yorkspace.com

Dell Latitude D620 Running Windows 7

jasonyork — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:52:52 +0000

This is just a quick note for anyone running Windows on a Latitude D620. I had all kinds of problems trying to get the SPDIF output working properly under Windows 7. It wasn’t until I went back and installed the Windows XP audio drivers, I got it to work. I got the Windows Vista drivers to recognize it. However whenever it played any audio I kept getting a popping or cracking sound. It was acting like it was enabling and disabling the device every time it played anything. With the XP driver I don’t have that problem.

… did you mean recursion?

jasonyork — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:21:36 +0000

This was just too funny, I had to share. If you don’t get it, you’re probably not a geek. Don’t worry about it. This has got to be a Google easter egg.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=recursion

Using Public Keys With Dropbear SSH Client

jasonyork — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:08:48 +0000

I ran into a little bit of a hiccup getting my OpenWRT NSLU2 device to automatically rsync to a remote host. It turns out that the dropbear ssh client works a bit differently when attempting to use key based authentication. In order to rsync files from a remote host using a cron script, this is critical. I found plenty of examples on setting up key based authentication using dropbear as the HOST, but not as the CLIENT. Here’s how I did it:

This assumes that the OpenWRT device is named ‘nas’ and the remote machine is ‘webhost’. The goal is to allow ‘nas’ to authenticate to ‘webhost’ using a key instead of a password.

First, generate your identity key on ‘nas’

dropbearkey -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Since dropbear stores its keys in different format, it needs to be converted for a standard SSH server:

dropbearkey -y -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa | grep “^ssh-rsa ” >> authorized_keys

Now copy or (concatenate) ‘authorized_keys’ to ~/.ssh on ‘webhost’. Ensure that permissions on this file are set to 600.
You should now be able to ssh without a password.

root@nas:~# ssh user@webhost -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Notice that you need to explicitly specify the identity file on the command line. Dropbear does not automatically look for it like OpenSSH does.

Now that ssh works, I can easily perform an automated rsync:

rsync -avz -e “ssh -i /root/.ssh/id_rsa” user@webhost:some-file-there.txt some-file-here.txt

Hope that helps!

Linksys NSLU2 OpenWRT NAS and Backup Solution

jasonyork — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:27:07 +0000

Until recently, I’ve had a dedicated PC running SUSE Linux serving as network attached storage and a backup server. I really wanted to get rid of the necessity of running another PC 24/7 with all the noise and power consumption. I decided to revisit a solution I had looked at a year or so ago, the Linksys NSLU2.

There are goals I was trying to accomplish:

Serve as a network attached storage device
Perform as a backup server for our two laptops
Backup data on my web host
Sync all the data to a secondary drive

However, just the stock NSLU2 wouldn’t do, which brought me to OpenWRT. The following is a quick step by step of how I configured it to do what I wanted. This probably isn’t for the novice, but between this and the NSLU2 wiki, you should be able to figure everything out.

My hardware configuration consists of the NSLU2 with two 500GB external hard drives. The primary drive serves as the network share along with the root and swap partitions for the NSLU2. The secondary drive’s only purpose is to backup all the data on the primary. I also have a third 500GB external drive that I periodically swap out with the secondary drive and store it off site.

Here are the steps I went through to configure it:

Get the OpenWrt Binary
Enter upgrade mode and flash the device with the Sercomm Update Utility.
Telnet to 192.168.1.1 and change the root password.
SSH in and Modify /etc/config/network. Change IP address if you want something different. Add the following:

option dns
option gateway
Reboot and SSH to the new IP Address
Read up on how to configure to boot from a USB device.

opkg update
opkg install kmod-usb-core kmod-scsi-core kmod-usb-storage kmod-usb2 kmod-fs-ext3
insmod jbd
insmod ext3
insmod ehci-hcd
(ignore errors)
opkg install e2fsprogs fdisk
Reboot, then mount it and copy the filesystem to your USB-device

mount -t ext2 /dev/sda1 /mnt
mkdir /tmp/root
mount -o bind /rom /tmp/root
cp /tmp/root/* /mnt -a
umount /tmp/root
umount /mnt
Add the following to /etc/init.d/pivotroot

#!/bin/sh
# change this to your boot device
boot_dev=”/dev/sda1″
/sbin/hotplug2 –override –persistent –max-children 1 –no-coldplug &
for module in usbcore ehci scsi_mod sd_mod usb-storage jbd ext3 ; do {
insmod $module
}; done

