Unlike most other linux distros, the PATH environment variable cannot be set in Ubuntu by adding an assignment statement in the ~/.bash_profile script. This has been annoying me for some time and I was trying different things until I eventually thought of googling for it. Here’s how it is done.
There is a file called /etc/environment. This is where you set the path variable. Goto terminal, type

$ sudo vim /etc/environment

to edit it.

Ubuntu is known for wandering away from conventions, but why did they have to change this? The /etc/environment file is ok, the ~/.bash_profile method doesn’t work anymore. That means, there is no standard startup script in Ubuntu except the System -> Preferences -> Sessions dialog. Nobody would want the terminal to lose its power. I hope the Ubuntu developers know what they’re doing.

I’m at Einstein Engineering College now. Some 100 km away from my college. It’s an event called Empower.IT, organized by ELCOT, a government body dedicated to the cause of improving the quality of man power in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu.

Its huge here. There are more than 10 thousand people inside the campus, and there are loads of stalls and showcases. And talks by the industry hotshots, and ofcourse competitions.

Among the showcases is this cool internet cafe with Wireless Connectivity sponsored by Tulip IT Services, Chennai. And it rocks! There must be atleast a 100 computers here, all great looking Dell N-Series, all brought here by ELCOT. And all of them run SUSE Enterprise Linux! The’ve got some motivation!

I’ve just got the results for the preliminary round of the coding event. I’ve been short listed, and the real event starts in a while. I’l get a laptop if I come first. I have to rush now. I’m running a bit too high on adrinalin right now, I guess.