Author Archives: Marko

Manage GSM mobile broadband connections without Network Manager (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian)

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Debian LogoRecent Network Manager versions like Network Manager 0.9.1 from Ubuntu 11.10 and Network Manager 0.9.2 from Fedora 16 and aren't working well with both of my GSM mobile broadband modems, Huawei E220 and ZTE MF100. Actually this aren't first Network Manager version that refuse to work with the same hardware, there were some problems back in the good old Ubuntu 9.10 days. Because of that I had to learn managing my mobile broadband network connections without Network Manager. In this article I will do my best to point you in the right direction to managing your GSM mobile broadband connections from terminal without Network Manager on Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian based operating systems.

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Disable virtual CD-ROM drive with built in software on Huawei and ZTE GSM modem devices

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Huawei E220Like many of you out there I use mobile broadband as my Internet connection. What bugs me the most is that annoying virtual CD-ROM drive that pops out every time I put my stick in my USB connector. The idea is that average user has all of its modem drivers (of course Windows only) nearby. What's the use for that thing on our beloved Linux boxes? I know one. We can have fun disabling this annoyance once and for all. In this article I'll show you how to use your your Linux PC to disable virtual CD-ROM drive with built in software on Huawei and ZTE GSM modem devices.

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Ambiance & Radiance themes from Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick on 10.04 Lucid Lynx

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Ubuntu AmbianceI'm one of many people not satisfied with current Linux on desktop situation. I'm saying this with regards to Unity / Gnome3 story. Because of that I use Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx with Gnome 2 on all of my machines. But there is one thing I don't like on my Ubuntu 10.04 PC and that is default theme. In comparison with later Ubuntu version Ambiance and Radiance themes from Ubuntu 10.04 look unfinished. So lets fix this. In this article I'm bringing you Ambiance & Radiance themes deb packages from Ubuntu Maverick 10.10 backported to Ubuntu Lucid 10.04.

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PHP function to get WordPress plugin version

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Wordpress Logo BlueSo you're working on a WordPress plugin and you want to get current plugin version using PHP for display inside your plugin settings or on your plugin front end. Hardcoding the plugin version and changing it every release is no fun so in this article I'm bringing you my little PHP function I use with my Quick Chat for WordPress plugin to get current plugin version.

As always with WordPress development you need to be extra careful with your PHP and Javascript function names so you should prefix your every function with your plugin name. So here is PHP function you can use inside your plugin PHP file to get plugin version:

function plugin_name_get_version() {
    $plugin_data = get_plugin_data( __FILE__ );
    $plugin_version = $plugin_data['Version'];
    return $plugin_version;
}

Keep in mind that get_plugin_data() is available only on site backend. I guess it needs no additional explanation. Enjoy!

Linux Mint 12 final version has been released

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I'm glad to inform you that one of the most compelling Linux distributions in todays Unity/Gnome3 Linux situation Linux Mint 12 final version has been released. Linux Mint 12 developers did their best to please us faithful Gnome 2 users by making few Gnome 3 extensions to mimic Gnome 2 user experience and by supporting Gnome 2 fork named Mate Desktop environment.

What's new in Linux Mint 12 you might ask?

  • Linux 3.0 kernel
  • Based on Ubuntu 11.10 but without Unity
  • GNOME 3.2 + Mint Gnome Shell Extensions (MGSE)
  • MATE Desktop Environment (alternative to Gnome 3.2 + MGSE)
  • Mozilla Firefox 7.0 and Mozilla Thunderbird 7.0
  • LibreOffice 3.4

Download links

At the time of writing this article Linuxmint.com hasn't been updated with new download links yet so here are some of the download mirrors: