Ubuntu 11.10 desktop issues

I have been a dedicated user of Ubuntu 10.10 for over a year and half. Since I got a new laptop, my system admin recommended to use the latest version Ubuntu 11.10 as it would be more secure.

Unfortunately, the desktop seems to have changed. They have replaced the GNOME interface with UNITY.

Believe me, it's such a pain to use this interface and they have ensured that you won't download and install the GNOME desktop so easily.

Then someone told me that I need to download and install the gnome desktop from the Ubuntu software center. When I tried that it complained saying that the dependency gnome-core needed to be installed. When I tried to do that, it threw up an error:

gnome: Depends: gnome-core (= 1:3.0+1ubuntu1) but 1:3.0+1ubuntu1 is to be installed

That's when I completely lost it. I could not afford to spend my time on doing something which was totally useless. I gave up after reading more reviews on the web about this problem.

And I have to thank my stars, I noticed KDE was available during my login. I switched to try it out. Wow. I have not looked back today. It's just got everything I need and extremely user friendly.

The only other problem I faced was to configure a printer. I could not find the printer configuration utility from the menus. Googled a bit and did:

sudo system-config-printer

to configure my office network printer and voila I was done.

Thanks to KDE. I stayed back with Ubuntu. I almost went back to Windows 7.

Sunrise, sunset at Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of India our beloved motherland. Had been there during December 2009 as part of our trip to Tamil Nadu with family. It had been a pretty good trip starting from Bangalore -> Trichy -> Tanjore -> Piliyarpatti -> Rameshwaram -> Tiruchendur -> Kanyakumari -> Madurai -> Bangalore.

We reached Kanyakumari just post lunch and spent time hanging around the rocks waiting for beautiful sunset it's famous for.

When the time came, we were pretty disappointed as there was a mist over the sea waters and the sun god disappeared in a cloud of mist way above the sea waters.

And then we spent the evening without much ado and went to bed in the hope that the morning would give us a delightful sight of a big red sun coming out of the sea like an orange. But, no, that was not to happen. Again the mist played a spoil sport and watching a good sunrise at Kanyakumari remained only a dream.

On the way back to Bangalore from Madurai, once we reached Hosur, after a little nap during the ride in the afternoon, I opened my eyes to look out of the window of the car to see a big red sun setting in the horizon. Wow, I said and showed it off to the rest of the folks. The sunset was beautiful, but still disappointed that it was not in Kanyakumari. Will try again another time hopefully.

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Accommodation in Triplicane, Chennai

Triplicane (original name: Tiruvallikeni) is one of the busiest areas in Chennai. It's a hub for student and working bachelors as there is affordable accommodation, variety of food options available and relatively safe. It also has the famous Parthasarathy Temple which is huge and has various dieties in the same temple compound.

Anyway, the purpose of writing this post is to share information on some of the guest houses (also called Mansions for reasons best known to Chennai folks as they are no where near what is actually known as a Mansion in English. You have to see to believe :) chuckle).

Here are some Guest House addresses and contact details for those coming new into Chennai. It makes sense to stay in Triplicane as it is close to the railway station and is well connected to other parts of Chennai by public transport (buses and trains).

Please note most guest houses (mansions) charge only a 2 month advance unlike if you rent a house in Chennai where 10 months advance is demanded. They also generally do not charge for electricity and water unless specified. You get a TV and regular cleaning and maintenance.

Though I have personally lived in some of these guest houses, I would recommend you to visit these places and personally have a look at the rooms before agreeing to stay. They are all close to each other, so check them out and then decide which one to stay.

Sri Krishna Guest House:
a/c, non a/c luxury rooms with bathroom attached
Available on Monthly rent
New No.27 (Old No.11), Theetharappan Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005
Ph: (044) 28483319 / 28486333

Bismi Stay Home:
a/c, non a/c rooms with attached bathroom
Available on Daily and Monthly rent
Old No.52, Big Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005
Ph: (044) 28544388 / 28544422 / 28548900

Thayifa Guest House:
Non a/c rooms with bathroom attached
Available only on daily rent
No.73, Big street, Nr. Hindu Hr. Sec, School, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005
Ph: (044) 28594043 / 28510648 / 28512525

King Palace Mansion:
Rooms available on daily and monthly rent
Old No.51, New No.103, Big Street, Nr. Hindu Hr. Sec. School, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005
Ph: (044) 28520178 / 28512725

King's International:
a/c and non a/c rooms with attached bathrooms available. Clean and well maintained. Slightly expensive compared to other guest houses.
Old No.153, New No.86, Big Street, Nr. Hindu Hr. Sec. School, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005
Ph: (044) 28584467 / 68 / 69

Malar Mansion:
Attached bathrooms. Daily and monthly lodging.
New No.6, Parthasarathi Naidu Lane (Off Bells Road)
(near Chepauk Cricket Stadium), Chepauk
Chennai - 600 005
Ph: (044) 28587674 / 28515028