Robert Small, The blog thereof.

Current configuration

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+ (2.6GHz).

ASUS M2N-CM DVI motherboard - nVidia nForce 630a chipset.

2GB RAM 800 (one module).

Seagate 360GB.

nVidia GeForce 7025 on board graphics - 256MB.

19 inch widescreen.

nVidia MCP67 High Definition Audio.

Two DVD drives, RW, dual layer, lightscribe.

Front panel with various card readers, eSATA, USB, Firewire.

All this is inside a very nice looking A+ case which is designed to look like a piece of Hi-Fi.

Debian GNU/Linux with 20GB for the OS, 20GB for another copy of Linux, and 16GB swap.

Upgrade plans

Another 2GB module.

External graphics - I have one card but I don’t trust it for general use (second hand freebe).

Upgrading the motherboard to take 8GB.

The RAM to fit the 8GB.

Other plans

Dual screen set up.

Putting (both) screens onto screen booms/swing stands for easier use.

Kind regards, Robert.

It would logically follow that if I’ve had this problem others must also have had it or be having it on a regular basis now. Unfortunately I don’t know how to trigger the problem and so I’m unable to provide you with a picture.

Versions: Caught in 1.3.4 and 1.3.5, haven’t tested anything else.

Symptoms: CPU usage climbs to 100% and when you click ‘export’ or ’save as’ you get a standard export/save dialog box but without a path or any files/directories shown. It refuses to let you search or manually input a path.

Possible related problem: I had this problem last immediately after the same project had got stuck while loading the audio into the memory. The issues might be related but I can’t see any reason to suspect that myself.

Solution: It’s not that hard but it took me a little while to work it out. Make a small edit and save, this seems to work every time. If it doesn’t then save and restart Audacity.

What doesn’t work: I tried all the normal tricks.

• # killall audacity
• # killall -9 audacity
• Moving the files around
• Renaming them
• Manually comparing the .aup with other .aup’s and trying to fix.

Diagnosis: Bug, probably a stomach one. I honestly can’t see where the problem is, I’ve tried looking for it but don’t have the time to do full strace’s and all the rest of that fun stuff. Let’s hope the audacity team manage to find it and fix it. After all, Audacity is a brilliant tool even if it does lack a few things.

Kind regards, Robert.

http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick#The_Software

Just a quick blog to say that I’ve added a few things to Chute Stick. I’ll thin down the number of packages as soon as possible, but we’re still well within the 1GB memory stick so I can spend time doing that later.

I’ve added all versions of Skype. Skype provides a reasonably secure method of getting a message to someone; it also permeates firewalls better than most viruses. I added 7zip as it seems to be a good free alternative to WinZip, the 7zip compression itself is remarkable. In some of my experiments with it I’ve experienced almost 50% smaller files than standard zip (using `zip -9`). Because of this excellent compression I’ve included a copy of p7zip (the *nix port). CamStudio may seem like a strange choice, but it does offer a way for you to quickly record a video of how to do something, this could be essential if you’re unable to tutor someone face to face but need them to (for example) administer a box for you. I’ve debated if a Linux desktop recorder is needed, but if you have ssh you can probably do most administration through that.

Well, that’s all so far, I’m snowed under with work at the moment so I was just popping this through. Most of the additions have been related to things I’ve needed for work over the last few days. I will be blogging about some other things (mostly work related) soon, when I escape anyway!

Kind regards, Robert.

http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick#The_Software

Just to mention that I’ve now released a list of the software I currently have on my pen drive.

 http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick#The_Software

I will provide more information on each item in the near future including versions and links. I expect a few of you are thinking of cloning my setup until I release a script.

Kind regards, Robert

Some of you will already know about this little project that I’ve been working on. Basically I’m producing a USB memory stick with all the things which I think it needs. Quoting the wiki page:

http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick

If you’re in a situation where you only have one memory stick, what’d you want on it? If baggage handling lose all your bags and you just have the encrypted hard drive in your jacket pocket and the memory stick round your neck, what do you want on the stick?

You’re stranded on an island (or somewhere with a really poor internet connection) and you want to acquisition a computer for your own uses, what do you want on your stick? Someone else on the island wants you to fix their computer, what do you want on the stick?

In general, what do you want on a memory stick when you don’t trust or want to use your internet connection? This is what the Chute Stick project is meant to provide.

