Mike Southby

Firstly I’d like to say that I’m not much for politics; sure I watch the news as often as I can and try to keep up on current affairs but when it comes to individual parties, policies or politicians themselves, in my experience they are all as bad as one another.  There are pros and cons for all of them.  Gordon Brown has faced his fair share of criticism since becoming Prime Minister, some justified, some not so.  I think anyone who becomes Prime Minster is open to criticism, whether we like the person or not I think we would all agree that it is a tough job in more ways than one.

My problem with Gordon Brown has nothing to do with politics; it has nothing to do with his parties policies.  My problem is with the way in which he continues to fumble his way through life, seemingly blasé of his responsibilities and the way he should be acting, all the while receiving an extremely large pay check, paid by us the taxpayers.

I was reading through the papers this morning and came across the latest articles, featuring yet more stories documenting his trail of let downs.

The leading story is of a letter which he sent to a mother whose son recently died in Afghanistan.  The conflict requires no introduction; it seems not a day goes by that we do not hear of another tragic loss, the loss of another son, another father or another husband.  War is nasty business, I don’t blame Gordon Brown for us (the British Armed Forces) being in Afghanistan, the whys and what for’s are I think the responsibility of more than one man; though we may not like to admit to the fact, sometimes war in inevitable and necessary to preserve our way of life.  However, Gordon Brown in his position of Prime Minister has a responsibility to represent the government, the country and in a roundabout kind of way us the public in expressing his gratitude and condolences to the family and friends of the fallen.  It comes with the territory as they say and if he cannot be ‘bothered’ to do it properly then it’s time to step down.  As well as wrongly-spelt names, the letter to the dead soldier’s mother contained four other mistakes.  He wrote ‘greatst’ for greatest, ‘condolencs’ for condolences, ‘you’ instead of your and ‘colleagus’ instead of colleagues.  He also spelt security as ‘securiity’.  To show how personal the letter was and how much effort he had put into writing it, he ended the letter with repetition by writing ‘my sincere condolences’ and ‘yours sincerely’.  In total the letter had more than 20 mistakes in it, not bad for a single sheet of paper.  Now I do understand mistakes happen, I often make mistakes when writing letters but I always check back afterwards, especially if the letter is important.  This soldier gave his life serving his country, and this is the best he can do?  I think it’s a disgrace.  Gordon Brown has since phoned and apologised but personally I think he could have done a lot more, perhaps a personal visit to apologise in person; surely that would have been the least he could have done given the circumstances.

Here’s the letter:

I then read about the way in which he laid his reef of poppies during Sunday’s Remembrance Day service.  I have no doubt that he did not mean any offence but yet again, it is another public show of his lacklustre attitude towards his responsibilities.  Unlike every other government representative, even the Queen; after laying his reef he simply stood upright and did not bow his head as a gesture of respect.  I’m sure it was a genuine mistake just as I’m sure personally in his own mind he was reflecting on the sacrifices of those being remembered but he was not just there as an individual, he was there representing us.  He had a responsibility which yet again, he seems to have neglected very publicly.

I go back to my opening statement; my thoughts have nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with government policies on war or any domestic issue.  However I wonder about the suitability of Gordon Brown for the role of Prime Minster, a role which carries so much responsibility not only for our country, but for us as its people.

Gordon, you MUST do better otherwise please, step aside.

Rant over.

The need to be able to conduct business whilst on the move is becoming more and more integrated into the way we go about our daily work; gone are the days when you can ignore email between point A and point B simply because you do not have access to your inbox.  For me working in the IT sector this is ever more important, I need to be able to stop the car almost anywhere and be able to remotely connect to a clients network when they need help – having to wait until I ‘get in front of my machine‘ simply is no longer an option if you want to succeed in today’s marketplace.

As you will know if you are a regular visitor to my blog, I am a huge fan of the majority of Microsoft’s products.  Perhaps it stems from the fact I chose the Microsoft career path and studied towards my MCSE and MCSA; perhaps it’s because 80% of the clients I deal with and the computers I maintain utilise Windows as their primary OS.  Either way, Microsoft – and Windows more specifically – are an integral part of my daily life.  Back on topic and moving back to my original point, the need to remain connected whilst out of the office is easily overcome when using a Windows OS, there are plenty of mobile data cards and USB data sticks now on the market, most if not all the big telecommunications providers supply them at competitive rates.  All of these products come supplied with connection software to get you connected – Windows connection software.

