Electronic Diversions

Nintendo DS Canon Camera Interface (pt1)

2011-12-06T19:01:00.006-06:00

I am always trying to find a way to improve my astrophotography, and HDR.

I bought into a Kickstarter project (TriggerTrap) ...but it won't be done until spring...I will talk about it then.

A while ago some smart folks figured out how to interface a NintendoDS with a Canon DSLR.

The project became the Open Camera Controller (OCC). I remembered reading about it, but at the time I didn't have a Canon DSLR.

I don't have the interface yet (hence the pt1 for this post), but I did spend some time getting everything else lined up, and there was a bit of learning curve.

...Now the Nintendo DS...

A while back, some hackers figured out that you could utilize the SLOT-1 on the DS and creating a small interface, you could put microSD cards in, and force the DS to read the files and execute them...one use could put games on the microSD card and not be tied to carrying a bunch of cartridges...use your imagination...

This interface card was originally called the R4...and was banned for a while (in some countries anyway). The original R4 cards are hard to find, and limited to 2G microSD cards.

I picked up a newer replica R4 card...a R4SDHC...here are a bunch of different type cards etc...but the one I got works for what I needed...and it will use a microSD card larger than 2G.

Now that you have the card...the DS still won't read files off it, you need to put some software on the card to make that happen. (they call it firmware)...so the next question is what software etc.

My card had a website on it, and listed the software for the card...and some confusing instructions...I will list what I did for this particular card.

After I downloaded the software for my card (R4 V1.48b English.zip), and unzipped it...I had a R4.dat file and 3 directories...the poorly written webpage left me scratching my head as to what to do next.

Since I am not using this to play games etc, all I needed was the filesystem. (after some trial and error I figured out what I needed on the card)

So on the microSD card I placed R4.dat and the R4iMenu directory. (ignored the other directories).

I popped it in the DS and it gave me this menu.

Of course I hadn't put any of my software on it yet, so I removed the card and put the 4 OCC files on it, (in a directory on the root...or just the files on the rood microSD card would work.)

Now when I turn on the DS, and select the GAME icon, I am taken to the directory with the OCC files. This shot is one of the apps running.

For Part2 I will put it in operation (I am waiting for the cable to come from Germany...I don't have enough free time to make my own).

Bluetooth iPhone tethering revisited - iBluever 2.0.59

2011-12-03T19:26:00.004-06:00

So after I installed iOS 4.3.3 etc, I had to reinstall apps etc. All the iTunes apps install automatically of course.

But the apps I installed using Cydia via Jailbreak, do not install automatically...although Cydia keeps track of what you have purchased.

The big item I use is iBluever. It has worked well over the years...and I never upgraded it, because I don't fix what ain't broke. (oh, and this app was why I Jailbroke the iPhone in the first place).

However with the clean install of the OS, I had to install a the latest version of iBluever. For some reason the setup took multiple attempts before I got a connection (over two days), and I was a veteran at installing and using this app.

I will be honest, I am not sure what the issue was, but this is what I did, and below I will show the settings that worked.

First I uninstalled all other tethering type apps, MyWi, and Tetherme. As well as uninstall iBluever.

I unpaired the phones...because iBluever does its own pairing and control of the Bluetooth, normally the iPhone's bluetooth is selected off. However to unpair a failed attempt, you have to turn the bluetooth on, then guess which item is the other phone (was labeled by address or something), unpair it, then turn bluetooth off.

Now with bluetooth off, and with other phone ready to share bluetooth DUN...

...Ok, for my Android phone (Evo3D) I had to install PdaNet (3.02) in order to have Bluetooth DUN sharing. So before I turn iBluever on, I start PdaNet and select Bluetooth DUN.

Now I turn on iBluever and it finds the other Phone,

Once it has found the phone you want, select the blue arrow to the right of the item...and you will get this screen.

These are all the settings needed for my Sprint phone...your mileage may vary...note I delete the username and password, put #777 for phone number, Generic phone (doesn't have the HTC phones in the list) and CDMA compatible. Everthing else was default.

Now go back and select the phone.

As it does its thing, you will see some text under the phone name, when it is done it will show a green checkmark by the name, and you are online!

BTW, you notice the iPhone's phone is logged into T-Mobile and WiFi was on...I did turn off WiFi for testing the connection, and I do not have Data on my SIM card.

Jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS revisited

2011-12-02T23:06:00.003-06:00

When we last visited this subject I updated my used 3GS to iOS4.2, jailbroke and unlocked the phone.

Well now about a year later, I am doing it again...why? To take advantage of a couple of new features...and allow some apps to work/better.

Since it had been so long, and there had been numerous iOS updates since then (5.0.1 is the latest) I had to research the subject all over again, and re-learn the terminology.

Key words: iOS version, untethered, unlocked, radio or baseband or 'modem firmware', Hacktivate.

Once you have definitions for those, then you can decide how to proceed.

(in no particular order) I knew I wanted to unlock the phone, the 3GS was an AT&T phone, but I use my own sim, and only use the phone part outside the US...so I need the phone unlocked to use a phone service other than the one who sold the phone.

I had previously unlocked it, so the 'Modem Firmware' (Settings-General-About) is 05.13.04, a known unlockable version.

I don't want to have to hook it up to a computer every time it restarts...since I rarely travel with a computer anymore...so the Jailbreak needs to be Untethered.

With that info I can start deciding what iOS I can use.

Well the answer is 4.3.3 (for now)...nice link here. (list at top of page)

The newer iOS Jailbreak are all tethered. (for now)...so I can't go any higher.

So know I know that I will be doing a iOS 4.3.3 untethered Jailbreak with an Unlock, (and a computer running windows) that forces me to use Sn0wbreeze (that is a zero in place of the 'O').

Sn0wbreeze edits the iOS restore file for the OS you will be using to not allow iTunes to mess up your device. In my case it will stop iTunes from upgrading my 'modem firmware', so I can later unlock it.

Here is the guide I followed, the link for Sn0wbreeze changes with updates, but go to ih8sn0w.com for links to recent version. (2.7.3 right now.)

If the descriptions are confusing, here is a different guide, (same iOS but different phone) with pictures that should help...I don't know if the text is the same, but the pictures are what I saw.

Now before I did anything, I did a 'transfer purchases' and 'backup'. (and made sure the phone had a decent charge)

I won't go through all the steps of Sn0wbreeze, but I will explain two of them.

First, I want to maintain the "Baseband' (modem firmware) so in the Expert mode of Sn0wbreeze I make sure the upgrade to 6.15 option is UNCHECKED.

Second, I don't have an active AT&T sim card (I have the card that came with the phone, but not with me right now), so I will need to Hacktivate the phone. That means iTunes will assume the phone has been properly registered with AT&T, and therefore will continue installing apps and things.

The whole process took almost half an hour from Sn0wbreeze editing the file, to iTunes installing it on the phone. Then probably another half hour to restore all my data and apps from backup.

The last step, after everything is restored and iTunes is done syncing, is to launch the Cydia app (Sn0wbreeze installs that too) and install Ultrasn0w.

Guide here...Ultrasn0w is what unlocks the phone to allow you to use whatever carrier's SIM card you want. I didn't have to do any editing (like the instructions show) I just searched for Ultrasn0w, installed it, and launched the app. After a few minutes the phone rebooted, and I was successfully on the T-Mobile network.

There are so many options, that it is hard to figure out what applies...but the most important thing is to not upgrade the Baseband (Modem Firmware) until you figure out if the one on the phone is an unlockable version. (hint, nothing above 5.13.04 is unlockable until 6.15.00, and that version has questionable results with the 3GS GPS) If your version is not unlockable, and you are above 5.13.04, then you have to upgrade to 6.15 to be unlockable...

Good luck!

Windows Phone 7 and ringtones

2011-11-14T17:19:00.002-06:00

My wife has the Winphone7 and although it is a fine phone, if Sprint had the iPhone 4S when we were out looking, I probably would have gotten that one...

Anyway, my wife likes the Fur Elise by Beethoven. Her first basic phone from years ago had that as one of the default choices, and she stuck with it through the next phones.

The first one was just a normal electronic version that a phone could generate. Her next phone (well really next two) was a win6.5 phone that could play certain audio files. (I don't remember what format it needed, but it wasn't obscure)

So now a few years later, with all modern phones playing MP3s and her new WP7 smartphone with that ability...surely it would be simple to add that Fur Elise MP3 as a ringtone...no.

The original WP7 did not have that capability...it had a bunch of ringtones, and it could play MP3 files, but you could not add to the ringtone list.

The greatly anticipated Mango WP7.5 was supposed to have that capability, and finally was pushed out (without problems) to the users.

So I already had that MP3 on her phone...pulled up the ringtone list, and couldn't find an option to add it...so I went to the list of files on the phone...but found no option to make a song a ringtone (like you can with most other phones).

Off to the internet.

Ok it is a simple process to put an MP3 as a ringtone...but not straightforward like in every other smartphone.

First your MP3 has to be under 40 seconds, next it has to be less than 1Meg in size, finally in its properties you have to ID it as a ringtone...

I pulled up Audacity to edit the ringtone length (and while I was at it, compressed it a bit, did a high pass filter on it, and raised the volume...for extra credit).

Then I had to pull that file into Zune (the WP7 uses Zune exclusively for everything sync related, updates etc).

Within Zune I looked at the properties of the file, and went to the Genre and had to type in Ringtone.

At this point I didn't think it would work. But I sync'd her phone, and sure enough that file showed up on her ringtone list, and from that point was a normal ringtone.

So she is happy now! Therefore I am happy now!

But I honestly would think that in this modern century, a 'smart' phone could use any file as a rintone...

Mozilla Thunderbird and Google calendar.

2011-11-14T17:02:00.002-06:00

A few months ago I got fed up with my other email software (I don't even remember what I was using) so I started using Mozilla's Thunderbird, another open source application from the Firefox folks.

I hadn't used a calendar on my pc except to upload my work schedule to Google Calendar. I hadn't really looked into using calendar software...the last one I used was with Outlook about a decade ago.

I have been using Google calendar because it easily syncs with my iPhone and Android phone.

So fast forward to today. I start up Thunderbird, and the autoupdater goes through its thing, and as usual an additional tab opens up to announce what is new with Tbird. (it uses tabs a lot) This time I happen to actually read the tab, and it says there is a calendar plugin called Lightning. So I installed it (download file from Mozilla, open it with the Tbird Tools-Add On- menu.

I restart Tbird, the calendar tab is there with my email tab (it is all about tabs). I right click on the calendars to add mine...and oh, iCal etc are supported, but those are read only. So I can view the calendar but not sync it...

A quick search leads me to Calendar:GDATA Provider . It is compatible with the Lightening calendar plugin of course.

The only hard part about the setup is for any calendar you use, you need to get the web address of the actual calendar...for that, if they are part of your Google Calendar, Google will supply the address. Just log into Gcalendar, go to the settings (gear icon) get to the tab with the list of calendars you use, click on the appropriate calendar on the left side, then click on the XML icon to use the sync option of a calendar you own, or click the iCal icon to use a public calendar. the popup will give you the web address you need.

It is straight forward, copy paste at this point.

I will admit I haven't yet synced a calendar, but it should work.

(no screenshots because all they would show is personal data...but if necessary I can add some sanitized pics)

Google Ruined Google Reader!

2011-11-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

My Google Reader was just updated to the 'new and improved' version. (31 OCT 11) (and I hope it is only a Halloween prank)

It sucks.

I normally don't complain about free stuff, I use Gmail, and Google Calendar, but I only use the data, not the website access...so I don't care they also changed those UIs.

But GR has replaced the old Google page as my default web page displayed. And the old interface was simple to move around, and see what was read/unread, and the articles were well placed. I didn't have a complaint- from my Desktop with 22" screens, to Laptop with 13" screen, to 9" netbook, to Nook...the UI was just fine.

But now they had to 'improve' it.

If they do not change it back, or at least make it look similar to the old version, I will have to use something else for my reader...and probably Mozilla Thunderbird.

...think about all the lost Ad revenue Google, if everyone switches to another reader...

Linksys WRT54G firmware fun.

2011-10-18T09:37:00.003-05:00

At work I use the famous blue and black WRT 54G. It (is not mine nor my choice) has done fine, but lately started dropping the WiFi.

I got admin access and looked at the firmware...it was original to the Ver2 (linksys now has V8) . So I went to the Linksys site...which is now a Cisco site...went to support/firmware/Ver2. They list 4.21.4 as the current firmware, so I downloaded it, and updated the WRT54G with it.

Obviously, since I am posting here, the update didn't go well. It ended with the power light continuously flashing. No combination of holding reset button, cycling power etc. would fix it.

So off to the internets...luckily my Android phone has 4G and the PdaNet sofware, so I had my laptop up on the internets within a minute or so.

I had to browse a ton of websites, but this one was best.

I had my laptop with the ethernet port set to 192.168.1.2 and the speed 10half. I then started a ping on 192.168.1.1 with the command window "ping -t 192.168.1.1" and left it pinging away.(with no response)

Like I said, I had done the reset button and power cycling a few times...so now it was time to crack open the case and tempt fate.

I pulled the power from the linksys, put a ballpoint pen between pins 15 and 16 (as shown in link) and put power plug back in (while watching the ping running)...after a few seconds I started getting a response.

I left the ping running and ran the TFTP.EXE software, with 192.168.1.1 as the address, admin as the password, and that downloaded 4.21.4 firmware again...90% through the update it crashed again.

So obviously that firmware is defective...so now what, you can't find older firmware on the Cisco site...back to the internets...eventually I found some posts complaining about the 4.21.4 firmware, and recommending the 4.21.1 firmware...with a link to a cisco page (sorry you will have to find it yourself...I already closed those web pages)

I went back through the ballpoint pen shorting pins 15-16 ping test again...ran TFTP again, but this time chose the 4.21.1 firmware...it went all the way through and said success, and the lights on the router were normal...from then it was as it should be.

So moral of story is...don't use firmware 4.21.4 on your Ver2 WRT54G...

Kenwood TH-D7A, D7AG, Garmin Foretrex 201-APRS

2011-08-15T09:22:00.002-05:00

A while back I mentioned using a Garmin Foretrex 201 for doing APRS with my TH-D7A radio.

I listed this website etc.

I finally got around to building the patch cord. I got a 'scanner to phone' set of patch cords from radio shack for $6...I thought this would require the minimum of hassle.

It came with 4 cords, the one I used was the 2.5 to 3.5 mini stereo cord. Now both the Garmin and the Kenwood use a 2.5, so I picked up an adapter...that way, if I need to, I can put the GPS on an extension cord for better satellite reception.

I had to modify the cord (as described in the link) by swapping the TX/RX signals. This amounts to slitting the cable down the middle for an inch or so, carefully pulling out the Red and Brown wires, cutting them, then solder the red to brown and vise versa.

So I did all that, hooked it up to my D7A and nothing...I rechecked the solder job...played with all the settings, but still nothing on the D7A (it should chirp with the new GPS info, and on "My Position" it should show the correct lat/long)

Well...I decided to test it on my D7AG just to see if is a radio issue.

Immediately worked on the D7AG...

So I searched the internets, and found out that my D7A was an older firmware model (SN 008000xx) , and only can read GPS coord to the hundreds. The newer firmware (SN 010 and newer) can take coord to the thousands.

So some GPS devices are compatible, some are not...the Foretrex 201 is not...so I can only use it with the D7AG, not a total loss, since the "G" model has much more advanced APRS commands.

I will be using this setup in a chase vehicle for a famous bike race in August. I picked up a 'pistol case' to put all my radio accessories in for portable use. This GPS is the last item.

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) on Nook Color SD card

2011-07-31T18:48:00.004-05:00

My nook came with BN 1.1 and then they updated it to BN 1.2, basically a light version of Android 2.2. Of course I rooted both versions...but I was never that happy with the results. My calendars wouldn't sync, and Google Maps didn't know where I was.

