Set wallpaper using ImageMagick's display

The list of redundant applications on a system that can accomplish the same task can become quite large at times. For example I was using nitrogen to set my wallpaper when I could also use hsetroot or display. Where these console based applications fail in user friendliness, they excel in robustness when it comes to image manipulation.

Currently I'm using display to set my wallpaper using the following command:

display -size 1280x800 -window root ~/images/wallpapers/kambei.jpg

Now, since ImageMagick is actually an image manipulation program you can apply most any effect you could using gimp or photoshop on the fly from the command line. Your creativity is really the limit.

For more information on display's features, check out their online documentation:

ImageMagick

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, S. Texas Release Party

With all the hype around Ubuntu's new release 9.10 Karmic Koala, I found myself between a rock and a hard place. Not living in a big suburban area, there was no release party for me to adjoin myself to. Thus, the Mexican way I found myself improvising. May I present to you the S. Texas release party!!

Attendees: una persona

Prerequisites

After unpacking the care package from Mark Shuttleworth as most of you Ubuntu users are doing ATM, I found the contents below.

case badges for rebranding my system, windows key stickers for hiding that un-Godly logo, a pint of ale, smokes to keep me awake for the reformat, and of course an ubuntu usb-key. Thanks Mark, you're a sweetheart.

Somehow there appeared a cron-job on my system to download the minimal install at exactly mid-night October 29th, 2009.

On the informative side...

To schedule your own cron-jobs as an un-privileged user:

From the terminal:

crontab -e

now select your preferred editor by choosing an editor assigned to the correct numeric value

cron is easy setup in the below format:

[minute] [hour] [dayofmonth] [month] [dayofweek] [command]

mine was as follows:

0 0 29 10 4 wget http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/karmic/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/mini.iso

now close your editor and the job will run according to the parameters you just set

Since this was a cosplay party I decided to go gangsta'.

The Occasion

The format went well. On boot I launched the text based browser w3m and downloaded the crunchbang install script straight out of the UK from crunchbanglinux.org. Thanks corenomial, you're a real life saver.

Karmic is a nice upgrade, to say the least the main pluses I see are the new linux kernel, ext4 as default filesystem, and of course, OMG the framebuffered console.

The guys up at the Isle of Man are doing a great job on this OS. With a 6 month release cycle, bleeding edge technology, and a great community, I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Update facebook from IRC

Do you spend a lot of time in IRC? I have some tips on keeping your facebook status updated from within your favorite IRC client. Now you'll never have to leave your beautiful colored textual paradise, to the the land of bloated web applications and cornea gumbo.

First I'll conceptualize the process, then we'll go straight into setting it up on an Ubuntu 9.10 system.

Basically it's IRC client --> tircd IRC twitter gateway --> twitter --> facebook's Selective Twitter Status application --> facebook

I decided to use the Selective Twitter Status application because I use twitter too and don't want all my tweets to totally spam my friends like a bad EFnet bot. (you IRC veterans know what I'm talking about)

Also, take note of the port change to 6668 if you use bitlbee for IM.

updating facebook status within IRC



results!

Install tircd

sudo aptitude install tircd

Install Selective Twitter Status

http://apps.facebook.com/selectivetwitter/ & enter your twitter username

Configure tircd (optional)

gksudo gedit /etc/tircd.cfg

chage line:9 from port 6667 to port 6668

Launch tircd

terminal: tircd &

or

run dialog: tircd

Update facebook Status

open preferred IRC client

/SERVER localhost 6667 [twitter_password] [twitter_username]

or

/SERVER localhost 6668 [twitter_password] [twitter_username]

/JOIN #twitter

[msg] #fb