Now I am not saying some of them do not come with alternative software for Linux or Mac for example, if I did I’m sure I would be proved wrong but certainly the ones I have experience with (Vodafone, o2 and BT) do not.  So that leaves a problem for people who are wanting to make the switch to Linux, including the ever popular Ubuntu distribution – it may work well in the office or at home but if it doesn’t allow use whilst mobile too, why not simply use Windows?  Hardware support in Ubuntu has come on a very long way in the last few years, I remember only a year ago when I last gave Ubuntu a proper test that I was stuck when it came to using my data card.  With the Linux knowledge I had at the time, I simply could not get it to work; I’m pleased to see that Ubuntu and Linux generally have come on a long way since and now work almost as well as Windows, if not equally.

I run my ThinkPad in a dual-boot configuration, using mainly Windows 7 but also using Ubuntu as often as I can.  Today I thought I would have another go at configuring my mobile data card, sure enough I have been surprised by the ease at which the latest evolution of Ubuntu – v9.10 – handles hardware which a year ago, would have caused major headaches.

Note: For the purpose of this guide, I am using a BT mobile data stick, a rebranded Huawei E180 HSPDA USB data stick on a BT Tariff.  The contract is a 12 month plan as supplied with either BT Total Broadband or BT Business Broadband as an optional extra.

Prerequisites: I am assuming that you already have Ubuntu 9.10 installed and running and that your data card has previously been activated either by using it with the BT Connection Manager software in a Windows environment, or by activating the SIM in a Vodafone handset (BT curiously use the Vodafone network); also that the security PIN lock on the device has been disabled.

Configuring the data card for use is actually a relatively simple and pain free process:

• Plug the data stick into a spare USB slot on your machine, after a few seconds the device will be mounted automatically and on your screen you’ll see 2 icons appear for the BT software embedded into the data stick (shown as a mounted CD) and the USB storage facility of the data stick [screenshot]
• Right click on the network notification in the system tray and choose Edit Connections
• Click the Mobile Broadband tab and the Add a new connection
• You’ll be asked to choose a connection, you should only have one option HUAWEI Technology HUAWEI Mobile then click Forward
• Next choose Britain (UK) followed again by Forward [screenshot]
• On the next screen – strangely – you need to choose Vodafone as the provider and not BT Mobile, BT Mobile now use Vodafone to provide their connectivity so we choose this as a base configuration.  Click Forward
• You now need to confirm the type of contract you have followed by Forward
• Next you’ll be asked to confirm your settings [screenshot], click Apply
• Click Edit to edit your setting for the new connection you have just made and make the following changes under the Mobile Broadband tab [screenshot]:
  Number:  *99#
Username:  bt
Password:  bt
APN:  btmobile2.bt.com
Network:  (blank)
PIN:  (blank)
PUK:  (blank)
• Move onto the PPP Settings tab and click Configure Methods.  Uncheck all of the options apart from CHAP [screenshot].  Click OK
• Make sure that Allow BSD, Allow Defalte Data, User TCP Header Compression are all checked, next click on IPv4 Settings
• Ensure the drop down list is set to Automatic (PPP) [screenshot]
• Finally, change the connection name to something more suitable, I have used BT HSDPA [screenshot] but choose whatever you wish here, click Apply to confirm the settings

You have now configured you data card!

To connect simply click on the connection icon and then choose the new connection – you should now see the pop up to tell you that you are connected [screenshot].

I have not noticed any difference in connection speeds when using my data card with either Ubuntu or Windows 7; in both environments the connection seems very stable and I’m pleased with the overall connectivity.

Note:  Whilst the default settings are working absolutely fine for me, I have had previous issues with BT generally in so much as there DNS servers can often take a long time to resolve addresses; this applies both to their mobile data and Broadband services.  The actual data connection themselves are however always reliable and pretty quick.  If you find this a problem change the default DNS servers to an alternate provider, I recommend the servers provided by OpenDNS; 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222 respectively.  Of course this also applies to any ISP if you find resolution is taking longer than you expected, including home broadband connections.

I hope you find this useful.  Enjoy.

