/dev/fbl

Linux Mint: Turn off military calendar

2012-02-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

To turn off military time in the system tray:

Preferences, Cinnamon Settings, Calendar

Change date format for the panel from:

%a %b %e, %H:%M

To:

%a %b %e, %l:%M

-Tres

Force low quality in Netflix

2012-01-23T00:15:00.004-05:00

Netflix offers an option in your account preferences to permanently set a lower bitrate: https://account.netflix.com/HdToggle

Unfortunately, this applies to all of your streaming devices. If you'd like to throttle back the bandwidth for just once device, read on...

If you have an old computer you'd like to use to watch Netflix Streaming (Watch Now), but the graphics adapter and processor cannot keep up with the HD video, try this using Netflix Silverlight Stream Manager:

Make sure the video is not maximized. Hit "ESC" if it is.
Click the video once (to make sure it has focus)
Simultaneously press: "CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + S"
A pop-up should appear. Click "Manual Selection"
Pick a lower buffer bit rate (the lowest -- 235 -- is still fairly watchable for TV shows, etc)
Click "Apply"
Close out Stream Manager by clicking the X in the top corner.
Seek to a new place in the move that hasn't yet been streamed to active the new bit rate.

This was discovered on an old Gateway I own with a NVIDIA FX 5600 graphics controller, which is incapable of keeping up with the highest value -- 3600.

This process is also helpful for reducing the amount of bandwidth your connection uses, which may be helpful for 3G hotspots, Cable, DSL or Satellite with certain monthly GB cap, or a service provider. Note that on a Macintosh the shortcut is "CTRL + OPTION + SHIFT + S".

Unfortunately, Netflix does not make this setting persistent (if you close out the movie it will reset), so it doesn't work for Windows Media Center, only for the web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc).

Dynamically streaming content based on bit rate is fairly unique to Netflix, so likewise, this seems to be a Netflix only setting, so don't expect other Flash or Silverlight plugins to support this any time soon.

Difference in quality (click to enlarge):

Best Quality

Worst Quality

-Tres

WMC + Netflix = *$&!

2012-01-12T13:55:00.001-05:00

More Netflix + WMC woes...

http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows_entertainment_and_connected_home/f/114/t/94027.aspx

http://www.sevenforums.com/media-center/198778-wmc-freezes-end-netflix-episodes-2.html

http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows_entertainment_and_connected_home/f/25/t/102327.aspx?PageIndex=2

http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows_entertainment_and_connected_home/f/25/t/102176.aspx

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=730&start=40

http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows_entertainment_and_connected_home/f/25/p/102176/545905.aspx#545905

Windows Media Center freezes using the Netflix Plugin at the end of episodes. This is sporadic and hard to troubleshoot.

I've read that Netflix uses the PlayReady features in WMC (Windows Media Center) and deleting the PlayReady cache file can fix many problems.

I've also had some limited success fixing Netflix + WMC errors by clearing my Internet Explorer cache and temporary internet files.

Unfortunately this crash still occurs. The only way to recover is to CTRL + ALT + DEL and force kill Media Center.

I'm Windows 7 x64 on a Dell Zino HD, Silverlight 5 (Developer Release).

Silverlight 4 had this issue as well.

-Tres

Netflix + WMC = Connection Error!?

2011-11-06T22:44:00.001-05:00

Is it a coincidence that Netflix Streaming stopped working in Windows Media Center after the Daylight Saving Time clocks were rolled back? (November 6th 2011).

I called Netflix Support and they said it would need to escalate to Microsoft. They were right. Netflix played just fine in Chrome and IE, just not Windows Media Center. Just in case, I re-installed everything related to Netflix or Silverlight to no avail.

Fortunately, I was able to fix it. This is a really simple fix: Clearing my Internet Explorer cache fixed this on my Win7 x64 machine. I don't use IE for browsing, so I simply deleted all of my Internet Explorer Temporary Internet files. Just doing the cookies would probably also do the trick.

Now, Netflix works again!! I gave Netflix good feedback because it really truly wasn't a problem with their service. Hope this helps others!

-Tres

VirtualBox AGPCPQ.sys

2011-10-18T14:23:00.001-04:00

After trying to restore an old XP dell image to VM using windows deployment services, the computer hangs on a black screen. When booting to safe mode, it appears to hang on "agpcpq.sys". I suspect this is due to a video driver locking up the device on boot.

I'm using VirtualBox so I suspect a "clean reinstall" will do the trick, but I'm persistent to use this image for testing. I also tried all of the applicable recommended work-around from this link. They weren't much of a help either.

Instead, I powered off the VM, changed video memory to 4MB, and now I receive the message "Please wait while Windows prepares to start...". (this took quite a while).

The computer was very sluggish with such little video ram, but eventually responded, avoiding a complete re-install of the app.

Once booted, I installed the VirtualBox Guest Addons, powered off, bumped the video ram back up, and the workstation was booting just fine again.

Worth noting, I also checked "Enable IO APIC" in the System Motherboard options in VirtualBox, incase this helped.

-Tres

2011-10-16T19:28:00.000-04:00

http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2011/10/13/netflix-black-screen-fix/

http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows_entertainment_and_connected_home/f/25/p/102176/545949.aspx#545949

Acrobat Distiller Kernel Mode Print Driver - Windows 7

2011-10-12T11:17:00.002-04:00

This should have been more obvious than it was.

The application was trying to install the distiller driver from Adobe on a Windows 7 machine. Windows 7 blocks Kernel Mode print drivers (apparently they cause blue screens, etc).

Luckilly, I was able to find out the printer name the application was using. In this case it was "Sybase DataWindow PS".

I installed Ghostscript 9.02, which contains a driver that behaves exactly like the Adobe Acrobat Distiller. The driver is located in "C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.02\lib\ghostpdf.inf". It can be installed manually using the Add Printer Wizard, or by using these commands:

REM Install "Sybase DataWindow PS" for generating PDFs
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /dl /n "Sybase DataWindow PS"
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /if /b "Sybase DataWindow PS" /f "%PROGRAMFILES%\gs\gs9.02\lib\ghostpdf.inf" /r "file:" /m "Ghostscript PDF"

The "/q" switch can be added to perform these operations quietly.

-Tres

Trick Windows into using a newer version of Ghostscript

2011-10-12T10:04:00.006-04:00

Background

For an unattended installation of a well known ticketing application, I ran into a application requirement of Ghostscript 7.05 for certain report functionality to work properly.

Unfortunately, GS 7.05 cannot be installed silently due a bug in the installer.

To work-around this, I installed Ghostscript 9.02 using the silent installer switch, but the ticketing software would not generate PDF reports as it was unaware of the new GS version with error "GhostScript version 7.05 is required..."

Steps

To remedy this, we added the registry keys for 7.05, but pointed them to the 9.02 installation directory. This is how we did it (using a batch file):

REM Silent install of Ghostscript 9.02

C:\gs902w32.exe /S

REM Import Ghostscript 7.05 registry hack

regedit.exe /s "C:\gs.reg"

Here are the contents of "gs.reg":

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GNU Ghostscript]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GNU Ghostscript\7.05]
"GS_DLL"="C:\\Program Files\\gs\\gs9.02\\bin\\gsdll32.dll"
"GS_LIB"="C:\\Program Files\\gs\\gs9.02\\bin;C:\\Program Files\\gs\\gs9.02\\lib;C:\\Program Files\\gs\\gs9.02\\fonts"

To perform this same trick with other Ghostscript versions, export the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GPL Ghostscript\, and edit the registry key to reflect your needed version (don't touch GS_DLL or GS_LIB values).

Note that GS 7.05 installed to C:\gs, where GS 9.02 installed to C:\Program Files\GS. This shouldn't affect compatibility. If the application you are using is hard-coded to look in C:\GS, consider this work-around:

Warning, read note above before running this command!!!
mklink /d c:\gs "c:\program files\gs"

-Tres

JSON.php array size 0/1

2011-08-22T15:12:00.001-04:00

If you are experiencing issues using a 3rd party JSON php parser, and your objects are null or your array sizes keep coming back as zero, try this line in php (this is for JSON.php created by @copyright 2005 Michal Migurski) only:

$my_data = str_replace('\\"', '"', $my_data);

$json = new Services_JSON();$json->decode($my_data);

This is due to the JSON parser unable to interpret escaped quotes. This is an excellent encoder and decoder, but this issue caused a few days of grief.

This code is for a legacy system with an outdated version of PHP. Newer versions of PHP should have support for JSON decoding and JSON encoding.

-Tres

Dell Zino HD Remote Standard

2011-08-20T17:27:00.012-04:00

Took me hours and multiple calls to Dell Technical Support to find this information out. The Dell Zino HD uses the following IR standard for the Remote Sensor on the front:

UPD6124A

Here is the PDF specification: http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/nec/UPD6600A.pdf

The support representative said most universal remotes use one of these two standards:

RC5, RECS80

Unfortunately, this causes issues when trying to use a universal remote (example: XBOX 360 Universal Remote) with the Dell Zino HD. A USB External IR sensor is needed to work with most universal remotes. This is very confusing, as both devices list as a standard "Microsoft eHome Infrared Tranciever".

What this means is that no remote -- other than the one that shipped with your device -- will work with your Dell Zino HD! Scroll down to see my work-around.

Since the Dell Zino HD only comes with 4 usb ports, the external sensor may have to be plugged in to the front of the device, which is particularly clumsy looking. (The back two ports on my device are used by HDTV tuner and Wireless Mouse/Keyboard dongle.

If anyone finds an affordable remote that is compatible with the Dell Zino HD front sensor (other than the small Dell remote that ships with the device), please post a reply here!

Update: The on-board IR sensor uses a USB header similar to that inside an optical mouse (pinout is different, wire colors are the same). Getting to it is easy - Do this at your own risk! (1. Release the lid from the back of the Zino, 2. Remove 2 screws. 3. Slide back and lift metal cover from front and drape over back. 4. Disconnect power/sata wire from back of CDROM, slide cdrom out front. 5. Unhook antenna wire from hard drive carrier. 5. Remove 2 screws from hard drive carrier. 6. Slide hard drive carrier back and pull out gently. 7. Disconnect power/sata wire from hard drive. 7. Disconnect power button/led plug. 8. Gently lift clip holding in IR sensor. 9. Disconnect IR sensor USB header from motherboard.)

I took apart my external USB sensor, cut off the repeater wires (the wire leads going to the headphone-style plugs) and switched the wire order.

Here's what the stock dell sensor looks like. Don't pay attention to the plug as it is soldered on. (click to enlarge):

Back ("Wire") Side / Front ("Sensor") Side

Here's a picture of the USB header going to the motherboard. This wire is about 2" long and goes directly from the IR sensor to the motherboard. Using the mouse wire, we can reproduce this plug without destroying the original sensor (click to enlarge):

Here's a picture of the inside of an optical mouse. I used the wires and plug connecting to the inside of the mouse as a plug for the Zino HD's motherboard. Notice the pin order (this may change between manufacturers). (click picture to enlarge).

Example of a standard USB mouse. The white plug is what was used.

*Note: Taking apart the Universal Remote sensor (my external one) wasn't easy as there were no screws holding it together. (Your external IR receiver/tranciever may differ). I compressed the plasic casing in a vice slowly until I could break it apart. Once it was apart, the rest was very self explanatory.

Left-over parts from external USB IR Sensor

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the finalized sensor and cable. I wrapped the small circuit board in black tape as it didn't fit perfectly and didn't want it to short-out on anything. I laid it flat and it just barely fit underneath the hard drive. Make sure the sensor is closest to the IR window. Hopefully someone else will do this same modification to their Dell Zino HD and submit some pictures in the comments!

I now have a working Universal Remote Sensor mounted internally in my Dell Zino HD!

-Tres

Excel Add-In Script

2011-06-23T09:17:00.001-04:00

This was originally created to register the iSeries Client Access Add-In with a workstation, although it could be used for other Add-Ins as well, just replace the "path" variable.

This assumes the Add-In is a 32-bit Add-In. Not sure how this will behave with 64-bit Office, so please post your success or modifications.

To use, just save this as "Register Excel Add-In.vbs" and double-click. To suppress dialogs, run from command line with "cscript.exe".

-Tres

' Registers an Excel Plugin.
' Note: Run this script with cscript.exe to suppress dialogs
' Created 2/17/2011, Tres Finocchiaro
' Updated 6/21/2011, Tres Finocchiaro (64bit support, Reinstall support)
Option Explicit
' Uncomment this next line to suppress error messages
'On Error Resume Next
Dim xl, addin, shell, path, i, a, dll, is64, path32, path64
' The path of the plugin. This is safe to change
path = "%PROGRAMFILES%\IBM\Client Access\Shared\cwbtfxla.xll"
Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
path32 = shell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%PROGRAMFILES%")
path64 = shell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%")
If (path64 <> "%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%" AND path64 <> "") Then
path = Replace(path, "%PROGRAMFILES%", path64)
Else
path = Replace(path, "%PROGRAMFILES%", path32)
End If
' Only register plugin if the file exists
If (CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject").FileExists(path)) Then
Set xl = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
xl.DisplayAlerts = False
xl.Visible = False
xl.UserControl = False
xl.Workbooks.Add

' Try to remove any old versions of the add-in
a = Split(path,"\")
dll = a(UBound(a))
For i = 1 To xl.Addins.Count
Set addin = xl.Addins.item(i)
If addin.Name = dll Then
addin.Installed = False
WScript.Echo "Excel add-in successfully uninstalled:" & vbNewLine & vbTab & CHR(34) & path & CHR(34)
End If
Next

' Add the new version
Set addin = xl.AddIns.Add(path, True)
addin.Installed = True
WScript.Echo "Excel add-in successfully installed:" & vbNewLine & vbTab & CHR(34) & path & CHR(34)
xl.Quit
Set xl = Nothing
Set addin = Nothing
Set shell = Nothing
End If

TimeWarner DVR JBoss?

2011-05-14T09:58:00.002-04:00

Saw this error message when trying to use a new "Manage My DVR" option on the Time Warner site. Thought it was interesting in terms of what Java APIs/resources they're using under the covers of their web page.

