20080913
Rockbox is better than your iPod - Click!
After a near foolish attempt to replace my iRiver 120 MP3 player with a SanDisk Sansa, I finally got around to getting Rockbox to work.My experience has been positive especially after fearing a repeat of previous experiences. My only regret is that the iRiver 120 has a black and white screen. Imagine what it would be like if it was in color.
I should be able to listen to music how I want it this time, by playlist order (which the iRiver's original software could not read .m3u or .pls files) or in some form of portable relational database.
FM radio still works, although I wonder if there is some way to pick up other bands. I should double check my understanding of electronics.
I have not explored all the features yet, but I am amazed that I can finally play games and WRITE text files on the device. I hope I can read PDFs on it now.
Another feature that Rockbox has that the origninal iRiver (or several other MP3 players) is support for people with disablities, specifically those with impaired vision.
My only grievances about Rockbox so far are how the Installation instructions were written. I wanted to install the manual instructions for rockbox, but when the Linux instructions started talking about using a .exe file (which Linux does not run .exe files) and mentioned some tools for modifying the .hex file (the iRiver firmware patch) that were not on my system, I had to conceed to using the Automatic instructions.
It would also be a little awesome if there was like a mini-Linux console to write shell scripts and fiddle with sed, awk, and vim. The Handhelds.org had something like this. I blame the emphasis on Debian packages for why Handhelds.org wasn't very successful.
Outside of all that, Rockbox rules!
Labels: disabilities, hack, handhelds, lifeisgood, linux, music, radio, software, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 9/13/2008 05:20:00 PM (0) comments top
20080826
yum indigestion? Give it some pepto!
After some 24 hours of package updating, Fedora 8 is installed without the hassle of Fedora's PreUpgrade process which uses Anaconda.Anaconda is good if you are new to Fedora Linux, but after a while you begin to realize, programs like Anaconda and pruit are not ideal.
Running Fedora's PreUpgrade is about a logical as using yum update or yum upgrade. Unless you specify the names of the packages that need to be ugraded, yum will abort as soon as it hits the first conflict, and you will run into a conflict.
Conflicts can be resolved, but it will require some thinking.
For instance, on x86_64 systems, some packages may conflict with a i386 package of the same name. You don't need to download the i386 package if you are using 64-bit (x86_64) system, but there are a few softwares that are x86_64 that need to use the i386 packages for support. nspluginwrapper is one of them.
Another example is the stubborn software that holds up everything. Beryl was one such software. In fact Fedora suggests removing it (using yum erase beryl*) after the Beryl project merged with Compiz thus creating Compiz Fusion. I assume Compiz is a feature in Fedora 9, but for right now, lets see how Fedora 8 is running. As long as I upgrade before November, I think I should be OK.
But removing software should be a last resort! ALWAYS look for the package that is causing the conflict or the package that the current package needs.
As I previously stated, using yum update without package names is foolish. In couple instance, yum would be stuck in an infinite loop reporting the depenency that a package relied on. If you are stuck in this trap, CTRL+C (you may need to press enter after doing that.) ps -a and if yum is still running, kill it (kill -9 yum).
Durring the upgrade process, yum was hanging. It didn't do anything, even after a couple kill attempts. It was clear something else was holding things up. Fortunately, Rob Greene found a soultion.
From that I composed a new script fix_yum.sh
#!/bin/bash
# File: fix_yum.sh
rm -f /var/lib/rpm/__db*
rpm -vv --rebuilddb
yum
yum clean all
echo "Back in business!"
Some time during the upgrade process, you will need to leave the GUI and go into a text console environment. CTRL+ALT+F1 (or CTRL+ALT+F2, etc.) will cause you to leave the comfort of the GUI. Using text programs like sed and gawk will make browsing through the list of packages easier since you won't have the convienence of the scroll bar.
From this point, use the force, Skywalker.
What I like to do is send a list of what needs to be upgraded to its own file.
yum check-update > updates.txtYou will probably have to to this many times along with this gawk command.
gawk /pattern/'{print $3 " " $1 "\t" $2}' whatigot.txtBecause gawk treats text files as a text database, I decided to move the third column which listed what repo as the first column. You can ommit the thrid and second columns (version number), but the package name ($1) is required. pattern is a pattern. You could use regular expression, but for ease, lets not do that. However, what I did was use ^pattern (a carot as the first character) to look for packages that began with a specify letter or string. You will use this command often and with the same patterns. (a,b,c,...etc).
whatigot.txt was created because we need a file to be use as a text database for gawk. However, gawk may not be all that reliable. You should use cat and head to make sure you don't miss any packages starting with capital letters. Most packages are lower case, and when yum looks for packages, it is generally case-insensitve, where as gawk is case-sensistive.
