HDTV on my PC

September 24th, 2011 Thomasso

My pet project has finally come to fruition, as I now can watch HDTV on my Personal Computer, and record in high definition too, just like a PVR. This is due to my latest purchase, a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1250 (Model 1201) that I got today. This video card is a TV capture PCI Express bus type that can view both digital high definition, and regular old analogue signals. For my purposes, I am using the card for capturing off air HD TV from a old pair of rabbit ears that came with my old school CRT TV set of yesteryear.

I live close enough to the transmitters to receive between 8 and 10 signals from Canada and the US, so with that kind of selection, I thought I would invest in a card that would allow me to make my PC into a personal video recorder, (PVR). This is also why I can use an old pair of rabbit ears for my antenna.

I was worried that buying a capture video card was going to be a challenge becuase I wanted to record in HD, so that I could watch my programs in that format during playback. So I picked the hauppauge brand over a bunch of others becuase of the great reviews Hauppauge was getting. Then when I decided to go a hunt down a card, almost every store in the Lower Mainland had none in stock. I suspect that there is a run on them now that our off-air channels are strictly digital?

I found a card, which was not my first choice, but it had all the specification I needed. I originally wanted the WinTV-HVR-1600, or higher, but no one had any in stock. London Drug, in Langley City had this 1250, which was previous opened by another customer who probably did not know that this was for PCI Express X16 card slot, so I got for a discount price. Lucky me. My only worry was does this card capture in MPEG2 format. It does. In fact, whatever the station’s output, it captures in that format – 1080i, 720p, etc.

I run all my machines on Linux, using Ubuntu. The card is supported in Linux by Hauppauge. It works very well for digital capturing using Linux, and the best software that I have found so far for this card is ME-TV. It does the scan, and has a wonderful format for scheduling the recording of programs, and the interface is very user friendly too.

From start to finish, installing the capture card, downloading the software, and scanning the channels, it took me about ten minutes before I was watching HDTV goodness.

The major drawback that I found was the antenna placement was really critical. Fortunately, you can save all of your scanned channels, and then scan for more when you reposition the antenna, then save those too to your config file.

I am very happy with this card, and the whole off-air digital idea. I am almost ready to ditch cable altogether.

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Happy Brithday Linux!

September 17th, 2011 Thomasso

Wow, this caught me off guard this morning as I turned on my Twitter account to see what was tweeting. A tweet appeared, that almost didn’t catch my eye, about Linux being twenty years old today. If it were not for the Window$ Workstation that I was on crashing, as it froze up from a bug in its security software, I would have missed that tweet. Thankfully, armed with my laptop, loaded with Linux, I was able to read the tweet, and continue on troubleshooting why the workstation crashed. Yes, irony and sarcasm are at play in my mind on this subject between the two operating systems.

My Linux experience really did not start until 1998-99 becuase computers were still very much a costly item back then. And where I lived at the time there was no Intranet in that part of rural Canada so being hip onto what was in fashion and new, I was still wearing animal skins and hunting and gathering for my food in the time-line sense. My first computer was a VIC-20 Commodore Computer, and then the Comnodore-64.  But my first experience with Linux was through SOL-unix OS ( using classic Pentium chip/with 4 MBs of RAM, and a 8G HD), then switching over to  Red Hat (2003), and today I only use Ubuntu. I quickly learned the value of Open Source computing when Internet crimes started to make headlines around the world. The Open Source world of computing dirty little secret was that a password is needed all the time to install anything, whether software or updates. Hackers have to resort to other means of taking your data, and planting malware, unlike the propitiatory OS where updates and installs are done in the background, sometimes without the user’s knowledge.

The ability to program and fix and write software to suit my needs was the selling point of the free OS, a.k.a. LINUX.  I was able to tailor my systems and become more productive without the huge costs that my competitors were suffering with. Remember, I did four years of university using only Linux, and I was able to do more, save money and not have to worry about system failures during upgrades as compared to my colleagues suffering with their system’s issues. In fact, I am very certain that the person who had stolen my lap top, back in 2006 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey Campus, would have had a very difficult time cracking my Linux machine becuase of the encryption that naturally came with the Linux OS.

