In case you need to use an older kernel version in your new all shiny Ubuntu 8.10 preloaded with kernel version 2.6.27, there’s a very easy way to do it.
Instead of compiling it yourself and have to build a god forsaken config file for the compilation, you can install a linux-image package from the repositories. If you do a quick
sudo aptitude search linux-image
You can see the fine result:
p linux-image-2.6.25-2-386 – Linux kernel image for version 2.6.25 on i386
so if you install the package with
sudo aptitude install linux-image-2.6.25-2-386
You’re all set. The kernel will be automatically added to your grub menu.
Low blood pressure is a condition takes place when the pressure of blood in the arteries tends to be very low. A consistent blood pressure reading of 90/60 mm Hg or lower is considered low blood pressure.
Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure
Following are the major low blood pressure symptoms:
1. Lethargy
2. Weakness
3. Fatigue
4. Dizziness
Causes of Low Blood Pressure
Following are the major low blood pressure causes:
1. Faulty nutrition
2. Malnutrition
3. Loss of blood
4. Slow bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, or bladder
5. Prolonged disappointment and frustration
Natural Home Remedies for Low Blood Pressure
Following are some of the effective home remedies for low blood pressure:
1. Take a cup of the juice of raw beetroot twice daily. It is one of the most effective home remedies for low blood pressure.
2. You can also hot Epsom salt bath for treating low blood pressure. An Epsom salt bath is prepared by dissolving 1 to 1 ½ kg of commercial Epsom Salt in an ordinary bath of hot water. The patient should remain immersed in the bath for 10 to 20 minutes. This bath should be taken just before retiring to bed
3. Take protein, vitamin C, and all vitamins of the B group to for natural treatment of low blood pressure.
Low Blood Pressure Treatment and Advice
1. Take salty foods and half a teaspoon of salt in water daily.
2. Do regular breathing and other light exercises like walking, swimming and cycling.
3. Avoid overwork, excesses of all kinds, needless worry, and negative thinking.
------------ Causes
There can be plenty of reasons why you may be suffering from low blood pressure. Dehydration : Drinking enough water is extremely essential for your well-being. If you are one of those who gets dehydrated easily, you must do something about it. One needs to drink more fluids than one loses. If you are one of those who works outdoors, ensure you keep sipping on liquids like nimbu paani. This will help keep the weakness in check. Pregnancy : If you are pregnant, there's a good chance your pressure might drop. This is normal but get yourself checked if it becomes too frequent. Heart issues : Some heart problems could cause blood in your body to not circulate properly.
Deficiency of nutrients: A lack of some essential vitamins such as B-12 and iron can lead to anaemia, which is turn can result in low blood pressure. Solution
- Increase your salt intake: Generally people are told to avoid using too much salt in their diet. For people suffering from low blood pressure, salt can help. Check with your doctor though before turning to salty foods.
- Drink more water: Water is necessary for your basic body functioning. It also helps prevent dehydration. Don't forget to increase your water intake if you're constantly feeling giddy. Home remedies : Take a cup of the raw beetroot juice twice daily. It is one of the best home remedies for low blood pressure. Drinking a cup of strong black coffee can also help. Some people suggest making a paste of almonds and drinking with lukewarm milk. Exercise : Include a little exercise in your daily regime. A walk or a quick swim can help circulate the blood.
Key Message 5.
A child with diarrhoea should receive oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution and a daily zinc supplement for 10–14 days. Diarrhoea medicines are generally ineffective and can be harmful.
Made at home: ORS Solution A special drink for diarrhoea
Give the child a drink made with 6 level teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 level teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 litre of clean water.
Be very careful to mix the correct amounts. Too much sugar can make the diarrhoea worse. Too much salt can be extremely harmful to the child.
Making the mixture a little too diluted (with more than 1 litre of clean water) is not harmful.
Diarrhoea usually cures itself in three to four days with rehydration (drinking a lot of liquids). The real danger is the loss of liquid and nutrients from the child's body, which can cause dehydration and malnutrition.
A child with diarrhoea should never be given any tablets, antibiotics or other medicines unless prescribed by a trained health worker.
The best treatment for diarrhoea is to (1) drink lots of liquids and oral rehydration salts (ORS), properly mixed with clean water from a safe source, and (2) take zinc tablets or syrup for 10–14 days.
What is ORS?
ORS (oral rehydration salts) is a special combination of dry salts that is mixed with safe water. It can help replace the fluids lost due to diarrhoea.
When should ORS be used?
When a child has three or more loose stools in a day, begin to give ORS. In addition, for 10–14 days, give children over 6 months of age 20 milligrams of zinc per day (tablet or syrup); give children under 6 months of age 10 milligrams per day (tablet or syrup).
Where can ORS be obtained?
In most countries, ORS packets are available from health centres, pharmacies, markets and shops.
