Connecting an Ipod Touch with VirtualBox in Ubuntu 11.04

Before reading: if you own any normal device like an Android, HP Touchpad, portable media player, you can still use this tutorial for getting youtube videos on it.  All you have to do is disregard all the crap about Itunes.  Just read the Ixconverter.com steps below.  Probably, all you have to do is drag and drop the finished video file into your device when it's plugged into your computer.  Only Apple would make this so dang complicated. :(  Without further adieu...

-------------------

So you've installed and started enjoying Ubuntu 11.04.  No surprise.  Me, too.  But, then you realize that your uncle is going to upgrade his Ipod Touch for no apparent reason and is just going to give you this facist device for free.  Like myself, I wouldn't even turn it down for free!  Problem is (and this is just one of many problems) is that you can't simply drag and drop files like any other device out there.  You have to use Itunes.  And Itunes, being lame, only works in Mac and Windows operating systems.  Well, before you toss out that device, you might want to just use it to watch movies and listen to audio files, or perhaps turn it into a bit of a voip device.  Might as well.  It's free.  Here is how I got a youtube.com video moved over to my Ipod Touch all while using just my Ubuntu 11.04 laptop:

 This is assuming that you have already done the following:

1. Installed Oracle's Virtual Box from the Ubuntu Software Center
2. Configured your permissions in the Ubuntu User Groups to make sure all your USB stuff works (ask me to do another blog on this one if you need)
3. Installed a Windows XP CD (legit copy of course!) into Virtual Box
4. Booted up and installed your favourite browser as well as Itunes
5. Synchonized your Iproduct with Itunes to make sure that part is working well

Now you want to bring some playable (MP4) videos over to your device.  I use youtube.com and convert those files using ixconverter.com to get the right format.  Here's how that looks step by step:

1. Go to youtube.com, right click on the thumbnail image of what you want and click 'copy link addres'

2. Then go to ixconverter.com

4. Then scroll down and paste your youtube link into the ixconvertor.com field.  Make sure that you have set your file format to 'MP4' and then click 'convert' button

5. On the next screen you can click the link that speeds it up, or just wait the 15 seconds.  It will start doing some kind of processing thing and then your file download will begin.  It will download the file to the 'downloads' folder unless you have changed it to something else.  You'll need to know this for one of the next steps

6. Now, in Itunes, you go to 'file' and 'add file to library', open up the file you just downloaded and boom.  You should now be done.  All you have to do next is plug in your device and as long as virtual box recogizes your iproduct via USB then Itunes should just start synchronizing all your files with your device.  Note!  If it's taking a long time it's probably because you haven't used Itunes much so it's doing a massive backup which will take a loong time.  Be patient and don't unplug anything.

Lightening fast way to find 'hosts' (routers, computers, unknown IP addresses) on your Local Area Network (LAN) Using Ubuntu Linux

Hi.

I turned on this computer on my network. This computer doesn't have a monitor nor is it even close to easy to find one and connect it. All I really needed to know was the stupid thing's IP address (or something close so that I could guess). Then I could just slip in the back door using VNC or SSH (or whatever other way you like to connect to a server-like computer).

I knew I had done this before but I had forgotten the simple way I did it. This post is so that I don't forget again and also to help others save a lot of time. I mean... a lot! Here's how it works.

1. Open your terminal

2. type this and get ready to enter your Ubuntu machine's master password:

sudo apt-get install nmap

3. Then, find the IP address for your gateway router (the first router after your modem, or, the actual modem itself it it doubles as a router)(The thing with an antenna if you are still confused..). Some of the common ones are 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.1.1. Mine randomly happens to be 10.100.2.1. Contact your manufacturer of that device if you can't figure it out or google a while.

4. now enter this command and fill in your details:

sudo nmap (add the IP address you found in #3 above here with a wildcard at the end)

example with mine:

sudo nmap 10.100.2.*

That's it. It will take a couple minutes and then produce this fairly detailed report about each IP address it finds.