But if all this sounds tedious and alot of work, there is some good news. You can use regular expression to tell yum to find multiple packages. Generally, you will use the * (asterisk) character. For example, say that package.x86_84, package-devel.noarch, and package-libs.x86_64 need to be updated. You could just update the packages for the x86_64 architecture using
yum update package*.x86_64or you can update them all by name
yum update package*Keep in mind, that yum check-update and yum update will only update the packages that are already on the system.
For the packages that are not on the system, you can try yum list.
A good idea is to save the list to a file.
yum list > packages.txtThen with a little sed you can narrow that list down. Say you want to exclude all the i386 files.
sed -n -e '/\.386'/!p' packages.txt > packages.x86_64.txtNow suppose you do not want to see the new packages from Fedora 8.
sed -n -e '/fc8/!p' packages.x86_64.txt > packages.fc7.x86_64.txtFinally, you just want to see all the installed packages.
sed -n -e '/installed/p' packages.fc7.x86_64.txt > installed.fc7.x86_64.txtOf course, you can also create a list of what is out there, but if you use yum check-update > updates.txt to list all the packages that are currently installed, you will probably want to create a file that will list MOST (some packages may not have fc8 in there name) of the available packages.
sed -n -e '/fc8/p' packages.x86_64.txt > packages.fc8.x86_64.txtNow you can use gawk to list files that you are interested in look at. For example, you can find the packages that being with "php" using
gawk /^php/'{print $3 " " $1 "\t" $2}' packages.fc8.x86_64.txt.In case you wanted to know know many lines (not neccesarly the number of files) that are in the results, you can use
gawk /^php/'{print $3 " " $1 "\t" $2}' packages.fc8.x86_64.txt | wc -l.Hey! You just learned how to use sed and gawk as well as a few other Linux and UNIX commands! Well, at least a few simple commands.
Eventually as updates.txt becomes shorter and shorter (or atleast about 10 packages left or less) the upgrade should be complete.
Hopefully this will work about a month from now when I catch up and use Fedora 9 then eventually Fedora 10.
posted by Bushido Hacks 8/26/2008 10:54:00 AM (0) comments top
20080823
A Dead Distros Party
I can't believe Fedora 7 came to its end of life and I didn't get the memo.Clearly, this was a major mix up in communication.
So right now I'm working on upgrading to Fedora 8, then Fedora 9 since Fedora 8 will die in November when Fedora 10 is released.
I need to sharpen up my Linux skills a little bit.
The good news is that Falko Timme saved me the trouble of having to reinstall everything, for the moment. Because a new distro for Fedora comes out about every six months, Fedora should make their distributions upgradeable like their packages, or atlease be as easy to upgrade as how Timme explained it.
Hopefully, when everything is upgraded, I can then proceed to upgrading to Fedora 9 then eventually Fedora 10.
Timme's method is such a time saver! (Thank you!)
I also want to get Google Earth back up and running on my computer.
From what I can tell, I should also try to avoid kernel version 2.6.25, which may explain why there is a security breach.
Because of the compromize in security, Linux users should exercise caution. Using ClamAV and SELinux may help. (SELinux was a pain to work with, especially with Apache HTTP server.)
I have a feeling that I have some scripts to write this weekend along with some portfollio pages.
Labels: doh, hack, linux, security, software
posted by Bushido Hacks 8/23/2008 07:05:00 PM (0) comments top
20080413
Linux to Blu-Ray: Get It Together!
Now that Blu-Ray has won the battle, it's time for the Blu-Ray Disc Association (BDA) to get with the program.While I admit Blu-Ray is the latest hardware that is on the market in terms of optical disc drives, and that the price is fair for what they are charging for the drives and discs right now, driver support is needed for Linux.
BDA has two options for resolving this issue the hard way or the right way.
While it will still be another years before the average Joe can afford Blu-Ray, there is still time for the BDA to pull its head out of the sand and see that DRM is bad and that there are other operating systems that can demonstrate the full potential of Blu-Ray technology.
BDA is not a corporation but a union between several hardware manufacturer, movie and video game studios, and video retailers. So why act like a monopoly? If they are sharing with other companies, why not with consumers? The only thing that we want is software support. BDA can still make money from hardware, movie sales, and retail revenue. But they can't make money if consumers can't afford to purchase it in the form of Blue-Ray players or video game systems because their members jack up the price for products.