Happy birthday Linux – the big Twenty. My how time flies when you are having fun!

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My Favourite Screensaver, SkyRockets, in Ubuntu

August 20th, 2011 Thomasso

This post is more or less just a review of how to install Xscreensaver on your Linux box, Ubuntu 11.04, or older, and then to install one of my favourite screensavers called Skyrockets from Really Slick Screensavers. I put it here so if I have to do a fresh install of Ubuntu, I can quickly change the screensaver to my favourites. The only thing that I cannot get working is the audio that is supposedly available for the screensaver. I have heard the audio work on Window$, so I know it is there, so the OpenAL still must be broken in Ubuntu/Linux.

ADDED: I did get the audio to work. Open your Ubuntu Software Centre window application and search OpenAL. Install the OpenAL-Soft Configuration Utility. This will be found at System –> Preferences –> OpenAL-Soft Configuration Utility. You will have to tweak the settings, but it will work. The sound effects are quite cheesy, but they do work with the screensaver, Skyrockets. Hint: I turned the volume down very low, and that is when I noticed it working.

The procedure is basic, requiring only a few command-lines, and a small hack of the .xscreensaver  file with a text editor. The whole procedure should take about five minutes, depending on your network connection to the repositories.

Problem

The fine folks who consolidated the inner working of Ubuntu have repeatedly decided after each incarnation of the OS to stick with the Gnome-Screensaver application which severely limits the user’s use to make tweaks to the screensavers. Perhaps the thinking was that users would be prone to crashing there older model PCs with setting screensavers to high, or something? Either way, the best option to using screensavers on the Ubuntu, Gnome Desktop, is to uninstall the Gnome Screensaver application.

Procedure

You can Copy and Paste each command-line into your Terminal Window.

1. Uninstall  the Gnome Screensaver application: sudo apt-get remove gnome-screensaver
2. Install Xscreensaver: sudo apt-get install xscreensaver
3. Now to tell Ubuntu to make Xscreensaver run at start-up: xscreensaver -nosplash
4. Remember that you now have to reset all of your settings for the screensaver control settings for Xscreensaver because Gnome-Screenscaer is gone.
5. To make all the screensavers enabled type in: sudo apt-get install unicode-screensaver xscreensaver-gl-extra rss-glx xscreensaver-data-extra

So now you are back to square one with your screensaver settings. If you noticed, none of the screensavers from Really-Slick-Screensavers are in the drop-down list of the Xscreensaver’s window. This is where we will have to do a little hack in the .xscreensaver file.

Install the Really-Slick-Screensavers: sudo apt-get install rss-glx

Once Really-Slick-Screensavers is installed, go to this directory  /usr/share/doc/rss-glx and open the text file with a text editor. This file will tell you how to add the new screensaver to the Xscreensaver control window so that you will be able to have more control of these really cool screensavers. The .xscreensaver file is found in  your $Home directory by choosing the “view hidden files” option in Nautilus File Window.

Now test it out, and enjoy. You should have Skyrockets and the rest of the screensavers in the list on the Xscreensaver’s window.

Sources

Ubuntu Geek: How to replace Gnome-screensaver with Xscreensaver in Ubuntu

Community Ubuntu: RSS-GXL

Really Slick Screensavers: Home Page

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Running Out of Blocks-3D Art.

May 28th, 2011 Thomasso

Yes, another boring day, as far as not being able to get outside becuase of the rain. So, I found myself playing around with my favourite ProvRay modeller, KPovModeler, used specifically for Linux.  I’ll post the link for Kpov. at the end of this post if you are interested in trying it our on your Linux box.