RDVR Exception: Unexpected Error java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native thread at java.lang.Thread.start0(Native Method) at java.lang.Thread.start(Thread.java:597) at org.jacorb.poa.RequestController.configure(RequestController.java:126) at org.jacorb.poa.POA.configure(POA.java:277) at org.jacorb.orb.ORB.getRootPOA(ORB.java:986) at org.jacorb.orb.ORB.resolve_initial_references(ORB.java:1258) at com.mystrotv.core.ccf.component.CORBAProtocol.initializeRootPOA(CORBAProtocol.java:597) at com.mystrotv.core.ccf.component.CORBAProtocol.init(CORBAProtocol.java:168) at com.twc.atgw.server.ws.core.BaseWebService.initCorbaProtocol(BaseWebService.java:163) at com.twc.atgw.server.ws.core.BaseWebService.(BaseWebService.java:102) at com.twc.atgw.server.ws.customer.CustomerImpl.(CustomerImpl.java:71) at sun.reflect.GeneratedConstructorAccessor277.newInstance(Unknown Source) at sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:27) at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:513) at java.lang.Class.newInstance0(Class.java:355) at java.lang.Class.newInstance(Class.java:308) at org.jboss.ejb3.EJBContainer.construct(EJBContainer.java:834) at org.jboss.ejb3.stateless.StatelessContainer.createBeanContext(StatelessContainer.java:120) at org.jboss.ejb3.pool.AbstractPool.createBeanContext(AbstractPool.java:105) at org.jboss.ejb3.pool.AbstractPool.create(AbstractPool.java:79) at org.jboss.ejb3.InfinitePool.get(InfinitePool.java:56) at org.jboss.ejb3.InfinitePool.get(InfinitePool.java:51) at org.jboss.ejb3.pool.ThreadlocalPool.create(ThreadlocalPool.java:53) at org.jboss.ejb3.pool.ThreadlocalPool.get(ThreadlocalPool.java:93) at org.jboss.ejb3.stateless.StatelessInstanceInterceptor.invoke(StatelessInstanceInterceptor.java:58) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.aspects.tx.TxPolicy.invokeInOurTx(TxPolicy.java:79) at org.jboss.aspects.tx.TxInterceptor$Required.invoke(TxInterceptor.java:190) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.aspects.tx.TxPropagationInterceptor.invoke(TxPropagationInterceptor.java:76) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.ejb3.tx.NullInterceptor.invoke(NullInterceptor.java:42) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.ejb3.security.Ejb3AuthenticationInterceptorv2.invoke(Ejb3AuthenticationInterceptorv2.java:186) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.ejb3.ENCPropagationInterceptor.invoke(ENCPropagationInterceptor.java:41) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.ejb3.BlockContainerShutdownInterceptor.invoke(BlockContainerShutdownInterceptor.java:67) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.aspects.currentinvocation.CurrentInvocationInterceptor.invoke(CurrentInvocationInterceptor.java:67) at org.jboss.aop.joinpoint.MethodInvocation.invokeNext(MethodInvocation.java:102) at org.jboss.ejb3.stateless.StatelessContainer.localInvoke(StatelessContainer.java:306) at org.jboss.ejb3.stateless.StatelessContainer.invokeEndpoint(StatelessContainer.java:662) at org.jboss.webservices.integration.invocation.InvocationHandlerEJB3.invoke(InvocationHandlerEJB3.java:123) at org.jboss.ws.core.server.ServiceEndpointInvoker.invoke(ServiceEndpointInvoker.java:222) at org.jboss.wsf.stack.jbws.RequestHandlerImpl.processRequest(RequestHandlerImpl.java:468) at org.jboss.wsf.stack.jbws.RequestHandlerImpl.handleRequest(RequestHandlerImpl.java:294) at org.jboss.wsf.stack.jbws.RequestHandlerImpl.doPost(RequestHandlerImpl.java:204) at org.jboss.wsf.stack.jbws.RequestHandlerImpl.handleHttpRequest(RequestHandlerImpl.java:130) at org.jboss.wsf.common.servlet.AbstractEndpointServlet.service(AbstractEndpointServlet.java:87) at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717) at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290) at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) at org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:96) at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235) at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:235) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191) at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityAssociationValve.invoke(SecurityAssociationValve.java:190) at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.JaccContextValve.invoke(JaccContextValve.java:92) at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.process(SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.java:126) at org.jboss.web.tomcat.security.SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.invoke(SecurityContextEstablishmentValve.java:70) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:127) at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102) at org.jboss.web.tomcat.service.jca.CachedConnectionValve.invoke(CachedConnectionValve.java:158) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109) at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:330) at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:829) at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:598) at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447) at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)

TicketMaster Hires Icon For Windows

2011-05-06T09:52:00.001-04:00

In working on a VM launcher for the TicketMaster Archtics application, I made the following icon:

The VMWare View Client 4.6 is what was used to make the launcher. Here's the command I'm using:

"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Client\bin\wswc.exe" -serverURL MY_SERVER -logInAsCurrentUser true -desktopName MY_DESKTOP

Click image to download [picpanda.com]:

*Note: the "TM" and "TICKETMASTER" logos are copyright Ticketmaster/Live Nation. The artwork above was reproduced by me using Gimp Image Manipulation Program.

-Tres

Change Security Certificate jZebra

2011-04-05T20:45:00.003-04:00

Open command prompt (Assumes Windows 7)
Type:
> cd %PROGRAMFILES%\Java\jdk1*\bin
Type:
> keytool -import -alias myalias -file %USERPROFILE%\Documents\mycert.cer -keystore %USERPROFILE%\Documents\mykeystore.ks
Since the keystore doesn't yet exist, it will be created, and you will be prompted for a keystore password; type whatever password you want. This will later be entered into NetBeans. For the purposes of this tutorial we will use password of "randomaccess123".
Copy mykeystore.ks to the root of your jZebra project folder (probably %USERPROFILE%\Documents\NetBeansProjects\jZebra)
If not already, open NetBeans (Version 6.8+). Make sure Java Web Start is enabled in project properties.
Navigate to Files in upper left (if hidden, CTRL + 2)
Expand nbproject folder. Double click jnlp-impl.xml.
Scroll to the section that says "" (Alternately, you can CTRL+F to search for "tres")
Change <property name="jnlp.signjar.keystore" value="${basedir}/jzebra.ks"/> to <property name="jnlp.signjar.keystore" value="${basedir}/mykeystore.ks"/>
Change <property name="jnlp.signjar.storepass" value="**********"/> to <property name="jnlp.signjar.storepass" value="randomaccess123"/>
Change <property name="jnlp.signjar.keypass" value="**********"/> to <property name="jnlp.signjar.storepass" value="randomaccess123"/>
Change <property name="jnlp.signjar.alias" value="jzebra"/> to <property name="jnlp.signjar.alias" value="myalias"/>
Note #1: If prompted for two passwords, I'm not sure exactly which is which, since the tutorial only addresses one of them. This will need clarification.
Note #2: Jarsigner.exe should not be called directly, as a version of it is included in javawebstart.anttasks.SignJarsTask (NetBeans uses it for Java Web Start, we are exploiting it's Jar Signing capabilities)
Note #3: Verification for clients: The keytool command will print out the certificate information and ask you to verify it, for example, by comparing the displayed certificate fingerprints with those obtained from another (trusted) source of information. For example, customers might call up MyCompany and ask what the fingerprints should be. You can get the fingerprints of the mycert.cer file by executing the command: > cd %PROGRAMFILES%\Java\jdk1*\bin
> keytool -printcert -file %USERPROFILE%\Documents\mycert.cer
Note #4: At some point Oracle made a change to the keytool command. It seems JDK 1.6.x uses "keytool -importcert" instead of JDK 1.5.x "keytool -import". The tutorial version should be backwards compatible. This will need clarification.

SuperTuxKart inside VirtualBox

2011-03-15T23:20:00.003-04:00

For those with a working VirtualBox install and OpenGL enabled, "supertuxkart" works very well with VirtualBox 3D acceleration! The exception being, for some users, the mouse movement behaves incorrectly (the menus continuously move and gameplay turns to the left and won't let you steer).

This is how you fix it quickly: (Ubuntu as a VirtualBox Guest)

Open "input.xml" with a text editor:
$ gedit ~/.config/supertuxkart/input.xml
Disable "VirtualBox USB Tablet":
<gamepad name ="VirtualBox USB Tablet" enabled="true">
Change to:
<gamepad name ="VirtualBox USB Tablet" enabled="false">
Save the file and re-launch the game.
If the game cannot be closed, close it manually using "pkill":
$ pkill -9 supertuxkart

This simply disables the VirtualBox USB Tablet. The tablet emulator for VirtualBox causes the game to be unplayable. This setting can be changed in-game through "Options, Controls, USB Tablet, Disable", but unfortunately the mouse behavior makes this impossible with USB Tablet enabled. Directly modifying the XML file will work-around this issue.

Note, for KDE users, replace "gedit" in the above command with "kate".

-Tres

jZebra - Cut Paper on a Citizen CT-S2000

2010-12-03T18:41:00.005-05:00

Tres,

I am using [jZebra] with a Citizen CT-S2000 [for raw printing]. I changed the name from Zebra to the printer name and was able to print out the text; however the paper will not automatically cut off the receipt like it normally would after printing is complete. I have found the .pdf file on printing from the Citizen website but I don’t fully understand what I am doing here. Below is the page with the code to cut off the printer.

I tried this
                applet.append("bottom is here \n\r");
                applet.append("<1B>H<69>H");
and this
                applet.append("bottom is here \n\r");
                applet.append("ESC m");
and had no luck with either. Any suggestions on how to make this cut?
Thanks,
Ben

[Excerpt from PDF]
ESC m
[Function]     Partial cutting of paper

[Code]       <1B>H<6D>H

[Outline]      Executes partial cutting of paper.

[Caution]     • This command only works it is entered at the beginning of a line.
• Before cutting paper, feed the paper more than the cutting position of paper fromç
the print position. Without this paper feeding, the character just after printingç
remains before the cutter.

[Sample Program]
     LPRINT "AAAAA";
     LPRINT CHR$(&H1B);"J";
     LPRINT CHR$(150);
     LPRINT CHR$(&H1B);"m";

Ben,

I'd suggest using the following logic:

For example: [Code] <1B>H<6D>H

// Send Byte <1B> to printer
document.jZebra.append("\x1B");

// Send Byte <6D> to printer

document.jZebra.append("\x6D");

Alternately, you can put it all in one command:
document.jZebra.append("\x1B\x6D");

However, the hex "1B" is actually the ASCII "ESCAPE", which is a special character and common for raw printing.The hex "6D" is lowercase "m" and is not a special character. It took me a while to figure out that the Citizen documentation appears to put the letter "H" after hex values. This is immensely confusing to read. So, in plain English, you need to send "ESCAPE + m", which is exactly the page title of Page 70 in the Command Reference for your printer.
document.jZebra.append("\x1Bm"); // -- OR -- document.jZebra.append("\x1B"); document.jZebra.append("m");

// The "char" value of escape should be 27:
document.jZebra.append(String.fromCharCode(27) + "m");

*Note: Typically these commands are followed with a "\r" or "\r\n", which would be something like this:
document.jZebra.append("\x1Bm\r\n");

The reason I've provided so many examples is because JavaScript offers more than one method for sending these special characters (or byte sequences) of data, but it is almost always different than the programmers guide, as the programmers guides have never been written for direct use through a web applet.

Furthermore, most printer manufacturers offer phone support for figuring out these commands, as each programming language will have a completely different syntax.

-Tres

Java Applet CP-1252 Linux

2010-11-30T22:17:00.009-05:00

Update: 1/7/2011

My solution is right in the JavaDoc. I take in a bunch of bytes, but never specify what format their in. Java makes an assumption of what format they're in depending on the platform.

Even worse, I initialize the SimpleDoc(rawCmds.getBytes(), docFlavor, docAttr); without specifying what format the Bytes were in. This needed to change to new SimpleDoc(rawCmds..getBytes(charset), docFlavor, docAttr);

This article lead me to it...

My solution will be simply to use the String function that accepts the "CharSet" option and force US-ASCII and convert bytes using the same charset variable.

EDIT: force "Cp1252"

-Tres

I was asked the following question via email:

Mr. Tres,

.. I need your help to solve this: jZebra seems doesnt have ability to print-out extended ASCII (char 129-255) in Linux - but, it's OK in Windows. I guess, that jZebra is working only in ISO-8859-1 character encoding which supported by Windows OS only - while Linux using UTF-8 character encoding. If I print vertikal line using extended ASCII character, jZebra will raise weird character on paper. So, how to solve it?

 ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
 ³ RINCIAN KARAKTER ANEH YANG SEHARUSNYA TIDAK ANEH ³
 ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

    ÕÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ¸
    ³ NO. ³ KODE ASCII ³ TAMPILAN ³ KETERANGAN ³
    ÃÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
    ³   1 ³     179    ³     ³    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   2 ³     218    ³     Ú    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   3 ³     191    ³     ¿    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   4 ³     194    ³     Â    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   5 ³     195    ³     Ã    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   6 ³     180    ³     ´    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   7 ³     197    ³     Å    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   8 ³     192    ³     À    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³   9 ³     217    ³     Ù    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ³  10 ³     193    ³     Á    ³  BISA KOQ  ³
    ÃÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
    ³     K E S I M P U L A N     ³  M U L U S ³

ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Here's my long winded answer:

Eko,

It took me a few hours to investigate, but in short, you are not using ISO-8859-1 encoding (If you look up the chart, your characters do not appear on ISO-8859-1). You are actually using CP-1252, which is often mistaken for ISO-8859-1.

Since Linux Kernel 2.6.x, it seems the handling of CP-1252 characters has changed. It looks like there may be a command line setting that may fix it based on the linked article. I'd be happy to issue this command via jZebra parameter if you can prove to me that it works.

As far as Java's default encoding is concerned, it's platform dependent. Conservatively, one would need to specify -Dfile.encoding=Cp1252at the command line, but of course that is not available via the web browser.

The best recommendation I could find was from Edward Grech (taken from JVM™ Tool Interface) where he recommends creating an ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE called "JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS" and set it to "-Dfile.encoding=Cp1252", which the JVM should pick up each time it is started.

Last but not least, you can try to use unicode values directly from the CP1252 chart instead of allowing converting it in the browser.

