Newton-Willbanks Engineering, Inc.

How to Creat a Bootable Ubuntu Flash Drive

Here are the steps to follow to create a bootable ubuntu 9.10 (this version is also called Karmic Koala) flash drive (minimum 2GB). Their version numbering system is pretty weird: version 9.10 means it was finalized in the 10th month of 09!! And the Karmic Koala just designates version K, but they started at the end of the alphabet instead of the first.

(1) Download the CD image (.iso file) from www.ubuntu.com:

(2) (Optional, but recommended) Verify that you got a good download by running md5sum found at http://www.nullriver.com/products/winmd5sum on the downloaded file and comparing to the hashes found at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes. For complete instructions on this process, go to: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM .

(3) Create a bootable flash drive following the instructions found at http://www.pendrivelinux.com/create-a-ubuntu-9-10-live-usb-in-windows

(4) Restart your PC and set the BIOS boot order to the flash drive(this may be a subset under the hardrive or CD), save the BIOS changes and reboot. Somewhere along this step you will have the opportunity to specify the size of the ‘casper-rw’ file you want to set up on the flash drive. I set mine to 2GB, I think, but you can resize it later by following the directions at http://www.pendrivelinux.com/how-to-resize-casper-rw-images (from windows) or http://www.pendrivelinux.com/how-to-create-a-larger-casper-rw-loop-file from linux.

Intel CPU Listing

It's time to by a new notebook computer and it seems that the processors used is more varied in the past. I prefer Intel processors, so the notebook listing by Intel processor  is a pretty handy reference.

Stuff I Like

Cometdocs - free online file converter

Live Mesh - synchronize your files and devices

Old Version - old versions of your favorite software

Nirsoft - password recovery tools

PhotoShop Express - online photo tools

InterfaceLIFT - wallpaper and more

Free Online Movies

Crackle - movies and television

Babelgum - international

SnagFilms - documentaries

Reel 13 - classic, indie, and shorts

Software

Everything - searches computer for .... everything

Wubi - Ubantu Linux for Windows

Nineteen Tools to Rate Your (or Anybody's) Website

http://speckyboy.com/2008/12/01/how-is-your-blog-performing-19-must-have-tools-that-will-let-you-know/

Awesome Photography Website

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/my-equipment/

Martindale's Reference Database

Martindale's Reference Desk is a large collection of links to reference material on a variety of topics including calculators and converters, world clocks, hearing and eye tests, science and engineering databases, recipes, entertainment and arts, education, etc. It's no-frills interface doesn't rely on flash or gimmicks to direct you to the website you're looking for.

Twenty Most Popular Top 10 List from Lifehacker

http://lifehacker.com/5099979/most-popular-top-10s-of-2008

T-568B Color Code for RJ-45 Plug

http://www.solurapid.com.ve/RJ-45.html

LIFE photo archive hosted by Google

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Great Pinball Repair Resource

Marvin has several guides on electromechanical pinball repair and reatoration.

http://www.marvin3m.com/fix.htm

Best Online Storage

5 GB for free

20 GB for $39.95/year

http://www.4shared.com

Everything Military

http://www.militaryfactory.com/

66 Vehicle Mods for Better Fuel Economy

http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php#56

Windows Secrets

http://windowssecrets.com/

Minute Man Missle Silo Historic Site in South Dakota

http://www.nps.gov/mimi/

Trans Union Class Action Lawsuit

If you had any kind of credit account, you could recieve benifits from a class action lawsuit with Trans Union credit. For info, go to: www.listclassaction.com

.NET Framework Problems

I recently had a problem where .NET 2.0 somehow got corrupted and several programs stopped working (RSView ME, QuickBooks 2008) or gave error messages (AutoCAD LT 2006). Microsoft automatice update kept downloading a .NET 2.0 update file, but it would never install. When I went to XP's uninstall program, it saw .NET 2.0, but had errors when I either tried to repair it or uninstall it.

I used the .NET Cleanup tool at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/05/30/611355.aspx to uninstall .NET 2.0.

Then I went to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=79bc3b77-e02c-4ad3-aacf-a7633f706ba5&DisplayLang=en and dowmloaded and reinstalled NET 2.0.

Problem solved.