How is the ORS drink prepared?
Put the contents of the ORS packet in a clean container. Check the packet for directions and add the correct amount of clean water. Too little water could make the diarrhoea worse.
Add water only. Do not add ORS to milk, soup, fruit juice or soft drinks. Do not add sugar.
Stir well, and feed it to the child from a clean cup. Do not use a bottle.
How much ORS drink to give?
Encourage the child to drink as much as possible.
A child under the age of 2 years needs at least 1/4 to 1/2 of a large (250-millilitre) cup of the ORS drink after each watery stool.
A child aged 2 years or older needs at least 1/2 to 1 whole large (250-millilitre) cup of the ORS drink after each watery stool.
What if ORS is not available?
Give the child a drink made with 6 level teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 level teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 litre of clean water.
Be very careful to mix the correct amounts. Too much sugar can make the diarrhoea worse. Too much salt can be extremely harmful to the child.
Making the mixture a little too diluted (with more than 1 litre of clean water) is not harmful.
Diarrhoea usually stops in three or four days.
If it does not stop, consult a trained health worker.
To prevent too much liquid being lost from the child's body, an effective oral rehydration solution can be made using ingredients found in almost every household.One of these drinks should be given to the child every time a watery stool is passed.
Ideally these drinks (preferably those that have been boiled) should contain:
starches and/or sugars as a source of glucose and energy,
some sodium and
preferably some potassium.
The following traditional remedies make highly effective oral rehydration solutions and are suitable drinks to prevent a child from losing too much liquid during diarrhoea:
Breastmilk
Gruels (diluted mixtures of cooked cereals and water)
Carrot Soup
Rice water - Congee
A very suitable and effective simple solution for rehydrating a child can also be made by using salt and sugar, if these ingredients are available.
If possible, add 1/2 cup orange juice or some mashed banana to improve the taste and provide some potassium.
Molasses and other forms of raw sugar can be used instead of white sugar, and these contain more potassium than white sugar.
If none of these drinks is available, other alternatives are:
Fresh fruit juice
Weak tea
Green coconut water
If nothing else is available, give
water from the cleanest possible source
(if possible brought to the boil and then cooled).
Download Instruction Guides in English and Creole
Thanks to Charles R. Staubs, D.O. and Jean Michelet
The "Simple Solution" - Home made Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) Recipe
Preparing 1 (one) Litre solution using Salt, Sugar and Water at Home
Mix an oral rehydration solution using the following recipe.
Ingredients:
Six (6) level teaspoons of Sugar
Half (1/2) level teaspoon of Salt
One Litre of clean drinking or boiled water and then cooled - 5 cupfuls (each cup about 200 ml.)
Preparation Method:
Stir the mixture till the salt and sugar dissolve.
Effective homemade remedy for watery diarrhea
An efficient and effective homemade remedy to be used when watery diarrhea strikes and is a good substitute for oral rehydration salts:
Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 cup precooked baby rice cereal or 1½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 cups of water
1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions:
Mix well the rice cereal (or sugar), water, and salt together until the mixture thickens but is not too thick to drink.
Give the mixture often by spoon and offer the child as much as he or she will accept (every minute if the child will take it).
Continue giving the mixture with the goal of replacing the fluid lost: one cup lost, give a cup. Even if the child is vomiting, the mixture can be offered in small amounts (2-1 tsp.) every few minutes or so.
Banana or other non-sweetened mashed fruit can help provide potassium.
Continue feeding children when they are sick and to continue breastfeeding if the child is being breastfed.
Questions on Solutions made at Home
Q. How do I measure the Salt and Sugar?
Different countries and different communities use various methods for measuring the salt and sugar.
Finger pinch and hand measuring, and the use of local teaspoons can be taught successfully.
A plastic measuring spoon is available from Teaching Aids at Low Cost (TALC) with proportions to make up 200 ml of sugar/salt solution.
Whatever method is used, people need to be carefully instructed in how to mix and use the solutions.
Do not use too much salt. If the solution has too much salt the child may refuse to drink it. Also, too much salt can, in extreme cases, cause convulsions. Too little salt does no harm but is less effective in preventing dehydration.
A rough guide to the amount of salt is that the solution should taste no saltier than tears.
Q. How much solution do I feed?
Feed after every loose motion.
Adults and large children should drink at least 3 quarts or liters of ORS a day until they are well.
Each Feeding:
For a child under the age of two
Between a quarter and a half of a large cup
For older childrenBetween a half and a whole large cup
For Severe Dehydration:
Drink sips of the ORS (or give the ORS solution to the conscious dehydrated person) every 5 minutes until urination becomes normal. (It's normal to urinate four or five times a day.)
Q. How do I feed the solution?
Give it slowly, preferably with a teaspoon.
If the child vomits it, give it again.
