Imagine then our hypothetical friend’s hypothetical furry if they were slighted not once but twice.

Of course our hypothetical friend would vent their furry into coding, and as we know Python is the balm of the soul. Let us view some of this hypothetical Python.

from send_mail import send_mail
import commands
import pyinotify
import re
import time
import Skype4Py
from time import gmtime, strftime

CallStatus = 0
CallIsFinished = set ([Skype4Py.clsFailed, Skype4Py.clsFinished, Skype4Py.clsMissed,Skype4Py.clsRefused, Skype4Py.clsBusy, Skype4Py.clsCancelled])

def CallStatusText(status):
    return skype.Convert.CallStatusToText(status)

def OnCall(call, status):
    global CallStatus
    CallStatus = status
    print 'Call status: ' + CallStatusText(status)
    print call.PstnNumber
    try:
        if (CallStatusText(status) == "Calling" and call.PstnNumber == "+<your phone number>"):
            call.Answer()
            print "Call accepted."
    except:
        print "Failed to accept."

skype = Skype4Py.Skype()
try:
    skype.Attach()
    skype.OnCallStatus = OnCall
except:
    print "Skype attach failed, skype calling will not be possible."

class TrackModifications(pyinotify.ProcessEvent):
    def process_IN_MODIFY(self, event):
        f = open("/var/log/auth.log")
        l = f.readlines()
        f.close()
        if (re.search("gnome-screensaver-dialog\: pam_unix\(gnome-screensaver\:auth\)\: authentication failure\;", l[-1]) <> None):
            print "Access!"
            fn = '/home/user/tmp/snap-fail-' + strftime("%d-%b-%Y_%H:%M:%S", gmtime()) + '.jpg'
            commands.getoutput('uvccapture -m -x640 -y480 -o' + fn)
            send_mail("<email>", "<sms email>", "", "Failed access at `" + strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S", gmtime()) + "` you will receive a picture soon.", None)
            send_mail("<email>", "<sms email>", "Login Failed", "Failed log-in to 'The Pandora'.\n" + l[-1], fn)

        if (re.search("The-Pandora gnome-screensaver-dialog\: gkr-pam\: unlocked \'login\' keyring", l[-1]) <> None):
            print "Access!"
            fn = '/home/user/tmp/snap-accept-' + strftime("%d-%b-%Y_%H:%M:%S", gmtime()) + '.jpg'
            commands.getoutput('uvccapture -m -x640 -y480 -o' + fn)
            send_mail("<email>", "<sms email>", "", "Login accepted at `" + strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S", gmtime()) + "` you will receive a picture soon.", None)
            send_mail("<email>", "<sms email>", "Login Accepted", "Accepted log-in to 'The Pandora'.\n" + l[-1], fn)
            pass

wm = pyinotify.WatchManager()
handler = TrackModifications()
notifier = pyinotify.Notifier(wm, default_proc_fun=handler)
wm.add_watch('/var/log/auth.log', pyinotify.IN_MODIFY)
notifier.loop()

fn = '/home/user/tmp/snap-end-' + strftime("%d-%b-%Y_%H:%M:%S", gmtime()) + '.jpg'
send_mail("<email>", "<sms email>", "", "Process ending on 'The Pandora' at`" + strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S", gmtime()) + "`", None)
commands.getoutput('uvccapture -m -x640 -y480 -o' + fn)
send_mail("<email>", "<sms email>", "", "Process ending on 'The Pandora'.", fn)

The email function used for this code is very messy and actually has some pass-phrases I’d rather not show you, I suggest looking at google and various links it offers

def send_mail(send_from, send_to, subject, text, f, server="smtp.gmail.com:587"):

Where text is the message, f is the file and server is the server, I advise using Gmail as it has a Email t0 SMS gateway. The way I used it I simply had to put my phone number before `@tmomail.net` (something like 15552223344@tmomail.net). With a little googling you’ll find the appropriate suffixes for most carriers.

So, what is this? Well, basically it’s a library to allow a series of things.

• Photographic evidence of all log-ins.
• SMS and MMS (with photo) alerts when your computer is logged into or someone attempts.
• Accept calls so you can monitor audio from your computer.
• I also modified it to call out to me when there’s a log in, oh for video calling…
• It records the script being terminated.

You may have to adjust  the command for ‘uvccapture’, you will want to adjust the host name (The Pandora) to yours. Remember to add your SMS Email and Email.

