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Monday, 25 November 2013

Smartphones on a Plane? Give me Snakes Instead

Posted on 02:57 by Unknown
On a flight back to Shanghai, I got into a lovely chat with a Shanghainese. Our lively discussion was interrupted by a self-important and thoroughly reprehensible Arabic businessman who refused to close his Excel sheet and Dell laptop despite the courteous cabin crew telling him to fold his tray for descent and landing. The Asian attendants were persistent but helpless at the d-bag.

"Yes, yes just go away," the incredibly arrogant and rude passenger said as he shooed the flight attendants away and resumed talking to his companion. I was sitting one row away and I wanted to slug him several times - and I'm pretty sure everyone on the cabin did too.

When I'm given the opportunity to move around, I enjoy flying. I have no problems with long-haul flights, small seats and airline food. I've been fortunate enough on most of my trips to sit next to genuinely nice people. I keenly recall a Japanese mother apologizing to me for her little boy, who was actually more well-behaved than the snobbish Midwesterner who kept scowling and snorting at everyone.

With all due respect to humanity, you witness the worst side of people when flying on an airplane regardless of race or background. Passengers who can't afford Business Class or First Class are as smug and condescending as frequent fliers. Europeans and Americans are as stupid, selfish, stinky and self-centered as Asians. I regularly read articles about travel on sites such as CNN, Lifehacker, and BBC and many comments involve specific races when readers share their horror stories about hygiene, manners and ignorance. In my humble opinion, everyone devolves into a selfish monster when flying on an airplane or entering an airport. It's like having the money to pay for a ticket and terminal fee gives everyone the right to become dirty, loud, obnoxious animals.

And it gets worst when you give creatures a smartphone.




The proposition of allowing calls on a flight is a distressing idea. I love tech as much as the next guy but there's a time and place for each electronic device. iPads and ereaders? Sure. MP3 players? Bring it on. Netbooks and laptops? Fine. However, a smartphone is NOT one of the devices I want to see being used on a Boeing or Airbus flight. People are bad enough in public with their phones (toilets, theatres, moviehouses, concerts), but allowing people to make phone calls on a flight gives them extra incentive to be d-bags and a-holes like that Arab businessman.

I don't get why people can't wait to make phone calls when they land. Are people so dependent or addicted to using their smartphones that they have to make phone calls immediately before, during and after their flight? Flight passengers just lose all restraint, rationality or discipline when they're holding their smartphones.

I personally dread the day when it's legal to make a phone call during the duration of a flight. Imagine six teenagers screaming in their iPhones with 17 businessmen barking into their Lumia phones and twenty-five bored jocks doing phone sex on their Samsung Galaxy phones during a flight and you would too.
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Saturday, 23 November 2013

EVA Expo in Shanghai, November 2013

Posted on 19:03 by Unknown
My cosplaying Shanghai friend invited me to the EVA Expo, which is on show at the Super Brand Mall, Pudong from November 16 to December 1. My Mandarin is pretty terrible but I'm pretty sure the Chinese name of that popular shopping center means 'I can't afford anything inside that building'. However, since the sun decided to show up and the tourists were out in droves Saturday November 23 (which meant great photo ops of clueless visitors), I found myself web-swinging to Lujiazui with my Sony NEX-3N in tow and in full Peter Parker mode.




You really can't miss Super Brand Mall with the two bulls guarding the front entrance but this time the crowds were taking snaps of the EVA EXPO display. The frontage featured a customized Suzuki sports bike along with an excellent replica of the EVA-001 mecha from the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series. I wasn't sure if most of the parents, kids and passers-by were familiar with the seminal Japanese animated feature. However, many of them had their kids stand in front of the gorgeous and shiny motorbike. What was truly surprising was the number of adults and young women who were as fascinated with the EVA frontage as the manga fans. A security guard kept watch at the popular display and was almost hysterical when a five year-old slipped through the ropes and almost hugged the handblade sporting EVA-001.







After taking a few snaps for J. Jonah Jameson (ahem) I decided to check out the exhibit myself. Unfortunately, my accountant wasn't around to approve a loan for paying for the ticket. Moreover, the lines at 11:45 am stretched to three floors with enthusiasts and dedicated fans holding Nintendo DS, iPhones and smartphones to keep them busy while waiting their turn. The Shanghainese in the queue were unusually patient and I even saw one guy reading a Chinese-translated issue of Mighty Avengers on his iPad. I took the escalator to the 6th floor but a few representatives from NERV prevented me from going to the convention floor - you needed a ticket. However, I have a feeling the convention was extremely well done because fans who rushed inside never came out. I can imagine the thousands of renminbi they were spending to buy EVA memorabilia.






