Business As Usual At The Factory Of Idiot Dreams

Apple's World Record Attempt

2010-07-03T16:31:35Z

I'm the first to admit that I like, love even, Apple products.

I have to look on at the issues with the iPhone 4 with a degree of amusement. It's true that any phone's RF performance is going to be affected by being held. And it's also true that no standards exist for the display of signal bars on phones and all the phone manufacturer's have played games with the algorithms, whether for internal marketing reasons or because of customers comparing signal indications and inferring phone performance from them. So I perfectly understand the dilemma Apple have got themselves into.

But only Apple could make this blatant attempt at winning the reality distortion field world record:

Apple said yesterday it was 'stunned' to learn the signal strength graph on every iPhone made is not accurate, and is displaying much better reception than the phone is really getting. To fix it, Apple is going to recalibrate the display, essentially giving you fewer bars in more places.

Update: Taiwanese News recreates recent events:

Facetime

2010-06-08T14:20:32Z

So the iPhone 4 is here and has video calling...

"WTF, WiFi only" or "Well, duh, Europe has video calling for ages on 3G (although no-one uses it)" or "yeah, but it's iPhones only" and some rather extreme fanboy ones that I won't bother repeating.

In it's current form I think FaceTime is more of a marker or a technology demonstrator. It's not very useful as long as it is iPhones only simply because you can only call people with iPhones. Apple isn't stupid, they know this.

However, it's been built on (IP) standards so I think we can expect FaceTime to appear on Mac's pretty soon one way or another and most likely the iPad2 when it comes out. It won't take long before the ability to connect to other devices supporting the same standards appears. I think it's more of a direct challenge to Skype, made easy to use.

It's WiFi only (at the moment) to get people to try it without worrying about the cost, which would be punitive under 3G. People may not do video calls on 3G much, but they do them all the time on Skype.

And there's probably a good reason that it's been done with IP-centric protocols rather than 3G/UMTS video calls. That is a bet on the future.

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Probably the first home automation movie ever

2010-05-21T22:54:45Z

This house has features I can only dream about...

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Oh yeah I just love this sort of stuff

2010-05-21T22:28:05Z

Mechanical analogue computers ... although Jessica Alba in a bikini is apparently somehow related to this video? You Tube WTF? ...

... ah, OK ... Tube-bait. I watched it so you don't have to :-)

You have to be a geek to appreciate this

2010-05-20T21:24:49Z

Axed

2010-05-17T18:38:09Z

So Flash Forward has been axed.]]>

Ever since the success of the X-files there has been a succession of series based on the same on-going unresolved mystery scheme (or scam?): Lost, Flash Forward, Desperate Housewives, Heroes and I suppose numerous others that didn't make it to these shores.

It works for a while, since we all want a resolution to the mystery. But eventually the plot must either resolve and by definition end or we loose interest, realising we've been had and that there will never be a resolution, we are just attention-fodder for a "franchise". Even the X-files petered out under the weight of it's own contradictions and lack of new ideas in the end.

Unfortunately the replacement is remakes of classic's from the 70's. Which should never be attempted, in my opinion. (Dr Who doesn't count, it's not a re-make).

Useful WoL Utility for Macs

2010-03-17T21:10:36Z

WoL, or WakeonLan is the facility to wake a computer from a suspend or sleep mode by sending a magic packet to it via the LAN. Your motherboard must support it and you usually have to configure the BIOS to enable it.]]>

So, anyway, I wanted to send a WoL magic packet and found a really nice little Mac utility to do it: WakeUp.

If you need the same thing for a PC, then the AMD Magic Packet Utility seems popular.

I also found an even nicer Mac program that auto-scans your local network so you don't have to find out the Mac address, and it also has a dashboard widget as well: WakeOnLan. It has scheduled WakeUps as well and seems to have a Sleep button for Mac Os devices too. Really Cool !

Shock as I abandon Apple for Microsoft

2010-02-10T21:00:56Z

Yes, serious failings have led me to abandon Apple for Microsoft products nipple getting gunked up I finally gave up and bought a cheap Microsoft wireless mouse.

Why not the new Apple Magic Mouse?

i) Mixed reports on how good it is

ii) Price

iii) I use a Belkin KVM to switch my monitor between Mac Pro and Macbook so using a USB dongle based wireless mouse is simpler.