-Tres

Some Additional Information (copied from their respective sites):

CP-1252

Windows-1252 or CP-1252 is a character encoding of the Latin alphabet, used by default in the legacy components of Microsoft Windows in English and some other Western languages.

It is very common to mislabel Windows-1252 text data with the charset label ISO-8859-1. Many web browsers and e-mail clients treat the MIME charset ISO-8859-1 as Windows-1252 characters in order to accommodate such mislabeling but it is not standard behaviour and care should be taken to avoid generating these characters in ISO-8859-1 labeled content. However, the draft HTML 5 specification requires that documents advertised as ISO-8859-1 actually be parsed with the Windows-1252 encoding.[1]

LINUX + CMAP

The character 0xA1 in cp437 is an accented vowel which is not correct for this code in latin1. So cmap is informing the console

driver to react as if the character request were for 0xAD. The console driver goes into the unimap (straight-to-font) and reads the unicode at position 0xAD. This happens to be U+00a1, the inverted exclamation mark. Next stop is the font where the glyph for U+00a1 has to be picked up. In the end, we had a request for 0xA1 but we did not get the character at that position in cp437, we got the inverted exclamation mark for the position 0xA1 in latin1. Our cp437 is behaving like a latin1 font thank to the cmap.

JAVA DEFAULT ENCODING

Since the command-line cannot always be accessed or modified, for example in embedded VMs or simply VMs launched deep within scripts, a JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS variable is provided so that agents may be launched in these cases.

By setting the (Windows) environment variable JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS to -Dfile.encoding=UTF8, the (Java) System property will be set automatically every time a JVM is started. You will know that the parameter has been picked up because the following message will be posted to System.err: Picked up JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS: -Dfile.encoding=UTF8

-Tres

Eko,

How are you? I spent some more time on this, and I think I figured it out. I'm pretty certain it's character encoding and I think I found a way to overwrite it. The approach was to force UTF-8 encoding in windows to produce the same results that were seen in Linux.

jZebra 1.0.9 and higher

//applet.setEncoding("UTF-8");

applet.setEncoding("Cp1252");

applet.append("\xDA");

applet.append(String.fromCharCode(218));

applet.append(chr(218));

Essentially, I'm re-encoding each time string data is passed. This seems to work for single characters when viewing the output print files in DOS. Swinging to UTF-8 breaks the data similar to what is seen in Linux.

I've updated the software to version 1.0.9 and it is available for immediate download on the jZebra site.

I hope this works!!!!

-Tres

Configure Synergy Client for Ubuntu 10.10

2010-10-25T11:54:00.006-04:00

Background:

Synergy shares the mouse/keyboard (similar to a KVM) across the network. Due to difficulties using Windows7 as a Synergy client, I've moved my synergy server to Windows7 and set my Ubuntu 10.10 system up as the client. This is now working great, but there were a few "gotchas" along the way.

Synergy on Linux does not come bundled with GUI tools for configuring it. Synergy's site recommends setting up a "synergy.conf" file that is intimidating and prone to typos.

This tutorial will simplify the setup for sharing, or "Remote Controlling" an Ubuntu 10.10 desktop from a Windows7 desktop via network connection quickly and easily.

Synergy seems to work best with Windows7 if run as Administrator. This can be changed in the shortcut properties for Synergy. Others have had success modifying group policy settings instead (advanced users only).

Additionally, some considerations outside the scope of this tutorial were made for running Synergy between two different networks (routed) for reference, they are here.

Steps:

Install and configure Synergy Server on Windows7 (or XP, etc). Here's a visual walk-through [youtube]. Fast forward to 2:30. The synergy site also has an excellent tutorial on this.
Install Synergy through Applications, Ubuntu Software Center. Optionally, you may install it through the command line:
sudo apt-get install synergy
*Note: If you Ubuntu Software Center and apt-get both fail to install Synergy, try downloading the software manually. Most installations will use "i686.DEB" version.
Install QuickSynergy through Applications, Ubuntu Software Center. Optionally, you may install it through the command line:
sudo apt-get install quicksynergy
*Note: If you Ubuntu Software Center and apt-get both fail to install QuickSynergy, try downloading the software manually. This is not recommended for QuickSynergy, as it requires extracting and installing manually.
Launch QuickSynergy from Applications, Accessories, QuickSynergy
Click "Use" tab
Fill out the Server hostname/IP address and Screen name as configured on the server (In this case, Windows7)
Click "Execute" button.
To make Synergy auto-start, navigate to System, Preferences, Startup Applications
Click "Add"
For name, put "SynergyC"
For command put:
synergyc 192.168.1.104
*Note: "192.168.1.104" is the IP address of Windows7 Synergy Server
For comment, put "Synergy Client Startup Application"
Reboot computer to test settings

Persistent Route Ubuntu 10.10

2010-10-25T10:59:00.006-04:00

Background:

This may seem obvious to some, but Ubuntu has built-in support for adding static network routes.

This is useful when a connection to a secondary network requires a different gateway than the one normally used to access the internet.

In windows, this is done through the "route -p" command, but the same command doesn't work for Ubuntu Linux.

Originally, I found a temporary solution. I would not recommend this method as a permanent solution.

sudo route add -net 10.8.0.0/16 gw 10.7.1.1 dev eth0

The problem with this method is settings are lost after restarting the network.

Other tutorials mention changes to /etc/network/interfaces. I would not recommend this method for Ubuntu Desktop as the syntax seems to have changed between tutorials.

The best solution I have found is through the built-in Network Connection dialogs for Ubuntu/Gnome desktop.

Steps:

System, Preferences, Network Connections
Click "Auto (eth0)" and click "Edit"
*Note: This may be "eth1", "wlan0", etc depending on your connection
Click "IPv4 Settings"
At the bottom right, click "Routes"
Click "Add"
Type your route settings into the table. In this case, we're sending all "10.8" traffic over the "10.7.1.1" gateway.
*Note: For "192.168" networks, the subnet mask will likely be "255.255.255.0", so make sure to adjust the subnet mask accordingly.
Click "Ok"
Click "Apply"
Click "Close"
Optionally, reboot computer and ping a known good address to test if settings were persistent.

-Tres

WAKE-ON-VNC

2010-10-14T20:59:00.004-04:00

This is a small script I made to send a WAKE ON LAN message to a computer, then VNC into it. It could be easily modified to use RDP, or other remote access/remote desktop applications. I use it for a PC connected to a projector that is out-of-reach.

For this script, I used mc-wol.exe, and UltraVNC Viewer/UltraVNC Server. For installing and configuring VNC, please use UltraVNC's site, or Google it. : )

To open CMD and run "cscript.exe wake-on-lan.vbs"

wake-on-lan.vbs

Option Explicit

'==============================================================================
' WAKE-ON-VNC
'==============================================================================
'Sends WOL message to specified MAC, then launches VNC
'Created: 2010-10-13, A. Tres Finocchiaro
'License: GPL 3.0+

Dim timeout, mac, host, shell, vnc, pwd, hst, vncwait
Set shell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

'==============================================================================
' SAFE TO CHANGE BELOW THIS LINE
'==============================================================================
timeout = 180 'IN SECONDS
vncwait = 10 'IN SECONDS
mac = "00:88:77:44:33:77" 'MAC ADDRESS
host = "remote_pc" 'IP ADDRESS/HOSTNAME
vnc = "%PROGRAMFILES%\UltraVNC\vncviewer.exe" 'PATH TO VNCVIEWER
pwd = "password1" 'VNC PASSWORD
'==============================================================================
' DO NOT CHANGE BELOW THIS LINE
'==============================================================================

WScript.Timeout = timeout
hst = CHR(34) & host & CHR(34)
WScript.Echo "======================================================================="
WScript.Echo " WAKE-ON-VNC"
WScript.Echo "======================================================================="
WScript.Echo vbCrLf & "Starting script for host " & hst & " (" & mac & ") ..."
WScript.Echo " Note: This script will timeout in " & timeout & " seconds"

If (doPing()) Then
WScript.Echo vbCrLf & "Host " & hst & " is already pingable. Trying VNC..."
doVnc()
WScript.Quit(1)
End If

shell.run "mc-wol.exe " & mac
If (Not doPing()) Then
WScript.Echo vbCrLf & "Will attempt to ping host until it is reached..."
While (Not doPing())
WScript.Echo " Trying to ping " & hst & "..."
WScript.Sleep 1000 'Wait 1 second before trying again
Wend
End If

WScript.Echo vbCrLF & "Ping succeeded for host " & hst & "!"
WScript.Echo " Waiting " & vncwait & " seconds for vncserver to start..."
WScript.Sleep vncwait * 1000

doVnc()

Function doVnc()
shell.run CHR(34) + vnc + CHR(34) & " " & host & " /password " & pwd & " /fullscreen /notoolbar"
End Function

Function doPing()
   Dim ping, status
   Set ping = GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}").ExecQuery _
   ("select * from Win32_PingStatus where address = '" & host & "'")

   For Each status In ping
   If IsNull(status.StatusCode) or status.StatusCode<>0 Then
   doPing = False
   Else
doPing = True
   End If
   Next
End Function

WScript.Quit(0)

-Tres

Convert Windows 2003 From Dynamic Disk Back to Standard Disk

2010-10-04T14:43:00.001-04:00

CAUTION: ONLY DO THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T EXTENDED YOUR DISK YET. DO AT YOUR OWN RISK, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR ENTIRE DRIVE. DON'T TRY ON ENCRYPTED DISKS.

I did this so that I could resize a partition using GParted after resizing a VirtualBox disk manually.

If you're not using VirtualBox, skip this part:

Firstly create a new vdi, under ~/.VirtualBox/HardDisks
#VBoxManage createhd -filename new.vdi --size 10000 --remember
#VBoxManage clonehd old.vdi new.vdi --existing

First, try following Microsoft's Instructions here and immediatley scroll to WORKAROUND section. Service Pack 2 Tools for 2003 can be found here. The tool may behave a little differently than the article suggests. If so, try this:

Run "dskprobe.exe"
Click the "+" next to physical volumes
Right click physical drive 0, Click "Open Handle"
Right click physical drive 0, Click "Read Sectors".
Starting sector: 0
Number of sectors: 48
Click READ
In the editor, find the 01C0 line. In this line, the third pair of numbers on the right is 42. Change 42 to 07. (Zero, Seven)
Note On some computers, 42 may appear on the 01D0 line.
Right click physical drive 0, Click "Write Sectors"
Starting sector: 0
Number of sectors: 48
Close dskprobe.exe
Optionally, you can now use an Ubuntu Live CD to resize your NTFS partition.

Extend Data Volume XP 2003

Gparted tells me it can't resize windows dynamic disks

Kludget Framework - WirelessSignal Widget

2010-08-29T01:23:00.004-04:00

Kludget is a widget framework that's compatible with the OS X dashboard widget format.

This is a widget I wrote called "WirelessSignal" and is designed to represent a WiFi card's signal strength in bars. The "rings" idea was adopted from Justin Pulsipher's "System Dashboard - Wireless Meter".

WirelessSignal - Preview

The widget is tested on Windows XP, Window 7, Ubuntu 10.04 (should work on Mac with some small changes).

How is WirelessSignal percentage determined?

The signal on XP is determined by a vbscript "signal_xp.vbs", which returns the -dBm signal of the first detected wireless card. Then the -dBm is run through a linear conversion to determine percentage.
The signal on Windows 7 is determined by the command "netsh wlan show interfaces", which calculates and returns its own percentage.
The signal on Ubuntu is determined by calling the command "/sbin/iwconfig", then using the same linear conversion as XP.
The signal on OS X is determined by calling the command "/System/Library/... .../Resources/airport", then using the same linear conversion as XP.

How is WirelessSignal on resources?

On Windows XP, due to the resources needed to call "cscript.exe", the widget spikes at about 9%. Recommendations to fix this are welcome. The update frequency can be tweaked to minimize system impact.

What configuration options are available for WirelessSignal?

2 display styles: Rings or Bars
5 size options: Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge
Custom font color, custom font size
Simulation/demonstration mode
Update interval in milliseconds, i.e. 2500

WirelessSignal - Configuration Options

What license is the widget released under?

GPL 3.0+

What license is the SVG artwork released under?

Create Commons Universal - Public Domain

How do I install WirelessSignal?

Download and install version 0.9.9 (or higher) of the Kludget Widget Framework from http://www.kludgets.com/download
Run the Kludget framework.

If you receive an error message “kludgets engine failed to start”, make sure the latest Visual C++ Runtime is installed from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9b2da534-3e03-4391-8a4d-074b9f2bc1bf

Right click the Kludget icon in the system tray, Open Widget Package.
Browse to WirelessSignal.zip and click open. (widget zip file available upon request)
If WirelessSignal.zip is named “WirelssSignal_2.0.0.zip”, rename to “WirelessSignal.zip” before opening. It will not work with the incorrect name.

-Tres

Wireless Strength Icon

2010-08-26T15:21:00.001-04:00

Click the image to download the SVG Inkscape file containing some wireless signal strength art. This artwork is released Creative Commons CC0 license.

(Looking for image hosting, will post SVG shortly).

Steps to use and modify this graphic:

Download the above graphic to your computer.
Download and install Inkscape
Click File --> Open and select the SVG
Click the Mouse tool in the upper left corner
Click on a colored bar
Right click --> Fill and Stroke
At bottom, change Opacity to 100%.
Under linear gradient, select the desired color for the bar
File --> Save As --> Optimized SVG for use on the web or in your applications.

-Tres

Yahoo! Widgets - systemDashboard - Wireless meter

2010-08-10T15:30:00.002-04:00

Update 8/31/2010: I've written my own GPL version of this widget here:

http://fatbuttlarry.blogspot.com/2010/08/kludget-framework-wirelesssignal-widget.html

I've had a hard time hunting down the license for Yahoo! Widgets to use in my organization. The best license I could find for Yahoo! Widgets is the Konfabulator license, which is what Yahoo! Widgets was called originally.

The widget we would like to use is systemDashboard - Wireless meter. This has a nice transparent wireless signal reading in the form of circles, or rings that looks very polished.

The point of this post is to have a place you can copy and paste verbatim the systemDashboard - Wireless meter license for version 1.6.6.

Attached is a screenshot and the typed version of the license from within the software:

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISLCAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF UES, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWERVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF HTIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. TEH USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE SOFTWARE.