The drink should be given from a cup (feeding bottles are difficult to clean properly). Remember to feed sips of the liquid slowly.
Q. What if the child vomits?
If the child vomits, wait for ten minutes and then begin again. Continue to try to feed the drink to the child slowly, small sips at a time.
The body will retain some of the fluids and salts needed even though there is vomiting.
Q. For how long do I feed the liquids?
Extra liquids should be given until the diarrhoea has stopped. This will usually take between three and five days.
Q. How do I store the ORS solution?
Store the liquid in a cool place. Chilling the ORS may help. If the child still needs ORS after 24 hours, make a fresh solution.
10 Things you should know about Rehydrating a child.
Wash your hands with soap and water before preparing solution.
Prepare a solution, in a clean pot, by mixing
- Six (6) level teaspoons of sugar and Half (1/2) level teaspoon of Salt or
- 1 packet of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) 20.5 grams
mix with
- One litre of clean drinking or boiled water (after cooled)
Stir the mixture till all the contents dissolve.
Wash your hands and the baby's hands with soap and water before feeding solution.
Give the sick child as much of the solution as it needs, in small amounts frequently.
Give child alternately other fluids - such as breast milk and juices.
Continue to give solids if child is four months or older.
If the child still needs ORS after 24 hours, make a fresh solution.
ORS does not stop diarrhoea. It prevents the body from drying up. The diarrhoea will stop by itself.
If child vomits, wait ten minutes and give it ORS again. Usually vomiting will stop.
If diarrhoea increases and /or vomiting persists, take child over to a health clinic.
Footnote:
People often refer to home-prepared oral rehydration solutions as "home-brew." This should be discouraged because the word brew implies:
either fermenting which in fact is an obstacle to some home-prepared solutions especially those made with rice-powder
or it implies boiling (as in tea) which, especially with sugar and salt or using packets of ORS, should not be done because it decomposes the sugar, or caramelises.
The muscle consists mainly of muscle fibre, endothelial and arterial vessels which carry blood to the muscles, and nerve endings, which sense the pain. This pain sensation is stimulated by situations like bleeding inside the muscle due to tear of the muscle, prolonged contraction, prolonged stretching, accumulation of metabolic poisons which stimulates the nerve endings etc.
Moreover, the pain signals reach the spinal cord, and from there by a pathway called dorsal column with a junction in the spinal cord, where in exchange of signals are transferred to the dorsal column like a relay race. This exchange is subjected to the quantum of volleys of pain impulses, which can be allowed only to a certain extent.
This is called ‘gate control system'. If the volleys are too much, the gate naturally (physiologically) closes, and refuses to send the impulses to a higher centre, like the thalamus, and parietal brain tissue. The higher centres are only capable of realising the pain, quantum of pain, quality of pain, and the nature of the pain.
If the volleys do not reach the brain, then there is no chance of realising the pain at all. Moreover, there are lots of chemicals which makes the pain feelable, called endorphins, which play a role both for killing the pain and feeling the pain, depending on their chemical structure.
While massaging, the following reactions occur in the muscle: If the massage is gentle, then there is improved vascularity owing to mechanical rub, which carries all the accumulated bad metabolites away from the pain nerve endings.
There is a moderate stretch, hence muscles subsequently relax calmly from the contracted stage. The massage also produces multiple pain signals, which are capable of confusing the dorsal column of brain, due to increased volleys, hence the gate closes, to the higher centres so that pain is not allowed to transmit.
Massage gives a pleasant feeling due to development of good endorphins also in the brain which are capable of suppressing the pain feeling of brain, like morphine ( drug for pain ) like reactions, which stimulates an area called amydaloid in the brain which causes a pleasure sensation to body.
Windows has included batch files since before it existed… batch files are really old! Old or not, I still find myself frequently creating batch files to help me automate common tasks. One common task is uploading files to a remote FTP server. Here’s the way that I got around it.
First, you will have to create a file called fileup.bat in your windows directory, or at least inside some directory included in your path. You can use the “path” command to see what the current path is.
Inside the batch file, you will want to paste the following:
@echo off
echo user MyUserName> ftpcmd.dat
echo MyPassword>> ftpcmd.dat
echo bin>> ftpcmd.dat
echo put %1>> ftpcmd.dat
echo quit>> ftpcmd.dat
ftp -n -s:ftpcmd.dat SERVERNAME.COM
del ftpcmd.dat
You will want to replace the MyUserName, MyPassword and SERVERNAME.COM with the correct values for your ftp server. What this batch file is doing is scripting the ftp utility using the -s option for the command line utility.
The batch file uses the “echo” command to send text to the ftp server as if you had typed it. In the middle of the file you can add extra commands, potentionally a change directory command:
echo cd /pathname/>>ftpcmd.dat
In order to call this batch file, you will call the batchfile using the fileup.bat name that we gave it, and pass in the name of a file as the parameter. You don’t have to type the .bat part of the filename to make it work, either.