How's the Microsoft mouse? OK. Typical Microsoft that I had to reboot my whole computer after loading the driver. The driver creates a separate pref pane and the settings are split between this and the usual mouse settings. And the programmable buttons can't be set to show all Spaces, which is a bit weak, only Exposé views. The Scroll wheel has no friction at all which just feels a bit weird. It's ... OK.

I did look at Logitech mice, but didn't (easily) find a cheap wireless one that claimed Mac compatibility. Probably should have looked harder. Until the battery wore out I still think the Logitech Laser rechargeable one with docking cradle was probably the best mouse I've ever had.

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Halloween Macro

2009-11-27T00:02:19Z

OK, I know it's a bit late but I've been really busy ...

The first thing was to change the doorbell sound. I found a great archive of Addams Family .wav files which seemed quite appropriate. A bunch of sounds were installed and configured through the Sounds Behaviour dialog:

I then set the doorbell sounds as the Addams Family doorbell. I like this so much I've kept it:

Next I created a little macro:

The final step is to start the macro when the doorbell is rung by adding a connection to the doorbell:

So the end result is when anyone rings the doorbell the Addams Family gong is sounded. Then there is a loud ominous creaking as the front door is opened followed by Lurch's famous "You Rang". A little while after the door is closed again we get Lurch's groan. Quite appropriate for all those energy supplier hawkers we seem to get these days.

Next year I'll add some lighting effects. I think making sure the hall light goes off and triggering a strobe light ought to do the trick.

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M&S Plan A Fail

2009-11-23T20:04:47Z

Marks and Spencer have a high profile "Plan A" which, amongst other things, pledges to reduce waste:

We'll significantly reduce the amount of packaging and carrier bags that we use, and find new ways to recycle materials.

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It's that time of year again

2009-10-31T17:51:03Z

Yup, it's Halloween and yet again I'm expecting to be subjected to demands with menace.]]> Halloween treatment?

It seems I am not alone.

Mighty Mouse

2009-10-20T20:51:16Z

The Apple Mighty Mouse is pretty good as far as I am concerned, but it has one fatal flaw, the "nipple ball" collects gunk over time and despite all cleaning attempts, eventually it becomes unusable.
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Hold mouse firmly upside down and vigorously run the nipple on a lint free cloth, like your trouser leg.

Eventually this will be insufficient to budge the accumulated detritus* and you have to move to cleaning technique 2:

Drip IPA (not the beer) round the mouse, allow to soak and then apply technique 1.

Ultimately the gunk gets to the point where the small mechanism for the nipple ball is so choked up that these techniques will not shift it. I have read that there is a technique 3:

Acquire then flexible plastic band and insert round the ball and "floss" the mechanism.

Frankly, at the point that I have to floss my mouse's nipple I am giving up.

So I am really pleased to see that a new mouse has been announced. It does away with the nipple and uses touch sensitive techniques to provide the scroll ball facility. Ever since I got to the limits of technique 2 I have been waiting for touch techniques to be applied, it seems so obvious.

Watch the video to see how it works, contrary to some peoples' reports, you do not move the whole mouse for in-page scrolling, you just stroke the top surface.

On the Christmas list.

Apple Fan Boy?

2009-09-23T14:50:09Z

I've got a Mac Pro, the famously quiet workstation

OK, pop the side off and have a look: neat fan assembly, two screws, shouldn't be difficult. Even found the service manual on Scribd to check the instructions, yes it really is only two screws (after all, they do design these things for manufacture). OK, so just need a replacement part, machine is still under warranty and I've got AppleCare.

I'm within range of of an Apple service provider so should be an on-site visit. Ah, no, the service centre doesn't actually do repairs, they send it away, so no on-site repair and about a week turnaround.

OK, never mind, just send me the part, I'll fit it myself. Umm, no, not a user-serviceable part so can't do that. Why not take it to a Genius Bar?

Hmm, OK, that's Bristol, quite a long drive, I want to make sure I've got an appointment before travelling. Let's see, [clickity clack] Apple ... [clickity clack] Retail ... [clickity clack] Cabot Circus ... [clickity clack] Genius Bar ... [clickity clack] Make reservation. Looks promising.

Hmm, am I a guest or a member?