This render only took about a half-hour to create, then 10 seconds to render, and another few seconds to scale and post. I was going to try and change the camera position, but I started to run out of RAM when I copied up to about 400 blocks. Moving objects around in Kpov started to become an ordeal as my poor computer started to get bogged down. So I just stopped here, and called it finished. RAM is a huge issue when working in 3D–you need lots of it.

OK, the tools I sue for creating this scene with are, PovRay, or course, and Kpovmodeler, which both can be downloaded from either the respecting websites, or from off of the Ubuntu repositories. Kpovmodeler is super easy to use and, with enough practice, you can really create some cool works of art with it.

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More Inkscape Drawing Time

May 7th, 2011 Thomasso

This morning I had some (precious) time to myself where I could let go and dive into some art programs that I love using. I clicked on Inkscape and a way I went.

This image started out as a blob that I was originally going to make some widgets with for a website, but then it transformed into a woman, wearing a dress, sitting. After tweaking the woman and making her sit as if she meditating, I thought afterwards of adding/making her playing a harp. The harp looked way too tacky, so I upgraded the instrument to an old-English guitar, and added more details on her arms. In Inkscape, this was too easy.

From start to finished, what you see now, it took 2hrs:34mm:12scs according to my desktop log.

The leaves I made from a single layer, and then just clumped them by combining that same pattern into clumps of different colours and more patterns, and then scaling the odd layer to add depth. The grass was the same way, but I should have spent more time on them.

My starting point was her face, followed by her hair, then everything progressed from there, completing her dress, then the guitar, arms, and background last. In vector graphics, becuase a single element is a layer, ending with the background is very possible, and easy with little or no editing.

Yes, I do plan on continuing with this image. I made the original size over 2000px x 5000px, and becuase it is vector, It can be scaled effortlessly, and I want to add upwards of 2000 elements to it. I would like to see some major detail don to it.

Inkscape is, of course, a free, open source program that is cross platform. This means that you are free to download it and use it with all rights and privileges, and it will work no matter what OS you have. You can get it here: http://inkscape.org/

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At the End of April

April 30th, 2011 Thomasso

Another month gone by, and hopefully the next one, May, the weather will start warming up outside. It has been so cold so far for spring, and I am getting sick of it. I will not miss April. I will not miss the days full of rain, and those days when the nights dipped below the freezing mark. I just want April to be a distant memory by tomorrow morning.

I know, this year is the La Niña winter and spring effect, according to the US weather observation web site. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that so far, as this season, it has been bitter cool one so far. Along with the rain and super cloudy days, I am just hating it. I am sort of hoping that it will at least start to warm up enough so that the days are sunny, and not overcast all of the time really soon. I really do not mind if the summer is cool, as the super hot summer suck too, but this has to start quickly, or I am going to go back into hibernation!

On Monday, Election day, I have an interview with a very sought after employer. I will be doing the interview first thing in the morning, so Tomorrow I will be going to bed unusually early so that I can start Monday around 5:00am. I want to be fully awake for that interview.

Not only am I to have the interview, but there is going to be some testing too right after. Apparently, a lot of Canadian businesses are following the American’s lead into this. I guess they figure it works – weeding out the undesirables and looking for that perfect fit. Sure? And there is of course a drug test, and criminal background check also.

I wonder if they have a political aptitude test too? You know, weed out Communists and Liberals?

So fingers crossed, and I am putting on all of my lucky charms. I really want to work there!

I am liking the new/latest Ubuntu look and feel. I like the new Desktop that Ubuntu 11.04 has come out with, it looks really sharp and well organized. It is taking some time to get used to, but so far everything is looking great. My PC seems to be running a little bit smoother with the new setup.

Of course, no new upgrade can come without the calls and emails from my friends who are finding some of the new changes a little hard to cope with. I was prepared this time. I am now sending out links for the all How-To website that I can find. Most of the changes on the Desktop are cosmetic, so it is just a matter of finding what you are looking because the icons have changed. This is a major change to the Desktop so I have already received about ten emails asking where everything is.