# this may need to be higher if your disk is slow to initialize
sleep 30s
# mount the usb stick
mount “$boot_dev” /mnt
# if everything looks ok, do the pivot root
killall hotplug2
[ -x /mnt/sbin/init ] &}
Make it executable

chmod a+x /etc/init.d/pivotroot
Make the symlink so it will start at boot time then reboot

ln -s /etc/init.d/pivotroot /etc/rc.d/S10pivotroot
At this point you may have to telnet back in and set the root password again, then come back in via SSH
Setup resolv.conf

rm /etc/resolv.conf
ln -s /tmp/resolv.conf.auto /etc/resolv.conf
Install packages needed for swapspace and set it up

opkg update
opkg install swap-utils
mkswap /dev/sda2
swapon /dev/sda2
echo “#!/bin/sh” >> /etc/init.d/swapspace
echo “swapon /dev/sda2″ >> /etc/init.d/swapspace
chmod a+x /etc/init.d/swapspace
ln -s /etc/init.d/swapspace /etc/rc.d/S99swapspace
Install a better editor (sorry, I really prefer nano over vi, and out of habit, I still call it pico)

opkg install nano
ln -s /usr/bin/nano /usr/bin/pico
Install some other useful packages

opkg install ntpclient rsync fdisk bash ntpclient
NOTE: from this point forward you may need to mirror any changes to /etc in /mnt/etc. It’s best to keep them the same anyhow.
You’ll probably want to move/delete the following file. It messes up the mount points for the drive.

/etc/hotplug.d/usb/10-usb-storage

It’s much better to just set up where you want the drives mounted in /etc/mtab.
The following must be done in order for Samba to start properly
edit /etc/config/system with the hostname you want, if different than the default. I use ‘nas’

add following to /etc/config/luci_hosts

config ‘host’
option ‘ipaddr’
option ‘hostname’ ‘’
Get the samba server going (don’t use Samba 3)

opkg install samba-server samba-client

configure /etc/samba/smb.conf

smbpasswd -add
/etc/init.d/samba restart

Be sure to rename your samba startup script in /etc/rc.d so it starts after /etc/rc.d/S??luci_hosts runs
For Samba 2, if you’re connecting with a Visa client, you may need to make this registry change:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\LSA\
Change the key LmCompatibilityLevel from “3″ to “1″.
At this point in the game, I discovered how to over clock the slug. Apparently it really isn’t over clocking. The processor was designed to run at 266MHz, but Linksys chose to underclock it at 133MHz. I performed the hack successfully. It’s been working fine ever since.
Setup timezone for NTP (more info here)

echo GMT+6 > /etc/TZ

(adjust for your time zone. The above is US Central (DST), even though you may think the ‘+’ should be a ‘-’)
Make the same change in /etc/config/system
Create the startup script for rsync daemon

#!/bin/sh /etc/init.d/rsync
# Copyright (C) 2006 OpenWrt.org
START=50

start () {
/usr/bin/rsync –daemon
}

stop() {
killall -9 rsync
}
Create a crontab for the daily backup to run and time sync.

/etc/crontabs/root
0 2 * * * /root/daily_backup &
0 1 * * * /root/time_sync &

The time_sync file looks like this:

#!/bin/bash

# kill any existing ntpclient processes
# (they can get stuck if no route to target host)
/usr/bin/killall ntpclient

# do time sync
/usr/sbin/ntpclient -l -h north-america.pool.ntp.org -c 1 -s &

I’ll probably leave the daily_backup file for a future post. Basically what it does is retrieve files from my webhost, then syncs all the data from the primary drive to the secondary.
Configure /etc/rsyncd.conf to allow remote backups. I also added another user to the system with uid=1/gid=1 and I run rsync as that user. I also have Samba configured to give all the file permissions to that user as well instead of root.
Download, install and configure DeltaCopy client on the machines you want to back up.

Yeah, so this all seems a bit overkill perhaps. However, this little embedded device is replacing an entire PC for me and really, it’s probably no more complicated than setting up any other Linux machine to perform the same task. Plus, if there is something else I dream up later on that I want it to do, I’m not limited by a simple dedicated backup device.

New PC Speaker Set

jasonyork — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:25:08 +0000

I was recently shopping around for a new set of speakers for my PC because I’ve been increasingly dissatisfied with my current low-end Labtec set. They’re not bad for what they are, they just don’t have very good low end response when listening to music. I was really thinking about going 5.1, even though I mostly think it’s pointless to have surround sound for your computer desk.. I guess unless you’re a big gamer, of which I am not. However, the other reason is that my laptop docking station has a digial coax spdif output, which would be awesome for 5.1 surround.

My budget was under $100, and I really had a hard time finding anything with 5.1 surround for that price, and impossible with a digital input. That is, until I found this little gem on eBay. This Cambridge DTT2500 system [pdf manual]was originally $300 MSRP back in 2000, but I got it for $50 shipped, and it sounds awesome.

So, this also lead me down the path of properly configuring Windows XP to support 5.1 surround. Easier said than done of course. Whenever I set up a new surround sound system, my favorite test clip is the “Lobby Shooting Spree” scene from The Matrix. Not necessarily because it has the best surround effects, although they are good, it’s just an awesome loud shootout.