Hope this helps you.

No Sound Mailbox

After a long hiatus, I tried reconnecting to the trixbox using the e71 through my router etc.  I set up all the ports and I could register all right, but whenever I dialed *97 or *98 or anything ... I got no sound.  Alamak; we're back to the beginning!


After looking through our logs I found something in this:


/etc/asterisk/sip_general_custom.conf

externip=75.123.124.253 

Recently our external IP changed, so I corrected the conf file and it's working again!  I still have no messages.

Turning your android tablet into a free sms receiver and transmitter using Twitter and other social media stuff

Nice long title, eh?

So, I'm walking down the street, except that it wasn't a street, it was an alley. Then I get this killer idea for my coffee shop - "What if people could sms their orders to me?" To make a long story much shorter, sms isn't always the best for the sender or recipient because it costs money (sometimes) and, it does not have any 'cloud-like' options as it's based in the phone usually. What I wanted/needed was a system that would receive an sms (and send reply if necessary) but could be accessed from any kind of internet-ready device anywhere, and perhaps, as a last resort, notify my cell as well.

That's when I realized that Twitter DOES have a reason to exist and I might finally have a reason to figure the thing out!

Twitter has:
-free sms (somehow!) functionality
-all sorts of third party apps (open API)
-a reliable user-base that people seem comfortable using
-does not require sharing personal contact information (like a cell phone number)

Win-win-win-win

Before I explain my setup so far, I should preface that I will also be trying this system out with identi.ca in hopes of making the system more open source and 'free' as in 'freedom'.

My hardware

-a cell phone (connected to my store's Twitter account so the notifications are sent there as SMS)

-The ever-famous IMITO IM7 (don't ask, just click) purchased at Light In the Box (so far so good with customer experience). Here is a link to both: http://www.lightinthebox.com/iMito-iM7-Android-2-1-ARM-11-720MHZ-7-inch--Tablet_p144622.html As a plug, they had SUPER fast delivery and good email response...so far. Go China, go.

-small headphone to normal headphone adaptor (IMITO has that small Nokia size hole)

-amplified computer speakers

My software (on IMITO)

-Android

-Twidroyd (or Tweetcaster) - will update final decision later

-Softlocker Free (makes the device functional when screen shuts off)

-Angry Birds (joking)(kind of)

Pre-set up

-make a custom ringtone notifier MP3 file using Audacity or something like that. Or, at least have a file ready for testing assuming you want a unique notifier for your situation. I've provided information below about how to do custom ringtones.

The Set up (so far)

a) Android Settings

-find wifi connection and connect (settings/wirless and networks/wi-fi settings/
-set up your google android stuff on your IMITO. You might want to do a factory reset. FYI the factory reset seems like it's located in a dumb place (settings/privacy/factory data reset) What does factor resetting have to do with my privacy?

-download apps from app market

-reboot (good habit)

-go into advanced wifi settings and tell it not to sleep ever so that you can always get internet stuff even when the screen is off (even though this isn't enough I did it anyways to be sure):

settings/wireless and networks/wifi settings/ push the hard option key /advanced/wifi sleep policy--->never

-set screen sleep time to whatever works for you. I'm doing mainly audible notifications and then we'll manually turn the device on when we get that so I'm setting mine to a low number to preserve screen. There is probably a way to wake the screen up with notification, but I've not crossed that bridge yet. Set screen sleep settings under:

settings/sound and display / screen timeout (at bottom)

b) specific app settings

TwidRoyd/Tweetcaster
-set refresh rate to lowest settings (or whatever suits your needs)

-under 'ringtones' select something unique from list or get your own. I'm not sure how to do this so more on how to put your custom file in here later. just make it a different sound from other notifications.

*UPDATE!

