How to know your gmail friend is chatting(keyboard not video) from his android mobile or from browser?

Nowadays Smartphone user base is increased in multi-fold manner.  So while we chatting we don't know whether the person at the other end is chatting with you is using his browser and keyboard are he is chatting from his android mobile.

Picture 1. - Gmail gear

Here is the simple solution,
You just need to enable the google labs' Green Robot! 
So, how to do that
1. Login to you gmail account

2. Click on settings
    Your gmail setting is at the right top of the gmail window with the gear symbol(see picture1 gmail settings).  Click on that now you will get a drop down menu with options like settings, themes, help etc.  Select settings

3. Now gmail will load the settings page with options like General, Chat, Filters, Labs, Mail Forwarding etc(see picture 2 - gmail settings options).

Picture 2 - Gmail settings options

4.  Select labs and search for Green Robot! then enable it.  Thats all... :) !


Now in your chat window you can see a small Green/Red/Orange(according to active/idle/busy) Robot icon to some of your friends who are online but from their mobile.

World Chess Champion - Chess Super King Viswanathan Anand.

The All time king of chess "Viswanathan Anand" -  Chess Super King

How to install extensions of google chrome? / "Add to chrome" button missing/not shown.

First is first..
1.  Why i write this blog post.
  Previously i have google chrome browser (version details are in the following image)

google-chrome old version

When i try to install the chrome extensions in this browser.. i can search, view, read about the extension, can see the review and so.. but the problem is there is no "Add to chrome" button anywhere in the extension detail.. :(

I spent 10 minutes to find the solution but.. no fruitful information is found.  So, atlast i reinstalled my google chrome browser with the newer version(details in the following image).  Now when i browse for the extensions, it shows "Add to chrome" button also.  So, i can easily install the extensions now.

google-chrome new version

2.  How to steps
2.1 Go to the google chorme extensions website
* Click on the wrench -> Tools -> Extensions -> Get more extensions (or)
* Directly going to the chrome's webstore.
* Open new tab, at bottom you can see a label named "Apps" click on that, then click on chrome web store
2.2 Browse the extension in the "search the store" text field and finalize which extension you want
2.3 Click on the extension, there you can see a "Add to chrome" button, just click on it.. Your extension is installed.

Link to the Dictionary extension.

UP assembly Election 2012

This cartoon drawn using gimp on Mar6-2012 

UP Assembly election 2012

How to lock a linux user from logging into a machine?

In some scenarios its needed to lock a user to login into his own account.  This can be achieved by many ways.

1.  GUI way

 1.1 Go to System -> Administration -> Users and Groups

 1.2 Now select the particular user from the left side, then click on the advanced settings button

 1.3 Click on the Advanced tab then tick the check box with value "Disable Account"

 1.4 To revoke follow the 1.1 & 1.2 now you can see a "Enable account" button click and enable

2. Terminal way

1. As a root user issue the following command in the terminal

    $sudo passwd -l "username of the user to lock"