Aun’s Blog

Getting an IMAP client to use Gmail contacts

A lot of people prefer using a thick client for their e-mail instead of the Gmail web interface. I thought I’d give it a try - there are numerous things I like about Gmail, and having used it for a while now, my contacts list is humungous. If you start using a thick client, that means you have to somehow get a new contact list going, or import from somewhere else… no! Thanks to the creator of GCalDaemon - this OS-independent Java program will allow you to set up an LDAP server on your local machine, that acts as a middle man between your client and “Google Data”. The instructions on the page are quite detailed and you should be up and running in approximately 10 minutes. Now you should be able to auto-complete the addresses in your thick client, just like you can in Gmail. Enjoy!

Migrating from Windows to Ubuntu

I was primarily a Windows user, before I started to play around with Ubuntu. First off, I installed it on my home laptop, to see how well it would work… I was thoroughly impressed. Of course, on this laptop, I didn’t need anything but a browser, pidgin, and the basic Office suite. The real test was going to be switching to Ubuntu at work. Migrating away from the beast, Outlook, to Thunderbird / Lightning. Surprisingly, it was very easy:

• Install Thunderbird on your Windows box (the one with Outlook)
• Fire it up, and you’ll get the option to Import - follow the steps to import from Outlook
• After the mail is imported, browse to the C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\(username)\. Copy the folder with the random letters.

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Tags: linux, outlook, thunderbird, ubuntu, Windows

64-bit IPSec VPN client for *nix

Looking for a Cisco IPSec VPN Client to use on your 64-bit *nix OS? Well, for those of you who have already figured out that Cisco has not developed one for 64-bit OS’s, there is, however, a great alternative for people who use a 64-bit *nix OS. As mentioned in a previous post, there is a client developed by Maurice Massar that works with Cisco VPN Concentrators (ASA, 3000 Concentrator and IOS Routers), called vpnc that has worked well for me thus far. I have been using it on my 64-bit Ubuntu 8.04 desktop, and have yet to see any issues. You can use vpnc with Cygwin on Windows, however, I am not sure how well Cygwin works with 64-bit Windows.

Disclaimer: This client is not developed or supported by Cisco Systems. So, use at your own risk.

Installed Ubuntu and loving it!

Installed 64-bit Ubuntu on my z61p - it “just works”! The best part of it was the live cd, which allowed to me to preview it on the laptop without installing it. Worked flawlessly! Impressive! Time to install. On the Desktop of  your “live” session, there is an Install link. Double-click and you’re on your way! Wooooo!! It takes the settings from your live session and configures them on your actual installation - perfect! Now, to make this my primary workstation, the only thing I would need is to be able to VPN into work. There is no 64-bit Cisco IPSec VPN Client! Alas! A quick search through the Synaptics Package Manager for “vpn”, I found vpnc. Worked like a charm! Ubuntu far exceeded my expectations. I… LOVE… IT!

iPhone 2.0 and Cisco IPSec VPN

Looks like the new software will have the Cisco IPSec VPN Client built-in! People won’t have to do L2TP (over IPSec) any more! Yay!