Unlike Japanese fan events in Tokyo or in New York, there were actually very few costumed visitors (cosplayers). Hey, it's Shanghai - wearing Prada and LV is considered casual. I took a hasty snapshot of a couple of lolita-dressed fans and saw one guy who looked like Rayto from Death's Note and another bespectacled lady who resembled the new EVA character from the Rebuild series. I was extremely disappointed there were no Asuka or Rei cosplayers around and then it occurred to me the convention probably hired leggy supermodels that wore authentic costumes that cost more than my groceries for three months.




Hours later, I was watching Sandra Bullock in her underwear in space and kept expecting Angels to appear out of nowhere and destroy the Earth and consume George Clooney.
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Friday, 22 November 2013

Knoppix LiveUSB Basics: Bluetooth and Blueman Part 2

Posted on 16:48 by Unknown
Continued from Knoppix LiveUSB Basics: Bluetooth and Blueman Part 1

Sending Files using the Bluetooth Device Manager

1. Before sending files to a Bluetooth device, configure Local Services by right-clicking the Bluetooth applet and clicking Local Services...





2. On the left panel, click Transfer. Select the Shared Folder and select options for FTP and Object Push.
3. Select a paired device and click Send File on the toolbar.
4. When sending files between the Bluetooth adapter and another device, color bars and the activity indicator will be displayed.




Note: While using the generic Bluetooth adapter with Knoppix and Blueman, I noticed that the adapter could only exchange extremely small files from an Android phone and from a Nokia E63. Transfers were limited to text files and images less than 70KB in size. The issue was caused by the Bluetooth adapter timing out when receiving or sending files midway through the transfer. If you're using a Broadcom Bluetooth adapter, identifiable by running lsusb in LXTerminal, you may need to install the bluez-firmware package using the Synaptic Package Manager. In general, Bluetooth file transfers on Linux machines aren't reliable even on mainstream distributions such as Fedora and openSUSE. Either only receiving files works or only sending files but rarely both with full functionality. 

Multiple Bluetooth adapters


The Bluetooth Device Manager can actually manage more than one Bluetooth device. When you connect a second Bluetooth adapter to the same device, the other Bluetooth adapter will be listed on the Adapter menu.




If you want to switch to the other Bluetooth adapter for specific tasks, click Adapter and select the the device.

Note: A second Bluetooth adapter will actually detect the first and list the device when searching for available Bluetooth devices.
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Thursday, 21 November 2013

Knoppix LiveUSB Basics: Bluetooth and Blueman Part 1

Posted on 03:32 by Unknown
Although Bluetooth has never been as reliable as a wired or RF connection, adding Bluetooth to an old machine is a simple way to extend functionality.
This brief article discusses setting up Bluetooth on an old EEEPC701 with two generic Bluetooth dongles while running a LiveUSB of Knoppix 7.2.

To set up Bluetooth and pair with a device in Knoppix:

1. Boot up to Knoppix. Launch Synaptic Package Manager.
2. Knoppix already includes all the required Bluez packages for Bluetooth, but to add a notification icon on the Panel and to make use of a graphical Bluetooth manager, use Synaptic to search for Blueman. Select Blueman and click Apply.
3. Connect the first Bluetooth dongle to a USB port. To check if the Bluetooth device was detected, launch LXTerminal and run the lsusb command. If the Bluetooth device was detected it will be displayed in the list of USB devices connected.
4. To launch Blueman, click the LXMenu then Preferences. Click Bluetooth Manager. The Blueman applet will appear on the LX Panel.
5. Click the Bluetooth applet to display the Bluetooth Devices window.
6. To change the Bluetooth adapter's visibility and name, click Adapter then Preferences.



7. Click the Search button to detect Bluetooth devices.
8. Click the Add (+) button on the toolbar to add a Bluetooth device.
9. Click the Pair button or right-click then Pair to display the PIN code and pair with your other Bluetooth device. Once paired you can mark the device as a Trusted device by clicking on the star or using the context menu.




Continued in Knoppix LiveUSB Basics: Bluetooth and Blueman Part 2
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Winamp Stories

Posted on 03:20 by Unknown
Winamp is finally giving up the ghost and although I wasn't a regular user of Winamp even way back in the good old days of the Dotcom boom, it's a sad reminder that the world really does move on.

I actually used the less attractive JetAudio MP3 player during the glory days of Napster. However, Winamp was installed everywhere I looked, from computer stores to workstations. It got to the point that whenever I looked at a Windows XP desktop, I was pretty sure Winamp was installed. Fresh Windows OS reinstallations from customers and friends almost always included a trip to Download.com to download the .exe setup file for Winamp. As a testament to Winamp's popularity at the time, free application icon sets downloadable from designers always included a Winamp .ico file. In contrast, I'm not sure anyone creates application icons for iTunes for fear of Apple's legal reprisals.