As I’m playing this, I notice, I’m not getting the 5.1 surround using my favorite media player, VLC. After a bit of research and experimentation, I found this cool AC3Filter that works with Windows Media Player Classic, which has a misleading name. It isn’t really the old Microsoft Media player… it’s an open source look alike that is way better. I’ve used it some in the past with some really cool tools like Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative. So, a little tweaking and I had the full 5.1 surround of the shooting spree… and I think I may have a new favorite media player.

Free Suckers

jasonyork — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:56:34 +0000

So, the other day I took the girls to the store to pick up a few groceries. I carried the little one while the older got to push one of the special kids’ carts. These are just a miniature version of the adult carts. As my proud daughter pushes her cart past the checkout lines while we enter the store, she suddenly stops and randomly exclaims: “Daddy! you forgot to brush my teeth this morning!”

And, yes, in fact I did forget to brush her teeth that morning. But we forged ahead and got our groceries anyway. At checkout, with her little cart full, we head for the self-checkout, despite some youngster protest. I didn’t figure out why until we were about to leave when I was reminded that she didn’t get a sucker. You see, they only have suckers at the cashier manned checkouts.

Rewards are a powerful motivator for kids and free motivation tools for parents is a powerful marketing technique. If our kids do not behave while we are shopping they don’t get a sucker. We do a lot of shopping at this particular store partially because they have the checkout suckers and if the kids are good, we have an overall positive experience shopping there making us wanting to return.

In some companies, the free suckers are the first thing to go when times get tough. Then they wonder why their bottom line isn’t improving from their sophisticated sucker cost reduction measure. Customer service and emphasis on the customer experience seems to be a lost art at almost everywhere. I know this isn’t news to anyone, but I was just thinking about this when I read this article over on The Consumerist. The saddest thing is that CSR have absolutely no motivation to make the customer experience even remotely enjoyable. This also ties into another awesome audio book I’ve been listening to: Good to Great by Jim Collins. This is a great book, especially for those that really like to have the proof behind the theory. If you have a business or work for a business or do business with a business, you should read this book.

After checking out and driving away, in the car eating her sucker, my daughter was somehow much less concerned that her teeth had not been brushed that morning.

Low Tech Solution for a High Tech Problem

jasonyork — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:18:06 +0000

If you have or have ever had an 18 month old child (and older) one thing you find is that they like buttons. Mine do anyway. They like to push them. Remote control buttons, computer CD-ROM eject buttons, elevator buttons, alarm clock buttons.. you get the idea. The most annoying, however is the TV power button. The annoyance comes in two forms. First, of course when your watching TV and the child likes to turn the TV on and off. Second, when you’re not watching TV. The older child convinces the younger to turn the TV on so that she has plausible deniability to claim “I didn’t do it.”

So, being the electrical engineer, I take the classical approach of how it would be cool to install a tiny disable switch on the side of the TV. The kids wouldn’t be able to reach or find it, yet could still be used by an adult on the rare occasion the remote is MIA. Then, as usual, reality sets in and I realize I would never have time to install even such a simple device and life goes on.

So, I come home from work on day, and I find my wife has found an ingenious non-technical solution to our little “problem.” See photo below. The solution came in the form of a $0.50 3 x 5 plexiglass photo stand. Sliding the base under the TV and the face over the buttons keeps the little fingers away, but still allows the IR from the remote to hit the sensor. Problem solved.

DD-WRT to the Rescue!

jasonyork — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:58:37 +0000

We recently had a storm come through that knocked out our cable internet for a day. Adding to the torture of being without internet for almost the whole weekend, my router started to wig out when the connection did come back up. I was able to plug my machine directly to the modem, and get a connection, but I got nothing when connected to my Linksys WRT54G.

I spent way too much time trying to get the issue sorted out and it turned out to be a sporadic problem. When everything was lined up just right I sometimes would get the router to act properly. Even when I did get a connection to the internet established, I could never get port forwarding working. I was starting to suspect maybe my ISP was blocking ports, but I couldn’t find anyone complaining out that on any forums. I’ve been using this router for a few years with my previous DSL connection and it worked like a champ, so this whole issue was very frustrating.

Quite a while back I had heard about the DD-WRT project and was really impressed by it. Well, now with nothing to loose, I decided to flash my router with the DD-WRT firmware.

The whole process was really painless. I just followed the instructions for my specific router and I didn’t have any problems. The web interface is really slick and adds a ton of functionality that’s not in the factory firmware. One of the first things I noticed was a setting for “STP” and the help text says to “Disable for Comcast ISP.’ Hmm… interesting. I finished the configuration and I was up and running right away. I even got the port forwarding turned on without any problems.