I think Ubuntu has gone with the Unity Desktop theme because is looks more like the Smart Phone face than anything else. I think more and more people are loading Ubuntu onto their touch pads and phones. Yes, apparently you can do that. Plus, I know most people now have really wide monitors, so having the icons along the side now makes sense. Navigation is a little hard to get used to, but once you get the feel, it works just as well as the carrot-stick menu bar did.

Posted in Bitching about weather, Bitching about work, Diatribe, General, Linux, Software | Comments Off

Yes, Ubuntu 11.04 is Out in Less Than 4 days!

April 24th, 2011 Thomasso

Well folks, or for those of you who live in the free world, the next release of Ubuntu is out on the 28th of this month! Code name Natty Narwhal, 11.04 will have a new look, and some extra features. I cannot wait! UBUNTU 11.04.

For those of you that are currently running Ubuntu 10.10 on your systems already, the update/upgrade should be automatic for you. But, if you are running another OS, then follow the instructions from the Ubuntu web site, and you can run a dual boot system.It is an entirely free operating system – no strings attached.

Have a look at the web site, and enjoy Linux–the best OS in the world!

Here is what the Ubuntu Beta 3 looks like on this YouTube clip. This should give you an idea of what to expect from this OS. It is very user friendly, and very secure compared to other more popular OS’s.

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Bad Drive – What Ya Gonna Do

March 18th, 2011 Thomasso

Last night I was doing my usual evening on-line work, tweeting, emails, posting, when all of a sudden a message flashed on my Desktop tray alerting me to a “Hard Drive Failure imminent,” alert. The threatening, menacing, perilous message was in black and yellow colours, and then turned red once it had been on for about ten minutes. Usually when these things happen you can get one or two more uses out of the hard disk before they finally go kaput. This one was in dire-straights.

So I cut my session short with the PC and started doing a emergency backup of all the data on that drive.  Things were going great until I got to the halfway mark when drive suddenly stopped working. I heard it spool-down, then it just topped. I shut the system down, and then rebooted so that I could check the BIOS to see if the drive was still being recognised. It was not. Plan A.

So I physically removed the drive and attached it to my test machine. It would not power it up. This was starting to get weird because I could get power to the unit, and I could hear the platter spinning, but no connectivity on the old ATA-100/133 IDE PATA 40-Pin connection. In fact, the BIOS would not see it, period.

So I swapped the board on the drive with another one from the same manufacture, ATA, and then success. But the damaged clusters on the drive were so bad that the test machine was not picking anything up. So, on to plan B.

I took the drive apart, being very mindful of the hazards of exposing the platter to the environment, and I used the “box” which keeps the components nice and clean while letting me handle the pieces so that I can resemble them into the data recovery unit. It is so nice to have a work lab that I have access to.

Within a couple of minutes I had recovered the data, or what I could get from it, on the 80GB drive. I rescanned the drive again to check to see if I could get more data recovered from it, but the drive was so far gone. I managed to recover about 80 percent of the drive’s content.

Once done, then I put the platter through the final wipe-clean process, so no matter who wanted it, the data on it is gone for good. On top of this, I saved myself about $400.00 having a data recovery company do it.

The platter, motor and sleeve bushing of the dead 80GB hard drive that I recovered from. The whole process took me about 20 minutes starting plan B.

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Statistically Normal

January 3rd, 2011 Thomasso

For my regular friends and readers, this post will not mean that much to you. In fact, if you attempted to read it, it might bore you to tears, and too much prolonged exposure could cause death from boredom. So, please use caution when reading this post, or anything about statistical analysis. Only those who have suffered through four years of Stats in University will appreciate this post, but the warning still applies to them as well.

About three weeks ago I migrated to my latest “super” computer that I splurged on because I desperately needed an upgrade. This new unit has ten times more power than my previous machine did and the 1.5 terabyte hard drive added everything before I could only dream about as far as storage capacity goes. My last system was only 500 megabytes, so a huge step up from before.