Example:
> fileup FileToUpload.zip
Connected to ftp.myserver.com.
220 Microsoft FTP Service
ftp> user myusername
331 Password required for myusername.
230 User myusername logged in.
ftp> bin
200 Type set to I.
ftp> put FileToUpload.zip
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for FileToUpload.zip
226 Transfer complete.
ftp: 106 bytes sent in 0.01Seconds 7.07Kbytes/sec.
ftp> quit
And that’s all there is to it. Now your file should be sitting on the remote server.
The following information is provided as a reference for the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) commands. This document describes a typical process for an interactive and automated, batch FTP session running on a PC with Windows/2000 and connecting to a UNIX system. This process may vary slightly depending on the hardware and software configurations of the local and remote systems.
To start an FTP interactive session type "ftp" from a DOS Command window.
C:\> ftp
The DOS prompt should be replaced with the FTP prompt. The FTP program is now running on the local system. A connection (or session) to a remote system has not been established.
The help command or ? (question mark) may be executed without being attached to a remote system and will do a print (usually to the screen) of the FTP commands. The following is a typical result of the help command running on a PC with Windows.
ftp> helpCommands may be abbreviated. Commands are:
! delete literal prompt send
? debug ls put status
append dir mdelete pwd trace
ascii disconnect mdir quit type
bell get mget quote user
binary glob mkdir recv verbose
bye hash mls remotehelp
cd help mput rename
close lcd open rmdirftp>
The following commands will establish a connection (or session) by doing a logon between the local FTP program and a remote system.
ftp> open domain.nameConnected to domain.name
220 antigonous FTP server ready.User (domain.name:(none)):User-Name331 Password required for user-namePassword: password230 User user-name logged in.ftp>
The following command will change the directory on the remote system.
ftp> cd /web250 CWD command successful.ftp>
The following command will find out the pathname of the current directory on the remote system and display the information.
ftp> pwd257 "/web" is the current directory.ftp>
The following command will set the file transfer mode to ASCII (this is the default and transmits seven bits per byte).
ftp> ascii200 Type set to A.ftp>
The following command will copy a file from the local system to the remote system.
ftp> put d:\simoweb1\filename.txt200 PORT command successful.
Opening ASCII mode data connection for filename.txt
226 Transfer completeftp>
The following command will set the file transfer mode to binary (the binary mode transfers all eight bits per byte and must be used to transfer non-ASCII files).
ftp> binary200 Type set to I.ftp>
The following command will copy a file from the local system to the remote system.
ftp> put d:\simoweb1\filename.zip200 PORT command successful.
Opening BINARY mode data connection for filename.zip
226 Transfer completeftp>
The following command will exit the FTP environment (same as "bye").
ftp> quit221 Goodbye.
When the preceding command is finished the DOS prompt will be displayed.
C:\>
The preceding is a typical process for an interactive FTP session running on a PC with Windows/2000 and connecting to a UNIX system. This process may vary slightly depending on the hardware and software configurations of the local and remote systems.
The following batch file (UPWIP001.BAT) will start an FTP session and pass the name of a text file (UPWIP001.TXT) to the FTP program. This text file will be processed by the FTP program and each of the statements in the text file will be processed in the sequence they appear.
@echo OFFecho * *******************************************************************
echo * This program is provided by: *
echo * SimoTime Enterprises, LLC *
echo * (C) Copyright 1987-2001 All Rights Reserved *
echo * Web Site URL: http://www.simotime.com *
echo * e-mail: helpdesk@simotime.com *
echo * *******************************************************************
echo *
echo * This batch and text file illustrate the use of FTP to upload an
echo * ASCII file and an EBCDIC or Binary file. The UPWIP001.BAT file
echo * references UPWIP001.TXT that contains...
echo *
echo * user
echo * password
echo * cd /web
echo * pwd
echo * ascii
echo * put d:\simoweb1\cbltxn01.htm
echo * binary
echo * put d:\simoweb1\cbltxn01.zip
echo * quit
echo *ftp -s:upwip001.txt www.simotime.com
The following is a listing of the contents of the text file (UPWIP001.TXT).
userpassword
cd /web
pwd
ascii
put d:\simoweb1\cbltxn01.htm
binary
put d:\simoweb1\cbltxn01.zip
quit
The following is a summary of the commonly used FTP Commands.
Command
Description
!
Preceding a command with the exclamation point will cause the command to execute on the local system instead of the remote system.
?