THE ORIGINAL CODE IN THIS SOFTWARE IS THE COPYWRITTEN WORK OF HTE AUTHOR AND MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED, MODIFIED, OR REDISTRIBUTED IN ANY FORM WITHOU THTE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. THE SOFTWARE MAY, OR MAY NOT CONTAIN COPYWRITTEN OR OPEN SOURCE WORK OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES. IN SUCH INSTANCES, THE CODE IN QUESTION SHALL BE USED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LICENSE AGREEMENT OF SAID CODE. TEH AUTHORS OF SAID WORK REATIN ALL RIGHTS TO SAID WORK. ANY LICENSING TEXT FOR SAID CODE CAN BE FOUND INSIDE THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE.

YOU MAY NOT: (a) COPY AND/OR DISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE OR ANY PORTION OF IT BY ANY METHOD WHATSOEVER WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. (b) SUBLICENSE, LEASE ,OR RENT THIS SOFTWARE TO ANOTHER (c) REMOVE ANY PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION, COPYRIGHT NOTICES, LICENSE AGREEMENTS, OR OTHER NOTICES OR PROPRIETARY RESTRICTIONS FROM THIS SOFTWARE.

-Tres

RDP Automation in Ubuntu

2010-06-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

Open gnome-terminal from Applications, Accessories, Terminal
Create a text file in your home directory, example "auto_rdp.sh"
cd ~
nano auto_rdp.sh
Copy and paste the following:
#!/bin/bash
echo 'Starting...' `date`
rdesktop -u administrator -p your_password -s "cmd /k echo Hello World" & exit" 192.168.1.1
echo 'Finished...' `date`
Modify 192.168.1.1 to the name or IP of the machine to connect to
Change username and password to match an account that resides on the Windows computer (Warning, it's stored in clear text, using administrator is not recommended)
CTRL + X, Y, ENTER, ENTER to save
Make file executable with this command:
chmod +x auto_rdp.sh
Install gnome-schedule from Ubuntu Software Center: Applications, Ubuntu Software Center
When prompted to enable universe repos, click Yes.
Open gnome-schedule.
Add ~ubuntu/auto_rdp.sh to command to run and set frequency to your liking (where ~ubuntu is your signon name. Example: ~jsmith)
Remote desktop will open automatically and perform the commands specified after cmd /k. Don't forget to escape special characters with a backslash, for example, double quote is \", backslash is \\.

-Tres

J2ME Selectable Table in NetBeans

2010-04-02T00:10:00.001-04:00

// ONLY WORKS FOR SELECTING ENTIRE ROWS!!!
// This is a h@ck. Use at your own risk. -Tres

import javax.microedition.lcdui.Canvas;
import javax.microedition.lcdui.Display;
import org.netbeans.microedition.lcdui.TableItem;
import org.netbeans.microedition.lcdui.TableModel;
import org.netbeans.microedition.lcdui.laf.ColorSchema;

/**
*
* @author A. Tres Finocchiaro
*/
public class SkidletTableItem extends TableItem {

protected double rowBias = -1;
protected double rowCount = -1;

public SkidletTableItem(Display display, String title) {
super(display, title);
}

public SkidletTableItem(Display display, String title, TableModel model) {
super(display, title, model);
}

public SkidletTableItem(Display display, String title, TableModel model, ColorSchema colorSchema) {
super(display, title, model, colorSchema);
}

public void setModel(TableModel model) throws IllegalArgumentException {
rowBias = -1;
rowCount = -1;
super.setModel(model);
}

public void tableModelChanged(TableModel changedModel) {
rowBias = -1;
rowCount = -1;
super.tableModelChanged(changedModel);
}

protected void pointerPressed(int x, int y) {
selectRow((int) calculateRow(y));
super.pointerPressed(x, y);
}

protected void selectRow(int row) {
// Do not select a row
if (row == getSelectedCellRow() || row > rowCount - 1 || row <> getSelectedCellRow()) {
traverse(Canvas.DOWN, 0, 0, new int[]{0, 0, 0, 0});
}
}

protected double calculateRow(double y) {
// Accomodate for titles and labels
if (rowBias == -1) {
rowBias = 0;
if (this.getTitle() != null) {
rowBias++;
}
if (this.getLabel() != null) {
rowBias++;
}
}

int row = -1;
while (rowCount == -1) {
traverse(Canvas.DOWN, 0, 0, new int[]{0, 0, 0, 0});
if (row == getSelectedCellRow()) {
rowCount = getSelectedCellRow() + 1;
}
row = getSelectedCellRow();
}

double h = getMinContentHeight();
double retVal = ((rowCount + rowBias) * y) / h;
return retVal + 0.25 - rowBias; // Round up slightly
}
}

Selecting a row in-action (Windows Mobile 6 Emulator)

Implementation in NetBeans (click picture to enlarge):

AS/400 Hi-Res Icons

2010-02-16T14:34:00.001-05:00

Do you use Windows 7 or Windows Vista and still use an IBM Client Access for iSeries 5250 emulator to connect?

If so, you may find the default icon (32x32) a bit small. Here's a modified icon to spruce up your Windows 7 desktop.

Right Click --> Save As the image below. Name it "as400-hires.ico"

Linux/Mac OSX Versions:

-Tres

Running Java on Windows Mobile 5

2010-01-24T18:29:00.001-05:00

I'm doing development remotely for a mobile device that will run Windows Mobile 6 and use bluetooth through Java to connect to another host. Java is very generous as they offer a JavaFX framework that installs and runs on Windows Mobile 6 Professional without a hassle! (See "JavaFX Mobile 1.2 for Windows Mobile" at http://javafx.com/downloads/windows.jsp)

*Edit: 4/24/2010: Stay away from JavaFX if you need bluetooth support (or any other JSR's) on Windows Mobile! At the time of writing this, JSR support is not yet implemented!

Unfortunately, the only device I have available is a Samsung i730. This is unfortunate because JavaFX (The MIDlet standard) is only released for Windows Mobile 6. This i730 has Windows Mobile 5 installed and according to Verizon and Samsung, it IS NOT UPGRADABLE to Windows Mobile 6! So since my development resources are limited, I'd like to test the bluetooth stack of the application on a physical device (the client is not from the United States).

Long story short, I have been searching for quite a while to get Java J2ME running on the Samsung i730. Today I came across this site:

http://www.gadgetech.info/treo/tips/java/

The author has hard-linked a version of "IBM MIDP 2.0 Java Emulator V2.3.CAB" which is the ONLY Java emulator I have been able to get running on this phone. I strongly suggest using it if you have similar issues. I've tried many versions of the "Intent Java Midlet Manager" with no luck. Don't download "Intent" if you're using the i730, as it is a waste of your time (many others have success with this for other phones).

Disclaimer: The author of the gadgettech link above directly links to a CAB of licensed software. I strongly suggest only using this version for evaluation purposes. Also note, it does not behave the same as JavaFX, but should be sufficient for development and testing.

If you choose to keep the software, please download the official licensed release from Handango.

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/zones/wireless/weme_eval_runtimes.html

-Tres

iPod Touch iPhone 3G Ubuntu 9.10 in 5 minutes

2010-01-02T01:07:00.003-05:00

"Lucid (Ubuntu 10.04) has 'out of the box', zero-configuration support in Rhythmbox for the iPod touch running firmware 3.12/3.13. It does not require jailbreaking, though I have personally discovered it will work with both a "stock" and a jailbroken iPod touch." -Raffisson Studio

Changes (skip this):

Mar 28, 2010: Added link to French tutorial in step 1.
Mar 16, 2010: Added Amarok 2.3 notes per Gary
Feb 23, 2010: Removed "-dev" packages and made some small changes per farfouille64 feedback.
Feb 19, 2010: Bifster found a similar tutorial. Worth trying if you have issues. Here's the link: easy way to sync your iphone
Feb 19, 2010: Step 11 added DFB's RythmBox plugin suggestion. Confirmation working with firmware 3.1.3! Thanks DFB!
Feb 15, 2010: Step 11 added AJ's unicode work-around. Thanks AJ!
Feb 11, 2010: Step 10 modified to automatically add user to group "fuse". Thanks for the suggestions!
Feb 11, 2010: Added "-dev" packages back in per feedback. Thanks!
Feb 4, 2010: Repos changed. Added new packages per Jeff. Thanks!
Feb 4, 2010: Added unlock per Dagon to Step #8.
Feb 2, 2010: Added reboot suggestion to step 6 per Hugh.
Jan 31, 2010: Jon has left a work-around in the comments. Appended as STEP #1. Thanks! This should help fix issues reported with iPhone 3G running 3.1.2 firmware.
Jan 26, 2010: Many are having issues with these steps and the iPhone 3G running 3.1.2 firmware. The author does not have access to a device to test on, so please post any help. The iPhone 2G with the same firmware seems ok. Please read the comments below.
Jan 16, 2010: Thanks for suggestions! Updated tutorial to allow iPods with a space or special character in their name by using "$HOME/.gvfs/$ipod_name/" instead of ~/.gvfs/$ipod_name/

Background (optional read):

This tutorial is continually improved by feedback from you!
This tutorial is adapted from here. Credit goes to Paul McEnery, stonecut & marcan and ubuntugeek.com.
This tutorial was tested on a 1st Generation iPod Touch with the 3rd generation software on it.
In theory, this should work with all three generation iPod Touch / iPhones.
This was originally written for Ubuntu 9.10 32-bit on an Acer Aspire Netbook.
The comments below show that it will work on many other setups. If unsure, ask! :)
These steps can be adapted to work with Kubuntu by using "konsole" in place of gnome-terminal. "RythmBox" will need to be manually installed, as there seems to be issues with Amarok. If you do wish to use Amarok, 2.3 is reported to work, but you will need to upgrade using the manual upgrade instructions from Kubuntu's web page.
The commands to copy and paste were intended for the default "bash" shell. If you don't know what this is, then you have nothing to worry about. If you are running a non-standard shell (such as "csh"), please type "/bin/bash" or "/bin/sh" before starting this tutorial.
If you are troubleshooting and need to jailbreak your iPhone, get blackra1n and install from Windows or Mac.

Steps (start here):

If you've already tried using the iPhone with other tutorials, try reverting your changes. Andrew has outlined this for us very well here. Follow the first two steps. There is also an official French tutorial here that a 3.1.1 user alviju has had success with.
Make sure you are connected to the internet.
Open gnome-terminal through Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal
Copy / paste the following in the console:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa; sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install gvfs gvfs-backends gvfs-bin gvfs-fuse libgvfscommon0 ifuse libgpod-common libimobiledevice-utils libimobiledevice0 python-libimobiledevice libplist++1 libplist-utils python-plist libusb-1.0-0 libusbmuxd1 usbmuxd; sudo su -c "echo user_allow_other >> /etc/fuse.conf"
You will be prompted to proceed. Type "Y" for yes and hit enter. This will take about 3 minutes on a broadband connection.

*Note: This will 1. Automatically make the latest ifuse, aka "fusepod" application available for downlolad, 2. Download and install it, 3. Make it available for non-root users.
Log out of the desktop by clicking the Ubuntu power button in the top Right corner of the desktop and clicking "Log out" (Optionally you may want to reboot).
Note: Hugh only had success on an 8GB iPhone 3G running 3.1.2 after rebooting.
Log back on to the desktop.
Unlock and plug-in your iPod Touch / iPhone. You will be prompted several times to open the iPod. Click cancel.
Open gnome-terminal through Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal
Create the SysInfoExtended file on the iPod so that application such as RythmBox can use it by copy / paste the following into the console:

sudo adduser "$USER" fuse; echo -e "\n\nPlease type the name of your ipod:"; read ipod_name; mkdir -p "$HOME/.gvfs/$ipod_name/iTunes_Control/Device/"; ipod-read-sysinfo-extended `sudo lsusb -v | grep 'iSerial' | awk 'length($0)>=68' | awk '{print $3}'` "$HOME/.gvfs/$ipod_name/"
You will be prompted for the name of your iPod Touch / iPhone. This should match the name of the icon on your desktop.
*Note: AJ suggests replacing all apostrophe's in your iPod name with %27. Others suggest right click the desktop icon and copy the name from there.
Example:
AJ'S IPOD
replace with
AJ%27S IPOD

*Note: According to DFB, if you recieve error "can't get debug descriptor: Connection timed out" check the iPod plugin in the RhythmBox plugins list.
Log out and back into the desktop one last time.
If MP3 support is desired, click this link to enable the "ubuntu-restricted-extras" packages (this can be done at any time).
Launch RythmBox through Applications --> Sound and Video --> RythmBox. Your iPod should list on the left hand side. Drag files to and from as you would in iTunes.
Note: Jon suggests using a Windows computer with iTunes to add at least one song to the iPhone via iTunes. This has helped some people create the necessary databases and files in the iPhone.
If you have problems, try restarting your iPhone. If this does not help, please post a comment below.

-Tres

Additional troubleshooting steps (Thanks TheCaméléon):

Browse iPod with Nautilus (standard file browser) to clean up files
- Empty Music and the .itlp directory
- Remove iTunesCDB, iTunesDB
- Remove all .ext files
- Tip: TheCaméléon thinks you can access it with Nautilus. He did it with iFile and Terminal.
Add iTunes_Control/Device/Hashinfo with http://ihash.marcansoft.com/
Add 1 song with iTunes (to re-build it nicely)
Reboot both computer and iPod (with redsn0w as it's tethered)
Finally enjoy

Ubuntu 9.10 Compiz VirtualBox Issues

2009-12-28T11:18:00.000-05:00

VM: VirtualBox 3.1.2 r56127
Host: Windows XP SP3 x86 DirectX 9.0c
Host Video Card: Quadro FX 500/FX 600 AGP 8X 128MB
Host Video Driver: ForceWare 169.47
Guest: Ubuntu 9.10 x86

Error: "Desktop Effects Could Not Be Enabled"

Desktop Effects enable, but performance is unusable.