This script will be built off of to create something a lot more advanced and a lot better and more useful. It would be possible to rewrite this for Windows or Mac, I guess that cutting out the Skype and replacing the UVC code would be all that’d be needed.

I hope this was of use to someone. Please post comments if you find a use and/or have some success with it, I’d love to hear stories of how you caught hypothetical siblings with it.

Kind regards, Robert.

In the last few days as I’ve started to miss it I decided to write a ‘Top Ten Roundup’ with a difference, the top ten that I miss. I’ve reverted to my Windows Mobile smart-phone so I still have a few luxuries. I expect that I’ll mention several things which made me prefer my G1 to the HTC Hermes I was on. Firstly though I’ll compare a few core components that I miss.

• The email program. When I first used Android I wasn’t that excited about the email app; sure, it had starring which Windows Mobile didn’t, but that was about it for me. However I’ve come to really appreciate the way it synchronises and the way that I can apply labels and generally use it as I do the computer front end. Windows Mobile makes me synchronise manually or set a time, this is nice and I used to find it very useful but I really appreciate being able to use Locale with the Gmail application to trigger synchronising only in a WiFi hotspot.
• The contacts application. There are some trade-offs here. Windows Mobile supports a birthday for a contact, unless I’m severely blind my G1 does not. Windows mobile however attacks my contacts list on Gmail adding Mr’s and Mrs’s which in turn adds extra contacts. This is fixable, the G1 lack of birthdays will surely be fixed in a future release. Incidentally the birthdays can be shown on the calendar with a small work around. Simply go to the calendars listing under settings, click browse interesting calenders and find your birthdays under ‘More’.
• The browser. I really miss the Android browser and its speed and zoom features.
• Marketplace. Do I even need to say anything here? The ease and simplicity is so nice.

Now for my top ten list of Android applications that I miss.

1. Locale. I had rules set up to do everything I needed all based on where I was. It came into extra brilliance while abroad where I couldn’t use my normal data connection.
2. ConnectBot. Having a well rounded SSH application is essential.
3. Android IRC. Who can exist without IRC? I mean, what true techie can exist without IRC? Android IRC supports SSL, multiple servers and message notification, what’s more it doesn’t die if you leave it and open other applications.
4. AndNav. This is my most memory heavy application, it uses tiles instead of vectors so pre-download is essential for any sensible routing. Also routes are calculated away from the client which causes network use. However, all this is well known to the developers and is being worked on. I would personally love to see (for example) POI search for off-line (maybe import gpx POI’s). I would be even more excited to see off-line routing, maybe data sets could be split further just to contain roads with no additional data? However all the Windows Mobile alternatives that I’ve found have not done what I needed or had some major problems.
5. Quickipedia. Wikipedia has become the defatico source of information these days. Want cable layouts? Check Wikipedia. Want information about a penguin that flies? Check Wikipeida. Having a mobile client is like carrying it around as a book… just without ink or weight or that book smell or worrying about pages falling out.
6. Movie Finder. It’s great to be able to quickly find out the times of a movie or check which ones are on locally. This isn’t a new concept I know but I found this the easiest to use, far easier than my previous experiences on Windows Mobile.
7. Telegraph.co.uk news. Although this requires a connection and can’t horde its data off-line it’s still a great application. I’ve used other news applications and I’m open to suggestions but I found this to be the best. I do miss Viigo.
8. Listen. I’d only just started using this but I’d become adicted pretty quickly. It’s a nice product from google themselves and it provides me with a stream of podcasts straight to my device. What’s more it can be run offline.
9. FML. This would be one of two things that I use to entertain myself.
10. Lolcats. This would be the other.

There are more I miss, there are more I used regularly and there are more I’d probably like to put on this list in the future. A couple in the running were:

• My Tracks. A GPS tracking application that I’ve found to be absolutely excellent.
• Beeb Player. BBC iPlayer application, not much use here as I have a US IP but it was great when I was in the UK.
• Meridian Player (and now Meridian Evolve). A great player. Unfortunately I don’t watch much on my phone as my laptop has a better resolution for that.
• Dizzler. A music on demand player, very useful for those moments where someone doesn’t know a song and you want to *show* them.
• Barcode Scanner. Most sites about Android offer 2d encoded barcodes for content, I think this is a great way to move stuff from one device to another.
• Better Keyboard. A great on screen keyboard. I certainly miss it.

That just about makes up my little Android tear story. Hopefully I should see a new G1 working perfectly within the next few weeks and I’ll be able to tell you which applications I’m adicted to right from the word go.

Kind regards, Robert.

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

 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

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.