I noticed that right away Ubuntu performed better than before with all this new horsepower under the hood. In fact, many of my favourite pieces of software actually increased by fifty percent, mainly because of the new video card and tons of RAM. Anyway… .

Last night I loaded up a program called “C,” which is the almost, unofficial software for doing statistical analysis around the world. C, is free and is open source and is far more powerful than the next big software package done by a company called SPSS. C still can still do many things that SPSS can, and C is unlimited, no licence fees and contains far more packages and add-ons than SPSS. However, C has one major limitation, it is command-line only, so that just eliminated 90 percent of all the users who wanted to do statistical analysis.

Fear not, I just found a GUI (graphic user interface) for C called “R Commander.”  Although it is not up to the standard of SPSS as far as recoding, editing data sets and certain types of analysis (yet), I would say it is about 60 percent there. R Commander does take advantage of some of the rich visual statistical analysis tools that C has to offer, and it does allow the user to explore many more tools than SPSS has in its collection of tools for most types of graphics.

Also, C, though R Commander, now allows you to take the data saved in SPSS, the .sav file format, and import it into C. However, there are a couple of issues I had when I first started working with imported file form SPSS. First, I cold not recode the data. In fact, I could get to the data sets up, showing me the raw data, to recode them. This is a major limitation for now. I’m sure once I spend more time with this I will figure it out. Second, R Commander will only give me limited information about certain type of data sets I needed to know. For example it would not tell me if the data was an interval or binary type, I sort of had to guess if I were going to do a t-statistic, or do a scatterplot graph. This is somewhat critical for my type of work that I do because I just want to look at the program window, choose my sets, and press the calculate button.

But I was able to do basic statical analysis with C Commander using imported data from SPSS. It is a start anyway. But most importantly, this is all free, unlike the $1400.00 price tag that SPSS offers rookie data miners like myself.

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Joyeux Noël

December 25th, 2010 Thomasso

like to say Joyeux Noël to my Christian friends, and all the other cultures that use the 25th of December to celebrate their respective holidays. I hope you all enjoy the holiday, and all the festivities that go along with it.

LOOKING BACK AT 1997

Although I did my celebrating days ago, today, I found, was a bit of a milestone for me. I was reading in my old journals and came upon this little tid-bit of my personal history. Actually this was quite a bit of a milestone to say the least?

On this week, way back in 1997, I was introduced to Linux for the very first time. Prior to that, I spent most of my time using a MAC, then onto Window$, but was never really savvy with the operating systems then. It was a two day computer science seminar that I took where I met up with some people who did a few lectures on new and cool software, software that we see today. The people that I met way back then  would then become almost world famous because they were the team that created Corel, the paint and photo software that competed with Microsoft’s products for the last decade. Corel was developed on Linux before it was sold as a multi-platform program. So later on that week in 1997 I took the CD home and on December 25, “1997,” I loaded my very first copy of Linux onto my PC.

Since that time, I have always had the OS on my PCs. It was in early 2003 that I completely switched all of my machines over to Linux because the cost of security and system failures was just too much. Now, I run one of the most stable and secure systems among my group of friends.

Since then, my development in Linux systems has put me in the forefront computer forensic software and development.  In my personal life, I am 100 percent Linux, using my personal favourite flavour called Ubuntu.

Unbelievable that that was back in 1997? How did we manage?

THE SANTA MYSTERY

Another question I like to pose to the kids out there is, “how does Santa get around so fast, from the North Pole, to everyone on the Earth”?

The best answer that I got so far is, “he has help…, lots of it, and they’re called Elves.”

Sure, but where does Santa keep them, and how do they get around all over the Earth? Apparently, that has a simple answer too. “They each get their own supper charged space, rocket powered, sled.”

One kid, who just made me laugh told me, “He just does, OK. It’s called magic, and you’re not supposed to know!”

So, there you go, the Santa Mystery.

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