If anyone else is having these issues, please comment below

Steam Friends Font Fix

2009-12-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

Steam Friends Font Fix

Quick fix to read the very small names in steam buddy list running Ubuntu 9.10 and Wine wine-1.1.33 (should work with other versions of Linux and Wine)

Before: After:

Gnome:
gedit ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steam/resource/steamscheme.res
KDE:
kate ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steam/resource/steamscheme.res
Find the section called "FriendsSmall"
Change
"tall" "12"
to
"tall" "13"
Find the section called "FriendsVerySmall"
Change
"tall "12"
to
"tall" "13"
Save the file and restart steam.

*Note: This file gets reset after a steam update, so make a copy of it.

*Note: If you don't use the default dark green theme, find the "steamscheme.res" file in your skins --> resource folder for the appropriate skin.

-Tres

Raw Printing From Windows XP - Zebra Network Printer

2009-11-07T12:59:00.001-05:00

Open Control Panel. Click "Printers and Faxes"
Click "Add Printer"
Click "Next" at the welcome screen.
Click "Local printer attached to this computer" and deselect "Automatically detect and install...". Click "Next".
Click "Create New Port" and from the drop-down select "Standard TCP/IP" port.
At the Port Wizard Welcome screen click "Next"
For Printer Name or IP Address, put the hostname or IP of your printer and click "Next"
If prompted for a Device Type, select "Generic Network Card". Click "Next".
A summary page will display with your port information. Click "Finish".
The Printer Wizard will continue. When prompted for Manufacturer, click "Generic". For printer, select "Generic/Text Only". Click "Next".
If prompted to keep the driver, click "Keep the existing driver". Click "Next".
Type the printer name you'd like to use. For example, "zebra". It will ask to use this printer as the default printer. Click "No". Click "Next".
When prompted to share the printer, click "Do not share this printer". This setting can be changed later if needed.
You will be prompted to print a test page. Click "No" and click "Next".
The wizard summary page will appear. Click "Finish"
Your printer will now list under "Printers and Faxes"
Troubleshooting: (If problems exist) Make sure the new port (under the new printer properties --> ports --> find your new port --> configure port) is set to "RAW" under protocol. If printing to a non-standard port (other than 9100) adjust the port settings correctly.
End of Steps

-Tres

Raw Printing From Ubuntu 9.10 - Zebra Network Printer

2009-11-07T03:49:00.001-05:00

From the desktop, click "System --> Administration --> Printing"
Click "New" (Printer)
Be patient while Ubuntu searches for printers...
Select "Network Printer --> AppSocket/HP JetDirect". For host, put the IP address or hostname of your printer. Port is usually default of 9100. Click "Forward"
Select printer make "Generic". Click "Forward".
Click model "Raw", Drivers "Generic Raw Queue [en]". Click "Forward".
Name the printer appropriately such as "zebra". Click "Apply".
Your new printer "zebra" should now list. You can now use this as a raw print queue.
End of Steps

-Tres

Raw Printing From OS X - Zebra Network Printer

2009-11-06T14:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a set of screenshots for setting up raw printing through OS X. This was especially useful for using the jZebra application for printing to a raw printer from a web page running on an OS X workstation. Tested Nov 6, 2009 on OS X 10.5 running CUPS 1.3.8.

Load Safari or Firefox to http://localhost:631 and click The "Administration" tab, then "Add Printer"
Type the name of your printer and click "Continue"
Be patient as the CUPS server responds to the new printer request
For device, leave default "AppSocket/HP JetDirect" and click "Continue"
For URI put the address of the network printer in format "socket://address:port". Port can be left blank if default (9100). Click "Continue"
For Make/Manufacturer, select "Raw" from the list of manufacturers and click "Continue"
For "Model" click "Raw Queue (en)" which should be the only option in the drop-down menu. Click "Add Printer". Note: If prompted for a password, enter a username and password with administrative access on the Mac. You may be prompted twice.
Your printer has been added. You will see a message confirming this. Ignore Banners and Policies prompt. In the next steps, you will add a Printer Class for your new printer to show in OS X's Print Manager.
Click the "Administration" tab and click the "Add Class" button.
Fill out "Name". This must not conflict with the printer name from Step 2. Fill out the "Description" with what you would like the printer listed as in OS X.
Your printer class has been added. You will see a message confirming this.
Navigate to "System Preferences" --> "Print and Fax", and your new raw printer should appear.
Your applications should now be able to print to the Zebra printer as a raw printing device.
End of Steps

-Tres

Kubuntu Logo Mock-Ups

2009-08-15T01:18:00.001-04:00

Ok, I've been wanting to do this for a while...

Basically, when I look at the Kubuntu logo, the three "8-tooth" gears on the logo look like small snowflakes to me.

Now... When looking at the KDE logo, I feel the gear is more "iconified" and less... well... complicated. I really like the KDE logo and for some reason I've always felt the Kubuntu logo doesn't do justice to it. I don't think KDE is portrayed well by simply replacing the Ubuntu circles (or "heads") with small gears.

So, I did some work on the laptop using a live cd and Gimp. I've linked 9 mock-up logos hoping for feedback (hosted on Ubuntu forums). Click the links below to see each mock-up. Note that to keep the Ubuntu design, I had to reduce the KDE 8-tooth gears to one 6-tooth gear.

Cheers.

Logo 1: "Gear hands"
Logo 2: "Right Hand"
Logo 3: "Gumdrop Head"
Logo 4: "Shoulder Pads"
Logo 5: "Power Gear"
Logo 6: "Notched Out"
Logo 7: "Soccer Ball"
Logo 8: "Star Burst"
Logo 9: "Chipped Tooth"

P.S. I am a fan of Kubuntu and I do like the logo, just looking for some artistic opinions, and maybe some feedback. I own 2 ubuntu and 1 kubuntu shirt, so I do like (and support!) the current logo as I proudly wear it on my back. :)

-Tres

Pidgin - Microsoft Office Communicator

2009-08-05T17:53:00.006-04:00

Update: 11/15/10 - Added ICONV.DLL, LIBXML2.DLL work-around for Windows.
Update: 05/01/10 - SIPE 1.10 is out. Tutorial updated.
Update: 01/27/10 - SIPE 1.7.1 is out. Download it here.
Update: 08/20/09 - SIPE 1.6.0 seems to be available, so I've updated this article with some 1.6.0 comments in red below.

Steps:

Downloading and installing the latest Pidgin for your platform.

- Windows: For first time users, the installer will require GTK to be installed.
- Windows: Recommended: Install automatic spell-check (Aspell) for your language, which needs to be selected during install. (Requires a connection to the internet).
Download and install the latest SIPE (SImple Protocol Exchange) for your platform.

- Windows: The plugin will come bundled as a zip file with a MSI installer. Run the MSI installer. This will install the plugin to "Program Files\Pidgin"
- Linux: If a precompiled version (usually ".DEB" or ".RPM" is not available for your distribution of Linux, download the source in "tar.gz" format. Follow standard compilation instructions for your platform. (Experienced users: 15 minutes, Inexperienced users: 2 hours)
- PidginPortable: After installing the MSI, copy the contents of "Program Files\Pidgin\" to the "Program Files\PidginPortable\app\Pidgin" folder. The folder names "plugins", "pixmaps" should match. Click "yes" when prompted to overwrite.
WINDOWS USERS:
The new version of Pidgin for Windows is incompatible with SIPE unless you copy two files to your Program Files\Pidgin\ directory.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD ICONV.DLL
CLICK DOWNLOAD LIBXML2.DLL
Save both of these files in Program Files\Pidgin, (PortablePidgin would use the "Program Files\PidginPortable\app\Pidgin" folder instead)
If open, close Pidgin from the system tray and reopen.
From the top menu bar, click "Accounts", "Manage Accounts"
Click the "Add" button
Click the "Protocol" drop-down and select "Office Communicator"
*Note: If the icon for Office Communicator is missing, read Step 3 above.
Username: (Email Address)
Example: tres.finocchiaro@mycompany.org

*Note: Don't use exchange at your organization? Contact your system administrator for what this value SHOULD be.

Login: (Active Directory/Windows Login)
Example: AD\tfino

Password: (Active Directory/Windows Password)
Example: ******
Click the "Advanced" tab
Server:[Port]
Example: exchange-pool1.mycompany.org
Example: exchange-pool1.mycompany.org:5061

Connection type (Encryption, protocol, etc):
Example: SSL/TLS

User Agent: (Pidgin client version)
Example: Purple/2.6.6

Calendar Source: (Optional. For availability status. Change to None if your server type is not listed.)
Example: Exchange 2007/2010

Leave the default and click "Add".

OLD TUTORIAL

On Windows (and Linux), there's a -- slightly buggy -- plug-in called "SIPE" or "Microsoft LCS/OCS" that can be installed separately to connect Pidgin instant messenger client to Microsoft Office Communicator. And... by "buggy", I mean mostly on initial setup. See "buggy" section below for details.

I had three main problems getting mine working:

Finding a version of it pre-compiled for my platform [link]
Keeping it from crashing when I saved settings
Getting the settings correct so I wouldn't get the message "Unable to Connect" [link]

In this example, the version of Pidgin I'm using is Pidgin 2.5.8 (portable) and the plugin is Pidgin SIPE 1.5.0 (1.6.0 binaries are now listed under this mirror. Use them, they're better!), compiled for Windows XP 32-bit. (Called pidgin-sipe-1.5.0-win32-bin.zip. Linux users should be able to find RPM and DEB installers if you search around).

Non-windows users, here are the site instructions for Ubuntu from sipe.sourceforge.net: [link]:

Ubuntu repository (Jaunty) unofficial
Add this in your /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/aavelar/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/aavelar/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

*Note: I highly suggest using Add/Remove Packages before manually editing your sources.list file -Tres

**Note: This works fine for x86_64 systems as well with one minor tweak. By default, the installer puts the sipe files in /usr/lib/pidgin, but they should be in /usr/lib64/pidgin, so it's just a matter of copying them (or linking them) to the right location -Frank

If you continue with the Windows install, follow the install instructions included in your SIPE readme by copying the folders to their appropriate locations (this varies by system, but should be near the pidgin install or plug-ins directory). I used the zipped version because Portable Pidgin is in a non-standard location. The msi installer will likely work just fine for "vanilla" Pidgin installs. If you can't figure it out, feel free to email me fatbuttlarry$gmail$com.

You'll know the plugin installed correctly if you have a new Protocol listed under your Pidgin Account Types. To check, open Pidgin and click Accounts --> Manage Accounts --> Add. Try adapting the settings below to work in your environment (thanks to this slightly out-dated Ubuntu thread):

Protocol: Microsoft LCS/OCS
Username: tfino@my-fake-company.com
Login: SOMETHING\tfino
Password: ******
Local Alias: Tres (LCS)

Use proxy: Yes *removed in version 1.6.0
Proxy Server: fake-company-pool1.something.my-fake-company.com *renamed to "server" in version 1.6.0
Use non-standard port: No
Connection Type: SSL/TLS
User Agent: [leave default]
Use Kerberos: No
Use Single Sign-On: No
Proxy type: No proxy

I have to admit, we were quite stumped with the "Use proxy" and "Proxy Server" fields. Initially we thought they were part of an internet proxy address. They were definitely needed to get the plug-in working correctly, so ignore the names used and put your Microsoft Communicator Pool address there instead. Note: Proxy has been renamed to "server" in version 1.6.0.

If the plug-in seems to cause Pidgin to continually crash, make sure to fill in both "Username" and "Login" in the correct format. My Pidgin kept crashing until I had them both filled in, and when it crashes, it WON'T save your settings.

"If you are facing problem connecting to the server, use the 'netstat' command to find exact server, as mentioned in http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=626540" -Saif

I've provided some screenshots of my setup:

*Note: Usernames, server names, etc have been made "anonymous" for security reasons.

*Note: Usernames, server names, etc have been made "anonymous" for security reasons.

Hope this helps some frustrated users. I now have Microsoft Communicator working in Pidgin.

Buggy:

These items have been buggy for me with version 1.5.0 of SIPE:

On first run, my default buddy group did not show, so each buddy authorization request also asked what group to put it in. Restarting Pidign fixed this. Still exists in version 1.6.0
Buddy authorizations come through multiple times if not answered. I'd get the same invite from "John Smith" 5 times in a row. I just kept clicking accept. Still exists in version 1.6.0
Buddy names showed with the phrase "_DisplayName" after them. For example: John Smith would be "John Smith_DisplayName" Getting mixed results in version 1.6.0. Most names now come through with Quotes surrounding them, such as '"John Smith"'

-Tres

iSeries Access ODBC for PHP Linux

2009-07-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

I set up a Centos 5.2 server with PHP 5.1.6 and wanted to allow access to a AS/400 DB2 database.

First thing I did was download the iSeriesAccess driver called "iSeriesAccess-5.4.0-1.6.i386.rpm". This is also used to run a 5250/Terminal session to an AS/400, but for the purposes of this, it installs an odbc driver in "/opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/" using "libcwbodbc.so" and "libcwbodbcs.so".

Then I created a php test page to connect to the AS/400. After a days worth of trial and failure, the best advice I could find on the internet was from the phpbuilder site here.

Here's my final working example (php code):

< ? php $driver = '{iSeries Access ODBC Driver}';
$system = 'as400.company.com';
$dsn = "DRIVER=$driver;SYSTEM=$system";
$name = 'user';
$pw = 'passw0rd';

echo "Connecting to AS/400...";
$con = odbc_connect($dsn,$name,$pw);
if (!$con)
{
echo 'Error connecting: ' . odbc_error() . odbc_errormsg();
die();
}

else
{
echo "Successfully connected to $system as $name!";
odbc_close($con);
}

?>

I tried using "/etc/odbc.ini" to set up a ODBC DSN, but IBM's Redbook seemed to overcomplicate it a bit. If you need to use a DSN connection, look for IBM's Redbook "Linux Integration with IBM i5/OS" section 3.1.2.

08/06/2009 - Update - For those who have an exit point program installed on their iSeries, "SELECT" statements must be in capital letters! If you use lowercase "select" it may not work!

-Tres

Disk Partitioner for KDE4

2009-05-03T14:02:00.001-04:00

KDE 4.22

If you are looking for gparted for KDE, or qtparted for KDE:

Look for "partitionmanager"

Kubuntu:

sudo apt-get install partitionmanager

Fedora:

su
yum install partitionmanager

-Tres

Send Escape Keystroke To Telnet With Java

2009-04-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

I had a very hard time trying to figure out how to send "CTRL+A" to a Telent session through Java. (for an AS/400 telnet session).