Other than that it worked fine.

So I left it alone.

Then I see a few articles about putting Android 2.3 on an SD card, with minimal fuss...I delayed it, because I only had one big SD card...and it had a bunch of movies on it...

I looked around and found a 16GB Sandisk Class4 SD card, and decided to give it a shot...

I followed the instructions at the XDA developers site, and it was probably the easiest hack I have done.

I used the win32diskimager to write the first file to the SD card.

Follow the instructions exactly.

BTW the googleapps download is at the very bottom of the linked page...

So far it works well, only issue is the headset volume is low playing movies and videos...but it isn't horrible...I had an ok listening level on a noisy airplane...but it could be a notch or two louder.

Calendar sync works, google maps knows where I am, the alternate Netflix app works.

Note, this install will put about 2GB on your SD card, the rest will be formatted like a normal SD card...when you plug the Nook into your computer, the Nook will ask you if you want to allow USB access to the Nook storage. When you allow that the CM7 install will show as one drive and the rest of your SD card as the second drive...just like when you plug an unmodified Nook into a computer.

I am enjoying.

Video Skype on EVO 3D

2011-07-31T18:26:00.002-05:00

The EVO 3D has front and rear facing cameras. It was designed for video chatting. It includes the Qik software for video, and Skype for chatting...but not Skype video.

Recently Skype bragged on how they added Skype Video to Android Phones...but only a few phones were supported, and not the EVO 3D.

Luckily some folks out there edited an older version of Skype .45 to allow the video on all phones...it works on the EVO 3D.

This is the link I used (mycricketforum)...Here is one of the XDA Developers forums on the subject.

The trick is to uninstall the Skype that is on it...and kill the Skype background task using Task Manager

To do this, start Task Manager
- then bring up the submenu (the second soft key on the bottom of the EVO 3D...looks like a stack of dashed lines) and select Advanced.
- while you have this menu up, check the box marked "Unknown sources" (this will allow you to install a downloaded app, that is not from the market)
- now select "Running Services" , select the Skype app, and select "Stop"

Now you can download and install the modified Skype app. (I use the EVO 3D's browser to download and install)

It works under WiFi and 3G (I assume it will work under 4G also since that is faster than 3G).

Enjoy!

Astrophotography (revisited)

2011-07-22T22:09:00.005-05:00

So I finally gave up on my little point and shoot Canon camera and decided to join the adults. After some reviews, and deciding that a 5D wasn't anywhere near my price range, I picked up a Canon EOS Rebel XS (otherwise known as 1000D).

It was an ebay special with 2 batteries, the charger, the camera body and the 18-55 lens.

Out of the box it will do some long exposure shots, but does not have an intervalometer built in.

So I did play around a bit with 30" and 20" (" means seconds to Canon...I always thought it was minutes when dealing with angles) shots and ISO 800 and 1600. But I wanted to take a series of shots.

After some search/research I found two options...and got both of them. Both devices are sold by StudioHut (but made in China by a two different companies) The first is a Vertical Grip battery holder...with timer, and intervalometer. (StudioHut sells it as a LCD pro vertical grip...however the instructions say Jenis J-C450D-B-P Professional Battery Grip.

This surprisingly well made grip (ok the LCD screen leaves a lot to be desired) can hold 2 batteries or the supplied 5AA battery pack. (holder is included, not the 5 AA batteries). I thought I might need that much battery to shoot all night...it is more than enough for all night, now I am seeing if I can shoot on just one pack.

It has a couple of timer settings, for delay, interval and Bulb duration...but can only do up to 99 shots.

I also picked up the Pixel Timer Remote Control (TC-252). It has a few more timer options...and will take many more than 99 shots...I don't know exactly how many...the display shows 9999...I only took a few hundred.

As for usage the Pixel timer does exactly what i need, I can set any duration of shot, any interval of time between shots, 9999 total shots, and even a delay prior to the first shot.

So if you are in the market, those are two devices that I recommend.

(note, the video was taken in my back yard...quite a bit of city light...and you need to view the HD version for the best quality)

Sprint HTC EVO 3D and bluetooth tether

2011-06-26T09:45:00.003-05:00

I finally gave up on my old TP2...it was having major issues requiring a complete wipe and reinstall every so often. It sometimes wouldn't answer calls in time etc, and always at very inopportune moments.

So I decided to upgrade to a new phone, I wanted to go Android, cuz that's what the cool kids are doing these days...

Ok, actually, I have an older iPhone (that I use with WiFi and internationally)...I wasn't going to switch carriers to get a newer one...my wife just got a Win7 phone that is very nice, but impossible to make any modifications on...you can't even add your own ringtone, bluetooth DUN was completely out of the question.

So that leaves Android. I have been using a Nook Color for a few months now, so I am used to the interface.

Let me just say that the EVO 3D is a frikin fast phone, the most responsive phone I have ever used, and seems to be compatible with just about anything (flash Apple?). I know battery live will be shorter than my TP2, so I just half to accept that...but the 3GS I have drains the battery in a day of moderate use, so the EVO 3D seems to at least match that.

I have only used it for a day now, and I was using the data heavily during that time period, and battery life seems to be about a day.

My big concern was if I could bluetooth tether my iPhone to it, like I did with the TP2, and cannot do with the Win7 phone.

A big yes...however I needed to install the PDANet app from Android Market (there is a trial version). PDANet is the same software (and same company, junefabrics.com) I used on my various windows phones for years for USB tethering of my laptop.

This app automatically sets up the phone for either bluetooth DUN or USB tethering (you select when you start the app). simple

So now, will iBluever (the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch bluetooth tethering app) work with it?

I tried setting it all up exactly like I did for my TP2/iPhone set. I made the EVO discoverable, I started the iBluever app and searched for a pairing, selected the EVO set the configs (same as for the TP2 in an earlier post) then had it connect...

The iPhone popped up the pairing window for me to enter a code, I did, then the EVO force quit the bluetooth setup...

hmmm...

I will fast forward through the trial and error...

The successful setup went as follows.

1. pair iPhone to EVO first, before launching iBluever
2. THEN launch iBluever, select the EVO and set it up like the TP2 (including authenticate)
3. Select the EVO again and let iBluever do its thing
4. it AGAIN will ask for a pairing code, this time it will work properly and you are on!

BTW I don't have much to say for a review of the EVO 3D other than it is fast. I never planned on using the 3D display, and I have not yet used the 3D camera (but I might use that at some time in the future)

...btw it comes with an 8Gig sim card from Sprint.

Dr Who Theme by ArcAttack

2011-05-23T10:49:00.001-05:00

I wasn't there...but it would have been cool!

Obi110 + ObiON for iPhone = free VOIP!

2011-05-15T11:17:00.004-05:00

I have previously mentioned that I travel a lot, internationally. I keep in touch back home in the US with a prepaid international cellphone, Skype, and email.

I recently found a new tool that may replace the first two (mostly).

(I can't find the original article that pointed me to this...)

The Obihai Obi110.

This website has a few good articles on the subject.

This box (the obi110) has ports for your phone line, phone, and ethernet. You plug it into the phone line to allow your VOIP calls access to the outside world, the phone plug puts your house phone on the VOIP or regular phone line.

I it disgustingly easy to set up. I have cordless phones linked to one base station, so I plug that base into the OBI, plug the OBI into the wall and ethernet, and the phone still works normally, no setup required. The OBI gets an IP address...and you can pick up your handset to dial the unit to get the IP.

Go to that IP on your computer, and you can either dig into the elaborate lists of settings...OR...run the ObiTalk app that steps you through most setups.

Ok, so what. So using ObiTalk I set the Obi110 unit up as the Voice Gateway. I installed the ObiON app to my iPhone, and added its obi number to my ObiTalk account.

Here is the neat part. Using the ObiON app I log into my Obi110 unit. From there I can ring the phone or do other things...and the call audio is much better than cellphone...

...it gets better. So lets say I am in Paris and I want to call the wife's cellphone. I use the ObiOn app, dial her regular cellphone number (just the digits, no other codes) ...the Obi110 uses the land line to call her cellphone. You can call any number you want, and it will route through your home line...of course at that point if you dial out of your local area, then long distance charges would apply, just as if you used the handset in the house.

As long as the app is running, you can receive calls from other OBi units. You can set up speed dials on your phone...

...and you can set up Google Voice on the Obi.

I haven't tried that feature yet, but it is well documented at the Obihai site.

Only drawback so far is the ObiON app for the iPhone (there is an Android app also) sucks a lot of battery power when on...so if you are not plugged in and using the app...you had better kill it. (with my jailbroken iPhone, that part is easy).

Your iPhone is being tracked...do you care?

2011-04-25T10:10:00.002-05:00

I am sure all users of iPhones etc. by now have heard that your iPhone (and iPod and iPad) record connection data. It seems it is just Latitude, Longitude, value (?), and time.

I guess if you are worried that someone could be tracking your whereabouts (a rough city area vs. time) you probably shouldn't be using a cellphone anyway...

The people who wrote an OSX app (iPhone Tracker) to access this data are Alasdair Allan (alasdair@babilim.co.uk) @aallan on Twitter and Pete Warden (pete@petewarden.com) @petewarden on Twitter.

Here is the site with the app, and source code.

I don't use OSX to sync my iPhone or iPod...so luckily a Windows version was compile d by huseyint (@huseyint on Twitter).

It is pretty cool. But hardly a tracking item...it just gave rough locations of where my iPhone was...like narrowed down to a neighborhood, and I was using the GPS quite a bit during the time period I checked.

So, personally I found it interesting to have a date with a city...to help me keep organised...(I do travel quite a bit).

Koribo Leira wireless HTPC keyboard - review

2011-04-20T19:12:00.002-05:00

There have already been a ton of reviews on this keyboard...so again I won't repeat the info.

Website here.

Summary is that this is a wireless keyboard, operating in the 2.4Ghz range, comes with AA batteries and a USB dongle (2.4 Ghz receiver).

The keyboard has a standard key layout, and some extra keys...a trackpad with mouse buttons on one side, a scroll wheel with mouse buttons on the other, and some multimedia keys.

I will say I have not tried to use the multimedia keys...I am just using this as a wireless keyboard.

So far it works perfectly. I plugged the dongle in, Win7 automatically loaded the drivers, pressed a key on the keyboard (the any key), the keyboard woke up and instantly worked.

I have used the scroll wheel, all the mouse buttons, the track pad, and the multimedia volume controls...as well as the actual keyboard. I have not used any other special keys.

It has a good feel to it, a good balance, good key feel. The only weird thing about this keyboard is there is no power button...it automatically powers off...so you have to punch any button to bring it back alive. Unfortunately that key you press immediately registers on the computer.

In my case I would be watching a video, the video ends, I attempt to use the trackpad...it doesn't wake the keyboard up, so I have to press a mouse button...then something undesired happens on the screen.

Spinning the scroll wheel does not wake up the keyboard...I don't remember if hitting the volume controls does. But pressing a mouse button definately does wake the keyboard up.

The hard part is finding one. I bought mine off Ebay from an Israeli ebayer...it has hebrew keys as well as the regular arabic keys. Doesn't affect the usability at all.

iPhone 3GS Jailbreak revisited...part 2

2011-04-01T13:17:00.004-05:00

Here is how you install an iOS that iTunes doesn't want you to install.

-this website give all sorts of info on the subject...here are my steps.

First download Tiny Umbrella.

- this bit of software will, make sure your SHSH blobs (don't ask me) are uploaded to Cydia-and will fool iTunes into looking there for them.
--all I know is the SHSH blobs are important.

Next start TinyUmbrell.exe and allow firewall access (win7 popup anyway).

-click the "Save SHSH" button. (under the log tab you shouldn't see errors)
-click the "Start TSS Server" button, it will change to "Stop TSS Server" and continually show a little 'waiting' animation on the button (like the iPhone circle thing)
--the log should show 'Server Started', and 'accepting connections'

Now start iTunes and do the normal steps for installing an iOS (SHIFT-click Restore, DFU etc)

If all goes well, your iOS will install taa daa.

...in my case all did not go well, and I got another 1604 error.

The fix for that was also easy...go back to the ih8sn0w website, and download iREB.

iREB is a nice little utility that will fix errors resulting from the kind of hacking we are doing here.

-real simple, start up the program, it sees you phone, click the appropriate device (in my case iPhone 3GS)...it does its thing and says it is done.

So from here I started at the beginning, but didn't have to Save SHSH, they were already showing on the list. But I started TSS server, and iTunes, and SHIFT-Restore.

4.2.1 installed correctly (again) and so far, no errors...I don't think I will do anymore icon management using iTunes...it may be balking on some of the Cydia installed software.

Back to normal again.

iPhone 3GS Jailbreak revisited.

2011-04-01T13:03:00.002-05:00

Ok, I don't know how, but I had some kind of crash on my system, while the iPhone was plugged in.

I was organizing the apps using iTunes when the program locked up. I unplugged the iPhone and noticed it was only showing half the apps...

I rebooted the iPhone, and it wouldn't boot past a blank screen...uhoh.

I rebooted the computer and plugged the iPhone back in, put it in DFU mode and attempted to reinstall iOS 4.2.1.

The computer showed a 160x error (maybe 1604)...and it did this about half way through the restore as the phone is rebooting...simultaniously with that error message, win7 itself popped up a message about the device would operate faster in a USB 2.0 slot...uhoh.

I didn't know what was fudged up, so I attempted to reinstall iOS 4.0.1. That worked and the phone came to life normally.

I gave up at that point, happy that at least the phone was working.

...it was late, I went to bed...

I got up the next morning and decided to try one more reinstall...this time iTunes showed some kind of 2000 series error.

The iPhone was still working with iOS 4.0.1 so I quit while I was ahead...I had to leave town for a trip anyway.

--time passes--

Now I am away from home with my laptop (used the desktop for the original install), and I am thinking that maybe the problem is with the desktop.

So I give the 4.2.1 install a try with the laptop...it almost immediately shows a 3194 error (which means Apple doesn't think the iOS should be installed)...hmmmm

The solution for that is to fool iTunes into checking with Cydia for permission to install the new iOS.

SEE part 2

iPhone 3GS iOS 4.2.1 JB BB 5.13.04 unlocked

2011-03-31T00:05:00.002-05:00

So after a few more hours of reading, and some faith that I wouldn't trash my newly Jailbroken (JB) iPhone 3GS...I dove into the iOS 4.2.1 upgrade...

In our previous episode we noted that since I had Baseband (BB) 5.13.04 (which is easily unlockable with ultrasn0w) I should try to keep it.

iOS 4.2.1 is Jailbreakable...so I could simply install it and JB it...

But if I upgrade to 4.2.1, using iTunes the BB will also be upgraded...and if the BB is upgraded, I can't easily unlock it.

So I need to be able to upgrade the iOS without changing the BB.

Enter sn0wbreeze.

There are a couple of tutorials out there, they show what is happening...but leave out some important info.

First, download the normal iOS 4.2.1, plenty of websites have the link for it.

Second, download the current version of sn0wbreeze (2.2.1 is what I used)

So now we run sn0wbreeze (as administrator), click a couple of OKs and load the 4.2.1 .ipsw you got from the internets.

-The program will say it is a valid ipsw. (or you need to download a different file)

-Next menu give you a choice of simply preserve baseband, simple, or expert.

-Believe it or not, we want 'Expert'.

-In the Expert menu, there is really only one thing to select, and that is the 'General' submenu.

--In this menu, you may not need to do anything, depending on how you use your phone.

---If you will continue to use AT&T for your phone service, then UNCHECK where it says 'Hacktivate' on the right column.

---If you will NOT use AT&T, ie. you plan on unlocking later, then CHECK the 'Hactivate'

--That is the only thing you need to do on that menu, select next, and next.

-Now back in that Expert menu, at the bottom you can select create ipsw (or however it is titled...the box at the bottom of the menus).