If this is the purpose of the BDA, then the key code has reason to be found and distributed.
Labels: blu-ray, hack, hardware, linux, PS3
posted by Bushido Hacks 4/13/2008 07:36:00 PM (0) comments top
20070502
Digg gets HD-DVD pwn3d!
I used to look up to Kevin Rose back when he was on TechTV, but this news about Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson taking money from the HD-DVD promotions group and the MPAA is like finding out Barry Bonds took steroids.In response to this stab in the back, here's the number that the MPAA tried to censor from public knowlege to crack their crappy overpirced coasters.
09-F9-11-02-9D-74-E3-5B-D8-41-56-C5-63-56-88-C0
Shame on you, Kevin. To hell with you , MPAA.
What numbers will the MPAA try to censor next? pi? e? The speed of light in a vaccum?
UPDATE
Kevin has quickly appologized for today's actions.
Labels: foia, fud, hack, movies, news, physics, rage, shovelware, websites
posted by Bushido Hacks 5/02/2007 12:04:00 AM (0) comments top
20070424
GNU Radio - Click!
I really wanted to come up with a clever title that was a play on Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio", but I just didn't have it in me.With 2007 nearing the midpoint, my self-made computer is nearly complete. All I need now is the memory, a backup power source, a little bit of thermal grease for the processor, and something to patch up that hole in the back where a TV or Graphics card goes.
But since I'm not interested in television, and because I don't play alot of video games to justify shelling $300 for a graphics card, I want to develop an interest in software defined radio (SDR).
It turns out this project will be more challenging that I thought, but I am still eager to find some way to do this project without breaking the budget.
I recently learned that many of the projects I want to do require an industrial level of supplies or components, be it a SDR or an electric generator. An eBay search does not return any results that satisfy my requests.
I spend alot of time working on my computer, but I also want to listen to the radio. Nearly every result returned some form of mediocre FM radio reciever that was part of a TV card. But I want something that listens to AM so I can hear Cardinal games and picks up the FM radio stations that don't play some rap station or top-40/emo crap on five other radio frequencies where my favorite stations are located. I want a radio card that can block out that crap and pick up my Red Birds and Industrial Rock as clear as a bell. Unfortunately, the consumer market appeals to the Lowest Common Denominator. So it looks like I will need to build what I want.
Despite the fact that I did not learn about things like Verlog when I took a computer logic course, I still have the textbook from that class and would like to put it to use. I may need to review my knowledge of assembly language which may be of no use since my new computer is a 64-bit dual-core machine. I'm starting to think that maybe I should have majored in computer engineering rather than computer science considering I have a very limited knowledge about programmable logic arrays (PLAs), but I am willing and open to learn.
Reading the requirement list provided by the GNU Radio website, I really did not want to pay $850 for a hardware device that with the right components can be made for far less. Who ever is running the GNU Radio project obviously is not thinking like a broke college student. Do I really need that many Logic Elements (LEs) for this project? A child can build a radio for a science fair project out of a couple of circuit and a paper clip. These guys are thinking in terms of the most expensive products out there. Altera does have some appealing products that are quite afordable and simple to program. But to place the project cost at $850?! Who's running this project? Kaz Hirai?!
As much as this is an important project, the requirements are full of oversight. I know I can do better at a fraction of the cost!
Labels: diy, hack, hardware, linux, mod, music, radio, science, SDR, software, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 4/24/2007 09:49:00 PM (0) comments top
20061202
PS3 Hacks - Click!
Ken Kutaragi is now sidelined at Sony, but not fired. (Baka-Sony!). If paying $600 for a system burns you up, then so will the device when the Consumer Product Saftey Commission orders it to be recalled becase of defects. (It happened with the PS2 and the PSP. Why not go for a hattrick and fubar this power-sucking--correction, all out sucking--console. I mean, the PS3 uses up electrical power like an American SUV and Gasoline, or Rosie O'Donnell and a Hostess Bakery Thriftstore.So in order to fix these defects the right way, and make this console Japanese again, you should perform a few hacks on the console, of course with expert knowledge.
The PS3 is offered in two forms: Value-Suck ($499/20GB/No WiFi/No Flash Card Readers), and Azathoth ($599/60GB/WiFi/Flash Card Readers). For those who know something about computers, here's a video to replace those dinking hard drives with a 100 GB hard drive you can pick up on eBay.
So much for Ridge Racer.
Wii shall overcome.
posted by Bushido Hacks 12/02/2006 11:51:00 PM (0) comments top
20061127
Book mark everything in this post
For those of you who have found my GCC & GLUT installation instructions extremely helpful, I thank you for your kind words and feed back.Sadily, I do not have the time nor the resources to show examples or syntax of C, C++, or OpenGL.
