jDownloader for one-click download filehosting services

I've been looking for an open-source solution for ages for one-click host services, such as Rapidshare, Megaupload, Upload.to... the list is more or less endless. A downloader of this type is usually useful if you don't want to pay all those services monthly for a single download.

I have postponed this for some time, then I finally stumbled upon jDownloader!







 



It's java-based so you will probably need java:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-bin sun-java6-fonts

It features many useful stuff, one them is the cute interface (GTK-like), also many themes to appeal your eye. Moreover, you can use the Captcha Exchange Service with this nifty downloader. A built-in default CAPTCHA service is the jAC (java anti-captcha), which starts to automatically "learn" captchas and can make typing CAPTCHAs a breeze (Of course you have to type the first say 20-30 captchas).

Another great service is their addons, directly or downloadable through rapidshare, easily enabled and disabled through configuration (Don't forget to check "Expert mode" for more features!).

The downside is that it's sometimes buggy, still needs to be worked with. It also needs is a good language translator, since some important messages are still left in German, and... "Kein sprechenzi Deutche"!



But being limited, this downloader is the best so far, gets an overall score: 8/10 stars! :)

How to convert raw to png image files

For most of you this is solved using RawStudio:

sudo apt-get install rawstudio

You run it from Applications > Graphics > Rawstudio, open your directory with the raw files, select them then go to the menu Batch > Add to batch queue
Then click on the "Batch" tab (on the right of the program). Choose the settings you want (no need to change the filename though).

There was a fellow at ubuntuforums with a Fuji camera that couldn't convert the raw (.RAF) images.
I provided the following solution:

sudo apt-get install ufraw
ufraw-batch --help

ufraw can be used for multiple batch processing of raw images.

outputdir="./converted/"
outputsize="640x480"
thumbnailsize="100x75"

[ -d $outputdir ] || mkdir $outputdir
list=`ls -1 | grep -i "\.raf$"`
for i in $list; do
 fname=`basename $i | sed -e 's/\.raf$//i'`
 outputfile="$outputdir$fname.png"
 thumbfile="$outputdir$fname.thumb.png"
 ufraw-batch --overwrite --silent --out-type=png16 --size=$outputsize --output=$outputfile "$i"
 ufraw-batch --overwrite --silent --out-type=png16 --size=$thumbnailsize --output=$thumbfile "$i"
 echo "Done $i"
done

How to create movie or video frame thumbnails

Ever wanted to know how to create an image that holds several snapshots of video or movie frames? A video or movie preview? With a graphical user interface?
The answer is QFrameCatcher!

I don't know about other operating systems, but in Ubuntu here's the way to build it. You'll need Qt4 and several other tools in order to build it and to make it work:

Note: I use Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 amd64

sudo apt-get install libqt4-dev libxine-dev build-essential
wget http://download.berlios.de/qframecatcher/qframecatcher-0.4.1.tar.gz
tar xzf qframecatcher-0.4.1.tar.gz
cd qframecatcher/src
qmake
make
./qframecatcher

Now that you have the program built and running, let's check out some of its features in order to capture the movie "screenshots" along with other info about the movie file:

1. Menu File > Options
   Frames to capture = set how many frames you want to capture
   Image width / height = the frame image width and height (not the BIG image)
   Margin = margin between frame images
   Columns = columns for the frame images - For example, if you set "frames to capture" as 24 and 6 columns, you will be creating a 6 column x 4 frame images in each column BIG image (kind of like the image I posted)
   Press Ok
   


2. Load your movie / video file


3. Click the "Save file" button to save them all in ONE BIG image, or "Save folder" to output each frame separately.

The reward for hard study

It's an examination period and I'm determined to pass the exams I have left, Biochemistry comes first. As all students, I don't have much to comment about my exams ;) I'm trying my best, with all the stuff going around my head, the birds flying and pretty girls walking by my apartment. It is not easy, I can tell you that! Bottom line is that I have to pass the year to go on with my life... and that actually means several sacrifices have to be made. As you can see, I haven't updated my blog lately, due to this - let's just call it "re-organizing priorities".
Sitting my rear all day long isn't something I always wanted to do, but there are really times when that is necessary, an exam period is a perfect moment to start practising! People that do extra study get a bonus reward for their hard work (besides passing grades): Hemorrhoids!
On the other hand, what I really don't like is that I've begun to forget my flawless English, with all the Serbian studying I start making critical spelling errors and pronunciation mistakes.

Concerning the "computer geek" world around me, ubuntucy.org has kicked off finally, and pretty well dare I say, the Ubuntu Cypriot Team has began its first steps to becoming a successful local team. It's still a bit foggy around the organization, but as theo said we could use some anarchy in our lives every once and a while.