Whilst on the grind this evening, hacking on some Python code in a newly-installed Ubuntu virtual machine, I needed to install MySQL for Python. Building the package, pre-installation, requires mysql_config — which I had some difficulty locating in the repositories. After flailing about a bit, the solution is to install the libmysqlclient-dev package. $ sudo apt-get install libmysqlclient-dev The… Read more →
Tag: search engine fodder
Installing RExcelXML from The Omega Project in R
A quick post to capture the resolution to the past 20 minutes I have spent in frustration trying to install RExcelXML from Omegahat (The Omega Project for Statistical Computing). As this is a source package, the dependencies need to be satisfied manually (which is a bit baffling, frankly — surely there is a workaround for this using a makefile-like facility… Read more →
Netflix “Error N8156-6013” Resolution
A seemingly pervasive problem purportedly caused by a recent update to Silverlight, the Netflix streaming player bombed-out on me this evening, whinging about “Error N8156-6013” and complaining that it had issues both with playing DRM content and — for reasons which transcend reason — the date on my (virtual) computer. The solution was simple enough. Delete the following small file:… Read more →
Virtualbox + XP + Firefox = Netflix in GNU/Linux
Having recently wrested control of my machine from Windows Vista, I’ve had to implement a workaround for Netflix streaming media. Netflix, unfortunately, has yet to see the mistake in building their streaming architecture on Microsoft’s near-dead Silverlight platform. Until they recognize the error of their ways, I need a workaround. I’ve settled on virtualizing XP, as Silverlight (and Moonlight, for… Read more →
Superfluous fstab Entries After Upgrading to Lucid LTS
A quick post to outline a stupefying problem I encountered after upgrading one of my machines to Ubuntu Lucid (10.04) this weekend. By way of background, I am anything but an early-adopter of OS releases — especially on my production hardware. I haven’t the time to debug network-critical software on systems on which I rely heavily, so I typically lag… Read more →
Ubuntu in VirtualBox
I travel nearly every week to my clients’ offices. I have recently become quite keen on the idea of videoconferencing with my wife and children each night, as a means to span the miles between us. Skype is the software I’ve settled on, as the most promising open-source competitor (Wengo) didn’t instill much confidence. The firm I work for blocks… Read more →