Fortunately, I have found these resources to be VERY helpful over the break.
- Fred Swartz has a copy of his C++ Notes available on his website. I'll add his page to my list of resources on the tutorial page later.
- Lars Haendel has many example of some advanced programming techniques that are very important if you plan on getting a real job as a computer programmer. His site deals with two topics that most C++ books and professors rarely discuss: Callbacks in C++ and Function Pointers
Other things I've picked up over the holiday include a few cellphone hacks for the RAZR. I was bummed out that I couldn't use that Blackberry I got on eBay. Never the less, I will be a sufficent backup device should my RAZR turn into a brick as I rage against Ma Bell. (Fight the machine! Woooo!)
First off, screw Ma Bell (Cingular) and her $2 ringtones and lack of work tools. According to Stephen Pierzchala in a May 2006 blog entry, the V3 has about as much processing power as one of the first 386 computers. This seems plasable considering that the Texas Instruments TI-83 graphing calculator could have easily replaced the command module on the Apollo spacecraft. I'm interested in doing the same thing to my RAZR that Pierzchala did, only without wiping the firmware. One program that I especially have my eye on is MIDPssh, a terminal emulator for mobile devices. Thus, over the Christmas break, I plan on doing some modding on my RAZR. A couple good RAZR mod sites are MotoModders.net and PlanetMotox.net. Hacker websites like Binary Revolution are also a good source for things that annoy the phone company.
Labels: blackberry, C++, hack, mod, OpenGL, phone, razr, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/27/2006 09:33:00 PM (0) comments top
20061122
BlackBerry + AT&T = Paperweight
I just recently bought a really nice Blackberry from a reputable local vendor on eBay. I figured, a 7100g would be compatible with my service and allow me to spend time my time more productively. Not to mention, organize my life better at a time where I really need this technology.However, there is one problem. In the eyes of Cingular, this device which I paid a pretty penny for is nothing more than a paperweight.
To the vendor who I bought the device from, I appreciate your business and whole heartedly know that you did not know that this device, which I know for a fact went on the market sometime in late 2004 (I mean, so late in 2004, all the copyright information says 2005 on it). The seller and the buyer both lost in this transaction? Why? Because Cingular considers this device "obsolete".
Then I figured "OK, what if I set my phone profile to another Blackberry that Cingular has listed?" As it turns out, all that they had in their database that was compatible with their network either was obsolete or did not support tethering.
Instead of allowing users to access the affordable data services that Blackberry offers, Cingular--or should I say MA BELL a.k.a. AT&T-- has decided to nickel and dime this service not by the megabyte but by the kilobyte. If I am currently being charged $5 per month for 1 MB of downloads using the MediaNet service. That is Half of one cent per kilobyte. As we are romanced by the harpies of entertainment content and are given a greater amount of bandwidth, it is ignorant for AT&T to charge people for the amount of data that customers download. Here they are encouaging consumers to listen to music on their cellphones and telling them they can watch video and TV and listen to FM radio (what about AM?) and they want to squeeze us of every penny. My cousin had to discontinue her phone service when she got a $600 phone bill in her mail for using it too much. On the other hand, I'm being charged over $50 per month, barely speak on the phone, but can't use the phone for what I need it for: DATA!
My BlackBerry is NOT obsolete. AT&T's billing practices are.
AT&T says they are brand new and have changed. The only thing that has changed about them is the use of lowercase letters in their logo. They are the same AT&T that they were in 1984. They have reformed their monopoly but have found loopholes in the government that allow them to rake customers and employees while they get away with spying on people from our own country. Don't tell me "they're doing it to prevent terrorism" because that is a bunch of bullsh*t! If AT&T had done the right thing, they would have tracked who bought or sold their prepaid cellular phones which are nearly impossible to track allowing the REAL terrorists to use them as triggering devices causing incidents like those in Bali, Madrid, and London.
They have used fear to justify their cause and in return we gave them obedience. Why don't they send people to come to our homes take a leak on our backs and tell us that it is rain while they are at it.
I will find a way to use my new phone freely and as the Blackberry people had designed it to be used, whether AT&T wants me to use it like that or not.
It may be their service that I use, but it is MY phone. And I will use it as I wish to use it. Not as some media fun-box, but as a tool for organization as was the original purpose for purchasing it.
Labels: blackberry, hack, phone, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/22/2006 05:30:00 PM (0) comments top
