31 July 2006
Apoptygma Berzerk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZhylgQYJ0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POLdetup-j4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPnmIyvb0mQ
Latest album grew on me but I still prefer the older stuff.
Xbox 360 Connectivity
Was fiddling around with the devices that I can connect to the Xbox 360.
I thought my camera, the Canon Powershot S70, would not work through USB as this page had the S40 & S50 listed as unsupported. But it did show up in the Media blade & was even named "Powershot S70". Even connected to the PC, it could be seen on the Media Center Extender.
Unfortunately, lady_bastet's digital camera, a Fuji FinePix F445, did not show up on either even though it was a mass storage device which I thought would definitely work.
Lastly, my Zen shows up on the Xbox 360 Media blade but haven't tested it on PC through Media Center Extender.
I thought my camera, the Canon Powershot S70, would not work through USB as this page had the S40 & S50 listed as unsupported. But it did show up in the Media blade & was even named "Powershot S70". Even connected to the PC, it could be seen on the Media Center Extender.
Unfortunately, lady_bastet's digital camera, a Fuji FinePix F445, did not show up on either even though it was a mass storage device which I thought would definitely work.
Lastly, my Zen shows up on the Xbox 360 Media blade but haven't tested it on PC through Media Center Extender.
30 July 2006
28 July 2006
26 July 2006
Continued Geekiness
Did some overhauling on the network last night. Decided I wanted to go back to wireless where possible.
Started off by upgrading the router's firmware. The firmware only resolves some existing issues, no new features but best to keep things up to date.
I decided to follow some security advisories which I've read before. First I used a random SSID for the router name. This increases anonymity to outside users. I used this WEP key generator to create the SSID, basically it just has to be random characters so I used the 64-bit key generator.
Next up, I reactivated WEP security. I had it turned off for a while because the MAC filtering locks things down tighter but I wanted a visible security on the router. I have to choose WEP because some simpler devices only support it. For this I used the above WEP generator for a 128-bit key.
After that, it was a matter of setting up my desktop, notebook & PDA to access the network (MAC addresses already configured in router) & you're done.
Started off by upgrading the router's firmware. The firmware only resolves some existing issues, no new features but best to keep things up to date.
I decided to follow some security advisories which I've read before. First I used a random SSID for the router name. This increases anonymity to outside users. I used this WEP key generator to create the SSID, basically it just has to be random characters so I used the 64-bit key generator.
Next up, I reactivated WEP security. I had it turned off for a while because the MAC filtering locks things down tighter but I wanted a visible security on the router. I have to choose WEP because some simpler devices only support it. For this I used the above WEP generator for a 128-bit key.
After that, it was a matter of setting up my desktop, notebook & PDA to access the network (MAC addresses already configured in router) & you're done.
25 July 2006
Virtual Fun
Showing my true geekiness, I've gone all retro with virtual PCs courtesy of Microsoft Virtual PC. No particular gain from a personal point of view, just a laugh.
I've set up virtual PCs for Windows Media Center Edition, Windows 98 SE & Windows 95 OSR2.
The trickiest one to get installed & updated was Windows 95.
First off I forgot the preparation involved for installation. I got a boot disk image from bootdisk.com which allowed me into DOS as the CD was not bootable. Then you have to prepare the partitions & format. Copied the WIN95 installation directory to the virtual hard drive as the CD support was lost after reboot. I realised this after a first run when it looks for files on the CD on initialisation.
The next problem was that Internet Explorer was so old (version 3.0), patches were tricky. IE 5.x is no longer available from Microsoft so I had to find it elsewhere on the net. Once that was upgraded, I could update a few bits on Windows Update.
Goes to show that the installation process has been simplified a lot over the years.
I've set up virtual PCs for Windows Media Center Edition, Windows 98 SE & Windows 95 OSR2.
The trickiest one to get installed & updated was Windows 95.
First off I forgot the preparation involved for installation. I got a boot disk image from bootdisk.com which allowed me into DOS as the CD was not bootable. Then you have to prepare the partitions & format. Copied the WIN95 installation directory to the virtual hard drive as the CD support was lost after reboot. I realised this after a first run when it looks for files on the CD on initialisation.
