I have a West Digital MyBook box serving as a file server for my home LAN. I can locate and use its samba share under Nautilus sometimes, but for some unknown reason, the share doesn’t show up occasionally. I decided to mount it via /etc/fstab and put it into /media, so that I can directly access it on Gnome desktop. » » »
Apr292009
Install Debian Lenny on HP DV2000t
I experienced a slump over the past two days, and it appears nothing could better /dev/zero my grudge than tinkering with Lenny on my HP laptop. Here are the notes I summarize for the installation and tweaking. » » »
Mar222009
The Shanzhai Phenomenon in China
Shanzhai (山寨) can be literally translated as “camp on a mountain”. It also carries overtones as an outlaws’ camp on the mountain. Anyone who have read one of the Four Classic novels — the Outlaws of the Marsh — will get an idea what an outlaw’s camp is like. » » »
Mar192009
How to replace virus-infected svchost.exe file
MS Windows is a patchy OS, and you have to constantly maintain it, both manually and automatically using its slow live update, to keep the system relatively secure. Here are the instructions on how to replace the infected svchost.exe under Windows XP and patch your system to close the loophole. » » »
Mar162009
Is Chinese difficult to learn?
Mar152009
Interpreting the Grass-mud Horse
The sudden popularity of the phrase Cao Ni Ma (草泥马) or Grass-mud Horse in the Chinese cyberspace perplexed many non-Chinese speakers. If you can understand it, you will gain such penetrating insights into the cyber culture in China. » » »
Feb252009
Debian CN99 is back!
The fastest debian mirror site in China has just come back online. The once long standing debian.cn99.com went offline a few months ago without any notice or explanation from its administrators. Many Chinese debianers had been guessing when it would come back or if it ever would. » » »
Jan242009
A Debian/Lenny User Experience — A Glass Half Full (Part II)
Now it is approaching the Chinese New Year — the Year of OX and I am in the mood of using Linux/Debian again. But this time I am not going to pretend I don’t hate the usability issues of Linux for a desktop environment. There are many applications under Linux which are touted as ‘replacements’ for Windows applications, luring Windows users to take the plunge and use Linux. While it is true that you can do the same thing under Linux, you will find many so called replacements have one thing in common: they stand in your way when you are using them to do the tasks. » » »