Calin Plesa

So you want to dual boot Ubuntu and Windows on your Sony VAIO VGN-FZ** laptop? Here is a quick guide to help you through the procedure. It will assume you are starting on a brand new laptop with Vista pre-installed. If this is not a new laptop then backup, backup, backup.

1. Remove all the useless bloatware which Sony has installed.
2. Create recovery DVDs. Sony does not provide any recovery disks so you should make some in case….
3. Use the Start Menu > Computer > Manage > Disk Management to “Shrink Volume” of the main system partition. Note that Sony will have a 9 Gb EISA recovery partition at the start of the drive (I would recommend leaving this alone).
4. Yes, the Shrink Volume feature will only let you shrink it to about half, if you want to get by this then disable system restore, the pagefile, and hibernaion. With these disabled you can shrink the Vista partition to 48 Gb after defragmenting the drive. This allowed me to have the following partition setup on a 250 Gb drive:
   1. 9 Gb EISA recovery partition
   2. 48 Gb Vista partition
   3. 30 Gb FAT32 partition to share data between Windows and Ubuntu (created using Visa)
   4. 140 Gb Ext3 Linux partition (created by Ubuntu installer)
   5. 6 Gb Linux SWAP space (created by Ubuntu installer)
5. If you want to be able to read your Linux data from Vista have a look at http://www.fs-driver.org/ or http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2fsd
6. Download the Ubuntu ISO for 64bit AMD and Intel computers from http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
7. Although you could burn it to a CD to install it, I would recomend using a USB key:
8. Download UNetbootin from http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
9. Get a USB key that is at least 1 Gb and backup the data on it.
10. Run UNetbootin, point it to the Ubuntu ISO you just downloaded, and select the location of the USB key.
11. Once UNetbootin has created the bootable USB key reboot the computer.
12. Ubuntu will go into live CD mode.
13. Select Install and follow the instructions.
14. Selecting the manual partition choice will allow you to create the 140 Gb Ext3 partition which will be mounted as root and the 6 Gb Linux Swap partition (double the RAM size).
15. If all goes well you will see the Grub menu upon restart. Select the first choice.
16. The Grub menu will have two identical choices listed at the bottom. The second to last choice is pointing to the VAIO recovery partition. This confusion can be cleared up by changing the Grub menu using “su gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst”
17. Go down until you see:
    

    title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)

    root (hd0,0)

18. Change the title to “VAIO Recovery Center EISA Partition” to clear up any confusion.

Next we come to Sony VAIO specific problems in Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04):

1. The backlight is stuck at full intensity.
2. Download the xbacklight package using the System > Administration > Synaptic Packag Manager
3. Write a small script which has the following two lines:
   

   xrandr –output LVDS –set BACKLIGHT_CONTROL native

   xbacklight -set 50

   where 50 is the percentage intensity.

4. Headphones dont work without some modifications. Add the folowing line at the end of the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
   

   options snd-hda-intel model=vaio

5. To get mic working edit your /etc/init.d/alsa-utils as described here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=4502727&postcount=4
6. Switch to the internal mic then enable Capture in the volume control panel and set your mic recording level as explained here: http://ubuntufs.wordpress.com/2006/06/08/trouble-with-your-microphone/
7. Get your Motion Eye Webcam working by following the steps outlined at this site: http://www.palmix.org/r5u870-en.html

Enjoy Ubuntu!

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This book has come with very high recommendations from several people I’ve met while travelling. Earlier this year I heard that a big-budget movie was being developed based on the book and knowing Hollywood’s terrible track record for movie adaptations, I definitely wanted to read the book before any movie came out. While short at under 180 pages, the book certainly lived up to its expectations. The plot centers around the journey of a boy as he journeys in search of a treasure in Egypt. Along the way he meets many interesting characters and learns some important lessons about life. An excellent read, highly recommended.

The Future of an Illusion By Sigmund Freud (1927) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_of_an_Illusion)

James Strachey 1961 Translation

An excellent essay by Freud on the nature of religion and why it is needed (for now) to ensure the survival of civilization. Although this was written in German originally, even in English the ideas presented are integrated into a beautiful smooth structural flow. Freud is able to predict many of the criticisms the reader may develop and address them. Perhaps Freud’s biggest strength is his ability to logically take on subjects which to this day are somewhat taboo in society (eg. People’s fear of death).

Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand By Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

An interesting book comparing life and society in New Zealand with the rest of the world.

A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to the Quantum Computer By George Johnson

A generalized introduction to quantum computers, the problems where they would succeed over classical computers, and some of the algorithms developed for these problems.

Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms By Wil Mccarthy

Perhaps a bit old now, this book gives an overview of the research being done towards the goal of creating a type of programmable matter which would allow us to fully control a variety of properties normally in the hands of nature.