The Linux Mystery Repair

The computer mystery man.

 The other day I decided it was time for a yum --security update. If you don't know about the security plugin for yum, oracle has a great explanation of it here. As long as everything is running smooth , I'm not a big fan of updates. However, every few months or so I like to do a quick security update and make sure my system isn't overly vulnerable. I'm one of those people who feel no configuration is completely fool proof, (for every fool proof plan there's a new and improved fool !) however it is important to stay on top of security when administering a GNU Linux system.

So, why don't I like running updates when my system is running great ? For the exact reason I'm about to tell you. I run my security update, and there's a new kernel version waiting for me and about 30 or 40 other updates all security related. The files download, install, alls good, I reboot and I can immediately tell something is wrong with my screen resolution and graphics. On top of that all the cute little desktop effects that KDE offers aren't working anymore. WTF !

I do a search to see if anyone has reported this problem after updates, and discover that many people have . Next I read through a ton of posts, some make sense others not so much. After looking at  /var/log/Xorg.0.log
I discover that the update probably switched my system to a generic graphics driver. I then found this thread on the Fedora Forums that had my exact problem with the same chipset and on board graphics card I'm using.

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)

 I follow the thread and agree that the mesa-dri-drivers need to be updated. Now here's where things get interesting ! All the while I'm taking notes, thinking about doing the blog post on this and trying  fix the problem. I update a couple different sets of drivers and nothings working. I do some reboots and still nothing. Same problem. The last thing I do is install mesa-vdpau-drivers.x86_64 and still nothing.

I realize 4 hours have passed, and my favorite Sunday night T.V show is coming on so I shut down the computer and watch some t.v. After my t.v. show I decided to go for a jog, (I'm getting fat !) come home, hop in the shower to rinse off the sweat, and give it one last try .  I boot up my system and holy crap on a cracker my desktop effects are working again and the graphics card appears to be rendering everything properly !

Now I thought I rebooted after the last driver update, maybe not. Also from what I read I thought I didn't have to reboot. Anyway this is the mystery repair. I love and hate when this happens ! I'm glad the problems fixed but I'm still somewhat confused as to how the problem got fixed. Almost makes you wonder if I fixed it or some mystery computer guru snook into the room while I was out jogging and repaired my system. Stranger things have happened. 

Anyway if you're having a hard time with KDE desktop effects not working after your last update, check out the above thread and see if it works for you. From what I researched it's currently a known bug and effects mainly that chipset. Good luck and sorry I couldn't be more helpful. It's a mystery !

Old Keyboard PS2 to USB

This is the old keyboard I found in the garage. It was a PS2 and I wanted to use it as a USB keyboard to plug into my laptop at home. I've been using it for about two weeks and all is going well. I thought about just ordering another keyboard until I seen how much they go for these days. So I'm really glad I got the adapter.

The keyboard in the picture is probably close to 20 years old. It's a Microsoft keyboard , running on my Fedora machine. The windows keys are now used for foreign language accents like í ñ ö and making symbols.

Microsoft ps2 keyboard now being plugged into my usb port on my linux laptop.

I got to know a guy at one of the local mega mart computer stores. They had a close-out bin in the back of the store of returned and damaged merchandise. The guy at the store would call when there was anything good in there. Hard drives, keyboards, ports, cables, you never really knew what you would find in there. At one time I had enough extra parts to build a computer from extra parts.  I originally purchased this keyboard for $5.00 similiar keyboards on Amazon are like $50.00 + dollars now. Here's one on Amazon for $255.00 Microsoft Natural Keyboard It's pretty close to what I'm using. Twenty years later its still going strong.

I hate people using my computer so the keyboard was painted making it unusable to anyone that didn't know how to type. I hate telling people no, so when people asked, "Can I check my email real quick?" I'd say sure, and 9 out of 10 times they would take one look at the keyboard and say "Never mind, I'll do it when I get home." No more downloaded email virii from friends email attachements !

Anyway, I was bored, felt like doing a quick post, and that's the history of the microsoft ps2 keyboard now being used as USB on my Linux machine.

Use the Compose Key To Type Accents In KDE 4.12

I'm trying to become a bi-lingual citizen and broaden my horizons in the fine art of linguistics. I've had a love affair with the Spanish language for some time now, and recently decided to start a learning Spanish blog to help me stay focused with my studies. One of the first things I realized I needed to do was set up my keyboard so that I could use the funky accents found in so many Spanish words. Por ejemplo: the blogs name is Mi Palabra Del Día. I needed to be able to put the accent mark over the "i" in Día.

What is a GNU / Linux user to do using KDE 4.12 ? You need to enable the compose key so that it can be mapped to any modifier key. The great news is you can also use this for math symbols like ½ or the copyright symbol ©new-aeon-design.com, or confusing friends with an upside down ¿. If you look around you can find all kinds of lists of symbols that you can create enabling the compose key. Here's how it works.

First things first lets enable that compose key. This tutorial is for KDE 4.12 if you're using Gnome you can check out the tutorial that helped me figure this out here. GNOME tutorial. If you're using KDE 3.x try this.

O.k, using the application launcher of your choice go to System Settings -> Hardware -> Input Devices.

Click image to enlage. System Settings -> Hardware -> Input Devices. This is the icon highlighted in blue and circled in bright green.

Now you want to click on the Layouts tab.In the third column that says Shortcuts for Switching Layout , click on the Main Shortcuts button.

Click on the layouts tab circled in green towards the upper left. Then in the third column where it says Shortcuts for Switching Layout click the Main Shortcust button highlighted in green.

Next click on Position Of Compose Key and select the keys you want to use as the compose key. I used the Windows key because I rarely use it and I have one on the left side of my keyboard and the right side, so I thought it would be easier to use once I was comfortable with it. Select your keys and then press the apply button in the bottom left hand corner.

Click on Postition of Compose key, select the key or keys you want to use as a compose key, click the apply button in the bottom left hand corner and you are done !

That's it ! You're done. Now when you need to accent a letter like ñ you just hit the compose key and the corresponding keys that create the ñ symbol. In this case you would hit compose ~ n . For the í in día you would hit compose ' i.

Here is a list of all the symbols for Spanish o para español.

¿ compose key ? (for this one you have to hit the ? mark key twice while holding shift.

¡ compose key ! (done the same as above, ex: compose key shift!! gives you ¡

á compose key ' a (compose key apostrophe a)

é compose key ' e (same as above just hit e instead of a)

í compose key ' i

ó compose key ' o

ú compose key ' u

ü compose u (compose " u)

ñ compose key ~ n


For a full list of characters to use with your compose key click here.

Articles referenced :

http://ma.ttwagner.com/typing-accented-characters-on-fedora-20/

http://fsymbols.com/keyboard/linux/compose/