Request assistance or information about the FTP commands. This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
ascii
Set the file transfer mode to ASCII (Note: this is the default and transmits seven bits per byte).
bell
Turns bell mode on / off. This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
binary
Set the file transfer mode to binary (Note: the binary mode transfers all eight bits per byte and must be used to transfer non-ASCII files).
bye
Exit the FTP environment (same as quit). This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
cd
Change directory on the remote system.
close
Terminate a session with another system.
debug
Sets debugging on/off. This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
delete
Delete (remove) a file in the current remote directory (same as rm in UNIX).
dir
Lists the contents of the remote directory.The asterisk (*) and the question mark (?) may be used as wild cards. For example:
dir b*
This will display all entries that start with the letter "b". For example, the following will be displayed. bet, ben, bingo, born, boon, bipartisan, bandit, boy
dir b*n*
This will display all entries that start with the letter "b" and have the letter "n" somewhere after the letter "b". For example, the following will be displayed. ben, bingo, born, boon, bipartisan, bandit The following will not be displayed. bet, boy
dir b?n
This will display all entries that start with the letter "b", have the letter "n" in the 3rd position and have a three character name. For example, the following will be displayed. ben The following will not be displayed. bet, bingo, born, boon, bipartisan, bandit, boy
dir b?n*
This will display all entries that start with the letter "b" and have the letter "n" in the 3rd position. For example, the following will be displayed. ben, bingo, bandit The following will not be displayed. bet, born, boon, bipartisan, boy
get
Copy a file from the remote system to the local system.
get filename-1
Copy (or replace) filename-1 from the current remote directory to a file with the same name in the current local directory.
get filename-1filename-2
Copy (or replace) filename-1 from the current remote directory to filename-2 in the current local directory.
help
Request a list of all available FTP commands. This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
lcd
Change directory on your local system (same as CD in UNIX).
ls
List the names of the files in the current remote directory.
mget
Copy multiple files from the remote system to the local system. (Note: You will be prompted for a "y/n" response before copying each file).
mget *
Copies all the files in the current remote directory to the current local directory, using the same filenames. Note the use of the asterisk (*) as a wild card character.
mkdir
Make a new directory within the current remote directory.
mput
Copy multiple files from the local system to the remote system. (Note: You will be prompted for a "y/n" response before copying each file).
open
Open a connection with another system.
put
Copy a file from the local system to the remote system.
pwd
Find out the pathname of the current directory on the remote system.
quit
Exit the FTP environment (same as "bye"). This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
rmdir
Remove (delete) a directory in the current remote directory.
trace
Toggles packet tracing. This command does not require a connection to a remote system.
The following are additional commands that are used when tranferring files between an IBM Mainframe and a Windows or UNIX client swystem. Also, the following includes commands required when working with files containing variable length records.
userpassword
CD ..
PWD
VERBOSE
BINARY
LITERAL SITE RDW LRECL=80 RECFM=FB TRACKS PRIMARY=10 SECONDARY=5
PUT c:\SimoDemo\TestLib1\DataFtp1\CARDFILE.DAT SIMOTIME.DATA.CARDFILE
QUIT
If you have an rpm file for a package you wish to install, and if you cannot find a .deb debian package in any of the Ubuntu repositories or elsewhere, you can use the alien package converter application to install the .rpm file.
Alien is a program that converts between the rpm, dpkg, stampede slp, and slackware tgz file formats. If you want to use a package from another distribution than the one you have installed on your system, you can use alien to convert it to your preferred package format and install it.
Despite the large version number, alien is still (and will probably always be) rather experimental software. It has been used by many people for many years, but there are still many bugs and limitations.
Alien should not be used to replace important system packages, like sysvinit, shared libraries, or other things that are essential for the functioning of your system. Many of these packages are set up differently by Debian and Red Hat, and packages from the different distributions cannot be used interchangably. In general, if you can’t uninstall the package without breaking your system, don’t try to replace it with an alien version.
Instructions for Installing RPM Files Using Alien
Installing Alien
You can install alien itself from the Ubuntu Universe repository by adding the repository to your list of sources and doing:
$sudo apt-get update
$sudo apt-get install alien
Installing the .rpm file
To install the .rpm file, you first need to convert it to a .deb file which can be installed on Ubuntu.
I assume that you downloaded the package to your Desktop (~/Desktop is the directory)
You can convert the .rpm to a .deb by using the following commands. $cd ~/Desktop
-This will change the directory to your desktop, where you have the .rpm file. $sudo alien -k name-of-rpm-file.rpm
- This will convert the .rpm to a .deb.
- The “-k” will keep the version number. Otherwise alien adds a “1″ to the version number.
- Tip: Use Smart Tab Completion to avoid mistyping the file names $sudo dpkg -i name-of-deb-file.deb
- This will install the .deb package
Try reading the alien manpage for more details on how to convert other kinds of packages and the options available.
Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard is a MIDI events generator and receiver. It doesn't produce any sound by itself, but can be used to drive a MIDI synthesizer (either hardware or software, internal or external). You can use the computer's keyboard to play MIDI notes, and also the mouse. You can use the Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard to display the played MIDI notes from another instrument or MIDI file player. To do so, connect the other MIDI port to the input port of VMPK.
Gymnopédie No. 1 by E. Satie (1866–1925) played by MuseScore and VMPK in Linux
VMPK has been tested in Linux, Windows and Mac OSX, but maybe you can build it also in other systems. If so, please drop a mail to the author.
The Virtual Keyboard by Takashi Iway (vkeybd) has been the inspiration for this one. It is a wonderful piece of software and has served us well for many years. Thanks!
VMPK uses a modern GUI framework: Qt4, that gives excellent features and performance. RtMIDI provides MIDI input/output features. Both frameworks are free and platform independent, available for Linux, Windows and Mac OSX.
The alphanumeric keyboard mapping can be configured from inside the program using the GUI interface, and the settings are stored in XML files. Some maps for Spanish, German and French keyboard layouts are provided, translated from the ones provided by VKeybd.
VMPK can send program changes and controllers to a MIDI synth. The definitions for different standards and devices can be provided as .INS files, the same format used by QTractor and TSE3. It was developed by Cakewalk and used also in Sonar.
This software is in a very early alpha stage. See the TODO file for a list of pending features. Please feel free to contact the author to ask questions, report bugs, and propose new features. You can use the tracking system at SourceForge project site.
Copyright (C) 2008-2010, Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas
Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard is free software licensed under the terms of the GPL v3 license.
Screenshots gallery
Getting started
MIDI concepts
MIDI is an industry standard to connect musical instruments. It is based on transmitting the actions performed by a musician playing some instrument to another different instrument. Musical instruments enabled with MIDI interfaces typically have two DIN sockets labeled MIDI IN and MIDI OUT. Sometimes there is a third socket labeled MIDI THRU. To connect a MIDI instrument to another one, you need a MIDI cable attached to the MIDI OUT socket of the sending instrument, and to the MIDI IN of the receiving one. You can find more information and tutorials like this one all around the Net.
There are also hardware MIDI interfaces for computers, providing MIDI IN and OUT ports, where you can attach MIDI cables to communicate the computer with external MIDI instruments. Without needing hardware interfaces, the computer can also use MIDI software. An example is VMPK, which provides MIDI IN and OUT ports. You can attach virtual MIDI cables to the VMPK's ports, to connect the program to other programs or to the computer's physical MIDI interface ports. More details about this coming later. You usually want to connect the MIDI output from VMPK to the input of some synthesizer which transforms MIDI into sound. Another common destination for the connection would be a MIDI monitor that translates MIDI events into readable text. This will help you to understand what kind of information is transmitted using the MIDI protocol. In Linux you can try KMidimon and in Windows MIDIOX.
VMPK doesn't produce any sound. You need a MIDI software synthesizer to hear the played notes. I recommend you to try QSynth, a graphical front-end to Fluidsynth. It is also possible to use the "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth" that comes with XP. Of course, an external MIDI hardware synth would be an even better approach.
Keyboard maps and instrument definitions
VMPK can help you to change sounds in your MIDI synthesizer, but only if you provide a definition for the synthesizer sounds first. The definitions are text files with the .INS extension, and the same format used by Qtractor (Linux), and Sonar (Windows).
When you start VMPK the first time, you should open the Preferences dialog and choose a definition file, and then select the instrument name among those provided by the definitions file. There should be one instrument definitions file installed in the VMPK's data directory (typically "/usr/share/vmpk" in Linux, and "C:\Program Files\VMPK" in Windows) named "gmgsxg.ins", containing definitions for the General MIDI, Roland GS and Yamaha XG standards. It is a very simple format, and you can use any text editor to look, change, and create a new one. You can find a library of instruments definitions at the cakewalk ftp server.
Since the release 0.2.5 you can also import Sound Font files (in .SF2 or DLS formats) as instruments definitions, using a dialog available at menu File->Import SoundFont.
Another customization that you may want to tweak is the keyboard mapping. The default layout maps about two and half octaves for the QWERTY alphanumeric keyboard, but there are some more definitions in the data directory, adapted for other international layouts. You can even define your own mapping using a dialog box available in the Edit->Keyboard map menu. There are also options to load and save the maps as XML files. The last loaded map will be remembered the next time you start VMPK. In fact, all your preferences, selected MIDI bank and program, and the controller values will be saved on exit, and restored when you restart VMPK the next time.
MIDI connections and virtual MIDI cables
To connect hardware MIDI devices you need physical MIDI cables. To connect MIDI software you need virtual cables. In Windows you can use some virtual MIDI cable software, like MIDI Yoke, Maple, LoopBe1 or Sony Virtual MIDI Router.
