my Computer Quest: IPad

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06 April, 2017

Kernel Panic - Not Syncing After Ubuntu Upgrade, Update

Ubuntu Desktop 11.04 started from Live CD with Install window open (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kernel panic - not syncing! I upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04, and that is what I got.

After being away from my blogs for so long a time, building my own website, and letting it go after a year, I am back to Blogger.com.

Since my last blog, it was about 2 years already, I think more than. And I have forgotten what my e-mail was. I mean, there is one e-mail that I always use, as much as I can remember. But I tried to log in using that account, and it was not!

I tried my second best candidate, and even that one, it was not!

Searched a bit on how to find out who the blog owner is, found some things, like looking at the profile, etc. Didn't work for me.

Finally, I had to log-in with the account that I knew I always use, and checked out the settings, and I saw another e-mail account, and to my surprise! I mean, I can't believe, and I doubted, that I am using that e-mail in my blogs.

Nothing would be lost, so I tried, and what do you know? That was the correct e-mail account!

And I had to put this in writing, the error I encountered when I updated Ubuntu Linux to 16.04. That was the reason why I was anxious to start blogging again.

Kernel panic - not syncing... and some other texts.

Problem:

After upgrading Ubuntu Linux to 16.04, I can't boot up Ubuntu Linux. Grub shows, but after selecting Ubuntu, OS stops at that line: Kernel panic - not syncing....

Solution(s):

1. boot-repair - this was the first thing I did. Using a Live CD/USD of the same distro, I booted up my laptop to Ubuntu, and issued below commands line-by-line:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair

boot-repair

There is a good graphical article here in help.ubuntu.com: Boot-Repair.

That fixed Grub, and Ubuntu is able to boot up properly again. But Windows is now not showing in Grub! So I searched for possible fixes.

2. bootrec /rebuildbcd. That was the suggested fix, which requires botting up with a Windows installation CD/USD. And that was required to be run in a command prompt environment.

At first, it was not a success. Further searches, I got the idea that I need to mount Windows drive, which I unmounted when I tried to install 16.04 over my 15.04 version.

3. mount Windows partition. I booted up to Ubuntu Live CD/USB, opened up disks from terminal, click-select Windows partition, flicked the switch to mount, then remove hibernate file by adding in mount option: ,remove_hiberfile.

Then I ran grub repair utility. Still didn't see Windows in the Grub list.

4. boot-repair. I ran it a second time, and I saw that it is already seen as one of the OSes. I completed the repair.

As I was able to boot up Ubuntu Linux and Windows, I did 2 cycles of booting up Windows and Ubuntu Linux without touching anything yet. Once I am confident that Grub is properly working again, I did the last step of customization.

5. Grub Customizer. I removed Windows 8, moved up and down Ubuntu, Advanced Ubuntu Options and Windows according to my liking, and I am back.

I am posting up this article from Ubuntu Linux 16.04 distro. I hope it helps me in the future, if the opportunity comes, and I hope that it helps somebody else who face the same problem.

Till then!

04 May, 2013

ORA-12154: The other uncommon cause, and the solution

Image via CrunchBase

ORA-12154: It is not always due to the listener down, or something...
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04-May-2013

2 weeks ago, while I was preparing my arsenal of personal computers (now 9, with 1 laptop and 8 desktops) at work, one requirement is to be able to synchronize the TNS file across all the 9 computers.

This would need me to have a read/write priv to the Ora folder in the 9 PCs, and so I opened it up for me by sharing the folders. This, in turn, closed the folder access to everybody else, because I shared the folder only to me – I removed access for Everybody/Everyone. The priv then was full control.

That began the issue of all users of the web apps running in these computers, where ORA-12154 is being thrown. I didn’t see it, and I could just imagine their shock that suddenly, the application doesn’t work properly. Until one of the customer service personnel came over to ask something, and just remembered to check with me why the web apps aren’t working.

Thinspiration - Weight Loss Method

I quickly checked, and I got ORA-12154. Since that same day I got to sync all the code files and accessory files in all of the computers, I didn’t know where to start at first. I gathered my wits, and thought of checking the particular web apps having problem. Problem was there. Half a day passed, and the problem persisted. Then I thought of verifying the web apps from my laptop. It was working! So I got even more confused, believing that it was the file transfer that I run which caused the problem.

A few more check here and there on the web apps having problem, and still no luck. I then started to check on the other web apps and Windows apps using the same files and libraries, and to my surprise, they are all working!

What now?

At this point, I knew I had to break away from the pressure, so I called up the Oracle DBA, and asked him about ORA-12154, and since I can’t do desktop sharing on any of the affected computers (yes, all having problem, actually, and on the same web apps), he came over. He checked a few items, and he is also stuck. Told him all that I‘ve done so far, and I said the other Web and Windows apps are running, to which he checked with me, “And these are running under your account?”