This takes about 10 minutes or so for it to create a new ipsw.

Now the sn0wbreeze software walks you through putting the phone into recovery mode, make sure it is plugged into your computer before you start.

-it will tell you the phone is ready and for you to start iTunes, and SHIFT select 'Recover' when iTunes gives you the prompt.

It will chug away, and after another 10 minutes or so, the phone will reboot and appear, taa daa.

I had no errors, and no do overs...it worked correctly the first time.

I don't recommend restoring the iPhone from backup at this stage...treat it as a new phone.

I did all that, and when I synced my apps...the ones that need 4.2 to run suddenly appeared on the iPhone.

Whew, no bricks!

iPhone 3GS-Jailbreak-Unlock-Tether-etc

2011-03-30T17:16:00.003-05:00

I mentioned before that I find the iPod a very handy device, and with the ability to tether it to my Sprint phone...it is just short of an iPhone in functionality.

But, no camera, no compass/gps, and mine had little memory.

So I got a 16GB 3GS from a friend who upgraded to an Android phone.

He is a trusting person...he sent me the phone will all of his info on it still.

I thought it was Jailbroken and unlocked...but wasn't sure. There is a ton of info out on the internets, and it gets confusing fast...I found three websites that seemed the most useful.

Redmond Pie .com has tons of guides etc on all the aspects of Jailbreaking and Unlocking...so much in fact that it is difficult to wade through.

Mod My i .com has a lot of data also...again so much it is hard to find what you want.

I h8 sn0w .com is a nice site with some helpful utilities. Including one that lets you see the status of your iPhone...and if it can be unlocked or jailbroken.

Here is where it gets confusing...and what buzz words to look for.

All the latest i devices can use iOS4 and most of the variations...some guides and tutorials are for the iPhone 4...not just any device running iOS4.

The 3GS had two versions of bootrom (old and new). Here is an explanation of how to find it...mine is the older and apparently more desireable version.

iOS4.0.1 is the last one that has an (easily) unlockable phone (the phone info calls it "Modem Firmware"-in Settings-General-About) the forums call it Baseband 05.13.04

iOS4.0.1 is also Jailbreakable by going to the website Jailbreakme.com with your iPhone's browser, and 'sliding to jailbreak'.

Once you have the phone Jailbroken, you can go to Cydia and install Ultrasn0w. Poof, phone is unlocked.

Now things get difficult moving up to the later releases of iOS. You want an untethered Jailbreak and keep Baseband 5.13.04.

The only thing additional I did was a restore to clear out the phone and put a fresh install of iOS4.0.1 on.
-First I had to download a version of iOS4.0.1 (Apple supplies it, Redmondpie has links for all versions for all devices.
-Second, I selected the device in iTunes and held the SHIFT key (windows version) while clicking on RESTORE in iTunes.
--that popped up a file browser window, and I selected the 4.0.1 I had downloaded earlier.
The program chugged a way for a bit, and rebooted the phone to a clean 4.0.1.

If you don't push the shift key, and select an iOS, the program will default to loading the newest version...and then you are in trouble.

I will have to update mine eventually...but for now it all works just fine.

B&N Color Nook hack (root it)

2011-03-27T18:35:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine bought the Barnes and Noble Color Nook e-book reader and hacked it. (rooted it)

...so after hearing the uses of it...I decided to get one and root it also.

In case you haven't heard, the Color Nook runs Android...with a B&N overlay. So the hack involves getting below the overlay.

There are a ton of instructions on this subject, but I followed these...mine has 1.1

NookDevs -the instructions said that for 1.1 go to this next link...

xda-developers -similar instructions as above...and a link to the current software...

I also viewed this video...seemed the most useful to me. (but allow the nook to power on by itself)

-So I used linux (Ubuntu) on a laptop with a built in SD card reader, ran DD...that one didn't put the nook into root.

--So I attempted win7 and the win32 imagewriter software listed in the instructions...couldn't write to the card.

--Finally I booted the first laptop into XP, ran the win32 imagewriter software...this one wrote to the card.

-With the Nook off, I put in the SD card, then plugged the usb cord into the XP laptop.

--twice, XP showed the new hardware popup...twice I cancelled it...and I waited.

UNLIKE the video, I did not attempt to turn the Nook on...after about 5 minutes, it turned itself on with an ANDROID image.

One thing that I didn't understand was how to find the icons etc...

-I did use the Android Market, and was able to install software

-So I read about replacing the default launcher.

-I installed all the correct software but still saw the default nook home page...

--ah, you have to install Home Switcher...then OPEN it on the Android Market page (at the bottom of the Home Switcher page...then set LauncherPro as the default.

I decided to re-root mine...the mylocation wasn't working...so I used this video to unroot the nook. For anyone who has done firmware hacks on stuff...this is easy...

So all working now! Android takes some getting used to, but the Color Nook works well!

-BTW, right now the Color Nook does not have bluetooth available (being worked on), and the WiFi does not support Ad Hoc networks (there is a workaround, but it is a bit of a kludge)

ATI HDMI output problems-solutions (overscan)

2011-02-21T10:02:00.003-06:00

So in the recurring theme of my HTPC buildup, I have found a few fixes.

First a problem with a workaround. I found that my remote, using the MCE remote hardware and AutoKey software to allow the remote to act like a mouse, stopped working correctly.

In XBMC and WMC mode it worked properly...but when in mouse mode, it would not correctly move the cursor.

The problem is that I set the display to Large (150%) to make it more readable from the couch...unfortunately that is the problem...the only solution is to go to the next lower display setting.

New issue...

Since I started using the HTPC I have been playing with display settings, both on the HDTV and on the PC. I turned off all the overscan settings on the TV to get a 1-1 pixel display. So all TV stuff worked fine (BD, off the air, etc). But the HTPC display had about a 2" black border.

I lived with it for a while, after I exhausted my search through the ATI Catalyst settings. Then I typed that issue into Google, and found a forum thread with the solution (I don't have the thread handy).
The following screen shots show a 'hidden' menu and settings.

Here is the normal Catalyst Control Center (CCC) menu. The third or fourth choice under the "Graphics" menu is this one.

The hidden menu part is here...you have to right click on the small TV icon (or click the black triangle on the small tv icon) to get a menu that shows "Configure". If you follow their directions and click on the black triangle on the big TV icon, you get Rotate, Properties, Identify.

Now after you click "Configure" you get this window. Just click on "Scaling Options" and you see this.

In my case I had to drag the overscan all the way over to fill the TV...also it made the text look better.

Who knows why ATI hides this...

Oh well, all fixed now.

Audio delay using Creative X-Fi and Win7

2011-02-12T21:06:00.003-06:00

It seems that Creative's audio cards are really not up to par for many things...and the software seems to leave a lot to be desired.

I have had continuous problems using the card and Win7...mainly my audio inputs wouldn't work.

I did an uninstall and reboot, Win7 popped up a window with a link to new drivers. I installed them and that is when I noticed the audio delay.

FTR I think the audio panel is a huge PITA to configure.

This link had the solution.

Priestest: Okay. I have the solution. Right click the speaker icon (on windows 7) on the task bar then left click on "recording devices". Right click on the microphone and left click on properties. Go to the "listen" tab and make sure the "listen to this device" check box is unchecked. Okay now close the microphone properties window. The "sound" window should still be open. Go to "playback" tab,right click on speakers and left click on properties. Then click on the "levels" tab. You should see a microphone section with its playback volume muted. Unmute it and increase or decrease the playback volume as desired. There should be no noticeable delay when you speak into the microphone now. :)

Yup, this completely solved the delay.

ReadyNAS NV+ drive upgrade

2011-02-09T06:03:00.002-06:00

I have 2 ReadyNAS NV+ devices. One I bought new, the other used off Ebay.

The used one I store my media files on.

Going into the deal I knew I would have to exchange the drives for larger ones, I was simply waiting on the prices to come down a bit...BTW the ReadyNAS devices only support certain drives of each size, so before you buy drives, check.

I bought 4 2TB drives that were on sale (and were compatible) from Newegg. (OEM drives but full warranty and packed nicely).

This particular ReadyNAS was formatted with their X-RAID system, a redundant, expandable, hot swappable system. So I thought I would see how well it worked.

As far as speed goes, I can stream BD rips off it in full HD, so that doesn't seem to be an issue.

I already had 4 drives installed, so I didn't test part of the expandability of the system.

I am not big into hot swapping, so I didn't attempt that.

But part of the X-RAID expandability is you can exchange smaller drives for larger ones without having to move your data off the system, and back on. I did this.

According to the Netgear site, I could have done this upgrade while hot swapping.

I turned the system off (using the web based interface) pulled one 500gig drive out and replaced it with the 2TB drive. I started it back up and it started crunching data.

The machine said it would take 17 hours to fix the drive...same procedure if you had a drive go bad and replaced it. I started it before I went to bed and it was done before I got up. Checking the logs, each drive took 6.5 hours to sync. Then after a reboot the ReadyNAS expanded the filesystem, and that took maybe 30 minutes.

If I had elected to pull the data off on to a backup device and do all the drives at once, and put the data back on, it would have probably been quicker. But in this case I wanted to see if it would work, and I didn't want to fool around with a backup...things always happen, and you have to start over...especially when dealing with many files.

Ubuntu keeps breaking printers...fix

2011-02-07T08:26:00.004-06:00

It is amazing, but every update of Ubuntu changes something in the printer section, and you have to trouble shoot.

I had to a clean Ubuntu install because a SSD drive went bad. I reinstalled the printers, (using my notes on this blog ;), but the Dell 1320C would not print.

It would print a test page, but not a document...oh BTW it is the wife's computer, and she does not do tech (I need to get OSX reinstalled pronto)

So I searched for "ubuntu will print test page but not document" and found a ton of links...I went to a few and found interesting things like http://localhost:631 will take you to the CUPS page...all sorts of printer admin stuff there (on your computer obviously)

That was all well and good but no fix to my problem.

I kept following links and found this page.

The fix is...

When I installed the Dell 1320C, Ubuntu put the printer's "Device URI" as socket://192.168.1.185:9100 .

That link says that "socket" times out, so to fix simply change the address to lpd://192.168.1.185 , remove the :9100 also

So from

socket://192.168.1.185:9100

to

lpd://192.168.1.185

I did that and it worked right away.

I still don't have a reason that every Ubuntu update breaks my printers.

UAVs, POV flying, etc.

2011-01-31T14:53:00.009-06:00

I haven't had much time lately to work on my camera on a helicopter project...but I have seen some interesting sites and ideas on the web.

First I have been following the Penn State and UC Berkley autonomous projects. Now the Berkley folks have mounted a Kinectec device on their quad copter and got it to follow a path while avoiding obstacles.

For comparison, here is Penn State's Quad.

The common thread is they are using an Ascending Technologies (AscTec) Pelican Quadrotor. They don't list a price, but for comparison, their hobby Quad RC is $1000...I would expect at least double for the Pelican.

The other common thread is they are using ROS, a Robot Operating System, open source, at the ROS.ORG site.

And while I was looking up those links from the ROS.ORG website, I found a nice page at the CCNY Robotics Lab.

The CCNY site has a nice wiki on the AscTec Quads.

Here is the CCNY Quad in action.

Finally, while randomly sifting through this I found a small website with good info for POV flying. RC Explorer

Here is how I found the RC Explorer site...

Google Earth in 3D - HTPC - part 4a - done

2011-01-21T00:35:00.002-06:00

So in the previous installment (literally) I was running the TriDef software with my ATI HD 4550 card, but it would only display on the TV in 3D if it was in the Side by Side settings.

So I got a ATI HD5570 (cheap)...stuck in in and ran the TriDef software (only $24 if you have one of the supported ATI HD5xxx or HD6xxx cards.

The only thing I did to the HTPC is uninstall and reinstall the TriDef software...I don't know if I had to, but I thought the ATI ready software would be different...well there was no different software to download, so I reinstalled the version I had.

My TV's 3D setting was Auto...so if 3D info was there, it would show it in 3D.

Guess what, the 3D data WAS there, the TV recognised it immediately and displayed the TriDef menu in 3D. So of course I clicked on Google Earth, and this time the TriDef sofware overlay (I assume) on GE said "3D disabled, change to full screen to enable 3D" or something like that...I dutifully did so (F11) and saw the 3D GE world. Amazing!

I haven't used any other options yet (3D videos, games) but GE worked perfectly...well, really well.

There were no weird menu issues or anything like that...but the mouse only shows up in one eye. It's kinda distracting...but nothing like when I was running the Side by Side display.

Google Earth in 3D - HTPC - part 4

2011-01-13T15:41:00.005-06:00

In short...Google Earth on a 58" screen in 3D.

Apparently the future ATI (Radeon or whatever they are called now) video cards will have built in 3D playback capability...that seems to mean 3D Blu-ray disks.

I have a last year (or so) ATI card so I know that it does not have built in 3D capability.

Now by 3D, I don't mean a gaming card...I mean the ability to send 3D data that the TV will recognise and display in 3D using the shutter glasses.

I assumed this was not yet possible.

I was wrong.

I happened to be watching ABC's Extreme Home Makeover...a week or so ago I think...part of the build, in the child's room was a HDTV projector showing Google Earth, and apparently in 3D since they were wearing shutter glasses.

Of course I was thinking to myself...no way, this can't be true.

So I searched the intertubes for Google Earth and 3D, then Shutter glasses...and I found TriDef.com (DDD).

The TriDef website assumes you already know what the TriDef software does...so it is a bit hard to get the info you want (at least for me).

In short it is a software package that can create images on your computer, that you can then send to the TV, and the TV will be able to decode the info and utilise the shutter glasses to let you see a 3D image.

Now that would be great, if they had better info on what settings to use, etc.

So first you download the software (trialware for 14 days) and install it. After you run the setup it will pop up a configuration window to set up what kind of display you have...and an icon to that window will be in the taskbar.

The problem is it doesn't explain what the settings are for...so if you don't have a display device on their list, you have to guess what to do next. Their website lists the compatible displays and those are the presets on the config window.

There is another preset that says "(standard display types)" and the default for that is 3D anaglyph (red/blue).

Now for background info, I know the VT25 will take standard 3D data, top/bottom or left/right. That means the images for each eye are above each other, or next to each other, with that info the TV will separate the images, and display the proper image to the proper eye via the shutter glasses.

So I drilled down the list of display types under the (standard display type) list, and found two that are "side by side" one is "parallel" and the other is "cross-eyed"

So I set it to "parallel" and stood back to admire my work...

Nothing changed...so I went back to the webite, read the installation etc again...

Well the part they don't mention is you have to run another piece of software to actually get the 3D output...the icon is just for the configuration.

So I started looking at the list in the Program Files and found a number of icons. The only one I needed was the "TriDef Experience"

So I started that one, and got a nice doubled blurry image on my TV...so I put on the shutter glasses and a 3D menu popped out. I will have to do some kind of adjustments because it took a second for my eyes to adjust...I don't need to do that for the 3D Blu-ray movies.

On the menu were 4 choices, play games, use Google Earth, Watch 3D movies, Look at 3D pictures. Obviously I clicked on Use Google Earth.

So good news and bad news. The good news is I was greeted with a very nice 3D fly by of the Matterhorn. The bad news is...well let me explain.

So a normal HD image is 1920x1080 (1080p) so apparently they put two images side by side in that images to get the 3D data...so 860x1080 x2. Well in the process, it trashes the menus etc...they stay at their original 1920x1080...so you close one eye to see half the menus/status bar etc, and switch eyes to see the other half.

Maybe it is in some setting I missed, but I have to hide all menus to get a display that doesn't make me want to puke...oh and navigating with a regular mouse is a test of willpower.

I will continue to play with settings, maybe there is a top/bottom setting or something else...

But at least I can fly around Google Earth in 3D on the big screen.

...later...

So after doing some reading, the "Native" 3D mode for the VT25 is sequential image. The "side by side" and "top bottom" are OTHER methods that are not HD...makes sense.

