PHP debug configuration

zypper in php5-xdebug
Edit file  /etc/php5/conf.d/xdebug.ini and edit the following lines (initially commented out)


xdebug.remote_enable = On
xdebug.remote_handler = dbgp
xdebug.remote_host = localhost
xdebug.remote_mode = req
xdebug.remote_port = 9000
xdebug.remote_autostart = 0

Disabling unreasonable input method

Annoyingly, SCIM or IBUS just seem to pop up after many new upgrades. It's a mess, doesn't work with emacs, takes over important key combinations like ctrl-space. It may be useful for people writing asian languages, but definitely not for a developer I wish it would not be forced on me!

Steps to disable:
just remove both scim and ibus packages from the system

Video Size Reduction

General recommendation is AVIDEMUX. But it crashed on AVIs from my Mom's canon.
ffmpeg worked:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx264 -crf 24 output.mp4

24 is max possible quality. Can do lower for bigger compression.

Bootable USB stick with multiple images

Reference: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/boot-multiple-iso-from-usb-via-grub2-using-linux/

1. Partition the stick and install grub2 on it. Create 2 partitions: a 40M FAT32 partition for GRUB, and an ext2 partition (want ext2 to support larger images, just in case)

2. Label the first partition MULTIBOOT, the second partition ISOS

3. Install GRUB2 onto the MULTIBOOT partition
 grub2-install --no-floppy --boot-directory=/var/run/media/myrosia/MULTIBOOT/boot /dev/sdb

4. Copy memdisk image onto the same directory
cp /usr/share/syslinux/memdisk /var/run/media/myrosia/MULTIBOOT/

5. Add the following menu file into MULTIBOOT/boot/grub2/grub.cfg
(note: I now maintain this  file in develop/multiboot)


set timeout=10
set default=0

menuentry "openSUSE 13.1 Install 64 bit from ISO" {
  set arch=x86_64
  set isofile=/isos/openSUSE-13.1-DVD-$arch.iso
  set root=(hd0,2)
  set rootdevice=/dev/sdb2
  loopback loop $isofile
  linux (loop)/boot/$arch/loader/linux install=hd:$isofile
  initrd (loop)/boot/$arch/loader/initrd
}


menuentry "openSUSE 13.1 LiveKDE 64 bit from ISO" {
  set root=(hd0,2)
  set isofile=/isos/openSUSE-13.1-KDE-Live-x86_64.iso
  set arch=x86_64
  set rootdevice=/dev/sdb2
  loopback loop $isofile
  linux (loop)/boot/$arch/loader/linux isofrom=$rootdevice:$isofile isofrom_device=$rootdevice isofrom_system=$isofile
  initrd (loop)/boot/$arch/loader/initrd
}


menuentry "OpenSuse 13.1 Network Install 64bit from ISO" {
   linux16 /memdisk iso
   initrd16 (hd0,2)/isos/openSUSE-13.1-NET-x86_64.iso
 }


menuentry "OpenSuse 13.1 Network Install 32bit from ISO" {
   linux16 /memdisk iso
   initrd16 (hd0,2)/isos/openSUSE-13.1-NET-i586.iso
 }


menuentry "EEEPC install boot" {
  linux (hd0,2)/kernels/vmlinuz-eeepc901 vga=normal quiet root=/dev/ram0 rw acpi=on
  initrd (hd0,2)/ramdisks/initrd_eeepc_901.gz
}




6. Now copy the images onto DATA, into appropriate ramdisks/isos/kernels directories. (NOTE: creation of bootable live USB suse images to be documented still)
From OpenSuse 12.2  forward, no need for special USB image. Just copy the one downloaded from the web into the isos directory. This will also work with install, but not documented yet. See this FAQ
http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/how-faq-forums/unreviewed-how-faq/484223-how-boot-opensuse-dvd-hard-disk-grub2.html

Kerberos for DICE

Read this link for proper setup
http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/cgi/gdutton/awki/DiceFriendlyEtch

All Kerberos options are important, and especially the [libdefaults] section -- if not everything is copied, AFS tokens are not picked up. In addition, make sure you set up the ssh options as well as Kerberos.

Thunderbird configuration to support mom

1. Enable contacts sidebar; include emails in sidebar; resize everything properly
2. Install extra folders column extension and make unread and total visible
3. Export address book. Save it to google?
4. Configure font sizes. They have to be configured for all languages. In addition, uncheck the box and say that html email should not be allowed to use its own fonts.
5. TODO: proper zoom plugin!
6. TODO: install zindus add-on

Router update

Tested and working on OpenSuse 11.3

1. Set up networking to be controlled by the ifup in Yast2
2. Make sure that "dhcp address" and "set up default route using dhcp" are both unchecked
3. Add to the routing table: 192.168.1.254 gw=0.0.0.0 netmask=255.255.255.255
4. Disable IPv6 (tftp won't work with it enabled on OpenSuse 11.3). This will require system reboot
4. Create /etc/bootptab with
bebox:ha=XXXXXXXXXX:ip=192.168.1.254:sm=255.255.255.0:bf=Be_TG585v7_8277_JZ_V2V_18112010_0933.bin
"ha" is hexadecimal; bf is path relative to tftp directory . Original BE instructions incorrectly specify the absolute path.
5. Go to "network services" and make sure that tftp is enabled (install tftp and yast-tftp first)
6. Configure yast in tftp, say, to /srv/tftpboot
7. Make sure that the /srv/tftpboot has read permissions
8. Restart xinetd
9. Start bootpd -d 4
10. Press the "reset" button on the router until the light turns yellow. Transfer will start.

For debugging, I found that wireshark was more helpful than tcpdump, the messages were more obvious.