This will be my last post here at blogspot.com.
I have transferred to Wordpress.com.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Bye-bye local Wikipedia
I've spent 2 nights and countless hours trying to check why WikiFilter won't continue indexing the latest XML data dump for the English Wikipedia.
I have used WikiFilter for the last two years for browsing Wikipedia offline or locally, since I don't have an Internet connection at home, and getting one is way out of my budget. When I had to sacrifice my 40G hard disk for a good cause :) I decided to part with my XML file from 2005 with its index. I rationalized that I will just download the latest dump.
I was able to download the dump after two working days (I had to limit the bandwidth use, and I had to use a Windows computer because axel in my Ubuntu station won't work, and of course, I had to shut down the PC at 5pm).
Then the first problem I've met was the sheer size of the extracted dump. My biggest hard disk at that time was a 15G, and I used 3G of it to store the bzipped file. But when I extract the file, I ran out of disk space. So I had to buy a hard disk (80G).
Last night I was trying to index my latest XML dump but WikiFilter won't work. I thought it has something to do with the legacy system I used at home (P3, 128MB), but now (I am in my brother-in-law's Internet cafe) I realized that the problem is with WikiFilter itself.
I think I will need to go back to programming and learn how WikiFilter actually work so that I can modify it to be able to read the latest Wikipedia dump. But for now, it's bye-bye local Wikipedia.
I have used WikiFilter for the last two years for browsing Wikipedia offline or locally, since I don't have an Internet connection at home, and getting one is way out of my budget. When I had to sacrifice my 40G hard disk for a good cause :) I decided to part with my XML file from 2005 with its index. I rationalized that I will just download the latest dump.
I was able to download the dump after two working days (I had to limit the bandwidth use, and I had to use a Windows computer because axel in my Ubuntu station won't work, and of course, I had to shut down the PC at 5pm).
Then the first problem I've met was the sheer size of the extracted dump. My biggest hard disk at that time was a 15G, and I used 3G of it to store the bzipped file. But when I extract the file, I ran out of disk space. So I had to buy a hard disk (80G).
Last night I was trying to index my latest XML dump but WikiFilter won't work. I thought it has something to do with the legacy system I used at home (P3, 128MB), but now (I am in my brother-in-law's Internet cafe) I realized that the problem is with WikiFilter itself.
I think I will need to go back to programming and learn how WikiFilter actually work so that I can modify it to be able to read the latest Wikipedia dump. But for now, it's bye-bye local Wikipedia.
Friday, August 17, 2007
How to download pictures from ViewImages.com
I was infected with this "Dido addiction" starting two weeks ago, when I saw her as Stan's wife in Eminem's video of the song.
I think I have downloaded all of her pictures online, except those found at ViewImages.com
I tried to do that last Sunday using my Windows XP PC but I couldn't.
Then I tried today using my Ubuntu workstation with Firefox 1.5, and I could save a picture by right-clicking on it, clicking on the OK button of the message box which appears, and choosing "Save images as..."
I think I have downloaded all of her pictures online, except those found at ViewImages.com
I tried to do that last Sunday using my Windows XP PC but I couldn't.
Then I tried today using my Ubuntu workstation with Firefox 1.5, and I could save a picture by right-clicking on it, clicking on the OK button of the message box which appears, and choosing "Save images as..."
Thursday, August 16, 2007
My first OS fight
Nowadays I am involved in an internal "power struggle" with regards to what operating system my employer company would be using in the future. Which reminds me of my first OS fight.
I was a third year college student then, and the setting was the University of San Carlos. I was with the girl of my dreams (now my reality), trying to impress her, and I volunteered to help out with the PowerPoint presentation she was preparing.
Having had experience with the latest XP version at that time, I prepared the presentation using OfficeXP, with all the bells and whistles that (expensive) office suite had.
Unfortunately this Mr. B. (an employee of the University) decided to use Windows ME for the computer which was going to be used for the presentation. No matter how I tried to tell him that he would waste what I had worked on for hours, he seemed not to consider what I was telling him.
In the end the presentation was a loser, with all the animations and special effects removed, and I went home totally disgusted that I was not able to impress my future girlfriend.
P.S. Last time the University had a lecture forum I met this Mr. B. and asked him if he recognized me. Of course he did! I then told him to wait as I will be getting something to give to him, but he ran away. :)
I was a third year college student then, and the setting was the University of San Carlos. I was with the girl of my dreams (now my reality), trying to impress her, and I volunteered to help out with the PowerPoint presentation she was preparing.
