Saturday, April 24, 2010

Fedora 12 Enable root login in GUI

Fedora 12 uses pam module called pam_succeed_if.so. This module is designed to succeed or fail authentication based on characterstics of the account of the authenticated user. Default configuration of this module blocks root login using GUI.

Login as Normal User.

Open the terminal and use vim or gedit to open the /etc/pam.d/gdm

su -c "vim /etc/pam.d/gdm"

Comment the following line

'auth required pam_succeed_if.so user !=root quiet'

# auth required pam_succeed_if.so user != root quiet

Do the same for "/etc/pam.d/gdm-password

Save the file and logout from GUI. Now you can login as root :)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Analysis paralysis

Analysis paralysis is a phrase that describes a situation where the opportunity cost of decision analysis exceeds the benefits that could be gained by enacting some decision, or an informal or non-deterministic situation where the sheer quantity of analysis overwhelms the decision making process itself, thus preventing a decision. The phrase applies to any situation where analysis may be applied to help make a decision and may be a dysfunctional element of organizational behavior. This is often phrased as paralysis by analysis, in contrast to extinct by instinct.

How To Connect Tata Photon Whiz/Plug2Surf With Ubuntu Linux | How To Dial Tata Photon Whiz/Plug2Surf

Tata Indicom has changed the face of wireless broadband in India. With its comparatively cheap unlimited offer, it is currently the best buy.

Tata Indicom offers unlimited surfing + download at Rs.800 per month. The offer is valid for Tata Photon Whiz. Although it operates at a compromised speed, it provides the advantage of unlimited surfing.

Tata Indicom Whiz has a dialer for Windows. However, many complain that there is no Tata Indicom dialer for Linux.

Well, there is no dialer because Linux has a dialer of its own which does the job. Follow these steps to setup your Photon Whiz with the “wvdial” dialer.
Install “wvdial” if you do not have it already. To install wvdial, use the command:
sudo apt-get install wvdial
Next, plug in your Tata Indicom USB Modem.
Now, create a dialer for your modem with the command:
sudo wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf

This creates the appropriate dialer configuration for your modem. Remember to keep the modem plugged in while running this command.

Edit the wvdial.conf file by issuing
sudo vi /etc/wvdial.conf
Your wvdial.conf file opens on issuing the above command. It should look like this :
[Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Init3 = AT+CRM=1
Stupid Mode = 1
Modem Type = Analog Modem
Phone = 0
ISDN = 0
Password =
New PPPD =
Username = internet
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud = 9600

Now you have to edit the file. Put “internet” in place of and . Do not change any other auto-generated entry. Place the appropriate phone number in place of 0. It is #777 for Tata Indocom.

That should complete setting up your dialer. Now, to dial a connection, simply execute
sudo wvdial

in a terminal window. Enjoy.

[ In case it still does not work, add the lines:
Init3 = AT+CRM=1

and
Stupid Mode = 1

Stupid mode allows the connection to dial through a firewall and Init3 = AT+CRM=1 prevents frequent disconnections.