Member of what? OK, I'll try my Apple login, yup, but now confirm my One-to-One membership? I don't have that, it's for training and I don't need that. Why do I need training to use the Genius Bar to get my under-warranty computer fixed? Let's try "Guest". OK, I need the Genius Bar ... and I'd like help with my Mac.

No reservations available.

Well how about telling me when some reservations might become available?

Let's try POTS*. Dum dee dum ... 3 for reservations ... oh, "go to the website to book a reservation".

OK, let's try again, after all they did say try again later. Wow, this time there are reservation slots available. Choose an available day, from a choice of one. And a time, ditto, and a slot. Not much choice going on here is there. Must be a cancellation.

Now, is it just me or does anyone else anticipate that I'll lug my Mac Pro 80 odd miles only to find they don't have the requisite part in stock and I'll have to come back another time?

At this point I am thinking about my brother's experience with Dell support, they may have been incompetent in shipping duplicate spare parts, but at least he got on-site service.

So perhaps I can take it somewhere else and actually talk to a human being? Back to the web and look up my local service provider. To cut a long story short, after discussing the problem and the part needed they told me that I was entitled to on-site service. And they turned up when promised, sorted the fan quickly and efficiently and disappeared.

So why did Apple's service process completely fail at several points to offer me the on-site service that I had paid for?

*Plain Old Telephony

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Dell Powerconnect 2716

2009-08-05T13:24:08Z

These are quite nice little switches for home networking purposes, gigabit capability with jumbo frames, 16 ports, no fan, 12W power consumption and a basic managed capability for the adventurous.

So here's my process:-

1. Factory reset the switch if not new:

Use paperclip to change to unmanaged mode then push the paperclip in and hold until all the lights flash once as the switch restarts (about 20 seconds).

2. Connect a convenient laptop and log in to default 192.168.2.1. The laptop has to be configured to an IP in the same range 192.168.2.xxx.

3. Set a password and log out, clear your caches then login with the new credentials to check they work. If you use Johnnycache on Firefox you can disable caching for particular patterns.

If your browser password manager offers to save the password then allow it, but then go into the password manager and edit the password back to the correct password. Each time you login in the password manager will offer to store or update the password - never allow this since it will store the new munge and forget your password.

4. Connect to your DHCP server, keeping the connection to you laptop, and then go to IP addressing. Enable DHCP. At this point it will fetch the DHCP address but will not switch to it yet. Check that the desired IP address is shown and then check the "Apply DHCP Address" tick box. Apply the changes and you will be asked for confirmation. This will now reboot the switch and you have to use the new IP address to get to the web panel. The good news is that having done this it will always use whatever DHCP address it is served.

5. Work through any other configuration changes you need, apply and reboot.

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DFP retro-fit to MFP position

2009-07-24T23:05:07Z

The new DFP is designed to fit over either a single box (if no mains connections used) or a dual-box, whereas the MFP mounts on a double box. As I discussed in my DFP post, the DFP mounting back plate is not compatible with a double box. So my DFP has remained deskbound for quite some time.]]>

My favoured design was to create a flat plate with requisite mounting holes and a cutout for the Idranet and relay connectors. Perhaps the cutout could be a fold to create a shield for about a third of the back box, maybe just enough to cram the relay box into. It all entailed quite a bit of metal bashing, and meanwhile, time marches on.

In the end good old bodging came to the rescue. I used a piece of aluminium right angle bracket, the idea being to get some stiffness so that the central mounting holes of the DFP back plate could be used to tension the plate into contact with the wall surface. I drilled and tapped two holes to allow the central mounting screws to fix into the bracket and through holes to mount the bracket to the backbox. The speaker aperture in the backplate is quite handy for access to the righthand screw. The lefthand screw fixes normally (I did not attempt to centre the DFP over the box horizontally).

The box is quite deep relative to the plaster surface and this played in my favour to create some clearance for parts of the DFP, like the speaker moulding which protrudes behind the mounting plate. I also had to cut an aperture for the Idranet connector. Finally, the angle of the aluminium bracket did make it quite tight to fit the relay unit in. Fortunately the relay unit is only connecting to the doorbell ringer circuit so no issues with main segregation.

It's a little tight as you can see, mainly because half the back box is taken up with through routed cabling. In another MFP scenario it would be easier to fit the relay box into the righthand side and notch the bracket a little to retain a shield. It takes a little care to mount the DFP on and get the Idranet cables to feed back through the aperture.

There we go. JD.