MIDI Yoke setup process will install the driver and a control panel applet to change the number of MIDI ports that will be available (you need to restart the computer after changing this setting). MIDI Yoke works sending every MIDI event written to an OUT port to the corresponding IN port. For instance, VMPK can connect the output to the port 1, and another program like QSynth can read the same events from the port 1.
Using MIDIOX you can add more routes between MIDI Yoke ports and other system MIDI ports. This program also provides other interesting functionalities, like a MIDI file player. You can listen the songs played in a MIDI Synth and at the same time see the played notes (only one channel at a time) in VMPK. To do so, you can use the "Routes" window in MIDIOX to connect the input port 1 to the Windows Synth port. Also, configure the player's MIDI port to send to MIDI Yoke 1. And configure VMPK Input port to read from MIDI Yoke 1. The player will send the events to the out port 1, which will be routed to both the input port 1 and at the same time to the synth port.
In Linux, you have ALSA sequencer to provide the virtual cables. The ports are dynamically created when you start a program, so there is not a fixed number of them like in MIDI Yoke. The command line utility "aconnect" allows to connect and disconnect the virtual MIDI cables between any ports, being hardware interfaces or applications. A nice GUI utility for doing the same is QJackCtl. The main purpose of this program is to control the Jack daemon (start, stop and monitor the state). Jack provides virtual audio cables to connect your sound card ports and audio programs, in a similar way to the MIDI virtual cables, but for digital audio data.
QJackCtl connections in Linux
Frequently Asked Questions
How to display 88 keys?
88 is an arbitrary number of keys used by (most) modern piano manufacturers, but organ and synthesizer manufacturers don't always follow this convention. VMPK can be customized to display from 1 to 10 octaves. Using 7 octaves it shows 84 keys, and for 8 octaves it shows 98 keys. There is no way to display exactly 7 and half octaves.
There is no sound
VMPK doesn't produce any sound by itself. You need a MIDI synthesizer, and please read the documentation again.
Some keys are silent
When you select channel 10 on a standard MIDI synth, it plays percussion sounds assigned to many keys but not to all of them. On melodic channels (not channel 10) you can select patches with a limited range of notes. This is known in music as Tessitura.
The "Grab Keyboard" option fails
It is a known issue for Linux users. This feature works well in KDE3/4 desktops using the standard kwin window manager; it also works with Enlightenment and Window Maker, but fails in Metacity and Compiz window managers, common among Gnome setups. It is also known that using this option prevents normal usage of the drop down menus on GTK2 applications. There is no known solution for this issue, except avoiding the broken scenarios if you really need this feature.
Patch names don't match the real sounds
You need to provide an .INS file describing exactly your synthesizer's sound set or soundfont. The included file (gmgsxg.ins) contains definitions for only standard GM, GS and XG instruments. If your MIDI synth doesn't match exactly any of them, you need to get another .INS file, or create it yourself.
Can I convert my Instrument Definition for vkeybd into an .INS file?
Sure. Use the AWK script "txt2ins.awk". You can even use the utility sftovkb from vkeybd to create an .INS file from any SF2 soundfont, but there is also a function to import the instrument names from SF2 and DLS files in VMPK.
You can choose between CMake and Qmake to prepare the build system, but qmake is intended only for testing and development.
$ cmake .
or
$ ccmake .
or
$ qmake
After that, compile the program:
$ make
If the program has been compiled sucessfully, you can install it:
$ sudo make install
Requirements
In order to successfully build and use VMPK, you need Qt 4.4 or newer. (install the -devel package for your system, or download the open source edition from qt.nokia.com, formerly Trolltech.) RtMIDI is included in the source package. It uses ALSA sequencer in Linux, WinMM in Windows and CoreMIDI in Mac OSX, which are the native MIDI systems in each supported platform.
The build system is based on CMake.
You need also the GCC C++ compiler. MinGW is a Windows port.
Optionally, you can buid a Windows setup program using NSIS.
Notes for windows users
To compile the sources in Windows, you need to download either the .bz2 or .gz archive and uncompress it using any utility that supports the format, like 7-Zip.
To configure the sources, you need qmake (from Qt4) or CMake. You need to set the PATH including the directories for Qt4 binaries, MinGW binaries, and also CMake binaries. The program CMakeSetup.exe is the graphic version of CMake for Windows.
Notes for Mac OSX users
You can find a precompiled universal app bundle, including Qt4 runtime libraries, at the project download area. If you prefer to install from sources, CMake or Qmake can be used to build the application bundle linked to the installed system libraries. You can use Qt4 either from qtsoftware.com or the package distributed by Fink.
The build system is configured to create an universal binary (x86+ppc) into an app bundle. You need the Apple development tools and frameworks, as well as the Qt4 SDK from Nokia.
