Follow the instructions on the bottom of this page, you will need a sim card that does not match the locked carrier.  Dont enter any unlock code if prompted by the dashboard, just use the dc program to unlock.


Unbranding:
Install the VF_K3570_New_Dialler.zip on a host Windows system

Once installed, grab the drivers folder located in Program Files\Vodafone....
You will see both 32 and 64 bit versions for XP / Vista / Win7 :)

Now you need to edit the ZTEMODEM.iso found in ZTEMODEM.ISO_K3565-Z_debranding_v2.rar , remove the drivers in that image (old k3565 drivers) and put the good drivers  in it!
Use your favourite ISO editor program to do this, ISO Master...

Now you have a remastered ISO with the correct driver for your modem finish the job by putting the CD image on the modem.

Following the instructions on this page, use QPST to delete the ZTEMODEM.ISO on the modem, then drag and drop the downloaded ZTEMODEM.ISO file into the modem file system.  Reset the device and check if it works. 

Unfortunately the switching between virtual CD and modem is not too user friendly.  These two sources explain why: Source 1  Source 2

Basically the Original Virtual CD is switched off once the driver is installed, locking you to use the modem on the PC that the driver was installed.  The only way to undo this is to use a Linux terminal with USBModeswitch to gain access to the modem and using AT commands to turn on the Virtual CD


No virtual CD = Modem detection
-----
Virtual CD = No modem detection


AT+ZCDRUN=E removes the file NODOWNLOAD.FLG
AT+ZCDRUN=8 removes the file autorun.flg
-----
AT+ZCDRUN=F restores NODOWNLOAD.FLG
AT+ZCDRUN=9 restores autorun.flg


Then ATZ before disconnecting

So what next, disable the Virtual CD and burn the ISO to a normal CD.




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Editing and modifying PDF files for free.

This is the best choice I have learned so far.

Editing a PDF file, for instance writing some text on a simple document, use Gimp to import the file.  I tried to use Libre Office Draw, but it is still not so good.

Deconstructing pages of a PDF or merging several PDF's together, use pdftk Builder, this is what we were missing for a long time here.  Available for Linux or Windows.

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