Java-plugin for firefox 3 in Ubuntu 64bit

Finally I managed to do it.
These past 3 months I have really seen how many sites use java code for different things. Not having the java plugin working in linux is a MAJOR issue and one of a few good reasons to boot up windows for me.
The problem is that the 64bit versions of java plugins for firefox doesn’t seem to work out-of-the-box as the 32bit version does. But there is a solution.

There are tons of sites out there that explain different procedures for installing the javaplugin for firefox.
Thank to this guide (robinbowes.com) and this guide (ubuntuforums.org).
First of I linked to the javaplugin to ~/.mozilla/plugins but that eliminated the browsers history. Ultimatively I linked it to /usr/lib/firefox-3.0.8/plugins
That restored the history functionality but I had to reinstall addons and retype all my logins. So now everything is working. At least until I upgrade my firefox I believe.

Helvede i Nord

Yesterday I attended “Hell in North” – a half marathon located in Tisvilde. It is a run of 21.1 kilometers in rough terrain through rolling landscapes, sandy paths and beach. It was very tough yet also pleasing to the eye and very rewarding. I finished as number 334 in a time of 2 hours and 3 minutes. Here is my diploma

Incredible style

Before the race I was kind of anxious and uncertain because I have had some troubles with “shin splints” and have not been able to train as was necessary. It all went fine though. At the goal-line they served bananas, apples and faxe kondi without carbonic acid. There was also time for a piece of cake and a sandwich. I deserved it .

the route

constructor (video game)

Sorry I see upon review that this post has gotten quite long. I apologize.

Constructor (1997) by Acclaim

Constructor is a really nice PC game from 1997. It offers action packed and difficult game play with a lot of options and hours of fun. For a long time (soon a decade..!) the chopper and I have wanted to play it multiplayer but there are several issues to solve before it is playable. Each time we found a solution we were thrilled but another problem appeared. We payed good money for this excellent game back then after playing at the local net cafe in Søborg, but since then the game has diminished and vanished from the surface of the earth. Acclaim (the producer) has gone bankrupt and no support is available. What a predicament. I weep for all the good things that have been but are not any longer “where are my BonBons?!).
Well, all is not lost! It seems that it is solved at long last and constructor is playable again!

First of all it is an old DOS based game which means compatibility problems with our newer versions of windows. Even though windows offers compatibility mode for old games it does never seem to work out. Kim solved this a couple of years ago by finding a guide/altered version would fix sound and allow it to run for windows XP. The original source has been forgotten but I would definitely like to send out my gratitude to the people involved! I love that people are willing to share their solutions and make the world a better place! Though this allowed for some gaming there was still some crashes which ruined the fun.
Some time later I chanced upon DosBox (can’t remember which other game I was trying to play) but the sound fix combined with dosbox made the game playable again.
However, Dosbox did not recognize the IPX protocol on my LAN connection so it was single player only. Definitely better than nothing!
At a LAN a year ago or so at my ex’s dormitory there was this super friendly and overall nice guy (Thank you Frederik) who have old DOS games like Death Rally and Blood and knows how to setup an IPX server with DosBox and play them in multiplayer. It was wonderful.

Death Rally

Blood

At this time we were already on LAN over the internet via hamachi (another excellent applicaton) and I though, “Hell lets try it out!”. We joined up over hamachi and initialized the dosbox IPX tunneling through hamachi and it did work! The game was shown right there in the lobby inside constructor. Oh what joy!! .
While playing we found out that sooner or later the game goes out of sync which basically means that the game splits up and you end up playing the AI and when the opponents base begins to burn and blows up you think you’ve won. Only that your opponent is also celebrating about your demise over ventrilo. That kind of ruined our fun for a while though we did not give up just yet. For a long time I persisted in searching the internet for patches but the game has indeed vanished. I did find a nice guide on the gameplay.
Our theory is that the game goes out of sync because of game breaks and pauses for the different players. If the game is not paused at both pc’s then it is bound to go wrong. The problem is not the pause button inside the game, that works for both players. Also the speed increase/decrease works. The problem seems to be with popups/help messages/quests and the like. Therefore when we took the game up at the LAN of this Easter we disabled all pauses and changed the SYSTEM.INI and it did seem to work out. No out of sync!! YAY

Now all there remains is to figure out a way to beat the chopper. I know this will prove to be the most difficult task in this story. He’s just way more a business man than I am.

SSNA LAN

During Easter (Monday – Friday) we held the traditional SSNA LAN at hogl’s parents place in Bagsværd. Wonderful place with room for many people. At most of the time we were 10 though the constellation changed during LAN as people came and left. Most people brought stationary pc’s though some brought laptops. We also had 2 Xboxes installed. The other guys used them a lot and I only played the Hilarious Castle Crashers.

Some games I played:

• Icewind Dale – all of Heart of Winter and most of Trials of the Luremaster
• Starcraft – 2 battles with Jack
• DotA – mandatory
• Warlocks – another WC3 mod
• Hungry Hungry Felhounds – yet another WC3 mod
• Orc Arena – yet another
• Constructor – A battle with the chopper. We managed to avoid out-of-sync.

I also watched some Star Trek – The Next Generation and a whole lot of 4chan. My mIRC popup script turned out to be great (Will link to it when it is more secure).
Unlike other LANs we went out to the local lawn/soccer field and played ball.
Also on the food aspect it was a more healthy LAN. Instead of eating pizzas and fast food all the time I only ate a couple of fruits and some supplemental toasts each day. I shared my home brew with some of the guys and drank a grand total of 9 units of alcohol over the period of 5 days. Thursday I went swimming which is I found to be a VERY good idea at a LAN. It took me 2 hours total and I got to exercise, shower and chillax in the sauna.
I slept as usual in my sleeping bag directly on the floor. This time I brought ear plugs and a blindfold

All in all a very nice LAN.