Skype Dialog Killer

jasonyork — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:59:13 +0000

So, I’m a regular VOIP user now. I’ve been using Skype for over a year now to make PC to phone calls and I’ve been very impressed. Over the last few months I’ve been using it much more heavily and I just purchased a Skype In number to receive calls from regular phones. However, it isn’t always convenient to use a headset attached to my PC to make and receive calls. I decided to try one of these cheap little USB to phone adapters.

Along with one of these adapters, there’s a little “helper” app called SkypeMate. This basically allows the USB box to interface with Skype and you can use your regular telephone handsets with Skype. I’ve also been really impressed at how well this works. I really can’t even tell the difference between using Skype and a regular phone line.

However, this post is not a review of the USB phone adapter. One of the problems that quickly became evident is that after every few calls, the Skype application pops up a “Call Quality Feedback” window. Until you close this window, you can’t make any more Skype calls and you can’t disable it from coming up. The same thing also happens when you call someone who’s not in your contact list, Skype prompts you for some info for the contact to add to your list. Normally this might be convenient, but not if you don’t want to check the computer all the time.

So, I used one of my favorite scripting languages, AutoIT to look for these windows and automatically close them. The little application I’ve attached below called skypeclosefeedback checks for either of the above mentioned Skype windows every five seconds and automatically closes them. Just place a shortcut in your Startup folder and it will just sit in your system tray. Enjoy!

closeskypefeedback.exe
..and for those who want to run the source themselves…
closeskypefeedback.au3

Super Size Your Drive

jasonyork — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:58:59 +0000

Last week, my wife and I had the rare opportunity to go out on a “date” (which means do anything without the kids) to get some coffee at the bookstore. I picked up an audio book on clearance and decided to give it a whirl. I just completed a drive from Michigan to Tennessee (more on that later) and it was so good that I listened to the whole thing straight through. So, why not give y’all a review (see, I’m in Tennessee.)

The audio book is “Don’t Eat This Book” by Morgan Spurlock, the maker of the hit movie Super Size Me. If you’ve never seen it, you need to.

I was a little hesitant to buy it at first because I thought it might just be a rehash of the movie, but it wasn’t. While he does hit on the same topics as the movie, he goes into MUCH greater detail on everything. The book is read by the author and Spurlock does a great job of keeping things interesting and entertaining.

Even before I saw “Super Size Me” I would rarely go to McDonald’s, but that doesn’t mean I don’t eat fast food, (I just don’t like McDonalds.) However, we have a three year old, and a couple months ago, in a moment of weakness, my wife and I stopped at McDonald’s for dinner because, of course, they have a “playland.” Now, we generally limit our daughter’s TV viewing, and when she does, she rarely is subjected to commercials (thanks MythTV.) So, she doesn’t actually know it’s called McDonald’s. We’ve been teaching her letters and associate them with a word. Since “M” is for “Mommy”, hence she thinks the “M-Mommy Store” is McDonald’s.

All the reasons why I hate McDonald’s come back to mind. After waiting literally 15 minutes in line (with only two people in front of me) we get our food. I walk over to the pop fountains to get my drink as my feet stick and peel from the floor with every step. There were actually flies buzzing around the machines. Then finding a table that isn’t dirty is always a challenge, especially one near the play area. Then finding a high chair for our infant that isn’t slathered in ketchup is asking for too much. Oh, and don’t forget that they messed up making one of the burgers.

So, if the dining experience isn’t enough to keep you away, “Don’t Eat This Book” will surely push you over the edge. Spurlock covers more than just the nutritional aspects, he talks about how the food is produced, advertising techniques, health care and school lunch programs.

I’m not big at all on new year’s resolutions. I think that if you want to change something about your life, just do it. Don’t wait until January first. But since it is the new year, after listening to this book, it has really motivated me to watch what I eat. Many of the things he talks about regarding eating unprocessed food just makes a lot of sense. It’s a good thing I didn’t start chapter seven until after lunch. As I hopped back in my truck and pulled away from Wendy’s (yes, I see the irony) and listened to that chapter it really made my stomach turn. It’s really good and motivating information though.

I am generally a big proponent of personal responsibility. If you know something is bad for you and you do it anyway, it’s your own dumb fault. However, one of the major points of the book that Spurlock tries to make is that while you may choose to do something that is bad for you, you generally know how bad it is and have a reasonable expectation of what the consequences are. The premise is that the fast food industry goes to great extents to deceive the public about all of the consequences of eating their product. He draws many parallels to the tobacco industry and the litigation that resulted.

If you’re the type of person that absolutely hates numbers and statistics, then this is not the book for you. But, if you’re like me, I enjoy hearing someone put together a compelling case for something with the facts to back it up. Spurlock manages to do this and still keep it entertaining, so I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. In the end, I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, and we all know that statistics can be manipulated to make either side look good. But, even if he’s half wrong, he still has a good case and he gives you A LOT of things to think about.