I am starting to think that the Hz output setting on my video card is not allowing the sequential image method to work...

in progress...

...time passes...

So I was digging around the ATI site, and found that the 5xxx and 6xxx cards have "HD3D" which allows them to output3D data...I have a HD4550...so I have to get a new card. (I had assumed that only the 6xxx cards had the 3D out...they have Blu-ray 3D out...I have a 3D blu-ray player so I don't need that?

In addition, on that page the TriDef.com website is linked, and there is a version of TriDef that is specifically for the ATI HD3D capable cards.

I have a slim HD5570 card on order...so hopefully I can test this out.

HTPC - Home Theater PC - part 3

2011-01-05T21:27:00.002-06:00

So the Mrs. gave me a new TV for Christmas...or she allowed me to get a new TV...it all depends on how you look at it.

So we got the new Panasonic VT25 the 58" version.

That is not the point of this post.

In a previous episode we saw the hero setting up his HTPC, sucessfully playing ripped Blu-Ray disks, streaming over a 100BT network card from a NAS @ 480P.

The real question was what happens at 1080P...well the answer is it looks fantastic! No heavier load on the processor, no network bandwidth problems, and it automatically set the output to 1080P once it saw the TV connected. (I know because the TV will show the resolution of the input)

So we (I) are happy with playback. But I will admit, the remote control interface is still rough. I am playing with the settings on the Harmony remote to get the most usability, but I haven't had much time lately to tweak it (especially since I had to reprogram the thing after getting the new TV and BD player).

I did find a webpage with all the codes the MCE remote will use, and the appropriate keystrokes here at Microsoft. I will work on that a bit more later.

However I was watching HD Nation (a video podcast on the Revision3 website...itself an offshoot of the TechTV/Screensavers shows, unofficially) and Robert Heron who has been building an HTPC for a while now showed an Apple app called Hipporemote. You install a (free) custom VNC server on your HTPC, start up the free app (there is also a paid version with more options), point it to your HTPC and you have a remote touchpad/keyboard. It works very well, is extremely useful! Using that app I was able to easily watch some HD Vimeo videos on the big screen.

So next...well this Panasonic is the 3d one, and came with glasses etc...it also apparently has the capability to play back MKV files directly to a USB HD...So I will be attempting that...in addition I will be seeing if I can rip a 3d disk, and play it back directly on the TV using the USB HD.

But for now, other than some tweaking, I couldn't be happier in how things turned out.

Thunderbird Email Client for Windows

2010-12-23T17:47:00.002-06:00

I am not a purist...I run a few different operating systems and a variety of Email clients and web browsers...depending on the OS and my attitude.

At home, my main websurfing/email computer is running Ubuntu with Evolution for email/calendar and Firefox for browsing.

My home 'work' computer (ok gaming and video editing) doesn't have email and I have Chrome and Firefox primarily for browsing.

My travel netbook triple boots OSX, WinXP, and Ubuntu...and mostly I run OSX on it and browse with Firefox or Safari.

I have a work/gaming laptop that I have if I will be at a location for a few days (like NY this week). I run Win7 on it, Chrome, Firefox, and until now standard Windows Live Mail.

Of the different email clients I have used, I actually like OSX's the best. Simple, keeps accounts in different folders, easy to see if an account has new messages etc. I wish I could get that client on windows.

Today I had it up to here (hand above head) with Windows Live Mail bloatware...I mentioned before how I liked Win7 but hate the email client...well today I did something about it.

I searched the internets...

I found the top choice from a somewhat unscientific study in a popular website (I lost the link) was Mozilla's Thunderbird.

I had tried it on Ubuntu and didn't like it...but I thought I would try it on Win7.

I will have to say that it is now my favorite Windows email client...still not as nice as OSX's but close enough. Speedy, lightweight, and not too hard to import from Windows Live Mail.

A couple of things. I couldn't get it to import emails (and I tried a couple of plugins) but it ended up that I didn't need to jump through those hoops...a number of years ago I started leaving ALL emails on the server (gmail and my own) for a backup.

Thunderbird WOULD import the settings from Windows Live Mail...all my various email accounts were imported with one click.

I actually don't have any address books on my notebooks (just my phone) so I don't know how that works.

So it ended up that I didn't need to import my email...using IMAP settings, it quickly downloaded all the headers etc.

The only thing I needed to change was the order of the accounts...I needed a plug-in for that...so I used Folderpane Tools.

HTPC - Home Theater PC - part2

2010-12-06T13:15:00.005-06:00

So I had some parts I liked, and software I liked...but it just wasn't working.

So I looked at the processor I was using...I knew I could play BD rips (MKV files) on my quad core machine easily with all sorts of other programs running in the background, so I thought a dual core could do the trick.

Unfortunately my choice of Small Form Factor computers (GX280) could not take a dual core...it already had all the processor it could hold.

So more checking specs I found that the Dell 745 SFF computer could take dual core processors in fact it could take the processor I had in my junk box every since I upgraded my main machine to a quad core.

So back to Ebay and waited till I found one at a cheap enough price, put my ATI HD4550 graphics card in it, loaded up XP Pro (it had the product key for it) then installed Win7.

Plugged in my Media Center Remote (MCE Remote) (another Ebay grab) and fired up XBMC.

Plugged it into my TV and started watching the BD rips. XBMC has a debugging setting that will show you how much processor power is being used...it never gets above 50%.

The MCE works fine out of the box with XBMC and is plug and play with Win7...but outside XBMC it will only work Windows Media Center...won't actually work in windows as a mouse.

So while wondering how to do it...I found this thread at The Green Button a Windows Media Center forum...and specifically the files linked in this blog The Digital lifestyle and the program RemoteKC. (The last link has the direct links to the Win7 compatible files)

Program is simple...one file is the executable, the other is the commands (.ahk file) . With this program (RemoteKC) your remote has three settings selected by pressing the * button on the remote- mouse mode, keyboard mode, suspended. So in mouse mode, when you press the arrow keys on the remote, the cursor moves, OK is left click (and I haven't found right click yet). I haven't used keyboard mode. But when you are running XBMC or WMC then you need to suspend the RemoteKC...that is what the suspend mode is...now the remote acts like a MCE remote.

So, right now, everything works as I hoped it would!

WiFi cellphone, Boingo, and WMWifirouter

2010-11-27T10:56:00.003-06:00

Boingo has a mobile device plan for $8 a month (world wide coverage). I travel a LOT so a cheap data plan is very useful. Their mobile laptop plan is a couple more $ a month.

My cellphone does wifi, and there is a Boingo plugin for it...there is an app for my iPod, but that one doesn't see the same networks my phone sees for some reason.

Well there is another program for my windows wifi phone...WMWifirouter. This program allows my phone to share wifi over USB (and other combinations). $20 (15 EUR)

So right now I am in Brussles, using my Boingo account, tethering my laptop via USB...so my phone battery charges. The hotel I am staying in (that Boingo works through) charges 10 EUR a day for this connection...more than paid for my monthly fee with this one connection.

Cheers

Ubuntu update oddness.

2010-11-14T07:49:00.003-06:00

I do the usual updates with Ubuntu...but for some reason a recent update deleted my printers.

I tried to reinstall the Brother HL-2070N (which is a great cheap laser printer!) the way I always did...find it on the network, and install a earlier printer driver that Ubuntu already had.

Well that didn't work this time, so I had to search the internets...but luckily the fix was easy...relative for Linux...

First found this Tutorial (FAQ/Wiki?) at help.ubuntu.com.

That directed me to the Brother website, that I still had to wade through a bit to find this page, which directed me to these drivers and this page of directions.

The Ubuntu site's directions were the same as Brother's site...but Brother added a test command to make sure the drivers installed properly.

So now that the drivers (lpr and cups) were installed, I now had to go the the list of printers, and point the 2070N to the actual network location (properties).

And it works again...but I would like to know why it failed to begin with.

Some interesting Amateur radio links.

2010-11-11T18:40:00.002-06:00

Doing some more SDR (Software Defined Radio) research and found some interesting links.

First is WebSDR.org. A list of SDR systems online...i.e. you can use via internet. The first one I went to is pretty amazing. WB4MAK.com seems to give full control of the radio to a nice Java interface...waterfall displays etc...you have to see it to believe it.

Next I found the SDR Monitoring System...listing the status of online SDR sets displayed on a Google map...I don't know if it has ever been updated, but the concept is neat.

Next is the VHF Propagation Maps, where APRS data is used to determine the propagation (range) of VHF and some HF sets...displayed on a map.

Texas VHF is a site of info and links for Texas based, and other Amateur radio.

Ham Radio University is an event on Long Island in January...I will have to see if my schedule will let me attend.

The SDR radio sites make me REALLY want to invest in this technology...

HTPC - Home Theater PC

2010-11-07T13:37:00.003-06:00

I have been running two modified XBoxes (original ones) as HTPCs for quite a few years now. It required a hardware hack that has been thoroughly documented on the Internets.

For the software part of the HTPCs I was (am) running XBMC - XBox Media Center. Let me just say that it works great, nice interface (that uses the XBox remote) and runs pretty much all media files (even DVDs as .ISO files) as well as most online media sources (YouTube, internet radio).

There are only a couple of drawbacks right now, no Hulu or Netflix support, and no ability to play Blu-ray disks, or files, or .ISOs.

Right now most of my most played media is stored in a NAS (or two). But recently I have been playing with Blu-ray disks. My BD player takes (it seems) forever to boot and load a disk, so if I want to watch a BD disk, I had better plan on putting in the time. And although the BD player has online media access (youtube) it is slow and clumsy.

So I started ripping BD disks. I am still experimenting with file type, so I use AnyDVD (hd) to rip an ISO, and I use MakeMKV to rip into both MKV files, and to rip the disk into a backup. I have the files (because I save the ISOs and other files, about 100gigs a BD disk) on a Buffalo Linkstation with a 2TB USB drive plugged in. I needed the space, and I wondered if this setup had enough throughput to stream the HD video.

First test was on my main gaming Win7 machine...VLC played the MKV files just fine...but not the ISO.

My Linux machine would not play anything back, even with VLC.

Meanwhile I had picked up a Dell Optiplex GX280 SFF (small form factor) computer (3Ghz P4), and put in a ATI HD 4550 SFF video card. (has the HDMI out). So I thought I would see if this little machine could play back the BD files.

The answer is yes...although at first I had a lot of trouble...VLC on that machine (winXP) stuttered on playback...so I installed Media Player Classic HD (MPC-HD) and that played better but at 100% CPU and still a bit of stutter at times...then I looked at task manager to see what was running...

The person I got the PC from had installed Windows Security Center (or something like that) an all inclusive antivirus, firewall, malware etc blocker...unfortunately it used a ton of processor power any time you did anything else with the computer...so I turned it off, and suddenly BD playback was just fine. I uninstalled that, and installed Avast! antivirus (regular windows firewall was still there).

So ok I can play back these files on a windows machine...but was there a better interface?

That brought me back to XBMC. Now they have versions for all the OS platforms and a Live CD version. So I tried out the Live CD.

I had to boot the Optiplex hooked up to the PC monitor and the HDTV and use the ATI software to correctly use the HDTV as output device on windows...but after that it worked fine on windows.

Booting from the Live CD was fairly quick. Once XBMC had booted, I had to go into the settings and put the audio outputs to HDMI...and I had to play with the video rendering option...autodetect did not work on any media playback.

But BD playback was a no go using the Live CD.

So I installed the windows version. Again I had to set the audio output, but some of the other options were different than the Live CD. This version could play back the BD files...but it was choppy.

So I needed to be able to use MPC-HD to play back the BD files...and I needed XBMC to use that program to do the job.

A workaround that is pretty good is this on MediaSmartServer.net.

Create a file named playercorefactory.xml and place it in your [user]appdata/XBMC directory.
The location depends on what version of Windows you are using, and the location of the "mpc-hc.exe" file also depends on version.

I personally removed the -filename=".*1080p.*" rule...because none of my BD files have that in the title.

It now works pretty well, XBMC starts mpc-hc when it finds the MKV files (BD) and pops back up when playback is over.

Only weird part is, if I stop the BD playback...I have to tell mpc-hc to exit.

So until I find a better option...this setup will be my new HTPC.

APRS and the Kenwood TH-D7A(G)

2010-11-03T16:50:00.003-05:00

The Kenwood TH-D7A(G) was the last release of their TNC/APRS loaded dual-band HT (handheld).

I will have to go into my notes to see if I wrote about using it for APRS...but the summary is, I have the D7A hooked up through a Argent GTrans cable to a Garmin Nuvi350. It works great...but the Nuvi has to be plugged in for it to work in this setup.

For some reason I had thought that the Nuvi and StreetPilot GPS units were the only Garmin units that could not only send GPS position to the Kenwood radio, but receive position information of other APRS units.

I was mistaken...looking at this capability table, you can see than a lot of Garmin units have the two way capability (in/out on the chart).

Now there are some advantages to the Nuvi 350...but it I want to use it strictly as a portable APRS unit...I will have to include an external battery...which will increase the weight and clumsiness of the unit.

I would like to have a GPS unit ON the HT so I can see the other positions right there, without any other wires and things.

I noted on that list that my Garmin GPS V (that is in a box in a closet) has the two way capability...but it is a bulky unit, and doesn't really fit my needs.

Then I found this web page from Steven Smith (WA8LMF) where he uses a wrist mountable Garmin ForeTrex 201 hooked up to a D7A.

So I am in the process of acquiring one, and will make some kind of mount so that it is part of the radio.

One caveat...after I found the 201 which uses a rechargeable battery and a snap on connector for the serial port...I found out that the 101 uses replaceable batteries, and has a serial connector on the side. So that one may be a better product for my purpose...but I will soon find out.

Dual boot Mini 9 MBR failure...or the wife is pissed

2010-10-24T23:35:00.003-05:00

So the wife brings her Mini9 running OSX to me telling me it just died. First it froze, she rebooted it and the black screen prompt showed a couple of errors and "Operating System Not Found"

Of course there are many ways to fix this, boot from your windows CD and say "repair", etc...but this is a dual boot OSX hackintosh setup...there are 3 partitions, two are HFS and one NTFS, and the OSX was hacked to run on a standard Master Boot Record partition system.

For the question marks appearing, a short explanation. Imagine your hard drive is a vinyl long play record with (in my case) three songs on the side, and the quiet part between songs defines the partitions. Now imagine the chaos if those quiet spots disappear, and you don't know where one song ends and the next begins...Now imagine one song is quiet violin music, the next Henry Rollins Band, and the last, explosion and gunfire sound effects...

The MBR tells the computer where the partitions (songs) and how long they are...and even what kind of partitions they are...if it get corrupted or disappears, the data is still where you left it...you just don't know where it is. And like the album without breaks, you can make a duplicate of the data, but you still can't use it.

Well any time you can see a drive, but it won't boot, assume MBR problems...it is the only thing you can fix that won't make things worse (for the most part).

So my big problem is HOW to fix these oddball partitions.

I knew that somehow I had booted the Mini9 before it had an operating system, and then partitioned the drive, installed the OS etc. So for roughly an hour I went about trying to retrace my steps to boot it of a USB thumb drive...then I remembered that I actually booted it off a linux boot CD...so I dug around and found the USB DVD drive...and the linux CD.

The one I had was actually a Gparted live CD (GNU Partition Editor). I booted it and ran Gparted...it sees a blank drive...or more accurately, it does not see any partitions. Now a mistake would be to create partitions at this point...'cuz now you HAVE made things worse, you will overwrite data, and it will be gone.

So drive is there (correct size)...now how to get the partition data back. I can't run a windows boot disk, it would puke over non windows partitions and probably trash the disk.

So I looked at the places I used to create the hackintosh MyDellMini.com...nothing that really helped...but someone did mention a program called Testdisk.

