Month: October 2005

The Inquirer wrote
SINCE WE wrote a yarn about how opening OpenOffice was slower than a Lada full of elephants going uphill, we have had a few tips from our readers as to how to speed it up.

The changes are not difficult and do seem to have an effect. We can’t be certain how much this will affect the functionality but we pass these ideas on.

Both changes involve going into the Tools and then options management sections. In the memory dialogue box, increase graphics cache to 64MB and memory per object to 8MB. It will take Open Office a few openings before this helps.

The other is to go to Java options and disable them. Apparently in the time it takes Open Office to open Java, you can go and make a cup off coffee, go to the loo, read the online newspaper on your thin and light and return to your desktop.

Details:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=120

Just finnished installing Ubunto Linux 5.10 on my PC.
It is pretty good, I like it.
Since I am a heavy Windows user I will not abandon Windows XP. I have to use it for work, for games, and for cool windows only apps like Feeddemon (RSS reader), Google Earth, etc

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=68905&highlight=vmware+tools

To install the VMWare tools:
Code:
su
apt-get install linux-tree
apt-get install build-essential
apt-get install gcc-3.4
cd /usr/src
tar jxvf linux-source-2.6.12.tar.bz2
ln -s linux-source-2.6.12 linux
rmmod pcnet32
export CC=/usr/bin/gcc-3.4
Now you should be able to untar the VMWare tools to a directory and run the setup script successfully.

It’s Big

Size does matter, 19″ inches of pure ….. monitor madness
I got my monitor yesterday and the difference from an old 17″ monitor is huge.

Most 19″ and 17″ monitors run at a resolution of 1280×1024 which is a hudge workspace.

The only problems so far, the monitor by default is very bright.
When I play movies I think I notice more pixilization.

But for games, web surfing and everyday work it is a sound investment.

I also purchased Feeddemon last night. I used my Korean Visa cards with zero problems to purchase it using esellerate credit card software. It took about a minute to check my card was valid and it then gave me a serial number for the software.

Feed Demon is an RSS reader for Windows. It integrates with an online RSS readers as well as the Macintosh. So you can go from your Pc to a Mac and back to the web and they are all syncronished automatically.
COST: US$ 29
By purchasing Feeddemon I also got a 2 year subscription to their Basic business service which is $19.95 a year. So I have already saved $10

On May 14, 2005, Stephen Revere said this about the Alien Registration system

Korea’s Immigration Bureau adopted an excellent system to assist foreigners about three years ago. Prior to the implementation of this system it was very difficult, if not impossible, for foreign residents in Korea to properly fill out a document or register online because of the different registration numbering systems for Korean residents and resident aliens. The Immigration Bureau, to their credit, went to great lengths to resolve this problem by conducting a complete overhaul of the registration number system for foreigners residing in Korea.
The current alien registration system is now similar to that for Korean residents. Most importantly there are the same number of digits, allowing it to be inputted into the space allotted for Korean citizen numbers on forms or websites. The first set of numbers denoting date of birth, is followed by a second set of numbers that begins with a 5 (denoting a foreigner) and then a 1 in the case of males, and a 2 in the case of females. For example, the number 800101-5200000 would refer to a foreign female born on January 1, 1980.

Fortunally things have improved a lot in recent years. One example is I was able to get a KTF phone by giving my Alien Registration Card number and my Australian credit card (Mastercard) without the help of a Korean.
The KTF phone is my second phone. The first one was legally owned by my Korean friend even through I was the one that used it. At the time (October 2003) they (LG Telecom) wouldn’t let me have a phone in my name.

Last week some people from Nonghyup came to school.
Nonghyup is a co-operative bank. It is acttually a agriculutural co-operative. Each branch is actually an independent entity. But they co operate for the common good.
Anyway I got a Visa card from them which was very interesting. Two weeks before when I was sending some money back to Australia at the same branch one of the staff members here told me that I had very little chance of getting a credit card.
THe card I got as you can see from the picture is issued to teachers or staff who work for the Ulsan board of education.

Yesterday on Saturday I tried to use my credit card online to purchase a new computer monitor. But the web site would not accept my Alien Registration number.
Everyone in Korea has a National ID. Foreigners have an Alien ID.
Unfortunally and I am not sure who is to blame here, business or government or all of them, when you purchase anything online or register on a web site you have to enter your ID number.
So Korea being the ‘most wired nation’ and aspiring to be “an international business hub” easily accepts my ID card number on web sites ?

NOPE – bloody useless!

So no ID number means you can’t join sites, you can’t purchase stuff online.

My old monitor, a Daewoo 17″ CRT is on the way out. But fear not, a new monitor is on the way.
I will soon buy a BenQ FP91G+ 19″ LCD monitor. It is quite cheap at @380,000 won, which is much cheaper then it’s Ausrtalian price of AUD $560