• Off to watch Star Trek, laters!
• @philspray what a joke!
• Strategic voting by Simon? I wonder who would have been a threat at the end to ‘his’ boys, #jedward or #lucie. Utter disgrace #xfactor
• Lucie? What a shambles. I HAD started 2 enjoy it but that’s it, I’m not watching it anyone. Simon has just ridiculed the whole show #xfactor
• Judges? haven’t got a backbone between them #xfactor
• Jail broken your iPhone? You’d best check this article out quick! A worm has been identified… http://bit.ly/17lGJu
• If #jedward don’t go now, the world is a f*&ked up place… Lucie in the bottom? #xfactor
• LLOYD THROUGH? Now THAT is interesting! #xfactor
• Another #win7 ad on the TV. ENOUGH already!
• Lines are now closed..! #xfactor
• I quite enjoyed that apart from those two idiots on the end #xfactor
• Really hopes someone brings the Motorola droid to the UK; £450 SIM free is harsh…
• @jonnybowley that’s what I forgot, sorry.. Use a proxy service to sign up to sipgate using a US IP..!
• Feeling really tired tonight, I think I’ll call it a night..!
• Am I just getting old or do fireworks get crapper and crapper each year? Professional displays aside of course.
• Big brother is watching. Find out what Google knows about YOU now..! http://bit.ly/300oK4
• Glenfiddich has won the day, a far superior heating option than a winter coat stood in a cold and wet field!
• RT @tomwittlin Firefox finally passes IE6 in market share – http://bit.ly/1KkR75
• Fireworks tonight? Or veg in front of the TV in the warm with my old friend Glenfiddich? Now that IS a hard choice!
• Having a Linux day today… the joys of grub!
• Is it me or is it a bit parky today?
• Just had #spooks interrupted by dripping sound, on investigation found water pi$$ing through landing ceiling. Heating engineers? Grrrr
• Having a play with Linux Mint whilst waiting patiently for #spooks – hope it’s work the wait!
• Can’t believe I have just eaten a chicken kebab. How wrong!
• Aberdeen Angus cottage pie tonight. Yum.
• Why didn’t Sony Ericsson use Android 2.0 like Motorola! Do they know something we don’t? http://bit.ly/lMxLV
• @tomwittlin I believe you on the css3 mate, I’m not a designer; so not familiar with all that!
• @tomwittlin overall for me. In terms of the logo I think it’s because the tagline is a lot smaller so exaggerates it
• @tomwittlin oh, and dedication is spelled wrong on the homepage – sorry!
• @HigherSites @tomwittlin the overall look is great though, just the font for me!
• @HigherSites @tomwittlin I like the overall look, but the font doesn’t render very well and looked too small and compressed in the logo.
• If you host your own email on your own domain, are you using Google Apps yet? If not, why not? It’s free. It’s good. http://bit.ly/1jJgzl
• We are going to be taxed to use broadband? Whatever next. This country is outrageous. http://bit.ly/3AZjWJ
• For all you Nokia owners, Opera Mobile 10 beta is here! http://bit.ly/3p3BGE
• EBay is full of scammers! Grrr
• RT @kenrayner: 2 min national Twitter silence at 11am on the 11th November #armisticeday
• Off to #tesco for some essentials including of course breakfast!
• Google make next big step with Wave, now YOU can install your very own Wave server… http://bit.ly/6QJHO
• TweetDeck vs. Seesmic Desktop; what’s your choice? http://bit.ly/Bv9d8
• Looking forward to #flashforward tonight, still a long way to go, we’re only on episode 6 of 22!
• Inside one of Microsoft’s data centres inc. pictures. Pretty cool stuff! http://bit.ly/49TboH
• Finding shooting people with a toy gun worryingly therapeutic!
• Surfing the waves, tweety style..!
• Twitter ‘remember me’ has forgotten me, again!
• @DeeClayton I have to be honest, I didn’t rate it too highly, would have much preferred them to have sung one of their classics! #xfactor
• Orange has announced its iPhone pricing plans http://bit.ly/22Welg
• New battery has arrived! Thanking you kindly mrs post lady. I can finally move away from the power point!
• Another week, another wait. Did my battery get lost in the Bermuda triangle?

Ubuntu is a great OS.  Almost anything you could possibly need in terms of software is available ‘out of the box’, there are of course a few noteworthy exceptions; one of which is DVD playback support.  However, unlike Microsoft Windows it isn’t a huge problem to fix and there is no need to part with any money to purchase codecs.

To play DVDs on Ubuntu you need to install libdvdcss2.  In Ubuntu 9.10 just like in previous versions, there is no need to manually configure the the Medibuntu repository.  All you need to do is the following:

• Open a Terminal window (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and type the following:
  sudo apt-get install libdvdread4
• Next type the following:
  sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

Thats it, it’s really that easy!

Next time you mount a DVD, it’ll play back in the native Movie Player.

Enjoy.