Monthly Archives: January 2012

Sync’ing with Microsoft Office Outlook and Android

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I use Microsoft Office Outlook for my e-mail because it has other tools like a calendar, task list and address book. I do not use Microsoft Exchange but I do use Outlook on a number of computers which all run the same version of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and Microsoft Office 2010 Premium.

I also have a Samsung Galaxy Gio running Android which is currently the Cyanogenmod firmware. The best method to use contacts by far on this device is “in the cloud” on Google Contacts. The calendar is the same with Google Calendar. And so are notes with Notes in Google Docs.

I previously have had lots of problems sync’ing to Android. I first used Samsung Kies which seemed alright except it had a tendency to duplicate contacts and calendar events continually so that my phone’s memory eventually filled up. Cyanogenmod won’t actually support Samsung Kies, mainly because the USB device function seems to be broken on the Samsung Galaxy Gio port and Cyanogenmod also lacks the Samsung Apps framework.

I found GO Contact Sync Mod after trying several other methods of sync’ing. When run on a PC which uses Outlook, it essentially sync’s your Outlook Calendar & Notes with Google.

Google also have put out Google Calendar Sync which will sync your Outlook to Google Calendar.

So with those two apps, you have a total sync solution that doesn’t fuck out if you run it on two PCs – and it uses the Internet connection so no direct connection between the phone and PC is needed, just the Internet on both devices.

Cyanogenmod for Samsung Galaxy Gio

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cyanogenmodYesterday I began trying Cyanogenmod 7 for Samsung Galaxy Gio RC 3.0.

I was finding that SimpliGio+ had some weirdness where sometimes the mobile network, GPS or WiFi wouldn’t work. The only way to fix it was to restart the device. I also had some troubles with predictive text not working at all. I probably could have fixed these issues but it was a lot of fucking around and I really can’t be bothered.

So far Cyanogenmod seems to be working great and has a good set of features. For a start it is the most used unofficial firmware, and like the DD-WRT unofficial firmware for wireless routers, it supports hundreds of devices and provides a common feature set and user interface between all those devices. Cyanogenmod has even received praise for being better than factory supplied Android firmware. At present the Samsung Galaxy Gio port is not officially supported by Cyanogenmod, but I’m guessing the low price point of the Samsung Galaxy product lines will probably change that.

I didn’t have to install sipdroid as it has native VoIP. I also setup s2e with a 300MB EXT4 partition on the MicroSD card – and now magically my phone has statics of internal memory so I can install really big apps like Angry Birds. It also has OpenVPN bundled so I’ll have to play with that later.

I’ll have to blog more about Cyanogenmod after I tinker with it. I’m still yet to reflash my partners handset with it.

Installed a new TV amp

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2012-01-18 12.33.19Today I installed a new masthead TV amplifier to correct a few reception issues we’ve had. Our original installation was for 3 outlets on analogue TV and for that purpose it worked great for many years. We had a Kingray MHW34G (PDF manual) on the antenna masthead as well as a VHF and UHF antenna. There is quite a lengthy cable run to the lounge room and the lead is then split by wiring and not an amplifier, and then runs to my bedroom.

Unfortunately when digital TV came out, only the lounge room had reasonable DTV reception – the bedroom dropped in and out quite a lot. Also I’m not sure the antenna should be wired like that – since the lounge room has a power injector for the masthead amplifier, and effectively my bedroom outlet receives the power injection.

There are positives of our setup however… the position of the antenna is above tree level and is mounted well enough to stand over 100KG loads – so the wind should never blow down the mast, but rather, things would fall off the antenna mast. Also I discovered that the existing masthead amplifier is digital capable and seems to be a current product.

Recently we got yet another TV and wanted a third outlet which is very close to the antenna.

To fix these issues and connect a third outlet, I got a Kingray SAM224 (PDF manual) on Fleabay and installed it on the antenna masthead.

I used a short length of coax to connect the input terminal on the SAM224 to the output terminal on the MHW34G. I then connected the original wiring to the SAM224’s 1’st output terminal.

Enabling the third outlet with the existing wiring was extremely easy since the outlet and cable had already been installed leading to the antenna – it just had to be wired to something. So I wired it to the SAM224’s 2nd output terminal.

I then turned on some TVs after turning on the power injector, and noticed on the SAM224 the power LED had illuminated. There was no signal. So I enabled the ‘power link’ feature on the SAM224 by shorting the appropriate pins with the supplied jumper and immediately a signal popped up.

