Today mark another milestone for Canonical’s Linux distribution, Ubuntu, with its’ ninth release dubbed as “Intrepid Ibex” or if you prefer the number, just Ubuntu 8.10 is suffice. You can read about the release note here. Among the changes are:

• Comes with the Linux 2.6.27 kernel, X Server 1.5 / X.Org 7.4, Pidgin 2.5, and GIMP 2.6 (among many other packages).
• Native 3G support.
• Refined default theme.
• Dynamic Kernel Module Support (some reading here).
• Comes with a special ATI driver for providing the X.Org 7.4 support.
• Inclusion of Live USB Disk Creator.
• Refined BulletProffX.

If you’re not into Ubuntu yet, you can download it from Ubuntu’s site. If you’re upgrading, a simple guide can be found here (check your release version first). Currently I’m using the network upgrade method since I already have version 8.04.1. But since my local broadband connection kinda sucks , it seems the upgrade process will took 2 years to complete But for those who’re not in the rush, you can always request a free cd through Shipit.

Petaling Jaya, 1 September 2008 – As a result of the significant 20% excise increase, and taking into consideration the consequent impact of sales tax, trade margins and the higher than normal inflationary impacts on our own cost base, as global tobacco, paper and fuel costs have all increased by double digit amounts, British American Tobacco Malaysia has revised its cigarette prices.

The new cigarette prices, which will be effective Monday, 1st September 2008, are as follows:-
 • Dunhill Fine Cut 20s range RM 10.00
 • Dunhill D360 20s range RM 9.40
 • Dunhill King Size 20s range RM 9.00
 • Dunhill King Size 14s range RM 6.50
 • Kent King Size 20s range RM 9.00
 • Pall Mall Plain 20s RM 9.40
 • Pall Mall King Size 20s range RM 7.50
 • Pall Mall King Size 14s range RM 5.50
 • Pall Mall King Size 25s RM 8.20
 • Benson & Hedges King Size 20s RM 9.00
 • Benson & Hedges King Size 14s RM 6.50
 • Perilly’s 100s 20s RM 7.70
 • Perilly’s King Size 20s range RM 7.50
 • Perilly’s King Size 25s range RM 8.20

Source: British American Tobacco Malaysia

My Take
Since it’s really a predictable move, I’m not surprised at all. At some point I would say it’s a good move because the intent is to discourage people from continuing the smoking habit. But, on the other hand, is it effective? Each year we see increases, but does that stop the habit significantly? From my personal experience, no it does not. People will seek for alternatives (be it legal or not) and to be honest really…the solution to remedy the smoking problem is always not laying on money, it’s the attitude (and hunger, lust, craving for it…hehehe true smokers know what I’m saying ). Will I stop? Maybe in the future but surely not because of price increases

PETALING JAYA: Starting Wednesday, users with pirated copies of Microsoft Corp’s Windows XP Professional operating system (OS) on machines that are Internet-capable could find their computer displays going black and with no screen icons visible.

There are 8.6 million users of Win XP Pro in Malaysia and about three million are expected to suffer the “blackouts,” according to Microsoft Malaysia.

To continue working, the user would need to reset the machine’s desktop background. Everything will return to normal. But when 60 minutes are up, the black screen will reappear and the user must go through the whole process again.

Source: TheStar Online

My Take

Well, I don’t know if this step only apply to Malaysian user but I have little doubt Microsoft will even stop there. Expect another fuss coming from either Microsoft or the *ehem* *ehem* community. You can read the full article by following the given url and evaluate everything yourself. I suddenly remembered a quote from Jurassic Park movie which sound something like “Nature will find it’s way” and seeing how Windows XP is still very popular, I kinda can see Microsoft latest move will end in vain (remember WGA¹ anyone?). I’m not praying it to happen though; just predicting

Owh….don’t make that gloomy face ; isn’t this the best time to jump to Linux?

There is already an official guide on how to properly upgrade your wordpress (and it’s painless), but let me tell you how I do it. First, I determine all my changes that I made previously with the original release (hack, mod, etc) and I’m pretty sure all the changes been made hard coded, so as long as I don’t delete/replace those files, it should be okay. Most mod/hack that I made is on the theme files (*.php or *.css); so I would be very careful handling “wp-content” folder.

Next, I compare my “wp-config.php” with the new version named “wp-config-sample.php” to see if there are any changes at all. A little changes I suppose, so I just follow the new structure/format by copying my old settings to the new files and renamed the “wp-config-sample.php” into “wp-config.php” Then, I just followed the official guide. Backup database, change the name of “wp-include” and “wp-admin” by adding the suffix “_backup”, and lastly copying all the new WordPress 2.6 files over the old ones (exclude the “wp-content” folder. It seems “wp-content” only contains few files which I’m very sure I already updated those files; no harms done for not copying them over.