First obstacle was finding what the key mapping was. I found this on midrange.com. "CTRL+A maps to "Escape, A". [link]

Using TelnetWrapper library here: [link]
I found the Escape Key value here: [link]

What confused me at first was the use of the word "Escape" in the Telnet specification. There are special escaped keys that would normally use the TelnetProtocolHandler's sendTelnetControl(byte code) function. This is not the case. Here's how I did it:

TelnetWrapper t = new TelnetWrapper();
t.connect(hst, prt);
t.waitfor("User . . . . . . . . . . . . . .");
t.send(user + "\t" + pwd);
byte[] b = new byte[] {'\033', 'a'};
t.write(b);
System.out.println(t.waitfor(""));

-Tres

Swap Alt + Command Key Ubuntu

2009-04-15T18:59:00.001-04:00

For Gnome Users:
System --> Preferences --> Keyboard
Layouts Tab --> Layout Options
Alt/Win Key Behavior --> Left Alt is swapped with Left Win

For KDE 4.x Users:
System Settings --> Regional and Language
Keyboard Layout --> Layout Tab --> Enable Keyboard Layouts
Advanced Tab --> Alt/Win key behavior --> Left Alt is swapped with Left Win

This will swap your ALT key with the WINDOWS key (also called "Super", "Apple" or "Command"). This is useful for a person who Alt+Tab's on a PC but has since switched to macintosh hardware and is not accustomed to the Macintosh keyboard layout.

If you are not using a macintosh keyboard, this *should* have the opposite effect and make a PC keyboard ALT+TAB like a Mac.

I never thought to look in the locale settings for KDE, so this took me quite a while to find. Hope it helps others.

This works on Ubuntu 8.10, Ubuntu 9.04, Kubuntu 9.04. (Intrepid, Jaunty). This should work for both KDE and gnome respectively. Hope this saves some people some time.

-Tres

5 Silk Icons

2009-04-09T08:35:00.001-04:00

I've used FamFamFam's CreativeCommons Silk icon set for a while and I've made a few of my own. Here they are for others to share, hosted on Blogger/Picasa and mirrored on ImageShack.

[mirror] Lotus Domino Server Silk Icon (server_lotus.png)
[mirror] Windows Active Directory Server Silk Icon (server_windows.png)
[mirror] iSeries As/400 Server Silk Icon (server_as400.png)
[mirror] Microsoft Office Visio Silk Icon (page_white_visio.png)
[mirror] Microsoft Office InfoPath Silk Icon (page_white_infopath.png)

-Tres

-Tres

NetBeans CellRenderer JTable

2009-04-08T11:04:00.000-04:00

I am trying to assign a setDefaultCellRenderer(..., ...) to my NetBeans projects and all of the answers keep steering me back to "Table Contents --> Columns --> Renderer" and then I am stuck.

I was working from this guide and quickly noticed it had no effect on my NetBeans JTable!!! I've been using this guide in non-NetBeans projects with success, but now using the NetBeans IDE it fails. Am I doing something wrong?

First of all, there's quite a few people asking this same question:

http://forums.netbeans.org/post-871.html
http://www.netbeansforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26
http://www.nabble.com/JTable-With-ComboBox-(list)-td15324201.html
http://www.nabble.com/Cell-renderer-editor-in-Netbeans--td18043645.html
http://www.nabble.com/TableCellRenderer-in-netbeans.-td8238826.html#a8240804
http://www.coderanch.com/t/345011/Swing-AWT-SWT-JFace/java/Customize-JTable-NetBeans-GUI-Builder

This quick article shed some light on the class types, but chaning my setDefaultRenderer(..., ...) to "String.class" didn't fix it.
http://www.devx.com/tips/Tip/15851

So I've updated the nabble post with some of my attempts. No answers yet. Any help appreciated:
http://www.nabble.com/Cell-renderer-editor-in-Netbeans--td18043645.html

-Tres

Descriptor index not valid

2009-04-06T14:50:00.000-04:00

"java.sql.SQLException: Descriptor index not valid."

If you are running an SQL query (in this case with Java) against an AS/400 and get the above message, try replacing the code in your resultset loop. Find the line that looks like this:

rs.getString(0)

And replace with lines like this:

rs.getString("PFNMCN");

Notice, the records is being retrieved by name instead of by index. Alternately, you can try:

rs.getString(1);

The underlying problem is resultset indexes start at [1] instead of [0]. This is confusing as most Java indexes start counting at 0. Hope this helps. What the message should probably say is "resultset index is out of bounds for the returned set". But jt400 is a free driver, so we can live with that message. :)

Also note, that if you do "SELECT PFNMCN AS FIRSTNAME...", then your code should read:

rs.getString("FIRSTNAME");

This java error message can be confusing at first, but it is a very quick fix!

Edit: If you use an exit point program for security purposes, make sure to capitalize your "SELECT" statements!!!!

-Tres

Java, Telnet and AIX

2009-02-24T22:38:00.000-05:00

I've decided to use the UnixLoginHanlder class. Here's my sample code s, and below is the history of my struggles.

Socket s = new Socket(host, port);
UnixLoginHandler handler = new UnixLoginHandler(s);
TelnetInputStreamConsumer is = handler.doLogin(user, pass);

String command="echo hello > deleteme.tres\r\n";

pw = new PrintWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(s.getOutputStream()), true);

pw.print(command);
// Don't forget to flush

pw.flush();

// Executing these immediately may precede the commands.
// Do logout/disconnects on a seperate event
//handler.doLogout();

//handler.disconnect();

Good luck!

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This article will illustrate my struggles with automating some Telnet functions through Java. The application that's being designed could provide as an interface or relay server, and is intended eventually to get some information out of some flat files on an IBM AIX Unix server.

Disclaimer: Yes I'm aware of the security issues around the Telnet protocol. No, SSH is not available currently on this server.

In short, I'm trying to get a simple telnet session working through a Java Socket connection. Some examples, like this one make it seem as simple as making a new Socket and sending some text through. Naturally, I wouldn't be writing this article if it were that simple. Methods like "readline()" return arbitrary characters like "ÿþ%ÿý", and there's not much documentation around what this all means, so instead of spending more time re-inventing the wheel, I've begun evaluating 3rd party APIs.

A quick Google search shows some APIs with tutorials, but costs money. I'm skipping those for now, since I'm just in the design phase of this interface, so I'm sticking to free ones for now. The closer to GPL the better, right?

Forums allude that the Apache project has a great implementation of the Telnet protocol. My experience with the Apache libraries are they are often interdependent on each other, and I'd like to make this interface as small and vanilla as possible. I've found three potential candidates: JTA Telnet for Java, sadun-utils UnixLoginHandler and Dieter Wimberger's telnetd2. Telnetd2 does not come pre-compiled to drop-in as an API and also doesn't provide any code-snippets or documentation with its download, so going to skip that for now as well.

My unsuccessful code snippets are below attached exactly as they appeared in outgoing emails. As authors respond, I'll post their messages as well. If I have success, I'll certainly post that too.

Hi.

My name's Tres and I've been trying to use JTA as an API in an
application for implementing a simple Telnet connection.

I tried the sample code in /jta26/de/mud/telnet/
TelnetWrapper's
javadoc, and it connects and does a log-in first try, however I'm
having a hard time getting any further, such as executing commands on
the remote host.

I'm in Windows XP JDK 1.6 connecting to AIX 5.2. If I run the JAR as
an application it works just like PuTTY and acts as expected, so I'm
sure its something that I'm doing wrong in the code.

Is there a mailing list or perhaps a person to contact with this?
Also, are there any special considerations when connecting to Korn
shell or AIX? Thanks!

-Tres

p.s. I've attached the sample TelnetWrapper code below which has been
copied from the javadoc.

/**
* TelnetWrapper telnet = new TelnetWrapper();
* try {
* telnet.connect(args[0], 23);
* telnet.login("user", "password");
* telnet.setPrompt("user@host");
* telnet.waitfor("Terminal type?");
* telnet.send("dumb");
* System.out.println(telnet.send("ls -l"));
* } catch(java.io.IOException e) {
* e.printStackTrace();
* }
*/

I quickly received a response from Matt Jugel:

Check that there actually is a "Terminal type?" prompt coming from your AIX host.
It will wait forever if this is not prompted. Remove the Terminal type waitfor and the send lin thereafter and try again.

Leo.

And here's my response to him:

Matt,

Thanks for the quick response. I simply attached that for a
refresher. A snippet of my usage is attached below. My "output" from
the command is always "null" and the file "deleteme.tres" never gets
created.

> TelnetWrapper telnet = new TelnetWrapper();
> String output;
> try {
> telnet.setLocalEcho(true);
> System.out.println("
Connecting...");
> telnet.connect(host, port);
> System.out.println("Logging in...");
> telnet.login(user, pass);
> System.out.println("Waiting...");
> telnet.waitfor("/usr/local/gnu/bin");
> System.out.println("Sending command...");
> output = telnet.send("echo hello > deleteme.tres");
> System.out.println("Output: " + output);
> telnet.disconnect();
> System.out.println("Done.");
> }
> catch(java.io.IOException e) {
> e.printStackTrace();
> }

-Tres

I've since emailed sadun through the SourceForge website on the UnixLoginHandler API:

Hi,

My name's Tres and I'm trying to set up a simple Telent session to an AIX machine. Client is Windows XP JDK 1.5 server is AIX 5.2.

I've tried your API for establishing this connection, and it seems to log in just fine, but when I try sending commands to the server, it does not appear to be working. Here's a snippet of my code:

> Socket s = new Socket(host, port);
> UnixLoginHandler handler = new UnixLoginHandler(s);
> TelnetInputStreamConsumer is = handler.doLogin(user, pass);
> String command="echo hello > deleteme.tres";
> pw = new PrintWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(s.getOutputStream()), true);
> pw.print(command+"\r\n");
> handler.doLogout();

When I do a "who" on the server, I can see the specified user logging in as a TTY session, however, the command does not appear to be executing, as the file "deleteme.tres" never gets created.

Any help would be appreciated. Sorry to email you through SourceForge, but I couldn't find a forum for this project.

-Tres

Sadun replied quickly with the following:

Hei,

no problem. Unfortunately I dont have an AIX machine to test right now. The original code's been running over HP and Solaris insofar I know.
How does the login prompt looks like at your target host? The handler uses "ogin:" by default, but it may be need to be configured differently.

Of course a bug is always possible. Like most of the utility classes, the group of telnet-related classes are relatively self contained - it should be easy to download the source and check directly at least where the output ends up stopping with a step-by-step editor..

-cs

And here's my response to him:

cs,

Thanks for the quick response.

The login sequence is working great. The server I am connecting to
uses "login:", and
"Password:". It appears to be logging in correctly as I can see the
connection come through (see screenshot "telnet.png" attached).

I am using the org.sadun.util.jar on my class path, so I cannot
step-by-step into the source code at this moment.

Could the issue be the CRLF characters sent through the terminal? Can
these change? I'm confused because the login works as expected.

To add to the confusion, I am having identical issues with JTA -
Telnet/SSH libraries where the connection establishes but I cannot go
any further.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

-Tres

Here's his most useful response:

Hm. Have you tried removing the wrapping PrintWriter and flushing the outputstream directly?

Flush being the keyword. Since I had not worked with OutputStreams, I had forgotten to flush(), and the code snippet didn't have this line in there. Kudos to the UnixLoginHandler. This will the the one I'll use.

-Tres

Netflix + Ubuntu

2009-02-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

This is not an article of success, but rather some information for those searching around. I guess you could say its a story of hope?!

Here's an article outlining some of the "up-and-coming" strategies planned to get a technology called "Moonlight" -- which will eventually get protected video content playing on Linux -- up to par with the Windows equivalent.

What does this mean? If the above article is correct, Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE, etc will get "Watch Now" support in Netflix. But a technology known as "DRM" will have to be incorporated into the Linux version, and Microsoft needs to work further with Novell for that to happen.

Summary:

Netflix "Watch Now" WILL NOT load from Linux. (The Roku is an exception) But the future may look bright.
Netlfix "Watch Now" uses a plugin called "Silverlight 2.0" made by Microsoft.
Moonlight 2.0 is the Linux equivalent of Silverlight. (Use Firefox to install)
Although Moonlight 2.0 works with Ubuntu (tested on 64 bit too) Netflix's "Watch Now" web page won't load from a Linux platform due to DRM issues.
What's DRM? It's copy-protection, which hasn't been ported to Moonlight YET.
Can I force the "Watch Now" page to load? Kinda... The Netflix watch now page CAN be tricked to loading in Ubuntu, the applet will start but fail to play any video. Below is screenshots and error messages around that.

Read the below updates and entries to see details.

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

2/17/09 - Update

A new version of Boxee was released today and works with Ubuntu (32 and 64 bit versions). You can get it here: (to the best of my knowledge, Netflix still won't work in Linux versions)
http://www.boxee.tv/download

12/26/09 - Update

Merry Christmas. Today I read an article (12/18) that suggests Moonlight will eventually support the H.264 codec used by Netflix's "Watch Now".

"First and foremost, we're 100 percent committing to support open source software," said Brian Goldfarb, director of web & user experience platforms for Microsoft. "The covenant now extends beyond Novell and down the chain so any distribution, whether Debian or Ubuntu or whatever can use Moonlight and be covered by the covenant. Moonlight is now a true part of the open web."
...
"Media Codecs for MP3 and VC1, and in the future H.264 and AAC, are supported through the Microsoft Media Pack, a Microsoft-delivered set of media codes that offer optimised and licensed decoders to every Linux user who obtains Moonlight from Novell."
-de Icaza

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

12/17/09 - Update

Moonlight 2.0 has officially been released for Linux. Download here.

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

5/5/09 - Update

Moonlight 2.0 preview has been released. Get it now!

Here's some links with more info!

http://tirania.org/blog/

http://go-mono.com/moonlight-preview/

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

5/4/09 - Update

The Moonlight 2.0 preview installer automatically installs into Firefox 2.0 and Firefox 3.0. I recommend testing it with other Silverlight sites and posting your success! If someone finds any work-arounds, please post them!

Here is an tutorial to load NetFlix's SLPlayer.xap running Firefox 3.x and Ubuntu 8.04.

