Update to Ubuntu 11.10 breaks i386 applications (Crossover Office, Skype, etc)

The reason is that there are x86_64 packages for applications like Skype, Crossover Office, etc that are in reality for the i386 architecture. Ubuntu does not know how to resolve the dependencies.
One solution is to use the i386 packages and try to let Ubuntu resolve the dependencies.
The second solution, which is the one I tried is to enable multiarch. And this is how it is done:

echo foreign-architecture i386 | sudo tee /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg.d/multiarch

Then install the required libraries for the i386 architecture:

sudo apt-get install libxss1:i386 libqtcore4:i386 libqt4-dbus:i386

Logitech MX1000 bluetooth mouse fails after system update

My good old bluetooth mouse “Logitech MX1000 Laser” stopped working after the last system upgrade to Ubuntu 11.10. I had this already after the last system upgrade and this time I decided to blog about it so it might help others.
The problem is, that the dongle switches to bluetooth mode and somehow the system does not manage to successfully pair it.
This is why it might be best to disable bluetooth for this mouse. Mine is very old, so I wonder if this is better for newer models.
If one gets tired of disabling bluetooth in the applet everytime with the help of a second mouse 😉 just do the following:

1. As root edit the file:

sudo vim /lib/udev/rules.d/62-bluez-hid2hci.rules

2. Find the lines:
# Logitech devices
KERNEL==”hiddev*”, ATTRS{idVendor}==”046d”, ATTRS{idProduct}==”c70[345abce]|c71[34bc]”,
  RUN+=”hid2hci –method=logitech-hid –devpath=%p”

and change them into:
KERNEL==”hidraw*”, ATTRS{idVendor}==”046d”, ATTRS{idProduct}==”c70[345abce]|c71[34bc]”,
  RUN+=”hid2hci –method=logitech-hid –devpath=%p”

After a reboot everything should be fine!

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2011 Saul Paulmutter in Bonn

The American astrophycicist and winner of  the Nobel Prize in Physics 2011 Saul Paulmutter visited Bonn as part of the collaboration ‘Supernova Factory’ in that
Prof. Marek Kowalski of the Institute of Physics in Bonn is being a part of.
He gave a stunning lecture in the overcrowded Wolfgang Paul Lecture Hall.
It was his first public lecture after receiving this outstanding award together with
Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess “for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae”.

Strange behavior of the numpad in the Vi editor if using the RXVT virtual terminal

I recently changed my default terminal to rxvt. It spawns really fast, can be run in server-client mode and is higly configurable. I think it might be the best terminal currently around.
But I experienced strange behavior of the numpad while running the Vi editor.
And this is how it can be fixed. Please note that i map only the numbers and not the arrow keys, because I use the Neo keyboard layout, where great arrow keys are available on Level 4.

1. Create/open a file in your home directory called .Xmodmap:

vim .Xmodmap

and add the following lines:

keycode 63 = KP_Multiply
keycode 79 = KP_7
keycode 80 = KP_8
keycode 81 = KP_9
keycode 82 = KP_Subtract
keycode 83 = KP_4
keycode 84 = KP_5
keycode 85 = KP_6
keycode 86 = KP_Add
keycode 87 = KP_1
keycode 88 = KP_2
keycode 89 = KP_3
keycode 90 = KP_0
keycode 91 = KP_Decimal
keycode 112 = Prior
keycode 117 = Next

2. Create/open a file in your home directory called /.xinitrc:
vim ~/.xinitrc
and add the following lines:
xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap

3. Open your .zshrc or .bashrc depending on the shell you use:

vim .zshrc

and add the following line:

export TERM=ansi

And you’re done! Note that you might need to restart the terminal.