Then running the blog off the browser, login to admin, and database update page appeared. Just press upgrade, and a few moments later, voila…it’s done. Now, I just need to see if everything work as before. Since I use K2 theme (with external style), I encounter a few hickups but not that hard to solve. I just play some check-uncheck and save; done. Also, I notice some “image missing” error on my blog and I just realize, that some of my image didn’t exist in the “wp-include/images” folder. Luckilly, I have em’ in my old folder (wp-include_backup). On the plugins department, no appearent problem at the moment and I’m glad…Really painless.

DB Upgrade

PS: Well, it seems the upgrade do brake something. Sometime my sidebar act a little bit funny than usual. Sigh~~guess I have to wait for the next version of K2.

UPDATE: Head on to K2 official site, the update to comply with the 2.6 had been released.

The long awaited final version of Mozilla Firefox 3 had been released. Well, I’m eagerly awaiting this release to see how much different would it be compared with the Beta 5 version. To be honest, not much. There are some add-ons that I used is still not updated and I kinda can accept it since it’s not Mozilla’s concern (and to some extent, the add-ons developer themselves is not at fault here), so I’ll wait. But, it’s not going to stop me from updating and feeling impressed with the enhancement of the new release. One thing though, since the beta, I kinda feel the smart location bar is off to my liking. I mean, its size is kinda big, although I really like that features. Maybe I’m not used to it…yet. Thumbs up to Mozilla for fulfilling their promises to release it today (local time). If you’re wondering about the new features, you can view it at Mozilla Official Site.

P/S: Maybe it’s kinda too late I put this below, but better late than never I guess. Come on, join the initiative to set the world record!!

P/S 2: Well, due to the world record initiative thingy, the mozilla.com site was unreachable from around the world, occasionally responding with the message, “Http/1.1 Service Unavailable”; even the spreadfirefox site is not spared from the outage . It seems ok after a short while; a couple of refresh works for me. More news at the Netcraft’s news section.

Abdullah also announced a RM625 annual cash rebate per vehicle, for owners of private vehicles with engine capacities of up to 2,000cc, as well as pickup trucks and jeeps with engine capacities of up to 2,500cc. Owners of private motorcycles with engine capacities of up to 250cc will receive RM150. Payment will be made via Money Order upon renewal of road tax, from July 1. For owners of private vehicles with engine capacities exceeding 2000cc, road tax will be reduced by RM200. Owners of private motorcycles with engine capacities above 250 cc will get RM50 reduction in road tax.

Again quoting from The Star Online by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad

“Any announcement by the Prime Minister (today) should be seen as a part of the implementation and not the final step,” he told a press conference after opening the 1st Malaysian Construction Summit 2008 at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.

I don’t know what to say. I’m not owning any kind of vehicle (yet) but I do know that somehow this will effect my daily life expenses. I can imagine that after this many stuff will see a price increase (cigarettes anyone…?). Heh..it would not surprise me if even the price to enter the public toilet will increase. Jokes asides, it somehow a relief that the price will not reach RM4 per liter (as being anticipated earlier). But still, is it the right move? It been said that the revise of the subsidy plan is to decrease loses and direct the fund to another commodity (say like…foods maybe). The current price also will follow closely to the world market price, so there’s a chance the price will drop (IF² the world price is dropping). I really want to see that happens although it’s kind of unlikely

Around my neighborhood, all the oil-pump station is flooded with vehicle owner that want to fill their tank with the ‘RM1.92 oil’ for the last time. I could imagine maybe I could find someone that kissing the pump terminal as a sign of goodbye . Owh…with this announcement, the previous ban³ that been imposed on foreigner’s vehicles (they can’t fill their tank at Malaysia on certain area) will now be lifted. If any of my words here brings doubt to you, refer to the official media statement made by the government. Unfortunately, it’s in Bahasa Malaysia.

P/S: I’ve taken several pictures at the nearing oil pump station. Will upload it later because needs a little touch up. ~~sigh~~ I need a new camera I guess…

When was the last time Arsenal wins a silverware? If I recalled correctly, it was during the 2003/4 season where the team become BPL champion with impressive records by not dropping a single point throughout the season. They’d been given the nickname “The Invincible” because of that. In cup competition, the last time was the FA Cup 2004/5 final when they beat Man Utd on penalties. So, it had been a couple of seasons the team experienced the “trophy-less season”. In my opinion, that’s the major reason why some players want to butt out from the team.

Trophy-less is one thing, how about individuals in the team? Is Wenger to be blamed for this trophy-less plague? I humbly think that Wenger’s way of doing things was a little excessive. I share his belief in developing youngsters but not leaving the team without enough in depth cover. Look what happen when the likes of Rosicky, Eduardo, Sagna and v. Persie received an injury; (with respect) other players that cover their roles seems not fit to the task (save by the likes of Walcott and Bendtner).

So, my mumbling here come to an end. Without doubt, Arsenal must strive harder than ever next season. They must start winning trophies or maybe the likes of Fabregas or Rosicky will leave the team. Maybe Arsenal can start with signing a few quality names to cover certain positions, mainly on the defense. I really hope that Flamini is the only one leaving this seasons though

EDIT: It had been confirmed, Flamini will go to Milan on a 4 years contract agreement.