Open source Matroska MKV converter

It's been a long time since I blogged about anything.

Is your hard drive (the one where you save you files and all that -- not the other one, if you know what I mean ^^) getting all spaced up because of your video file collections? Despite the number of hard disks in your PC?

Don't sway there's an open source MKV converter that will take care of your AVIs.

As of this post there's simply no better compressed video format than Matroska. Sad as it may be, but MKV is not an open format.

Enter HandBrake, an open source (GPL-licensed) multiplatform video converter available for Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and Windows.

Remember. I'm just showing you a tool to help you get more disk space. I am not telling you to download pirated Hi-Def DVD rips out in the Internet and have the file size get shrank by this tool. Also, what I just said is not a reverse psychology thingy. ;)

EDIT: Been using MKV for more than a year and I never had the slightest idea that MKV was indeed an open format. Thanks robux4!

What If 2012 happens?

Been months since I watched 2012 but I still can't remove it in my mind, "What if 2012 happens?"

With billions of dollars in bank, Bill Gates will surely get on board. How about Richard Stallman? Linus Torvalds perhaps?

As a developer, it makes me think, should I still be doing the "right" thing for people? Or should I do the "right" thing for me and my family -- to start hoarding tons of money by selling patented proprietary software...

Another thing that puzzles me, "What kind of software will be saved?". Or better yet, "What kind of software will power the computers of the next generation?". Microsoft's Windows and Visual Studio? Google's Chrome and Go? Perhaps Canonical's Ubuntu, thanks to Mark Shuttleworth.

I hope my small programming language will be saved along with other free and open source projects on SourceForge.

So, I ask you, "What if 2012 happens?"

Ubuntu: Repairing 0 bytes free space

I don't have the idea if it's EXT2/3 file system that makes Ubuntu think that my Ubuntu installation has only 0 bytes remaining space -- but I suspect that it is so.

Asking other average Ubuntu users, they also don't know where the problem really lies. It's probably because they natively installed Ubuntu on large partition -- by the way, this 0 bytes problem are commonly experienced by WUBI users.

But they know the solution: "delete unnecessary files, uninstall unused applications"

And so I did. I deleted about 100MB files yet, it's still saying 0 bytes.

I removed application that I don't usually use and I freed about 350MB of space. And yet, it's still saying 0 bytes.

So where does the problem lie? I really suspect it's how EXT3 work. And after reading an article that "Why doesn't [GNU/]Linux need defragmenting", it's all clear.

For Ubuntu not to be defragmented, it should at least have 5% free space to work on it's non-defragmenting trick. Unlike NTFS that it let's you consume to the last remaining free space -- I think. :D

So what exactly is the solution here? There's actually just two way to repair it.

a. Resize your partition.
b. Delete more files, uninstall more application.

The first one is somewhat risky. I really have a bad feeling about resizing partitions.

The second one is quite absurd. You are looking for more space so you can add more stuff, and keep the old stuff.

But either way, try to free as much as possible. My Ubuntu says I have 250MB free space after removing 600MB -- yeah, I myself is a WUBI user.

Download Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference now

One of the much awaited book about Ubuntu is now out.

Written by an award-winning author, Keir Thomas (same author of Ubuntu Kung Fu and Beginning Ubuntu Linux), this book is an indispensable introductory guide.

It talks about history of GNU and the Linux kernel; then Free Software and the Open Source.

It also talks about installing Ubuntu in different ways. Configuring, updating and upgrading Ubuntu. Not to mention, troubleshooting Ubuntu.

You will learn to download and install drivers for your video card, printer, scanners, Wifi cards, and bluetooth device.

If you are wanting how to become a hacker, a security hacker that is, this book will tell you how to defend yourself by installing firewalls and anti-virus, and encrypt files/folders.

Notice I didn't say complete guide? Because it only discussed about the very basics of using Ubuntu, which for general use is quite enough. For only $9.94, this book is juicy.

Now, buy a printed copy or download the PDF copy from UbuntuPocketGuide.com. Don't forget to read the FAQs page on the terms of redistributing a copy to your friends.