1. Save yourself LOTS of time and use this tutorial to make some quick audio files:

http://androidforums.com/android-media/890-custom-ringtone-tutorial.html

2. Use this tutorial to load them in your Android device. FYI - All other tutorials and forums failed for me but this one worked perfectly!

http://www.thisandroidlife.com/2009/09/guide-add-custom-ringtones-and-notifications-to-your-htc-hero/

*UPDATE! It seems that Tweetcaster claims a 30second refresh rate but in fact, I couldn't get it to refresh at all. Fail. Not sure why. So, I uninstalled it and installed Twidroyd and although they only have a 1min refresh option but it always seems faster than that and what matters is that it's the first app to actually 'work'!

Making a Dlink DI-524 into a Switch

--------------------------------------------
Edit July 31, 2010, 9pm:

I thought it would be better to rename the shared SSID/Password routers so that they are different so that I could choose which one to connect to depending on where I was in the house. Apparently, though, this sucks bad. I thought it was just for convenience that you would want both your routers spouting out the same SSID, but it turns out that it may also be functional. What happens now is that I can (sometimes) connect to my second-in-line-from-the-modem router wifi but it boots me off after just a short time. I am going to go back to the shared SSID format and see if it fixes it to confirm. Hey... here is a great little forum post on this topic if you ever need: http://www.wirelessforums.org/network-troubleshooting/two-wireless-routers-5078.html

and another cool, simple tutorial for setting up static IPs in a LAN, check this out: http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/static-ip-address.asp

stay tuned for update...

...here comes the update @ 9:30pm:

so far so good! I have a killer strong wifi signal and it's snappy fast. I think all things mentioned above in my edit are true, plus a few more items. here is a summary of what I've learned:

1. keep the same wifi SSID/Password if you are are sharing a wifi network (two routers in the same LAN).

2. make sure the security is also the same (WPA, WEP, etc) (I chose WPA-PSK in both)

3. make sure the two routers are using channels that are at least 5 channels apart from each other (found that in one of the links above). I chose 10 and 2 for my two channels. It will help reduce interference of signal.

4. follow my tutorial below, to change a dlink router into a switch with wifi, but make sure to add steps #1-3 above to step #5.

5. Static IPs vs. just leaving it with DHCP??... stay tuned!

-------------------------------------


So, why it can't just be as easy as these 'ehow' tutorials say it is, I don't know. Anyways, I decided to spare many of you the pain of hours of wasted time if you would like to simply turn an old di-524 into a switch to expand your network. I had to combine a bunch of tutorials and then rewrite them:

1. factory reset your router. It's just easier to start that way. You do that by sticking a pin or small object in that hole in the back, holding it for about 20 seconds, and then releasing. You should see all the lights flash. I think it's not a bad idea to power on and off the unit after this step as well to make sure all is reset. Now your password should be blank and your user name 'admin' in your router settings.

2. Make sure you have yourself isolated in your network. How you do that is just put an ethernet cable into any of the LAN ports in the back of the router and then put the other end in your PC. Make sure any wireless connections are disabled and it would be wise to make sure they are set to not connect again automatically. I'm not sure if this matters too much but in the past this has screwed me up so I make it policy to do this.

3. Next, dial up 192.168.0.1 in your web browser. You'll hit your dlink admin page. It will ask you for user/pass. Enter 'admin' as user and leave the password field blank. You'll fill in a new one shortly so don't worry.

3. Change your IP address of your router. You do that by going to 'home' tab and then click the 'LAN' yellow button on the left. Change it to 192.168.2.1 or, some people recommend 192.168.0.2. I like the first one and it worked so why not try that? the idea here is that we want to make sure we are choosing an IP address that nothing else in your network owns. If you don't know your network, the one I like is usually best. click 'apply' to save those changes. Now it will restart the device and hopefully it will say that you can no longer connect to the device. If that is successful, we'll now navigate to your new router-switch's ip address to change some more settings...

