Installing Tata Photo on Ubuntu

I installed Ubuntu (Maverick and then Natty) years later after having done my last Linux distro install. 


I was gearing up to do a pile of modprob, insmod and such like at the CLI when to my surprise mobile internet using BOTH Tata and Reliance USB dongles were a breeze!


All I has to do was plugin the USB dongle (this example uses the Tata Photon on Natty aka Ubuntu 11.04) and the do the following...


Click on the network icon on the top right and click New Mobile Broadband Connection

This opens up a very simple dialogue box

I chose my location

This the lets me select Tata Photon Plus (and most of the other major providers). You do have the option of manually entering the details in case your operator is not mentioned here.

Next I need to enable mobile broadband after clicking the networking icon

After that if I just click on the installed internet connection, I am online...

I was suitably impressed since in Windows I'd have to install an app and use it to connect, that triggers popup browser windows that are a real pain. In Ubuntu all this was taken care of so hat even a relative newbie would be able to get up and running in a very short while.

Making Acrobat Reader Faster

If you search on the internet, you will find something called Adobe Reader Lite. This is nothing but a standard installation that has a number of features disabled to make the reader faster.


 However, I prefer to install a standard Adobe package and then disabling things according to requirements. This way I am sure I am not downloading a trojan while retaining control over what I switch off.


Here is a good link that explains a couple of ways of doing this using freeware applications.


You can either download PDF Speedup from acropdf.com or use Adobe Reader SpeedUp from bootblock.co.uk. 


PDF Speedup works for Adobe Acrobat 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Adobe Reader 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and help you tweak the following:

Enable or disable the plug-ins as needed

Turn off all Updates featuresDisable the splash screen during program startupRemove the My eBooks folder created in My DocumentsTurn off the advertisements for Adobe products in the upper-right corner of the toolbarRemove PrintMe and Adobe Reader iconsDisable Browser IntegrationDisable confirmation dialog when closing Adobe ReaderBetter speed for LAN and Cable connectionClear Adobe Reader Recent Files HistoryRestore to original settings at any time