Testdriving Zimbra Desktop Mail for Linux

Ever since Yahoo acquired Zimbra, a lot of us were waiting for the next big thing in desktop emailing. Recently, Yahoo launched Zimbra desktop, an open source email client which aims to increase your productivity by integrating an email client, calendar, task list, contact manager and a briefcase, all in one slick and easy package.
It's time to see how well it fares with my current favorite - Thunderbird.

Let's get started, shall we. To start off, download the linux edition from the Zimbra website. Installation is really easy. Download it to some folder and run these from the terminal.
Note: Don't run the installer as root.

1. Set the permissions for the executable
$ sudo chmod u+x zdesktop_0_90_build_1251_linux_i686.sh


2. Run the installer as a normal user
$ ./zdesktop_0_90_build_1251_linux_i686.sh








Great, now you are all set to start using it.
One thing that you'll notice during installation is that Zimbra is based on Prism which we covered few months back. It's basically Mozilla's way of creating rich desktop like internet applications.

First thing I liked about this mail app was the seamless integration with Gmail, yahoo and Aol mail. The welcome screens asks you to setup your accounts. Gmail users need to turn on their IMAP service from their GMAIL settings before configuring it here.



Once you are done with it, you are greeted with this familiar interface that Yahoomail users have known to love ever since the Web 2.0 makeover. Drag and drops and heavy ajax stuff, with integrated contacts, calendars, to-do lists etc.



Now, the verdict. Zimbra Desktop is a really good start by Yahoo. Easy to use and the familiar interface will win loyal fans. Moreover, support for other POP and IMAP servers along with offline modes, makes it a really good email client.
But before it replaces my thunderbird, it has a long way to go. Firstly, I love the remote calendar sync with Google calendar (via lightening). Zimbra only supports local ics files.



Secondly, it is a memory hog. Installation file itself is around 48MB, and it takes up around 124MB on install. My CPU utilisation also saw occasional spikes while using the calendar or just setting up a new account. Considering the fact that it's just the first release, I'll give this a pass.

Thirdly, If you are not an active yahoomail user, like me, you might not appreciate the slick UI. Gmail labels are imported as folders! And, I really miss adding labels to filter rules.

Finally, it's a tad bit slower compared to a native email client. I had rather use orgoo for all my email aggregation needs.

Having said all that, my dream request that both thunderbird and Zimbra lack now are automatic contact sync with gmail and yahoo. Zimbra is planning to include yahoo calendar and contacts sync in the future versions. Till that happens, I am sticking to my good ol' thunderbird, waiting eagerly for Thunderbird 3.

KDE4: Installing and configuring Network Manager

I am really frustrated by the recent wave of negative reviews for KDE4.1 rc1. I had really hoped to try it out but unfortunately being a ubuntu Gutsy user, the upgrade path is a little rocky.

Anyways, one major feature I missed badly was the network-manager for KDE which apparently was missing in the default KDE4 setup. Here, let me show you how to install and get the network manager running.


1. Fire up your terminal and install kmix and network-manager for kde via apt.
Note, the network-manager package is a kde3 release which still works well in KDE4.

$ apt-get install kmix-kde4
$ apt-get intall network-manager-kde


2.To run network-manager-kde, simply run this via terminal or using Alt + F2

$ knetworkmanager


3. To make sure kmix and knetworkmanager launch at startup, simply create a new Autorun file as follows (use your favorite text editor)

$ gedit ~/.kde4/Autostart/kmix


$ kwrite ~/.kde4/Autostart/kmix



4. Add these following lines into it and save the file.

#!/bin/bash
kmix; dcop kmix kmix-mainwindow;#1 hide
knetworkmanager;


5. Setup the required permissions

$ sudo chmod u+x ~/.kde4/Autostart/kmix


6. Great you are done now. knetworkmanager should appear in your taskbar on startup.

Quick Tip: Downloading videos off MegaVideo

MegaVideo probably has the best collection of videos amongst youtube, veoh and dailymotion. Though some are not legal and violate copy protection laws, so I leave it to the end-user's discretion on how they wish to use it.