After some experimentation I found that the best method was to continue using the power injector on the lounge room outlet for now. The new outlet works great, its actually the best outlet in the house since its only 5m by cable from the antenna.

I also discovered that the best configuration of the 3 gain dials available across both masthead antennas, was to have the SAM224 set to maximum gain and then use a very small gain on the MHW34G’s VHF dial and a slightly stronger gain on its UHF dial.

Ultimately I’m going to re-cable the bedroom so there is a cable running directly to the antenna. I tried disconnecting the bedroom TV’s antenna and noticed that on the lounge room and the new outlet, signal strength & quality jumps noticeably. I’m happy with the new SAM224 since there is room for this improvement, and its installation has slightly improved reception compared to what we previously got.

If I didn’t live in a fringe or regional area, I probably wouldn’t have these issues, but its just something we have to deal with living in peace and quiet.

Damaged charge/sync connector on a HP iPAQ 212

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I had a customer bring me a HP iPAQ 212 because it had a damaged charge/sync connector. I had to disassemble it to discover that the charging connector is surface mounted to the mainboard PCB, and therefore impossible to repair, at least short of replacing the entire mainboard.

This video was helpful in the disassembly:

However I did learn that despite the connector having bent pins… as an alternate the device can be charged through the Mini USB port. So I billed my customer for that knowledge and some Mini USB cables.

Foxtel on XBox 360 Live Gold

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foxtelmsWell since I got my LCD TV I’ve pulled out my XBox 360 which I never really played as my old CRT TV simply didn’t have enough definition. The last time I used my XBox was several dashboard versions ago. I do also need to repair the DVD lense as it no longer reads most discs.

Since I last used the XBox Microsoft have made a big push for IPTV, and have even signed Foxtel as a content provider. For $34.90 per month I signed up to the Foxtel on XBox service with the basic channel package + entertainment package which gives me 28 live content channels all up and stacks of on-demand content.

I thought I’d try this out for a month at least. The monthly cost is a little lower than a satellite TV install, and every quote I’ve had for a satellite TV install has been several hundred at the very least considering the TV sits a good 30m of cable length from the roof.

I also can’t actually get Foxtel in this area. When I signed up on the XBox I had to use my step-fathers business address which is in a Foxtel area, otherwise I’d be serviced by Austar.

TV over IP does actually work quite well though. Exetel provide me an excellent service through a Telstra ADSL2+ line which syncs around 8500/900. While watching Foxtel more than 75% of the bandwidth is still available for use. The on demand content hints at the actual bitrates, with hour long shows being only 700MB or so. Lately the 200GB of quota Exetel give me has been largely wasted, so Foxtel will make some kind of dent in the quota.

The quality of the video surprised me. While it isn’t the same as Foxtel HD because its only 720p, there doesn’t seem to be much loss compared to an MPEG2 Digital TV stream – if you can notice any loss at all.

The only downsides I can see, which I can probably solve, is Internet use can impact Foxtel viewing.

Another thing that Foxtel never mentioned – using their service requires you to have Gold Membership with XBox Live. However you can always create a new profile for the free 1 month membership.

It would be much nicer though if Foxtel developed a similar Android app to enable the same functionality on any Android mobile phone or media player like the Noontec A9. For a start, comparing the Noontec A9 to my XBox – the Noontec has no fans.

Whitelists in Postfix

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I had to setup my own whitelists for my Postfix installation. Bigpond is one example of somebody who gets listed in RBL blacklists often, and well they don’t attempt spam against me all that often but do send alot of legitimate e-mail my way, so it deserves a whitelist entry.

On Debian to setup a whitelist all you have to do is edit /etc/postfix/main.cf so that smtpd_client_restrictions includes something like ‘check_client_access hash:/path/to/rbl_override’

For example this is what I have in my /etc/postfix/main.cf:

smtpd_client_restrictions = permit_sasl_authenticated, permit_mynetworks, check_client_access hash:/path/to/rbl_override, reject_rbl_client tor.dnsbl.sectoor.de, reject_rbl_client dnsbl.ahbl.org, reject_rbl_client dnsbl.sorbs.net, reject_rbl_client zen.spamhaus.org, permit

Some hosts use SPF records in DNS to specify what mail servers are safe to accept e-mail from. To lookup this information you can run:

host -txt bigpond.com

Then you need to create your rbl_override file. It should have something like this:

# Bigpond (taken from `host -t txt bigpond.com`)
61.9.168.0/24 OK
61.9.189.0/24 OK
61.9.169.0/24 OK
61.9.190.0/24 OK

 

You will also need to run postmap on the rbl_override file, to create a machine parse able binary with your whitelist database.