That program was on this Gparted live CD..so with much fear, I ran the program. The first time I told it to look for Intel/PC partitions...after a couple of error messages, it showed the three partitions, and their correct sizes, so I knew then that I has simply lost the MBR partition table.

However in front of each partition was the letter D that according to the text on the bottom means Delete (or perhaps deleted). So I went and changed the "D"s to anything else, P for Primary, L for Logical, E for Extended, or * for boot. When I did that, the first partition (used to fool OSX into booting) and the NTFS windows partition showed green...but the OSX partition had to remain D or the text on the bottom said something like "invalid disk" or something equally useful.

So I backed out of those menus to the top of Testdisk. This time I chose the Mac OS partition style...I didn't think it would work, but what the heck. It did its full scan and showed 2 partitions both in Green with P in front.

But the numbers didn't look quite right (locations on the disk)...so I backed out again and did the Intel/PC choice again. This time it showed all three partitions again, however this time all three were in Green, and the first one was a * (boot) with the other two showing P.

I hit apply, it did its thing and I rebooted. Of course it didn't boot. I actually didn't expect it two, because as I remembered, the actual boot was on the OSX partition, which also had the boot menu that allowed me to dual boot the computer to windows.

So I re-booted the Gparted Live CD, and this time when Gparted ran, it correctly showed the partitions...I simply set the OSX partition to boot, and rebooted...ta daa.

You may wonder how I knew which partition was which...the first partition is only about 100megs. The windows one was NTFS...that left the 19 gig HFS partition that was obviously the OSX one.

SO if you see 'No operating system found', try to repair the MBR first.

There is a down side to this...usually when the MBR fails, and you see slow downs in disk access, those are signs the drive is failing...so probably time to make a backup.

Android on the Nokia N800

2010-10-23T08:25:00.002-05:00

I have let dust settle on my N800 ever since I got the iPod and my HTC TP2...shame on me.

Now I have a new reason to break it out. Nokia stopped updating the software on the older N series...and some things never worked right...like the camera with the video chat capability...that only worked with other n800/810s.

I don't know when I will attempt this...funny enough, I do normally do stuff like this when I am at home, but now with work, I am in NYC more than I am home...so I may do it in NY.

But here are the links

Short article at Android Authority...with video of it in operation on a N800.

Short article at Symbian Guru.

Nitdroid N900 entry (how to)...the port being actively worked on.

Nitdroid N8xx entry...work on this port temporarily halted until N900 is stable.

Nitdroid N8xx installation guide.

N8xx how to update firmware tutorial videos by Internet Tablet School.

Some interesting websites and videos.

2010-10-21T13:10:00.003-05:00

Just some websites that don't fit any of my categories...so here they go...

It is always time for pushups. How about 100 pushups at one time?

How to download MegaVideo videos.

GPS Underground-a forum with data and hacks for GPS hardware.

This is a visualization of the housing bubble pop...Jonathan Jarvis does a terrific job turning data into visuals...look at some of his other projects.

The Credit Crisis - Animatic from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Next is a website that came out about 6 years ago that shows the connection between the various board of directors and other top level agencies...you have to play with it to see. I don't know if the data has been updated, but it is still eye opening.

They Rule

Astromart - If you want anything from a actively cooled camera to a house sized telescope and everything in between...for sale.

Super Mario Bros. on a sidewalk...a student at the University at Hannover Germany displayed the whole game on a sidewalk...you have to see it to believe it...but even better is how he did it.

First the game

Super Mario Bros. from Andreas Heikaus on Vimeo.

Now the how to

Super Mario Bros. on a Sidewalk - Making Of from Andreas Heikaus on Vimeo.

How about a video mapping all of the Nuclear Explosions from 1945 to 1998

How about a how to on making your own Ballistic Gel.

Charity Navigator - background and info on charities...so your donation does the most good.

ReadyNAS NV+ revisited

2010-10-21T12:57:00.004-05:00

I have had my ReadyNAS for a few years now, and still like it...in fact I am thinking about getting another one, stuff some 2TB drives into it as a video server.

Newegg is selling them with 2 1TB drives installed for $390 with rebates and free shipping. But I will get an unpopulated one and stuff in 4 2TB drives.

Before I decided to buy another NAS, I found some web sites that made me decide to stay with the NV+...mostly because there is a huge price jump to the next models...but partially because the NV+ still holds its own.

While I was surfing around I found this blog Bott's Thoughts.

Bott has a ton of info on setting up and running the NV+ as well as quite a few other things/hacks you can do with/to it. The above link goes to a tutorial on setting up the NV+, very handy!

If you decide to get the NV+ (or many other NASs ) you need to make sure the drives you buy will be compatible, or you may have reduced or no performance.

For the ReadyNAS, on the Netgear website you can see the current list of compatible drives.

For the NV+ there are currently 4 2TB drives to choose from.

Western Digital	Caviar Green WD20EARS	2 TB	3Gb/s	64 MB
Hitachi	Ultrastar A7K2000 HUA722020ALA330	2 TB	3Gb/s	32 MB
Hitachi	7K2000 HDS722020ALA330	2 TB	3Gb/s	32 MB
Seagate	Barracuda LP ST32000542AS	2 TB	3Gb/s	32 MB

iOS 4.1 on my iPod Touch

2010-10-09T17:35:00.004-05:00

Knowing that early adopters seem to have pain and suffering, I now wait to do BIOS/Firmware/OS updates.

iOS4 has been out for a while, and out for the iPod for a few months...but since my iPod is Jailbroken, I knew that at that point, there was no Jailbreak for an OS above 3.1.2.

Well Apple released 4.1, and in September a Jailbreak was released...I don't know how many devices are correctly broken etc...but I do know that my MB model iPod Touch 2G IS!

I simply followed this guide at crispytech.com . No muss no fuss. The Apple things were backed up and reinstalled automatically (apps/media/settings), however the software I installed using Cydia had to be manually reinstalled, but I did not have to re-buy anything.

I didn't want to upgrade the OS, but the new apps I wanted required OS4 or higher...

But there is another reason to upgrade...if you have a 3GS, you get built in multitasking. (which you also can get if you jailbreak). However, everyone get the new folder option. You can dump app icons together and create a folder icon that you can drag around and rename. Of course I couldn't figure out how to do this simple task...so I found this quick explanation. The quick summary is put an app icon over another one, and you get a folder...taa daa.

I am still waiting on some apps to be updated to OS4 (from Cydia), but the apps I use all the time work just fine.

A couple of quick notes...

I use Handbrake to rip DVDs to iPod files and drag and drop using iTunes...but a funny thing about how iTunes works...I can't pull those same files off. So I had to found a Guide (that I lost the link to) and installed Mac software Senuti. The trial version was all I needed so copy the movie files back off.

AR.Drone not ready for prime time?

2010-10-04T06:34:00.004-05:00

The AR.Drone was finally released for sale in September. Folks have been buying them, flying them with their ipods/iphones/ipads and either crashing or completely losing them.

A common problem seems to be the AR.Drone suddenly climbs out of control and is either taken by the wind, or the user is able to hit the Emergency button before it goes out of range and it drops like a rock into pieces.

So I want one...but not quite yet.

But I am following along and seeing if the number of these flyaways drops as the company (Parrot) updates the hardware and firmware.

Meanwhile...some links...

The AR.Drone main website.

The AR.Drone official forums (that apparently are not moderated very well...nor do the tech folks show up)

ar.drone flyers, an enthusiast site.

This website is mostly about the owners cycling experiences...but there is a large AR.Drone section with some mods and tech info.

air drone.de, a German (language) enthusiast site with some good mods
-specifically this mod of a linux based controller for the AR.Drone with video recording.

MakerBot etc (pt3)

2010-09-26T11:48:00.007-05:00

MakerBot, RepRap, CNC, it was all there from hobby level to pro.

I have been interested in computer controlled tools ever since I first saw one (probably a milling machine). I have WANTED one ever since I saw that you could control a Dremel in 3 axis using surplus stepper motors and a cad program on Linux.

Since that time the home hobbiest machines have gotten better and better. Now not only can you use a Dremel to sculpt in 3-D, you can build a rapid prototyping machine that creates objects using hot extruded plastic.

So the vary first thing I saw when I got to Makers Faire (after a Spinal Tap-ish hunt for the location...with random other people) was a demo by the NY University ITP lab of a 3 axis Dremel CNC controlled by an Arduino board. (Arduinos and other hardware were for sale at the Faire) A computer (windows in this case running the software "Processing" ) sends the cad data to the Arduino board via USB, the board converts that into data to tell the stepper motors where to move. The CNC hardware available from Bluumax CNC ($415). ITC lab created it to build circuit boards.

The following video is of the Arduino CNC demo done by the NYU ITP folks...I cut out the first 3 minutes of trouble shooting to find that the power plug was turned off (oops).

Next I saw a demo by MakerBot industries of their brand new latest generation MakerBot "Thing-O-Matic". The MakerBot is a rapid prototyper that uses a stream of hot plastic to 'print' a 3-D object...very cool...these also use an Arduino board.

The brand new top of the line one is $1200, but it is a complete kit. The frame is made out of laser cut wood pieces. It holds a 12x12x12 work area, and you can make things just smaller than that...(not sure about the height). If you decide you have outgrown the MakerBot, you can use it to create the RepRap.

The RepRap is another rapid prototyper, but this one can be created by a rapid prototyper...it looks like an erector set and is all open source. I think one of the benefits is you can make it a custom size to create odd sized objects. With the MakerBot you are stuck to one size...well now two sizes.

There were about 20 or so MakerBots and about 10 versons of the RepRap in a couple of tents, making stuff, or showing off what they made...I really want one of these.

This doesn't really fit exactly in this category...but is related...the company WidgetWorks Unlimited was showing off their line of vacuum formers. (stretches plastic sheet warmed in oven over form), a 12x12 was about $300

Ben Heckendorn (Ben Heck) at Makers Faire (pt2)

2010-09-26T08:30:00.008-05:00

I knew Ben Heck would be there because he said so in his blog post;) I have been following his projects since the beginning.

For those who don't know Ben Heck (Ben Heckendorn) the hardware hacker from WI, back in 2000 he created a hand held Atari 2600 that even took cartridges. He has since built many similar custom things, some for fun, some for clients. His most recent two creations were a Bill Paxton fullsize pinball machine with lights/bumpers/sound effects....the works. Why? he wanted to. His other recent build is a "laptop" XBox 360. He took a brand new Slim model, created a shell for it, and mounted a 1280x720 LCD screen in the top (that is the highest 360 native resolution)

He recently joined up with Element 14, a electronics hobbyist site with parts and info, and now he has a bi-weekly video where he builds a small user submitted project, and continues work on a large project. The current large project is another laptop Xbox 360 (this is actually the 3rd)...he had it there at their booth, and fired it up, so it is almost done already...I want one...He has a couple other ideas for large projects...one is another pinball machine. I don't think they hinted at any others.

I was able to talk to him at his booth, nice normal hobbyist that was able to turn his hobby into his job.

Here (in 2 parts) he talks about his new show and new projects...and I ask him about Bill Paxton Pinball. (part 2-4:10)
Pt1
Pt2

Maker Faire NYC 2010 (pt1)

2010-09-26T08:13:00.017-05:00

Maker Faire NYC 2010

I was fortunate enough to happen to be in Queens NY Sat the 25th for the first day of the first ever Makers Faire in NYC. It was held at the World Fairgrounds in Flushing...specifically the NY Hall of Science. That was a brilliant move, because the Science Museum and other things were open, so there were things for everyone to do (i.e. kids and adults were kept busy the entire time)

I had seen pictures and reports of other Makers Faires, but had never been to one before. For me it was quite a treat, definitely right down my alley as far as hardware hacking and my other stacks of projects go. It was almost like a science fair/carnival for adults...but aimed more toward the home hobbyist, but definitely there were some serious commercial devices being demonstrated/vended. In addition there was a craft area...very large, not as large as the tech area but you could spend a good part of the day just looking at that stuff.

So there are MAKE: things and craft things...kind of matches the magazine that sponsors this event, MAKE:

I have read some of their articles online, there is something for everyone... builder/hobbyist.

I will have two other blog entries, one on Ben Hecklethorne, and one on the various 3-D prototyping machines.

The other things I enjoyed

-watching, no, experiencing Arc Attack! The Tesla Coil band...you have probably seen videos of them on line...short summary is 4 Giant Tesla arc generators, a robotic drummer, a human guitarist wearing a chain mail arc suit, and loud music created by the arcing Tesla coils. You have to see these guys...probably the most dangerous rock band in history;)

-EepyBird, the Coke Mentos folks did a show near the end of the day...again, a lot more fun, if not wetter, in person.

-There was a giant size "Mousetrap Game". You know the one you played as a kid...a Rube Goldberg device...it sounded better in theory than in person...but definitely a large thing to see.

- Need a robot that solves Rubik's cubes?

-Want some animated Halloween decorations this year?

-How about a merry go round powered by V-1 rocket motors (well similar to the V-1 motors used in WWII by the bad guys) I didn't see it running, but I heard it all over the Faire throughout the day.

I saw what I wanted/needed to see in a day, but if you get the chance you should check it out.

What is with all the comment spam?

2010-07-19T10:47:00.003-05:00

I rarely get comments...that doesn't bother me...what does bother me is that daily I get some kind of SPAM comment.

A bunch of Chinese(?) characters, a short english phrase that doesn't match the topic...and a link to some site, porn or warez no doubt.

A shame really.

Move Evolution data to new install...

2010-07-19T10:30:00.003-05:00

I am not a Linux GURU, nor am I a noob. However moving the evolution data was an incredibility painful process.

First, Evolution has a built in (well built in if you add it) back up system, that will back up everything into a nice .gz file. That part did work just fine.

ALSO this same app is supposed to be able to install your evolution data from a backup. Let me just say that (depending on how much data you have...and mine is in the Gigs) it takes a while to make this data file, and about twice as long to re-import.

Unfortunately the re-import was not working for me, maybe I had too much data, maybe there had been a large change between my version of Evolution, and the new one...

Suffice to say the recovery of my data into the new Evolution did not work period...it would run for a few hours attacking the .gz file, sifting through the data, then crash. I will just say I ran through many iterations, but got the same result.

So obviously I need to move the data by hand...how?

I looked at hundreds of links, until I found an easy (ha) answer.

I used the data in these links...mostly the first one...but I manually pasted the files...bad things happen to me whenever I use the CP link. And I needed to run the File Browser in root to do it.

First and simplest link
second
third.

The first hard part was figuring out where all the files were hidden (and they are hidden files btw).

After I had all the files...I pasted them where they needed to go.

Then because I needed to be in root with the File Browser...I had to change all the permissions back...duh.

Simple walk through of permissions.

That whole process from when I first decided to move the Evolution data, till I got a working version of Evolution was 3 days. And after all the research and trial and error was done, it actually only took a couple of hours...and mostly because my email files are so huge.

I would like to report that it is all good...but for some reason, whenever I open the calendar for the first time, an error message showed up that "Tasks" failed...probably another permissions issue.

Ubuntu 10.4

2010-07-19T10:12:00.003-05:00

I had been putting off upgrading my Ubuntu install...because every time there is a major upgrade...I spend weeks fixing things.

But in this case my old Ubuntu install was really old (8.10?), running out of room, and having difficulties.

Mostly I delayed the upgrade because I was using VM and doing my office work on that.

Well my VM was acting poorly...out of disk space (virtual expanding drive?)...so I moved the applications I was using to a different machine running Win7 (VM was an XP install).

Anywho, I had an extra 500GB sata drive lying around...

Actually installing Ubuntu 10.4 was mostly straight forward, but the disk manager still needed help...I had to boot into the Ubuntu on a disk, run the disk manager to see the new blank drive I installed, then reboot to the installer.

Every time I change or install an OS, I start with a new drive, and keep the old drive plugged into a USB adapter to transfer...or reboot if necessary.