Here is a quick tip of downloading videos from Megavideo. Go to ClipGrabber, paste the url and voila, the downloadable lik is ready.



Happy surfing!

Life without internet.. Starhub sucks and Linux Saves the day again.

I wrote my last post on June 18th. Since then, it's been a roller coaster ride full of great experience. First thing that you miss when you come out of your university campus is "internet".
With virtually no access to internet for 2 weeks, the longest dry span ever since 1998, when I got my first dedicated dialup modem.
In singapore, getting an boradband connection is a little tricky. For international folks, you need a student pass or a valid employment pass (EP) or a Permanent residentship (PR).

I have..none, and am living on a temp EP till my PRship gets approved. Anyways my housemate returned in 2 weeks and applied for the connection with his valid pass.



In Singapore, the 2 major ISPs are Starhub and Singtel. Singtel gives you a dedicated ADSL connection via the landline whereas Starhub provides you a cable modem. Golden words of wisdom, don't ever get Starhub. A 8Mbps line gives me less that 1 Mbps, that too when I am the only one using the service.
Cable modems share bandwidth among residents living in the same block. So if you have more starhub users living nearby, expect really really bad speeds. Anyways, will have to live with it for the next 2 years.

Our wireless router will take 9 days to reach us (another bummer), so till then my trusty ubuntu acts as a wireless router so that my 3 other housemates can enjoy the internet experience and stay connected. Feels great when the small things you do comes back and helps you later in life.

So what did we learn today, south park style ;)
Contrary to what people believe, that once you get hooked on to the social network bandwagon, there is no turning back; the 2 weeks were the most productive ever. Played the guitar, read a real newspaper, watched the tv (that's a surprise right!) and met new people offline ;) .
Surprisingly, 2 weeks later when I checked my facebook, twitter, orkut, gmail, linkedin and blog accounts, I saw no new posts or messages.

So do people forget you once you become inactive for a while.. maybe so, and it's not really a bad thing. Life without internet ain't that bad as there is a whole new "real" world out there for us to enjoy and cherish.

Lol, did you really buy into that..gtg.. got a couple of posts to write, change my facebook status.. and yeah twitter is back online... happy surfing

Metal Gear Solid 4 reinstates why being a PC Gamer sucks

Last year games like CoD 4, Halo3, Crysis, Gears of War, BioShock etc. impressed us with their stunning gameplay and texture details. For the first time we saw Consoles churning out stunning games with amazing production value and rich cinematic experience. 2007 was definitely a year of the Xbox360 with so many high quality exclusive releases. But Sony hopes to redefine this in 2008. MGS4, a PS3 only release sets the bar higher and does it in great style. It showcases the amazing power of the PS3 and well, makes my life even more difficult...

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was the most anticipated game this year (along from GTA4) and it definitely has lived up to all the hype and expectations. The game received a 9.9/10 from IGN UK, a 9.5/10 from IGN AU, and a 10/10 from IGN. IGN was quoted in a video review, saying MGS4 is "one of the best games ever made".GameSpot gave it a perfect 10/10 saying "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the most technically stunning video game ever made."

I know the X360 and PS3 camps are highly divided. Each group is proud of their exclusive titles. From an end user standpoint, I am still a little hesitant to buy one of these nex gen consoles. I can't wait to play Gears of War2 on Xbox live but don't want to miss out all the MGS4 and Grand Turismo action. And getting two consoles isn't a viable choice. PS3 has come back strongly and looking at the upcoming list of games, exclusivity is a trend that is here to stay for a long time.

All I can hope for is that Game studios don't forget us, the PC gaming enthusiasts and atleast port some of these titles for us. Till then the moral dilemma of which console to buy continues and hoping some day MGS4 comes to PCs.

Check out the video reviews below..

IGN review


Gamespot Review


GT Reviews

Opera 9.5 For Linux : Hits n Misses

I have always been a great fan of Opera. Ever since its first version, Opera has always been the dark horse in the browser wars. The first to introduce tabbed browsing, integrated e-mail and IRC client, customizable themes, the quick content toggle buttons etc., Opera led the innovation race but failed to garner market share.