Online Shopping Coupon Codes

BradsDeals.com

retailmenot.com

currentcodes.com

couponcabin.com

The Electric Vehicle Photo Album

Information on home-built electric vehicles.

http://www.evalbum.com/

PLC Web Sites

Mr. PLC - http://www.mrplc.com/

History of the PLC - http://www.barn.org/FILES/historyofplc.html

Free PLC Book - http://claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu/~jackh/books/plcs/

PLC Open Home - http://www.plcopen.org/

InterNIC—Public Information Regarding Internet Domain Name Registration Services

http://www.internic.net/index.html

Breathe New Life into Old Gadgets

http://lifehacker.com/software/feature/breathe-new-life-into-your-old-gadgets-333274.php

Linux for Older Computers

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=575456

Open Source PDF Tools

http://www.cogniview.com/convert-pdf-to-excel/post/pdf-editing-creation-50-open-sourcefree-alternatives-to-adobe-acrobat/

Top 20 IPOD Utilities

http://lifehacker.com/software/feature/the-20-best-ipod-utilities-329507.php

Top 10 Ways to Clean Your PC

http://lifehacker.com/software/lifehacker-top-10/top-10-ways-to-clean-up-your-pc-294189.php

Free document Templates

http://www.docstoc.com/

Top 10 Free Video Rippers

http://lifehacker.com/software/lifehacker-top-10/top-10-free-video-rippers-encoders-and-converters-316478.php

100 Cars on the Streets of Alameda

http://jalopnik.com/cars/down-on-the-street/100-cars-down-on-alamedas-street-308463.php

XP Security Tools to Fight Hackers

http://techdune.com/2007/10/09/amazing-xp-tools-to-arm-your-pc/

Cool, Strange, and Unusual Pictures

http://imager.cc/

Is Your Computer Connecting to Websites Without Your Knowledge?

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-your-computer-connecting-to-websites.html

Craig's List Helper

Search multiple Craig's List cities simultaneously

http://www.crazedlist.org/

Top Ten Wallpaper Websites

http://www.socksoff.co.uk/walls02.html

http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/index.php?sort=ratings&w=1920&h=1200

http://www.crestock.com/blog/photography/13-fantastic-free-wallpaper-images-80.aspx

http://www.flickr.com/groups/wallpapers/pool/

http://www.mydeskcity.com/1600BZ78.htm

http://www.pbase.com/jeffreyk/infrared

http://www.enchgallery.com/fractals/fracthumbs.htm

http://www.deviantart.com/

http://www.dualscreenwallpaper.com/

http://e-wallpapers.info/

My IP Neighbors

See what sites are hosted on the same IP address as another site:

http://www.myipneighbors.com/

100 Useful Ubuntu Links

http://www3.telus.net/lordfoul/pics/useful%20ubuntu%20links/useful%20unbuntu%20links.html

Graphic Internet Speed Test

http://www.speedtest.net/

Mohawke's Open Surce Software List

http://www.digitaldarknet.net/thelist/index.php?page=windows

Ubuntu 7.04

http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu704

Scale of the Universe

http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/feelnikon/discovery/universcale/index_f.htm

Xbox 360 Web Sites

www.xbox.com

forums.xbox.com

http://xbox360.xboxcheats.com/

www.bungie.net

www.majornelson.com

www.joystiq.com

www.activexbox.com

www.teamxbox.com

www.g4tv.com

www.xbox4dummies.com

Top 10 Free Windows Downloads

http://lifehacker.com/software/windows/lh-top-10--free-windows-downloads-248303.php

WorldCat

WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.

http://www.worldcat.org/

Open source Alternatives to Commercial Software

http://www.osalt.com/

DeviceNet Troubleshooting Tips

My favorite guide is by Robert Law and can be found at ODVA: http://www.odva.org/Portals/0/Library/Publications_NotNumbered/DeviceNet_Troubleshooting_by_Robert_D_Law.pdf

Turck has some info on DeviceNet and other networks at: http://www.turck-usa.com/Support/White_Papers_~_Tutorials/

If you're using Allen-Bradley's RSNetworx for Devicenet, there is a good guide at: http://www.theautomationbookstore.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/gr/dnet-gr001_-en-e.pdf

Woodhead has a quick guide to design, installation, and testing at: http://www.woodhead.com/data/current4701/Woodhead_Building%20a%20Functional%20DeviceNet%20Network.pdf

Virtual Video Game Arcade

Everybody Panic (simple line game) http://everybodypanic.org/linegame.htm

Tron (from the classic movie) http://www.fltron.com/index_flash.html

Skywire (run the people lift) http://www.miniclip.com/games/skywire/en/

Desktop Towers (set up defenses against the creeps) h ttp://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/Instructions.asp

Internet Speed Test

http://speedtest.net/index.php

Top Ten Largest Databases

http://www.businessintelligencelowdown.com/2007/02/top_10_largest_.html

You Shock Online Games

http://www.youshock.com/

Freeware List

http://www.econsultant.com/i-want-freeware-utilities/

Google Patent Search

http://www.google.com/patents