I realize that Winamp was never a one-trick pony but perhaps the most memorable feature I can recall from the original Winamp releases were the "magnetic" sections you can snap to each other. I dabbled with Shoutcast radio but I never took to it as I have with podcasts today. As a Linux user, I can't help but associate Winamp with Windows. Worst, as an ex-technical support trainer for an AOL company, I can't shake off the feeling that it really could be AOL's mismanagement that doomed Winamp. On the other hand, I can't really imagine Winamp successfully going open source considering there are plenty of better options available such as Amarok, Totem, Banshee and Clementine.

Today's generation will more likely shrug off news of the demise of Winamp but for better or worst, older users will look back at the nascent days of MP3s,  incredibly ridiculous Yahoo! commercials and Winamp with fondness and respect.

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Tuesday, 19 November 2013

WD TV Live and Linux Overview Part 2

Posted on 04:18 by Unknown
Continued from WD TV Live and Linux Overview Part 1




To set up the WDTVLive for NFS and Samba shares:

1. Navigate to the Setup option in the media player user interface.
2. Click Network Settings.
3. On the Network Share Management item, check if Windows Share Server is On.
4. Check if the Workgroup name is the same as the workgroup of your Linux machine.

Note: You can find the workgroup name from the Samba Configuration window in YaST. Click the Identity tab and check the Workgroup or Domain Name.

5. Use the WDTVLive Remote control to scroll to Enable Access to Linux Share Servers. Change the item to On.




6. If you want to access videos, click Videos on the Home Screen. Click the Select Content Source item on the upper right hand corner.
7. Select Network Share.
8. If you want to access the NFS share, click Linux Shares. Select your Linux machine from the list. Allow the media player to detect the shared folders and content. The WD TV Live unfortunately takes a considerable amount of time for newly added, large share folders.




9.  Select the content source and then navigate to the multimedia file.

Note: If you clicked Windows Shares rather than Linux Shares to access Samba/CIFS folders, a username and password will be required to access the files.

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Monday, 18 November 2013

WD TV Live and Linux Overview Part 1

Posted on 03:55 by Unknown
Category: Linux

The WD TV Live media player supports both Linux and Windows shares very well over a fast wireless home network. The user interface of the WD TV Live by default enables Samba/CIFS, which means that if you set up your Windows machine to share files then the WD TV Live will identify the folders immediately. Moreover, a properly configured Samba share in a Linux machine will also be detected.

For this brief overview of setting up Linux shares for streaming movies and music to the WD TV Live, the network is set up with an ASUS DSL-N55U router and an openSUSE 12.2-powered Toshiba NB520.

Note: If a USB storage device is connected to the DSL-N55U's (or any other wireless router) USB port and set up as a Samba share in the router interface, the USB storage device can be accessed by using the Windows Network Share option in the WD TV Live interface.




If you plan to use your Linux machine to stream media to your WD TV Live, you can use either Samba or NFS. In regular use, I didn't see any marked difference in performance whether you're using Samba on a Linux box or NFS on a Linux box. On the other hand, setting up NFS is an excellent option for Linux users over Samba. An extra step is required, however, to make sure that the WD TV Live detects the NFS share.

Note: In general, the WD TV Live is more dependent on the speed of your wireless network (and your wireless router) than the machines providing the media. Although my setup involved a netbook and a previous gen WD TV Live model, TV shows and movies streamed efficiently thanks to the high-end Dual-band router I was using.

To set up a basic NFS share in openSUSE 12.2:

1. Launch YaST.
2. Click NFS Server.

Note: If the NFS server option is not available in YaST, use zypper or the software manager to install the necessary NFS packages first.

3. On the Server Configuration window, select Start.
4. Select Open Port in Firewall. Click Next.



6. Click Add Directory. Select the folders you want to access using WD TV Live.  Click OK.




7. Click Finish.

Continued in WD TV Live and Linux Overview Part 2
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Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (229)
    • ▼  November (19)
      • Smartphones on a Plane? Give me Snakes Instead
      • EVA Expo in Shanghai, November 2013
      • Knoppix LiveUSB Basics: Bluetooth and Blueman Part 2
      • Knoppix LiveUSB Basics: Bluetooth and Blueman Part 1
      • Winamp Stories
      • WD TV Live and Linux Overview Part 2
      • WD TV Live and Linux Overview Part 1
      • Look back: A Few Notes before openSUSE 13.1
      • Creating a Clonezilla image and Samba Part 3
      • Creating a Clonezilla image and Samba Part 2
      • Creating a Clonezilla image and Samba Part 1
      • EEEPC701 + Knoppix 7.2 + Focuswriter = Dedicated W...
      • Not Really a Slax Linux Review
      • OneNote for iPad/iPod Password Change
      • The EEEPC701 and Linux today Part 2: Finding the r...
      • The EEEPC701 and Linux today Part 1: 6 years later
      • Quick Fix: Unetbootin Bootable LiveUSB fails
      • Microsoft Product Placement in Arrow Season One Pa...
      • Use the Toshiba NB520 as powered speakers for your...
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