Opera has released v9.5 of it's desktop browser with a host of new features aimed at faster browsing speeds, better synchronization and rendering of modern standards.Here we discuss installation, setup and the great and not-so-great features of the linux version of this release.



Installing it is a breeze. Opera.com autodetects the distro. If not, select your distro and download the installation file. For ubuntu/debian users, deb files are available. RedHat/Fedora users can get the rpms.



Double clicking on the debs in ubuntu would start GDebi that will start the installation process. Same works for other distros as well with their own package managers.



If you love the terminal, simply do this (Ubuntu)

$ sudo gdebi opera_9.50.etch-qt3_i386.deb



Great! Once you are done, let us try the new Opera9.5.



The interface has got a nice makeover with all the regular bells and whistles which opera users have already come to know and love. It's touted as twice as fast compared to it's previous release v9.2. It also sports Opera Link, offering integrated synchronization of bookmarks and other notes between multiple machines, as well as between the desktop version of the browser and Opera Mini, the edition scaled for mobile phones.
Here are the list of features in the current release.

Now for the big question, is it worth moving over to Opera from firefox?
Opera is definitely fast with the only browser coming close to it's speed being the new firefox 3.0 rc2. There is still no substitute in firefox for the image toggle buttons. They are a life saver when you have a slow bandwidth connection as you can skip loading heavy images.

Opera loses out when it comes to rendering complex websites. Blogger for instance, struggles in Opera. From the screenshot, it's clear some of the javascripts aren't compatible with opera.



Firefox has loads of useful addons which have become such an integral part of our browsing experience. Unfortunately, due to the lacklusture community support, the widgets and addons are still unpolished and underdeveloped. Firebug is something I really miss on Opera. Luckily Opera is working on Dragonfly,which will be the foundations of Opera's upcoming Developer Tools with an ability to debug JavaScript, inspect CSS and the DOM, and view any errors.

Bottomline is, Opera is still a really fast and light browser with some really innovative features. Its uncluttered and friendly interface will attract a lot of new users. In coming days, it will face some really stiff competition with firefox 3.0 which is optmised, faster and lighter than ever before. It's a tough path ahead but hopefully with a small but loyal community of opera enthusiasts, it will sail pass and make a mark for itself in this highly competitive browser segment.

Enjoy using Opera as I always have for the past so many years :)

BioShock: Fixing the Savegame crash bug

Recently I bought the PC version of BioShock. I had been waiting for this release ever since the amazing reviews that came out which praised the console version of this modern FPS. Unfortunately, the pc game is riddled with bugs and spoils most of the fun.

The most irksome bug is the savegame crash bug. Each time you save your game, the game crashes/freezes. If 2k Games expects you to finish the game, playing continously for 36 hours, without any provision of saving, they surely overestimate our gaming provess. Anyways, let's fix it.

The key problem is that in th retail version, save files were being saved with the extension bsg when they should be bsb. To overcome this, here is something you should try.

Download this niftly little app called BioShock tweaker and change the save game extension from bsg to bsb. I also recommend running it at 1440*900 or lower.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F13QIOJU
http://www.zshare.net/download/4642386115a024/
http://rapidshare.com/files/67164931/BioShock_Tweaker.zip.html
http://www.badongo.com/file/4992310

BioShock is a beautiful game but 2K Games' poor execution for the PC enthusiasts leaves a lot to be desired. It should have never made to retail stores with so many bugs. Hopefully, some new patches will iron out all the bugs very soon. Till then, the world of Rupture awaits me. I am off.


Src: Grim_2o0o at 2K forums

Google integrates labs into Gmail to test beta features

I am a huge fan of gmail. Ever since I got my very first invite, four years back from a really nice prof, I have completely stopped using the likes of yahoomail and hotmail.

To my surprise, I found the Labs option in my Gmail settings tab. It lets users add some experimental features to their gmail, try them and send feedback to google.



There are some really useful ones like Superstars, that lets you add additional stars to mark emails that need attention for specific purposes. There are some funny addons as well. For instance, Email Addict blocks your screen for 15 mins and prompts you to take a walk and get some real work done ;)

Overall, it's a nice feature added by google. And best part is, if any of the features break, they have given you an escape hatch. Simply click on this link.