Having had experience with the latest XP version at that time, I prepared the presentation using OfficeXP, with all the bells and whistles that (expensive) office suite had.
Unfortunately this Mr. B. (an employee of the University) decided to use Windows ME for the computer which was going to be used for the presentation. No matter how I tried to tell him that he would waste what I had worked on for hours, he seemed not to consider what I was telling him.
In the end the presentation was a loser, with all the animations and special effects removed, and I went home totally disgusted that I was not able to impress my future girlfriend.
P.S. Last time the University had a lecture forum I met this Mr. B. and asked him if he recognized me. Of course he did! I then told him to wait as I will be getting something to give to him, but he ran away. :)
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Blogger.com vs Wordpress.com
I was thinking of transferring to Wordpress.com but unlike previous times when I wanted to do something and I just did it, now I looked before I leapt. Two articles which had been especially useful are the following:
- Blogger.com vs. wordpress.com
- Blogspot.com vs Wordpress.com - the battle for freedom (Part 1) (I did not read the 2nd part)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Update :-)
Taudtaod na pod kong wala makaposte ning akong blog kunohay. Nabisi lagi. Daghang gitrabaho. Karon gani, milighot lang kog sulat-sulat dinhi, pero naa gyod koy daghang angay atimanon unta.
Ang akong gitarget karon mao nga makombinser ang akong mga labaw nga Ubuntu na lay among gamiton, aron makalibre ang tulunghaan sa gasto sa programa sa kompyuter. Na hala kini lang usa. Mosulat lang kog balik kon dunay panahon.
Ang akong gitarget karon mao nga makombinser ang akong mga labaw nga Ubuntu na lay among gamiton, aron makalibre ang tulunghaan sa gasto sa programa sa kompyuter. Na hala kini lang usa. Mosulat lang kog balik kon dunay panahon.
Friday, May 25, 2007
How to download a site
You might find a site so informative that you would want a complete copy of it on your hard disk. Copyright considerations aside, there are good reasons to use an automated downloader to get files from a certain site.
The one I've been using for years is BackStreet Browser. To download a site, say example.com, you just need to enter in BS' address bar the URL.
But using the top-level of the address is too much for most sites. You might find it easier to divide a site into its component folders, say example.com/folder1. BS downloads only those files under folder1 and under subfolders under folder1 (if you choose that option).
The links to pages within the site are relinked so that when you click on a link to a page (assuming that the page was also on the site) will bring you to that page. Links to pages outside the site are not changed however, so if you are not connected to the Internet, you will receive a no-page-to-view message.
A good way to have an estimate of how many pages are in the folder is to use Google's advanced search. Leave the search line blank, and use the URL for the domain. If the number of files returned are below 100, most probably you will be able to download the site. OTH, if it's more than that, consider going for subfolders.
BTW, there are sites which will block you when they notice that your bandwidth usage is much more than a normal person could have. For example Yahoo would give you a 999 error. Most other sites don't have this feature or has a higher bandwidth tolerance.
Finally, don't try to do this for Wikipedia. Aside from the fact that you have >2 million articles to download (not to mention the talk pages and project pages), they offer a download of their database, a process which is faster and more comprehensive (aside from being Wikipedia-server friendly).
The one I've been using for years is BackStreet Browser. To download a site, say example.com, you just need to enter in BS' address bar the URL.
But using the top-level of the address is too much for most sites. You might find it easier to divide a site into its component folders, say example.com/folder1. BS downloads only those files under folder1 and under subfolders under folder1 (if you choose that option).
The links to pages within the site are relinked so that when you click on a link to a page (assuming that the page was also on the site) will bring you to that page. Links to pages outside the site are not changed however, so if you are not connected to the Internet, you will receive a no-page-to-view message.
A good way to have an estimate of how many pages are in the folder is to use Google's advanced search. Leave the search line blank, and use the URL for the domain. If the number of files returned are below 100, most probably you will be able to download the site. OTH, if it's more than that, consider going for subfolders.
BTW, there are sites which will block you when they notice that your bandwidth usage is much more than a normal person could have. For example Yahoo would give you a 999 error. Most other sites don't have this feature or has a higher bandwidth tolerance.
Finally, don't try to do this for Wikipedia. Aside from the fact that you have >2 million articles to download (not to mention the talk pages and project pages), they offer a download of their database, a process which is faster and more comprehensive (aside from being Wikipedia-server friendly).
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