My Postfix installation is spread across several servers, however through a rig with rsync I regularly synchronize some binaries and configs to every server so I simply use this to send my whitelist.

Resetting the root password for MySQL on Debian

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I have a half-configured VPS that I’m finally getting around to pooling into my geographic cluster that I’m developing.

I needed MySQL and realized I had installed it, but I’d since forgotten the root password, and I never stored a unique password in KeePass like I normally do.

So I had to reset it. It was a fairly easy process. From the root shell I executed:

/etc/init.d/mysql stop

/usr/bin/mysqld_safe –skip-grant-tables &

mysql –user=root mysql

When prompted for a password I just hit the return key, then I executed the SQL commands:

UPDATE user SET Password=PASSWORD(‘some password here’) WHERE User=’root’;

flush privileges;

exit

Then back at the root shell I restarted MySQL so it started under normal conditions, and I tested that my new password worked:

/etc/init.d/mysql stop;sleep 2;/etc/init.d/mysql start

mysql –user=root –password

This time I made sure I saved the password in KeePass.

Alternative firmware for the Noontec A9

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After posting on xda-forums the other day I was pointed to this page. Umax is Noontec’s distributor in the Czech Republic and have published a couple firmwares that Noontec haven’t. They are:

I’m yet to try the 1.2.04 myself, but I will soon and naturally I’ll blog about it.

I have made some small steps in rooting the Noontec… in that realizing root is available by default through the adb shell when connected via USB to a PC.

I also realized that the /system partition on the Noontec firmware is cramfs, and therefore read only, and therefore I cannot modify it even with Super User installed. This seems like an absolutely stupid move by Noontec considering the device’s tech specs mention it has 2GB of NAND memory (so its capable of being in a writeable format) and the advantages of root on Android include things like playback of videos over CIFS network shares (which would be a target market for a “Smart TV Box”).

It seems like I’ll have to work on my own firmware image. I’m just a little fearful of this considering the Noontec also lacks a /recovery partition which makes the recovery menus non-existent.

Private sellers aren’t allowed to sell multiple identical items as a “Buy It Now” item on eBay?

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I got the e-mail below from eBay the other day. After doing some cleaning over Christmas I listed quite a few things on eBay. After being unable to specify a quantity for a “Buy It Now” item as my account is a Private Seller account, I listed the same item multiple times.

eBay removed the duplicate listings citing a violation of their terms of service. So not only are private sellers unable to offer a quantity of the same item on a “Buy It Now” product, but they also can’t post more than one listing at a time. This means if the seller wants to sell the lot, they need to wait until one unit sells then immediately relist the item.

We recently removed a number of your listings because they violated the Duplicate items policy. The items listed below are just a sample of those that were removed. To see the full list, please go to My eBay, click the Activity tab, and then click the Unsold link under the Sell heading.

<insert eBay item ID here> – Mini PCI Express 802.11g WiFi Wireless Card

Please use the following information to ensure you are following this policy:

Sellers aren’t allowed to list multiple, identical fixed-price items on eBay at the same time. The purpose of this policy is to prevent search results from being dominated by duplicate fixed price listings of the same item from the same seller. This change will make it easier for buyers to gain a quicker, in depth view of a greater range of items.

This policy also applies to sellers who:
– Lists in more than one category
– Uses different user IDs

To prevent further listing removals and violations, please be sure to turn off all automatic relisting features and remove any duplicate listings from your account. Further duplicate listings may result in additional action including listing cancellation, loss of fees, limits on account privileges, loss of seller status, and account suspensions

To find out more information on our duplicate fixed price listings policy, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-multi.html

We do allow members to sell multiple items in a single listing. For more information, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/listing-variations.html

Please be sure to remove any other duplicates from your current and future listings. Otherwise, they may be removed, and you may be subject to a range of other actions, including limits to your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.

Your listing(s) may be eligible for relisting through My eBay. If so you’ll see the listing in your Unsold Items page within My eBay. Those that are not eligible for relisting will not be visible in the Unsold Items page.

To relist your item, sign in to My eBay, go to your Unsold items and select the item that was cancelled. (It’s highlighted with a yellow banner.) Before relisting, please make any changes necessary to ensure that your listing is in compliance with the law and eBay policies.

You might want to check your other listings for similar violations.
You can review our listing removal policies and seller rules by clicking the links below.

Thanks for your understanding.
Sincerely,
eBay Trust and Safety team

Why eBay may remove your listing:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/questions/listing-ended.html
Knowing the rules for sellers:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/policies.html