I said “Yes.”

At that queue, he checked the Ora folder, looked at the sharing setup, and opened it to “Everybody”.

That PC worked. After that, he went on his way, trusting me to be able to manage the rest.

So there you are. ORA-12154 error. It is not always that the listener at the server machine is down, or whatever. For my case, it was the access privilege that got screwed up. Anybody running the web apps that uses Oracle client must have access to the installation folder, at least “Read” access.

Hope this helps anybody there running into the same problem, but is not due to the listener down or not running.

Till then!

17 January, 2013

eBooks

Third generation Amazon Kindle, showing text from the novel Moby-Dick. Esperanto: Amazon Kindle de la tria generacio, montranta originan tekston el la romano Moby-Dick. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

17-Jan-2013

For sometime now, I have been downloading e-books from one site that has continued to supply the materials on a regular basis. So if you are hunting for an e-book source, here it is:

Wow!eBook

I am just sharing the link, and I leave you to check and verify its legitimacy.

Till then!

29 February, 2012

Can tablets give you a pain in the neck?

Read this. Are you getting it (the neck pain, I mean...)? I get 'inflamed' eyes right after playing with race car on my android phone, so I don't do this frequently, just once in a while...
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Posted: 26 January 2012

PARIS: Users of tablet computers should place their device on the table and tilt its screen, rather than have it flat on their lap, to avoid potentially painful hunching of the neck, a study suggested on Wednesday.

"Tablet users may be at high risk to develop neck discomfort based on current behaviours and tablet designs," it warned.

A team led by environmental health researcher Jack Dennerlein of the Harvard School of Public Health asked seven men and eight women who were experienced tablet users to carry out tasks on an iPad2 and a Motorola Xoom.

Using a motion-analysis system, the team filmed the 15 volunteers as they worked on the tablet in four common configurations.

In the first position the tablet was not placed in its proprietary case but held on the lap in one hand while the other was used to touch the screen.

Tennis Serve Instructional Video

In the second the tablet was placed on the lap, but stayed in its case. The user worked with both hands on the screen.

In the third, the tablet was set up in its case on a table, with its screen set at a lower angle, and the user worked with both hands.

The last configuration, dubbed "table-movie," entailed placing the tablet on the table in its case, tilted at a higher angle. The user did not work on the screen and instead watched movies or other programming on it.

The experiments showed the angle of the head and neck varied hugely across the four configurations and between the iPad and the Xoom.

Compared with the Xoom, the angles were more acute in the iPad, which the researchers attributed to the different case designs.

The study found that tablet users generally had more acute angles of head and neck flexion than with desktop or notebook computers.

Only when the two tablets were in the "table-movie" configuration - when the screen's angle was at its steepest - did the user's posture approach a neutral position.

"This suggests that tablet users could place the tablet higher, on a table rather than a lap, to avoid low gaze angles, and use a case that provides steeper view angles," the scientists said.

A 2009 study found that the "gaze angle" for looking at computers should be roughly 45 degrees or more to avoid straining the neck's extensor muscles.

The gaze angle is calculated as the downward direction of the eyes in relation to the horizontal.

The paper, published in the accident-prevention journal Work, did not assess the impact of tablet use over a long period, nor did it address the positions of the arms, wrists and hands, an issue it said needed further research.

But it noted that tens of millions of tablet computers have already entered circulation and there remained no posture guidelines for using them safely.

The history of ergonomic science is littered with designs, from car seats to office desks and phones, that can cause discomfort or even pain if the user uses the wrong posture over time.

- AFP/de

Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Can tablets give you a pain in the neck?

03 February, 2012

Android and iPhone, my view

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Image representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Image representing iPhone as depicted in Crunc...

Image via CrunchBase

03-Feb-2012

I have been wanting to put this in writing, my view on the lifecycle of iPhone, the entry, the bubble, the compression, and the explosion it will go into later on (maybe sooner than we think). And all the while that this is happening, the blip, the steady spot, and the ever-growing hold of Android’s worldwide presence.

What iPhone is in my view

Come to think of it, iPhone was decided to be a very unique device: closed system, and why not? It was the only phone that got the very formula of being accepted by people all over the globe with its very user-friendly touch screen, very responsive, doesn’t need a stylus or a pen, and doesn’t need a manual to be operated even by toddlers and unlettered hawkers. And because it is a closed system, the apps that were available to users from the AppStore were simply the better make, if not the best. I could be hearing moans and groans of disagreement, but hey, that is my view. That was the catch and hold of iPhone – and it may be its own cause of demise.