Well once again it was necessary. I use Evolution for email and calendar. I use Firefox for web browsing. I don't like starting from scratch...I just want to move stuff over to the new computer.

Copying all my settings etc into Firefox was easy...there is an Add-on called FEBE that backs up all your Firefox stuff, extensions, themes, bookmarks, etc. Just install it on the old Firefox, run it....then install that extension (FEBE) on the new Firefox, and do the restore.

It isn't quite that simple...but simple enough. The FEBE website, softwarebychuck.com has all the tutorials you need.

Now Evolution was a completely different deal...and I will make it a separate topic.

Back to Ubuntu 10.4

I will say that video card and monitor support is superior to the old Ubuntu I was running. An icon at the top of the screen lets you adjust your settings...including running multiple monitors, choosing if mirrored or expanded view...and resolution.

It also boots much faster than the older version. However the initial install required literally hours of upgrades before it was done...I thought it had crashed it was such a slow process.

But overall, worth the effort to upgrade.

...next Evolution...

Kenwood TM-D710A programming info

2010-07-10T17:59:00.003-05:00

Anyone who has used this Amateur radio knows that programming it by using the faceplate and microphone is only for the strong willed.

I had used the programming cable and free Kenwood software (MCP-2A) before, but I learned some things this time.

I wanted to program a bunch of repeaters along my drive, complete with CTSSS, naming for location, and organized by area...so I don't have to scan the entire list...just the area I am in.

So some notes:

First a great location for repeaters is at http://k5ehx.net (this link shows the actual repeater search map)

You click on the are you want, show repeaters that cover the area...then at the bottom of the list of repeaters (the column left of the map) you will see a group of links to save your searches at.

I clicked on a town at a regular interval along the drive, and exported each search result as a CSV.

Then I imported each CSV into a spreadsheet program (Comma Separated Values, so during the import, choose comma, not tab), and pasted all the results into one big spreadsheet. For naming the repeaters (how they would show on the radio) I decided to use City and State.

This radio only has 8 characters for names, so I used a spreadsheet function to do the editing for me {CONCATENATE((LEFT(C3);6);C4)} The first function glues text files together, the second imbedded function truncates the name (at C3) to 6 letters. The C4 is the two letter state.

There are some interesting codes the Kenwood software uses to import the files...so the easiest method is to pull the data from your radio first, then EXPORT to HMK using the software. ALSO Save that file (the software will save as .mc2, it is not a text file, and not editable...but has all your important settings)

The HMK file is simply a CSV file renamed. Just change the .HMK to .CSV and import it into your spreadsheet.

From there, just make your repeater list match what the Kenwood software wants, and then paste into that HMK you exported and renamed.

When all done, save your new repeater list as a CSV, close the file (I would make a copy) and change the .CSV to .HMK again, then import it back into the Kenwood software.

Don't be scared, but when you import the HMK all your other settings will disappear (callsign, APRS info etc). The solution is open another copy of the Kenwood software and load that .mc2 file you downloaded from the radio. Now just highlight the list of channel memories you imported from the .HMK file, and paste them onto the memory number on the other copy.

You have to just try it...it will make sense after a couple of tries.

Then save that (both programs) with some names you will remember...and put the version you pulled from the radio back into the radio.

If you paste YOUR list of imported repeaters into the list of memories you downloaded from the radio, then things will work much easier.

There is a help file, and it does show what the program is looking for in the HMK file.

Google Calendar...and phones...

2010-06-18T09:15:00.003-05:00

For those not in the know, Google Calendar works well, and (like a lot of things) seems to be becoming the norm.

I find it easy to upload and sync .ics files to the web based calendar, but getting the data to my phone wasn't working 100%.

First I used this webpage to set up a Sync using Activesync and Google.

But still quite a few calendar items were not showing up...for example the US holidays...then another calendar that I subscribed to didn't show up.

And by "show up" I mean it wouldn't sync to my phone...it was on the webpage but not on my phone.

There is not 'clean' way to do this, but the work around is to download the shared calendar you want to add to your calendar, then import that calendar back into your Google calendar.

It is clumsy but works.

Here are the directions.

emtp211
Level 1
5/22/09

SOLUTION!!!!!!!!!

ok this is how you do you import this calender to you calender its the US 2009 Holiday Calander once you do this you can sync and load the holidays to you device.
you can either use the link or download it to your computer and upload the calender to your own via HTML or FILE.
http://www.google.com/
calendar/ical/usa__en%40holiday.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

That is what I did, and now all that stuff syncs to my phone...

...unfortunately there is no way to update the imported calendar...if the shared one changes, you have to re-import it, and remove the dupes yourself.

But it is better than either typing in each entry...or individually importing each entry.

iBluever screenshots

2010-06-17T10:16:00.004-05:00

I thought I would show some screenshots of how to setup iBluever, and how to operate.

This is what you first see when iBluever starts...note the "Connected to Bluet00th daemon."

Now we turn iBluever ON
Note "Bluet00th initialized successfully"

Now it starts populating the list with visible bluetooth devices.

Now it has named all the visible bluetooth devices.
click on the device you wish to use (or hit the (>) if changing settings)

Here is the settings screen, these are the only settings I used for my Sprint phone.

Now go back to the main screen, and tap on the device you are connecting to. (all the visible devices will still be on the screen)

The script will start, and will take longer the first time while your phone is linking to the iPod etc...watch your phone for pop up messages about PIN or data access.

Now script has successfully completed, and it shows a green checkmark and the mac address etc below the device name...

...if it doesn't successfully complete, the last script step will still be showing below the device name.

After you have successfully connected to your phone, and then turned iBluever off, your settings will be saved, and from then on just click on the device name to connect...

BTW, on my sprint phone I needed to change a registry setting to share data over the bluetooth...see previous posts on the subject.

Sprint Touch Pro 2 Bluetooth tethering

2010-05-13T09:30:00.004-05:00

Well this caused me much anguish...I was fiddling around with the iPod, and caused iBluever to crash in the process...and couldn't get it working...so I rebooted my phone, and got a different failure...

I need to remember, that if I reboot the phone, I need to make this change.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\InternetSharing\Settings]
"ForceCellConnection"="Sprint" (it will always revert back to say "phone as modem" when you reset your phone)

iBluever runs fine, Bluetooth on the iPod is not as rugged or smart as I would hope.

I cannot run roqyBT (an app that allows the iPod to access a bluetooth GPS device) at the same time as iBluever is connected.

iBluever errors and what they might mean...

-L2CAP fail
=the iPod is not being seen by the TP2...I have mine set so that only paired devices can connect...
==solution is pair the iPod to the TP2 before starting iBluever

-chat timeout at CONNECT/r
=the iPod has connected to the TP2 and is attempting to access the internet, but failing
==solution 1, watch the phone and select "Agree" when the iPod wants to use services...
==solution 2, check that registry entry at the top of this post again.

-RFCOMM not connecting
=somehow the bluetooth is not connecting like it should
==solution 1, turn off iBluever then back on
==solution 2, turn off iPod then back on
==solution 3, turn off iPod and Phone, then back on (and don't forget the registry entry)

BTW, I actually don't have problems with iBluever, but I created an issue when I linked up the iPod to a bluetooth GPS.

The complete steps I took to enable the BT tether on the TP2 are here...

Make the following changes on your TP2 with a Registry editor:
1. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\InternetSharing]
Extension="" Delete the "isext.dll"
2. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\InternetSharing\settings]
ForceCellConnection="Sprint"
3. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\OEM\Wmodem]
Check Profile=0
Connected=0
Multi-NAI=0
WModemDUN=0
4. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WIDCOMM\Plugin\DUNServ er\ControlPanel]
Enabled=1

But the only one that keeps changing (and I don't even know if the rest of the steps are important) is step #2.

iBluever 1.0.11 works - iPod bluetooth tether app

2010-05-11T14:28:00.004-05:00

The iPod SpeedTest.Net app shows 179kbps down and s up, with a 365ms ping.

That is pretty normal for my Sprint service.

I have a bunch of apps that access the internet, ALL of my Apps work...I have tested about 20 apps.

If you have an iPod Touch (and maybe an iPad) you want this.

iBluever - Bluetooth iPod tethering

2010-05-08T21:14:00.002-05:00

I wrote previously about my iPod Touch, and that it runs all iPhone software.

I also wrote about the new Sprint Windows Mobile phone I got.

Well this developer from China, has been working on an App for the iPod (or iPhone) to tether an internet connection with bluetooth.

If you are unfamiliar with the terminology...

...Most cellphones now have a data connection, many can act as a modem for a laptop if you connect the two with a data cable (usb usually nowdays). So that gives you mobile internet access while 'tethered' to the phone.

...Bluetooth is a data connection protocol that uses very little power...many phones can uses that bluetooth connection as a network connection...and can share the internet connection via the bluetooth, sort of like a wireless bluetooth router.

So the term bluetooth tethering was born.

Now as we all know (or anyone who has used an Apple product) Apple products are very locked down...no fun allowed.

So the 'underground world' of iPods and iPhones involves "Jailbreaking". A way to break Apple's ability to lock the device down.

You can imagine that software that allows people to get iPhone functionality without buying an iPhone would not be supported by Apple...so to get this software, and other good items, you can't go to the App store. You need to Cydia, which is the App store for Jailbroken iPods and iPhones.

Back to subject.

Right now iBluever is available on Cydia. It is still an early product...mostly beta...there is a demo version and an unrestricted version you can buy.

The developer recommends trying the demo first, and if it doesn't work perfectly, don't buy the full version.

Right now in my configuration, using my Sprint Touch Pro2 as the bluetooth tether, the demo works...mostly.

I have iBluever version 1.0.8 (demo) and here is how I used it...

- first I had to pair the iPod to the TP2 using the normal iPod bluetooth.
- turn off iPod bluetooth, and start iBluever
- select my phone in the iBluever screen, select a pin, and put #777 in phone number block.
-- those were the only entries
- back to the iBluever main screen select the phone again and after a while, it will show a pop up confirming the connection
- meanwhile on the phone a few messages will show, first to put the pin in, second to authorize the ipod to access the internet

the demo only runs for a little while, Opera works, the App store seemed to work, The Weather Channel App worked.

So I hope the rest will be fixed and I will be able to buy the working product.

More TP2 and iPod/iPhone

2010-05-04T11:52:00.003-05:00

I wanted to point out some subtle features...and describe the comparison better.

The iPod Touch (for those who don't know) is essentially an iPhone without the 3G phone (and microphone) . It is smaller than an iPhone (thinner, same size screen), it has the accelerometers like the iPhone...but no GPS...so not like the 3GS.

The iPod runs all the iPhone apps and has the wifi connection for internet.

My iPod is in a Mophie battery case that allows charging, and actually allows a better grip on the iPod...but it makes the iPod about the same thickness as the iPhone, and a bit longer.

Now to compare the iPod to the TP2.

The TP2 also has accelerometers, and will orient the screen based on position of the phone, or if the keyboard has been slid out. Also the keyboard is backlit if the room is dark. There is a built in GPS, but the Google maps plugin (from Google obviously) will pinpoint your location fairly accurately just using the cell signal...and if you are outside the GPS will immediately lock in (if you select GPS on the Google maps menu).

The screen of the TP2 is longer but narrower than the iPod (it is a subltle difference) but essentially they are the same size display.

With my iPod in it's battery case the TP2 is still thicker...outside the battery case, the TP2 is more than twice as thick as the iPod...so thicker than an iPhone.

The TP2 is overall narrower than shorter than the iPod (outside the battery case)...but again only by a little bit (a few millimeters).

(some size comparisons)

(shorter is left)
HTC Touch, iPod Touch, Samsung Instinct, HTC Touch Pro 2, mophie iPod battery case.
(thinner is left)
iPod Touch, mophie iPod battery, Samsung Instinct, HTC Touch, HTC Touch Pro 2.

As far as screen resolution...I cannot perceive a difference.

The TP2 has a standard Mini USB port for charging and data, a standard headphone jack, a camera, speakerphone. It has physical buttons for the phone, a windows menu button and a 'back' button right on the front.

Obviously the iPod and software are clamped down, so it runs efficiently and smoothly.

With the TP2, HTC puts their own user interface over top the WM6.5. I happen to like it, there is probably a slight performance penalty with the eye candy, but why have a flashy touchscreen phone if you don't like eye candy.

It isn't exactly as snappy as the iPod...on the otherhand, it is multitasking, unlike the iPod...which really bogs down when you attempt multitasking (can be done, but not the norm).

So because I can switch back and forth between running apps on the TP2, I will accept a slight sluggishness at times compared to the iPod...

I will freely admit, after my time with the iPod Touch, if I could have the functionality of my TP2, with the interface of the iPhone without the AT&T lockin, I would own a 3GS.

Reviewers have complained that it still uses WM6.5, but it seems like WM7 will not have the options of the older WM, and will require different apps, if it allows them at all. So we will see what my future phone will be...

Latest phone...HTC Touch Pro 2

2010-05-02T22:53:00.003-05:00

I have needed (wanted) a new smart phone. I like many things about the iPhone3GS...but I don't like the locked down aspect, nor do I like AT&T.

Besides, there is some windows mobile software I need to run.

I have enjoyed using my old HTC Touch, but it was limited in many ways.

There are many reviews and videos of the TP2...so I won't duplicate the effort.

I will say that the screen is as good or better than my iPod Touch...and much better and bigger than the old Touch.

It has a onscreen keyboard that in my opinion is better than the iPod one...this one is actual qwerty with the numbers and symbols where they should be...you have to jailbreak your iPod to get the same functionality...and anyone who has to deal with workplace passwords knows the issue.

AND the TP2 also has a slide out qwerty hardware keyboard.

TP2 comes with IE and Opera...I use opers more, but neither can access ALL websites.

I installed Google maps and it locates well even with GPS off...GPS locks in quicker than my old Touch.

I don't like where the power button is...I hit it all the time when using the slideout keyboard.

I don't know what the battery life is...it seems shorter than my old Touch...but I had poor battery life on my old touch when I first got it, it improved over time with better settings.

So far the only utility I have added is PocketSheild to protect from buttdialing and other touchscreen phone annoyances...

I typed this blog entry on the HTC Touch Pro 2 from Sprint.

Timelapse cam setup

2010-03-21T16:58:00.005-05:00

...CHDK is the software...I mentioned that earlier...this is the hardware.

This is a SportsPack waterproof camera housing. It has slide in mounts for a variety of camcorders...and is designed to electronically integrate with Sony camcorders (controls on top run camcorder)...

...obviously I am only using the housing...but I was able to use one of the extra slide in mounts to build a mount for my camera...it just barely fits...I don't think a DSLR would fit at all...we will see about that some time in the future.

Front view...I have the camera so the lens is almost touching the front glass...and is as centered as I can get it.

The camera mount slid out...showing the hacked together bracket and battery pack.

Another view showing the camera on its mount with the battery pack.

...this is the result...this attempt was with the mockup of the current mount...the lens was too far from the front glass in that setup...

Astrophotography

2010-03-20T09:58:00.003-05:00

I always assumed you had to buy a lot of expensive hardware, and sit outside all night pushing a cable remote shutter control to take pictures of the stars.

Thanks to modern cameras...you can if you want to...or just let the camera do the work.

There are websites and books dedicated to this subject...so I won't bother...however.

...unfortunately just as I was figuring all this out and getting my setup ready...a winter storm came to visit...so I won't be able to test my theories for a few days.

Here is what I know...
CHDK will let you make repeated shots at a set interval.
...it will let you set the shutter speed (and or aperture)

I have read that up to about 20-30 second exposure times will not show star streaking (from the earth movement)
There is free software that will 'stack' exposures (sort of like what the HDR software does)
I built a large battery pack to keep the camera running all night.

So my plan is to set the exposure to 20 sec, take pictures a minute apart all night long and see what happens.

Then from there change the exposure time until just below the streak threshold.

