Thursday, June 22, 2006

Damn Windows.....

The daughters PC went wrong - no surprise, it runs Windows. Of course, I am expected to fix it as usual. As the problem is a Windows issue, rather than viruses or other junk, I agree. But she wants all her work saving - thats useful, considering the machine will not actually boot up fully!
Linux to the rescue ;) I could have used a live CD and rescued the data, but, as I partitioned the drive up when I set the machine up first, I installed Kubuntu on the spare partition. Successfully copied over the stuff she wanted to the Linux partition - but not got around to sorting the Windows install out as yet.
It gives her chance to use Linux ;) I got the usual complaints about how Linux is for Geeks etc - but now she has had to admit that Kaffeine ( a media player) is actually a lot better than anything in Windows.
She still isn't won over though - and of course, all her pals are calling her "geek" and stuff! But at least she can use the machine. She was using my main system for a few days - but that is Linux too, so at least she can sit in her own room and use her own system - even if it is with Linux. She didn't like my mouse - its a Logitech MX gaming mouse, so it is very quick and she is used to slow responses!
Guess I should fix the Windows machine - but I hate even using the word, never mind the (alleged) operating system.
I am not 100% anti-MS, but I personally don't use it or enjoy working on it. My main gripe with Microsoft is their business practices - those are what I object to.

Health update - been rough on and off. Last couple of days I have been a bit brighter - possibly because I stopped taking the ISMN so regularly. I take it on and off now - just maybe once a day. Also, I ran out of Nicorandil - so maybe that is relevant? Will mention it to the Quacks when I go for my yearly Cardiac and Diabetic clinic check next month. I bet they hate people like me who mess around with their meds ;) The thing is that they do not suffer from the illnesses, so they don't appreciate how badly the tablets interfere with patients lives. Take frusemide for instance. Its a diurectic - so you take it, you need the loo.... lots! Not much use if you want to go out - unless you are going somewhere with lots of convenient loos! The same applies to all the meds which lower my blood pressure. Doubtless in the medical books it says to issue out stuff to lower the BP - so thats what they do. It seems irrelevant that my BP is actually very low (around 90/45 generally). I take the meds - I go dizzy, short of breath etc.
Ah well - all good fun!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Webcams....



Strange things,webcams. Especially in Linux!
Some time ago, I bought a cheap webcam - purely because it was really cheap and it *may* work in Linux - and if not, well, it didn't cost much!
Well, after a lot of fiddling to work out a suitable driver, it does. So I bought several more for experimental purposes.
The basic how-to for anyone with a similar cam (mine was a Chicony Twinklecam, but the same applies to Sweex cams and the Trust SpyC@m too) can be found over on one of my websites -
http://www.kernowyon.co.uk/linux_stuff/webcam.html

Anyway, the cam has never worked using the driver which the Linux kernel installs (as per the article) ....until now! Strangely, in Kubuntu, plugging in the cam loads the sn9c102 driver (which never worked for this cam) plus the spca5xx driver. And behold! It actually works! OK, it seems to be a case of plug cam in, unplug it and put it back again to get any joy - but its a start!
Not exactly 100% reliable as yet - seems to need some messing, but I have not seen any image prior to this without the sonixcam driver. So things are looking interesting for some hacking around with the drivers.
Talking of hacking (note: NOT cracking, which is the malicious stuff - the term hacking has been mis-used by the media), I converted one of my cheapo cams to be an infra red cam. Very easy to do - but different models vary on how you do the mod. My brother in law was the first to mod a cam based on some fun we had with an IR security camera I bought for wildlife watching. He has done several now - including assisting on the Chicony Twinklecam mod here.
His site - which has a step by step walkthrough for a Sweex cam and reports on others -

http://www.hoagieshouse.com/IR/

Pretty neat :)
I have some shots to demonstrate the difference between a real 100% IR only cam ( which is what the modded webcams are) and a security camera - which sees both IR and normal light. I will post them onto my website at some point and link the address here. Quite interesting - a monitor for instance in IR is blank - even when turned on - because of course, no IR is being emitted. The security camera - because it can see both IR and normal light - shows the image from the monitor.
All good fun :)

For those interested in my health, well, I *was* OK for a few days - not really having too much bother. This moring though, I have been pretty short of breath this morning. Came on around 10am - still going now at 11.45. Medication taken about 9am.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Genuine Advantage

Not written anything for a few days. Been busy ;)
Anyway, todays rant is Microsoft Genuine Advantage.
First thing, if you are not sure what an oxymoron is, have a look at the phrase "Microsoft Genuine Advantage".
That is an oxymoron!
Rarely have to suffer XP myself, but this wga.exe lark is causing lots of worry for users. With good reason - I frankly would not let Microsoft check out my system. Not that I have anything to hide - but why the hell should some corporation which has ,to say the least - dubious business practices - access to my data?
Seems many users of genuine legal versions of XP are being informed their copy is illegal. A number of fixes have been posted on various sites about stopping wga. Interestingly, some which worked a week or two ago no longer work. Why? Are Microsoft so desperate to check what users are up to that they are constantly blocking out the various workrounds to prevent this junk?
At the very least, I personally would use a decent firewall to block anything wga related. Of course, there is a chance that MS will simply add the data being transferred to another place - probably one of those two or three programs which cannot be blocked if you want web access! Renaming the .exe file is also a good idea - but I doubt it would work for long.

The best answer is to throw off the shackles of Microsoft altogether if you can. Many Linux distros are now very useable - Mandriva, Ubuntu...
I appreciate its not for all - but why not give it a try? Download a live CD - Knoppix or one of the Ubuntu distros perhaps - and try it out. If you like the idea, you can install Linux alongside Windows if you have space in a so called dual boot set up. Both Knoppix and the Ubuntu range will allow you to install from the live CD. Personally, I would recommend Kubuntu (Ubuntu with the KDE desktop) for newer users. Its easy to use, well documented and looks nice - whilst having literally thousands of free applications available to install easily.

Phew! That was a bit of a rant this morning!