Blog of me. I’m Alexander Jones.

17 February 2008

Probably the best 60 seconds of my life

We went to Planet Angel on Friday night for their (Chinese) New Year's party extravaganza.

As if it could have gotten any better, Sly One played my remix of Road Test! Unfortunately, I was getting a drink of water at the time and missed most of it! I got a text message from my friend Phil (who was very drunk, by the way!) saying it was on, and by the time I got back into the main room I had missed the break and most of the main part!

But for the last minute or so, I might as well have been dreaming.

I am still buzzing, and using the mood and momentum to make new music. It has been over a year since I finished a track, so I've gotta get my act together! Wish me luck...

06 February 2008

Ubuntu ♥ Windows: Sharing the Desktop

There are some things for which Windows just can't be replaced yet, and getting Ubuntu (or any other OS) and Windows to play along on the same computer is sometimes pretty baffling. Here's my short guide to getting your Ubuntu "desktop" folder to be shared across both systems, meaning you can place a file onto your desktop and reboot into the other OS and have it be sat there as if to say "Uh, what else did you expect?"

Ready?

  1. Boot Windows.
  2. Download the installer for the Ext2 driver from http://fs-driver.org/. This will allow your Windows system to read the file system you are using in Ubuntu, assuming you are using the default choice of Ext3.
  3. Run the installer.
  4. During the installation process, you will be asked to assign Windows drive letters to Ext2 file systems. Choose one for a Windows drive letter for the partition with your Ubuntu "Home" directory on it. For example, "U:".
  5. Run Registry Editor (Start, Run, type "regedit"), and then browse to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders".
  6. Change the value of the "Desktop" key to, e.g. "U:\home\alex\Desktop". (Remember to replace "U" with the drive letter you chose, and "alex" with your own Ubuntu username.)
  7. Close Registry Editor.
  8. Log out, and then back in.
  9. Behold your Ubuntu desktop in all of its glory!

If you're feeling adventurous, you can change more than just your desktop folder. You might want to relocate your Windows "My Documents" folder to your Ubuntu "Home" directory, but with the amount of crap that Windows and Windows programs like to dump in there, I prefer not to. But don't let me spoil your fun.

Happy interoperating!