Not only can I get movies...I can stack the shots for more detail (hopefully).

Now this camera will only shoot for about a minute shutter open time. If I want more, I will need a new camera...and some way to keep the camera in position as the earth moves...

Some robotic...VR...etc links...

2010-03-20T09:41:00.004-05:00

So one ongoing project is the ROVIO...well some third party applications have been written for it (as well as an iPhone app). Here are a couple that I haven't tried yet, but look interesting...

http://linceovr.seac02.it/pages/viewer/ ...basically use this to build a VR world with your ROVIO as the input, and your computer as the world generator.

http://www.roborealm.com/ software to allow your robot to use its camera(s) as vision...think the DARPA autonomous vehicles...ROVIO specific software here... http://www.roborealm.com/help/WowWee_Rovio.php

http://www.mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/MikroKopter a multi blade helicopter...microprocessor controlled...and seems like an easy (relatively) way to make an autonomous vehicle ($1000 for the basic unit)

Now back when I was a kid...I wanted one of these...Big Trak...you can get them n0w on ebay for not much money...and of course some folks are hacking on them...
http://www.robotroom.com/BigTrak.html
http://www.thebigtrak.com/board/index.php
replace the Big Trak controls with OOPic (site only on Wayback Machine)

How about a iPhone controlled hexapod?
http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.php?t=3918

HDR Time Lapse Video

2010-03-16T12:16:00.009-05:00

This is something I didn't realize people were doing...or that I would be able to do with my little camera.

But thanks to Owen Scharlotte at Timelapseblog.com I learned a ton...

I previously mentioned CHDK and bracketing photos for HDR. Well here is how to install a script that will direct your camera to take a series of pictures...

And here is a tutorial on how to take that series of pictures into Photomatix for batch processing...

...and hopefully soon I will have a demo of my own from the back yard...

Other than loading the script, you still have to go into the CHDK menus and set up the bracketing in continuous mode. Other than that, it is point and shoot.

HDR - High Dynamic Range Photography

2010-03-13T13:32:00.003-06:00

HDR,

I have been looking at the photos for a while, and wanted to try it...but couldn't make that first step...

A quick summary is- a normal photo averages out the exposure based on what the center of the picture is...if it is something dark, then everything else will be washed out...if it is light (like the sky) everything else will be dark.

HDR photography allows you to capture the details from both those extremes, glue them together via software, and you get a picture as real as you looking at it...or can even be super real...

If you search for HDR on google you will find plenty of good websites.

This is all I needed to know...

...previously I had put CHDK on my Canon A530 to give me control over the camera (actually specifically to do this)

...but the key was what to set where...CHDK has a submenu of its own, and that is where most of the settings go.
--here is the summary...
>Extra Photo Operations
>>Bracketing in continuous mode
>>>TV bracketing value [2EV] ...AV bracketing would be preferred, but my camera doesn't have it.

now to the normal camera menu, select continuous mode, 5 shots...and I use a 2 sec delay for the first shot.

Now sit back while the camera takes shots.

Now that you have the 5 shots, there are many ways to digitally glue them together...I use Photomatix (http://www.hdrsoft.com/)...I haven't bought it yet...hence the watermark.

Here is one of my shots, with my camera sitting on a coffee cup in my hotel window.

iPod Touch

2010-03-12T17:09:00.004-06:00

Well, I figured it was time to join the Apple cult...Actually there were some apps that I wanted to run, I don't want to use At&t for cell, and I need a windows phone anyway.

But the Touch has all the functionality of the phone...minus the camera/microphone/gps

The first step is to jailbrake the Touch. That allows you to add software that Apple doesn't sell etc.

There are two types of jailbroken iPods...tethered and untethered. Tethered means, whenever you turn on the device from a cold start, you need to be hooked to your computer...not very useful for most people.

Untethered means that even on a cold start, the iPod stays jailbroken, and will boot normally.

So knowing that...I found out that there is no untethered jailbrakes for OS 3.1.3, or higher, nor for the 32 and 64gb 3rd generation Touch.

Also the 8gig version for the 2nd gen and 3rd gen are identical, and they can be jailbroken/untethered.

http://www.redmondpie.com/redsn0w-0.9-jailbreak-iphone-3g-3gs-and-ipod-touch-3.1.2-firmware-9140376/

So I got a 8gig 2nd gen Touch from Newegg. Downloaded iTunes, and a 3.1.2 OS , updated the Touch using 'shift'-RESTORE on the iTunes screen, and installing the 3.1.2 that I downloaded.

After a sucessful reboot of the Touch, I closed iTunes and started the latest version of 'redsn0w'.

I pointed the program to the same 3.1.2 that I had installed on the Touch, and let it do its thing. I installed Cydia...which is an apt-get type program, and you can define the repositories...so you can install your own software.

Using Cydia, I installed 'RoqyGPS' which is supposed to allow your Touch to access a bluetooth GPS. (the OS 3.0 and later for the Touch enabled bluetooth for headphones). My bluetooth GPS puck seems to not be compatible, so I am getting one that should be...http://www.roqy-bluetooth.net/hardware.html

More Bad Caps

2010-02-07T19:19:00.003-06:00

I have been busy, so no projects right now...but I did have the opportunity to troubleshoot my main system. BSOD etc.

After ruling out virii, and memory issues...I hooked up my Frozen CPU Ultimate LCD Power Supply Tester to the just over warranty Enermax 600W power supply...and it kept shutting down.

So I pull it out, and open the PSU up...guess what, 5 capacitors that had bulged out and and were leaking out the top...(the brown spots in the out of focus picture is the leaking stuff)

So the replacement is a Corsair HX750 with modular wiring...which let me tell you, it a very nice feature. Also it has extra dedicated wires when I get around to adding a second ATI card.

...well back to the Super Bowl.

ROVIO headlight (and laser) mod

2009-12-09T21:03:00.008-06:00

One common complaint about the ROVIO is that the built in LED 'headlight' is weak.

I used this guys mod to add a couple of giant Radio Shack LEDs and a LASER.

The wiring diagrams are on the link. I used the two brightest LEDs that RS sells (they are huge...the size of my pinkie). I also threw on a LASER that I pulled out of a flashlight (sold in a muli pack from Home Depot). I used a 100 ohm resistor to drop the voltage a bit...I could have probably used a 70 ohm resistor for the laser.

This is the result...the ROVIO took the pictures in a pitch black room.

The small image doesn't do it justice...but the right bulb is lighting up the wall about 6 feet away...and between the two is the red laser.

This is a capture...I cropped it but thats about all you get from the ROVIO software.

This image was taken with another camera...with the room lights on.

This is the flashlight I gutted.

I didn't want the bulk of putting the entire end of the flashlight on it...but now that I have done this mod, it won't be a big deal to add it if I change my mind.

Latest toy. The ROVIO.

2009-11-23T17:59:00.005-06:00

I saw this thing (the ROVIO) in a Skymall catalogue some time ago...I thought it would be cool...I have webcams, and have always wanted to build some kind of mobile webcam...of course accessible by intertubes.

An unfortunate side effect of progress is compatibility. In the olden days we were content with our pre-wifi 1mb wireless devices...running open and naked in the wild...then we got Wifi at its 10mb speeds...still running open and naked. Then someone created WEP...then someone else created WPA...nobody used WPA...because you needed to buy more hardware to support it (or sometimes updated drivers.)

Then WEP was easily cracked...so everyone went running for WPA...and threw out anything that couldn't run WPA...(soon WPA2 will be the only thing...)

What is the point?

The ROVIO was built to support WEP. So this $300 device quickly became obsolete. Late last fall, early this year they released a WPA firmware, so we can continue to use these devices.

I got mine on ebay for less than $100. But getting it up on my Wifi WPA network took about 7 hours.

For those of you with this device...or who want one, go to this website for a lot of helpful info.

And here is my post on how I finally got WPA on it. A hint is you need password of 25 letters/numbers or less.

Oh if you still don't understand what a ROVIO is, then here is a video...

Solar Powered Web Cam

2009-11-15T18:03:00.006-06:00

I have a shed that I mounted a wireless weather station on a couple of years ago. I have always wanted to mount a webcam out there to 'see' the weather. There is a 1000' TV tower that I use to judge how bad the weather is...the less antenna I see, the worse the weather.

The wireless weather station uses 2 AA batteries that last roughly half a year...easy.

However a webcam is going to use MUCH more power than that...I didn't want to run electric out there...with the weather station on a metal pole, I didn't want to add a path for lightening to enter the house...because lets face it, if I am going to go through the effort to run power, I will also run CAT5.

So I thought solar might be nice, I already have a battery in the shed (lawn tractor) I could use the solar panel to charge the battery, and the battery will allow the camera to run day or night, rain or shine.

But how to get the solar panel power to the battery and webcam...well I bought a 15w solar panel that came with a 12v battery charger. I mounted the panel to the shed (60 deg angle for winter sun) and measured 24ish volts. Hooked the panel to the charger and battery and got around 13 volts...and the battery was charging...all is well.

Then I hooked the webcam up...it worked, great picture! It worked for a few days...then stopped. I check everything and find the battery is completely discharged...and charger is showing charged...I unplug the webcam and the charger now starts charging the battery.

So point #1 be careful on what you get for a charger. I am now buying a different charger, that has a tap to put your 12v loads on and will even keep you from discharging the battery too much when the solar isn't there. (SunSaver 6 amp solar SS-6L)

Enough of that...what about the webcam?

Needs to be wireless, 12v, good picture, small...and relatively cheap.

Asante Voyager I Wireless 1.3 Megapixel CMOS Day and Night IP Security Camera

I don't know how long it will last...but it takes great pictures/video.

I will cut to the chase, I did a little cutting on the camera case, mounted it in a box, cut a piece of Lexan for the window and sealed it in place. Ran electric too it and sealed that hole. I don't have an external antenna, the one that came with it is fine. The pictures should explain the rest.

Here is the result, the first picture is straight from the camera, the second one is after my weather software puts a caption on it...yes it is compressed too much, I need to play with the settings.

Windows 7 first thoughts

2009-11-06T15:32:00.003-06:00

I replaced Vista on my laptop (the M1330) with Windows 7 a week ago.

I used an upgrade version of Win7 and installed on a new blank HD. I used this procedure from the My Digital Life blog. Workaround 3: Clean Install and Activate Windows 7 with MediaBootInstall Registry Hack

I won't reproduce it all here...but the summary is you change one registry entry and then activate.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OOBE change MediaBootInstall from 1 to 0.

So what do I think so far? Well remember I did replace the original HD with a new one (Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS 500GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s). So some improvements will be because of that...this isn't a scientific analysis.

Having said that, I ran all the tests on the original HD and never showed any thing unusual or any slower than average speeds.

So, the Vista with the old HD took about 3 to 3.5 minutes to boot to something useful...yes horribly slow...every step along the boot took a lot of time.

Win7 with the new drive boots to...

first sound (welcome screen) 43 sec.
login prompt (I swipe with the fingerprint scanner) 53 sec.
desktop is on internet (wifi) (skype plays login sound) 75 sec.

I don't care who you are...those are resonably fast times. It is fully useable by the time skype logs in.

Other things...quickly comes out of standby. No noticably difference in battery life.

Improvements...under Vista, when browsing my network, it took a couple of minutes to get enough info for me to actually browse...Vista took all that time just to populate the display...it doesn't take HD speed to browse the network.

Win7 pulls up the network devices and populates it with device icons as quickly as XP pulls up computers on the network.

When you reactivated the display after Vista turned it off, it would always come on full bright, no matter where it was set before...Win7 brings it back to the original brightness.

I have the same eyecandy settings that I had on Vista, and on this machine they are smooth and snappy...on VIsta they took a lot of effort it seemed.

Interesting to note, if you have the HD space, Win7 will create a 100meg system partition (like swap in linux?) I think that helps the speed.

So if you hate your Vista install then jump ship and get Win7.

I think I will get another copy and replace my aging XP install on my gaming/editing machine...or at least dual boot?

Kenwood D710 and Nuvi 350 usage.

2009-10-26T15:38:00.013-05:00

So last time I showed the settings, this time I show what you get.Along the radios on the bottom row you see a row of labels. ALL of them have to do with APRS.
MSG is a list of inbound and outbound messages.
LIST is a list of other APRS stations...that you have received.
BCON is your radios APRS beacon setting (on or off)
POS is where the radio thinks you are...based on the last GPS input or your manual input.
P.MON monitors the position data your radio is getting/sending.

So if you push MSG, you get this screen.
I blurred out the callsigns to protect the innocent...the EMAIL ones are where I have attempted (and failed) to send out an EMAIL from the radio. the other ones are messages to and from the HT (TH-D7AG) . Note that you can reply or send new messages from this menu.

If you ESC out of that screen and go back to the main radio screen then select-
LIST. you get a listing of about 15 APRS stations the radio has received info from, either via relay or direct.So again I blurred out the callsigns, from here you can send messages also. Note the cursor is on the first entry, If I select this one (using the big knob again) I will get detail, location, info and a direction arrow.

Now to the Nuvi 350 using the GTRANS cable.

When you power the Nuvi up, you get this screen.
If you select Where To?...
...you get this screen, then select My Locations.
You see this...
now select Favorites.

At first this will probably be blank, but as your radio receives APRS info, it will populate this screen realtime.

It will sort the list from closest to furthest, and if I was moving it would show an arrow pointing to the location in addition to the distance.

I usually just leave the display on this page, and it is humorous when you pass by another APRS user going the other way on the interstate...

Or from the main menu you can select View Map.

It again automatically populates the maps with the APRS info. It doesn't matter if you have detail turned on or off, and you can zoom all the way in to 120mi out and still see the info.

Note, the Nuvi stores the info, so a APRS station will show, if it is currently online or not...but it's position will be updated if new info arrives...so you will have to compare this to the Radio list.

So that covers basic setup and usage. If I learn more, I may add or correct these pages.

Kenwood TM-D710, Garmin Nuvi 350 APRS setup

2009-10-26T14:51:00.014-05:00

I guess this is sort of part 2...part one had background and a bunch of links...this part will have a series of photos to set up the radio for APRS...next part will have some usage info.

You can easily do all the APRS setup just off the control head...but to store in memory your favorite channels; the software is a lifesaver.

As we go through the menus...If I don't list one, then I left it default.

Power it on, and you get your normal display. It doesn't matter which side you set up for APRS, but this one is setup for the A-side. My finger is pointing at the Function button. We will use it to get to the APRS submenu later. To the right of the row of buttons are the volume/squelch/select knobs for the individual side. So my inital step would be to push the left of the two knobs and select side A. (the PTT indicator will move to the left side). I would then push the first button above those two next to the TNC indicator. That will make the left side of the radio show a D and APRS12 (or it might say something else...will will check that in a bit.)

Now when I press the F button, that row of labels changes.
And you see this.Notice the F changed to F OFF.(ha) So you could push the F again and go back to the previous list.
Now when I push the big knob on the left, instead of cycling through the bands, I get a new menu.
Now rotate the big knob on the left until the cursor flashes at APRS. (the camera can't see the cursor, so the scissors will do.) Then push in on the knob to select the APRS submenu.The next menu that pops up will be whatever you had up last. You rotate the big knob to cycle through the submenus (601,602,...etc)
601 is self explanatory...your callsign. I use the suffix -9 after my callsign for "mobile" on this radio, and -7 on my HT to indicate a D7A.
602 is the GPS setup menu.When you first get the radio, the INPUT will probably be NONE. So push in on the big knob again to move the cursor down to the next line...in this case BAUD RATE. Then rotate the big knob until you get to the INPUT line...push the big knob again and the NONE or GPS will flash...rotate the knob again to change that input.
Then rotate again to select OUTPUT, and change that to WAYPOINT.

So understand how to get through the menus, rotate to cycle, push to select...when you are done you can select BACK (using the other radio buttons) to move back one menu or ESC to completely leave the menus. For now, you will want to use BACK as we edit the menus.