The next problem was that Internet Explorer was so old (version 3.0), patches were tricky. IE 5.x is no longer available from Microsoft so I had to find it elsewhere on the net. Once that was upgraded, I could update a few bits on Windows Update.
Goes to show that the installation process has been simplified a lot over the years.
21 July 2006
Surprised
Tested out a few things on the new Xbox 360.
First up was the USB keyboard support. I figured it would work with direct cabled USB keyboards but didn't think my wireless keyboard would work but it did. Not going to worry about it for the time being as I don't chat on Xbox Live yet & that's where it comes in handy but at least I know it works. Not sure if it's wireless drivers are installed on the Xbox 360 or what but hey it works. Must test it in the Media Center Extender for Messenger chat, etc.
On the downside, the Media Center Extender funcationality works great except for a few videos which won't play sound (video is fine). All my videos are raw DVD rips (no encoding) so all should be the same. If it comes down to the codec on the PC, well then it's odd because sound works on most videos. Just a little glitch to sort out on the forums
First up was the USB keyboard support. I figured it would work with direct cabled USB keyboards but didn't think my wireless keyboard would work but it did. Not going to worry about it for the time being as I don't chat on Xbox Live yet & that's where it comes in handy but at least I know it works. Not sure if it's wireless drivers are installed on the Xbox 360 or what but hey it works. Must test it in the Media Center Extender for Messenger chat, etc.
On the downside, the Media Center Extender funcationality works great except for a few videos which won't play sound (video is fine). All my videos are raw DVD rips (no encoding) so all should be the same. If it comes down to the codec on the PC, well then it's odd because sound works on most videos. Just a little glitch to sort out on the forums
18 July 2006
New Gadgetry
Bought an Xbox 360 on the weekend. I went for the premium version with the hard drive & wireless controller of course. It totally rocks. Xbox Live has great trailers, demos & other downloads. I have it hooked up to my Media Center PC so I can stream music, pictures & videos. It's also backwards compatible with over half my original Xbox games (more to come, I hope).
I'm holding off on the Canon EOS 30D for a few more months for financial & decisional reasons.
Last week I got a USB sync cable for my Axim because the docking cradle was too bulky to carry around. Bit of a mix up at first because I ordered the cable from the old model because I thought it would be compatible. Got a refund from Dell & ordered the correct one from Sales over the phone. Strange it's not listed on the site though.
I'm holding off on the Canon EOS 30D for a few more months for financial & decisional reasons.
Last week I got a USB sync cable for my Axim because the docking cradle was too bulky to carry around. Bit of a mix up at first because I ordered the cable from the old model because I thought it would be compatible. Got a refund from Dell & ordered the correct one from Sales over the phone. Strange it's not listed on the site though.
12 July 2006
Some YouTubeness...
Rob Dougan
Clubbed to Death http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpRHAgTVCTw
Furious Angels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCxiHOxuH9k
Lestat (from Queen of the Damned)
Forsaken http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDncqixIkWk
Redeemer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3_V7TrPMx4
System http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN5dJIemMLY
Clubbed to Death http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpRHAgTVCTw
Furious Angels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCxiHOxuH9k
Lestat (from Queen of the Damned)
Forsaken http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDncqixIkWk
Redeemer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3_V7TrPMx4
System http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN5dJIemMLY
04 July 2006
Battle for Bunratty Castle
Here's my first batch of photos from Bunratty & our weekend trip...
Had to do so quick photo fixing on a lot of them to remove a thin barrier rope so that's what the weird blurring is on some of them.
Had to do so quick photo fixing on a lot of them to remove a thin barrier rope so that's what the weird blurring is on some of them.
Axim Update
Got a new ROM update (A12) for my Axim. Fixes a good few problems with the device/OS but people on the AximSite forums were having difficulties applying the update.
Had a few scary moments but I let the process follow through & it did update.
My biggest problem was with the disappearing memory cards (hack available) but I think the current ROM addressed that by changing the update schedule from X minutes to "as received" or something like that.
Had a few scary moments but I let the process follow through & it did update.
My biggest problem was with the disappearing memory cards (hack available) but I think the current ROM addressed that by changing the update schedule from X minutes to "as received" or something like that.
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