Although there are many different situations where this may be of use and some of them wont require most of the software provided this is meant to be an ‘in any event evacuation plan’. I know a lot of you have already contacted me about this and so there probably wont be that many comment; however, there are several things which I’d love to be posted here:

• Situations where you might need a rescue stick.
• Software suggestions/requests.
• Things to stay away from.
• Suggestions for replacement software, I know I may not have picked the right stuff all the time.
• Suggestions about ways of packaging or unpacking software.
• Ways to make things more accessible to more people.

Of course you could just tell me I’m doing something useful!

Which brings me to another point, what am I doing? Well I don’t intend to distribute too much software, I’d prefer to write a script which downloads and updates software to a memory stick for you. Much of the software I’m looking at is either not free/libre and so I don’t expect to be able to do more than provide a script to get the end user to download and use the software correctly. If anyone is familiar with the gentoo ebuild context they’ll understand more of what I mean, my script wouldn’t require pre-built packages but do it’s own work.

The wiki page is: http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick

Kind regards, Robert.

The Linux GPS project has been started, it’s aimed at providing useful information about Linux related GPS projects and how to get GPS devices working correctly with Linux. I have a CF based Holux GPS device and a Bluetooth/USB based Holux device, I’ll provide as much information about these as possible.

We hope to provide information on the protocols we come across and the ways they can be made to ‘play’ nicely with Linux. In the end we may develop programs to provide unavailable features to Linux users. Although there are several projects which seem interested in providing GPS support for Linux they seem to lack a central place for a user to start, a place for you to pick what you need and get everything working; Linux GPS is being developed with this in view.

www.linux-gps.org

Your support would be appreciated.

Kind regards, Robert.

Written on the plane on Nov 2nd.

Airports are interesting places. As a man who’s rarely travelled abroad they posses a curious attraction. I hate security, I really hate being put though all the things that they deem necessary to make sure that you’re not a terrorist or maniac. Being entirely mad I always wonder why they let me through without question, the world is most certainly a strange place. As I write this I’m directly over Belfast, or so the GPS tells me, Several thousand feet above it I admit, but still above Belfast, I don’t feel anything special because of this, I suppose I should really.

I know a fair few people who’re scared of flying, I am not. I’m not really scared of airports, turbulence, flying meals, Dutch, or English security; what gets me is American security. I dislike being bullied, I dislike being made to feel scared and suspect, I dislike American airport security. My experiences have, on the whole, been OK, I’ve never been shot or had anything confiscated and I’ve never seen anyone shot or confiscated; my gut feeling dislikes being involved with people who refuse to look me in the eye and carry a gun while looking rather bullying. It’s strange, I’ve never actually had anything bad happen but I just don’t like their attitude.

I don’t like DVDs which contain advertisements telling me not to download them and I don’t like people requesting to ‘mark’ my receipts. I am not a thief, please stop treating me as such

I’m somewhere around half way through the second flight now, I don’t find it the most enthralling pastime but between watching the in flight TV and considering life my time has passed reasonably well. More fortunately I have no worries about my laptop giving out as I have two extended life batteries and three standard ones, today a long time of computer life tomorrow the world! It also helps that I’ve done a lot of work on making my laptop as energy saving as possible, It currently is using around 8.4W, this includes some (a little) disk usage and a fair bit of keyboard usage. I have all my cunning plans to create marginally better laptop yet to implement, the unfortunate fact is that the X31 only has one PCMCIA slot and one CF (CompactFlash) slot; this is a perfect amount for one GSM/UMTS modem and one GPS device, leaving no space for a CF boot card. Other cunning plans have involved putting my swap space onto CF or moving my log and tmp directories onto one, this all relies on a CF card and I like my GPS. Some of you may suggest a USB based solution, but this would also eat power and eating power is bad.

Still, around eight watts is a sensible usage and provides me with many hours using my dock and spare batteries, what’s more I have TuxOnIce working nicely and can switch between batteries without even bothering to reboot! Life is wonderful, well, maybe not wonderful but at least mediocre.

I’m currently passing over Greenland. I love the Dutch and their language, and their airlines. They’ve provided me with a ‘vegetarian pasta’, I didn’t really mind what the pasta had eaten, but it tasted very nice. KLM food generally is nice, they provide me tomato juice and pepper to go with it, they provide hot towels - i have to provide the hands to use them, they provide a nice meal with real cutlery. In fact I’m not that sure that I’m that far from being at home and in comfort. That is if it weren’t for my nose. My nose feels like it is likely to explode, and my neck on the same side is echoing the emotion, I presume this is some issue with the pressure up here.

To distract myself I’m analysing the scientific impossibilities within the dramatisation of Harry Potter, I personally have preferred the spin-off comedies.