4. pump up some 192.168.2.1 action in your web browser. enter the same user/pass when prompted

5. enable your wifi access point (if you want). It has been told to me that if you leave all the details the same as your other nearby WIFI access point (ssid, channel, wpa, password, etc) that they will work together. I have not had time to confirm this yet so I just tried it anyways. Or, make a new SSID and make sure to use the popular WPA-PSK setting because it is easier to enter a memorable password I find. Save your changes when finished. The device will again boot you out probably. Navigate back to 192.168.2.1 at any time if you find the device being weird.

6. change your admin password for the heck of it. I'm not actually sure if you need to because it seems that once you do my final step you can no longer access the router anyways. Regardless, it is good practice so let's set an admin password. Go to 'advanced' and just enter it at the top there and confirm. It will again boot you out, etc. Again, manually enter your now-favourite URL of 192.168.2.1 if you have any problems.

7. Kill the DHCP settings. Here is the part that wasted all my time. No one mentioned that after you disable your DHCP settings that you will no longer be able to access the device. so, trust me. All this fun admin stuff becomes dead after you do this but you have to do this in order to use the thing as a switch. Here we go: Go to 'home' and then hit the yellow "DHCP" button. At the top, disable the DHCP server thing. Remember, once you hit 'apply' and save your settings here, you'll no longer be able to get into your device without the same hard-reset we did at the beginning with the sharp device in the back. Go ahead. Make my day. Save your settings.

Now that your device has rebooted, you're out of luck if you want to go back in and change anything. Hopefully you took my advice and did all that before step 7. If you failed or your WIFI isn't working right, hard reset your device and then just do the same steps above again. I did it at least 10 times today and it still works! :(

***KEY****

I also wasted TONNES of time by missing a small detail on a tutorial. From now on do NOT plug anything into the WAN port on the back. It's dead. What you have to do is bring the cable from one of your LAN ports of your other working router into the LAN port of your newly switchized di-524. Just plug in any additional devices in and they should all share happily everything.

Now, suddenly, at least the ethernet stuff and internet sharing/networking work great!

I was most impressed with the speed.

Hope this helps you much!

Nothing but the box

Webcams and Ubuntu

Why don't they just work?
Well, some of them do, but not the ones that we had.

We plugged in a Logitech QuickCam in Karmic (9.10) for Skype video calls. Nothing is that easy.

Ok... so drivers. EasyCam seems to not exist anymore, so, so much for it being "easy".

Random Workingness

1. I changed the launcher for Skype :
System -> Preferences -> Main Menu -> Skype (Properties)
Command =

bash -c 'LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype'

That apparently did nothing... UNTIL

2. WT decided to install cheese:

sudo apt-get install cheese

The webcam not only worked then in cheese but also in Skype.

Maybe it was something in the cheese dependencies?

I later found out that part 1 was also important.

The built in webcam on the HP Pavilion DV6000 still does not work.

To be continued...

PAP2 updates

It has been a while since I've posted about my PAP2 connected to our system. There were quite a few hard days (as posted) while I tried to get the thing to register and stay registered. After that post, it was working quite well, but every few days or so it would unpredictably 'go offline'. I would mess around with various settings and it would magically work again for a while - not the best scenario when you are trying to convince your wife that this is the cooler/cheaper alternative to Vonage! :(

I have isolated the problem to ports and ip address changes (DCHP?).

First, whenever it goes offline, to repair it, usually all I have to do is log into the PAP2 gui and change the ports from this:
line1 @ 5060
line 2 @ 5061

to this:
line 1 @5064
line 2 @ 5065

I have also noted that there seems to be a connection between when their are network changes at the location of the asterisk server. It finally dawned on me when I pulled the electrical cable out of the router to reset it at the location where the asterisk server is plugged in. Of course, everything went down, and went back up again, but after that my home PAP2 (connected remotely to this network) would not register anymore and required me to go in and manually do the aforementioned port changes.

My theory is that if I were to purchase a static IP address where the asterisk is located, that this would no longer happen. Would the price of the static IP make it worthwhile? I"m not sure. I haven't priced it. ...