What Android is to my view

The other device isn’t having an entrance to the electronic world like iPhone had, but if I were to put it in my own words, it is like an ant that crept, almost unnoticed, but once in position, it made the bite, and what a sting it made! I could be prejudiced, since I never was enamored with the iPhone, however pretty it was, there’s no amount of fairness in it that charmed me. Hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you can’t blame me. But with Android being open, the entry it made was logarithmic: the single cell dividing into two, and two diving, and four dividing, and on, and on, and on. It would seem like a virus, and if it is, it is the incurable virus that will attack and hit iPhone to its very core, unrelenting, allowing no chance of recovery until complete takeover is accomplished.

Google OS

With this I bring to mind Google OS, which was not a success. The world simply wasn’t ready for that idea, I believe. That was in 2009. The size and presence of Google didn’t help Google OS, or perhaps, the timing wasn’t right, since there isn’t an accompanying electronic device to advertise the new OS. Thus the flop.

Android Phone

Android's first device was unveiled somewhere late 2007, and it was an immediate hit. And why not? Even at the inception stage, the agreement and understanding was already on an open-source, open-market foundation. And from that structure, the development and marketing was opened to the whole wide world. That’s the attack and impact that Android phone made.

What now?

Design

iPhone doesn’t change its design. It is still the same size, and the screen remains the same, since iPhone 3 till iPhone 4S. If the story is true, that iPhone 5 will all be a device of built-in accessories, battery, memory, SIM card, etc., to me that is a fiasco in process, a phone designed to doom, designed for doom. It will be on both sides. If you buy that kind of phone, and if a part breaks while under warranty, it is to the iPhone company’s cost, and out of warranty, it is to the consumer’s burden. So either way, a device will all built-in parts is not a good design at all, a lose-lose situation. I think iPhone is way out of hand in its closed-system strategy.

Well it has somehow changed, but it is on the reverse path: curved corners becoming squared and pointy, that’s all.

Implementation

iPhone remains a closed system, and it is still iPhone. Then there is iPad, but these remain a closed system. Just a very annoying limitation that it makes. It’s like saying to you: “I give you a wonderful device to use and play with, but only you can do such and such…”

Android is opened to the world, and anybody can develop, for free (iPhone isn’t), and sell your products out in the market. Now this free-ness of the Android Market is its own problem. While AppStore presents you with the better and best of the deals, you find all kinds in the Android Market. Actually there is a thing called Android Black Market, where apps are purchased and the paid versions are uploaded for anybody to ‘search and acquire’ later on. Talk about freedom…

Which is why more and more phone manufacturers are hitching to the Android bandwagon with each days that passes.

Acceptability

iPhone is very well accepted, there is no question to that. To date, iPhone still commands a queue whenever the next release is announced or simply rumored. But the experience later on could very well be described as a sudden burst, a flame that ignites and is gone as quickly as the fire was lit. Am I making the wrong judgment here?

Android gives user a much more realistic mobile experience. E-mails, browsing, YouTube, streaming media, what have you, not to mention social networks - on the go. So the initial feud between Google and Facebook can’t be avoided, but the differences have been settled, or a compromise has been reached. I now do Facebook on my Android phone.

I am able to install a lot of apps from the Android Market, try them out, uninstall, rate, reinstall, rate again, or blog about them, and even root my phone. I’m not worried about the warranty, since I got my unit for only $11 as a promotional price, but I have tried rooting many times afterwards, and I will do even more things with my Android phone. What am I saying here? Freedom to the max!

Simply put, I like a phone that enables me, and frees me to do what I want. Caveat: With freedom comes accountability.

My wife sees me installing so many apps for kids, like read-me stories, alphabets, puzzles, memory games, and our toddler is tirelessly playing with my phone and learning in the process, and she spends less time with my wife’s iPhone nowadays. What’s the message? Kids cannot lie. They like Android phones. Not so much apps of those kinds can be found in the AppStore, if not for a fee. A small fee by the millions isn’t small money, you know.

She actually asked me, “can we exchange phones?”

Verdict

iPhone got a beating, and a good one at that, making her black and blue all over. PSP also got knocked down with a right hook: who’s holding PSP nowadays, if not an iPad, a tablet, an iPhone, or an Android phone?

Finally, who knows, with the undeniable presence and impact that Android is making, stronger with each passing day, just one fine day, it will be able to rise up against Microsoft, brandishing a completely overhauled, redesigned and retrofitted Google OS that is already equally capable as, if not better than, Windows OS?

Just my wild view, fired by Android phone.

Till then!

09 November, 2010

Japanese Food Recipe for iPad

Once again, here is a new app for iPad:

Let's Cook Japanese Food!: Everyday Recipes for Home Cooking

Japanese Food Recipe

To read the review, follow source article below:
Japanese Food Recipe for iPad - Quick Review

my Computer Quest

06 April, 2017

Kernel Panic - Not Syncing After Ubuntu Upgrade, Update

04 May, 2013

ORA-12154: The other uncommon cause, and the solution