Step 1: Install the User Agent Switcher for Firefox.
Step 2: Create a User Agent that tells Netflix you are running Windows:

Tools -> User Agent Switcher -> Options -> Options -> User Agents -> Add. (Model it after Default, changing the Win/Windows stuff from X11, Linux, etc).

Step 3: Log into your Netflix account and try to play a movie:

"Player Startup Error - There is a problem with your player. Please call Netflix technical support at: ErrorCode: 8001"

Unfortunately, it still does not work...

What does work is some streaming WMV content that has Microsoft Codec Requirements (they'll automatically download and install if you agree to the TOS). Here's an impressive example of the Mono-monkey in action (click image to follow link):

-Tres

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

3/30/09 - Update

After some digging, I found this article from way back in November entitled "Moonlight 2.0 is coming"

http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight/Moonlight2Tasks

Here's another article with actual dates around Moonlight 2.0 (click for full story):

"A preview of Moonlight 2.0 is planned for release at the Mix09 conference in Las Vegas in mid-March. The general release is planned for the end of the year."

And thirdly, here's the "Road Map" for the Moonlight releases. If you don't yet know what Moonlight is, Moonlight 2.0 in theory will allow Netflix to play in any GNU/Linux distribution. It's the Linux/Unix version of Microsoft's Silverlight, which is what Netflix uses to stream it's DRM protected videos.

http://www.mono-project.com/MoonlightRoadmap

Again, not success, but some more signs that this is a live and active project which brings hope to the Ubuntu/GNU Linux users out there holding strong while the Windows peers are watching a movie in the browser as I type this....

-Tres

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

3/19/09 - Update

Moonlight 2.0 (Silverlight 2.0 for Linux) support has had some success.

What does this mean for you running Netflix in Ubuntu? Nothing yet. Does Moonlight 2.0 require Mono 2.2+ to be compiled? Yes. In fact, the 2.2 Beta isn't enough, so check this out:

http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight#Alpha_support_for_Silverlight_2.0

Instructions for compiling Mono 2.2 are available here (they may help you, I haven't tried yet).

http://mono-project.com/Release_Notes_Mono_2.2

-Tres

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

3/15/09 - Update

It looks like there's an initiative for improved Mono 2.0 functionality on newer versions of Ubuntu Linux.

"A particularly exciting community-driven effort for Ubuntu 9.04 is the jump to Mono 2.0, a major update of the open source .NET implementation that was recently released by Novell." -arstechnica

If this spawns Moonlight 2.0, then we can assume it will also allow Netflix to work in Linux. If you look at the bottom of this page, you'll see some Moonlight 2.0 links and some license information, suggesting it is under development.

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

Boxee.tv: The media-center app that promises NetFlix support eventually in Linux.
You may want to try it: http://boxee.tv/. It works with Ubuntu 8.04 Hearty Heron and Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex (official relase is 32bit only) and claims to have Netflix support, but when you scroll through the page, it illudes that NetFlix support isn't working in OSX or Linux yet.

If you'd like to try it, here's their site instructions:

You have selected to download boxee for Ubuntu Linux 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex).

To download Boxee for Linux:

Go to System > Administration > Software Sources.
In Sources Software dialogue, select Third-Party Software tab, click Add, and enter:
for Hardy: deb http://apt.boxee.tv hardy main
for Intrepid: deb http://apt.boxee.tv intrepid main

After closing this dialogue you can either use Synaptics and select Boxee for download, or use a terminal window, and enter sudo apt-get install boxee.
To run Boxee, Applications > Sound & Video > Boxee

(Not on their download page, but 64bit users can try this:
http://forum.boxee.tv/showpost.php?p=25070&postcount=29)

Boxee on AMD64:

Start by doing the following, it'll save you a minute...

sudo apt-get install python2.4 python-sqlite libtre4 libcurl4-openssl-dev libfaad-dev libxmlrpc-c3 libmozjs0d ia32-libs rtorrent

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

Can Moonlight 1.0 play NetFlix "Watch Now" content? No. But here's some more info about it....

Netflix's "Watch Now" player is called "SLPlayer.xlp" which is a Microsoft SilverLight applet. You may not have heard of SilverLight. This is because it's something Microsoft came up with as a competitor to Flash. Infact, its so similar from an end user's perspective you'd think its the same thing. SilverLight streams video from Netflix similar to the way YouTube steams its videos, except in a proprietary Microsoft format.

Although Linux doesn't have Silverlight support from Microsoft, there is hope...

Moonlight is a Silverlight clone and works with Linux. Its something Novell, Microsoft and the MONO project put together. I installed Moonlight 1.0 (which was really quick to do) and tried it with a friend's Netflix account on my computer running Ubuntu 8.10 under Firefox 3.x and the main "Watch Now" page says incompatible browser. I installed "user agent switcher" from Firefox plugins to force browser identification as IE7 and then it complains about ActiveX, which I assume is just the Silverlight installer trying to run. Pretty standard for Microsoft-only sites.

The good news is... in the web page code, I found the link to the Netflix player:
http://www.netflix.com/pages/watchNow/player/silverlight/SLPlayer.xap

I copied and pasted this into my address bar and it tries to load but says Moonlight was compiled with 1.0 support and 2.0 support is needed to load the player. I'd think once Mono, Novell and Microsoft get Moonlight 2.0 built Netflix in the Linux/Unix environment will be golden!

-Tres

TOra QuickStart - Connecting TOra to an Oracle Server

2009-02-11T14:38:00.000-05:00

This is a TOra and Windows XP quickstart guide. This guide should work with other versions of Windows, and should be very similar for Linux clients. Pay close attention to the oracle client version. If unsure, visit the TOra sourceforge page and ask.

Steps:

Download Oracle Client Version 10.2.0.4 "Instant Client Package - Basic: All files required to run OCI, OCCI, and JDBC-OCI applications". (Note: Lite version may work too)

Here's a link although it might eventually stop working:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/oci/instantclient/htdocs/winsoft.html

Note: (Imonoid) TORA won't work if you try to use the BaciLite InstantClient when connecting to a non-english Oracle database.
Extract (copy or drag) the DLL files from "instantclient-basic-win32-10.2.0.4.zip" to "C:\Program Files\TOra\"
Next, launch the TOra icon on your desktop. There will be two icons. Click the one that just says "TOra". (If TOra isn't installed already, download and install it from here: http://tora.sourceforge.net)
Now set up your client as follows:

Connection Provider: Oracle (Instant Client)
Username: username
Password: ******
Host: 10.1.1.1 (The ip or hostname of the server)
Schema: (leave blank for now)
Port: (leave at 1521)
Database: (get this from the SID = XXX value in your ORACLE_HOME's TNSNAMES.ORA file. You may also find it in "c:\orant\NET80\ADMIN\TNSNAMES.ORA") If this file doesn't exist, you can probably guess this value pretty easily.

Good luck!

Took me a while to get this working. Hopefully this saves some work for others out there. Thanks to TOra for an excellent client.

-Tres

Ruby for dummies - Nine Steps for NetBeans and Net::SSH

2008-10-16T14:38:00.000-04:00

-----------
Hello World
-----------
The system cannot find the path specified
total 32
drwx------ 2 root root 16384 Mar 28 2008 lost+found
drwxrwx--- 3 oracle oracle 4096 May 8 02:29 oracle
drwxr-xr-x 7 test test 4096 Mar 28 2008 test
-------------
Goodbye World
-------------

Above is the final product after some frustration with JRuby and Netbeans detailed in previous postings. I've been trying to follow simple Ruby SSH tutorials with little or no luck.

The primary cause is due to net/ssh and Ruby's reliance on the PuTTY pageant service when running in Windows, explained --> here (the dl/import issue).

For me, the message "The system cannot find the path specified" threw a flag that things were not working when in fact they actually were.

So in lieu of my efforts and time spent, I'm writing a tutorial for a JRuby beginner trying to obtain the same results.

Install Netbeans 6.5 (6.1 should work also)
If its not already install the two required NetBeans plugins: "Ruby and Rails" and "JRuby and Rails" through the plugins interface.
Install the two required JRuby "gems": net-ssh (>2.0.4) and jruby-openssl (>0.3)
Create a new JRuby Application through
File --> New Project --> Ruby --> Ruby Application
Overwrite
C:\Program Files\NetBeans 6.5 Beta\ruby2\jruby-1.1.3\lib\ruby\gems\1.8\gems\net-ssh-2.0.4\lib\net\ssh\authentication\pageant.rb

with this version: --> pageant.rb
Overwrite
C:\Program Files\NetBeans 6.5 Beta\ruby2\jruby-1.1.3\lib\ruby\gems\1.8\gems\net-ssh-2.0.4\lib\net\ssh\known_hosts.rb

with this version: --> known_hosts.rb
Copy/Paste the following code:
require 'rubygems'
require 'net/ssh'

puts "-----------"
puts "Hello World"
puts "-----------"

Net::SSH.start('192.168.1.7', 'test', :password => "passw0rd") do |ssh|
# capture all stderr and stdout output from a remote process
#output = ssh.exec!("talia")
# capture only stdout matching a particular pattern
stdout = ""
ssh.exec!("ls -l /home") do |channel, stream, data|
stdout << stream ="=">
Modify "main.rb" code in NetBeans so that it points to a device on your networking running ssh.
Run your program
Hopefully you had success!? :)

-Tres

Ruby - Trying it again

2008-10-08T14:05:00.001-04:00

This issue has been resolved --> Here

Still issues running JRuby with NetBeans and Windows. I've upgraded NetBeans from version 6.1 to 6.5 beta to see if the latest and greatest fixes my issues.

I find this especially irritating given the amount of hype around the framework as a whole. (IntelliJ demo, Netbeans 10-minute JRuby Blog).

It seems most of the issues lie in platform-specific gems, and net-ssh seems to be written for use with PuTTY's pageant, which requires "native interfacing" or "native extensions". Is it possible?

Well, I'm starting off trying to ssh into a remote device using Ruby samples from this script inside the NetBeans IDE.

Upon first try, I got the following:

failed to load dl/import

Using this tutorial from Juan Pablo I was able to modify:

C:\Program Files\NetBeans 6.5 Beta\ruby2\jruby-1.1.3\lib\ruby\gems\1.8\gems\net-ssh-2.0.4\lib\net\ssh\authentication\pageant.rb

and

C:\Program Files\NetBeans 6.5 Beta\ruby2\jruby-1.1.3\lib\ruby\gems\1.8\gems\net-ssh-2.0.4\lib\net\ssh\known_hosts.rb

I get a new message:

The system cannot find the path specified

I looked for debug options with the JRuby command, and found them:

C:\Program Files\NetBeans 6.5 Beta\ruby2\jruby-1.1.3\bin\jruby.bat -d C:\path_to_my\main.rb

And now I get the following:

Exception `LoadError' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:34 - no such file to load -- openssl
C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/net-ssh-2.0.4/lib/net/ssh/transport/state.rb:85 warning: Useless use of a variable in void context.
Exception `LoadError' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:34 - no such file to load -- highline
Exception `LoadError' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:34 - no such file to load -- termios
SSH Starting...

Exception `Net::SSH::Exception' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/net-ssh-2.0.4/lib/net/ssh/transport/algorithms.rb:296 - could not settle on language_client algorithm
Exception `Net::SSH::Exception' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/net-ssh-2.0.4/lib/net/ssh/transport/algorithms.rb:296 - could not settle on language_server algorithm
The system cannot find the path specified
Exception `Net::SSH::Authentication::AgentNotAvailable' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/net-ssh-2.0.4/lib/net/ssh/authentication/agent.rb:74 - private method `open' called for Net::SSH::Authent
ication::Pageant::Socket:Class
Exception `Net::SSH::ChannelRequestFailed' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/net-ssh-2.0.4/lib/net/ssh/connection/channel.rb:544 - Net::SSH::ChannelRequestFailed

Installing hiline yeilds this new error:

Exception `LoadError' at C:/Program Files/NetBeans 6.5 Beta/ruby2/jruby-1.1.3/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:34 - no such file to load -- Win32API

I now have hiline, termios, net-ssh, open-ssl and not much more luck....

I tried to install the win32-api but JRuby gem install returns with error "Jruby does not support native extensions", which makes perfect sense!

When finished, I'll have a detailed write-up for this. Automated ssh, sftp, scp through Ruby scripts would be a really nice addition to a Java application, despite the platform.

Any help is welcome.

Cheers.

-Tres

Ruby - The Gem Of Life

2008-09-19T14:55:00.001-04:00

This issue has been resolved --> Here

As an active Java developer, its impossible to ignore the references to Ruby as a programming language, and most popularly as a web development platform.

In a search to automate some remote commands through SSH, I've found very logical and simple solutions written in the Ruby programming language.

Unfortunately, the Gem isn't shining just yet...

The IDE I'm using is Netbeans 6.1, and my first attempt to extend a Java application to call on the Ruby framework was unsuccessful.

Let me rephrase... The first attempt to get a working "ruby gem", which is a package of ".rb" files used as a library, was unsuccessful.

Fortunately, Netbeans 6.1 has it's own JRuby Application wizard, but its throwing out of memory exceptions...

Perhaps Netbeans 6.5 makes some of these tasks smoother, but so far, JRuby has been a ruby in the rough.

KDE 4.0 - Constructive Critisizm

2008-08-08T23:29:00.000-04:00

KDE4.0 - Is it ready to be a desktop?

Let's start by pointing out the good things... Plasma looks cool in screenshots, and the black taskbar is reminiscent of a semi-fashionable look and feel.

The Oxygen artwork is some of the best scalable icons in existence right now... comparable only with the highly acclaimed OS X artwork and eye candy.

Dolphin has everything Konqueror needed as a file browser, with larger previews and really exploiting the Oxygen artwork without taking up too much real estate.

Now for the bad:

Task Bar

The new black task bar is black and only black. No easy option to change. No easy way to drag contents around, and no easy way to put the clock in 24 hr format. And please don't suggest retexturing or modifying a ~/.kde/ file. Those things only further slow the already long winded transition to a new desktop environment in the first place.

Konqueror?