Next menu 603.
This one will be different if you don't use a Nuvi and GTRANS cable.. But these settings work properly for my Nuvi 350. You have to change the first two for sure.
FORMAT is KENWOOD
NAME is 9-CHAR
For other GPS units, search the web.

Next menu 612.
This is kind of neat. I won't get into the background of the settings...because I don't completely understand it all...but what you need to know is that you set everything on two settings.
WIDE 1-1 select ON
TOTAL HOPS select 2 (you can select 3 if you are in a very remote location, but try 2 first.)
The radio automatically fills in the Path for you.

Next menu is 624.Sound is up to the user...I just wanted to point out the settings. You can turn off the beep when your beacon transmits, you can select when to beep when an APRS message occurs. If it beeps too much for you, then start changing settings.

Next menu 625.
Ok, this bugged me until I could find the menu. The default pop up for APRS info is fullscreen...I didn't like that...because you lose view of the frequencies on both sides.

So I dug through the menus until I found this one. Mine is now set up so that the routine APRS info pops up only in the A-side of the radio (note to self, try to take a picture of that). An actual message from someone to you pops up full screen...so you can read it.
You can also chose NONE.

DISPLAY AREA : HALF

APRS is now setup on your Kenwood to use the Nuvi. I just want to point out one more menu.

Under the AUX at the main menu (one prior to APRS).
From AUX, go to menu 529.

There is nothing to change here. I just want to show that if you have the A-side setup for APRS it will show this INTernal DATA BAND A-BAND
There is another PACKET radio setting that will also show the EXTernal band B-BAND.

That is normal if you set it up like mine.

There you go, a picture is worth a thousand text files. Next up, usage.

Some Links for the Kenwood/Garmin APRS setup

2009-10-15T17:04:00.007-05:00

Kenwood Software to manage TM-D710A

(Both of these software packages allow you to manage memory channels or edit functions)

Kenwood Software to manage TH-D7AG

Kenwood main amateur radio download page and the overall main support page.

GTRANS cable from Argent Data Systems (to connect Garmin units to the Kenwood radios...etc)

Garmin Nuvi 350 and why it is so good in this APRS job.

The instructions I will modify to fit my setup (my radio and GPS are 10 higher...;)

A site showing APRS with the Garmin Nuvi 350...but different radio setup.

Who is using APRS in your area...

The APRS Wiki site,

And the main APRS website.

APRS =TM-D710+ Nuvi 350

2009-10-14T18:05:00.003-05:00

I don't think you can have too many hobbies.

9/11 and later Katrina reinforced the fact that you need redundant communications systems...just in case...

So after Katrina I pursued getting an Amateur Radio License (Ham)...
...well let me point out that in times of emergency, when there is a real threat of loss of life or property, everyone is authorized to use any frequency band to summon help if unavailable by any other means...
so I gathered radios, but didn't get the license, until now. The test is straight forward if you use any of the many practice tests available...or just memorize the question bank.

What really made me decide to go legit was the advances in APRS equipment and availability.

APRS (according to the FCC test-Automatic Position Reporting System...according to the folks who made it and use it-Automatic Packet Reporting System) is in its simplest terms, a text messaging system. But it is much more than that.

Think of the radios as part of a giant wireless network (maybe 20 miles apart, depending on antenna height, terrain, power output).

The data is sent via a text format over the radio (like a 1200 baud dial up modem)...but the data can be any number of extremely useful things. Like weather. You could set up a weather station at a remote location without internet, and have APRS transmit the weather data.

I am using it to send my vehicle location as I travel.

Now so far I am sure some out there are saying to themselves...but I can already do that with a cellphone and the internet.

True...but this system still works if the cellular, and landline phone systems are down or saturated (9/11), if power is out/internet out, etc(Katrina).

The practical application is for emergency workers to have this system to mark this location, and be able to send text messages to other emergency workers. It allows a command center to know where the assets are and send them info without worrying about a mistake in copying a voice transmission.

In a later post I will give the details of what gets plugged where, and settings etc. There are some guides out there...but none with this exact setup.

I will also show hooking up the TH-D7AG to the Nuvi 350 later.

In the mean time look at www.aprs.org.

ASUS P5Q PRO Turbo Motherboard

2009-09-19T17:08:00.003-05:00

My main gaming/video editing system...i.e. the fast system with the most ram etc...Had a ASUS P5LD2 Mobo with an Intel 775 CPU...

Well it died...slowly, but still dead. I say slowly, because over a year ago, the PS2 keyboard input failed...the keyboard was fine, but the computer didn't see it. (I might have allowed some tight fitting components to touch).

Since USB worked fine, I just threw in a USB keyboard and pressed on.

Well I was working on it again...and something must have again been jostled. There is a Green LED on most mobos that indicates that power is available from the PSU. They normally either are on or off. Mine was rapidly flashing. Of course nothing in any of the manuals mentions that, but I was able to find an obscure post in the internet that said that it was a power failure of some kind...probably in the +5v range. I tested the PSU, it was fine.

So I pondered if it was time to completely upgrade my system with a new mobo, and new CPU and new ram...or just put my parts on another mobo.

I went the cheap route...So after I get the new mobo I realize that it not only is set up for using a second video card (SLI) it can also take the fastest socket 775 CPUs I can buy...the CPU I have now is the fastest the old dead mobo could use...a 2.6 core 2 duo.

more places to spend money...

Create Vista Sidebar Gadgets

2009-07-02T17:42:00.003-05:00

I used this example at the ITWorx Blog.

I have had on my XP Active Desktop 4 small windows containing simple web pages. One displayed some data, one a weather radar loop, and the other two were webcam images from the outside (no windows in the office). It is nice to be able to see what is going out in the real world.

Well...work changed over to Vista for no good reason...well other than the obvious disasters with the migration...

Of course, Vista doesn't have Active Desktop...but after some research I found that the Vista Sidebar will allow almost the exact same results. I say almost, because I could resize the windows as I needed on XP, but the Sidebar only allows fixed sizes...so I had to do some trial and error resizing.

The example I used above didn't exactly work out of the box...but it was a good starting point. I ended up locating the Gadgets folder (mine was in C:Program Files/Windows Sidebar) taking a look at a couple of the gadgets in there and editing the linked example to match what is there.

But bottom line, it is simple to convert existing websites to work on the Sidebar.

I allowed the Dell Mini OSX to update software...

2009-06-01T18:30:00.003-05:00

Of course it wasn't without a tiny bit of difficulty. But not bad.

Before you do the update, make sure you have a version of DellEFI stored on the Mini before you do the upgrade...really, do it.

So you do the update, and it will reboot barely to a gray garbled screen (because it lost the drivers?)

I found the solution here on the 'sproke blog.

It is easy, so I will post it here.

1. Download the installer, don't use Software Update. Install 10.5.7.
2. Let it reboot.
3. At the boot screen press enter (or any key) to get the boot prompt. It should look like this:
boot:
type -x and hit enter
boot: -x
OS X will enter Safe Mode.
4. When in Safe Mode run DellEFI.
5. Reinstall the Mini 9 Extensions and remove custom dsdt.aml file. These are the default options for the DellEFI, take the default.
6. Reboot.
7. At the boot screen use the -x to enter Safe Mode again
8. After in Safe Mode run DellEFI. Install custom dsdt.aml file, which is the default option, take the default.
9. Reboot

Now of course I didn't exactly follow those directions (mine was already broke).

So I booted to safe mode, ran the DellEFI (I used the 1.2a5 found here).

Actually I ran it twice, the first time I selected Custom and checked the remove dsdt.aml.
When it finished, I did not allow it to reboot, and I ran it again. This time the 'create custom dsdt.aml' was already checked. When it finished, I allowed it to reboot and it came up just fine.

OpenVPN and Verizon Westell DSL router

2009-06-01T14:26:00.003-05:00

Depending on what you think I mean by the title...it works.

No I am not using OpenVPN on the Verizon router...but I am able to via a WiFi connection through the router.

I know...you are thinking 'well duh, that is what it is for' and you would be right.

HOWEVER,

My home network has been on the 192.168.1.x address group since forever (sometime in the late 90's). Most of my hardware has static IP addresses to make my life easier when trying to remote administer them (printers, webcams, NASs). So if I wanted to change the network address to a 162 or a 10 it would be a major PITA.

Fast forward to today. I just got Verizon DSL hooked up at my 'satellite work site'. It is $18 a month for the slower than 1mps connection...but that is all I need. With the current deal it comes with their Westell 7500 WiFi router.

I set it up with the defaults, enabled the WPA security, and jointed the internets. Next test was to start up OpenVPN and access my home network.

Well it would log in after a while, but a little bit after that the web access on this end would drop. Skype stayed connected, email still worked, but no HTTP:.

The one person who has read this blog probably can figure out the problem. The default IP address on the router and its network is 192.168.1.1. My home IP address is 192.168.1.x. When OpenVPN logs in, it tunnels my 192.168.1.x laptop IP to a virtual 10.x.x.x and then the router puts it back on the home network and routes that virtual 10.x address to a network address 192.168.1.x.

The conflict is that the computer doesn't know where to look...home network or internet (remember I used port 80 for the VPN).

The fix is shorter than the problem...I simply changed the IP address of the Verizon router...and the DHCP list...and shut the router down, and restarted it.

So let that be a lesson to you...have your home network on some obscure ip address so you don't get conflicts.

But it works great now.

Ok, off topic...but neat.

2009-05-10T22:47:00.002-05:00

C’était un Rendez-vous by Claude Lelouch.

Most likely you have seen this video, it was titled various things on the video websites...but it seems the videos are now pulled...it is out on DVD.

The film is shot with one camera mounted to the front of a Mercedes sedan and in 10 minutes goes from one part of Paris to another. The story is that the driver was late to meet his girlfriend. The driver is driving fast, is running red lights, going the wrong way down streets...and the whole thing was done in one shot. Also it was done without any approval or support of city officials...and nobody to stop the regular traffic on the roads.

A making-of documentary...actually the filmaker retraces the steps in another Mercedes.

This Mashup is cool...it has the route painted on a Googlemap in time with the video (but I think the video link they are using is broke)...no matter, the mashup doesn't actually use the video, it just runs in time with it.

Here some math folks calcuate the actual speeds accomplished.

Here is a translation of an interview with Mr Lelouch.

I am impressed by it, I have ordered the DVD, hopefully the quality is way better than the online videos.

Now that I have been to Paris, and seeing the video again I actually recognize part of the path...the next time I go I will try to make my way to the overlook at the end of the film.

WinXP Home...sucks?

2009-05-10T22:38:00.003-05:00

So I got a second Dell Mini 9...this one for the wife. I decided (and she agreed) that OSX will be the primary OS on her machine (easy plug and play for her camera for viewing and printing).

Well it arrived in the mail from the Dell refurbished warehouse about 2 days after I ordered it with free shipping.

Unfortunately I was heading out of town that afternoon and couldn't do an OSX install in that short amount of time, so I decided to simply set up the XP Home with the house network so she could do some surfing.

Well I found out to my horror that the install that came on the machine was UNABLE to access my WPA encrypted wifi network. For comparision, Ubunutu immediately logged in, XP Pro immediately logged in, OSX immediately logged in.

I downloaded all the upgrades (took a couple of hours) still no WPA. Reading some forums gave some solutions, but I had run out of time, so it sits there on my desk, in front of the two 22" LCD monitors plugged into an ethernet cable...pathetic.

I could attempt to figure out what the problem is...maybe old drivers...but I don't care, I will put a fresh install of XP Pro on a small partition of the new SSD drive, and OSX on the rest.

Whatever the issue is, the Mini 9 should have shipped with the latest patches and drivers...

OpenVPN tunneling revisited

2009-05-10T22:32:00.003-05:00

Well first I used the default standard VPN tunneling port...it was blocked.

Then I tried to use port 443 (SSH)...it was also blocked.

So finally I set the VPN to port 80 (HTTP)...that one worked! Only drawback is I have a webserver that can only use port 80...well I simply have my router...route a different port to that machine...and that worked fine.

Ubuntu is still a challenge

2009-05-09T10:00:00.004-05:00

I finally got around to updating my Ubuntu install (8.04) on my desktop (not the mini)...so I do the "update my version to 8.10"...and needless to say it broke it hard enough that I can only boot in rescue mode to terminal...I am sure it has something to do with the ATI display. But I haven't been able to fix it.

So I used some unused space on the drive and installed 9.04 (cleared out my unused OSX and WinXP partitions). 9.04 installed nicely and even has dual monitor ability...unfortunately there are no ATI drivers with this version, and the default drivers only allow a virtual screensize of 2500 wide...so the screen size control limited the size of my 22" screens to 1200x1050 on both...yea, great. Then no matter what I couldn't get one screen to be regular size (1680x1050). So having given up all other options, I installed the ATI driver and completely crashed Ubuntu.

I read some more and found that 8.10 still used the ATI drivers and would run two monitors in mirror mode (which was all I needed for now) in full screen size. So I wiped 9.04 and installed 8.10...works good. Interestingly during the install 8.10 recognized my other linux install and copied over some stuff...9.04 did not recognize any other installs. I then had to copy my ./evolution directory and I instantly had a fully working Evolution email setup (the install had copied all my email address info).

All I had left was VMware...first of all apparently the current version only allows a 30 day free use in workstation...but player is free? I could see the virtual machines directory in the other drive, but I couldn't copy it.

So I had to do a bunch of typing with a 'sudo cp' command...pita but it works.

Some updates

2009-04-29T22:46:00.004-05:00

First off...I am still having issues using VPN tunneling when out of town...I will next attempt to use port 80 as the VPN tunnel...and hopefully it won't wreck anything.

But on a positive note...the Dell Mini 9 triple boot works perfectly. And to be honest, as a non Mac user (ever) I just enjoy running OSX. It reminds me of a polished Ubuntu.

I use Ubuntu for a few things, XP for a number of things. But mostly I use OSX, it has the applications I use more often with a nice interface. It is still a pain to change things, but as is, it works beautifully.

Triple boot Dell Mini finale? (part 5)

2009-04-22T16:39:00.003-05:00

Odds and ends.

It all works. It all works well, and OSX runs nicely on this little machine.

It took some command line editing to get it all to play nice.

First I had to put grub back on the Ubuntu partition.
-ubuntu$ sudo grub
-grub> find /boot/grub/stage1
-grub> (hd0,3)
-grub> root (hd0,3)
-grub> setup (hd0,3)
-grub> quit

I also took note of where the ubuntu partition was (hd0,3)
I booted a ubuntu live cd (on USB thumbdrive) and using terminal, drilled my way to the grub folder on the ubuntu install
-$ sudo gedit /media/ubuntu/boot/grub/menu.lst
I commented out all my windows links (#)
and copied the top ubuntu link (at the bottom of the list), I pasted the copy above the originals in the file (twice) and made some edits
- the original had (hd0,1) for boot drive...needed to be (hd0,3)
- the original pointed to /dev/sda2...according to gparted it needed to be /dev/sda4
The corrected menu entry with hd0,3 AND sda4 was the correct one...after it sucessfully booted, I commented out the others.

I also had to reedit the windows boot.ini (using msconfig). I previously had 3 setups depending on which drive the OSX bootloader would point to...it originally was part1...it is now part3. I made that one the default also.

The only thing left is to make a longer timeout in the OSX menu and perhaps make it visible, rather than having to hit a key first.

that file is on drive/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

So in all it took a 16gig flashdrive for the inital OSX install, a 8gig flashdrive to make the modified install DVD, an Ubuntu flash drive (gparted and grub etc) and time.

I didn't repeat all the instructions, I just tried to fill in some blanks, and clarify some things. There are some procedures listed that are simply no longer needed with OSX 10.5.6 and the new dellminiboot123 file...it is almost plug and play. (well easier than a linux install 1o years ago)