To compile VMPK using Makefiles, generated by qmake:
If you need something to produce noise, maybe you want to take a look to SimpleSynth, FluidSynth (available from Fink). For MIDI routing, there is also MIDI Patchbay.
Notes for packagers and advanced users
You can ask the compiler for some optimisation when building the program. There are two ways: first, using a predefined build type.
$ cmake . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
The CMake "Release" type uses the compiler flags: "-O3 -DNDEBUG". Other predefined build types are "Debug", "RelWithDebInfo", and "MinSizeRel". The second way is to choose the compiler flags yourself.
You need to find the better CXXFLAGS for your own system.
If you want to install the program at some place other than the default (/usr/local) use the following CMake option:
A Brief Description of the MiniCard interface. MiniCard is also called Mini PCI Express bus [PCI= Peripheral Component Interface]. The Minicard is a small form factor board used to implement the PCI Express interface on Notebook computers. The card size is 30mm wide by 50.95mm long by 5mm high. The Minicard uses a 52-pin card edge connector, the card pins are fingers at the edge of the card. MiniCard is used to implement both the 1x PCI Express Bus interface and a USB 2.0 interface.
Refer to the main PCI Express Bus for a list of manufacturers producing interface IC's
Like other PC buses, there are no glue logic devices just ASICs and chip sets in PCI Express; Similar to PCI. Refer to the LVDS page for additional information on the LVDS electrical interface. This page provides a comparison of Interface Switching levels for different types of electrical standards.
PCI: The original specification 'Peripheral Component Interface', [parallel interface] PCI Express Bus: [used in desktop computers, the physical layer is not compatible with the PCI bus]
PCIe Mini Card Electromechanical Specification [used in Notebook/Laptop computers]
PCISIG {Peripheral Component Interconnect - Special Interest Group}
A Mini-PCI Express connector accepts a 52-pin card edge with one key slot. The Board has fingers at the card edge, the card key is an absence of fingers.
Introduced in 2003. Smaller version of PCI Express, intended for notebook computers.
Pinout
Pin
Name
Pin
Name
51
Reserved
52
+3.3Vaux
49
Reserved
50
GND
47
Reserved
48
+1.5V
45
Reserved
46
LED_WPAN#
43
GND
44
LED_WLAN#
41
+3.3Vaux
42
LED_WWAN#
39
+3.3Vaux
40
GND
37
GND
38
USB_D+
35
GND
36
USB_D-
33
PETp0
34
GND
31
PETn0
32
SMB_DATA
29
GND
30
SMB_CLK
27
GND
28
+1.5V
25
PERp0
26
GND
23
PERn0
24
+3.3Vaux
21
GND
22
PERST#
19
Reserved (UIM_C4)
20
W_DISABLE#
17
Reserved (UIM_C8)
18
GND
Mechanical Key
15
GND
16
UIM_VPP
13
REFCLK+
14
UIM_RESET
11
REFCLK-
12
UIM_CLK
9
GND
10
UIM_DATA
7
CLKREQ#
8
UIM_PWR
5
COEX2
6
1.5V
3
COEX1
4
GND
1
WAKE#
2
3.3Vaux
Note: Pin 17 & 19 are reserved for future UIM interface (if needed). http://www.hardwarebook.info/PCI_Express_Mini_Card ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe, and Mini PCI-E) is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor based on PCI Express. It is developed by the PCI-SIG. The host device supports both PCI Express and USB 2.0 connectivity, and each card uses whichever the designer feels most appropriate to the task. Most laptop computers built after 2005 are based on PCI Express and can have several Mini Card slots.
Top side
Bottom side
1
2
3.3V
3
Reserved****
4
GND
5
Reserved****
6
1.5V
7
CLKREQ#
8
Reserved**
9
GND
10
Reserved**
11
REFCLK-
12
Reserved**
13
REFCLK+
14
Reserved**
15
16
Reserved**
Mechanical key
17
Reserved
18
GND
19
Reserved
20
Reserved***
21
GND
22
PERST#
23
PERn0
24
+3.3Vaux
25
PERp0
26
GND
27
GND
28
+1.5V
29
GND
30
SMB_CLK
31
PETn0
32
SMB_DATA
33
PETp0
34
GND
35
GND
36
USB_D-
37
Reserved*
38
USB_D+
39
Reserved*
40
GND
41
Reserved*
42
LED_WWAN#
43
Reserved*
44
LED_WLAN#
45
Reserved*
46
LED_WPAN#
47
Reserved*
48
+1.5V
49
Reserved*
50
GND
51
Reserved*
52
+3.3V
*Reserved for future second PCI Express Lane (if needed)
**Reserved for future Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) interface (if needed)
***Reserved for future wireless disable signal (if needed)
****Reserved for future wireless coexistence control interface (if needed)
The "Simple Solution" - Home made Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) Recipe
VMPK 0.3.0
QJackCtl connections in Linux