For those using newer versions of KDE 3.5, you'll notice a big change in Konqueror. First is, it's no longer your file browser. Second is, it's been replaced with an eye-candy application called Dolphin. This remains true for KDE4. I'm not sure why, but now that the KDE team has polished a usable file browser, Konqueror (and although fast, unusable as a web browser for some very obvious reasons, such as flash and gmail to name a few), they've introduced a broken and less-featured file browser with a cute name.

Dolphin

For starters, Dolphin (until bleeding-edge versions) does not support tabs. Instead it supports the "Norton Commander" interface, known more commonly as "Split View", which although nice, is a difficult transition from Konqueror's tabs, if you used them.

Second, Dolphin (as of Ubuntu 8.04) has no details column for "Modified Date". Which for any computer guru is essential (think of log files, screen captures, recently modified documents, etc).

Third, Dolphin doesn't remember your view settings!!! Large icons, small icons, details, it doesn't really matter which one you specify, because it won't retain the settings. This has held true since early releases and is very cumbersome.

Fourth, yeah fourth... the preview on the right most side of the file browser -- although beautiful -- often overlaps with other previews (such as selecting many items). Upon first launch, the preview pane was only 50% visible, and the sporadic behavior is not something thats I'd recommend to the majority of end users already happy with a functional (Konqueror) file browser.

Plasma

All issues aside, you have to hand it to the KDE team in their transition to modularize every desktop applet as a plasma widget. Truly ground-breaking. The question is, does this justify sacrificing already well-working features? Is the KDE team OK that people will have to live without functionality for now? With any big project, bugs and features are expected, however the recent decision to replace Konqueror with Dolphin seems a blatant disregard to usability. I find this true with Plasma, which assumes you want widgets in the first place!

Clock widget? No thank you. I'm fine with the one in the corner. (The analog version looks very under-developed IMO).

K-Button widget? I'm fine with that in the corner too. I was also fine with the KDE 3.5 organization to it. Now you have to click, then type, then click to open an application. Spotlight/Finder clone needs some work before the good-old-K-Button is removed!

Desktop Icons Widget? Same goes, although I'm always willing to try something new.

Plasma pallet! In the top right... get it out of there! Haha... I'm sure it will be removable in future versions... it makes the wallpaper look varnished. :)

Desktop Effects

The introduction of Desktop effects is highly anticipated, but most are finding performance terrible, and I haven't seen anything impressive thus far. The 3d animations, such as exploding menus and windows don't appear to be made from the windows contents, and break appart in a very mechanical fashion that may remind you more of Star Fox on the Super Nintendo than anything else. For those who used Compiz with KDE 3.5, you'll know that its very functional and very nice looking, and makes one wonder why the KDE team would re-write some of the Linux communities best desktop effects...

Some times I wonder if all of the time spent on reinventing the desktop environment could be made transitioning the Firefox components to KDE, such as file associations, GTK themability (mostly broken in KDE4.0). Lets face it... KDE users use Firefox! They have to! Its tried and tested with Flash, Java, and Gmail. The user base on OS X alone is astonishing, add the Windows user base, and Konqueror is really a "second choice" like Internet Explorer is to so many Firefox Windows users.

Switch?

With the release of KDE 4.1, I have some very high expectations before making the switch. I've been a KDE fan since the days when Mandrake (Mandriva) was sold in Wal-Mart (1999), but
KDE 4.0 is simply driving me away from the polished desktop that I've grown to love.

The Qt4 framework, which is the driving force behind the KDE4 desktop, seems to be the next best thing since sliced bread, as it will allow GPL KDE apps like Konqueror, Amarok, LMMS, Kopete, to find homes on non-KDE and even non-Linux desktops. I have to say I'm impressed. I've been using LMMS 0.4.0 Beta on Windows XP for a week now, and its amazing!

That said, I'm excited to see some of the projects such as KDE4 on OS X, and the popularity of the Qt framework for building applications. I just hope the "less is more" mentality of Gnome doens't leave people switching away from KDE by default. I'd like them to choose Gnome because they like it. Not because KDE's broke.

What about Gnome?

For the Gnome fans out there, I have nothing bad to say. Its stable, predictable, easy to use and feature-full. Fortunately for the Gnome users, Gnome's changes aren't very drastic and usually come with smaller bouts of rejection. :)

-Tres

Domino 8 Ubuntu Quickstart

2008-07-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

Domino 8 on Ubuntu 8.04 (Author: Michael Kohler)

Install Ubuntu 8.04.*
TAKE THE DEFAULTS*
$ sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
$ sudo apt-get install java6-sdk
$ sudo useradd notes
$ sudo passwd notes
$ sudo xhost +local:notes
$ cd linux/domino
$ sudo ./install
Install the Domino Server as Required.
Logon as notes:
$ declare –x DISPLAY=:0.0
$ cd /local/notesdata (if defaults were taken)
$ /opt/ibm/lotus/bin/server
Start the Domino Server:
$ cd /local/notesdata (if defaults were taken)
$ /opt/ibm/lotus/bin/server
(–jc will enable the java console)

TN5250J KeyMap Macintosh OS X 10.5

2008-06-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

If you are having performance issues with TN5250J and OS X 10.2, upgrade to OS X 10.4 or OS X 10.5. This will allow a new version of Java, Java 5.0 (1.5) to be available, and fixed performance issues while fullscreening.

Run tn5250j

If it won't launch, its because a "^M" error occurs on Macintosh OS X 10.5 when running the tn5250j script.

Open a terminal
type: "vi /Applications/tn5250j/bin/tn5250j" (enter)
type: ":set ff=unix" (enter) Notice the "colon"
type: ":wq" (enter)
Exit the terminal
Fix "Enter" on keyboard:
Open a terminal
type: "vi ~/.tn5250j/keymap" (enter)
find: "[enter]=17,false,true,false,false,1"
change to:"[enter]=10,false,false,false,false,1" (using "i" to insert)
Exit insert mode: (esc)
type: ":wq" (enter)
Exit the terminal

There are many more keybindings you'll have to configure to suit your needs. Perhaps people will add them here as they discover them.

Thanks!

-Tres

Java 5.0 + OSX 10.5 + Netbeans 6.1

2008-06-09T13:39:00.000-04:00

It seems OSX 10.5 has issues with JTextBox's created with NetBeans.

And probably others. In short, I just bundled my application with "Quaqua" Look & Feel, and it fixed the NullPointerException's. See Quaqua's page for how to do this (there's some really easy to follow instructions on there).

I'd like to rant that I've found multiple people complaining about the OSX implementation of swing causing NullPointerException's in the EVT (Event Dispatch Thread) of their applications, but mostly with Java 1.3 or Java 1.4, and commonly with the "Save As" dialog. Its a bit embarrassing that Macintosh's Look & Feel is buggier than the Open-Source community supported one, but this isn't the only case where the open-source alternative is much better in the Java world. (http://jtds.sourceforge.net/benchTest.html)

Here's some similar posts:

http://lists.apple.com/archives/java-dev/2003/Apr/msg00858.html
http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=4464821
https://list.scms.waikato.ac.nz/pipermail/wekalist/2007-June/010296.html
https://list.scms.waikato.ac.nz/pipermail/wekalist/2007-June/010302.html
http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=563831&messageID=2776789
http://fmeyer.org/archives/2007/10/29/about-apple-java6-and-crap/
http://blogs.sun.com/wangwj/entry/netbeans_6_final_on_mac

Why blame Apple?

Since there's no stack-trace to any applications it seems its inherently caused by the OSX LAF (Look & Feel). Here's the error I get...

java.lang.NullPointerException
apple.laf.CUIAquaTextField.paintSafely(CUIAquaTextField.java:91)

Experts will argue, a GUI NullPointerException is due to poor threading (when you don't properly use invokeAndWait(), or invokeLater() when updating the GUI) but in this project, I'm using NetBeans to do its own threading (besides, these errors are thrown before any threads are actually started!!!), and in NetBeans defense, it works for Metal L&F, Windows L&F, GTK L&F.

Hope this helps some in their struggles. Post a reply if you've found a non "Quaqua" work-around. :)

-Tres

NetBeans 6 Splash Screen

2008-04-16T11:44:00.002-04:00

Update: 11/11/2010

This tutorial should still work on Netbeans 6.9.1+

The original thread link is broken thanks to Oracle taking over Sun's message boards, so this link is the best reference for now.

Open NetBeans
File, New, Java Desktop Application
In the "Projects" area, click "Files"
Locate the file in your main project called "manifest.mf"
Double click it. It should open automatically in the source editor window
Add a new line to the bottom of the file:
SplashScreen-Image: /package1/package2/filename.gif
This image file can be located inside your JAR
Perform a clean build of your project and run the JAR by itself. The splash screen should now show while your application is launching.
This new splash image can be JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and supports transparency for PNG an GIF

OLD POST BELOW

This is not for branding NetBeans, but rather for adding a standard splash screen to your application.

What do I mean?

NetBeans offers an option in your project properties to automatically load a splash screen.

IT DOESN'T WORK

Here's how you do it!

http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10208126&#10208126

-Tres

Amarok 1.4.7 Won't Load

2008-03-24T22:14:00.000-04:00

Amarok: [Loader] Starting amarokapp..
Amarok: [Loader] Don't run gdb, valgrind, etc. against this binary! Use amarokapp.

You're seeing the standard Amarok start-up. But chances are you didn't stumble upon this because Amarok IS working...

Luckily enough for me, I got it to load. Here's some hints:

Kill amarok process:

pkill -9 amarok
In your home directory remove a file called ".DCOPserver_$HOSTNAME__0"
rm $HOME/.DCOPserver_$HOSTNAME__0
In /var/tmp remove a file called kdecache-$USERNAME
cd /var/tmp
rm -r kdecache-$USERNAME
Amarok should work!
If needed, remove folder (or rename) $HOME/.kde/share/apps/amarok
If needed, remove (purge) and reisntall amarok application with your package manager.

Centos 5.1 Segfault FTP

2008-03-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

While performing a scripted FTP to an embedded device, I received a stack-trace Segmentation Fault.

This was on Centos 5.1.

Cause: I changed the date and it started breaking some authentication portion of FTP.
Fix: For me, I rebooted the server making the connection. This was after hours of troubleshooting. Hopefully this helps others.

-Tres

half-life 1 struggles (part 3)

2008-02-10T01:39:00.001-05:00

Confirmed bug:

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=11324

half-life 1 struggles (part 2)

2008-02-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Note, I'm getting closer...

I've found some consistencies... it almost appears that the "space character" is crashing OpenGL. By destroying the language file, the spaces are not loaded on the main menu. I'll have to do some more testing to prove this though.

It appears this only occurs for certain fonts though, as speaking 'hello world' does not crash the game, but typing it in console does.

Please see this video.

half-life 1 struggles

2008-02-09T20:09:00.000-05:00

[SOLVED] http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=1551104&postcount=26

Copied from the wine mailing list. Nothing ground-breaking yet. Let me know if you solve this issue!

=========================================================

Anyone having issues with the old 1.6 Half-Life engine?

OpenGL mode stopped working for me friday, but its still working in other windows applications.

Counterstrike 1.6, Half-Life 1, etc won't work.

My brother has same Linux distro and it didn't break for him, so I'm going out on a whim. I've reinstalled vid card drivers, wine, deleted drive_c, made a new user account in linux, etc. Everything asside from reformat the machine, which runs OpenGL great in every other program!

-Tres

DARKGuy .

It wouldn't be a bad idea if you post some of the errors you're getting, your WINE version, linux distro and computer specs, you know, the standard stuff. It's really hard to help when all the info you have is just a "it doesn't work" ;).

BTW, CS 1.6 works fine and dandy for me, so it looks like a problem on your end.

Good luck.

- DARKGuy

Austin English

What else did you change? Any x11/gl package upgrades?

A. Tres Finocchiaro to wine-users

Here's my info:

wine-0.9.54
OS: Ubuntu 7.10
Arch: Linux-x86_64
nVidia Driver: 169.09
Card: GeForce FX 5600

One of the many error logs that haven't particularly helped me: (attached)

DarkGUY, I appreciate any help. I didn't come here to ask for help, but I will take any advice that is given. My original intentions were to canvas the wine mailing list for similar issues related to this date, anticipating some change with steam or the half-life game engine.

Details:

One day before the issues, I did update the graphics drivers with Envy (to help with an unrelated issue). The game ran fine after a reboot.

In lieu, I have tried reverting to the synaptic drivers with little luck. I had a hard time getting X to load with the nvidia driver probably due to improper cleanup with Envy. In effect, my most recent driver is built from the NVIDIA shell installer.

What works:

Quake3 native, and Quake3 wine work well. Quake2 wine works well. Direct3D works well in Half-Life (not desirable, and not as fast as OpenGL of course).

Compiz works well and was working prior to the Envy driver update. I generally replace compiz with kwin before launching for performance reasons, but it worked with and without before, and it's broken with and without after.

Logs:

Error log is tough to obtain in half-life. As you know, hl.exe is executed by Steam.exe, so errors are usually pointing to steam related issues.

I'm accustomed with the very verbose wine output, but the verbosity can make parsing difficult.

I've managed to get some errors, but I'm not sure how accurate they are, nor what they really mean.

I can launch hl.exe from within the directory if steam is already running by doing a "wine hl.exe", but the output is vague:

tfino@crap:half-life$ wine hl.exe -gl
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/53-monospace-lcd-filter.conf", line 17: invalid constant used : legacy
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/53-monospace-lcd-filter.conf", line 17: invalid constant used : legacy

And the game crashes out with "Options" and "Quit" at the lower left. The framerate shows in the bottom right implying opengl is running.

The font issues are self-inflicted, and were not there prior to my troubleshooting.

-Tres

Although I still can't manage to obtain any verbose logs (even winedbg doesn't offer much)... I have managed to get further.

Get this... If I make a blank file:

ProgramFiles/Steam/steamapps/STEAMACCOUNT/half-life/valve/resource/gameui_english.txt

I can see the half-life menus. Screenshot attached for reference.

The format of the file is binary, despite the ".txt" extension. In some cases, the game will load, but it crashes switching to certain weapons (which may pull from other language files). Is there a library specific to OpenGL that does language or font rendering that could cause this? Any help is appreciated.

=========================================================

Steam + HomeStarRunner

2008-02-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

Sewiously guys. :)

Just for fun. ;)

To accomplish this, simply drag an internet shortcut to your steam window. :)

-Tres